Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Feeding and Maturation by Soybean Looper (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Larvae on Soybean Affected by Weed, Fungus, and Nematode Pests

Feeding and maturation by the soybean looper, Pseudoplusia includens (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), were investigated in a 2-yr study on ÔDavisÕ soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr. , grown alone and combined with the weed hemp sesbania, Sesbania exaltata (Raf.) Rybd. ex. A. W. Hill, the root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid & White) Chitwood, and the charcoal rot fungus,Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi)Goid.Of the three pests, hemp sesbania had the greatest effects on plant growth and insect feeding and maturation. When fed foliage from soybean stressed by hemp sesbania, soybean looper larvae remained longer in feeding stages, consumed more foliage, and showed alteredweight gain comparedwith larvae fed control foliage. Results suggest that nutrient(s) critical for proper development of larvaemay have been limited inweed-stressed soybean foliage. Less dramatic results were observed when larvae fed on foliage from soybean with roots colonized by the charcoal rot fungus. Such larvae consumedmore foliage, weighedmore, and showed a slight increase in larval feeding period, but only in 1 yr of the study. Colonization of soybean roots by the root-knot nematode had no consistent effects on either the soybean host or insect.
Origin and Extent of Resistance to Fipronil in the German Cockroach, Blattella germanica (L.) (Dictyoptera: Blattellidae)

Fipronil, a phenylpyrazole insecticide, was made available in 1999 in bait formulations for use against the German cockroach, Blattella germanica (L.). We have investigated resistance to Þpronil in the descendants of cockroaches collected just before, or contemporaneously with, the introduction of Þpronil baits. Cockroaches were obtained in two types of settings: homes that either had or had not been serviced by a pest management professional while occupied by their current residents. Thorough inspections by us turned up no evidence that Þpronil had been used in any of the homes, and in addition, no residents claimed to have used baits containing Þpronil. Resistance to Þpronil was detected by topically dosing adult males with the LC99 of Þpronil, the value of which was determined in a doseÐresponse assay with males of an insecticide-susceptible strain. Fewer than 99 of 100 males of all Þeld-collected strains died within 72 h of being treated. Moreover, substantial numbers of males survived doses three and 10-fold greater than the LC99. Regression analysis showed that 67% of the variation in the percentage of males that died after being treated with Þpronil was explained by a linear relationship with the percentage that died after being treated with dieldrin. Therefore, it appears that resistance to Þpronil in German cockroachesÑwhose ancestors had never been exposed to itÑis attributable to enduring resistance to the cyclodienes, which were formerly used for cockroach control and have a similar mode of action as Þpronil. Lastly, we found that insects resistant to topically administered Þpronil were likewise resistant, and to a similar degree, to ingested Þpronil.
Sunray spring triticale

Beres, B. L. , Skovmand, B. , Randhawa, H. S. , Eudes, F. , Graf, R. J. and McLeod, J. G. 2012. Sunray spring triticale. Can. J. Plant Sci. 92: 363-367. Sunray, a spring triticale (×Triticosecale Wittmack) cultivar, is adapted to the Canadian prairies and represents an improvement in ergot resistance for Canadian triticale. Sunray is resistant to the prevalent races of leaf rust, stem rust, common bunt and common root rot and is moderately resistant to grain sprouting. Sunray is short-statured with excellent lodging resistance and grain yield; grain volume test weight and seed mass were similar to the check cultivars. Sunray matures 2 d earlier than Pronghorn and AC Certa, and similar to AC Ultima. Sunray is eligible for the grades of Canada Triticale.
An approach to measure performance of organization

Representing state of organization is the basic work, on which organizational behavior and process can be well characterized, and the measure of performance for organization is the premise for organization optimal designing and adapting. The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, a metal-matrices integrated individual state (MMIS) approach is advanced to represent state of an organization; second, a multi-phase based mission execution (MPME) approach, which is based on MMIS, is employed to measure the performance for organization to complete its mission partitioned as multi-phases.
HMM-based Trainable Speech Synthesis for Chinese

