Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors affecting assemblage attributes of freshwater Oligochaeta in Neotropical shallow floodplain lakes

Aim: Identify the effects of sediment composition and water conditions on diversity, richness, evenness, density and composition of freshwater Oligochaeta in shallow floodplain lakes. Methods: We sampled 13 shallow floodplain lakes quarterly during the year 2010 in the Upper Parana River floodplain. In each lake, four sediment samples were taken from the shore and central regions, three of them were used for biological analysis, and one for granulometric analysis. Concomitantly, temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, alkalinity, turbidity and chlorophyll-a were also measured. Initially, the biological samples were analyzed by a stereoscopic microscope and Oligochaeta specimens were picked up. Oligochaeta individuals were identified under optical microscope at the lowest possible taxonomic level. For data analysis, we quantified density, richness, evenness and diversity of freshwater Oligochaeta. We also calculated the sediment granulometric diversity using the Shannon-Wienner method. We correlated assemblage attributes of Oligochaeta with sediment diversity and the Oligochaeta species with the limnological variables using the Spearman correlation. Results: A total of 2,090 specimens were found distributed among 27 species. From the total specimens number, 57% were Pristina americana , followed by Dero Dero righii with 13%. We did not fond Oligochaeta specimens in five lakes. Assemblage attributes were not significantly correlated with sediment diversity, and 7 of the 27 species recorded showed significant correlations with at least some of the abiotic variables. Conclusions: We verified a greater contribution of water conditions on the assemblage attributes of freshwater Oligochaeta, when compared with sediment influences. Although we found low local diversity of Oligoachaeta, the wide range of water conditions offered by lakes culminates with a great species richness considering the whole landscape.
Photosynthetic pigments accumulation and some growth indices of cowpea, maize and tomato in response to interspecific and intraspecific competition stress

This study aimed at investigating the photosynthetic pigment accumulation and some growth indices of cowpea, maize and tomato in response to interspecific and intraspecific competition stress. The study was carried out under a screen-house to minimize extraneous factors such as pests and rodents using a randomized complete block design (RCBD). Seeds of cowpea, maize and tomato were collected from the Department of Crop Production and Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun state, Nigeria. These seeds were planted at a depth of about 3 mm below the soil. The seeds were sown at the rate of six seeds per pot in the monoculture, while in the pots designed for the mixed culture of maize and cowpea, maize and tomato, cowpea and tomato, three seeds of each plant were sown. Two seeds of each plant were sown in the pots with the three crops. The treatments were then supplied with 500 mL of tap water in the morning and in the evening respectively until the seedlings become fully established. The photosynthetic pigments were determined spectrophotometrically with three replicates. Plant growth indices were determined according to Hunts (1978) using leaf area and dry matter data collected at four and six weeks after planting. Statistical analysis was performed using statistical analytical software SAS version 9.2. The results indicated that photosynthetic pigments accumulation (Chlorophyll a, b and carotenoid) in maize (15.98, 23.92 and 44.72 μM), Chlorophyll b and carotenoid in tomato plants (12.48 and 1,178.7 μM) in the sole stands were more than the mixed culture of maize with cowpea and tomato (7.195, 14.74 and 0.00 μM). Also, total Chlorophyll in maize (1,127.8 μM), Chlorophyll a and total Chlorophyll in tomato (3.95 and 1,317.5 μM) in the mixed culture were more than in the sole culture of maize (1,030.9 μM) and tomato plants (−9.40 and 546.3 μM). The different photosynthetic pigments accumulated in cowpea were greatly enhanced in the mixed culture than in the sole culture. All the photosynthetic pigments of maize, cowpea and tomato in all the treatments analysed in this study were significantly different at P >0.05. Plant growth indices such as net assimilation rate, relative growth rate, crop growth rate and tissue water contents of these plants had higher value in the intercropped than the check crop (sole). These plant growth indices were significantly different to one another at P >0.05. This study concluded that competition for shared resources in the mixed culture of tomato, maize and cowpea enhanced growth and accumulation of photosynthetic pigments.
Evaluation of DNA Markers for Fruit-relatedTraits and Genetic Relationships Based on SimpleSequence Repeat in Watermelon Accessions

Modern watermelon cultivars (Citrullus lanatus [Thunb.] Matsum.& Nakai var. lanatus) have fruits with diverse phenotypes, including fruit shape, rind patterns, and flesh color. Molecular markers enable efficient selection of plants harboring desirable phenotypes. In the present study, publicly available DNA markers tightly linked to fruit shape, rind stripe pattern, and flesh color were evaluated using 85 watermelon accessions with diverse fruit phenotypes. For fruit shape, the dCAPS SUN Cla011257 marker revealed an 81% of marker trait match for accessions with elongated or round fruits. For rind stripe pattern, the SCAR wsb6-11marker was effective for selecting Jubilee-type rind pattern from other rind patterns. For flesh color, the Clcyb.600 and Lcyb markers derived from a mutation in the Lycopene β cyclase (Lcyb) gene, were effective at selecting red or yellow flesh. Forty-eight accessions possessing diverse fruit related traits were selected as a reference array and their genetic relationships assessed using 16 SSR markers. At a coefficient of 0.11, the 48 accessions grouped into two major clades: Clade I and Clade II. Clade I subdivided further into subclades I 1 and I 2 at a coefficient of 0.39. All accessions with colored flesh were classified into Clade I, whereas those with white flesh were classified into Clade II. Differences in fruit traits between subclades I 1 and I 2 were observed for rind pattern and fruit color; a majority of the accessions with Crimson-type striped or non-striped rind were grouped together in subclade I 1, while most accessions in subclade I 2 had a Jubilee type rind stripe pattern. These results imply that reference array watermelon accessions possess distinguishable genetic structure based on rind stripe pattern. However, no significant grouping pattern was observed based on other fruit-related traits.
Conway–Maxwell–Poisson regression models for dispersed count data

