Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Isolated trees support lower bird taxonomic richness than trees within habitat patches but similar functional diversity

Large isolated trees are keystone structures that can help maintain biodiversity in fragmented landscapes, with evidence that open areas with isolated trees may support similar levels of taxonomic diversity to nearby patches of habitat. However, it is not clear if isolated trees can support the same diversity of ecological functions as trees in habitat patches. We compared species richness, community composition, and functional diversity of birds in trees at forest edges and isolated trees. Twenty isolated trees and ten edge trees of American muskwood (Guarea guidonia) were selected, and sampled on 11 occasions, each of 20 min, over four months. All individual birds that landed at trees were recorded using a standardized protocol. Species richness was, on average, almost twice as high at edge trees than at isolated trees. Taxonomic composition differed between edge and isolated trees, with many forest‐dependent birds restricted to edge trees, and some open‐area birds restricted to isolated trees. Overall functional diversity was similar at edge and isolated trees, but some ecological functions (e.g., frugivory) were less frequent, while others (e.g., granivory) were more frequent at isolated compared with edge trees. Isolated trees are important for supporting many ecological functions in modified areas. However, the maintenance of forest patches is essential to complement the provision of such functions in modified landscapes.
A replacement name for Isodactylus Hedges, Duellman, and Heinicke, 2008

S. BLAIR HEDGES, WILLIAM E. DUELLMAN & MATTHEW P. HEINICKE 1 Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, 208 Mueller Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802-5301 USA. Email: sbh1@psu.edu 2 Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045-7561 USA. Email: duellman@ku.edu 3 Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, 208 Mueller Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802-5301 USA. Email: mph177@psu.edu * Corresponding author
On the precision of predicting fishing location using data from the vessel monitoring system (VMS)

Defining fishing grounds based on data from vessel monitoring systems (VMS) has been a widely researched topic in recent years. Much of the research has focused on filtering algorithms for identifying fishing locations from VMS point data, most often supplemented with either imputed or reported vessel speed information. This study compared the precision of categorizing fishing locations from VMS data either by the most wide-spread “speed rule” approach or by a probability model. Using data from Northeast U.S. Fisheries for fishing years 2010–2014, we showed that the traditional representation of fishing activities as derived by speed rules leads to a severe misrepresentation of fishing grounds for gears other than bottom otter trawl. Predictions based on probability models outperformed gear-specific speed rules in classifying VMS polls for sink gillnet and scallop dredge trips, without adding substantial computational effort. The probability models thus provide the largest improvements in gears with complicated fishing patterns, while controlling for issues such as fleet dynamics that historically have not been dealt with in the static speed rules but which can have significant impacts on the quality of predictions.
Indian social media politics: new era of election war

The role of social media during 16th Lok Sabha elections has led to several insights in the manner in which the youth of today is consuming political news. Several social media platforms have played a significant role in voting behaviour. Social media platform acted as a game changer and a catalyst in wooing young voters and influencing their opinion. While Internet users grew 7% in Urban India reaching 315 million users in 2018, digital adoption is now being propelled by rural India, registering a 35% growth in Internet users over the past year. Also, there have come a general perception that television will play a lesser role in this upcoming election and digital media will play a never before seen influence on voters. This research examines the behaviour of youth in India and examines the level of influence by social media in casting their vote in Lok Sabha elections. Whether social media can be a game changer or an influencer. These findings will be carried out by this research work.
ESTIMATING THE UNDERESTIMATION PROFILE OF HEALTH SERVICE NEEDS THROUGH TELEPHONE COUNSELING CENTERS

