Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Seed germination of wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis): factors required to break primary dormancy

The regulatory actions of light, temperature, and various nitrogenous compounds on germination of dormant Sinapis arvensis L. seeds were examined to evaluate possible strategies for manipulating germination of soil-bome weed seeds. These treatments, when given singly, had little or no promotive effect on germination. However, KNO3 plus NH4Cl combined with irradiation and a change in temperature to 20 °C after 2 days of incubation at 5 °C induced over 90% germination. The effects of NH2OH∙HCl, KNO2, CS(NH2)2, KCN, and NaN3 were also significantly enhanced when given in combination with a brief exposure to red light and a temperature shift. However, these sources of nitrogen were less effective than KNO3 or NH4Cl in stimulating germination. The promotive effect of light, a temperature shift, and KNO3 and NH4Cl declined when the period of incubation at 5 °C was less than 2 days. This combined treatment was also less effective when the treatment with nitrogen or light was delayed beyond the first 48 h of incu.
LPB: A Novel Load Balance Algorithm for OPSquare DCN under Real Application Traffics

Network virtualization in today’s data center (DC) creates new heterogeneous traffic patterns different from what so far have been reported in literatures. To properly evaluate the DC network performance, a virtualized DC traffic model is developed from the real application traffics. In this paper, we propose a novel lowest path buffer (LPB) algorithm and evaluate the network performance of LPB in OPSquare DC under the developed traffic model. Compared with Round- Robin and Localflow, LPB could achieve 23.7% and 32.1% less latency, respectively. Besides, LPB provides lower packet loss with respect to Round-Robin, Drill and Localflow.
Rep-PCR reveals a high genetic homogeneity among Ugandan isolates of Xanthomonas campestris pv musacearum

Wilting of plants incited by a bacterium, Xanthomonas campestris pv musacearum (Xcm), was first described on Ensete (Ensete ventricosum) and later bananas (Musa species) in the highlands of Ethiopia in 1968. Although the spread outside Ethiopia remained unreported for several decades, an epidemic of the disease on banana in Uganda was observed in 2001, in the districts of Mukono and Kayunga. Since then, the disease has spread into almost three quarters of the major banana growing areas in Uganda. It has also been confirmed affecting banana plantations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. Repetitive sequence based genomic fingerprinting that uses a PCRmediated amplification of DNA sequences located between specific interspersed sequences of highly conserved elements in prokaryotic genomes was used to characterize a collection of Xcm isolates from banana in Uganda. Fingerprints of bacterial isolates collected from Xcm symptom bearing banana plants grown in production fields from 10 districts including Kayunga, Masindi, Luwero, Kampala, Kiboga, Lira, Wakiso, Kibale and Nakasongola revealed similar patterns. Cluster analysis of pair wise similarity values performed using unweighted pair group method with arithmetic averages clustering technique did not generate any differences in the fingerprint patterns either. The implications of this genetic homogeneity on the origin and management of Xcm is discussed here.
Production of Processed cheese using Kasseri cheese and Processed cheese analogues incorporating whey protein concentrate and soybean oil.

A control processed cheese (A) made mainly from kasseri cheese (60%) without whey protein concentrate or soybean oil, and three other cheese products B, C and D containing increasing amounts of whey protein concentrate (UF) and soybean oil were manufactured simultaneously. All the cheeses were produced to contain 50–51% moisture and 53–54% fat-in-dry-matter and were submitted to microbiological, physicochemical, theological and organoleptic tests 1 day after production and after 90 days in cold storage under vacuum. The mesophilic and psychrotrophic microflora of all the cheeses was very low; coliforms were not found. All the cheeses differed significantly in their content of total protein, soluble protein, lactose, ash, acidity (ADV) and in the oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids (cheese D). In contrast, no significant differences in pH, moisture or fat were noted because of the standardization of the blends. Rheological tests of the products indicated that there were marked differences in hardness, adhesiveness, elasticity, gumminess and chewiness. The cheeses were subjected to sensory analysis and showed differences in flavour, texture and spreading ability on day 1 and, moreover, in appearance after 90 days.
First genotyping of Trypanosoma cruzi from naturally infected Triatoma juazeirensis, Triatoma melanica and Triatoma sherlocki from Bahia State, Brazil

