Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The fishes collected by G. A. Fischer in East Africa in 1883 and 1885/86

At the end of the 19th century G. A. Fischer collected fishes in East Africa, more precisely in the modern countries Tanzania and Kenya. These fishes were the first specimens known to ichthyologists from some parts of these countries (e.g. from Lake Natron, Lake Victoria drainages). In this context the type localities and the status of Fischer's material are of special importance. Although modern ichthyologists working on East African fishes have been of the opinion that those localities are unknown this is not the case and the itineraries of Fischer are well-documented. In this paper the types of Fischer's collections are redescribed and discussed, especially the Lake Victoria haplochromines, most of which were considered as lost. Two of these, Chromis nuchisquamulatus Hilgendorf, 1888 and Ctenochromis sauvagei Pfeffer, 1896, do not represent the biological species as previously believed, and two genera (Xystichromis and Ptyochromis) based by Greenwood (1980) on these taxa, are therefore of doubtful status. The taxonomic or biological species previously mistaken for Ctenochromis sauvagei Pfeffer, 1896, the nominal type of which was also collected by Fischer, is described as Haplochromis (Ptyochromis) fischeri spec. nov. The holotype of Ctenochromis sauvagei in fact corresponds to a species known as H. spec. “rockkribensis”. Because Ctenochromis sauvagei is the type species of Ptyochromis Greenwood, 1980 and because the holotype of this nominal species is different from the taxonomic species and actually belongs to Paralabidochromis Greenwood, 1956, according to article 70.3. 2 of I.C. Z.N. the biological species H. (Ptyochromis) fischeri was chosen from the two species in question and designated the type species for the genus group Ptyochromis Greenwood, 1980, in order to retain the genus group Ptyochromis unchanged. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Relative Importance of Endogenous and Exogenous Mechanisms in Maintaining Phytoplankton Species Diversity

Abstract: The competitive exclusion principle poses the pressing question of how biodiversity is maintained in nature. Many mechanisms have been proposed to explain diversity and to resolve what has become known as the “paradox of the plankton”. We propose a dichotomy among these mechanisms in order to enable empiricists to begin testing their relative importance. Specifically, the mechanisms can be categorized as being internally generated or as depending on forces external to the competitive community. Here we tested whether the internal competitive dynamics of a phytoplankton assemblage or externally generated resource variability (a disturbance) were more effective at maintaining species diversity over time. We also tested whether the species composition of assemblages was important in determining the persistence of species diversity. We employed controlled microcosm experiments in which we either imposed exogenous variability in nutrient availability via serial dilution or allowed the communities to remain completely undisturbed. We found that species diversity was maintained most effectively in undisturbed microcosms in which only internal dynamics regulated coexistence. We also found that the community composition of the assemblage significantly interacted with the disturbance regime in determining species diversity. This confirmed the importance of internal dynamics and community composition in maintaining species diversity.
Plant Flavonoids, Especially Tea Flavonols, Are Powerful Antioxidants Using an in Vitro Oxidation Model for Heart Disease

Flavonoids, commonly occurring antioxidants in foods, have been compared in a dose-response manner with vitamins C and E and beta-carotene and found to be powerful antioxidants using an in vitro lipoprotein oxidation model. This model simulates the oxidation of low-density lipoproteins, which results in atherosclerosis. Of the flavonoids and flavonoid-related compounds, flavonols found in tea are the most powerful natural antioxidants. These results provide a mechanism for the beneficial epidemiological effect of dietary flavonoids on heart disease.
The Metabolism of [14C-Methyl]Dichlorvos in the Rat and the Mouse

1. [14C-Methyl]-labelled dichlorvos (2,2-dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate) was administered orally to rats and mice.2. Excretion of radioactivity was rapid and similar in both species. The major routes of excretion of radioactivity were the urine (58.8–64.6%) and expired carbon dioxide (14.4–18.5%). 3. Dimethyl phosphate was the major metabolite in both species, indicating that hydrolysis was an important mechanism of detoxication.4. Demethylation also represented an important route of detoxication. The presence of S-methylcysteine, S-methylcysteine S-oxide and methyl mercapturic acid as minor urinary metabolites indicated that glutathione alkyl transferase action was responsible for at least part of the dealkylation. Hydrolysis and dealkylation may be equally important in the detoxication of dichlorvos.
Application of indica–japonica single-nucleotide polymorphism markers for diversity analysis of Oryza AA genome species

