Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Some Histoenzymic Activity in the Small Intestine of Post-HatchGuinea Fowl

The histoenzymic activity of non-specific alkaline phosphatase (ALP, acid phosphatase (ACP) and lipase in the small intestine of the post-hatch Guineafowl were studied. Guineafowl of days 1, 7, 15, 30, 90 and 180 were used, and distribution of these enzymes was correlated with age. The activity of ALP in the duodenum and jejunum was more prominent in birds of all age groups.The ileum depicted a moderate activity of up to 30 days, and a strong ALP activity was observed at the villus of an 120-day-old Guineafowl. ALP, ACP and lipase reactions were observed in the cryptl epithelium. ACP activity in the intestine of the Guineafowl was found to increase from the duodenum to the ileum.The intensity of reaction of ACP was also increased from the base of the villi to the tip in all regions of the small intestine. Columnar cells of the villi and glycocalyx coat of the brush border of all segments of the small intestine showed a mild positive reaction for lipase activity.
The challenge of self-enhancement bias for educational programs designed to encourage natural shorelines

Abstract This study proposed and found support for a potential barrier to successful implementation of programs designed to promote natural shorelines along residential property. Increased residential development around lakeshores in the Upper Midwest is associated with reduced wildlife habitat, lower biodiversity, and degraded water quality compared to undeveloped shorelines. Property owners can reduce the impact of shoreline development through personal choices, such as planting native vegetation or allowing natural flora to regrow. Various educational programs encouraging more natural shorelines have been implemented; however, evaluative research on their success and studies about improving these programs are scant. This study explored how the phenomenon of self-enhancement bias may cause property owners to over-estimate the natural state of their shorelines, preventing remedial action they otherwise might take if a more accurate self-assessment were available. Surveys were mailed to 212 property owners on 2 lakes in northwest Wisconsin. Biologists’ assessments of the “naturalness” of each property parcel's shoreline were compared with survey data from residents indicating their own perceptions about how natural their shorelines were. Results revealed that residents evaluated their own shorelines significantly more natural than did the biologists. This pattern is consistent with the hypothesis that self-enhancement bias may be a barrier to educational programs designed to encourage more natural shorelines among lakeshore property owners. Based on these findings, the authors offer recommendations for lake and water resource managers to potentially improve the efficacy of such programs.
Maternal Size Determines Clutch Mass, whereas Breeding Timing Influences Clutch and Egg Sizes in the Tropical Lizard, Calotes versicolor (Agamidae)

Abstract We studied the correlations between body size parameters (SVL and body condition) and clutch parameters (size and mass) as well as between clutch size and egg parameters (mass, volume, length, and width) in a population of Calotes versicolor, a multiclutched lizard that breeds from May to October in southern India. We also analyzed the relationships between early, mid, and late clutches among lizards of different SVL groups. Clutch size and SVL did not vary among years. Clutch size and clutch mass were positively correlated with body size. Egg mass and volume were negatively correlated with clutch size. Clutch size was larger in early and midbreeders than in late breeders. Interestingly, the eggs of late clutches were larger than those of early breeders. A trade-off between clutch size and egg volume was always obvious. The width of eggs did not vary with SVL or clutch timing, perhaps because the width of the pelvic aperture remained virtually constant after maturity. Thus, variation in egg volume in C. versicolor is because of variation in egg length. A wide range of variation in egg volume even among lizards with similar SVL suggests that there is no optimization of egg volume in this species. In contrast, the clutch mass of early, mid, and late clutches did not vary among lizards of comparable SVL. Apparently, SVL acts as a prime factor determining clutch mass in C. versicolor, and the latter is optimized by natural selection.
Origin and evolution of the unique Australo-Papuan mangrove- restricted avifauna: novel insights form molecular phylogenetic and comparative phylogeographic analyses

