Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thermal stress affects patch time allocation by preventing forgetting in a parasitoid wasp

Learning and memory allow animals to adjust their foraging strategies through experience. Despite the known impact of temperature on many aspects of the behavioral ecology of animals, memory retention in the face of realistic thermal stress has seldom been assessed. In the laboratory, we studied the behavioral expression of an egg parasitoid’s (Trissolcus basalis) memory when exposed to thermal stress that could be encountered in nature. We hypothesized that thermal stress would disrupt memory consolidation and/or modify the optimality of memory retention, thus affecting patch time allocation strategies. Memory consolidation was resilient to 1h of thermal stress following an unrewarded experience (learning) on a patch of host-associated infochemicals. Neither high (40 °C) or low (10 °C) thermal stress changed the intensity of the experienced wasps’ behavioral response relative to those held at a moderate temperature (25 °C). Next, we investigated how temperature stress could affect the parasitoids’ memory retention ("forgetting"). When kept at a constant moderate temperature after learning, residence times of wasps retested on host cues increased relative to controls (naive wasps) over a period of 4 days as they presumably "forgot. " However, both hot and cool daily temperature cycles prevented forgetting; the residence times of retested experienced wasps in these treatments did not change relative to controls over time. We discuss to what extent this may be an adaptive response by the parasitoids versus a physiological constraint imposed by temperature. Our findings contribute to an understanding of the impact of thermal stress on foraging strategies that involve learning and memory.
(PARP)-1 N-Terminal Fragment Down Regulates Endogenous PARP-1 Expression and Activity and Sensitises Cells to Oxidative Stress

Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) is a nuclear enzyme that plays a vital role in DNA repair. This makes it an attractive anticancer therapeutic target. It is activated by DNA breaks and catalyses the synthesis of homopolymers of ADP-ribose from NAD+. Competitive inhibitors as well as the non-catalytic, DNA-binding domain of PARP-1 abolish its polymer synthesising function. Such inhibitors of PARP-1 have been used in clinical trials and are known to cause nausea, fatigue and haematological events and with chronic use the risk of drug-induced DNA damage and tumorigenesis. In this study, I have investigated the effect of PARP-1-N-terminal fragment on endogenous PARP-1 activity and expression in mammalian cells. To elicit DNA damage response, different concentrations of H2O2 were used. For visualisation of the effects by live imaging, 750 bp PARP-1-N-terminal fragment was tagged to EGFPN1 vector. My data shows an inverse correlation between the expression of this fragment and poly (ADP-ribose) synthesis at lower concentrations of H2O2 and induction of apoptosis at higher concentrations. My experimental evidence also supports regulation of endogenous PARP-1 expression by the fragment in the absence of DNA damage. This construct has allowed for the visualisation of its functional ability to sensitise cells to oxidative damage and induce apoptosis as observed by the formation of apoptotic precursors and caspase cleavage products in live cells. The data also provides direct evidence for its therapeutic potential in chemotherapy or radiotherapy to avert necrosis induced inflammatory response.
Detection of Aflatoxin Contamination of Dairy Production Chain in the Northwest Region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

The present study evaluates levels of aflatoxin contamination involving small dairy farms from the in the Northwest region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The objectives of this trial is: quantify lactating cow diet and raw for bulk milk Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) contamination; evaluate the use of a mycotoxin adsorbent on cows submitted to semi-confinement raising; and verify the presence of AFM1 contamination on UHT and powdered milk commercialized locally. For this, 17 farms were selected. During the experimental period, every lactating cow on each herd received 50 g/day of a commercial mycotoxin adsorbent for dairy cows (100% bentonite). From each farm, bulk milk, corn silage and concentrate samples were collected for aflatoxin quantification. Aflatoxin M1 was detected in all milk samples examined from each farm, but the levels were within the allowed by the legislation. Aflatoxin B1 was also detected in all samples of corn silage and concentrate. The mycotoxin adsorbent used reduced (p < 0.05) AFM1 contamination in milk. AFM1 milk contamination levels observed on commercialized milk also respected Brazilian requirements. It is possible to conclude that there is a high incidence of Aflatoxin B1 contamination on corn silage and dairy cows concentrates in family farms from South Brazil region. Based on the condition in which the present study was conducted, the use of a mycotoxin adsorbent reduced the levels of AFM in milk in production system. However, the locally produced milk and commercial milk were below the AFM levels accepted by the National Requirements for AFM1 contamination.
Neonatal Neospora caninum infections in dogs

