Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES OF WINTERING BALD EAGLES TO HUMAN ACTIVITY

The effects of human activity on wintering bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) were studied in Washington for 2 yr. Tolerance to disturbance was determined by analyzing eagle distribution in relation to human activity and by measuring flight distances of eagles from simulated human disturbances. Human activity was found to affect eagle distribution and behavior adversely. Distribution patterns were signif- icantly (P < 0.001) changed, resulting in displacement of eagles to areas of lower human activity. Older birds were more sensitive (P < 0.001) to disturbances. Flight distances were highest for simulated dis- turbances in water and on gravel bars, intermediate on land, and shortest under a vegetation canopy. Habituation to normal activities seemed to occur. Reduced human interferences, creation of vegetation buffer zones, and establishment of activity restriction zones are recommended for wintering grounds. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 42(3):506-613 Abstract: The effects of human activity on wintering bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) were studied in Washington for 2 yr. Tolerance to disturbance was determined by analyzing eagle distribution in relation to human activity and by measuring flight distances of eagles from simulated human disturbances. Human activity was found to affect eagle distribution and behavior adversely. Distribution patterns were signif­ icantly (P < 0.001) changed, resulting in displacement of eagles to areas of lower human activity. Older birds were more sensitive (P < 0.001) to disturbances. Flight distances were highest for simulated dis­ turbances in water and on gravel bars, intermediate on land, and shortest under a vegetation canopy. Habituation to normal activities seemed to occur. Reduced human interferences, creation of vegetation buffer zones, and establishment of activity restriction zones are recommended for wintering grounds. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 42(3):506-613 Declines in bald eagle populations have been attributed, in part, to direct human disturbance (Sprunt 1969). Urban sprawl, recreational developments, and increasing outdoor activity in prime ea­ gle habitat have directly and adversely affected the bald eagle (Sprunt and Ligas 1966). Evaluations of the effects of dis­ turbance on nesting eagles are difficult to generalize. Mathisen (1968), Grier (1969), Grier and Fyfe (in press), and Newman et al. (1977) found no evidence of human activity disrupting reproductive success. Juenemann (1973) and Grubb (19700), however, have shown an indirect rela­ tionship between human activities and nesting success. Concern over the sensi­ tivity of wintering populations to human interferences has also been expressed (Shea 1973, Servheen 1975, Steenhof 1976, Spencer 1976, Stalmaster 1976). Quantitative information on the avoid­ ance responses of eagles to disturbance is lacking. The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of human disturb-
Effectiveness of the “Mente Sana [Healthy Mind]” Cognitive Training Program for Older Illiterate Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Aging can lead to functional and cognitive alterations, sometimes limiting older adults in their social development, especially illiterate groups of older adults who receive poor attention from healthcare systems. In this context, the present investigation proposes the cognitive training program “MENTE SANA [HEALTHY MIND]” to improve the cognitive functions of illiterate older adults in Arequipa (Peru). It is a type of quasi-experimental research with a pre-test/post-test design with a homogenous control group. The sample was made up of adults 60 years old and above and of female gender. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test was used to detect the level of cognitive decline in illiterate older adults. The 50-sessions program was applied to all the older adults with mild cognitive impairment that were selected for the study, on a daily basis. It was found that the tested group improved their cognitive functions compared to the control group. These results help to propose adapted cognitive training programs for illiterate people.
The effect of colour on bait consumption of kea (Nestor notabilis): implications for deterring birds from toxic baits

Abstract The kea (Nestor notabilis), an endemic parrot, is at risk of primary poisoning during 1080 possum control operations. This project aimed at providing information on the effect of colour on bait attractiveness for kea to ultimately increase the safety of toxic bait. A feeding trial with captive kea investigated their colour preferences by offering cake dyed in six different colours simultaneously over six consecutive days. On average, the order of preference was yellow>red>brown>mid-blue>dark-blue>green; all birds encountered and consistently consumed less green bait than all the other colours throughout the trial. These results suggest that green is the most promising colour to deter captive kea from feeding in a multi-choice situation. However, due to kea's opportunistic feeding behaviour and inquisitive nature this might not be the case if green is the only option, suggesting that a stronger deterrent than colour may be necessary to deter free-ranging birds from consuming toxic bait.
Germination and Dormancy of Themeda australis, Danthonia Spp., Stipa bigeniculata and Bothriochloa macra

