Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ecological drivers of eggshell wettability in birds

Complex and at times extreme environments have pushed many bird species to develop unique eggshell surface properties to protect the embryo from external threats. Because microbes are usually transmitted into eggs by moisture, some species have evolved hydrophobic shell surfaces that resist water absorption, while also regulating heat loss and the exchange of gases. Here, we investigate the relationship between the wettability of eggshells from 441 bird species and their life-history traits. We measured the initial contact angle between sessile water droplets and the shell surface, and how far the droplet spread. Using phylogenetic comparative methods, we show that body mass, annual temperature and eggshell maculation primarily explained variance in water contact angle across eggshells. Species nesting in warm climates were more likely to exhibit highly hydrophobic eggshells than those nesting in cold climates, potentially to reduce microbial colonization. In non-passerines, immaculate eggs were found to have more hydrophobic surfaces than maculate eggshells. Droplets spread more quickly on eggshells incubated in open nests compared to domed nests, likely to decrease heat transfer from the egg. Here, we identify clear adaptations of eggshell wettability across a diverse range of nesting environments, driven by the need to retain heat and prevent microbial adhesion.
A second peirosaurid crocodyliform from the Mid-Cretaceous Kem Kem Group of Morocco and the diversity of Gondwanan notosuchians outside South America

Notosuchians are an extinct clade of terrestrial crocodyliforms with a particularly rich record in the late Early to Late Cretaceous (approx. 130–66 Ma) of Gondwana. Although much of this diversity comes from South America, Africa and Indo-Madagascar have also yielded numerous notosuchian remains. Three notosuchian species are currently recognized from the early Late Cretaceous (approx. 100 Ma) Kem Kem Group of Morocco, including the peirosaurid Hamadasuchus rebouli. Here, we describe two new specimens that demonstrate the presence of at least a fourth notosuchian species in this fauna. Antaeusuchus taouzensis n. gen. n. sp. is incorporated into one of the largest notosuchian-focused character-taxon matrices yet to be compiled, comprising 443 characters scored for 63 notosuchian species, with an increased sampling of African and peirosaurid species. Parsimony analyses run under equal and extended implied weighting consistently recover Antaeusuchus as a peirosaurid notosuchian, supported by the presence of two distinct waves on the dorsal dentary surface, a surangular which laterally overlaps the dentary above the mandibular fenestra, and a relatively broad mandibular symphysis. Within Peirosauridae, Antaeusuchus is recovered as the sister taxon of Hamadasuchus. However, it differs from Hamadasuchus with respect to several features, including the ornamentation of the lateral surface of the mandible, the angle of divergence of the mandibular rami, the texture of tooth enamel and the shape of the teeth, supporting their generic distinction. We present a critical reappraisal of the non-South American Gondwanan notosuchian record, which spans the Middle Jurassic–late Eocene. This review, as well as our phylogenetic analyses, indicate the existence of at least three approximately contemporaneous peirosaurid lineages within the Kem Kem Group, alongside other notosuchians, and support the peirosaurid affinities of the ‘trematochampsid’ Miadanasuchus oblita from the Maastrichtian of Madagascar. Furthermore, the Cretaceous record demonstrates the presence of multiple lineages of approximately contemporaneous notosuchians in several African and Madagascan faunas, and supports previous suggestions regarding an undocumented pre-Aptian radiation of Notosuchia. By contrast, the post-Cretaceous record is depauperate, comprising rare occurrences of sebecosuchians in north Africa prior to their extirpation.
A Bose–Einstein condensate is a Bose condensate in the laboratory ground state

Bose–Einstein condensates of weakly interacting, ultra-cold atoms have become a workhorse for exploring quantum effects on atomic motion, but does this condensate need to be in the ground state of the system? Researchers often perform transformations so that their Hamiltonians are easier to analyse. However, changing Hamiltonians can require an energy shift. We show that transforming into a rotating or oscillating frame of reference of a Bose condensate does not then satisfy Einstein’s requirement that a condensate exists in the zero kinetic energy state. We show that Bose condensation can occur above the ground state and at room temperature, referring to recent literature.
Is BAV Still Worthwhile for the Management of Patients in the Intensive Care Unit?

