Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phenotypic Variation in Males of the Agamid Lizard Paralaudakia caucasia (Eichwald, 1831) Across a Wide Geographic Range

Abstract: Phenotypic variation can be expected among individuals of a species having a broad geographic distribution because genetic uniqueness can be exaggerated by adaptation to local environmental conditions. Paralaudakia caucasia is a widely distributed agamid species in the western Palearctic that occupies a region from Pakistan to the Lesser Caucasus. To describe the geographic variation in this taxon from Pakistan to the Lesser Caucasus, we examined 49 male P. caucasia from three regions in Iran (western Elburz, central Elburz, and eastern Elburz) and one in Pakistan. Twenty-five morphometric and meristic characters were examined using analyses of variance and principal components analysis. Of the measured characters, 21 were different among these populations. The differences among males representing the four groups indicate that these groups exhibit geographic variation corresponding to differences in environmental conditions from east to west. We suggest that future studies using more material from differentiated populations across the entire range will better elucidate how the environment has shaped this species' morphology.
Effects of ozone and ammonium sulphate on carbon partitioning to mycorrhizal roots of juvenile Douglas fir.

In this study the impact of two components of air pollution, i.e., ozone and ammonium sulphate, on carbon transport to mycorrhizal roots of Douglas fir was investigated. Juvenile Douglas fir (Pseudulsuga menziesii [Mirb.] Franco) were inoculated with Rhizopogon vinicolor A. H. Smith and Lactarius rufus (Scop.: Fr.) Fr. , and allowed to grow outdoors for a period of four months. Subsequently, they were transferred to a phytotron and treated with 0 or 200μg m-3 ozone for 28 days. During these treatments, they were watered with a solution of ammonium sulphate of concentrations corresponding to 5, SO and 200 kg N ha-1 yr-1 , During the last three days, the trees were pulse-labelled with 14CO2 . Ozone increased the amounts of 14 C recovered in the new needle fraction, whereas the amounts recovered in the roots and root/soil respiration tended to decrease. Mycorrhizal frequency tended to increase during ozone treatment. Ammonium sulphate did not affect the distribution pattern of 14 C over the trees, but seemed to stimulate the activity of the root system and mycorrhizal frequency at the intermediate nitrogen level.
Defensive Behavior of Cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus) toward Humans

Abstract Venomous snakes are often perceived as aggressive antagonists, with the North American cottonmouth having a particularly notorious reputation for such villainy. We designed tests to measure the suite of behavioral responses by free-ranging cottonmouths to encounters with humans. When confronted, 23 (51%) of 45 tested tried to escape, and 28 (78%) of 36 tested used threat displays and other defensive tactics; only 13 of 36 cottonmouths bit an artificial hand used in the tests. Our findings challenge conventional wisdom about aggressive behavior in an animal perceived as more dangerous than it is. Changing irrational negative attitudes about venomous snakes is a necessary step toward quelling the recently documented global decline in reptiles.
A challenge code for maximizing the entropy of PUF responses

A physically unclonable function (PUF) is a hardware device that can generate intrinsic responses from challenges (one bit response per challenge). The responses serve as unique identifiers and it is required that they be as little predictable as possible. A loop-PUF [1] is an architecture where n single-bit delay elements are chained. In this talk, we introduce a stochastic model for the loop-PUF using Gaussian random variables and give a closed-form expression of the total entropy of the responses. It is shown that n bits of entropy can be obtained with n challenges if and only if the challenges constitute a Hadamard code. Furthermore, contrary to a previous belief, it is shown that adding more challenges results in an entropy strictly greater than n bits. A greedy code construction is provided for this purpose. When n is a power of two, heuristic results indicate the challenge code is constituted of additional challenges from several nonorthogonal Hadamard matrices. A challenging problem is to find a tight upper bound on the generated entropy.
Amino Acids Fortification of Low-Protein Diet for Broilers Under Tropical Climate: Ideal Essential Amino Acids Profile

