Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EVALUATION OF EXTRACTS FROM BAMBOO FOR BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY AGAINST CULEX PIPIENS PALLENS

Abstract The extracts from 7 species of bamboo were tested for larvicidal activity against Culex pipiens pallens. At the tested concentration, the extracts of selected bamboo had different degree of toxic effects on the fourth instar larvae of Culex pipiens pallens. Among them, the extracts of Pleioblastus juxianensis, Brachystachyum albostriatum, Phyllostachys platyglossa and Pleioblastus amarus were found to be effective with LC50values at 24 h of 30.65 mg/L, 53.94 mg/L, 41.21 mg/L and 54.49 mg/L respectively, against Culex pipiens pallens larvae. The extract of Pleioblastus juxianensis by Soxhlet method showed stronger activity than the extract obtained by interval‐shaking, the LC50 of which were 30.65 mg/L and 48.34 mg/L, respectively. The diethyl ether extract of Pleioblastus juxianensis exhibited better larvicidal activity than the methanol extract and the petroleum ether extract. The results would help to provide the basis for the study of environment acceptable pesticide for mosquito control, and also help to comprehensively utilize the source of bamboo.
An investigation into selected determinants of family harmony in small and medium-sized family farms in South Africa

ABSTRACT The primary objective of this study was to empirically explore the determinants of family harmony in small and medium-sized family farms. Data from 244 questionnaires from 36 family farms were collected and analysed. Three factors with eigen-values greater than one were extracted, explaining 63.56% of the variance, describing the theoretical dimensions of the dependent variable family harmony and the independent variables existence of family forums and conflict management. The impact of the existence of family forums and conflict management on family harmony was examined by means of multiple linear regression analysis. The results indicate that a significant proportion of the variation in family harmony among family members in family farms is explained by the existence of family forums and the management of conflict among family members. The findings thus indicate that family harmony among family members in the participating family farms is related to the existence of family forums and conflict management. Practical recommendations are made to improve family relationships in family farming businesses.
The effects of grazing on local colonisation and extinction during early succession

Estimates of colonisation of plant species were made at three spatial scales in an old-field on limestone subject to five experimental sheep grazing regimes. Local extinctions within grazing treatments were estimated in 1-m2 permanent quadrats. These data were used to assess the effects of grazing treatment and spatial scale on the process of species change over a period of six years. Colonisation of the lOha field was virtually a random draw of plant species from adj acent vegetation, irrespective of plant life-history traits including dispersal strategy. The effects of grazing on colonisation increased at smaller spatial scales. Colonisation rates changed little during the study on the 10 ha scale, but declined steeply with time at smaller scales. Colonisation rates of short-lived species declined more than those of perennials, and short-lived species were subject to erratic episodes of extinction which did not affect perennials. Short periods of grazing enhanced colonisation rates of all species, but extinction rates were the same as in ungrazed controls. Grazing for longer periods further enhanced colonisation rates, but also increased extinction rates. This produced diversity patterns consistent with a ‘hump-backed model’, except that no grazing treatment was heavy enough to decrease diversity. Ungrazed controls had low species diversity, but areas grazed for longer periods were no more diverse after six years than those grazed for short periods.
Insecticide Resistance Detected in Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) from New South Wales Cotton

Insecticide resistance in Myzus persicae is documented for the first time in Australia in cotton. Resistance levels detected were monocrotophos 56x, chlorpyrifos 46x, dimethoate 16x, pirimicarb 6x, methomyl 5x, methamidophos 4x, and profenofos 4x.
A repetitive DNA sequence differentiates Xanthomonas campestris pv. oryzae from other pathovars of X. campestris.

