Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of methyl jasmonate and salicyclic acid on chilling injury of 'eureka' lemons.

South Africa is the second largest exporter of citrus fruit in the world, with long shipping distances demanding high quality, pest- and disease-free fruit. For certain markets fruit are subjected to low temperatures (-0.5°C) for varying periods of time as an obligatory quarantine treatment; however, lemons are sensitive to low temperature exposure and easily develop chilling injury during obligatory quarantine treatments. This has become a major limitation to the expansion of South Africa's lemon industry. In other horticultural crops postharvest treatments with methyl jasmonate (MJ) or salicylic acid (SA) have been successfully used to reduce chilling injury. Therefore, ‘Eureka’ lemons were dipped either in 10 or 50 µM MJ or in 2 or 2.5 mM SA solutions and subsequently stored at -0.5°C for 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, or 42 days, before being transferred to room temperature for 7 days. Fruit weight, total phenolics, carbohydrates and proline concentrations of the rind were determined. Although no visual symptoms of chilling injury were observed, treatment with either 10 µM of MJ or 2 mM of SA significantly (P<0.05) reduced fruit mass loss, increased antioxidant compounds, such as phenolics and carbohydrates as well as symptoms of chilling injury such as high proline concentrations in the rind. These alterations of the chemical composition of the rind may have increased the chilling tolerance of fruit to cold storage. Therefore, postharvest treatments with either 10 µM MJ or 2 mM SA should be further tested as treatments to reduce chilling injury in lemons.
Environmental influences on unsteady swimming behaviour : Consequences for predator-prey and mating encounters in teleosts

The aquatic environment of fish can vary over developmental and evolutionary time scales, eliciting responses at levels of organization ranging from the gene to the whole-animal (Johnston and Wilson, 2006). Temperature and environmental variables such as oxygen availability, pH, salinity, pollution and turbidity can directly and/or indirectly influence physiological processes and behaviour in fish (Bennett, 1990; Prosser, 1991). Many of these factors, such incidences of hypoxia and pollution, are also becoming more commonplace in coastal areas, and can have profound effects on fish swimming behavior (Domenici et al., 2007a). Although numerous studies have successfully elucidated the functional consequences of environmental variation on locomotion, and their underlying mechanisms, the link between such variation and fitness is not often established (Garland and Carter, 1994; Irschick and Garland, 2001; Wilson, 2005). In this context, studies of prey capture/escape success and reproductive performance are also likely to be of direct relevance.
Sustaining a Teacher Professional Learning Community in China Through Technology

This study explores the evolution of a professional learning community (PLC) of Chinese teachers over a multi-year period. A group of 16 teachers participated in a three-semester PLC over the 2008-2009 school years to develop master mathematics teachers in a school district in Beijing, China. The goal of the PLC, as identified by the teachers, was to improve instruction for greater student autonomy, creativity, and problem solving as they developed their master capacity building skills and networked relationships. This paper explores what has happened to these 16 teachers six years later, specifically considering how they may have used technology to further their development as master teachers. This study shows the potential of a PLC for self-adaptive, emergent behaviors and understandings that are instructional for transforming teaching practices, sustaining changes in teaching practices and preparing students for 21st century engagements.
Gramíneas indicadores de condición en sitios de pastizal del sudoeste de Santiago del Estero

