Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of Alkaline Cement-Dust Pollution on Boreal Pinus sylvestris Forest Communities: A Study at the Bryophyte Synusiae Level

The elementary structural units where changes of plant communities come about are synusiae and studies of successional processes induced by external factors should focus on that scale. Synusia is a structural part of a plant community inhabiting a special microhabitat, with a specific floristic composition and consisting of species that belong to the same stratum and that do not differ fundamentally in either periodicity or way of exploitation of their environment. We studied the responses of the moss synusiae to the cement kiln dust pollution in Myrtillus site-type forests in the vicinity of the Kunda cement plant (North Estonia). The synusiae were clustered into eight societies. The species content of the bryophyte synusiae changed completely along the alkaline pollution gradient. Synusiae of Dicranum polysetum—Pleurozium schreberi, Aulacomnium palustre—Hylocomium splendens and Ptilium crista-castrensis—Hylocomium splendens societies, characteristic of unpolluted forests, were replaced gradually by the synusiae of Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus—Hylocomium splendens, Climacium dendroides—Hylocomium splendens and Rhodobryum roseum—Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus societies as pollution increased. Brachythecium rutabulum—Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus and Fissidens dubius—Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus societies were indicative of forests with heavy alkaline pollution. The composition of epiphytic bryophytes also changed almost completely along the pollution gradient; Fissidens adianthoides, Tortula ruralis and Barbula unguiculata were indicative of the heavily-polluted zone. We conclude that alkaline pollution has a clearly detectable impact on the forests' bryophyte synusiae in terms of both species composition and typological structure.
Effect of Nitrogen Fertility on Reproduction and Development of Citrus Mealybug, Planococcus citri Risso (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae), Feeding on Two Colors of Coleus, Solenostemon scutellarioides L. Codd

Abstract The effects of nitrogen concentration on the reproduction and development of citrus mealybug, Planococcus citri, were studied on two colors of coleus, Solenostemon scutellarioides. Green and red-variegated coleus plants were supplied with varying applied nitrogen concentrations (0, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 400 ppm) for 32 d before being artificially inoculated with citrus mealybugs. Female citrus mealybug life history parameters including eggs contained within the egg mass and respective body cavity, body length (mm), and developmental time (d) were measured. A modified micro-Kjeldahl digestion procedure followed by colormetric assay was conducted twice throughout the study to assess leaf nitrogen concentration. The results of this study show that the citrus mealybug life history parameters were influenced by the applied nitrogen concentrations (ppm), leaf nitrogen concentration (%), and total moisture content (g). Citrus mealybugs feeding on both green and red-variegated coleus, receiving the high nitrogen fertilizer concentrations (200 and 400 ppm) had the greatest egg loads, were larger in size, and had the shortest developmental times. Leaf nitrogen concentration also affected the citrus mealybug life history parameters with those mealybugs feeding on plants containing the highest leaf nitrogen contents having the greatest egg loads, larger in size, and the shortest developmental times. In addition, total plant moisture content impacted the citrus mealybug life history parameters similar to leaf nitrogen concentration. However, this was based on plant architecture whereas percent plant moisture content for both green- and red-variegated coleus was comparatively similar for all nitrogen concentrations. The life history parameters measured were more pronounced on green coleus compared with red-variegated coleus, perhaps because of nitrogen allocation differences between the two coleus colors. Thus, higher nitrogen concentrations, in the form of supplemental fertilizers used in greenhouse production systems, leads to an increase in the performance of citrus mealybugs as defined by increased egg loads, larger mature females, and shorter developmental times on coleus plants. These results indicate that the implementation of proper fertilizer practices may lessen the likelihood of dealing with extensive insect outbreaks, thus potentially reducing insecticide use.
REMOTE SENSING IN ENTOMOLOGY

The term "remote sensing" has come to be strongly associated with techniques of observation from earth-orbiting satellites, and in this guise would seem to have relatively little to offer entomologists. However, the subject more properly includes all methods of "observation of a target by a device some distance from it" (9), and this broader definition encompasses a large number of techniques that have been of benefit in entomological studies (3, 14, 19, 70, 80, 83, 109, 130, 150). There have been three distinct areas of applica­ tion: the observation of insects themselves, the detection of the effects that insects produce (usually plant damage), and the monitoring of environmental factors likely to influence insect behavior. This review begins with an outline of remote sensing techniques used in entomology and then decribes how they have been applied in these three areas. The limited space available has meant that the descriptions are necessarily somewhat abbreviated.
Changes in Phosphorylation Activities during Goldfish and Xenopus Oocyte Maturation

