Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Network Models Predict That Pyramidal Neuron Hyperexcitability and Synapse Loss in the dlPFC Lead to Age-Related Spatial Working Memory Impairment in Rhesus Monkeys

Behavioral studies have shown spatial working memory impairment with aging in several animal species, including humans. Persistent activity of layer 3 pyramidal dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) neurons during delay periods of working memory tasks is important for encoding memory of the stimulus. In vitro studies have shown that these neurons undergo significant age-related structural and functional changes, but the extent to which these changes affect neural mechanisms underlying spatial working memory is not understood fully. Here we confirm previous studies showing impairment on the Delayed Recognition Span Task in the spatial condition (DRSTsp), and increased in vitro action potential firing rates (hyperexcitability), across the adult life span of the rhesus monkey. We use a bump attractor model to predict how empirically observed changes in the aging dlPFC affect performance on the Delayed Response Task (DRT), and introduce a model of memory retention in the DRSTsp. Persistent activity—and, in turn, cognitive performance—in both models was affected much more by hyperexcitability of pyramidal neurons than by a loss of synapses. Our DRT simulations predict that additional changes to the network, such as increased firing of inhibitory interneurons, are needed to account for lower firing rates during the DRT with aging reported in vivo. Synaptic facilitation was an essential feature of the DRSTsp model, but it did not compensate fully for the effects of the other age-related changes on DRT performance. Modeling pyramidal neuron hyperexcitability and synapse loss simultaneously led to a partial recovery of function in both tasks, with the simulated level of DRSTsp impairment similar to that observed in aging monkeys. This modeling work integrates empirical data across multiple scales, from synapse counts to cognitive testing, to further our understanding of aging in non-human primates.
A Review of the Effects of Climate Change on Chelonians

Climate change is occurring at an unprecedented rate and has begun to modify the distribution and phenology of organisms worldwide. Chelonians are expected to be particularly vulnerable due to limited dispersal capabilities as well as widespread temperature-dependent sex determination. The number of papers published about the effects of climate change on turtles has increased exponentially over the last decade; here, I review the data from peer-reviewed publications to assess the likely impacts of climate change on individuals, populations, and communities. Based upon these studies future research should focus on: (1) Individual responses to climate change, particularly with respect to thermal biology, phenology, and microhabitat selection; (2) improving species distribution models by incorporating fine-scale environmental variables as well as physiological processes; (3) identifying the consequences of skewed sex ratios; and (4) assessments of community resilience and the development of methods to mitigate climate change impacts. Although detailed management recommendations are not possible at this point, careful consideration should be given regarding how to manage low vagility species as habitats shift poleward. In the worst-case scenario, proactive management may be required in order to ensure that widespread losses do not occur.
Reproductive potential of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.): review of the most important influential factors.

European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.) is the most important game-management species not only in Slovenia but also in other European countries. For effective game management it is crucial to have an understanding of the ecology and population parameters that shape the population dynamics of the species. Knowledge about the variability of its reproductive potential, i.e. the proportion of fertilized females, litter size and fawn sex ratio, apart from the parameters that are already in use, would be very beneficial for methods of control as it could lead to more efficient adaptive game management, including proper planning of culling measures. Factors affecting the reproductive potential of roe deer include individual (particularly maternal phenotype, i.e. body size, body mass, physical condition), population (e.g. population density, demographic structure, social stress, genetics) and environmental characteristics (habitat quality, weather conditions, interspecific interactions, etc.). The final output of reproductive potential is the sum of all influencing factors and several combinations between them and therefore varies among different populations and environments. Higher densities can lower roe deer fertility rates and furthermore number of fawns per doe. Litter size is influenced by doe’s body mass, as heavier females have more fawns in a litter. There are some contradictory findings in studies of sex ratio variation in connection to female body mass. Litter size can also be influenced by age of does, as primiparous females have smaller litters than adults, but also decreases with animal senescence. Roe deer populations from northern environments (Scandinavia) have higher body masses and larger litters than those from the south (e.g. Italy, Spain), which shows the importance of environment for roe deer reproduction. However, in Slovenia this issue has been neglected until now. In the following report we present an overview of the recent European research on factors affecting the fertility and reproductive potential of roe deer. Similar research in Slovenia would also be valuable, as roe deer is exposed to various environmental factors in this area. In addition, it is also involved in unique interspecific interactions that have not been studied in recent foreign research. Furthermore, Slovene distinguishing databases provide an outstanding platform for proficient understanding of different effects on roe deer yield in Central Europe.
ExploitingWikipedia Categorization for Predicting Age and Gender of Blog

