Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of reduced salinity on reproduction and germling development in Sargassum muticum (Phaeophyceae, Fucales)

Sargassum muticum has expanded rapidly along southern Scandinavian coasts since its introduction in the mid-1980s. Expansion into brackish areas has been limited, and the establishment of the species in such waters will largely depend on its ability to tolerate hyposaline conditions. Culture and field experiments have been used to examine the effects of reduced salinity on various life-history stages of S. muticum. In culture, fertilization was prevented at salinities of 15‰ and below, but not at 20 – 30‰. In a crossed two-factor culture experiment, germlings of various ages (1, 8, 15 days old) were cultured at various salinities (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30‰) for one week and re-exposed to 30‰ to test for ability to recover. Germling survival was significantly reduced after exposure to 5‰ during the first, but not the second or third, weeks after fertilization. One week's exposure to 0‰ was lethal to germlings. Growth of germlings was reduced by exposure to salinities below 25‰, and growth at 5‰ was less than 10% of that at 25 – 30‰. Growth recovery of germlings after re-exposure to 30‰ was positively related to their age during exposure to sub-optimal salinities. To further explore the effects of salinity on growth and reproduction in S. muticum, plants were transplanted to three sites along a salinity gradient in a Norwegian fjord. At the low salinity site (9.5 – 17.4‰) growth and reproduction were slower than at the other sites where salinities were 14.7 – 27.1‰. These results demonstrate that salinity tolerance in S. muticum is lowest during fertilization, and increases with germling age. The salinity requirements of the least tolerant initial life stages will probably constitute a physiological barrier to the expansion of this species into brackish waters.
The potential distribution of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), in New Zealand

Red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren, are not established in New Zealand but are considered to have a very high likelihood of introduction and establishment. The potential distribution of S. invicta in New Zealand was modelled using four different approaches: ecological niche modelling, climate matching, growing degree days, and by determining the time available for optimal foraging activity. Consensus of these modelling approaches show that environmental conditions most suitable for S. invicta establishment are areas of Northland and Auckland. Parts of the Waikato, coastal Bay of Plenty, Hawke's Bay and Gisborne may be suitable for founding colonies, but it is unclear whether these regions would allow the longer term establishment of S. invicta. A small number of locations around Nelson and Marlborough are possibly suitable for the establishment of S. invicta but other regions of the North Island and the South Island are unsuitable. The major constraint for S. invicta in New Zealand is the relatively low summer temperatures that severely limit the colony development and foraging activity of S. invicta. As a consequence, it appears that S. invicta would have a relatively restricted distribution in New Zealand. Further progress in assessing potential “invasive” species must more fully encompass the characteristics of the recipient community, including the role of, and interaction between, climate, distribution and abundance.
Increasing elephant Loxodonta africana density is a more important driver of change in vegetation condition than rainfall.

The impact of African elephantsLoxodonta africana Blumenbuch, 1797 on biodiversity is hotly debated in wildlife management circles with scientists polarised in their views. This polarisation is largely due to the individual experiences of researchers. We aimed to determine whether elephants or rainfall patterns drove changes in vegetation condition (Normalised Difference Vegetation Index; NDVI) by avoiding a site-specific approach and looking at the issue at a broader scale. We used published estimates of elephant population density from 30 sites and recorded the change in density from 1995–1999, from 1999–2002 and from 2002–2006. We also recorded the deviation of annual rainfall from the long-term mean for those periods. We modelled these variables against the change in NDVI between periods using mixed effects models. We found that elephants were more influential in driving change in vegetation condition than rainfall, and this also occurred at one of our individual test sites where long-term data were available (Kruger). Elephants and rainfall combined to drive change in vegetation condition at our other long-term test site (Amboseli). Management activities (fencing, water provision) may cause the differences between the two long-term study sites. Change in productivity driven by rainfall has ramifications for biodiversity, suggesting that elephant derived changes in vegetation productivity (NDVI) also impacts on biodiversity. Thus, this study supports previous findings from individual sites that elephants impact vegetation, however there is also a suggestion that these impacts may vary according to management actions.
Patterns and determinants of shorebird species richness in the circumpolar Arctic

Aim The intention with this study was first to investigate and describe the broad‐scale geographical patterns of species richness of breeding shorebirds (Charadriiformes; families: Charadriidae, Scolopacidae and Haematopodidae) throughout the arctic tundra biome. Secondly, after compensating for the positive relationship between net primary productivity (NPP) and species richness, the relative importance of additional ecological and historical variables for species richness was investigated. The main variables considered are NPP, length of snow‐ and ice‐free season, accessibility of regions depending on migratory flyway systems, tundra area at Pleistocene (120 and 20–18 ka bp) and Holocene (8 ka bp) times, and tundra area at present.
UAV project - Building a reality-based 3D model of the NUS (National University of Singapore) campus