Abstract Oocyte maturation is promoted by the sequential actions of several kinases, of which MPF (a histone H1 kinase) and MAP kinase (a myelin basic protein (MBP) kinase) are known to play pivotal roles. However, other kinases responsible for inducing oocyte maturation have yet to be characterized. To identify these kinases, we examined phosphorylation activities toward 44 exogenous substrate proteins during oocyte maturation in goldfish and Xenopus. We found that 4 substrates in goldfish and 6 in Xenopus were phosphorylated and their phosphorylation states changed during oocyte maturation. Among them, only 3 substrates (histone H1, MBP and pepsin) were common to both species. Precipitation of cdc2 showed that, like histone H1, pepsin was also phosphorylated by cdc2 (MPF). These results suggest that different kinase cascades are involved in goldfish and Xenopus oocyte maturation, although MPF and MAP kinases are common to both species. We also found novel phosphorylation activities that precede the activation of MPF and MAP kinases using deoxyribonuclease I, casein, pepsin and protamine as exogenous substrates.
To Study and Analysis on Heat Transfer Performance of a New Parallel-Flow Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger with Different Structure Using RSM Analysis

In this paper we have proposed and analyzed a new parallel-flow shell and tube heat exchanger with clamping plate baffles and sinusoidal wavy tapes. We have employed the response surface methodology (RSM) method to investigate the turbulent heat transfer performance of a new parallel-flow shell and tube heat exchanger with clamping plate baffle (CPB) and sinusoidal wavy tapes (STHX-CPBSWT). 25 CFD runs are adopted to study the effect of four parameters (tape pitch, tape amplitude, tape width and Re) on thermal-hydraulic performance based on central composite design of RSM. MATLAB 9.1 as a simulation tool has been used for implementing the equation and for the designing of STHXCPBSWT system. The flow structures are shown and the heat transfer mechanism is revealed. The results show that the sinusoidal wavy tapes make the fluid flow in a wavy manner and induce many distinct longitudinal swirling vortexes than the conventional round rod baffle, CPB and equilateral triangle cross sectioned wire coil. The sinusoidal wavy tape can enhance heat transfer as effectively as the equilateral triangle cross sectioned wire coil does in turbulent regime. In the investigated range, the average Nu, f and PEC of STHXCPBSWT are 2.2%, 25.2% and 0.5% larger than those of STHX-CPBETWC respectively
BASED ON CYTOTAXONOMICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL EVIDENCE ASTRAGALUS REMOTIFLORUS SUBSP. NIGROHIRSUTUS IS RAISED TO SPECIES RANK

Astragalus remotiflorus Boiss. from section Anthylloidei DC. has three subspecies, that are endemic to Iran. A. remotiflorus subsp. nigrohirsutus is an endemic species in Fars province and is found on the mountain of Kharman kuh, 1760–3122 m. In this study cytological and morphological study were performed for this subspecies and A. remotiflorus subsp. remotiflorus, Also, the morphological characteristics of A. remotiflorus subsp. melanogramma were examined. The results indicate that A. remotiflorus subsp. nigrohirsutus is a hexaploid (2n=6x =48) with the karyotype formula of 15m+9sm. Symmetrical karyotype of this subspecies is in the class 2A. Morphological characteristics indicate that this subspecies with a small amount of mixed black hairs ca. 1 – 2.5 mm long on the peduncle and calyx distinguishes it from the other two subspecies. Also, it differs from subsp. melanogramma in having longer peduncle and lax inflorescence. A. remotiflorus subsp. nigrohirsutus is raised to the rank of species as A. nigrohirsutus. Amir Borjian (correspondence ) and Taher Nejadsattari, Department of Biology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.Mostafa Assadi & Ali Asghar Maassoumi, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, P. O. Box. 13185 116. Tehran, Iran.
Phrynobatrachus alticola Guibé & Lamotte, 1961 is a junior synonym of Phrynobatrachus tokba (Chabanaud, 1921)

