Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Population size, growth, and production of a unionid clam, Anodonta grandis simpsoniana, in a small, deep Boreal Forest lake in central Alberta

Unionid clams were sampled quantitatively by divers searching quadrats and by dredging in Narrow Lake, central Alberta. The mean density and biomass of Anodonta grandis simpsoniana Lea (aged ≥2 years) on the area of the littoral zone available to clams (80%) were 15/m2 and 132 g/m2 (live weight), respectively. The mean length at 5 years of age was 49 mm and only increased to 69 mm by 11 years of age. Variation in length at annulus was high. Years of small growth increments (1982 and 1983) coincided with years of poor juvenile recruitment. Production/biomass ratios were highest for clams of 2 and 3 years of age, but the amount of biomass produced was greatest for clams of 5–8 years of age. The overall production/biomass ratio (live weight) was 0.25 and varied with annual differences in growth.
Male Gametophytic Selection Against a Deleterious Allele in a Mixed Mating Model

A deterministic two-allele model is presented for the evolutionary dynamics of deleterious mutations selected in the male gametophytic stage of a population with mixed selfing and random mating. The equilibrium frequency of the deleterious allele increases with the selfing rate, and the deleterious allele will be fixed, if the selfing rate is sufficiently high and mutation is unidirectional. The effect of pollen selection decreases as the selfing rate increases. Some consequences of male gametophytic selection for the evolution of mating systems are discussed.
Waves and Instabilities at Contact Discontinuities

The aim of the present work is to study MHD waves and instabilities at contact discontinuities, in a plasma, with applications to the solar atmosphere. In particular we investigate what effect field inclination has on the characteristics of waves and instabilities. We initially consider the gravity-free environment and investigate the characteristics of magneto-acoustic surface waves propagating at a single density interface, in the presence of an inclined magnetic field. For linear wave propagation, dispersion relations are obtained for both the time independent and the incompressible, time-dependent cases. Analytical solutions are derived for small inclination angle. For the time-independent case, the inclination of the field renders the frequency of waves to be complex, where the imaginary part describes wave attenuation, due to lateral energy leakage. The time-dependent case confirms the attenuation of leaky waves at a contact discontinuity. We also discuss the transition to the tangential discontinuity as the inclination angle tends to zero. We show that there is no continuous transition from the leaky modes on a contact discontinuity to the surface modes on a tangential discontinuity. However, such a transition exists if we take the average quantities describing the leaky modes. We extend our study of the effects of magnetic field inclination at a contact discontinuity, by including the gravitational effects. We investigate the nature of the magnetic Rayleigh-Taylor instability at a density interface permeated by an inclined magnetic field in the ncompressible MHD limit. Through an ideal MHD analysis, we find that, unlike the tangential case of MRT instability, perturbations of the interface are shown to be unstable for all wavenumbers, thus, due to the inclination of the magnetic field, the critical wavenumber at which waves become unstable disappears. As a result, field inclination produces qualitatively different dynamics than the tangential case, for the gravitationally modified case, as well as for the gravity free analysis. Theoretical results are applied to diagnose the structure of the magnetic field in prominence threads. Our analysis shows that the observed growth time of instability requires only small values of the inclination angle.
Vegetative, reproductive and molecular characterization of Gloiocladia microspora (Faucheaceae, Rhodophyta)

