Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Species, Speciation, and Reinforcement

Spencer et al. (1986) presented an interesting model for the evolution of premating barriers to gene flow between divergent populations. The model is a useful contribution because it introduces assumptions that are more realistic about mating behavior and population sizes, factors that may significantly affect he outcome of the situations envisaged. However, according to the biological-species concept, Spencer et al. did not model "speciation by reinforcement" but rather studied interactions between species. Although Spencer et al. did not explicitly define species, they apparently used Paterson's (1985) "recognition concept" in place of the more generally accepted biological-species concept (Dobzhansky 1951; Mayr 1963) or the "isolation concept" (Paterson 1985). According to Paterson, the isolation concept defines species in relation to other species; species are populations, or groups of populations, isolated from other populations by intrinsic barriers to gene flow. Dobzhansky (1951) popularized the use of the term "isolating mechanisms" for those characteristics oforganisms that prevent gene flow between species. This term is unfortunate b cause it suggests that the characters evolved for the function (in the sense of Williams 1966) of preventing ene flow or that they are adaptations for maintaining the integrity of species. Models of speciation in which selection favors characters for their isolating effects have been heavily criticized (Paterson 1978, 1982; Futuyma nd Mayer 1980; Butlin 1985, 1987), and it now seems more likely that these characters evolved for other reasons. Isolation is thus an effect, not a function, of the characters, and the term "isolating mechanisms" is better avoided. Paterson (1973, 1980, 1985) suggested using the term "mate-recognition systems" to emphasize the primary role of characters involved in prezygotic isolation in promoting efficient mating and fertilization within species. He further suggested that species should be defined in terms of recognition of conspecifics rather than of isolation from other species. This has the valuable effect of focusing attention on processes within species that influence the evolution of materecognition systems and can thus promote or retard speciation. Apart from this change in emphasis, there is little difference between the two concepts until one considers postzygotic barriers to gene flow. Under the isolation concept, two populations would be considered separate species if their hybrids were completely inviable or infertile. However, if these two populations had the same mate-recognition system, such that hybrids were produced in nature despite having zero fitness, the recognition concept would consider them conspecific (Paterson 1985). The justification for including the two populations in the same species is that they cannot coexist in sympatry because
Food, Predation Risk, and Microhabitat Selection in a Marsh Fish Assemblage

Fishes moving onto the surface of a tidal freshwater marsh from an adjacent stream were sampled with flume nets in spring through autumn for 2 yr. Significantly higher numbers were found at sites adjacent to shallow-sloped depositional banks than at sites adjacent to deeper, steeper sloped erosional banks of the stream. Marsh surface features appeared similar, so explanations for this apparent habitat selection were sought in the subtidal portion of the stream. To determine whether the relative abundance of benthic invertebrate prey differed in the two environments, litter bags were placed in the subtidal for 4 wk. Despite higher numbers of invertebrates in erosional zones, both the wet biomass per sample and the mean wet biomass per organism were significantly greater in depositional sites. To test the hypothesis that invertebrate food is more available to fishes in the depositional subtidal, banded killifish (Fundulus diaphanus) were placed in feeding enclosures in both depositional and erosional subtidal habitats in two streams. These fish obtained significantly more food in the shallow depositional subtidal. To test the hypothesis that predation pressure differs with subtidal geomorphology, mummichogs (Fundulus heteroclitus) were tethered on the first half of the rising tide in both depositional and erosional environments in three creeks. Significantly more mum- michogs disappeared from tethers and were presumed taken on erosional banks. We conclude that two mechanisms operate in the stream subtidal to give rise to the greater fish abundance at marsh surface sites adjacent to depositional areas. At low tide, when small fishes are confined to creek channels, they select shallow depositional habitats where (1) the availability of benthic invertebrate prey is greatest and (2) predator pressure is less. As the tide rises and inundates the marsh surface, these small fishes seek shelter on the marsh surface adjacent to their preferred low-tide refuge.
Effects of intraruminal infusions of propionate and butyrate with two different protein supplements on milk production and blood metabolites in dairy cows receiving grass silage-based diet

