Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Les chromosomes des Sorex du groupe araneus-arcticus (Mammalia, Insectivora)

leni and Tadarida cistura. Can. J. ZooL, 49, 1347— 1354. Roberts, A. (1951): The mammals of South Africa. Trustees of The mammals of South Africa Book Fund, Johannesburg. Ross, A. (1967): Ecological aspects of the food habits of insectivorous bats. Proc. West. Found. Vertebr. ZooL, 1, 205—263. Schoener, T. W. (1965): The evolution of bill size differences among sympatric congeneric Speeles of birds. Evolution, 19, 189—213. Setzer, H. W. (1957): A review of Libyan mammals. J. egypt. publ. Hlth. Ass. , 32, 41—82, Simpson, G. G. (1964): Species density of North American recent mammals. Syst. ZooL, 13, 57—73. Smithers, R. H. N. (1968): A chek list and atlas of the mammals of Botswana (Africa). Trustees natl. Mus. Rhodesia. Storch, G. (1968): Funktionsmorphologische Untersuchungen an der Kaumuskulatur und an korrelierten Schädelstrukturen der Chiropteren. Abh. senckenberg. naturf. Ges. , 517, 1—92. Struhsaker, T. T. (1961): Morphological factors regulating flight in bats. J. MammaL, 42, 152—159. Tamsitt, J. R. (1967): Niche and species diversity in neotropical bats. Nature, London, 213, 784—786. Toschi, A. (1954): Elenco preliminare dei mammiferi della Libia. Suppl. Ric. ZooL appl. Caccia, Bologna, 2, 241—273. Veiga-Ferreira, M. C. (1949): Notas acerca dos microquiropteros da Guine Portuguesa. Ann. Jta. Missöes Geograf. Invest. colon. Lisboa, (Trab. Missäo ZooL Guine), 4, 187
Estimating response distances of lesser prairie‐chickens to anthropogenic features during long‐distance movements

Spatially distributed populations often rely on large-scale processes for long-term population stability. These processes are driven by individuals moving across the landscape through long-distance dispersal movements. However, as landscapes are continually altered by anthropogenic development, increased fragmentation and avoidance behavior can affect landscape permeability and limit dispersal. Lesser prairie-chickens ( Tympanuchus pallidicinctus ) are a species of concern that have lost signi ﬁ cant portions ( > 90%) of their historic distribution in the Southern Great Plains of the United States and are currently being impacted by continued anthropogenic development. Using GPS telemetry locations of 346 lesser prairie-chickens across their entire geographic distribution, we identi ﬁ ed 184 different long-distance movements that drive population connectivity. We used empirical cumulative distribution functions to create a selection – avoidance – neutral curve and estimated the spatial scale of response to anthropogenic features (i.e., towers and windmills, large transmission and smaller distribution powerlines, oil wells, roads, and fences) during these movements. In addition, we tested for behavioral differences between movement types (e.g., exploratory loops vs. long-distance movements between home ranges) and for regional differences in response among study areas. We found that during long-distance movements, lesser prairie-chick-ens generally avoided all anthropogenic feature types we tested despite some variation in the reported response distance among study areas. However, they avoided the tallest features (i.e., towers and wind-mills and transmission powerlines) at much greater distances in comparison with the shorter features in our analysis. Our results show that long-distance movements are likely affected by responses to functional landscape fragmentation through increased development of anthropogenic features in important connectivity zones. As our estimated response distances during long-distance movements varied in comparison with previously reported response distances during other behavioral states (e.g., breeding or nesting), using long-distance or dispersal speci ﬁ c movement data may be more appropriate when asking questions related to connectivity across the landscape.
Taxonomic affinities of the enigmatic Prionogale breviceps, early Miocene, Kenya