Neosporosis was diagnosed ante-mortem in a litter of neonatally-infected dogs. Three pups developed weakness of limbs 7–9 weeks after birth. One of the dogs developed megaesophagus. Treatment with clindamycin improved clinical signs but did not eradicate the parasite. All 3 dogs were euthanized and viable N. caninum was isolated from the brains of all 3 dogs. Tissue cysts were found in the brain and muscles of dogs. The dam was bred again. Seven apparently healthy pups were born in the second litter. Six of the 7 pups from the second litter had no demonstrable N. caninum antibodies at 32 day of age. The seventh pup had high (1:1280) titer in the Neospora agglutination test and the titer remained stable at day 227 when the study was discontinued. The results suggest that the rate of congenital transmission of N. caninum decreased in the subsequent pregnancy.
Sorption Efficiency of a New Sorbent towards Cadmium(II): Methylphosphonic Acid Grafted Polystyrene Resin

A new chelating polymeric sorbent has been developed using polystyrene resin grafted with phosphonic acid. After characterization by FTIR and elementary analysis, the new resin has been investigated in liquid-solid extraction of cadmium(II). The results indicated that phosphonic resin could adsorb Cd(II) ion effectively from aqueous solution. The adsorption was strongly dependent on the pH of the medium and the optimum pH value level for better sorption was between 3.2 and 5.2. The influence of other analytical parameters including contact time, amount of resin, metal ion concentration, and the presence of some electrolytes was investigated. The maximum uptake capacity of Cd(II) ions was 37,9 mg·g−1 grafted resin at ambient temperature, at an initial pH value of 5.0. The overall adsorption process was best described by pseudo second-order kinetic. When Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms were tested, the latter had a better fit with the experimental data. Furthermore, more than 92% of Cd(II) could be eluted by using 1.0 mol·L−1 HCl in one cycle.
Comparative study of macrofungi in different patches of Boshan Community Forest in Kathmandu, Central Nepal

Macrofungi are considered as a group of high-value forest resources worldwide. In this paper, we report species richness and composition of macrofungi in three different forest patches (Schima-Castanopsis, Pinus and Alnus forest) of mid-hill, central Nepal, which were managed under Boshan Community Forest. A Systematic random sampling was applied where 20 rectangular plots of size 10 m x 10 m were laid at 1500 m to 1600 m elevation in each forest type. Species richness and composition of macrofungi were accessed in each forest type. Schima-Castanopsis forest was the richest in terms of macrofungal diversity (70 species), followed by Alnus forest (64) and Pinus forest (56). Polyporaceae was the largest family, followed by Amanitaceae. Agaricales (Rusulla and Amanita) were dominant in Schima-wallichi and Alnus forests, whereas Boletales were dominant in Pine forest. Macrofungal species richness increased with increasing canopy, soil moisture and soil pH. The species richness, however, had weak relationships with litter cover and disturbance. Based on the present study it can be concluded that the study area is rich in macrofungal diversity. Moist soil followed by litter and decaying wood assist the higher diversity of macrofungi. Species diversity is higher in moist and dense canopy forests (like, Schima-Castanopsis and alder) than in open and dry pine forest. Soil moisture, soil pH and tree canopy cover are the most important variables affecting macrofungal diversity. Botanica Orientalis – Journal of Plant Science (2017) 11: 43–48
Image reconstruction of buried dielectric cylinders by TE wave illumination