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) revolutionized the treatment of aortic stenosis (AS), providing a minimally invasive treatment for the majority of patients. However, a fair number of patients are still rejected by heart teams for surgical or transcatheter AVR and treated with balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV). Under current guidelines, BAV is generally limited to the following clinical scenarios: (i) as a life-saving procedure for hemodynamically unstable patients, (ii) to facilitate urgent non-cardiac surgery, (iii) as a bridge to decision (TAVR or palliation) in patients with extra-cardiac major comorbidities, and (iv) as a diagnostic tool in patients with other potential causes for symptoms. While TAVR has evolved into a more PCI-like straightforward procedure that provides superior hemodynamic efficacy over BAV, BAV does retain some advantages. It is more affordable, widely available, does not require contrast injection or preprocedural computed tomography angiography, can be performed with smaller sheath sizes and radial access, and is feasible in patients with a temporary contra-indication to valve implantation (e.g., sepsis). In a nutshell, BAV is now mainly used as a triage tool in frail or critically ill patients when physicians fear that a TAVR procedure would be futile. Following the BAV, either the patient’s condition improves and they become a candidate for TAVR, or the patient’s condition worsens and a futile TAVR has been avoided. The e contrario argument is that BAV-bridging strategy might lead to a delayed TAVR and could be associated with a loss of chance for the sickest patients. The present study by Kumar et al. sought to better understand the outcomes of BAV in critically ill patients and provides several interesting insights. Kumar and colleagues included in their analyses all patients who underwent BAV between 2012 and 2019 in their institution. They reported the data of 612 patients according to the patients’ admission type at the time of BAV: intensive care unit (ICU) (n = 111), ward (n = 297), or outpatient (n = 204). This pragmatic methodology by the authors delineated three groups of patients:
Non-normal errors or nonlinearity? performance of unit root tests

ABSTRACT This paper investigates how unit root tests that are designed for non-normal errors perform in the presence of unknown forms of nonlinearity. This allows us to examine whether any neglected nonlinearity in an estimation procedure could be reflected, at least partly, in the form of non-normality. Our simulation study shows that in general, univariate tests that exploit the information in non-normal errors remain relatively powerful compared to well-known nonlinear unit root tests under various forms of nonlinear alternatives. We also investigate the unit root properties of the real effective exchange rates and real interest rates for 60 countries. The results support the findings in the simulation that the neglected non-normality or nonlinearity in the existing tests is captured and used in the linearized testing procedures as a source of power improvement.
Mammal Activity and Species Richness is Reduced in Areas with Recreationists, in Palos Verdes Peninsula Habitat Fragments

Abstract. This study examined how the species richness and activity patterns of mammals differed in previously unsurveyed habitat fragments with varying recreation intensities on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Los Angeles County, California. I hypothesized that the number of mammal species detected and activity level of mammals was reduced in habitat fragments with recreation present. Eight game cameras were installed in two habitat fragments in the Palos Verdes Peninsula (PVP), one canyon with recreation (hiking, biking, dog walking) and one reference canyon with minimal human use. Cameras were placed at natural constrictions along the two main travel corridors in the canyons, trails and creek beds. The camera installations were monitored for 200 d. Species richness, activity location, and activity time were analyzed for each canyon. The reference canyon had a higher number of mammal species detected (nine versus six) and accounted for 93% of wildlife detections. Canis latrans showed no difference in the number of detections between canyons, while the other eight mammal species detected exhibited higher activity in the reference canyon. Canis latrans exhibited greater variability in time of activity in the reference canyon than conspecifics in the recreation canyon. Mesopredators Procyon lotor and Felis catus accounted for 67% of wildlife detections in the canyon free of recreation and pose a potential risk to songbirds of conservation concern present in the PVP. Although limited by sampling constraints, this study provides a foundation to investigate wildlife dynamics in the network of habitat fragments in the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
Benthic Insect Assemblage and Species-Level Responses to Eleven Years of Nutrient Addition in the Kootenai River, Idaho

Abstract Because of their abundance and intermediate trophic level positions, benthic invertebrates can affect trophic dynamics in aquatic ecosystems by routing and regulating energy through aquatic food webs. Significant reductions in nutrient loading and primary production downstream from dams can profoundly affect benthic insect assemblages. The Kootenai River, a large 7th order river in Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia, experienced such changes following construction of Libby Dam in 1972. A nutrient addition program was initiated in 2005 to mitigate the resulting cultural oligotrophication. The goal of this study was to evaluate long-term responses to nutrient addition among benthic insects at the assemblage and species levels, using replicated data collected from 2003 to 2016, and classified into pre-, early post-, and late post-nutrient addition periods. Response metrics included total abundance and biomass measures across all species, as well as aggregated species of major insect orders, five functional feeding groups, and species richness. We also included abundance responses from a substantial number of individual Chironomidae, and non-Chironomidae insect species. Effects of nutrient addition were assessed using before-after-control-impact and before-and-after analyses. Spearman's Rank correlation coefficients were used to express the degree of association between biotic and abiotic factors. Nutrient addition consistently contributed to increased individual and total insect abundance each year for over a decade without inducing substantive changes in community composition or species dominance. Overall, benthic insects responded positively to nutrient addition and did so in a similar fashion in the early and late nutrient addition periods.
Online travel information filtering: Role of commercial cues in trust and distrust mechanisms