Abstract Prionogale breviceps is a tiny carnivorous mammal from the early Miocene of eastern Africa. Originally, specimens were interpreted as the adult morphology of the taxon. The dentition did not obviously align Prionogale with the carnivorous lineages present in Afro-Arabia during the early Miocene: Hyaenodonta and Carnivora. When Namasector was discovered in Namibia, the small taxa were placed together in Prionogalidae and aligned with Hyaenodonta. In this study, based on comparisons to hyaenodont specimens preserving deciduous dentition, the holotype of Prionogale is reinterpreted as preserving dP3 and dP4. Some of the lower dental specimens attributed to the taxon preserve dp4. The holotype of Namasector also preserves deciduous dental material. A phylogenetic analysis that includes deciduous dental characters for a broader sample of hyaenodonts resolved Prionogalidae as a clade. Understanding of the deciduous dentition of Prionogale allows future analyses to compare homologous morphology, and to explore the environmental factors that shaped carnivorous mammal evolution through the Miocene.
PSYCHOLOGICAL INSULIN RESISTANCE AMONG INSULIN NAÏVE TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS PATIENTS IN PENANG, MALAYSIA: A MIXED METHODS STUDY PROTOCOL

Background: The insulin usage among the type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients in Malaysia is low despite of majority of them have poorly controlled glycaemic level. Studies also found that high prevalence of insulin initiation refusal among these patients. In this study context, psychological insulin resistance (PIR) is referred to patients reluctant to initiate insulin therapy. This study is to determine the predictors of PIR among the insulin naive T2DM patients and to understand the barriers of insulin initiation among them. Methods: This is an explanatory sequential mixed methods study conducted in the primary care health clinics of Penang. The first quantitative phase is conducted through interviewer-assisted questionnaire among the adult insulin naive T2DM patients in the studied clinics. Simple random sampling methods is used to select the participants. The dependent variable is PIR which is assessed using Insulin Treatment Appraisal Scale (ITAS). Multiple linear regression analysis is conducted to determine the predictors of PIR. Using the quantitative results, the informants of qualitative phase are purposively selected to recruit those who are indicated but refuse insulin initiation. The second qualitative phase is conducted through in-depth interview using semi structured interview protocol. Thematic analysis is conducted to identify the themes of PIR. Both the quantitative and qualitative findings are integrated and interpreted in the discussion to explain the factors of PIR. Conclusion: Using mixed methods approach, the complex and multifaceted PIR issue is comprehensively assessed. The richness of the evidences will imply to the current practice. Keywords: ITAS, mixed methods study, psychological insulin resistance, refuse insulin initiation, Social Ecological Model, study protocol, type 2 diabetes mellitus
Comparison of Lambert W function with Adomian decomposition method for wave propagation in saturable absorption medium

We present a comparative study to examine the performances of both the Lambert W function method and Adomian decomposition method (ADM) for solving the nonlinear optical beam propagations in a saturable absorption (SA) medium for two distinct SA models. The SA-I model describes a fast saturable absorber (in which the relaxation time is much shorter than the pulse duration of the incident laser beam and no excited state absorption occurs) for a three-level system, while the SA-II model depicts a four-level system or two-photon absorption saturation. We derive the explicit analytic solutions based on the Lambert W function as well as ADM without using thin-sample approximation, and without weak saturation limit. The two different approaches to solve the nonlinear optical wave equation for two distinct SA models are compared and discussed in detail, and show excellent agreement with each other. Finally, to validate the theoretical analysis, we provide some experimental data for nonlinear optical transmission in methyl orange-doped PVA films, revealing excellent agreement with the theory of the SA-II model.
Studies on the degradation kinetics of botanically diverse fibrous feeds and their apparent digestibility and rate of passage when fed to ponies

