Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Reliability of Secondary Traits in Selecting for Improved Grain Yield in Drought and Low‐Nitrogen Environments

Grain yield of maize (Zea mays L.) has low heritability under low soil nitrogen (low-N) and drought, necessitating the use of secondary traits with strong associations with yield for selection. A base index involving anthesis-silking interval, plant and ear aspects, ears per plant, and stay green characteristic is used for selection for yield under drought and low-N stresses. Reports are contradictory on the reliability of stay green characteristic for selecting for yield under drought stress and ears per plant and anthesis-silking interval in selecting for low-N tolerance. Ninety extra-early inbreds were evaluated for 2 years at 3 locations in Nigeria under low-N and drought to confirm reliability of stay green characteristic for selecting for drought tolerance and ears per plant and anthesis-silking interval for low-N. Plant aspect, plant and ear heights were identified as the most reliable traits for simultaneous selection for yield under low- N and drought in the extra-early inbreds. Stay green characteristic was unreliable for selecting drought tolerant genotypes while ears per plant and anthesis-silking interval were not among the reliable traits for selecting low-N tolerant genotypes. Ear height, plant and ear aspects, and stay green characteristic were identified by both path–coefficient and GGE (genotype main effect plus genotype x environment) biplot analyses as reliable for selecting for low-N and ear aspect, plant height, and anthesis-silking interval for drought tolerance.
Importance of Nest and Paternal Characteristics for Hatching Success in Fathead Minnow

Abstract We quantified the importance of nest and paternal characteristics for survival of eggs of Fathead Minnow, a multiple-batch spawner in which breeding males guard and tend nests. We stocked experimental ponds three weeks apart and then intensively monitored 150 nests. Nest predation by conspecifics accounted for most of the egg mortality, and 29% of all nests failed to produce hatchlings. Although egg survival was not affected by date of stocking or nest initiation, hatching success improved in larger and longer-lasting nests. Nests where paternal care was observed during our monitoring were larger, lasted longer, and thus were more likely to produce hatchlings than nests where care-giving was not observed. Over one-third of the male caregivers displayed agonistic behaviors toward nest intruders, and this index of aggressive defense was also associated with improved nest performance. Larger males nested earlier and were more likely to be aggressive than smaller males. Post-spawning mortality of these larger, early-nesting males may facilitate a mid-summer demographic shift among breeders over the spawning season: nests of large, aggressive males are followed by those of smaller or later-maturing fish, who are more likely to survive to spawn again the following year.
Distribution and systematics of Batrachospermum (Batrachospermales, Rhodophyta) in North America. 9. Section Batrachospermum: description of five new species

Abstract Five new species belonging to Batrachospermum section Batrachospermum are described from North America. B. spermatoinvolucrum sp. nov. is distinguished by the combination of spermatangia on the involucral filaments of the carpogonial branch, relatively long carpogonia and regular, cylindrical cortical cells. Fifteen populations referable to this species were found in western coniferous forest, boreal forest and tundra regions. Batrachospermum trichofurcatum sp. nov. collected from California has unique forked trichogynes. The distinguishing feature of B. carpoinvolucrum sp. nov. from an Arizona spring is carpogonial branches with involucral filaments having apical carpogonia Batrachospermum involutum sp. nov. from a Texas spring-fed river is distinct in having involute fascicle tips, spermatangia on one-celled involucral filaments and rhizoidal outgrowths from mid-fascicle cells. Batrachospermum trichocontortum sp. nov. from South Carolina is named for the twisted appearance of the trichogyne tip.
A mechanistic model for assessing the risk of wind and snow damage to single trees and stands of Scots pine, Norway spruce, and birch

