Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A landscape approach to advance intermittent river ecology

Summary Intermittent rivers are increasingly viewed as shifting mosaics of lotic (flowing water), lentic (standing water) and terrestrial (dry riverbed) habitats. The diversity, spatial arrangement, temporal turnover and connectivity of these habitats are controlled by the magnitude, frequency, duration and extent of drying and rewetting events, which maintain habitat heterogeneity and control biodiversity and biogeochemical processes in intermittent rivers. We consider intermittent rivers as spatiotemporal landscape mosaics to identify the implications such a view has for empirical and theoretical developments in landscape and river ecology. Using observational data of flow states collected by citizen scientists along 1400 km of river channels in western France, we used landscape metrics and ecologically scaled indices for four hypothetical, aquatic species (two fish and two insects) to describe the dynamics of intermittent river mosaics for five catchments. Dry patches dominated most observation dates but flowing patches had the longest average length and occupied the greatest proportion of channel length. At the start of each summer, catchments were almost entirely composed of flowing patches but lentic and dry patches could represented up to 80% of the catchments as summer progressed. Patch dynamics were typified by high levels of spatiotemporal variability. In contrast, ecologically scaled indices did not vary greatly among catchments within species. The ecologically scaled indices representing small fish were the most affected by habitat fragmentation. Such a landscape perspective could affect understanding of biodiversity patterns and biogeochemical processes in intermittent rivers. We outline the methodological developments required to integrate landscape approaches into intermittent river research, the associated challenges and current limitations in landscape ecology tools and models and the benefits of citizen science data sets. The continued quantification of shifting habitat mosaics in intermittent rivers will provide multiple opportunities to advance river and landscape ecology.
THE ROLE OF EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES IN BREAST CANCER PROGRESSION AND DIAGNOSIS

Breast cancer (BC) is the second most commonly occurring malignant disease in women and one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide, globally accounting for almost half-a-million deaths per year. In Canada, BC is the second leading cause of death in women preceded only by lung cancer. Invasion and metastasis are the most common causes of mortality in patients with BC. Studies show that extracellular vesicles (EVs) play an important role in immune system evasion, invasion and metastasis. Studies have shown a significant elevation of EVs in the serum of cancer patients compared to healthy subjects. Furthermore, elevated secretion of EVs has been correlated with cancer malignancy. Therefore, it has been suggested that EVs may be an important non-invasive diagnostic and prognostic tool for cancer. Herein our in vitro studies show that ER-α is secreted via EVs from MCF-7 cells. Furthermore, our mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomic study showed that the proteomic profile of EVs from the plasma of BC patients differs from that of healthy subjects. In addition, we have also shown that vesicular abundance of proteins associated with tumour malignancy, such as tissue factor (TF), plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1), a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 12 (ADAM12) and β-Catenin is different between primary tumour and metastatic disease.
Automated wildlife counts from remotely sensed imagery

Manual counts of wildlife from aerial photos usually are labor-intensive. We used a public-domain image-analysis program to assess accuracy of counting wildlife from remotely sensed images, using 4 illustrative case studies. These include examples of using commonly available aerial photos from a hand-held camera, mapping cameras, as well as a "proof-of-concept" example using a high-resolution satellite image. The mean count error for the aerial photos ranged from 2.8. -10.2%. Combining spectral and area attributes allowed for separating single animals from groups >2. The test with the 1-m-resolution satellite image performed satisfactorily, and 61-cm-resolution satellite imagery currently available should be suitable for this technique. Advantages of using image analysis for counting wildlife are ease of use, reliable performance, and time savings.
Fruit Quality of Satsuma Mandarin Grown on the Northern Coast of the Gulf of Mexico

