Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bee movement across heterogeneous tropical forests: multi‐paternal analyses reveal the importance of neighborhood composition for pollen dispersal

Animal pollination is critical for maintaining the reproduction and genetic diversity of many plant species, especially those in tropical ecosystems. Despite the threat to pollination posed by tropical deforestation, it remains an understudied process. In particular, little is known about these dynamics in multi‐paternal, successional plant species whose fruits can contain substantial genetic diversity. Given the importance of successional plants in reforestation, quantifying the factors that impact their reproduction is essential for understanding plant gene flow in the context of global change. In this study, we investigated pollen‐mediated gene flow at the multi‐paternal fruit level to quantify how tropical pollinators navigate and mediate gene flow in altered forests. Utilizing microsatellite genotyping and paternity analyses, we revealed that distinct plant neighborhood and individual factors drive pollen dispersal at the intra‐fruit scale. Variance in pollen dispersal distances was greater for neighborhoods with higher conspecific density, indicating that density dependent reproductive patterns play a role at this scale. Additionally, both the diversity and evenness of sires mediated by a single pollinator were affected by the size of the mother tree, that is, larger mothers received pollen from a less diverse, less even pool of sires per fruit. Pollinator body size was not found to be a significant driver of pollen dispersal, indicating that both small‐ and large‐bodied pollinators were equally important pollen dispersers at this scale. By exploring patterns of variation at the intra‐fruit level, we show that conspecific density and tree size significantly impact multi‐paternal pollen‐mediated gene flow, reinforcing the importance of investigating intraspecific, intra‐individual variance in plant reproduction.
How Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use Affecting Intent to Repurchase?

This study was commenced in order to determine whether or not perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use positively affecting consumers’ intention to repurchase, both in a direct and indirect manner through both trust and customer satisfaction. A sum of 250 respondents joined this study, while a total of 236 data were deemed usable to be further processed and analyzed in this study. Survey method was applied in this study, in which all of the data gathered from the respondents using questionnaires which were distributed both personally and electronically. All of the data then were analyzed using PLS-SEM method. In accordance with the results, author conclude that both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use play a significant and important role in affecting consumers’ intention to repurchase, both directly and indirectly toward customer satisfaction and trust, in which trust plays a stronger role as a mediator as compared to satisfaction.
Quality of minimally processed table cassava cultivated in southeastern Pará, brazilian Amazonian

This paper aimed to assess the quality of the cassava roots of the variety Cacau minimally processed. Physical characterization of 100 root samples was carried out by measuring the weight of roots, weight of roots without bark, weight of bark, root yield, length and diameter. The following treatments were performed: T1: roots was washed in running water; T2: sanitized roots (150 mg. L 1 ); T3: sanitized roots (150 mg. L -1 ) and acidified roots (1% citric acid) and T4: sanitized roots (150 mg. L -1 ) and bleached (55ºC/10 min). The physicochemical characterization of leaves, stems and roots were performed through the analysis of pH, total titratable acidity (TTA), moisture, ashes, protein content, lipids, carbohydrates and total energy value (TEV). For the variables of plant growth, the number of roots (9.10 units) and dry matter of the roots (1312.15 g), in addition the yield of the unshelled root (80.95 kg or 61.80 %) was close to the values reported in the literature. As for the physicochemical parameters of minimally processed cassava roots, they were in accordance with those established by the Brazilian Table Food Composition. These parameters are considered the most important for the industry, so they explain the reasons for the agroindustrial potential this feedstoock. importantes logo explicam os motivos do potencial agroindustrial raízes da mandioca. Palavras-chave: manihot esculenta crantz , caracterização físico-química, potencial agroindustrial Palavras-chave: manihot esculenta crantz caracterização fisico-química, potencial agroindustrial.
Effects of nano-silver pulsing, calcium sulfate and gibberellin on an antioxidant molecule and vase life of cut gerbera flowers

Abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate interactions between NS coupled with CS and GA on flavonoid, cell membrane behavior and extending the vase life of cut gerbera. Pulse treatments of flowers in NS at concentrations 0 (DI), 3 or 9 mg/l for 24 h. Then, flowers were treated with preservative solutions containing calcium sulfate (0, 10 or 20 mM) and GA 4+7 (0 or 20 mg/l), plus 1.5% sucrose in all preservative solutions. Pulse treatments with 3 or 9 mg NS/l and holding in solution containing 20 mM CS compared to the control treatment (holding in the solution of sucrose following pulse treatment in DI) significantly extended vase life by 8 days. According to the antioxidant role of flavonoids, and lower amounts of flavonoid in the flowers that pre-treated with NS, therefore, it may be said that NS prevented from microbial attack.
Isothermic constrained Willmore tori

This dissertation treats the classification of isothermic constrained Willmore tori. Jörg Richter proved in his dissertation that for every immersion f : M → R3 of an isothermic constrained Willmore torus, there exists a conformal change of the euclidean metric of R3 such that the surface has constant mean curvature (CMC) in a space form. We extended his proof such a way that it remains true if the surface has umbilical points. The umbilical points of isothermic constrained Willmore tori are either isolated (Bryant surfaces with smooth ends) or lie in a plane (Babich-Bobenko tori). In both cases the surface has constant mean curvature with respect to a hyperbolic metric. Using sphere congruences, Ben Andrews and Haizhong Li proved in [2] that every embedded CMC torus f : M → S3 has a rotational symmetry. We reproduced their construction of a maximal interior sphere congruence for closed surfaces in a Möbius-geometric setup. This enables us to extend their proof for CMC tori in S3 to arbitrary spaceforms. By this means, we can prove that Babich-Bobenko tori cannot be embedded. Further, we obtain that after a stereographic projection, every embedded isothermic constrained Willmore torus f : M → R3 that is not a Bryant surface has constant mean curvature in the unit 3-sphere in R4 and is hence a canal surface. We also apply this method to periodic CMC cylinders in R3, which leads to a new proof of the well-known fact that Delaunay cylinders are the only properly embedded, periodic, CMC cylinders in R3. It is well-known that isothermic canal surfaces in S3 are Möbius equivalent to a surface of revolution. We give a new Möbius-geometric proof for this fact and obtain the following classification: After a stereographic projection, every embedded isothermic constraint Willmore torus f : M → R3 is either an isothermic Bryant surface with smooth ends or Möbius equivalent to a surface of revolution in S3.
Prevalence of Meniscal Extrusion and associated Knee Findings Detected by MRI in Patients with a History of Knee Trauma

Background and objectives: Meniscal extrusion is defined as the condition in which the meniscus is located outside the margin of the knee joint. This condition can lead to knee osteoarthritis, meniscal degeneration, and meniscal tears. Meniscal extrusion is broadly diagnosed through magnetic resonance imaging. The present study aimed to examine the prevalence of meniscal extrusion and the associated knee joint abnormalities in cases of trauma. Methods: The present cross-sectional study consisted of 122 cases (62 cases with knee injuries caused by falling on ground and 60 as a result of football playing) whom been referred to MR unit to undergo knee exam referred in the period from January to July 2019. A search for meniscus extrusion was performed, and once identified then checking for associated findings was performed. Results: The study group mean age was 31.77 years. Most of the cases (77%) were males. About one third of the cases (30.3) had meniscal extrusion, and almost half of them (48.4%) had meniscal tear. Meniscal root tear and complex tear of posterior horn of medial meniscus was the most frequent meniscal tear. About half of the cases (49.2%) had joint effusion. In both study subgroup, meniscal extrusion was significantly found in the medial meniscus, and it was significantly associated with medial meniscus tear, types of meniscal tear, and joint effusion (p<0.05). Age had a significant association with meniscal extrusion in the subgroup of trauma caused by falling on ground (p<0.05), the two groups were significantly different in terms of the meniscal extrusion distance (p<0.05). Conclusion: Medial meniscus and medial meniscus tear are the most significant risk factors for meniscal extrusion. Meniscal extrusion distance was shorter in individuals with knee trauma caused by football playing compared to those with knee injuries resulted from falling on ground.
Commercial catches and discards of a Mediterranean small-scale cuttlefish fishery: implications of the new EU discard policy

The cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) trammel net fishery is one of the most important small-scale fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea. Here we describe the main catch, by-catch and discard patterns found in this fishery on Mallorca Island by onboard surveys of 1005 netting walls from 23 fishing trips. The number of items captured, their size and their subsequent use, i.e. kept for sale or discarded, were recorded. Furthermore, the immediate survival of the unwanted items (i.e. vitality state when the gear came on board) and the medium-term survival of a subsample were assessed. The cuttlefish was the dominant species in the commercial fraction of the catch, particularly during the fishing season peak (March). However, S. officinalis catches quickly decreased further into the season, with other high-value fish, such as Scorpaena scrofa, increasing in the commercial fraction of the catch. As species composition is continuously changing, it is often difficult to determine the main target species of this fishery. This strategy possibly complicates management but maximizes fishing revenue, which was an average of €175 per trip. With respect to discards, up to 104 different species were caught but not commercialized. The most abundant were Holothuria sp. and Torpedo marmorata. Their immediate survival was 100% and 20%, respectively. In both cases, the medium-term survival and the vitality status were high after seven days in monitored captivity. Therefore, in these cases, their immediate release to the sea should be promoted, given that they are exempt from the EU landing obligation. Interviews with fishers revealed that the perceived quantity of discards was lower than the amount recorded by the present study. Currently, just a small percentage (1.5%) of these discards will be affected by the landing obligation enforced by the new European discards ban.
Studies on Biochemical and Mineral Profile of Anestrus Murrah Buffaloes Treated with Different Hormonal Protocols

Alterations in various biochemical constituents are responsible for reproductive failures (Prabha et al., 2000). Cholesterol is the most important sterol and is the essential precursor for steroid hormone synthesis controlling reproduction. Minerals also play an important role in regulation of reproction and production in animals. Lower concentration of circulatory minerals mainly Ca, P and Mg results in impaired reproductive function leading to cessation of cyclic activity (Martson et al., 1972). Micronutrients also play a vital role in the control of reproduction. The minerals like calcium and phosphorous are very important in animal production and reproduction. Calcium and phosphorous play intermediate role in the action of reproductive hormones and enzymes at a sub cellular level in an integrated fashion in the initiation of estrus in animals (Ali et al., 1991). Rogers (1992) opined that the imbalance or deficiency of trace elements (Zn, Cu, etc.) leads to inactive ovaries and repeat breeding in dairy animals.
Rainfall and Human Impacts on Weathering Rates and Carbon-Nutrient Yields in the Watershed of a Small Mountainous River (Kaoping) in Southwestern Taiwan

This study presents the influence of rainfall and human perturbation on physical and chemical weathering rates, and carbon and nutrient yields in the basin of the Kaoping, a small mountainous river (SMR) in southwestern Taiwan. The study was derived principally from the spatial and temporal variability of aquatic geochemistry in the river during wet (1999–2000) and drought (2002) periods. The total, physical, and chemical weathering rates in the river basin ranged respectively from 4739, 3601, and 1138 g m−2 year−1 in the wet period to 1072, 656, and 416 g m−2 year−1 in the drought period, resulting mainly from a large difference in rainfall and river discharge between the two periods. The wet and drought periods were likely associated with La Niña and El Niño events, respectively. The weathering rates of the wet period were much higher than those reported from the world’s river basins, showing the unique characteristics of the SMR. The total carbon yield was derived mainly from dissolved inorganic carbon and was much higher in the wet period (140 g C m−2 year−1) than in the drought period (53.7 g C m−2 year−1). Taking silicate weathering (54.7 ± 10.2%) slightly over carbonate weathering (48.6 ± 9.5%) in determining dissolved ion loads, the Kaoping catchment may currently consume 0.155–0.298 MtC/year atmospheric CO2 without considering the CO2 released from chemical weathering. The nutrient yields were controlled mainly by human inputs but also enhanced by increased rainfall. Both regional and local climatic conditions and human impacts likely determined the weathering rates and total yields of carbon and nutrients. The SMRs may collectively contribute significantly to global fluxes of terrestrial sediments, geochemical matters, carbon, and nutrients to oceans.
‘Fishing’ for Mitochondrial DNA in The Egyptian Sacred Ibis Mummies

