Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Restoration Treatments Improve Overstory Tree Resistance Attributes and Growth in a Ponderosa Pine/Douglas-Fir Forest

Research Highlights: This study provides much needed insight into the development of resistance to disturbance and growth dynamics of overstory trees in response to restoration-based fuel reduction, and will be useful to scientists and managers attempting to better grasp the relative merits of restoration treatment types. Background and Objectives: Restoration-based fuel reduction treatments are common in dry, fire-prone forests of the western United States. The primary objective of such treatments is to immediately reduce a stand’s crown fire hazard. However, the impact of these treatments on residual trees is relevant to assess their longevity and resistance to future disturbances. In this study, we evaluate the effects of restoration on retained overstory ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Lawson & C. Lawson) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) trees in western Montana, where treatments were experimentally implemented 13 years prior as part of the national Fire and Fire Surrogate study. Materials and Methods: We examined tree attributes in response to the following replicated treatments: thin-only, burn-only, thin + burn, and a no-action control. We analyzed three different tree attributes that confer resistance to common disturbances: height-to-diameter ratio (resistance to wind), bark thickness (resistance to surface fire), and growth efficiency (resistance to bark beetles). Results: Our models suggest that thinning (with or without burning) alters tree attributes relative to the control in a manner that may increase tree resistance to wind and snow breakage, surface fire, and biotic agents such as bark beetles. Further analysis of annual growth of ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir varied by treatment type: thinning-based restoration (thin-only and thin + burn) increased diameter growth for both species, crown length and width in ponderosa pine, and crown length in Douglas-fir relative to unthinned treatments. Burning (burn-only and thin + burn) did not significantly affect tree growth relative to unburned treatments. Conclusions: While low-severity prescribed burning treatments are often used for restoration and have various ecosystem benefits, this study demonstrates that thinning (alone or in addition to burning) produces more measureable, beneficial results to overstory tree disturbance resistance metrics and growth.
Institutional and self-efficacy effects on systemic entrepreneurship: evidence from South Africa

Abstract Research indicates that institutional weaknesses in several African economies often leads to uncertainty, but also provides opportunity so that different types of entrepreneurship may become more or less feasible in these economies. Recognizing that it is not always clear which institutions really matter, this study is important as it empirically examines the impact of formal and informal institutions, as well as the effect of entrepreneurial self-efficacy, on systemic entrepreneurial growth intentions. Hypotheses were statistically tested using primary data from early-stage enterprises (n = 292) in South Africa. Findings highlight a significant relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy as well as the normative institutional dimension and systemic entrepreneurship. By weaving in the entrepreneurial and institutional context of South Africa, this study has extended the theoretical and empirical reach of institutional theory to the domain of systemic entrepreneurship. Study implications relate to creating empirical links between the different institutional dimensions, self-efficacy and systemic entrepreneurship, which is vital for an African market setting as the context for entrepreneurship is often a distinctive one.
The effect of Melia volkensii extracts on mortality and fitness of adult Schistocerca gregaria (Forskal) (Orth., Cyrtacanthacrinae)

In initial pilot studies, ethyl‐alcohol‐based Melia extracts were formulated with palm oil and, in field trials in the southern Sahara (Republic of Niger), topically applied to adult S. gregaria flying on a flight mill and in comparison to resting locusts. Only low mortality rates (roughly 40 %) could be achieved in this way, but the hyperlipemic competence of the treated insects was diminished by more than 60 % compared to untreated control locusts. An equally large reduction in the hyperlipemic response to injection of synthetic adipokinetic hormone was also observed in imagoes to which Melia extracts had been topically applied while they were L2/L3 larvae, but then had still undergone a seemingly normal adult molting. Higher mortality rates were only observed when the locusts were injected with aqueous Melia extracts.
Serum BDNF Levels Are Reduced in Patients with Disorders of Consciousness and Are Not Modified by Verticalization with Robot-Assisted Lower-Limb Training

