Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Native Grass Establishment in Grassy Woodlands with Nutrient Enriched Soil and Exotic Grass Invasion

Successful reintroduction of species to the ground‐layer of disturbed woodlands may require management of competition with adult plants and addressing the potential influence of soil nutrients. We investigated multiple factors that could potentially limit ground‐layer restoration in Eucalyptus melliodora–E. blakelyi grassy woodlands with modified ground‐layers. We established plots over ground‐layers varying in exotic annual and native perennial grass cover. First we investigated relationships between the existing vegetation and soil. Second, we evaluated whether the existing vegetation, soil fertility, and habitat factors, such as distance to trees, were barriers to native grass re‐establishment, by adding Poa labrillardieri and Bothriochloa macra seeds to plots with an intact ground‐layer, clipped ground‐layer, and plots cleared of all vegetation. Soil phosphorous had a positive relationship with exotic cover and a negative relationship with native cover. Clipping vegetation prior to seeding had a negative effect on P. labrillardieri emergence and no effect on B. macra, but survival of both species was greater when seeds were sown close to trees. Both species established better in cleared plots, indicating that competition can inhibit restoration. Bothriochloa macra establishment was low when soil carbon and C3 native grass cover were high. In contrast, B. macra established successfully in areas with high exotic cover and nutrient enriched soil. Poa labrillardieri seedling survival was low in all circumstances. We conclude that under comparable soil conditions it could be more difficult to re‐establish additional native grass species in woodland ground‐layers dominated by simplified native grass assemblages than those dominated by exotic annual grasses.
Effects of age, body size and season on food consumption and digestion of captive dugongs (Dugong dugon)

Food consumption and digestion of male and female dugongs (Dugong dugon) was examined by analyzing long-term (1979–1998) feeding records at Toba Aquarium (Japan). Throughout all captive feeding periods, dugongs consumed eelgrass (Zostera marina) and showed steady increases in feed consumption with a consistent weight gain of 42–45 kg a year. The daily consumption of male and female dugongs increased from 10–15 kg to 23–26 kg of fresh eelgrass, accounting for approximately 14 and 7% of their body weight at one and seven years old, respectively. Both dugongs had a marginal dry matter digestibility of over 90%. Food consumption varied between seasons and individuals. There were major reductions (P<0.05) in consumption by the male in November and January and by the female in August and September. The seasonal reductions in food consumption coincided with high digestibility of eelgrass.
Control of Pendulum-Sloshing Dynamics in Suspended Liquid Containers

Motion-induced unwanted cable swing and liquid sloshing degrade the effectiveness and safety of suspended liquid container. The manipulations of cable-suspended liquid container become more challenging due to the coupled pendulum-sloshing dynamics. This article develops the dynamic modeling of cable-suspended liquid container with coupled pendulum-sloshing dynamics. Afterward, a novel control method is proposed for controlling the coupled pendulum-sloshing dynamics. Numerous simulated and experimental results obtained from a small-scale industrial crane carrying a liquid container validated the dynamic behavior of the nonlinear model and demonstrated the effectiveness of the control method.
Do mucilage events influence pico- and nanoplankton size and structure in the Adriatic sea?

Temporal changes in abundance and biomass of picophytoplankton, heterotrophic pico-eukaryotes, and nanoplankton assemblages were investigated along a transect crossing the Adriatic Sea, from the Italian to the Croatian coast. This 15-months (June 1999–August 2000) investigation allowed comparing microbial parameters during summer 1999 (year without mucilage) and summer 2000 when a major mucilage event occurred. Pico- and nanoplankton assemblages displayed significant differences between the 2 summer periods. The main differences can be summarized as: (i) presence of cyanobacterial blooms (up to 108 cells l−1) in summer 2000, absent in summer 1999; (ii) an increasing fraction of heterotrophic pico-eukaryotes (up to 5.0 × 106 cells l−1) and heterotrophic nanoplankton (size 2–5 µm) during mucilage event; (iii) a reduced abundance of small-sized (2–3 µm) phototrophic nanoplankton in summer 2000. Changes in community structure were signals of changes in trophic condition of the system, which resulted in a competitive advantage for small sized pico- and nanoheterotrophs. Data presented here indicated that mucilage events are associated with changes in microbial community structure and functioning in ambient water and induced the amplification of 3-step microbial food chain. The potential use of the heterotrophic pico-eukaryotes for describing alterations of the trophic pathways during mucilage events is discussed.
Recruitment Dynamics in an American Lobster (Homarus americanus) Population

