Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Desempenho produtivo de ovinos em confinamento alimentados com diferentes dietas

The performance and economical viability of using different diets in sheep termination were evaluated. Twenty rams aging seven-month old and averaging initial live body weight of 25kg were used. The experimental period lasted 60 days, with seven adaptation and 53 for body weight evaluation, and feed and leftover sampling. A completely randomized design with four treatments and five repetitions was used. The treatments included: corn + soybean + Tifton 85 hay (DR), corn + soybean + cashew + Tifton 85 hay (DC), corn + soybean + passion fruit + Tifton 85 hay (DM), and corn and cob meal (MDPS) + Tifton 85 hay + leucaena hay (DL). Treatment affected (P<0.05) intakes of dry matter (CMS), crude protein (CPB), and neutral detergent fiber (CFDN). Average body weight gains (g) were 171.60, 218.80, 217.20, and 187.00 for the treatments DR, DC, DM, and DL, respectively. Lower CMS, CPB, and CFDN were observed for DL. There was no effect of diets on the hot and cold carcass yields. Economical analysis indicated liquid profits of R$ -20.40, R$ 44.77, R$ 31.41, and 39.10 and return ratios of 12.4%, 31.8%, 20.6%, and 32.8% for DR, DC, DM, and DL, respectively.
Taxonomic review of the Asian Horned Frogs (Amphibia: Megophrys Kuhl & Van Hasselt) of Northeast India and Bangladesh previously misidentified as M. parva (Boulenger), with descriptions of three new species

ABSTRACT Megophrys parva is currently considered to be among the most widely dispersed species within the genus, however, recent studies have provided compelling evidence that this species represents a complex of morphologically similar, deeply divergent taxa. The focus of this paper is to take a closer look at species from Northeast India (NEI) and Bangladesh that are currently, or were until recently, considered to represent M. parva, now comprising the M. (Xenophrys) megacephala species group. We investigate their troublesome taxonomic histories, identify hidden cryptic species diversity using morphological and molecular data, and resolve many of the historical misidentifications that have led to a proliferation of taxonomic confusion in this group. Molecular analyses extend the geographic distribution of the M. (X.) megacephala species group east into northern Myanmar based on available sequence data. A detailed redescription of the paralectotypes of M. parva is provided to better define this poorly known species. The geographic distributions of the taxonomically obscure species, M. serchhipii and M. zunhebotoensis, are extended far beyond their respective type localities, and both are considerably better defined taxonomically based on detailed descriptions of referred specimens, and comparison with relevant congeners. Significant geographic range extensions are also provided for the recently described species M. oropedion and M. megacephala. Three new species from the Indian states of Nagaland and Manipur are identified using a combination of morphological characters, supported by significant genetic divergence. Examination of historical specimen collections and scrutiny of published literature provide sufficient evidence to remove M. parva and M. wuliangshanensis from the checklist of Indian species. Previous records of M. parva from Bangladesh are demonstrated to represent M. serchhipii. Recent reports of M. glandulosa and M. robusta from Meghalaya are also revised and are considered to be based on misidentifications of known species from the state. The revised distributions of NEI’s small-sized horned frogs provide insights into the biogeography of the group. One of the newly described species known only from the high-elevation Dzükou Valley, Nagaland, might require immediate conservation action due to increased tourist activity at its type locality. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:CE06A188-88E4-44CD-86A4-A62DD902B0A5
Green turtle mitochondrial microsatellites indicate finer-scale natal homing to isolated islands than to continental nesting sites

