Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Home range, habitat choice and activity of stoats (Mustela erminea) in a subarctic area

We monitored the home ranges, habitat use and activity of stoats Mustela erminea in north-west Finnish Lapland with radio-tracking in years 1998 and 1999, and found a dominance hierarchy in habitat use between and within sexes. Altogether, eight female and seven male stoats were caught and radio-tracked. Males and females differed from each other both in the size of their home ranges and in habitats. Mature females live in areas where the abundance of the preferred Microtus prey is the highest. Dominant males lived in less productive habitats than females, but in more productive areas than non-dominant mature males. Furthermore, both male and female activity levels were higher during the snowless non-breeding season than the breeding season, but we found no activity differences between sexes through the diurnal cycle. We compare the results from Finnish Lapland with those from other regions, and discuss the flexibility of stoat behaviour in subarctic conditions.
How Did the ACA Affect Health Insurance Coverage in Kentucky

The major components of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) were implemented in 2014, including the rollout of the Health Insurance Marketplace, Medicaid expansions, and the individual mandate. Kentucky stands out as one of the few southern states to expand Medicaid, and earlier work has demonstrated that Kentucky experienced some of the largest gains in health insurance coverage. The goal of the current study is to further explore the sources that individuals used to gain coverage in Kentucky using a large, publicly available dataset, the American Community Survey (ACS). Several findings emerge. First, overall health insurance coverage increased by 5.7 percentage points, from 85.1 percent to 90.8 percent, from 2013 to 2014. Roughly 269,000 individuals in Kentucky gained coverage, the overwhelming majority (85%) of whom were adults aged 19–64 (229,000 individuals). Gains were extremely modest for both children and the elderly. Among adults, roughly 80 percent of the gains were from Medicaid coverage, with most of the rest coming from individual coverage. Using income reported by the ACS respondents, approximately 38 percent of new adult Medicaid recipients had incomes exceeding the Medicaid eligibility threshold (roughly $33,000 for a family of four). This translates into 73,000 ineligible, new Medicaid participants. Almost all ineligible, new participants would appear to qualify for private, nongroup coverage with subsidies through the premium tax credit. A variety of sensitivity checks suggest at least 36,000 ineligible, new participants on Medicaid due to the expansions, including more than 13,000 with incomes exceeding 250 percent of the FPL. Possible explanations are explored and ineligible participants are characterized. Aaron Yelowitz University of Kentucky Department of Economics 223B Gatton College of Business and Economics Lexington, KY 40506-0034 (859) 257-7634 aaron@uky.edu www.Yelowitz. com
Summer mortality of the Pacific cupped oyster Crassostrea gigas in the Bay of Marennes-Oleron (France)

A comprehensive research program has been developed since 1995 to focus on C. gigas abnormal mortality rates occurring regularly during the summer period in the Bay of Marennes Oleron (France). Several subprojects were carried out including in-vitro ecophysiological studies to asses l) the relationship between reproductive status, scope for growth and mortality, 2) effects of stress temperature on physiological functions. Meanwhile, field studies concerned monitoring surveys of calibrated oyster populations at various emersion time and geographic sites. A database was developed and incorporated into a geographic information system (GIS) to overlay several layers of information and establish relationship among environmental parameters and mortality rates. Concomitantly, seawater quality monitoring surveys were developed to assess carrying capacity and overall environmental conditions affecting oysters. Temperature probes were deployed at the near vicinity of oysters as weIl as a multiparameter probe to record, temperature, salinity, turbidity, pH and 02 concentration on a continuous basis. Moreover, a valvometer recording continuously the oyster valve cl 0 sure activity was deployed near the previous probe to establish relationship with environmental conditions. C. gigas summer mortality rates will be discussed and a general hypothesis will be proposed to explain mortality occurrence.
The nitrogen‐sink is involved in the regulation of nitrogenase activity in white clover after defoliation