We report here the presence of highly repetitive DNA sequences (elements) in X. c. pv. oryzae. In addition, we describe the distribution of one element among strains of X. c. pv. oryzae and pathovars of X. campestris and the usefulness of that element as a probe for diagnosis of X. c. pv. oryzae
Assembly rules within a contingent ecology

Ecologists have searched for general principles, or assembly rules, which determine how species combine to form communities. Two major strands of research highlight the interaction of assembly rules operating at different levels of community organisation. and within uncertain local and historical contingencies. Here, we review the aterature on community assembly within the context of three principal determinants: dispersal constraints, environmental constraints and internal dynamics. This classification separates external factors (dispersal and environmental constraints) from mternal processes (internal dynamics). We assert that assembly rules are general, deterministic and mechanistic, and operate on internal dynamies within the constraints imposed by the local environment and the history of species invasions. Several assembly rules have been proposed to operate within and across trophic levels, as well as on whole systems. The rules act through resource dynamics and spatial dynamies to select species or subsets of species that can coexist, and may lead to patterns of increasing biomass and non-random spatial distributions. Environmental constraints restriet species establishment and mediate interactions among successful colonists; a change in environmental constraints, either exogenous or endogenous. may drive community change. Even in systems at equilibrium, environmental constraints influence the outcome of assembly rules. Dispersal constraints determine the pool of potential colonists available at a particular time and place, and are a complex amalgam of species-specific traits, storage effects, landscape ecology, and history. The order and timing of species invasions (dispersal constraints) interact with assembly rules to produce priority effects. The directionality of community assembly may be lost if either the rate of species invasions or the rate of non-selective species extinctions exceeds the rate at which species are selected by assembly rules. The falling apart, or disassembly, of a community through breakdown of species interactions may follow different rules or a different assembly trajectory.
Macrobenthic fauna in Thale Sap Songkla, a brackish lake in southern Thailand

The macrobenthic fauna in Thale Sap Songkhla was investigated at 2–3 month intervals from October 1991 to October 1993. The abundance of the benthic fauna ranged from 53 to 9529 individuals m−2. The abundance and species composition were generally higher during the late southwest monsoon (October) than during the mid-northeast monsoon (December). One hundred and twenty-two species belonging to six phyla were found. Three major groups of macrobenthic fauna consisted of 44 species of Polychaeta (36%), 44 species of Crustacea (36%) and 28 species of Mollusca (28%). The other six species (5%) were minor groups belonging mainly to the Nematoda, Oligochaeta, Sipunculida and Pisces (fish larvae). The predominant polychaetes were Diopatra neapolitana and Heteromastus filiformis. Diopatra neapolitana was found only at two stations close to the sea (20–1440 individuals m−2), while H. filiformis was found at all stations (6-2255 individuals m−2). Apseudes sp. 1 (Tanaidacea), Apanthura africana (Isopoda), Amphipoda (many species) and Eupogebia sp. (Anomura) were the main groups of Crustacea. The most abundant crustacean was Apseudes sp. 1. , with a maximum density of 5726 individuals m−2. The dendrogram of Jaccard's coefficient shows two clusters of communities. An increase of polychaetes was observed in the second year of the study.
Aclimatação de mudas de acariquara à alta irradiância

The aim of this work was to determine the physiological changes that occur in manwood (Minquartia guianensis) during the acclimation process to high irradiance, and also to determine the acclimation strategy of this species. Plants kept in low light were transferred to high irradiance for 290 days. During this period the ratio between variable fluorescence and maximum fluorescence (Fv/Fm) was measured in leaves developed in the shade, and after premature senescence due to photooxidation, in sun-acclimated leaves. At the end of the experimental period the anatomic and photosynthetic characteristics of leaves were determined. Exposure to high irradiance caused, just after transferring, strong photoinhibition and partial photooxidation, but did not cause plant death. Leaves produced in sunny environment showed Fv/Fm similar to that of control plants. Light-saturated photosynthesis and CO2 saturated-photosynthesis were 90 and 50% higher in plants acclimated to high irradiance. The maximum carboxylation velocity of rubisco and the maximum rate of ribulose bisphosphate regeneration followed the same trend. Leaves produced under sunlight had higher stomatal density and increased leaf thickness. The production of new leaves is the main acclimation strategy to high irradiance in manwood.
Towards a typology of stone beads in the Neolithic Levant