While Poisson regression serves as a standard tool for modeling the association between a count response variable and explanatory variables, it is well‐documented that this approach is limited by the Poisson model's assumption of data equi‐dispersion. The Conway–Maxwell–Poisson (COM‐Poisson) distribution has demonstrated itself as a viable alternative for real count data that express data over‐ or under‐dispersion, and thus the COM‐Poisson regression can flexibly model associations involving a discrete count response variable and covariates. This work overviews the ongoing developmental knowledge and advancement of COM‐Poisson regression, introducing the reader to the underlying model (and its considered reparametrizations) and related regression constructs, including zero‐inflated models, and longitudinal studies. This manuscript further introduces readers to associated computing tools available to perform COM‐Poisson and related regressions.
Pretreatment and fermentation of lignocellulosic biomass: reaction mechanisms and process engineering

In the time of rapidly depleting petroleum resources, worldwide food shortages, and solid waste problems, it is imperative to promote dedicated research into using an appropriate pretreatment technique utilizing regeneratable raw materials such as lignocellulosic biomass. However, not all pretreatment techniques are viable alternatives for industrial practice. Pretreatment is an important step to upgrade different kinds of lignocellulosic biomass into more valuable products, including biofuels and bio-based industrial chemicals. Most of the pretreatment techniques have their limitations or weaknesses, including high operational costs and temperature, toxicity and corrosiveness to the instrument, etc., while, some other pretreatment methods such as biological and plasma pretreatment are green procedures that can also be used to alter the physical and chemical properties of lignocellulosic materials. Although our present understanding is still low and not much research has been done to guarantee which pretreatment method is the reliable alternative, the combination of different pretreatment methods could be a good strategy to overcome the limitations of each approach. This review presents an overview of different pretreatment methods of lignocellulosic biomass to increase the rate and the degree of cellulose hydrolysis and subsequent processing steps as well as future perspectives.
Children’s Education and Parental Health

In this paper we estimate the effect of adult children’s education on parental health using data from the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). We find that parents of better-educated children have better health, measured by self-rated health status. Using geographic proximity to school as the instrumental variable, we find that an extra year of children’s education could increase the probability of parental good health status by about 7.7 percentage points. This result is corroborated by the estimates based on an alternative identification strategy. We also find suggestive evidence that smoking behavior, use of preventive care, and especially management of chronic conditions are potential channels through which children’s education can improve parental health.
Morpho-genetic variability of native and adventitious populations of the Brephulopsis cylindrica (Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Enidae)

The population structure of the terrestrial mollusc Brephulopsis cylindrica (Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Enidae) in the native area (Crimea Peninsula) and out of its borders (two adventive groups in the city of Belgorod) was studied on the basis of conchometric characteristics and analysis of polymorphic allozyme loci. For all the morphometric parameters statistically significant differences were found between the studied groups. In all studied populations a high level of intra-population genetic variability was revealed ( Fit = 0,401). At the same time, the considerable variability of the conchological parameters and the high level of allelic polymorphism at a number of loci identified in adventitious colonies create the prerequisites for successful adaptation to new conditions and further expansion of the species range in urbanized areas.
Chemical, electrical, hormonal and nutrient signaling in the mammalian central nervous system

JT Pryor, SE Simonds, MA Cowley, DC Spanswick (2016) Functional, energy statusdependent plasticity of glucose-sensing in NPY/AgRP neurons. Keystone Symposia, Obesity and Adipose Tissue Biology JT Pryor, IS Parhar, DC Spanswick, IJ Clarke (2014) Electrophysiological and pharmacological profile of GnIH neurons in the rat in vitro. International Congress of Neuroendocrinology
Towards an Improved Energy Efficient and End-to-End Secure Protocol for IoT Healthcare Applications

In this paper, we proposed LCX-MAC (local coordination X-MAC) as an extension of X-MAC. X-MAC is an asynchronous duty cycle medium access control (MAC) protocol. X-MAC used one important technique of short preamble which is to allow sender nodes to quickly send their actual data when the corresponding receivers wake up. X-MAC node keeps sending short preamble to wake up its receiver node, which causes energy, increases transmission delay, and makes the channel busy since a lot of short preambles are discarded, as these days Internet of Things (IoT) healthcare with different sensor nodes for the healthcare is time-critical applications and needs a quick response. A possible improvement over X-MAC is that local information of each node will share with its neighbour node. This local information exchanged will cause much less overhead than in the nodes which are synchronized. To calculate the effect of this the local coordination on X-MAC in this paper, we built an analytical model of LCX-MAC that incorporates the local coordination in X-MAC. The analytical results show that LCX-MAC outperformed X-MAC and X-MAC/BEB in terms of throughput, delay, and energy.
Signaling pathways involved in connexin43 expression and cellular sub-localization in human astrocytoma

Gap junctions (GJ) are intercellular channels permitting bi-directional communication between adjacent cells. GJ function is associated with homeostasis while GJ deficiency results in uncontrolled proliferation. Most cancer cells are GJ deficient. Astrocytoma is the most common form of brain cancer in young adults and usually causes death within 9-12 months of diagnosis. Connexin 43 (Cx43) expression and sub-localization is usually impaired in human astrocytoma cells. Since phosphorylation by various protein kinases plays a crucial role in Cx43 trafficking, we investigated the signaling pathways involved in Cx43 sub-localization in the human astrocytoma cell lines, U-251 MG and U87 MG. Cx43 was found to be present in both cell lines and was found to be phosphorylated on specific serine residues. Using antibodies against Ser-255 and Ser262, Cx43 was shown to be nuclear; this is a novel observation in human astrocytoma. