Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Microhabitat Patchiness on Patterns of Seed Dispersal and Seed Predation of Cercocarpus ledifolius (Rosaceae)

Structural heterogeneity of habitats is thought to influence spatial patterns of seed dispersal and of seed survival, two critical processes influencing seedling recruitment. Using the wind-dispersed tree Cercocarpus ledifolius in northeastern Utah, USA, we investigated patterns of initial seed arrival, seed survival, and longer-term seed accumulation among four structurally distinct microhabitats (beneath Cercocarpus, Juniperus, and woody shrubs, and in open interspaces). Initial density of seedfall into seed traps was generally greater beneath Cercocarpus than in the remaining microhabitats, which did not differ from one another. Patterns of initial seedfall density appear to be more affected by distance from a seed source than by the physical structure of the microhabitat. The total numbers of seeds arriving in a microhabitat type, however, likely differ greatly among sites due to large differences in the relative abundances of microhabitat types. Experiments with tethered seeds indicated that overall levels of post-dispersal seed predation were low. However, seed loss in 1995 differed significantly among microhabitats, with open microhabitats generally having greatest seed loss. Patterns of accumulated seeds on the ground, in the litter, and in the soil showed greater differences among microhabitats than did patterns of initial seed arrival. Open microhabitats had the fewest accumulated seeds and beneath C. ledifolius had the most. The redistribution of the seed shadow through time is likely a consequence of both secondary seed movement over winter and the disproportionately high levels of post-dispersal seed predation in open microhabitats. By following seeds through multiple phases of early recruitment, we demonstrated that seed distributions and the processes affecting seeds are heterogeneous in space and temporally dynamic. These findings are important for understanding processes leading to the ultimate quantity and patterning of adult plant populations.
Obsidiennes du site néolithique précéramique de Shillourokambos (Chypre).

Les recherches effectuees depuis 1991 sur l'habitat neolithique preceramique de Shillourokambos ont livre un nombre eleve de pieces en obsidienne dans un contexte place entre la fin du IXe et le VIIIe millenaire ВС. Cette etude preliminaire presente les caracteristiques technologiques des productions lamellaires et precise les sources de la matiere premiere employee.
Uncertainty and Growth Disasters

This paper documents several facts on the real effects of economic uncertainty. First, higher uncertainty is associated with a more dispersed distribution of output growth. Second, the relation is highly asymmetric: A rise in uncertainty is associated with a sharp decline in the lower tail of the growth distribution whereas it has a much smaller and insignificant impact on its upper tail. Third, the negative response of growth to uncertainty shocks is larger when the equity market is more volatile. We build a model in which growth and uncertainty are both endogenous: rapid adoption of new technology raises economic uncertainty and may cause measured productivity to decline. The equilibrium growth distribution is negatively skewed and higher uncertainty leads to a thicker left tail and to more labor reallocation among jobs and among
An Empirical Study on the Influence of Atypical Visitors’ Interactive Learning on Exhibition Brand Equity

The research data show that more than 90% of the exhibition visitors are atypical visitors who have no obvious purchase intention, and there are few researches on atypical visitors. Data were collected from the atypical visitors of China Hi-Tech Fair 2019 and selected through questionnaire investigation. This study aims to discuss the influence of atypical visitors’ interactive learning on the exhibition brand equity with the methods of literature analysis and empirical study. The findings can provide some supplements for theoretical exploration and practical management.
The estimation of yield losses in wheat from severity of infection by Septoria species

Equations to assist the estimation of national losses from the results of disease surveys carried out at GS75 were derived from five fungicide trials and two inoculation experiments in the field. The equations indicate that the percentage loss in grain yield is equal to 5.412xi0. 6, 1.011xior 0.551xii where xi and xii are the percentage area infected on the flag and second leaves respectively.
ICT integration in teaching and learning: perceptions and practices of secondary school students in Tanzania