The public and private health systems around the world face an expansion of services in parallel with the demand for improved quality and cost savings. Quality and efficiency of such systems are affected by the underestimation of the needs for patient care, compromising the clinical condition of the patient and system costs. The objective of this study is to identify the factors that determine the underestimation of the need for health services in Brazil. The survey used data collected from medical advice call center reports, totaling 19.690 observations; 2.166 of these have involved underestimation of needs, wherein the complexity of the intention of the patient is smaller than the recommendation proposed by the physician, which is divided into very or less critical. Through a logistic regression model, it was possible to estimate the critical factors in determining the underestimation in very and less critical needs for health services in Brazil. The closeness to the weekend increases the probability of a very critical underestimation. Daytime hours feature a very critical underestimation tendency. In terms of age groups, we can see a probability of very critical underestimation in younger individuals. This study showed that the user profile that was most likely to have very critical underestimation of the demand for health care was that of the underage individual who calls on weekends and in the early hours of the day.
Dielectric study of three homologous Schiff base ferroelectric liquid crystals with the variations of temperature and frequency

In this investigation, the dielectric behaviors of three ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLCs) belonging to a homologous series have been revealed in the frequency range of 10 Hz–10 MHz. FLCs used in this study are three-ring calamitic LCs, namely ([Formula: see text])-4-(((4-(octan-2-yloxy)phenyl)imino)methyl)phenyl 4-([Formula: see text]-octyloxy)benzoate, ([Formula: see text])-4-(((4-(octan-2-yloxy)phenyl)imino)methyl)phenyl 4-([Formula: see text]-decyloxy)benzoate and ([Formula: see text])-4-(((4-(octan-2-yloxy)phenyl)imino)methyl)phenyl 4-([Formula: see text]-undecyloxy)benzoate. The polarizing optical microscopic and differential scanning calorimetric results confirm that these compounds, synthesized as per the known synthetic steps, show not only a ferroelectrically switchable chiral smectic C (SmC*) phase over a wide thermal range, but also other mesophases such as blue phase-I/II (BP-I/II), chiral nematic (N*) and unknown smectic (SmX) phases. Several essential dielectric parameters of the FLC phase have been measured at different temperatures. The relative permittivity has been measured with the variations of temperature and frequency. Besides, the dielectric loss and tan [Formula: see text] have been measured. Different dielectric relaxations have been calculated and explained at the molecular level. The systematic measurements revealed a strong anomaly, and crossover of relative permittivity values for the FLCs has been determined at selective frequencies between 1 kHz and 20 kHz. Strong dielectric anomaly/fall for the response function infers the involvement of collective response of dipolar assembly confined to ferroelectric Weiss domains.
Protective effect of selegiline on cigarette smoke-induced oxidative stress and inflammation in rat lungs in vivo

Background Cigarette smoke (CS)-induced build-up of oxidative stress is the leading cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Monoamine oxidases (MAOs) are novel sources of reactive oxygen species (ROS) due to the production of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). However, it remains unclear whether MAO signaling is involved in CS-induced oxidative stress in vivo. This study aimed at investigating the impact of selegiline, a selective MAO-B inhibitor, on CS-induced lung oxidative stress and inflammation in vivo and its underlying mechanism. Methods Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: saline plus sham air (Saline/air), saline plus cigarette smoke (Saline/CS), selegiline plus sham air (Slg/air) and selegiline plus cigarette smoke (Slg/CS). Rats from Saline/air and Saline/CS groups were intraperitoneally injected with saline (2 mL/kg body weight) while rats from Slg/air and Slg/CS groups were injected with selegiline (2 mg/kg body weight) about 30 min prior to exposure daily. The Saline/air and Slg/air groups were exposed to atmospheric air while the Saline/CS and Slg/CS groups were exposed to mainstream CS generated from the whole body inExpose smoking system (SCIREQ, Canada) for twice daily (each for 1 hour with 20 cigarettes). After 7 days, rats were sacrificed to collect bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and lung tissues for the measurement of oxidative/anti-oxidative and inflammatory/anti-inflammatory makers respectively. Results CS caused significant elevation of MAO-B activity, reduction of total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and rGSH/GSSG ratio, and enhancement of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in rat lung. Selegiline significantly only reversed CS-induced elevation of MAO-B activity and reduction of rGSH/GSSG ratio. The CS-induced elevation of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase 1 (NQO1) expression via nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) was also reversed by selegiline. Despite of CS-induced increase in total cell counts, especially the number of macrophages, selegiline had no effect. Selegiline attenuated CS-induced elevation of pro-inflammatory mediators (CINC-1, MCP-1 and IL-6) and restored CS-induced reduction of anti-inflammatory mediator IL-10 in BAL, which was driven through MAPK and NF-κB. Conclusions Inhibition of MAO-B may provide a promising therapeutic strategy for CS-mediated oxidative stress and inflammation in acute CS-exposed rat lungs.
UNDERSTANDING ADOLESCENT RISK PERCEPTIONS ABOUT HIV AND AIDS IN KENYA: ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE TRUST CONDOM A KUWA TRUEA CAMPAIGN

