Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Life History and Some Aspects of the Ecology of the Large Aspen Tortrix, Choristoneura conflictana (Wlkr.) (N. Comb.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

Periodic outbreaks of the large aspen tortrix, Choristoneura conflictana (Wlkr.) severely defoliate trembling aspen, Populus tremuloides Michx. , in parts of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The inadequacy of information on the insect prompted further investigation of its life history and the factors affecting its abundance. Field studies were conducted in Northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan, where from 1950 to 1954 the insect was found at various population levels.
Functional difference between Thy‐1‐positive and Thy‐1‐negative γδ T cells induced by Escherichia coli infection in mice

There is an increase in number of γδ T cells in the peritoneal cavity after intraperitoneal (i.p.) inoculation with Escherichia coli. The E. coli‐induced γδ T cells in C3H/He mice contain a large amount of Thy‐1‐negative population in addition to the Thy‐1‐positive population. We investigated the difference between the Thy‐1‐positive and the Thy‐1‐negative γδ T cells. Although it was found that only up to 4% of the γδ T cells on day 5 after infection were in cycling phase, and that the γδ T cells did not proliferate by immobilized anti‐T‐cell receptor (TCR) γδ monoclonal antibody stimulation, the γδ T cells proliferated in the presence of interleukin‐2 (IL‐2) and IL‐7. The Thy‐1‐negative γδ T cells showed higher proliferative response compared with the Thy‐1‐positive γδ T cells. Furthermore, the Thy‐1‐negative γδ T cells showed lower IFN‐γ mRNA expression than the Thy‐1‐positive γδ T cells. On the other hand, both the Thy‐1‐positive and Thy‐1‐negative γδ T cells predominantly expressed Vγ1, Vγ4, Vγ5, Vγ6 and Vγ1, and no difference of V region usage was detected between them. These results suggest that functions of Thy‐1‐positive γδ T cells differ from Thy‐1‐negative γδ T cells although Thy‐1‐positive and Thy‐1‐negative γδ T cells may have similar V region repertoire and, possibly, similar antigen specificity.
Africa's Malaria Epidemic Predictor: Application of Machine Learning on Malaria Incidence and Climate Data

The 2019 World Malaria Report confirms that Africa continue to bear the burden of malaria morbidity. The continent accounted for over 93% of the global malaria incidence reported in 2018. Despite the numerous multi-level and consultative efforts to combat this epidemic, malaria continues to claim thousands of human lives, especially those of children under 5 years of age. Since malaria is preventable and treatable, one of the solutions towards reducing the number of deaths is by implementing an effective malaria outbreak early warning system that can forecast malaria incidence long before they occur. This way, policymakers can put mitigation measures in place. Tapping into the success of machine learning algorithms in predicting disease outbreaks, we present a malaria outbreak prediction system that is anchored on the well-established correlation between certain climatic conditions and breeding environment of the malaria carrying vector (mosquito). Historical datasets on climate and malaria incidence are used to train nine machine learning algorithms and four best performing ones identified based on classification accuracy and computation performance. Preceding the models' development, reliability and correlation analysis was carried out on the data; this was then followed by reduction of the dimensionality of the feature space of the two datasets. Given the power of deep learning in handling selectivity variance, the malaria predictor system was developed based on the deep learning algorithm. Further, the evaluation of the system was done using the Simulator function in RapidMiner and the accuracy of the predictions assessed using an independent dataset that was not used in the models' development. With prediction accuracy of up to 99%, this system has the potential in contributing to the fight against malaria epidemic in Africa and elsewhere in the world.
The Heroes Behind the Heroes of Apollo-11: Role of STEM

During Apollo-11 project, countless scientists, engineers, technicians worked behind the scenes to ensure that both the solutions and the execution of the detailed flight plan was a success. It is our goal to create an interactive application that allows users to explore NASA’s archive of Apollo missions. The application is specifically aimed at younger users, on the purpose of engaging K-12 students, inspire them to grow interest to get into scientific fields of study, and promote the positive nature of the space program.
Evaluation of genotoxicity through micronuclei test in workers of car and battery repair garages

