Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison between Romania and Sweden Based on Three Dimensions: Environmental Performance, Green Taxation and Economic Growth

One of the European Union’s (EU) objectives regarding climate change is a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, ensuring that member states focus on sustainable development. The aim of this study was the comparison of a three-dimensional relationship between green taxation, environmental performance and economic growth for the time period between 1995 and 2017 in Romania and Sweden. The novelty consists of simultaneously using the double dividend theory and environmental Kuznets curve theory for Romania. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method was used for testing the cointegration relationship. The Granger causality estimation based on the ARDL-error correction model was applied to identify the causality relationship between the variables and the pairwise Granger causality test to detect the direction of causality. The implementation of the tests led to the conclusion that environmental taxes will have a significant influence on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the long run in both Romania and Sweden, while in the short run, no such influence will be noticed. Also, in Romania, in the long term, there was a bidirectional causality relationship between economic growth and greenhouse gas emissions, while in Sweden, the causality relationship was from economic growth to greenhouse gas emissions.
Relationship of River Pollution to Bacterial Infection in Salmon (Salmo salar) and Suckers (Catostomus commersoni)

Abstract During the summers of 1967 and 1968, the bacterium, Aeromonas liquefaciens, was involved in disease of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and suckers (Catostomus commersoni) in the Miramichi River, New Brunswick. A surge of copper and zinc pollution in late June 1967, and high river temperatures enhanced production of an epizootic. The epizootic recurred during the summer of 1968.
Familiarity confers anti‐predator and foraging advantages on juvenile brown trout

Many fish species preferentially associate with familiar conspecifics rather than unfamiliar individuals with whom they have no previous experience. The function of discriminatory ability, however, is not well documented. In territorial fish, observations of lower aggression levels among pairs of familiar neighbours lead to two predictions. First, that increased time available for vigilance among familiar fish will allow a faster response to a predator attack, and second that after an attack familiar fish resume foraging more quickly than unfamiliar fish. We conducted an experiment to test these hypotheses using wild juvenile brown trout from Sweden. Our results confirm hypothesis one by demonstrating that familiar brown trout juveniles respond 16% more quickly to a model predator than individuals held in unfamiliar groups. Hypothesis two, that familiar fish resume feeding more quickly after a simulated predator attack was not supported. Nevertheless familiar fish consume a greater number of food items than fish in unfamiliar groups. To the best of our knowledge our results provide the first evidence that familiarity confers advantages through the direct fitness benefits afforded by faster predator evasion responses, and through the long-term benefits provided by increased feeding opportunities. We discuss the possibility that these advantages promote the formation of stable association patterns and improve growth and survival in wild populations.
Interactive effects of leaf maturation and phenolics on consumption and growth of a geometrid moth

Phenolic compounds are commonly regarded as the main chemical defenses of deciduous woody plants against insects. To examine how indices of leaf maturation (water content, toughness, and sugar/protein ratio) modified larval consumption and growth relative to phenolics and phenolic‐related leaf traits, we measured consumption and growth of fourth‐instar Epirrita autumnata (Bkh.) (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) larvae on three different days on young, normal, and mature leaves, respectively, from the same mountain birch (Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii (Orlova) Hämet‐Ahti) trees. The larvae achieved the same growth rates on young and normal leaves, but had to consume 40% more on the latter. On more mature leaves, larval growth was poorer and was positively correlated with sugar/protein ratios (although the ratio peaked at that time). Indices of leaf maturation correlated with several phenolics in data pooled over the three study days, but poorly in any individual day. Similarly, in the pooled data, larval consumption and growth correlated with several leaf traits, but correlations between leaf and insect traits were few on any of the three days, and no trait was significant on each of the three days.
Long-term changes in 0+ fish assemblages in the littoral zone of heated lakes. I. Diversity, evennes and dynamic phase portrait of species structure

A study was conducted from 1966 to 2000 to analyze the structure and characteristics of the dynamics of differentiation in the 0+ fish assemblages in lakes with varied morphometrics, intensity, and various periods of water heating. Species domination and variation were defined by characterizing the fish assemblages. The occurrence of 24 fish species belonging to 7 families was confirmed. Changes in the composition and variety of the autochthonous ichthyofauna resulted from water heating and increased water flow. The analysis of the phase diagram trajectory indicated instability and variation in the 0+ fish assemblages of the lakes that were heated most intensely. The fish assemblage that exhibited the greatest diversity fluctuation was noted in the lake heated the most and with the most stable water exchange. However, the most diverse 0+ fish assemblage structure was noted in the lake that was least transformed and received partially cooled water only during the
The vulgare super gene, Q: its universality in durum wheat and its phenotypic effects in tetraploid and hexaploid wheats

The genotype at the Q locus on chromosome 5A of Triticum durum Desf. (2n = 28, AABB), a species with keeled glumes and tough rachis, was studied by either crossing the species with, or substituting its 5A into, a hexaploid common wheat, T. aestivum (L.)Thell. ssp. vulgare (Vill.) MK. cv. Chinese Spring (2n = 42, AABBDD, QQ genotype). Contrary to the opinion of previous researchers that keeled-glumed wheats always have the spelta gene, q, the durum strains studied had a hypermorphic allele, the vulgare gene, Q. No speltoid plants appeared in the progeny of the crosses, and disomic substitution lines (2n = 2) had squareheaded (= vulgare type) spikes. Also, three doses of the long arm of 5A of durum produced compactoidy. Apparently, Q does not produce round glumes in the genetic backgrounds of most tetraploids except T. carthlicum Nevski. The phenotype conditioned by Q, which is evidently present in all free-threshing tetraploid wheats, is somewhat different at the tetraploid level from that in hexaploids. T.
Implications of flexible foraging for interspecific interactions: lessons from simple models

Summary 1. Some types of flexible foraging behaviours were incorporated into ecological thought in the 1960s, but the population dynamical consequences of such behaviours are still poorly understood. 2. Flexible foraging-related traits can be classified as shifts in general and specific foraging effort, and shifts in general and specific defense. 3. Many flexible foraging behaviours suggested by theory have received very little empirical attention, and empirical techniques used to compare the magnitudes of behavioural and non-behavioural responses to predation are likely to have overestimated the behavioural components. 4. Adaptively flexible foraging in theory causes significant changes in the forms of consumer functional responses and generates a variety of indirect interactions. These can alter fundamental ecological processes, such as co-existence of competitors, and top-down or bottom-up effects in food webs. 5. Many aspects of flexible foraging are still largely unknown, including the issues of how to represent the dynamics of such phenotypically plastic traits, how flexible traits in multiple species interact, what types of adaptive movements occur in metacommunities, and how adaptive behaviours influence evolutionary change. 6. Population dynamics in large food webs may be less dependent on behavioural flexibility than in small webs because species replacement may preempt some potential types of behavioural change within species.
NONFUMIGANT NEMATICIDES FOR CONTROL OF NORTHERN ROOT-KNOT NEMATODE IN MUCK-GROWN CARROTS

Field experiments were conducted to determine the effects of rate and application method on the effectiveness of nonfumigant nematicides to protect carrot roots (Daucus carota L.) against Meloidogyne hapla, Chitwood, in organic soil. Carbamate compounds, aldicarb and oxamyl, provided better protection to carrot roots than organophosphorus, phenamiphos and terbufos compounds. In-furrow application of granular nematicides at the rate of 1.5 kg a.i./ha was more effective than band and broadcast incorporation at a rate of 6 kg a.i./ha. The standard control method with the fumigant, 1,3-dichloropropene, offered the best nematode control and the highest marketable yields.Key words: Daucus carota, Meloidogyne hapla
Design of Downlink Synchronization for Millimeter Wave Cellular System Based on Multipath Division Multiple Access

This work focuses on the design of downlink receiver for future generation cellular systems. In the multipath division multiple access (MDMA) system, the initial synchronization process includes timing and carrier frequency synchronization as well as home cell search. For the proposed system, the user data is transmitted in time domain and the cell search is based on control signals transmitted in frequency domain simultaneously. Firstly, this paper presents a novel architecture for the joint detection and estimation of both the coarse symbol boundary and the fractional carrier frequency offset based on cyclic prefix in time domain. Secondly, a robust integer carrier frequency offset detection is performed with the primary control tone in frequency domain. Moreover, the position of the secondary control tones is used to obtain the cell ID. Finally, the preamble sequence carried by the secondary control tones is used to detect frame header through differential detection. The simulation results show the proposed synchronization algorithms can achieve detection failure rate less than 1% and the normalized residual carrier frequency offset is less than 5% under the interference of user data. Furthermore, a hardware design targeted at 200 Mbps per-user data rate is realized with memory arbiter to share memory.
Starvation in Daphnia: Energy reserves and reproductive allocation1

The relationship between energy reserves (biomass and triacylglycerol) and starvation time is investigated for two planktonic Cladocera, Daphnia. galeata mendotae and Daphnia magna. Triacylglycerol storage is correlated to total individual biomass independently of body size. Adult biomass increases twofold to threefold during the intermolt, with triacylglycerol accounting for 16% of the total increase. The amount of triacylglycerol transferred into each egg depends on the adult’s feeding success. Starvation time is correlated to body mass; however, triacylglycerol storage and reproductive allocation modify the relationship. Although adult biomass and percentage of lipid both increase during intermolt, animals in late intermolt starve sooner than those in early-middle intermolt because of the transfer of energy reserves to the ovaries for reproduction. Daphnia magna neonates with high maternal lipid survived twice as long as neonates with low maternal lipid but similar body mass.
The structure of the TGF‐β latency associated peptide region determines the ability of the proprotein convertase furin to cleave TGF‐βs

The TGF‐β family members are generated as latent pre‐pro‐polypeptides. The active mature peptides are cleaved from the latent forms by cellular proteases. TGF‐β1, for instance, is predominantly processed by a substilisin‐like proprotein convertase, furin. TGF‐β2 has a consensus cleavage site for furin and therefore has been presumed to be cleaved by furin. However, TGF‐β2 is often secreted as the latent form, which appears to be inconsistent with its postulated sensitivity to furin. We report here that both the regular (short) form of TGF‐β2 and its spliced variant with an additional exon (long form) are insensitive to furin. NIH 3T3 and CHO cells were transfected with expression vectors containing the short or long form of TGF‐β2 or a chimeric TGF‐β consisting of the TGF‐β1 LAP region, the TGF‐β2 cleavage site and the TGF‐β2 mature peptide. The constructs included a c‐myc epitope tag in the N‐terminal region of the mature peptide. The TGF‐βs produced by the transfected cells were analyzed with Western blots and immunocytochemistry. The intracellular proteins harvested from these cells were incubated with furin. Furin only inefficiently cleaved both the long and short forms of TGF‐β2, but efficiently processed the chimeric TGF‐β. This indicates that the insensitivity of both forms of TGF‐β2 to furin is a consequence of the tertiary structure of their LAP regions rather than their cleavage site. This differential processing of TGF‐β1 and ‐β2 may be part of the mechanism that generates isoform‐specific functions of the TGF‐βs. J. Cell. Biochem. 103: 311–320, 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
An exploration of First year Pre-service Engineering Graphics and Design Teachers’ Spatial Visualisation ability at a University of Technology

The critical shortage of engineers in South Africa is linked directly to the schooling systems’ inability to develop fundamental skills required in engineering courses, such as spatial visualization ability. Not much is known on the factors that enable or constrain the development of students’ spatial visualization skills. This study aimed to explore first-year Engineering Graphics and Design (EGD) Pre-Service Teachers’ (PSTs) spatial visualization skills and the factors that enables or constrains their spatial visualization skills. A mixed-method approached was used to generate data. Data were from twenty-one first year EGD PSTs at a University of Technology, in Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa. The participants were purposively selected to participate in the study. The Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Visualization of Rotations (PSVT: R) was used as a benchmark to establish participants level of spatial visualization skills. Collages and focus group interviews were used to explore the factors that enabled or constrained PSTs spatial visualization skills. The PSVT test results was analysed and categorized as per rotation. Qualitative data were subjected to content analysis. The findings of this study differ from that of other studies on student’s spatial visualization skills. Other studies provide consistent evidence that male students have better developed spatial visualization skills than females. First-year female participants in this study have higher scores than male participants in the PSVT:R. The factors that enhanced female students’ spatial visualization ability were playing with Legos, enjoying mathematics, working with indigenous patterns while teachers and violence at schools constrained the development of spatial visualization skills.
Age‐related song variation in male barn swallows

Abstract The hypothesis that song rate and song features of male barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) reflect age, a quality useful in assessment contexts, was tested in the present correlational study. The differences were analyzed between song rate and seven variables describing song structure in male barn swallows of differing age. Yearling males produced shorter songs, used a lower number of syllable types in their songs, and never repeated the same syllable sequences. In contrast, older males used more syllable types in the songs, and emitted longer songs that appeared to be more crystallized. Song also varied over the individual's lifetime since song duration increased between two consecutive breeding seasons. Thus, some song features appeared to function as age‐markers enabling females to distinguish yearlings from older males.
İkna Yoluyla Dolandırıcılık: Dolandıcılık Faaliyetlerinde İkna ve Etkili İletişim Yöntemlerinin Tespiti Üzerine Bir Araştırma

Ikna, bireylerin sosyal cevreleri ve toplumsal dinamikleri dikkate alinarak, fikirlerin icsellestirilmesi ve tavirlarin ozumsenmesine yonelik cabalarin butunudur. Iletisimin kisilerarasi boyutu, arastirmanin temelini olusturmakla beraber, bu arastirmada paradoksal bir perspektifle ikna stratejilerinin olumsuz sureclerde de kullanilabilecegine dikkat cekilmektedir. Calismada; iknanin, toplumsal reflekslere ve bireysel kayiplara neden olan, ikna yoluyla dolandiricilik sucunun gerceklestirilmesindeki basat rolu ele alinmaktadir. Ikna yoluyla dolandiricilik, sahte cagri merkezleri vasitasiyla iletisime gecilen magdurlarin kurgulanmis senaryolarla ikna edilerek, haksiz kazanc saglanmasiyla meydana gelmektedir. Nicel arastirma yontemi ile gerceklestirilen bu calismada icerik analizi teknigi kullanilmistir. Ikna yoluyla dolandiricilikta kullanilan yontemler vaat, korkutma ve yardim kampanyalari seklinde tasnif edilmis ve bu uc yonteme iliskin degiskenler belirlenmektedir. Istanbul’da 01.01. 2019 ve 01.12. 2019 tarihleri arasinda gerceklestirilen ikna yoluyla dolandiricilik suclari teknigine iliskin demografik degiskenler kapsaminda, elde edilen veriler isiginda bir durum tespiti ortaya konulmaktadir. Bu sucta one cikan sahte cagri merkezlerinin sistematigi ile magdurlarin cinsiyet, yas ve ogrenim durumlari incelenmektedir. Bu calismanin amaci, bu turden eylemler hakkinda farkindalik olusturmaktir. Ikna yoluyla dolandiricilik yontemlerinin teknik ozellikleri ile orgut uyelerinin ileri duzeydeki iletisim yetkinlikleri, ayni duzlemde ele alinmaktadir. Orgut uyelerinin ikna yoluyla dolandiricilik sucunun islenmesini kolaylastiran iletisimsel becerileri ile magduriyet olusturan iletisim dinamikleri ve teknikleri arasinda bir iliskisellik gorulmektedir. Ogrenim seviyesi yukseldikce magduriyet azalmakla birlikte, her ogrenim seviyesinden ikna yoluyla dolandiricilik sucuna maruz kalindigi ve 35 yas uzeri bireylerde, ikna yoluyla dolandiricilik magduriyetinin %70’i astigi elde edilen onemli sonuclardandir.
Biological properties and therapeutic applications of cannabidiol

