Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pollen viability and germination in some neotropical aroids

Pollen viability and germination were observed in six species of neotropical Araceae. In Anaphyllopsis americana (Engl.) A. Hay, 50% of pollen grains remain viable after 70 h following dehiscence, and it takes over 210 h for total loss of viability to occur. In Montrichardia arborescens (L.) Schott, approximately 50% of pollen grains are not viable after 24 h, and no germination occurs after 36 h. Monstera adansonii Schott and Philodendron pedatum (Hook.) Kunth have the lowest initial pollen viability (40%–55%) and lose half of this viability after approximately 30 h. Pollen grains of Monstera adansonii remain viable for at least 60 h and that of P. pedatum for approximately 40 h, and constitute another group with a similar viability pattern. In Philodendron melinonii Brongn. ex Regel and Philodendron solimoesense A.C. Sm. , pollen loses 50% of its viability after 24 h, but remains viable for at least 48 h. The percentage of viability decreases in a pattern from species having a long flowering cycle and sm.
Supercooling along an Altitudinal Gradient in Espeletia schultzii, a Caulescent Giant Rosette Species

Rada, F. , Goldstein, G. , Azocar, A. and Torres, F. 1987. Supercooling along an altitudinal gradient in Espeletia schultzii, a caulescent giant rosette species. —J. exp. Bot. 38: 491-497. Tropical high Andes plants may be exposed to sub-zero temperatures any night of the year. These plants have to rely on mechanisms which protect them from these environmental conditions but at the same time allow their growth and development. Supercooling has been found to be the principal avoidance mechanism in leaves of the caulescent giant rosette genus Espeletia in the Andes. We report here the differences in supercooling capacity and cold injury in several Espeletia schultzii populations growing along an altitudinal gradient. The relationships between supercooling, water potential and leaf anatomy were also investigated. The supercooling capacity increased and injury temperature decreased from lower to higher elevation populations. These changes may be explained in terms of physiological, morphological and anatomical characteristics of the leaves.
The functional trophic role of lotic primary consumers: generalist versus specialist strategies

1. The relative extent of generalist or specialist resource use strategies is an important question in ecology. A community dominated by specialist strategies suggests a high level of interspecific competition for resources, resulting in the evolutionary development of isolating mechanisms between species (e.g. resource specialization to avoid and/or outcompete other species). A community dominated by generalist strategies suggests less interspecific competition for resources, allowing many taxa to utilize the same resources. In stream systems, generalist food habits are a common strategy among primary consumers, but little is known about resource assimilation strategies (resources incorporated into tissue growth). Published data indicate that generalist resource assimilation strategies may prevail in lotic systems as well. 2. Functional feeding groups (FFGs) are often used to infer resource assimilation among lotic macroinvertebrates (e.g. shredder-detritivore, scraper-herbivore). While these groupings are aptly used to describe invertebrate feeding modes and community structure, the use of FFGs to describe resource assimilation among lotic consumers is not appropriate. Sufficient data now exist to seriously question how accurately FFG assignments describe the processes of energy flow and material transfer between trophic levels in stream ecosystems. 3. Because FFGs may not accurately describe functional attributes in lotic systems, an alternative approach is needed. One approach is to determine the amount of secondary production that is derived from autochthonous (e.g. periphyton and algae) and allochthonous (e.g. detritus) resources directly. A simple model of community function based on this approach is presented. The model incorporates trophic generalists into measurement of consumer–resource energetics in lotic systems.
Effect of Clinical X-rays on Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Other Bacterial Isolates from Radiology Equipment

Aim: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other nosocomial pathogens are frequently isolated from the Radiology Department of hospitals. These pathogens are repeatedly exposed to refracted electromagnetic radiations during diagnostic clinical X-ray imaging sessions. This study thus investigated the effect of these refracted radiations on the nosocomial bacteria found within Radiology units and their possible survival mechanism. Methodology: Swab samples were collected from three (3) Radiology units; plain radiography machine, ultrasound machine and mammography machine. The samples were cultured and identified following standard microbiology procedures. The identified bacterial isolates were exposed to X-rays at different KVp and MAs factors, cell counts and catalase activities of the isolates were determined using standard procedures. Results: The bacterial isolates identified were Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis where Staphylococcus aureus had the highest prevalence (29.41%) and Enterococcus faecalis (11.76%) was least. The highest survival level to KVp and MAs exposure was S. aureus with values 11.16 ± 0.86 x10 3 and 19.50 ± 0.16 x10 3 Original Research Article Adebiyi et al.; IJPR, 4(1): 17-27, 2020; Article no.IJPR. 55979 18 cfu/ml respectively while Enterococcus faecalis was least with negative value. There was a positive correlation between catalase activity and cell survival with R-value of 0.2512 and 0.6925 for KVp and MAs exposure factors respectively. Conclusion: The study revealed that clinical X-ray does not completely eliminate nosocomial pathogens within Radiology Department and MRSA is a formidable bacterium in the units.
Vicarious traumatisation in lawyers working with traumatised asylum seekers: a pilot study

