Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Translocation of Sugar in Sieve Tubes

A theory is put forward to account for the translocation of sugars in terms of electrokinetic forces developed in the cytoplasm of the sieve plates. A major role is suggested for potassium as responsible both for the movement of solution and for maintaining the necessary potentials across the sieve plates. The mechanism for the latter invokes the active uptake of potassium (or some other ion) by the companion cells. It is suggested that in the overall process of conduction there are features which can be described as involving the elements of inertia and positive energy feedback, and that a possible result of these would be longitudinal oscillations in the phloem columns which might assume importance as the seat of rhythms and as a background for photoperiodic effects, and which might be adjusted to an imposed period by callose constrictions. The mechanism put for ward would seem to be physically adequate even for very lengthy phloem columns, and it would seem possible for it to accommodate most, if not all, of the major experimental facts. It implies the active transport of water, as well as of sugars and other chemical species.
Stability Assessment Method Considering Fault Fixing Time in Open Source Project

Recently, open source software (OSS) are adopted various situations because of quick delivery, cost reduction and standardization of systems. Many OSS are developed under the peculiar development style known as bazaar method. According to this method, faults are detected and fixed by users and developers around the world, and the fixed result will be reflected in the next release. Also, the fix time of faults tends to be shorter as the development of OSS progresses. However, several large-scale open source projects have a problem that faults fixing takes a lot of time because faults corrector cannot handle many faults reports quickly. Furthermore, imperfect fault fixing sometimes occurs because the fault fixing is performed by various people and environments. Therefore, OSS users and project managers need to know the stability degree of open source projects by grasping the fault fixing time. In this paper, for assessment stability of large-scale open source project, we derive the imperfect fault fixing probability and the transition probability distribution. For derivation, we use the software reliability growth model based on the Wiener process considering that the fault fixing time in open source projects changes depending on various factors such as the fault reporting time and the assignees for fixing faults. In addition, we applied the proposed model to actual open source project data and examined the validity of the model. KeywordsReliability, Stochastic differential equation, Open source project.
The Effects of Root Temperature on Growth, Physiology, and Accumulation of Bioactive Compounds of Agastache rugosa

Plants respond to root temperature stresses by producing antioxidants as a defense mechanism. Since a number of these are phytochemicals with enhancing effects on human health, we examined the effects of 4 root-zone temperature (RZT) treatments (10, 20, 28, and 36 °C) on plant growth and the main bioactive compound concentrations in each organ of Agastache rugosa plants. We aimed to determine the optimal RZT treatment to increase bioactive compound concentrations with no deleterious effects on plant growth. Four-week-old seedlings were grown in a plant factory for 32 days. Nine plant growth parameters, namely, shoot and root fresh weights, stem and root lengths, leaf length and leaf width, leaf area, and shoot and root dry weights were significantly decreased at 10 and 36 °C compared with other treatments. A similar pattern was observed for the chlorophyll content and leaf gas exchange parameters. Of all the RZT treatments, RZT at 28 °C produced the significantly greatest accumulation of two major bioactive compounds, namely, rosmarinic acid (RA) and tilianin contents per the A. rugosa plant, and had no adverse effects on the overall growth of A. rugosa. This supports the use of 28 °C RZT to successfully improve the bioactive compounds with no adverse influence on plant growth or yield.
The lugworm (Arenicola marina) pump: characteristics, modelling and energy cost

The lugworm Arenicola manna was studied in an observation aquarium; the typical undisturbed stroke frequency of the piston pump was f = 6 to 7 strokes min-' A new expenmental setup was used for direct measurement of volume flow at zero and different imposed back pressures. The back pressure charactenstic was a nonllnear function, the stroke frequency being reduced with increasing imposed back pressure, attaining a maximal pressure head of 20 cm H 2 0 , which is 30 to 150 times higher than previously found in filter-feedlng macro-invertebrate pumps. The back pressure volume flow charactens t~c was modelled. At the (assumed) normal operation pressure (5 cm HzO) the power output from the 'standard' (0 5 g dry wt) lugworm pump was calculated to be P, = 12.6 pW. The respiration rate (R, p1 O2 h-') measured in lugivorms kept in glass tubes was dependent on the stroke frequency and correlated with dry weight (W, g) according to R = a W b , where a = 344 and b = 0.64 at f = 7 strokes min-l. The total respiration of the 'standard' worm was R,,, = 232 p1 O2 h-' = 1281 pW, and thus the overall pump efficiency was p = P,/R,,, = 1 % which suggests that the energy cost of pumping is modest (<5%) The volume of water pumped per m1 oxygen consumed was only 0 4 1 ml-' 0, which is > l 0 0 times lower than values previously found for true filter-feeders. This very low value shoxvs that it IS unlikely that the lug~vorm can live by filter-feeding.
Tuning the Local Availability of VEGF within Glycosaminoglycan‐Based Hydrogels to Modulate Vascular Endothelial Cell Morphogenesis