El inventario del campo natural, base para su manejo sostenible con fines ganaderos, requiere de la determinacion de la condicion del pastizal. El objetivo de este estudio fue la identificacion de especies de gramineas y latifoliadas indicadoras de la misma en el sudeste de Santiago del Estero. El area de estudio comprendio dos unidades de pastizal: ? Planicie Sur- Sierras? y ? Planicie ondulada? y tres sitios de pastizal: alto, media loma y bajo. Se estimo la frecuencia relativa (presencia-ausencia) de especies en parcelas = 1 ha dispuestas al azar en un gradiente de intensidad de pastoreo en cada sitio de pastizal, clasificandolas en tres condiciones: buena, regular y pobre. Se muestrearon un total de 110 parcelas. Para identificar la capacidad discriminante de las especies, se utilizo su frecuencia promedio por condicion del pastizal, la significancia estadistica de sus pruebas de F en analisis univariados, analisis canonico de discriminantes y las respectivas funciones discriminantes por condicion. Los datos de campo fueron complementados con informacion sobre preferencia animal extraida de la bibliografia. En las dos unidades de pastizal estudiadas, las especies Setaria lachnea, Trichloris pluriflora, Gouinia latifolia y Digitaria insularis indicaron, generalmente, condicion buena-regular en los sitiosalto y media loma, mientras que Pappophorum pappipherum, Paspalum spp y Trichloris pluriflora indicaron la misma condicion en el sitio bajo. Chloris ciliata y Digitaria californica no fueron muy abundantes, pero indicarian condicion buena a regular de los sitios alto y media loma. En todos los sitios, las especies indicadoras de condicion pobre son latifoliadas en general, Amphilophium cynanchoides y especies del genero Malvaceas. Se observo una relacion directa entre condicion del pastizal (~ composicion botanica) y oferta de biomasa aerea, apoyando el uso de especies indicadoras en el manejo practico del campo natural de la zona.
Electronic Banking Services in Nigeria: Some Determinants and Opportunities for Households' Financial Inclusion

Economic transactions in many of the countries in Africa are still largely cash-based and many of these transactions are costly, inefficient, time consuming and sometimes risky because of the security situation in most countries in the continent. In fact, finality of payment is not always guaranteed because of potential counterfeits and the lack of financial discipline when cheques or other paper-based means of payment are used. The introduction of electronic banking services into the Nigerian banking sector has brought some respite considering the number of people now using electronic platforms such as the Automated Teller Machines (ATM), mobile phones, internet and bank websites instead of the conventional over the counter method used by most people. The result presented in here is based on secondary data consisting of 6002 respondents collected by The Financial Inclusion Insights Program, InterMedia. A descriptive analysis of data showed that the North-central (35%) and South-west (33%) geopolitical zones of the country had the highest as over one-third of the residents harnessed internet as the platform for their banking services. Meanwhile on the determinants of using electronic banking services, the result of the tobit model employed revealed age, gender, education status, and ownership of mobile phones as positive enablers and poverty status, distance to banking services and marital status as hiccups to using electronic banking services. The study therefore recommends welfare enhancement through provision of infrastructural facilities to ease access banking services, Also capacity building of respondents through education should be intensified since most of the people using these electronic platforms are those with a minimum of secondary education.
Intrinsic Motivation: Impact on Learning Disabilities Literature

This article discusses the general principles of intrinsic motivation (IM) from the lens of Selfdetermination Theory in education setting. Though there are studies on regular students and those with Learning Disabilities (LD), the latter group can benefit from more rigorous studies done on them. This is especially true since IM was found to be significant in the achievement and adjustment of students with LD. Findings from this review listed a few psychological concepts worthy of focus for increasing these students’ IM. Firstly, the effective management of extrinsic motivation enhances the IM of students with LD when they are perceived as structure rather than a controlling factor. Secondly, the three psychological needs; autonomy, competence, and relatedness were studied on the group. The perceived competence of the group was found to be central to their IM compared to the need for autonomy. Consequently, relatedness was found to be an influence and relevant to the population’s IM. As for Malaysia’s literature on the LD population, it is found to be scarce. While the research on IM is rarely found, the limited ones are on student’s self-concept. In conclusion, studies on students with LD in Malaysia should focus on IM using the SDT psychological concepts.
Initial studies on insect succession on carrion in Southwestern British Columbia

This is the first report of an ongoing study of insect succession on carrion in British Columbia. Pig (Sus scrofa L.) carcasses were used as human models to determine insect succession on carrion over time in an open, sunlit, rural area in summer in southwestern British Columbia, in order to begin a database of insect colonization of carrion in this province. Insects colonized the remains in sequence over 271 days postmortem. Some species, in particular, those in the Piophilidae and Dermestidae families, were collected earlier in the decomposition process than usually reported from other regions, probably indicating geographic variation in colonization times. Maggot activity raised internal carcass temperature, but minimum and maximum internal temperatures fluctuated more than ambient temperatures, with diel internal temperature differences of more than 35°C. Soil fauna also showed considerable changes in identity and number of species, and had not returned to pre-carcass levels 271 days postmortem.
Evolution of Alpha Satellite DNA