This study was conducted to determine fruit quality of Satsuma mandarin Citrus unshiu, Marc. 'Owari' grown on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Soluble solids increased linearly and titratable acidity decreased quadratically during October and November for the four sampling years. There was no signifi cant interaction between sampling date and year. There was a signifi cant year effect for titratable acidity, but not soluble solids or their ratio. A 10:1 soluble solids to titratable acidity ratio was observed on 10 Nov. Variation in fruit weight corresponded with cropload. Fruit weight increased during the sampling period due to an increase in fruit length since there was no change in width. Peel color was yellow-orange by 10 Nov., with many fruit still exhibiting patches of green color. Because of some green color present in the peel, the fruit would have to be degreened for successful marketing in U.S. retail chain stores. Satsuma mandarins are small citrus fruit closely related to other mandarins such as tangerines and clementines. They are sweet, easily peeled by hand and seedless. Satsuma
Antifungal Activity of Trans-2-Hexenal Against Penicillium cyclopium by a Membrane Damage Mechanism

The study investigated the antifungal activity and potential antifungal mechanisms of volatile compounds (i.e., E-2-hexenal) against Penicillium cyclopium, one of the main tomato postharvest pathogens, which was obtained and purified from postharvest tomato surface. Experimental data suggested that the volatile compound exhibited strong antifungal activity against the targeted pathogens, with minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum fungicidal concentration of 160 μL/L and 320μL/L for E-2-hexenal, respectively. The membrane permeability of the P. cyclopium increased with increasing concentrations of E-2-hexenal, as evidenced by cell constituent release, leakage of potassium ions, and extracellular conductivity. Moreover, E-2-hexenal could induce a decrease in total lipid content and extracellular pH. These results suggest that the anti-fungal activity of E-2-hexenal against P. cyclopium can be attributed to the disruption of the cell membrane integrity, the increase of membrane permeability and the leakage of cell components. Practical Applications Penicillium cyclopium was isolated from the surface of tomato fruits after harvest. E-2-hexenal had an inhibitory effect on the hyphae and spores of P. cyclopium. The minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum fungicidal concentration were determined by using different concentrations of E-2-hexenal against P. cyclopium. The study results indicate that the antifungal activity of E-2-hexenal against P. cyclopium can be attributed to the disruption of the cell membrane integrity, the increase of membrane permeability and the leakage of cell components. The study results provided a reference for extending the storage of tomato fruits.
Relatedness Within and Between Colonies of a Queenless Ant Species of the Genus Rhytidoponera (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

The evolution of social insects is essentially the evolution of the queen-worker dichot­ omy, with one of the characters defining eusociality being reproductive division of labor between females . Those species that have lost queens could therefore reasonably be said to have lost workers as well . "Queens" [�] could thus be defined as individuals of distinc­ tive morphology (larger body size , larger ovaries etc) conferring greater reproductive potential (not always realised) than the others ("workers" [��D.
EFFECT OF GROWTH CONDITIONS ON

SUMMARY Cells of Euglenagracilis Klebs, strain z Pringsheim, had high NADPH-glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) activity when grown on glutamate but activity was repressed completely in cells grown on ammonium (NH4+). Subcellular fractionation showed that NADPH-GDH activity was located exclusively in the cytosol, while glutamine synthetase was present in the cytosol and chloroplasts. Despite high NADPH-GDH activity NH4+ assimilation was completely inhibited by methionine sulphoximine (MSO), an inhibitor of glutamine synthetase. With MSO present, cells produced NH4+ and it was shown that greatest NH4+ production occurred with cells containing high levels of NADPH-GDH activity and plentiful carbon supply. It is concluded that NADPH-GDH has a catabolic function in Euglena generating NH4+ from glutamate under conditions of nitrogen limitation.
Lycopene content in hydroponic and non-hydroponic tomatoes during postharvest storage

The lycopene content in hydroponic and non-hydroponic ripe tomatoes increased from 36 μg/g fresh weight to maximum amounts after 14 days storage at 22°C, reaching 89.75±4.51 and 115.13±2.08 μg/g fresh weight for hydroponic and non-hydroponic tomatoes respectively. Non-hydroponic tomatoes showed also a significant increase (p<0.05) in red colour when stored at 22°C. Storage at 4°C suppressed lycopene formation and red colour development in both cultivars.
Nutrition security is an integral component of food security