The germination and dormancy of Themeda australis, Danthonia spp. , Stipa bigeniculata and Bothriochloa macra were investigated in whole dispersal units or caryopses. Germination of non-dormant units of the four species was not affected by light but was delayed by low temperatures. Such temperature regimes depressed the germination capacity of Themeda while alternating temperatures with a range greater than 10°C depressed the germination of Bothriochloa. The level of germination of Danthonia and Stipa was not affected by any of the temperature regimes used. Dormancy was reduced either by the application of gibberellic acid at concentrations of 100 ppm to 1000 ppm or by stratification. In addition, application of kinetin ( 10 -4M ) or opening the lemma suture broke the dormancy of Stipa dispersal units. The breakdown of dormancy during dry storage was also examined. Temperature alternations with maximum temperatures greater than 40°C reduced the level of dormancy of Themeda and Stipa within 1-2 months.
Thermal tolerances of two stream invertebrates exposed to diumally varying temperature

Abstract For two key New Zealand freshwater invertebrates (the mayfly Deleatidium autumnale and the snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum) the upper thermal tolerances were measured in the laboratory under both constant and diumally varying temperatures. At constant temperature 50% mortality in 96 h (constLT50) occurred at 24.2 ± 0.9°C for mayflies and 31.0 ± 0.6°C for snails: values similar to previously published estimates (Quinn et al. 1994). For diurnally varying temperatures (daily amplitude 10°C) 50% mortality occurred when the daily mean temperature was 21.9 ± 0.7°C (mayflies) and 28.6 ± 0.4°C (snails) which is c. 10% (2.5 ± 1.3°C) lower than the constLT50. Conversely, 50% mortality occurred when the daily maximum temperature was 26.9 ± 0.7°C (mayflies) and 33.6 ± 0.4°C (snails) which is c. 10% (2.5 ± 1.3°C) higher than the constLT50. Many published temperature limits for stream organisms are derived from constant temperature experiments. Our results indicate that such limits should be applied to a temperature midway between the daily average and the daily maximum of a diurnal profile.
The Role of Optical Coherence Tomography in Differential Diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis and Autoimmune Connective Tissue Diseases with CNS Involvement

The purpose of this study was to examine whether application of optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurements can provide a useful biomarker for distinguishing central nervous system (CNS) involvement in autoimmune connective tissue diseases (CTD) from multiple sclerosis (MS). An observational study included non-optic neuritis eyes of 121 individuals: 59 patients with MS, 30 patients with CNS involvement in CTD, and 32 healthy controls. OCT examination was performed in all subjects to measure retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, ganglion cell complex (GCC) thickness, ganglion cell layer-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) thickness, and volume of the macula. There was a significant group effect with regard to superior optic disc RNFL, macular RNFL, GCC, and GCIPL thickness, and macular volume. Post-hoc analysis revealed that MS patients have significantly smaller macular volume and thinner superior optic disc RNFL, macular RNFL, GCC, and GCIPL compared to healthy controls. CTD patients have significantly smaller superior optic disc RNFL, GCIPL, and GCC thickness compared to healthy controls. However, no significant group differences were observed between the patient groups (MS vs. CTD) on any outcome. Although a prominent retinal thinning may be a useful biomarker in MS patients, in a general population of individuals with a confirmed CNS involvement the use of OCT is not specific enough to discriminate between MS and autoimmune CTD.
Clinical significance of blue‐green neutrophil and monocyte cytoplasmic inclusions in SARS‐CoV‐2 positive critically ill patients