Cannabis sp. has important pharmacological activities, so it has been the focus of attention of the scientific community. Through the search for new drugs, it was found that cannabinoids present in the plant can modulate transient potential receptors (TPR). Cannabidiol (CBD), also known as “medical marijuana”, represents the second most abundant phytocannabinoid of the Cannabis plant and it is widely used in the management of pain, nausea and migraine in cancer patients. In fact, CBD exhibits various therapeutic effects and constitutes up to 40% of Cannabis extracts and it is devoid of the typical psychological effects of Cannabis used in social use as a psychoactive drug, and has low affinity for endocannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2. Thus, this article aims to conduct an integrative review of CBD and its potential benefits for human health. The results of this research confirmed CBD therapeutic actions in diseases such as schizophrenia, anxiety, epilepsy and motor disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, neuropathic pain, childhood convulsive disorders, Lennox-Gastaut and Dravet syndromes. Thus, cannabidiol has an important relevance for medical applications and also has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticonvulsant, anxiolytic, neuroprotective, antipsychotic, antiemetic, analgesic and antibiotic activities. Key words: Medical marijuana, cannabinoids, Cannabidiol (CBD), medicinal use.
Prevention of Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation on metallic surgical implants via controlled release of gentamicin

Implant associated infections are a critical health concern following orthopaedic surgery. Sustained local delivery of antibiotics has been suggested as a means of preventing these infections. Poly(D,L-lactide) (PDLLA) is a biodegradable polymer that has been used to coat implants for the delivery of antibiotics and other bioactive molecules. While effective, these studies show that antibiotics are released in a burst profile. Here we evaluated a method for controlled release of gentamicin from implant surfaces using the palmitate alkyl salt to decrease its solubility in aqueous solution. Steel Kirschner wires (K-wires) were coated with Gentamicin-palmitate (GP)-PDLLA, gentamicin sulphate (GS)-PDLLA or vancomycin sulphate (VS)-PDLLA, and elution of antibiotics from coated K-wires investigated using HPLC/MS/ MS. In contrast to burst antibiotic release from the GS-PDLLA and VS-PDLLA groups, GP was released in a slower sustained manner. Colonisation and initial attachment of Staphylococcus aureus Xen29 to gentamicin-coated K-wires was reduced by 90% when compared to the non-coated control group. However there was no statistical difference in recovery of bacteria from GS or GP groups. Bacteria recovered from VS-PDLLA coated K-wires decreased by 36%. Bioluminescence emitted by S. aureus Xen29 was also reduced over seven days in the antibiotic control groups, demonstrating that growth and biofilm development over the longer term was impaired by antibiotic-PDLLA coating. These results indicate that using alkyl salts of antibiotics may be an effective strategy for controlling the release of antibiotics from implants.
Integrating Remote Sensing and Ground Methods to Estimate Evapotranspiration

Evapotranspiraton (ET) is the second largest term in the terrestrial water budget after precipitation, and ET is expected to increase with global warming. ET studies are relevant to the plant sciences because over 80% of terrestrial ET is due to transpiration by plants. Remote sensing is the only feasible means for projecting ET over large landscape units. In the past decade or so, new ground and remote sensing tools have dramatically increased our ability to measure ET at the plot scale and to scale it over larger regions. Moisture flux towers and micrometeorological stations have been deployed in numerous natural and agricultural biomes and provide continuous measurements of actual ET or potential ET with an accuracy or uncertainty of 10–30%. These measurements can be scaled to larger landscape units using remotely-sensed vegetation indices (VIs), Land Surface Temperature (LST), and other satellite data. Two types of methods have been developed. Empirical methods use time-series VIs and micrometeorological data to project ET measured on the ground to larger landscape units. Physically-based methods use remote sensing data to determine the components of the surface energy balance, including latent heat flux, which determines ET. Errors in predicting ET by both types of methods are within the error bounds of the flux towers by which they are calibrated or validated. However, the error bounds need to be reduced to 10% or less for applications that require precise wide-area ET estimates. The high fidelity between ET and VIs over agricultural fields and natural ecosystems where precise ground estimates of ET are available suggests that this might be an achievable goal if ground methods for measuring ET continue to improve.