Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Parasitic functional response of Aenasius bambawalei Hayat (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) to Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae).

In order to evaluate the control effects of Aenasius bambawalei Hayat on the 3rd instar nymphs and female adults of Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley, the parasitic functional response of A. bambawalei to P. solenopsis, and the density effect of A. bambawalei were determined under the laboratory conditions of 25±1℃, RH 70% ±5% and 14L∶ 10D. The results showed that the response of A. bambawalei fitted Holling type Ⅱ model and was affected by the densities of host and parasitoid. When the densities of the 3rd instar nymphs and female adults of P. solenopsis were higher than 15 and 10 individuals per container, respectively, the increase rate of parasitism by A. bambawalei began to decrease. Taking the ration of instant attack rate to parasitizing time (α/Th) as an evaluation index, the parasitizing efficiency was 21.1307 for the 3rd instar nymphs, which was higher than that for female adults (6.2506). Additionally, there was a stronger intraspecific interference in the parasitic functional response of A. bambawalei. The number of parasitized hosts decreased with the increasing density of A. bambawalei. The relationship between searching efficiency (E) and density (P) of A. bambawalei could be well simulated with the model E=0.2931P-0.6240 for the 3rd instar nymphs, and with the model E=0.0944P-0.4840 for female adults. This study provides essential data and methods for the research and application of A. bambawalei for biological control of P. solenopsis.
Synoptic maps in three wavelengths of the Chromospheric Telescope

Abstract he Chromospheric Telescope (ChroTel) observes the entire solar disk since 2011 in three different chromospheric wavelengths: Hα, Ca ii K, and He i. The instrument records full-disk images of the Sun every three minutes in these different spectral ranges. The ChroTel observations cover the rising and decaying phase of solar cycle 24. We started analyzing the ChroTel time-series and created synoptic maps of the entire observational period in all three wavelength bands. The maps will be used to analyze the poleward migration of quiet-Sun filaments in solar cycle 24.
Phylogeny of PolA1 Gene Consistent with the Relationships of U's Triangle in Brassica

The Brassica genus comprises various important species, of which three diploid species, B. rapa (A genome), B. nigra (B), and B. oleracea (C), yielded three different pair-wise amphidiploids: B. juncea (AB), B. napus (AC), and B. carinata (BC), showing the “triangle of U”. Although DNA sequences of many genes have been analyzed to reveal the relationships between A, B, and C genomes, the phylogeny of any single-copy nuclear gene has not supported the entire relationships of U’s triangle. Most nuclear genomic sequences of plants have genetically recombined between alleles in inter-specific hybrids, while we recently found that intron 19 and nucleotide tag (Ntag) sequences of the single-copy nuclear PolA1 gene, encoding RNA polymerase I’s largest subunit, had rarely recombined during the introgressive hybridizations in Aegilops speltoides. Because phylogenetic analysis including recombined sequences cannot reveal the phylogeny before the recombination occurred, only analysis of non-recombinational DNA sequences can resolve the true evolutionary route. In this study, the phylogenetic relationships of the PolA1 gene in the six Brassica species were clearly consistent with U’s triangle. In addition, two groups of B. napus were shown divergently to have originated from the amphidiploidization between B. oleracea and two progenitors of B. rapa.
Long-term Investment Management with Minimax Regret: A Template for Pension Funds?

A method of pension portfolio management with Minimax Regret with respect to the best hindsight constant-mix portfolio is presented. This is achieved via a BHCM derivative contract, where several approaches for pricing such a derivative are exhibited. A set of Empirical comparisons with more traditional approaches using data from Germany is presented. For the data examined, the resulting comparison demonstrates a clear superiority of the Minimax-based approach over the traditional from the point of view of both long-term cumulative performance and risk profile as measured chiefly by Drawdown.
Experimental study of the effect of polymer fiber based on epoxy resin on compressive and flexural strength parameters