Many previous studies have shown a great phylogenetic and biological variability of Trypanosoma cruzi using different molecular and biochemical methods. Populations of T. cruzi were initially clustered into two main lineages called TcI and TcII by the size of the mini‐exon PCR product. In the present study, 33 isolates derived from three triatomine taxa, which belong to the Triatoma brasiliensis species complex (Triatoma juazeirensis, Triatoma melanica and Triatoma sherlocki); collected in three distinct areas of Bahia state were characterized by PCR. The isolates were identified by the size of the mini‐exon gene, 18S rRNA and 24Sα rRNA amplicons. T. cruzi isolates obtained in sylvatic and intradomiciliar ecotopes, derived from T. juazeirensis and T. melanica, were identified as TcI while the parasites originated from T. sherlocki were characterized as TcI and TcII genotypes, respectively. Those species are present in sylvatic ecotopes but are able to infest intradomiciliar areas. Therefore, it would be important to maintain studies in those localities of Bahia and further investigate the possibilities of Chagas disease transmission. Human disease may occur by any T. cruzi genotype and not only by TcII as it is the case in Amazonia.
Parents’ Past Bonding Experience with Their Parents Interacts with Current Parenting Stress to Influence the Quality of Interaction with Their Child

Healthy dyadic interactions serve as a foundation for child development and are typically characterised by mutual emotional availability of both the parent and child. However, several parental factors might undermine optimal parent–child interactions, including the parent’s current parenting stress levels and the parent’s past bonding experiences with his/her own parents. To date, no study has investigated the possible interaction of parenting stress and parental bonding history with their own parents on the quality of emotional availability during play interactions. In this study, 29 father–child dyads (18 boys, 11 girls; father’s age = 38.07 years, child’s age = 42.21 months) and 36 mother–child dyads (21 boys, 15 girls; mother’s age = 34.75 years, child’s age = 41.72 months) from different families were recruited to participate in a 10-min play session after reporting on their current parenting stress and past care and overprotection experience with their parents. We measured the emotional availability of mother–child and father–child play across four adult subscales (i.e., sensitivity, structuring, non-intrusiveness, non-hostility) and two child subscales (i.e., involvement and responsiveness). Regression slope analyses showed that parenting stress stemming from having a difficult child predicts adult non-hostility, and is moderated by the parents’ previously experienced maternal overprotection. When parenting stress is low, higher maternal overprotection experienced by the parent in the past would predict greater non-hostility during play. This finding suggests that parents’ present stress levels and past bonding experiences with their parents interact to influence the quality of dyadic interaction with their child.
Colonization and tropical deforestation in the Sierra Santa Marta, Southern Mexico

Understanding patterns of tropical deforestation is a crucial issue for Mexico, a country that has lost more than 95% of its original rainforest cover. This paper examines the causes of accelerated deforestation in the Sierra Santa Marta, Veracruz, Mexico, by looking at settlement history and the evolution of productive schemes in the villages of Venustiano Carranza and Magallanes. Both settlements were founded in the 1960s, after the government donated land to landless peasants. Conversion of forests into pastures, after several agricultural enterprises failed, resulted in more than 80% of the original tropical rainforests being removed in both communities between 1960 and 1998. The process of deforestation in the villages differed from models proposed for the Amazon and Central America, in which deforestation responded to capital-intensive efforts to open up the tropical frontier. In the villages, transformation of forests into pastures was, from the beginning, a smallholder phenomenon. Misguided policies and institutional malfunctions appeared to direct households toward deforestation. Nevertheless, environmental deterioration could not only be explained by external causes. Inside the communities, demographic pressure over land, the modification of traditional land tenure systems and the cultural adoption of cattle as a way to overcome poverty were significant factors in the relationship between colonization and forest clearance. Deforestation at Venustiano Carranza and Magallanes cannot be considered an ecologically destructive practice performed by peasants. In fact, the process reflects not only a lack of environmental awareness in national development policies, but also the intricate interaction of ecological, cultural, social and economical variables.
Effectiveness of school-based nutrition interventions in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the effect of school-based nutrition interventions (SBNI) involving schoolchildren and adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) on child nutrition status and nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviour. Design: A systematic review on published school nutrition intervention studies of randomised controlled trials, controlled clinical trials, controlled before-and-after studies or quasi-experimental designs with control. Nine electronic bibliographic databases were searched. To be included, interventions had to involve changes to the school’s physical and social environments, to the school’s nutrition policies, to teaching curriculum to incorporate nutrition education and/or to partnership with parents/community. Setting: Schools in SSA. Participants: School-aged children and adolescents, aged 5–19 years. Results: Fourteen studies met our inclusion criteria. While there are few existing studies of SBNI in SSA, the evidence shows that food supplementation/fortification is very effective in reducing micronutrient deficiencies and can improve nutrition status. Secondly, school nutrition education can improve nutrition knowledge, but this may not necessarily translate into healthy nutrition behaviour, indicating that nutrition knowledge may have little impact without a facilitating environment. Results regarding anthropometry were inconclusive; however, there is evidence for the effectiveness of SBNI in improving cognitive abilities. Conclusions: There is enough evidence to warrant further trials of SBNI in SSA. Future research should consider investigating the impact of SBNI on anthropometry and nutrition behaviour, focusing on the role of programme intensity and/or duration. To address the high incidence of micronutrient deficiencies in low- and middle-income countries, food supplementation strategies currently available to schoolchildren should be expanded.
Effects of random food deprivation on body mass, behavior and serum leptin levels in Eothenomys miletus (Mammalia: Rodentia: Cricetidae)