Little is known about plastic changes occurring in the brains of patients with severe disorders of consciousness (DOCs) caused by acute brain injuries at rest and during rehabilitative treatment. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophin involved in neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity whose production is powerfully modulated by physical exercise. In this study, we compared serum BDNF levels in 18 patients with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS) and in a minimally conscious state (MCS) with those in 16 sex- and age-matched healthy controls. In 12 patients, serum BDNF levels before and after verticalization with ErigoPro robot-assisted lower-limb training were compared. Serum BDNF levels were significantly lower in patients (median, 1141 pg/ml; 25th and 75th percentiles, 1016 and 1704 pg/ml) than in controls (median, 2450 pg/ml; 25th and 75th percentiles, 2100 and 2875 pg/ml; p < 0.001). BDNF levels measured before and after verticalization with robot-assisted lower-limb training did not change (p = 0.5). Moreover, BDNF levels did not differ between patients with UWS and MCS (p = 0.2), or between patients with traumatic and nontraumatic brain injuries (p = 0.6). BDNF level correlated positively with the time since brain injury (p = 0.025). In conclusion, serum BDNF levels are reduced in patients with UWS and MCS and cannot be improved by verticalization associated with passive lower-limb training. Additional studies are needed to better understand the mechanisms underlying BDNF reduction in patients with DOCs and to determine the best rehabilitative strategies to promote restorative plastic changes in these patients.
Selection for non‐diapause in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris, with notes on the effect of inbreeding

Bumblebees are generally believed to be annual insects. However, here we will show that under laboratory conditions the bumblebee Bombus terrestris (L.) can produce a second generation without a period of cold storage (diapause) or CO2 narcosis (a method to break diapause). It is also shown that this so‐called non‐diapause trait can be selected for. The percentage of non‐diapausing queens increased from 8% (minimum) to 97% (maximum) in two generations of selection. However, it was not possible to maintain isofemale non‐diapause lines. Colonies of the fourth and fifth generation remained small (expressed in worker number) and produced a small number of queens. Also the percentage of queens that started laying eggs (defined as the percentage non‐diapause) decreased in the fourth and fifth generations. To study whether this decline of the non‐diapause lines was caused by inbreeding, a control experiment was conducted. In this control experiment queens were mated with their brothers (full‐sib mating) for several generations and the number of queens that start egg laying was measured. This revealed that inbreeding can have a negative effect on the egg‐laying capacities of queens thus causing the decline of inbred (non‐diapause) lines.
Streptosporangium carneum sp. nov. isolated from soil

A new species of the genus Streptosporangium is described. This organism is characterized by light yellowish pink aerial hyphae bearing abundant sporangia which enclose many large, spherical, nonmotile spores. Cell walls of this new species contain meso-diaminopimelic acid, mannose, arabinose, and madurose (cell wall chemotype III and type B whole-cell sugar pattern); the cells contain phosphatidylinositol, diphosphatidylglycerol, and unknown glucosamine-containing phospholipids (phospholipid pattern type PIV), and they contain no mycolic acids. The major menaquinone detected was MK-9(H4); a minor amount of MK-9(H2) was also detected. Thus, this isolate has chemical and morphological properties that are consistent with the properties of the genus Streptosporangium. A comparison with previously described species of the genus Streptosporangium in which we used standard techniques plus fatty acid analyses indicated that this organism differs from previously described species. The name proposed for this new species is Streptosporangium carneum. The type strain is strain A84575 (= NRRL 18437). The description is based on a single isolate.
Administration of Denosumab Preserves Bone Mineral Density at the Knee in Persons With Subacute Spinal Cord Injury: Findings From a Randomized Clinical Trial