The inverse scattering of buried dielectric cylinders by transverse electric (TE) wave illumination is investigated. Dielectric cylinders of unknown permittivities are buried in one half space and scatter a group of unrelated TE waves incident from another half space where the scattered field is recorded. By proper arrangement of the various unrelated incident fields, the difficulties of ill-posedness and nonlinearity are circumvented and the permittivity distribution can be reconstructed through simple matrix operations. Good reconstruction is obtained even in the presence of additive random noise in the measured data.
Anthropogenically Induced Shifts in N:P:Si Stoichiometry and Implications in Ganga River

Human-induced N:P:Si imbalances and associated shifts in nutrient limitation in Ganga River remain relatively uncertain despite recent studies highlighting its importance. The goal of this watershed-scale study was to investigate the nutrient-limiting status of Ganga River, as influenced by atmospheric deposition (AD) and catchment runoff together with urban–industrial development. AD was highest in middle watershed, where AD of NO3– ranged from 10.56 to 28.93, AD of NH4+ from 4.26 to 15.42, and AD of PO43- from 1.82 to 2.94 kg ha-1 year-1. The results showed that AD-coupled catchment runoff is an important factor, in addition to direct urban–industrial release, causing N:P:Si imbalances that lead to N over P limitation (N:P < 16:1) and Si over N limitation (Si:N < 1) in the river. The skewed N:P:Si ratios observed here may have important effects on phytoplankton/diatom growth and trophic cascades and consequently on river ecology. This study that forms the first report on changing atmosphere–land–water N:P:Si linkages suggests that the current policy on Ganga rejuvenation needs to focus more strongly on cross-domain drivers of stoichiometric imbalances and approaches to minimize them.
Comparative study of biogas production from animal wastes by anaerobic digestion

This study compares biogas production from cattle dung, piggery faeces and poultry wastes under different environmental conditions by anaerobic digestion as a means of managing municipal solid wastes and was conducted in the Department of Biological Sciences, Benue State University, Makurdi from 1st August, 2011 to 13th December, 2011. A 6 Kg of each of waste was mixed with four litres of water and loaded into three locally constructed digesters. The biogas produced was measured using water displacement method after every 5 days. The result indicated that piggery feaces gave the highest yield of biogas (1.07 L/kg), followed by cattle dung (0.71 L/kg), with poultry wastes the least (0.42 L/kg) all under direct sunlight. This study shows that piggery droppings are the best substrate for biogas production and the best yield result when the process is carried out under direct sunlight. However, statistical analysis showed no significant difference in the biogas yield of these feed stocks at 5 % level of significance. Anaerobic digestion is recommended to be explored as an environmentally friendly technology for organic waste management.
Differential Rotation Between Lithosphere and Mantle' A Consequence of Lateral Mantle Viscosity Variations

The description of plate motions in the so-called hotspot reference frame introduces a global rotation of the lithosphere with respect to the mantle. This rotation, called toroidal field of degree 1, is roughly westward. It reaches an amplitude of about 2 cm/yr and has been consistently found in the different generation of plate tectonic models. Various authors have tried to relate this observation to the deceleration of the Earth's rotation, to polar wander, or to tidal drag. However, these different physical mechanisms cannot explain the requested amplitude. In this paper, we compare the values of this rotation vector using different relative plate motion models expressed in the hotspot reference frame. In a model Earth with lateral viscosity variations, a differential rotation is predicted. The observed net lithospheric rotation is consistent with the dynamics of a model Earth where the asthenospheric viscosity below the oceans is at least one order of magnitude lower than underneath the continents. This relative westward drift of the lithosphere may account for the significant structural differences between east or west dipping subduction zones.
THE MEDIATING ROLE OF INTRINSIC MOTIVATION BETWEEN TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND CREATIVITY

The current article is a literature review on the mediating role of intrinsic motivation between transformational leadership and creativity. However, past studies conducted on the role of intrinsic motivation as a mediator between transformational leaders and creativity has produced mixed results. Moreover, the lack and significance of creativity in education have been highlighted.Conclusion and future research are written at the end.
Adsorption and Polymerization of Aniline on Cu(II)-Montmorillonite: Vibrational Spectroscopy and ab Initio Calculation†

