Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The influence of wind selectivity on migratory behavioral strategies

&NA; Air and water currents affect the timing and energy expenditure of many migratory animals, and therefore selection of favorable currents is important for optimal migratory performance. However, waiting for favorable currents also incurs costs. Here we conduct an optimality analysis to determine how wind selectivity affects 3 migratory currencies: time, energy, and risk. To describe variation in these metrics under varying degrees of selectivity, we constructed an individual‐based model to simulate fall migration of passerines across eastern North America, allowing birds to use different thresholds of wind profit as the criterion for daily departure. A gradient of thresholds were tested across a range of realistic wind currents, from initiating flights only on nights when winds were directed in their preferred migratory direction (highly selective), to flying under most wind conditions (low selectivity). Our analysis indicated that relative mortality risk was lowest at intermediate selectivity; energy expended during flight was least for the most selective individuals; and of those that successfully completed migration, time spent on migration was lowest for the least selective birds. We solved for the optimal range of wind selectivity and show that this departure criterion alone can produce a tradeoff between time and energy that has been seen in many other behavioral contexts. While we solved for optima using some conditions specific to eastern North America, we show that variation in wind selectivity at departure can produce migratory behaviors that mimic the classic “time‐minimizer” and “energy‐minimizer” strategies developed from measurements of wild birds across multiple continents.
PANEL TAPPING MANAGEMENT AND TRUNK PHLOEM NECROSIS OF RUBBER TREE (Hevea brasiliensis) IN IVORY COAST

The global objective of this study is to identify the agricultural techniques minimizing bark necrosis at Hevea brasiliensis. In a specific way, it is to find out the tapping panel the management technique which minimizes bark necrosis on six clones of rubber tree (IRCA 111, IRCA 109, IRCA 130, IRCA 18, GT 1, PR 107) in the southwest of Ivory Coast. To achieve these goals, the observations related to the number of trees attacked by bark necrosis and tapping panel dryness were made through the complete statement and the dry panel statement. The taking into account of tapping panel dryness in this study is justified by the fact that it may be related to bark necrosis. The importance of bark necrosis and the tapping panel dryness on the clones was checked respectively by the rate of necrosis and the length of the diseased tapping panel cut. It appeared at the end of this study that the management of tapping panels does not influence the development of bark necrosis and tapping panel dryness on the clones of Hevea brasiliensis under the d/4 6d/7 conditions of exploitation with modes of stimulation specific to each clone. This agricultural technique which was until suspected to amplify bark necrosis did not show any link with the disease. Indeed the clonal factor influences the rates of the disease. All the clones expressed both diseases, but at different levels. Some clones were shown less tolerant (IRCA 130) or tolerant (GT1) at the same time to both diseases. Tapping panel dryness and bark necrosis do not appear here according to the metabolism of the clones (active, intermediate or slow).
Treatment Compliance among Incarcerated and Fined Amphetamine-Type-Stimulant (ATS) Users in a Community Supervision Programme in Malaysia: A Preliminary Study

ABSTRACT Background People caught using amphetamine-type-stimulants (ATS) in Malaysia can either be incarcerated and subsequently be placed in a community supervision programme or if they can afford the fine, be directly sent for community supervision. We sought to determine if treatment compliance in the community supervision varied between the two groups. Methods Eighty-five ATS users (59 previously incarcerated persons and 26 having only been fined) were recruited from a community supervision programme for this longitudinal study. The sample was largely male and Malay. Respondents were screened for drug use and assessed for six months. Results We found that 54% of the incarcerated participants had dropped out of the supervision programme as compared to 23% of the fined participants. Also, by the end of the study period, 63% of the incarcerated participants had tested positive for drug use, relative to 30% of the fined participants. Furthermore, incarcerated participants had higher odds of having previously dropped out of a community supervision programme (OR: 4.34; 1.44–13.06; p<.006), as compared to their fined counterparts. Conclusions ATS users with a history of incarceration had poorer treatment compliance, relative to their compeers who were not incarcerated and placed directly in a community supervision programme.
Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) Biscuit and Oil Supplementation and its Effect on Lipid Profile, Oxidative Stress Markers and Cognitive Function of the Elderly

Cognitive impairment is a classic problem among the elderly. One of the risk factors of cognitive decline is the high levels of lipid profile. Deep-sea fish oil has been studied, and it has beneficial effect for improving lipid profiles. However, no studies have evaluated the beneficial effects of freshwater fish oil for improving lipid profiles. Catfish biscuit and oil supplementation is expected to improve the level of lipid profiles and maintain cognitive function of the elderly. We used a pre-post, single-blinded, randomized controlled trial (RCT) design. A total of 67 subjects with dyslipidemia aged 45-74 years were randomly selected and divided into four groups, as follows: Placebo (P); Cognitive function was assessed by using MMSE, digit span test, ROCF test and TMT-B. The results showed that there were significant decreases in triglyceride and MDA levels (p<0.05) and significant improvement in cognitive function (p<0.05) in CBCO group. Therefore, CBCO supplementation for 60 days may be able to suppress the increase in cholesterol, LDL and ox-LDL levels; lower the triglyceride and MDA levels; and improve the cognitive function of the elderly.
Carcass traits and meat fatty acid composition in Mediterranean light lambs