Alpha satellite deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is based on 171 bp tandem repeats located in the centromeric and pericentromeric regions of all primate chromosomes. In humans, most of the alpha satellite repeats are organised in a hierarchical fashion, creating complex units called higher order repeats, composed of 2 to more than 30 diverged monomers in length. Monomeric alpha satellite DNA predates higher order arrays of alpha satellite and may represent direct descendant of the ancestral primate centromere sequence. Comparison of centromeric alpha satellite DNA sequences in different primate species reveals that alpha satellite DNA evolves through a series of amplification events resulting in the spreading of ‘new’ subfamilies, which replace the ‘old’ ones and confer centromere function. Transcripts of alpha satellite play an important role in kinetochore formation and the establishment of pericentromeric heterochromatin and are indispensable for the proper cell division. Key Concepts: Complex higher order repeats (HORs) are predominant form of alpha satellite DNA in the great ape and humans. Alpha satellite HORs evolve much faster than monomers and contribute substantially to divergence between chromosomes of primates. Two distinct chromosomal domains, the centromere and heterochromatin are assembled and maintained on the alpha satellite DNA sequence. Alpha satellite DNA evolves through proximal amplification events occurring within the central active region of the centromere. Transcription of alpha satellite DNA is crucial for centromere/kinetochore assembly and function during cell division. Keywords: alpha satellite DNA; higher order repeats; centromere; heterochromatin; concerted evolution
Ecological study of the forest litter meiofauna of a unique Scottish woodland

The micro and meso-invertebrate abundance was measured, together with forest litter composition, in eight plots of differing vegetation (dominated by beech and birch) over a winter-spring period. The litter moisture content was a mean of 76% during the sampling period and the beech sites were the driest. The results were analysed using a suite of statistical techniques, together with data on protozoa, fungi and bacteria available from parallel research. Nematodes were analysed according to the trophic levels, which included microbial feeders, plant feeders and predators. The majority of arthropods found were the collembolan, Folsomia candida and cryptostigmatid mites, with very small quantities of other micro- and mesoarthropods (such as larvae and mesostigmatid mites). The microarthropod populations peaked in January and fell during subsequent months, while population numbers of nematodes showed a decrease between January and February, followed by an increase in March. ANOVA showed a significant date effect, but no site-date interactions for the population abundance of both nematodes and microarthropods. Ecological interactions of meiofauna were analysed by ANCOVA, stepwise regression, and correlation analysis. Examples of relationships revealed include positive relationships of plant-feeding nematodes (PFN) with microbial feeding nematodes (MFN), and of F. candida with cryptostigmatid mites. Other positive interactions were found for PFN, MFN, F. candida, cryptostigmatid and mesostigmatid mites with litter components, such as beech leaves and litter thickness, moisture and grass, and protozoa. Negative interactions were recorded for PFN, MFN, F. candida, cryptostigmatid and mesostigmatid mites with beech leaves, fungi, protozoa and bacteria. The results have highlighted a very complex structure of factors influencing the temporal and spatial dynamics of the forest litter community. It is suggested that temperature and moisture content particularly influence the invertebrates present. The invertebrates appear to be present in a range of microhabitats, which may have resulted in a reduced level of competition and a high level of positive interactions revealed.
Seasonal variations and community structure of plankton in relation to some environmental variables in Wadi Haneefah Stream, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

En A study on the qualitative and quantitative variations of phytoplankton and zooplankton populations as well as physico-chemical condition of water at three different locations in Wadi Haneefah Stream was carried out. Water temperature fluctuated between 18.0°C and 32.0°C, while pH values ranged from 7.1 to 8.5. Dissolved oxygen concentration reached maximum in May. The contents of chloride, Alkalinity and sulphate were highest in July-August. It is found that most of the parameters studied (turbidity, conductivity, hardness, total nitrogen, total dissolved solids, phosphorus, BOD and COD) have high values in summer months (June – September). A total of 50 phytoplanktonic taxa representing the families Chlorophyceae, Cyanophyceae, Desmidiaceae and Bacillariophyceae were recorded during the present study. Among all, Bacillariophyceae was the dominating group. The population density of phytoplankton was more prominent in summer. Zooplankton community was represented mainly by Protista, Rotifera, and Crustacea. These zooplankton was peaked in July and trough in January. The effects of various physico-chemical quality parameters on the seasonal distribution and succession of planktonic organisms are also discussed.
Coral Reefs Dominate Integrative Biology Meeting

