Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Influence of Androgenic Gland Implantation on the Agonistic Behavior of Female Crayfish ( Cherax Quadricarinatus ) in Interactions with Males

The effect of the androgenic gland (AG) on female agonistic behavior was studied in the Australian freshwater crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus . Interactions between large males and smaller individuals of three types - sham-operated females, females implanted with the AG and intact males - were compared. Half-hour-long pair encounters were staged in large aquaria and monitored with a video camera. Interactions between crayfish of the same or opposite gender(s) were of a clearly agonistic character, without any courtship or reproductive elements. The large males were the winners of all fights. Small males fought more often and for longer periods of time, and grasped their male opponents for longer periods of time, than sham operated females. AG-implanted females occupied an intermediate position between the two genders in their fighting behavior. In addition, AG-implanted females performed 'crawling over' (a tolerance-indicative act which is more pronounced towards the other sex) over the large males less frequently than the sham operated females did, and were also treated by these males more like males than females, with regard to this behavior. The behavioral changes in AG-implanted females followed the general trend of masculinization also evident in the morphological and physiological changes in their gonads and the appearance of male secondary sexual characters.
Genetic Diversity Between Botrytis cinerea Isolates from Unstored and Cold Stored Kiwi fruit

Ninety isolates of Botrytis cinerea collected from kiwi fruit in orchards and in cold storage were compared phenotypically and genetically. The phenotypic characters evaluated were conidia germination, germ tube length and mycelial growth at 0 � and 20 � C. At 20 � C the two populations showed slight differences but, at 0 � C, isolates from cold storage appeared to grow significantly faster than isolates from orchards. Isolates were then scored with six genetic markers with the aim of investigating population, genetic structure and the mode of reproduction. We detected no genetic differentiation between isolates from orchards and those from cold storage. This suggests that low temperature adaptation of B. cinerea isolates does not have a genetic basis. By contrast, we found great intra-population genetic diversity, observations suggesting the occurrence of genetic recombination which follows sexual reproduction or alternatively of parasexuality.
Spatial autoregressive partially linear varying coefficient models

ABSTRACT In this article, we consider a class of partially linear spatially varying coefficient autoregressive models for data distributed over complex domains. We propose approximating the varying coefficient functions via bivariate splines over triangulation to deal with the complex boundary of the spatial domain. Under some regularity conditions, the estimated constant coefficients are asymptotically normally distributed, and the estimated varying coefficients are consistent and possess the optimal convergence rate. A penalized bivariate spline estimation method with a more flexible choice of triangulation is proposed. We further develop a fast algorithm to calculate the geodesic distance. The proposed method is much more computationally efficient than the local smoothing methods, and thus capable of handling large scales of spatial data. In addition, we propose a model selection approach to identify predictors with constant and varying effects. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated by simulation examples and the Sydney real estate dataset.
Qualitative Study of the Cross-Cultural Adaptation of Macao Students in Mainland China

Education research is increasingly paying attention to students’ cross-cultural adaption in Mainland China. As a special administrative region of China, educational systems and language of instruction of Macao are different from those of Mainland China. This study analyzes the cross-cultural adaptation of Macao students in Mainland China by using qualitative semi-structured interviews. The results show that study motivation, medium of instruction, and social integration are important factors determining how Macao students adapt to university programs. Failure to adapt to the language of instruction is the most direct, prominent, and enduring problem that Macao students encounter when studying in the Mainland. The current study’s findings have practical implications for faculties who provide support and training to Macao students in Mainland China. The study discovers that strengthening the Mandarin language skills of Macao students is currently a priority.
The use of species-specific DNA probes for the identification of Mycosphaerella fijiensis and M. musicola, the causal agents of Sigatoka disease of banana

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based technique of random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was used to differentiate DNA from species of the genus Mycosphaerella. DNA from two pathogens which cause Sigatoka leafspot diseases of banana, M. fijiensis and M. musicola, and two other Mycosphaerella species which are commonly found on banana, M. musae and M. minima, gave distinct RAPD banding patterns with all PCR primers tested. PCR, using primer RC07, amplified a 1250bp RAPD fragment from all isolates of M. fijiensis obtained from 11 geographical origins. This fragment was absent from the other species of Mycosphaerella. In Southern blots of genomic DNA, this band hybridized exclusively to DNA from M. fijiensis, and the pattern of hybridization suggested that it was binding to repeated DNA. A RAPD band amplified with primer PM06 obtained from M. musicola was also found to be species-specific. Southern analysis suggested that the fragment hybridized to a single-copy sequence in the M. musicola genome. Total genomic DNA from M. musicola was found to be a species-specific hybridization probe. Dot-blots confirmed the specificity of these probes, and could be used to identify isolates of Mycosphaerella which cause Sigatoka disease of banana in south-east Asia.
Marine megavertebrates of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly: relative abundance and distribution