In this study, the micronuclei test (MNT) was applied in exfoliated cells of buccal mucosa, in order to evaluate the genotoxic risk associated with occupational exposure of mechanics, storage battery renovation workers, and car painters. For each individual, 3000 exfoliated buccal cells were analyzed. There was a significantly higher frequency of micronucleated cells (MNC) in the exposed workers than in controls. Smoking and drinking habits, age, and working time did not represent significant factors in terms of increasing the production of micronuclei (MN), when the control and the exposed groups were compared. These results allowed to conclude that the studied individuals belong to a risk group and should periodically undergo biological monitoring and proper care.
Colour change and visual cues in the sand flathead, Platycephalus arenarius (Ramsay and Ogilby)

This study investigates cryptic coloration and the phenomenon of colour change in the sand flathead, Platycephalus arenarius (Ramsay and Ogilby), a shallow-water marine species. The chromatophore configurations of the dorsal integument are described and the responses to a range of artificial backgrounds studied. Certain visual cues used by this species in colour change are deduced, and the existence of a linear relationship between the shade of the integument and that of the background is proposed.
Help from the dead: facilitation during succession can start when neighbours die

Resco de Dios et al. (2014, this issue) show a shift from negative to positive effects on woody seedlings when grass neighbours died in the second half of a 4-yr study. Further experiments are needed to unambiguously assign the effects to living and dead neighbours, but the study raises intriguing possibilities, and yet another link between ecosystem-level ecology and population biology.
Techniques for tracking amphibians: The effects of tag attachment, and harmonic direction finding versus radio telemetry

To gain information on the microhabitat use, home range and movement of a species, it is often necessary to remotely track individuals in the field. Radio telemetry is commonly used to track amphibians, but can only be used on relatively large individuals. Harmonic direction finding can be used to track smaller animals, but its effectiveness has not been fully evaluated. Tag attachment can alter the behaviour of amphibians, suggesting that data obtained using either technique may be unreliable. We investigated the effects of external tag attachment on behaviour in the laboratory by observing 12 frogs for five nights before and five nights after tag attachment, allowing one night to recover from handling. Tag attachment did not affect distance moved or number of times moved, indicating that the effects of tag attachment are unlikely to persist after the first night following attachment. We then compared harmonic direction finding and radio-telemetry using data collected in the field. We fitted rainforest stream frogs of three species with tags of either type, located them diurnally and nocturnally for approximately two weeks, and compared movement parameters between techniques. In the field, we obtained fewer fixes on frogs using harmonic direction finding, but measures of movement and habitat use did not differ significantly between techniques. Because radio telemetry makes it possible to locate animals more consistently, it should be preferred for animals large enough to carry radio tags. If harmonic direction finding is necessary, it can produce reliable data, particularly for relatively sedentary species.
Epiphyte diversity on host trees in an urban environment, eThekwini Municipal Area, South Africa

Vascular epiphytes live non-parasitically on other plants and are a distinctive and intergral component of tropical forests. There is a general lack of studies examining epiphyte diversity in urban settings. The aim of this study was to document the diversity of epiphytes on host trees in the eThekwini Metropolitan Area (EMA). In addition, the number of individuals of each epiphyte, host tree circumference at breast height and height were recorded. In total, 30 epiphyte species from 12 families were recorded, with most epiphyte species belonging to the Moraceae (n = 8) and Araliaceae (n = 5). A total of 34 host species from 15 families were recorded. These numbers did not increase when considering herbarium material within the EMA sensu stricto. The highest epiphyte richness (n = 13) was reported on the palm Raphia australis. The high number of both alien host and epiphytic taxa are of concern. More studies are needed to understand how epiphyte/host interactions in the urban landscape are established and maintained.
A REVIEW ON ANONYMIZATION TECHNIQUES FOR PRIVACY PROTECTION IN DATA MINING

