Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phenological complementarity, species diversity, and ecosystem function

Increasing species diversity frequently enhances ecosystem function. Phenological complementarity, the asynchrony of species resource use and growth, may explain how species diversity influences ecosystem function but remains largely untested. We used an early successional plant community containing species with a variety of phenologies to test whether increasing species diversity enhances ecosystem function by increasing phenological complementarity. Over a two-year period, we increased environmental heterogeneity within an abandoned field with variation in disturbance, soil nutrients, water, light availability, and disturbance in 160 permanent plots, and measured percent cover of each plant species three times in each growing season. We did not manipulate species composition directly, and thus diversity and complementarity in each plot were the result of pre-existing conditions and responses of individuals to experimental treatments. Species diversity was measured in two ways, as the total number of species per plot and as the evenness of species abundances. Phenological complementarity was measured as the negative logarithm of the variance ratio. We tested whether the number of plant species per plot, species evenness, and their phenological complementarity in the first year predicted total annual cover in the second year. Total annual cover increased only moderately with number of species and evenness, consistent with studies that randomize species composition among replicate plots. Any effect that species number or evenness had on total annual cover, however, was not due to phenological complementarity. Rather, diversity was unrelated to phenological complementarity. These results indicate that naturally occurring variation in species diversity had little effect on whether phenological complementarity can enhance ecosystem function.
Phylogeny and phylogeography of Atlantic oyster species: evolutionary history, limited genetic connectivity and isolation by distance

The phylogenetic relationships between naturally occurring Atlantic Crassostrea oyster species were inferred through analyses of mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase subunit I and 16S) and nuclear (second internal transcribed spacer) sequences. We also scored 15 allozyme loci on 422 oys- ters to study population structuring of C. rhizophorae and C. brasiliana along 9000 km of the Western Atlantic coastline. Despite morphological similarities, C. virginica was genetically more closely related to C. rhizophorae than to C. brasiliana. In contrast, C. paraibanensis was genetically indistin- guishable from C. brasiliana, which is probably a junior synonym of the African C. gasar. Significant genetic differentiation between populations of C. rhizophorae and C. gasar were found along the Western Atlantic coast, supporting an isolation-by-distance pattern.
Influence of tillage type on vertical weed seedbank distribution in a sandy soil

The vertical distribution of weed seeds in the seedbank of a sandy soil under three tillage systems (moldboard plow, chisel plow, and no-till) was estimated by a seedling-emergence method. The vertical distribution of the weed seedbank differed with tillage type and depth of tillage. The no-till system had the largest portion (90%) of the seedbank in the 0- to 5-cm layer. Chisel plowing distributed most of the seeds (66%) in the 5- to 10-cm layer. Moldboard plowing concentrated 71% of the seeds at the 10- to 15-cm depth. Our results suggest that the vertical distribution of the weed seedbank will be influenced by tillage type, depth of tillage, and soil type. Key words: Soil structure, moldboard plow, chisel plow, no-till
Gagea tisoniana, a new species of Gagea Salisb. sect. Gagea (Liliaceae) from central Italy

Gagea tisoniana Peruzzi et al.sp. nov. is described and its taxonomic relationship is discussed. The new species, which appears to be endemic to central Italy, is close to G. pratensis (Pers.) Dumort. , G. pusilla (F. W. Schmidt) Sweet, and other mainly poorly known [i.e. G. succedanea Griseb. et Schenk, G. transversalis Stev. , and G. paczoskii (Zapal.) Grossh. ] or as yet undescribed taxa from eastern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean area. The recognition of the new taxon G. tisoniana is claimed on the basis of anatomical, karyological, ecological, and phytogeographical data. Maps of the Italian distribution of G. pratensis (2n = 60), G. pusilla (2n = 24), and G. tisoniana (2n = 24) are presented, together with an analytical identification key. Finally, G. pratensis is recorded here for the first time in Tuscany (Monte Cetona). © 2007 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2007, 155, 337–347.
Repeated Moral Hazard with Private Evaluation: Leniency Bias

