Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Harpin protein on fruit quality and shelf life of winter jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill. cv. Dongzao)

The effects of HarpinXoo protein on fruit quality and shelf life of jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill. cv. Dongzao) were investigated in this study. Compared with water-treated control, spraying the winter jujube trees with HarpinXoo protein at 20 μg ml− 1 effectively improved the good fruit rate by 158.5%, significantly reduced the softening fruit rate by 54.6%, turning red index by 70.2% and rotten index by 89.1%, and depressed respiration rate by 45.5% and ethylene production by 48.7% after fruit had been stored for 80 days, resulting in effective extension of the postharvest life of fruit. Moreover, HarpinXoo protein treatment was beneficial for maintaining the quality of jujube fruit stored at 0°C, promoting the formation and retarding the decline of soluble sugar and vitamin C contents of fruit, which are important parameters of fruit quality during storage. After fruit had been stored for 80 days, the soluble sugar and vitamin C contents of treated fruit were more than twice those of control fruit. HarpinXoo protein has potential value for maintaining quality and extending the postharvest life of winter jujube fruit.
Winter colony losses in Poland

Grażyna Topolska, Anna Gajda, Krystyna Pohorecka, Andrzej Bober, Sylwia Kasprzak, Marta Skubida and Piotr Semkiw Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ciszewskiego 8, 02-786 Warsaw, Poland. National Veterinary Research Institute, Department of Parasitology with Laboratory of Honey Bee Diseases, Pulawy, Poland. Research Institute of Pomology and Floriculture, Apiculture Division, Kazimierska 2 str, 24-100 Pulawy, Poland.
Emotional intelligence: Quality of life and cognitive emotion regulation of deaf and hard-of-hearing adolescents

ABSTRACT There is a growing interest in the quality of life and cognitive emotion regulation of deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) adolescents. Hence, the present study examined the effects of emotional intelligence training on quality of life and cognitive emotion regulation of DHH adolescents. The participants were 36 female DHH adolescents aged 16–20 years who were selected by a cluster random sampling method. Initially, two schools were randomly selected from DHH schools in Tehran, Iran. Subjects were selected from these schools and randomly assigned to experimental (n = 18) and control (n = 18) groups. The experimental group participated in emotional intelligence training programme for 12 sessions. The intervention was implemented for 45 min a day over six weeks. All participants completed the Youth Quality of Life Instrument–Deaf and Hard of Hearing Module (YQOL–DHH) and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ-short). Data were analysed by Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA). The results indicated that emotional intelligence intervention significantly influenced the quality of life and cognitive emotion regulation in DHH adolescents. The findings of this research suggest that emotional intelligence training might result in effective and positive outcomes and might play a critical role in the quality of life and emotions regulation of DHH adolescents.
The effects of fungicides on Eutypa lata germination, growth, and infection of grapevines.

The fungicides benomyl, fenarimol, flusilazole, iprodione, myclobutanil, triadimefon, and vinclozolin were evaluated for their efficacy in vitro against Eutypa lata. For inhibition of ascospore germination, flusilazole was most effective, with an EC 50 value of 0.06 μg a.i./ml. Fenarimol and myclobutanil were somewhat less effective, with EC 50 values near 1 μg/ml. Benomyl, iprodione, triadimefon, and vinclozolin did not effectively inhibit germination. Flusilazole was also the most effective fungicide for inhibition of mycelial growth (.)
Watershed, reach, and riparian influences on stream fish assemblages in the Northern Lakes and Forest Ecoregion, U.S.A.