Identification of blue-green cytoplasmic inclusions in neutrophils and/or monocytes on peripheral blood smears is a rare, and likely underreported, finding described in few case reports and small case series studies in critically ill patients with acute liver dysfunction and lactic acidosis (Courville, et al 2017, Gorup, et al 2018, Haberichter and Crisan 2017, Harris, et al 2009, Hodgkins and Jones 2019, Hodgson, et al 2015, Jazaerly and Gabali 2014, Patel, et al 2017, Sin, et al 2019, Soos, et al 2019, Vicente-Steijn, et al 2020). As these inclusions are thought to herald poor prognosis and death shortly after identification, they have been referred to as "green crystals of death" or "critical green inclusions".
The Relationship between Chronotype, Physical Activity and the Estimated Risk of Dementia in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Our study examined the association between chronotype, daily physical activity, and the estimated risk of dementia in 170 community-dwelling older adults. Chronotype was assessed with the Horne–Östberg Morningness–Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ). Daily physical activity (of over 3 METs) was measured with a tri-axial accelerometer. The Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE) was used to measure the estimated risk of dementia. The evening chronotype, low daily physical activity, and dementia were positively associated with each other. The participants with low physical activity alongside evening preference had 3.05 to 3.67 times higher estimated risk of developing dementia, and participants with low physical activity and morning preference had 1.95 to 2.26 times higher estimated risk than those with high physical activity and morning preference. Our study design does not infer causation. Nevertheless, our findings suggest that chronotype and daily physical activity are predictors of the risk of having dementia in older adults aged 70 years and above.
Stomatal conductance and transpiration in shoots of Scots pine after 4-year exposure to elevated CO2 and temperature

Single Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris L.) trees were subjected to elevated temperature (year-round elevation), elevated CO2 (elevation from April 15 to September 15), and a combination of elevated temperature and CO2, for 4 years in open-topped chambers. Measurements and modelling were performed to determine if long-term growth at elevated CO2 concentration and temperature altered water use efficiency (WE) and the responses of stomatal conductance (gs) to photon flux density (Qp), the leaf-to-air vapour pressure difference (Dv), leaf temperature (Tl), and intercellular concentration of CO2 (Ci). Long-term elevation of CO2 led to a significant decline in the absolute value of gs at almost all levels of Qp, Dv, Ci, and Tl. Elevated temperature treatment increased the absolute value of gs only at higher Dv and Tl. The effect of the combination of elevated CO2 and temperature did not appear as a mean of the effects of the two single factors, while there was an interaction between the two factors. The modificat.
Growth rate differences between upper and lower shore ecotypes of the marine snail Littorina saxatilis (Olivi) (Gastropoda)

Abstract Shell polymorphisms are widespread among those intertidal gastropods that lack a pelagic spreading stage. These polymorphisms may indicate diversifying selection in a heterogeneous habitat, but to do this the variation must be at least partly inherited. Galician populations ofLittorina saxatilis(Olivi) living in exposed rocky shores are highly polymorphic in several shell traits, e.g. ornamentation, banding and size. Mature snails of the upper-shore ridged and banded (RB) morph is, for example, often twice as large as mature individuals of the lower-shore smooth and unbanded (SU) morph of the same shore. We investigated the hypothesis that lower-shore snails grow more slowly and that differences in growth rate were at least partly inherited and could be explained by diversifying selection. We released snails of different origin (upper, mid- and lower shore) and morph (RB, SU and hybrids) at different shore levels and compared their shell increment after one month of growth. We found that despite considerable variation among individuals and among replicate samples (together about 53% of the total variation), average rates of growth differed between morphs. RB snails both from the upper and mid-shores grew at a high rate at all shore levels, SU snails grew considerably less, and hybrids grew at intermediate rates, at all levels. Inherited difference among morphs explained about 34% of the total variation while effects of shore levels and the interaction morph × shore level explained only 5 and 7%, respectively. Thus a large part of the difference in growth rate leading to different adult sizes of the two morphs has probably evolved due to spatially varying selection favouring large sizes in upper-shore and small sizes in lower-shore environments.
MicrobioLink: An Integrated Computational Pipeline to Infer Functional Effects of Microbiome–Host Interactions