Abstract: Lamb meat is an important source of different fatty acids with numerous health benefits for the consumer. The aim of this study was to characterize carcass and meat traits in 14 Lacaune, 77 Ripollesa, and 33 Lacaune × Ripollesa pascual-type lambs (carcass weight, 13–16 kg) by using ultrasound and direct measurements on carcasses and laboratory analyses on meat samples. More specifically, ultrasound images and direct carcass measurements of the Longissimus dorsi (LD) were taken between the 12th and 13th ribs and between the first and second lumbar vertebrae, characterizing skin thickness, subcutaneous back-fat thickness, and depth, width, and area of LD. After slaughter, standard commercial joints were weighted (i.e., leg, rack, shoulder/foreshank, and neck), whereas a sample of the LD muscle was analyzed for fatty acid composition. All of this information becomes essential for light lamb producers, a livestock product that has a high market demand in the Mediterranean basin.
Nontuberculous mycobacteria – clinical and laboratory diagnosis: experiences from a TB endemic country

Aim: To evaluate the performance of VITEK®MS with DNA sequencing for laboratory diagnosis of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) species in a resource-limited setting. Methods: 16SrRNA sequencing and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (VITEK®MS) was performed at a tertiary-care hospital in India. MALDI-TOF results were confirmed by 16S rRNA sequencing. In addition, sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer region was performed on slowly growing NTM. Results: Commonest species isolated were M. abscessus, M. intracellulare, M. avium, M. fortuitum and M. simiae. 16S rRNA sequencing and MALDI-TOF results had agreement of 94.5% for rapidly growing and 77.5% for slowly growing NTM. Conclusion: There is good correlation between VITEK®MS and sequencing for rapidly growing NTM. For slowly growing species, sequencing would be required in a third isolates.
Diapycnal mixing across the photic zone of the NE-Atlantic

Variable physical conditions such as vertical turbulent exchange, internal wave, and mesoscale eddy action affect the availability of light and nutrients for phytoplankton (unicellular algae) growth. It is hypothesized that changes in ocean temperature may affect ocean vertical density stratification, which may hamper vertical exchange. In order to quantify variations in physical conditions in the northeast Atlantic Ocean, we sampled a latitudinal transect along 17± 5W between 30 and 63 N in summer. A shipborne conductivity–temperature–depth (CTD) instrumented package was used with a custom-made modification of the pump inlet to minimize detrimental effects of ship motions on its data. Thorpe-scale analysis was used to establish turbulence values for the upper 500 m from three to six profiles obtained in a short CTD yo-yo, 3 to 5 h after local sunrise. From south to north, average temperature decreased together with stratification while turbulence values weakly increased or remained constant. Vertical turbulent nutrient fluxes did not vary significantly with stratification and latitude. This apparent lack of correspondence between turbulent mixing and temperature is likely due to internal waves breaking (increased stratification can support more internal waves), acting as a potential feedback mechanism. As this feedback mechanism mediates potential physical environment changes in temperature, global surface ocean warming may not affect the vertical nutrient fluxes to a large degree. We urge modellers to test this deduction as it could imply that the future summer phytoplankton productivity in stratified oligotrophic waters would experience little alterations in nutrient input from deeper waters.
Harvest Weed Seed Control Systems are Similarly Effective on Rigid Ryegrass

Harvest weed seed control (HWSC) systems have been developed to exploit the high proportions of seed retained at maturity by the annual weeds rigid ryegrass, wild radish, bromegrass, and wild oats. To evaluate the efficacy of HWSC systems on rigid ryegrass populations, three systems, the Harrington Seed Destructor (HSD), chaff carts, and narrow-windrow burning were compared at 24 sites across the western and southern wheat production regions of Australia. HWSC treatments were established at harvest (Nov. – Dec.) in wheat crops with low to moderate rigid ryegrass densities (1 to 26 plants m-2). Rigid ryegrass counts at the commencement of the next growing season (Apr. – May) determined that HWSC treatments were similarly effective in reducing emergence. Chaff carts, narrow-windrow burning, or HSD systems act similarly on rigid ryegrass seed collected during harvest to deliver substantial reductions in subsequent rigid ryegrass populations by restricting seedbank inputs. On average, population densities were reduced by 60%, but there was considerable variation between sites (37 to 90%) as influenced by seed production and the residual seedbank. Given the observed high rigid ryegrass seed production levels at crop maturity it is clear that HWSC has a vital role in preventing seedbank inputs in Australian conservation cropping systems. Nomenclature: Bromegrass, Bromus spp. Roth BRODI; rigid ryegrass, Lolium rigidum Gaudin LOLRI; wild oat, Avena fatua L. AVEFA; wild radish, Raphanus raphanistrum L. RAPRA; wheat, Triticum aestivum L.
Fishermen’s perception of climate change - a study from Andhra Pradesh