The study examined perceptions and practices of students regarding the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in teaching and learning at a public secondary school in Ilala district in Tanzania. Specifically, the study focused on assessing secondary school students’ ICT related knowledge and skills in Ilala district, finding out how secondary school students in Ilala district use ICT facilities in learning, and gathering opinions and views of secondary school students in Ilala district on ICT integration in teaching and learning. The study used a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches under a case study design to gather data through focus group discussion (FGD) and questionnaire survey methods from students at the respective school. The study involved twenty five (25) students selected through simple random sampling, who were provided with a questionnaire to respond to, and ten (10) FGD participants purposively selected. The study used thematic and descriptive techniques to process qualitative and quantitative data respectively. The study findings have revealed positive students’ perception towards ICT integration in teaching and learning. The students have also demonstrated to have knowledge and skills for using different ICT tools including desktop computers, laptops, Smartphones, Smart boards and iPads. However, the students reported to be provided with insufficient time to spend on computer programmes, they were banned from bringing personal ICT devices to school and that ICT devices usage was only limited to learning computer course instead of being used in all subjects. The study recommends that the secondary school administration should change unfriendly rules, which limit students from using personal ICT facilities in teaching and learning. ICT user education should be provided to public schools in response to the negative mind set on students’ use of ICT for learning.
Distribution of alien plant species in relation to human disturbance on the Georgia Sea Islands

Abstract. This study investigates the effects of human disturbance and environmental factors on the distribution of alien plant species on the Georgia Sea Islands (GSI), USA. We sampled the absolute cover of native and alien plant species on two tourist islands (St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island) and on two protected National Wildlife Refuge Islands (Blackbeard Island and Wassaw Island). On each island, vegetation composition and environmental variables (soil properties and salt spray) were measured in two habitats that differed substantially in their degree of environmental stress, the more exposed primary dune and the more sheltered and inland maritime forest. Sites were further stratified within each habitat into areas that had different levels of human disturbance. Many alien species were present on all islands and the absolute cover of alien species was not significantly different among islands even though they varied substantially in their degree of accessibility and overall land use. Alien plant cover was appreciably greater in severely disturbed sites than in less disturbed sites on all islands and within both habitats. However, the difference between disturbance categories was much less pronounced in the primary dunes where human disturbance agents do not mitigate the harsh environmental conditions of this habitat (salt spray and saline soils). Alien plant abundance on the GSI is evidently more dependent upon the availability of disturbed ground than the degree of accessibility or overall island development. It appears that human disturbance increases alien cover in general, but in environments where the stress levels are not mitigated, human disturbance does little to foster alien invasions.
On the shoulder of giants: advice for beginning teacher educators

ABSTRACT Teacher educators are an occupational group who appear to suffer from an identity crisis. They do not seem to be able to agree on what their role or professional learning needs are. This situation has dire consequences for the next generation of teacher educators who enter the field in the same rather haphazard and ad hoc way as the ones before. This phenomenon might further explain why it has been called the hidden profession with reports of a general lack of professional induction, mentoring and advice. To explore this issue, a study of twenty “accomplished” university-based teacher educators were posed questions, one in particular asked, “what advice would you give beginning teacher educators” ? A key finding is the important role a teacher educator plays as a public intellectual and the new skills and knowledges required to fulfil this role in an increasingly complex, multifaceted and digital world. 33
Isolation of soluble collagen from hake skin (Merluccius hubbsi)

ABSTRACT Collagen was extracted from hake skins (Merluccius hubbsi) with a 0.5 M acetic acid solution in a ratio of skin weight (g) to volume of solution (ml) of 1 to 20. An 85% of the total extractable proteins was obtained after 200 min of extraction at 0-4°C. Non-col-lagenous proteins were not detected in the collagen solution after six skin washings with 6% NaCl followed by acid extraction and one purification cycle. Collagen was characterized by intrinsic viscosity (13.7 dL/g) and denaruration temperature (10°C). Collagen was identified as Type I by SDS-PAGE 7% determinations, either in presence or absence of β-mercaptoethanol, and selective salt precipitation.
Transforming growth factor β1 is a powerful modulator of platelet‐derived growth factor action in vascular smooth muscle cells