Microbiome-host interactions are important to nearly all living organisms, and play important roles in health and disease. Understanding these inter-kingdom cross-talks has a huge potential to advance diverse scientific domains such as the clinical and medical sciences, agriculture, and ecology. Detecting such interactions by experimental techniques remain challenging from a cost and feasibility perspective thus hampering large-scale analyses. Computational approaches not only make the inference of microbiome-host interactions viable but also scalable. Here, we present MicrobioLink, a computational pipeline to integrate predicted interactions between microbial and host proteins with host molecular networks. With MicrobioLink users can analyse how microbial proteins in a certain context are influencing cellular processes by interacting with host proteins and affecting downstream pathways, regulating gene expression and metabolism. To show the applicability of the pipeline, we used Crohn’s disease metaproteomic data and compared the predictions from the pipeline with those from the healthy condition to demonstrate the achievability of a potential model showing how the influence of microbial proteins can potentially influence disease developments. MicrobioLink is a freely available on GitHub. Code availability https://github.com/korcsmarosgroup/HMIpipeline
Effectiveness of electrical stimulation on nerve regeneration after crush injury: Comparison between invasive and non-invasive stimulation

Several studies have investigated the use of invasive and non-invasive stimulation methods to enhance nerve regeneration, and varying degrees of effectiveness have been reported. However, due to the use of different parameters in these studies, a fair comparison between the effectiveness of invasive and non-invasive stimulation methods is not possible. The present study compared the effectiveness of invasive and non-invasive stimulation using similar parameters. Eighteen Sprague Dawley rats were classified into three groups: the iES group stimulated with fully implantable device, the tES group stimulated with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), and the injury group (no stimulation). The iES and tES groups received stimulation for 6 weeks starting immediately after the injury. Motor function was evaluated using the sciatic functional index (SFI) every week. The SFI values increased over time in all groups; faster and superior functional recovery was observed in the iES group than in the tES group. Histological evaluation of the nerve sections and gastrocnemius muscle sections were performed every other week. The axon diameter and muscle fiber area in the iES group were larger, and the g-ratio in the iES group was closer to 0.6 than those in the tES group. To assess the cause of the difference in efficiency, a 3D rat anatomical model was used to simulate the induced electric fields in each group. A significantly higher concentration and intensity around the sciatic nerve was observed in the iES group than in the tES group. Vector field distribution showed that the field was orthogonal to the sciatic nerve spread in the tES group, whereas it was parallel in the iES group; this suggested that the tES group was less effective in nerve stimulation. The results indicated that even though rats in the TENS group showed better recovery than those in the injury group, it cannot replace direct stimulation yet because rats stimulated with the invasive method showed faster recovery and superior outcomes. This was likely attributable to the greater concentration and parallel distribution of electric field with respect to target nerve.
The profound influence of the Late-Pliocene Panamanian uplift on the exchange, diversification, and distribution of New World Birds

Separated throughout most of the Cenozoic era, North and South America were joined during the mid-Pliocene when the uplift of Panama formed a land bridge between these two continents. The fossil record indicates that this connection allowed an unprecedented degree of inter-continental exchange to occur between unique, previously isolated biotic assemblages, a phenomenon now recognized as the “Great American Biotic Interchange”. However, a relatively poor avian fossil record has prevented our understanding the role of the land bridge in shaping New World avian communities. To address the question of avian participation in the GABI, we compiled 64 avian phylogenetic studies and applied a relaxed molecular clock to estimate the timing of trans-isthmus diversification events. Here, we show that a significant pulse of avian interchange occurred in concert with the isthmus uplift. The avian exchange was temporally consistent with the well understood mammalian interchange, despite the presumed greater vagility of birds. Birds inhabiting a variety of habitats and elevational zones responded to the newly available corridor. Within the tropics, exchange was equal in both directions although between extratropical and tropical regions it was not. Avian lineages with Nearctic origins have repeatedly invaded the tropics and radiated throughout South America; whereas, lineages with South American tropical origins remain largely restricted to the confines of the Neotropical region. This previously unrecognized pattern of asymmetric niche conservatism may represent an important and underappreciated contributor to the latitude diversity gradient.
Molecular comparisons of Salsola tragus from California and Ukraine