For privacy reasons, personally identifiable information like age and gender of people is not available publicly. However accurate prediction of such information has important applications in the fields of advertising, forensics and business intelligence. Existing methods for this problem have focused on classifier learning using content based features like word n-grams and style based features like Part of Speech (POS) n-grams. Two major drawbacks of previous approaches are: (1) they do not consider the semantic relation between words, and (2) they do not handle polysemy. We propose a novel method to address these drawbacks by representing the document using Wikipedia concepts and category information. Experimental results show that classifiers learned using such features along with previously used features help us achieve significantly better accuracy compared to the state-of-the-art methods. Indeed, feature selection shows that our novel features are more effective than previously used content based features.
Identification of hsa_circ_0001821 as a Novel Diagnostic Biomarker in Gastric Cancer via Comprehensive Circular RNA Profiling

Background: The morbidity and mortality of gastric cancer (GC) remain high worldwide. With the advent of the Human Genome Sequencing Project, circular RNAs (circRNAs) have attracted widespread attention in cancer research due to their stable ring structure. Our aim was to identify differentially expressed circRNAs in GC and explore their potential roles in GC diagnosis, treatment, and prognostic prediction. Methods: Large-scale gene screening was performed in three pairs of GC tissues and adjacent noncancerous tissues using high-throughput sequencing. The expression of hsa_circ_0001821 was detected in 80 pairs of tissue samples by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Stability of the ring structure of hsa_circ_0001821 RNA was verified by exonuclease digestion assay, and its diagnostic value was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. In addition, the location of hsa_circ_0001821 in GC cells was detected by nucleoplasm separation assay. Results: A total of 25,303 circRNAs were identified, among which 2,007 circRNAs were differentially expressed (fold change > 2.0, P < 0.05). Further validation disclosed that hsa_circ_0001821 was significantly downregulated in the 80 pairs of GC tissues and 30 whole-blood specimens obtained from the GC patients. The specificity of hsa_circ_0001821 in GC was higher than that in other solid tumors. In addition, hsa_circ_0001821 was relatively stable after RNA exonuclease digestion. Clinicopathological parameter analysis showed that hsa_circ_0001821 was negatively correlated with tumor depth (r = −0.255, P = 0.022) and lymph node metastasis (r = −0.235, P = 0.036). Area under the curve (AUC) analysis showed that the diagnostic efficiency of circulating hsa_circ_0001821 in distinguishing GC patients was higher than that in GC tissues (0.872, 95%CI: 0.767–0.977 vs. 0.792, 95%CI: 0.723–0.861). Combined use of circulating hsa_circ_0001821 with the existing tumor markers yielded the largest AUC of 0.933. Finally, hsa_circ_0001821 was demonstrated to mainly locate in the cytoplasm, implying that it played a potential regulatory role in GC at the posttranscriptional level. Conclusion: Hsa_circ_0001821 may prove to be a new and promising potential biomarker for GC diagnosis.
Understanding revisions to density forecasts: an application to the Survey of Professional Forecasters

We explain that revisions to successive density forecasts of the same outcome, as measured by the Kullback-Leibler Information Criterion, need not be unpredictable, unlike those to conditional mean forecasts, even when the forecaster uses information efficiently. However one can still test the efficiency of fixed-event conditional density forecasts, similarly to conditional mean forecasts, by testing the independence of revisions to an event forecast extracted from the density forecast. In an application we thereby test the efficiency of the fixed-event density forecasts of U.S. inflation and GDP growth supplied by the Survey of Professional Forecasters.
EFFECTS OF SOME CHEMICAL, ORGANIC AND BIO FERTILIZERS ON SEED YIELD AND YIELD COMPONENTS OF KAFER EL-SHAIKH COWPEA VARIETY AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH RUST DISEASE INFECTION.