In an attempt to manipulate plant nitrogen-sink strength, various defoliation treatments were applied to white clover (Trifolium repent L. cv. Ladino) grown in a controlled environment. Nitrogenase activity and its oxygen limitation were measured as H; evolution in Ar:O2 using a flow-through gas exchange system. An experiment to monitor the response of nitrogenase activity to various degrees of defoliation showed that the removal of up to 50% of the leaf are a had no effect on nitrogenase activity within 6 h. If more than 50% of the leaf area was removed. the nitrogenase activity decreased in relation to the loss of leaf area. This was accompanied by a corresponding increase in the O2 limitation of nitrogenase activity. In the experiment to determine the N-sink strength after defoliation, the dry weight increase w as initially unaffected by the removal of 4% of the leaf area, whereas removal of 85% or 100% of the leaf area resulted in a dry weight loss for several days. The time course of nitrogen assimilation was similar to that of dry weight increase. This study provides substantial evidence that after a severe defoliation the nitrogen demand is temporarily restricted due to the lack of dry weight increase. Since the plant's ability to store organic nitrogen is very limited. it seems plausible that nitrogen assimilation in the still fully intact symbiotic system had to be down-regulated. Consequently, to avoid ammonia toxicity. nitrogenase activity had to be reduced. Such an interpretation is supported by the fact that complete defoliation of nitrogen-Starved plants caused a much milder decrease in nitrogenase activity compared to the decrease in plants well supplied with nitrogen. The present data are consistent with the hypothesis that after defoliation nitrogenase activity is adjusted in response to the reduced demand for symbiotically fixed nitrogen (nitrogen-sink strength), It is proposed that such an adjustment could he made by a nitrogen feedback mechanism that regulates a variable oxygen-diffusion barrier in the nodules.
Municipal Accounting Restatements and Top Financial Manager Turnover

We investigate whether municipal financial manager turnover is associated with accounting restatements. This analysis is motivated by the notion that suspect financial reporting could limit the ability of stakeholders to assess the use of public resources (GASB, 2006). The evidence suggests that municipalities disclosing accounting restatements are more likely to see changes in the top financial manager position than a control sample of non-restatement municipalities. Overall, our findings are consistent with associations between financial reporting quality and the labor market for municipal financial managers, and imply that governments should consider adding the prevalence of accounting failures as an input in the evaluation of top financial managers.
High Dissolved Oxygen Concentration of Floodwater Reduces Carbohydrate Concentration of Cranberry Uprights during Flooding

Cranberry production involves the use of fl ooding for several purposes during the growing season, including pest control, winter protection, and harvest. The effect of the dissolved oxygen concentration in fl oodwater on carbohydrate concentration of uprights and roots during fl ooding was investigated using potted 'Stevens' cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) vines. Pots were placed in large bins fi lled with water to simulate a spring pest control fl ood (called late water) over a 21-day period. Two treatments were applied: oxygenated and nonoxygenated (control). Uprights and roots were collected every 3 days and prepared for HPLC analysis to quantify nonstructural carbohydrate concentration. Soluble sugar (sucrose, glucose, and fructose) and starch concentration, as well as total nonstructural carbohydrate (TNSC) concentration, decreased over the 3-week period in uprights but not roots regardless of treatment. Interestingly, the sucrose, glucose, fructose, and starch concentrations of uprights in the oxygenated treatment were lower than those of uprights in the control treatment throughout the experiment. This research indicates that vines in fl ooded bogs demonstrate a net carbon loss, resulting in reduced carbohydrate concentration available for growth and fruit production.
Cell‐specific detection of phosphorus stress in Trichodesmium from the Western North Atlantic