We study an infinitely repeated moral hazard problem in which the principal privately observes and publicly reports the agent’s output, as in Fuchs (2007). The optimal perfect public equilibrium is constructed. We show that (i) the principal overreports the agent’s output, known as leniency bias; (ii) as the discount factor goes to one, the probability with which the principal overreports the agent’s output goes to one as well; (iii) more costly for the agent to exert effort, less likely for the principal to overreport the agent’s output. Moreover, the optimal contract is shown to be static and self-enforcing.
Do Elite Universities Practise Meritocratic Admissions? Evidence from Cambridge

The merit-vs-diversity balance in university-admissions remains a controversial issue. Statistical analysis of these problems is jeopardized by applicant characteristics observed by admission-officers but unobserved by researchers. Using administrative microdata from the two-stage Cambridge admission-process, we compare post-entry exam-scores of directly admitted h-type students with g-types entering via the “pool” - a second-round clearing-mechanism. Better performance by the latter implies higher admission-standards for g-types, irrespective of the unobservability problem. We find strong evidence of higher admission-standards for males in STEM/Economics, and a weak one for private-school applicants. The gender-gap weakens over time for a cohort, and is non-evident in Law/Medicine.
Isolation from Ground Vibrations with Geofoam Barri ers : Centrifuge Modelling

Ground vibrations due to human activity can be redu ced with the installation of vertical barriers within the soil. The efficiency of the isolation sy stem depends on various parameters such as depth, width, distance from the source, wave length , etc. A centrifuge parametric study is conducted to examine the influence of the different parameters in some reduced scale models made of Expanded polystyrene (EPS) isolation barrie rs within Fontainebleau sand in order to determine geofoam isolation efficiency.
Interaction of Monoterpenoids, Methyl Jasmonate, and Ca2+ in Controlling Postharvest Brown Rot of Sweet Cherry

The banning of synthetic fungicides for postharvest use on fruits in Canada has prompted a search for alternative control strategies for postharvest brown rot caused by Monilinia fructicola (Wint.) Honey on sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.). Thymol and carvacrol were the two most potent fungicides among the monoterpenoids tested. The brown rot incidences of M. fructicola-inoculated cherry dipped in 1000 µg·mL -1 thymol and carvacrol were 24% and 23%, respectively, compared with 81% for the control. The effects of thymol and carvacrol were not significantly enhanced by the addition of CaCl 2 or CaB'y ® , a foliar calcium fertilizer. Decco ® 282 significantly reduced the activity of thymol. Methyl jasmonate, an elicitor of plant defense mechanisms, did not reduce brown rot by itself, and did not increase the efficacy of thymol and carvacrol when used as an additive in dipping or fumigation experiments. Thymol and carvacrol caused stem browning of cherry fruits in the fumigation experiment, however, 69% and 73%, respectively, of the browning was prevented when methyl jasmonate was used as a co-fumigant. Chemical names used: 5-methyl-2-(1-methylethyl)phenol (thymol); 2- methyl-5-(1-methylethyl)phenol (carvacrol); methyl 3-oxo-2-(2-pentenyl)cyclopentane acetate (methyl jasmonate).
Verbs and Pronouns for Authorship Attribution

— In this paper we discuss the use of verbs and pronouns as features for authorship attribution on texts written in Portuguese. We demonstrate through experiments that verbs and pronouns when used with other features such as adverbs and conjunctions can bring an important improvement in terms of recognition rate. The experimental protocol takes into account Support Vector Machines as classifiers and a database composed of short articles from 20 authors. An improvement of about 4% was achieved using these features .
The use of meiofauna in marine pollution impact assessment

On examine l'utilisation de la meiofaune pour la detection et la quantification des perturbations de l'environnement marin par l'homme.Les avantages et les inconvenients theoriques et pratiques de l'utilisation de la meiofaune sont decrits et differentes methodes d'evaluation de l'impact sont decrites et evaluees
Bycatch in 36 and 40 mm PA Turkish twin rigged beam trawl codends