Perceptions of fishermen on climate change were studied from two coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh during 2011. Fishermen were interviewed to know their perception on climate change over the last 20 years, impact of change in climatic parameters on their lives as well as on marine fisheries and on the adaptation measures required. All fishermen contacted believed that climate had changed in the last two decades. Wind was ranked as the parameter that had changed the most in the last two decades. Sea status was ranked as the most problematic to fishermen. Avenue for safe exit from villages and coastal protection structures in case of natural calamities were the highest scoring adaptation measures. Wind was found the most critical parameter affecting marine fishery and overfishing was identified as the biggest problem facing fisheries.
Giovan Battista Della Porta's construction of pneumatic phenomena and his use of recipes as heuristic tools

This Special Issue was selected by a dedicated ESHS committee after a public call for special issues. Abstract In this paper, I suggest that research results from the history and philosophy of modern science provide a valuable methodological contribution for investigating early modern experimental philosophy and employ them to reassess the contribution of Giovan Battista Della Porta to its development. In modern science, the production of experimental knowledge is dependent on a complex array of communication strategies involving verbal terminology, diagrams, standardized instruments, and measurement units. Historians and philosophers have investigated the constitutive connection between such strategies and the phenomena scientists study in laboratories, showing how the two often co-evolved during the 19th and 20th centuries. Della Porta took an important first step towards the development of such methods by transforming the traditional recipe format into a strategy for mutually connecting, conceptualizing, and sharing observations made in experiments involving similar, but not identical, instruments and procedures. I use as a case study the changing manner in which he used recipes for presenting and connecting a number of pneumatic experiences from the first edition of Natural Magic (1558) until his meteorology treatise On Transmutations of Air (1610). In modern terms, those experiences can be interpreted as demonstrating the air's expansion and contraction with heat or pressure. However, today's notions of air DOI: 10.1111/1600-0498.12284
Conform or challenge? Adjustment strategies of sanction‐torn companies

The literature on sanctions often neglects the role of domestic firms in sender states, although sanctions only have a real economic effect when senders’ firms reduce their activities on the target's market. In contrast, sanctions avoidance and increasing investments in the target country (the observed behaviour of many companies facing the EU sanctions against Russia imposed in 2014) mitigate the impact of these restrictive measures. While sanctions increase the political risk for companies, they also offer economic opportunities—and previous studies could not settle the debate on which factor prevails. By evaluating responses from British, French, German, Italian and Polish enterprises to an online survey distributed in 2017, we analyse at the firm level how sanction‐torn companies adjust to new political orders and what drives their strategic decisions. We find evidence that resource dependency induces strategies that challenge sanction policies: in particular, non‐fungible assets in the target country incentivise companies to further increase their engagement. These defiance strategies diminish the real economic effect of sanctions and generate a new economic equilibrium, which has negative long‐term implications on the choice set of policymakers to further pursue the imposition of sanctions and which even outlasts the lifting of these restrictive measures.
Detection of Entamoeba histolytica Coproantigen Among Children with Dysentery in Ahvaz, Southwest Iran

: Entamoeba histolytica is one of the important parasitic diseases in many parts of the world, especially the tropical and subtropical regions. The parasite is transmitted through contaminated water and vegetables. The exact diagnosis of infection with the parasite is crucial in many medical laboratories since there are many false positive and negative results in their reports. Therefore, the current study aimed at evaluating and comparing microscopic and coproantigen ELISA (the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) results to reach an appropriate test for the correct diagnosis of amoebiasis in children. One hundred stool samples were collected from children under 15 years old with dysenteric diarrhea from April to September 2018. Microscopic tests and coproantigen ELISA were performed on all the samples. The results showed that 5% of the samples had E. histolytica/E. dispar cysts. The findings of ELISA to detect coproantigen did not show any specific E. histolytica antigen in the samples. Hence, all the patients received chemotherapy for shigellosis. E. histolytica infection is not the main causative agent for dysenteric diarrhea in children in the studied area, and laboratory experts should be trained to prevent false-positive reports.
Post-Earthquake Emergency Response Time to Locations of Fire Ignition

