Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EVALUATING THE BIDIRECTIONAL NEXUS BETWEEN CLIMATE CHANGE AND AGRICULTURE FROM A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

Understanding the complex and dynamic nexus between climate change and agriculture has become crucial for our civilization. Thus, this paper aims at estimating the impact of those two concepts on one another using world data spanning from 1980 to 2018. On the one hand, the results show that the rising sea level inherent to climate change has a positive and significant impact on arable land and a negative and significant impact on livestock production. It is also found that rising sea level and global temperature constitute significant obstacles to crop production while a surge in greenhouse gas emissions significantly boosts it. On the other hand, the paper reveals that livestock production significantly increases greenhouse gas emissions while agricultural activities – crop production, livestock production and arable land – are found to have a negative and significant impact on global temperature. Finally, as agriculture is both a cause and a victim of climate change, some adaptation (shift in farming timing
Influence of cytoplasmic genetic male sterility in the grain yield of maize hybrids

One of the main barriers to the production of hybrid maize seeds consists of needing detasseling of female parent in order to avoid contamination with unwanted pollen. This activity is a laborious practice, which makes the production more expensive and promotes productive losses. Thus, the use of cytoplasmic genetic male sterility can facilitate the hybridization process, and consequently, the production of hybrid seeds. The objective of this study was compare grain yield in maize hybrids produced from the combination of two testers with five distinct lines of cytoplasm C “Charrua” versus the isogenic of fertile cytoplasm. Twenty common hybrids were evaluated in relation to grain crops and resistance to leaf diseases, white spot and gray leaf spot. The experiments were carried out during summer season of 2015/2016 and winter season of 2016. The use of lines with cytoplasm C was observed and it is promising since it did not affect the agronomic performance of hybrids, regardless of environment, crop season, parental and tester used. Therefore, cytoplasm C can be used as an excellent source of cytoplasmic genetic sterility in the production of hybrid seeds in seed companies that want to decrease the use of detasseling practice. Key words: Zea mays L, production of seeds, detasseling.
A voltage-based metaplasticity rule applied to the model hippocampal granule cell accounts for homeostatic heterosynaptic plasticity

Long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) of synaptic efficacies are involved in establishment of long-term memories. In this process, neurons need to adjust the overall efficacy of their synapses by using mechanisms of homeostatic plasticity to balance their activity and control their firing rate. For instance, in the dentate granule cell in vivo, induction of homosynaptic LTP in the tetanized medial perforant path is accompanied by heterosynaptic LTD in the non-tetanized lateral perforant path. We used the compartmental model of this cell to test the following hypotheses: 1. Using plasticity and metaplasticity rules both based on postsynaptic voltage we can reproduce homosynaptic LTP and concurrent heterosynaptic LTD, provided there is an ongoing noisy spontaneous activity; 2. Frequency of an ongoing noisy spontaneous activity along the lateral path determines the magnitude of heterosynaptic LTD. In experiments where procaine was used to block the lateral spontaneous activity, no heterosynaptic LTD occurred. However, when the procaine was washed out and a second tetanization was applied to the medial path, no heterosynaptic LTD could have been induced neither. Our simulations predict that the reduced frequency of spontaneous activity in the lateral perforant path can account for this lasting absence of heterosynaptic LTD.
Computational tools for objective assessment in Neuroimaging

Medical imaging is nowadays capable of non-invasively displaying the human brain in manifold ways. Computer assisted analysis of such data has become a highly active area of research. Today, there exists a wealth of published methods addressing a broad spectrum of medical questions. Considering the maturity to which this field of research has grown by now raises expectations that most basic problems should actually be solved and even many of the more complex task should at least be manageable. However, looking at the role of image-based quantification in everyday clinical practice, draws a completely different picture. The de-facto standard approach in diagnostic radiology is a purely qualitative reading through human experts. Quantification, if used at all, is typically limited to simple measurements on single image-slices. Without debate, there exists a huge gap between what would be potentially possible as defined by the scientific state-of-the-art, and clinical reality. This PhD thesis addresses this situation. It studies three general concepts aiming at objective image assessment: 1) quantification; 2) interactive segmentation; 3) interactive data-visualization. For each of these concepts, an exemplary application is chosen, and a novel method is proposed with a focus on fulfilling requirements that, if not met, would prevent integration into clinical workflows. First, I present a method for robust assessment of upper-spinal cord atrophy, a parameter which has been successfully correlated to several clinical markers in the context of multiple sclerosis. Second, I present two novel interactive tools for segmenting individual gyri of the brain and regions-of-interest in DTI data. Finally, I present an example of how interactive 3D visualizations combined with efficient tools for exploration of image data can support the planning process of complex neurosurgical interventions.
Rampant hybrid misexpression in craniofacial tissues within a recent adaptive radiation of Cyprinodon pupfishes