In California, the exotic invasive plant Salsola tragus L. (Russian thistle) has been found to consist of two ge- netic entities, types A and B. Type A, with chromosome number 2n = 36, was identified as S. tragus s.str. , but type B, with 2n = 18, was not identical with Salsola species found elsewhere in the world. Plants of S. tragus from Ukraine were subjected to isoenzymic and DNA analyses to determine whether type B was found there and to compare S. tragus from Ukraine with that in California. In isoenzymic assays, plants from Ukraine exhibited patterns of aspartate aminotransferase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase activity after non-denaturing electrophoresis that were identical with those for S. tragus from California. No Ukrainian accessions had an isoenzymic pattern that resembled type B from California. DNA-based assays, using random amplified polymorphic DNA and inter-simple sequence repeat primers, indicated that all the Ukrainian accessions were similar to S. tragus type A from California and not to Californian type B. The area of origin of type B remains unknown, although it has recently been found to be widespread in southern Africa, where it is also be- lieved to be an introduced species.
Ultrastructure of chromoplasts and other plastids in Crocus sativus L. (Iridaceae)

Saffron (Crocus sativus L. Iridaceae) chromoplasts and other plastids were studied by electron microscope to determine their structure, origin and pigment localization. Plastids from pistils of floral buds and flowers at anthesis, dried and decoloured stigmas, and green and senescent leaves were examined. Results indicated that mature saffron chromoplasts occur in the red parts of stigmas and have a reticulo-tubular structure. They contain a reticulum of tubules and plastoglobules. Tubules formed dilated vesicles mainly while plastoglobules appeared numerous and scattered on the whole chromoplast. Chromoplasts appeared in red stigma of very young floral buds. They originated from amyloplasts, the only plastids occurring in the colourless basal portion of style, as well as in the parenchyma of ovary and corm. Transition forms of plastid as amylo-chromoplast, occur in the yellow parts of stigma and style. Senescent leaves did not show plastids with structure similar to the chromoplast of red stigma. Red pigmented and scented stigmas might cooperate in saffron reproduction by attracting pollinator.
Changes in Bone Marrow Fat upon Dietary-Induced Weight Loss

Background: Bone marrow fat is implicated in metabolism, bone health and haematological diseases. Thus, this study aims to analyse the impact of moderate weight loss on bone marrow fat content (BMFC) in obese, healthy individuals. Methods: Data of the HELENA-Trial (Healthy nutrition and energy restriction as cancer prevention strategies: a randomized controlled intervention trial), a randomized controlled trial (RCT) among 137 non-smoking, overweight or obese participants, were analysed to quantify the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)-derived BMFC at baseline, after a 12-week dietary intervention phase, and after a 50-week follow-up. The study cohort was classified into quartiles based on changes in body weight between baseline and week 12. Changes in BMFC in respect of weight loss were analysed by linear mixed models. Spearman’s coefficients were used to assess correlations between anthropometric parameters, blood biochemical markers, blood cells and BMFC. Results: Relative changes in BMFC from baseline to week 12 were 0.0 ± 0.2%, −3.2 ± 0.1%, −6.1 ± 0.2% and −11.5 ± 0.6% for Q1 to Q4. Across all four quartiles and for the two-group comparison, Q1 versus Q4, there was a significant difference (p < 0.05) for changes in BMFC. BMFC was not associated with blood cell counts and showed only weaker correlations (<0.3) with metabolic biomarkers. Conclusion: Weight loss is associated with a decrease of BMFC. However, BMFC showed no stronger associations with inflammatory and metabolic biomarkers.