Incorporation of sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) into cell‐instructive polymer networks is shown to be instrumental in controlling the diffusivity and activity of growth factors. However, a subtle balance between local retention and release of the factors is needed to effectively direct cell fate decisions. To quantitatively unravel material characteristics governing these key features, the GAG content and the GAG sulfation pattern of star‐shaped poly(ethylene glycol) (starPEG)–GAG hydrogels are herein tuned to control the local availability and bioactivity of GAG‐affine vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF165). Hydrogels containing varying concentrations of heparin or heparin derivatives with different sulfation pattern are prepared and thoroughly characterized for swelling, mechanical properties, and growth factor transport. Mathematical models are developed to predict the local concentration and spatial distribution of free and bound VEGF165 within the gel matrices. The results of simulation and experimental studies concordantly reveal how the GAG concentration and sulfation pattern determine the local availability of VEGF165 within the cell‐instructive hydrogels and how the factor—in interplay with cell‐instructive gel properties—determines the formation and spatial organization of capillary networks of embedded human vascular endothelial cells. Taken together, this study exemplifies how mathematical modeling and rational hydrogel design can be combined to pave the way for precision tissue engineering.
The effects of dietary methionine and lysine on broiler chicken performance and breast meat yield.

An experiment was conducted with 3840 male Ross × Arbor Acres broiler chicks to test the effects of increasing dietary methionine and lysine on performance and breast meat yield. Supplemental methionine and lysine were fed in a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement in both starter (0–3 wk) and finisher (3–6 wk) diets. Methionine was fed at levels of NRC and 112% NRC. Lysine was fed at levels of NRC and 106% NRC, 112% NRC and 118% NRC. Increasing dietary methionine increased weight gain (P < 0.01), feed efficiency (P < 0.01) from 3 to 6 wk, and breast meat yield (P < 0.01) at 6 wk. Increasing dietary lysine caused a curvilinear response in breast meat yield (P < 0.05). Key words: Broiler, lysine, methionine, breast meat
Distribution of Xerohalophytic Vegetation Along the Seaward and Landward Zone in South-Adriatic Sandy Beach (Montenegro)

ABSTRACT The objective of this research was to analyze the distribution of two typical widespread xerohalophytic associations in sandy and sandy-shingle beaches of Montenegrin foreland: Cakilo-Xanthietum italici (Beg. 1941) Pign. 1953 and Echinophoro-Elymetum farcti GÉHU 1988. Intense human activity generally affects the processes of vegetation degradation in this habitat type. The Velika plaža beach near Ulcinj is one of the few relatively undamaged sand beaches, in floristic and vegetational sense. Major environmental gradient in this habitat is the decrease in moisture and salinity from seaward to landward zone. This site's conditions model the prominent zonation of coastal plant species and distribution patterns of plants and plant communities.
Prairie Restorations can Protect Remnant Tallgrass Prairie Plant Communities

Abstract Tallgrass prairie is the most endangered ecosystem in North America, with less than one percent of its original extent remaining. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has restored over 9000 ha of crop and fallow lands adjacent to native prairie with a primary goal of buffering remnant prairies to maintain plant community composition and reduce invasion by nonnative plants. We tested the efficacy of this approach by measuring plant community parameters at four TNC prairie restoration sites in Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, and Indiana. We tested whether restorations protected remnant prairies from nonnative plants by comparing the effect of neighboring land use on community composition along transects running from the prairie edges toward the interior. Nonnative dominance increased from interior to edges by 78% when adjacent to roads/abandoned lands and by 29% when adjacent to crops, but remained even (and low) when adjacent to prairie restorations (nonsignificant increase of 5–11% for high and low diversity restorations). Native plant richness was maintained in prairies adjacent to restorations (nonsignificant losses of 0.03 species/0.25 m2 for low species richness restorations and 1.1 species/0.25 m2 for high species richness restorations from interior to edge), significantly less than the 3.8 species/0.25 m2 lost from interior to edge next to roads/abandoned lands. The change in native richness next to cropland was intermediate, but nonsignificant, with a loss of 1.4 species/0.25 m2. These results suggest that managers may be able to buffer remnant prairies against nonnative species invasion and protect native plant diversity by targeting restorations of roadsides, abandoned lands, and other adjacent areas dominated by non-native plants.
Chemical, nutritive, deoxynivalenol and zearalenone content of corn relative to the site of inoculation with different isolates of Fusarium graminearum