Persons with neurologically motor‐complete spinal cord injury (SCI) have a marked loss of bone mineral density (BMD) of the long bones of the lower extremities, predisposing them to fragility fractures, especially at the knee. Denosumab, a commercially available human monoclonal IgG antibody to receptor activator of nuclear factor‐κB ligand (RANKL), may provide an immunopharmacological solution to the rapid progressive deterioration of sublesional bone after SCI. Twenty‐six SCI participants with subacute motor‐complete SCI were randomized to receive either denosumab (60 mg) or placebo at baseline (BL), 6, and 12 months. Areal bone mineral density (aBMD) by dual energy x‐ray absorptiometry (DXA) at 18 months at the distal femur was the primary outcome and aBMD of the proximal tibia and hip were the secondary outcomes analyzed in 18 of the 26 participants (denosumab, n = 10 and placebo, n = 8). The metrics of peripheral QCT (pQCT) were the exploratory outcomes analyzed in a subsample of the cohort (denosumab, n = 7 and placebo n = 7). The mean aBMD (±95% CI) for the denosumab versus the placebo groups demonstrated a significant group × time interactions for the following regions of interest at BL and 18 months: distal femoral metaphysis = mean aBMD 1.187; 95% CI, 1.074 to 1.300 and mean aBMD 1.202; 95% CI, 1.074 to 1.329 versus mean aBMD 1.162; 95% CI, 0.962 to 1.362 and mean aBMD 0.961; 95% CI, 0.763 to 1.159, respectively (p < 0.001); distal femoral epiphysis = mean aBMD 1.557; 95% CI, 1.437 to 1.675 and mean aBMD 1.570; 95% CI, 1.440 to 1.700 versus mean aBMD 1.565; 95% CI, 1.434 to 1.696 and mean aBMD 1.103; 95% CI, 0.898 to 1.309, respectively (p = 0.002); and proximal tibial epiphysis = mean aBMD 1.071; 95% CI, 0.957 to 1.186 and mean aBMD 1.050; 95% CI, 0.932 to 1.168 versus mean aBMD 0.994; 95% CI, 0.879 to 1.109 and mean aBMD 0.760; 95% CI, 0.601 to 0.919, respectively (p < 0.001). Analysis of pQCT imaging revealed a continued trend toward significantly greater loss in total volumetric BMD (vBMD) and trabecular vBMD at the 4% distal tibia region, with a significant percent loss for total bone mineral content. Thus, at 18 months after acute SCI, our findings show that denosumab maintained aBMD at the knee region, the site of greatest clinical relevance in the SCI population. © 2020 The Authors. JBMR Plus published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Ecomorphological Diversification in Lowland Freshwater Fish Assemblages from Five Biotic Regions

This study investigates the relationships among species diversity, community structure, and convergent evolution among divergent fish faunas. The author examined 30 morphological features related to the ecology of the dominant fish species from lowland stream and backwater habitats in five widely separated geographic regions: nearctic Alaska, temperate North America, Central America, South America, and tropical Africa. The analysis supports the thesis that species interactions are important determinants of community morphological features, particularly in species-rich tropical regions. Relative to assemblages in the other four regions, the two Alaskan fish assemblages were hyperdispersed within a comparatively small morphological space. The Alaskan fish assemblages probably formed via geologically recent, and perhaps repeated, colonizations of polar freshwaters by species with evolutionary histories in more diverse southern and coastal fish faunas. The author interprets evidence of greater niche diversification at lower latitudes within a habitat type as being derived primarily from the influence of competition and predation, whereas differences between habitats within regions seems to be associated with the combined effects of biotic interactions and differences in habitat volume and heterogeneity. Even though different regions within ecomorphological space were dominated by different fish orders, numerous ecomorphological convergences and several one-for-one ecological equivalents were identified withinmore » different biotic regions. « less
Trends in the abundance and distribution of anchovy and sardine on the South African continental shelf in the 1990s, deduced from acoustic surveys

The South African pelagic resources have been monitored acoustically since 1983. The results of these surveys are currently used to determine catch limits for anchovy Engraulis capensis and sardine Sardinops sagax. Two main surveys are conducted annually, in winter to determine the strength of the year’s recruitment and in summer to estimate the size of the adult stock. The results of the surveys conducted between 1990 and 1997 are presented and discussed in the context of the time-series of stock abundance. Distribution patterns, size structure and biomass levels are related to general trends in the life-history strategies of anchovy and sardine, as well as the major environmental features in the southern Benguela in the 1990s. The biomass of adult anchovy appears to be driven largely by the strength of the early recruitment, corresponding to fish spawned in the first half of the summer spawning season. The biomass of adult sardine, however, is better explained on the basis of the biomass of 2-year-old and older fish in the previous year’s survey. Anchovy tend to move east with age, whereas sardine appear to move both north, along the south African west coast, and east with increasing age.
An Ambidextrous Communication Strategy: Policy Makers vs Citizens

