Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reproductive behavior of intersexes of an intertidal amphipod Corophium volutator

Intersexes are common in crustaceans. Typically, these intersexes are sterile or function as females, but prior evidence from laboratory experiments suggests that intersexes of a key species of gammaridean amphipod, Corophium volutator, might function as males. We observed that intersexes of C. volutator behaved as males by crawling (mate-searching) on a mudflat during ebb tides and pairing in burrows with female amphipods. In the laboratory, intersexes and males did not differ in aspects of crawling such as movement rate and measures of burrow investigation. I`ntersexuality was costly in that intersexes crawled less often than males on a mudflat, formed fewer pairs with females than males, and remained in tandem less often with receptive females than males. The use of PCR-based identification methods failed to identify the presence of transovarial, feminizing, microsporidian parasites as a major cause of intersexuality in this species in that infected females did not produce broods that contained more intersexes than broods produced by uninfected females. Because intersexes may be mistaken as females, the percentage of functional males in amphipod populations may be underestimated: an important consideration given male limitation in populations of C. volutator. The occurrence of intersexes has significant implications for studies on the evolution and ecology of sex ratios, and the use of crustaceans as indicators of environmental quality.
Chlorophyll Fluorescence and Photosynthesis: The Basics

BIOPHYSICAL BASIS O F FLUORESCENCE EMISSION FROM CHLOROPLASTS . 314 Fluorescence as a Reaction Competing in the Deactivation of Excited Chlorophyll . 314 Lifetimes of Fluorescence . 317 Origin of Fluorescence Emission . 32 1 Fluorescence of PS 11 and PS I at Ambient and Low Temperatures . 323 FLUORESCENCE INDUCTION AND PS II HETEROGENEITy 325 Fluorescence Transient from Fo to FM . 325 The FI Level and Inactive PS11 . 326 Fluorescence Induction in High Ught . 327 Rise in the Presence of DCMU and a/{3 Heterogeneity . 327 FLUORESCENCE QUENCHING 329 Resolution of Quenching Components . 330 Mechanism of Energy·Dependent Quenching . 3 3 1 Quenching Related t o State Transition . 334 Photoinhibitory Quenching . 334 Further Quenching Mechanisms . 338 Physiological Aspects of Quenching . 338 CONCLUSIONS AND PERSPECTiVES 341
Spatial dynamics of a Sirex noctilio woodwasp population within a pine plantation in Patagonia, Argentina

The woodwasp Sirex noctilio F. (Hymenoptera: Siricidae) is probably the most important pest of pine tree plantations of the southern hemisphere. We studied the spatial arrangement of an endemic population of the woodwasp S. noctilio within pine plantations located in northwest Patagonia, Argentina, during three successive years since colonization. By censusing healthy and attacked trees, which provided data on current and past yearly woodwasp attacks, we studied: (i) the spatial pattern of attacked trees during the endemic phase of a woodwasp population, and (ii) the changes in the spatial arrangement through time and with an increasing (i.e., no intervention) pest population. Among a total of 53 649 counted trees, attack rates were low during the study period (accumulated attack below 0.5%). Results of spatial statistical analysis showed that woodwasp attack is highly clumped, and that spatial aggregation increases with time, even with increasing numbers of attacked trees. The observed spatial arrangement, a consequence of a demographic process, can have important implications for the management of woodwasp populations and contributes to our understanding of the nature of outbreak population behaviour in this pestiferous forest insect.
The nutrition of Zebu cattle Part II. The techniques of digestibility trials with special reference to sampling, preservation and drying of faeces

Some techniques of sampling, preserving, drying and for determination of nitrogen content of faeces were investigated. It was found that any sample between 100 and 600 g. , made up of 10 g. subsamples taken at random, is satisfactory. Untreated faeces and those preserved by the addition of acetic acid, hydrochloric acid or toluene were dried in a large oven at 80° C. and compared with untreated samples dried at 105° C. for 8 hr. Duplicate samples of those dried at 80° C. were exposed to room temperature for 7 hr. and then dried. When dry-matter and crude-protein contents were compared no significant differences were found between the three groups.
Mining the Web to approximate university rankings

