Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trichodina marplatensis sp. n. (Ciliophora: Trichodinidae) from Combjelly, Mnemiopsis mccradyi (Mayer, 1900) in Argentine Sea

Summary. A new species of trichodinid, Trichodina marplatensis sp. n. , found on the comb plates of the coastal ctenophore Mnemiopsis mccradyi is described. Only three species were previously reported from coelenterates, i.e., Trichodina pediculus, T. zambeziensis and T. ctenophorii. This new ciliate is compared with other similar congeners including T. ctenophorii because it was reported from the same host. T. marplatensis differs from T. ctenophorii by having denticles with broad club-shaped blades and wide S-shaped rays, rather than falcate blades and thin, straight rays. The denticles of T. marplatensis are not similarly shaped to those of other described trichodinids. The new species is the first reported from a planktonic host in the Argentine Sea and the second species found associated with ctenophores.
Stage-wise Weak Orthogonal Matching Pursuit Reconstruction of Power System Disturbance Signal

Energy Internet has put forward higher requirements for the safety and stability of the power system. Power system disturbance analysis is an important content of monitoring system operation. It was recently shown that the compressed sensing theory can be applied in power system disturbance signal to handle with mass data problem which was caused by the demand of high sampling rate in power system. In this paper, we extend this approach and propose a stage-wise weak orthogonal matching pursuit algorithm that greatly improves compression rate of disturbance signal and reduces the demand of transmission and storage. To this end, power system disturbance signals are represented by sparse vectors and projected by measurement matrix at first. The reconstruction algorithm uses weak selection of atoms to improve the reconstruction speed and cope with signals of different sparsity. Meanwhile, the threshold of selection is designed as the correlation function of atoms and residual, which reduces the requirement of measurement matrix and improves the reconstruction accuracy. Simulations on different kinds of power system disturbance signals show that this algorithm can improve compression ratio greatly with low error.
The importance of incorporating imperfect detection in biodiversity assessments: a case study of small mammals in an Australian region

Aim Assessments of biodiversity are an essential requirement of conservation management planning. Species distributional modelling is a popular approach to quantifying biodiversity whereby occurrence data are related to environmental covariates. An important confounding factor that is often overlooked in the development of such models is uncertainty due to imperfect detection. Here, I demonstrate how an analytical approach that accounts for the bias due to imperfect detection can be applied retrospectively to an existing biodiversity survey data set to produce more realistic estimates of species distributions and unbiased covariate relationships.
Mechanically Tunable MTM-EBG-based Bandstop Filter

Tunable filters are increasingly popular components in telecommunication systems as they are flexible and adaptable to changing conditions. A tunable bandstop filter based on the recently proposed metamaterial-based electromagnetic bandgap structure (MTM-EBG) is demonstrated here that relies on a single mechanically tuned element. This structure, without any tuning mechanism attached, has a simulated 10-dB transmission absolute bandwidth (ABW) of 225 MHz centered at 4.18 GHz. It is then made tunable by placing a dielectric plate on the surface of the MTM-EBG and varying the position of the plate; this changes the reactive loading and subsequently shifts the response. Using a plate of RO4350B, a tuning range from 3.43 to 4.05 GHz with a 13.6% variation in ABW is demonstrated in simulation.
Guided screen for synergistic three-drug combinations

Combinations of three or more drugs are routinely used in various medical fields such as clinical oncology and infectious diseases to prevent resistance or to achieve synergistic therapeutic benefits. The very large number of possible high-order drug combinations presents a formidable challenge for discovering synergistic drug combinations. Here, we establish a guided screen to discover synergistic three-drug combinations. Using traditional checkerboard and recently developed diagonal methods, we experimentally measured all pairwise interactions among eight compounds in Erwinia amylovora, the causative agent of fire blight. Showing that synergy measurements of these two methods agree, we predicted synergy/antagonism scores for all possible three-drug combinations by averaging the synergy scores of pairwise interactions. We validated these predictions by experimentally measuring 35 three-drug interactions. Therefore, our guided screen for discovering three-drug synergies is (i) experimental screen of all pairwise interactions using diagonal method, (ii) averaging pairwise scores among components to predict three-drug interaction scores, (iii) experimental testing of top predictions. In our study, this strategy resulted in a five-fold reduction in screen size to find the most synergistic three-drug combinations.
Factor analysis of physicochemical properties of 63 rice varieties

