Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Living slow and dying young? Life-history strategy and age-specific survival rates in a precocial small mammal

1. Mammalian life histories can be ordered along a slow-fast continuum from slow-developing, long-lived species with low reproductive rates at one end to rapidly developing, short-lived species with high reproductive rates at the other. Body size and mortality rate are strong correlates of the slow-fast axis, whereby juvenile and adult mortality rates correlate positively but are linked to certain life-history traits with differing strengths. The strong covariation of life-history traits renders it difficult to evaluate the adaptive value of single life-history elements. Species that deviate from the common pattern might help to identify specific selected strategies. 2. Caviomorph rodents show an unusual combination of life-history traits. Like slow-living mammals, they produce few precocial young after long gestation periods, but they have the early maturation potential of their fast-living counterparts. This combination of life-history traits suggests low levels of juvenile mortality but high adult mortality rates, and thus an unusually low ratio of juvenile to adult mortality compared to other small mammals. To test these predictions, we modelled age-specific survival probabilities using capture-recapture data from a wild population of Cavia magna. 3. Patterns of age-specific survival rates were in accordance with the predictions, but atypical for small mammals. Levels of adult survival were low, and comparable to those of much smaller rodent species. Juvenile survival probabilities were high relative to those reported for other small mammals and reached adult levels after only 1 month. The ratio of adult to early juvenile survival depended strongly on the date of birth. Whereas survival of young from the first birth cohort in spring did not differ from that of adults, early survivorship of later cohorts was lower. 4. Our results fit expectations from life-history theory and suggest that high levels of adult mortality selected for the early onset of reproduction in wild cavies. The comparatively low juvenile mortalities are probably a consequence of the precocial state of the cavy offspring. We suggest that the reproductive strategy of cavies represents a different solution to the trade-off between fecundity and juvenile survival compared to altricial small mammals.
Evaluating slab-plate coupling in the Indo-Australian plate

Distributed seismicity in the central Indian Ocean affords a unique opportunity to evaluate the extent of slab-plate coupling in the Indo-Australian plate. The mix of reverse-fault and strike-slip mechanisms in this region, with northwest-southeast to north-south maximum horizontal stress, S Hmax , implies that the effective slab pull is no more than ∼10% of the total negative buoyancy operating on the subducting slab. Numerical models of the intraplate stress field predict a slab-pull component along the Sumatra and Java boundary segments of 2.82 ± 0.82 and 0.89 ± 0.35 × 10 12 N·m −1 , respectively. Mantle tomographic constraints coupled with insights from analogue modeling suggest that the differences relate to variations in the depth extent of the slabs and the degree of slab support provided by the transition zone. These results help resolve apparent contradictions between insights from intraplate stress fields and plate dynamics; i.e., although plate motion is dominated by subduction, slab pull is only poorly expressed in the intraplate stress field because of low slab-plate coupling.
Optical and infrared observations of the young SMC “ blob ” N 26 and its environment ?

1 LERMA, UMR 8112 du CNRS, Observatoire de Paris, 92195 Meudon, France e-mail: gerard.testor@obspm.fr 2 Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia , PO Box 400325, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA 3 Max-Planck-Institut fur Radioastronomie, D-53121 Bonn, Germany 4 Université de Cergy-Pontoise, 95031 Cergy Cedex, France 5 The Johns Hopkins University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, 366 Bloomberg Center, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA 6 Space Science Institute, 4750 Walnut St. Suite 205, Boulder, CO 80301, USA
Endogenous Consumer Preferences And Knowledge About Nutrition

What are the important determinants of consumer demand and how have they been changing over the last decade? Understanding these factors is crucial for evaluating the benefits and costs of government regulations, such as labeling, intended to influence consumer food choice and, ultimately, public health; for assessing the competitiveness of U.S. agricultral producers and food processors as they choose product designs and marketing strategies; and for assessing the impact of changing consumer demand for food on the agricultural and food sectors of the U.S. economy. The objectives of this paper are to make a significant contribution to demand analysis by basing this understanding on the use of uniquely comprehensive data sets and theoretical/modeling techniques that evaluate demand on the brand level; and to build a comprehensive understanding of the relative importance of different determinants of consumer food choices in the decade from 1993-2002. The overall goal is to analyze what is driving consumer choices and the implications of these drivers for food and nutrition policy in the United States. A particular focus is the relative importance of advertising, other company marketing strategies, nutritional quality, privately and publicly provided nutritional information, and consumer dietary concerns and knowledge in determining consumer demand for food products.
On The Use of Higher Order Statistics for Blind Source Separation