In Kenya, approximately 29% of all new HIV infections were among adolescents and young people (15-24). In order to reduce new infections among adolescents and young people, the Fast track plan to end HIV and AIDS among the group identified mass media and social marketing campaigns as evidence-based interventions towards changing their risky sexual behaviour.This study assessed the relationship between effective HIV risk communication, interpretation of meaning and decision making among adolescents by: evaluating the relationshipbetween construction of meaning, interpretation of HIV risk communication messages and decision making among adolescents, establishing what causes the gap between HIV knowledge and HIV safe sexual practices among adolescents, finding out if there isrelationship between effective HIV risk communications and how adolescents construct meaning and interpret HIV risk communication messages and finally; determining whether HIV risk communication messages are correctly interpreted by adolescents. The study used cross-sectional survey using self-administered questionnaires, focus group discussions and Reception analysis conducted among 40 in school and out of school adolescents (15-19 years). Also, an in-depth interview was undertaken with PSI Kenya Brand Manager (the manufacturer of Trust Condom). Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Cohen‟s Kappa statistic test was used to measure the level of agreement between the advertiser‟s message and respondent‟s interpretation of the advertiser‟s message. The study findings provide baseline information to guide development of the HIV and AIDS communication strategy for the adolescents and young people and also ensure more effective HIV risk communication messages targeting adolescents and young people.
Predictive value of empathy components for types of aggression in the school setting: a cross-country comparison

ABSTRACT Aggressive behaviour has negative consequences for students who are exposed to it and those who are aggressive. In addition to a number of negative consequences at the individual level aggression negatively impacts processes within the school. Successful methods of preventing and reducing aggressive behaviour at school often include activities related to empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand and feel the emotional state of another person. It includes cognitive and emotional components and is associated with positive effects on relationships and behaviours; the lack of empathy is associated with negative effects, including aggressive behaviour. We analysed the relationships among empathy dimensions and general aggression, including the subtypes of aggression. We used the AG-UD aggression scale and the IRI questionnaire for the measurement of empathy on a sample of Slovene (N = 125), Croatian (N = 95) and Swedish (N = 84) adolescents aged between 13 and 14. The findings across samples revealed several significant associations on the level of general aggression and high congruence across countries and on the level of types of aggression. This data indicates the need to include dimension-level prevention and intervention based on the prevalence of specific types of aggression.
Prevalence and Virulence Factor Profiles of Legionella pneumophila Isolated from the Cases of Respiratory Tract Infections

Legionella pneumophila is one of the most severe causative agents responsible for lower respiratory tract infections. Pathogenesis of Legionella diseases is mainly occurred due to the activities of some latent virulence factors. The present investigation was carried out to study the prevalence rate of L. pneumophila and its putative virulence factors in the respiratory samples of patients. Three-hundred and fifty respiratory samples were taken from patients suffered from RTIs. All samples were cultured and their positive results were subjected to several PCR reaction. Prevalence in patients suffered from RTIs were 11.53%. lidA (70.58%), ralF (23.52%) and ivhB (17.64%) were the most commonly detected virulence factors in the L. pneumophila recovered from the respiratory samples. Considerable presence of virulent strains of L. pneumophila in patients showed that important public health issue facing hospitalized patients.
Micro-Tuberization of Four Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) CultivarsThrough Tissue Culture