A set of 63 Chinese-adapted non-waxy rice varieties of the indica and japonica subspecies was measured to extract simple indicators for rice quality evaluation. Approximate methods including amylose content (AC), gel consistency (GC), gelatinisation temperature (as measured by alkali spreading value, ASV), protein content, etc and instrumental methods including differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), viscoamylography (with a Rapid Visco-Analyser, RVA) and texture profile analysis were adopted. Four sets of data, ie ordinary testing, flour pasting property, texture of the cooled flour gel, and visual appearance of whole milled grain and flour, were obtained and analysed for mutual relationships. Wide variations were observed in most of the measurements, eg AC (ranging from 6.3 to 28.2%), gelatinisation temperature (T p , 65.8-83.0°C), protein content (7.2-13.5%), pasting (peak viscosity, 92-319RVU) and texture (hardness, 2.5-24.4g) properties and grain appearance (grain length, 4.8-8.4mm), to mention a few. Significant correlations were also detected among the four sets of data of the rice varieties, such as AC versus SB (setback viscosity) with a correlation coefficient of -0.73, AC versus HRD (gel hardness) of 0.73, HRD versus FRC (gel fracturability) of 0.99, etc. Generally, the instrumental measurements including DSC, pasting and texture properties were highly correlated with the three ordinarily used indicators of rice quality, ie AC, GC and ASV. However, there was a lack of correlation between pasting properties and textural parameters, implying effects on gel texture of retrogradation of starch after cooling of the paste. Six factors were computed by principal component factor analysis that explained 80% of the variation in the traits, among which amylose content-related (30.8%), gelatinisation temperature-related (14.9%) and grain appearance-related (11.1%) factors were most important. Gel pasting properties evaluated by RVA, and flour colour played less important roles in explaining total variation (accounting for a combined 23% of the eigenvalue loading). This report can be used to identify predictive parameters for rapid screening of rice genotypes for eating quality. Le manque de methodes efficaces d'evaluation de la qualite empeche l'amelioration de la qualite du riz en Chine. Cette etude evalue les attributs des tests directs sur les grains et des mesures instrumentales sur quelques varietes de riz pour extraire des indicateurs simples d'evaluation de sa qualite. La teneur en amylose, la temperature de gelatinisation et l'apparence du grain sont les facteurs les plus importants.
Female Callosobruchus maculatus can maximize long-term fitness through polyandry

Females often mate with multiple males even when a single mating is sufficient to fertilize their eggs. Remating can lead to direct and indirect benefits for females, but these benefits trade-off against the potential costs associated with polyandry. There is a growing understanding that not all males are equal in their ability to deliver sperm to the site of fertilization. Such differences can arise both from environmental (e.g., mating history) and intrinsic (genetic) sources of variation. Most studies that investigate female fitness control male mating history to overcome such effects, but this control may bias interpretations of the benefits of polyandry. Here, we tried to avoid overestimating the benefits of polyandry that might accrue from mating repeatedly with virgin males. To do this, we quantified 6 components of fitness in female bruchid beetles, Callosobruchus maculatus, that were mated between 1 and 4 times to males with unknown mating histories, either in isolation or with rival males present. As copulation number increased, fecundity, offspring production, and egg-to-adult survival declined. In contrast to these short-term costs, the probability that a female remained completely infertile was highest at 1 copulation, and geometric mean fitness peaked after 3 copulations. Pericopulatory harassment by males did not affect female productivity. There was a significant interaction between this harassment and copulation number on longevity such that harassed females mating 2 or 3 times, and females mating twice in isolation, died soonest. Our results suggest that females may be selected to mate multiply despite short-term costs to fitness.
Editorial Comment: Techniques - Ultrasound-guided percutaneous nephrolithotomy: How we do it