The low phosphorus concentrations observed in the western North Atlantic and the western Central Atlantic suggest that phosphorus bioavailability may limit Trichodesmium productivity and N2 fixation. However, the degree to which the concentration and composition of the total phosphorus pool affects actual bioavailability is poorly understood. To better examine how phosphorus bioavailability may constrain primary production and marine N2 fixation, we have developed a molecular diagnostic tool for quickly detecting the phosphorus status of the diazotroph Trichodesmium. This diagnostic method uses a commercially available substrate to fluorescently tag cells expressing the phosphate-regulated enzyme, alkaline phosphatase. Using this diagnostic tool, we were able to distinguish phosphorus-replete from phosphorus-stressed Trichodesmium populations along a transect from Grand Bahama Island to Bermuda in November 2000.
Storage, Photosynthesis, and Nature of Mutations Affecting Structure in Chlamydomonas Growth: The Conditional Starch Synthesis and

Growth-arrested Chlamydomonas cells accumulate a storage polysaccharide that bears strong structural and functional resemblance to higher plant storage starch. It is synthesized by similar enzymes and responds in an identical fashion to the presence of mutations affecting these activities. We found that log-phase photosynthetically active algae accumulate granular a(l--ll)-linked, a(l+)-branched glucans whose shape, cellular location, and structure differ markedly from those of storage starch. That synthesis of these two types of polysaccharides is controlled by both a common and a specific set of genes was evidenced by the identification of a new Chlamydomonas (STA4) locus specifically involved in the biosynthesis of storage starch. Mutants defective in STA4 accumulated a new type of high-amylose storage starch displaying an altered amylopectin chain size distribution. It is expected that the dual nature and functions of starch synthesis in unicellular green algae will yield new insights into the biological reasons for the emergence of starch in the eukaryotic plant cell.
Recursive movement patterns: review and synthesis across species

Recursive movement—returns to previously visited areas—is a widespread phenomenon exhibited by a large range of species from bees and birds to primates and large felines, at different spatial scales. Nevertheless, the wide scope and generality of this phenomenon remain underestimated by the scientific community. This limited appreciation for the pervasiveness of recursive movement can be attributed to its study by parallel lines of research, with different methodologies and nomenclature, and almost no cross referencing among them. Among these lines of studies are traplining behavior in foraging ecology, path recursions in movement ecology and the ecology of fear in predator–prey studies. We synthesize these three lines of research, to underline the mechanisms driving these patterns and create a conceptual model for recursive movement behavior across species and spatio-temporal scales. The emergence and complexity of recursive movement patterns are determined by the rate of resource recovery, environmental.
Role of TNF Alpha, IL-33 and CCL2/MCP-1 in Mast Cell Activity

Mast cells are the derivatives of hematopoietic progenitor cells and play an important role in immediate Type I hypersensitivity and late phase reactions but also in innate immunity (3), allergy and inflammation (4) by secreting a large variety of chemical mediators either from storage sites in their granules, or producing immuno-regulatory proteins upon stimulation (5-14). They directly interact with bacteria and appear to play a vital role in host defense against pathogens. The addition of certain cytokines to human umbilical cord blood-derived cultured mast cells shown to augment IgE-induced production of distinct cytokines, without histamine secretion. Mast cells could be recruited in the inflammatory site, by MCP-1, RANTES and SCF, and selectively secrete proinflammatory molecules; these could include growth factors, histamine, which is mitogenic (H1) and an immunosuppressant (H2), neovascularization agents, such as heparin, IL-8, and VEGF as well as proteases that could permit new blood vessel formation. IL-33 belongs to the IL-1 family and binds to the ST2 receptor which has high homology to IL-1 receptor and has biological activities. IL-33, causes allergic inflammation and exerts significant biological effects both in vivo and in vitro . IL-33 induces expression of several cytokine and chemokine, resulting in severe inflammatory and allergic diseases. Using human umbilical cord blood mast cells (HUCBMCs), as a valid model, we found that IL-33 induces CCL2/MCP-1 release in HUCBMCs. This study documents the ability of IL-33 to directly stimulate HUCBMCs to produce CCL2/MCP-1. We reported that IL-33 is a strong activator of human mast cell capable to induce CCL2/MCP-1 released at translational level. The data described an additional biological activity of IL-33, suggesting that this cytokine may have an important effect on the recruitment of inflammatory cells in allergic diseases. IL-33 may be also critically involved in regulation of cyclooxygenase production in vitro and probably in vivo , providing a potential therapeutic target for inflammatory diseases. CCL2 monocytes chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1) is a potent chemotactic molecule that attracts lymphocytes, monocytes, mast cells, and memory T cells, but not neutrophils. In this review we highlighted, for the first time, the importance of TNF alpha, IL-33, and MCP-1 in mast cell activity.
Quantification of Inha, Inhba, and Inhbb genes expression levels in Wister rat testis during Pre- and Post-Pubertal Stages

