Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Opportunistic records reveal Mediterranean reptiles’ scale‐dependent responses to anthropogenic land use

Although classified among the greatest threats to the world’s biodiversity, the effects of land use and their scale dependency are left unexplored in many taxonomic groups. Reptiles are among the most data-deficient vertebrates in this respect, although their ecological traits make them highly sensitive to habitat modifications. We tested whether land use gradients shape the distributions of Mediterranean reptiles at regional and local scales, and whether species’ ecological traits and phylogeny explain these patterns. Reptiles are generally rare and hard to survey through standardized protocols. We overcame these obstacles by modeling an original data set of 18164 opportunistic occurrence records for 14 reptile species with spatially-explicit point process models incorporating known sources of sampling heterogeneity and spatially autocorrelated error. At a regional scale, reptiles favored open habitats and tended to avoid urban areas. At a local scale, the persistence of open habitats did better than forest resulting from land abandonment in maintaining reptiles within a heavily anthropogenic matrix. Contrary to our expectations, the absence of any clear trait or phylogenetic signals suggests that these responses are mediated by a complex interplay between species’ ecology and regional biogeographic history. These results demonstrate that reptile responses to land use are scale-dependent and locally exacerbated when anthropogenic pressure is high. We further show that land abandonment is insufficient to preserve reptiles in the face of anthropogenic pressures unless patches of suitable habitat are effectively maintained. Eventually, our study further illustrates the effectiveness of volunteer-based opportunistic sampling in testing hypotheses on the determinants of rare species’ distributions.
A ética como um dos desafios da Inteligência Artificial

This study deals with issues of ethics and challenges related to its application in the field of Artificial Intelligence. In an analysis of AI in its social context, the impacts that this emerging branch of science can bring and its consequences are examined. From a methodological point of view, the paper deals with ethical assumptions, the cybernetic challenges related to society for its implementation and its adherence with AI citing examples and carrying out some evaluations. In view of the rapid development of this area, the paper emphasizes the growing importance of the debate among the agents involved.
High Capacity Functionalized Protein Superabsorbents from an Agricultural Co‐Product: A Cradle‐to‐Cradle Approach

Synthesis of superabsorbent particles from nontoxic wheat gluten (WG) protein, as an industrial co‐product, is presented. A natural molecular cross‐linker named genipin (a hydrogenated glycoside) is used together with a dianhydride (ethylenediaminetetraacetic EDTAD), to enable the preparation of a material with a network structure capable of swelling up to ≈4000% in water and ≈600% in saline solution. This represents an increase in swelling by over 10 times compared to the already highly absorbing gluten reference material. The carboxylation (using EDTAD) and the cross‐linking of the protein result in a hydrogel with liquid retention capacity as high as 80% of the absorbed water remaining in the WG network on extensive centrifugation, which is higher than that of commercial fossil‐based superabsorbents. The results also show that more polar forms of the reacted genipin are more effectively grafted onto the protein, contributing to the swelling and liquid retention. Microscopy of the materials reveals extensive nanoporosity (300 nm), contributing to rapid capillarity‐driven absorption. The use of proteins from agricultural industries for the fabrication of sustainable protein superabsorbents is herein described as an emerging avenue for the development of the next generation daily‐care products with a minimal environmental impact.
El problema ontológico mente-cuerpo: ¿irresoluble o mal entendido?

The objective of this article is to state that the mind-body problem, understood in terms of the determination of an ontology, be it monistic or dualistic, has been poorly addressed; hence, it leads to intricate paths and erroneous, as well as extravagant, conclusions. Understanding the relationship of the mind with the brain, in ontological terms, is among other factors, due to the Cartesian inheritance and its clear dualism. It is argued that the philosophical mind-body problem is not different from a scientific mind-body (brain) problem, in which one must look for support in the empirical evidence. Finally, it is argued that a successful philosophical analysis regarding the relationship between the mental and the cerebral must be considered as a conceptual problem associated with linguistic meaning and with epistemological consequences, but not ontological. Likewise, it is concluded that many of the concepts related to the mental must be considered in relation to institutional reality in order to avoid an eliminatory attempt at naturalization.
Evaluation of ice particle growth in ICON using statistics of multi‐frequency Doppler cloud radar observations