Morphological and molecular studies of Gloiocladia microspora were carried out to confirm its position in the genus Gloiocladia. The thallus is compressed and complanately irregularly branched, and develops narrow, cylindrical segments from the apices, which give rise to new compressed branches in adult specimens. The cortex is composed of an outer section of loose anticlinal filaments, slightly arched at the base, and a single-layered subcortex of cells that form a network parallel to the thallus surface. The medulla is composed of large, longitudinally elongated, hyaline cells. Female gametophytes are procarpic with a three-celled carpogonial branch and a two-celled auxiliary cell branch, both borne on the same subcortical cell. After fertilization, a fusion cell is formed from the auxiliary mother cell, the auxiliary cell, and probably adjacent vegetative cells. Simultaneously the auxiliary cell divides to cut off the primary gonimoblast cell. Components of the mature fusion cell are indiscernible. Nutritive cells and a tela arachnoidea are conspicuous and present at the early procarp stage. Cystocarps are sessile or substipitate, ostiolate, and usually situated around the narrow segments of fronds or, sometimes, on the margins of the compressed branches that arise from narrow segments. Spermatangia are unknown. Tetrasporangia develop in raised nemathecia located on small compressed proliferations or on the narrow segments, and usually surround them. Phylogenetic analyses of partial rbcL sequences resolved G. microspora as a distinct species within the clade of other Gloiocladia species. Vegetative and reproductive morphology, together with molecular analyses support the position of G. microspora within Gloiocladia.
Cliometric essays on Mexican migration to the United States

There is a lack of cliometric literature addressing the characteristics of Mexican migration during the Age of Mass migration (1850–1914). To fill this void, I analyze an original data set—the Mexican Border Crossing Records (MBCRs) publication N° A3365—to disentangle the initial mechanics of Mexican migration in the early twentieth century. I first offer a historical overview on Mexican migration to the United States in Chapter 1. In Chapter 2, I introduce these novel micro data that record individual characteristics of migrants that crossed the Mexico-US border from 1906 to 1908. In Chapter 3, I address the initial determinants of the Mexican-American migration stream. I use the migrant’s location of last residence and final destination to identify migration corridors at the local level (migration streams between Mexican municipalities and US counties). In addition, I provide a quantitative assessment of the push and pull factors that may explain differences in migration intensity across corridors. These factors include the US-Mexico wage gap, market potentials, living standards and access to railways. In Chapter 4, I use the migrant’s height—a proxy for physical productivity of labor—to quantify the selectivity of Mexican migration. In addition, I exploit the Panic of 1907 as a natural experiment of history to study the speed that migrant self-selection adjust and change to both environmental and economic factors. This financial crisis provides me with exogenous variation in height to evaluate if unexpected shocks affecting the demand of immigrant workers can induce short-run changes in migrant self-selection. To explain shifts in selection patterns, I focus on labor institutions as mechanism of adjustment. Specifically, I study the enganche, a system of labor recruiting that neutralized mobility and job-search costs. In Chapter 5, I exploit the reported locations of birth, last residence and destination to classify migrants based on their chosen migration method: direct or stage migration. The micro data reveal that forty percent of the migrants moved within Mexico before crossing the border. I estimate correlations between stage migration and potential wage at the destination controlling for the immigrants’ age, literacy, sex, marital status and birthplace. In Chapter 6, I offer some concluding remarks. My findings expand our knowledge about the initial patterns of Mexican migration using micro data not analyzed previously. They show that in the early twentieth century, the decision to migrate was a function of diverse forces, which effects and magnitudes varied across Mexican regions. Also, Mexican migration was characterized by an intermediate or positive selection, and labor institutions involved in the migration process shaped migrant self-selection. Finally, Mexicans used stage migration to reach the US border, and it was associated with a significant wage premium at the destination.
The significance of the asymmetric effect of crowding for coexistence in a mixed temperate forest

The coexistence of coniferous (mostly Abies homolepis) and broad-leaved tree species (mostly Fagus crenata) in a mixed temperate old-growth forest in Japan was simulated by a size-structure dynamics model incorporating the asymmetrical (one-sided) effect of shading between these two life-form guilds. The model assumes that the crowding effect due to one-sided competition for light on a tree of a given size regulates the rate of size growth and recruitment. The cumulative basal area of trees larger than a given tree in the forest is employed to express the intensity of one-sided competition on that tree. Cumulative basal areas of both guilds negatively affected the growth rate of any tree. The shading effect by conifers on the growth rate of either guild was stronger than that by broad-leaved species. Two types of model were tested for recruitment; an additive and a reciprocal model. A reciprocal model, where basal area density of conifers and broad-leaved species has a negative effect on the recruitment of its own guild but has a positive effect on that of the other guild, fit the observed data better than an additive model where total basal area of the two guilds suppresses recruitment rates. Simulations using these models showed that, within a particular range of the set of recruitment rates, the two guilds could coexist. The tendency for reciprocal replacement, incorporated in the reciprocal model, substantially widened the range of coexistence and shortened the time required for convergence.
Cotton yield responses to fertilizer nitrogen rates in a cotton-corn rotation.