Purpose The purpose of this study is to present an alternative to university ranking lists published in U.S. News & World Report, Times Higher Education, Academic Ranking of World Universities and Money Magazine. A strategy is proposed to mine a collection of university data obtained from Twitter and publicly available online academic sources to compute social media metrics that approximate typical academic rankings of US universities. Design/methodology/approach The Twitter application programming interface (API) is used to rank 264 universities using two easily collected measurements. The University Twitter Engagement (UTE) score is the total number of primary and secondary followers affiliated with the university. The authors mine other public data sources related to endowment funds, athletic expenditures and student enrollment to compute a ranking based on the endowment, expenditures and enrollment (EEE) score. Findings In rank-to-rank comparisons, the authors observed a significant, positive rank correlation (τ = 0.6018) between UTE and an aggregate reputation ranking, which indicates UTE could be a viable proxy for ranking atypical institutions normally excluded from traditional lists. Originality/value The UTE and EEE metrics offer distinct advantages because they can be calculated on-demand rather than relying on an annual publication and they promote diversity in the ranking lists, as any university with a Twitter account can be ranked by UTE and any university with online information about enrollment, expenditures and endowment can be given an EEE rank. The authors also propose a unique approach for discovering official university accounts by mining and correlating the profile information of Twitter friends.
The legacy of a crowded ocean: indicators, status, and trends of anthropogenic pressures in the California Current ecosystem

SUMMARY As human population size and demand for seafood and other marine resources increase, understanding the influence of human activities in the ocean and on land becomes increasingly critical to the management and conservation of marine resources. In order to account for human influence on marine ecosystems while making management decisions, linkages between various anthropogenic pressures and ecosystem components need to be determined. Those linkages cannot be drawn until it is known how different pressures have been changing over time. This paper identifies indicators and develops time series for 22 anthropogenic pressures acting on the USA's portion of the California Current ecosystem. Time series suggest that seven pressures have decreased and two have increased over the short term, while five pressures were above and two pressures were below long-term means. Cumulative indices of anthropogenic pressures suggest a slight decrease in pressures in the 2000s compared to the preceding few decades. Dynamic factor analysis revealed four common trends that sufficiently explained the temporal variation found among all anthropogenic pressures. This reduced set of time series will be a useful tool to determine whether links exist between individual or multiple pressures and various ecosystem components.
Performance of indigenous and exotic×indigenous sheep breeds fed different diets in spring and the efficiency of feeding system in crop–livestock farming

SUMMARY Genetic variation in feed efficiency may have a significant impact on sheep production in integrated crop livestock farming systems in dry areas, where the shortage and poor quality of feed is widespread. Thus, the present study was carried out to investigate the effects of sheep genotype and feed source on liveweight gain, feed conversion efficiency and dry matter (DM) intake in feedlot lambs finished on diets based on low-cost forages or a high-cost concentrated feed as a means of assessing the efficiency of this feeding system. Early weaned lambs of the purebred fat-tailed Akkaraman breed were compared with synthetic Anatolian Merino (0·80 German Mutton Merino×0·20 Native Akkaraman) breed. The lambs were kept in individual pens for 8 weeks and fed four diets: daily harvested forages of triticale (T), Hungarian vetch (HV), a triticale-Hungarian vetch mixture (T+HV), and a concentrate-based feed (CF). Lamb liveweight gain (LWG) was monitored during the early (18 April–16 May) and late (17 May–13 June) spring periods. Diet×period and diet×breed interactions were detected in LWG of the lambs. Lambs from both genotypes on the concentrate-based diet had higher liveweight gains, DM intakes and better feed conversion ratios compared with lambs finished on the forage-based diets. The LWG of lambs offered triticale forage decreased from 177 g/head/day in the early spring to 95 g/head/day in the late spring period, as plant maturity increased. Liveweight gains did not change for the other forage rations during the same period. The LWG of Akkaraman lambs were similar for both the early (189 g/head/day) and the late (183 g/head/day) spring periods, whereas Anatolian Merino lambs gained 41 g/head/day less LW and had 3·8 higher feed conversion rate for the late spring period compared with the early spring period. The present study showed that fat-tailed Akkaraman lambs were better able to utilize forages with low nutritive value compared to Anatolian Merino lambs, and may be better suited to semi-arid areas, where crop and livestock are highly integrated in the farming system.
STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF BENTHIC ALGAL COMMUNITIES IN AN EXTREMELY ACID RIVER 1