A mechanistic model for assessing the risk of wind and snow damage to single trees and stands of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst. ), and birch (Betula spp.) is presented. The model predicts the critical turning moment and wind speed at which the trees will be uprooted or break at forest margins. The resistance to uprooting is predicted using the estimate of the root-soil plate weight to derive a resistive moment, while the resistance to stem breakage relies on values for the modulus of rupture determined for different species of timber. A tree is assumed to be uprooted if the total turning moment exceeds the support provided by the root-soil plate anchorage. Similarly, a tree is assumed to break if the breaking stress acting on the stem exceeds a critical value of the modulus of rupture. The model is in general quite sensitive to parameter changes, which partly results from the location in the forest to which it was designed to apply (the stand edge). The predictions.
Persistence and stability of lotic invertebrate communities in New Zealand

1. Persistence and stability of lotic invertebrate communities were determined at an annual time scale over a 9-year period (1990–98) at 26 river sites over the northern half of New Zealand. In addition, a number of water quality variables were measured monthly and flow information collected continuously over the same period at each site. 2. The aim of the study was to describe the levels of interannual variability in invertebrate communities, and relate community changes to variability in environmental conditions. The consequences of this temporal variability for the sensitivity of predictive models were also investigated. 3. Levels of change in environmental conditions varied significantly between years, but were relatively similar across sites. In contrast, community persistence (similarity between years in species assemblage composition), and stability (similarity between years with respect to relative abundance of species in the community) both varied significantly between sites, but changes between years were similar. Community stability was highest at sites with relatively harsh flow conditions (high coefficient of variation, high relative size of floods), and was also greater in communities dominated by Ephemeroptera. 4. Relationships between change in environmental conditions and changes in community composition and structure were relatively weak for most individual sites. However, when average levels of change for each of the 26 sites were used, communities showed greater persistence under conditions where flow conditions remained relatively constant. Water quality changes had no significant effect on community persistence when assessed for all 26 sites combined. 5. Results from this study suggest that lotic invertebrate communities fluctuate around a relatively stable state, at least over a 9-year period. However, the extent of interannual variation in community composition and structure observed, along with the relatively low degree of cluster fidelity observed within a single region, suggests that predictive models based on reference site conditions extrapolated over several years should be applied with caution in New Zealand streams.
Cargo segmentation in stream of commerce (SoC) x-ray images with deep learning algorithms

Inspecting shipping containers using X-ray imagery is critical to safekeeping our borders. One of major tasks of inspecting shipping containers is manifest verification, which has two components: 1) determine what cargos are contained in a shipping container, which can be carried out in cargo segmentation, and 2) compare the cargos in the container with the cargos declared in the manifest. We focus our study on cargo segmentation. Cargo segmentation is the process of partitioning the cargo inside the container into regions with similar appearance. Assign a cargo class label to each pixel in the X-ray images. Our contribution is the development of a deep learning neural net based cargo segmentation algorithm that significantly improves the traditional ways of performing cargo segmentation. The cargo segmentation process is implemented by first partitioning the X-ray images into image tiles of certain sizes, and then train a deep learning (DL) model-based semantic segmentation algorithms using the annotated image tiles to partition the cargo into regions of similar appearance. The DL based semantic segmentation algorithm we used is an encoderdecoder structure often used for semantic segmentation. The DL network implementation chosen for our cargo segmentation is DeepLab v3+, which includes the atrous separable convolution composed of a depthwise convolution and pointwise convolution. Our X-ray cargo images used for development is a government-provided data set (GPD).
The Pacific–Indian Ocean associated mode in CMIP5 models

