Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Zhuotingoxylon liaoi gen. et sp. nov., a silicified coniferous trunk from the Changhsingian (Permian) of southern Bogda Mountains, northwestern China

A silicified trunk, Zhuotingoxylon liaoi Wan, Yang, Wang, Liu et Wang gen. et sp. nov., is described from the uppermost part of Guodikeng Formation in South Taodonggou section, Turpan–Hami Basin, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwestern China. It is characterized by a solid pith, endarch primary xylem and pycnoxylic wood. The pith is composed of parenchyma and sclereids. Radial walls of primary xylem tracheids have spiral and scalariform thickenings. Secondary xylem consists of thick‐walled tracheids and parenchymatous rays. Uniseriate rounded pits with oval apertures are distributed on radial tracheidal walls separately. Cell walls of rays are homogeneous and smooth. Rays are 1–10 cells high in tangential section. Cross‐field pits are cupressoid. There are 1–4 bordered pits with slit‐like to oval apertures in each cross‐field. Based on the anatomical features of the pith and xylems, it is proposed that the new stem has a coniferous affinity. The new fossil stem adds to the knowledge of vascular plant diversity close to the Permian–Triassic boundary.
Developing female removal for Cydia pomonella (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in organic pear in the USA and Italy

Seventeen trials were conducted using traps baited with kairomone‐based lures to evaluate female removal (FR) as an effective management tactic for codling moth, Cydia pomonella, L. , in organic pear, Pyrus communis L. , production in Italy and USA during 2019–2020. Studies included paired plots (0.4–1.4 ha) treated with or without 60 traps ha−1 in cultivars Bartlett and Abate Fétel. Paired plots were also treated together with or without mating disruption (MD) and with similar spray programmes. Three‐, four‐, and five‐component lures were used with several trap types: green, clear or green/white bucket traps and orange delta traps. The three‐component lure consisted of (E,E)‐8,10‐dodecadien‐1‐ol (sex pheromone, PH), (E,Z)‐2,4‐ethyl decadienoate (pear ester, PE) and acetic acid (AA); the four‐component lure was PE, (E)‐4,8‐dimethyl‐1,3,7‐nonatriene (DMNT), 6‐ethenyl‐2,2,6‐trimethyloxan‐3‐ol (pyranoid linalool oxide, LOX), and AA, and the five‐component lure had PH added. Preliminary studies were also conducted to evaluate the trapping efficacy of non‐saturating bucket traps. A clear bucket trap baited with PE/DMNT/LOX + AA captured 97‐fold more codling moth females than an orange delta trap baited with PH/PE. However, female captures did not differ between traps when both were baited with the four‐component lure. Fruit injury from codling moth was significantly reduced with the implementation of FR in both pear production regions. At harvest, mean fruit protection in the USA studies was 65% and 27% in Italy. This difference was likely associated with the four‐component lure being less effective in Italy than in the USA. Nevertheless, results demonstrate that FR can be a useful approach to remove females immigrating into orchards and as a new tactic to reduce pest pressure in selected areas of orchards allowing both MD and organic insecticide programmes to be more effective. Further studies should investigate the cost‐benefit of matching the intensity of FR to variable pest pressures.
Post Natal Gross Anatomical Studies on the Harderian Gland of Pati Duck (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) of Assam

Background: The agro-climatic condition of Assam is suitable for duck rearing. Duck rearing contributes a major part to uplift the socio-economic condition of the rural poor people of Assam as well as others states located in the coastal regions of India. The Pati duck (Anasplatyrhynchos domesticus) population constitutes a major indigenous non-descript economically important duck variety in the state of Assam. The Harderian gland acts as a part of the Head Associated Lymphoid Tissue (HALT) Olah et al. (1992) and provides local innate immunity to the upper respiratory system, to the eye and oral cavity. Since literature on the postnatal development of Harderian gland of Pati duck is scant, hence the present study was designed to establish the basic anatomical details on Harderian gland at different stages of postnatal development of Pati duck of Assam. Methods: The present study was conducted on total forty five (45) numbers Pati duck of Assam at different stages of postnatal development. The experimental birds were brought to the Department of Anatomy and Histology, College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara, Guwahati-22 and was sacrificed according to the method of Gracy (1986). After slaughter, the birds were placed on a clean dissecting table and skin and fascia were reflected carefully without disturbing the other organs of the head region. The Harderian gland was collected by opening the orbital cavity. Thereafter, length, breadth and thickness of the Harderian gland of all age group were recorded with the help of the Vernier Callipers (McCance, 1974) and topographical location of the gland was observed. The weight of the Harderian gland of all age group was also recorded with the help of electronic balance. Result: The Harderian gland of Pati duck (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) was located within the orbit. The gland was flat, oval and coma shaped with irregular border. The gland had two surfaces i.e. the parietal and visceral surfaces, two borders and two blunt poles. The parietal surface was found convex and attached to fascia covered by the nasal bones and interorbital septa. The visceral surface was concave and it was attached loosely to the eye ball with fascia. The lobes of the Harderian gland became more prominent with the advancement of the age. The gland was light pink in colour. The arterial blood and the venus drainage was by provided by the ophthalmic artery and vein, respectively. The slender branch of oculomotor nerve innervated the Harderian gland. The result reflected an ascending trend from 0 week age group to 42 week age group in regard to all the gross parameters. There were slight difference between left and right glands for all the gross parameters but such variations were not statistically significant (P greater than 0.05). Each lobe of the Harderian Gland of Pati duck (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) had a single short duct which opened into the conjunctival sac at the base of the 3rd eyelid.
Influences of Work Function Changes in NO2 and H2S Adsorption on Pd-Doped ZnGa2O4(111) Thin Films: First-Principles Studies