Coastal mangrove forests of Australo-Papua harbor the world’s richest avifauna restricted to mangroves, however their biogeographic origins and evolutionary processes shaping their current distributions are not well understood. Building upon previous work based on field surveys and morphological characters, I am here focusing on elucidating the phylogenetic placement of mangrove-bound species from three different bird families as well as the comparative phylogeographic analysis of eight codistributed mangrove restricted birds. In the first molecular phylogenetic analysis of fantails (Aves: Rhipiduride) I document six distinct clades, harboring members spread across large geographic extents. Rhipidura hypoxantha is not a true fantail, but rather a member of the Stenostiridae clade that is morphologically and behaviorally convergent with fantails. The Australian mangrove fantails R. phasiana and R. dryas both evolved recently from Pacific island radiations. A molecular phylogeny of all extant species of the honeyeater genus Lichenostomus (Aves: Meliphagidae) also addresses the relationship of the only mangrove-restricted honeyeaters on Australia’s east coast, L. versicolor and L. fasciogularis. These species were not sisters but rather L. versicolor was sister to the pair comprising L. fasciogularis and the continental widespread Singing Honeyeater L. virescens. The genus Lichenostomus is not monophyletic, and instead comprises seven distinct lineages interdispersed within the larger meliphagid assemblage. Based on this
What do ‘lay’ people know about justice? An empirical enquiry

Abstract When mediation places decision-making power in the hands of lay disputants it raises troubling issues. Can justice be delivered without judicial assistance? What is the effect on the legal system? And how should outcomes thus achieved be regarded? Critics have tended to answer negatively, pointing to a range of harms including individual oppression and the vanishing trial. Such views, focusing too narrowly on conformity to legal norms, overlook ordinary people's capacity for justice reasoning. A recent Scottish pilot study of small-claims mediation parties illustrates the richness and complexity of their thinking around whether, and for how much, to settle. This suggests that mediation settlements, rather than representing second-class justice, may enhance the legitimacy of the legal system. Implications for theories of justice are considered.
Root colonization of mycorrhizal and non‐mycorrhizal pepper (Capsicum annuum) by Pseudomonas fluorescens 2–79RL

summary The survival and physiological status of a plant-beneficial pseudomonad on the roots of mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal pepper were examined. Pepper plants were grown for 20 d in split-root microcosms with one side of the root system mycorrhizal with Glomus deserticola (GD) or Glomus intraradices (GI), while the other side was non-mycorrhizal. Plants with both sides non-mycorrhizal served as controls. The soil was inoculated with a bioluminescence-marked strain, Pseudomonas fluorescens 2–79RL. Due to a ribosomal promoter that has been coupled to a lux gene cassette, P. fluorescens 2–79RL emits light in its exponential growth phase. Previous studies showed that the length of the lag phase of bioluminescence after transfer of soil-cultured cells into rich medium can be used to assess the physiological status of this strain. After 20 d, shoot and root weight of the mycorrhizal plants in comparison with the control plants was decreased by 35% and 45% by GD and GI, respectively, indicating a high carbon cost of the mycorrhizal infection. Mycorrhizal infection was only 6% for GD, whereas it was 40 % for GI. Compared with the non-mycorrhizal plants, GD affected P. fluorescens 2–79RL on the roots only on the side where the fungus was present, but had no effect on the non-mycorrhizal side. On the mycorrhizal side, GD decreased the population density of P. fluorescens 2–79RL by 50 % and its physiological status by one order of magnitude. By contrast, GI decreased both the population density and the physiological status on the mycorrhizal and the non-mycorrhizal side by one order of magnitude. On individual root segments, there was no correlation between the percentage mycorrhizal infection and the population density of P. fluorescens 2–79RL. It is concluded that some mycorrhizal fungi can reduce both the population density and the physiological status of certain bacterial groups in the rhizosphere.
Drag from fishing gear entangling North Atlantic right whales

