Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mapping the local variability of Natura 2000 habitats with remote sensing

Questions Can we map both discrete Natura 2000 habitat types and their floristic variability using multispectral remote sensing data? How do these data perform compared to full range imaging spectroscopy data? Which spectral and spatial characteristics of remote sensing data are important for accurate mapping of habitats and their variability? Location A mire complex in Bavaria, southern Germany. Methods To compare the performance of imaging spectroscopy and multispectral remote sensing data, airborne spectroscopy data (AISA Dual) were spectrally and spatially resampled to the characteristics of two state-of-the-art multispectral sensors (RapidEye and Sentinel-2), resulting in three data sets with different spectral and spatial resolution. Based on the three data sets, we used a combination of field surveys, ordination techniques (non-metric multidimensional scaling), as well as regression and classification techniques (Random Forests) to derive maps of the distribution of Natura 2000 habitat types and their compositional variability. Subsequently, we analysed effects of the spatial and spectral image resolution and spectral coverage on the mapping performance. Results Mire habitat types and their floristic composition could be accurately mapped with multispectral remote sensing data. In the case of accentuated floristic differences between habitats, the fits of the models for the three sensors differed only marginally. These effects and the importance of the spatial resolution are discussed. Conclusions The results are encouraging and confirm that multispectral data may allow the combined mapping of discrete habitats and their local variability. Still, questions with respect to the transferability of the approach to habitat types with less pronounced spectral differences, and with regard to bridging the gap between fine-scale vegetation records and coarse resolution imagery remain open.
Heterogeneidad ambiental y su relación con la diversidad y abundancia de la comunidad de peces en un sistema costero del Golfo de México

Las lagunas costeras de Veracruz en el Golfo de Mexico, incluyen gran variedad de recursos biologicos, por lo que requieren mayor conocimiento ecologico, especialmente para sus comunidades de peces. Esta investigacion analizo la variacion espacial y temporal de la diversidad, abundancia y agregaciones de la comunidad de peces y su relacion con los parametros fisico-quimicos del sistema lagunar Chica-Grande en Veracruz. Para esto, en ocho estaciones se muestrearon las caracteristicas del agua y la composicion de la comunidad de peces (lances de 10min con red de arrastre camaronera) entre septiembre 2005 y noviembre 2006. La variacion espacio-temporal de los parametros fisico-quimicos, permitio definir dos ambientes contrastantes de acuerdo con los gradientes de salinidad, temperatura, transparencia, oxigeno disuelto y profundidad. Se recolectaron un total de 1 947 peces con un peso de 57.88kg. De estos, se identificaron 22 especies, 20 generos y 14 familias; y cuatro especies son nuevos registros para el sistema. Como se observo para las condiciones fisico-quimicas, la diversidad de la comunidad de peces tambien mostro un gradiente espacial, con valores altos (H’=2.37, D=3.35, J’=0.82) en el habitat salobre y bajos en el ambiente mas dulce. La abundancia de los peces no reflejo cambios marcados en el gradiente, no obstante, fue mayor en el habitat mas dulce. Durante los meses de “nortes” (Noviembre-Febrero) la diversidad (H’=2.05) y riqueza de especies (D=2.99) fue mas alta, mientras que la densidad y biomasa fue mayor (0.034 ind./m2, 1.42g/m2) durante los meses de lluvias (Julio-Octubre). El Indice de Valor de Importancia (IVI) definio 6 especies dominantes que representan el 77.8% de la abundancia numerica y el 87.9% de la captura total en peso. El Analisis de Correspondencia Canonica (ACC) mostro que la relacion peces-habitat fue explicada en un 68% de la varianza total para los primeros dos ejes, donde los cambios de salinidad, transparencia y temperatura fueron los factores ambientales que determinaron la composicion y distribucion de los peces en la comunidad. En este estudio, los gradientes espaciales de las variables ambientales permitieron explicar los cambios en la composicion y abundancia de las especies, mientras que los temporales, la estructura comunitaria y su relacion con los patrones estacionales de utilizacion de habitats por las especies durante sus ciclos de vida.
The Australian genera Cardiaspina Crawford and Hyalinaspis Taylor (Homoptera: Psyllidae).