In this paper,the HMM-based trainable speech synthesis was applied for Chinese application.The appropriate HMM parameters are selected and optimized,and the contextual features and corresponding question set for tree-based HMM clustering are designed by considering the characteristics of Chinese,to improve the effect of HMM modeling and training.From the evaluation results,the preference score of the synthetic speech after the above improvement is 98.5%. Furthermore,in order to improve the rhythm of synthetic speech,a two-level based model is introduced for duration modeling and prediction,and the duration prediction RMSE was improved from 29.56ms to 27.01ms. From the evaluation results of the final system,the synthetic speech is stable,fluent and rhythmed.As the speech synthesis system only requires very small storage,it is specially fit for embedded application
The relationship between the mean, median, and mode with grouped data

ABSTRACT It is widely believed that the median is “usually” between the mean and the mode for skewed unimodal distributions. However, this inequality is not always true, especially with grouped data. Unavailability of complete raw data further necessitates the importance of evaluating this characteristic in grouped data. There is a gap in the current statistical literature on assessing mean–median–mode inequality for grouped data. The study aims to evaluate the relationship between the mean, median, and mode with unimodal grouped data; derive conditions for their inequalities; and present their application.
Usability Evaluation of Notebook Computers and Cellular Telephones Among Users with Visual and Upper Extremity Disabilities

ii Acknowledgements iii 1.0 Introduction 1 2.0 Review of Literature 5 2.1 Prevalence of Disabilities 5 2.2 Employment Statistics for Those with Disabilities 5 2.3 Causes of Disability 6 2.4 Disability Legislation 7 2.5 Universal Design 9 2.6 Usability 12 2.7 Design Guidelines 17 2.8 Notebook Computer and Cellular Telephone Research 19 3.0 Research Purpose 22 4.0 Experimental Methods Notebook Computer Study 23 4.1 Overview 23 4.2 Design 23 4.3 Participants 24 4.4 Apparatus 25 4.5 Procedure 26 4.6 Analysis of Notebook Computer Study Data 27 5.0 Results – Notebook Computer Study 29 5.1 Before and After Preferences 29 5.2 Critical Incidents 30 5.3 Questionnaire for User Interface Satisfaction 35 6.0 Discussion – Notebook Computer Study 41 6.1 Interpretation of Results 41 6.2 Universal Design Principles 50 6.3 Usability Principles 59
Casein supplementation does not affect true phosphorus digestibility and endogenous phosphorus loss associated with soybean meal for broiler chickens determined by the regression method

Liu, J. B. , Chen, D. W. and Adeola, O. 2014. Casein supplementation does not affect true phosphorus digestibility and endogenous phosphorus loss associated with soybean meal for broiler chickens determined by the regression method. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 94: 661-668. Cornstarch-based semi-purified diets impair growth performance of birds when using the regression method to estimate phosphorus (P) digestibility in assay feed ingredient. Therefore, casein is usually supplemented in the basal diet to improve dietary amino acid profile. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of dietary casein supplementation on regression-derived estimates of true phosphorus digestibility and endogenous phosphorus loss (EPL) associated with soybean meal (SBM) in broiler chickens. Four hundred thirty-two male Ross 708 broilers were allocated to nine diets in a 3×3 factorial arrangement of three diet types (with casein at moderate dietary P, without casein at moderate dietary P, or without casein at low dietary P) and three SBM levels (low, medium, or high). There were six birds per cage and eight replicate cages per diet in a randomized complete block design. The birds were fed experimental diets from day 12 to 20 post-hatching. Chromic oxide was used as an indigestible marker to calculate P digestibility and retention. The results indicated that body weight gain and feed efficiency linearly increased (P<0.01) and dry matter retention was linearly decreased (P<0.01) with the addition of SBM, regardless of diet type. The apparent prececal P digestibility and excreta P retention were increased by casein supplementation (P<0.01). The prececal and excreta P output linearly increased (P<0.01) with graded inclusion of SBM in each diet type. Regression of P output against dietary P intake showed that the type of diets (with casein at moderate dietary P, without casein at moderate dietary P, or without casein at low dietary P) had no effect on true prececal P digestibility and excreta P retention, or EPL associated with SBM for broiler chickens (P>0.05). In conclusion, the results of the current study indicate that adding casein, which is high in P digestibility, to cornstarch-based basal diets does not affect the estimation of EPL or true P digestibility and retention associated with SBM for broiler chickens using the regression method.
Effect of Propionibacterium acidipropionici P169 on growth performance and rumen metabolism of beef cattle fed a corn- and corn dried distillers' grains with solubles-based finishing diet