The amount of N fertilizer needed for optimal cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) yield in cotton-corn (Zea mays L.) rotations should be established to enhance the agronomic, economic, and environmental sustainability of crop rotations in the mid-south-ern United States. Nitrogen rates were evaluated in field studies from 1996 through 2001 on Commerce silt loam (SL) (fine-silty, mixed, nonacid, thermic Aerie Fluvaquent) and on irrigated Gigger SL (fine-silty, mixed, thermic Typic Fragiudalf) to determine cotton yield responses to residual and fertilizer N rates in 2-yr rotation cycles with corn. The treatments included N rates of 0, 168,224, and 280 kg ha -1 applied to corn, and N rates ofO, 28, 56,84,112, and 140 kg ha -1 applied to the following cotton crop. Effects of the corn N rate, fertilizer N rate, and their interaction on cotton yield were significant (P < 0.05) for both locations. Each 1 kg ha -1 increase in corn N rate decreased the lint yield response to fertilizer N rate 0.12% on Commerce SL and 0.09% on Gigger SL. Optimal fertilizer N rates for lint yield on Commerce SL were 112, 84, 84, and 56 kg ha -1 following corn N rates of 0, 168, 224, and 280 kg ha -1 , respectively. Optimal N rates on Gigger SL were 84, 56, 56, and 56 kg ha∼1 following corn N rates ofO, 168, 224, and 280 kg ha -1 , respectively. Residual corn N influenced lint yield responses to fertilizer N rate and the N rates needed to achieve optimal yield in a cotton-corn rotation.
The carcass chemical composition of the African butter catfish (Schilbe mystus) from two tropical manmade lakes, southwestern Nigeria

Proximate analyses of the carcass (dry weight) of the African butter catfish (Schilbe mystus) from two manmade lakes, viz. Oyan and Asejire reservoirs, were carried out in order to ascertain nutritional values of this commercially important catfish. The nutrient levels assayed included crude protein, fat, fibre, ash, and moisture. The study revealed that nutrient levels of the carcass vary with habitat, season and size. The mean nutrient contents of the carcass of S. mystus from Lakes Oyan and Asejire were, respectively, as follows: protein content 56.9% ± 2.36 and 60.3% ± 0.437, mean lipid content 4.8% ± 0.45 and 5.7% ± 0.083, mean ash content 14.3% ± 1.21 and 13% ± 0.28 and mean fibre content 0.79% ± 0.07 and 0.76% ± 0.044. Crude protein, fat and moisture contents varied significantly with sampled populations. In both habitats, nutrient levels of the dry carcass showed a significant difference between the dry and rainy season. Generally, nutrient values were found to be higher in the dry season except f.
Limnological Factors Influencing Bird Abundance and Species Richness on Florida Lakes

ABSTRACT Forty-six bird species were observed on 33 Florida lakes with some species occurring on only one lake and others on as many as 26 lakes. Average annual bird abundance ranged from seven to 750 bird/km2 and total species richness ranged from two to 30 species per lake. Regression analyses were used to examine the effects of lake trophic status, aquatic macrophyte abundance, and lake morphology on average annual bird abundance and total species richness. All trophic state parameters (total phosphorus, total chlorophyll a, etc.) accounted for significant portions of the variance in average annual bird abundance, but total chlorophyll a concentrations (μg/L) accounted for the highest percentage (47 percent) of the variance. The best fit regression equation was: Log Bird Abundance = 1.35 + 0.56 Log Total Chlorophyll a . Lake area, shoreline length, and all trophic state parameters accounted for significant portions of the variance in total species richness. Multiple regression analyses indicated that l.
The root and shoot development of Eucalyptus regnans F. Muell.