Two field experiments were carried out during the two successive summer seasons of 2014 and 2015 at the experimental farm of the Environmental Studies And Research Institute, University of Sadat City to study the effect of some chemical, organic and bio fertilizers on seed yield and its components as well as rust disease infection of Kafer EL-Shaikh cawpea cultivar. seven treatments were used in addition to control treatment. Results indicate the treatment of 50% NPK +Rhizobia + Homic + Microbin and 50% NPK + Rhizobia + Homic were the best among all tested treatments where both of them gave an average high-yield and some of its components compared with the other treatments in both seasonsAs for rust disease, the low percentage of infection has always been linked to the presence of humic acid and in some cases with the compost, on the other hand, the ratio was high percentage of infection in most cases linked to the existence of chemical fertilizer and sometimes the presence of rhizobia, or both together. The treatment 50% NPK + Rhizobia +Homic+Microbin was the best while it give the lowest percentage of infection under the four periods in the two seasons. The recommended added rates were as follows: 50% NPK. (16.5kg N+ 30 kg P2O5 + 25kg K2O) +2kg commercial rhizobia + 4L commercial homic +5L commercial microben / feddan.
Structural Basis of H2B Ubiquitination-Dependent H3K4 Methylation by COMPASS

The COMPASS complex represents the prototype of the SET1/MLL family of methyltransferases that controls gene transcription by H3K4 methylation (H3K4me). Although H2B monoubiquitination (H2Bub) is well-known as a prerequisite histone mark for COMPASS activity, how the H2Bub-H3K4me crosstalk is catalyzed by COMPASS remains unclear. Here, we report the cryo-EM structures of an extended COMPASS catalytic module (CM) bound to the H2Bub and free nucleosome. The COMPASS CM clamps onto the nucleosome disk-face via an extensive interface to capture the flexible H3 N-terminal tail. The interface also sandwiches a critical Set1 arginine-rich motif (ARM) that auto-inhibits COMPASS. Unexpectedly, without enhancing COMPASS-nucleosome interaction, H2Bub activates the enzymatic assembly by packing against Swd1 and alleviating the inhibitory effect of the Set1 ARM upon fastening it to the acidic patch. By unmasking the spatial configuration of the COMPASS-H2Bub-nucleosome assembly, our studies establish the structural framework for understanding the long-studied H2Bub-H3K4me histone modification crosstalk.
Coping strategies in captive capuchin monkeys ( Sapajus spp ) ? ”

Studies on diverse species indicate the existence of individual differences in stress coping strategies labelled as 'proactive' and 'reactive'. Identifying taxonomic distribution of such coping strategies is fundamental to evolutionary models and to management of captive animals. Capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp) are neotropical primates noted for their cognitive skills and behavioural plasticity. The capuchin clade faces increasing threats from Human Induced Rapid Environment Change, and a growing number of animals are kept in rescue centers and zoos. Based on an ethogram with 28 behavioural categories, we employed Principal Component Analysis to explore differences in behaviour potentially indicative of stress (BPIS) in a sample of 123 captive brown capuchins. We identified five principal components summarising BPIS and labelled as: Restless, Self-narcotizing/fear, Self-protection, Stereotyped, and Help-seek. Multivariate GLM and regression analyses indicated no sex differences. It was not possible to map the five components onto the five personality dimensions recently described for capuchins. However, two of the patterns (Restless and Self-protection) parallel the two coping strategies described in several other species (Proactive and Reactive), and may reflect stress-reactivity that is conserved across species. Dear Dr. Sylvie Cloutier and Dr Per Jensen, Editors-in-chief Applied Animal Behaviour Science I am submitting the manuscript entitled “Coping strategies in captive capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp)? ” with 7,379 words (including references) and six tables. Major revisions were conducted previously. This current version contains minor revisions requested by the editor, which were mostly spelling and formatting changes. All
Researcher Emotions as Data, a Tool and a Factor in Professional Development