Abstract. The Pacific–Indian Ocean associated mode (PIOAM), defined as the first dominant mode (empirical orthogonal function, EOF1) of sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) in the Pacific–Indian Ocean between 20 ∘ S and 20 ∘ N, is the product of the tropical air–sea interaction at the cross-basin scale and the main mode of ocean variation in the tropics. Evaluating the capability of current climate models to simulate the PIOAM and finding the possible factors that affect the simulation results are beneficial in the pursuit of more accurate future climate change prediction. Based on the 55-year Hadley Centre Global Sea Ice and Sea Surface Temperature (HadISST) dataset and the output data from 21 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) phase 5 (CMIP5) models, the PIOAM in these CMIP5 models is assessed. Instead of using the time coefficient (PC1) of the PIOAM as its index, we chose to utilize the alternative PIOAM index (PIOAMI), defined with SSTA differences in the boxes, to describe the PIOAM. It is found that the explained variance of the PIOAM in almost all 21 CMIP5 models is underestimated. Although all models reproduce the spatial pattern of the positive sea surface temperature anomaly in the eastern equatorial Pacific well, only one-third of these models successfully simulate the El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) mode with the east–west inverse phase in the Pacific Ocean. In general, CCSM4, GFDL-ESM2M and CMCC-CMS have a stronger capability to capture the PIOAM than the other models. The strengths of the PIOAM in the positive phase in less than one-fifth of the models are slightly greater, and very close to the HadISST dataset, especially CCSM4. The interannual variation of the PIOAM can be measured by CCSM4, GISS-E2-R and FGOALS-s2.
Effect of ascorbic acid administration on erythrocyte osmotic fragility in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) subjected to road transportation

The physiological responses of erythrocytes of rabbits transported by road for 2 h under hot-humid climate and the ameliorating effect of ascorbic acid (AA) were investigated. Nine rabbits served as experimental (treated) and were administered AA orally at a dose of 100 mg/kg body weight, while seven other rabbits served as control and were given equivalent of sterile water only. Thirty minutes after AA administration, the rabbits were transported. The erythrocyte osmotic fragility (EOF) values recorded in the control rabbits immediately after transportation and three days post-transportation were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than the pre-transportation values and the corresponding values obtained in treated rabbits. They were indicated by an increase in haemolysis on each point of the fragility curve. The result suggested that road transportation resulted in haemolysis of erythrocytes, which lasted for three days after transportation. Thus, the rabbits may require more than three days after transportation for their erythrocytes to return to base-line values. In treated rabbits, the transportation had no significant (P > 0.05) effect on the EOF. The result demonstrated that 2 h of road transportation of rabbits under adverse climatic conditions resulted in oxidative damage of erythrocyte membrane, which was alleviated by AA administration.
A Comparison of Barley Malt Amylolytic Enzyme Activities as Indicators of Malt Sugar Concentrations1

This study was conducted to test the hypothesis that barley malt α-amylase activity correlates better with malt sugar concentrations than the activities of β-amylase or limit dextrinase. Seeds of four two-row and four six-row North American elite barley cultivars were steeped and germinated in a micromalter for 6 days. At 24-hr intervals throughout germination, green malt was removed and kilned. Malts were assayed for individual amylolytic activities, and malt sugars were extracted and assayed. Increases in malt α- and β-amylase and limit dextrinase activities were greatest between days 1 and 2 of germination. Over all days of germination for all cultivars combined malt α-amylase activities correlated much better with total malt sugar concentrations (r = 0.830, P < 0.0001) than with β-amylase activities (r = 0.665, P < 0.0001) and somewhat better than with malt limit dextrinase activities (r = 0.785, P < 0.0001). Correlations of individual sugar concentrations (glucose, maltose, sucrose, fructose, and the maltodextrins maltotriose through maltoheptaose) for all cultivars combined over all days of germination were greater with α-amylase activities than with β-amylase or limit dextrinase activities (e.g., for glucose and maltose, respectively: r = 0.872 and 0.763 and P < 0.0001 for α-amylase; r = 0.587 and 0.679 and P < 0.0001 for β-amylase; and r = 0.806 and 0.733 and P < 0.0001 for limit dextrinase). Over all days of germination individual cultivar malt α-amylase activities correlated better with total sugar concentrations than with β-amylase or limit dextrinase activities. Correlations of individual malt sugar concentrations for individual cultivars over all days of germination, for the most part, were greater with α-amylase activities than with β-amylase or limit dextrinase activities. Overall, malt α-amylase activity correlated better with sugar production during malting and a short period of extraction than with other malt amylolytic enzymes, supporting the tested hypothesis.
Ecotypes diversity in autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata Thunb): A single plant with multiple micronutrient genes