The genus Cardiaspina includes several species which are of considerable importance as pests of Eucalyptus spp. Outbreaks of these insects often cause complete browning of the foliage on affected trees. In this paper the systematics of this genus and of Hyalinaspis, recently separated from it, are treated in some detail and notes are given on their biology. All species in these two genera feed on Eucalyptus spp. and build characteristic lerps on the leaves. All previously named species of Cardiaspina and Hyalinaspis are redescribed, together with 10 new species of Cardiaspina and 4 new species of Hyalinaspis.
Sources and distribution of salmonella serotypes isolated from food animals, slaughterhouse personnel and retail meat products in Ethiopia: 1997-2002

Background: Foods of animal origin are considered to be the major sources of foodborne salmonellosis. A periodic surveillance of the sources, distribution and prevalent Salmonella serotypes in slaughtered food animals, retail meat products and environment is necessary to control the spread of the pathogen and infection of man through contaminated animal products. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to find out the sources and distribution of Salmonella serotypes isolated from apparently healthy slaughtered cattle and camels, retail meat products (minced beef and chicken) and slaughterhouse personnel over a 5-year period (1997-2002). Methods: Three thousand eight hundred ninety-eight samples from apparently healthy slaughtered cattle and camels, slaughterhouse personnel, minced beef and chicken meat and giblets were examined for the presence of Salmonella. Salmonellae were isolated and identified according to the techniques recommended by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO 6579, 1998). Results: A total of 412 Salmonella isolates consisting of 25 different serotypes were identified from slaughtered cattle (4.2%), camels (16.2%), slaughterhouse personnel (6.0%), minced beef (12.1%), chicken meat and giblets (23.6%). The predominant serovars were S. braenderup, S. dublin and S. saintpaul followed by S. typhimurium (including var. Copenhagen) and S. anatum Salmonella enteritidis was detected from chicken, cattle and camel meat. Salmonella typhimurium, S. anatum and S. dublin were isolated in man as well as in food animals and meat products. Conclusion: Isolation of Salmonella from a wide range of sources suggests that Salmonella is widespread in food animals and meat products and underlines the necessity for a joint and coordinated surveillance and monitoring programs for salmonellosis and other major food borne zoonotic diseases in Ethiopia. [Ethip.J.Health Dev. 2003;17(1):63-70]
The Biology and Evolution of Fossil Plants

Precambrian life fungi, bacteria and lichens algae bryophytes terrestrialization of the land the structure and organization of vascular plants early land plants with conducting tissue lycopods sphenophytes ferns progymnosperms origin and evolution of the seed habit palaeozoic seed ferns mesozoic seed ferns palaeozoic and mesozoic foliage cycadophytes ginkgophytes gymnsoperms with obscure affinities cordaites conifers flowering plants plant/animal interactions.
Homophily in Indian Social Networks: A Model of Signed Network Formation

This paper explores possible theoretical underpinnings for homophily in signed social networks, particularly in the Indian context. The model of signed network formation proposed here considers a population which is divided into communities or identity groups that are hierarchically arranged in terms of social power and ownership/control of social resources. An agent's "intrinsic strength" refers to their control over resources by virtue of belonging to a community. This, along with the intrinsic strengths of one's positively tied neighbours, determines an agent's "coercive power". The structure of inter and intra community ties is studied in Nash equilibria in a setting where agents extract payoffs from their negatively tied neighbours with lower coercive power.
Who Enters, Where, and Why? The Influence of Capabilities and Initial Resource Endowments on the Location Choices of De Novo Enterprises

Using data about all de novo entrants into the Canadian manufacturing sectors during 1984-1998, we studied location choices as a function of firms' initial resources and capabilities. Employing nested logit estimation, we examined the impact of various location traits such as: agglomeration, competition, deterrence, and sunk costs, on location choices. Findings reveal that the probability of entry to a location with high agglomeration economies increases with increases in resources and capabilities and then declines. Very large de novo entrants may prefer isolated locations. Stronger entrants are more detracted by local competition and incumbents' deterrence strategies. Weaker firms value more places with lower entry barriers and sunk costs.
Can APPealing and More Informative Bills ‘Nudge’ Individuals Into Conserving Electricity?