We analyzed data from 79 watersheds in an undegraded U.S. ecoregion to identify key environmental factors that explained stream fish assemblage patterns and to evaluate the relative influence of environmental factors operating at different spatial scales. A few key factors from the watershed, reach, and riparian scale explained a significant amount of the variance in fish attributes. Three environmentfish associations were evident. Top carnivores and intolerant cold-water fishes were associated with relatively narrow, deep, high-gradient, cold streams with strong groundwater inputs. Tolerant cyprinids occurred in small streams with low groundwater input, low dissolved oxygen, and abundant macrophytes. A diverse assemblage (Cyprinidae, Catostomidae, Centrarchidae, Percidae) existed in warm, wide streams in watersheds dominated by lacustrine sand and gravel geology and abundant wetlands and lakes. Overall, reach-scale variables directly explained the most, watershed-scale variables less, and riparian-scale.
Distribuição longitudinal de plantas de milho (Zea mays L.) na região dos Campos Gerais, Paraná

The region of Campos Gerais in the State of Parana, Brazil, is a pioneer in the implementation of new technologies, with superior grain yield performance. No-tillage farming system, for instance, is widely adopted in this region. This particular system requires accuracy and precision in the planting process to achieve high grain yields. Regarding regional attributes, the corn planting process in Campos Gerais under no-tillage was evaluated. Forty-eight properties were selected for a plant population pressure analysis. Four or five planting rows delimited the study area, 3m per row. The spacing between plants and between rows was measured. No significant differences were observed between planting rows in 42 properties, and the average coefficient of variation was around 33%. None of the areas had an average lower than 50.000 plants ha-1, the lowest value recommended for the hybrids in study. The regional planting process can be considered efficient regarding the number of plants per area. Nevertheless, the high variability found on plant distribution in the planting rows suggests the need for further research and extension measures.
Electroelastic response of isotropic dielectric elastomer composites with deformation-dependent apparent-permittivity matrix

This paper puts forth an approximate yet accurate free energy for the elastic dielectric response—under finite deformations and finite electric fields—of non-percolative dielectric elastomer composites made out of a non-Gaussian dielectric elastomer matrix with deformation-dependent apparent permittivity isotropically filled with nonlinear elastic dielectric particles that may exhibit polarization saturation. While the proposed free energy applies in its most general form to arbitrary isotropic non-percolative microstructures, closed-form specializations are recorded for the practically relevant cases of rigid or liquid-like spherical particles. The proposed free energy is exact by construction in the asymptotic context of small deformations and moderate electric fields and is shown to remain accurate for arbitrary large deformations and electric fields via comparisons with full-field finite-element simulations. The proposed constitutive model is deployed to probe the electrostriction response of these dielectric elastomer composites and corresponding results reveal that their elastic dielectric response strongly depends on the deformation-dependent apparent permittivity of the matrix they comprise.
Bats as bushmeat: a global review

Abstract A questionnaire survey and literature review revealed the extent of hunting of bats for bushmeat in the Old World tropics. High levels of offtake were reported throughout Asia, the Pacific islands and some Western Indian Ocean islands, where fruit bats of the genus Pteropus are eaten extensively. Most hunting in Africa was reported in western states and the largest fruit bat Eidolon helvum was preferred. Insectivorous bats are also eaten, particularly Tadarida in Asia. Hunting is both for local consumption and commercial, sometimes involving cross-border transactions. The high levels of hunting reported and the low reproductive rate of bats indicate there are likely to be severe negative effects on bat populations, and declines of several species are documented. Although there has been only one reported attempt to manage offtake, this indicates that it is possible and apparently successful. Furthermore, voluntary controls on hunting have halted declines in bat numbers. There have been several initiatives to reduce hunting pressure and conserve threatened bat species, mainly on islands that, when sustained, have been successful. More education projects and community-based conservation initiatives should be encouraged together with further attempts at sustainable harvesting in situations where disease risk has been evaluated.
'Unswept stone, besmeer'd by sluttish time': Air Pollution and Building Stone Decay in Oxford, 1790 - 1960