This paper is a qualitative research, deals with studying which communication strategy is used by politicians, whether explorational, exploitative, or ambidextrous communication and how citizens, instead, view such strategy choices carried out by politicians. Moreover, the study analyzes whether ambidextrous communication strategies allow citizens to achieve greater knowledge and awareness regarding sustainability issues (SDGs), compared to what occurs if the politician uses a different communication strategy.The Study 1 was conducted through a semi-structured interview to Italian parliamentarians (senators and deputies) of the XVII and XVIII legislatures. The number of parliamentarians who agreed to the interview was 24 parliamentarians.In the study 2 a survey was conducted on a sample of Italian citizens through various communication channels, mainly through Whastapp and Facebook. The final aim of survey to identify whether the joint use of both communication channels may reinforce citizens’ awareness about sustainable development goals. The citizens what responded to the survey were 289.The results of the two studies show that the use of ambidextrous communication strategy, ie the joint use of the exploitative and explorational communications, is preferred by politicians to the use of only one of the strategies and that there is a positive correlation between the ambidextrous communication strategy of politicians and greater awareness of citizens about sustainability issues (SDGs). These results demonstrate that the hypotheses identified are supported.Although this study has significant implications for how politicians should communicate, it also has different limits.
Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Reddish Egrets Along the Texas Coast

Abstract. Little is known about the ecology and population structure of the Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens). Furthermore, the effects of the near extirpation on genetic variation of Reddish Egrets are unknown. A 223-basepair region of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region was sequenced in 149 Reddish Egret samples from sixteen breeding colonies along the Texas Coast to investigate genetic diversity and population structure. Despite experiencing a severe reduction in population size, Reddish Egrets retained a moderate amount of haplotype (0.705) and nucleotide diversity (0.005). A mismatch distribution among haplotypes and non-equilibrium relationship between the number and similarity of haplotypes (Fu's Fs) are consistent with historical population size changes. No evidence of genetic structuring was found among either colonies or color morphs. Reddish Egrets along the Texas Coast appear to form a single panmictic population. The results of this first conservation genetic study of Reddish Egrets serve as a foundation for management and additional research.
Ségrégation édaphique et bathymétrique chez le crabe des neiges, Chionoecetes opilio (O. Fabr.), dans le sud-ouest du golfe du Saint-Laurent

A population of Chionoecetes opilio was studied during the summers of 1980 and 1981 in the southwestern Gulf of St. Lawrence, at the entrance of the Bay of Chaleur, and the Gaspe Bay. Sampling was conducted with beam trawls and baited traps at depths ranging from 45 to 125 m. Crab shell width of both sexes was measured and physiological maturity determined according to a biometrical index. Immature individuals of both sexes are essentially localized on the upper bathymetrical levels, on gravelly mud, whereas adults are found mainly on mud or sandy mud bottoms. We hypothesize that young crabs move down to the muddy bottom where recruitment to the fishery occurs. This deplacement seems to be concomitant with physiological maturity.
Changes in morphological composition according to the maturity stage in corn cultivars for silage production