Elaeagnus umbellata, a member of the Elaeagnaceae family, is native to Pakistan, China, India, Korea, and Japan. It is found commonly at altitudes ranging from 1200 to 2100 m and thrives on eroded and degraded land due to its ability to fix nitrogen. The plant also grows under variable pH (4–8) and drought, and is used locally as fuel wood, fencing, fodder, basket making, and shelterbelts. The fruit of the plant is well known for its essential nutrients and medicinal compounds such as vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, carotenoids (lycopene), soluble solids, and sugars. Medicinally, it is widely believed to protect against myocardial infections, pulmonary infections, and various forms of cancers. Ten ecotypes from variable microclimatic conditions were investigated for their morphological, molecular and biochemical diversity improvement and commercialization purposes. Comparisons and disabilities indicated significant variability in terms of morphological (plant height, number of branches, thorn size and number, leaf area, fruit size, 100 fruit weight, and yield), molecular (SDS-PAGE), and micro- and macronutrient (vitamin C, Fe, mg, P, Na, K, essential oils, and sugar) bases among the ecotypes. This variability will be helpful in developing commercial varieties of the plant utilizing the conventional techniques of selection and hybridization for economic activities. The plant has ample quantities of multiple micronutrients, thus indicating their expression through a powerful promoter at one place (fruit mesocarp). Efforts to identify and isolate the micronutrient genes (vitamin A, C, E, and Fe), the deficiency of which causes malnutrition and disabilities within the population of developing countries. Micronutrient genes have also been initiated for their characterization and future transformation into staple food crops for stable bio-fortification.
Cryoprotectant production capacity of the freeze-tolerant wood frog, Rana sylvatica

Freezing survival of the wood frog (Rana sylvatica) is enhanced by the synthesis of the cryoprotectant glucose, via liver glycogenolysis. Because the quantity of glucose mobilized during freezing bears significantly on the limit of freeze tolerance, we investigated the relationship between the quantity of liver glycogen and the capacity for cryoprotectant synthesis. We successfully augmented natural levels of liver glycogen by injecting cold-conditioned wood frogs with glucose. Groups of 8 frogs having mean liver glycogen concentrations of 554 ± 57 (SE), 940 ± 57, and 1264 ± 66 μmol/g catabolized 98.7, 83.4, and 52.8%, respectively, of their glycogen reserves during 24 h of freezing to −2.5 °C. Glucose concentrations concomitantly increased, reaching 21 ± 3, 102 ± 23, and 119 ± 14 μmol/g, respectively, in the liver, and 15 ± 3, 42 ± 5, and 61 ± 5 μmol/mL, respectively, in the blood. Because the capacity for cryoprotectant synthesis depends on the amount of liver glycogen, the greatest risk of freezing inj.
Geostatistical approach for land suitability assessment of some desert soils.