A three-week trial was conducted to determine the effect of lowering dietary protein level (DPL) with optimal amino acid (AA) profile on growth performance, blood metabolites, and relative weights of abdominal fat and internal organs in broiler chickens raised under tropical hot and humid environment. Five isocaloric (3023 metabolisable energy/kg) starter (1-21 days) experimental diets were formulated in a gradual crude protein (CP) decline from 22.2 (control) to 16.2% by 1.5% interval. All diets were meeting or exceeding National Research Council recommendations except CP and metabolisable energy. The formulations were also adjusted to contain 1.1 digestible Lys to meet the ideal AA ratios concept. Body weights (BW), weight gains (WG), feed intake and feed conversion ratio of groups with 19.2, 20.7 and 22.2% DPL were not significantly different. However, BW and WG suppressed (P<0.05) with 16.2 and 17.7% DPL. Feeding the 16.2% CP diet significantly reduced serum total protein and uric acid, but increased serum triglyceride (P<0.05). Moreover, relative heart weights increased (P<0.05) but no changes occurred in liver and abdominal fat weights in chicks with 16.2% DPL. In summary, CP of broilers starter (1-21 days) diet can be reduced till 19.2% with essential AA fortification and without any adverse effect on growth performance under the hot, humid tropics.
Plasma non-esterified fatty acid response to a β-adrenergic challenge before or after feeding in energy underfed or overfed, dry or lactating cows

The effects of adrenergic challenge (in order to evaluate the adipose tissue lipolytic potential) and time of challenge relative to feeding on the response curve of plasma non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) in four underfed or overfed non-lactating non-pregnant cows were studied. Basal NEFA and NEFA response to isoproterenol (ISO; 4 nmol/kg body weight) were higher when challenged before than after feeding and higher in underfed than overfed cows. Interaction between feeding level and time of challenge was significant (P < 0·001) for the rising part of NEFA response. Pooled NEFA response curves from several trials (no. = 63 challenges) were analysed in order to obtain a simplified procedure for the prediction of the NEFA response. High correlations were found between the response area or maximal NEFA response and NEFA response at 15 min (r = 0·95 and 0·98, respectively). This simplified procedure was applied on pooled data from 84 challenges in order to evaluate the effects of energy balance, physiological status, body condition score (BCS) and time of challenge relative to feeding. Energy balance had a significant effect on basal plasma NEFA and NEFA response at 15 min after ISO challenge (–7·6 and –14·2 μmol/l when the daily energy balance increased by 1 MJ, respectively). Time of ISO injection relative to feeding had a greater effect on stimulated NEFA than on basal NEFA (308 v. 239 μmol/l). There was a significant effect of BCS (41 μmol/l per unit of BCS) on the basal plasma NEFA level. The NEFA response at 15 min after ISO challenge was lower (387 μmol/l) in lactating cows than in dry cows. The NEFA response to ISO at 15 min could provide an efficient method of studying the adipose tissue lipolytic potential of cattle in vivo.
Changes of selenium content in hair samples of people in Kaschin-Beck disease areas two months after stopping selenium salt in Shaanxi Province in 2012

