Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sporophytes, megaspores, and massulae of Azolla stanleyi from the Paleocene Joffre Bridge locality, Alberta

Several hundred vegetative and fertile specimens of Azolla Lam. have been recovered from the Paleocene Paskapoo Formation at the Joffre Bridge locality (Middle Tiffanian (Ti3) age) near Red Deer, Alberta. The spore complexes closely resemble those of the Paleocene A. stanleyi Jain & Hall, and the vegetative material is referred to that species. The specimens are unusually complete in that the remains of the fragile sporophyte are preserved, commonly with reproductive structures in place. Plants reaching up to 2.25 cm in length consist of alternately branched rhizomes bearing alternate, imbricate, sessile leaves. Leaves are ovate with entire margins, papillate surfaces, and a single midvein. Reproductive structures have been examined using light, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy. This new material is compared with the other Paleocene species for which sporophytes are known and discussed in terms of evolutionary trends for the genus. The specimens suggest that most of the vegetative characteri.
SUSCEPTIBILITY OF FOUR HELIOTHIS VIRESCENS AND HELICOVERPA ZEA REFERENCE COLONIES TO A HOMOGENEOUS CRY1AC - INCORPORATED INSECT DIET: IMPLICATIONS FOR AN AREA - WIDE MONITORING PROGRAM

In order to assist the registrants of genetically modifi ed cottons to fulfill their regulatory requirements in the U.S. and Mexico for Bacillus thuringiensis resistance monitoring, sever al research institutions have conducted susceptibility monitoring programs in different cotton regions of North America. Curre nt m onitoring is done at a centr al laboratory and duplicat e population samples sent a second facility. Without a sta ndardized methodology to compare or corroborate results across laboratories and scientists , several methodological aspects of obtaining the biological response of Heliothis virescens (Fabricius) and Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) to B. thuringiensis might yield discrepancies when the same insect population is tested by more than one institution / researcher . This study compared the biologic al respon se of 2 H. virescens and H. zea reference colonies from 2 different laboratories using a common standardized Cry1Ac - incorporated insect artifici al diet. M ortality was s ignificantly different among two tobacco budworm colonies but not between two bollworm c olonies when tested in only one laboratory . When a common diet was test ed with the same insect colony at three different laboratories, similar results were found with H. virescens , a n insect species much more susceptible to Cry1Ac than H. zea , a more toler ant species , e specially when mortality analysis included surviving first or second instar larvae . When the same colony was tested with 3 different insect diets in 3 different laboratories , the tobacco budworm colony responded significantly diff erent among locations ; on the other hand, more pronounced significant differences were found in the bollworm colony . Analysis of the biological response including first instar or first and second instars increased the discrepancies among the research institutions. For accurate comparison purp oses among laboratories, the inclusion of a common diet and a common reference laboratory insect colony is recommended.
Antimicrobial screening of silver nanoparticles synthesized by marine cyanobacterium Phormidium formosum

Background and Objectives: Nanoparticles are widely used in various fields such as electronics, cosmetics, water purification, biomedical and biotechnology. Biosynthesis of nanoparticles using biological agents have gained much attention in the area of nanotechnology in the last few decades because of cost effective, non-toxic, and eco-friendly. Algae have been used to reduce metal ions and subsequently for the biosynthesis of nanoparticles. Materials and Methods: Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been biosynthesized by Phormidium formosum isolated from Mediterranean Sea coast Egypt in an aqueous system. An aqueous solution of silver ions was treated with alive biomass of P. formousm for the formation of AgNPs. The physio-chemical properties of synthesized silver nanoparticles were studied using analytical techniques such as UV-Vis spectrophotometer, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The antimicrobial effect of synthesized silver nanoparticles was also tested on several microorganisms by measuring the inhibition zone. Results: These nanoparticles showed an absorption peak at λmax 437 nm in the UV-visible spectrum, corresponding to the Surface Plasmon Resonance of AgNPs. The transmission electron micrographs of nanoparticles in an aqueous solution showed production of silver nanoparticles synthesized by P. formosum. The obtained AgNPs are spherical in shape with a size ranging from 1.83 nm to 26.15nm. The Fourier transmittance infrared spectrum (FTIR) confirms the presence of bio component in alive biomass of P. formosum which was responsible for the nanoparticles synthesis. The antimicrobial test revealed that AgNPs synthesized by P. formosum is capable to inhibit the growth of microorganisms. Conclusion: The results confirmed that AgNPs can act as a powerful antimicrobial agent against fish and human pathogens.
Molecular cloning, gene expression and functional expression of a phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase Osppc1 in developing rice seeds: implication of involvement in nitrogen accumulation