Vertically pointing radar observations combining multiple frequencies and Doppler measurements have been recently shown to contain valuable information about ice particle growth processes, such as aggregation and riming. In this study, we use a two‐months X, Ka, W‐Band Doppler radar dataset of midlatitude winter clouds to infer statistical growth signatures of ice and snow particles. The observational statistics are compared to forward‐simulated radar moments based on simulations of the campaign time period with a high‐resolution version of the ICON model and a two‐moment microphysical scheme. The statistical comparison shows very good agreement of the simulated vertical structure of radar reflectivity and surface precipitation rate. The dual‐wavelength ratios, which are closely related to the mean particle size, also show consistently a major increase at temperatures higher than –15 °C. However, at temperatures higher than –7 °C, ICON increasingly overestimates the mean particle size. The statistics of mean Doppler velocities also reveal that the model overestimates the terminal velocity of snow particles, especially at larger sizes. We discuss possible reasons for the identified discrepancies, such as an unrealistic temperature dependence of the sticking efficiency or the non‐saturation of terminal velocities at larger sizes caused by the implemented power law relations. Our study demonstrates examples of the importance of combining various radar techniques for identifying issues in simulated microphysical processes, which can otherwise be hidden due to compensating errors.
INVESTOR BEHAVIOUR AND STOCK MARKET REACTION IN KENYA

Nairobi Securities Exchange has witnessed cases of stock market reactions as a result of extreme price volatility which point to the possibility of underlying inefficiencies that impacts on the shareholder value. Such market reactions are as a result of irrational investor behavior leading to market inefficiencies. A challenge to Efficient Market Hypothesis is that individuals often overreact and underreact to news causing stock markets to react according to investor behaviour in their investment decision making. Generally, the study determined the effect of investor behaviour, on stock market reaction of listed companies in Kenya. Specifically, the study determined the effect of investor herd behaviour on stock market reactions of listed companies in Kenya; determined the effect of investor loss aversion on stock market reactions of listed companies in Kenya; determined the effect of investor mental accounting on stock market reactions of listed companies in Kenya; and determined the effect of investor overconfidence on stock market reactions of listed companies in Kenya. The target population was 67 listed companies at the Nairobi Securities Exchange. A sample of 48 listed companies was used for analysis. Secondary data extracted from NSE historical data of listed companies for the period 2004 to 2016 was used for analysis. The study adopted quantitative research design. Panel data regression analysis model was used. The results indicate that investor herd behaviour does not have a significant effect on stock market reaction. However, investor loss aversion, investor mental accounting and investor overconfidence have significant effect on stock market reaction in Kenya. JEL: E22; G11 Article visualizations:
A new σ ‐transform based Fourier‐Legendre‐Galerkin model for nonlinear water waves

This paper presents a new spectral model for solving the fully nonlinear potential flow problem for water waves in a single horizontal dimension. At the heart of the numerical method is the solution to the Laplace equation which is solved using a variant of the σ ‐transform. The method discretizes the spatial part of the governing equations using the Galerkin method and the temporal part using the classical fourth‐order Runge‐Kutta method. A careful investigation of the numerical method's stability properties is carried out, and it is shown that the method is stable up to a certain threshold steepness when applied to nonlinear monochromatic waves in deep water. Above this threshold artificial damping may be employed to obtain stable solutions. The accuracy of the model is tested for: (i) highly nonlinear progressive wave trains, (ii) solitary wave reflection, and (iii) deep water wave focusing events. In all cases it is demonstrated that the model is capable of obtaining excellent results, essentially up to very near breaking.
Research on the theory of the accuracy loss equality of dynamic measurement system

Based on the whole-system accuracy theory,the rule of accuracy loss was analyzed. The formula of inequality analysis were obtained according to the decomposition and tracing results of dynamic errors. Then,a uniform loss theory for dynamic measurement systems was put forward based on a principle of equality life design to make every error source a simultaneous loss for the maximum efficiency.
The Effect of Cold and Warm Anomalies on Phytoplankton Pigment Composition in Waters off the Northern Baja California Peninsula (México): 2007–2016