An experiment for the micro-tuberization of four potato cultivars through tissue culture on different sucrose concentration in MS media was conducted at tissue culture lab Abbottabad, Pakistan. Four cultivars (Desiree, Cardinal, Ultimus and Astrix) and MS media supplemented with four levels of sucrose (20 gl-1, 30 gl-1, 40 gl-1 and 50 gl-1) were used in the experiment. All cultivars showed best performance in MS media supplemented with 40 gl-1 of sucrose in respect of all parameters such as micro-tubers formation, days to micro-tubers harvest, number of micro- tubers plantlet-1, micro-tuber diameter (cm), micro-tuber weight (g) and number of nodes in micro-tuber. MS media containing 50 gl-1 sucrose showed less effect in all the underline parameters under in vitro condition. Among the four different potato cultivars, astrix performed better followed by desiree in all under study parameters under in vitro condition.
On Semi-Analytical Solutions for Linearized Dispersive KdV Equations

The most well-known equations both in the theory of nonlinearity and dispersion, KdV equations, have received tremendous attention over the years and have been used as model equations for the advancement of the theory of solitons. In this paper, some semi-analytic methods are applied to solve linearized dispersive KdV equations with homogeneous and inhomogeneous source terms. These methods are the Laplace-Adomian decomposition method (LADM), Homotopy perturbation method (HPM), Bernstein-Laplace-Adomian Method (BALDM), and Reduced Differential Transform Method (RDTM). Three numerical experiments are considered. As the main contribution, we proposed a new scheme, known as BALDM, which involves Bernstein polynomials, Laplace transform and Adomian decomposition method to solve inhomogeneous linearized dispersive KdV equations. Besides, some modifications of HPM are also considered to solve certain inhomogeneous KdV equations by first constructing a newly modified homotopy on the source term and secondly by modifying Laplace’s transform with HPM to build HPTM. Both modifications of HPM numerically confirm the efficiency and validity of the methods for some test problems of dispersive KdV-like equations. We also applied LADM and RDTM to both homogeneous as well as inhomogeneous KdV equations to compare the obtained results and extended to higher dimensions. As a result, RDTM is applied to a 3D-dispersive KdV equation. The proposed iterative schemes determined the approximate solution without any discretization, linearization, or restrictive assumptions. The performance of the four methods is gauged over short and long propagation times and we compute absolute and relative errors at a given time for some spatial nodes.
Trends in Bacteremia Over 2 Decades in the Top End of the Northern Territory of Australia

Abstract Background Information on the local distribution of bloodstream pathogens helps to guide empiric antibiotic selection and can generate hypotheses regarding the effectiveness of infection prevention practices. We assessed trends in bacterial blood culture isolates at Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) in the Northern Territory of Australia between 1999 and 2019. Methods Species identification was extracted for all blood cultures first registered at RDH. Thirteen organisms were selected for focused analysis. Trends were examined graphically and using univariable linear regression. Results Between 1999 and 2019, 189 577 blood cultures from 65 276 patients were processed at RDH. Overall, 6.72% (12 747/189 577) of blood cultures contained a bacterial pathogen. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common cause of bacteremia during the first decade, with an estimated incidence of 96.6 episodes per 100 000 person-years (py; 95% CI, 72.2–121/100 000 py) in 1999. Since 2009, S. aureus bacteremia has declined markedly, whereas there has been an inexorable rise in Escherichia coli bacteremia (30.1 to 74.7/100 000 py between 1999 and 2019; P < .001), particularly in older adults. Since 2017, E. coli has been more common than S. aureus. Rates of Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteremia have reduced dramatically in children, while Burkholderia pseudomallei remained the fourth most common bloodstream isolate overall. Conclusions The incidence of S. aureus bacteremia, though high by international standards, is declining at RDH, possibly in part due to a sustained focus on both community and hospital infection prevention practices. Gram-negative bacteremia, particularly due to E. coli, is becoming more common, and the trend will likely continue given our aging population.
Growing and Eating Food during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Farmers’ Perspectives on Local Food System Resilience to Shocks in Southern Africa and Indonesia