ABSTRACT This paper investigates fire department response time to locations of ignition after an earthquake and proposes a framework to identify vulnerable areas in a community by considering both the likelihood of ignition and potential delays in response of the fire department. Delays are calculated as a function of bridge damage and blocked roadways due to building debris. Uncertainty in bridge performance and debris accumulation are incorporated into the analysis. The framework is applied to a case study to demonstrate how the proposed work can be used to plan fire department resources, and minimize losses from postearthquake fires.
Distributed Generators Optimization Based on Multi-Objective Functions Using Manta Rays Foraging Optimization Algorithm (MRFO)

Manta Ray Foraging Optimization Algorithm (MRFO) is a new bio-inspired, meta-heuristic algorithm. MRFO algorithm has been used for the first time to optimize a multi-objective problem. The best size and location of distributed generations (DG) units have been determined to optimize three different objective functions. Minimization of active power loss, minimization of voltage deviation, and maximization of voltage stability index has been achieved through optimizing DG units under different power factor values, unity, 0.95, 0.866, and optimum value. MRFO has been applied to optimize DGs integrated with two well-known radial distribution power systems: IEEE 33-bus and 69-bus systems. The simulation results have been compared to different optimization algorithms in different cases. The results provide clear evidence of the superiority of MRFO that defind before (Manta Ray Foraging Optimization Algorithm. Quasi-Oppositional Differential Evolution Lévy Flights Algorithm (QODELFA), Stochastic Fractal Search Algorithm (SFSA), Genetics Algorithm (GA), Comprehensive Teaching Learning-Based Optimization (CTLBO), Comprehensive Teaching Learning-Based Optimization (CTLBO (ε constraint)), Multi-Objective Harris Hawks Optimization (MOHHO), Multi-Objective Improved Harris Hawks Optimization (MOIHHO), Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO), and Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOWOA) in terms of power loss, Voltage Stability Index (VSI), and voltage deviation for a wide range of operating conditions. It is clear that voltage buses are improved; and power losses are decreased in both IEEE 33-bus and IEEE 69-bus system for all studied cases. MRFO algorithm gives good results with a smaller number of iterations, which means saving the time required for solving the problem and saving energy. Using the new MRFO technique has a promising future in optimizing different power system problems.
Evaluation of weed flora changes in Portugal in a 10 year basis.

The aim of this study was to assess the composition of weed communities starting from a rainfed farming system (1997), to the early period of transformation in agricultural systems with the adoption of irrigation (2007). The assessments were made within a 10-year interval and the floristic surveys were conducted in the same georeferenced plots. In 1997, the surveys were mostly performed in winter cereals (wheat, oat, barley), while in 2007, considering the same georeferenced plots, there were winter cereals and also irrigated olive groves, parcels of fallow, pasture and pine forest. Weed flora was determined by means of relative frequency, abundance and weed infestation degree. The effect of time was also evaluated by applying the methodology of variance analysis on the values of Shannon-Wiener Index. Canonical Correspondence Analysis was used to complement this information only for 2007 t o know how the flora was distributed by the different cultures. Our results revealed that in both cases weed flora was of high diversity (229 and 264 species in 1997 and 2007, respectively), with the most representative families being always the same, namely Asteraceae, Poaceae and Fabaceae. The number of weeds that could be of concern for the farmers revealed to be relatively low. Our study confirmed that despite of the intensification of the agricultural production system, biodiversity increased over time. In both years, Lolium rigidum was present at high densities.
Occurrence of Carangid FIsh Uraspis helvola (Forster, 1801) from the Iraqi Marine Waters, Arabian Gulf

The white tongue jack, Uraspis helvola (Forster, 1801) was recorded for the first time in the Iraqi marine waters, northwest Arabian Gulf. The samples were collected during the period from January 2014 to June 2015. U. helvola differed from other carangid fish species by tongue, roof and floor of mouth are white to yellowish and other parts are dark, and the anal fin spines embedded. Gill rakers ranged from four to five on upper limb and 12 to 13 on lower limb of first gill arch. The DNA fingerprint was identified of U. helvola by using Polymerase Chain Reaction-Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (PCR-RAPD) with six primers: P1 (212), P2 (239), P3 (244), P4 (250), P5 (265), and P6 (347). The number of bands generated by primers was 51 and the size of bands ranged from 110 to 1440 bp.
Large investments, small farmers: A financialisation perspective on value chains in a development corridor

ABSTRACT Development corridors have recently gained momentum as territorial tools to attract flows of global capital into agricultural value chains. As this includes the controversial blending of public with private funding for investments into farmland, the integration of smallholders in large-scale operations is increasingly promoted as legitimatory practice. With this article, we discuss the role of finance in shaping such value chain arrangements. Using a spatially sensible financialisation perspective, we present two investment cases that have touched ground as reaction to the promotion of the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT). We assess how finance unfolded along territorial (corridor region and investment origin) and relational (investment chain and value chain) spatialities, to scrutinise the tensions and fragile outcomes that were co-constituted by mixed financial and moral investment imperatives. This helps to understand whether, why, and with what consequences smallholders can benefit from corridor-related investments.