Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tufa Barriers from a Caddisfly's Point of View: Streams or Lake Outlets?

The caddisfly community composition in different microhabitats at tufa barriers was studied in the Plitvice Lakes NP, Croatia. Three tufa barriers were investigated and six emergence traps were installed at each site covering various microhabitats. Sampling was conducted monthly during the year 2008. Tufa barriers are lake outlet habitats, but they feature a variety of microhabitats similar to streams, which is reflected in the composition of caddisfly communities regarding longitudinal distribution preferences. The caddisfly communities at all three sites were dominated by species typical for the rhithral zone, but there was a shift in species composition along a longitudinal gradient, from the epirhithral to the metarhithral zone. Analysis of functional feeding guilds showed considerable differences between the caddisfly community at the Labudovac barrier and both downstream barriers, shifting from one with a quite diverse composition, to one completely dominated by passive filter-feeders. Passive filter feeders were not represented by the same taxa at up- and downstream barriers (i.e., by Hydropsyche species and Wormaldia species, at the Labudovac barrier and at both downstream barriers, respectively). Due to high complexity and habitat diversity, the highest diversity and equitability of caddisfly communities were recorded at microhabitats with particulate tufa and medium current velocity (10–20 cm/s). The lowest diversity and species richness were recorded for silt with low current velocity (0–10 cm/s). Abundance of caddisflies was positively correlated with current velocity due to a very high proportion of rheophilic passive filter feeders in the communities. However, community composition and structure is only to some degree influenced by microhabitat characteristics, but rather by their general position within the barrage-lake system, i.e., longitudinal distribution and thereby availability of different food resources. (© 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Evolution of Pollen and Tapetal Characters in Ochnaceae (Malpighiales)

Ochnaceae are members of the recently recircumscribed and extremely diverse rosid order Malpighiales. They consist of three lineages, Ochnoideae, Quiinoideae, and Medusagyne oppositifolia (jellyfish tree), a critically endangered endemic from the Seychelles. However, relationships among these lineages are unclear, as are relationships between Ochnaceae and other Malpighiales. In this article, pollen and tapetum characters are evaluated in relation to recent hypotheses of relationships within Ochnaceae and between Ochnaceae and their putative relatives, with a focus on the remarkable pollen apertures with cone-like exine protrusions in Medusagyne. The comparative morphology and structure of pollen and tapetum are examined using TEM in selected Chrysobalanaceae (Chrysobalanus), Euphroniaceae (Euphronia), and Ochnaceae (Cespedesia, Medusagyne, Ochna, and Touroulia). Pollen and tapetum characters in Ochnaceae and selected outgroups are optimized onto a recent molecular phylogeny. The optimizations indicate that pollen morphological and structural characters are potentially informative in elucidating hypotheses of relationship within Ochnaceae. Very small pollen ( μm) is a synapomorphy for Ochnaceae, including Medusagyne, and is possibly related to “buzz” pollination in many taxa. Striate pollen could indicate a relationship between Medusagyne and Ochnoideae. Apertures with compound pores and large atria, apomorphic for Medusagyne, suggest a closer relationship with Ochnaceae with costate apertures and may have a protective function. The optimizations also indicate that clusioids and a clade of five families (Balanopaceae-Trigoniaceae-Dichapetalaceae-Euphroniaceae-Chrysobalanaceae) are more closely related to each other than to Ochnaceae. Ochnaceae pollen has probably become specialized in various ways, in response to environmental conditions and pollinators.
Insecticidal and Fungicidal Activities of Chitosan and Oligo-chitosan

The activity of chitosan and oligo-chitosan on several plant insects and pathogens were studied. Chitosan was active against lepidopterous and homopterous insects; the mortality was 80%. The insecticidal activity of chitosan to Plutella xylostella L. was higher than that to Spodoptera exigua Hübner. The mortality of six types of aphids was generally 60–80%, and the highest was 99.7%. Some fungicidal activity by oligo-chitosan was observed on 12 plant pathogens. The inhibition effect of oligo-chitosan to plant pathogens was improved with increasing oligomer concentration. The highest inhibition rate (80%) was against Phomopsis asparagi (sacc.a) Bubak (95%) and the inhibition rate against Fusarium oxysporum (Schl.) f. sp. Cucumernum owen, Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn and Fusarium oxysporum Schl. F. Sp. Uasinfectum (Atk.) Snyd. & Hans.
Linking frugivore behavior to plant population dynamics