We have studied the effect of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF‐β1) on vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) mitogenesis and expression of thrombospondin and other growth related genes. We found that TGF‐β1 treatment of vascular SMC induced a prolonged increase in steady‐state mRNA levels of thrombospondin as well as α1 (lV) collagen. The increase began at approximately 2 h, peaked by 24 h, and remained considerably elevated 48 h after growth factor addition. There was a corresponding increase in thrombospondin protein as well as increased expression of several other secreted polypeptides. The increase in thrombospondin contrasted sharply with that observed for platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF) which induced a rapid and transient increase in thrombospondin mRNA level. Although TGF‐β1 was able to directly enhance expression of thrombospondin as well as the growth‐related genes c‐fos and c‐myc, and induced c‐fos expression with identical kinetics as PDGF, it was unable to elicit [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA in three independent smooth muscle cell strains. However, TGF‐β1 was able to strongly increase the mitogenic response of SMC to PDGF. Addition of both TGF‐β1 and PDGF to SMC also caused a synergistic increase in the expression of thrombospondin as well as c‐myc. Interestingly, in one other smooth muscle cell strain, a weak and delayed mitogenic response to TGF‐β1 alone was observed. Our results strongly suggest that induction of throm‐bospondin expression by TGF‐β1 and by PDGF occurs by distinct mechanisms. In addition, that TGF‐β1 can enhance PDGF‐induced mitogenesis may be due to the ability of TGF‐β1 to directly induce the expression of thrombospondin, c‐fos, c‐myc, and the PDGF β‐receptor.
Influence of extrusion on ruminal and intestinal disappearance of amino acids in whole horsebean

Horse-beans (HB) were extruded at 120 °C. Two nonlactating Holstein cows with rumen and proximal duodenal fistulae were used to determine the effect of extrusion on in situ rumen degradation after 4, 8 and 16 h of incubation and intestinal digestibility of HB protein. Results of the present study indicate that processing diminished the ruminal degradability of HB proteins; after 4, 8 and 16 h of rumen exposure the nitrogen loss was reduced by 29, 31 and 18% respectively, with a corresponding increase in the amounts disappearing from the intestine of 110, 169 and 135%. Heat-treatment did not alter the amino acids (AA) profile; AA composition of the HB protein fractions that bypass the rumen may markedly differ quantitatively and qualitatively from their original composition. Extruding the beans increased intestinal disappearance of most of the AA, but variation in disappearance among AA was substantial. These results indicate that rumen undegraded proteins differ in their potential as a source for absorbab.
A Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective on Political Knowledge, Misinformation, and Memory for “Facts”

Memory is a fundamental concept in the fields of public opinion and political communication research. For example, the seminal studies in political science that examined what voters knew (or didn’t know) about political candidates were based on assessments of memory for informa­ tion that was disseminated over the course of an election campaign (Berelson, Lazarsfeld, & McPhee, 1954). Since the establishment of media research as a field of study, survey-based attempts to estimate media use have relied heavily on how well respondents can remember uti­ lizing a specific news source (for criticisms of this approach, see Prior, 2009a, 2009b). More­ over, experimental work in media information processing has demonstrated that attention to certain features of news, such as negative compelling images, may retroactively inhibit memory for the preceding content (Newhagen & Reeves, 1992), distorting the accuracy of recollections about news stories that viewers have just seen. Taken together, insights about the nature of memory are critical to understanding how citizens make sense of the political world. The central role of memory in explanations of political phenomena, then, begs the question of the extent to which public opinion and political communication scholars possess an accurate understanding of the nature and organization of human memory. This chapter argues that researchers in our field have much to gain by incorporating concepts and methods from studies of the cognitive neuroscience of memory.1 In the following sections, we demonstrate how adopting a cognitive neuroscience perspective on memory can advance theoretical and empiri­ cal work in public opinion and political communication research. We proceed by discussing two important domains in which utilizing a cognitive neuroscience perspective can pay enormous dividends: (1) political learning and knowledge; and (2) processing misinformation. This chapter is organized as follows. First, we discuss how public opinion and communica­ tion scholars have conceptualized memory. Different conceptualizations of memory have dis­ tinct implications for scholarly assessments of how effectively voters are able to understand their political world. Then, we describe a prominent view of memory from cognitive neuro­ science: the notion of multiple memory systems. Adopting the theoretical view of multiple memory systems has profound implications for how scholars conceptualize the manner in which political learning from the media environment occurs. Second, we turn to the domain of
Maize leaf number sensitivity in relation to photoperiod in multilocation field trials