Ultrasound-guided percutaneous nephrolithotomy (US-PNL) has gained popularity in many parts of the world in the past few years (1). It may be used in combination with fluoroscopy to reduce ionizing radiation exposure or replacing fluoroscopy to completely eliminate exposure to radiation during PNL (2). However, this technique can be challenging to learn. This article provides some interesting key points for those who would like to start a US-PNL program. Despite other authors claim no different results for obese vs. non-obese patients (3), according to the authors, the ideal candidate to start a learning curve of US-PNL is a healthy non-obese patient whose imaging demonstrates a non-staghorn calculus and at least moderate hydronephrosis. The authors described in details eight steps for a successful US-PNL. There are many advantages of the use of ultrasound in PNL and this technique should be encouraged. However, some anatomic details of the collecting system are missed by ultrasound. Therefore, it is recommended to progressively convert fluoroscopy to ultrasound guidance step-by-step as one gains experience. More important than completely eliminate exposure to radiation is to keep patient safe from injuries due to suboptimal image guidance. Vol. 46 (5): 845-846, September October, 2020
Herpes Simplex Virus Processivity Factor UL42 Imparts Increased DNA-Binding Specificity to the Viral DNA Polymerase and Decreased Dissociation from Primer-Template without Reducing the Elongation Rate

ABSTRACT Herpes simplex virus DNA polymerase consists of a catalytic subunit, Pol, and a processivity subunit, UL42, that, unlike other established processivity factors, binds DNA directly. We used gel retardation and filter-binding assays to investigate how UL42 affects the polymerase-DNA interaction. The Pol/UL42 heterodimer bound more tightly to DNA in a primer-template configuration than to single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), while Pol alone bound more tightly to ssDNA than to DNA in a primer-template configuration. The affinity of Pol/UL42 for ssDNA was reduced severalfold relative to that of Pol, while the affinity of Pol/UL42 for primer-template DNA was increased ∼15-fold relative to that of Pol. The affinity of Pol/UL42 for circular double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) was reduced drastically relative to that of UL42, but the affinity of Pol/UL42 for short primer-templates was increased modestly relative to that of UL42. Pol/UL42 associated with primer-template DNA ∼2-fold faster than did Pol and dissociated ∼10-fold more slowly, resulting in a half-life of 2 h and a subnanomolar Kd. Despite such stable binding, rapid-quench analysis revealed that the rates of elongation of Pol/UL42 and Pol were essentially the same, ∼30 nucleotides/s. Taken together, these studies indicate that (i) Pol/UL42 is more likely than its subunits to associate with DNA in a primer-template configuration rather than nonspecifically to either ssDNA or dsDNA, and (ii) UL42 reduces the rate of dissociation from primer-template DNA but not the rate of elongation. Two models of polymerase-DNA interactions during replication that may explain these findings are presented.
The Presence of Genes for Resistance against Verticillium dahliae in Italian Tomato Landraces

Summary A sample of about 169 tomato landraces of varying fruit type and of diverse provenance was tested for reaction to infection with Verticillium dahliae, the causative pathogen of Verticillium wilt. Some individuals of the ‘Sorrentino’ landrace were as resistant as ‘Florida Ve’, whereas certain populations of the ‘Ligure’, rather known as ‘Cuor di bue di Albenga’, type included the extremes of susceptibility and resistance. Resistant selections from each landrace were allowed to self fertilize to generate breeding lines. A PCR analysis, based on a CAPS marker targeted to the Ve2 allele, was conducted on ‘Sorrentino’, ‘Locale di Albenga 2’, ‘Locale di Albenga 3’, ‘Locale di Carmagnola’, ‘Locale di Cuneo’, and ‘Eraldo4’, and the resulting genotype was fully consistent with reaction to infection with V. dahliae strain V7. Variation in the level of resistance among Ve2 carriers suggested that other genes are also involved in modulating the response to infection. Markers for resistant alleles at Ve should prove useful in marker assisted breeding for wilt resistance in tomato. Homozygous resistant selections were made from landrace materials, which retained the landrace fruit type.
Prey selection of the lion (Panthera leo L.) in the Manovo-Gounda-St.Floris National Park, Central African Republic