Despite the acknowledged importance of frugivores as seed dispersal agents we still lack a general understanding of the mechanisms by which these animals could shape plant populations and communities. We used a spatially explicit stochastic simulation to explore how frugivore movement decisions interact with landscape properties, thus affecting plant population dynamics through dispersal. The model simulated bird movement, foraging, seed deposition and plant recruitment. We assumed that plants lived only for one season and that recruitment was a function of local seed density. We also considered the effect of perches as non-food landscape features. Our simulation experiments consisted in varying the parameters governing bird foraging decisions in relation to 1) how fruit abundance biased their movement, and 2) how the willingness to visit a plant or perch decreased with distance to current location. Simulated plant population dynamics was strongly influenced by bird behavior. The scale of foraging decisions had a much stronger effect on plant dynamics than biases due to fruit abundance. Birds tended to concentrate their activities in the center of the landscape where plants became more abundant, increasing local competition. The presence of perches reduced this tendency resulting in larger population sizes. The importance of perches highlights the fact that behaviors other than foraging can have a strong impact on the patterns of seed deposition and hence on plant population dynamics. Several recent studies have combined animal movement data with seed retention time in order to predict seed dispersal kernels. These studies usually emphasize the ecological implications of the scale and shape of such kernels. However, our simulation results reveal that movement directionality and the fact that birds moved mostly among plants and perches can have a major impact on plant population dynamics.
A new species of Haplosyllis Langerhans, 1879 (Annelida: Polychaeta: Syllidae: Syllinae) from Argentina

ABSTRACT The study of Syllidae (Polychaeta) from the southwest Atlantic Ocean revealed the presence of an unknown species, which is herein described as Haplosyllis loboi, new species. According to its morphology, the new species belongs to the species-complex group of Haplosyllis spongicola (Grube, 1855). However, it is distinguished by the presence of a series of denticles between the upper end of the main fang and the lower end of the subdistal tooth and the shape of the dorsal cirri, which are shorter than the body width and tapered, showing slightly alternating lengths. The description of this new species of Haplosyllis supports the growing evidence that H. spongicola, formerly considered to be a cosmopolitan species, has in fact been used for several distinct species.
Interactions between bacterial populations during degradation of a lubricant base oil

The composition of microbial communities degrading trimethylolpropaneoleate, a synthetic fatty acid ester, was studied under conditions similar to a frequently used degradation test. A combination of conventional phenotypic tests and molecular biological methods, internal rRNA gene spacer amplification and randomly amplified DNA assay, was used for strain monitoring. Few bacterial species were selected from the large diversity of the inocula during degradation in the batch cultures. Growth depended on activity of extracellular lipases in the bacterial community. However, the enzyme producers made up only a minority. The dominating bacteria were not able to hydrolyze the synthetic ester in pure culture.
Estimation of Endogenous Nitrogen and Amino Acids Flow at the Duodenum and Ileum in Growing Goats Fed on Different NDF Level Diets

Abstract Zhou, C.S. , Jiang, H.L. , Tan, Z.L. , Zhao, X.G. , Sun, Z.H. , Tang, S.X. and Wang, M. 2008. Estimation of endogenous nitrogen and amino acids flow at the duodenum and ileum in growing goats fed on different NDF level diets. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 33: 137–144. An experiment was conducted with four ruminally, duodenally and ileally cannulated goats (15±0.5 kg) allocated to four dietary treatments in a 4x4 Latin square design to estimate the effects of dietary NDF levels on the losses of endogenous nitrogen (EN) and endogenous amino acids at the duodenum and ileum in goats. Goats were fed the total mixed diets containing four levels of NDF (39.69, 36.95, 34.22 and 31.49%). The duodenal flow of EN and AA was determined by the difference and amino acid profile (AAP) method, respectively. The ileal flow of EN and AA was measured by the water soluble protein method. The duodenal flow of EN estimated by the two methods were not affected (P>0.05) by the dietary NDF content. For the estimated values by the AAP method, the duodenal flow of endogenous AA expressed less variation than those by the difference method. When compared with the difference method, the duodenal flow and the re-absorption of endogenous N and AA were higher than those estimated by the AAP method. The results implied that dietary fiber content might influence the secretion of endogenous protein and the more reasonable estimates of endogenous N and AA could be obtained by the AAP method.
Photosynthetic activity and population dynamics of Amoebobacter purpureus in a meromictic saline lake