We use a field experiment on energy billing in a German region to evaluate the effect of two behavioral nudges (consumption feedback and social comparison) on electricity consumption. Similar experiments have revealed significant treatment effects, yet the individual variance has proven to be substantial. On grounds of these heterogeneous treatment effects and the possibility of cross-country behavioral differences, additional experiments are warranted. For our German participants with low pretreatment consumption compared to many other countries, we find no treatment effects. From this, we deduce that the effect of consumption feedback and social comparison is highly context dependent.
A Traditional Turkish Lactic Acid Fermented Beverage: Shalgam (Salgam)

Shalgam is a traditional lactic acid fermented beverage in which black carrot, bulgur flour, sourdough, salt, turnip, and water are used for production. It is a red coloured, cloudy and sour soft drink mainly consumed in southern Turkey, however, its consumption is currently increasing in other parts, as well. Shalgam is produced on an industrial scale. Although there is no standard production technique in industry, it could be stated that there are two methods for shalgam production: the traditional method and the direct method. The traditional method comprises sourdough fermentation and carrot fermentation. In the direct method, however, the sourdough fermentation is omitted and only the carrot fermentation is applied. During fermentation, mainly lactic acid bacteria give shalgam its typical taste and flavour by producing lactic acid, ethanol, and some other organic compounds. This article reviews some aspects of shalgam production.
Catharanthus roseus cell cultures: Growth, alkaloid synthesis and antidiabetic activity

Suspension cultures of Catharanthus roseus were established from three different cell lines namely, CWS, CWS‐A and CWS‐G on MS medium supplemented with 2,4‐D (0.4 ppm). The three cell lines were cultured in growth and production media. Cell line CWS grown in production medium showed a PCV (packed cell volume) of 70% in 21 days. The cells synthesized 0.10% ajmalicine in the production medium and the cell extract caused a 71% decrease in blood sugar in diabetes induced rats. In growth medium the cells showed a PCV of 97% in 21 days and produced trace amounts of alkaloids. The cell extracts did not show any antidiabetic activity. The CWS‐A cell line showed a PCV of 98% in 21 days and synthesized 0.036% ajmalicine in production medium. The extracts had no hypoglycaemic effect. In growth medium the cells showed a 98% PCV in 21 days and produced trace amounts of alkaloids. The cell extract caused an 86% decrease in blood sugar. The CWS‐G cell line grown in flasks failed to synthesize significant levels of alkaloids both in growth and production media. The cell extracts did not show any antidiabetic activity.
Forerunners of Mammals: Radiation, Histology, Biology

The Great Karoo Basin of South Africa is a treasure-house of fossils that document in exquisite detail several important evolutionary lineages spanning almost 110 million years of geological time, from the Mid-Permian to the Early Jurassic - a fact still known to surprisingly few South Africans. One particular line whose history the Karoo rocks guard so carefully is the one from which we ourselves are descended: the one leading to the mammals. From its earliest beginnings in Late Carboniferous times, to the emergence of the first true mammals in the Late Triassic or Early Jurassic, each major step is recorded in the un-matched fossil record of the Karoo Supergroup. Wits University's Professor Bruce Rubidge, one of the leading investigators of this span of geological time, is fond of saying that you cannot write a textbook about the evolution of vertebrate life on Earth without extensive reference to the South African Karoo. And what is contained in this book underscores the truth of Rubidge's assertion.
Natural regeneration of fraxinus mandshurica and F. rhynchophylla in the natural deciduous forest