The COVID-19 outbreak forced governments to make decisions that had adverse effects on local food systems and supply chains. As a result, many small-scale food producers faced difficulties growing, harvesting, and selling their goods. This participatory research examines local small-scale farmers’ challenges as farmers but also as consumers and their coping strategies during the month of April and one week in June 2020. The study was initiated and conceptualized in collaboration with small-scale farmer members of an existing research network in selected urban and rural areas in South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Indonesia. Participants co-designed the research, collected and uploaded data through digital survey tools, and contributed to data analysis and interpretation. A common observation across regions is that the measures imposed in response to COVID-19 highlighted and partly exacerbated existing socio-economic inequalities among food system actors. Strict lockdowns in Cape Town, South Africa, and Masvingo, Zimbabwe, significantly restricted the production capacity of small-scale farmers in the informal economy and created more food insecurity for them. In Maputo, Mozambique, and Toraja and Java, Indonesia, local food systems continued to operate and were even strengthened by higher social capital and adaptive capacities.
Investigating Anti-Evasion Malware Triggers Using Automated Sandbox Reconfiguration Techniques

Malware analysis is fundamental for defending against prevalent cyber security threats and requires a means to deploy and study behavioural software traits as more sophisticated malware is developed. Traditionally, virtual machines are used to provide an environment that is isolated from production systems so as to not cause any adverse impact on existing infrastructure. Malware developers are fully aware of this and so will often develop evasion techniques to avoid detection within sandbox environments. In this paper, we conduct an investigation of anti-evasion malware triggers for uncovering malware that may attempt to conceal itself when deployed in a traditional sandbox environment. To facilitate our investigation, we developed a tool called MORRIGU that couples together both automated and human-driven analysis for systematic testing of anti-evasion methods using dynamic sandbox reconfiguration techniques. This is further supported by visualisation methods for performing comparative analysis of system activity when malware is deployed under different sandbox configurations. Our study reveals a variety of anti-evasion traits that are shared amongst different malware families, such as sandbox “wear-and-tear”, and Reverse Turing Tests (RTT), as well as more sophisticated malware samples that require multiple anti-evasion checks to be deployed. We also perform a comparative study using Cuckoo sandbox to demonstrate the limitations of adopting only automated analysis tools, to justify the exploratory analysis provided by MORRIGU. By adopting a clearer systematic process for uncovering anti-evasion malware triggers, as supported by tools like MORRIGU, this study helps to further the research of evasive malware analysis so that we can better defend against such future attacks.
Condensed tannin-amended cassava silage: fermentation characteristics, degradation kinetics and in-vitro gas production with rumen liquor

Abstract The objective of the current research was to evaluate the fermentative characteristics of silage made with the upper third section of cassava (Manihot esculenta) plants with added condensed tannin levels of 0, 25, 50 and 75 g/kg dry matter (DM). The experimental design was a complete randomized design, with treatments arranged in a 4 × 7 factorial (tannin addition levels × days of ensiling). The loss of gas and the presence of moulds observed in the opening days had increased linearly. Fermentative characteristics were decreased by the addition of tannin. Acetic acid content showed a linear increase. Tannin levels had a quadratic effect on gas production at 28 days of ensiling. After 56 days, however, tannin levels had no significant effect on silage gas production. After 28 days of ensiling, the degradability of potentially degradable fraction ‘b’ demonstrated quadratic effect. The same occurred with the fractions ‘a’, ‘b’ which were undegradable after 56 days of ensiling. The addition of condensed tannin lengthened the fermentative stage and caused the silage to stabilize after 56 days of ensiling.