The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology has gained great attention in recent years. It is viewed as a low-cost alternative for local large scale aerial mapping and other applications requiring the modeling of a relative small area only. In this paper we describe our UAV mission and the data processing steps to generate a 3D model of the NUS (National University of Singapore) campus. In particular we will emphasize the experiences gained with this technology. Because of security restrictions we could only use a fairly light and small platform with relatively limited range of operation and flying time: The AscTec Falcon-8 octocopter. The whole mission covers the campus with 857 images, taken by a Sony-Nex5 camera with a ground pixel size of about 5 cm. In urban areas with high-rise buildings, large terrain height differences, and much tropical vegetation it is a challenging task to build 3D models, especially when the UAV is restricted to a relatively low flying height of 150 meters above ground. A variety of commercial and in-house developed software has been evaluated for the project and the results will be presented. The final product of this project will be a very high resolution 3D model with textured buildings, infrastructures and modeled vegetation. Some intermediate results will be presented.
Quality control of radiotherapy treatment plans with electrons

In this work the quality of the treatment planning generated by Eclipse O commercial treatment planning system for electron beams of energy 9 and 20 MeV was verified and their accuracy in the calculation of dose distributions for several clinical situations was evaluated. Tests cases had been developed according to the Brazilian reality, having as reference the radiotherapy treatments carried out in the National Institute of the Cancer.The system developed for checking the quality of treatment planning systems with electrons was efficient in evaluating the Eclipse planning system by identifying the failures of their algorithms, especially in planning the isodose. The verification system has been validated against the Monte Carlo method and the experimental data with an ionization chamber and showed the shortcomings of generalized pencil beam and eMC algorithms.
Postwar Financial Crises and Economic Recoveries in the United States

We reconsider the connection between financial crises and economic recoveries in the postwar United States. We proceed in two steps. First, we provide a chronology of financial crises in the United States. We make the case that the postwar period prior to 2007 should be characterized as featuring three periods of financial crisis: 1973−1975, 1982−1984, and 1988−1991. This implies a substantially different postwar chronology of financial crises from that advanced by Reinhart and Rogoff (2009a, 2009b). The second step in our analysis is to reexamine economic recoveries in the wake of financial crises with this revised chronology. We find that the regularity that recoveries are systematically slower in the aftermath of financial crises does not hold for the postwar United States. Historically, the pace of the expansion after recessions seems to reflect aggregate demand conditions.
Discovery and confirmation of genes/proteins associated with maize aflatoxin resistance

Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the major crops susceptible to Aspergillus flavus infection and subsequent aflatoxin contamination. Many earlier studies indicated the roles of kernel proteins, especially constitutively expressed proteins, in maize resistance to A. flavus infection and aflatoxin production. In this review, we examined the past and current efforts in identifying maize genes and proteins from kernel, rachis, and silk tissues that may play an important role in resistance to A. flavus infection and aflatoxin contamination, as well as the efforts in determining the importance or involvement of them in maize resistance through biochemical, molecular and genetics studies. Through these studies, we gained a better understanding of host resistance mechanism: resistant lines appear to either express some stress-related and antifungal proteins at higher levels in endosperm, embryo, rachis and silk tissues before A. flavus infection or induce the expression of these proteins much faster compared to susc.
The Affymetrix Medicago GeneChip® array is applicable for transcript analysis of alfalfa (Medicago sativa).

The recently released Affymetrix GeneChip® Medicago Genome Array contains approximately 52 700 probe sets representing genes in both the model legume Medicago truncatula Gaertn. and the closely related crop species Medicago sativa L. (alfalfa). We evaluated the utility of the Medicago GeneChip® for monitoring genome-wide expression of M. truncatula and alfalfa seedlings grown to the first trifoliate leaf stage. We found that approximately 40-54% of the Medicago probes were detected in leaf or root samples of alfalfa or M. truncatula. Approximately 45-59% of the detected Medicago probes were called 'present' in all replicate GeneChips of Medicago species, indicating a considerable overlap in the number and type of Medicago probes detected between root and leaf organs. Nevertheless, gene expression differences between roots and leaf organs accounted for approximately 17% of the total variation, regardless of the Medicago species from which the samples were harvested. The result shows that the Medicago GeneChip® is applicable for transcript analysis for both alfalfa and M. truncatula.
Protective effect of Pedicularis decora Franch root extracts on oxidative stress and hepatic injury in alloxan-induced diabetic mice