L'analyse des carcasses et les observations du comportement des lions ont ete utilisees pour rechercher le mode de selection de leurs proies dans une zone de conservation majeure ou les donnees n'etaient pas disponibles anterieurement. Cent onze proies tuees par des lions appartenant a seize especes differentes ont ete observees. (.) Des recommandations pour un plan de conservation base sur ces observations peuvent etre utiles pour formuler des plans d'amenagement des parcs nationaux et des reserves afin de combiner les besoins touristiques et cynegetiques et preserver la diversite biologique
A very compact mt-DNA control region in the widely distributed goby Pomatoschistus minutus (Teleostei: Gobiidae)

The control region of the mitochondrial genome was amplified and sequenced for six individuals of the gobioid fish Pomatoschistus minutus, from several European localities, and one specimen of the related Deltentosteus quadrimaculatus. The length of this region for the former species was found to be 773 bp, 7·1% shorter than that previously described as the most compact D-loop known among teleosts. Sequences from other fish have been compared and the largest gap falls in the section between the conserved sequence block and the pyrimidine tract. Alignment of P. minutus sequences was done with D. quadrimaculatus, whose control region length was 853 bp, and this gap was found to be of 61 bp. For the P. minutus sample, the intraspecific sequence divergence is 0·07%.
Wuelkerella toncekensis n. gen., n. sp. (Diptera: Chironomidae: Tanypodinae) from Argentina

A new chironomid genus Wuelkerella is described. Pupae collected from the ultraoligotrophic Lakes Tonĉek and Jujuy, inRio Negro Province, Argentina were individually reared to adults. Pupa and adult male and female of Wuelkerella toncekensis sp. n. show intermediate features of Alotanypus Roback, Brundiniella Roback and Radotanypus Fittkau et Murray.
The Causal Factors Influencing Customer Repurchase Intention for Silver Jewelry Products via a Web Page

The objective of this research was to investigate the extent of causal factors influencing customer repurchase intention for silver jewelry products via a web page. The study was divided into two steps. The first step was determining a research conceptual framework by analyzing relevant documents and research and interviewing five experts. The second steps was verifying the research hypothesis. The data were collected using a 5 point rating scale questionnaire with the discrimination power values ranging between 0.73 and 0.78 and the overall reliability value of 0.77. The samples were 400 customers (tourists) of the silver * E-mail address: nayty_2521@hotmail.com Received: March 6, 2020 Revised: May 4, 2020 Accepted: May 22, 2020 วารสารบรหิารธุรกจิเทคโนโลยมีหานคร Volume 17 Number 1 (January – June 2020) 107 jewelry stores in Nan province, who were selected by purposive sampling method. The quantitative data were analyzed by frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. A statistical package was used to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis and to verify the goodness-of-fit between the hypothesized model and the empirical data. The results of the study were as follows: 1) The linear structural relationship modeling comprised 3 factors: integrated marketing communication (IMC), customer perceived value (CPV) and customer repurchase intention (CRI). 2) The developed model showed a goodness-of-fit with the empirical data with statistics value as follows: Chi-Square: X = 0.340, X/df = 1.090, GFI = 0.987, AGFI =0.968, RMSEA =0.015, CFI = 1.00. 3) The factors affecting customer repurchase intention (CRI) of silver jewelry products in Nan province were an integrated marketing communication (IMC) which had influences on both direct and indirect way to customer repurchase intention (CRI), and customer repurchase intention (CRI) which had indirect influences on customer repurchase intention (CRI). It was found that the coefficient of prediction (R) of the 3 causal factors could jointly explain 25 percent of the variance of customer repurchase intentions (CRI) of silver jewelry products in Nan province.
Application of Neural Networks in Solving Ecological Problems

This paper considers the use of artificial intelligence systems in solving ecological problems. The application of neural networks U-Net and SegNet for performing segmentation of satellite images is considered. In the course of this work, such indicators as green areas, industrial facilities, landfills, illegal logging were evaluated. Ready-made solutions for the implementation of such tasks are proposed.
Seeking dimorphism in monomorphic species: the lure of the gannet's mask