The composition of algal species and pigments and the structural and functional characteristics of the algal community were investigated in an acid stream of southwestern Spain, the Río Tinto. The algal community had low diversity and showed few seasonal differences. It was mainly made up of Klebsormidium flaccidum Kütz. (Silva, Mattox & Blackwell) that produced long greenish or purplish filaments, Pinnularia acoricola Hust. (producing brown patches) and Euglena mutabilis Schmitz. The algal filaments made up a consistent biofilm that also included fungal hyphae, iron bacterial sheaths, diatoms, and mineral particles. HPLC analyses on Río Tinto samples showed that undegraded chl accounted for 67% of the total chl in the filamentous patches but were a minority in the brown patch (2.6%). The brown patch had a concentration of carotenoids eight times lower than that observed in the green patch. When chl concentrations were weighted for the proportion of the different patches on the streambed, undegraded chl a accounted for 89.2 mg chl a·m−2 of stream surface area (5.4 g C·m−2). This high algal biomass was supported by relatively high nutrient concentrations and by a high phosphatase activity (Vmax = 137.7 nmol methylumbelliferyl substrate·cm−2·h− 1 , Km = 0.0045 μM). The remarkable algal biomass in Río Tinto potentially contributed to the bacterial–fungal community and to the macroinvertebrate community and emphasizes the role that the algae may have in the organic matter cycling and energy flow in extreme systems dominated by heterotrophic microorganisms.
Heat tolerance of Nelore, Senepol x Nelore and Angus x Nelore heifers in the southeast region of Brazil

The Brazilian beef industry has experienced an increase in the utilization of adapted and non-adapted Bos taurus breeds in crossbreeding systems. In spite of this, little is known about the adaptability of these groups and of their crossbred progeny when raised in a tropical climate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physiological responses related to adaptability of Nelore (NE), crossbred Angus x Nelore (TA) and Senepol x Nelore (SN) cattle submitted to a heat tolerance trial. The study was conducted in the Southeast – Embrapa Cattle (CPPSE), Sao Carlos, Brazil. During the summer of 2008, 45 heifers, 15 of each breed type, were evaluated over three days: at 7:00 a.m. (resting measure), at 13:00 (after six hours in the sun with no access to water and shade) and at 15:00 (after a further two hours in the sun with access to shade). Rectal temperature and sweating rate were measured and the data were analyzed using restricted maximum likelihood. The effect of breed type was significant for rectal temperature only at 15:00 and for the sweating rate at all three test periods. Based on these results, Senepol x Nelore heifers showed a better adaptation in the heat tolerance test than the other breed types.
The Detection of Fake Messages using Machine Learning

This research investigates how fake messages are used on Twitter during the Dutch election of 2012. It researches the performance of 8 supervised Machine Learning classifiers on a Twitter dataset. We provide that the Decision Tree algorithm perform best on the used dataset, with an F-Score of 88%. In total, 613.033 tweets were classified, of which 328.897 were classified as true, and 284.136 tweets were classified as false. Through a qualitative content analysis of false tweets sent during the election, distinctive features and characteristics of false content have been found and grouped into six different categories.
Diversity and distribution of large branchiopods in Kiskunság (Hungary) in relation to local habitat and spatial factors: implications for their conservation