ABSTRACT Given the exponentially increasing number of fake/suspicious online information, this study aimed to investigate tourists’ filtering mechanisms for detecting credible or suspicious information. To examine the effects of visual cues on those mechanisms, we adopted a mixed method approach with two empirical studies. As a result, Study 1 identified visual cues that induce credibility and/or skepticism heuristics. Study 2 findings illustrated how tourists differently use these heuristics in trust and distrust information filtering mechanisms. Credibility is used in a holistic and cognitive process in the trust mechanism, whereas skepticism appears to evoke a spontaneous emotional response in the distrust mechanism.
Otolith Microstructure Analysis Elucidates Spawning and Early Life Histories of Federally Endangered Fishes in the San Juan River

The short larval ontogenetic phase has a large impact on success or failure of fish populations due to naturally high mortality rates. Yet, for the federally endangered fishes Colorado Pikeminnow Ptychocheilus lucius and Razorback Sucker Xyrauchen texanus, information about this sensitive life stage is limited. We determined species-specific age–length functions, spawning periodicity, and environmental factors related to growth and the onset of spawning by these species in the San Juan River of the Colorado River basin. Daily ages were determined from lapillar otoliths, and growth rates were calculated for subsamples of San Juan River larval Colorado Pikeminnows and Razorback Suckers collected from 2009 through 2017 and six candidate age–length functions were fit to evaluate the relationship between age and growth. Spawning periodicity estimates from the best-fit-model and published function were compared to those from observed otolith ages and differences were analyzed. The responses of spawning periodicity and growth to abiotic and temporal conditions were evaluated. For both species, spawning dates produced by otolith ages and best-fit functions were significantly different from those produced by the published functions, but not from each other. Age–length functions determined in this study enable more accurate back-calculation of ages and prediction of spawning periodicity than published functions. The spawning periodicity estimate of San Juan River Colorado Pikeminnow and Razorback Sucker were both impacted by multiple parameterizations of temperature and discharge. For both species, fish age had the biggest influence on growth. Accurate knowledge of spawning periodicity and factors affecting fish growth can improve timing of management activities to maximize benefit to Colorado Pikeminnows and Razorback Suckers in the San Juan River.
The influence of agent and message type on perceptions of social support in human-machine communication

ABSTRACT In this study, we investigated the differences in perceived competence, credibility, and social presence within socially supportive interactions (emotional or instrumental) using human, AI, and social robot actors. We further differentiated our findings by actor and type of support and found that participants thought the human and social robot differed in terms of competence but did not rate them differently on impressions of support. Our findings suggest that people may be more attuned to the outcomes of support versus the actors involved in the interaction. In this brief report, we present CASA as a theoretical framework, offer a detailed analysis of our findings, and discuss the perceived criteria for effective socially supportive interactions.
Integrated Use of Biofertlizers with Organic and Inorganic Phosphorus Sources Improve Dry Matter Partitioning and Yield of Hybrid Maize

ABSTRACT Phosphorus (P) unavailability and lack of organic matter in calcareous soils under semiarid climates are major reasons for low maize productivity grown in these conditions. The hypothesis was tested that integrated use of biofertilizers (BF) and P-sources could improve dry matter (DM) partitioning and yield of hybrid maize (CS-200) in the semiarid climate of Peshawar. A field trial was conducted to investigate the impact of two BF-sources, and eight organic and inorganic P-sources combinations (P) on DM partitioning, yield, and yield components of hybrid maize. The research was conducted at the Agronomy Research Farm of The University of Agriculture Peshawar, during summer 2017. Experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with split plot arrangement, using four replications. Combination of inorganic-P [single super phosphate (SSP) and rock phosphate (RP)] and organic-P (compost and biochar) sources was used as factor-A, and BF [Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria (PSB) and Trichoderma (TD)] as factor-B. Phosphorus was applied at the uniform rate of 120 kg ha−1 from different sources (08 treatments). The results revealed that P sources and BF had significantly affected all parameters under study. As compared with TD, application of PSB had significantly increased total plant dry weight (TDW), leaf dry weight (LDW), cob dry weight (CDW), husks dry weigh (HDW), stem dry weight (SDW), and roots dry weight (RDW) at both silking and physiological maturity. The highest ear length (EL), more number of grains per row (NGPR), number of rows per ear (NRPE), number of grains per ear (NGPE), heavy thousand grains weight (TGW), higher total biological yield above ground (BY), grain yield (GY), stover yield (SY), harvest index (HI), and shelling percentage (SP) were obtained with application of PSB over TD. As compared with sole biochar (T3), application of organic-P in the form of sole compost (T4) had significantly increased plant TDW (188.8 g & 312.9 g), LDW (34.3 g & 29.0 g), CDW (41.9 g & 176.1 g), HDW (25.9 g & 21.7 g), SDW (85.4 g & 65.6 g), RDW (26.9 g & 15.2 g) at silking and physiological maturity, respectively. Significantly higher yields (GY, SY, BY, HI & SP) and yield components (EL, NGPE, NRPE & TGW) were recorded with sole compost application (T4) or combined application of compost + SSP (T6). Among all possible interactions of BF and treatments (2 x 8 = 16 combinations), the integrated use of PSB x T4, and PSB x T6 was found to the most beneficial combinations for improving DM partitioning, yield and yield components of hybrid maize in the study area. Interestingly, the integrated use of BF with RP (T7 & T8) had more positive effect on DM partitioning, yield and yield components of hybrid maize than sole application of RP (T2).
Morphological Characteristics and Embryogenesis of the Vomeronasal Organ and Associated Structures in the Japanese Grass Lizard, Takydromus tachydromoides (Squamata: Lacertoidea: Lacertidae)