The purpose of this paper is to explore and reflect on my own emotions while carrying out a research process and on their effect on the research and on myself as a researcher. After a brief literature review of the ways in which researcher emotions are perceived in qualitative research in the field of social sciences, I offer a reflective account of my own experience and suggest that researcher emotions can serve both as additional data and as an analyzing tool, as well as being a factor in the professional development of researchers.
PALEOGENE ABYSSAL BENTHIC FORAMINIFERS , EASTERN SOUTH ATLANTIC 1

Benthic foraminifers from Holes 522, 523, and 524 of DSDP Leg 73 (eastern South Atlantic) were quantitatively analyzed by using three methods: analysis of local originations and extinctions, factor analysis of species relative abundances, and population structure analyses of species diversity and equitability. The results of all three forms of analysis are compatible and show a sharp faunal change in the late Eocene. This change involves an almost complete cessation of local originations, a small increase in local extinctions, a dramatic shift in species relative abundances, and a sharp increase in species equitability. Sporadic small-scale variations in the same parameters during the middle Eocene precede the major change. These results indicate initiation of the psychrosphere in the latest Eocene, with precursor events in the middle Eocene. The faunal evidence is consistent with a northeast Atlantic source for the cold bottom water.
Temperature and light requirements for germination of species of Velloziaceae from different Brazilian rocky outcrops

Germination is the fi rst step to successful plant establishment. Th e range of factors that promote germination varies among species. Light and temperature requirements for the germination of species of Velloziaceae were investigated. Seeds of Barbacenia fl ava, B. markgrafi i, B. purpurea, B. williamsi, Vellozia alata, V. compacta, V. glochidea and V. plicata were collected from rocky outcrops located in diff erent Brazilian states and were incubated for germination at 10 to 40 °C in light or dark conditions. Seed mass and length were measured for each species. In general, all species exhibited a high germination percentage at temperatures of 15-40 °C in the light, with the optimal temperature being 25-30 °C for species of Barbacenia and 30 °C for species of Vellozia. Barbacenia fl ava, V. compacta and, particularly, B. markgrafi i, germinated in the dark. In contrast, B. purpurea exhibited an absolute requirement for light and the most restricted range of temperature to germinate. Germination responses and seed traits were related to the microclimate where the species were collected, and germinability in darkness is likely a common trait for species of Velloziaceae from the Espinhaço Range.
Inducing a measure of phonetic similarity from dialect variation

Structuralists famously observed that language is "un syst^ eme o^ u tout se tient" (Meillet, 1903, p. 407), insisting that the system of relations of linguistic units was more important than their concrete content. This study attempts to derive content from relations, in particular phonetic (acoustic) content from the distribution of alternative pronunciations used in dierent geographical varieties. It proceeds from data documenting language variation, examining six dialect atlases each containing the phonetic transcriptions of the same sets of words at hundreds of sites. We collect the correspondences via an alignment procedure, and then apply an informationtheoretic measure, pointwise mutual information, assigning smaller segment distances to segments which frequently correspond. We iterate alignment and information-theoretic distance assignment until both stabilize and we evaluate the quality of the phonetic distances obtained by comparing them to acoustic vowel distances. For all dialect datasets (Dutch, German, Gabon Bantu, U.S. English, Tuscan and Bulgarian) we nd strong signicant correlations between the induced phonetic distances and the acoustic distances, illustrating the usefulness of the method in deriving valid phonetic distances
How do freshwater fish sperm find the egg? The physicochemical factors guiding the gamete encounters of externally fertilizing freshwater fish