Large branchiopods are threatened worldwide by the loss and degradation of their temporary aquatic habitats owing to drainage and intensive agriculture. Sound ecological knowledge of their diversity and distribution is a prerequisite to formulate effective conservation measures. In the present study, large branchiopods were collected from 82 temporary freshwater pools belonging to five habitat types in Kiskunsag (Hungary). Dormant propagule bank analysis complemented the field survey. Eleven species were found, with large branchiopods occurring in more than half of the study systems. The high regional species richness and occurrence frequency of large branchiopods make Kiskunsag a true 'hot spot' of large branchiopod diversity. The local environment was more important than spatial factors (isolation) in explaining the presence of the most common species. Dispersal was most likely not limiting for the large branchiopods in the study area and colonisation success of different species was differentially affected by local conditions, possibly invertebrate predation risk and hydroperiod. Meadow pools and wheel tracks contributed most to regional species richness through the presence of rare and exclusive species. To conserve branchiopod diversity, we stress the importance of high habitat diversity in the landscape and the need to conserve neglected habitats such as wheel tracks.
Prognostic Indicator in Severe Acute Pancreatitis

Aim of study: - To assess the utility of each as prognostic indicator in Severe Acute Pancreatitis. Material and Methods: This prospective study entitled “To assess the utility of each as prognostic indicator in Severe Acute Pancreatitis” was carried out on patients hospitalized for acute pancreatitis in the surgery department at Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Medical College and CM Hospital, Bhilai from March 2015 to October 2017.50 patients with the diagnosis of first attack of acute pancreatitis of both sexes and all age groups were selected for the study. Conclusion:- On the basis of observation and result of the study, it can be safely stated that APACHE II Scoring is quick, safe, reproducible, ongoing and cost effective. It can be done by resident or intelligent nursing staff. Give an idea regarding improving or worsening of patients. APACHE II Scoring system when complimented by high quality CECT abdomen can further refine the results and give an idea of likelihood of patients developing local complication. Thus it can also be used along with CECT abdomen for Risk Stratification of subset of patients who are likely to develop local complication who might need surgical intervention. CECT on 3rd day adds nothing to management. It has a tendency to over predict the regional complication, which are in anyway apart of natural course of history of disease (acute fluid collection). Management decision could not be based on CECT abdomen on 3rd day alone, since it is not needed to make a diagnosis of acute pancreatitis it should be abundant, thus reducing the financial burden of patients and institute. CECT abdomen done after 2nd week in the course of illness along with APACHE II Score and clinical finding are better guide for management and surgical intervention.
Meta learning for defaults: symbolic defaults

In this work we propose to use meta-learning to learn sets of symbolic default hyperparameter configurations that work well across many data sets. A well known example for such a symbolic default is the logarithmic relation between the number of features of a dataset and the available features per split of a Random Forest, as observed by Breiman (2001). Symbolic functions allow for a more rich vocabulary to define defaults on. In the past, symbolic and static default values have been obtained either from hand-crafted heuristics or empirical evaluations of specific algorithms. We propose to automatically learn such symbolic configurations, i.e., formulas containing meta-features, from a large set of prior evaluations of numeric hyperparameters on multiple data sets via symbolic regression and optimization.
Setting Conservation Priorities: The Importance of Endemism and Phylogeny in the Southern African Orchid Genus Herschelia