- Data anonymization is a primary technique used purposely for the protection of privacy. To remain anonymous, it excludes personal identifiable information from data sets. Preservation of privacy is a major factor to be considered in protecting against attacks by unauthorized entities on identity disclosure and ensuring that data is anonymized and still efficient for analytical tasks. The data can be released to ensure that the loss of information is minimal in order to maintain the utility of the analysis for further tasks. The data in the dataset may be a mixture of sensitive and non-sensitive information. To order to protect sensitive data from the outside world, privacy protection strategies for data publishing are rapidly increased. K-anonymity is one of important privacy protection strategies, but more attention needs to be paid to increasing data usefulness and more loss of knowledge before publishing. Using L-diversity and T-closeness strategies, privacy security can be based on nodes. Edge perturbation and edge randomization are privacy conservation techniques in social network graphs. Relational information and social network data protect privacy using K-anonymity, edge perturbation, edge randomization, and L-diversity techniques. In this paper, a comparative review and study on K-Anonymity, L-Diversity, T-Closeness and perturbation Anonymization techniques is presented along with slicing for high-dimensional databases and procedure for following the reduction of dimensionality with selection of features.
Live trapping to monitor small mammals in Britain

1. The use of live trapping in Britain to monitor small mammal distribution and population fluctuations is reviewed. Four small mammal monitoring programmes from Britain, the results of which are either partially or wholly unpublished, were examined to determine the nature and extent of information that can be gathered from long-term and/or large-scale live-trapping programmes, the degree to which such information can be extrapolated across habitats, and the likely precision with which long-term changes in numbers can be quantified. The most extensive of the surveys examined were The Mammal Society National Woodland Small Rodent Survey and the ADAS Hedgerow Survey. These monitored wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus, bank vole Clethrionomys glareolus and, in the ADAS survey only, common shrew Sorex araneus population fluctuations on a broad spatial scale. 2. The studies provided evidence of population synchrony and demonstrated quantitatively the effects of mast crops and local food supplies on rodent dynamics. Evidence of population synchrony between sites for wood mice and shrews suggests that it may be possible to extrapolate population changes from site-specific to national scenarios. However, this may be problematic for some species and across habitats, although comparison of the data from the woodland and hedgerow surveys suggests that there may be a degree of long-term synchrony in bank vole populations between the two habitats. 3. Analysis of the capture data from the two surveys indicated that annual changes of 3–11% from the population mean would be detectable with 85% power if monitoring is carried out for 10 years on 50 sites; increasing site replication further is unlikely to result in a significant increase in precision. 4. The nature of the information provided by live trapping with grids, as carried out in The Mammal Society and the ADAS surveys, is compared with that obtained from line trapping and from a range of indirect techniques. It is suggested that future monitoring will need to take an integrated approach in which information from direct and indirect monitoring of small mammal populations is linked with broad-scale data on changes in habitat availability.
Quality Control During Processing of Feta Cheese—NIR Application

Abstract This work examines the possibility of using near infrared (NIR) spectroscopic method for the production process control of the traditional Greek feta cheese. A NIR apparatus (Instalab 600-Dickey–John) was employed. Moisture, fat and protein determinations were selected as calibration set for the instrument. Samples were drawn from well-defined critical points of production. In all the samples conventional chemical methods were applied for the quantitative determination of the above ingredients. Results were compared with the respective data from NIR apparatus. All data were processed by a suitable computer program so that the calibration constants could be calculated and then stored in the apparatus. Their accuracy was verified using an independent set of analyzed samples. Because the NIR apparatus used in this work was not suitable for liquid products, a novel technique was developed using “quartz fine granular washed and calcined GR” (pro analysi). This technique proved to be reliable with a significant accuracy. From this study it can be concluded that NIR technique can be applied successfully for the on-line quality control of the feta cheese production. The reliability, significant reduction of human errors, precision and quickness of NIR spectroscopy experienced during this work, support the implementation of this method.
PENGARUH PENGUNGKAPAN MANAJEMEN RISIKO TERHADAP ASIMETRIS INFORMASI DENGAN KUALITAS AUDIT DAN FUNGSI INTERNAL AUDIT SEBAGAI VARIABEL PEMODERASI