Genetic incompatibilities constitute the final stages of reproductive isolation and speciation, but little is known about incompatibilities that occur within recent adaptive radiations among closely related diverging populations. Crossing divergent species to form hybrids can break up coadapted variation, resulting in genetic incompatibilities within developmental networks shaping adaptive traits. We crossed two closely related sympatric Cyprinodon pupfish species – a dietary generalist and a specialized molluscivore – and measured expression levels in their F1 hybrids to identify regulatory variation underlying the novel craniofacial morphology found in this recent microendemic adaptive radiation. We extracted mRNA from eight day old whole-larvae tissue and from craniofacial tissues dissected from 17-20 day old larvae to compare gene expression between a total of seven F1 hybrids and 24 individuals from parental species populations. We found 3.9% of genes differentially expressed between generalists and molluscivores in whole-larvae tissues and 0.6% of genes differentially expressed in craniofacial tissue. We found that only 2.1% of genes were misexpressed in whole-larvae hybrids at 8 dpf whereas 19.1% of genes were misexpressed in hybrid craniofacial tissue at 17-20 dpf, after correcting for potential sequencing biases. We also measured allele specific expression across 15,429 phased heterozygous sites to identify regulatory mechanisms underlying differential expression between generalists and molluscivores. Together, our results highlight the importance of considering misexpression as an early indicator of genetic incompatibilities in the context of rapidly diverged morphology and suggests that wide-spread compensatory regulatory divergence drives hybrid misexpression in developing tissues that give rise to novel craniofacial traits.
PROTOPLAST AS A TOOL TO ADDRESS QUESTIONS IN PLANT PHYSIOLOGY

A protoplast is a plant cell from which the cell wall has been removed by enzyme treatment. Tremendous utilization of protoplast in molecular analysis of plant growth and development has been observed in the past decades and the system has paved its way to significantly facilitate the comprehensive understanding of the complexity of underlying mechanisms. However, it should be kept in mind that a plant, like all systems, is composed of networks of interdependent components that integrate the system into a unified whole. In this mini review, we will re-explore protoplast approach in answering plant physiology questions through discussion of its application in the study of (1) photosynthesis and chloroplast-related process; (2) pollen tube growth; (3) sieve tube element protoplast for long distance translocation; (4) new regulatory metabolites from guard cell protoplast. This in vitro approach may open the way to further meaningful results at organismal level.
A systematic review of MRI studies of language development from birth to 2 years of age

Neurocognitive functions supporting language development start to develop well before first words are spoken during the first years of life. This process coincides with the initial growth spurt of the brain. While the core components of the language network are well characterized in adults and children, the initial neural correlates of language skills are still relatively unknown. We reviewed 10 studies identified via a systematic search that combined magnetic resonance imaging and language‐related measures in healthy infants from birth to 2 years of age. We aimed to describe the current knowledge as well as point out viable future directions for similar studies. Expectedly, the implicated cerebral areas included many established components of the language networks, including frontal and temporal regions. A volumetric leftward asymmetry of the brain was suggested as a determinant of language skills, yet with marked interindividual variation. Overall, temporal and frontal brain volumes associated positively with language skills. Positive associations were described between the maturation of language related white matter tracts and language skills. The language networks showed adult‐like structural similarities already in neonates, with weaker asymmetry compared to adults. In summary, we found some evidence that the language circuit described in older age groups is also associated to language skills during the first 2 years of life. However, across the reviewed studies there were no systematic neural correlates of language skills, which is partly explained by a modest number of studies, scattered representation of ages in measurements and the variance in the used methods.
Uncompleted project of the Central Municipal Park in Lublin

The areas of the former Royal Pond (Staw Królewski) in Lublin were the subject of many projects and architectural competitions. Over the years the concepts of development of this area have been changing, but both in the pre-war period and later, it was supposed to be green urban space accessible to the residents. The aim of the article is to outline the development plans of the city of Lublin (second half of the 20th century / beginning of the 21st century) concerning the implementation of the Central Municipal Park, which was planned in the area of the former pond. The works on this project, which was finally never implemented, have been carried out since the end of the 1950s. This name, used interchangeably with Culture Park (Park Kultury), appeared for the first time in the General Spatial Development Plan for the city of Lublin in 1957. The author, on the basis of conducted research, archival queries and comparative studies, analyses the ideas and solutions concerning the development of this part of the Bystrzyca river valley.
Absorption of Hydrogen in LaNi4.75Al0.25/n-Octane Slurries