High-throughput genotyping using single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) is one tool that can be used to study the genetic relationships between wild rice relatives and cultivated rice. In this study, a set of 96 indica–japonica SNP markers, which can differentiate indica and japonica subspecies of rice, were used to characterize 227 Oryza accessions including 93 AA genome accessions from seven wild Oryza species. A total of 72 markers of the 96 markers were selected for the phylogenetic study and allele polymorphism survey. A subset of SNP markers were present only in Oryza sativa and evolutionarily close species, Oryza nivara and Oryza rufipogon. These markers can be used for distinguishing cultivated rice from the other species and vice versa. Eight clusters were generated through phylogenetic analysis, and Oryza meridionalis and Oryza longistaminata appeared to be the most distantly related species to cultivated rice. In this study, Oryza barthii and Oryza glaberrima accessions were found to exhibit high genetic similarity. Across the wild species, more indica-type alleles were detected for most accessions. In this study, a set of markers selected to be informative across O. sativa accessions were used, but it will be interesting to compare the results of this study with SNP data obtained through next-generation sequencing in the future.
A Collision-Free Hybrid MAC Protocol Based on Pipeline Parallel Transmission for Distributed Multi-Channel Underwater Acoustic Networks

The transmission rate between two nodes is usually very low in underwater acoustic networks due to the low available bandwidth of underwater acoustic channels. Therefore, increasing the transmission parallelism among network nodes is one of the most effective ways to improve the performance of underwater acoustic networks. In this paper, we propose a new collision-free hybrid medium access control (MAC) protocol for distributed multi-channel underwater acoustic networks. In the proposed protocol, handshaking and data transmission are implemented as a pipeline on multiple acoustic channels. Handshaking is implemented using the time division multiple access (TDMA) technique in a dedicated control channel, which can support multiple successful handshakes in a transmission cycle and avoid collision in the cost of additional delay. Data packets are transmitted in one or multiple data channels, where an algorithm for optimizing the transmission schedule according to the inter-nodal propagation delays is proposed to achieve collision-free parallel data transmission. Replication computation technique, which is usually used in parallel computation to reduce the requirement of communication or execution time, is used in the data packet scheduling to reduce communication overhead in distributed environments. Simulation results show that the proposed protocol outperforms the slotted floor acquisition multiple access (SFAMA), reverse opportunistic packet appending (ROPA), and distributed scheduling based concurrent transmission (DSCT) protocols in throughput, packet delivery rate, and average energy consumption in the price of larger end-to-end delay introduced by TDMA based handshaking.
From Pan-Africanism to African regionalism: A chronicle

ABSTRACT Classical African regionalism, as rooted in pan-Africanism, is a strategy for decolonisation, anti-colonial and neo-colonial struggles, and continental unity. Modern African regionalism is a means to achieving continental unity, collective self-reliance and economic transformation as well as to creating an agenda for solving African developmental challenges. The main objective of this paper, therefore, is to examine the historical evolution of pan-Africanism and regionalism in Africa from colonial to post-colonial era in order to trace the interface between them. The paper assesses the extent to which regional integration in Africa has been able to achieve its stated objectives and targets over the years. It also investigates the various obstacles, constraints and challenges that militate against the accomplishment of its objectives, opportunities and prospects. It then interrogates the narratives of the Western neoliberal theories of integration or approaches to African integration. Subsequently the paper suggests that there is a need to deconstruct them in the search for paradigm shift in African integration. It contends that there is also a need to evolve a new theoretical approach to African integration anchored on neo-neo-integrationism of post-neo-functionalism or post-modern integrationism of post-neo-nationalism.
Structuring mechanisms of yellow perch (Perca flavescens) parasite communities: host age, diet, and local factors