The Turkish twin rigged beam trawl which has two identical nets rigged side by side on the same beam targets mainly the Parapenaeus longirostris , although some bycatch fish species have also become target species. Thus, landings of the shrimp beam trawling fleet also include some commercially valuable fishes. Our study focused on the bycatch commercial species which are caught by the beam trawl fishery with nominal mesh sizes 36 and 40 mm PA (diamond) codend in the Sea of Marmara (Turkey) and also on the minimum landing size (MLS) established for Merluccius merluccius , Merlangius merlangus euxinus , Mullus surmuletus , Trachurus trachurus and Pomatomus saltatrix . Since there was no MLS value for Spicara smaris , the length at first maturity (LFM) was used for this species. Experiments were carried out onboard the commercial beam trawler. In 20 hauls, the average codend catch weight was 63.12 kg for 36 mm PA and 66.51 kg for 40 mm PA. On the other hand, for 36 mm PA, 83.5% of M. merluccius , 74.3% of M. merlangus euxinus , 29.7% of T. trachurus , 10.8% of P. saltatrix and 8.6% of M. surmuletus were below the MLS. For 40 mm PA, 88.9% of M. merlangus euxinus , 87.7% of M. merluccius , 42.5% of T. trachurus , 7.2% of P. saltatrix and 6.7% of M. surmuletus were below MLS. In addition, 7.5% of S. smaris were below length at first maturity (LFM) for 36 PA codends.
Growth modeling of dairy heifers in Québec based on random regression

Cue, R. I. , Pietersma, D. , Lefebvre, D. , Lacroix, R. , Wade, K. , Pellerin, D. , de Passille, A-M. and Rushen, J. 2012. Growth modeling of dairy heifers in Quebec based on random regression. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 92: 33–47. A total of 144 006 weight (calculated from tape girth measurements) and height data records from Quebec dairy heifers were analyzed using random regression to estimate growth curve parameters of Ayrshires, Brown Swiss and Holstein animals to permit prediction of individual heifer growth from 0 to 32 mo. There were, on average, 5.15 records per heifer (minimum 3 records, maximum 25 records). The body weight data were analyzed using linear and quadratic fixed and random regressions, with a power-of-the-mean (POM) function to model the residual variance. The POM was 1.2 for Holstein and Ayrshire and slightly less than 1 for Brown Swiss. Estimated body weight at 24 mo was 507, 564, 624 kg, for Ayrshires, Brown Swiss and Holstein, respectively. The height data were analyzed with a Brody, monomole.
Physical activity and health-related quality of life among physiotherapists in Hebron/West Bank

Early on in Physiotherapists (PTs) career, many physiotherapists drop out of their jobs or at least drop out of clinical work [5][6]. Many factors contribute to the attrition of physiotherapists, including raising a family and further education [7]. In addition to the burnout phenomenon and their related with physical activity [8,9]. Moreover, several studies have shown disorders in PA have a major impact on the longevity of physiotherapists work as well as the effect on health-related quality of life [10].
Antibacterial Activity of Some Plant Extracts

Ten aqueous and one ethanolic extracts from medicinal plants used in Turkey were evaluated for antimicrobial activity. Plant extracts were prepared using distilled water and 50 % ethanol. It was found that three plant extracts from the 9 plants studied had antibacterial activity. These activities were produced by the aqueous extracts of Pistacia, Tilia argentea and Anthemis pungens. All of these plant extracts had antibacterial activity against E.coli. Also, Tilia argentea and Pistacia spp inhibited the growth of Bacillus subtilis. In addition to these bacteria, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus and environmental Aeromonas spp. strains were inhibited by Tilia argentea.
Stomatal closure is induced rather by prevailing xylem abscisic acid than by accumulated amount of xylem‐derived abscisic acid