Abstract: The study aims to test the influence of negative risk disclosure against information asymmetry and test the role of internal audit function and the specialization of auditors in strengthening the negative influence of risk disclosure against information asymmetry. The research samples consist of 281 companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in 2016. The method of analysis used in this research is the method of regression analysis of moderating by using STATA analysis tool version 13. The results showed that the disclosure of risk has a negative and significant effect on information asymmetry, while internal audit functions and auditors ' specializations cannot strengthen the negative influence of risk disclosure against asymmetry Information. Keywords: Disclosure, information asymmetry, internal audit function, specialisation of Auditors Abstrak: Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji pengaruh negatif pengungkapan risiko terhadap asimetri informasi dan menguji peran fungsi internal audit dan spesialisasi auditor dalam memperkuat pengaruh negatif pengungkapan risiko terhadap asimetri informasi. Sampel penelitian terdiri dari 281 perusahaan yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia (BEI) tahun 2016. Metode analisis yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode analisis regresi moderasi dengan menggunakan alat analisis STATA Versi 13. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pengungkapan risiko berpengaruh negatif dan signifikan terhadap asimetri informasi, sedangkan fungsi internal audit dan spesialisasi auditor tidak dapat memperkuat pengaruh negatif pengungkapan risiko terhadap asimetri informasi. Kata Kunci: pengungkapan risiko, asimetri informasi, fungsi internal audit, spesialisasi auditor.
Spraying effects on some physiological and behavioural traits of goats in a subtropical climate

Abstract Heat stress is one of the major factors adversely affecting animal welfare and thus economic benefits of farms. This study was designed to determine the effects of two different spraying methods on goats exposed to high air temperatures. Thirty goats were divided into three groups for the trial (sprayed once per day, OTS; sprayed twice per day, TTS; and non-sprayed, Controls). Respiration and pulse rates, rectal and surface temperatures (from head and udder skin) were taken three times a day (08.00 - 09.00; 16.00 -17.00 and 00.00 - 01.00) on hot summer days in July 2005 in a Mediterranean climate. Some behavioural aspects such as eating, ruminating, drinking, walking and resting, and daily feed and water consumption were regularly measured. Rectal temperatures, pulse and respiration rates, udder and head temperatures differed between the three groups. Rectal, head and udder temperatures and respiration and pulse rates increased at 16.00 relative to 08.00, and at 00.00 had returned to the same level as at 08.00. TTS goats showed smaller increases in all physiological measurements at 16.00 than the other groups. TTS goats spent more time than OTS and Control goats eating (P=0.002), ruminating (P=0.032) and walking (P=0.021), but less time drinking (P=0.041) and lying (P=0.001). TTS goats consumed more concentrate feed (P=0.001) and alfalfa hay (P=0.024) than the other two groups, whereas Control goats consumed more water (P=0.003) than the other groups. Ultimately, the spraying had positive effects on yearling goats for alleviating heat stress and improving animal welfare.
Combining Ability Analysis for Bread Wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.)

Choice of promising genotypes from a diverse genetic base and subsequent utilization for hybridization is one of the strategies for improving productivity of bread wheat. The data from eight parents and their F1 progenies of half-diallel crosses were analyzed for combining ability for yield and yield related traits in triplicate randomized complete block design in 2005 at Sinana, south-east Ethiopia. Significant differences among all the genotypes were apparent for all traits, except for biomass per plant. Both GCA and SCA mean squares revealed significant differences in plant height, harvest index, grain yield per plant, 1000-kernel weight and maturity traits, indicating the important of both additive and non-additive gene actions in the inheritance of these traits with the predominant effect of non-additive gene action. For the remaining traits, only mean square due to GCA showed significant variation, indicating the greater importance of additive gene action in controlling the inheritance of these characters. Abola gave highly significant GCA effects in the desirable direction and was the best general combiner for most of the traits, followed by Galema and Sofumer, while Dashen was the only parent which showed significant positive GCA effect for grain yield per plant. Cross combinations of Dashen x Galema, Abola x Dure, Dashen x Meda-Welabu, Abola x Galema, and Galema x Dure, exhibited significant SCA effects in the desired direction for at least two and, at most, for four traits, for which SCA variance showed significant differences. Hence, these crosses revealed possibility for commercial exploitation of heterosis as well as selection of potential homozygous lines from transgressive segregants for improvement of yield levels of bread wheat. Keywords: Combining Ability; Diallel Cross; GCA; SCA; Triticum aestivum
Colour patterns in the sea urchin, Heliocidaris erythrogramma, suggest limited connectivity across the Southern and Pacific Ocean coastlines of Australia