The use of higher order statistics in blind source separation problem is analyzed in this work. Despite the well known fact that they are necessary to provide source separation in a general framework, their impact on the performance of adaptive solutions is a still open research field. In order to provide new elements for the comparison of using one or more higher order moments on adaptive solutions, two constrained algorithms are investigated. The multiuser kurtosis algorithm (MUK) and the multiuser constrained fitting probability density function algorithm (MU-CFPA) are used due to the desired characteristics of different higher order statistics involved in their design. Simulation results are carried out to basis our analysis.
Amino acid metabolism and whole-body protein turnover in lambs fed roughage-based diets: 1. Lysine and leucine metabolism 1

The experiments reported in this series were designed to investigate the metabolism of lysine, leucine and methionine in lambs fed roughage diets supplemented with various levels of protein. and to compare these amino acids as tracers of whole-body protein metabolism in ruminants. Amino acid kinetics were estimated using a 12-h intravenous infusion of L_[U14C] -lysine. L-esS] -methionine and L-[4,5-3H(n)] -leucine. The kinetics of methionine and a comparison of estimates of whole-body protein turnover are discussed in a following article (Cronje et aI., 1992). The flux, oxidation and incorporation of lysine into protein was increased by protein supplementation (P < 0.05). The proportion of flux oxidized was increased (P = 0.08) by protein supplementation, and the fraction incorporated into protein was decreased (P = 0.07). It is suggested that the supply of lysine was limiting for protein synthesis when the low protein diet was fed. Leucine flux rate was increased by protein supplementation (P < 0.01). There was no change in fractional oxidation rate (23% of flux rate) with increasing' protein supply (P > 0.05), but the total amount of leucine oxidized was increased by protein supplementation (P < 0.01). Similarly, the amount of leucine incorporated into protein was increased (P < 0.01) but not the proportion of leucine flux (P > 0.05). It was concluded that the supply of leucine available from the low-protein diet was lower than the requirement, and that while this restriction was alleviated by further protein supplementation, the efficiency of protein synthesis was still sub-optimal, possibly as a result of an insufficient supply of methionine. It is suggested that considerable scope exists for increasing the efficiency of utilization of existing protein supplements by lambs fed roughage diets via supplementation with specific amino acids protected from rumen degradation.
Accelerating MRO procedures for composite materials using innovative detection techniques

The development of large commercial aircraft such as the Airbus A350 and the Boeing 787, together with military aircraft such as the Lockheed Martin F35, with a large share of composite components of up to 50%, make it necessary for attention to be focussed on the development of new and effective maintenance strategies. In this paper, we address the development of ultrasonic measurement techniques, with a focus on structural health monitoring (SHM) techniques that are able to quickly inspect large structural parts of the aircraft. The combination of real-time SHM techniques, together with the parallel development of automated repair techniques for bonded structures, will make it possible to operate the aircraft at lower costs and for longer periods of time, thereby increasing the economic life of these aircraft structures.
Priming effects in the recognition of simple and complex words and pseudowords

Abstract Whether morphological processing of complex words occurs beyond orthographic processing is a matter of intense debate. In this study, morphological processing is examined by presenting complex words (brujería -> brujo –witchcraft -> witch), as well as simple (brujaña->brujo) and complex pseudowords (brujanza ->brujo), as primes in three masked lexical decision tasks. In the first experiment, the three experimental conditions facilitated word recognition in comparison to the control condition, but no differences emerged between them. Given the importance of the surface frequency effect observed, a second experiment was conducted. The results fully replicate those observed in the first one, but this time with low frequency targets. In the third experiment, vowels were removed from the stems of primes to reduce the orthographic overlap between primes and targets and, therefore, the influence of the embedded stem effect. The results show facilitative effects only for complex words. However, paired comparisons show no differences between experimental conditions. The overall results show the central role played by the processing of stems in visual word recognition and are explained in terms of current models of morphological processing.
Methodological illustration of genotype x environment interaction (GxE) phenomenon and its implications: A comparative productivity performance study on Red Maasai and Dorper sheep breeds under contrasting environments in Kenya.

Methodological illustration of genotype x environment interaction (GxE) phenomenon and its implications: A comparative productivity performance study on Red Maasai and Dorper sheep breeds under contrasting environments in Kenya. Okeyo A. M. and R.L. Baker University of Nairobi, Dept. of Animal Production, P. O. Box 29053, City Square 00200, Nairobi, Kenya International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi, Kenya
An Investigation of Older Driver Road Safety Perceptions and Driving Performance on Freeways

This article reports on a study of older driver road safety perceptions and driving performance on freeways. The authors administered a questionnaire on perceptions of road safety to 40 active, male automobile drivers (all with recently-renewed driver’s licenses) between the ages of 65 and 74 years. Drivers were also asked their perceptions of the safe driving ability of the “average” driver. The driving performance of the same drivers was later assessed and self-assessed through an on-road experiment along an urban freeway. The authors found that drivers may well be aware of their reduced driving skills and recognize the need to improve their performance. The authors comment that, as expected, drivers who were more familiar with the freeway performed better in that setting, yet they still experience some discomfort during exiting maneuvers. Poor reported safe driving ability was found to be correlated to decreased performance in several behavioral variables. Also, poor perceived ability in general was paired with less favorable assessed performance in freeway driving and exit-finding during the road test. The authors found that participants perceive the “average driver” as less safe than themselves at safe driving and think that the “average driver” engages in risky behaviors more often than they do.
Mosquito larvicidal and cytotoxic activities of 3 Annona species and isolation of active principles.