A dense population of the purple sulfur bacterium Amoebobacter purpureus in the chemocline of meromictic Mahoney Lake (British Columbia, Canada) underwent consistent changes in biomass over a two year study period. The integrated amount of bacteriochlorophyll reached maxima in August and declined markedly during early fall. Bacteriochlorophyll was only weakly correlated with the light intensity and water temperature in the chemocline. In the summer, bacterial photosynthesis was limited by sulfide availability. During this period the intracellular sulfur concentration of A. purpureus cells decreased. A minimum concentration was measured at the top of the bacterial layer in August, when specific photosynthetic rates of A. purpureus indicated that only 14% of the cells were photosynthetically active. With the exception of a time period between August and September, the specific growth rates calculated from CO2 fixation rates of A. purpureus were similar to growth rates calculated from actual biomass changes in the bacterial layer. Between August and September 86% of the A. purpureus biomass disappeared from the chemocline and were deposited on the littoral sediment of Mahoney Lake or degraded within the mixolimnion. This rise of cells to the lake surface was not mediated by an increase in the specific gas vesicle content which remained constant between April and November. The upwelling phenomenon was related to the low sulfur content of A. purpureus cells and a low resistance of surface water layers against vertical mixing by wind.
KNOWLEDGE ABOUT BREASTFEEDING IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF NURSING MOTHERS CONHECIMENTO SOBRE ALEITAMENTO MATERNO NA PERSPECTIVA DE NUTRIZES LOS CONOCIMIENTOS SOBRE LA LACTANCIA MATERNA EN LA PERSPECTIVA DE LAS

Objetivo: analisar o conhecimento de nutrizes no período gravídico-puerperal sobre aleitamento materno e discutir como o(a) enfermeiro(a) participa no aconselhamento dessas nutrizes. Método: investigação qualitativa, descritiva e exploratória. Para a coleta de dados, foi utilizada entrevista semiestruturada; para o tratamento dos dados, a análise temática. Participaram da pesquisa 12 nutrizes acompanhadas pelo Banco de Leite de um hospital público do Distrito Federal, Brasil. Resultados: emergiram quatro categorias para análise: orientações sobre aleitamento materno; desafios e dificuldades do aleitamento materno; vantagens e desvantagens do aleitamento materno; experiência no aleitamento materno. Conclusão: os conhecimentos acerca da amamentação, percepção da autoconfiança, experiências anteriores, fator econômico e interferências familiares influenciaram na adesão à amamentação. Na visão das nutrizes, o(a) enfermeiro(a) desempenhou papel fundamental na propagação dos saberes acerca do aleitamento materno durante período gravídico-puerperal. Então, o estudo evidenciou o importante papel do(a) enfermeiro(a) no processo de ensino-aprendizagem das nutrizes.
EVALUATION OF DIFFERENT SOIL EXTRACTANTS FOR ASSESSING BORON SUPPLY AND ESTIMATION OF CRITICAL LIMITS FOR SUNFLOWER IN SOILS OF KUMAON REGION OF UTTARAKHAND

Amongst the micronutrients, boron is one of the most important micronutrient required for normal growth and development of plant. Although B requirement plants is relatively small, yet it requires special attention as the concentrations range between deficiency and excess is very narrow. The suitability of extractants for determining available B can be assessed by correlating the amount of extractable B in untreated soil with Bray’s per cent yield, uptake and tissue B concentration of plants (Datta et al., 1998.
Activity of the FIPA Methodology Technical Committee

The method engineering paradigm enables designers to use phases, models and elements coming from different design processes in order to build up a new process expressly tailored for carrying out the task of developing a problem/domain speciﬁc system. This paradigm, widely studied in the object-oriented world, can be proﬁtably applied to multi-agent systems design as witnessed by the recent activity of the FIPA Methodology Technical Committee (TC) which is presented in the paper.
Axial nature of the cupule‐bearing organ in Caytoniales