Four cows were used in a balanced 4 x 4 Latin square with 2 week experimental periods to investigate the effects of intraruminal infusions of volatile fatty acids and protein source on milk production and blood metabolites. The four treatments in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement were isoenergetic intraruminal infusions of propionate (500 g day -1 ) or butyrate (417 g day -1 ) each given with isonitrogenous protein supplementation of fish meal (FM) or barley protein (BP). The cows were fed restrictively with 9 kg dry matter day -1 of formic acid treated grass silage and 8 kg day -1 of concentrate. Propionate infusion increased milk yield (24.9 vs 23.4 kg day -1 ; P < 0.05), milk protein yield (832 vs 778 g day -1 ; P = 0-05) and milk lactose content (44.7 vs 43.5 g kg -1 ; P < 0.05) and yield (1113 vs 1023 g day -1 ; P < 0.01), whereas butyrate infusion was associated with a higher milk fat content (44.7 vs 39.4 g kg -1 ; P < 0.01) and yield (1033 vs 974 g day -1 ; P < 0.01). FM tended (P < 0.10) to increase milk yield, but had no significant effects on milk composition or milk component yields compared with BP. Butyrate infusion increased blood ketones, plasma non-esterified fatty acids and glycine relative to propionate infusion. The concentrations of ammonia N in rumen fluid and urea in plasma and milk were similar for both protein supplements. The profile of amino acids in plasma was similar for both protein supplements except for the higher concentrations of phenylalanine, proline and tyrosine with BP. The results show that protein utilisation can be improved by increasing the supply of propionate from rumen fermentation in cows given a grass silage-based diet.
How to Survey Citizens’ Compliance with COVID-19 Public Health Measures: Evidence from Three Survey Experiments

Abstract The extent to which citizens comply with newly enacted public health measures such as social distancing or lockdowns strongly affects the propagation of the virus and the number of deaths from COVID-19. It is however very difficult to identify non-compliance through survey research because claiming to follow the rules is socially desirable. Using three survey experiments, we examine the efficacy of different ‘face-saving’ questions that aim to reduce social desirability in the measurement of compliance with public health measures. Our treatments soften the social norm of compliance by way of a short preamble in combination with a guilty-free answer choice making it easier for respondents to admit non-compliance. We find that self-reported non-compliance increases by up to +11 percentage points when making use of a face-saving question. Considering the current context and the importance of measuring non-compliance, we argue that researchers around the world should adopt our most efficient face-saving question.
The mysterious needle in the heart: a case report

Abstract Background A 53-year-old female with dyspnoea and atypical chest pain. Her electrocardiogram demonstrated a left bundle branch block, transthoracic echocardiogram demonstrated a mildly impaired left ventricle ejection fraction, and coronary angiogram revealed unobstructed coronary arteries. She was referred for cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) for structural and functional assessment. Her imaging revealed an unexpected finding of an off-resonance artefact within the ventricle wall. This material was secondary to a ferromagnetic material. Case summary Chest X ray and computer tomography confirmed a needle-shaped structure in the ventricle wall. Understanding the basis of this off-resonance artefact aided in a new diagnosis, raised questions on the origin of the material, patient safety, and implementation of corrective strategies to optimize image acquisition. Discussion The continued development of CMR is revolutionizing our ability to establish diagnosis and guide patient treatment. The CMR sequences can be prone to artefact. This case highlights the importance of understanding the basis of CMR artefacts.
Genetic relationships between Nereimyra punctata and N. woodsholea (Hesionidae, Polychaeta)

We present a COI-based parsimony analysis of the relationships between the shallow water, pigmented hesionid polychaete Nereimyra punctata, and a deep-water, unpigmented form with sympatric distribution in Norway and Sweden. Apart from the pigmentation differences, the two forms exhibit no observed morphological differences. The terminals are represented by four specimens each of the two forms from the Trondheimsfjord in Norway, and four each of the two forms from northern Bohuslan in Sweden, plus members of the two hesionids Heteropodarke and Ophiodromus as outgroups. In addition, the analysis includes a topotype of the morphologically similar and unpigmented Nereimyra woodsholea from the Middle Atlantic Bight off the US east coast. The equally weighted matrix includes 132 informative characters. All most-parsimonious trees unequivocally indicate that specimens belonging to the same form (pigmented or unpigmented) from different areas are cladistically closer related to each other than different forms from the same areas. Nereimyra woodsholea is nested within the unpigmented deeper group of the Norwegian and Swedish specimens, thus indicating that this name should be applied to the deep-water form in Norway and Sweden.
A Distributed Network Q-Mac with Quality of Service Provisioning