Seventeen parasite species were recovered from perch in four small Canadian Shield lakes with different fish species compositions. Parasite species such as Urocleidus adspectus Muller, 1936, Bunodera sacculata Van Cleave and Muller, 1932, and Proteocephalus pearsei La Rue, 1919 are phylogenetically associated with perch and (or) percids; others, such as Crepidostomum cooperi Hopkins, 1931, Spinitectus gracilis Ward and Magath, 1917, and Echinorhyn- chus salmonis Muller, 1784, are related to dietary sharing; and larval species such as Apophallus brevis Ransom, 1920 and Raphidascaris acus (Bloch, 1779) are phylogenetically tied to perch but also to bird and fish definitive hosts. Vari- able patterns of dominance were dependent on trophic level and other host species in the system. As matrix fill in- creased with host age, the dependence of the parasite component communities on the given infracommunities decreased, confirming that predictable component communities depend on repetitive infracommunities. Shifts in dietary preference with age and (or) size and dietary sharing among host species were important in producing repetitive infracommunities. Host diet and age contributed significantly to the rate of parasite species accumulation. Parasite com- position at the infracommunity scale changes with local community structure across the watershed and regardless of lake connectivity. The presence of ecologically derived parasite species is strongly influenced by local factors.
ANTIGEN-SPECIFIC CELLS IN MOUSE BONE MARROW

Graded numbers of marrow cells and 5 x 107 thymocytes were mixed in vitro and transplanted into X-irradiated (C3H x C57BL/10)F1 mice. Upon injection of sheep or chicken erythrocytes, splenic plaque-forming cells secreting IgM (direct PFC) or IgG (indirect PFC) hemolytic antibody were enumerated at the time of peak responses. Anti-sheep and anti-chicken primary PFC responses elicited by nonimmune marrow cells differed sharply from each other under the conditions of limiting dilution assays. The frequencies of anti-chicken responses in recipients of different numbers of marrow cells conformed to the predictions of the Poisson model, while the frequencies of anti-sheep responses did not. Hence, the function of certain marrow-derived cells was expressed differentially during the two immune responses, to exclude that the same precursor units generated anti-sheep or anti-chicken PFC. The former precursor cells or units were functionally more heterogeneous than the latter. Immunization of marrow donors against sheep erythrocytes did not alter the population of cells engaged in anti-chicken responses, since limiting dilution assays with immune and nonimmune marrow cells gave identical results. However, anti-sheep immunization altered specifically the cell population engaged in anti-sheep responses, in two ways: (a) potentially immunocompetent marrow cells underwent antigen-dependent differentiation or maturation, to become functionally homogeneous. Consequently, the frequencies of PFC responses in limiting dilution assays conformed to the Poisson model; the changes occurred independently in class-restricted precursors of direct and indirect PFC. (b) marrow cells capable of inhibiting precursors of direct anti-sheep PFC arose in primed mice. The inhibition, which was specific, could have been effected directly by marrow cells or by a diffusable product such as IgG antibody. Results indicated that potentially immunocompetent cells of mouse marrow with distinct functions were antigen specific and antigen sensitive.
Evidence that mass trapping suppresses pink bollworm populations in cotton fields

Mass trapping was used to control pink bollworm (PBW), Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), populations in cotton fields in Brazil. Oil traps containing lures with a high dose of pheromone, installed at a density of 20 traps per ha soon after the occurrence of the first cotton fruits (or bolls), suppressed PBW populations below detection levels using Delta traps and manual examination of 100 green cotton bolls per ha. Pheromone sources of 0.2 g (approximately 150 NoMate® fibers) were effective in attracting PBW male moths to oil traps for at least three weeks. Trap captures showed that PBW males located the high concentration pheromone plumes, oriented upwind, and landed on or inside the traps. The long life of the pheromone sources and the long lasting viscosity of the oil surface ensured low trap maintenance, thus rendering mass trapping viable as an alternative technique for the control of P. gossypiella populations in commercial cotton fields. We discuss probable mechanisms promoting suppression of PBW populations in fields with mass trapping control.
Technical note: Estimating light-use efficiency of benthic habitats using underwater O2 eddy covariance