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the dry matter (DM) content and the percent participation of fractions that compose the plant in corn cultivars harvested at different maturity stages. A randomized block design with an 8 × 6 × 2 factorial scheme composed of eight harvesting times, six corn cultivars and two harvest years (2001/2002 and 2002/2003) was used. Cultivars CO 32, AG 5011, P 3041, DKB 333B, AG 1051 and Z 8550 were harvested when they reached 50% male flowering; 15 days after this date and later, each week, totalizing eight harvesting times. The plants reached the recommended DM content for silage production (32 to 35% DM) between 92 and 112 days after sowing (DAS) at the evaluated years. The maturity advancement resulted in increases in DM content in stem (from 16.9 to 28%), DM content in leaves (from 23.2 to 48.8%), DM content in cob (from 10 to 55.5%), and DM content in grains (from 50.4 to 70.9%). Furthermore, it resulted in increases in cob (from 1.6 to 9.2%) and grain proportion (from 0 to 43.4%), and decrease in stem (from 63.4 to 29.5%) and leaves proportion (from 27.5 to 10.8%). The corn cultivars showed distinct growing pattern for the evaluated variables. Therefore, plants harvested at different physiologic states can only be compared with fractions participation with considerable discernment, once the harvesting time can modify significantly the plant morphological composition.
New perspectives on speech motor planning and programming in the context of the four- level model and its implications for understanding the pathophysiology underlying apraxia of speech and other motor speech disorders

ABSTRACT Background: The complexity of speech motor control, and the incomplete conceptualisation of phases in the transformation of the speech code from linguistic symbols to a code amenable to a motor system, tend to obscure the understanding of acquired apraxia of speech (AOS). The four-level framework (FLF) of speech sensorimotor control suggests the differentiation between speech motor planning, programming and execution and locate the locus of disruption in AOS in the motor planning phase. Currently, terminological confusion and uncertainty regarding phases in speech motor control still complicate the characterisation of AOS. This neuromotor disorder is inconsistently described in the literature as a “planning or programming”, “planning and programming”, or as a “planning and/or programming” disorder. Purpose: To describe a new version of the FLF, the FL (four-level) model, which further explicates and differentiates between speech motor planning, programming, and execution levels or phases of processing; to integrate concepts from computational modelling into the FL model and propose distinct control architectures for both the planning and programming levels; and to identify the loci and nature of disruption in the motor planning phase which could explain the pathophysiology and core features of AOS. Discussion and Conclusions: A four-level model is presented that differentiates two pre-execution phases and an execution phase. The first pre-execution phase is controlled by a motor planner and involves an inverse model, an efference copy, and a forward model for each sound or over-learnt utterance. This phase also involves a forward predictive planner which enables the system to handle the planning of several sounds and to plan coarticulation of sounds. The motor planner is operated according to an auxiliary forward model architecture. AOS is depicted as a breakdown at several possible points in the motor planning phase. The second pre-execution phase is driven by a motor program generator and predictive controller that is governed by an integral forward model architecture. The final execution phase is portrayed as being driven by closed loop control. The conceptualization of the programmer challenges the traditional view of execution and not only that of planning as is generally accepted. The implications for the classification of motor speech disorders are discussed. Future research should address the exact nature of articulatory movements and other features of speech across the range of planning, pure programming, programming-execution and pure execution disorders.
Control of phytophthora brown rot of citrus fruits

Control of brown rot of citrus fruits, using the new anti-oomycete systemic fungicides, has been studied in the field and in packing houses under the climate conditions of Spain. In the field, in rainy weather and at the stage of colour-break of the fruits, both with artificial inoculation and with natural infection by Phytophthora citrophthora, a single treatment with fosetyl-A1 at 0.4% a.i. as a foliar spray provided good control of the disease. The highest fungitoxic effects were reached 14–21 days after treatment. Copper oxychloride + mancozeb at 0.3% a.i. showed moderate efficiency. In semi-commercial experiments in the packing house and in the laboratory, fosetyl-A1 at 0.3% a.i. strongly controlled infection with zoospores located in different layers of the fruit peel (flavedo or albedo). Fosetyl-A1 also developed good efficacy in healthy fruits, protecting them from infection by contact. Metalaxyl at.0. 2% a.i. also reduced infection by zoospores and contact. Oxadixyl, propamocarb and folpet (reference product) had poor activity against the brown rot fungus. All these data strongly support the value of fosetyl-A1 for control of brown rot disease of citrus fruit in the field and in the packing house as a post-harvest treatment. Metalaxyl may also be utilized for this purpose.