Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Co-occurrence and Microhabitat Distribution of Six Nebria Species (Coleoptera: Coarabidae) in an Alpine Glacier Retreat Zone in the Alps, Austria

The ground beetle (Carabidae) assemblage in a glacier retreat zone in the Zillertal Alps, Austria, was investigated over the course of three summers. Twenty species belonging to 10 genera were collected using pitfall traps. This study focuses on aspects of the co-existence of six species of the genus Nebria, including the spatial and temporal distribution and activities of larval stages and adults. Additionally, temperature preferences and water loss at low humidity were determined for several species. Each of the Nebria species were most active, both as adults and larval stages, in different areas within the glacier retreat zone characterized by distinct geomorphological and ecological conditions. Microhabitat conditions and habitat stability appear to be factors in habitat choice. Two ecologically distinct groups were observed: (1) N. germari, N. hellwigi, N. castanea, and N. austriaca generally inhabit stable high-altitude habitats and are nocturnal and (2) the two riparian species (N. jockischi, N. rufescens) are also diurnally active. Furthermore, the latter two species preferred significantly higher temperatures and survived low humidity conditions longer than the other investigated species and showed flight ability, in contrast with the other four wingless species.
Quantitative Comparison of Two Enrichment Methods for Isolating Listeria monocytogenes from Inoculated Ice Cream.

Two enrichment methods for isolating Listeria monocytogenes (the Lovett method, formerly used by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the revised method for the U. S. Department of Agriculture) were compared using 25 g test portions of spiked vanilla ice cream. Both methods were found to be equally sensitive. Prolonging the enrichments to 7 d and the use of alkali pretreatment had no significant effect on the results. Reduction of the test portion size from 25 to 1 g in the revised USDA method decreased the level of sensitivity by an order of magnitude, as expected.
Scratching beneath the surface: Bandicoot bioturbation contributes to ecosystem processes

Animals that forage for food or dig burrows by biopedturbation can alter the biotic and abiotic characteristics of their habitat. The digging activities of such ecosystem engineers, although small at a local scale, may be important for broader scale landscape processes by influencing soil and litter properties, trapping organic matter and seeds, and subsequently altering seedling recruitment. We examined environmental characteristics (soil moisture content, hydrophobicity and litter composition) of foraging pits created by the southern brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus; Peramelidae), a digging Australian marsupial, over a 6-month period. Fresh diggings typically contained a higher moisture content and lower hydrophobicity than undisturbed soil. A month later, foraging pits contained greater amounts of fine litter and lower amounts of coarse litter than adjacent undug surfaces, indicating that foraging pits may provide a conducive microhabitat for litter decomposition, potentially reducing litter loads and enhancing nutrient decomposition. We tested whether diggings might affect seedling recruitment (seed removal by seed harvesters and seed germination rates) by artificially mimicking diggings. Although there were no differences in the removal of seeds, seedling recruitment for three native plant species (Acacia saligna, Kennedia prostrata and Eucalyptus gomphocephala) was higher in plots containing artificial diggings compared with undug sites. The digging actions of bandicoots influenced soil moisture and hydrophobicity, the size distribution of litter and seedling recruitment at a local scale. The majority of Australian digging mammals are threatened, with many suffering substantial population and range contraction. However, their persistence in landscapes plays an important role in maintaining the health and function of ecosystems.
Simplified Aberration Analysis Method of Holographic Waveguide Combiner

Generally, the diffractive waveguide combiner and computer-generated hologram (CGH) technique have the potential to achieve compact head-mounted display (HMD) with a natural 3D display function. However, the diffractive waveguide combiner will degrade the image quality because of aberration. In order to resolve this issue, the complex analysis based on the ray-tracing method is necessary. Since the major aberration of the waveguide combiners is only astigmatism and anamorphic distortion, only these two aberrations were discussed in this paper. Furthermore, two common waveguide structures were discussed here. In total, four formulas were summarized to analyze aberration and anamorphic distortion in these two structures. Finally, the simplified formulas were verified with the commercial ray-tracing software Zemax. The calculated results of the proposed method match the simulation of Zemax software well. Therefore, the aberration of an arbitrary similar diffractive waveguide can be analyzed by the proposed method. This will make the designing process simpler and faster.
Larval morphology and chaetotaxy of Macrogyrus oblongus (Boisduval, 1835) (Coleoptera: Gyrinidae)