We have studied the stomatal response in relation to the xylem-derived abscisic acid (ABA) accumulation in sunflower leaves. When ABA was introduced into detached leaves of the sunflower through xylem flux, stomatal conductance was regulated, water flux was changed as a result and at the same time the xylem-derived ABA was metabolised in the leaves. We computed the xylem-derived ABA accumulation in the leaves as a function of time by taking into account the variation of ABA flux into the leaves (the product of water flux and ABA concentration) and a continuing ABA metabolism. We found that ABA accumulation was rapid during an initial lag phase, much slowed down during the decreasing phase of stomatal conductance, but still substantial when stomatal conductance reached a new stable state. The results show a poor link between the kinetics of ABA-induced stomatal closure and the xylem-derived ABA accumulation. Xylem-derived ABA was metabolised rapidly in the leaves. Tetcyclacis, as an inhibitor, substantially inhibited this process. Two hours after ABA was fed into a leaf, about 70% of the fed ABA was metabolised, but when tetcyclacis was added into the feeding solution, less than 30% of ABA was metabolised, even after 24 h of incubation. The inhibition of ABA metabolism by tetcyclacis did not lead to more stomatal closure, which was still concentration-dependent. Since the accumulation of xylem-derived ABA was enhanced substantially by the presence of tetcyclacis, these results strongly indicate that stomata mainly respond to the prevailing ABA concentration in the xylem stream, rather than to the accumulated amount of xylem-derived ABA in the leaves.
Application of a Bayesian surplus production model to blue shark (Prionace glauca) in the North Pacific

A Bayesian surplus production model was applied to blue shark (Prionace glauca) in the North Pacific and used to estimate current and future values of stock assessment reference points. Several of the issues faced when selecting an assessment methodology for this species are expected to be encountered when assessing other non-target highly migratory species. This model’s main strengths lie in the simplicity of its data requirements (catch data and at least one annual catch rate series) and its ability to incorporate existing information in the form of prior probability distributions for estimated parameters. This function facilitates fitting to times series that are less informative or have incomplete catch histories. The model was successfully fit to one series of blue shark catch rate data, resulting in model parameter and stock reference point estimates which are consistent with previous findings for this species. Introduction Biomass dynamic models describe a fish stock’s behavior over time as a function of its biomass, production and mortality. Although such models are highly simplified representations of complex population dynamics, they are commonly relied upon because of their minimal data requirements, and ease of use and interpretation (Hilborn and Walters, 1992). A Bayesian implementation of the classic Schaefer surplus production model (McAllister and Babcock, 2002) combines the simplicity of the biomass dynamic approach with the ability to specify prior probability distributions for all estimated parameters. The usual model outputs and reference points, namely the intrinsic rate of increase (r), carrying capacity (K), current biomass relative to carrying capacity (Bcur/K) and maximum sustainable yield (MSY), are produced as posterior probability distributions allowing a formal, quantitative interpretation of uncertainty. Applying the techniques of decision analysis, the model can also be used to project stock conditions into the future given various management strategies (McAllister et al. 2001). An assessment of blue shark (Prionace glauca) stocks in the North Pacific (Kleiber et al., 2001; Clarke et al., in prep) has been conducted using logbook records from the Japanese longline fleet as a measure of catch per unit effort (CPUE), and total catch estimates
BIO CONTROL POTENTIAL OF PIMENTA DIOICA AND ANACARDIUM OCCIDENTALE AGAINST FUSARIUM OXYSPORUM F. SP. ZINGIBERI

Ginger is an important commercial crop attacked by a number of pathogenic fungi and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. zingiberi is one among the important fungi. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the in vitro antifungal effect of aqueous extracts of leaf and bark of Pimenta dioica (Linn.) Merill (family: Myrtaceae) and Anacardium occidentale L. (family: Anacardiaceae) against F. oxysporum f. sp. zingi beri recovered from rhizome rot specimen of ginger. Antifungal potential of leaf and bark extracts was determined by poisoned food technique and the inhibitory effect was observed in terms of reduction in colony diameter of the fungus in plates poisoned wi th extracts (10 %) when compared with control plates. The leaf and bark extracts were effective in inhibiting the fungus but to varied extent. Leaf extracts were more inhibitory than bark extracts. Leaf extract and bark extract of P. dioica showed high and least inhibition of the fungus respectively. The antifungal potential could be related to the presence of inhibitory metabolites present in the extracts. Further studies involving field trials are to be carried out.
The largest land mammal ever imagined