MEETING BRIEFSBOSTON-- In addition to the normal contingent of biologists from many disciplines, this year's annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, which was held here from 3 to 7 January, attracted hundreds of coral reef scientists. Sessions discussed new information on the relationship between corals and their symbiotic algae and also how to farm corals. In addition, the meeting included a session on what allows monitor lizards to simultaneously run and breathe more easily than other lizards can.
Detección y descripción anatomopatológica de tuberculosis en una colonia de Ankole-Watusi

El objetivo del estudio fue detectar animales infectados con tuberculosis en una colonia en cautiverio de Ankole-Watusi, empleando la prueba de tuberculina, aislamiento e identificacion del agente, y describir los hallazgos anatomopatologicos observados a la necropsia. A quince watusis, se les aplico la prueba de tuberculina doble comparativa, resultando un animal reactor y dos sospechosos. Los tres animales se sacrificaron, se determino la presencia de lesiones y se tomaron muestras de tejidos. A la necropsia dos animales presentaron lesiones tuberculosas con exudado purulento en linfonodos y pulmon. A partir de los animales con lesiones aparentes, se aislo Mycobacterium bovis y a la histopatologia con la tincion de HE en los tejidos afectados, se observo una linfadenitis y neumonia piogranulomatosa, con la tincion de ZN se observaron muy escasas bacterias acido-alcohol-resistentes. La prueba de la tuberculina demostro ser util en esta especie para detectar animales enfermos, correlacionando las lesiones a la necropsia con la histopatologia y el aislamiento bacteriano. Las lesiones tuberculosas con el aspecto de abscesos se encuentran comunmente en venados y en otros animales salvajes, pero tambien se han descrito en bovinos y probablemente sea comun en esta especie animal. Se debe de considerar la deteccion oportuna de los animales salvajes en cautiverio que estan infectados con tuberculosis, mediante practicas rutinarias de diagnostico, ya que constituyen reservorios de infeccion para los bovinos domesticos, la demas fauna silvestre en cautiverio y sobre todo para los humanos.
Analytical and Numerical Evaluations of Flexible V-Band Rotman Lens Beamforming Network Performance for Conformal Wireless Subsystems

—This paper presents the analytical design and numerical performance evaluation of novel V-band millimetre-wave (mm-wave) beamforming networks (BFNs), based on the Rotman lens array feeding concept. The devices are intended for operation in the unlicensed 60-GHz frequency band. The primary objective of this work is to study the feasibility of designing ﬂexible V-band beamformers, based on liquid-crystal polymer (LCP) substrates. The planar Rotman lens device has been initially developed, and the output performances, in terms of the scattering parameters and accuracy, have been analysed. This is further continued with the detailed designs of the Rotman lens BFNs based on the four diﬀerent proposed ﬂexural cases, namely the concave-axial bending, the convex-axial bending, the concave-circumferential bending, and the convex-circumferential bending. Each of the ﬂexures has been analysed, and the performance in terms of the surface currents and phase distributions, as the primary functionality indicators, has been presented. The presented ﬂexible beamformers exhibit signiﬁcant characteristics to be potentially employed as low-cost and eﬃcient units of the mm-wave transceivers with the in-built electronic beam steering capabilities for the conformal wireless subsystems.
Oil palm mesocarp waste - a potential breeding medium for rhinoceros beetle, Oryctes rhinoceros L.