The southern and south-central African terrestrial orchid genus Herschelia contains several rare and endangered species. The distribution patterns of the species were assessed and classified into the Rabinowitz rarity categories. The degree of rarity was correlated with habitat types and with the phylogenetic history. Of the 16 species recognized, two are too poorly known to be assessed further. Of the remainder, three species are shown to be “metaspecies,” which can be interpreted as being ancestral to five narrowly endemic species. A. strong correlation between the age of the habitats, the relative age of the species, and the degree of rarity was demonstrated. I review the phylogenetic criteria for prioritizing species for conservation, and I develop a new criterion, the ability of a species to speciate into “new” environments. This suggests that it might be better to conserve metaspecies, which are found in the mountains, rather than the autapomorphic daughter species, which are found in the ephemeral habitats of the lowlands. El genero terrestre de orquideas Herschelia del sur y centro-sur de Africa contiene varias especies raras y amenazadas de extincion. Los patrones de distribucion de las especies fueron evaluados y clasificados en las categorias de rareza de Rabinowitz. El grado de rareza estuvo correlacionado con los tipos de habitats y con la historia filogenetica. De las 16 especies reconocidas, dos eran muy poco conocidas como para ser evaluadas en mas profundidad. De las restantes, se demuestra que tres especies son “metaespecies”, lo cual se puede interpretar como que son ancestrales a cinco especies estrechamente endemicas. Se demonstro una fuerte correlacion entre la edad de los habitats, la edad relativa de la especie, y el grado de rareza. Se revisan los criterios filogeneticos para la priorizacion de especies a conservar y se desarrolla un nuevo criterio, la habilidad de una especie para especiarse en nuevos ambientes. Esto sugiere que podria ser mejor conservar metaespecies, las cuales se encuentran en las montanas, antes que las especies autapomorficas que se encuentran en los habitats efimeros de las tierras bajas.
Habitat preference and habitat exploration in two species of satyrine butterflies

We compared the habitat preference and the mobility of different populations of primarily forest living, satyrine butterflies by observing them in a manipulated environment, containing different habitat types inside a large outdoor cage. The cage was 30 m long and divided into three parts. Each end of the cage contained a shady habitat, made to be similar to the floor of a forest with sunlit spots. In between these shady parts, there was a 14 m long open part, like a glade or a meadow. We performed two studies in the cage. In the first study, we compared a population of a species with very restricted distribution in Sweden, Lopinga achine, and a population of a widely distributed and expanding species, Pararge aegeria. We found that the two species had similar habitat preferences in the cage, but that L. achine had a lower rate of dispersal from one shady part of the cage to the other. In the second study, we compared two populations of P. aegeria, a Swedish forest living population and a Madeiran population inhabiting a fairly open habitat. We found that, although individuals of the Swedish population avoided staying in the open, middle part of the cage, they dispersed between the shady parts of the cage at a higher rate than individuals of the Madeiran population. We argue that studies of the kind we performed can serve the purpose of testing hypotheses about habitat preference and mobility that derive from other field work or from information about distribution patterns.
Are responses to artificial selection for reproductive fitness characters consistently asymmetrical

Non-linear offspring-parent regressions and heritabilities are expected for characters showing genetic asymmetry due to directional dominance and/or asymmetrical gene frequencies. Since reproductive fitness characters exhibit these characteristics, they should show consistently nonlinear heritabilities, with greater heritabilities in the direction of lower fitness. As a consequence, responses to bi-directional selection on fitness traits should be asymmetrical in the same direction. This prediction has been tested by an analysis of published bi-directional selection experiments for reproductive fitness traits. Significant asymmetry (24 of 30 studies) in the predicted direction was found. For studies reporting realized heritabilities, the means were 0·173 and 0·259 for lines selected for higher and lower reproductive fitness, respectively, the high lines being 33% less than the low lines. Asymmetry was evident for studies reporting realized heritabilities and for those with random mating controls of the same size as the selection lines. Consequently, it is argued that the asymmetry results from genetic asymmetries. This asymmetry has important implications in the improvement of reproductive fitness traits in plant and animal breeding.
A statistical method to estimate DNA copy number from Illumina high-density methylation arrays

For the first time, we report here that Illumina high-density methylation arrays can also be used to estimate DNA copy number variations. We used the Illumina HM450K methylation array data to characterize the DNA copy number aberrations in the HT-29 colon cancer cell line to test our statistical model. Results were validated using an Affymetrix SNP array. Utilizing the CAMDA 2011 glioblastoma data set, we have demonstrated that our novel statistical method can potentially lower the cost and reduce the processing time of large-scale profiling studies where both DNA copy number and methylation status are of interest. Our new method, named methylCNV, is implemented in the Lumi package of Bioconductor.