Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biological Cycle of Podocoryna Exigua (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) from a Sandy Bottom of the Ligurian Sea

The genus Podocoryna is characterized by species living on shells usually inhabited by hermit crabs; but the mutual benefits of this association are not well understood. This study, besides describing the biological cycle of the hydroid Podocoryna exigua, brings new information on the relationship between hydroid and the hermit crab Diogenes pugilator, especially concerning their trophic strategies. The hydroid shows a seasonal cycle with a minimum density during summer and an increase during autumn and winter, reaching the highest value in spring. The production of medusae is almost constant during all seasons. The dwelling behaviour of the hermit crab affects a particular sedimentivorous strategy of the polyps while a clepto-commensalistic strategy is adopted by the hermit crab towards the hydroid. Laboratory experiments show that the presence/absence of the hermit crab in the shell and also the seawater temperature strongly influence the number of spines, particularly structures developing from polyps. In addition, free-living polyps in the sediments may represent a strategy to colonize free shells.
In vitro microbial digestion of straw cell wall polysaccharides in response to supplementation with different sources of carbohydrates

The effect of carbohydrate supplementation on microbial fibre digestion was studied in vitro, by mea- suring the disappearance of cell wall monosaccharides, bacterial adhesion (mol purine bases per g residue), and total (per g residue) and bacterial (per mol purine bases) polysaccharidase activity. Straw cell walls (CW, 0.5% w/v) were cultured in medium supplemented with (0.275% w/v) or without starch, a sugar mixture, or pectin. Supplementation with these constituents did not cause a drop in pH below 6.1, and increased all parameters inves- tigated with the exception of bacterial polysaccharidase activity, which was higher for CW cultures, suggesting a higher proportion of fibrolytic bacteria in the adherent population. By comparison with starch and sugar, pectin supplementation resulted in a lower proportion of residual sugars remaining from cell walls after 60 and 72 h (P < 0.05), which resulted in greater bacterial adhesion after 8 and 12 h (P < 0.05) and higher total cellulase activ- ity after 8 h (P < 0.01). This was perhaps because pectin may cover particle surfaces, protecting the digestive area from external factors, or may act as a substrate for cellulolytic bacteria. The lack of differences in bacterial enzy- matic activities suggests the absence of qualitative or quantitative differences in the adherent fibrolytic population.
Comparison of the depth where Planktothrix rubescens stratifies and the depth where the daily insolation supports its neutral buoyancy

Summary • Comparisons were made of the depths where the cyanobacterium Planktothrix rubescens stratified in lakes and the depths where the daily insolation supported neutral buoyancy of the organism. • The percentage of filaments floating and sinking were measured in cultures grown under light : dark cycles at different irradiances. Qn, the daily insolation for neutral buoyancy, was determined as that at which 50% of the filaments were floating, averaged over the 24-h period. • For P. rubescens 9316 from Lake Zurich, Qn was 0.28 mol m−2; during the summer period of stratification in Lake Zurich, the neutral buoyancy depth (zn) at which this insolation occurred varied between 5 and 14 m, depending on cloud cover and light attenuation. The weekly mean depth of the Planktothrix population maximum (zp) was usually within 1 m of the mean zn. For P. rubescens 9972 from Blelham Tarn, Qn was 0.51 mol m−2; during the stratified period in Blelham Tarn, zn varied between 2.3 and 6.2 m, also similar to zp; the shallower stratification depth is explained by the steeper light attenuation. • The depth at which Planktothrix stratifies in lakes is therefore explained by buoyancy regulation in relation to the irradiance. Metalimnetic stratification occurs only when zn exceeds the mixed depth, zm; when zm > zn, the organism becomes entrained in the surface mixed layer.
Stronger shareholder rights & More CEO debt-like compensation: What do creditors think?