Narvaez, N. , Alazzeh, A. Y. , Wang, Y. and McAllister, T. A. 2014. Effect of Propionibacterium acidipropionici P169 on growth performance and rumen metabolism of beef cattle fed a cornand corn dried distillers’ grains with solubles-based finishing diet. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 94: 363 369. A growth and metabolism experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of Propionibacterium acidipropionici P169 on feedlot steers fed a cornand corn dried distillers’ grains with soluble (DDGS)based finishing diet. Steers (40 non-cannulated and 8 ruminally cannulated) were divided into two groups and administered 10 g head 1 d 1 of maltodextrin containing 1 10 colony-forming units (CFU) of P169 or the same amount of carrier (Control), top-dressed once daily upon feeding. Feed intake, growth rate and feed efficiency were determined over 115 d. For cannulated steers, ruminal pH was monitored continuously for 5 d during the second week of each month over the entire feeding period with rumen samples collected 3 h after feeding on days 1 and 5. Molar proportions of butyrate, branched-chain volatile fatty acids (VFA) and NH3-N concentration increased (PB0.01) with P169, whereas total VFA, molar proportions of propionate, the acetate:propionate ratio, and lactate concentration did not differ (P 0.05) between treatments. P169 had a limited effect on ruminal pH as duration and area under the curve both at pH 5.5 and 5.2 as well as frequency of acute ruminal acidosis bouts were similar (P 0.05) for both groups. Compared with control steers, steers fed P169 had more (PB0.05) bouts of subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA). All steers had similar (P 0.05) feed intake, growth rate, feed efficiency and carcass characteristics, except for longissiumus muscle area, being less (PB0.05) for P169 steers than controls. Supplementing P169 to beef cattle fed a cornand corn DDGS-based finishing diet had no effect on growth performance of beef cattle or ruminal pH and increased the bouts of SARA.
Involvement of abscisic acid metabolites and the oxidative status of barley genotypes in response to drought

Thameur, A. , Ferchichi, A. and López-Carbonell, M. 2014. Involvement of abscisic acid metabolites and the oxidative status of barley genotypes in response to drought. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94: 1481-1490. Endogenous concentrations of free abscisic acid (ABA), abscisic acid glucosyl ester (ABAGE), phaseic acid (PA), dihydrophaseic acid (DPA) and 7'-hydroxy ABA (7'-OH ABA) were analysed by means of a LC-MS/MS system in five genotypes of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) grown under well-watered and drought stress conditions. For this purpose a drought treatment was conducted using genotypes: ‘Ardahoui’, ‘Manel’, ‘Pakistan’, ‘Rihane’ and ‘Roho’. Our results show that free and conjugated ABA levels increased in all genotypes grown under water stress, except in Manel genotype, in which ABAGE levels were the lowest. In contrast, genotypes Ardhaoui and Roho showed the highest ABA and ABAGE levels. Nevertheless, drought Rihane plants showed the maximum ability to increase the endogenous ABA concentrations. PA, DPA and 7'-OH ABA increased also in all drought genotypes, especially in the leaves of Manel and Roho genotypes, while the highest ability to increase the endogenous PA content corresponded to genotypes Ardahoui and Pakistan. To evaluate the plant oxidative status, some antioxidant compounds were analysed. Under drought conditions, small changes in some of them were seen. Among the genotypes studied, Manel was the only one which did not show increases in malondialdehyde (MDA) and, in parallel, showed a decrease in ABAGE content. These results provide us valuable information and contribute to the knowledge of the different responses of these genotypes to drought stress.
An Analysis of Topological Control Protocols & its Issues in Wireless Sensor Network

