Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long‐term interactions between Mediterranean climate, vegetation and fire regime at Lago di Massaciuccoli (Tuscany, Italy)

1 A Holocene sedimentary sequence from a coastal lake in the Mediterranean area (Lago di Massaciuccoli, Tuscany, Italy, 0 m a.s.l.) was sampled for pollen and microscopic charcoal analyses. Contiguous 1‐cm samples represent an estimated time interval of c. 13 years, thus providing a high‐resolution sequence from 6100 to 5400 cal. years bp. 2 Just before 6000 cal. years bp, sub‐Mediterranean and Mediterranean forests were present together with fir (Abies alba), a submontane species that is today absent at low altitudes in the Mediterranean. A sharp vegetational change occurred after 6000 cal. years bp involving a drastic decline of Abies alba around the site. 3 Time‐series analyses suggest that increased fire activity at this time caused a strong decline in Abies alba, a highly fire‐sensitive species. During 100 years of higher fire incidence, diverse (predominantly evergreen) forest communities were converted to low‐diversity fire‐prone shrub communities. 4 Cross‐correlations reveal that fire during the mid‐Holocene hindered the expansion of holm oak (Quercus ilex), the most common tree species today in Mediterranean environments. While the factors that triggered the Holocene expansion of this species in the Mediterranean area are unclear, our results do not support the hypothesis that fire was key for holm oak expansion. 5 Diatom analyses of the same sediment core provide an independent palaeoenvironmental proxy for palaeoclimatic reconstruction. A change in the eutrophy and salinity of the lake occurred just before 6000 cal. years bp, suggesting that a climatic shift towards aridity may have triggered the observed change in hydrology and possibly also in fire regime. 6 Over the millennia fire has decisively contributed to the establishment of the present fire‐adapted vegetation type (macchia). Native fire‐sensitive species were displaced or repressed, and arboreal vegetation became less diverse. Combined ecological and palaeoecological data may help to assess possible future scenarios of biosphere responses to global change. Our results imply that the forecasted global warming and fire increase may trigger irrecoverable biodiversity losses and shifts in vegetational composition within a few decades or centuries at most. In particular, fire and drought‐sensitive vegetation types, such as the relict forests of Abies alba in the Apennines, seem particularly threatened by large‐scale displacement.
Plagiarism Prevention

AS A FORMER ExECutIVE, I feel strongly that college graduates should enter the workforce with exceptional oral and written communication skills. Now that I am an educator, I also believe that students should have numerous opportunities to enhance their writing skills, even beyond the “required” writing courses. therefore, I assign at least one writing assignment every semester in all my courses. the classes that I teach are undergraduate management courses (Organizational Behavior, Human Resource Management, and International Business Strategy) where I assign a business case for analysis and a written group paper. I also teach an Operations Management course where I assign individual research papers. Sadly, plagiarism does exist at universities today. In some cases, students are naïve with respect to understanding what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. In other cases, students blatantly disregard and disrespect the written work of others, claiming it as their own. Regardless, we must be vigilant in our efforts to discourage and prevent plagiarism from occurring. Here are some recommendations that may help:
Aggressive interactions between freshwater turtle, Chelodina oblonga, hatchlings and freshwater crayfish, Cherax spp.: implications for the conservation of the critically endangered western swamp turtle, Pseudemydura umbrina