(.) The objective of this research was to evaluate artificial extension of photoperiod for field-grown maize as a method of quantifying photoperiodic sensitivity. The LN response was quantified using data from six diverse maize cultivars grown at two field locations where natural photoperiods were artificially extended by 1.3 h to 7.3 h. These responses were then compared with LN observed in a field experiment of the same cultivars grown at 11 diverse latitudes. The relative ranking of photoperiod sensitivity among cultivars was similar for the two groups of experiments, although observed sensitivity was occasionally greater in artificial light experiments than in multilocation experiments (.)
Cyclic somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration in Cassava

Abstract With a four-step procedure, using the cassava clone M. Col 22, a cyclic system of somatic embryogenesis was developed. Primary embryos were induced in step 1 (2,4-D dependent) on young leaf lobe explants. Primary embryos were isolated in step 2 (BAP dependent) and were used as starting explant for secondary embryogenesis (steps 1 and 2 repeated). In this way, repetitive embryogenic cultures were established. It was shown that in all successive cycles embryo explants produced significantly more embryos than leaf lobe explants. According to their shape embryos were classified in two development stages; torpedo shaped embryos and germinated embryos. Germinated embryos produce more than three times as many embryos than torpedo shaped embryos. A third step in the embryogenic process was the development of shoots. The shoot conversion of embryos was increased if benzylamino purine (1 mg 1 -1 ) was added. In that case more than half of the isolated embryos developed into normal shoots. The shoot conversion rate of germinated embryos was higher than that of torpedo shaped embryos. Embryos were kept in culture for 9 months to give six cycles. The production of embryos from the sixth cycle was as efficient as that from the second cycle. The shoot conversion rate of embryos from the fourth cycle was comparable with that from the second cycle. Rooting of the embryo-derived shoots (step 4 of the procedure) occurred on a medium without BAP. More than 100 regenerants obtained from fourth cycle embryos were multiplied in vitro . They showed no phenotypical differences as compared to in vitro multiplied parental material.
How Valuable Is Financial Flexibility when Revenue Stops? Evidence from the COVID-19 Crisis

Abstract Firms with greater financial flexibility should be better able to fund a revenue shortfall resulting from the COVID-19 shock and benefit less from policy responses. We find that firms with high financial flexibility within an industry experience a stock price drop that is 26%, or 9.7 percentage points, lower than those with low financial flexibility. This differential return persists as stock prices rebound. Firms more exposed to the COVID-19 shock benefit more from cash holdings. No evidence suggests that recent payouts worsened the average firm’s drop in stock price. Our results cannot be explained by a leverage effect.
Elevated atmospheric CO2 affects decomposition of Festuca vivipara (L.) Sm. litter and roots in experiments simulating environmental change in two contrasting arctic ecosystems

Mass loss, together with nitrogen and carbon loss, from above‐ground material and roots of Festuca vivipara were followed for 13 months in a high Arctic polar semi‐desert and a low Arctic tree‐line dwarf shrub heath. Festuca vivipara for the study was obtained from plants cultivated at two different CO2 concentrations (350 and 500 μL L–1) in controlled environment chambers in the UK. Each of the four resource types (shoots or roots from plants grown in elevated or ambient CO2 concentrations) was subsequently placed in an experiment simulating aspects of environmental change in each Arctic ecosystem. Air, litter and soil temperatures were increased using open‐topped polythene tents at both sites, and a 58% increase in summer precipitation was simulated at the high Arctic site.
Carboxymethylation of γ-irradiated starch