The natural regeneration of Fraxinus mandshurica and F. rhynchophylla was reviewed and evaluated in the natural deciduous forest of the Mt. Jumbong area on the basis of vegetation data from sample plots. The two species were largely alike in their mechanisms of both sexual and asexual reproduction. According to the ecological attributes of present and future composition ratio, inter‐species association with other species, the potentiality of shade tolerance and climax related characters, and spatial distribution pattern in mixtures with other hardwood species, F. mandshurica and F. rhynchophylla had characteristics enabling them to maintain the present level of dominance for the next succeeding generation. However, while information is still lacking about natural regeneration in the two species obtaining and applying further information, such as ecophysiological characteristics and site requirement of the species, structural attributes of composition and dynamics, and associative relations to other species, is still needed.
Chromobiote phylogeny: the enigmatic alga Reticulosphaera japonensis is an aberrant haptophyte, not a heterokont

Chromobiote algae are unusual in having an additional smooth periplastid membrane outside their chloroplast envelope and in the location of the chloroplast/periplastid membrane complex within the lumen of their rough endoplasmic reticulum. They are often brown in colour because of the carotenoid fucoxanthin in addition to their usual accessory chlorophylls c 1–3. They are divided into two well-defined phyla: the heterokont Ochrophyta (or Ochrista, e.g. brown algae, diatoms, chrysophytes; sometimes informally known as ‘core chromophytes’) and the Haptophyta. Reticulosphaera is an enigmatic genus of net-like chromobiotes, with only two described species, which morphologically do not fall clearly into either category. We have therefore sequenced the 18S rRNA gene of R. japonensis, together with those of two known species of haptophyte (Pavlova salina and two independent isolates of Prymnesium patelliferum), in order to clarify its evolutionary position. Though it was previously classified with heterokont Och.
Comparison of the Efficiency and Use of Energy in Organic and Conventional Farming in Spanish Agricultural Systems

The use of non-renewable energy in farming, a factor which considerably reduces its energy efficiency, continues to increase. Moreover, there is growing worldwide concern regarding the emission of greenhouse gases and their effect on our climate, which is directly related to the use of fossil energy. All this creates a need for energy studies on changing tendencies in the management of agricultural systems, among which we find that of organic farming. This article uses energy balances to evaluate the contribution of organic farming to the increase of energy efficiency in Spanish agriculture. To achieve this objective, comparative studies were carried out on 78 organic crops and their conventional counterparts. Primary data were obtained via direct surveys carried out at farms distributed across the whole of Spain. The results indicate that non-renewable energy efficiency is higher in organic farming, whilst the consumption of this type of energy is lower. For this reason, although certain qualifications are made regarding the factors which can influence these results, an increase in the land area dedicated to organic farming would considerably improve the energy sustainability of Spanish agriculture.
Pure Gold for Economic Freedom: A Supranational Medium of Exchange to End American Monetary Hegemony as the World’s Main Reserve Currency

Before the invention of money (coin, paper, or digital) there was barter trading, a form of exchange without the use of a monetary medium. The evolution of money has kept pace with the evolution of humans. Money was not invented solely for transaction purposes; it was created to quantify wealth (i.e. bookkeeping of resources by bureaucrats) and functioned as a sign of power (i.e. aristocrats used it in social contracts between royals and servants). Throughout the human history, money has served as an important link (social relationship) between lenders and borrowers, contractors and workers. Facilitating exchange has evolved from barter to bimetallism (silver and gold), monometallic (gold), and paper (fiat) to gold as the basis of currencies. The emergence of fiat money was not to replace barter even though Adam Smith (1776) described barter trade as primitive in his seminal book titled in short “The Wealth of Nations”. The classical gold standard emerged as a true global standard in the late 19th century but lasted only about three decades, it collapsed bouts of unprecedented shocks of World War I. The interwar gold exchange standard was very brief which suffered similar flaws known as the Triffin dilemma. The inherent flaws of the gold standard and Bretton Woods made the U.S. more susceptible to the inevitable convertibility crisis; in reaction, the U.S. policies accelerated inflation, this in turn caused the system’s demise. The current ailing international monetary system is going to face the same predicament of the last generation regimes unless serious reforms are made.
The Operation under the Strategic Plan for the Development of Nakhon Pathom Provincial Administrative Organization, Thailand