In this study, we report the response of phytoplankton community composition to cold and warm interannual events affecting the waters off the Baja California Peninsula from 2007 to 2016 based on data obtained from a single marine station (31.75° N/116.96° W). Included variables were satellite chlorophyll a, sea surface temperature (MODIS/Aqua), upwelling intensity, and field data (phytoplankton pigments, inorganic nutrients, light penetration). Phytoplankton pigments were determined by high performance liquid chromatography, and CHEMTAX software was used to determine the relative contributions of the main taxonomic groups to chlorophyll a. Our results confirm the decrease in phytoplankton biomass due to the influence of the recent Pacific Warm Anomaly (2014) and El Niño 2015–2016. However, this decrease was especially marked at the surface. When data from the entire water column was considered, this decrease was not significant, because at the subsurface Chla did not decrease as much. Nevertheless, significant changes in community composition occurred in the entire water column with Cyanobacteria (including Prochlorococcus) and Prymnesiophytes being dominant at the surface, while Chlorophytes and Prasinophytes made a strong contribution at the subsurface. Analysis of the spatial distribution of SST and satellite chlorophyll a made it possible to infer the spatial extension of these anomalies at a regional scale.
NEW CRISPR/CAS9 GENE EDITING TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY

Plant resistance is an economical and sustainable stress management option. For plant diseases complete resistance does not exist and partial resistance has mostly been ineffective under field conditions. Our efforts to increase the strength of the plant innate defense system using the best modern gene editing technology CRISPR/Cas9 in combination with elaboration of simple and effective method of germ-line genetic transformation would be effective to limit viral and fungal pathogens in barley and to produce yield potential elite barley varieties with high economical benefice.
Simultaneous determination of quinolones in livestock and marine products by high performance liquid chromatography

A high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of nalidixic acid, flumequine, oxolinic acid, piromidic acid, danofloxacin, enrofloxacin and sarafloxacin in chicken, pork and fish. These seven quinolone antibacterials were extracted with 0.3% metaphosphoric acid: acetonitrile (1:10, v/v), followed by a Bond Elut C18 cartridge clean up procedure. The HPLC separation was achieved on a Cosmosil 5C18-AR-II column (5 (cid:181)m, 4.6 mm i.d. ¥ 250 mm) with ace-tonitrile: 0.05M NaH 2 PO 4 (pH 2.5)(35:65, v/v) containing 3.5 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate as a mobile phase, and detection was performed with photodiode array and fluorescence detector (by using wavelength programming). Good linearity was observed from the calibration plot at concentrations from 0.05 to 10.0 mg/mL (0.005~2.0 (cid:181)g/mL for danofloxacin). Recovery studies of the analytes were performed at 0.01, 0.1, 0.4 and 2.0 ppm (0.001, 0.01, 0.04 and 0.20 ppm for danofloxacin) spiked levels. Average recoveries of low concentration ranged from 74.3 to 85.5% and those of the rest ranged from 80.1 to 99.9% with coefficients of variation less than 5.8%. The detection limits of quinolones were 0.01~0.04 ppm with photodiode array detection and 0.0006~0.05 ppm with fluorescence detection. The coefficients of variation of intra-day and inter-day assays were lower than 3.29% and 5.23%, respectively. These results indicated that the developed method had an acceptable precision. Using this method to detect quinolones in sixty three samples purchased from various markets in Taipei, we found that nine wu ku chicken muscles contained enrofloxacin residues ranged from 0.08 to 4.04 ppm, four wu ku chicken liver muscles contained enrofloxacin residues ranged from 0.01 to 0.27 ppm, and oxolinic acid residues in three sweet fish samples ranged from 0.13 to 0.35 ppm. The results indicated that 25.4% of samples violated the regulation set by the Department of Health. The enrofloxacin residue in wu ku chicken muscle is very stable even after a long period of refrigeration at 4 ß C.
Estimation of biosorption characteristics of chromium (VI) from aqueous and real tannery effluents by treated T. vulgaris: experimental assessment and statistical modelling