�1 b. w. , i.p.). After diabetes was induced, the mice were treated with n-butanol and water extracts of P. decora Franch root, �-tocopherol and saline for three weeks. Treatment with �-tocopherol, n -butanol and water extract of P. decora Franch root caused considerable gain in body and liver weight, glucose, liver glycogen and serum insulin concentration. The two extracts of P. decora Franch and �-tocopherol were found to show hepatoprotective effect by lowering down the contents of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), cholesterol and triglyceride and elevating HDL cholesterol in serum in alloxan induced diabetic mice. Treatment with the two extracts of P. decora Franch and �-tocopherol significantly lowered oxidative stress biomarkers such as lipid peroxidation (LPO) levels in serum and in liver tissue, nitric oxide (NO) levels in serum and catalase (CAT) activities in liver tissue against alloxan treated mice. Reduced glutathione (GSH) and hepatic enzymes like superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione-s-transferase (GST) as well as serum total antioxidant activity (TAA) were significantly increased by treatment with the two extracts and �-tocopherol, against alloxan treated mice. Based on these results, it was observed that �-tocopherol, n -butanol and water extract of P. decora Franch root administration could counteract alloxan induced the diabetic symbols and inhibit oxidative stress and hepatic injury. Additionally, n- butanol extract was more pronounced on the parameters studied of the oxidative stress and hepatic injury. The n- butanol extract is more protective than water extract suggests that n- butanol extract may better ameliorate the harmful effects in alloxan-induced mice.
PREDATORS AND LIFE HISTORIES SHAPE LESTES DAMSELFLY ASSEMBLAGES ALONG A FRESHWATER HABITAT GRADIENT

Survey data from New England showed that assemblages of Lestes damselflies are organized along the entire gradient of pond permanence and predator presence. One assemblage occupies vernal ponds lacking large dragonfly predators and fish; four are largely confined to temporary ponds that typically contain dragonfly predators; one dominates fishless permanent ponds and lakes where dragonflies are the top predators; and one dominates permanent ponds and lakes where fish are the top predators. We determined the role of life history and predation in maintaining this striking pattern by conducting a series of transplant experiments in the field and a laboratory experiment manipulating presence and absence of local predators. Life history (1) shaped the ability of species to cope with drying regime, thereby excluding temporary-pond Lestes from vernal ponds and permanent-water Lestes from temporary ponds, and (2) generated size differences among species due to differences in the timing of hatching. This mediated the exclusion of temporary-pond Lestes from permanent water bodies through asymmetric intraguild predation by permanent-water Lestes. Dragonfly predation on permanent-water Lestes had an indirect positive effect on the survival of temporary-pond Lestes; however, this effect apparently is too small to allow coexistence of both Lestes groups. Predation by large dragonfly larvae excluded the Lestes species of vernal ponds from temporary ponds, and differential vulnerability to large dragonfly larvae and fish shaped the reciprocal dominance of L. eurinus and L. vigilax in fishless and fish-containing permanent water bodies, respectively. Taken together, these results show that life history constraints and predation both shape the distributions of Lestes species along the pond permanence gradient in New England. We discuss the importance of this freshwater habitat gradient in shaping local and regional species diversity. Corresponding Editor: S. I. Dodson.
Atypical variants of posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo after canalith repositioning: a case report

Abstract Background and purpose: Unsuccessful repositioning of posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (PC-BPPV) can result in inadvertent aggregation of otoconia in atypical areas of the PC. A collection of otoconia within the non-ampullary segment of the PC can provoke a downbeating and torsional positional nystagmus creating diagnostic uncertainty. Further complicating the clinical picture, otoconia may concurrently become displaced in areas adjacent to the utricle, such as the utricular side of the PC ampulla. Current evidence regarding the treatment of atypical PC-BPPV is limited, and the ideal treatment method remains in question. Case description: This case report describes the management of an individual presenting with atypical downbeating and torsional positional nystagmus of PC origin. The simultaneous presence of reversed nystagmus when positioned in supine with the head flexed 30 degrees, further complicated the differential diagnosis. Intervention: This individual was treated with the demi-semont (DS) maneuver to treat suspected right-sided apogeotropic posterior canal BPPV (APC-BPPV) with concurrent utricular side cupulolithiasis of the posterior canal (UCPC-BPPV). Outcome and discussion: When reassessed the day after treatment the patient’s positional nystagmus and vertigo were resolved, indicating successful treatment of suspected APC-BPPV with concurrent UCPC-BPPV. The patient, in this case, responded to the DS maneuver, however, the current evidence regarding of semicircular canal fluid mechanics supports minimizing the inertial elements of canalith repositioning maneuvers, while extending the duration of the rest intervals during the repositioning maneuver. In patients that present with positional downbeating nystagmus, without signs of central pathology, we suggest considering APC-BPPV as a potential diagnosis. In addition, we suggest that excitation of the PC in the supine head flexed (SHF) position without similar findings in the DH position may represent aggregation of otoconia on the posterior side the cupula within the PC ampulla.
Seasonal Diet and Foraging Preference of Greater Kudu Tragelaphus Strepsiceros in the Llano Uplift of Texas