Objective To compare selenium content in hair samples of people in Kaschin-Beck disease (KBD) areas and non KBD areas two months after stopping selenium salt in Shaanxi Province, to provide a scientific basis for KBD control and prevention. Methods In September 2012, four historical KBD areas were selected, including Yongshou, Yuyang, Linyou and Nanzheng, four villages were selected as monitoring sites according to the four directions as east, west, south and north in each county. Meanwhile, four non KBD areas were selected, including Wugong, Mizhi, Qishan and Chenggu, which adjacent to the survey counties and were similar to the survey counties in environment and production and living conditions. Four villages were selected as monitoring sites according to the four directions as east, west, south and north in each county. Lianhu District in Xi'an city was selected as a urban non KBD area. Four communities were selected in the east, west, south and north as the monitoring sites. In each monitoring point, hair samples of 8 children aged 7-12 years old (gender balanced) and 8 adults over the age of 16 (gender balanced) were selected to determine the hair selenium. Samples were disposed by wet digestion method, the selenium content was determined by 2,3-diaminonaphthalene fluorescence method. Results A total of 256 hair samples were collected in the four KBD counties, 256 hair samples in four non KBD counties, 64 hair samples in one urban district. The average of hair selenium in each monitoring point was ≥0.25 mg/kg. Compared the hair selenium content in KBD areas, rural non KBD areas, and urban non KBD areas [(0.40 ± 0.23), (0.42 ± 0.28), (0.37 ± 0.38) mg/kg], the differences were not statistically significant (F= 0.045, P > 0.05). In KBD areas, the hair selenium content of 37 people was 0.05). Compared the hair selenium content in different gender in KBD areas, rural non KBD areas, and urban non KBD areas [maile: (0.43 ± 0.23), (0.43 ± 0.26), (0.40 ± 0.51) mg/kg; female: (0.38 ± 0.22), (0.41 ± 0.31), (0.34 ± 0.18) mg/kg], the differences were not statistically significant (F= 0.872, 3.589, all P > 0.05). Conclusion Two months after stopping to supply selenium salt in 2012 in Shaanxi Province, the hair selenium content of residents in KBD areas has not dropped significantly. Since this survey is carried out only 2 months after taking the measure, it is necessary to continue to monitor the selenium level in KBD areas. Key words: Kashin-Beck disease; Hair; Selenium; Surveillance
Effect of frozen storage on the functional property of ribbon fish (trichiurus savala) cuvier

The ribbon fish (Trichiurus savala) is an important marine fish caught along the coast of Orissa, India amounting to 9.2% of total marine fish catch. The possibility of using frozen ribbon fish to make surimi was investigated. At 1 month interval, fish were thawed under controlled conditions and gels were then made from minces of the flesh. Both puncture and torsion tests showed that the quality of gels declined by 30% after 30 days of storage and thereafter nonsignificant reduction up to 100 days storage of frozen ribbon fish at−20C. This decline was correlated by a decrease in pH and an increase in formaldehyde concentration in the frozen flesh. The data suggest that a land-based surimi plant could not be operated outside the harvesting season to any appreciable extent using frozen ribbon fish stored at−20C. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Ribbon fish (Trichiurus savala) is a commercially important fish and is caught all over the state of Orissa, India. Because this fish gets spoiled fast, idea was generated in using frozen fish to produce surimi, which would increase production flexibility and thus allow a land-based surimi plant outside the harvesting season. The result of the present experiment shows that thestorage of headed and gutted ribbon fish at −20C resulted in a significant loss of gel-forming properties of the flesh with time and this loss would be too fast to allow use of storage ribbon fish for making surimi over an extended period in a commercial operation. Possibly, storage at lower temperature than used in the present study is necessary to maintain gel-forming ability and the advantage so obtained would have to be balanced against the increased capital and operational costs of storage at these lower temperatures.
Stigma of Mental Illness and Attitudes Toward Psychological Help-seeking in Jordanian University Students

Background. Avoiding seeking professional help for psychological problems may have a devastating impact on the life of university students. Data about stigma toward mental illness and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help (ATSPPH) in Arab university students are rare. This study aims to examine the correlates of ATSPPH in Jordanian university students. Method. A cross-sectional correlational design was used for this study. Using an online survey, a sample of 519 Jordanian university students completed measures of demographic and clinical variables, stigma toward mental illness and ATSPPH. Stigma toward mental illness was tested as a correlate of ATSPPH using a series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses, controlling for demographic and clinical variables. Results. The results showed that Jordanian students have relatively less favorable ATSPPH than other study groups. Female gender, medically-related specialities, students with a previous history of receiving mental health counseling services and students who reported low scores on measures of stigma toward mental illness were more likely to have favorable ATSPPH. The stigma toward mental illness was the strongest correlate of ATSPPH in students and accounted for 13% additional variance above and beyond the 3% accounted for by all other independent variables. Conclusions. Combating stigma toward mental illness in Arab students is an important step toward promoting their ATSPPH. There is a crucial need to provide professional and culturally competent psychological care for this population in particular.
Interaction du photopériodisme et des effets de la zéatine, du saccharose et de ľeau dans la floraison du Chenopodium polyspermum