Although vicarious traumatisation has been documented in numerous professional groups, the research on asylum lawyers is sparse. This pilot study aimed to explore whether asylum lawyers are affected by their work with traumatised clients. Seventy asylum lawyers completed a pilot survey consisting of the Trauma and Attachment Belief Scale; Impact of Event Scale–Revised; Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales; and a work-characteristics questionnaire. The results included significant association between higher contacts with trauma-exposed clients and anxiety; higher weekly work hours and fewer years of experience in asylum law with more stress; fewer years of experience with general trauma scores and intrusion symptoms; and more clients per week with cognitive changes regarding trust in others. The findings highlight the potentially detrimental impact on asylum lawyers of working with traumatised clients and the need for further investigation.
Field trials of warfarin and brodifacoum wax block baits for the control of the rice field rat, Rattus argentiventer in peninsular Malaysia∗

Abstract Replicated trials, in which 0.05% warfarin and 0.005% brodifacoum were used to control rice field rats, are described. In the first trial, 15 g wax blocks containing the poisons were applied, in 20–24 ha rice field plots, once a week for four weeks or twice a week for four weeks or once a week for 8 weeks. In the second trial, 5 g wax blocks were applied once a week for four weeks. In both trials baiting commenced at the time of transplanting, and the effectiveness of treatments was measured by mortality estimates, derived from pre‐ and post‐treatment census baiting in treated and reference plots and by damage reduction in post‐treatment damage assessments. Both poisons were equally effective when applied as 15 g blocks giving, on average, between 81% and 82% control, but gave significantly better control (87%) when applied twice a week rather than once (79%). However, when 5 g blocks were used, the more toxic poison, brodifacoum, gave 80% control compared with only 56% with warfarin. Tiller cutt.
The Potential of Sewage Sludge and Composting in a Nitrogen Recycling Strategy for Agriculture

ABSTRACT A significant proportion of agricultural productivity is consumed by the human population and the nutrients thus exported from the farm will be found in human excreta. Nutrients present in human excreta can therefore make a substantial contribution to the nutrient demand in agriculture. The low cost of chemical fertilizers and a pricing policy supportive of high agricultural productivity not only stimulates high rates of fertilizer usage to the extent of causing increasing pollution of, in particular, aquatic ecosystems and drinking water supplies, it also discourages the development of a farming system based on the efficient use and recycling of its wastes. Efficient recycling of human excreta in agriculture is restricted in most industrialized countries by the contamination of sewage sludge by industrial wastes, in particular heavy metals. High costs of chemical fertilizers and the absence of industrial pollutants in night soil and sewage sludge in many developing countries, create an environme.
The impact of stochasticity on the behaviour of nonlinear population models: synchrony and the Moran effect

Environmental variation is ubiquitous, but its effects on nonlinear population dynamics are poorly understood. Using simple (unstructured) nonlinear models we investigate the effects of correlated noise on the dynamics of two otherwise independent populations (the Moran effect), i.e. we focus on noise rather than dispersion or trophic interaction as the cause of population synchrony. We find that below the bifurcation threshold for periodic behaviour (1) synchrony between populations is strongly dependent on the shape of the noise distribution but largely insensitive to which model is studied, (2) there is, in general, a loss of synchrony as the noise is filtered by the model, (3) for specially structured noise distributions this loss can be effectively eliminated over a restricted range of distribution parameter values even though the model might be nonlinear, (4) for unstructured models there is no evidence of correlation enhancement, a mechanism suggested by Moran, but above the bifurcation threshold enhancement is possible for weak noise through phase-locking, (5) rapid desynchronisation occurs as the chaotic regime is approached. To carry out the investigation the stochastic models are (a) reformulated in terms of their joint asymptotic probability distributions and (b) simulated to analyse temporal patterns.
Data Visualization and Analyzation of COVID-19

Since December 2019 the world is experiencing a deadly disease caused by a novel coronavirus termed as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease associated with this virus is known as COVID-19. This paper focuses on COVID-19 based on freely available datasets including the ones in Kaggle repository. Data analytics is provided on a number of aspects of COVID-19 including the symptoms of this disease, the difference of COVID-19 with other diseases caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and swine flu. The impact of temperature on the spread of COVID-19 is also discussed based on the datasets. Moreover, data visualization is provided on the comparison of infections in males/females which shows that males are more prone to this disease and the older people are more at risk. Based on the data, the pattern in the increase of confirmed cases is found to be an exponential curve in nature. Finally, the relative number of confirmed, recovered and death cases in different countries are shown with data visualization.
Efeito da suplementação sobre a digestibilidade dos nutrientes e desempenho de bezerros lactentes mantidos em pastagens de Brachiaria brizantha