The present study has been designed to quantitate the mRNA expression level of testicular Inha, Inhba, and Inhbb genes at pre- and post-pubertal stages of male Wister rats. Fifty male Wister rats (25 immature and 25 mature) were used in the present study. At pre-pubertal stage, 5 male rats of 25, 30, 35, 40, and 45 days old, and at post-pubertal stage, 5 male rats of 55, 60, 65, 70, and 75 days old were anasthetized and testis were obtained for molecular study to investigate the expression levels of Inha, Inhba, and Inhbb genes using qRT- PCR. The expression level of Inha gene in testis decreased as the age progress until 40 day period, and then slightly increased at 45 day period. At 55 day period, the expression significantly increased. At 60 and 65 periods, the levels recorded no increase, but 70 and 75 day periods recorded significant increase. The expression level of Inhba gene increased significantly as the age progress at the pre-pubertal stage, where the highest level was recorded at 45 day. At 55, 60, and 65 day periods, the highest expression level has been recorded, thenafter, the levels decreased at 70 and 75 day periods. The expression level of Inhbb gene increased significantly at 30, 35, 40, and 45 day periods of the pre-pubertal stage. At 55 and 60 day periods, no significant difference was recorded compared with 45 day period. At 65 day period, the highest level was recorded, thenafter, the levels decreased at 70 and 75 day periods. It can be concluded that fold changes of Inha, Inhba, and Inhbb genes in testis, correlated with the alterations of inhibins and activins concentrations at different periods of pre- and post-pubertal stages of male Wister rats life.
The Intergenerational Impact of the Earned Income Tax Credit on Education and Employment Outcomes

Using four decades of policy variation in federal and state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) benefits, we estimate the intergenerational impact of the EITC on education and employment outcomes. Results suggest that an additional $1,000 in EITC exposure when a child is 18 years old increases the likelihood of completing high school (2.5 percent), attending college (4.5 percent), completing college (4.3 percent), being employed (1 percent), and increases annual earnings by $883 (or 3.7 percent). Variation in EITC exposure at different ages in childhood indicate that the EITC has the largest effect on children in their teenage years.
Reproduction and Immune Impacts from Vitamin or Mineral Deficiencies: Determining if Your Herd Is Deficient

Recognizing if, or when, your herd has a vitamin or mineral deficiency can be frustrating for cattle producers. Often clinical signs are vague or subtle and may mimic other more talked about diseases, with decreased reproduction and immune function being the most serious for the producer. Table 1 outlines common deficiencies and their clinical signs. Confusion exists as to which is the best sample to submit if a producer suspects an issue with vitamins or minerals, or would like to assess herd status.
Alfabetización científica en contextos escolares: El Proyecto Zientzia Live!