US companies significantly increase their CEO debt-like pay when they lower takeover defenses. This compensation adjustment helps reduce the excess cost of debt financing associated with high takeover risks. The companies that simultaneously lower their takeover protection and increase their CEO debt-like pay can raise new debt at a lower cost without having to include restrictive covenants. These companies then use the cheap capital to make more investment rather than retaining it as cash, which might explain why they earn higher industry-adjusted stock returns. These findings suggest that making CEO compensation more debt-like can support the enhancement of shareholder rights. JEL Classification: G12, G21, G32, G34, M12
Mycorrhizal activity in warm- and cool-season grasses: variation in nutrient-uptake strategies

Because cool-season grasses display little or no mycorrhizal responsiveness in prairie soil, it is unclear whether the high levels of mycorrhizal activity observed previously in these grasses represent nutrient uptake by external hyphae or simply metabolism of stored fungal reserves in roots. To distinguish between these hypotheses, a warm-season grass, Andropogon gerardii, or a cool-season grass, Bromus inermis, were grown at two temperatures on one side of a pot divided by a 43-μm nylon root barrier. Mycorrhizal function was assessed by measuring the amount of 32P translocated from one side of the pot to plants on the other side. As a control, mycorrhizal hyphae crossing the barrier were severed manually. Approximately 100 times more 32P was observed in mycorrhizal B. inermis grown at 18 °C versus 29 °C, and in B. inermis with intact versus severed hyphae at the cooler temperature. In contrast, A. gerardii accumulated approximately 4 times more 32P at 29 °C than at 18 °C, and approximately 100 times mor.
Pride, Shame and Social Comparisons

Social norms play a striking role in shaping behavior, but our understanding of when and why people respect social norms is still limited. A growing literature demonstrates the effectiveness of a social comparison nudge in producing norm-compliant behaviors. We construct a decision-theoretic model and posit that providing information on others’ behavior operates to affect our behavior by activating psychological emotions of pride and shame. Our model is consistent with recent experimental findings in Klinowski (2016).
Multi‐Product Exporters, Variable Markups and Exchange Rate Fluctuations

<b>English Abstract:</b> In this paper we investigate how firms adjust markups across products in response to fluctuations in the real exchange rate. We estimate markups at the market–product–plant level using detailed panel production and cost data from Mexican manufacturing between 1994 and 2007. Exploiting variation in the real exchange rate in the aftermath of the peso crisis in December 1994, we provide robust empirical evidence that plants increase their markups and producer prices in response to a real depreciation and that this increase is greater for products with higher productivity. Thus, we provide direct evidence for the theoretical mechanism of variable markup response behind incomplete and heterogeneous exchange rate pass‐through on producer prices. Our empirical methodology allows us to decompose the producer price response to exchange rate shocks into a markup and a marginal cost component using our markup estimates. Using these estimates, we establish that marginal cost at the product–plant level increases more in response to real exchange rate depreciation if the plant has higher share of imported inputs. <b>French Abstract:</b> Exportateurs de plusieurs produits, marges bénéficiaires variables, et fluctuations dans le taux de change. Dans ce mémoire, on enquête sur la façon dont les firmes ajustent leurs marges bénéficiaires d’un produit à l’autre en réponse aux fluctuations dans le taux de change réel. On calibre les marges bénéficiaires au niveau de l’établissement dans le marché du produit à l’aide de données de panel sur la production et les coûts pour le secteur manufacturier mexicain entre 1994 et 2007. Tirant profit de la variation dans le taux de change réel dans la période qui a suivi la crise du péso de 1994, on documente des résultats empiriques robustes à savoir que les établissements ont accru leurs marges bénéficiaires et leurs prix en réponse à une dépréciation réelle et que ces accroissements ont été plus grands pour les produits à haute productivité. De plus, on fournit des résultats directs pour ce qui est du mécanisme théorique de la réponse variable des marges bénéficiaires derrière le transfert incomplet et hétérogène de l’effet du taux de change sur les prix des producteurs. La méthodologie empirique utilisée permet de décomposer la réponse des prix des producteurs aux chocs dans les taux de change variations entre une composante marge bénéficiaire et une composante coûts marginaux en utilisant les évaluations de marges bénéficiaires. À l’aide de ces estimés, on établit que le coût marginal au niveau de l’établissement s’accroît davantage en réponse à une dépréciation du taux de change réel si les établissements ont une fraction plus importante d’intrants importés.
Avaliação da intensidade de tráfego e carga de um forwarder sobre a compactação de um Latossolo Vermelho-Amarelo