Metal hydrides have been considered for use in hydrogen recovery units, hydrogen storage beds, heat pumps, and thermal compressors for cryocoolers. The absorption kinetics of hydrogen into a LaNi{sub 4.75}Al{sub 0.25}/n-octane slurry was investigated in a stirred reactor. The rate-determining step was hydrogen absorption into the liquid n-octane phase in agreement with the model proposed by Reilly and Johnson. The activation energy was found to be approximately 8.4 kJ/mol of H{sub 2}. Although the activation energies for hydrogen absorption into various slurry combinations are quite scattered, the data reported here indicate that the overall kinetics is sufficient for many practical applications.
Detrimental effects of sediment on attachment, survival and growth of the brown alga Sargassum thunbergii in early life stages

Sediment loading by human activities has increased in recent years and sedimentation in coastal areas is problematic because it removes seaweed forests. In this study, we examined the effects of different sediment quantities (0, 2, 4, and 6 mg cm−2) and particles sizes (<100, 100–250, and 250–600 μm) on zygote attachment, and germling survival and growth of Sargassum thunbergii, an economically and ecologically important species. Zygote attachment was negatively correlated with increased sediment quantities. However, it was not significantly different among sediment particle sizes. In addition, survival and growth of germlings were significantly inhibited by increased sediment quantity. Smaller particle size (< 100 μm) had greater negative impact on the survival and growth than bigger ones. Results of the present study suggest that early development of S. thunbergii is significantly inhibited by sediment. This might be a vital factor that results in forest depletion in Korea.
Using camouflage for conservation: colour change in juvenile European lobster

Changes in coloration enable animals to refine their camouflage to match different visual backgrounds, responding to spatial and temporal changes in the environment. Such plasticity provides ecological benefits and could be exploited to support conservation or stock enhancement efforts. One application could be to ensure that hatchery-reared animals, reared to stock wild populations, are appropriately matched to their environment on release. Following crashes in wild European lobster (Homarus gammarus) populations, hatcheries were established across Europe to restock or enhance local lobster stocks by rearing juveniles through their most vulnerable stages, then releasing them into the wild. However, little consideration has yet been given to their camouflage and the implications of matching individuals to the appearance of their release site. This study assesses to what extent juvenile lobsters can change appearance to match their background and whether hatchery practices can be altered to enhance lobster camouflage and potentially survivorship in the wild. We test this by switching individuals between black or white backgrounds in the laboratory and monitoring their coloration over time. We show that juvenile lobsters are capable of changes in luminance (perceived lightness) to better match their background over 2–3 weeks. These changes potentially correspond to improved camouflage, based on a model of predator (fish, Pollachius pollachius) vision. Over a longer period (5 weeks), lobsters maintained on either black or white backgrounds converged on the same darker coloration, likely due to ontogenetic (developmental) changes. Overall, our results indicate that hatcheries could rear lobsters on backgrounds that better match the habitat into which they will be released, but such manipulations should be considered in the context of ontogenetic changes and the timing of release. We recommend rearing individuals on darker, more natural-coloured substrates throughout their early benthic phase in order to maximise the benefits of camouflage on release into the wild. This could potentially increase juvenile survival during the critical days immediately after their release. The findings highlight the potential benefits of using camouflage and colour change in stocking programmes and aquaculture alike.
Taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationship of some Algerian shallow-water sea cucumber species (Holothuroidea: Echinodermata) deduced from mitochondrial DNA sequences

The present study focuses on the taxonomic revision and phylogeny of some shallow-water Algerian sea cucumber species belonging to the genus Holothuria [the two morphotypes (A & B) of Holothuria (Holothuria) tubulosa (Gmelin, 1791); Holothuria (Roweothuria) poli (Delle Chiaje, 1824) and Holothuria (Roweothuria) arguinensis (Koehler et Vaney, 1906)]. The nucleotide sequences of the 16S rRNA gene obtained by [1] were used to construct the phylogenetic tree of the studied specimens. Our results showed that the two morphotypes (A & B) of Holothuria (H.) tubulosa are genetically separated. We also reported a close genetic relationship between the two morphotypes of Holothuria (H.) tubulosa (A & B) and Holothuria (R.) arguinensis. Holothuria (R.) poli is the most divergent species and is in a paraphyletic position with the other studied specimens. Sequence analyses of the 16S rRNA gene revealed the presence of 58 polymorphic sites: 79.25% of these sites are parsimoniously informative and 20.75% are singletons. The means of haplotype diversity (Hd) and nucleotide diversity (π) were very high. Keywords— Echinodermata, Holothuria, Phylogenetic systematics, 16S rRNA, Haplotypes, Algerian basin.
EEG-based biometrics: effects of template ageing