Cytotoxicity and larvicidal properties of the leaf extracts of 3 Annonaceous plants, Annona muricata L. , A. senegalensis Pers and A. squamosa L. were tested against brine shrimp larva and the late 3rd instar of Culex quinquefascintus Say. The larval mortality was observed 24 h post-exposure. Based on the probit analysis, the LC50 value for crude extracts of A. muricata, A. senegalensis and A. squamosa were observed to be 20.87, 0.67 and 0.64 µg/mL respectively for shrimp larvae and 56.47, 23.42 and 11.01 µg/mL respectively for C. quinquefascintus. Bioassay-guided fractionation of crude extracts indicated high activity of the ethyl acetate fractions with mortality of ≥ 90% at 50 µg/mL for both A. senegalensis and A. squamosa. However, further bioassay of sub-fraction of the 2 ethyl acetate fractions from the 2 plant species showed close dependent and a decreased activity (p ≥ 0.05) at the same concentration levels. 2 known aporphine alkaloids, (-)-roemerine and annonainewere identified as active principles from the ethyl acetate extracts of A. senegalensis and A. squamosa respectively. With the larvicidal properties of A. senegalensis being described here for the first time, its value together with that of A. squamosa may prove to be the best natural source of larvicidal agents. Key words: Annona species, cytotoxic and larvicidal activities, isolation, aporphine alkaloids
Encoding of Passive Anticollision Radio Frequency Identification Surface Acoustic Waves Tags

This paper describes the encoding of anticollision radio-frequency identification tags based on surface acoustic waves. The study is based on the tag model with specific topology, which allows us to receive a response signal with time–frequency information. This research considers the collision case for several passive tags. Therefore, the proposal is to analyze the possibility of using several distinctive signs like frequency and time. We consider the model of passive surface acoustic wave tag, which contains piezoelectric substrate, interdigital transducer, and consecutive orthogonal-frequency-coded structures, which are placed in time slots. Similar topology makes possible the reliability of increasing tag identification in the collision case.
Households’ Willingness to Pay for Improved Water Services: A Case of Semi-Urban Households in the Lubombo and Lowveld Regions of Swaziland

Management of water resources in an equitable manner by water managers has proved to be a demanding task. Therefore, evaluating domestic water demand behaviours produces an underlying basis for water managers to sustainably and efficiently meet the ever increasing demand for water. Using survey data collected from 314 households in the Lowveld and Lubombo regions of Swaziland, this paper uses the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) to determine households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for improved water services. In estimating the parametric mean WTP and its determinants, the paper uses both the bivariate probit model and univariate probit model, respectively. The results show that 67% of the households were willing to pay the initial bid for improved water services. The mean WTP for a 20 litre of water was estimated at E0.47 [1] . Probit model results show that household income, education, gender, distance and owning a backyard garden positively influence household WTP. However, age, water quality and the initial bid offered deter households WTP for improved water services. This suggests that socioeconomic factors should be considered when setting domestic water tariffs and designing strategies for improved water supply services. Keywords : Willingness to Pay (WTP), Contingent Valuation Method (CVM), Swaziland [1] 1 USD = E13.5 Emalangeni
Research on the Challenges and Developmental Trend of Accounting Computerization in China under the Internet Background

In this paper, we conduct research on the challenges and the developmental trend of the accounting computerization in China under the Internet background. With the development of C hina's network economy, Chinese enterprises will be more and more big, in order to meet the requirement of enterprise economic development, to expand its own field, so we should strengthen the enterprise management is to cultivate talents is very important, enterprise financial management is not only in terms of money should be enhanced, diversified development, in order to realize the network such as: capital investment, budget and the human resource management, internal audit, etc. With diversified development will inevitably produce security risks, so to strengthen the risk of computer is beneficial to the safety of the company. Our research starts form the analysis of the accounting computerization to propose the new paradigm for the corresponding development that is important.
CHARACTERIZATION OF ARMY GROUND VEHICLE DRIVE CYCLES