Abstract The value of phenotypic plasticity in energy metabolism and behavioral patterns in response to variations of food availability was handled in adult male voles (Eothenomys miletus) acclimated to random food deprivation (FD) for 4 weeks. During this period, in which voles were fed ad libitum for a randomly assigned 3 days each week, changes in body mass, food intake, resting metabolic rate (RMR), non-shivering thermogenesis (NST) and serum leptin levels were measured. Behavioral observations were made to examine behavioral patterns including activity, feeding, grooming and resting behaviors. The results showed that food intake and gastrointestinal mass increased significantly, but RMR and NST decreased significantly in the FD group compared to the control group. Moreover, the FD group had a significantly higher percentage of feeding behavior and lower activity than those in control group. In addition, serum leptin levels were positively correlated with body fat mass, but showed no significant differences between FD and the control group. These results suggest that E. miletus can compensate for an unpredictable reduction of food availability by engaging in an energetic strategy related to food intake and a decrease in energy expenditure associated with RMR, NST plus general activity, together with the mobilization of body fat as well as the adjustment of the gastrointestinal tract, which consequently play an important role in adaptations to food shortage in unpredictable environments.
Taxonomy of Disruptive Behavior in Children and Adolescents

textabstractTaxonomic systems try to describe physical as well as behavioral and social phenomena in a meaningful way. Taxonomy can be defi ned as the grouping of cases, e.g. individuals, according to their distinguishing features. This grouping can be done on different, hierarchical levels of defi ning characteristics, such as, in medicine: individual problems or symptoms; symptom aggregates or syndromes; functional disorders; or etiological factors (Verhulst & Koot, 1992). Taxonomy is the process of the identifi cation of groups of individuals according to their properties, hence according to intrinsic criteria. Classifi cation is related to taxonomy, but is somewhat broader and includes the grouping of cases according to extrinsic criteria (e.g., source of referral) as well as intrinsic criteria, which are based on the features of the cases themselves. Diagnosis can be defi ned as the medical term for classifi cation (Achenbach, 1991c; Verhulst & Koot, 1992). Taxonomy should also be distinguished from assessment, although they are closely related. Assessment identifi es the distinguishing features of each individual case, which, in child and adolescent psychiatry e.g., can be expressed in behavioral, emotional, or physical measures (Achenbach, 1991c; Verhulst & Koot, 1992). While in taxonomy the central goal is identifying groups of individuals with similar intrinsic features, assessment aims to identify characteristics that distinguish one individual from others. Assessment can be used to classify an individual in the proper taxonomic category. Examples of assessment procedures are questionnaires, e.g. the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Teacher’s Report Form (TRF) (Achenbach and Rescorla, 2001), as well as interviews, e.g. the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children – Parent Version (DISC-IV-P; Shaffer et al., 1998).
Parental defence in Long‐eared Owls Asio otus: effects of breeding stage, parent sex and human persecution

The responses of male and female Long-eared Owls to a human approaching the nest were examined. Each nest was only tested once. Nest defence increased significantly throughout the breeding season because older chicks were defended more strongly than younger chicks and eggs. No correlations were however found between defence intensity and laying date, clutch- or brood-size. These results generally do not support either the renesting-potential hypothesis or the positive reinforcement hypothesis but are in accordance with both the age-investment hypothesis and the vulnerability hypothesis. Females defended nestlings more often and more vigorously than did males. Given division of labour between sexes and the related reversed sexual dimorphism in size, female Long-eared Owls may be more willing to engage in nest defence simply because they are always nearer eggs and chicks during all breeding stages and are larger/heavier than males; consequently they may allocate more time and energy to this activity. Finally, owls experiencing higher levels of human persecution took smaller risks when defending nests than owls breeding in an undisturbed area.
Clinical validity of the PROMIS pediatric sleep short forms in children receiving treatment for cancer

Rates of sleep disturbances vary widely across pediatric cancer studies, partly due to differences in measurement tools. Patient‐reported outcomes measurement information system (PROMIS) offers a rigorously developed, well‐validated pair of pediatric sleep health instruments needed to advance sleep research and clinical practice in pediatric cancer. The current study evaluated the clinical validity of PROMIS pediatric sleep scales (sleep disturbances [SD] and sleep‐related impairment [SRI]) among children in active cancer treatment.
Modeling sprout-origin oak regeneration in the central Appalachians