Wireless sensor network (WSN) are increasingly considered by the scientific community as the future of environmental monitoring. The characteristics of Topology control in WSN/Wireless ad-hoc network concerns like coverage, spot – sensing, energy consumption, active/sleep node, data transmission and life time of a node (e.g., small battery, limited computation capabilities, inexpensive transceiver etc.). The topology of a multi-hop wireless ad hoc network can be viewed as a graph with an edge connecting any pair of Nodes. One of the key approaches for prolonging the sensor network operable lifetime is to deploy an effective topology control protocol. The aim of this survey paper is to analyze the topology control protocols which are being used to construct or to maintain a Centralized/Distributed wireless sensor network. In this paper, we are going to discuss about the objectives, characteristics and classification of routing protocols and the classification of topology control protocols (Centralized controlling and Distributed monitoring method) and also the challenges in topology control
FROM STARTER TO FINISH: Producing Sourdough Breads To Illustrate the Use of Industrial Microorganisms

production of pharmaceuticals, food, food additives, beverages, and chemicals is a very important aspect of microbiology. Despite its importance, students in the typical microbiology laboratory course are rarely exposed to these organisms beyond growing and observing them in pure culture. In order to familiarize our students with a typical industrial microbiology process from starting with a microorganism to ending with a useful product, a simple, cost effective laboratory exercise was developed that utilized Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis (LS), the bacterium used to make San Francisco sourdough bread.
Phenotypic Variation in Adult Behavioral Response and Offspring Fitness in Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) in Response to Permethrin

Phenotypic variation in behavioral response and physiological tolerance to permethrin was measured and compared between two populations of diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.). A Þeld population from Celeryville, OH, and a laboratory population originally collected from Wooster, OH, were compared. In laboratory choice bioassays, females from both populations were less likely to oviposit on cabbage leaf disks and seedlings treated with permethrin. The ovipositiondeterrent effect was positively related to permethrin concentration. The laboratory population was signiÞcantly more behaviorally responsive to the insecticide and showed a signiÞcantly greater avoidance than the Þeld population of the highest concentration of permethrin tested (1.50 g [AI]/liter). The physiological response of each population was measured by feeding bioassays, and the laboratory population was physiologically more susceptible to the permethrin. Larvae from the laboratory population that were fed permethrin-treated leaves had signiÞcantly lower growth rate, higher mortality, and lower adult fecundity compared with larvae from the Þeld population. These data suggest that female moths that are more behaviorally responsive to permethrin produce offspring that tend to be more susceptible to the same insecticide, at least for the populations tested. The relationship between adult behavioral response and larval physiological tolerance to permethrin is discussed.
LARVAL DEVELOPMENT OF PARAPAGURODES CONSTANS (DECAPODA: ANOMURA: PAGURIDAE) REARED IN THE LABORATORY

Abstract The complete larval development of Parapagurodes constans is described, based on laboratory rearing. The species has four zoeal stages plus the megalopa. Each stage is described and illustrated, and detailed comparisons are made with other pagurid larvae in closely related species of Parapagurodes and other pagurid genera.
In-Situ Domestic Load Harmonic Detection and Reduction Based on GLRM Algorithm for Optimum Filter Excerpt

Power Quality measures the reliable operation between the system and to the connected loads of same system. A poor power quality causes physical damage to the equipment and also results in lower productivity with increase in energy costs. Power disturbances range from micro seconds to hours and the prolonged disturbances in hours would damage the equipments. The power quality decreases due to growth of nonlinear loads in domestic appliances, such as home Uninterrupted Power Supplies (UPS), Induction stove, Television etc. Nowadays Domestic loads are controlled or powered with power electronic devices. The power electronic devices with Direct Current (DC) components generate high frequency signal for DC-Alternating Current (AC) conversion. The conversion introduces multiple frequencies in the AC power supply. The multiple frequencies in AC power supply are called as harmonics. The harmonics in AC supply affects the lifetime of home appliances, consumes more electric current, affects the power factor, transformer efficiency, and other electricity supply systems. Till now, to avoid harmonics, the filters are erected only in industrial loads or in the substations. In this paper a novel method to detect and control harmonics in domestic appliances is proposed. Harmonic control with various filters in the filter bank, based on detection of harmonic voltage let out from the domestic appliances for power saving. To select the appropriate filter to improve power quality, we apply a novel Genetic Algorithm based Linear Regression Method (GLRM) algorithm for optimum Filter Selection. From the results we were able to reduce the total harmonic distortion level to 3.68%. The current consumption of each household appliance is reduced considerably and finally the electricity bill is reduced to 15% and overall system efficiency improves to 85%.
Pheromone-Based Mating Disruption of Planococcus ficus (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in California Vineyards