The US Army Ground Vehicle Programs use various drive cycles for testing and validation of new vehicle systems and models. These cycles have traditionally been characterized by run speed, number of stops, and terrain profile. For the sake of powertrain analysis, there have been a number of additional metrics proposed for characterization of such drive cycles in the context of fuel economy evaluation. This paper examines several metrics related to fuel economy, comparing standard Army test circuits, simulated drive cycles, and commercially standardized drive cycles. By comparing these cycles and identifying key metrics, we can develop better testing plans and bench cycles for technology evaluation. Field data from a mountainous region shows substantial variability that is not fully captured by current test cycles. Kinetic intensity is able to differentiate between the human in the loop scenarios, with values higher in simulated cycles than in field data. However, number of stops remains an important criteria for characterizing drive cycles
Ultra-spatial synchrotron radiation for imaging molecular chemical structure: Applications in plant and animal studies

Synchrotron-based Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (S-FTIR) has been developed as a rapid, direct, non-destructive, bioanalytical technique. This technique takes advantage of synchrotron light brightness and small effective source size and is capable of exploring the molecular chemical features and make-up within microstructures of a biological tissue without destruction of inherent structures at ultra-spatial resolutions within cellular dimension. To date there has been very little application of this advanced synchrotron technique to the study of plant and animal tissues' inherent structure at a cellular or subcellular level. In this article, a novel approach was introduced to show the potential of the newly developed, advanced synchrotron-based analytical technology, which can be used to reveal molecular structural-chemical features of various plant and animal tissues.
Blame among Adult Women Sexually Abused as Children.

In order to assess the intensity, direction, and type of self-blame and other blame in relationship to adjustment, a clinical sample of 31 women who had been sexually abused as children completed a questionnaire about their sexual abuse history, a self-blame scale that measured selfand other blame both retrospectively and currently, and three adjustment measures: the Beck Depression Inventory, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and a Semantic Differential Scale. The results revealed significant differences in the direction and types of blame the women experienced as children and as adults. In addition, numerous significant correlations were obtained between self-blame and adjustment. Self-blame was associated with poorer adjustment, whereas externalization of blame was associated with healthier adjustmant. Significant relationships between self-blame and characteristics of the victims' sexual abuse history were also found. These findings nave several implications for therapists working with adult victims of child sexual abuse. (Author) ************************************A********************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * ****** ***** ************************************************************ N. 0 141 . --1 (1,1 0 ED ATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 4 BLAME AMONG ADULT WOMEN SEXUALLY ABUSED AS CHILDREN Kimberly Hoagwcod Texas Education Agency 1701 North Congress Austin, TX 73701
Quantitative morphological descriptors confirm traditionally classified morphotypes of Pentadesma butyracea Sabine (clusiaceae)

Objective : Pentadesma butyracea is a multi-purpose tree species in Africa with great morphological variability. This study used quantitative descriptors to assess morphological variation of traditionally classified P. butyracea and its relation to ecological conditions. Methodology and results: 108 trees and 1080 fruits were sampled spanning locally recognized trees morphotypes within four phytodistricts. Six morphological descriptors were measured on the trees and the fruits. Univariate and canonical discrimiant analyses were used to describe variability enters and inside the populations of P. butyracea . These data were supplemented by an evaluation and a modelling of the seeds number per fruit (the principal trait of commercial importance). Principal components analysis (ACP) was carried out to examine ecological influence. The variance components analysis showed substantial variations within morphotypes, suggesting a significant heterogeneity within trees and fruits traditionally classified as belonging to the same morphotypes. Regression equations indicated that fruits length and width are good predictors of seeds yield, although their predictive capacities differ between the phytodistricts. Fruits morphometric variations were significantly correlated with ecological factors. Fruits size (length, width) decreased with temperature, hygrometry and pluviometry increase. Conclusion and application : The quantitative descriptors made it possible to make precise morphotypes of the various P. butyrarcea trees and to estimate the seeds number per fruit starting from predictive models. This will have positive influence on P. butyracea improvement, conservation and domestication programs in aid of Benin local communities. Key words : Pentadesma butyracea , morphological variation, indigenous knowledge, Ecological factors, Benin
Interactive comment on “ Insights into secondary organic aerosol formed via aqueous-phase reactions of phenolic compounds based on high resolution mass spectrometry ” by Y

This study by Sun et al. presents results of laboratory experiments showing the ability of phenolic compounds (phenol, guaiacol, syringol) to form high molecular-weight compounds and/or highly oxidized products. The results suggest that these species can act as precursors of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) under atmospheric conditions which is nicely supported by the comparison of mass spectra from the laboratory studies and a fog sample. Since to date the formation processes of SOA and especially the formation of highly oxidized products as identified in the current study are not well understood yet, this study represents an important new piece in our current understanding of SOA formation. The paper is well written and methodology and results are presented clearly. I have a few comments that should be considered before the