We examined relationships between successive life history stages of an American lobster (Homarus americanus) population for evidence of density-dependent control. Analysis of a time series of larval production estimates for the Northumberland Strait region of the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence during 1949–63 (D. J. Scarratt. 1964. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 21: 661–680; D. J. Scarratt. 1973. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 30: 1819–1824) provided no indication of density-dependent regulation during the pelagic larval phase. However, an asymptotic relationship between the final (fourth) larval stage and stock size 5–7 yr later was demonstrated, indicating the possibility of density-dependent regulation between larval settlement and subsequent recruitment to the fishery. A second analysis supported these results based on trends in population size over several generations. A recruitment mechanism of this type is highly stabilizing and can explain the apparent capacity of lobster populations to sustain high levels of f.
Comparison and Extension of Approximate 4-2 Compressors for Low-Power Approximate Multipliers

Approximate multipliers attract a large interest in the scientific literature that proposes several circuits built with approximate 4-2 compressors. Due to the large number of proposed solutions, the designer who wishes to use an approximate 4-2 compressor is faced with the problem of selecting the right topology. In this paper, we present a comprehensive survey and comparison of approximate 4-2 compressors previously proposed in literature. We present also a novel approximate compressor, so that a total of twelve different approximate 4-2 compressors are analyzed. The investigated circuits are employed to design <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$8\times 8$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$16\times 16$ </tex-math></inline-formula> multipliers, implemented in 28nm CMOS technology. For each operand size we analyze two multiplier configurations, with different levels of approximations, both signed and unsigned. Our study highlights that there is no unique winning approximate compressor topology since the best solution depends on the required precision, on the signedness of the multiplier and on the considered error metric.
South African pre-school teacher perceptions of socio-emotional development for school readiness: An exploratory study

We aimed to explore pre-school teachers’ understanding of socio-emotional development in early childhood and the role it plays in school readiness. Informants were 12 pre-school teachers from Cape Town, South Africa (coloured/mixed race = 12). The teachers completed semi-structured interviews on their understanding of socio-emotional development, the role that they think socio-emotional development plays in preparing the child for school, and what social and emotional skills are essential for school readiness. A thematic analysis of the data suggested that the teachers’ perceive socio-emotional development among pre-school children to be characterised by the children’s inter- and intrapersonal skills such as the expression of emotion, communication skills, problem solving, and sharing. The teachers also perceived the children’s learning, social experiences, and learning environment adaptation competencies as important indicators of their socio-emotional development.
Effects of Mindfulness on Conceptual Modeling Performance: A Series of Experiments

Context. Mindfulness is a meditation technique whose main goal is keeping the mind calm and educating attention by focusing only on one thing at a time, usually breathing. The reported benefits of its continued practice can be of interest for Software Engineering students and practitioners, especially in tasks like conceptual modeling, in which concentration and clearness of mind are crucial. Goal. In order to evaluate whether Software Engineering students enhance their conceptual modeling performance after several weeks of mindfulness practice, a series of three controlled experiments were carried out at the University of Seville during three consecutive academic years (2013–2016) involving 130 students. Method. In all the experiments, the subjects were divided into two groups. While the experimental group practiced mindfulness, the control group was trained in public speaking as a placebo treatment. All the subjects developed two conceptual models based on a transcript of an interview, one before and another one after the treatment. The results were compared in terms of conceptual modeling quality (measured as effectiveness, i.e., the percentage of model elements correctly identified) and productivity (measured as efficiency, i.e., the number of model elements correctly identified per unit of time). Results. The statistically significant results of the series of experiments revealed that the subjects who practiced mindfulness developed slightly better conceptual models (their quality was 8.16 percent higher) and they did it faster (they were 46.67 percent more productive) than the control group, even if they did not have a previous interest in meditation. Conclusions. The practice of mindfulness improves the performance of Software Engineering students in conceptual modeling, especially their productivity. Nevertheless, more experimentation is needed in order to confirm the outcomes in other Software Engineering tasks and populations.
Modelling anti-vaccine sentiment as a cultural pathogen

Abstract Abstract Culturally transmitted traits that have deleterious effects on health-related traits can be regarded as cultural pathogens. A cultural pathogen can produce coupled dynamics with its associated health-related traits, so that understanding the dynamics of a health-related trait benefits from consideration of the dynamics of the associated cultural pathogen. Here, we treat anti-vaccine sentiment as a cultural pathogen, modelling its ‘infection’ dynamics with the infection dynamics of the associated vaccine-preventable disease. In a coupled susceptible–infected–resistant (SIR) model, consisting of an SIR model for the anti-vaccine sentiment and an interacting SIR model for the infectious disease, we explore the effect of anti-vaccine sentiment on disease dynamics. We find that disease endemism is contingent on the presence of the sentiment, and that presence of sentiment can enable diseases to become endemic when they would otherwise have disappeared. Furthermore, the sentiment dynamics can create situations in which the disease suddenly returns after a long period of dormancy. We study the effect of assortative sentiment-based interactions on the dynamics of sentiment and disease, identifying a tradeoff whereby assortative meeting aids the spread of a disease but hinders the spread of sentiment. Our results can contribute to finding strategies that reduce the impact of a cultural pathogen on disease, illuminating the value of cultural evolutionary modelling in the analysis of disease dynamics.
Technique de réalisation d'une poche abomasale chez le veau en vue de l'obtention de suc gastrique pur