Lethal and sublethal fishing gear entanglement is pervasive in North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis). Entanglement can lead to direct injury and is likely to incur substantial energetic costs. This study (1) evaluates drag characteristics of entangled right whales, (2) contextualizes gear drag measurements for individual whales, and (3) quantifies the benefits of partial disentanglement. A load cell measured drag forces on 15 sets of fishing gear removed from entangled right whales, a towed satellite telemetry buoy, and 200 m of polypropylene line as it was shortened to 25 m, as they were towed behind a vessel at ~0.77, 1.3, and 2.1 m/s (~1.5, 2.5, and 4 knots) and ~0, 3, and 6 m depth. Mean drag ranges from 8.5 N to 315 N, and can be predicted from the dry weight or length of the gear. Combining gear drag measurements with theoretical estimates of drag on whales' bodies suggests that on average, entanglement increases drag and propulsive power by 1.47 fold. Reducing trailing line length by 75% can reduce parasitic gear drag by 85%, reinforcing current disentanglement response practices. These drag measurements can be incorporated into disentanglement response, serious injury determination, and evaluation of sublethal effects on population dynamics.
Robustness of the tokamak error field correction tolerance scaling

This paper presents the subtleties of obtaining robust experimental scaling laws for the core resonant error field threshold that leads to field penetration, locked modes, and disruptions. Recent progress in attempts to project this threshold to new machines has focused on advances in the metric used to quantify the dangerous error fields, incorporating the ideal MHD plasma response in a metric referred to as the ‘dominant mode overlap’. However, the scaling of this or any quantity with experimental parameters known to be important for the complicated tearing layer physics requires regressions performed for databases that, for historical reasons, unevenly sample the available parametric space. This paper presents the distribution of the existing international n = 1 database and details biases in the available sampling and details the sensitivity of ITER projections to simple least-squares regressions. Downsampling and a simple kernel density estimation weighted regression are used here to demonstrate the difference in projections that acknowledging the machine sampling bias can make. This results in more robust projection to parameters far from the ‘usual’ devices built thus far. Two multi-device and multi-parameter scalings of the EF threshold in Ohmic and powered plasmas are presented, projecting the threshold to ITER and investigating the impact of sampling biases.
Models of the equilibrium distribution of organic chemicals between water and solid phases of environmental media

Water–solid phase equilibrium distributions are foundational to multimedia environmental fate models of anthropogenic organic chemicals. This contextual review of equilibrium models of ionizing organics in aqueous–solids systems highlights the broad range of modeling assumptions and paradigms that have been employed. The complexity of soils and sediment, especially the organic phase, is provided as background along with a description of equilibrium models for nonpolar, nonionizing organics. The ways in which these single-species models have been modified and adapted for application to ionizing organics is detailed. The individual species proposed as contributing to observed distributions include the neutral parent, ions, and ion pairs. The debate over the role of the organic phase in soil and sediment solids is presented. Both absorption and surface adsorption models are described. Organic carbon (OC)-dependent models range from the simple Karickhoff equation to complex molecular connectivity indices mode.
Inhibition of Psychrotrophic Bacteria by Lactic Cultures in Milk Stored at Low Temperature

Abstract The effect of lactic cultures on the growth of psychrotrophic bacteria in milk stored at 3.5 and 7C was investigated. Psychrotrophs were those in raw milk, or those isolated from raw milk and added to sterile milk as pure cultures. Of the lactic cultures investigated, certain commercial multi-strain cultures (lactic acid-producing streptococci plus Leuconostoc cremoris ) were the most effective in restricting psychrotrophic growth. Lactic culture was added to milk at . 5% in all experiments. Inhibition of psychrotrophs was due to a reduction in growth rate because reduction in the initial psychrotroph population usually was not observed. The degree of inhibition varied with the lactic culture, the initial population of psychrotrophs, the psychrotroph culture, storage temperature and time. Inhibition due to lactic culture was decreased by addition of catalase, suggesting that hydrogen peroxide was the inhibitor. Small amounts of hydrogen peroxide were detected in sterile milk inoculated with an inhibitory culture and stored at 3.5 or 7C. Hydrogen peroxide decreased in the presence of psychrotrophs, and hydrogen peroxide was not in raw milk.
Addiction or Transgression? Moral Incongruence and Self-Reported Problematic Pornography Use in a Nationally Representative Sample