The work function variations of NO2 and H2S molecules on Pd-adsorbed ZnGa2O4(111) were calculated using first-principle calculations. For the bonding of a nitrogen atom from a single NO2 molecule to a Pd atom, the maximum work function change was +1.37 eV, and for the bonding of two NO2 molecules to a Pd atom, the maximum work function change was +2.37 eV. For H2S adsorption, the maximum work function change was reduced from −0.90 eV to −1.82 eV for bonding sulfur atoms from a single and two H2S molecules to a Pd atom, respectively. Thus, for both NO2 and H2S, the work function change increased with an increase in gas concentration, showing that Pd-decorated ZnGa2O4(111) is a suitable material in NO2/H2S gas detectors.
Ternary mixtures of lipids and cholesterol : a theoretical model

We propose a new theoretical model for describing the formation and the phase coexistence in ternary mixtures of phospholipids and cholesterol. This model combines the properties of the liquid-gel phase transition, described with an internal order parameter, with some non ideal mixing behavior accounting for the influence of cholesterol, and inspired by Flory's description of polymer melts. Our thermodynamical approach successfully accounts for the coexistence of binary phospholipid mixtures such as DOPC-DPPC. The order parameter, originally introduced by Doniach, describes in a simplified manner the thermodynamics of the alkyl chains in a lipid bilayer, by analogy with the Ising model under magnetic field. We not only obtain ternary diagrams resembling to experimental diagrams, but also discuss the evolution of these phase equilibria with temperature. This approach is then generalized to other lipid components, namely PSM, POPC and DiphytanoylPC.Our approach, made of a combination of discrete geometry calculations and numerical resolutions of the analytical equations for determining the properties of the Gibbs diagram is novel, and applies to a wide class of thermodynamic models with order parameters. A Landau-Ginzburg extension of the above model allows us to study inhomogeneous systems. A firstimportant application consists in determining the line tension $\tau$ and the profile of an interface separating macrodomains of ordered and disordered liquid phase. We extend Cahn's wetting theory to the case of a circular inclusion of finite radius $R$ in a ``lipid sea'', at coexistence and offcoexistence. We finally discuss the effects of the proximity of a critical point, and the consequences relative to mutual interactions between impurities induced by the wetting process.
The Gendered Path for Girls in Rural Communities: The Impact of COVID-19 on Youth Presenting at Juvenile Detention Facilities

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, girls and women represented one of the fastest growing populations within the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Since the spread of COVID-19, suggestions were provided to juvenile justice bodies, encouraging a reduction of youth arrests, detainments, and quicker court processing. Yet, the research comparing peri-COVID-19 changes for girls and boys is lacking, with an oversight to gender trends and rural and urban differences. This study used Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center (JIAC) data from a rural Midwestern state to look at rural and urban location trends for both boys and girls. Results suggest rural communities are responding differently to girls’ behaviors, revealing a slower decline in intakes compared to boys and youth in urban areas.
Seasonal variation of brain size in a freshwater top predator