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. Technique de réalisation d’une poche abomasale chez le veau en vue de l’obtention de suc gastrique pur P. Guilloteau, J. L. Le Calve, S. Boussion, Monique Lesne, Y. Manis
Contextualizing Sustainable Development Research

This report highlights the growth in research around the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We believe the SDGs are now more relevant than ever, for they provide a framework for recovery from the current pandemic.In the report we ask, if we are to have an impact agenda for research, should it not be one that is informed by the SDGs? And if so, should we not be actively measuring sustainable development as part of research evaluation?
Causes of U.S.-China trade imbalances: a review

Purpose - It is a common view to Trump administration and public that devaluation of Chinese currency is the origin of the US trade deficit. However, the previous literature does not support this common view. To better understand the causes of the US trade imbalances with China, this study aims to review the previous literature focusing on the causes of bilateral trade imbalances between the USA and China. Design/methodology/approach - Review previous literature according to the different reasons that each paper studies. Findings - Based on the previous literature, the Chinese exchange rate is not the main reason for the US trade imbalances. The official US trade figures overestimate the amount of deficit. The actual causes for the US trade deficit with China perhaps should be the relocation of production to China, low saving in the USA and high saving in China, and the US dollar as the international currency and reserve. Originality/value - By reviewing previous literature, the authors could better understand the puzzle of the US trade deficit with China.
SEED DORMANCY IN ROSA AS A FUNCTION OF CLIMATE

THE SEEDS of many plants are known to be dormant at maturity, and to require a period of exposure to low temperature to enable them to germinate under subsequent suitable conditions. In Rosa, and in several other rosaceous genera, this lowtemperature after-ripening is widely regarded as a fixed and characteristic prerequisite to further development of the embryonic plant. Joseph (1929) pointed out that rosaceous seeds require low temperature stratification to prepare them for germination. Haut (1938) found that apple, cherry, peach and pear seeds must be after-ripened before germination will occur. Crocker (1927) reported that seeds of temperate-zone roses germinate well only following a period at low temperature, and Crocker and Barton (1931) determined the after-ripening requirements of hybrid and species rose seeds, as well as those of several other rosaceous seeds. The ubiquitous nature of the low-temperature after-ripening requirement of rosaceous seeds is apparently unquestioned in recent literature, with the exception of a report by Calvino (1930) stating that hybrid rose seeds grown at San Remo, Italy, germinated readily with no prior low-temperature treatment. This report was accorded little significance, and the results were logically explained by Crocker and Barton (1931) by supposing that the seed were inadvertently exposed to winter temperatures sufficiently low and prolonged to allow afterripening to occur. More recently, however, there have been unpublished reports from southern France, and from some of the inland valleys of California, claiming successful germination of hybrid rose seed without resort to low-temperature treatment. These reports have been partially substantiated in this laboratory by the collection or import of seed from several localities, and in the course of the investigation it has become apparent that the dormancy of hybrid rose seed of a given genetic origin may vary widely from year to year, and from one region to another. The present paper deals with the quantitative aspect of the dormancy, and with the relationship between the dormancy and the pre-harvest climatic environment. MATERIALS AND METHODS.Temperature data were obtained in the experimental field from shielded maximum and minimum registering thermometers. Sunlight data were calculated from the Local Climatological Data of the U. S. Weather Bureau station at Portland, Oregon. This station is
Efeito da idade de abate no valor nutritivo e sensorial da carne caprina de animais mestiços

The effect of slaughter age on proximate composition and mineral, pH, Aw and sensory analysis were studied in goat meat from Paraiba State flock. Goats were slaughtered at 175, 220, 265 and 310 days old. After slaughter the carcasses were chilled, and total lean was subjected to physic-chemical analysis (pH, Aw, Ca, Fe, P), proximate composition (moisture, ash, protein and fat). In addition sensorial analysis, in which attributes of appearance, goaty aroma, roasted meat aroma, flavour, juiciness, tenderness, texture and overall palatability were also evaluated. Slaughter age had a significant effect on moisture, protein, iron, calcium and pH. Fat, protein and iron contents increased with advancing slaughter age, while moisture content decreased. Results from sensorial analyses showed that slaughter age had a significant effect on organoleptic qualities from goat meat, significant variation on the attributes of appearance, goaty aroma, roasted meat aroma, juiciness, tenderness and overall palatability. Data from chemical composition and sensorial analysis indicated slaughtering "mesticos" goats at 310 days exerted favourable effects on the chemical parameters (proximate composition and mineral), although goat meat from animals slaughtered at 175 days was preferred by the panellists.
Detection of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter Solanacearum’ in the Potato Psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli (Sulc)1, by Conventional and Real-Time PCR