ABSTRACT The larvae of the grooved whirligig beetle Macrogyrus oblongus (Boisduval, 1835) are described and illustrated including detailed morphometric and chaetotaxic analyses of selected structures. Larvae of Macrogyrus Régimbart, 1882 exhibit the characters traditionally recognised as autapomorphies of the Gyrinidae. The first instars bear egg bursters on the parietal, a potential additional autapomorphy. Putative larval autapomorphies of the tribe Dineutini are the presence of additional setae on the mandible, the absence of the seta TR2, and the presence of pore-like additional structures on the ultimate palpomeres. Macrogyrus larvae differ from those of the other known dineutine genera (Andogyrus Ochs, 1924 and Dineutus MacLeay, 1825) in the absence of a neck constriction and in the distal position of the pore LAc. Other useful characters to distinguish genera within Dineutini are the presence or absence of additional setae on the cardo and coxa, and the posterior margin of the lacinia dentate or smooth.
An evening bat (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from the late Early Eocene of France, with comments on the antiquity of modern bats

1 Abstract: Bats are among the most numerous and widespread mammals today, but their fossil record is comparatively meagre and their early evolution poorly understood. Here we describe a new fossil bat from dental remains recovered from late Early Eocene sediments at Prémontré, northern France. This 50 million-year-old bat exhibits a mosaic of plesiomorphic and apomorphic dental features, including the presence of three lower premolars, a single-rooted p3, short p4 with metaconid, myotodont lower molars and a tall coronoid process of the dentary. This combination of features suggests it is an early member of Vespertilionidae, today’s most speciose and geographically widespread bat family. The Prémontré bat has bearing on hypotheses about the origins of vesper or evening bats (Family Vespertilionidae), as well as crown-group chiropterans.
Teichosporaceae, another family in the Pleosporales

The family Teichosporaceae is proposed to include eight genera, most of them previously assigned to the lichenicolous Dacampiaceae. New species are described as Byssothecium cholla, Sinodidymella americana, and S. hesperia. New combinations are proposed for Pleospora obiones in Byssothecium, for Trematosphaeria cactorum in Chaetomastia, for Didymosphaeria atraseptata in Immotthia, and for Melanopsammina utahensis in Sinodidymella.
Canopy arthropods of Vateria indica L. and Dipterocarpus indicus Bedd. in the rainforests of Western Ghats, South India

This study aimed at quantifying the total arthropod diversity by fogging the rainforest canopies at Makuta, Western Ghats. Emergent canopies of Vateria indica and Dipterocarpus indicus were fogged with short-lived pyrethroid and arthropods collected. Arthropod samples thus obtained were comparable with those from other tropical parts of the world for species richness and diversity. In general, arthropods from D. indicus were more diverse than those from V. indica. Coleoptera tended to be more dominant and hence less diverse in canopies of both trees. The most diverse group in D. indicus was Diptera, while Areneae was the most diverse group in V. indica canopy. The proportion of singletons was extremely high for all the groups, often exceeding 75%. Our results suggest that the arthropod composition of the most dominant tree species in the forest could significantly influence the composition of the samples drawn from other tree species in the same forest.
Influence of grazing on triclosan toxicity to stream periphyton

This study was supported by the European Commission through the project Modelkey (Project 511237-2 GOCE). Additional funds were provided by the European Keybioeffects Project (MRTN-CT-2006-035695), VIECO (009/RN08/011), SCARCE (Consolider-Ingenio 2010, CSD2009- 00065) and Fluvialmultistress (CTM2009-14111-CO2-01) and MPCUdG2016/120
Observations on the Development and Transmission of Nosema Apis Z. In the Ventriculus of the Honeybee

SummaryThe developmental stages of Nosema apis Z. (first merogony, second merogony, sporogony, sporoblasts, spores) in the ventriculus of the honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) are described, based on electron microscopy observations. The invasive process is not demonstrated, but there is no reason to believe that invasion by N. apis should differ from the process of other species in the microsporidian genus, Nosema, where the sporoplasm is injected into the host cell through the polar filament. The development of the parasite is strictly intracellular as in all other microsporidia.Structures within the host cytoplasm indicate a possible intercellular spread of the parasite through extrusion of polar filaments from mature spores still inside the host cell. No proof of secondary vegetative stages invading adjacent cells were found, although this possibility cannot be excluded. Four days post infection (p.i.), mature spores were found in the host cytoplasm; 6 days p.i. , spores produced in the gut epithelium of th.
Interaction effects of VA mycorrhiza and Azospirillum on growth and uptake of nutrients in maize