We document patterns of distribution and relative abundance of marine megavertebrate fauna around Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly from a combination of aerial and boat-based surveying. Between January 2006 and November 2007, 20 aerial surveys were undertaken, comprising over 40 hours of on-effort flying time. In April to October of these years, 27 effort-corrected ferry surveys were also conducted from a passenger ferry travelling between Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Opportunistic sightings were also logged by the crew members of the ferry and another vessel travelling regularly along the same route on 155 days. Ten megavertebrate species were sighted: basking sharks Cetorhinus maximus, sunfish Mola mola, common dolphins Delphinus delphis, harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena, grey seals Halichoerus grypus, Risso's dolphins Grampus griseus, bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus, minke whales Balaenoptera acutorostrata, long-finned pilot whales Globicephala melas and killer whale Orcinus orca. During aerial surveys, 206 sighting events of seven species were made, compared with 145 sighting events of eight species during ferry surveys and 293 sighting events of 10 species from opportunistic ship-board data collection efforts. Seasonal and spatial patterns in species occurrence were evident. Basking sharks were the most commonly-sighted species in the region and were relatively abundant throughout the estimated 5 km-wide strip of coastal waters covered by the aerial surveys, during spring and summer. Ferry surveys and opportunistic vessel-based sightings data confirmed that the distribution of surface-feeding aggregations of this species was largely around the coasts. Despite the limited scope of this study, it has provided valuable baseline data, and possible insights into the marine biodiversity of the region.
Future changes in Aridity Index at two and four degrees of global warming above preindustrial levels

In this study, we project the global terrestrial changes in Aridity Index (AI), as defined by the ratio of annual precipitation to potential evapotranspiration (PET), at 2 and 4°C levels of global warming above the preindustrial conditions based on the outputs from 21 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 models under the Representative Concentration Pathways 8.5 (RCP8.5) scenario. Compared to the preindustrial period, the global terrestrial annual precipitation will increase by an average of 0.02% (3%), the annual PET will increase by 6% (15%) and AI will decrease by 0.1 (0.2) at the 2°C (4°C) warming level. More remarkable decreases in the annual AI are seen in the northern high latitudes, where will also experience greater increases in PET and precipitation. In general, the seasonal changes in AI display a similar spatial pattern to the annual changes and are characterized by the greatest decrease in December–January–February and the smallest in June–July–August. The largest expansion of drylands occurs in semi‐arid regions, followed by the expansion of arid regions, with area changes of 4% (7%) and 3% (4%) under the 2°C (4°C) scenario, respectively. Further analyses indicate that the AI changes are determined by PET in the northern high latitudes, and the contribution of PET to AI increases from the 2 to 4°C warming levels. Furthermore, changes in thermodynamic factors contribute most to the PET, and at a higher level of global warming, the contribution of thermodynamic factors increases and that of dynamic factors decreases.
Temporal and spatial differences in the reproductive biology of the sea urchin Arbacia dufresnii

The reproductive cycle of Arbacia dufresnii was studied in two contrasting populations on the eastern coast of Patagonia (Nuevo Gulf and San Jorge Gulf) from January 2008 to August 2010. Sea urchins from San Jorge Gulf had larger test diameter and heavier gonads than did sea urchins from Nuevo Gulf. A. dufresnii showed an annual cycle in both populations, with gametogenesis occurring mainly in the autumn and the winter. An extended spawning period took place during the spring and the summer. Sea urchins from Nuevo Gulf had a strong seasonal pattern of reproduction, with presence of gonadal stages showing re-absortion and accumulation of reserves in nutritive cells at different seasons, whereas individuals from San Jorge Gulf had mature gametes during most of the year. Interannual variation of seawater temperature affected the gamete production and spawning duration in both populations. Higher temperatures during gametogenesis enhanced gonadal growth and gametes were released early. The major population differences found in gonadal cell composition highlight the plasticity in reproductive traits of A. dufresnii, and may be responsible for the wide distribution of A. dufresnii in different environments.
Exploring the selectivity of PI3Kα and mTOR inhibitors by 3D-QSAR, molecular dynamics simulations and MM/GBSA binding free energy decomposition