Low viscosity carboxymethyl corn starch was prepared by the reaction of γ-irradiated starch with monochloroacetic acid in the presence of alkali. It was found that irradiation dose influences the product viscosity remarkably. The viscosity decreases as the irradiation dose level increases; however, the viscosity increases with the increasing dose rate and the degree of substitution (DS). γ-Irradiation can activate the starch to react with monochloroacetic acid, and the more of the irradiation dose, the higher of the DS and the reaction efficiency. The product has the character of low viscosity at high concentration, and the more of the irradiation dose, the more similar of the rheological behavior to a Newtonian liquid. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 2210–2215, 2006
Satellite image analysis reveals changes in seagrass beds at Van Phong Bay, Vietnam during the last 30 years

Seagrass meadows are fragile ecosystems in the coastal zone. Natural disasters, land reclamation and various human activities seem to exert negative impacts on the distribution and biological performance of seagrass beds in Vietnam. In this present study, satellite Landsat TM/OLI image analysis was applied to determine changes in seagrass distribution at Van Phong Bay, Vietnam in the last 30 years. The maximum likelihood decision rule was used to extract seagrass bed distribution data. The error matrix using the in situ reference data for HLM image classification was 81–95% accurate, and Kappa coefficients were between 0.72 and 0.91. The results indicated that 186.2 ha (or 35.8%) of the original seagrass beds were lost in the last three decades at Van Phong Bay, and decline in each specific site may have been due to different causes. Typhoons may have caused the loss of seagrass beds at open-sea sites whereas aquaculture activities, excavation and terrigenous obliteration may have caused such losses in protected sites.
PD04-12 IN VITRO COMPARISON OF ABLATION RATES BETWEEN SUPERPULSED THULIUM FIBER LASER AND HO:YAG LASER FOR ENDOCORPOREAL LITHOTRIPSY

crystal phagocytic analysis method using human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived macrophages (Mfs) in order to construct a drug discovery screening model. The aim of this study is to differentiate human iPSC-derived Mfs into inflammatory type (M1) and anti-inflammatory type (M2), and compare their phagocytosis and processing ability of fluorescent calcium oxalate crystals. METHODS: The six reprogramming factors (Oct4, Sox2, Lin28, L-Myc, Klf4, mp53DD) were introduced into peripheral blood cells of healthy subjects to prepare iPSCs. The primitive linear-like cells were induced with BMP4; vascular stem cell-like cells were induced with VEGF, basic FGF, and SCF; hematopoietic cells were prepared using hematopoietic cytokines (SCF/FL3/IL-3/TPO/M-CSF); and specific differentiation of a monocyte lineage was performed using Flt-3 ligand, GM-CSF, and M-CSF. Thereafter, the CD14þ monocyte lineage specific cell fraction was differentiated into Mfs using M-CSF. Furthermore, M1s and M2s were induced by IFN-g and IL-4, respectively. Alexa-Fluor 488-combined calcium oxalate monohydrate (f-COM) crystals were exposed to M1s / M2s, and the amount of phagocytic fCOM were measured with InCell Analyzer 6000 for 15 hours. RESULTS: The human iPSC-derived Mfs were able to differentiated into Ms and M2s labeled with CD11c and CD163, respectively, and could phagocytose f-COM crystals. The M2s differentiated from iPS-derived Mfs increased intracellular fluorescence intensity about 1.3 times about 2 hours after fCOM exposure, but M1s did not change. On the other hand, the fluorescence intensities of M1s and M2s gradually decreased by half over 15 hours. However, the fluorescence intensity of M2s rapidly decreased from the 10th hour and dropped below M1 after about 12 hours. CONCLUSIONS: iPS cell-derived M2s was thought to be more capable of phagocytosing and processing crystals than M1s. This result showed the possibility that the subtype of M2s differentiated from the human iPSCs contributes to the novel prevention of stone formation.