In highly mobile philopatric species, defining the scale of natal homing is fundamental to characterizing population dynamics and effectively managing distinct populations. Genetic tools have provided evidence of regional natal philopatry in marine turtles, but extensive sharing of maternally inherited mitochondrial control region (CR) haplotypes within regions (<500 km) often impedes identification of population boundaries. Previous CR-based analyses of Florida (USA) green turtleChelonia mydasnesting sites detected at least 2 populations, but the ubiquity of haplotype CM-A3.1 among southern rookeries decreased the power to detect differentiation. We reassessed population structure by sequencing the mitochondrial microsatellite (short tandem repeat, mtSTR) in 786 samples from 11 nesting sites spanning 700 km from Canaveral National Seashore through Dry Tortugas National Park. The mtSTR marker subdivided CM-A3.1 into 12 haplotypes that were structured among rookeries, demonstrating independent female recruitment into the Dry Tortugas and Marquesas Keys nesting populations. Combined haplotypes provided support for recognition of at least 4 management units in Florida: (1) central eastern Florida, (2) southeastern Florida, (3) Key West National Wildlife Refuge, and (4) Dry Tortugas National Park. Recapture data indicated female nesting dispersal between islands <15 km apart, but haplotype frequencies demonstrated discrete natal homing to island groups separated by 70 km. These isolated insular rookeries may be more vulnerable to climate change-mediated nesting habitat instability than those along continental coasts and should be monitored more consistently to characterize population status. Broader application of the mtSTR markers holds great promise in improving resolution of stock structure and migratory connectivity for green turtles globally.
Effects of TOF Resolution Models on Edge Artifacts in PET Reconstruction From Limited-Angle Data

Limited-angle data, such as data obtained from a dual-panel breast-PET scanner, result in substantial image blur in directions coinciding with the missing cone of the image spectrum. On systems with time-of-flight (TOF) capabilities, this blur is reduced as given by the TOF uncertainty, with the image spectrum being correspondingly expanded into the missing spectral cone. Modeling of the TOF uncertainty in the reconstruction is expected to deconvolve this residual TOF blurring. We have however observed that, as a tradeoff, this TOF de-blurring process also introduces ringing artifacts at the edges, analogous to the edge effects observed with line-of-response (LOR) resolution modeling, which attempts to deconvolve the blur due to detector resolution effects. However, in the former case, the ringing artifacts are much wider due to the spatial extent of the TOF uncertainty as compared to the width of the typical LOR resolution blur. We illustrate and investigate the effects of using matched, as well as under-modeled and over-modeled, TOF kernels on edge artifacts in reconstruction from limited-angle data, and compare them with TOF reconstructions of complete data. Although for the conventional data with full angular coverage the reconstruction is fairly insensitive to the exact size of the TOF kernel and TOF modeling does not produce ringing artifacts, it is not the case for the limited-angle data. We show that it is important to use some form of regularization of the TOF uncertainty deconvolution process within the reconstruction of the limited-angle data, such as decreasing the TOF kernel size.
ANALYZING GREEN PURCHASING BEHAVIOR OF TURKISH AND PERSIAN CONSUMERS

Consumers being conscious about environmental issues tend to have favorable attitude to green purchasing. Offering eco-friendly products and services should be a good strategy for all companies wishing to provide competitive advantage in the marketplace. In the literature, a number of factors accepted as the antecedents of green purchasing behavior and this study examined eight factors of them. It is predicted that the factors which have an effect on the green purchasing behavior are different between the consumers having different nationality due to cultural differences. The purpose of this study is to determine the differences between both the antecedents of green purchasing behavior and green purchasing behavior of Turkish and Persian consumers. According to the results, differences are found between some antecedents of green purchasing behavior as environmental knowledge, social influence, environmental concern, perceived seriousness of environmental problems, concern for self-image, and green purchasing behavior of Turkish and Persian consumers.
New Three-Point Secant-Type Methods for Solving Nonlinear Equations

This paper presents new three-point Secant-type methods for finding simple root of nonlinear equations. It is proved that the new methods have the convergence order of 1.84 or 1.80 requiring only one function evaluations per full iteration. Some of the three-point Secant-type iterative methods are shown to have the same order of convergence as the Tiruneh et al. method, the Muller method and the Traub methods. Numerical comparisons are made to demonstrate exceptional convergence speed of the proposed methods. It is observed that the new three-point Secant-type iterative methods are very competitive with the similar robust methods.
Ecological connectivity with mangroves influences tropical seagrass population longevity and meadow traits within an island ecosystem