On 1 st January 1790 the Oxford canal finally opened with the arrival in Oxford of 200 tons of cheap coal from the Midlands. This event was one important stimulus to the economic transformation of Oxford from a quiet university and market town to a large commercial and industrial centre. The advent of affordable coal in plentiful supply encouraged economic progress, but at the same time brought a largely silent pollution legacy which is still evident today. In this essay, I wish to argue that the issue of building stone decay induced by air pollution has been a major theme in the recognition of, and reaction to, 'the air pollution nuisance' in Oxford. Changing perceptions of the aesthetic appeal of decayed buildings; opposition to industrial and economic progress; increasing scientific understanding of the decay process; and a concern with conservation and preservation of the historic university centre have all been important strands within the history of air pollution here.
Challenges with strategic placed-based innovation policy: implementation of smart specialization in Estonia and Wales

ABSTRACT This paper examines the implementation of smart specialization in Europe and exposes challenges arising from moving towards a more strategic (directional and non-neutral), place-based, and bottom-up mode of regional innovation policy. The analysis focuses on two small European nations – Wales and Estonia – and discusses the challenges that they have experienced with designing and implementing directional and non-neutral policies of smart specialization. Through a decade of research, drawing on interviews and documentary analysis, we find that in both cases, the entrepreneurial discovery process (EDP) was not conducted as it was envisioned. Furthermore, the undertaking of smart specialization has not necessarily delivered on the promise of orienting regional policy towards a more sustainable, place-based, and bottom-up approach. This has led to a situation where local problems as well as opportunities have been overlooked and local smart specialization agendas have instead been shaped by centrally chosen broad values and directions in a top-down manner.
Characterization of fruits from the savanna: Araça (Psidium guinnensis Sw.) and Marolo (Annona crassiflora Mart.)

The objective of this work was to characterize fruits from the Brazilian savanna by means of physical and chemical analyses. The results obtained for araca peel, araca pulp and marolo pulp, respectively, were: moisture (77.03, 80.41 and 70.56 g.100 g-1), ash (0.65, 0.44 and 0.54 g.100 g-1), protein (1.39, 1.87 and 1.99 g.100 g-1), lipids (0.32, 0.33 and 2.36 g.100 g-1), total carbohydrates (90.88 , 78.25 and 24.55 g.100 g-1), total soluble sugars (8.45, 9.99 and 127.4 g.100 g-1), pH (3.76, 3.99 and 4.49), soluble solids (11° Brix, 8.8 °Brix and 21.4 °Brix) and antioxidant potential (16.33, 12.75 and 34.29 discoloration DPPH/100 mL). Calcium was the predominant mineral in araca (490 mg.kg-1 peel and 485 mg.kg-1 pulp) while magnesium was in marolo (350 mg.kg-1). Citric acid was the predominant organic acid in araca (3125 μg.g-1 peel and 881.25 μg.g-1 pulp) and Malic acid was predominant in marolo (76.68 μg.g-1). Therefore, given their nutrient contents, the consumption of these fruits from the savanna should be encouraged.
Egg size variation and its relationship with larval performance in the Lepidoptera: the case of the European grapevine moth Lobesia botrana

Life history theory attempts to define the pattern of resource distribution among offspring and predicts that egg size should be positively correlated with offspring fitness. In this paper we investigated the effect of an array of ecological and reproductive factors on the size of eggs laid by Lobesia botrana, and the ecological significance of egg size by experimentally testing whether or not egg size increased larval performance in this moth. Egg size was significantly affected by female age at mating, water availability, pupal weight loss, the phenological stage of the vine in which larvae developed, female body weight, and oviposition day, but was unaffected by the size of the spermatophore received. The greater the size of the first eggs produced, the smaller the size of the last eggs laid, as predicted by the resource depletion hypothesis. As expected, the larger the size of eggs the larger the size of larvae emerging from them. Large larvae displayed a better ability to endure starvation than small ones. When small and large larvae were allowed to develop on grape clusters, an adverse environment, large larvae performed better, settling and survival being significantly enhanced, almost tripled. Instead, when the same experiment was carried out on an artificial diet in the laboratory, a much more favourable milieu, survival in both sized-larval groups was not significantly different. We discuss our results in the context of current ideas relating egg size, larval performance and fitness in the Lepidoptera.
Rip current occurrence probability at selected recreational beaches along Pahang coastline