The long-term preservation of DNA requires a number of optimal conditions, including consistent exposure to cool, dry, and dark environments. As a result, the successful recovery of ancient DNA from material from warmer climates such as those in Egypt has often been met with scepticism. Egypt has an abundance of ancient mummified animals and humans, whose genetic analyses would offer important insights into ancient cultural practices. To date, the retrieval of complete genomes from ancient Egyptian remains of humans or other animals has been largely unsuccessful. To test for the presence of even short DNA sequences in Egyptian material, we performed second-generation shotgun sequencing of DNA libraries constructed from ancient Sacred Ibis mummies. Since most of the resulting Illumina libraries were shown to contain extremely low levels (less than 0.06%) of endogenous mitochondrial DNA, we aimed to enrich these samples using targeted in-solution hybridisation methods. Using biotinylated RNA baits designed to Sacred Ibis complete mitochondrial sequences, we trialled a number of conditions and parameters and achieved up to 4705-fold enrichment. We also found that a combination of hybridisation temperature and the use of the polymerase KAPA HiFi significantly increased both the efficiency of targeted hybridisation and post-hybridisation amplification respectively. Furthermore, improved enrichment was accompanied with only minor increases in clonality. Our method enabled us to reconstruct the first complete mitochondrial genomes from ancient Egyptian sub-fossil material.
A Novel Hybrid Short-Term Load Forecasting Method of Smart Grid Using MLR and LSTM Neural Network

The short-term load forecasting is crucial in the power system operation and control. However, due to its nonstationary and complicated random features, an accurate forecast of the load behavior is challenging. An improved short-term load forecasting method is proposed in this article. At first, the load is decomposed into different frequency components varying from the low to high levels realized by the ensemble empirical-mode decomposition algorithm. Then, the smooth and periodic low-frequency components are predicted by the multivariable linear regression method while maintaining the efficient computation capacity, while the high-frequency components with strong randomness are forecasted by the long short-term memory neural network algorithms. Thus, the actual load behavior is obtained by combining these two methods. Finally, the proposed method is validated by experiments, in which the tested data from the west area of China, Uzbekistan, and PJM Interconnection (USA) are used. The prediction of the load behavior is accurate globally along with the local details, as presented in the experiments, which verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.
PBLR: an accurate single cell RNA-seq data imputation tool considering cell heterogeneity and prior expression level of dropouts

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) provides a powerful tool to determine precise expression patterns of tens of thousands of individual cells, decipher cell heterogeneity and cell subpopulations and so on. However, scRNA-seq data analysis remains challenging due to various technical noise, e.g., the presence of dropout events (i.e., excess zero counts). Taking account of cell heterogeneity and structural effect of expression on dropout rate, we propose a novel method named PBLR to accurately impute the dropouts of scRNA-seq data. PBLR is an effective tool to recover dropout events on both simulated and real scRNA-seq datasets, and can dramatically improve low-dimensional representation and recovery of gene-gene relationship masked by dropout events compared to several state-of-the-art methods. Moreover, PBLR also detect accurate and robust cell subpopulations automatically, shedding light its flexibility and generality for scRNA-seq data analysis.
Visible light-driven Ag2S–PbS photocatalyst for photocatalytic degradation of phenazopyridine in aqueous solution