Effect of supplementation on nutrient digestibility and performance of lactating calves fed with Brachiaria brizantha pastures. This study evaluated the effect of supplementation and the type of supplement on nutrient digestibility and performance of lactating calves fed with Brachiara brizantha cv. Marandu pasture from February to May. The treatments were: supplementation in creep-feeding with protein concentrate, with energy concentrate, with energy-protein concentrate and without concentrate. In a Latin square design, four Canchim calves were kept in individual pens, receiving marandu hay and controlled suckling twice a day. The performance was evaluated in a completely randomized design, with 23 calves kept with the cows. Higher intake and nutrients digestibility (65% of dry mater digestibility) and calf performance (live weight gain of 0.98 kg day -1 ) were obtained with energy- protein concentrate, and the cows kept weight and body reserves during the experiment. The protein concentrate did not show good results, and was lower than the performance of calves without supplementation - 0.56 and 0.77 kg day -1 , respectively. The performance of calves without supplementation was similar to calves receiving energy concentrate, but the cows lost more body weight and energy reserves. The supplementation with energy-protein concentrate for lactating calves fed with Brachiara brizantha cv. Marandu during the beginning of the dry season was benefifical for the performance of calves and cows.
The nearshore phosphorus shunt: a consequence of ecosystem engineering by dreissenids in the Laurentian Great Lakes

Dreissenid mussels have been exceptionally successful invaders in North American lakes and rivers, espe- cially in the lower Laurentian Great Lakes. As benthic filter feeders capable of attaching to hard substrates, the magni- tudes of their biomass and filtering activity in nearshore waters are without precedent. The dreissenid colonization has implications for the removal and fate of materials filtered from the water by the mussels and for the longer-term devel- opment of the nearshore benthic community and lake ecosystem. A conceptual model, the nearshore shunt, seeks to describe a fundamental redirection of nutrient and energy flow consequent to dreissenid establishment. The model ex- plains some emergent problems in the Great Lakes, such as reemergence of Cladophora in some coastal zones while offshore P concentrations remain low, and highlights areas in need of more research. The source of particulate nutrient inputs to dreissenids and the fate of materials exported from the benthic community are critical to understanding the role of dreissenids in the lakes and assessing the applicability of current models for managing nutrients and fisheries. The nearshore shunt would require even more stringent P management for lakes strongly impacted by dreissenids to maintain nearshore water quality. Resume : Les moules dreissenidees ont envahi avec un succes exceptionnel les lacs et rivieres d'Amerique du Nord, et en particulier les Grands Lacs inferieurs. Des animaux benthiques se nourrissant par filtration et capables de se fixer a des substrats durs, ils ont atteint des biomasses et des niveaux d'activite de filtration sans precedent dans les eaux cotieres. La colonisation des dreissenides a des consequences sur le retrait et le sort des materiaux filtres de l'eau par les moules, ainsi que sur le developpement a plus long terme de la communaute benthique pres du rivage et sur l'ecosysteme lacustre. Un modele conceptuel, la « deviation cotiere », cherche a decrire l'alteration fondamentale du cheminement des nutriments et du flux d'energie depuis l'etablissement des dreissenides. Le modele explique certains des problemes qui surgissent dans les Grands Lacs, comme la re-emergence de Cladophora dans certaines zones cotie- res, bien que les concentrations de phosphore au large restent faibles et il identifie des domaines qui necessitent des recherches supplementaires. Une connaissance des sources des apports de particules nutritives pour les dreissenides et du sort des materiaux exportes de la communaute benthique est essentielle pour comprendre le role des dreissenides dans les lacs et pour evaluer l'applicabilite des modeles courants de gestion des nutriments et des peches. La « devia- tion cotiere » exigerait une gestion encore plus rigoureuse du phosphore dans les lacs fortement affectes par les dreis- senides afin de maintenir la qualite de l'eau pres du rivage.
When OK is Not OK: Public Concern About White Nationalism in the U.S. Military

Are Americans aware and concerned about White nationalism in the U.S. Military? Our large and demographically representative survey suggests that while most Americans suspect at least some presence of White nationalism in the military, many do not view it as a serious problem; particularly self-identified conservatives and respondents who hold highly favorable views toward military service members. However, in a between-/within-subjects experiment embedded in our survey, we show that providing information about the issue of White nationalism in the U.S. Military increases the public’s overall concern about White nationalism in the U.S. Military.
Summary atlas of deep-living demersal fishes in the North Atlantic Basin