ABSTRACT This review argues that nutrition is an integral component of food security, and should be embedded within all four of its dimensions – availability, access, utilization, and stability. The review highlights current food insecurity in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, as exacerbated by the triple burden of malnutrition, where undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and overweight/obesity coexist. Previous efforts to address food security in MENA have focused on food availability, overlooking the other three dimensions and leaving nutrition considerations aside. Meanwhile, the literature has recognized the need to highlight nutrition as fundamental, and opted for the term ‘food and nutrition security’. To achieve food and nutrition security in MENA, a nutrition lens must be applied across all four dimensions – from assessment, to policy and programming, to capacity building. For example, MENA countries can adopt policies and programs including well-structured food subsidies, dietary guidelines, public awareness, and education campaigns to increase availability and accessibility of nutritious and safe foods, and stimulate consumer demand for those. To accomplish this, MENA needs to build stakeholders' capacity and equip them to address the challenges that are hindering the achievement of food and nutrition security now and into the future.
EFFECT OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND MARKETING COMMUNICATION MIX ON CUSTOMERS’ LOYALTY IN THE GHANAIAN BANKING INDUSTRY

The study investigates the effect of customer satisfaction and marketing communication mix on customers’ loyalty in the Ghanaian banking industry. Explanatory design was used to investigate the association between the independent variables: customer satisfaction, public relations, advertising, sales promotion and the dependent variable: customers’ loyalty. Questionnaire was the main instruments for data collection from 250 customers of banks in Accra, Ghana. SPSS version 20 was employed for data analysis. The study revealed a strong positive relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the Ghanaian banking industry. Also, the study showed a moderate but significant relationship between public relations and customers’ loyalty in the Ghanaian banking industry. On the bases of these findings, the study recommended that the banks should continue to strive to achieve customer satisfaction by fulfilling customers’ needs and wants since it can engender customer loyalty. This can be done by understanding all the factors affecting customer satisfaction. Also, it was recommended that public relations must not be discarded but strengthened to complement the other marketing communication mix to help encourage customer loyalty in the Ghanaian banking industry. Article visualizations:
Divergence of sex comb phenotypes in the Drosophila fima species group and radiation on Afrotropical Ficus, including five new species from East Africa and Madagascar (Diptera : Drosophilidae)

Le groupe afrotropical Drosophila fima est unique tant par la morphologie et le fonctionnement des terminalias mâles, que par les changements de structure des tarses, la diversite des peignes sexuels ou encore l'ecologie. Cinq nouvelles especes du groupe fima, toutes appartenant au complexe dyula, sur la base des terminalias mâles, sont decrites ici. Quatre d'entre elles, d'Afrique orientale, montrent le schema classique, quoique remarquable, des especes dites « aux-tarses-modifies », a savoir D. longicrinis, D. pilacrinis, D. stenotrichala et D. trichala. Mais, la cinquieme, originaire de Madagascar et des montagnes de l'Arc Oriental de Tanzanie, D. inopinata, presente une nouvelle combinaison de traits pour le phenotype 'peignes sexuels'inattendue dans le groupe fima, associant des terminalias mâles typiques du complexe dyula avec l'absence des modifications tarsales et des peignes sexuels qui semblaient jusqu'alors caracteriser eux aussi le complexe. La coexistence de types tarsaux aussi contrastes au sein d'un 'clade' d'especes affines peut aider a comprendre a quelle vitesse le phenotype « peignes sexuels » peut changer. Il semble que la divergence des peignes sexuels ait favorise la radiation adaptative et l'accumulation ecologique des especes sur une meme ressource, les Ficus afrotropicaux.
Waste management by workers of Atta sexdens rubropilosa (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in colonies supplied with different substrates