During the first season, E. regnans develops a fairly strong tap-root, and later commences to produce a system of laterals. Seedling shoot growth is slow at first but increases rapidly. In the sapling stage, sinker roots develop from the laterals which extend far beyond the crown. Growth in height of the tree is very fast. During the pole stage, the conical crown is well developed, sinker roots become branched and the tap-root dies back. In the spar stage, the crown approaches maximum height and expands greatly. The sinker and lateral roots become very well developed. During the long mature stage, the fully elevated crowns become open and commence to die back. Buttresses are prominent and a complex system of sinker roots is present. Overmaturity is marked by a very large trunk epicormic growth and progressive die-back of the central area of both crown and roots. On warmer and drier aspects the root systems of seedlings and pole stage trees appear to be less well developed than on the cooler and moister aspects. On steep slopes, the root systems of pole stage trees may develop asymetrically. Layering of prostrate trees may occur on southerly slopes and root fusion between trees is relatively common. In swamps, vertical roots are short and trees are very unstable. Pornaderris aspera, one of the more common understorey species, develops a shallower and less spreading root system than E. regnans. In the early stages the lateral roots of both species are shallow and occupy the same soil zones; competition for moisture and nutrients is therefore likely to be very intense.
LOSS OF NITROGEN FROM THE FOREST FLOOR BY BURNING

Burning experiments conducted in the laboratory indicated a 25-64 per cent loss of nitrogen from the forest floor at temperatures of 300-700 °C. Burning increased the nitrogen concentration of the residual material, but the total amount of nitrogen decreased. This may explain the frequent reports of an increase in nitrogen after burning.
Climate relationships of growth and establishment across the altitudinal range of Fagus sylvatica in the Montseny Mountains, northeast Spain

Abstract A rise in elevation of the temperate biome has been reported in the mountains of northeast Spain. We aimed to determine the principal climatic factors limiting growth and establishment of the dominant temperate tree, Fagus sylvatica, across its altitudinal range and how its climate-response has varied over time. We determined the climate-response of the growth of adult trees and the establishment of juveniles using dendroecological methods at 3 sites along an elevational gradient spanning this species' full altitudinal distribution of approximately 1000–1650 m above sea level. We found strong altitudinal variation in growth and establishment responses to climate. The most common growth response was to high spring and summer temperature (April—July), which promoted growth and establishment at the upper treeline but had the opposite effect at low altitudes. Precipitation was strongly limiting for adult growth at the lower limit of F. sylvatica and declined in importance with increasing altitude. Sensitivity of growth to summer temperature increased over the second half of the 20th century. Future increases in summer temperature are likely to have negative consequences for growth and establishment at this species' low altitude, low latitude range-edge, particularly if temperature increase is not matched by increasing precipitation.
Protease inhibitor and substrates block motility and microtubule sliding of sea urchin and carp spermatozoa

The effects of protease substrates and inhibitor, which have been previously shown to inhibit mammalian sperm motility (de Lamirande, E., and Gagnon, C. [1986] J. Cell Biol. 102:1378–1383), were investigated using reactivated sea urchin and carp spermatozoa as models of “9 + 2” flagella. Aprotinin in the 2 to 20 μM range interfered with sperm motility by reducing both the beat frequency and the percentage of motile spermatozoa. These inhibitory effects of aprotinin were reversible either by dilution or by the addition of high concentrations of MgATP to the incubation medium. Protease substrates with a lys–ester bond, such as N-α-benzyloxycarbonyl-lys thiobenzyl ester (BLT), also affected motility, but in the 0.1 to 0.5 mM range. As with aprotinin, both the flagellar beat frequency and the percentage of motile spermatozoa were partially and completely decreased, respectively. Analysis of the beat frequencies as a function of MgATP concentration in the presence and absence of 6 μM aprotinin indicated that this protease inhibitor affects sperm motility by decreasing the maximal flagellar beat frequency rather than by altering the axoneme's apparent Km for MgATP. Furthermore, aprotinin concentrations that blocked flagellar reactivation completely inhibited the sliding of microtubules from trypsinized axonemes. Basic proteins or polypeptides of pI close to that of aprotinin (10.3) were also potent inhibitors of the reactivation of motility. However, the characteristics of their inhibition of flagellar beat frequencies and reversibility of their effects suggested that they might be acting on sites different from those sensitive to aprotinin. The inhibitory effects of protease inhibitor and substrates, as well as results of experiments showing the absolute requirement of an intact ester bond for the inhibitory action of protease substrates, suggest that the involvement of a protease in the reactivation of 9 + 2 flagellar beating might be considered as a possible mechanism to explain aprotinin and BLT actions.
Land Use and Cover Mapping with Airborne Hyperspectral Imager in Setiu, Malaysia