Squamate reptiles rely on the vomeronasal organ for chemoperception of their environment. This organ functionally associates with several structures, such as the nasolacrimal duct and choanal groove, which are morphologically diverse among species. In this study, we investigated the morphological characteristics and embryogenesis of the vomeronasal organ and its associated structures in the Japanese Grass Lizard (Takydromus tachydromoides). Separation of the complex of the nasolacrimal duct from the vomeronasal organ was observed in this species, a characteristic morphological feature among squamates. Additionally, we integrated the morphological characteristics of the vomeronasal organ and associated structures among squamates, focusing on topological relationships among the structures. The parsimony and likelihood methods for ancestral state reconstruction suggested the parallelism of several morphological characteristics during the evolutionary history of squamates: loss or reduction of the choanal groove, fusion between the nasolacrimal duct and choanal groove, and separation of the nasolacrimal duct from the vomeronasal organ.
Learning to survive amidst nested crises: can the coronavirus pandemic help us change educational practices to prepare for the impending eco-crisis?

Abstract The ongoing ecological crisis and the more recent Coronavirus crisis challenge the grand narrative of Enlightenment that human beings are ‘masters of nature’. For millennia, human social learning has allowed Homo sapiens to outpace most of our competitor creatures and live a comfortable life, but this competitive success has resulted in cataclysmic failure for the ecosystem. However, people’s unique ability to learn gives us hope that we can overcome the nested crises, or learn to live with them. What is required is not more knowledge, but instead, collective learning to change practices, institutionalized in educational processes. Drawing on the theory of practice architectures, this paper discusses how education can help to form a new generation of children, young people, and adults equipped for the new post-Corona world, and equipped to respond appropriately to the eco-crisis. This requires significant changes to existing arrangements of education systems. What is needed is new practice architectures – new conditions of possibility – under which human beings can learn to live sustainably within the community of life on Earth. Video abstract
Artificial Neural Networks for Educational Data Mining in Higher Education: A Systematic Literature Review

ABSTRACT Efforts to raise the bar of higher education so as to respond to dynamic societal/industry needs have led to a number of initiatives, including artificial neural network (ANN) based educational data mining (EDM) inclusive. With ANN-based EDM, humongous amount of student data in higher institutions could be harnessed for informed academic advisory that promotes adaptive learning for purposes of student retention, student progression, and cost saving. Mining students’ data optimally requires predictive data mining tool and machine learning technique like ANN. However, despite acknowledging the capability of ANN-based EDM for efficiently classifying students’ learning behavior and accurately predicting students’ performance, the concept has received less than commensurate attention in the literature. This seems to suggest that there are gaps and challenges confronting ANN-based EDM in higher education. In this study, we used the systematic literature review technique to gauge the pulse of researchers from the viewpoint of modeling, learning procedure, and cost function optimization using research studies. We aim to unearth the gaps and challenges with a view to offering research direction to upcoming researchers that want to make invaluable contributions to this relatively new field. We analyzed 190 studies conducted in 2010–2018. Our findings reveal that hardware challenges, training challenges, theoretical challenges, and quality concerns are the bane of ANN-based EDM in higher education and offer windows of opportunities for further research. We are optimistic that advances in research along this direction will make ANN-based EDM in higher education more visible and relevant in the quest for higher education-driven sustainable development.
A study on the influencing factors of value co-destruction behavior in tourism interaction from the perspective of customer subjective fitting

ABSTRACT Based on a systematic literature review of value co-destruction in tourism industry and on the analysis of person-environment fit theory, this paper constructs a conceptual model of surface-level fit and deep-level fit factors and value co-destruction behavior. The structural equation model analysis of the data of 369 valid questionnaires found that deep-level fit factors, including communication style differences, knowledge base compatibility and goal congruence, have significant impacts on value co-destruction behavior, while the effects of surface-level fit factors are not significant. The research conclusions have certain enlightening significance for tourism enterprises to intervene in value co-destruction behavior.