The lifespan of spermatozoa from externally fertilizing freshwater ﬁsh ranges from a few seconds to several minutes, depending on the species. External factors, such as temperature, background ﬂows and ion composition, play an important role in fertilization success. Speciﬁc mechanisms guiding spermatozoa appear to be essential to maximize the sperm – egg encounter under these strenuous conditions. Although some existing data support the hypothesis that both the ovarian ﬂuid and the eggs may release chemoattractants that signiﬁcantly affect spermatozoa behaviour and the fertilization outcome, this hypothesis is still open to debate, as the existence of freshwater ﬁsh spermatozoa chemotaxis has yet to be demonstrated; in addition, speciﬁc mechanisms supporting spermatozoa guidance and gamete selection have not been elucidated. Is the natural selection of gametes determined by a combination of different physicochemical phenomena? Alterna-tively, is the natural selection of species-speciﬁc gametes biased towards the spe-cies-speciﬁc guidance mechanisms of their natural landscape? These questions have received more attention as new studies have revealed potential, distinct guidance mechanisms in freshwater ﬁsh reproduction. In this review, we discuss the empirical studies supporting different hypotheses about freshwater ﬁsh gamete guidance and highlight the synergistic combination of experiments and biomathematical modelling to explore these questions. Finally, we discuss the challenges in understanding the mechanisms behind sperm guidance in freshwater ﬁsh species, and we suppose that knowledge about the mechanisms that underlie spermatozoa selection and guidance in freshwater ﬁsh species may elucidate the impact of the traditional aquaculture practice of artiﬁcial fertilization on progeny quality and species sustainability. plasma
Arabidopsis MDN1 Is Involved in the Establishment of a Normal Seed Proteome and Seed Germination

Seed germination and formation are the beginning and ending, respectively, of a plant life cycle. These two processes are under fine regulation by the internal genetic information. Previously, we demonstrated that Arabidopsis MIDASIN 1 (MDN1) is required for ribosome biogenesis, and its dysfunction leads to pleiotropic developmental phenotypes, including impaired embryogenesis and slow seed germination. In this study, we further found that the weak mutant of MDN1, mdn1-1, exhibits an increased seed size phenotype. Seed proteomic analysis reveals that a number of proteins involved in seed development and response to external environments are mis-regulated by the MDN1 dysfunction. Many 2S seed storage proteins (SSPs) and late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins are over-accumulated in the dry seeds of mdn1-1. Further, some genes encoding seed storage reserves are also upregulated in mdn1-1 seedlings. More interestingly, abscisic acid-insensitive 5 (ABI5) is over-accumulated in mdn1-1 seeds, and the loss of its function partially rescues the low seed germination rate of mdn1-1. Together, this study further demonstrates that MDN1 is essential for establishing a normal seed proteome, and its mutation triggers ABI5-mediated repression of seed germination.
Mutation at Different Sites of Metal Transporter Gene OsNramp5 Affects Cd Accumulation and Related Agronomic Traits in Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

OsNramp5 is a key gene involved in the control of the uptake of Cd, Mn, and other metal ions by rice root cells. The functional deficiency of this gene can significantly reduce the accumulation of Cd in rice grains, but the effects of its mutation on agronomic traits such as yield and quality have not been investigated comprehensively yet. In the present study, three Huanghuazhan-based OsNramp5 mutants [LCH1 (Low Cadmium Huanghuazhan 1), LCH2 (Low Cadmium Huanghuazhan 2), and LCH3 (Low Cadmium Huanghuazhan 3)] were obtained using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) technology. The mutation-type analysis showed that LCH1, LCH2, and LCH3 encoded defective OsNramp5 protein sequences containing only 76aa, 176aa, and 266aa, respectively. The determination of metal content and the statistics of related agronomic traits revealed that the functionally deficient OsNramp5 not only significantly reduced the accumulation of Cd in the grains of the mutants but also affected rice yield and quality. However, with the decrease of OsNramp5 mutation degree, its effects on chlorenchyma Mn accumulation, yield, and quality were also diminished. Additionally, we also found that the increase in the concentration of Mn in the soil restored the phenotype of the declined yield and quality due to the functional deficiency of OsNramp5. Our findings provide novel insights into and new materials for breeding rice varieties with low Cd accumulation and excellent agronomic traits under severe Cd pollution environment.