Batch adsorption experiments in the presence of oxygen were performed to study the interlayer reactions of aniline on Cu(II)-montmorillonite in aqueous solutions. At concentrations below a critical value of CC = 2.6 mmol dm-3 only a colored Cu(II)−aniline complex is formed, characterized by a stability constant of log(Kassoc/dm3 mol-1) = 1.5. At concentrations beyond Cc aniline polymerizes yielding a dark brown product, which is identified by two vibrational spectroscopy techniques, attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy and FT-Raman spectroscopy. Vibrational assignment of aniline, polyaniline, and the interlayer reaction products of aniline at Cu(II)-montmorillonite was achieved by a comparison of the band position and intensity observed in the ATR and FT-Raman spectra with wavenumbers and intensities (IR and Raman) from ab initio quantum-mechanical calculations. Density functional theory (DFT, B3LYP/6-31G*) has been used to calculate the geometry, frequencies, and.
Class Teacher Candidates’ Skill of Saying No in Relation to Components of Moral Anatomy

Problem Statement: The ability to say no when faced with demands with possible moral consequences becomes a problem that must be addressed in terms of morality in all of its dimensions, including in terms of the concept of character. Character can be defined from different perspectives, and within the framework of moral anatomy. For class teacher candidates, an additional consideration is that they will be professionally required to be models of character to students in critical periods of character development, as well as to promote the skill of saying no among students. In that regard, class teacher candidates’ skills of saying no when faced with moral dilemmas that they experience in their professional lives are essential to investigate, particularly in relation to the components of moral anatomy. Purpose of the Study: The purpose of the study was to investigate class teacher candidates’ skill of saying no in relation to components of moral anatomy. Method: Following a phenomenological design, this study’s sample included 25 volunteer class teacher candidates who have experienced the phenomenon of saying no in an education faculty in Turkey. Research data were collected via semi structured interviews conducted with case study texts containing moral dilemmas related to the ability of saying no. Data obtained in line with the case studies were analyzed according to thematic analysis. Findings: Class teacher candidates can generally say no when it comes to personal interests. The demand that they accept most concerns changing roles, and the only dilemmas that they fail to resolve are moral ones related to close relationships. A basic result of this study is that class teacher candidates think that they might have more difficulty with saying no in terms of having to change roles. Participants said that they would not have any difficulty with saying no due to their ideology, even when concerning their personal interests. It might be suggested that the most basic factor affecting class teacher candidates’ reactions to saying no when faced with moral dilemmas, at least within the scope of this study, is moral anatomy—that is, the person’s character structure. Conclusion and Recommendations: Results suggest that class teacher candidates need to distinguish evaluations of their morality according to moral anatomy characteristics that they possess and the codes of ethics of the teaching profession. Keywords: Character, character education, moral anatomy, moral identity, skill of saying no.
Board Power and Corporate Strategic Focus: A Model of Board Impact on Firm Strategy

Decades of research on corporate boards of directors resulting in diverse and often inconsistent findings have not dampened scholarly interest in the topic. Instead, researchers attempt to more effectively model the board-firm relationship. One such approach considers the power of the board. Drawing on upper echelons thinking (Hambrick and Mason, 1984) and notions of managerial power (Finkelstein, 1992) this conceptual study develops the concept of board power in relation to corporate strategy. Based on a framework of organizational power, the study develops propositions predicting the impact of board characteristics on a key strategic outcome – the diversification of the firm.
Vertical integration in telecommunications and foreclosure: The role of quality and the long run