Seagrass meadows around the Andaman Sea are globally significant, but declining rapidly. Assessment of the existing seagrass population dynamics is essential to facilitate effective conservation measures. We studied population dynamics of the seagrass Thalassia hemprichii at 3 locations in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Andaman Sea. At each location, 2 sites were assessed, one with mangroves (MG) and another without mangroves (WMG). Quadrat and corer sampling techniques were used to collect seagrass and sediment samples. Reconstruction techniques were used to derive population dynamics of T. hemprichii. Sand fractions dominated (>90%) the T. hemprichii meadows, with silt comprising a higher percentage only at the MG sites. The density, biomass, productivity and horizontal meadow migration of T. hemprichii were higher at the MG sites. The number of leaves shoot-1, vertical rhizome (VR), VR internode length, number of VRs shoot-1 and vertical growth were higher at the WMG sites. T. hemprichii required less time to produce a single leaf at the MG sites than at the WMG sites. Plants associated with mangroves had 4 to 5 yr of longevity, with higher numbers of younger plants. Population growth rates were positive at all sites except at the WMG site of Burmanallah. Our results provide evidence that mangrove ecosystems have a positive impact on seagrass meadow traits and population dynamics. Therefore, it is crucial to focus on the ecological connectivity between seagrasses and associated coastal ecosystems, as it is pivotal to increase our understanding of the important link between coastal ecosystems and ecosystem functioning.
Physical Model of Low-Temperature to Cryogenic Threshold Voltage in MOSFETs

This article presents a physical model of the threshold voltage in MOSFETs valid down to 4.2 K. Interface traps close to the band edge modify the saturating temperature behavior of the threshold voltage observed in cryogenic measurements. Dopant freezeout, bandgap widening, and uniformly distributed traps in the bandgap do not change the qualitative behavior of the threshold voltage over temperature. Care should be taken because dopant freezeout results in a different physical definition of the threshold voltage. Using different definitions changes significantly the threshold current level. The proposed model is experimentally validated with measurements in large-area nMOS and pMOS devices of a commercial 28-nm bulk CMOS process down to 4.2 K. Our modeling results suggest that a pMOS-specific phenomenon in the gate stack is responsible for the non-saturating temperature behavior of the threshold voltage in pMOS devices.
Limited Induction of Ethylene and Cyanide Synthesis are Observed in Quinclorac-Resistant Barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli) in Uruguay

Abstract Barnyardgrass [Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv] is the foremost weed in rice (Oryza sativa L.) systems, and its control is crucial to successful rice production. Quinclorac, a synthetic auxin herbicide, has been used effectively to manage E. crus-galli. However, occurrences of quinclorac-resistant genotypes are frequently reported, and its resistance evolution has led to questions about the continued utility of quinclorac for grass control. Identification of the resistance mechanism(s) of resistant genotypes will facilitate development of integrated weed management strategies that sustain quinclorac use for management of E. crus-galli. We evaluated the responses to quinclorac of two contrasting genotypes: E7 (resistant, R) and LM04 (susceptible, S). Quinclorac induced ethylene and cyanide biosynthesis in the S-genotype. Both genotypes responded similarly to an increasing application of exogenous 1-carboxylic acid aminocyclopropane (ACC) and potassium cyanide, and their growth was inhibited at higher doses. The key mechanism for cyanide (HCN) detoxification in plants, β-cyanoalanine synthase (β-CAS) activity, was evaluated in both genotypes, and no significant difference was observed in the basal activity. However, quinclorac significantly induced β-CAS–like activity in the S-genotype, which is consistent with the increased synthesis of ethylene and cyanide. This work suggests that the resistance to quinclorac of the E7 R-genotype is likely related to an alteration in the auxin signal transduction pathway, causing a lower stimulation of ACC synthase and, therefore, limited synthesis of ethylene and HCN after quinclorac treatment.
Integration of Simple Sequence Repeat DNA Markers into a Soybean Linkage Map