Abstract We isolated two cDNAs of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) from developing rice seeds, Osppc1 and Osppc3. The deduced amino acid sequences of both cDNAs share several conserved motifs with other non-photosynthetic PEPCases, and these common motifs are known to be functionally important to their regulatory properties. The deduced protein sequence of Osppc1 was clustered into a monocotyledonous plant-specific clade, and Osppc3 was clustered into a gramineous plant-specific clade in the phylogenetic tree of plant PEPCases. The mRNA accumulations of Osppc1 and Osppc3 were found in developing rice seeds throughout the grain-filling stages, although their expression patterns differed: Osppc1 was strongly expressed at 7 d after flowering, and Osppc3 was strongly expressed at 4 d after flowering. The kinetic properties of the Osppc1 recombinant protein were quite similar to those of maize root-type PEPCase, except that the sensitivity for malate at pH 7.3 was weaker. Mining rice microarray data, we observed that Osppc1 was co-expressed with aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase, which are involved in seed nitrogen metabolism. Moreover, reannotation of the co-expressed genes revealed that Osppc1, the two aminotransferases and the enolase were mapped on to the consecutive reaction from 2-phosphoglycerate to glutamate and pyruvate in the cytosol. These results imply that Osppc1 functions cooperatively with the two aminotransferases in the synthesis of amino acids that are used for storage protein synthesis in developing rice seeds.
Non-Linear and Spectral EEG Features during a Mental Calculation Task for Asynchronous BCI Control

In this paper a binary BCI control based on mental computation of arithmetic operations is evaluated. Data analysis was performed using information derived from ﬁve EEG channels, estimating the detrended ﬂuctuation analysis scaling exponent and the power on β band. The strategy (task and data analysis) was validated on ﬁfteen subjects realizing three experimental sessions on diﬀerent days. Performance was measured using the area under receiver operating characteristic curve obtaining 0 . 85 ± 0 . 079, 0 . 87 ± 0 . 071 and 0 . 87 ± 0 . 065 for each experimental session.
COVID-19 Fatality: A Cross-Sectional Study using Adaptive Lasso Penalized Sliced Inverse Regression

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronvirus, which was declared as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020 In this work, we conduct a cross-sectional study to investigate how the infection fatality rate (IFR) of COVID-19 may be associated with possible geographical or demographical features of the infected population We employ a multiple index model in combination with sliced inverse regression to facilitate the relationship between the IFR and possible risk factors To select associated features for the infection fatality rate, we utilize an adaptive Lasso penalized sliced inverse regression method, which achieves variable selection and sufficient dimension reduction simultaneously with unimportant features removed automatically We apply the proposed method to conduct a cross-sectional study for the COVID-19 data obtained from two time points of the outbreak
Forest certification audit results as potential changes in forest management in Canada.