It is known in regulatory economics the incentive that a vertically integrated company in the telecommunications sector, owning a local and a long distance network, has to foreclose interconnecting competitors in the long distance market in its local loop bottleneck. This occurred in the US telecommunications market, given the dependence of the new long distance competitors (MCI and Sprint) on the AT&T local networks to connect with end users. Aiming to avoid these problems and introduce competition at least in the long distance segment, the telecom reform in Brazil reduced the previous verticalization of the state-owned company TELEBRAS before privatization. We introduce a model that shows the incentive of the incumbent to reduce the quality of the call provided by the entrant through interconnection in a linear city model of the Hotelling type. The incentive to reduce quality, however, is not absolute and there is an incentive to leave the entrant operating in a given portion of the market. On the other hand, when we introduce long run considerations, the incentive to reduce quality can become absolute in the sense of not allowing entry anyway. The crucial hypothesis is that the entry in the long distance segment in the short run provides the basis for that, through a learning process, the entrant enters also in the local service in the long run. This shows the requirement of a strong monitoring by the regulator over interconnection quality.
Statistical Downscaling Methods for Climate Change Impact Assessment on Urban Rainfall Extremes for Cities in Tropical Developing Countries – a Review

Results of most global and regional climate model simulations cannot be directly applied in future change impacts and adaptation studies of urban drainage and flood risk management. A form of downscaling is required to increase the spatial and temporal resolution of the modelled rainfall data. This paper provides a critical review of the current state of the art statistical downscaling techniques that can be applied to quantify climate change impacts on urban rainfall extremes. Emphasis is placed on delta change methods and Poisson cluster stochastic rainfall models. The paper discusses the applicability and key limitations of statistical downscaling in climate impact and adaptation studies for cities in tropical developing countries. From the review, it can be concluded that simpler statistical downscaling techniques with modest resource requirements such as climate impact sensitivity analyses, use of simple Markov chain or semi-empirical models, construction of climate analogues and spatial interpolation of grid point data are appropriate for scoping of climate impacts and evaluation of mitigation and adaptation strategies at the city scale. Emerging resilience based approaches that combine both scenario based climate model projections and acceptability thresholds defined by key flood risk management stakeholders are promising for application in climate impact and adaptation studies for cities in tropical developing countries.
The O I] 1641 Å line as a probe of symbiotic star winds

Aims. The neutral oxygen resonance λ1302 A line can, if the optical depth is sufficiently high, de-excite by an intercombination transition at λ1641 A to a metastable state. This has been noted in a number of previous studies but never systematically investigated as a diagnostic of the neutral red giant wind in symbiotic stars and symbiotic-like recurrent novae. Methods. We used archival IUE high resolution, and HST GHRS and STIS medium and high resolution, spectra to study a sample of symbiotic stars. The integrated fluxes were measured, where possible, for the O I λ1302 A and O I] λ1641 A lines. Results. The intercombination λ1641 A line is detected in a substantial number of symbiotic stars with optical depths that give column densities comparable with direct eclipse measures (EG And) and the evolution of the recurrent nova RS Oph 1985 in outburst. In four systems (EG And, Z And, V1016 Cyg, and RR Tel), we find that the O I] variations are strongly correlated with the optical light curve and outburst activity. This transition can also be important for the study of a wide variety of sources in which an ionization-bounded H II region is imbedded in an extensive neutral medium, including active galactic nuclei, and not only for evaluations of extinction.
A numerical index for evaluating phytoplankton response to changes in nutrient levels in deep mediterranean reservoirs

This paper proposes a new ecological index based on phytoplankton (MedPTI) as suggested by the European Directive 2000/60/CE, Water Framework Directive (WFD). The index is a useful tool to verify the impacts of eutrophication in Mediterranean reservoirs belonging to different categories of the WFD. Multiple data sets were employed to develop the MedPTI index. The calibration data set included data collected from 30 Sardinian reservoirs in 1994. A list of 44 selected taxa was obtained and used for index calculation. A second dataset including 48 averaged annual values from 10 reservoirs was used. Results showed good correlation between MedPTI and concentration of total phosphorus, which was the limiting nutrient in these reservoirs. The trophic classifications determined using the index agreed with the results from the OECD probabilistic model on the same series of data. Finally, the index was included in an international exercise to compare the definition of reference conditions and quality class boundaries against indices used in other Mediterranean countries.