The horse evolved to obtain most of its dietary energy from the hindgut fermentation of fibrous feeds and so in the interests of health and welfare, the domestic horse should be fed forage-based diets. However, little information exists on the nutritive value of different forages that are potentially valuable feeds for horses. The aim of this thesis was to measure the in vivo apparent digestibility of a range of botanically diverse fibrous-feeds and to investigate the suitability of ruminant in sacco and in vitro techniques as routine methods for estimating, degradation kinetics and rates of passage of fibrous feeds through the gastrointestinal tract of ponies. In the first study, the in vivo apparent digestibility (AD) of hay (H), haylage (HY), big bale silage (BB) and clamp silage (CS) were determined in 4 ponies. Dry matter intake was significantly (P<0.05) greater for HY (6.3 kg/d) and BB > H > CS (2.95 kg/d). For all parameters measured AD of CS and BB were significantly (P<0.05) greater than for H, with HY being intermediate. The theoretical digestible energy and crude protein requirements of the ponies were met or exceeded by all diets except hay. Secondly, the in vivo AD, intra-caecal fermentation parameters and rates of passage of hay cubes (HC), an oat hulls:naked oats mix (OH:NO), plain sugar beet pulp (SBF), soya hulls (SH) and a hay cubes:sugar beet mix (HC:SB) were determined in 3 caecally-fistulated ponies. Total collection and mobile bag studies produced similar AD values, with SBF being greater (P<0.05) for all parameters measured than OH:NO and HC, with intermediate values for SB:HC and SH. All feeds maintained the intra-caecal pH and acetate molar proportions above 6.5 and 700 mmol/mol respectively. Higher levels of propionate and lactate and lower levels of butyrate were recorded for ponies fed the OH:NO compared with those on diets SBF and HC (P<0.05). Pre-caecal losses of total non-starch polysaccharides (TNSP) from feeds in sacco were highest for SBF (133g/kg) >SH > OH:NO > HC (51g/kg). In contrast, the highest crude protein (CP) losses were from OH:NO (771 g/kg) which were greater than SH = HC > SBF (296g/kg) (P<0.05). Of the 7 ruminant models fitted to faecal excretion data, the G3 and G4 time-dependent models of Pond et al. (1988) best described the passage of both chromium (Cr) and ytterbium (Yb) marked
From Data to Decisions: Helping Crop Producers Build Their Actionable Knowledge

ABSTRACT Recent advances in distributed information technologies are providing the means to capture and process abundant data, and to reveal associations between variables describing the crop-environment-management interaction. This review describes the determinants and moderating factors influencing how much value a crop producer and his or her advisor can derive from data, and information derived from data. We describe the social, technological, and entrepreneurial processes needed to progress the nonlinear pathway from data to an on-farm decision, and explore the meaning of actionable knowledge; that is, knowledge that can be acted upon and applied to solve a real-world problem. We argue that effective decision support is also a system that supports the learning needs of crop producers and their transactions with trusted advisors. Crop protection, the sub-set of crop management used to mitigate crop loss, is used to illustrate current approaches and technologies to support farmers' decisions. We describe how situational awareness and actionable knowledge could be improved through use of emerging platform technologies, advances in artificial intelligence, consideration of farmer decision style, knowledge capture and maintenance, and embedding technology in human-centered services. Implications for the conduct of research and development are discussed.
Embracing market and civic actor participation in public rental housing governance: new insights about power distribution

Abstract In recent decades, government intervention in welfare states has witnessed a shift from ‘government’ to ‘governance’: policy making shifted from hierarchical government steering to mixed forms involving government, market and civic actors. Such terminology has also entered Chinese policy language on public rental housing (PRH) provision. To unravel the perceived power distribution in the relationships between the involved actors, this article draws from in-depth interviews in two Chinese cities: Chongqing and Fuzhou. The article thereby contributes new insights to the perceived power relations in Chinese PRH provision on the ground. It also develops an analytical framework based on Billis by complementing it with Social Network Analysis to measure the power relations. Such a framework will allow the comparison of different governance systems across time and different jurisdictions within and beyond China. This study shows the structures and mechanisms for non-governmental actors to play a role, which they do not have in the ‘government’ period, in the governance of PRH.
Social inequalities over the lifecourse and healthy ageing in Aotearoa/New Zealand: differences by Māori ethnicity and gender