Abstract The greater kudu Tragelaphus strepsiceros, a large African herbivore, occupies the browser trophic niche. This species has been introduced into selected areas of Texas inhabited by the white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus, a native browser. Based on similar trophic function, potential interspecific competition could exist between these two species. The objectives of our study were to: 1) describe the seasonal diets of greater kudu in Texas and 2) determine if greater kudu show preference for plants that might create competition with white-tailed deer. We documented the seasonal diet and forage preference of greater kudu at Mason Mountain Wildlife Management Area from 15 May 2001 to 25 February 2002 by identifying epidermal fragments of plants in faecal pellets. We identified and quantified 49 species of plants eaten by greater kudu. Annually, browse made up 80.2% of the diet, while 7.6% mast, 6.5% grasses, 3% forbs and 2.7% unidentified material comprised the remaining parts of their diet. Important browse species included Texas/blackjack oak Quercus buckleyi/Q. marilandica, plateau live oak Q. fusiformis, Ashe juniper Juniperus ashei, mesquite Prosopis glandulosa, prickly pear Opuntia sp. , flameleaf sumac Rhus lanceolata, and Texas persimmon Diospyros texana. We measured availability of forage plants by quadrat and line intercept methods concurrent with faecal pellet collection. We compared plant use (dietary composition) with plant availability and assessed forage preference by greater kudu using log-likelihood χ2-tests with Bonferroni corrected confidence intervals and Manly's alpha indices. We detected statistically significant differences between plant use and availability (P < 0.05). Purple horsemint Monarda citriodora, Canada wildrye Elymus canadensis, mesquite, flameleaf sumac, Texas/blackjack oak and Ashe juniper were preferred species. Relative preference of general forage categories by greater kudu in Texas was similar to that reported from Africa. Based on our findings, greater kudu could compete with white-tailed deer for browse forage.
Examining and Converging Parallel Measures in Parent-Child Relationship Data

This study tries to investigate the issue of parallel measures in parent-child relationship data by applying two parts of analysis. Data are drawn from a survey of 173 adolescents (14-17 years old) and their parents (mothers and fathers) in a single school district of a Midwest state, USA. In the survey, parents and adolescents were asked to answer the same questions of parenting behavior independently. Thus, different parenting constructs from three different sources were obtained. The first part of analysis examines the measurement properties of this set of parallel measures in parent-adolescent data. The commonality as well as distinction in measures from fathers, mothers, and adolescents are detected by applying confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) together with a multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) approach. The second part discusses the pros and cons of combining parallel measures in a variety of ways. Under different assumptions of measurement properties, a series of competing models that aggregate parallel measures differently are compared. The results show that both the shared and nonshared portions are important components of the parallel measures from fathers, mothers, and adolescents of parenting behavior. Although parent-adolescent discrepancies are usually emphasized, this study shows the shared perceptions of parenting behaviors explain certain amount of child’s behavior outcome. Besides, the analysis finds that although adolescents’ report of parental monitoring is the best predictor of adolescent alcohol use, using multiple informants and collapsing the family score through latent variables significantly improves the explanatory power. The research findings also suggest that studies using single informant data, even those using child reports, may underestimate the influence of parental behaviors on adolescent outcomes.
Grazing Intensity, Aspect, and Slope Effects on Limestone Grassland Structure

Abstract Three treatments were used to evaluate the effect of grazing intensity (ca 30% and 50% herbage removal), aspect (north and south), and slope (< 10% and 10%–30%) on plant community structure of mountain grasslands in the Basque Country (Spain). Plant species richness was not significantly affected by grazing intensity, aspect, or slope. Although plant species composition was similar (Sorensen's similarity index = 0.87) between both grazing intensities, species frequency and cover were affected by grazing intensity. Festuca rubra L. and Agrostis capillaris L. were the most common species under both grazing pressures. Moderate grazing intensity (50% herbage removal) plots contained a greater number of plant species with a frequency of more than 50%. The lowest cover for F. rubra corresponded to low grazing intensity, north aspects, and steeper slopes. The lowest cover for A. capillaris was found under low grazing intensity (30% herbage removal) and steeper slopes. Danthonia decumbens (L.) P. C. , Potentilla erecta (L.) Räuschal, and Trifolium repens L. were significantly affected by aspect and grazing intensity. Low grazing intensity on sites with northern aspects and steep slopes favored Agrostis curtisii Kerguélen, a species with a low nutritional value. A. capillaris, A. curtisii, P. erecta, and T. repens were sensitive to soil properties and aspect. Nitrogen and K soil concentrations were significantly higher in areas with low grazing intensity, most likely due to greater dead herbage accumulation. Significant (P < 0.05) correlations between plant species and soil pH or P concentration were found in areas with low grazing intensity. Reduction in grazing intensity together with the effect of slope and northern aspect has resulted in changes in plant community structure, leading to increases in forages with lower nutritional value.