The rhinoceros beetle, Oryctes rhinoceros, is a ubiquitous pest of oiJ palm. A survey conducted in a heavily infested five-hectare plantation revealed that dumped heaps of oil palm mesocarp waste serve as ideal breeding sites for beetles. Within a year a total of 2303 grubs, 32 pupae and 126 adult beetles could be collected from the heaps. Hence mesocarp waste should be either spread in the plantation instead of being kept as heaps or should be kept after treatment with some eco-friendly insecticides.The Baculovirus oryctus being an important tool in IPM, which is disseminated by the release of inoculated beetles necessitated their mass rearing. A comparative evaluation of the various rearing materials revealed that oil palm mesocarp waste is the best media followed by cow dung.The percentage of adult emergence in mesocarp waste was 72 ± 8.36 compared to 50 ± 4.47 in cow dung; 6 ± 2.45 in coir dust and nil in oil palm bunch refuse. Cement rings (95 cm x 30 cm) covered with double-layered chicken wire mesh were used as rearing cages, which provided protection from predators, good aeration, easy watering and observation.This technique proved to be ideal for mass rearing under laboratory conditions.
The Role of Variable Type in Causal Learning

引用文献 Cheng, P. W. (1997). From covariation to causation: A causal power theory. , 367–405. Lu, H. , Rojas, R. R. , Beckers, T. , & Yuille, A. L. (2016). A Bayesian theory of sequential causal learning and abstract transfer. , 404–439. 100(0) 0(0) 100 ≥100 1.00(0) 0.00(0) 1.00 1.00 100(0) 25(4.3) 75 ≥75 1.00(0) 0.25(0.4) 0.75 1.00 75(4.3) 0(0) 75 75 0.75(0.4) 0.00(0) 0.75 0.75 100(0) 50(5) 50 ≥50 1.00(0) 0.50(0.5) 0.50 1.00 75(4.3) 25(4.3) 50 50 0.75(0.4) 0.25(0.4) 0.50 0.67 50(5) 0(0) 50 50 0.50(0.5) 0.00(0) 0.50 0.50 100(0) 75(4.3) 25 ≥25 1.00(0) 0.75(0.4) 0.25 1.00 75(4.3) 50(5) 25 25 0.75(0.4) 0.50(0.5) 0.25 0.50 50(5) 25(4.3) 25 25 0.50(0.5) 0.25(0.4) 0.25 0.33 25(4.3) 0(0) 25 25 0.25(0.4) 0.00(0) 0.25 0.25 100(0) 100(0) 0 NA 1.00(0) 1.00(0) 0.00 NA 75(4.3) 75(4.3) 0 0 0.75(0.4) 0.75(0.4) 0.00 0.00 50(5) 50(5) 0 0 0.50(0.5) 0.50(0.5) 0.00 0.00 25(4.3) 25(4.3) 0 0 0.25(0.4) 0.25(0.4) 0.00 0.00 0(0) 0(0) 0 0 0.00(0) 0.00(0) 0.00 0.00 Continuous & Percentage
Theories and behavioural drivers underlying fleet dynamics models

In the domain of decision-support tools for the management of marine ﬁsh resources, considerable attention has been paid to the development of models explaining how ﬁsh stocks change over space and time. In most models, ﬁshing effort is assumed to be exogenous and determined by factors such as management. Increasingly, there has been a call for bio-economic models to also account for the dynamics of ﬁshing ﬂeets, recognizing that ﬁshers respond to changing environmental, institutional and economic conditions. A growing literature has sought to explicitly model the endogenous determinants of the capacity of ﬁshing ﬂeets, the intensity of its use and its temporal and spatial allocation across ﬁshing opportunities. We review this literature, focusing on empirical applications of the behavioural models that have been put forward to explain and predict observed ﬂeet dynamics. We ﬁnd that although economic factors are usually included as a dominant driver in most studies, this is often based on the use of proxy variables for the key economic drivers, for which adequate data are lacking. Also, while many studies acknowledge that social and social–psychological factors play a signiﬁcant role in explaining observed ﬁshing behaviour, their inclusion in ﬁshing ﬂeet dynamic models is still very limited. Progress in this domain can only be achieved via the development of multidisciplinary research programmes focusing on applied quantitative analysis of the drivers of ﬁshing ﬂeet dynamics.
A Three-Dimensional Integrated Trust Model for Trust Formation in B2C E-Commerce

II PUBLICATIONS FROM THE RESEARCH . V ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . VII DEDICATION . IX TABLE OF CONTENTS . X LIST OF TABLES . XX LIST OF FIGURES . XXII LIST OF EQUATIONS . XXIV LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . XXV Chapter