The effects of individual and dual inoculation of Azospirillum brasilense and Glomus fasciculatum was studied at three different levels of NPK fertilizers. Compatibility and effect of Azospirillum inoculation on VA mycorrhiza was examined at the end of the experiment in terms of spore count and percentage VA mycorrhizal infection in the roots of the host plant. Nitrogen content in shoots and roots was determined by micro-kjeldhal method and phosphorus content by vanadomolybdate-phosphoric yellow colour method
Anomaluroid rodents from the earliest Oligocene of Dakhla, Morocco, reveal the long-lived and morphologically conservative pattern of the Anomaluridae and Nonanomaluridae during the Tertiary in Africa

Recent palaeontological field campaigns in the westernmost part of the Sahara (Dakhla region, Morocco) have resulted in the discovery of a mammal assemblage including anomaluroid rodents. This new fauna comes from the uppermost part of the Samlat Formation, which contains estuarine deposits dating from the earliest Oligocene. The anomaluroid record from Dakhla (C2) comprises at least five sympatric taxa distributed among four different groups (Anomaluridae, Zenkerellinae, Nonanomaluridae and ? Zegdoumyidae), and includes two new species attributed to Paranomalurus Lavocat, 1973 (P. riodeoroensis Marivaux sp. nov.; Anomaluridae) and Nonanomalurus Pickford et al., 2013 (N. parvus Marivaux sp. nov.; Nonanomaluridae), genera well known from the early Miocene of Sub-Saharan Africa. Three other new anomaluroid taxa – a diminutive anomalurid, Argouburus minutus Marivaux gen. et sp. nov., a zenkerelline-like anomaluroid, Oromys zenkerellinopsis Marivaux gen. et sp. nov., and a ? zegdoumyid, Dakhlamys ultimus Marivaux gen. et sp. nov. – are also documented but remain poorly sampled. The presence in Dakhla (C2) of primitive representatives of two early Miocene anomaluroid genera (Paranomalurus and Nonanomalurus) and a possible zenkerelline extends back to the earliest Oligocene the stratigraphical range of these lineages. This exceptional record from Dakhla demonstrates that anomaluroids were diverse near the global cooling event recorded at the Eocene/Oligocene transition, thereby indicating that coastal forests situated in the tropical south-western margin of North Africa were locally less affected by the climatic changes. The occurrence of Paranomalurus and Nonanomalurus in the earliest Oligocene reveals the surprisingly long-lived evolutionary pattern of these two genera, which otherwise remained highly conservative through time, especially regarding dental patterns. Considering the palaeontological data so far available and our proposed phylogenetic context including a comprehensive taxonomic sampling for anomaluroids, it appears that the divergences of extant lineages (Anomalurus, Idiurus and Zenkerella) were very ancient, and probably can be traced back to the Eocene. Based on our phylogenetic results, some systematic and macroevolutionary implications related to the Anomaluroidea are discussed, with a special emphasis on the Zenkerella lineage, which is regarded here as possibly outside the Anomaluridae. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:92621503-34A0-4A61-BB87-2F7D04D66728
Determination of Copper, Iron and Zinc in the Muscles of Freshwater Fish from Beheshtabad River

The present study was conducted with the aim of measuring the levels of zinc, copper and iron in the muscles of 4 species of fishes caught off the Beheshtabad River, Iran. Fish samples included Cyprinus carpio, Capoeta aculeata, Carassius auratus gibelio and Alburnus alburnus. The results revealed that mean concentration of zinc, copper and iron was 67.3±26.00 µg kg , 55±0.74 µg kg and 177.34±65.45 µg kg , 11 1 respectively. The highest concentrations of copper, zinc and iron were found in Alburnus alburnus and Cyprinus carpio. A significant difference was observed in copper level in meat of different fish species (P<0.05). Seasonal varieties were observed for all examined metals with a significant difference for copper (P<0.05). Presence of metals in fish meat is probably due to miss using of fertilizers in agriculture activities and entry of agricultural discharges into the river which constitutes a serious health risk to human.
Measurement of Free Cytosolic Calcium Concentration ([Ca2+]i) in Single CHO-K1 Cells