In this study, effective parameters on polymer concrete (PC) based on epoxy resin such as filler, hardener and solvent are investigated. Rice husk and broom stem ashes as fillers with mixture of 50-50% Acetone-Toluene as solvent in preparation of PC samples were used. According to experimental results, addition of fillers improved compressive, flexural and chemical strengths of the PC samples. In the sample with 18.4% polymer, additional of rice husk ash with ratio of filler-aggregate 0.075, compressive strength improved by 21%. For the sample with broom stem ash ratio of filler-aggregate 0.09, the flexural strength was improved by 27%. In addition, experimental data proved that addition of optimum amount of solvent improved the performance and enhanced the compressive and flexural strengths. But excess amount of solvent may reduce the adhesiveness of the polymer therefore it may have negative impact on PC. The combination of hardener-resin may influence on the strength of PC. Amine type of hardener with low equivalent weight improved 27 and 13% on compressive and flexural strengths. Also elasticity module was increased in compare with the samples having high equivalent weight of amine type hardener.
Investigating the relationships between life satisfaction and leisure satisfaction on individuals interested in outdoor recreation: sample of parks in London

The main purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between life satisfaction and leisure satisfaction of individuals participating leisureactivities within outdoor recreation.A total of 500 individuals, (females n = 298 and males n = 202) aged 12 to 65 participated in this study, who were interested in outdoor recreation in parks in London, England. The research sample was randomly selected. These participants were individuals that participated outdoor recreation and leisure activities as a volunteer.Within the scope of the survey study, two different scales were used. At the same time,demographic variables of participants were questioned. The questionnaire form consisted of the following two scales; “The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)” developed by Diener et al. (1985) adapted to Turkish by Köker and Yetim (1991), and “Leisure Satisfaction Scale (LSS)” developed by Beard &Ragheb (1980) adapted to Turkish by Gökçe (2008). For an initial statistical representation of the data, descriptive and frequency analyses were performed. Pearson correlation coefficients were utilized to determine and interpret the existence and degree of correlations between scale mean scores. According to the findings of the study, a significantly moderate level of correlation was observed between participants’ level of life satisfaction and leisure satisfaction (r: ,36; p< .05). The results of the study show that individuals participating in outdoor recreation (parks) have a high level of life satisfaction and quality of life which in return provides positive psychological and physiological gains. In addition, individuals participating in outdoor recreation with a high level of leisure satisfaction are also expected to have a high level of life satisfaction. Thus, local authorities are suggested to pay special attention and focus on recreational activities and management of recreational areas such as parks.
Metagenomics in Polluted Aquatic Environments

Metagenomics is defined as the culture-independent genomic analysis of biological assemblages providing access to the whole set of genes and genomes from a sample. It encompasses a variety of techniques that are based on (i) total DNA extraction from samples followed by PCR amplification of specific genes, (ii) library construction or amplification and sequencing of the whole genetic material. These methodologies have successfully been applied in studies of composition, dynamics, and functions of microbial communities in a variety of ecosystems including those subjected to anthropogenic modifications (Gilbert & Dupont, 2011). Culture independent methods allow the analysis of a set of metabolic genes from microbial communities, which can be used to determine how environmental conditions such as pollution can shape community composition and the diversity of genes associated with biogeochemical cycles such as those of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus (Singh et al., 2009). This approach is also useful for the discovery of novel environmental microorganisms and genes, with important applications for biotechnology, medicine, and bioremediation (Cardoso et al., 2011). This applicability has resulted in a recent sharp increase in studies focusing in the metagenomic analysis of polluted sites. Their aim is to characterize microbial communities from a diverse set of environments such as freshwater, marine sediments, open ocean, pelagic ecosystems, soil, and host-associated communities. An example of these initiatives is the Global Ocean Sampling Expedition (GOS), which assessed the genetic diversity of marine microbial communities around the Earth. Since 2003, an enormous amount of data has been generated by GOS helping scientists to reveal the microbial diversity and also allowing them to better understand microbial phylogeny and ecology (Gilbert & Dupont, 2011).
Indigenous Microbial Communities in Oil Fields