Abstract Based on genetic similarity of topotypic material from Phrynobatrachus alticola and P. tokba, we synonymise the first with the latter. We analysed tissue samples from almost the entire distributional range of P. tokba. We report six 16S rDNA haplotypes with only little variation. Haplotypes were identical in specimens from the both type localities. In contrast, we report on differences in colour pattern, habitat choice and calling behaviour between frogs from Guinea and Mt Sangbé National Park, Ivory Coast (Guinea clade) and specimens from south‐western Ivory Coast to Ghana (Taï clade). Guinea clade specimens were always found close to water, which might speak in favour of a reproductive behaviour different to that of the Taï clade (direct development of terrestrial eggs).
SEED MASS AND SEEDLING PERFORMANCE WITHIN EIGHT SPECIES OF PSYCHOTRIA (RUBIACEAE)

Large seeds have been hypothesized to confer survival advantages in the shaded forest, and small seeds to confer growth advantages in open habitats. We explored these hypotheses using experimental studies in both field and controlled conditions. Our experiments examined intraspecific effects of seed mass on seedling demography in eight sympatric woody species of Psychotria. We compared the effects of seed mass on seedling size (biomass), maximum relative growth rate (RGR), the proportion of emerged seedlings that survived until one year of age, and the proportion of sown seeds reaching the stage of one-year-old seedlings in gaps compared with shaded rain forest habitats, as well as in contrasting greenhouse light conditions. For each species, seeds were classified into four seed mass categories and introduced to three pairs of shaded forest gap sites. In the greenhouse, emerged seedlings from different seed mass categories were grown in contrasting light environments. A positive effect of seed mass on see.
Male Strippers and the Toll of Exotic Dance

While researchers have looked at the impact stripping has for female exotic dancers, very little attention has been given to the consequences the profession has for male strippers. In this research, I draw from 22 in-depth interviews with male exotic dancers and 18 months of fieldwork at a strip club to examine the extent to which male strippers experience “the toll” of exotic dance. Specifically, I focus on dancers’ interactions with customers, their experiences with stigmas, the impact stripping has on their romantic relationships, how they negotiate boundaries with patrons, and the consequences stripping has for their self-esteem. Overall, I found that patriarchal privilege and the sexual double standard significantly mitigated the toll of the profession.
Extraction, Characterization and Application studies of red pigment of halophile Serratia marcescens KH1R KM035849 isolated from Kharaghoda soil

Red pigmented bacterial strain isolated from the so il sample of Kharaghoda area, Gujarat was used for the present study. This halophile, Gram negative ba cteria was identified as a Serratia marcescens stra in by 16s rRNA gene sequencing. This bacterium showed salt tolerance up to 12% Nacl. The gene sequence was submitted to NCBI and it is released by named S erratia marcescens KH1R KM035849. The highest extraction of this pigment was yielded in 2:1= 85% Methanol: Acetone mixture among different concentration of different solvents. The Rf value o f the extracted pigment was 0.64-0.96 in TLC method . The maximum absorption spectrum was observed at 535 nm by UV-Visible Spectroscopy. This pigment exhibited antibacterial activity against B.cerus, S . aureus and E.coli with inhibition zone 12 mm, 07 m m and 06 mm respectively. This pigment was showing an tioxidant activity confirmed by DPPH reduction method. The Serratia marcescens KH1R KM035849 strai n is also siderophore producer.
Effects of Removal of Some Photosynthetic Structures on Some Yield Components in Wheat

Present study was carried out in the experimental field of the Field Crops Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Ankara University during 1999 and 2001. Two wheat cultivars, Gerek-79 and Gun-9, were studied to investigate the impacts of the removal of some photosynthetic structures including flag leaf, second upper leaf blade and awneds, on some yield related components. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block desing of split-plot restriction with four replications. According to results obtained, removal of flag leaf resulted approximately 13, 34, 24 % reduction in grain per spike, grain weight per spike and 1000-grain weight, respectively and 2.8% increase in grain protein contents in both years. Studies indicated that significant reductions in these traits and increases in grain protein contents resulted from removal second upper leaf blade and awneds.
High importance of fish prey in the diet of Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis chicks from the southeast Bay of Biscay