A new distributed Cognitive Radio network Q-MAC has been proposed in the paper. The Q-MAC Protocol provides an efficient approach to address quality of service provisioning of delay sensitive applications. This MAC Protocol guarantees the QoS of network for such applications by giving priority to applications with higher time delay requirements in the stage of channel reservation. The performance of the Q-MAC Protocol with those of two existing protocols are compared. The results show that the Q-mac provides better throughput than those existing protocols. The analysis model and simulation results show that the designed Q-MAC Protocol is simple and effective. This Protocol can recognize and meet the QoS requirements of delay-sensitive applications and can effectively deal with the problem of multi-channel hidden terminal.
Performance of transgenic spring wheat plants and effects on non‐target organisms under glasshouse and semi‐field conditions

Abstract: A convertible glasshouse was established to study annual transgenic plants under near‐field environmental conditions while simultaneously ensuring a high level of biological containment. This system can provide a useful step in the assessment of transgenic plants prior to open‐field experiments. Two transgenic wheat lines (cv. Bobwhite) were investigated and compared with their corresponding non‐transformed wildtypes with respect to plant performance, expression of the transgenic trait and interactions with antagonists. The first line expressed snowdrop lectin [Galanthus nivalis agglutinin (GNA)] for enhanced resistance to aphids, and the second one overexpressed the endogenous Lr10 gene to enhance resistance to leaf rust. Interestingly, 1000‐kernel weight of Lr10‐transgenic plants was significantly reduced, indicating that the overexpression of the Lr10 gene caused a significant fitness cost for the plant. GNA‐transgenic plants expressed the lectin at levels too low to affect the target aphids. A detached leaf bioassay with Lr10‐transgenic plants revealed an increased resistance to leaf rust. No differences in the performance of aphids or cereal leaf beetles on transgenic and non‐transformed plants were recorded in the convertible glasshouse and in complementary glasshouse studies. Similarly, infection levels with powdery mildew did not differ between transgenic and non‐transformed plants but Bobwhite plants were significantly more infected when compared with conventional Swiss spring wheat cultivars. Overall, the assessment revealed that for the plants investigated here, their genetic background had a stronger impact on the performance of a plant and its interactions with insect herbivores and pathogens than the expression of the transgene.
Temperature-based model for predicting univoltine brood proportions in spruce beetle (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)

Abstract The spruce beetle, Dendroctonus rufipennis (Kirby), has possible life cycles of 1 or 2 years. Empirical and experimental evidence suggest that temperature is the primary regulator of these life-history pathways. These different life cycles potentially result in substantial differences in population dynamics and subsequent spruce mortality. A multiyear field study was conducted in Utah, Colorado, and Alaska, to monitor spruce beetle development under a variety of field conditions with concurrent air temperature measurements. This information was used to model the tree- or stand-level proportion of univoltine beetles as a function of air temperature. Temperatures were summarized as averages, cumulative time, and accumulated heat units above specified thresholds over various seasonal intervals. Sampled proportions of univoltine insects were regressed against the summarized temperature values in logistic models. The best predictive variable, as evaluated by Akaike’s Information Criterion, was found to be cumulative hours above a threshold of 17 °C elapsed from 40 to 90 days following peak adult funnel-trap captures. Because the model can be used to forecast trends in spruce beetle populations and associated spruce mortality, it is a tool for forest planning. Résumé Le Dendroctone de l’épinette, Dendroctonus rufipennis (Kirby), a un cycle biologique de 1 ou 2 ans. Des données empiriques et des résultats d’expériences laissent croire que la température est le principal facteur de contrôle du développement. Ces cycles différents peuvent donner lieu à des différences importantes dans la dynamique des populations et éventuellement dans la mortalité des épinettes. Une étude de plusieurs années en nature, en Utah, au Colorado et en Alaska, a permis de suivre le développement de l’insecte dans des conditions diverses; la température de l’air a été relevée en même temps que les données. Cette information a été utilisée pour créer un modèle pour évaluer la proportion des individus univoltins à l’échelle d’un arbre ou d’un boisé en fonction de la température de l’air. Les températures sont exprimées par des moyennes, des durées cumulatives et des unités de chaleur accumulées au-dessus de seuils spécifiques au cours de divers intervalles saisonniers. Des droites de régression mettent en relation les pourcentages d’insectes univoltins dans les échantillons et les températures résumées dans les modèles logistiques. La variable la plus prédictive, d’après le critère d’information d’Akaike, s’est avérée être le nombre cumulatif d’heures au-dessus d’un seuil de 17 °C, de 40 à 90 jours après la capture maximale d’adultes dans des pièges à entonnoirs. Comme le modèle permet de prédire les tendances des populations de dendroctones et la mortalité des épinettes qui en dépend, il peut s’avérer utile en aménagement des forêts. [Traduit par la Rédaction]
Explicit Iterative Methods of Second Order and Approximate Inverse Preconditioners for Solving Complex Computational Problems