Interactions between turtle hatchlings of Chelodina oblonga and the marron, Cherax tenuimanus, the gilgie, C. quinquecarinatus, the koonac, C. preissii (freshwater crayfish native to Western Australia) and the introduced yabby, Cherax. sp. , were observed in laboratory-based trials in uncluttered aquaria. Marron, koonacs and yabbies, but not gilgies, showed aggressive and predatory behaviour towards the hatchlings. In total, 59 attacks were observed in 26 of the 80 trials. On 12 occasions, crayfish captured hatchlings in their chelae. On two occasions, the attack of the crayfish was so quick that the hatchling was killed instantly. Compared with movement when alone, movement of hatchlings was significantly greater in the presence of koonacs and yabbies, but significantly less in the presence of marron and gilgies. The range of non-native yabbies currently is expanding into Ellen Brook Nature Reserve which harbours the last naturally persisting population of the critically endangered western swamp turtle, Pseudemydura umbrina. No native crayfish occur in the habitat of P. umbrina in this reserve. The possible invasion by the ecological generalist yabby poses a new threat to the survival of P. umbrina.
Cryptoryctes tricornutus sp. nov. from the Northern Territory, Australia (Scarabaeidae, Dynastinae, Oryctini)

Abstract Cryptoryctes tricornutussp. nov. from Erldunda (25.13°S, 133.11°E), Northern Territory, Australia, is described and figured. It is compared with a close species, Cryptoryctes trifidus (Blackburn, 1895). Résumé On décrit et illustre une nouvelle espèce, Cryptoryctes tricornutussp. nov. provenant d'Erldunda (25.13°S, 133.11°E), Territoire du Nord, Australie. On compare cette espèce à Cryptoryctes trifidus (Blackburn, 1895).
An Innovative Genetic Algorithm for a Multi-Objective Optimization of Two-Dimensional Cutting-Stock Problem

ABSTRACT This paper addressed an important variant of two-dimensional cutting stock problem. The objective was not only to minimize trim loss, as in traditional cutting stock problems, but rather to minimize the number of machine setups. This additional objective is crucial for the life of the machines and affects both the time and the cost of cutting operations. Since cutting stock problems are well known to be NP-hard, we proposed an approximate method to solve this problem in a reasonable time. This approach differs from the previous works by generating a front with many interesting solutions. By this way, the decision maker or production manager can choose the best one from the set based on other additional constraints. This approach combined a genetic algorithm with a linear programming model to estimate the optimal Pareto front of these two objectives. The effectiveness of this approach was evaluated through a set of instances collected from the literature. The experimental results for different-size problems show that this algorithm provides Pareto fronts very near to the optimal ones.
Occurrence of jasmonic acid in Dunaliella (Dunaliellales, Chlorophyta)

The occurrence of jasmonic acid and related compounds in Dunaliella species was investigated using gas‐liquid chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GCY MS). Jasmonic acid was identified in the ethyl acetate soluble‐acidic fraction of Dunaliella tertiolecta and Dunaliella salina (Dunal) Teodoresco, The concentration of jasmonic acid in D. salina. which is extremely halophilic, was much higher than that in D. tertiolecta Butcher, These results indicate that jasmonic acid might play an important role in salt‐tolerance in Dunaliella.
Linking Behavior, Physiology, and Survival of Atlantic Salmon Smolts During Estuary Migration

Abstract Decreased marine survival is identified as a component driver of continued declines of Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar. However, estimates of marine mortality often incorporate loss incurred during estuary migration that may be mechanistically distinct from factors affecting marine mortality. We examined movements and survival of 941 smolts (141 wild and 800 hatchery-reared fish) released in freshwater during passage through the Penobscot River estuary, Maine, from 2005 to 2013. We related trends in estuary arrival date, movement rate, and survival to fish characteristics, migratory history, and environmental conditions in the estuary. Fish that experienced the warmest thermal history arrived in the estuary 8 d earlier than those experiencing the coolest thermal history during development. Estuary arrival date was 10 d later for fish experiencing high flow than for fish experiencing low flow. Fish released furthest upstream arrived in the estuary 3 d later than those stocked further downstream but moved 0.5 km/h faster through the estuary. Temporally, movement rate and survival in the estuary both peaked in mid-May. Spatially, movement rate and survival both decreased from freshwater to the ocean. Wild smolts arrived in the estuary later than hatchery fish, but we observed no change in movement rate or survival attributable to rearing history. Fish with the highest gill Na+, K+-ATPase activity incurred 25% lower mortality through the estuary than fish with the lowest gill Na+, K+-ATPase activity. Smolt survival decreased (by up to 40%) with the increasing number of dams passed (ranging from two to nine) during freshwater migration. These results underscore the importance of physiological preparedness on performance and the delayed, indirect effects of dams on survival of Atlantic Salmon smolts during estuary migration, ultimately affecting marine survival estimates.
Simulating the Dynamics of Leaf Physiology and Morphology with an Extended Optimality Approach