In this study is presented the "Zientzia Live! " Scientific literacy program, that was conducted at ESO level in schools of the Basque Country. It tries to meet the need shown by the literature to introduce forms of non-formal education in the school context. It has been addressed issues such as the teaching methodology of the workshops, the participants' attitude about them, or scientific literacy achieved through the experiences. The most original contribution of this work is its attempt to analyze the scientific literacy that allows attendees to give a scientific explanation for the observed experiments. The results are encouraging and indicate that the majority of participants have learned the key ideas.
How grasshoppers respond to road noise: developmental plasticity and population differentiation in acoustic signalling

Summary Increasing levels of anthropogenic noise have the potential to mask signals of acoustically communicating species in their natural habitats. Animals in noise-polluted habitats typically adjust their signals away from high background noise levels to ensure successful signal transmission under challenging environmental conditions. Earlier we demonstrated that male Chorthippus biguttulus grasshoppers from roadside habitats produce courtship signals with elevated frequency components compared to conspecifics from non-roadside habitats. Here, we use a common garden approach to study the mechanisms underlying this response. We transferred grasshopper nymphs from seven roadside as well as five non-roadside habitats to the laboratory to rear half of them under noisy and the other half under quiet conditions in a full factorial two-by-two design. Courtship songs of adult males were later recorded under standardized quiet conditions. Males exposed to road noise as nymphs produced signals with higher frequency components compared to males reared under quiet conditions, indicating developmental plasticity as a mechanism underlying the signal adjustment to anthropogenic noise in grasshoppers. In addition, males originating from roadside habitats produced signals with higher frequency components and an increased syllable to pause ratio – a sexually selected signal trait – compared to males from non-roadside habitats. Our results demonstrate for the first time that developmental plasticity may play an important role in song trait modifications in response to anthropogenic noise. Furthermore, they suggest that multiple roadside populations may have diverged in parallel, possibly in response to selection for minimizing signal masking by road noise.
What is PACT really?

“Phylogenetic Analysis for Comparing Trees” (PACT) has been presented as a “new algorithm” for the study of biogeography and coevolution. However, an exploration of this algorithm revealed some important problems missed in the original description. First, PACT is not new, rather it is an extension of Tree Mapping under Maximum Codivergence (TM‐MC). Second, as was described, PACT lacks an optimality criterion, and like secondary BPA, it does not offer a solution for handling incongruent elements. We found that PACT and TM‐MC differ only in the way the final answer is presented, and in the absence of an explicit algorithm of historical reconstruction under PACT. Given the equivalence between TM‐MC and PACT in their aims and assumptions, the criticism to TM‐MC as “orthogenetic” is not well founded.
Optimal Foraging for Complementary Resources

Foraging for complementary resources is widespread in nature. The conventional approaches to optimal foraging are inadequate to describe this phenomenon, since they are predicated on perfect substitution among alternative foods in terms of energy yield per unit time. A more qualitative modeling approach derived from economics is proposed to take explicitly into account the degree of resource substitutability for predators requiring balanced diets. The model yields hypotheses that differ markedly from those derived under the assumptions of perfect resource substitution. First, prey species cannot be ranked (ordinally or cardinally) in terms of their "value" to predators, since the benefits derived from consumption of one prey type depend on the quantities of complementary resources consumed. Second, prey selectivity is affected by the relative abundance of any potential food source. Third, when food resources are complementary predator fitness is greater on mixed diets than on single species diets.
On the importance of total polar phenols to monitor the stability of Greek virgin olive oil

A large number of virgin olive oil samples obtained from different areas in Greece were analyzed for various quality parameters. The work focuses on the colorimetric determination of total phenols with the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and its importance in predicting shelf life of virgin olive oil. The results indicate a good correlation of total polar phenol content with the stability of the oil. Colorimetric determination of ortho-diphenol content does not seem to be a better means for predicting virgin olive oil stability. RP-HPLC quantification of hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol in their free form gives poor results in the case of freshly extracted oils. It is concluded that until an easy-to-manage HPLC method will be available, which will quantify accurately both free and bound forms of hydroxytyrosol and other phenolics, the colorimetric method for the determination of total polar phenols remains a good practical means to evaluate the stability of virgin olive oil.