Oil reservoirs constitute deep geological environments with diverse physicochemical in situ conditions where indigenous microbial communities are supposed to grow or survive, if these conditions are not too drastic for life (e.g., extreme temperatures or salinity). Nevertheless, although the existence of indigenous populations in oil fields has been widely admitted, direct proofs of their existence are scarce in the literature. This chapter discusses about the main reasons of this lack of information, together with the data in favor of the existence of indigenous bacterial communities in oil fields. The term indigenous is used in its narrowest sense, i.e., to designate those bacteria that are not supposed to have been introduced into the environment during reservoir development. In oil reservoirs where the metabolic activity may be controlled by the supply of limiting nutrients and electron acceptors, the high metabolic rates required to repair the rapidly degrading cell components are unlikely to be sustainable. Altogether, these considerations indicate that heterotrophic life ceases at approximately 80°C in petroleum reservoirs.
In Vitro Micropropagation of Eucalyptus sideroxylon

Nodes from field-grown coppice regrowth and mature trees of Eucalyptus sideroxylon were cultured on a modified Murashige and Skoog medium containing BAP and NAA. BAP (2-4 μm) and NAA (0.5-1.0 μm) were most effective in promoting axillary shoot proliferation from coppice and adult tissues. IBA was more effective than NAA in stimulating the formation of adventitious roots from in vitro-derived shoots. Plantlets from tissue culture were easily transferred to the greenhouse environment. Chemical names used: N6-benzylaminopurine (BAP); 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA); 1H-indole-3-butanoic acid (IBA).
Palynological analysis of pollen loads from pollen sources of honeybees in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Palynological studies of pollen loads were carried out to determine the pollen sources for honeybees in Islamabad during January to December 2006. Three different sources for honeybees were identified as Major, Medium and Minor. A total of 40 plant species served as pollen sources for honeybees from amongst the fruit trees, ornamental and agricultural crop and weeds. Major pollen yielding plants viz., Brassica campestris L. , Callistemon citrinus (Curt.) Stapf. , Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbek, Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindlay, Parthenium hysterophorus L. , Chenopodium album L. , Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench, Ageratum conyzoides L. , Bauhinia variegata L. , Bischofia javonica Blume. , Bombax ceiba Burm. , Cassia fistula L. , Convolvulus arvensis L. , Coriandrum sativum L. , Cucumis melo-agrostis L. , Delbergia sisso Roxb. , Delphinium ajacis L. , Euphorbia helioscopia L. , Eucalyptus cammoldulensis Dehnh. , Grewia asiatica L. , Hamelia patens Jacq. , Helianthus annus L. , Iberis amara L. , Jacranda mimosifolia Juss. , Justicia adhatoda Linn, Lagerstromia indica L. , Litchi chinensis Mill. , Melilotus indica (L.) All. , Nastertium officinale R. Br. , Prunus armeniaca L. , P. persica Benth. , and Hook. , P. bokhariensis Royle. , Pongammia pinnata (L.) Pierre. , Raphanus sativa L. , Rosa sp. , Rumex dentatis L. , Silibum merianum L. , Sonchus asper Hill. , Trifolium alexandrium L. , Verbena tunisecta L. , were identified. Although the foraged plants are available throughout the year in the locality but January to April and July to August are major, whereas April and May are minor flow period of pollen while June is the dearth period. This study gives the general idea of range of plant species that occur in the area and their utility to the honeybees which is important for them so that they can make efficient use of these resources.
Preferences Regarding a Web-Based, Neighborhood-Level Intervention Program to Promote Household Energy Conservation

ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to investigate people’s willingness to participate in and their preferences regarding a web-based, neighborhood-level energy conservation program. We created a hypothetical program that incorporates several intervention strategies and presented it to 715 respondents in the form of a stated choice experiment. A strong majority of participants indicated that they would be willing to join such a program. Their preferences as to how the program should be constructed reflected interest in personalized feedback, privacy protection, monetary incentives for reducing energy use, and a relatively short-term initial commitment. However, there was variation in people’s taste for such attributes. We conclude with reflections on how to design and implement a web-based intervention program and on future research possibilities.
A comparative study of p53 promoter hypermethylation in Arsenic induced cancer in two different tissue compartment of the body: Cancer biopsy tissue and blood.