ABSTRACT The current study has focused on the removal proficiency of acid-treated brown marine algae Turbinaria vulgaris (T. vulgaris) for the removal of Cr (VI) from laboratory grade solution along with real tannery effluent. Surface morphology, elemental configuration, structural parameters and functional group identification of the acid-treated T. vulgaris were done through appropriate analysis. The optimized ranges of significant components for biosorption study were initial Cr (VI) ion concentration (20–100 mg.l−1), pH (1–3), biosorbent concentration (0.1–0.5 g.l−1) and temperature (283–323 K). The maximum removal percentage (90.08%) of Cr (VI) through biosorption by T. vulgaris is achieved at optimum conditions: pH 2.39, initial metal ion strength-19.85 mg.l−1, biosorbent quantity-0.26 g.l−1 and temperature-299.44 K. Characterisation of T. vulgaris was done before and after sorption study. The removal characteristics were validated through different isotherms and kinetic models towards the estimation of solute interaction and biosorption nature. The entire experimental results concluded that biosorption of Cr (VI) obeys pseudo second-order kinetics. Biosorption of Cr (VI) onto T. vulgaris follows Freundlich isotherm (R 2 = 0.999), with maximum removal capability of 21.25 mg.g−1. Thus, acid-treated T. vulgaris could be an efficient biosorbent towards the removal of Cr (VI) from chromium containing waste effluent. Graphical Abstract
Headache - A Broad Overview

Roy G Beran1,2,3*, Geoffrey Quail4 and Frank JE Vajda4,5 1University of New South Wales, Australia 2Griffith University, Queensland, Australia 3Sechenov First State University, Moscow, Russia 4Monash University, Alfred Hospital, Victoria, Australia 5University of Melbourne, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Victoria, Australia *Corresponding Author: Roy G Beran, University of New South Wales, Australia and Griffith University, Queensland, Australia and Sechenov First State University, Moscow, Russia. Received: June 01, 2020; Published: July 08, 2020
Crisis financiera mundial y sus efectos sobre el canal del crédito bancario en la economía colombiana

El objetivo de este trabajo es examinar el canal del crédito bancario en Colombia para el periodo 1995-2015, teniendo en cuenta las repercusiones que tuvo la crisis financiera mundial del 2007 sobre este. Para ello, se divide la muestra en dos periodos (pre y poscrisis) y se utilizan dos enfoques con el fin de obtener resultados robustos. Utilizando modelos de datos panel, se encuentra que un incremento en la tasa de interés de referencia de 1% disminuye el crédito bancario en un 2 a 3% (independientemente del enfoque usado), lo cual evidencia la existencia del canal para el periodo precrisis; asimismo, los resultados encontrados muestran que dicho canal tiene efectos heterogéneos. Por otro lado, para el periodo poscrisis, los resultados pierden significancia estadística, lo que sugiere que la crisis financiera mundial sí tuvo un efecto sobre dicho canal. Lo anterior implica que el banco central de Colombia, al momento de tomar decisiones y de formular su política monetaria, debería tener en cuenta que el efecto final sobre la economía no es el mismo al efecto observado antes del 2007.
PROGNOSTIC EVALUATION OF THE IMPACT OF RESTRICTED HORIZON VISIBILITY ON THE ACCURACY OF POSITION (COORDINATES) OBTAINED WITH GNSS BASED ON EMPIRICAL DATA

In this research, the practical check of regression equation to calculate the prognostic root mean square error (RMSE) of the final point position of the base line in relation to the initial one has been executed. For the investigation, experimental data from three satellite receivers within two days on 5 points have been used. According to the received results, the regression equation to calculate the RMSE of spatial, planned and height position of the final point of the base line in relation to the initial value has been made. These equations allow executing the prognostic evaluation of accuracy for conducting satellite calculations based on data about available obstacles. The dependencies received for the duration of observations sessions for 1 hour, the vectors with the length of 4 km, and the coefficient value of openness from 5.17 to 10.31 have been presented.
Enhancing the Photocatalytic Activity of TiO2 by Modifying Surface with Polar Organic Anions for photocathodic Protection of 304 Stainless Steel

1 Institute of Marine Science and Technology, Shandong University, No. 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao, 266237, P. R. China. 2 Open Studio for Marine Corrosion and Protection, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, No. 1 Wenhai Road, Qingdao, 266200, P. R. China. 3 Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 7 Nanhai Road, Qingdao, 266071, P. R. China. 4 State Key Laboratory for Marine Corrosion and Protection, Luoyang Ship Material Institute, Qingdao, Shandong Province 266101, P.R. China 5 Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 7 Nanhai Road, Qingdao, 266071, P. R. China. E-mail: houbr@qdio.ac. cn
Brassinosteroids-mediated regulation of ABI3 is involved in high-temperature induced early flowering in plant