Interaction of photoperiodism and zeatin, sucrose and water effects on the flowering of Chenopodium polyspermum Root removal in Chenopodium polyspermum, a quatitative short-day plant, enhances flowering under non-inductive conditions. Presence of roots may be mimicked by zeatin applications on buds. Induction of flowering by short days may be counteracted by applications of zeatin, and appearance of flowers depends on the balance between number of inductive short days and zeatin quantity applied. Sucrose added in the culture medium or applied on buds acts as zeatin. Applications of water on buds may also delay flowering. These results show the plurifactorial regulation of the floral development of this plant. The relations between the non-specificity of the induction and the specificity of the morphogenetic response are discussed.
Aptidão física relacionada à saúde de escolares com idade de 7 a 10 anos

Introduction: The physical fitness related to health refers to the physical and physiological characteristics that define the morbidity and mortality profiles. Objective: To a Assess the physical fitness related to health of 7–10 year-old students. Methods: The study included 93 7–10 year-old students of both sexes. The instrument used was the battery of tests and measures of Projeto Esporte Brasil (PROESP-BR), including (flexibility test, muscular endurance, cardiorespiratory endurance and body mass index (BMI), ”weight/height2”. Results: It was observed that the students presented desired levels of physical fitness in the tests (flexibility and BMI), but in muscular endurance and cardiopulmonary tests, they got unwanted levels considering health risk. Conclusion: Our results do not show satisfactory levels of physical fitness related to health in muscular and cardiorespiratory endurance, revealing a risk of developing non transmissible chronic diseases to students.
Reproductive biology of a large, aggregation‐spawning serranid, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus (Forsskål): management implications

The reproductive biology of Great Barrier Reef populations of the long-lived grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus (brown-marbled grouper or flowery cod) was investigated using histological analyses. Evidence provided by gonad morphology and age-based demographics suggested monandric protogynous hermaphroditism. Younger age groups contained only immature and mature females, and all males were above the size and age of 100% female maturity, consistent with secondary males derived from mature females by adult sex change. Fishing records confirmed that spawning aggregations of this species and the co-occurring Epinephelus polyphekadion (camouflage grouper) are sometimes targeted on the Great Barrier Reef. Sampling data revealed strong spawning seasonality for E. fuscoguttatus, with a relatively narrow annual spawning period (November to January). The temporal pattern of reproductive activity within the spawning period, based on occurrence of near spawning ovaries (containing hydrated oocytes), indicated spawning events may occur throughout much of the lunar cycle and only partly coincide with seasonal fishing closure periods on the Great Barrier Reef. The results indicate that protection would be enhanced by a longer seasonal closure.
Interspecific differences in the distribution of adult and juvenile ponyfish (Leiognathidae) in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia

The distribution of leiognathids was investigated at 261 sites spread throughout the Gulf of Carpentaria. Eight species, Gazza minuta, Leiognathus decorus, L. equulus, L. fasciatus, L. leuciscus, L. smithursti, L. splendens and Secutor ruconius, were usually restricted to coastal areas, whereas four species, L. bindus, L. moretoniensis, Leiognathus sp. and S. insidiator, were not. Two other species, L. aureus and L. elongatus, were caught at only one site each. The relationships between size of fish and depth in Albatross Bay were investigated by examining the mean weight and minimum and maximum lengths of different species in 356 trawls. Six of the coastal species showed the common pattern of linear increase in size with depth. This pattern is consistent with the existence of estuarine and/or inshore nursery areas, and supports previous observations of these species. In contrast, three of the widespread species exhibited approximately quadratic relationships between size and depth. This unusual pattern resulted from small fish living in both the shallow inshore areas and deeper offshore areas, and it may reduce competition among the juveniles of the large number of very abundant, coexisting species of leiognathid.
Automatic Sarcasm Detection