In the United States, pornography use is common, and it is increasingly a clinical concern under some circumstances. Excessive pornography use may qualify for the new diagnosis of compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD) in the forthcoming 11th version of the International Classification of Diseases. There is also evidence, however, that moral incongruence (i.e., a misalignment of moral beliefs about sexual behavior and actual sexual behavior) may inflate self-reports of problems associated with pornography use. Prior work suggests religiousness may drive such moral incongruence. Using a large sample matched to U.S. representative norms (total: N = 2,519; past-year pornography users: n = 1,424, 66.4% men), we examined the interaction between pornography use and religiousness in predicting self-reported addiction to pornography. Results indicated that religiousness moderated the association between pornography use and self-reported addiction so that, despite a negative association between religiousness and use, at higher levels of religiousness, pornography use was more strongly related to self-reports of addiction.
Design of 900 MHz RadioFrequency Energy Harvesting Circuit for the Internet of Things Applications

Rectifying Antenna, (more commonly known as rectenna) due to its power density, is more and more considered as an autonomous power supply for wireless sensor nodes dedicated to the Internet of Things (IoT) applications. However, harvestable power fluctuates a lot over time. In this work, a design method, which considers the fluctuations in the harvestable power, is proposed. The method consists of a measure of the harvestable RF power density followed by the design of a rectenna optimized to achieve the best performance in the harvestable RF power range. The measurements are made at 900 MHz, and an average power density of −7.8 dBm is obtained. The proposed rectenna is based on a Villard voltage doubler using the Schottky HSMS 285B diode. Analysis results in 3 stage voltage doubler offering the best performance in terms of DC output voltage and RF/DC conversion efficiency. By associating the rectifier with a low pass filter L, a conversion efficiency of 40.74% and a voltage of 2.3 V are achieved at 4 dBm of incident power.
Oligospermia and azoospermia in non-reproductive male Damaraland mole-rats Cryptomys damarensis (Rodentia: Bathyergidae)

The relationship between reproductive status and reproductive physiology was investigated in male Damaraland mole-rats Cryptomys damarensis, an eusocial rodent that exhibits a marked reproductive division of labour. Testicular anatomical and histological morphometrics, selected sperm motion parameters and measurements of circulating plasma testosterone were studied in 44 males (17 reproductive and 27 non-reproductive). Reproductive males were significantly larger than non-reproductive males.Testicular mass of reproductive males, corrected for body mass, was significantly larger than in non-reproductives. However, corrected testicular volume did not vary significantly between the two groups. Circulating plasma testosterone concentrations of reproductives and non-reproductives were not significantly different (reproductive males 201.5 a 56.5 pg/l vs 187.5 + 91 pg/l for non-reproductive males). The quality of sperm was measured by the percentage of spermatozoa produced and the amount of immature sperm, and differed between the two groups. Reproductive males produced a greater proportion of motile sperm (77.8%) than non-reproductives (56.3%). Non-reproductive males were characterized by a greater proportion of immature sperm in the epididymis (79%) than the reproductives (25%). Interestingly, the spermatozoa of reproductive males were characterized by a greater percentage of head and tail defects. Oligospermia may be the result of a reduction in circulating follicle stimulating hormone, which acts upon the Sertoli cells of the seminiferous tubules, that in turn may be due to a lack of an opportunity to mate while in the confines of the colony in this obligate outbreeder.
Comparative analysis of snowfall accumulation over Antarctica in light of Ice discharge and gravity observations from space