We describe the development of a model to quantify seed-origin oak regeneration potential in advance of complete overstory removal in central Appalachian oak stands. The model was developed using a "top-down" modeling approach that differs significantly from the approaches used to develop similar models for other regions. The modeling approach was designed to take advantage of the best data available for the region. A stand-level model was first fit us- ing a long-term data set from Pennsylvania that was developed, in part, from operational data collected through the course of timber sales. The stand-level model describes the relationship between oak advanced regeneration distribution (the percentage of 4 m 2 sample plots that contained at least one oak seedling before harvest) and third-decade seed- origin oak stocking (the percentage of growing space occupied by seed-origin oaks in the third decade after harvest). Inverse modeling was used to fit a plot-level model using a highly detailed short-term data set collected as part of an ongoing study of regeneration development in Pennsylvania. A negative exponential function (1 - e -αx ) was used for the plot-level model to simplify the calculation of multiple seedling success probabilities. The plot-level model predicts the probability tha ta4m 2 plot will be occupied by an oak during the third decade after harvest based on the sum of the heights of oak advanced regeneration (aggregate height). The top-down inverse modeling approach used here proved to be a feasible alternative to the more common individual seedling modeling approach, which requires more specialized data that are often difficult to obtain.
Accurate QoT Estimation by Means of a Reduction of EDFA Characteristics Uncertainties with Machine Learning

Using machine learning and Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) monitoring, we reduce uncertainties on output power profile and noise figure (NF) of each EDFA in an optical network. The Quality of Transmission (QoT) tool margin is reduced to 0.1dB for new traffic demands. The learning process is based on a gradient-descent algorithm where the parameters of an analytical model are iteratively modified to match the emulated light paths QoT of a European optical network. © 2020 Nokia Bell Labs.
BIRDS OF AN OPEN VEGETATION ENCLAVE IN SOUTHERN BRAZILIAN AMAZONIA

Abstract We report on the ornithological results of the first rapid biodiversity survey in the BX-044 polygon, one of the largest open vegetation enclaves in southern Amazonia, in the Brazilian states of Amazonas and Rondônia. Three-hundred and thirty species were recorded in all habitats surveyed, including closed (terra-firme, riparian, gallery, and campinarana forests) and open (cerrado and grassland) vegetation types. Over 90% (298) of all species were not shared between closed and open habitat types emphasizing the importance of inter-habitat diversity to the overall species richness recorded. Significant range extensions were documented for 34 species (30 of which were associated with the cerrado biome). Open vegetation enclaves contribute significantly to local avian species richness in Amazonia in addition to supporting species with special relevance to conservation with ranges centered in the cerrado, currently one of the most threatened biomes of South America. Conservation of Amazonian cerrado enclaves offers the unique opportunity to combine preservation of areas with high inter-habitat diversity with establishment of a complementary network of conservation units directed at preserving the cerrado biome throughout South America. Urgent steps must be taken to protect Amazonian open vegetation enclaves, which are still conspicuously under represented in the network of Brazilian conservation units, despite the fairly recent expansion of agriculture into these areas.
Home Range and Microhabitat Partitioning of the Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys volans)

Microhabitat partitioning of the home range of 12 (7 male, 5 female) radiotagged southern flying squirrels ( Glaucomys volans ) was studied from 13 April–30 July 1984 in a mature, northern hardwood forest in western Maryland. Radiotracking identified intensively used areas, i.e., den sites and core activity areas, and low-activity areas. The mean estimated home-range size for adult squirrels was 2.45 ha for males and 1.95 ha for females. Juveniles had a mean home range of 0.61 ha. A total of 37 den sites (26 in live trees, 11 in snags, i.e., dead trees) was found on the study area, generally on the periphery of the home range and away from any clearing. Snags with den cavities were soft, averaging 23.27 cm dbh (diameter at breast height, i.e., 1.4 m). Live trees with den cavities were large (50.42 cm dbh). Den cavities averaged 6.36 m above the ground and den trees 18.35 m. Entrances averaged 4.7 cm in width and 9.4 cm in height. A discriminant function analysis of seventeen microhabitat variables revealed that the vertical structure of the vegetation influenced home-range use and microhabitat partitioning. Compared to low-activity areas, high-use areas were characterized by greater total shrub-layer stem density (>0.5–3 m in height), lower percent total upper-understory cover (> 10–15 m), and greater density of tree cavities. Core-activity microhabitats generally had the greatest percent total lower-under-story cover (>3–10 m), low-activity microhabitats an intermediate amount, and denning micro-habitats the least. Abundant tree cavities are important for nesting and escape cover. Increased stem density and cover near the ground would conceal a foraging individual from predators, whereas open upper strata would provide an open glide path for movement and possible predator avoidance.