Abstract Lifecourse approaches to healthy ageing recognise that health in older age is affected by long-term cumulative inequalities between socio-economic status (SES), gender and ethnicity groups, which begin in childhood. Combining longitudinal survey data with lifecourse history interviews from 729 older New Zealanders aged 61–81 (mean = 72, standard deviation = 4.5), we tested a lifecourse model of predictors of physical, mental and social health in older age. Latent growth curve and mediation analysis showed that the link between childhood SES and late-life health (over 10 years) was mediated by education, occupation and adult wealth. To account for the moderating effects of gender and ethnicity, we modelled the effects for sub-groups separately (225 non-Māori women, 158 Māori women, 219 non-Māori men and 127 Māori men). Childhood SES was an important predictor of later-life health, mediated by education and adult SES for all participants and for non-Māori men. However, there were significantly different pathways for Māori men and for women. Māori men and women and non-Māori women did not attain the same health benefits from higher childhood SES and education as non-Māori men. Findings point to the importance of considering the mediators of lifelong impacts on health in older age, and recognition of how membership of different socially structured groups produces different pathways to late-life health.
Experimental load measurement on a yawed wind turbine and comparison to FAST

Current interest in unsteady aerodynamics of yawed turbines for wake redirection and cyclic load alleviation requires a clear understanding of turbine load fluctuation with azimuth position. To that end, an experimental 3.5 m diameter wind turbine rig was designed to measure rotor torque, flapwise/edgewise blade root bending moment, and normal force coefficient at r/R=0.66 and 0.82. The turbine was tested inside a large scale wind generation facility with a blockage ratio of 7%. Simultaneously and in time-resolved fashion, measurements were collected to produce phase-averaged performance parameters that are presented versus azimuth while the turbine is operating at different tip speed ratios and yaw angles. The NREL FAST code predictions were then compared to experimental data under the same conditions. It was found that in non-yawed conditions, FAST predictions were accurate but discrepancies start to emerge when the turbine is yawed and operating in dynamic stall conditions. In non-yawed cases, the discrepancy between experimental and FAST data is less than 7% when the flow is attached and increases to 22% when the flow is stalled. One of the main sources of discrepancy found is in the process of correcting the airfoil coefficients to account for 3D flow effects using AirfoilPrep.
Global Patterns of Recent Mass Movement on Asteroid (101955) Bennu

The exploration of near‐Earth asteroids has revealed dynamic surfaces characterized by mobile, unconsolidated material that responds to local geophysical gradients, resulting in distinct morphologies and boulder distributions. The OSIRIS‐REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security‐Regolith Explorer) mission confirmed that asteroid (101955) Bennu is a rubble pile with an unconsolidated surface dominated by boulders. In this work, we documented morphologies indicative of mass movement on Bennu and assessed the relationship to slope and other geologic features on the surface. We found globally distributed morphologic evidence of mass movement on Bennu up to ~70° latitude and on spatial scales ranging from individual boulders (meter scale) to a single debris flow ~100 m long and several meters thick. The apparent direction of mass movement is consistent with the local downslope direction and dominantly moves from the midlatitudes toward the equator. Mass movement appears to have altered the surface expression of large (≥30m diameter) boulders, excavating them in the midlatitudes and burying them in the equatorial region. Up to a 10 ± 1 m depth of material may have been transported away from the midlatitudes, which would have deposited a layer ~5 ± 1 m thick in the equatorial region assuming a stagnated flow model. This mass movement could explain the observed paucity of small (<50‐m diameter) craters and may have contributed material to Bennu's equatorial ridge. Models of changes in slope suggest that the midlatitude mass movement occurred in the past several hundred thousand years in regions that became steeper by several degrees.
How have surface NO2 concentrations changed as a result of the UK’s COVID-19 travel restrictions?

Restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to fewer vehicles on UK roads. Since fuel combustion is responsible for a large fraction of UK emissions it is expected that surface NO2 concentrations would reduce as a result. However, over parts of the UK, surface NO2 concentrations have increased following the implementation of travel restrictions. NO2 measurements from 142 Automatic Urban and Rural Network sites are combined with meteorological data from the Met Office high-resolution weather prediction model to build site specific models. These models predict NO2 concentrations given no change in emissions. It is found that both meteorological and emission changes contribute to the observed changes in NO2 concentrations. Given no change in emissions, changes in meteorology between pre- and post-lockdown periods would have led to a mean increase in NO2 concentrations of +6%. Conversely, changes in emissions would have led to a mean reduction in NO2 concentrations of -18%, resulting in the observed total change in NO2 concentrations of −12%. However at some sites the reduction in emissions is smaller than the increase in NO2 concentrations due to meteorology. The largest increases associated with changes in the meteorology are seen at rural sites (+20%) where NO2 measurements are representative of large areas and thus dominated by the regional advection of secondary NO2 from Europe. Conversely, the largest decreases associated with reduced emissions are found at urban traffic and urban background sites (−27% and −14% respectively) where NO2 concentrations are representative of local areas and thus dominated by local reduction in emissions from vehicles. As lockdown measures are relaxed, NO2 concentrations are likely to return to pre-COVID levels, but these results demonstrate that changes in our behaviour can result in positive impacts on air quality and illustrate the effectiveness of travel-reducing strategies in urban areas.
The identification of biological activities of pregnancy-associated proteins of the horse

Antisera were raised in rabbits against serum samples taken from pregnant and non-pregnant mares. Using these antisera in two-dimensional crossed immunoelectrophoresis, a protein (beta2-hors.PP) was found to be pregnancy specific and first detectable in the maternal circulation 6 days after mating. beta2-hors.PP detection as a pregnancy test during the first 21 days after mating was found to be significant at the 10% level. Levels of the protein were also found to increase during this period. The protein, of possible uterine origin, may have a biological activity associated with implantation (day 37) as levels of beta2-hors.PP were elevated from around days 21 to 83. For the remainder of gestation, the concentration of beta2-hors.PP in the serum decreased. It is possible that beta2-hors.PP detection may be a means of monitoring foetal well being. Equine epitheliochorial placental extracts, taken from 2 mares 60 days and 80 days after mating, were found to induce a dose-dependent inhibition of lymphocyte proliferation in the mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) and mitogen stimulated assay (MSA), MLR supernatant reversed the inhibition and the addition of foetal tissue extracts to previously activated lymphocytes suppressed lymphocyte proliferation. This suggests suppression at the IL-1/IL-2 level of the immune response. Commercially available eCG inhibited lymphocyte proliferation. The presence of endometrial cup secretion containing high levels of eCG had no additive effect on the inhibitory activity of an extract of allantochorion (day 80), previously shown to induce less than 100% inhibition. This suggests that the commercially available eCG may contain an immunosuppressive contaminant.Equine and bovine epitheliochorial placental extracts (allantochorion) inhibited collagen and ADP-induced platelet aggregation respectively. The mode of action of the anti-aggregatory factors may be related to the vascularity of the placentae. Overall, it appears that local immunomodulatory and haemostatic mechanisms are important in the maintenance of pregnancy in species with epitheliochorial placentation.
Global sensitivity analysis of model uncertainty in aeroelastic wind turbine models

A framework is presented for performing global sensitivity analysis of model parameters associated with the Blade Element Momentum (BEM) models. Sobol indices based on adaptive sparse polynomial expansions are used as a measure of global sensitivities. The sensitivity analysis workflow is developed using the uncertainty quantification toolbox UQLab that is integrated with TNO’s Aero-Module aeroelastic code. Uncertainties in chord, twist, and lift- and drag-coefficients have been parametrized through the use of NURBS curves. Sensitivity studies are performed on the NM80 wind turbine model from the DanAero project, for a case with 19 uncertainties in both model and geometry. The combination of parametrization and sparse adaptive polynomial chaos yields a new efficient framework for global sensitivity analysis of aeroelastic wind turbine models, paving the way to effective model calibration.