Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative Anthelmintic Efficacy of Caesalpinia Crista, Nigella Sativa and Oxfendazole in Broilers with Experimentally Induced Ascaridia Galli Infection

The study was conducted to explore the effect of two herbal drugs, Caesalpinia crista and Nigella sativa in comparison with Oxfendazole in broilers experimentally induced with Ascaridia galli infection . A total of 130 day old broiler chicks were divided into five groups i.e. A, B, C, D and E each group having 26 birds. Group E was kept as negative control, while all other groups were induced with experimental Ascardia galli infection on 15 th day. Group A was kept as positive control and groups B and C were treated with Caesalpinia crista and Nigella sativa as methanolic extract orally once @50mg/kg body weight and group D was medicated with Oxfendazole @10mg/kg body weight orally once on 25 th day post infection. On 25th day post infection before treatment 4 birds from each group were slaughtered, and worm count was done. The efficacy was confirmed by counting the worm, slaughtering all the bird on 30 th day post infection. The mean worm count was significantly different (p<0.05) between the treated and non treated groups. The efficacy of the plant extracts were less as compare to Oxfendazole. The efficacy of Caesalpinia crista and Nigella sativa was 70.83% and 57.5% respectively while the efficacy of Oxfendazole was 90.83%. In vitro treatment at 37±1°C revealed that a serial dose of the plant extract caused dose-dependent vermicidal effect on the worm (significant efficacy at P<0.05), except at the lowest dose (i.e. 5 mg/mL). The efficacy of drugs was calculated on the basis of reduction in total worm count after treatment.
Encystment and excystment under laboratory conditions of the nontoxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium fraterculus (Dinophyceae) isolated from the Seto Inland Sea, Japan

S. Nagai, G. Nishitani, Y. Takano, M. Yoshida and H. Takayama. 2009. Encystment and excystment under laboratory conditions of the nontoxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium fraterculus (Dinophyceae) isolated from the Seto Inland Sea, Japan. Phycologia 48: 177–185. DOI: 10.2216/08-43.1. The sexuality (i.e. encystment and excystment) of the nontoxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium fraterculus, isolated from the Seto Inland Sea, Japan, was clarified for the first time under laboratory conditions. Sexual reproduction was by conjugation of isogametes, and plasmogamy was completed in 25–60 min after the conjugation started and produced a planozygote with one transverse and two longitudinal flagella, then a cyst was formed. Cysts were round or elliptical. The cyst size was 37.5–50.0 µm in diameter. The surface of cysts was smooth, and there was no paratabulation. Encystment through sexual reproduction was observed in two of 28 pairs, which included seven self-crossings, by use of seven nonaxenic clonal strains. No planozygote formation or encystment was found in any of the self-crossings, indicating that this species is heterothallic. Successful excystment was observed when the cysts, which had been preserved at 10°C in the dark for 3 mo, were incubated under light conditions at 25°C, thus showing that this species has a similar life cycle as reported in A. tamarense/catenella/tamiyavanichii.
Variety-Seeking Behavior and Information Processing in Choosing a Vacation Destination

This study investigates broad versus specific levels of perceived variety seeking when choosing a vacation destination. In general, consumers use two criteria to evaluate where to vacation: the novelty of the destination relative to their current place and the potential variety of activities offered. Consumers’ perception about these criteria is regulated at a broad level through spatial distance information, and at a specific level through activity information. Findings from experiments indicate that people prefer taking vacations to distant (vs. close) places. However, when both types of vacation information are available, people prefer a destination with more activities regardless of spatial distance. Process evidence suggests that analytic (vs. holistic) information processing and variety seeking at a specific (vs. broad) level drive the findings.
I Book Review: Religious Pluralism and Human Rights in Europe: Where to Draw the Line?