Abstract Caytoniales are an important group of seed plants, and the nature of their female reproductive organ may influence interpretations of the seed plant phylogeny and the origin of angiosperms. Although not convincingly demonstrated by clear evidence, cupules on previously described specimens were interpreted as being distichously arranged, implying that the cupule‐bearing organ in Caytoniales was a pinnate megasporophyll. Here a female reproductive organ of Paracaytonia hongtaoi gen. et sp. nov. (Caytoniales) is reported from Liaoning, China. The well preserved specimen clearly shows a spiral arrangement of cupules along the reproductive axis, suggesting that the cupule‐bearing organ in Caytoniales is not a megasporophyll but a branch. This new information on the axial nature of the cupule‐bearing organ in Caytoniales has significant implications on the placement of Caytoniales in the seed plant phylogeny and interpretation of the relationship between Caytoniales and angiosperms.
Liquidity Risk and Distressed Equity

I show theoretically and empirically that cash holdings used to offset liquidity risk can help rationalize the anomalous returns of distressed equity. In my model, levered firms with financing constraints can default because of liquidity or solvency, but firms seek to manage their cash to avoid the former. An insolvent but liquid firm has a large fraction of its assets in cash, which makes its equity beta low and helps rationalize low expected returns. Using data on rated US firms between 1970 and 2013, I find empirical evidence consistent with my theoretical predictions: i) the average insolvent firm holds cash that meets or exceeds its current liabilities; ii) firm-specific betas and risk-adjusted returns decline both as firms become less solvent and as cash levels decline; and iii) a portfolio long firm with high cash and short firms with low cash has increasing returns for less solvent firms, while a portfolio long firms with high solvency and short firms with low solvency has increasing returns for firms with less cash. My results suggest that there is no distress anomaly for insolvent but liquid firms.
Salting and the role of salt in cheese

Salt levels in cheese range from ∼0.7% (w/w) in Swiss-type to ∼6% (w/w) in Domiati. Salt has three major functions in cheese: it acts as a preservative, contributes directly to flavour, and is a source of dietary sodium. Together with the desired pH, water activity and redox potential, salt assists in cheese preservation by minimizing spoilage and preventing the growth of pathogens. The dietary intake of sodium in the modern western diet is generally excessive, being two to three times the level recommended for desirable physiological function (2.4 g Na, or ∼6 g NaCl per day). However, cheese generally makes a relatively small contribution to dietary sodium intake except if high quantities of high-salt cheeses such as Domiati and feta are consumed. In addition to these functions, salt level has a major effect on cheese composition, microbial growth, enzymatic activities and biochemical changes, such as glycolysis, proteolysis, lipolysis and para-casein hydration, that occur during ripening. Consequently, the salt level markedly influences cheese flavour and aroma, rheology and texture properties, cooking performance and, hence, overall quality. Many factors affect salt uptake and distribution in cheese and precise control of these factors is a vital part of the cheesemaking process to ensure consistent, optimum quality.
Evolution and Ontogenetic Development of Cortical Structures

The cerebral cortex controls our unique higher cognitive abilities. Modifi cations to gene expression, progenitor behavior, cell lineage, and neural circuitry have accompanied evolution of the cerebral cortex. This chapter considers the progress made over the past thirty years in defi ning potential mechanisms that contribute to cortical development and evolution. It discusses the value of model systems for understanding elaboration of cortical organization in humans, with an emphasis on recent technical and conceptual advances. It then examines our current understanding of the molecular and cellular basis for cortical development and evolution; discusses how neuronal fates are specifi ed and organized in lamina, columns, and areas; and revisits the radial unit and protomap hypotheses. Finally, it considers our current understanding of the development, stability, and plasticity of cortical circuitry. Throughout, it highlights the profound impact that new technological advances have made at the molecular and cellular level, and how this has changed our understanding of cortical development and evolution. The authors conclude by identifying critical and tractable research directions to address gaps in our understanding of cortical development and evolution. Group photos (top left to bottom right) Debra Silver, Pasko Rakic, Christopher Walsh, Takao Hensch, Elizabeth Grove, Michael Stryker, Tarik Haydar, John Rubenstein, Zoltán Molnár, Mriganka Sur, Nenad Sestan, Maria Antonietta Tosches, Wieland Huttner, Debra Silver, Mriganka Sur, Maria Antonietta Tosches, John Rubenstein, Pasko Rakic, Zoltán Molnár, Nenad Sestan, Michael Stryker From “The Neocortex,” edited by W. Singer, T. J. Sejnowski and P. Rakic. Strüngmann Forum Reports, vol. 27, J. R. Lupp, series editor. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-04324-3 62 D. L. Silver et al.
Efficient Control for Multi-Agent Jump Processes