[Abstract] This is a protocol to analyze the functional response of single CHO-K1 cells to a given treatment in terms of changes in free cytosolic calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i). This is possible by using the Ca2+ indicator dye Fura-2 AM, a polyamino carboxylic acid that binds to free intracellular calcium and is excited at 340 nm and 380 nm. The ratio of the emissions at 505 nm after excitation with those wavelengths is directly correlated to the amount of intracellular calcium. This protocol can be applied to other cell types (cell lines or primary cell cultures) by changing the culture conditions accordingly to the cell type.
The mollusc community associated with maerl beds of Ustica Island (Tyrrhenian Sea)

La communaute de Mollusques associee aux bancs de maerl de l'ile d'Ustica (Mer Tyrrhenienne). La communaute de mollusques vivants associee au maerl circalittoral de l'ile d'Ustica (sud de la Mer Tyrrhenienne) a ete etudiee. Cinq echantillons de sediment ont ete recoltes a deux stations en novembre 1996 et juillet 1997 avec une benne van Veen (0.1 m 2 ), a 50 m de profondeur. Aucune difference significative entre les stations n'a ete mise en evidence, ni en nombre d'individus ni entre les periodes d'etude avec la PERMANOVA orthogonale a deux facteurs. La communaute est composee a la fois d'especes de substrat dur et d'especes de substrat meuble, appartenant respectivement a la biocoenose des fonds detritiques cotiers circalittoraux et a celle des sables grossiers et fins graviers sous influence des courants de fond. Cette communaute est nettement dominee par les suspensivores suivis des herbivores et des carnivores dans les memes proportions. Haminoea hydatis, Gibberula jansseni et Modiolula phaseolina sont les especes les plus nombreuses, suivies par Acantochitona fascicularis, Hiatella arctica et Limatula subauriculata. Ischnochiton usticensis semble pouvoir etre consideree comme une espece exclusive du maerl. Les faibles valeurs de richesse specifique et les fortes valeurs de l'equitabilite de Pielou mesurees nous font considerer cette communaute comme bien structuree.
Developmental Toxicity of Antimicrobial Agent, 3-Iodo-2-Propynyl Butylcarbamate, in Rats

A teratological study was carried out on 3-iodo-2-propynyl butylcarbamate (IPBC). Pregnant Wistar rats were treated orally with IPBC at 0, 20, 60 or 180 mg/kg on days 7-17 of gestation. Cesarean sections were performed on day 20 of gestation. Transient swelling in the necks of pregnant rats was observed at 60 and 180 mg/kg for 45 days after the 1st or 2nd IPBC treatment. Body weight gain, food intake and adjusted body weight gain decreased, while increases in the maternal thyroids and stomach weights were observed at 60 and 180 mg/kg. A decrease in the matemal thymus weight and an increase in the matemal adrenal glands weight were observed at 180 mg/kg. Additionally, incidence of dead or resorbed fetuses and sex ratio of living fetuses increased at 180 mg/kg. IPBC treatment did not show any evidence of extemal, skeletal or visceral abnormalities in fetuses. Under the condition of this study, the no-observed-adverse-effect levels (NOAEL) for maternal and fetal toxicities were considered to be 20 mg/kg and 60 mg/kg, respectively.
Biometric evaluation of monthly growth rate as a criterion to study the genetic diversity in Coffea canephora

The variability of growth patterns and capacity to resist to environmental stresses that exists in populations of Coffea canephora Pierre ex Froehner makes it possible to select genotypes for different types of cultivation conditions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the monthly growth rate as a criterion to measure the genetic diversity of genotypes and to estimate the direct and indirect effects of the monthly growth rate, by path analysis, over the length of orthotropic stems. The experiment followed a randomized complete block design, studying 10 genotypes of C. canephora Pierre ex A. Froehner, with four replications and six plants per experimental plot. The magnitudes of the direct and indirect effects observed in the path analysis are consistent indicatives that the growth rate during recovery months, in the peaks after periods of slower growth, is highly important to determine the length of the stems during the final of the season. There is a considerable level of similarity between the growth of genotypes from the same group regarding ripening cycle; however, the high variability makes possible to identify genotypes from different behaviors regardless of the group. Key words: Conilon coffee, orthotropic stems, genetic parameters, variability.
Returning Home: Movement Strategies of Sub-Andean Birds in a Modified Landscape