294 Intersentia A Rights-Based Approach Touzenis ends her book with a plea for a rights-based (instead of needs-based) approach to address the problems of unaccompanied minors. A child should be considered as a rights subject in stead of an object. This requires empowerment of the child and a holistic vision of children’s rights together with an understanding of the mix of causes that prevents children from enjoying their rights (pp. 261–262). ‘Respect for children’s rights is not an option. It is an obligation’, states Touzenis firmly. The rights based approach in developmental cooperation as well may give an opening to tackle some of the root causes of mass displacement ‘because it can help creating a sustainable situation in which the option of immigrating is less tempting’ (p. 264). The reader of this book will look forward to Touzenis next book, which will hopefully elaborate on the ways to reach a world in which children’s rights are indeed the basis of migration policies all over the world.
Relationship of Leaf K and Forms of Soil K at Different Growth Stages of Nagpur MandHrin

Relationship of leaf K with available soil K and different forms of K in surface soils at critical growth stages of Nagpur mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) grown on Typic Haplustert showed that the maximum leaf K (1.25%) accumulated at fruit set stage which later continued to decline (up to 0.65%) at colour break stage. The maximum K availability in soil needs to be ensured before fruit set stage for effective utilization of soil-applied K. The leaf K content showed significant relationship with exchangeable-K and non-exchangeable-K at fruit set stage. At fruit maturity stage, leaf K was governed by non-exchangeable-K and by exchangeable-K at colour break stage.
Tolerance of pea (Pisum sativum L.) to long‐term salt stress is associated with induction of antioxidant defences

Using two cultivars of Pisum sativum L. with different sensitivity to NaCl, the effect of long-term (15 d) NaCl (70 m M) treatments on the activity and expression of the foliar ascorbate–glutathione cycle enzymes, superoxide dismutase isozymes and their mRNAs was evaluated and related to their ascorbate and glutathione contents. High-speed supernatant (soluble) fractions, enriched for cytosolic components of the antioxidant system, were used. In this fraction from the NaCl-tolerant variety (cv Granada), the activities of ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase (GR), monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR), Mn-superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) and dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR) increased, while CuZn-SOD activity remained constant. In the NaCl-sensitive plants (cv Challis), salinity did not produce significant changes in APX, MDHAR and GR activities. Only DHAR activity was induced in cv Challis, whereas soluble CuZn-SOD activity decreased by about 35%. Total ascorbate and glutathione contents decreased in both cultivars, but the decline was greater in NaCl-sensitive plants. This difference between the two cultivars was more pronounced when the transcript levels of some these enzymes were examined. Transcript levels for mitochondrial Mn-SOD, chloroplastic CuZn-SOD and phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPX), cytosolic GR and APX were strongly induced in the NaCl-tolerant variety but not in the NaCl-sensitive variety. These data strongly suggest that induction of antioxidant defences is at least one component of the tolerance mechanism of peas to long-term salt-stress.
Monospecific bloom of noxious raphidophyte Chattonella marina in the coastal water of south west coast of India.

A massive monospecific bloom of toxic marine raphidophyte Chattonella marina was observed off Kochi along the southwest coast of India during late September 2009 with very high cell density (1.59 x 10 7 cells L -1 ) and wide spatial distribution. The tear drop shaped cells were 38-65 µm long, 25-30 µm wide and having large number of chloroplasts. Almost 90% of the phytoplankton population was composed of C. marina in the bloom area. Other phytoplankters were few in number represented by Skeletonema costatum, Rhizosolenia spp. , Chaetoceros spp. , Psuedo-nitzschia spp. etc. and among these Skeletonema costatum was dominant with cell density 2.3 x 10 4 cells L -1 . The concentration of photosynthetic pigment, chlorophyll a was 8.3 µg L -1 in the bloom area. Toxicity test using the alcohol extracts of the Chattonella bloom samples showed characteristic neurotoxic symptoms in fishes leading to mortality.
Accession of Romania in the European Union

This paper analyzes relevant determinants for foreign direct investment inflows in Romania, recent member of the European Union using an econometric approach taking into account the previous literature in this field. The aim is to see whether some variables considered relevant for FDI are significant focusing on the corruption problem of this country using the Corruption Perception Index as a proxy for this. The main literature confirms negative relationship between corruption and FDI in accordance with our results but only when considering a model based on corruption. Our findings give relevance to the membership in the EU as important factor for FDI inflows in Romania. The necessary data for the parametrization on models is obtained from Eurostat database and World Integrated Trade Solution. Student: Anita Sorina Dumitra anitadumitra@gmail.com Bachelor in Economics
Isotopic profile and mercury concentration in fish of the lower portion of the rio Paraíba do Sul watershed, southeastern Brazil