Optimal control of multi-agent systems is a hard problem. Traditional methods include formulating control problems as Markov decision processes (MDPs) and using dynamic programming to solve them. Problematically, this is a non-linear optimization problem and the state-space in multi-agent control is exponential in the number of agents. Therefore, finding optimal solutions to multi-agent control problems using these methods is computationally very demanding and often not feasible. Recently, linearly solvable MDPs (LSMDPs) have been introduced, a subclass of MDPs in which the cost function is restricted in a way that makes the control problem linear. Additionally, LSMDPs are equivalent to probabilistic inference problems and approximate solutions can be found using approximate inference techniques. In this thesis, I derive methods for multi-agent control on Markov jump processes building on the principles of LSMDPs and using approximate inference techniques. Five different methods are presented and tested. Results are promising.
Photosynthesis of wheat under field conditions. IV. The influence of density and leaf area index on the response to radiation

The photosynthesis of two cultivars of wheat at three densities of sowing was measured during the growing season of 1968. When the data were plotted as carbon dioxide uptake versus leaf area index (LAI) (leaf laminae and green stem) for a fixed value of solar radiation, it was found that all of the data could be fitted by a single curve, irrespective of variety, sowing density, or time of season when the measurements were made. Since the curve was of continuously decreasing slope, the carbon dioxide uptake per unit LAI was highest for the low values of LAI and was reduced with the increased light interception at high LAI. For a solar radiation of 0.6 cal/cm2/min the approximate maximum net photosynthesis was 4.5 g CO2/m2/hr for an LAI of 6. A mathematical model for photosynthesis was found to give good prediction of carbon dioxide uptake versus solar radiation for most of the period of measurement. For each plot, a rectangular hyperbola was fitted to the data. When the parameters of the model were subsequently plotted as a function of LAI, then within a given variety, it was found that lines of common slope but differing intercepts could be drawn through the points for different sowing densities. From these fitted lines together with the measured values of LAI and respiration, carbon dioxide uptake was then predicted as a function of solar radiation by employing the rectangular hyperbola model. Good agreement between predicted and measured values of photosynthesis was obtained.
Antioxidant Effect of Korean Traditional Lotus Liquor (Yunyupju)

Summary This study presented the antioxidant activities of the Korean traditional lotus liquor (Yunyupju) made from lotus blossom and leaves. The antioxidant activities are dose-dependent and reached a plateau (about 80% inhibition) when the concentration of lotus liquor exceeded 25 μg in a modified linoleic acid peroxidation induced by haemoglobin. The concentrations to attain one absorbance unit at 700 nm were 23.6 ± 1.2 μg for Butylated hydroxytolene (BHT), and 45.7 ± 5.4 μg for lotus liquor. The scavenging activities of DPPH exerted by lotus liquor as well as α-tocopherol were tested. Linear response curves were also obtained and the IC50 were estimated as 5.6 μg for α-tocopherol, 17.9 μg for lotus liquor. The maximum scavenging activity on hydroxyl radicals (40%) could be achieved when lotus liquor was more than 500 μg. Lotus liquor also has a potent superoxide radical scavenging activity, with value of 0.93 unit mg−1 as superoxide dismutase equivalents. The IC50 was estimated as 1.07 ± 0.04 mg for lotus liquor. The high performance liquid chromatography analysis of polyphenols was successfully achieved as these compounds appeared at 16.30 (catechin), 21.87 (rutin), 25.88 (unidentified peak), 31.51 (quercitrin), 35.19 (myricetin), and 36.72 (quercetin) min after injection of the sample, respectively.