A communication device, such as a telephone or a facsimile device, includes an input device for inputting code information for a call to be transmitted through a communication network, a transmitting device for transmitting dual-tone multiple frequency (DTMF) signals to the communication network according to the code information, and a transmission control device for controlling transmission parameters of a DTMF signal. At least one of a plurality of parameters, including signal transmission time, signal pause time, and signal transmission level, is made different by the transmission control device for a DTMF signal transmitted during the call by the transmitting device after the execution of a dialing input from the communication device to the communication network.
Can we use the tadpoles of Australian frogs to reduce recruitment of invasive cane toads

Summary 1. Native to the Americas, cane toads Bufo marinus are an invasive species causing substantial ecological impacts in Australia. We need ways to control invasive species such as cane toads without collateral damage to native fauna. 2. We explored the feasibility of suppressing survival and growth of cane toad tadpoles via competition with the tadpoles of native frogs. Compared to the invasive toads, many native frogs breed earlier in the season and their tadpoles grow larger and have longer larval periods. Hence, adding spawn or tadpoles of native frogs to toad-breeding sites might increase tadpole competition, and thereby reduce toad recruitment. 3. Our laboratory trials using tadpoles of eight native frog species gave significant results: the presence of six of these species (Cyclorana australis, C. longipes, Litoria caerulea, L. dahlii, L. rothii and L. splendida) reduced toad tadpole survival and ⁄ or size at metamorphosis. Litoria caerulea also increased the duration of the larval period of cane toad tadpoles. Tadpoles of the other two frog species (Litoria rubella and Litoria tornieri) did not affect survival or growth of larval cane toads any more than did an equivalent number of additional toad tadpoles. Native frog species with larger tadpoles exerted greater negative effects on toad tadpoles than did native species with smaller tadpoles. 4. Synthesis and applications. Encouraging the general public to construct and restore waterbodies in peri-urban areas to build up populations of native frogs – especially the much-loved green tree frog Litoria caerulea – could help to reduce recruitment rates of invasive cane toads in Australia.
A Machine Learning‐Based Detection of Earthquake Precursors Using Ionospheric Data

Detection of precursors of strong earthquakes is a challenging research area. Recently, it has been shown that strong earthquakes affect electron distribution in the regional ionosphere with indirectly observable changes in the ionospheric delays of GPS signals. Especially, the total electron content (TEC) estimated from GPS data can be used in the seismic precursor detection for strong earthquakes. Although physical mechanisms are not well understood yet, GPS‐based seismic precursors can be observed days prior to the occurrence of the earthquake. In this study, a novel machine learning‐based technique, EQ‐PD, is proposed for detection of earthquake precursors in near real time based on GPS‐TEC data along with daily geomagnetic indices. The proposed EQ‐PD technique utilizes support vector machine (SVM) classifier to decide whether an observed spatiotemporal anomaly is related to an earthquake precursor or not. The data fed to the classifier are composed of spatiotemporal variability map of a region. Performance of the EQ‐PD technique is demonstrated in a case study over a region covering Italy in between the dates of 1 January 2014 and 30 September 2016. The data are partitioned into three nonoverlapping time periods, that are used for training, validation, and test of detecting precursors of earthquakes with magnitudes above 4 in Richter scale. The EQ‐PD technique is able to detect precursors in 17 out of 21 earthquakes while generating 7 false alarms during the validation period of 266 days and 22 out of 24 earthquakes while generating 13 false alarms during the test period of 282 days.
School Achievement and Immigration in Catalonia, 2011- 2016: A Demo-spatial Analysis (DOI: 10.2436/20.3000.02.45)