The interplay of plant hormones is one of the essential mechanisms for plant growth and development. A recent study reported that Brassinosteroids (BR) and ABSCISIC ACID (ABA) interact antagonistically in early seedling developments through the BR-mediated epigenetic repression of ABSCISIC ACID-INSENSITIVE 3 (ABI3). However, the other physiological roles of the BR-mediated regulation of ABI3 and ABA responses beyond early seedling developments remain largely unknown. Here, we showed that the activation of BR signaling by high temperatures promotes flowering time through the suppression of ABI3 expressions. Elevated ambient temperature induced early flowering in wild type Col-0 plants, but not in BR-defective bri1-116 mutant plants. Conversely, a hyper BR biosynthetic dwf4-D mutant displayed more sensitive thermomorphic long shoot elongation and early flowering. Both expression patterns and physiological responses supported the biological roles of ABI3 in the regulation of floral transition and reproduction under high temperature conditions. Finally, we confirmed that the lowered expressions of the transcript and protein levels of ABI3 brought on by elevated temperature were correlated with warmth-induced early flowering phenotypes. In conclusion, our data suggest that the BR- and warmthmediated regulation of ABI3 are important in thermomorphic reproductive phase transitions in plants.
Early changes in bacterial communities in wound tissues of Pinus massoniana after inoculation with Bursaphelenchus xylophilus

The bacterial communities in the wound tissues of Pinus massoniana were analysed by 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing. The results showed that the bacterial richness and diversity changed remarkably whether the wound was inoculated with pine wood nematode (PWN; Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) or not after 12 h. However, the predominant bacteria Stenotrophomonas, Burkholderiaceae, Pseudomonas, Serratia and Delftia, introduced by PWN in the wound tissues, changed within 6 h. After 6 h of PWN inoculation, the most abundant genus associating with PWN, Stenotrophomonas, failed to colonise the wound tissues, and the abundance of Delftia decreased, while the other representative bacteria, Burkholderiaceae, Pseudomonas and Serratia, from the PWN were markedly enriched. In addition, our study is the first to report the association of Serratia liquefaciens with PWN. Predicted functional analyses using the Tax4Fun tool showed that the alterations in bacterial composition also led to shifts in their functional pathways, especially after 12 h of PWN inoculation. These findings clarified that the bacteria carried by PWN were responsible for the alterations in bacterial communities in the wound tissues and will shed light on the invasion mechanism of PWN.
Investigation of the presence of Aspergillus Flavus in mastitis milk with PCR

In this study, milk samples were taken in sterile 20 ml containers from 90 cows with clinical mastitis in various enterprises around Aydın province between May-September 2017. The presence of Aspergillus flavus M1 toxin in milk samples was investigated by ELISA. Aflatoxin M1 ELISA results were compared with positive controls with 0 ppt, 5 ppt, 15 ppt, 30 ppt, 60 ppt and 100 ppt. For the 88 samples examined; 5 ppt in 7 (8,0 %), 15 ppt in 12 (13,6 %), 100 ppt in 32 (36,4 %) and 0 ppt in 37 (42,0 %) aflatoxin M1 was detected. According to these results, 32 (36,4 %) AFM1 positivity was detected in the European Union countries over the limit (50 ppt) accepted for raw milk. In our study, DNA obtained from 88 mastitis milk samples examined with Aflatoxin M1 ELISA kit was subjected to Aspergillus flavus species specific PCR process. As a result of PCR; Aflatoxin M1 at a level of 0 ppt in 7 (36,8 %), 5 ppt in 1 (% 5,2), 15 ppt in 2 (10,5 %) and 100 ppt in 9 (47,5 %) ELISA kit toxin presence was determined. As a result, 32 samples of 100 ppt AFM1 positivity were detected by ELISA and 9 samples 100 ppt positivity was detected by PCR in our study. The results of the ELISA test revealed that more positive results were formed due to cross-reactions, and the PCR method with FLA gene primers was more reliable for diagnosis.