We documented movement of a long-distant migrant (Swainson's Thrush Catharus ustulatus) and two understory resident species (Chestnut-capped Brush-finch Buarremon brunneinuchus and Streak-capped Treehunter Thripadectes virgaticeps) in a fragmented landscape dominated by a pasture matrix in a Sub-Andean region of central Colombia. Swainson's Thrush had no detectable difficulties traversing a pasture matrix and returning to the capture site. Chestnut-capped Brush-finch and Streak-capped Treehunter (understory resident species) avoided making lengthy flights and used stepping-stones and nearby corridors to ease their movement. Providing stepping stones such as live fences and isolated trees and maintaining corridors can enhance functional connectivity in regions with fragmented forests, aiding the conservation of bird species.
Path Planning Method for Mobile Robots with Dynamic Constraints

최근 들어 다양한 형태의 로봇이 개발 되고 있으며, 특히 원하는 목적 지 까지 로봇 스스로 찾아가는 자율이동기능은 청소로봇, 안내로봇, 경 비로봇 등 많은 로봇에서 핵심적인 기능을 담당하고 있다. 이런 자율이 동기능이 적용된 자율이동로봇들의 주행성능을 높이기 위해서, 현재 지 점에서 목표 지점까지 최단 시간에 이동할 수 있도록 경로를 생성하는 경로계획 기능이 중요시 된다[1]. 자율이동로봇의 경로계획방법은 포텐셜 함수를 이용한 방식, 로드맵방 식, 셀분해 방식 등으로 크게 분류할 수 있으며 각 방식에 세부적인 방 법들이 연구되어왔다[1]. 그 중 하나로 최근 국부환경에서 일반적으로 사용되는 경로계획방법으로는 Konolig가 제안한 구배법[2]이 있으며, 구 배법의 탐색영역을 위상정보를 활용하여 축소하여 개선한 방법[3]이 연 구되었다. 또한 세선화 기법을 이용하여 전역경로를 생성하고, 동적프로 그래밍을 이용하여 국부환경에서 경로를 개선하는 방법도 연구되었 다. [4] 그러나 구배법 및 동적프로그래밍을 사용하는 경로계획방법들은 로봇의 동특성을 고려하지 않은 경로계획법으로 생성된 경로를 실제 로 봇이 이동하지 못하거나 이동속도를 줄여 이동시간이 지체되는 경우가 발생할 수 있다. 따라서 본 논문에서는 참고문헌 [4]의 동적경로계획방법을 기본으로 사용하고, 여기에 자율이동로봇의 속도 및 조향각 등 동특성 제약조건을 추가하여 이동시간을 단축시키는 경로 생성 방법을 제안한다.
Field identification of Apodemus flavicollis and Apodemus sylvaticus: a quantitative comparison of different biometric measurements

Abstract The identification of the wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus and the yellow-necked mouse Apodemus flavicollis in the field has challenged many generations of field mammalogists, particularly in northern Spain and continental Italy. These two species present highly similar morphologic and morphometric characteristics especially when they are sympatric. Existing identification methods rely on morphometric and biometric measurements collected on killed or etherized animals, whereas in many field studies measurement may be taken only on live and awake animals. Genetic methods, instead, are time consuming, expensive and do not allow immediate identification in the field, which is a requirement in many types of ecological works. To contribute in filling this knowledge gap, the aims of this research were: 1) to assess biometric measurements (weight and length of hind foot) that allow species identification on live and awake animals and 2) to develop a predictive model and related software that, subject to refinement based on study area, will allow researchers to prioritise the selection of individuals to be identified by molecular approach. This model, based on a large (>1500) sample of individuals captured in two different sites in central Italy, should help to classify live and awake individuals of Apodemus species. Attached to this paper is a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that may be used to apply the model to new data.
Random walk and the existence of evolutionary rates

Before one can study evolutionary rates one must reject the null model of symmetric random walk. for which the requisite quantity does not exist. As random walks reliably simulate all the features we find so compelling in the fossil record—jumps, trends, and irregular cycles—rejection of this irritating hypothesis is much more difficult than one might hope. This paper reviews principal theorems from the mathematical literature of random walk and shows how they may be applied to empirical data by scaling net changes according to the square root of elapsed time. The notorious pair of “opposite” findings, equilibrium and anagenesis, may be construed as deviations from random walk in opposite directions. Malmgren's data on Globorotalia tumida, previously interpreted as an example of punctuated anagenesis, are consistent with a random walk showing neither punctuation nor anagenesis, but instead varying in speed over four subsequences.