In this paper, we present a study of schoolchildren of immigrant origin from the “generations” perspective, with the initial aim of visualising and re-evaluating the different situations associated with immigration and a secondary aim of analysing school achievement in relation to the determinants of the migratory process. The results indicate that major changes are occurring in the composition of the student body by origin, with second generations becoming increasingly prominent. At the same time, much of school failure is explained by recent arrival in Catalonia or by immigrationrelated discontinued presence in the country, in some cases at rates that are considerably higher than the figures for the students defined as autochthonous. This approach, which offers a better understanding of the composition of the student body in classrooms, has not previously been possible owing to a lack of statistical data, and it is a good example of the analytical possibilities of crossing data from administrative records and population statistics. These operations are indispensable for any project which seeks to design more effective school integration policies, thereby contributing towards social cohesion in the middle and long term.
Methane formation and consumption by sediments in a cross-channel profile of a small river impoundment

Rivers are a natural source of methane (CH4) into the atmosphere and may contribute significantly to total CH4 emissions. Even though the details of sources of CH4 in rivers are not fully understood, weirs have been recognized as a hotspot of CH4 emissions. In this study, we investigated CH4 production and consumption in air-exposed river sediments along a cross-channel transect located upstream of a weir. Stable carbon isotopes were used for determination of individual methanogenic pathways. In order to understand the relationship between physicochemical and biological processes, additional parameters such as organic matter, grain median size, and carbon and nitrogen content were characterized as well. Generally, samples from the surface sediment layer (0-10 cm) had higher CH4 production than sediments from the deeper layer (10-20 cm) during the incubation experiments. Sediments near the bank zones and in the mid-channel were characterized by the highest organic carbon content (6.9 %) as well the highest methanogenic activity (2.5 mmol g-1 DW d-1). The CH4 production was predominated by H2/CO2 dependent methanogenesis in the surface sediment layer (0-10 cm), while the proportion of acetoclastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis in the deeper sediment layer (10-20 cm) was balanced. The CH4 oxidation potential of sediments showed the same spatial pattern as observed for the CH4 production. Our results showed high spatial variability of sediment CH4 production and oxidation in the cross-channel profile upstream of the weir, whereas the highest CH4 dynamics were observed in the littoral zones. This variability was closely linked with the carbon and nitrogen content in the sediment samples.
Proteomic analysis of the Endoplasmic Reticulum of developing castor bean seeds - Testing the feasibility of ER membrane topology elucidation using a sample of purified ER

An Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) membrane topology elucidation experiment involving ER purified according to Simon et al. [2] was thought to identify yet unknown, tri‐ricinoleate biosynthetic enzymes via elucidation of membrane topology and identification of membrane associated proteins. This thesis aims at testing the feasibility of an ER membrane topology elucidation experiment using purified castor bean seed ER prepared according to Simon et al [2]. In a bioinformatics approach, proteins identified in a Multidimensional Protein Identification Technology (MudPIT) experiment of an ER preparation from castor bean seeds were compared to predicted ER localised proteins, thus validating the prediction algorithms, as well as verifying possible contaminations of the ER preparation. Antibodies against identified organelle marker proteins were used in quantitative Western Blot analysis to confirm the degree of purification and contamination. Relative comparison of developing endosperm castor bean ER (dER) preparation with a developing endosperm homogenate showed that, when using anti‐oleate Δ 12‐hydroxylase (an ER marker protein) antibodies, purification of 58x ER had occurred. When using an anti‐VDAC (a mitochondrial marker protein) antibody, a relative quantitation showed that VDAC was 10 x more concentrated in a dER prep than in homogenate. Unlike in previous experiments where mitochondria were purified and 327 mitochondrial proteins were discovered, only 13 could be identified in a MudPIT experiment on Ricinus communis ER, thus it can be concluded that mitochondria did not co‐purify with dER. The ER preparation was then imaged under a Scanning Electron Microscope. 3 different visualisation techniques were developed to ensure that pictures reflect the original ER preparation state. Vesicles were far more numerous than complex structures. Taking into account the thermodynamics of membranes, it can be said the ER preparation by Simon et al. [2] does not consist of whole ER, but rather ER vesicles.