The operation of forest traffic is related to use of machines that pass through the same line repeatedly or randomly, which may cause soil compaction, changing the environment of root growth system development and reducing the productivity. Besides the number of passes, the wood load carried may also affect soil compaction, when the applied pressures by machines exceed soil load support capacity. The objectives of this study were: a) to propose a load support capacity model for a Oxisol (Red-Yellow Latosol, LVA) as a function of preconsolidation pressure and moisture content; b) to determine, through the model, the effect of traveling and load intensity of a forwarder on the soil structure. To obtain the load support capacity models, 20 undisturbed soil samples were collected in the depth of 0-3 and 10-13 cm, at a site where there was no traffic. Also 10 undisturbed soil samples were collected for each depth where the Forwarder passed though 2, 4 and 8 times, and where the Forwarder passed in the same line 4 times with 1/3 (3 m3), 2/3 (6 m3) e 3/3 (9 m3) of its load. The undisturbed soil samples were used in the uniaxial compression tests. The particle size distribution, organic matter content, particle density and soil density were also determined. The load support capacity model for the Oxisol is expressed by the equation sp = 10 (2,71 - 1,36 U). All the traffic intensities caused soil compaction in the two depths, where four passes caused highest soil compaction, and as the Forwarder load increased, the soil compaction also increased in the two depths.
Sources of variability in plant resistance against insects: free caterpillars show strongest effects

Tests with herbivorous animals have shown great variability in foliage quality within individual plants. This may be a product of plant architecture and microclimate as well as a specific response to herbivory. We tested the level of constitutive and herbivore-induced resistance within the canopy of mountain birch (Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii) stems of different age, using shoots with different architectural position, function and age. We tested foliage both with uncaged larvae of Epirrita autumnata feeding freely on foliage and with growth trials in the laboratory. The only indication of systematic within-tree variability was low consumption by third instar larvae growing on long shoot leaves. This may protect long shoots that would suffer from reduced growth if their first leaves were consumed at an early stage of development. Stem age and architecture did not contribute to within-tree variation and the effects induced by herbivory were similar throughout the tree. A small number of caterpillars was sufficient to elicit responses in larval growth or consumption. This suggests that the presence of caterpillars may act as a cue of increased risk of future herbivory for mountain birch attacked by E. autumnata with poor mobility and regular outbreaks. Previous defoliation and young age of stems increased the disappearance rate of free larvae. The effect of defoliation suggests that induced resistance may act to prevent future buildup of E. autumnata populations. The small size and simple canopy architecture of young stems may in turn increase the disappearance rate by increasing the probability of predators finding prey. This may partly explain the low vulnerability of young mountain birch forests to E. autumnata outbreaks. Overall, changes in the disappearance rate were greater than changes in larval growth and consumption. This suggests that tests in the laboratory or inside cages may underestimate the efficacy of induced resistance against herbivores.
Estimating Occupancy and Detection Probability of Juvenile Bull Trout Using Backpack Electrofishing Gear in a West-Central Alberta Watershed

Occupancy modeling is well suited to quantitative assessment of bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) distribution at multiple scales. We used models to estimate occupancy of juvenile bull trout (≤150 mm fork length) in a west-central Alberta watershed. Based on a backpack electrofishing survey of 92 sites, we assessed the relative importance of stream habitat characteristics on detection probability (p) and potential for false absences to bias occupancy estimates. Median distance to first bull trout detection was 16 m (range 0–289 m). Models including ambient water conductivity as a covariate of detection probability were most supported with an 85 μS·cm−1 increase resulting in over a tenfold increase in detection. Conditional detection probability using backpack electrofishing gear approached 95% in the first 200 m of effort in streams with a conductivity around 200 μS·cm−1. The potential for false absences in our study area was relatively low. Modeled site (θ^ = 0.53; SE = 0.13) and patch-scale (Ψ^ = 0.47.
Intraspecific temperature dependence of the scaling of metabolic rate with body mass in fishes and its ecological implications