An analysis of CSA, FSC, and SFI audit conditions was conducted identifying areas requiring operational changes to obtain certification. Audit reports for each standard differed in both number and focus of requirements. The FSC audits required more changes in environmental, social and economic themes, while CSA and SFI audit reports emphasized changes in management systems and aquatic ecosystems management. Although not a guarantee of changes in operations and management, the audit conditions point towards areas where forest certification can potentially have impacts on forest management.
Western Ligurian Sea and Genoa Canyon

Cuvier’s beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris G. Cuvier, 1823), is the only beaked whale regularly inhabiting the Mediterranean Sea area, where this species has been found associated with continental slope and with submarine canyons and seamounts areas. The Cuvier's beaked whale Mediterranean subpopulation was being re-assessed in early 2017 with the expectation that it would meet at least one of the Red List criteria for Vulnerable based on the results of basin-wide density surface modelling (Cañadas et al 2016). Cuvier’s beaked whales have been sighted in the Ligurian Sea especially in waters over and around canyons (Azzellino et al. 2008, 2011, 2012; Azzellino et al. In press; Azzellino & Lanfredi, 2015; D’Amico et al., 2003; Lanfredi et al., 2016). In particular, the Genoa Canyon area has been identified as a high-density area for Cuvier’s beaked whales (MacLeod and Mitchell, 2006; Moulins et al., 2007; Tepsich et al., 2014, Cañadas et al., 2016) with high site fidelity. The Gulf of Genoa is located in north-western portion of the Ligurian Sea and is contained within the “International Sanctuary for the Protection of Mediterranean Marine Mammals’’ also known as “Pelagos Sanctuary”. Several canyons characterize the Gulf of Genoa with very steep slope gradients extending from the shelf break to a depth of about 2000 m. The Genoa canyon is the largest and the most northern canyon of the western Mediterranean Sea. The Genoa canyon has its axis oriented northeast–southwest, with its two main canyons, the Polcevera and Bisagno, found in the head. These two canyons exhibit a linear along-axis topographic V shaped profile, are more than 700 m deep, 20 km wide and about are 60 km in length. Their steep walls suggest they are strongly affected by land sliding Area Size
Alarm pheromone mediates production of winged dispersal morphs in aphids

The aphid alarm pheromone (E)-β-farnesene (EBF) is the major example of defence communication in the insect world. Released when aphids are attacked by predators such as ladybirds or lacewing larvae, aphid alarm pheromone causes behavioural reactions such as walking or dropping off the host plant. In this paper, we show that the exposure to alarm pheromone also induces aphids to give birth to winged dispersal morphs that leave their host plants. We first demonstrate that the alarm pheromone is the only volatile compound emitted from aphid colonies under predator attack and that emission is proportional to predator activity. We then show that artificial alarm pheromone induces groups of aphids but not single individuals to produce a higher proportion of winged morphs among their offspring. Furthermore, aphids react more strongly to the frequency of pheromone release than the amount of pheromone delivered. We suggest that EBF leads to a ‘pseudo crowding’ effect whereby alarm pheromone perception causes increased walking behaviour in aphids resulting in an increase in the number of physical contacts between individuals, similar to what happens when aphids are crowded. As many plants also produce EBF, our finding suggests that aphids could be manipulated by plants into leaving their hosts, but they also show that the context-dependence of EBF-induced wing formation may hinder such an exploitation of intraspecific signalling by plants.
Accurate and Robust Teach and Repeat Navigation by Visual Place Recognition: A CNN Approach

We propose a novel teach-and-repeat navigation system, SSM-Nav, which is based on the output of the recently introduced SSM visual place recognition methodology. During the teach phase, a teleoperated wheeled robot stores in a database features of images taken along an arbitrary route. During the repeat phase or navigation, a CNN-based comparison of each captured image is performed against the database. With the help of a particle filter, the image associated with the most likely location is selected at each time and its horizontal offset with respect to the current scene used to correct the steering of the robot and to navigate. Indoor tests in our lab show a maximum error of less than 10cm and excellent robustness to perturbations such as drastic changes in illumination, lateral displacements, different starting positions, or even kidnapping. Preliminary outdoor tests on a 0.22km route show promising results, with an estimated maximum error of less than 25cm.
A comparison of flavour and odour compounds of onion, leek, garlic and Allium fistulosum in relation to germination of sclerotia of Sclerotium cepivorum