The purpose of this study was to study and compare community’s opinions towards the operation under the Strategic Plan for the Development of Nakhon Pathom Provincial Administrative Organization. There were 152 samples used in this study. Tool used in the study was questionnaires. Data were analyzed by frequency distribution, means, percentage, and standard deviation as well as T-test, F-test. It was found from the study that the people’s overall attitudes towards the operation under the Strategic Plan for the Development of Nakhon Pathom Provincial Administrative Organization was at high level. When each aspect was considered individually, it was found that all aspects were at high level, with the order from high aspect to low aspect by average as follows: on the economic development, on the tourism development, on the infrastructure development, on the social and environmental development, on the educational, religious and cultural development, respectively. According to the result obtained from the comparison of people’s opinions towards the operation under the Strategic Plan for the Development of Nakhon Pathom Provincial Administrative Organization, classified by gender and educational level, it was found to be significantly different at.05 level.
Determinants of sex allocation in a gynodioecious wild strawberry: implications for the evolution of dioecy and sexual dimorphism

One evolutionary pathway from plants with combined male and female functions (hermaphroditism) to those with separate sexes (dioecy) involves females coexisting with hermaphrodites (gynodioecy). The research presented here explores sex allocation in Fragaria virginiana (a gynodioecious wild strawberry), within the context of theory on the gynodioecy–dioecy transition. By growing clonally replicated plants in the greenhouse and surveying six populations in situ, I evaluated the effects of plant size, genotype, sexual identity, population of origin and female frequency on sex allocation. I found significant positive effects of plant size on most sex allocation traits studied. In addition to strong sex‐specific allocation patterns, I found significant broad‐sense heritabilities for all traits, suggesting that plants could respond to selection. Moreover, there was a negative genetic correlation between pollen production and fruit set per flower within hermaphrodites, lending support to a basic assumption of sex allocation theory. On the other hand, several sex allocation traits, namely pollen and ovules per flower in hermaphrodites, were positively genetically correlated, suggesting that they may act to constrain the evolution of sexual dimorphism. Populations differed in the frequency of females, and females were more prevalent on sites with lower soil moisture and where hermaphrodites were least likely to produce fruit, suggesting that females’ seed fitness relative to that of hermaphrodites may be strongly environment‐dependent in this species.
Investor Sentiment: Predicting the Overvalued Stock Market

The research literature shows that investor sentiment is a contrarian predictor of aggregate stock market returns. However, we contend that investor sentiment only predicts aggregate stock market returns during high-sentiment states where overpricing is more prevalent than underpricing. Using a two-state predictive regression model, we find that the investor sentiment indexes of both Baker and Wurgler (2006) and Huang et al. (2014) are contrarian predictors of aggregate stock market returns at all horizons during high-sentiment states, which agrees with our hypothesis.
Peroxidase, Polyphenoloxidase, Total Phenol and Protein Content in Leaf Tissues of Colocasia esculenta var. antiquorum and Their Relationship to Phytophthora Leaf Blight Disease

ABSTRACT Specific activities of peroxidase, polyphenoloxidase, total phenol and total protein content in healthy and diseased leaves of tolerant and susceptible cultivars of Taro (Colocasia esculenta var. antiquorum) to Phytophthora leaf blight disease were studied. Tolerant cultivars of Colocasia had 100% and 81% increase of total phenol and protein, respectively, when compared to susceptible cultivars. The specific activity of peroxidase remained higher while that of polyphenoloxidase remained lower in tolerant cultivars as compared to susceptible cultivars. Adjusting coefficient of determination (R2) at 0.99, the multiple regression equation was derived, which indicated that tolerance was related to all of the components measured.