For increasing the photocatalytic activity of PbS and Ag2S nanoparticles, their coupled system was constructed mechanically and characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy techniques. Then, the photocatalytic activity of the single and coupled systems was evaluated in the degradation of phenazopyridine in aqueous solution. The results showed a synergistic photocatalytic effect for the coupled system with respect to the single systems. PL results showed a lower PL intensity for the coupled system, confirming lower recombination of the photogenerated electron/hole pairs. The coupled system showed also a higher photocatalytic activity of the coupled system. The coupled Ag2S/PbS catalyst with a mole ratio of 2:1 showed the best photocatalytic activity for 75 min. This catalyst showed also the lowest PL intensity with respect to the other coupled systems with different mole ratios. Based on the chemical oxygen demand results a rate constant of 1.41 × 10–3 was obtained for the mineralization of PhP solution for 50 min irradiation time, while the value of 1.80 × 10–3 min–1 was obtained for its degradation extent at the same conditions.
Population and age structure of the goby Stigmatogobius pleurostigma (Perciformes: Gobiidae) from the Mekong Delta

This study was conducted in the Mekong Delta to provide new knowledge on the population and age structure of Stigmatogobius pleurostigma, a commercial target fish for catching. The von Bertalanffy growth parameters were L∞ = 8.6 cm, K = 0.83 yr-1, and t0 = -0.07 yr1 basing on length frequency data analysis of 607 individuals. The species displayed 3.8 cm in the length at first capture, 3.61 yr in the longevity and 1.79 in the growth performance. The natural, fishing and total mortalities of the fish population were 2.31 yr-1, 1.17 yr-1 and 3.48 yr-1 respectively basing on the length-converted catch curve analysis. One recruitment peak was recorded in June in the study region, and the analyses of relative yield-per-recruit and biomass-per-recruit gave Emax = 0.704, E0.1 = 0.555 and E50 = 0.335. Four fish age groups were recorded in the present study (0.5+, 1.0+, 1.5+ and 2.0+). The species is a potential aquaculture candidate because of its high growth rate. The goby stock was overfishing since its exploitation rate (E=0.34) was higher than E50, suggesting that the mesh size of gillnets should be increased and avoid catching fish during the recruitment period for future sustainable fishery management.
An Exploratory Study of a New Psychological Instrument for Evaluating Sustainability: The Sustainable Development Goals Psychological Inventory

The psychometric properties of the Sustainable Development Goals Psychological Inventory (SDGPI) are verified, by employing quantitative and qualitative approaches, in order to obtain a thorough comprehension of the self-perceptions of the sustainable development goals by the Italian participants in this research. The reliability, dimensionality, and aspects of concurrent validity were tested for the SDGPI. Three unidimensional factors (interest, motivation, and self-efficacy) were shown to be prevalent using exploratory factor analysis. Furthermore, the SDGPI showed adequate concurrent validity and internal consistency in the present study. To broaden the quantitative findings, responses to open-ended questions were analyzed. The results suggest perspectives for future exploration and actions regarding the psychology of sustainable development and sustainability.
Individualism, Formal Institutional Environment and Bank Capital Decisions

We examine the effect of informal institutional environment on bank capital decisions worldwide as well as within the United States at the state level. Specifically, we focus on individualism and based on a sample of 7,034 banks in 68 countries, we establish three major findings: First, individualism is negatively and significantly associated with bank regulatory capital, an association which is independent of the influence of formal institutional environment per se. Second, effective legal enforcement magnifies the negative effect of individualism on bank regulatory capital. Finally, focusing on a single country, the United States, we also find that banks in individualistic states hold less regulatory capital than banks in collectivist states and the effect of individualism is magnified with effective legal enforcement at the state level. Our findings suggest that individualism serves as a constraint on regulators, as any given regulatory guidelines or formal institutional factors will operate very differently depending on the informal institutional environment.