A total of 40 simple sequence repeat (SSR) or microsatellite DNA markers were mapped in a soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] mapping population that consisted of 60 F 2 plants from a cross between near isogenic lines of the cultivars Clark and Harosoy. The first objective of study was to determine the map location of SSR loci in relation to 13 classical loci controlling pigmentation and morphological traits, seven isozyme loci, and a total of 118 RFLP and RAPD markers. The second objective was to determine if the microsatellite loci were randomly distributed in the soybean genome. Linkage analysis with MAPMAKER 3.0b yielded 29 linkage groups with a total map length of 1486 centimorgans (cM). This compares with a map length of 1056 cM if the SSR markers were removed from the data set. Thirty-four of the microsatellite loci were placed in linkage groups. SSR loci were linked to loci controlling nine of the 13 classical traits, and two of seven isozyme loci. Eighteen of the 29 linkage groups contained at least one SSR locus. While this result suggested that the microsatellite loci were randomly distributed throughout the soybean genome, two clusters of five and four SSR loci, spanning 23.4 and 33.6 cM, respectively, were detected. These results indicated a relatively limited amount of clustering of soybean SSR loci, and demonstrated that microsatellite genetic markers should provide an excellent complement to RFLP and RAPD markers for use in soybean molecular biology, genetics, and breeding research. Because SSR markers detect only single genetic loci and are highly polymorphic, they can be extremely informative in pedigree tracing studies, in the analysis of progeny from multiparent matings, in a wide range of mapping applications, and in genotype identification.
Evidence that Xanthomonas campestris pv. zeae can be distinguished from other pathovars capable of infecting maize by restriction fragment length polymorphism of genomic DNA.

Restriction fragment length polymorphism of genomic DNA using a repetitive DNA element from Xanthomonas campestris pv. oryzae as a probe was used to characterize X. campestris pv. zeae, the causal agent of bacterial leaf streak of maize. RFLP analysis of X. campestris pv. zeae revealed a banding pattern distinctively different from that of two other pathovars of Xanthomonas campestris capable of infecting maize.
Temporal Variation in a Turtle Assemblage Inhabiting a Florida Spring-Fed River

Abstract We conducted a survey of freshwater turtle populations in the spring-fed Ichetucknee River in northern Florida to assess temporal variation in assemblage structure. Following the same protocols as an initial 2007 survey, we hand-captured turtles while snorkeling in 2014 and found changes in species composition, abundance of 3 species, and demographic composition of 2 species. We observed a shift in the most frequently captured species from Sternotherus minor (Loggerhead Musk Turtle) in 2007 to Pseudemys concinna (River Cooter) in 2014. We attribute this shift to an increase in the abundance of adult River Cooters. Long-term studies are needed to evaluate whether the changes we observed represent trends and which environmental factors may be driving them.
On-chip enhanced electro-optic Kerr effect for manipulation of optical orbital angular momentum modes

The mode division multiplexing (MDM) technique using higher order orbital angular momentum (OAM) carrying modes through a channelized bandwidth provides enhanced capacity communication systems. Furthermore, encrypted channels via OAM based high-dimensional quantum key distribution (QKD) improve the transmission rate and security. In such applications, mode-selective manipulation of the spatially distributed (here, OAM) modes is a significant function to implement MDM and QKD networks. This paper proposes a novel versatile-designed chip which is configured in a Ycut periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) photonic wire. This integrated optical device acts as spatial mode converter for data modulated on higher order OAM = ±2ћ modes. The conversion is based on an enhanced electro-optic Kerr effect via phase-mismatched cascaded polarization coupling interactions of decomposed guided modes in two successive PPLN sections. The high-purity (91%) and low-voltage (<14.6 V) of the proposed device enable its operation in compatibility with applicable commercial modulators in OAM-based MDM and QKD systems.
Efficient NOMA Design Without Channel Phase Information Using Amplitude-Coherent Detection