The aim of the study was to describe Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis chick diet in the southeast Bay of Biscay. Sampling was carried out in three colonies (Ulía, Santa Clara, Guetaria) in Gipuzkoa, northern Iberia, during the breeding seasons of 2007 and 2008. Regurgitates (n = 70) were collected from chicks of c. 20 days old when they were ringed. Overall, 79 prey items were found, and each item was weighed and classified into one of the following prey-groups: marine (fish (Pisces), crab (Brachyura)), refuse tips (pork, beef, rabbit, chicken), terrestrial (earthworms (Lumbricinae), molluscs (Mollusca), insects (Insecta)), others (mainly vegetables or unidentified prey). The proportion of each prey-group did not differ from one year to the next and most prey was of marine origin (59.5%; all fish except for one crab), followed by refuse tips (22.8%), terrestrial (13.9%), and others (3.8%). These findings concur with those at colonies in northwest Iberia, and while local exceptions might occur, Yellow-legged Gull chick diet in northern Iberia is predominantly marine fish.
Geographic patterns of genetic variation in three genomes of North American diploid strawberries with special reference to Fragaria vesca subsp. bracteata

Geographic patterns of genetic variation in wild species reflect the interplay of ecological and evolutionary processes. We assessed genetic variation in three genomes across four North American diploid strawberry taxa, with special emphasis on the gynodioecious Fragaria vesca subsp. bracteata (A.Heller) Staudt. Specifically, we sequenced one chloroplast (rpoC2) and two mitochondrial (atp8 and atp8-orf225) genes along with several nuclear microsatellite markers. In addition, we assessed indicators of breeding system (pollen viability and female frequency) for all taxa. The geographic perspective on the distribution of cytoplasmic and nuclear variation revealed the genetic affiliation of the restricted taxa (Fragaria vesca subsp. californica (Cham. & Schltdl.) Staudt and Fragaria mexicana Schltdl. ) with the widespread F. vesca subsp. bracteata and identified a hotspot of hybridization within gynodioecious F. vesca subsp. bracteata. Higher pollen viability of hermaphrodites was found in the three hermaphrod.
Profiling

Author Profiling is one of the most important tasks in authorship analysis. In PAN 2019 shared tasks, the gender identification of the author is the main focus. Compared to the previous year the author profiling task is expended by having documents written by bots. In order to tackle this new challenge we propose a two phase approach. In the first phase we exploit the TF-IDF features of the documents to train a model that learns to detect documents generated by bots. Next, we train three models on character-level and word-level representations of the documents and aggregate their results using majority voting. Finally, we empirically show the effectiveness of our proposed approach on the PAN 2019 development dataset for author profiling.
In the Shadow of Disaster: Finding Shadows to Improve Damage Detection

Rapid damage assessment after natural disasters is crucial for effective planning of relief efforts. Satel-lites with Very High Resolution (VHR) sensors can provide a detailed aerial image of the affected area, but current damage detection systems are fully-or semi-manual which can delay the delivery of emergency care. In this paper, we apply recent advancements in segmentation and change detection to detect damage given pre-and post-disaster VHR images of an affected area. Moreover, we demonstrate that segmentation models trained for this task rely on shadows by showing that (i) shadows in-ﬂuence false positive detections by the model, and (ii) removing shadows leads to poorer performance. Through this analysis, we aim to inspire future work to improve damage detection.
Physical indices, processing yields, compositional parameters and fatty acid profile of three species of cultured sturgeon (Genus Acipenser)

Cultured Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baeri), Adriatic sturgeon (Acipenser naccarii) and white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) of market size were examined for condition factor, eviscerated and dressed yields, white flesh yield, viscera-, hepato-somatic- and gonado-somatic indices. Muscle pH, chemical composition, cholesterol content and fatty acid profile of flesh were also determined. Significant differences were noted between species in eviscerated yield and white flesh yield (lowest in A naccarii, highest in A transmontanus), viscera index and gonado-somatic index (lowest in A transmontanus), but not in dressed yield. Muscle lipid content was 77·6, 106·4 and 44·9 g kg-1 wet weight in A baeri, A naccarii and A transmontanus, respectively. Acipenser baeri had the lowest saturated and the highest polyunsaturated fatty acid content, especially of the ω-3 series (as % total fatty acid methyl esters). Given the differences that emerged under uniform feeding regimen and environmental conditions, it would be reasonable to market the three species under their proper names, rather than under the generic term of ‘sturgeon’ as is presently done in Italy. © 1997 SCI.
Comparative in vitro multiplication of some grape (Vitis vinifera) genotypes