Abstract Experiments were conducted to test a mating disruption program for the mealybug Planococcus ficus (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in California vineyards. The sprayable, microencapsulated formulation of the racemic sex pheromone lavandulyl senecioate was applied with an air-blast sprayer, using three and four applications in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Mating disruption was combined with an application of buprofezin (2004) in June. Compared with a no-pheromone control, there were significantly lower season-long trap catches of adult males, season-long mealybug densities (2003 only), and crop damage in mating disruption plots. The amount of mealybug reduction and mechanisms that resulted in lower crop damage in mating disruption plots is discussed. In samples taken during the growing season (April to September), mealybug density was only 12.0 ± 15.6 and 31.1 ± 11.6% lower in the mating disruption plots than in control plots in 2003 and 2004, respectively. In the mating disruption treatment, mealybug egg production was significantly lower (2003 only), as were the proportion of ovisacs and crawlers produced. There was no treatment impact on percentage of parasitism. Mealybug density influenced treatment impact. In 2004, vines were categorized as having low, medium, or high mealybug densities during a preapplication survey. After treatment application, mealybug density was reduced by 86.3 ± 6.3% on vines in the low mealybug density category, but it was unchanged on vines in the high density category. Another factor that reduced treatment impact was the relatively short effective lifetime of the sprayable formulation.
OSMOREGULATION AND EVOLUTIONARY PATTERNS IN COASTAL TERRESTRIAL AMPHIPODS (TALITRIDAE)

Abstract The osmoregulatory responses and survival of 3 species of landhoppers (Austrotroides maritimus, Keratroides rex, and Tasmanorchestia annulata) confined to the coastal zone of western Tasmania and 2 species from inland forests (Mysticotalitrus tasmaniae and M. cryptus) are described over a range of external concentrations, from tap water to full strength sea water (approximately 1,000 mOsm·kg−1). Austrotroides maritimus and K. rex showed a hyper-iso-osmotic osmoregulatory pattern (maintaining the hemolymph between 362–1,080 mOsm·kg−1 and 412–1,045 mOsm·kg−1, respectively, over a concentration range of 40–1,045 mOsm·kg−1), whereas T. annulata showed a trend toward a hyper-hypo-osmoregulatory pattern (maintaining the hemolymph between 423–948 mOsm·kg−1 over the same concentration range). Mysticotalitrus tasmaniae and M. cryptus, the inland species, also showed a hyper-iso-osmotic regulatory pattern. Among the coastal species, there were significant interspecies differences in hemolymph osmotic concentration at dilute external concentrations and at the most concentrated external concentration examined. Tasmanorchestia annulata showed 100% survival over the full range of salinities examined, A. maritimus showed increased mortality on more dilute media, and K. rex showed increased mortality on more concentrated media. Silver-staining studies did not reveal evidence for the existence of extrabranchial sites of ion exchange in the 3 species. The data support the hypothesis that, of these coastal landhoppers, A. maritimus, at least, is physiologically limited to the coastal habitat by a dependence on the supply of ions from sea spray.
Short Communication: Haskap (Lonicera caerulea): A new berry crop with high antioxidant capacity

Rupasinghe, H. P. V. , Yu, L. J., Bhullar, K. S. and Bors, B. 2012. Short Communication: Haskap (Lonicera caerulea): A new berry crop with high antioxidant capacity. Can. J. Plant Sci. 92: 1311-1317. This study evaluated the antioxidant capacity and total phenolic content as well as total flavonoid content of three haskap (Lonicera caerulea) cultivars, Borealis, Indigo Gem and Tundra, grown in Saskatchewan in comparison with six other commercial fruits using ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay, the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay, the aluminum chloride colorimetric method and the Folin-Ciocalteu method, respectively. The results indicate that haskap berries, especially cv. Borealis possessed the highest antioxidant capacities and total phenolic contents, specifically total flavonoid among tested fruits, and could be used as a promising fruit source of natural antioxidants. The nutritional values of the fruits were also assessed using proximate analysis. Strawberry possessed the highest amount of most minerals and nutrients, whereas the nutritional values for the three haskap cultivars were average.