On both a seasonal and single canopy scale several physiological and morphological leaf characteristics show significant variations for a wide range of species. Aiming at a better understanding, as well as predictions of spatial and temporal leaf adjustments, a recently proposed dynamic optimality approach is adapted to a set of relevant leaf variables. The underlying formalism explicitly includes the adaptive dynamics of an arbitrary growth controlling trait. The approach is based on the calculation of growth gradients, and hence requires functional growth dependencies on the traits as well as on the different environmental conditions within a crown. These dependencies are quantified using a standard photosynthesis model (PGEN). It is found that the simple gradient approach fails in describing patterns originating from leaf senescence. To include aging phenomena the model is completed by a simple evolution equation which is applicable for a wide range of species. Simulation results of the combined model for shaded and for sunlit leaves are compared to an existing dataset for beech phenology collected during 3 years at the Solling site in central Germany. The good overall correspondence, together with the small number of uncertain parameters, demonstrate a high efficacy of the model. It can thus be regarded as a valuable tool for assessing the annual canopy carbon assimilation as well as the adaptive significance of leaf variability.
Synergistic Activation of Interleukin-8 Gene Transcription by All-trans-retinoic Acid and Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Involves the Transcription Factor NF-κB*

Induction of interleukin-8 (IL-8) by IL-1 or tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and repression by interferons or glucocorticoids have been shown to involve sequences between nucleotides −94 and −71 of the 5′-flanking region, and the transcription factors NF-IL-6 and NF-κB. The A3 cell line was derived from the human melanoma cell line G-361 by stable transfection with part of the IL-8 promoter (nucleotides −101 to +40 from transcription start) fused to the luciferase coding region. These regulatory sequences were sufficient for transcriptional activation by all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA), 9-cis-retinoic acid, IL-1β, or TNF-α. Simultaneous treatment of A3 cells with ATRA and TNF-α resulted in a dose- and time-dependent synergistic increase in luciferase expression and IL-8 mRNA levels. Transient transfections of the parental cell line demonstrated that the NF-κB binding site is essential for this synergistic transactivation. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays with nuclear extracts of A3 cells showed that stimulation with ATRA and TNF-α for more than 16 h resulted in enhanced NF-κB binding compared to that induced by TNF-α alone. The simultaneous treatment with ATRA and TNF-α also resulted in changes in the composition of NF-κB complexes bound to the IL-8 NF-κB site, preventing the formation of two TNF-α-inducible binding activities. We suggest that these complexes consist of repressive factors which, when removed, allow enhanced binding of NF-κB to its cognate site.
Antimicrobial activity of Iberian macroalgae

SUMMARY: The antibacterial and antifungal activity of 82 marine macroalgae (18 Chlorophyceae, 25 Phaeophyceae and 39 Rhodophyceae) was studied to evaluate their potential for being used as natural preservatives in the cosmetic industry. The bioactivity was analysed from crude extracts of fresh and lyophilised samples against three Gram-positive bacteria, two Gram-negative bacteria and one yeast using the agar diffusion technique. The samples were collected seasonally from Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of the Iberian Peninsula. Of the macroalgae analysed, 67% were active against at least one of the six test microorganisms. The highest percentage of active taxa was found in Phaeophyceae (84%), followed by Rhodophyceae (67%) and Chlorophyceae (44%). Nevertheless, red algae had both the highest values and the broadest spectrum of bioactivity. In particular, Bonnemaisonia asparagoides, Bonnemaisonia hamifera, Asparagopsis armata and Falkenbergia rufolanosa (Bonnemaisoniales) were the most active taxa. Bacillus cereus was the most sensitive test microorganism and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most resistant. The highest percentages of active taxa from Phaeophyceae and Rhodophyceae were found in autumn, whereas they were found in summer for Chlorophyceae.
Micropropagation and field evaluation of seven strawberry genotypes suitable for agro-climatic condition of Bangladesh

Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) is one of the important and popular fruits in the temperate countries of the world due to its fragrance, taste and nutritional properties. Due to its popularity and increasing demand in Bangladesh, an experiment was conducted to establish a rapid in vitro clonal propagation of seven strawberry genotypes and their field evaluation under Bangladesh condition. Runner tips of seven strawberry genotypes viz. AOG, JP-2, JP-3, Camarosa, Sweet charley, Giant Mountain and Festival were cultured in vitro for multiple shoot proliferation and root induction. Proliferation of runner tips was obtained on Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium containing three different concentrations (1.0, 1.5, 2.0 mg/l) of BA with 0.5 mg/l 6-ferfuryl amino purine (KIN) or gibberellic acid (GA3). The best shoot proliferation was obtained from cultures grown on medium supplemented with 1.5 mg/l BA with 0.5 mg/l KIN. Microcuttings were rooted on half strength MS medium with 0.5 to 1.5 mg/l indole butyric acid (IBA) or indole acetic acid (IAA). Maximum rooting (90 to 98%) with 9 to 12 roots/cultures was achieved at 1.0 mg/l IBA. The plantlets, thus developed were hardened and successfully stablished in soil. AOG was found to be the most responsive genotype followed by JP-2 and JP-3. Key words: Strawberry, shoot multiplication, adventitious rooting, field establishment.
In vitro Effects of Calcium, Magnesium, Mercury and Copper Ions on Neuraminidase of a Nigerian Newcastle Disease Virus Strains

3 Abstract: This study was carried out to determine the effects of cations on neuraminidase during NDV infections in poultry. A total of two hundred samples from dialyzed neuraminidase of NDV Kudu 113 strain were used for the experiment. Fifty samples each were used on four divalent cations, namely calcium (Ca ), 2+
How Individualized are the Dutch?

Individualization is often considered to be one of the most important social-cultural trends of the last decades. According to authors such as Ulrich Beck, Scott Lash and Anthony Giddens, it is one of the defining characteristics of late or `reflexive' modernity. However, there is not much empirical research on the phenomenon of individualization. This article examines the empirical evidence for a trend of individualization in the Netherlands. Three alleged consequences of the individualization process, namely detraditionalization, emancipation and heterogenization, are analysed using Dutch data. Only the hypothesis of detraditionalization is confirmed by the data. The emancipation hypothesis is, however, unambiguously refuted by the available data, while the data are not conclusive with respect to heterogenization. Hence, the empirical support for the individualization trend is much weaker than is often supposed.
A review of sensorless control methods for AC motor drives

In recent years, the application of sensorless AC motor drives is expanding in areas ranging from industrial applications to household electrical appliances. As is well known, the advantages of sensorless motor drives include lower cost, increased reliability, reduced hardware complexity, better noise immunity, and less maintenance requirements. With the development of modern industrial automation, more advanced sensorless control strategies are needed to meet the requirements of applications. For sensorless motor drives at low-and zero-speed operation, inverter nonlinearities and motor parameter variation have significant impact on the stability of control system. Meanwhile, high observer's bandwidth is required in high-speed region. This paper introduces the state of art of recent progress in sensorless AC motor drives. In addition, this paper presents the sensorless control strategies we investigated for practical industrial and household applications. Both advanced sensorless drives of induction motor (IM) and permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) are presented in this paper.
Do export, financial development, and institutions affect FDI outflows? Insights from Asian developing countries