The objective of the study was to standardize the protocol for effective and mass multiplication of four wine and juice making grape (Vitis vinifera L.) genotypes, viz. Pusa Navrang, Hybrid 76-1 (Hur Ã— Cardinal), Pearl of Csaba and Julesky Muscat. Culture initiation was undertaken on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 2.0, 4.0 mg/l benzyl amino purine (BAP) and Kinetin individually and in combination with 0.2 mg/l naphthyl acetic acid (NAA). Explant subcultured on MS medium supplemented with 2.0, 4.0 mg/l indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) singly and in combination with 200 mg/l activated charcoal (AC). The rooted plants (30-day-old) were hardened using rooting medium consisting of coco peat + vermiculite + perlite (2:1:1). Among the different growth regulators tried for highest culture establishment (73.85%), minimum day to axillary bud sprout (9.31) and rooting (16.46%), maximum root length (6.28) with 2.0 mg/l BAP + 0.2 mg/l NAA treatment. Highest culture establishment recorded in the genotype Pusa Navrang (45.34%) followed by in Julesky Muscat (44%). Multiplication rate per 5 subcultures was recorded the maximum in Pusa Navrang (5.6) followed by Pearl of Csaba (5.1), and Hybrid 76-1 (4.9). In the present investigation, the application of MS medium containing growth regulators BAP (2 mg/l) + NAA (0.2 mg/l) and IBA (2 mg/l) + AC (200 mg/l) found best for culture initiation and rapid multiplication, respectively. For hardening using glass jar with polypropylene (PP) cap was a better strategy.
Thermal dissipation, leaf rolling and inactivation of PSII reaction centres in Amomum villosum

Amomum villosum Lour. (Zingiberaceae) is an obligate shade plant. Its leaves naturally roll up upon exposure to bright sun. This paper characterizes the effects of its leaf rolling and light on photoinhibition of photosynthesis and thermal dissipation activity under field conditions with sufficient soil moisture. Between the plants from bright and shaded parts of a canopy gap, both maximum photosynthetic rate (mean ≈ 6.5 μmol m-2 s-1) and stomatal conductance (148 vs. 131 mmol m-2 s-1) were not significantly different, but apparent quantum yield (0.021 vs. 0.025) and dark respiration rate (0.49 vs. 0.30 μmol m-2 s-1) were. In the foggy morning, when the incident irradiance was low, photoinhibition had already occurred in plants in the bright part of the canopy gap and also in plants in the shaded part of the gap but to a much lesser degree. Photoinhibition accelerated with increase of incident irradiance and relaxed in the afternoon. Thermal dissipation as indicated by non-photochemical fluorescence quenching (NPQ) increased rapidly in the morning and continued at a high rate in the afternoon. Prevention of leaf rolling resulted in acceleration of photoinhibition. Artificial inhibition of the xanthophyll cycle led to acceleration of both photoinhibition and inactivation of PSII reaction centres, and decrease of NPQ. Photoinhibited leaves in either control or treatment plants recovered overnight. These results show that A. villosum is able effectively to prevent photodamage through the mechanisms of leaf rolling, thermal dissipation and reversible inactivation of PSII reaction centres.
The Population History of the Philippines: A Genetic Overview

This professorial address synthesizes the findings of several studies on the genetics of Philippine population groups and presents them in a manner accessible to nonspecialists. These studies examined different types of DNA (Y-chromosome, mitochondrial, and autosomal) samples contributed by participants in twelve regional centers and nineteen ethnolinguistic groups. The data reveal (a) genetic affinities with different groups in the Asia-Pacific region, (b) genetic signals of ancient demographic events, (c) an ancient genetic history of about 5,000–50,000 years ago, and (d) a complex population genetic structure. This genetic overview has implications for the study of human history, forensics, and medicine.