Pahang beaches draw more than thousand visitors throughout the year. From the year 2006 to 2018, more than 30 drowning and near-drowning cases were recorded mainly from rip currents. Rip currents are defined as unexpected currents that carried beachgoers away to seaward direction more than approximately 50 m from shore. The prediction of rip current development is very important for the protection of human life. This study aims to conduct preliminary survey and field works to identify rip current hazards. ,The output would be an early warning preventative mitigation to public in Pahang. Beach state model, dimensionless fall velocity, littoral environment observation and relative tidal range were recorded for five recreational beaches during two different months (March and April 2018). The morphodynamic parameters such sediment fall velocity, sediment grain size and beach slope are then analysed using software PROFILER. Classification of risks was done based on beach morphodynamic model. The morphodynamics are classified as low tide bar rip, barred and low tide terrace associated with rip current, bar dissipative, reflective, non-bar dissipative, low tide terrace and ultra-dissipative. ,Result shows three out of five recreational beaches may develop high-risk rip currents. During the first month of the survey, Batu Hitam (BH) was recorded the only one recreational beach that may develop high-risk rip current followed by Teluk Cempedak (TC) and Kempadang (KEM) as middle-risk rip current beaches, while Balok (BA) and Sepat (SEP) as low-risk rip current beaches. Different during second month of the survey, BA, BH and SEP were recorded as high-risk rip current beaches while TC and KEM as low-risk rip current beaches. ,The results are consistent with beach incidents (drowning and near-drowning) reported.
Heterogeneous selfing rates and dominance effects in estimating heritabilities from open-pollinated progeny

Estimates of heritability from open-pollinated progeny trials were generally biased by heterogeneous selfing across families and by the presence of dominance, even when the intraclass correlation between sibs was adjusted for the average number of full- and half-sibs and for relatedness among the parents in the population. For high levels of selfing, with a constant selfing rate and inbreeding depression across families, dominance causes a downward bias in the heritabilities. Where rates of selfing and inbreeding depression varied, heritability was overestimated. However, except for low heritabilities, bias was of little practical importance, providing the correct coefficient of relationship among open-pollinated progeny was used.
Effect of Aloe vera. on Rat Pulp Tissue

Abstract Aloe vera. L. (Aloeaceae) has been extensively studied for anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and cellular regeneration properties. This work evaluated in vivo. the effects of powder of freeze-dried Aloe vera. on rat pulp tissue. Pulp tissue was mechanically exposed to Aloe vera. , and it was evaluated at 1 to 30 days after the procedure by histopathologic examination. A predominant acute-moderate inflammatory infiltrate was observed in the Aloe vera. –treated group 1 to 7 days after treatment. At 14 to 30 days, pulp tissue took a normal pattern when comparing Aloe vera. treatment with the Ca(OH)2 treatment; it was found that both treatment groups stimulated reparative dentin and the formation of complete bridge. Strong superficial necrosis was detected exclusively for Ca(OH)2. It seems evident that application of Aloe vera. in direct contact with the exposed pulp has acceptable biocompatibility and can lead to tertiary bridge formation.
Sampling Intensities and Sampling Errors Associated with Pre-and Post-treatment Forest Restoration Monitoring: The Ute Valley Inventory

Fleming, G. P. and J. C. Ludwig.1996. Noteworthy collections: Virginia. Castanea 61:89–94. Levin, D. A. , J. Francisco-Ortega and R. K. Jansen. 1996. Hybridization and the extinction of rare plant species. Conservation Biology 10:10–16. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1993. Recovery Plan for Michaux’s sumac (Rhus michauxii Sarg.). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southeast Region, Atlanta, GA. Willis, M.S. 2008. Status and Soil Requirements of Rhus michauxii in North Carolina. M.S. thesis, Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, N. C. State University, Raleigh.
Interspecific mate choice by late-courting male western grebes