1. Teleost fishes occupy a range of ecosystem and habitat types subject to large seasonal fluctuations. Temperate fishes in particular, survive large shifts in temperature, light availability, and access to certain habitats across seasons. Yet, there is limited understanding of how behavioral responses to a seasonally shifting environment might shape, or be shaped by, the nervous system. 2. Here we quantified variation in relative brain size and the size of five externally visible brain regions in a freshwater top predator, lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), across six consecutive seasons in two different lakes. Acoustic telemetry data from one of our study lakes was collected during the study period from a different subset of individuals and used to infer relationships between brain size and seasonal behaviors (habitat use and movement rate). 3. Our results indicated that lake trout relative brain size was larger in the fall and winter compared to the spring and summer in both lakes. Larger brains coincided with increased use of nearshore lake habitats and increased horizontal movement rates by lake trout in the fall and winter based on acoustic telemetry. The telencephalon followed the same pattern as whole brain size, while the other brain regions (cerebellum, optic tectum, olfactory bulbs, hypothalamus) were only smaller in the spring. 4. Seasonal shifts in total brain size might reflect greater underlying changes in the size of the telencephalon. These findings provide evidence that flexibility in brain size could underpin shifts in behavior which could subserve functions associated with differential habitat use during cold and warm seasons and allow fish to succeed in seasonally variable temperate environments.
Experimental investigation and analysis of pure bending plastic hinge zone in hybrid beams reinforced with high reinforcement ratio under static loads

Abstract This article investigates the formation of plastic region length and parameters affecting the region length in hybrid glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP)/steel reinforced concrete (RC) beams by using finite element method based on the ATENA software. Totally nine concrete beams with dimension of 150 × 250 × 2700 mm reinforced with hybrid GFRP/steel reinforcement were tested in four-point bending. Tested beams reinforced with an effective reinforcement ratio between 0.57% and 1.18%. The tested outcomes along with the experimental data on behaviour of GFRP/steel RC beams available in the literature were collected for validating the 2D FE model. The comparison results confirm a good agreement between the experimental and numerical data. The experimental results of this study show that the effect of the ratio of steel to GFRP bars and the amount of longitudinal reinforcement are the main factors controlling the strength and failure modes of beams. The parametric study using FE model is conducted to evaluate the effect of effective reinforcement ratio, yield strength of steel, concrete compressive strength, ratio of elastic modulus of GFRP and steel bars, and ratio of shear span to effective height of section on spread of the length of plastic hinge region of GFRP/steel RC beams.
The Face of Technology-Facilitated Aggression in New Zealand: Exploring Adult Aggressors' Behaviors

The nature and extent of adults' engagement in diverse manifestations of Technology-Facilitated aggression is not yet well understood. Most research has focused on victimization. When explored, engagement in online aggression and abuse has centered on children and young people, particularly in school and higher education settings. Drawing on nationally representative data from New Zealand adults aged 18 and over, this chapter explores the overall prevalence of online aggression with a focus on gender and age. Our findings support the need to also understand adult aggressors' behaviors to better address the distress and harm caused to targets through digital communications. The chapter discusses the implications of the results for policy and practice and proposes some directions for future research.
A Comparative Study of Emergency Remote Education Amid COVID-19

— The outbreak of the new coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) severely threatened people's health and safety for a long period. It has caused a serious impact on people's work, life, and learning. Most governments around the world have temporarily closed educational institutions in an attempt to contain the spread of COVID-19. These nationwide closures are impacting over 91% of the world’s student population (UNESCO, 2020). As a response to the interruption of education due to the crisis, this study compares emergency remote learning cases in three countries, namely India, China, and the United States, narrating the overall view, reflections, and lessons learnt in the education field. The findings show that there are some common challenges that all of the three countries are facing, like ensuring every student having access to remote education, unprepared teachers, increased burden of parents as well as students’ lack of self‐discipline when isolated at home. With challenges, come opportunities such as education transformation from a traditional system to a new era as well as improvement of digital literacy. Finally, suggestions on improving remote education from the viewpoint of policymakers, teachers, and students are given to escalate the level of remote education during the pandemic, so as to promote the reform of information-based education.
Cross-Coupling as a Key Step in the Synthesis and Structure Revision of the Natural Products Selagibenzophenones A and B

Selagibenzophenone A (1) and its isomer selagibenzophenone B (2) were recently described as natural products from Selaginella genus plants with PDE4 inhibitory activity. Herein, we report the first total syntheses of both compounds. By comparing spectroscopic data of the synthetic compounds with reported data for the isolated material, we demonstrate that the structure of one of the two natural products was incorrectly assigned, and that in fact isolated selagibenzophenone A and selagibenzophenone B are identical compounds. The synthetic strategy for both 1 and 2 is based on a cross-coupling reaction and on the addition of organometallic species to assemble the framework of the molecules. Identifying a suitable starting material with the correct substitution pattern is crucial because its pattern is reflected in that of the targeted compounds. These syntheses are finalized via global deprotection. Protecting the phenols as methoxy groups provides the possibility for partial control over the selectivity in the demethylation thanks to differences in the reactivity of the various methoxy groups. Our findings may help in future syntheses of derivatives of the biologically active natural product and in understanding the structure–activity relationship.
Long-Term Nitrogen Addition Decreases Soil Carbon Mineralization in an N-Rich Primary Tropical Forest