In recent years, land use and land cover plays a pivotal role in global environmental change. Under these circumstances, the need of a new dimension for detecting land use and cover is getting more imperative for conservation and effective management of land use and cover types. Importantly, the use of information technology to support decision making in detecting land use and cover is essential and recent. One of the technologies used is Airborne Remote Sensing. The objective of this study is to identify, quantify, classify and map land use and land cover mapping in Setiu, Terengganu using UPM-APSB’s AISA airborne hyperspectral remote sensing. Detection of land use and cover was performed using airborne hyperspectral imaging data taken on 20 April 2006 with the support of existing land use and cover maps. The size of the study area is 100 ha. The image was displayed in ENVI 4.0 Software using bands 202217 (RGB) combination. The data were then enhanced and classified for different land use and cover classes. From the data analysis, the image can be classified into eight classes. The classes are 2-3 years old oil palm plantation, 4-5 years old oil palm plantation, young (3-4 years old) rubber plantation, matured (15-17 years old) rubber plantation, vegetation crops, open area, road and river. The land use and land cover classes area distribution of the plots under study in Setiu, Terengganu were 4.18 ha, 8.58 ha, 6.26 ha, 70.43 ha, 2.98 ha, 2.31 ha, 2.78 ha, and 2.48 ha. Overall, the classification accuracy of interpretation of the airborne imagery for land use and cover in Setiu, Terengganu is 89.51 and kappa coefficient is 0.86. This study shows that, airborne hyperspectral remote sensing technique is capable in identifying, quantifying, classifying and mapping land use and cover in Setiu, Terengganu, hence a good decision support tool in land use and cover planning and management.
RESPONSE OF GRASSLAND TO NITROGENOUS FERTILIZER IN THE WEST OF ENGLAND

Extensive replicated plot experiments were carried out at Henley Manor Farm from 1956–1961 to obtain accurate measurements of herbage production and response to nitrogenous fertilizers under West of England conditions. 356 plots were used; use of the herbage by both cutting and grazing was studied. The principal results are: Grass/ clover swards (containing approx. 35% clover) grown without nitrogenous fertilizer averaged 75 cwt dry matter per acre per annum. Application of nitro-chalk to initially grass/clover swards reduced the clover content of the herbage. About 133 lb N/annum was required by an all-grass sward to equal the production of a grass/clover sward without N. Attempts to increase production of grass/clover swards by using N for early growth and relying on clover for mid-season growth were unsuccessful in 2 out of 3 years. Swards (initially grass/clover) gave significant increases in total dry-matter production from regular use of the lowest level of N (26.0 or 34.7 lb N/acre/cut or graze) in 44 out of 49 cases. Extremely high yields were obtained from the heaviest use of N (104.2 lb N/acre/silage cut). 52.1 lb N/acre/cut or graze was the optimum rate of application on ail-grass and grass/clover swards. Up to about 350 lb N/acre/annum the dosage-response curve was very nearly straight for all-grass and grass/clover swards. On the grazed plots herbage left ungrazed amounted on average to only 6% of the total. The health of all stock on the high nitrogen plots (as well as all others) was excellent.