The low ability of cullivars of leek to stimulate germination of sclerotia of Sclerotium cepivorum compared with those of onion, garlic and Allium fistulosum appears to be associated with their relative iv small seeds, the lower levels of flavour and odour precursors in their roots and the relatively high proportion of the inactive methyl radical in their flavour and odour profiles.
A study of attitude of secondary school teachers towards teaching profession in relation to certain demographic variables

Teaching is a profession which based upon certain disciplines, principles, existing body of knowledge and attitude. The present study examines the attitude of secondary school teachers towards teaching profession in relation to their gender, marital status, type of school and experiences. The main focus of the study is whether these aforesaid demographic variables have significant effect on attitude of the teachers or not. A sample of 255 secondary school teachers collected by random sampling from different types of school of Aligarh district.S. P. Ahluwalia Teacher Attitude Inventory (TAI) used by the investigator for the collection of data. Inferential and descriptive statistic use to analyse and interprets the data. The study reveals that above mentioned variables does not found significant effects on the attitude of secondary school teachers towards teaching practice.The investigator also found that attitude of secondary school teachers towards teaching intact with professional ethics and principles.
Observation and numerical simulation of the marine meteorology elements and air-sea fluxes at Yongxing Island in September 2013

The variation of marine meteorology elements and the heat flux at Yongxing Island were investigated in September 2013 using observational data collected by the Yongxing Island Air–Sea Flux Tower. Heat flux was measured through eddy covariance and estimated using the bulk flux method. The traditional thirty-minute average method was employed to analyze the eddy covariance data. A TOGA–CORE 3.0 Algorithm was used to estimate the bulk flux. Capacity of the Advanced Weather Research and Forecasting model to simulate the variations in marine meteorological elements was evaluated using the observational data obtained during the same period. Observations suggested a response by the different parameters that were synchronous to the retreat of the monsoon around 7 September 2013. Surface air masses became cool and dry, and the downward short (long) wave radiation was reduced (increased). The Weather Research and Forecasting model simulated the variation of the atmospheric elements well, as observed by the Air-Sea Flux Tower in September 2013. The model was very accurate in simulating surface wind, radiation, and scalar–humidity. However, it failed to simulate the dramatic variations of surface air temperature, though it successfully reproduced the retreat of the summer monsoon, but weakened during the onset of the typhoon. The sensible flux simulated through the model was between the fluxes estimated through the bulk flux and eddy covariance flux. It also overestimated the latent heat flux at times, particularly after 20 September.
Primary, secondary and tertiary syntypes and virtual lectotype designation in zoological nomenclature, with comments on the recent designation of a lectotype for Elephas maximus Linnaeus, 1758

The role of primary, secondary and tertiary syntypes in solving nomenclatural problems, especially those related to old nomina from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, is discussed. The very useful but rarely implemented procedure of designating virtual lectotypes, i.e., specimens that can be traced as belonging to the original syntypic series but currently non-extant (e.g., lost, destroyed, misplaced, or originally being a live animal of which only an illustration remains), is here highlighted as potentially opening the way for a neotype designation that better suits stability in zoological nomenclature. This is particularly true when mixed syntypic series, i.e., those comprising specimens belonging to more than one species, are involved. We illustrate the advantages of this procedure by showing that a secondary syntype of Elephas maximus Linnaeus, 1758, although currently missing, would have been a better candidate to lectotype designation than the still available specimen actually selected recently as the lectotype of this species based on molecular data. We welcome the use of molecular data to solve nomenclatural problems, but point out that a thorough knowledge of the International Code of zoological Nomenclature is essential if the best decisions are to be taken.
THE BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE (BIOACTIVE) COMPOUNDS IN TOMATO (Lycopersicon escu Lentum M ILL.) AS A FUNCTION OF GENOTYPE