PI3Kα (phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase α) and mTOR (the mammalian target of rapamycin) have been treated as anticancer targets in recent years. Since isoform-specific inhibitors may be tolerated at doses that result in complete inhibition without generating side effects, a selectivity study is valuable. In this paper, 3D-QSAR CoMFA models on 72 selective inhibitors were established using the conformations docked to the homology models, which show satisfactory linear correlations (PI3Kα: r2 = 0.839, rpred2 = 0.743; mTOR: r2 = 0.813, rpred2 = 0.932). The results reveal that the electrostatic field in the hinge region, the steric field and electrostatic field in the solvent accessible region and the affinity subpocket have critical impacts on selectivity. To validate the 3D-QSAR models and further explore the origin of the selectivity at the amino acid residue level, molecular dynamics simulations followed by MM/GBSA binding free energy decomposition were conducted, and the result shows that R770, S773, Q859 of PI3Kα and E2190, C2243 of mTOR are the significant residues, which is in accordance with the 3D-contour maps of CoMFA. By combination of comparative analysis of binding sites, building of 3D-QSAR models and MM/GBSA binding free energy decomposition, those residues which can introduce ligand selectivity were discovered and further validated.
Contact Analysis of Thread Pairs in a Planetary Roller Screw Based on Finite Element Method

This paper investigates the contact characteristics of the thread pairs in the planetary roller screw mechanism. Firstly, the analytical model of thread contact based on Hertz contact theory is established. Secondly, the contact models of the screw and roller threads and of the roller and nut threads based on FE method are developed. The correctness of the numerical results is verified via the comparison with analytical results, the relative error between the two sets of results is less than or equal to 2%. Lastly, according to FE model, the contact state, contact positions and contact stresses of thread pairs at the screw-roller interface and at the roller-nut interface are derived.
Characteristics of Fruit (Prunus domestica L.) Skin: Structure and Antioxidant Content

Light microscopy and scanning and transmission electron microscopy were used to examine the micromorphology and structure of the fruit skin as well as the phenols and flavonoids contents were determined in the mature fruits of three Prunus domestica cultivars. The fruits varied in the structure of crystalline wax, the number of microcracks and stomata present on their surface, the content of antioxidants, and the values of various anatomical parameters. The fruits of the “President” were characterized by the highest number of desirable quality characteristics, i.e., the lowest number of microcracks and stomata, and the highest content of antioxidants.
Focusing Organizational Culture and Employees’ Citizenship Behaviour Narratives on Broadcasting Organizations in Nigeria

The study was undertaken with a view to exploring if the dimensions of organizational culture predict the citizenship’ behavior of employees in the Nigerian Broadcasting Organisations. Documented evidences have revealed that not much work have been carried out in this area to fully capture and address the real essence of the culture of an organization in relation to citizenship behavior of employees in Nigerian. For the first time in the history of the Nigerian communication industry, both private and public broadcast organizations were combined and the study was interested in analyzing how the benefits that spur from the figurative marriage between organizational culture and employees’ citizenship behavior can be adapted to the Nigerian Broadcast Organisations ’needs. The cross-sectional research design through survey method and the inferential static of multi-variate regression were employed to conduct this research at 95% confidence level. The study, heavily anchored on the social exchange theory to explain the linkage between organization culture’s dimensions and employees’ citizenship behavior’ measures, has affirmed significant positive relationship among the intervening variables which are that: “the organizational culture’ dimensions significantly predict employees’ citizenship behavior’ measures; and the dimensions of organizational culture with the exception of risk tolerance are seen to significantly predict employees’ courtesy in the Broadcast organizations”. It is concluded that to forge cohesion and secure employees’ undiluted commitment to missions and goals, management must sustain an ideal structure that integrate the needs of both the employees and those of the organization.
Semiconductor Device Modeling and Simulation for Electronic Circuit Design

This chapter covers different methods of semiconductor device modeling for electronic circuit simulation. It presents a discussion on physics-based analytical modeling approach to predict device operation at specific conditions such as applied bias (e.g., voltages and currents); environment (e.g., temperature, noise); and physical characteristics (e.g., geometry, doping levels). However, formulation of device model involves trade-off between accuracy and computational speed and for most practical operation such as for SPICE-based circuit simulator, empirical modeling approach is often preferred. Thus, this chapter also covers empirical modeling approaches to predict device operation by implementing mathematically fitted equations. In addition, it includes numerical device modeling approaches, which involve numerical device simulation using different types of commercial computer-based tools. Numerical models are used as virtual environment for device optimization under different conditions and the results can be used to validate the simulation models for other operating conditions.
Role of ontology in software testing

Abstract Software testing is a multifaceted and essential method to achieve the quality of product. Its significance has been increasing and well accepted, so there is an emergent concern in improving the attainment of this practice. In this perspective, Knowledge Management (KM) emerged as an key sustaining method for improving the software testing process. However, managing relevant testing knowledge according to the influencing factors requires an effective way to represent and to correlate to a huge number of testing aspects. To address this concern, we have analyzed an impact of ontology on software testing across influenced asects of software testing. Ontology provides a standard conceptualization of the software testing domain that can construct a knowledge base, establishing a common vocabulary for knowledge owners about the testing domain, structured testing knowledge databases, identification of testing knowledge objects, and making it easier to search for relevant information. In this paper, we present factors affecting software testing direct or indirect influenced aspects. Moreover, we discuss how ontology helps in alleviating the software testing.
Reducing the effect of parent averages from animal solutions in mixed model equations