Data from 9 major trawling surveys made around the North Atlantic Basin at slope, rise and abyssal depths provide directly comparable information on deep demersal fish distribution and faunal composition. 338 species in 57 families and 189 genera are recorded, and semi-diagrammatic maps showing relative abundance both horizontally and vertically for 67 of these are presented. Alepocephalidae, Gadidae, Macrouridae, Moridae and Ophidiidae comprise nearly 2/3 of all species taken. 296 species were taken at slope depths (200–2250 m), 99 at rise depths (2250–4500 m), and 32 at abyssal depths (>4500 m). Diversity and the rate of endemism were highest on the slope. The Norwegian, Caribbean and Mediterranean Basins appear to harbor impoverished versions of the adjacent Atlantic Basin fauna. Each species distribution appeared to be rather exceptional and no repeatable pattern could be found amongst the maps.
The Discursive Politics of Adaptation to Climate Change

Adaptation to climate change is a policy objective of rapidly growing importance for development programming across the Global South. This article offers an interrogation of the discursive politics surrounding the term based on insights from postcolonial theory. By employing a theoretical framework rooted in the concepts of imaginative geographies and discursive violence, this contribution seeks to deconstruct how adaptation is being imagined and promoted by development actors in a Global South context. The underlying study adopts a multisited, institutional ethnography to critically analyze an adaptation project in São Tomé and Príncipe (STP) implemented jointly by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the national government. The article presents evidence for how agents of development (re)produce an imaginative geography of the country’s vulnerability and engage in a discursive violence that renders project beneficiaries vulnerable on the one hand, and seeks to transform them into model adaptation subjects on the other. It discusses how local residents have been effectively excluded from the project based on their perceived vulnerabilities and points to critical political theory and “imaginative countergeographies” as ways in which the disempowering representations of the Global South as vulnerable and the discursive violence committed against its residents can be counteracted.
Tornadoes in Northern Eurasia: From the Middle Age to the Information Era

The last comprehensive statistics of tornadoes in northern Eurasia (NE) were published more than 30 years ago. This paper introduces a new database of tornadoes in NE that spans from the tenth century to 2016. The database, compiled using various sources, contains 2879 tornado cases over land and water and includes tornado characteristics. Tornadoes are common for most regions of NE, with a density reaching four cases per 104 km2 in 1900–2016 in some regions. Tornadoes over land have distinct annual and diurnal cycles: they form mostly in May–August, with a maximum in June, and during daytime, with a maximum at 1700–1800 local time. Waterspouts form in all months with a maximum in late summer and mostly at 0900–1300 local time. Most tornadoes are weak and short lived. The Fujita-scale intensity is ≤F1 for 80% and ≥F3 for 3% out of all rated tornadoes. Half last less than 10 min. The average annual number of all tornadoes over land is around 150, including 10 and 2 tornadoes with ≥F2 and ≥F3 intensity, respectively. Annually, 1–2 tornadoes lead to casualties and result in 2.9 fatalities and 36.3 injuries. Despite the incompleteness of the dataset, our results show that tornadoes in NE, although being rare, are not as extremely rare as has been thought before. The results illustrate the substantial underestimation of tornado threat by the general public, researchers, and meteorologists, and unambiguously indicate the need for systematic assessments and forecasting of tornadoes by national weather services.
Phenological and morphological adaptations to the light environment in two woody and two herbaceous plant species

Summary 1 Leaf emergence, leaf longevity, light regime and photosynthetic rates were investigated in order to clarify the morphological and phenological adaptations to light conditions by avoiding self-shading in two herbaceous (Polygonatum odoratum and Polygonum sachalinensis) and two woody (Fagus crenata and Alnus sieboldiana) plants in artificially created open habitats in Japan. 2 Fagus and Polygonatum open their leaves simultaneously as a flush during a short period at the start of the growing season (simultaneous foliar phenology), while Alnus and Polygonum open their leaves one by one successively for a longer period (successive foliar phenology). 3 Light conditions at the level of single leaves, defined as photon flux density relative to that above the plant, were essentially the same throughout a growing season for simultaneous species. On the other hand, light conditions for the two successive species degraded with time. There were gradients of light from the distal to basal part of a shoot only in successive species. 4 Reflecting the abrupt decrease in irradiance with time, photosynthetic rates of individual leaves decreased quickly with time in successive species (Alnus and Polygonum), while those of simultaneous species (Fagus and Polygonatum) decreased slowly. Photosynthetic rates of the canopy as a whole, however, were maintained constant over the season in successive species by replacing leaves frequently. Canopy-level photosynthesis decreased slowly with time in the two simultaneous species. 5 Successive leaf emergence is adaptive in open habitats such as flood plains and canopy gaps, while simultaneous leafing is adaptive in light-limited habitats such as the forest understorey.