Heliocidaris erythrogramma is a widespread Australian sea urchin whose colour varies greatly. Here we report large-scale, hierarchically structured surveys, testing for patterns in colouration of H. erythrogramma associated with wave exposure, and consistency between populations from the Pacific and Southern Oceans. Along the Southern Ocean coastline, more urchins with white dermis were found in (ocean swell-exposed) open coast regions, whereas more urchins with red dermis were usually found in the (ocean swell-protected) bay regions. In contrast, only red dermis urchins were found in both open coast and bay regions along the Pacific coastline. Spine colour was found to be independent of test colour within locations and, while no differences in the frequencies of spine colours were detected between regions of different wave exposure, differences were detected across 1–100s of km within coastlines. Large differences in the frequencies of spine colours were also detected between the two coastlines. Clear differences in two independent characteristics of colour between Southern Ocean and Pacific coastlines, combined with intermediate patterns at a location near the junction of these coastlines, suggest that large-scale morphological patterns might reflect intra-specific genetic differentiation within H. erythrogramma, large-scale environmental differences between temperate Australian coastlines, or an interaction between these two factors.
A rapid protein digestibility assay for identifying highly digestible sorghum lines

ABSTRACT Protein digestibility in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) lines was determined using two standard procedures (pepsin digestibility and pH-stat) and compared with a newly developed, rapid electrophoresis-based screening assay. The new assay was based on the rate of α-kafirin disappearance after pepsin digestion. α-Kafirin, the major sorghum storage protein, makes up ≈60–70% of the total protein in the grain. In the new assay, samples were first digested with pepsin for 1 hr, and undigested proteins were then analyzed by SDS-PAGE. The intensitizes of the undigested α-kafirin bands were measured. Higher band intensity indicated lower protein digestibility. The new assay was significantly correlated with the standard pepsin digestibility assay (r = −0.96, n = 16) after which it was patterned. The same was true of the pH-stat procedure (r = −0.85, n = 16). This implies that the new assay is comparable to existing procedures and can be used for screening sorghum lines for protein digestibility. Tw.
CONCURRENT DETECTION OF ESCHERICHIA COLI O157:H7 AND SALMONELLA FROM A SINGLE ENRICHMENT IN 24 H

The objective of this study was to determine if a single assay protocol could result in the concurrent detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella from a single sample grown in a single enrichment in 24 h. Twenty-five and 375 g of ground beef, nonfat dry milk, and dry pet food samples were seeded with low (10 cfu/sample) and high (100 cfu/sample) levels of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella cultures and incubated at 35 and 41C for 18 h for nonselective preenrichment. Incubated samples were analyzed by immunomagnetic separation (IMS) following a 6 h incubation for selective enrichment at 37C using M-broth and enzyme linked immumosorbent assay (ELISA). Depending on the food samples and the inoculation level, the minimum concurrent detection level of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella was Des echantillons alimentaires ont ete inocules avec des doses faible et elevees d'E. coli et de Salmonella, puis incubes a 35 ou 41° pendant 18 heures dans un milieu non selectif. Puis les echantillons subissent une separation immunomagnetique, ils sont cultives en milieu selectif a 37° et testes par la methode ELISA. E.coli et Salmonella peuvent etre detectes simultanement dans certains aliments pour des concentrations ufc<1g