Kernels from two samples of 18 ears of corn were hand-shelled into three fractions (Fl, F2 and F3) relative to the site (F3) where the ears had previously been inoculated with one of four isolates of Fusarium graminearum (Schwabe). F3 and Fl were from the nearest and remotest parts of the ear, respectively, to the inoculation site. Ears of uninoculated control corn were processed in the same manner. The resulting 30 samples were analysed, after grinding (20 mesh), for deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEA), ergosterol (EGS), dry matter (DM), 200 kernel weight, Kjeldahl nitrogen (N), ether extract, ash, sugar, starch, acid and neutral detergent fibre (ADF, NDF, respectively), cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. The true metabolisable energy (TME), TME corrected to zero N balance (TMEn), true available amino acid (TAAA) and true DM digestibility (TDMD) contents of these samples and corn to which 4, 16 or 64 mg purified DON kg−1 were added, were determined using adult White Leghorn chickens. The DON, ZEA, EGS, N and ash contents were higher (P 0.05) among fractions either within or among incoulation treatments. Sources of Fusarium inoculate influenced (P<0.05) the DON, ZEA, N, fat and TDMD of the corn. The TMEn and total TAAA of corn decreased (P<0.001) when purified DON was added. Moderate relationships (r=0.57−0.73) occurred between DON and ZEA, EGS and N. In general, these results are similar to those for wheat, and indicate that chemical and nutritive content of feedingstuffs may be increased when they are infected by toxigenic fungi.
Some aspects of sustained training of rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri Richardson

Groups of 6-7 cm length rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri Richardson, were simultaneously trained at four water velocities (0, 1·4, 2·2 and 3·5 Ls-1) for a period of 46 days. Oxygen consumption and swimming ability (fatigue time) were then measured. Only training at 3·5 Ls-1 increased the swimming ability of the fish. A study of the relative proportion of the white and red muscles indicated that the white muscle was increasing its mass at velocities in excess of 2·2 Ls-1. The oxygen consumption rate of the trained fish was lower than that of the untrained fish when considered over the whole velocity range.
Seasonal Use of Recently Fenced Agricultural Riparian Habitat by Avifauna in Pennsylvania

Abstract Streambank fencing is increasingly used to exclude livestock from riparian corridors and to enhance biological communities. Our study examined vegetative change and avian-community use of recently fenced agricultural habitat. We conducted strip-transect surveys to census bird communities, line-transect and plot surveys to assess vegetation, and intensive nest monitoring to gauge use and reproductive success across 12 fenced riparian sites in southwestern Pennsylvania. Selected sites varied in age from 3 to 8 years since fencing and averaged 21 m in width. We found avian use was significantly greater in spring than in fall across our fenced sites. We determined that canopy cover, shrub cover, and herbaceous ground cover could predict various attributes of the avian community present within the fenced riparian areas. Our results also suggest that the avian community has greater species richness within sites containing greater habitat complexity, and that these sites are important breeding and nesting areas. Among the 145 nests monitored, 38% successfully fledged young. We found no differences in distance to corridor edge between successful nests and nests that failed. Our study confirms that riparian renovation efforts do have conservation value for both migratory and resident birds.
Complete Defense Framework to Protect Deep Neural Networks against Adversarial Examples

Although Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) have achieved great success on various applications, investigations have increasingly shown DNNs to be highly vulnerable when adversarial examples are used as input. Here, we present a comprehensive defense framework to protect DNNs against adversarial examples. First, we present statistical and minor alteration detectors to filter out adversarial examples contaminated by noticeable and unnoticeable perturbations, respectively. Then, we ensemble the detectors, a deep Residual Generative Network (ResGN), and an adversarially trained targeted network, to construct a complete defense framework. In this framework, the ResGN is our previously proposed network which is used to remove adversarial perturbations, and the adversarially trained targeted network is a network that is learned through adversarial training. Specifically, once the detectors determine an input example to be adversarial, it is cleaned by ResGN and then classified by the adversarially trained targeted network; otherwise, it is directly classified by this network. We empirically evaluate the proposed complete defense on ImageNet dataset. The results confirm the robustness against current representative attacking methods including fast gradient sign method, randomized fast gradient sign method, basic iterative method, universal adversarial perturbations, DeepFool method, and Carlini & Wagner method.
Clinicopathological Characteristics of Thyroid Cancer in a Saudi Academic Hospital