Abstract The Oligocene giant rhinocerotoid Indricotherium transouralicum (= Baluchitherium grangeri ), 'the largest mammal that ever lived,' was smaller than is generally believed. Over 90 estimates based on head-and-body length, skull size, molar length and proximal limb bone diameters agree well on a mean mass estimate of about 11 tonnes (t) rather than the 20-30 t given by most texts. A maximum mass estimate between 15 and 20 t seems probable. Marked sexual dimorphism is possible but the material is insufficient to assess the problem property. The single source of the inflated, widely cited mass estimates seems to be the famous Granger-Gregory-Ziska reconstruction from 1935-36, which was itself inflated by arbitrary, isometric scaling up of individual elements to a hypothetical maximum size. Paraceratherium bugtiense and P. prohorovi seem to have been somewhat smaller than I. transouralicum . The largest indricotheres were similar in size to the largest fossil proboscideans, and extend the known size range of terrestrial mammals marginally if at all.
Gender and entrepreneurial decision making: a study on effectuation versus causation

This study adds to the entrepreneurship literature by offering empirical evidence on the role of gender on entrepreneurial decision. We adopt the effectuation framework and method to investigate whether the contrasting evidence on the gender-entrepreneurial decision relationship is due to the methodological and conceptual limits of the traditional models of decision making. The study also contributes to the effectuation literature by adding two novel grounded effectuation categories. By running an experiment following the thinking aloud protocol, we find that men rely on the effectuation framework more than women. When facing entrepreneurial risk, gender mediates the adoption of the type of decisional criteria, and entrepreneurial background is a necessary condition for adopting the effectuation framework. keywords gender, entrepreneurship, decision making, effectuation, risk
Instructors’ Behavioural Intention to Use Learning Management System: An Integrated TAM Perspective

– The higher educational institutions are introducing and implementing Learning Management Systems (LMS) for effective communications with students and for adoption of technology based learning processes. However, the success of LMS depends mostly on instructors’ adoption of LMS. This study is incorporating different important factors with TAM to study the impacts of these factors on instructors’ behavioural intention to use LMS. A sample of 247 instructors was used for model testing. PLS-SEM technique was used as a testing method. The PLS-SEM results show that Task Technology Fit (TTF), Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) have direct impacts on behavioural intention while TTF, Compatibility, Convenience, Self-Efficacy, Personal Innovativeness and Subjective Norm have significant impacts on PU and PEOU. Empirical findings of this research provide a better understanding for instructors’ adoption of LMS. In addition, the research highlights different aspects that lead towards successful adoption of LMS.
The Effects of the Water, Protein and Polyphenolic Contents of four Host Plant Species on the Development and Egg Yield of Female Larvae of Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar)

This study was conducted to determine the effects of the water, protein and polyphenolic contents of the host plant leaves on the development and egg yield of the female larvae of a polyphagous herbivorous moth namely Lymantria dispar L. In a 14-day feeding experiment, L. dispar female larvae at the last two larval stages were fed by Quercus cerris, Quercus infectoria, Quercus pubescens and Salix babylonica leaves. The larvae fed by the leaves from Q. infectoria and Q. cerris with lower water content consumed less food and had lower apparent digestibility (AD) than the ones fed by the other species (Q. pubescens and S. babylonica). The highest efficiency for conversion of digested food into body mass (ECD) values were obtained from larvae fed by Quercus cerris and Salix babylonica as 0.63 and 0.70 respectively. These two host plant leaves also produced the lowest gallotannin content observed in the present study ( 4.3 % and 1.3 % respectively). The leaves of Quercus infectoria and Salix babylonica total fenolic content of which was 8.9 % and 8.2 %, respectively caused the highest pupal death (30 % and 25 %, respectively). The results indicated that lower total fenolic and gallotannin content of the leaves of two plant species might cause higher pupal death ratio due to lower level of protection against nuclear polyhydrosis virus.
Gravity currents in nature and industry

Gravity currents frequently occur in many natural and industrial situations. This article reviews the conceptual foundations used to understand and evaluate the evolution of gravity currents. Some of the latest results in specialised areas are highlighted. After an introduction, the paper ranges through the principal effects due to: low Reynolds number; compositional density differences; density differences due to dilute particulate matter; density differences due to concentrated particulate matter; and finally, the motion of a granular medium (with very little influence of the interstitial fluid). In addition, some effects due to permeable boundaries, rotation and propagation into an ambient which is either stratified or uniformly flowing will be considered.