The objective of this work was to investigate taskpartitioningduringwaste transport by workers of Atta sexdens rubropilosa from colonies that were previously supplied with Acalypha wilkesiana or Ligustrum japonicum.The former plant is known to have bactericidal and fungicidal properties. Each plant species was offered to two colonies so that four colonies were used in the experiments. Task partitioning was predominant in all colonies and occurred in 80% of the colonies fed A. wilkesiana and in 72.3% of the colonies fed L. japonicum. A total of72.2% and 70.5% of the workers which did not exhibit task partitioning had partial contact with the garbage heap at the moment of waste disposal in colonies which were fed A. wilkesiana and L. japonicum, respectively. Partial contact with the waste minimizesworkers contamination and contributes to fungus garden protection against pathogens that may be present in the garbage heap. On the other hand, using a plant with antibiotic properties apparently did not reduce contaminants in the colony refuse or affect task partitioning during refuse transport.
Imidazolinone and Sulfonylurea Resistance in a Biotype of Common Waterhemp (Amaranthus rudis)

The incidence of weed resistance to acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibiting herbicides has increased in the United States. In 1993, a population of ALS-resistant common waterhemp was discovered after two confirmed applications of an imidazolinone herbicide. Following another imazethapyr application in the glasshouse, the resistant biotype demonstrated 130-fold resistance to imazethapyr at the whole plant level. The concentration of imazethapyr required to inhibit the ALS activity by 50% was 520 times greater for the resistant biotype than the susceptible. Plants also demonstrated cross-resistance to the sulfonylureas, chlorimuron and thifensulfuron, at the whole plant and enzyme levels. This particular discovery is of concern due to the low number of applications of the selection agent (imazaquin 1989, imazethapyr 1992, and imazethapyr in the greenhouse) and the high degree of cross-resistance eliminating several options for weed control.
sysfilter: Automated System Call Filtering for Commodity Software

Modern OSes provide a rich set of services to applications, primarily accessible via the system call API, to support the ever growing functionality of contemporary software. However, despite the fact that applications require access to part of the system call API (to function properly), OS kernels allow full and unrestricted use of the entire system call set. This not only violates the principle of least privilege, but also enables attackers to utilize extra OS services, after seizing control of vulnerable applications, or escalate privileges further via exploiting vulnerabilities in less-stressed kernel interfaces. To tackle this problem, we present sysfilter : a binary analysis-based framework that automatically (1) limits what OS services attackers can (ab)use, by enforcing the principle of least privilege with respect to the system call API, and (2) reduces the attack surface of the kernel, by restricting the system call set available to userland processes. We implement sysfilter for x86-64 Linux, and present a set of program analyses for constructing system call sets statically, and in a scalable, precise, and complete (safe over-approximation) manner. In addition, we evaluate our prototype in terms of correctness using 411 binaries (real-world C/C++ applications) and ≈ 38.5K tests to assert their functionality. Furthermore, we measure the impact of our enforcement mechanism(s), demonstrating minimal, or negligible, run-time slowdown. Lastly, we conclude with a large scale study of the system call proﬁle of ≈ 30K C/C++ applications (from Debian sid ), reporting insights that justify our design and can aid that of future (system call-based) policing mechanisms.
A review of Ultratenuipalpus (Trombidiformes: Tenuipalpidae) and related genera, with a new species from forest oak Allocasuarina torulosa (Aiton) (Casuarinaceae)

ABSTRACT A new species of flat mite (Acari: Tenuipalpidae), Ultratenuipalpus jubatus Otley, Beard and Seeman sp. nov., is described from the green stems of forest oak Allocasuarina torulosa (Aiton) L.A. S. Johnson (Casuarinaceae) in Australia. We reinstate Extenuipalpus as a genus, with E. quadrisetosus (Lawrence, 1940) as the type species, and move Tenuipalpus niekerkae Meyer, 1979 and Tenuipalpus saggitus Meyer, 1993a to Extenuipalpus. We treat Urigersonus as a junior subjective synonym of Ultratenuipalpus, thus returning Urigersonus bunyai (Smiley and Gerson, 1995) to Ultratenuipalpus. The genera Ultratenuipalpus and Extenuipalpus are diagnosed and a key is provided for each genus. Ultratenuipalpus is shown to comprise two groups that generally conform to a biogeographic pattern: those species without seta f2 show a Gondwanan distribution, post-separation from Africa, while those with seta f2 are found in Africa, North America and East Asia. We also show that the pair of pseudanal setae that are modified into genital stylets in the male are setae ps3, not ps1 as previously thought, and therefore setae ps3 are always present in flat mites.
Catalogue of type specimens of Sternorrhyncha (Hemiptera) deposited in the National Museum, Prague, Czech Republic