Abstract. ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ is the putative causal agent of zebra chip disease of potato, Solanum tuberosum L. , and is transmitted by the potato psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli (Sulc). Much work has been done on the association of Liberibacter with the potato psyllid and several laboratories currently use polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to test for the bacterium. We have been testing for the bacterium in individual and composite samples of B. cockerelli as part of an ongoing investigation of the incidence of ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’ in potato psyllids collected in various parts of the US. Here we report that the bacterium can be reliably detected by using conventional and quantitative real-time PCR of nucleic acid extracts prepared from composite samples of one psyllid from a Liberibacterinfected colony combined with either one, two, three, four, five, nine, 14, 19, or 29 psyllids from a Liberibacter-free psyllid colony. This ability makes it possible to more easily test large numbers of psyllids for the presence of ‘Ca. Liberibacter solanacearum’. This, in turn, will aid efforts to predict the threat of developing serious zebra chip disease as a result of psyllid infestations in potato fields.
Testing the simple and complex versions of Gloger's rule in the Variable Antshrike (Thamnophilus caerulescens, Thamnophilidae)

ABSTRACT Gloger's rule is a classic ecogeographical principle that, in its simplest version, predicts animals should be darker in warmer and wetter climates. In a rarely tested more complex version, it also predicts animals should be more rufous in warmer and drier climates. The Variable Antshrike (Thamnophilus caerulescens) is a widely distributed South American passerine that presents an impressive amount of plumage color variation and occupies a wide variety of climatic conditions. Moreover, genetic and vocal evidence indicate ongoing hybridization in south-central Bolivia among 3 populations with very distinct plumages. We collected color data from 232 specimens from throughout this species' distribution to test the predictions of Gloger's rule. We found a negative correlation between brightness and precipitation, consistent with the simple version of Gloger's rule. In contrast, we found that birds were darker in cooler climates, contrary to the simple version of Gloger's rule, but consistent with recent findings in other taxa. We found support for both predictions of the complex Gloger's rule and suggest it might be driven by background matching. We conclude by concurring with a recent suggestion that the simple version of Gloger's rule should be reformulated exclusively in terms of humidity. LAY SUMMARY Almost 200 years ago, the German naturalist Constantin Gloger predicted that birds that live in warm and rainy areas tend to be darker than those that in live in cool and dry areas. He also predicted that birds tend to be browner when they live in dry areas. This pattern has come to be known as Gloger's rule. South America has the world's greatest bird diversity, but Gloger's rule has almost never been studied in South American birds. This is an important question to address because it can help us learn about how species evolve respond to their environments. It becomes even more important in our era of human-induced climatic changes. We studied Gloger's rule in the aptly named Variable Antshrike. This small South American bird species varies geographically in color from almost all black to almost all white. We used a technique called reflectance spectrophotometry, which allows us to precisely quantify the colors of feathers. We measured over 200 specimens kept in natural history collections. The majority of those specimens were collected by one of us (Brumfield) in Bolivia in the early 2000s. This is the largest sample size ever used to study Gloger's rule in a tropical bird. As predicted by Gloger, we found that the Variable Antshrike tends to be darker in rainier areas, and it tends to be browner in drier and warmer areas. But contrary to Gloger's ideas, we found that it tends to be darker in cooler, not warmer, areas. We suggest that this might be because being dark in cooler places helps birds maintain warm body temperatures. We also suggest that being brown in dry areas helps the birds camouflage amidst sparse vegetation.
Full-Duplex Amplify-and-Forward Relaying Under I/Q Imbalance

A major performance limiter in amplify-and-forward (AF) full-duplex (FD) relaying is the high level of residual self-interference (SI) due to the imperfect estimation of the effective self-interfering channel. One primary obstacle that contributes to the ineffectiveness of estimating the effective SI channel is the transceiver's radio-frequency (RF) impairments. In this paper, we consider the effect of in-phase/quadrature imbalance (IQI) on the process of SI cancellation in FD AF transceivers. We model the cumulative SI as a function of IQI, and thoroughly analyze the stability of the performance of the relay by analyzing the different transmission parameters and configurations that guarantee the stability of the system. In particular, depending on the RF impairments of the relay's transceiver, the wireless channel conditions, and the channel estimation accuracy, the relay's maximum amplification factor and transmission power that limit the residual SI power and prevent the system oscillations are analytically derived and verified by Monte-Carlo simulations. Finally, we show that the average SI power is bounded by a sum of scaled Gamma functions.