This chapter discusses the effects of template ageing in EEG-based biometrics. The chapter also serves as an introduction to general biometrics and its main tasks: Identification and verification. To do so, we investigate different characterisations of EEG signals and examine the difference of performance in subject identification between single session and cross-session identification experiments. In order to do this, EEG signals are characterised with common state-of-the-art features, i.e. Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC), Autoregression Coefficients, and Power Spectral Density-derived features. The samples were later classified using various classifiers, including Support Vector Machines and k-Nearest Neighbours with different parametrisations. Results show that performance tends to be worse for crosssession identification compared to single session identification. This finding suggests that temporal permanence of EEG signals is limited and thus more sophisticated methods are needed in order to characterise EEG signals for the task of subject identification
Ischemic cardiomyopathy: A review of literature on clinical status and meta-analysis of diagnostic and clinical management

Ischemic heart disease is the leading cause of sudden cardiac death. It may lead to cardiomyopathy in the setting of coronary artery disease and gradually progressing to heart failure. While ischemic cardiomyopathy is a well-recognized disease entity, the current classification systems of cardiomyopathy exclude cardiomyopathies secondary to ischemia. Further, research on ischemic cardiomyopathy is extensively fragmented, which has undermined both research consensus and comprehensive understanding. The fragmentation is attributable to its variable terminologies (ischemic heart disease or its three leading non-fatal sequela – angina pectoris, acute myocardial infarction and ischemic heart failure). Therefore, the purpose of the present review is to accumulate research on ischemic cardiomyopathy to produce a comprehensive understanding of its clinical status, diagnosis, clinical management and improve survival. *Correspondence to: Aref Albakri, St-Marien hospital Bonn Venusberg, department of internal medicine, Bonn, Germany, E-mail: arefalbakri@yahoo.com
Using UTAUT Model to Determine Factors Affecting Internet of Things Acceptance in Public Universities

This article aims to review the influencing factors and their relationships to the adoption of IoT technologies in the education domain among undergraduate students in Saudi public universities. The purpose of this study is to propose a framework using UTAUT to increase IoT acceptance. Previous studies found that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions have significant predictors of IoT acceptance. However, other studies found that not all UTAUT variables are significant predictors of IoT acceptance such as effort expectancy. There are three research gaps identified through previous studies, field issues, and theory and model. First, there is a lack of studies in consumers’ adoption of IoT technologies. Second, there is a lack of user acceptance of IoT technologies. Third, there is a lack of confident and uncertainty caused by new technologies. A quantitative method approach will be used. The online questionnaire survey well be sent to 300 undergraduate students of the selected public university. The Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) will be used to analyse the collected data.
Development and Validation of the Mentalising Profile Q-Sort (MQS)

The last couple of decades have seen a significant increase in the fields of research and clinical practice inspired by the theory of mentalising. Mentalisation, the capacity to understand one’s own and others’ behaviour in terms of mental states, is considered to be a “defining human social and psychological achievement” (Fonagy & Allison, 2014). The dialogue between mentalising theory and other fields such as developmental psychopathology or the neurosciences has added complexity and nuance to the understanding of this mental capacity. However, there is a gap in the research literature concerning the assessment of mentalising during therapeutic sessions. This assessment has often been done at the beginning and end of the treatment, missing session-to-session variations and the possibility to inquire about a mentalising style and its outcome in psychotherapy. This thesis describes the development and preliminary validation of the Mentalising Profile Q-set (MQS), an observer-rated measure that aims to bridge the gap between scientific research and clinical observations by describing the mentalising process of patients undergoing psychotherapy in a jargon-free language. The MQS focuses on the patient and provides a picture of the mentalising process in relation to its four polarities and pre-mentalising modes of experience. The data used in this research was derived from the Randomised Evaluation Study of Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (REDIT) and the Tavistock Adult Depression Study (TADS), two trials that worked with depressed patients, although with differences in clinical characteristics. The preliminary results suggest that the MQS is an instrument that can differentiate groups of individual mentalising profiles and their likely effect on therapeutic outcomes, as assessed by the HRSD-17, at the beginning of treatment. The MQS contributes to the extant literature on assessment instruments and, at the same time, expands on the role of the capacity to mentalise in the therapeutic outcome.
No Reference Video Quality Assessment with authentic distortions using 3-D Deep Convolutional Neural Network

Video Quality Assessment (VQA) is an essential topic in several industries ranging from video streaming to camera manufacturing. In this paper, we present a novel method for No-Reference VQA. This framework is fast and does not require the extraction of hand-crafted features. We extracted convolutional features of 3-D C3D Convolutional Neural Network and feed one trained Support Vector Regressor to obtain a VQA score. We did certain transformations to different color spaces to generate better discriminant deep features. We extracted features from several layers, with and without overlap, finding the best configuration to improve the VQA score. We tested the proposed approach in LIVE-Qualcomm dataset. We extensively evaluated the perceptual quality prediction model, obtaining one final Pearson correlation of 0:7749±0:0884 with Mean Opinion Scores, and showed that it can achieve good video quality prediction, outperforming other state-of-the-art VQA leading models.