The aim of this study was to evaluate the isotopic profile and mercury (Hg) concentrations in fish (carnivores, omnivores and detritivores) in the lower portion of the rio Paraiba do Sul watershed, southeastern Brazil. Carbon (δ13C) isotopic analyses revealed that pelagic and benthonic sources are part of the feeding of the fish from the different guilds (-14.0 to -24.8 ‰). The benthic sources are usually enriched in δ13C (-16.9‰, from watershed runoff) compared to pelagic sources because the phytoplankton, important primary producer that supports several pelagic chains, has δ13C signature lighter (-23.9‰). The nitrogen (δ15N) isotopic signatures indicated that most guilds were at the same trophic position (10.0 to 15.5 ‰), except for pelagic omnivorous fish, which had a lower trophic position. Niche overlap was observed among pelagic and demersal carnivorous fish, demersal omnivorous fish, and demersal detritivorous fish. The lower isotopic niche breadth of pelagic carnivorous fish reveals the specialized resource use by this guild. Hg concentrations (ng g-1 dry weight) differed significantly between demersal carnivorous fish (185.3 dry weight; 27.8 wet weight) and demersal omnivorous fish (277.9 dry weight; 41.7 wet weight) and between pelagic omnivorous fish (197.2 dry weight; 29.6 wet weight) and demersal omnivorous fish due to (1) differences in food sources: guilds that fed on bottom resources were more affected by contamination because the sediment is an important Hg accumulator in the study area, and (2) because of its trophic positions. Considering that the fish consumed prey of similar trophic positions, the guilds did not show a well-defined food hierarchy. Therefore, in this study, there was no clear relationship between Hg and δ15N.
Thermal regulation of spring mating behavior in the red-sided garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis)

Exposure of Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis to elevated temperatures immediately after emergence from hibernation induced intense mating behavior. The thermal threshold for courtship varied widely among individuals, and ranged from below 5 °C to between 20° and 25 °C. The lowest temperature at which copulation occurred was 10 °C. Both courtship and copulation increased with increasing temperature, and reached maximal levels at 25° and 30 °C respectively. The existence of low thermal thresholds for mating behavior and the marked stimulating effect of temperature on mating behavior explain the rapid onset of courtship and copulation after emergence from hibernation. A possible mechanism for thermal induction of mating behavior is discussed.
Disentangling temporal and population variability in plant root water uptake from stable isotopic analysis: when rooting depth matters in labeling studies

Abstract. Isotopic labeling techniques have the potential to minimize the uncertainty of plant root water uptake (RWU) profiles estimated using multisource (statistical) modeling by artificially enhancing the soil water isotopic gradient. On the other end of the modeling continuum, physical models can account for hydrodynamic constraints to RWU if simultaneous soil and plant water status data are available. In this study, a population of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea cv. Soni) was grown in amacro-rhizotron and monitored for a 34 h long period following the oxygen stable isotopic (18O) labeling of deep soil water. Aboveground variables included tiller and leaf water oxygen isotopic compositions (δtiller and δleaf, respectively) as well as leaf water potential (ψleaf), relative humidity, and transpiration rate. Belowground profiles of root length density (RLD), soil water content, and isotopic composition were also sampled. While there were strong correlations between hydraulic variables as well as between isotopic variables, the experimental results underlined the partial disconnect between the temporal dynamics of hydraulic and isotopic variables. In order to dissect the problem, we reproduced both types of observations with a one-dimensional physical model of water flow in the soil–plant domain for 60 different realistic RLD profiles. While simulated ψleaf followed clear temporal variations with small differences across plants, as if they were “onboard the same roller coaster”, simulated δtiller values within the plant population were rather heterogeneous (“swarm-like”) with relatively little temporal variation and a strong sensitivity to rooting depth. Thus, the physical model explained the discrepancy between isotopic and hydraulic observations: the variability captured by δtiller reflected the spatial heterogeneity in the rooting depth in the soil region influenced by the labeling and may not correlate with the temporal dynamics of ψleaf. In other words, ψleaf varied in time with transpiration rate, while δtiller varied across plants with rooting depth. For comparison purposes, a Bayesian statistical model was also used to simulate RWU. While it predicted relatively similar cumulative RWU profiles, the physical model could differentiate the spatial from the temporal dynamics of the isotopic composition. An important difference between the two types of RWU models was the ability of the physical model to simulate the occurrence of hydraulic lift in order to explain concomitant increases in the soil water content and the isotopic composition observed overnight above the soil labeling region.
The Stata Journal

Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves are commonly used to evaluate predictions of binary outcomes. When there is a small percentage of items of interest (as would be the case with fraud detection, for example), ROC curves can provide an inflated view of performance. This can cause challenges in determining which set of predictions is better. In this article, we discuss the conditions under which precision-recall curves may be preferable to ROC curves. As an illustrative example, we compare two commonly used fraud predictors (Beneish’s [1999, Financial Analysts Journal 55: 24–36] M score and Dechow et al.’s [2011, Contemporary Accounting Research 28: 17–82] F score) using both ROC and precision-recall curves. To aid the reader with using precision-recall curves, we also introduce the command prcurve to plot them.
PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATIONS ON COMPENSATORY GROWTH IN PRUSSIAN CARP (CARASSIUS AURATUS GIBELIO)

The present paper analyzes the results of some recent investigations on fish compensatory growth, developed on experimental batches of Prussian carp (Carassius auratus gibelio). It is generally known that blocking unfed fish’ growth is not irreversible, so that, when feeding is resumed, the growing processes are also reactivated. More than that, the growing rhythm of such fish is accelerated, a catch-up growing of the normallyfed individuals being observed, from the part of the intermittently-fed ones. Differentiated feeding, for 85 days, of four parallel batches of Prussian carp, under aquarium conditions, permitted the observation that, in the group to which a regime of partial inanition had been applied in the first 35 days of the experiment, the fish records a weight-less of 66 mg/piece/day while, in the post-inanition period, when all lots receive identical rations, growing gets accelerated, the fish coming to catch up the continuously-fed ones. Thus, in the first 30 days of normal, post-starvation feeding, in the discontinuously-fed fish, the growing rhythm is 22% higher than that of the reference variant while, in the following 20 days, the differences reaches a ratio of 92%. In the first post-inanition stage, the food conversion ratio is 30% lower in the intermittently-fed lots, comparatively with the reference while, in the final stage of the test, the amount of food necessary for attaining a 1 kg growth increase is 41% lower in the compensatory growth variant, comparatively with the reference one, in which the fish had been continuously fed for 85 days.
Does plasticity drive speciation? Host‐plant shifts and diversification in nymphaline butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) during the tertiary

How and why the great diversity of phytophagous insects has evolved is not clear but, if the explanation is the diversity of plants as a resource, colonizations of novel plant taxa can be expected to be associated with higher net speciation rates. In the present study, we make use of recent advances in plant and butterfly systematics to trace the evolution of host-plant utilization in the butterfly subfamily Nymphalinae (tribes Nymphalini, Melitaeini, and the probably paraphyletic 'Kallimini'). A clear historical pattern emerges, with an ancestral host-plant theme of 'urticalean rosids' and two major colonizations of novel distantly-related plant clades. The asterid order Lamiales was colonized by an ancestor of 'Kallimini' + Melitaeini and the family Asteraceae in Asterales was later colonized by Melitaeini butterflies. These colonization events appear to have been followed by increases in the rate of net butterfly diversification. Two not mutually exclusive scenarios to explain such patterns have been suggested: (1) adaptive radiation due to release from competition following host-plant shifts or (2) higher rates of net speciation during a relatively long-lasting potentially polyphagous (plastic) state. In support of the 'plasticity scenario', phylogenetic traces of a long-lasting stage with some potential to feed on more than one host-plant clade can still be seen, despite the ancient age of the colonizations. When angiosperm communities changed after the K/T boundary due to extinctions and subsequent diversification, herbivore taxa that could occupy several alternative niches may have had the greatest opportunity to diversify in turn.
Efficacy of beta-cyfluthrin against cruciferous pests