Abstract This study is an attempt to develop a comprehensive typology of the earliest stone bead assemblages in the southern Levant from Late Natufian and Neolithic sites. I propose this typology as a tool for studying stone beads almost a century after Horace Beck published his monumental bead typology. Beads are often neglected artifacts in archaeological excavations, but a bead typology can contribute to definitions of relative chronology and to a broader understanding of social and economic aspects of certain prehistoric societies.
Second Report on an Investigation into the Biological Control of West Indian Insect Pests

1. The report covers a period of 3½ years actually spent in the field. 2. During this time 19 major pests have been studied, with special reference to their natural enemies and other limiting factors. The pests of sugar-cane have, however, received by far the most attention, partly because this is the most important crop throughout the region as a whole, and partly because the industry has made substantial financial contributions. 3. Advice has been given, on request, to local Governments, planters' organisations and individual planters, and schemes have been drawn up for intensive local research on cane-borers, on froghopper and on mongoose. The researches of the two investigators of the cane-borer ( Diatraea spp.), under grants from the Colonial Development Fund, have been supervised so far as their technical aspect is concerned. 4. For the control of the small moth-borer ( Diatraea ) the most important pest of sugar-cane as a whole, the Cuba fly ( Lixophaga ) has been introduced (in collaboration with Mr. Box) into the Leeward and Windward Islands, and the Amazon fly ( Metagonistylum ) into British Guiana (in collaboration with Mr. Cleare). Both these very promising parasites, the second of which was discovered during the course of the investigation, are now widely established. 5. A specific parasite is now needed for Diatraea canella in British Guiana and D. impersonatella in Trinidad. It is possible that experiments now in progress (in collaboration with Mr. Pickles and Mr. Cleare respectively) that Paratheresia will serve for the first and Metagonistylum for the second, but a highly specific parasite for D. canella remains greatly desirable.
Antiproliferative Effects Exerted by Recombinant Human Tumor Necrosis Factor‐a (TNF‐α) and Interferon‐y (IFN‐γ) on Human Pancreatic Tumor Cell Lines

Modulation of the growth of human pancreatic cancer cell lines in vitro by recombinant human tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and recombinant human interferon-γ (IFN-γ) was investigated. TNF-α exerted antiproliferative effects on three of nine pancreatic cancer cell lines and WiDR colorectal cancer cells. When administered together with IFN-γ TNF-α showed enhanced antiproliferative effects on a subset of the pancreatic cancer cell lines tested, including those found to be insensitive to treatment with TNF-α alone. Thus the antiproliferative effect achieved by a combined treatment with TNF-α and IFN-γ exceeded that observed with either drug alone in seven of nine pancreatic cancer cell lines.
HEAT LOSS IN WET DUCKLINGS AND CHICKS

Summary Wet ducklings, like wet chicks, had lower body temperatures than dry birds. The temperature depressions of the chicks decreased as they grew older. The temperature depressions of the ducklings were mainly dependent on the waterproofing of their plumage and how much of their skin became wetted. Completely waterproof ducklings, which maintained a layer of air between their skin and the water, lost heat slowly, but poorly waterproofed birds with wet skins lost heat quickly. Waterproofing was reduced in the laboratory when the ducklings' feathers became soiled and disarranged and when one swam in soapy water.
The Function(s) of Bird Song

Male bird song may attract and stimulate females and may repel males, but the evidence that song is essential for accomplishing these “main functions” is not abundant. Correlations between male song traits (such as repertoire size or singing rate) and components of fitness reveal that important information, perhaps about overall male quality, is available for listeners. To determine whether birds use that information, however, will require researchers to manipulate song traits independently of male quality. Having then determined more rigorously the “current utility” of song, we will more clearly be able to infer how selection has shaped particular song traits. We envision progress in understanding the function(s) of bird song if investigators 1) thoroughly describe natural events, 2) use lucidly stated, multiple working hypotheses, 3) realize the potential differences in song function among divergent taxonomic units, 4) transcend correlational studies by doing ingenious manipulative experiments, and 5) reason carefully when developing scenarios of evolutionary origin.
The analysis of market integration and price transmission – results and implications in an African context