Focussing on the importance of FDI outflows (OFDI) from Asian developing countries, this study examines the impact of export, institutions and financial development on OFDI. Using a balanced panel of 10 Asian developing countries during 2002-2016, this study employs the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) cointegration test and Granger causality test of Dumitrescu and Hurlin (2012) to explore the long-run causal relationship. To validate the results robustness test is conducted. Overall, the findings show that improvement in institutions encourages OFDI in the short-run, but it impedes more OFDI in the long-run. The financial development and export are positively related to OFDI in the long-run. The Granger causality test confirms that there is a unidirectional causality that runs from the quality of institutions and financial development to OFDI, while OFDI induces more export.
Combined Numerical and Experimental Determination of Ball Bearing Capacitances for Bearing Current Prediction

High-frequency voltages across the steel ball bearings and the corresponding currents can cause premature bearing failures in electric machines driven by PWM converters. The bearing voltage, one of the most commonly-used failure indicators, depends heavily on the bearing capacitance. This paper presents a combined numerical and experimental approach for the calculation of ball bearing capacitances to address the uncertainty introduced by lubricant property, lubrication status and other metal parts, such as seals and ball retainers. Based on the obtained capacitance breakdown, the influences of temperature, speed and bearing load (radial, axial or combined) on the capacitance are studied. Measurements and associated results of bearing capacitances are provided to validate the proposed method.
Isoflavone profiles, phenol content, and antioxidant activity of soybean seeds as influenced by cultivar and growing location in Ohio

Isoflavone levels and isoflavone chemical composition in soybeans vary between planting locations although the exact factors which control isoflavone biosynthesis are unclear. We compared levels of 12 isoflavones in soybean seeds of six cultivars grown in four different locations in Ohio in 2002 as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Antioxidant activity contained in plant-based foods can improve food oxidative stability and phenolics and isoflavones have proven active in food systems. Radical scavenging activity was assessed using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical. Total phenolics (TPCs) were determined by using Folin–Ciocalteu reagent. Total isoflavones (TIs) varied five-fold (1573–7710 nmol g−1) between seeds from the various location–cultivar combinations. One location (Wooster, Ohio) produced seeds containing half the isoflavones as the other locations tested apparently due to poor growing conditions. The cultivars could be divided into two groups based on TI, one having approximately 50% more isoflavones. Surprisingly, across the entire data set, with increasing TI, the proportion of isoflavones accounted for by the daidzein family increased due primarily to malonyl daidzin. DPPH scavenging did not differ significantly by location or cultivar (P > 0.05) and did not correlate with TPC or TI. Profiling soybean isoflavones could help elucidate how isoflavone biosynthesis is regulated and lead to better disease resistance of soybean crops and soy foods with greater health benefits. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry
MIGRATION POLICY, REMITTANCE INFLOWS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN CAMBODIA BY MR. VIRAK KHIEV A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ECONOMICS

Labor migration is a recent phenomenon, yet due to globalization, it has become a big issue. Therefore, it requires proper policy for harnessing labor migration and remittances to enhance economic development. With significant amount of remittances has been sent into the country, the effect of remittance inflows could not be overlooked. Therefore, our main objectives of the study are to provide brief overview of migration policy in Cambodia and Thailand and to investigate the effect of remittance and migration policy of Cambodia on economic growth in Cambodia. Employing simple regression model with data covering from 1993 to 2016, the models show that remittances and migration policy of Cambodia have positive significant impact on economic growth. The outcomes from the models indicate that remittances have contributed 0.118% to the Cambodia’s economic growth. Moreover, using migration policy in 2010 as a dummy variable, the model found that economic growth for post-policy is 0.39% higher than the pre-policy. Remittances are found to have positive significant effect on economic growth due to high increase in remittance inflows and because of the increase in uses of remitted money in productive activities such as enterprises, agriculture and healthcare in recent years. Our study is of great interest for labor economic policy makers and a good