Abstract. Light-use efficiency defines the ability of primary producers to convert sunlight energy to primary production and is computed as the ratio between the gross primary production and the intercepted photosynthetic active radiation. While this measure has been applied broadly within terrestrial ecology to investigate habitat resource-use efficiency, it remains underused within the aquatic realm. This report provides a conceptual framework to compute hourly and daily light-use efficiency using underwater O2 eddy covariance, a recent technological development that produces habitat-scale rates of primary production under unaltered in situ conditions. The analysis, tested on two benthic flux datasets, documents that hourly light-use efficiency may approach the theoretical limit of 0.125 O2 per photon under low-light conditions, but it decreases rapidly towards the middle of the day and is typically 10-fold lower on a 24 h basis. Overall, light-use efficiency provides a useful measure of habitat functioning and facilitates site comparison in time and space.
Frost resistance of the New Zealand narrow‐leaved snow tussock grass, Chionochloa rigida

Abstract The frost resistance of tillers of Chionochloa rigida was measured at various dates and locations from late winter (August 2004) to early summer (December 2004). Frost resistance changed in accord with season, geographic location, and position on the tiller and was strongly related to estimated minimum temperatures at the date and site of collection. Foliar frost resistance was –21°C in late winter and ‐10°C in summer; leaf sheaths and bases were less frost resistance than laminas. The strong dependence on temperature suggests that the frost resistance of C. rigida would adjust to prevailing temperatures during a period of global warming, although it might render C. rigida more susceptible to episodic frosts. On a global scale, C. rigida is less frost resistant than many temperate pasture grasses and cereals and shows some affinity with tropical alpine vegetation.
Detection and visualization of oil spill using thermal images

During the past two decades, Oil Spill Detection (OSD) received widespread attention from research communities. Both detection and analysis of OSD have fundamental importance for improving the efficiency of maritime environment ecosystems. Most recently, thermal imaging devices are used for oil detection and disaster management projects since they can provide spilling information at Day/Night time and can work under adverse weather conditions. Nevertheless, the quality of these images are poor, they are noisy, blurry, and they have low resolution. As well as a thermal image contrast between oil and water is often so small, that makes OSD problematic and challenging. The goal of this paper is to automatically detect and analyze the OSD on the upper sea/ocean layer that may help in the visualization of oil spills for disaster management purpose. For the purposes of comparison, quantitative and qualitative analysis was conducted on the existing segmentation approaches, namely OTSU, and Sauvola by using two new databases composed each of 100 diversified images extracted from 2 different videos. The performance of the proposed also evaluated by examining statistical measures of boundary error (BE), probabilistic rand index (PRI), variation of information (VI), global consistency error (GCE), and structural similarity index (SSI). The obtained results proved that the proposed method is more robust, accurate, and straightforward. Future research recommendations and conclusions are presented.
Gender Features of the Prevalence, Development and Progression of Left Ventricle Hypertrophy in Chronic Kidney Disease

Aim of the Study: To study the features of the prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy in chronic kidney disease, taking into account gender differences. Materials and Methods: This were an instant study. We examined 945 patients (360 female and 585 male) with chronic kidney disease (CKD) from the 1st to the 5th stage of the disease. The average age of the patients was 39.0±13.0 years. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was calculated using the CKD-EPI formula. Results: In patients with female CKD, a significant decrease in hemoglobin, erythrocyte count, and eGFR was detected compared with males, while the incidence of hyperuricemia was significantly higher. Daily proteinuria was significantly higher in men compared with women. The prevalence of LVH was significantly higher in females compared with men (49.4% versus 35.7%; p<0.05). In women and men, the eccentric type prevailed in the structure of LVH. The number of patients with an eccentric type of LVH was significantly higher in the subgroup of females (p<0.05), and with concentric remodeling of the LV were significantly higher in males (p<0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of LVH among the examined individuals with CKD was 40.9%. Among women, the most common type of LVH was the eccentric type of remodeling (79.2%), and among men, the concentric type of LVH was 39.7% of cases.
Liveweight gain, food intake, and eating rate in Brahman, Africander, and Shorthorn X Hereford cattle