Anthropogenic elevated nitrogen (N) deposition has an accelerated terrestrial N cycle, shaping soil carbon dynamics and storage through altering soil organic carbon mineralization processes. However, it remains unclear how long-term high N deposition affects soil carbon mineralization in tropical forests. To address this question, we established a long-term N deposition experiment in an N-rich lowland tropical forest of Southern China with N additions such as NH4NO3 of 0 (Control), 50 (Low-N), 100 (Medium-N) and 150 (High-N) kg N ha−1 yr−1, and laboratory incubation experiment, used to explore the response of soil carbon mineralization to the N additions therein. The results showed that 15 years of N additions significantly decreased soil carbon mineralization rates. During the incubation period from the 14th day to 56th day, the average decreases in soil CO2 emission rates were 18%, 33% and 47% in the low-N, medium-N and high-N treatments, respectively, compared with the Control. These negative effects were primarily aroused by the reduced soil microbial biomass and modified microbial functions (e.g., a decrease in bacteria relative abundance), which could be attributed to N-addition-induced soil acidification and potential phosphorus limitation in this forest. We further found that N additions greatly increased soil-dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and there were significantly negative relationships between microbial biomass and soil DOC, indicating that microbial consumption on soil-soluble carbon pool may decrease. These results suggests that long-term N deposition can increase soil carbon stability and benefit carbon sequestration through decreased carbon mineralization in N-rich tropical forests. This study can help us understand how microbes control soil carbon cycling and carbon sink in the tropics under both elevated N deposition and carbon dioxide in the future.
Economic relations and the public image of China in Latin America: a cross-country time-series analysis

Abstract This article investigates the impact of Chinese economic activities in Latin America on the national image of China in the region. Using economic and public opinion data from 17 Latin American countries from 2001 to 2016, this work relates cross-national time-series variations regarding China’s image in Latin America to changes in the economic ties (such as trade, FDI, and contracts) between the perceiving countries and China. Controlling for the size of the economy and the level of its development, the statistical analysis indicates that trade surplus against China in Latin America has a positive effect on the public perceptions of China in the region, while Chinese FDI outflows to Latin America lead to a negative effect. The effects of Chinese contracts, imports, and exports tend not to be statistically significant. We also find less developed Latin American countries with low life expectancy and low educational attainment tend to have a more positive view of China than their richer counterparts in the region. Finally, we find that Latin American countries under presidents with left-wing ideology have a much more positive view of China than countries under presidents with other ideological preferences. Diplomatic relations with China and China’s soft power influence as indexed by the presence of Confucius Institutes do not exhibit a strong impact on China’s national image in Latin America, compared with the dominant political ideology in a Latin American country as reflected in the president’s ideology.
An exploratory study of interpretability for face presentation attack detection

Biometric recognition and presentation attack detection (PAD) methods strongly rely on deep learning algorithms. Though often more accurate, these models operate as complex black boxes. Interpretability tools are now being used to delve deeper into the operation of these methods, which is why this work advocates their integration in the PAD scenario. Building upon previous work, a face PAD model based on convolutional neural networks was implemented and evaluated both through traditional PAD metrics and with inter-pretability tools. An evaluation on the stability of the explanations obtained from testing models with attacks known and unknown in the learning step is made. To overcome the limitations of direct comparison, a suitable representation of the explanations is constructed to quantify how much two explanations differ from each other. From the point of view of interpretability, the results obtained in intra and inter class comparisons led to the conclusion that the presence of more attacks during training has a positive effect in the generalisation and robustness of the models. This is an exploratory study that confirms the urge
I want to learn more! Integrating technology acceptance and task–technology fit models for predicting behavioural and future learning intentions

Purpose Constant and frequent technological changes within organizations call for further scholarly attention, as behavioural intentions need to be coupled also with future learning intentions to predict the present and prospective individual adaptations and performance. This study, grounded on the technology acceptance model, aims to examine the association between training opportunities and behavioural and future learning intentions also taking into account the role of task–technology fit as a moderator. Design/methodology/approach A survey was carried out within a single organization in the water processing sector on a sample of 200 workers who recently experienced a technological change through the adoption of System Application and Product in data processing. A moderated–mediation model was estimated through regression analyses with bootstrapping. Findings The results were consistent with study hypotheses. In particular, task–technology fit amplified the positive association between perceived ease of use and training opportunities as well as the indirect effect of this latter on both behavioural and future learning intentions through perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. In sum, the hypothesized moderated–mediation model was confirmed. Originality/value Three novelty factors of this study can be stressed: it is among the few studies carried out on Italian workers in the realm of technology adoption, it expanded the technology acceptance model by including traditional behavioural intentions and future learning intentions as outcome variables and it integrated the task–technology fit perspective within the technology acceptance model.