Background The global incidence of thyroid cancer (TC) has increased significantly over the past decades. In Saudi Arabia, it is the third most common cancer among adults. This study aims to review the clinical and histopathological characteristics of TC in Saudi Arabia and analyze the size trend over the years. Methods We conducted a retrospective chart review of all differentiated and poorly differentiated TC patients following up at a tertiary care center in the Western region of Saudi Arabia. All patients 11 years and older, diagnosed between 2004 - 2018, and with sufficient histopathological data were included. Follicular and poorly differentiated TC were categorized and tumor stage was allocated. We performed descriptive and size trend analysis. Results We had a total of 285 patients who qualified for inclusion. The mean age at diagnosis was 40.6 years, and 81.05% of patients were females. Papillary TC comprised 88.07% of these neoplasms, and most patients (89.12%) were at Stage I. Only papillary TC showed a gender difference in the age of the diagnosis. In men, the mean age at diagnosis of papillary TC was 46.98 ± 15.4 years, while in female patients, it was 39.02 ± 12.8 years (p-value = 0.0001). We did not find a trend toward smaller tumours in the more recent years in comparison to the early years (r = -0.083, p-value = 0.168). Conclusions TC is diagnosed at a younger age and larger sizes in Saudi Arabia in comparison to other countries. A gender difference was only noted with papillary TC in regard to the age of diagnosis. There was no trend toward smaller sizes of TC over the years.
Purification and properties of extracellular proteases produced by the nematophagous fungus Verticillium suchlasporium.

The fungal parasite of eggs of cyst nematodes, Verticillium suchlasporium, produced extracellular proteases when grown in semiliquid culture with gelatin as the only source of nitrogen and carbon. The proteolytic activity of culture filtrates was maximum 12–14 days after inoculation. Gel filtration chromatography in Sephadex G-100 resolved two peaks of proteolytic activity. The peak accounting for most of the activity was further purified by ion-exchange chromatography in SP-Sephadex C-25 as a single peak. This protease had a molecular mass of 32 kDa calculated by sodium dodecyl sulfate – polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme was an endopeptidase that degraded fibrinogen in zymograms and had an optimum pH of 8.5 using fluorescein isothiocyanate – casein as the substrate. It was inhibited by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, indicating that it was a serine protease. The purified protease was able to degrade certain cyst nematode proteins suggesting the involvement and specificity of the 32-kDa protea.
No Evidence for Selective Fruit Abortion in the Australian Shrub Grevillea barklyana (Proteaceae)

Plants may increase the average quality of their seed crops by selectively aborting less vigorous progeny when resources are limited. Selective fruit abortion was examined in selfing and outcrossing populations of the Australian proteaceous shrub Grevillea barklyana. Inflorescences were pollinated with cross pollen, self pollen, or a combination of the two pollination types on different flowers. Fruit initiation and maturation were similar on self- and cross-pollinated inflorescences. Self-incompatibility indices indicated that all plants were fully self-compatible. When self and cross fruits competed for limited maternal resources on the same inflorescences, numbers of self and cross fruits did not deviate from a 50:50 ratio. This indicates that differences in the vigor of self and cross progeny were minimal, which may be a consequence of populations having a history of inbreeding. Most fruits aborted early in development, before substantial investment of resources. Results in the selfing and outcrossing populations were similar, indicating that neither selective abortion nor inbreeding depression can account for differences in mating patterns.
Palynological evidence of vegetation dynamics in response to palaeoenvironmental change across the onset of the Paleocene‐Eocene Thermal Maximum at Cobham, Southern England

A high‐resolution palynological study is undertaken through the Cobham Lignite Bed (Cobham, Kent, UK) to investigate vegetation response to the rapid climate warming at the onset of the Paleocene‐Eocene thermal maximum (PETM). The lower laminated lignite records negative carbon isotope (δ 13C) excursions (CIE) (marking the PETM onset) in bulk organic material, n‐alkanes and, uniquely, also in hopanes. The upper blocky lignite represents an estimated 4–12 kya after PETM onset. Raw and rarefied palynomorph species richness measures are higher in the PETM but the difference is not statistically significant. Only five (of 24) common taxa have last appearance or major shifts in percentage occurrence close to the PETM onset. One of these, a triporate eudicot, occurs only in the maximum negative CIE sample and the immediately underlying sample, the former at very high percentages, an interesting feature of PETM onset. The palynomorph composition of Late Paleocene samples is significantly different from PETM samples. In the late Paleocene there is a close association of high abundances of Cicatricosisporites (Schizaeaceae) fern spores with microscopic and mesoscopic charcoal representing a low diversity fire prone fern and woody angiosperm community. By contrast, the PETM vegetation is characterised by the loss of ferns and cessation of fires, an increase in wetland plants (including cupressaceous conifers) and a more varied flowering plant community with palms and eudicots. These palynofloras thus indicate little response in plant species across the PETM onset but a major change in vegetation composition, linked to a switch in fire regime.