Food intake, liveweight gain, and eating rate were measured over 3 years on nine Brahman, nine Africander, and nine Shorthorn x Hereford male cattle offered lucerne hay ad libitum for 53–76 days. When intakes were adjusted for differences in liveweight, the Brahmans ate significantly less feed than the Africanders and Shorthorn x Herefords. Gain was correlated with intake but not with liveweight. When gains were adjusted for differences in intakes the Brahmans gained significantly more than Africanders or Shorthorn x Herefords. The greater gain of the Brahmans is apparently related to a lower maintenance requirement. The eating rate of animals was highly repeatable, and significantly correlated withvoluntary food intake (r = 0.61, P < 0.01) and liveweight gain (r = 0.63, P < 0.01)
How do Environmental, Social and Governance Initiatives Affect Innovative Performance for Corporate Sustainability?

Corporate sustainability has been a long-established topic in the corporate operating process. Much research focuses on the internal relationships among environmental, social and economic dimensions of corporate sustainability, yet few studies have examined the topic from the perspective of environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives and innovative performance. Using insights from stakeholder theory, this study develops theoretical linkages between corporate ESG initiatives and innovative performance. It further considers whether these relationships still exist under different institutional development settings. Based on the samples of 433 observations which are listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, in China, from 2007 to 2017, empirical results using the method of hierarchical regression analysis have confirmed that corporate environmental initiatives, social initiatives and governance initiatives have direct positive impacts on innovative performance. Furthermore, in examining the interactive effect of individual dimensions of ESG initiatives, the results reveal that corporate governance initiatives play a moderating role in the relationship between environmental initiatives and innovative performance and in the relationship between social initiatives and innovative performance. Finally, the empirical analyses also show that institutional development influences the effectiveness of corporate governance initiatives. This research contributes to extending the prior literature and providing several recommendations for firms to achieve corporate sustainability.
Linkage between the Centromere and a Gene Producing Nucleocytoplasmic Compatibility in Durum Wheat

Species cytoplasm specific (scs) genes on chromosome 1A (1A scs ) derived from Triticum timopheevii Zhuk. and chromosome 1D (1D scs ) derived from common wheat improve compatibility between the durum wheat (T. turgidum L. var. durum) nucleus and Aegilops longissima S. & M. (lo) cytoplasm. The (lo) scs durum lines thus produced are male sterile and when crossed with durum produce viable plump seeds carrying scs and inviable shriveled seeds without scs. Objectives of the present study were to determine centromere-scs linkage distances and viability and transmission of female gametes carrying one or both scs genes. The (lo) scs durum heterozygous for 1A/1A scs was crossed with the Langdon (LDN) durum disomic substitution line 1D scs (1A) in which the 1A chromosome pair is substituted by a 1D scs pair. Two types of 1A + 1D double monosomic F 1 s were recovered, (lo) durum 13 + 1'1A scs + 1'1D scs , and (lo) durum 13 + 1'1A + 1'1D scs , which were confirmed in progeny tests with normal durum. For centromere mapping, these lines were crossed with LDN double ditelosomic 1A (LDN dDt 1A; 2n = 30; 13 + t1AS + t1AL) and progeny examined for meiotic chromosome constitution. No telecentric t1AL scs arising from recombination with 1A scs was detected, indicating that scs is tightly linked to the centromere on chromosome 1A. To determine the transmission of female gametes carrying one or both scs genes, (lo) durum 13 + 1'1A scs + 1'1D scs was crossed with LDN dDt 1A and control durum. The functional female gametes carried one or both scs genes. Crosses of (lo) durum 13 + 1'1A + 1'1D scs to LDN dDt 1A produced several plants with a T1AL.1DL translocation chromosome. The formation of this chromosome was coupled with strong selection for the scs gene on 1DL.