In mixed populations of western and Clark's grebes, advertising calls by males and females play a critical role in mate choice and reproductive isolation. We conducted field playback experiments that tested whether courting western grebe males became less choosy in their responses to female Clark's grebe calls as the mating season progressed and mating opportunities diminished. Late-courting western grebe males were much more likely to answer and approach advertising calls of Clark's grebe females than were males courting earlier in the season. This change in responsiveness occurred as the operational sex ratio index of the population approached S: 1 male calls per female call. These and field census data support the hypothesis that late-season hybridization between these two closely related species may be a result not of species misidentification, but of active and adaptive mate choice by individuals with limited alternatives.
Effect of duration of diabetes on pulmonary functions in non-smoker type-2 diabetes mellitus

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a lifestyle disorder associated with long-term damage to various organs. Abnormal respiratory functions have found to be associated with diabetes, yet the significance of this association is not convincingly proven. Aims and Objectives: The concept of undertaking this project is to know the extent of damage done to the respiratory system by DM and its relation with the duration of diabetes. Materials and Methods: In our study, 70 non-smoker type 2 DM patients attending the medicine outpatient department in our hospital were selected. Approval of the Institutional Ethical Committee was taken before commencement of the study. Same number of normal healthy subjects was taken as the control group. The patients are divided into three groups by the duration of diabetes. Spirometry was performed using an electronic spirometer and various lung volumes and capacities were recorded. Results: P value was highly significant for forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), FEV1/FVC, and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) between the cases and the controls (i.e.,
Frequência e distribuição de Helicobacter spp. na mucosa gástrica de cães

Frequency and distribution of Helicobacter spp. in gastric mucosa of dogs The association of the helicobacter bacteria with gastric diseases in human beings and in some domestic pets and wild animals suggests these bacteria as a possible factor in the pathogenesis of gastritis in pet dogs. In this study we investigate the presence of Helicobacter spp. in the gastric mucosa of dogs and evaluate its association with some macro and microscopic findings, considering the age of the animals. Samples from cardia, fundus, body , and pylorus regions were collected from the stomach of 60 dogs for histopathologic examination, using hematoxilin-eosina (HE) and carbol-fucsina (CF) staining. The examinations detected Helicobacter spp. in 96.7% of the animals, revealing inflammatory infiltrate, predominantly mononuclear (100%), lymphoid nodules hyperplasia (98.3%), erosions/ulcerations (6.7%), hemorrhage (5%) and hyperemia (95%) in the samples stained with HE. There was no correlation between Helicobacter spp. infection and age of the animal, as well as between inflammatory changes and age in the presence of bacteria. Samples of the body and pylorus region showed increased presence of bacteria in the histopathologic
Relationships between stem canker, stolon canker, black scurf (Rhizoctonia solani) and yield of potato (Solanum tuberosum) under different agronomic conditions

Relationships between diseases caused by Rhizoctonia solani on different parts of potato plants (Solanum tuberosum) at different stages of crop growth were investigated under selected agronomic conditions. The effects of different densities of tuber-borne inoculum, date of planting, irrigation, size of seed tubers and their interactions on the incidence of stem and stolon canker during crop growth, the incidence and severity of black scurf and the yield of progeny tubers at harvest were quantified in a multifactorial experiment. Differences in the incidence of stem canker, stolon canker and black scurf were dominated by the effect of density of inoculum on seed tubers at planting. Highly positive correlations between the disease variables indicated a close relationship between the incidence of disease at each stage of crop growth although the degree of association between variables measured at an early growth stage and those measured at progressively later stages of crop growth weakened as the time interval increased. Total yield of progeny tubers was not affected by the density of tuber-borne inoculum although there was a shift in the size distribution, with a decrease in the yield of main-sized tubers and an increase in the yield of baker- and oversized tubers at the higher density of inoculum. Of the remaining factors, the effect of season tended to be more pronounced than any of the agronomic treatments although the use of irrigation and later dates of planting did influence the incidence of infection to a limited extent.