Efficacy of beta-cyfluthrin (Bulldock 025®) was tested against the major insect pests of cabbage and cauliflower during the cropping seasons 1998–1999 and 1999–2000 under the mid hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh at Solan (Himachal Pradesh, North India). During each season beta-cyfluthrin was applied twice at the rate of 12.50, 18.75 and 25.00g a.i./ha at fortnight interval. The bio-efficacy studies against Brevicoryne brassicae L. , Pieris brassicae L. , and Plutella xylostella L. revealed that beta-cyfluthrin was not only effective at higher dosage (25.00g a.i./ha) but also provided good control at lower dosage (18.7 a.i./ha). All the treatments were superior over control. From the pooled data it was also concluded that beta-cyfluthrin remained effective against insect pests at least for 7–14 days on cabbage and cauliflower.
Nile Valley archaeology and Darfur ethnography: the impact of women on cultural evolution. A personal reflection

Introduction The empirical facts for this article are archaeological material left behind by people inhabiting the following sites excavated in the middle Nile regions: the Neolithic sites of Kadero, Zakiab and Um Direiwa dated to the fifth millennium BC, and the Mesolithic sites of Abu Darbein, ed-Damer and Aneibis dated to the eight millennium BC. The fieldwork was undertaken in cooperation with Lech Krzyżaniak and my Sudanese colleagues Anwar Magid and Ali Tigani el-Mahi. I have presented the archaeological data from these sites in several publications. The first most extensive work was my doctorate thesis from 1981, later published as a BAR publication in 1987 (Haaland 1981; 1987). Over the years, as I worked with the archaeological material, I became increasingly interested in searching for ‘clues’ that indicated what the objects might ‘say’ about women’s life. In this article, I shall try to explore how female identity is manifested in symbolism and activities related to the archaeological remains. In the archaeological inventory, my search for ‘clues’ focused on pottery, while in ethnographic fieldwork from Darfur I focused on women’s activities in food production and nurturing, as well as on ways in which this was taken as a source for a variety of symbolic constructions. My ethnographic work in Darfur became important since it alerted me to the close symbolic associations the Fur make between pots, women and nurturing. The Fur use terms for parts of the human body to describe parts of pots. They explicitly conceptualize pots as females and particularly associate them with motherhood. The metaphoric association between pots and motherhood is part of a wider set of symbols fostering ideas of solidarity among the Fur. These metaphoric constructions are rooted in the experience of a mother as the nurturer par excellence – first as provider of milk from her breasts and then as provider of the staple foods (porridge, beer) from her cooking pot. It seems reasonable to hypothesize that the metaphoric projections from female body to features of pots are grounded in experiences loaded with meanings anchored in the role of a ‘mother’ as the ‘nurturer’. We do not have any procedures to find ‘true’ answers to questions regarding the socio-cultural contexts of the archaeological facts. The answers I am trying to establish here are provisional hypotheses that primarily are stimulated by ethnographic observations. I shall try to formulate my conjectural development of these hypotheses in such a way that they can be refuted by confrontation with further empirical evidence, as the philosopher of science, Karl Popper, calls objective knowledge (Popper 1972; 1976). The connection between sources of subjective conjectures and ‘objective’ hypotheses has been well expressed by the evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould:
Response of Trichogramma Pretiosum and T. Evanescens to Whitelight, Blacklight or No-Light Suction Traps

The response of Trichogramma pretiosum Riley and T. evanescens Westwood to blacklight, whitelight, or no-light suction traps in empty 44.7 m^3 rooms showed that significantly more (P 0.05) was found in the response of T. pretiosum to whitelight and no-light traps, while significantly more (P < 0.05) T. evanescens were caught in the whitelight trap than in the no-light trap. Females, especially those of T. evanescens, appeared to be more responsive than males as more females than males of both species were usually caught. The implications of these findings should be considered in planning releases of Trichogramma for control of storage moths in warehouses.