Automatic sarcasm detection is the task of predicting sarcasm in text. This is a crucial step to sentiment analysis, considering prevalence and challenges of sarcasm in sentiment-bearing text. Beginning with an approach that used speech-based features, automatic sarcasm detection has witnessed great interest from the sentiment analysis community. This article is a compilation of past work in automatic sarcasm detection. We observe three milestones in the research so far: semi-supervised pattern extraction to identify implicit sentiment, use of hashtag-based supervision, and incorporation of context beyond target text. In this article, we describe datasets, approaches, trends, and issues in sarcasm detection. We also discuss representative performance values, describe shared tasks, and provide pointers to future work, as given in prior works. In terms of resources to understand the state-of-the-art, the survey presents several useful illustrations—most prominently, a table that summarizes past papers along different dimensions such as the types of features, annotation techniques, and datasets used.
Methods for Extracting Information from Messages from Primary Care Providers to Specialists

Electronic consult (eConsult) systems allow specialists more flexibility to respond to referrals more efficiently, thereby increasing access in under-resourced healthcare settings like safety net systems. Understanding the usage patterns of eConsult system is an important part of improving specialist efficiency. In this work, we develop and apply classifiers to a dataset of eConsult questions from primary care providers to specialists, classifying the messages for how they were triaged by the specialist office, and the underlying type of clinical question posed by the primary care provider. We show that pre-trained transformer models are strong baselines, with improving performance from domain-specific training and shared representations.
The kinematics and performance of escape responses of the knifefish Xenomystus nigri

The kinematics and performance of the escape responses of the knifefish Xenomystus nigri, a fish specialized for low-speed, undulatory median-fin propulsion, were recorded by means of high-speed cinematography. Two types of escape were observed, one involving the formation of a C-shape along the longitudinal axis of the fish (stage 1), followed by a slow recoil of the body (single bend); the other (double bend) involved stage 1 followed by a contralateral bend (stage 2). The pectoral fins were extended throughout escapes of both types. The average maximum acceleration for double bend escapes was 127.98 m∙s−2; acceleration was usually greatest in stage 1. In double bend escapes, turning angles for stages 1 and 2 were not correlated. Pitch and roll orientations change during escapes. In stage 1, the average roll and average pitch were linearly correlated, suggesting that roll was partly responsible for establishing pitch. Knifefish achieved high maximum acceleration relative to other fish. Therefore, perfor.
Hyphal contribution to water uptake in mycorrhizal plants as affected by the fungal species and water status

Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae may increase resistance of plants to drought by a number of mechanisms, such as increased root hydraulic conductivity, stomatal regulation, hyphal water uptake and osmotic adjustment. However, a substantial contribution of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) hyphae to water uptake has not been demonstrated unequivocally. The objective of this investigation was to examine the contribution of hyphae from two VAM fungi to water uptake and transport by the host plant. Lettuce (Lactuca saliva L.) plants were grown in a container divided by a screen into two compartments. One was occupied by roots, the other only by VAM hyphae, which the screen permitted to pass. Roots were colonized by the VAM fungi Glomus deserticola or Glomus fasciculatum, or were left uninoculated but P-supplemented. Water was supplied to the hyphal compartment at a distance of 10 cm from the screen (root). CO 2 exchange rate, water-use efficiency, transpiration, stomatal conductance and photosynthetic phosphorus-use efficiency of VAM or P-amended control plants were evaluated at three levels of water application in the hyphal compartment. Results indicate that much of the water was taken up by the hyphae in VAM plants. VAM plants, which had access to the hyphal compartment, had higher water and nutrient contents. G. deserticola functioned efficiently under water limitation and mycelium from G. fasciculatum-colonized plants was very sensitive to water in the medium. This discrepancy in VAM behaviour reflects the various abilities of each fungus according to soil water levels. Different abilities of specific mycelia were also expressed in terms of nutritional and leaf gas-exchange parameters. G. fasciculatum caused a significant increase in net photosynthesis and rate of water use efficiency compared to G. deserticola and P-fertilized plants. In contrast, the G. deserticola treatment was the most efficient affecting N, P and K nutrition, leaf conductance and transpiration. Since no differences in the intra- and extra-radical hyphal extension of the two endophytes were found, the results demonstrate that mycorrhizal hyphae can take up water and that there are considerable variations in both the behaviour of these two VAM fungi and in the mechanisms involved in their effects on plant water relations.