Land is a basic natural resource input to the most production activities of human and also for many alternative and competing uses. As a result,land is becoming so scare in many areas of the world especially in the developing countries (FAO, 2011). Due to the rapid growth of population, Egypt suffers from a very massive population crisis. Given to the limited and scarcity of land and water resources, this crisis has created a very great pressure on these resources. Consequently, the effective and professional management of land and water resources in Egypt is indispensable to insure food needs and sustainable agricultural development (Abdel-Hamid et al., 2010). Therefore, land suitability assessment is the most important tool that can manage these resources appropriately. Land suitability evaluation is an essential prerequisite process for sustainable agricultural management (Dedeoğlu et al., 2018). It includesthe evaluation of soil, terrain, the socio-economic, market, climate conditions and infrastructures criteria.Actually, land suitability assessment is an examination procedure or D TO the rapid growth of population in Egypt and the scarcity of land and water resources, the effective management of these resourceshas become a very urgent necessity to achieve the sustainable agricultural development. Consequently, land suitability assessment is an important tool to manage these resources appropriately. The objective of this study was to use geostatistical approach and geographical information system (GIS) to evaluate the land suitability for some essential cropsin Toshka region, Egypt.Soil parameters such as gravel content, soil texture, pH, EC, CaCO 3 , ESP and CEC were determined, at 1.0 km grid soil sites. Afterward, the geostatistics approach using ordinary kriging interpolation and semivariogram were applied to produce a spatialized and detailed map for each soil parameter. Gaussian, Exponential and Spherical geostatistical models were used to define the spatial variability of soil properties based on RMS, MSE and RMSSE. Also, based on Storie equation the kriged interpolated maps were incorporated in the model builder within GIS environment to achieve the land suitability assessment. The results illustrated that, most of the investigated area are unsuitable (N) for vegetable crops. However, the study area is more promising for field crops where 42.71 % and 11.20 % of the total area are moderately suitable (S2) for barely and alfalfa crops respectively. Furthermore, the results confirmed that, some of orchids crops are very suitable for the study area whereas 6.80 % and 37.81 % of the studied area are highly suitable (S1) and moderately suitable (S2) for olives respectively. On the other hand, the results revealed that the results indicated that, the most limiting factor in the investigated area are EC, pH, calcium carbonate content, CEC and soil texture. Finally, it can be concluded that the geostatistical approach and GIS are powerful and effective tools for land suitability studies and consequently for sustainable planning of land use.
Variation in the effectiveness of symbiotic associations between native rhizobia and temperate Australian Acacia: within‐species interactions

1. The ability of different rhizobial isolates collected from any one site to establish effective nitrogen-fixing associations with host-plants from that site showed significant variation in 22 host Acacia species and nearly all of 67 populations. The average Acacia host–Rhizobium strain combination was only about 70% effective. Many combinations were far poorer; in a few cases the worst combination resulted in plants less than one-tenth the size of the best combinations. 2. The ability of rhizobial isolates to form effective symbiotic interactions showed marked host population and rhizobial-isolate effects in a study of eight, four and nine populations of A. dealbata, A. implexa and A. mearnsii. A more complete trial involved three populations of each of A. dealbata, A. implexa, A. irrorata, A. mearnsii and A. melanoxylon. These were inoculated with a range of rhizobial isolates previously shown to be highly, moderately or weakly successful in forming an effective association. Evidence of marked host population and rhizobial origin effects was found but there was very little evidence of isolate–host population interaction effects. 3. The general lack of host population–rhizobial origin interaction effects suggests that rhizobial strains selected as highly effective for an Acacia species growing in a particular population will generally perform well symbiotically with that species in other populations. This will make their practical application as inoculants in revegetation and forestry situations much easier. 4. Significant host-based variability in the ability to form effective symbiotic interactions was detected in comparisons of half-sib families of A. dealbata, A. mearnsii and A. melanoxylon. In the case of A. dealbata, the interaction between half-sib family lines and rhizobial isolates was complex, with ‘locally’ derived isolates performing better than ‘foreign’ ones. There were also significant interaction effects. In A. mearnsii, on the other hand, the only significant differences were detected between the response of different half-sib families to the same rhizobial isolate. The occurrence of host-based variability indicates that in Acacia breeding programmes attention should be given to the possibility of inadvertent selection affecting these relationships.
Economic Integration in West Africa: A Reconsideration of the Evidence

There is no doubt that economic integration in the sub-region would be beneficial to member countries. However, the conditions precedent suggest the need to consider other factors outside the convergence criteria for the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) region and the link between the Franco-phone countries with France. Using stylized facts and preliminary panel results, there are still unsettled important issues as the region moves towards economic integration. These issues include but not limited to political will, huge infrastructure deficit and fiscal imperatives.1