Yan Ropert-Coudert1*, David Gremillet2, Helene Gachot-Neveu2, Sue Lewis3 and Peter G Ryan4 1 National Institute of Polar Research, 1-9-10 Kaga, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8515, Japan 2 Centre d’Ecologie et Physiologie Energetiques, 23 rue Becquerel 67087 Strasbourg Cedex 02, France 3 NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Banchory Research Station, Hill of Brathens, Banchory, Aberdeenshire, AB31 4BW, United Kingdom 4 DST/NRF Centre of Excellence, Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa * Corresponding author, e-mail: yan@nipr.ac. jp
The distribution of Br in the soils and herbage of north-west Pembrokeshire

SUMMARY The Br content of soils and herbage from sites in north-west Pembrokeshire was determined. Topsoils had a range of Br contents from 10 to 515 μg/g, with a mean of 54 μg/g, subsoils ranged from < 1 to 455 μg/g, mean 47 μg/g, and herbage samples from 5 to 157 μg/g, mean 45 μg/g. The topsoil Br content can be related to the loss on ignition and drainage status of the soil; the topsoil Br/loss on ignition ratio becomes smaller with increasingly poor drainage. It was found that the Br distribution in the soil profile is also related to drainage status, the topsoil/subsoil Br ratio increasing with increasingly poor drainage. There is no clear relationship between soil Br and the amount of the element taken up by the herbage at the same sites.
Vital staining of autophagic vacuoles in differentiating cells of Dictyostelium discoideum

Abstract Vital staining of differentiating slime mold cells of Dictyostelium discoideum was studied, with reference to autophagic vacuoles they contain. By microscopically comparing within individual cells neutral-red staining granules with acid phosphatase positive granules, we identified vitally stained granules as autophagic vacuoles. At the early stages of differentiation, although the majority of cells were strongly acid phosphatase positive and there was little difference in the number of autophagic vacuoles between prestalk and prespore cells, only the former (about 25% of the total) were strongly vitally stained. It was thus concluded that autophagic vacuoles of prestalk cells are intensely stained with neutral-red while those of prespore cells are only weakly stained. Strong vital staining of prestalk cells was bleached by lysosomotropic agents such as NH4Cl, methylamine, and chloroquine which are known to increase intra-lysosomal pH. This suggests that autophagic vacuoles of prestalk cells are strongly stained because of their acidity.
Perfect matching of reactive-loaded transmission lines through complex excitation

Any lossless transmission line terminated on an arbitrary reactive load suffers from reflections, due to the high impedance mismatch between the real characteristic impedance of the transmission line and the imaginary impedance of the load. Although several techniques have been proposed to achieve matching, a resistive lumped component must be always added at the end of the line for ensuring power dissipation and achieving the required zero reflection. Here, we present a way to achieve the perfect matching condition for purely reactive loads by exploiting the properties of complex frequency excitation. By exciting the circuit with a signal having a proper time profile, we demonstrate that the amplitude of the reflected wave can be brought to zero. Being the load purely reactive, energy is not dissipated, but stored in the load as long as the special excitation condition is satisfied, giving rise to an interesting singularity in the transient regime, referred to as virtual absorption. Then, the stored energy can be released at will by changing or stopping the applied complex excitation.
DEMOGRAPHY OF A POPULATION COLLAPSE: THE NORTHERN IDAHO GROUND SQUIRREL (SPERMOPHILUS BRUNNEUS BRUNNEUS)

We studied the demography of a population of Northern Idaho ground squirrels (Spermophilus brunneus brunneus) in Adams County, Idaho. The population was completely censused yearly from 1987 to 1999, during which time it declined from 272 to 10 animals. The finite population growth rate, based on a Leslie matrix model of average life-history parameters, was only 0.72 (i.e., significantly <1.0). Growth rate was more sensitive to proportional changes in juvenile female survival than to any other single life-history parameter. Comparisons with self-sustaining populations of closely related ground squirrel species revealed that juvenile survival and breeding rates of yearling females were anomalously low. We believe that the ultimate cause of the population's collapse was inadequacy of food resources, particularly seeds, due to drying of the habitat and changes in plant species composition, likely the result of fire suppression and grazing. No “rescue” by immigration occurred, probably because S. b. brunneus s.