This paper presents the design and bit error rate (BER) analysis of a phase-independent non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) system. The proposed NOMA system can utilize amplitude-coherent detection (ACD) which requires only the channel amplitude for equalization purposes. In what follows, three different designs for realizing the detection of the proposed NOMA are investigated. One is based on the maximum likelihood (ML) principle, while the other two are based on successive interference cancellation (SIC). Closed-form expressions for the BER of all detectors are derived and compared with the BER of the coherent ML detector. The obtained results, which are corroborated by simulations, demonstrate that, in most scenarios, the BER is dominated by multiuser interference rather than the absence of the channel phase information. Consequently, the BER using ML and ACD are comparable for various cases of interest. The paper also shows that the SIC detector is just an alternative approach to realize the ML detector, and hence, both detectors provide the same BER performance.
Storytelling from experience to reflection: ERSML cycle of organizational learning

Abstract Learning process development, both in individual and organizational levels, does not occur only in education institutions, but from older people’s experience, sharing their knowledge through the reflection stemming from Storytelling in an informal way. Faced with this context, we have analysed the contribution of Storytelling to the reflection process as a way of Organizational Learning, resulting in the proposal of a framework named ERSML Cycle of Organizational Learning (Experience, Reflection, Sense, Meaning and Learning). The results have pointed that in storytelling practices listeners are motivated to reflect through the told and recalled experiences. The ERSML Cycle represents the Reflexive and Experiential Organizational Learning, in which the interaction between the individual and the collective is generated by stories, urging reflection and resulting in learning.
Joint Effects of Inverse Density-Dependence and Extreme Environmental Variation on the Viability of a Social Bird Species

Abstract: Environmental stochasticity and density-dependence can have critical synergetic effects on population dynamics, especially when dealing with threatened species. In this study, we examine the effects of these interactions on the dynamics of a vulnerable bird species, the Dalmatian pelican (Pelicanus crispus). We conducted demographic analysis and population dynamics modelling of the Amvrakikos pelican population (western Greece) based on a 20-y dataset. Results indicated that annual juvenile survival probability is low (mean = 0.65) and varies according to both negative (regulation) and positive (Allee effect) density-dependent processes. In contrast, adult survival is relatively high (mean = 0.95) and less variable. Deterministic and stochastic population dynamics models based on means, inter-annual variances, and covariances between vital rates revealed that the population is increasing deterministically. Simulations of the extinction risk for the study population and also for various population sizes revealed that short-term extinction risk remains extremely low, even for very small populations of the species. However, when we considered the possibility of rare catastrophic events and their interactions with density-dependence patterns, the projected extinction risk increased dramatically, especially for small populations. Given that many European Dalmatian pelican populations are small, most of them could be at risk for local extinction. Our results illustrate the critical and general importance of considering interactions between all potential factors of extinction in population viability assessments.
The Effects of Regional House Prices on Consumption in Korea: Heterogeneous Behaviors According to Homeownership Status and Lifecycle Stage

This paper investigates the effects of regional house prices on consumption growth, with a focus on heterogeneity across homeownership statuses and lifecycle stages, using household-level panel data in Korea from 2004 to 2017. The empirical estimation results indicate, firstly, that the growth of regional house prices has overall positive effects on consumption growth in the full sample including homeowners and renters. Secondly, house prices have significant and large effects on consumption growth for homeowners, while the effects are sharply reversed for renters, being weakly negative. Thirdly, the sensitivity of homeowners’ consumption in response to house prices differs across different stages of the lifecycle. The consumption sensitivity is greatest in the old age cohort for the sample covering the owners of single and multiple homes. When using a subsample of only single homeowners, however, the young cohort turns out to have the highest sensitivity, implying that young single homeowners face high borrowing constraints and expected income volatility. Finally, renters’ consumption sensitivity in response to house prices becomes more negative over the lifecycle.