Summary Selection of animals based on their BLUP evaluations from an animal model results in animals that are closely related which leads to increased rates of inbreeding. The tendency for higher inbreeding rates is greater at low heritability values. Several attempts have been made to reduce the impact of parent average breeding values from animals evaluations in order to reduce inbreeding while not sacrificing genetic response. A method that modifies the rules for forming the inverse of the additive genetic relationship matrix for use in best linear unbiased estimation of breeding values via an animal model was developed. This method and several others were compared analytically and empirically, from the perspective of partitioning the animal solutions into contributions from the data, from progeny, and from the parent average. The ratio of genetic progress to average level of inbreeding showed that the modified relationship matrix method was superior to the other methods. Similar results could be obtained by using artificially high heritability in a usual BLUP analysis. Zusammenfassung Die Selektion von Tieren aufgrund ihrer geschatzten BLUP-Zuchtwerte unter einem Tiermodell ergibt verwandte Tiere, was zu gesteigerten Inzuchtraten fuhrt. Einige Versuche wurden unternommen, um die Wirkung des elterlichen Zuchtwertduchschnitts auf die geschatzten Tierzuchtwerte zu reduzieren, um einerseits die Inzucht einzugrenzen, aber andererseits den Zuchtfortschritt nicht zu beeintrachtigen. Es wurde eine Methode entwickelt, welche die Regeln zur Aufstellung der additiven genetischen Verwandtschaftsmatrix im Tiermodell fur die BLUP-Zuchtwertschatzung modifiziert. Diese und einige andere Methoden wurden empirisch und analytisch verglichen. Das geschah aus der Sicht, die Losungen fur die Tiereffekte in Bezug auf den Beitrag der Eltern, der Eigenleistung und der Nachkommen aufzuteilen. Das Verhaltnis des Zuchtfortschritts zum mittleren Inzuchtniveau zeigte, dass die modifizierte Verwandtschaftsmatrix als Methode allen anderen uberlegen war. Ahnliche Ergebnisse konnten erreicht werden, wenn in einer gewohnlichen BLUP-Analyse der Heritabilitatsparameter kunstlich hochgesetzt wird.
Comparison of Proteolytic Enzyme Levels in Chicken, Pig, Lamb and Rabbit Muscle at Point of Slaughter: Role in Meat Tenderisation post mortem

In order to develop a clearer understanding of the biochemical mechanism underlying the process of meat tenderisation, a comparison was made of the levels of a comprehensive range of protein catabolising proteolytic enzymes in muscle from animal species known to differ markedly in rates of meat tenderisation, ie chicken (breast and thigh muscles), pig, lamb and rabbit (longissimus dorsi muscles). Proteolytic enzyme activities were determined at point of slaughter: (i) for the following protease types using optimized specific fluorimetric assays : alanyl-, arginyl-, leucyl-, and pyroglutamyl aminopeptidases, dipeptidyl aminopeptidases III and IV, tripeptidyl aminopeptidase, proline endopeptidase, calpain and macropain (cytoplasmic proteases); dipeptidyl aminopeptidases I and II, cathepsins B, D H and L (lysosomal proteases)); (ii) using tissue homogenate time course assays to measure rates of structural protein degradation (via analytical electrophoresis) by endogenous cytoplasmic or lysosomal proteases. Although chicken (the most rapidly tenderising) muscles contained the highest levels of activity for most proteases measured, there was no general relationship between muscle proteolytic capacity and previously published meat tenderisation rates for the other species investigated. It would therefore appear that known differences in the rate of tenderisation in different species cannot be rationalised solely in terms of species specific differences in muscle proteolytic capacity and, whilst the latter is of importance in the tenderisation process, other potential factors should be taken into consideration.
Children’s working memory develops at similar rates for sequences differing in compressibility

Determining the causes of working memory maturation is a global issue in developmental cognitive psychology. The question has most often been addressed by manipulating stimulus types within participants. In the present experiment, we instead addressed this question by examining development in children’s working memory using a single stimulus type. Primary school children aged 6 to 10 years (total N = 256) participated in a task inspired by the game Simon®. Children saw sequences of colored squares presented one-at-a-time, and then attempted to reproduce the sequences in the correct order. Some sequences were simple and contained regularities that made them compressible, while other sequences were more complex and less compressible. We found that children’s memory for both kinds of sequences improved with age. However the ratio between children’s memory for simple and complex sequences did not substantially change with age. These ﬁndings suggest that storage capacity of working memory increases in middle childhood, but that children’s ability to optimize storage by compressing sequences remains stable across this age range.