ABSTRACT A vast literature on market integration and price transmission has accumulated over the last half century. This literature has received major impetus, first from the introduction of increasingly sophisticated co-integration methods since the late 1980s, and second from the so-called food price crisis of 2007–2008, which heightened interest in the transmission of food price spikes in space and along the supply chain. In this paper I review the literature on price transmission and market integration, highlighting applications in an African setting. I begin by reviewing the basic methods that are commonly used in price transmission analysis, as well as several extensions that have gained prevalence in recent years. I then discuss several important limitations and challenges that remain to be addressed in future research on price transmission and market integration.
TREE GROWTH, MORTALITY, PHYSICAL CONDITION, AND MICROSITE IN OLD-GROWTH LOWLAND TROPICAL RAIN FOREST Ecological Archives E081-003

The goal of this long-term research has been to assess the relationship between annually measured tree performance and microsite conditions for nine canopy and emergent tree species in old-growth lowland tropical rain forest. The study site, the La Selva Biological Station in northeast Costa Rica, is tropical wet forest (annual mean precipitation 4 m; annual mean temperature 26°C). We used unbiased selection criteria to assemble a sample of >2000 individuals of these species in all size classes except small seedlings. We annually assessed diameter and height growth as well as stem condition and indices of crown lighting and forest structure. These data cover the period 1983–1993, and the study is ongoing as of 1999. To our knowledge the data represent the longest-running and most highly quality-controlled measurements that combine annual tree growth and mortality with associated microsite conditions in tropical forests. The data provide the most detailed insight currently available into how environmental .
Effects of Desiccation, Medium Osmolarity and Abscisic acid on the Maturation of Hevea brasiliensis Somatic Embryos

The effects of desiccation of Hevea somatic embryos and of sucrose and ABA concentrations in the maturation medium on their germinability were investigated. Conversion into plant, water and histochemical status of somatic embryos were compared systematically to those of the zygotic embryos used as reference. Slow desiccation or maturation on 351 mol m"3 sucrose supplemented with 1 mmol m~3 ABA strongly improved germinability and conversion of embryos into plants. The combination of the two treatments was the most effective, increasing the germination frequency by 3-7 and plant conversion by 6-6 in clone PR 107. Each of these two treatments increased the vigour of somatic embryos, stimulated the formation of root and shoot meristems and the synthesis and accumulation of starch and protein reserves. At the end of maturation, the Hevea somatic embryos bore an anatomical and histochemical resemblance to mature zygotic embryos. Likewise, the two treatments brought the water status of somatic embryos closer to that of the mature zygotic embryos, but without achieving a perfect match. Optimization of the successful conversion into plants may require full acquisition of this water status.
Design and evaluation of a photoprotective compound able to release taurine under conditions of oxidative stress

Citation: IFSCC Magazine, 11 (2008) (2) 105–112 Abstract: A novel photoprotective ingredient with anti-oxidant and electrophilic scavenging properties was designed. A structure–activity relationship study was conducted in order to optimize its bioavailability, specifically its ability to reach deep layers of the skin that may be affected by ultraviolet radiation-induced oxidative stress. A particular characteristic of this compound is its ability to release taurine upon reaction with some reactive oxygen species. In situ taurine formation may contribute to photoprotection. Preliminary in vitro experiments provide some evidence for effective protection against UVA-induced oxidative stress. Scavenging of the electrophilic species 4-hydroxynonenal, a highly cytotoxic end product of membrane lipid peroxidation, seems to be 2-oxo-1,3-thiazolidine major photoprotective mechanism. Keywords: antioxidant, electrophilic species scavenging, photoprotection, structure-activity relationship, taurine Paper presented at the IFSCC Conference 2007, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Society of Musculoskeletal Medicine Conference, London, March 2014