Type specimens from the insect collections deposited in the Department of Entomology, National Museum, Prague, are currently being catalogued. In this part of the catalogue we deal with Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha. This group is namely represented in the museum by the whitefl y collection of Jiři Zahradnik and the scale insect collections of Jiři Zahradnik and Josef Řehacek, while the psyllid material was mostly collected by Jiři Dlabola and other workers of the department and identifi ed by Marianna M. Loginova, Daniel Burckhardt and Pavel Lauterer (material from the expeditions of the National Museum to Iran in 1970s is particularly numerous and scientifi cally valuable). We list the types of 36 taxa (3 in Aleyrodomorpha, 3 in Coccomorpha, and 30 in Psyllomorpha), including holotypes or syntypes of 14 taxa (3 in Aleyrodomorpha, 2 in Coccomorpha, and 9 in Psyllomorpha).
Facultative Extension of Fall Migration by Yellow-Rumped Warblers (Dendroica coronata)

Les oiseaux maintiennent un etat physiologique qui leur permet d'hiverner le plus au nord possible mais qui leur permet aussi des deplacements orientes correctement si les conditions deviennent defavorables. Il existe donc une grande plasticite dans un processus generalement considere comme rigide
Destruction of Florida Bay seagrasses by a grazing front of sea urchins

Sediment depth was measured in November, 1997 by driving a pole marked in 1 cm increments into the sediment. Measurements were taken in the ungrazed area ahead of the front and in the completely grazed area behind the front. Also in November 1997, sediment samples for grain size and organic content analyses were taken in three areas: ahead of the front (ungrazed), behind the front in bare sand (completely grazed), and behind the front in areas with some seagrass cover remaining (partially grazed). Samples were collected with 2.5 cm diameter corers to a depth of 13.5 cm. A subsample from each core was dried at 70˚C and then ashed at 500˚C for 24 h. Organic content was calculated as percent weight loss after ignition. a second subsample from each core was used to determine grain size composition. Samples were mixed with 10 ml of dispersant (10% chemical water softener in water) and allowed to sit for at least 48 h. the sediment/dispersant mixture was washed through two sieves (0.5 mm and 0.64 µ), and the portion retained on each sieve was dried at 70˚C and weighed. Three grain size categories were used: gravel (>0.5 mm), sand (0.5 mm–64 µ), and silt/clay (<64 µ).
FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT – INCOME INEQUALITY NEXUS IN SOUTH AFRICA: A NONLINEAR ANALYSIS

-AbstractThis study was aimed at investigating the nonlinear effect of financial development on income inequality in South Africa. Annual data from 1970 to 2018 was investigated, and based on the ARDL bounds testing technique, the estimates indicated that financial development exerts a nonlinear impact on income inequality. In addition, the relationship between the two variables was found to be U-shaped, implying that financial development at early stages narrows the income-inequality gap before crossing certain thresholds beyond which the gap is widened. These results could imply the presence of market imperfections such as prohibitive transaction costs, information asymmetries, as well as collateral and credit history constraints in the system. Consequently, the monetary authorities should prioritise an evaluation of the nation’s financial system, with a view to reducing imperfections in the markets so as reduce income inequality through the mechanism of financial development.
Incorporation of carbohydrates into macromolecular force fields : Development and validation

Their inherent flexibility, combined with the multitude of linkages and functionalities possible, provides a fundamental challenge in the development of carbohydrate force fields for modeling oligosaccharides. Validation of carbohydrate force fields has been hampered by both the paucity of structural data for all but the simplest glycans, but the development has rapidly progressed due to advancements in ab initio methods. Condensed-phase properties of monosaccharides have been accurately modeled with current methodology, but in order to determine the ability of these carbohydrate force fields to accurately describe oligosaccharides, a thorough systematic analysis remains to be performed.