mlAdenovic, J., G. AcAmovic–Đokovic, r. PAvlovic, m. ZdrAvkovic, Z. Girek and J. Zdr Avkovic, 2014. The biologically active (bioactive) compounds in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) as a function of genotype. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 20: 877-882 The 15 cherry tomato genotypes from the institute for v egetable crops, Smederevska Palanka were grouped in order to define the start material for breeding. Genotypes were grouped according to: average content of carotenoids (lycopene, β-carotene), total sugars and total acidity in tomato fruits, through P cA (Principal component Analysis). correlation matrix showed low, both positive and negative correlation among the researched traits. The level of lycopene was negatively cor related to β-carotene, l-ascorbic acid and total acidity, while it was in positive correlation with total sugars. β-carotene was negatively correlated to l-ascorbic acid and total sugars, but in positive correlation with total acidity, while it was negatively correlated with total sugars. Total sugars were negatively correlated with total acids. The first three components explained 78.55%, while first two components explained 62.07% of total variability. Genotypes on the positive side of both main compo nents (Pc1 and Pc2) had the highest mean values of l-ascorbic acid (G k67, Gk64, Gk33, Gk19), while genotypes with high est mean values of total sugars were on the negative side of both components (G
Low SARS-CoV-2 sero-prevalence based on anonymized residual sero-survey before and after first wave measures in British Columbia, Canada, March-May 2020

Background: The province of British Columbia (BC) has been recognized for successful SARS-CoV-2 control, with surveillance data showing amongst the lowest case and death rates in Canada. We estimate sero-prevalence for two periods flanking the start (March) and end (May) of first-wave mitigation measures in BC. Methods: Serial cross-sectional sampling was conducted using anonymized residual sera obtained from an outpatient laboratory network, including children and adults in the Greater Vancouver Area (population ~3 million) where community attack rates were expected to be highest. Screening used two chemiluminescent immuno-assays for spike (S1) and nucleocapsid antibodies. Samples sero-positive on either screening assay were assessed by a third assay targeting the S1 receptor binding domain plus a neutralization assay. Age-standardized sero-prevalence estimates were based on dual-assay positivity. The May sero-prevalence estimate was extrapolated to the source population to assess surveillance under-ascertainment, quantified as the ratio of estimated infections versus reported cases. Results: Serum collection dates spanned March 5-13 and May 15-27, 2020. In March, two of 869 specimens were dual-assay positive, with age-standardized sero-prevalence of 0.28% (95%CI=0.03-0.95). Neither specimen had detectable neutralizing antibodies. In May, four of 885 specimens were dual-assay positive, with age-standardized sero-prevalence of 0.55% (95%CI=0.15-1.37%). All four specimens had detectable neutralizing antibodies. We estimate ~8 times more infections than reported cases. Conclusions: Less than 1% of British Columbians had been infected with SARS-CoV-2 when first-wave mitigation measures were relaxed in May 2020. Our findings indicate successful suppression of community transmission in BC, but also substantial residual susceptibility. Further sero-survey snapshots are planned as the pandemic unfolds.
NEW DYNAMIC ANALYSIS METHODS FOR RAILWAY BRIDGES IN CODES IAPF AND EUROCODE 1

Bridges and viaducts for high speed trains are subject to demanding dynamic loads, as to the classical effect of the moving (single) load the dynamic resonance appears for speeds above220 km/h. The classical methods for evaluation of dynamic impact factors available in engineering, reflected in the codes of practise existing until recently, do not cover this possibility of resonance. The design of such structures requires dynamic calculations which are the object of this paper. In it we cover a general revision of available methods for calculation, as well as a description of the provisions in the new (draft) codes IAPF [13] and Eurocode 1 for actions on bridges [22]. Additionally, some recent research results obtained by our group are presented for high speed traffic loads on bridges. The object of these studies is diverse: sensitivity to integration timestep in modal analysis, simplified torsion analysis, evaluation of the bridge-vehicle interaction in isostatic bridges and a proposal of a simplified method for dynamic analysis of portal frames. All of these topics originate from issues in the application of the new regulations for high speed lines, and are oriented toward being of practical use to designers of railway bridges. / J.M. Goicolea , J. Domínguez , J.A. Navarro and F. Gabaldón .