Assessment and management of WAD in the whiplash capital of Europe: are U.K. physiotherapists divided? Angela Clough1, J. Horne2, F. Earle2, P. Clough3 Clinical Lead Physiotherapist. Hull & East Yorkshire NHS Trust, Dept of Psychology, University of Hull, Dept of Psychology, Manchester Metropolitan University Method: A multi method approach was adopted: An empirical case study design was adopted to investigate the impact of context on diagnosis and classification (n= 182). ‘Almost’ identical case studies were assessed by physiotherapists. Only the cause of the injury was different (sport vs. RTA). An epidemiological approach, examining whiplash reporting. General RTA statistics were compared to collision injuries in Rugby where the impact forces were recorded. In depth interviews were carried out with a range of practitioners (n= 9) focusing on the causes and treatments of whiplash. Specific objective: To investigate variations in the diagnosis and treatment of WAD within the UK physiotherapy community. Results: 1. The case studies showed that physiotherapists were significantly more likely (p< 0.05) to report that an injury was whiplash if it was apparently related to an RTA rather than a sports context. 2. The epidemiological approach showed that WAD could be significantly under reported in contact sports. 3. The interviews showed different treatment approaches were adopted by physiotherapists from differing specialist areas. Conclusions: The present series of studies show that: The context of the injury significantly influences the diagnosis. , Whiplash injuries appear to be over reported in RTAs and under reported in sports. , The WAD guidelines are available, but do not appear to prevent some of this variation. , Practitioners from different domains agree on the causation of whiplash and core principles of clinical problem solving but have differing views on classification and intervention.
Laboratory characterization of an aerosol chemical speciation monitor with PM2.5 measurement capability

ABSTRACT The Aerodyne Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) is well suited for measuring non-refractory particulate matter up to approximately 1.0 µm in aerodynamic diameter (NR-sub-PM1). However, for larger particles the detection efficiency is limited by losses in the sampling inlet system and through the standard aerodynamic focusing lens. In addition, larger particles have reduced collection efficiency due to particle bounce at the vaporizer. These factors have limited the NR-sub-PM1 ACSM from meeting PM2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter smaller than 2.5 µm) monitoring standards. To overcome these limitations, we have redesigned the sampling inlet, the aerodynamic lens, and particle vaporizer. Both the new lens and vaporizer are tested in the lab using a quadruple aerosol mass spectrometer (QAMS) system equipped with light scattering module. Our results show that the capture vaporizer introduces additional thermal decomposition of both inorganic and organic compounds, requiring modifications to the standard AMS fragmentation table, which is used to partition ion fragments to chemical classes. Experiments with mixed NH4NO3 and (NH4)2SO4 particles demonstrated linearity in the NH4+ ion balance, suggesting that there is no apparent matrix effect in the thermal vaporization-electron impact ionization detection scheme for mixed inorganic particles. Considering a typical ambient PM2.5 size distribution, we found that 89% of the non-refractory mass is detected with the new system, while only 65% with the old system. The NR-PM2.5 system described here can be adapted to existing Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) and ACSM systems. Copyright © 2017 American Association for Aerosol Research
Forecast Method for Natural Language Constructions Based on a Modified Gated Recursive Block

The paper proposes a method for predicting natural language constructions based on a modified gated recursive block. For this, an artificial neural network model was created, a criteria for evaluating the efficiency of the proposed model was selected, two methods for parametric identification of the artificial neural network model were developed is based on the backpropagation through time algorithm and based on simulated annealing particle swarm optimization algorithms. The proposed model and methods for its parametric identification make it possible to more accurately control the share of information coming from the input layer and the hidden layer of the model, increase the parametric identification speed and the prediction probability. The proposed method for predicting natural language constructions can be used in various intelligent natural language processing systems.