Metabolism constitutes a fundamental property of all organisms. Metabolic rate is commonly described to scale as a power function of body size and exponentially with temperature, thereby treating the effects of body size and temperature independently. Mounting evidence shows that the scaling of metabolic rate with body mass itself depends on temperature. Acrossspecies analyses in fishes suggest that the mass-scaling exponent decreases with increasing temperature. However, whether this relationship holds at the within-species level has rarely been tested. Here, we re-analyse data on the metabolic rates of four freshwater fish species, two coregonids and two cyprinids, that cover wide ranges of body masses and their naturally experienced temperatures. We show that the standard metabolic rate of the coregonids is best fit when accounting for a linear temperature dependence of the scaling of metabolic rate with body mass, whereas a constant mass-scaling exponent is supported in case of the cyprinids. Our study shows that phenotypic responses to temperature can result in temperaturedependent scaling relationships at the species level and that these responses differ between taxa. Together with previous findings, these results indicate that evolutionarily adaptive and phenotypically plastic responses to temperature affect the scaling of metabolic rate with body mass in fishes. Metabolism constitutes a fundamental property of all animals and plants as it supplies an organism with energy and materials from its environment. The most important factors influencing the metabolic rate are body mass and temperature. In poikilotherms whose body temperature varies along with that of the environment, metabolism links the ambient temperature to intrinsic physiological processes. This interaction between environment and individual metabolism affects ecological and evolutionary processes at all levels of organization. It has been argued that in aerobic eukaryotes body mass and temperature, through the effects on metabolism, explain most of the varia
Gradients of abundance of fish across no‐take marine reserve boundaries: evidence from Philippine coral reefs

1. An abundance gradient from high inside to low outside a no-take marine reserve may indicate net emigration of adult fish from the reserve (spillover). 2. We examined spatial patterns of abundance of fish across two 900 m long sections of coral reef slope at each of two small Philippine islands (Apo and Balicasag). One section sampled the entire length of a no-take reserve and extended 200-400 m outside the two lateral reserve boundaries. The other section, without a reserve, was a control. The reserves had had 20 (Apo) and 15 (Balicasag) years of protection when sampled in 2002. 3. Significant spatial gradients of decreasing abundance of target fish occurred across only one (Apo Reserve northern boundary = ARNB) of four real reserve boundaries, and across none of the control boundaries. Abundance of non-target fish did not decline significantly across reserve boundaries. 4. Abundance of target fish declined sharply 50 m outside the ARNB, but enhanced abundance extended 100-350 m beyond this boundary, depending on fish mobility. 5. Density of sedentary target fish declined 2-6 times faster than density of highly vagile and vagile target fish across the ARNB. 6. Habitat factors could not account for these ARNB results for target fish, but did influence abundance patterns of non-target fish. 7. The lack of abundance gradients of target fish at Balicasag may reflect reduced fishing outside the reserve since it was established. 8. Apo Reserve had a gradient of abundance of target fish across at least one boundary, a result consistent with spillover.
The reproductive cycle of a deep-sea eel, Nettastoma melanurum (Nettastomatidae: Anguilliformes) from the south-eastern Sardinian Sea (central-western Mediterranean)

The reproductive cycle of the deep-sea eel Nettastoma melanurum was described based on 397 specimens (171 males and 226 females). Experimental trawl surveys between depths of 772 and 1598 m and commercial hauls (580–600 m) on compact mud bottoms off the south-eastern Sardinian waters (central-western Mediterranean) were carried out. The Sardinian catches did not indicate any particular trend of size-range in relation to depth in both sexes and seem to be sexually dimorphic with females growing almost 9 cm longer than males at maximum lengths. It was a dioeceous and an oviparous deep-sea species. For females and males, six stages of oocyte development, characterizing the different stages of maturity, were identified. Histological examination demonstrated that ovaries of N. melanurum showed a ‘group-synchronous’ pattern, highlighting a type of monocyclic ovary. The species showed a size at first maturity of 53.5 cm and 50.5 cm total length in females and males respectively. The reproductive period appeared to be unique and well defined in both sexes. Their monthly changes of gonadosomatic index and maturation phases of ovaries and testis showed that the species was in a resting period from March to July. Vitellogenesis and spawning began in September and ended in January. Nettastoma melanurum seemed to be a fecund species (8132–18755 eggs).
Disponibilização de nutrientes via decomposição da serapilheira foliar em um plantio de Eucalyptus urophylla × Eucalyptus globulus