The remote and cold Antarctic continent presents unique challenges to quantify precipitation rates from space and in situ observations. This has resulted in large uncertainties in current estimates. In this study, we quantify annual precipitation rates over seven Antarctic basins using a novel mass budget (MB) approach, by building on the recent Landsat based estimate of ice discharge and changes in total water storage from GRACE. The MB precipitation rates are compared with those from CloudSat, GPCP, the Arthern precipitation climatology, the GPM constellation sensors, a few popular reanalysis products, and a regional climate model for two periods: 2007–2010 and 2013–2015. The new estimates are bounded by CloudSat precipitation rates with and without adjustment for the unmeasured near surface precipitation. GPM products significantly underestimate Antarctic precipitation rate, but capture spatial variability that is valuable for bias-adjustment. We find variable performance between products at basin scale, suggesting that an in-depth regional study of precipitation rates is necessary.
Entropy-based convergence analysis for (A)MCMC algorithms in high dimension

Many recent and often (Adaptive) Markov Chain Monte Carlo (A)MCMC methods are associated in practice to unknown rates of convergence. We propose a simulation-based methodology to estimate and compare MCMC's performance, using a Kullback divergence criterion requiring an estimate of the entropy of the algorithm densities at each iteration, computed from iid simulated chains. In previous works, we proved some consistency results in MCMC setup for an entropy estimate based on Monte-Carlo integration of a kernel density estimate proposed by Gyorfi and Van Der Meulen (1989), and we investigate an alternative Nearest Neighbor (NN) entropy estimate from Kozachenko and Leonenko (1987). This estimate has been used mostly in univariate situations until recently when entropy estimation in higher dimensions has been considered in other fields like neuroscience or system biology. Unfortunately, in higher dimensions, both estimators converge slowly with a noticeable bias. The present work goes several steps further, with bias reduction and automatic (A)MCMC convergence criterion in mind. First, we apply in our situation a recent, "crossed NN-type" nonparametric estimate of the Kullback divergence between two densities, based on iid samples from each, introduced by Wang et al. (2006, 2009). We prove the consistency of these entropy estimates under recent uniform control conditions, for the successive densities of a generic class of MCMC algorithm to which most of the methods proposed in the recent literature belong. Secondly, we propose an original solution based on a PCA for reducing relevant dimension and bias in even higher dimensions. All our algorithms for MCMC simulation and entropy estimation are implemented in an R package taking advantage of recent advances in high performance (parallel) computing.
Can You Hear Me Now? The Impact of Hearing Loss on Patient Health Literacy

Objective: To elucidate the impact of hearing loss on patient health literacy. Study Design: Prospective, cross-sectional study. Setting: Academic otology practice at a university hospital. Patients: Consecutive, adult, English-speaking patients. Main Outcome Measures: Inadequate health literacy, defined as a composite score of less than or equal to nine on the brief health literacy screen (BHLS), was compared with patient hearing data utilizing the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) hearing classification. Secondary outcome measures included comparisons of inadequate BHLS scores according to patient demographic and clinical information. Results: There were 300 consecutive adult (>18 years old) patients evaluated with the BHLS at a university otology practice between February and March 2019. The median patient age was 60-years (range, 18–91 yr), a slight majority (160, 53.3%) were women, and most patients were White (241, 86.7%) and non-Hispanic (260, 91.6%). Overall, 9.7% of patients were found to have inadequate health literacy. Men had higher rates of inadequate health literacy as compared with women (13.6% versus 6.3%, odds ratio [OR] = 2.35, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06–5.25). Audiometric data was available for 284 (95%) patients, of which 235 (82.7%) had class A or B hearing and 49 (17.3%) had class C or D hearing. Patients with Class C or D hearing had a lower median composite BHLS score compared with patients with Class A or B hearing (11.6 versus 13.6, p < 0.0001) and an increased rate of inadequate health literacy (28.6% versus 4.7%, OR = 8.15, 95% CI 3.42–19.37). Increased age, female sex, and better hearing were independent predictors of higher BHLS scores on multivariable analysis. Conclusions: Hearing loss is an independent risk factor for inadequate health literacy. Providers should be aware of this risk and consider implementing strategies to improve counseling for this at-risk group of patients.