Explicit Exact and Approximate Inverse Preconditioners for solving complex linear systems are introduced. A class of general iterative methods of second order is presented and the selection of iterative parameters is discussed. The second order iterative methods behave quite similar to first order methods and the development of efficient preconditioners for solving the original linear system is a decisive factor for making the second order iterative methods superior to the first order iterative methods. Adaptive preconditioned Conjugate Gradient methods using explicit approximate preconditioners for solving efficiently large sparse systems of algebraic equations are also presented. The generalized Approximate Inverse Matrix techniques can be efficiently used in conjunction with explicit iterative schemes leading to effective composite semi-direct solution methods for solving large linear systems of algebraic equations.
Brief communication. Fifty microsatellite markers for Japanese quail

A Japanese quail genomic library enriched for (CA/GT)n simple sequence repeats was screened and positive clones were sequenced. Fifty original microsatellite sequences were isolated that consisted mainly of perfect repeats of the dinucleotide (CA/GT)n motif and a corresponding number of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primer pairs complementary to unique DNA sequences flanking the microsatellite repeats were designed to detect the repeats. Forty-six percent (23 of 50) of the markers revealed polymorphism in two unrelated quail individuals (one male and one female) randomly sampled from a population of wild quail origin. All 50 primer pairs were tested in the PCR for their ability to amplify chicken genomic DNA. Amplification products were obtained for 14 (28.0%) of the markers at the annealing temperature optimized for quail. These results provide an opportunity to begin characterizing the quail genome for the development of a genetic map for this economically valuable species and the eventual construction of a comparative genetic map in Phasianidae, which comprises a number of agriculturally important species of poultry.
Northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean hermit crabs (Crustacea: Anomura: Paguroidea: Paguridae). I. The genus Pagurus Fabricius, 1775

A reappraisal of adult taxonomy of N.E. Atlantic and Mediterranean hermit crabs upholds the divisions A & B suggested for the species by MacDonal et al. (1957) from their studies of larval features. The nomenclature of three species is discussed. Pagurus variabilis (A. Milne Edwards and Bouvier, 1892) is relegated to the synonomy of P. alatus Fabricius, 1775 and P. excavatus (Herbst, 1791) is reinstated for Mediterranean and southern N. E. Atlantic material. A provisional check list is given of Paguroidean species occurring within the sea area 30°N–80°N:30°W–30°E and the Mediterranean Sea. An illustrated identification key is provided to the Pagurus species within these regions.
PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS AMONG THE AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND GENERA OF FRESHWATER CRAYFISHES (DECAPODA:PARASTACIDAE)

We sequenced approximately 500 base pairs of DNA from the 16S region of the mitochondrial genome to estimate relationships among the freshwater crayfish genera of Australia and New Zealand. In total, 35 sequences were obtained, representing 32 species and all 10 genera native to Australia and New Zealand. From these sequences, maximum likelihood, minimum evolution and parsimony estimates of phylogenetic relationships among the genera were obtained and compared with previous hypotheses concerning the relationships among the crayfish genera. Our results support the monophyly of each genus (except perhaps Euastacus) and the organisation of these genera into three major clades: the first clade contains the genera Engaeus, Tenuibranchiurus, Geocharax, Gramastacus, and Cherax; the second clade contains the genera Paranephrops, Parastacoides, Euastacus, and Astacopsis; and the third clade contains the genus Engaewa. We reject the ecological hypothesis of Riek for two major clades of crayfish species. Finally, we provide a checklist of the Australian and New Zealand species as they are currently recognised.
The Influence of Social Network and Depression on Successful Aging in the Elderly

Background/Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between social network, depression and successful aging of elderly people and to identify the factors influencing successful aging of elderly people.Method/Statistical Analysis: The subjects of this study were 150 elderly people aged 65 and older who live in three cities. The data were collected through structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptivestatistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlations, Spearman correlations and multiple regressionanalysis with the SPSS/WIN 21.0 program.Findings: The results showed that depression was the most influential factor in successful aging of elderly people, followed by social activities, perform parental grandparent role and 74.1% explained successful aging of elderly people.Based on these results, it concluded that the role of social activities, parents and grandparents is critical and the development of related programs is necessary for the elderly to be successfully aged.Improvements/Applications: This study showed that depression, social activities and the role of parents and grandparents were significant for the successful aging of the elderly. In particular, depression was more influential than social activities and the role of parents and grandparents. Therefore, it found that research is needed to prevent depression in the elderly