This study had the objective to evaluate the nutrients release through leaf litter decomposition in Eucalyptus urophylla × Eucalyptus globulus hybrid plantation, Eldorado do Sul-RS. We used the litterbags techniques to assess the decomposition. We used 648 litterbags, with 18 samples collected monthly during 36 months. Mass loss leaf showed positive correlation with nutrients concentration, indicating that the higher mass loss, higher the nutrients concentration in litter remaining. Litter leaf decay initially showed P, Fe, Mn and Zn immobilization and release of the others, in the second year occurred P release and in the third year occurred Mn and Zn release, with Fe exception.
Revision of the Epicrates cenchria Complex (Serpentes: Boidae)

Abstract The Epicrates cenchria complex is endemic to the Neotropical region, occurring in mainland portions of Central and South America. The taxonomic status of the nine currently recognized subspecies (E. c. alvarezi, E. c. assisi, E. c. barbouri, E. c. cenchria, E. c. crassus, E. c. gaigei, E. c. hygrophilus, E. c. maurus, and E. c. polylepis), were evaluated based on external morphology, osteology, and hemipenis characters. Results obtained through quantitative and qualitative analyses support the recognition of E. alvarezi, E. assisi, E. cenchria, E. crassus, and E. maurus as distinct species based on statistically robust delimitation of species boundaries.
Lake Sturgeon Age Validation using Bomb Radiocarbon and Known-Age Fish

Abstract Pectoral fin spines have been the accepted structure for estimating the age of various sturgeon species for nearly 100 years, though other structures have also been used (otoliths, pectoral girdle, scutes, and caudal fulcra). Accuracy of age estimates using any of these structures has not been validated, so we report the first use of bomb radiocarbon (14C) assays to assess the validity of ages estimated using growth increments on pectoral fin spine and otolith frontal cross sections from lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens; we also assessed age estimates from pectoral fin spines of known-age lake sturgeon. Growth increments on pectoral fin spine cross sections underestimated true age of fish older than 14 years and error increased with age, whereas otoliths accurately estimated true age up to at least 52 years. Increment formation on pectoral fin spine and otolith cross sections from juvenile lake sturgeon (ages 2-11) was similar, although pectoral spines were clearer and easier to interpret. A po.
HLA Class II+ Human Keratinocytes present Mycobacterium leprae Antigens to CD4+ Thl‐Like Cells

In a variety of inflammatory skin diseases like leprosy, keratinocytes (KC) are induced to express MHC class II molecules and may therefore serve as antigen‐presenting cells (APC) for MHC class II restricted T cells infiltrating the lesions. However, KC have been thought to be improper APC for MHC class II restricted T cells and to drive T cells into an anergic rather than into an activation state. We evaluated this issue in relation to leprosy and tested whether HLA‐DR+ KC could present M. leprae antigens to well‐defined, CD4 +, cytotoxic as well as proliferative, Thl ‐like cell clones. Using a recently developed sensitive assay system which employs intact layers of basal KC as APC we found that most T‐cell clones (6/8) lysed HLA‐DR+ KC pulsed with M. leprae antigens. KC were only recognized after induction of HLA‐DR expression by IFN‐γ, in an antigen‐specific and HLA class II restricted manner. All T‐cell clones tested also showed significant proliferation and IFN‐γ production in response to M. leprae antigens presented by HLA‐DR+ KC, arguing against a KC dependent anergizing effect on T cells. Thus, HLA class II+ KC can function as proper APC for HLA class II restricted CD4+ Th l ‐like cells. It seems therefore possible that antigen presentation by KC contributes to the local cell‐mediated immune responses in DTH lesions.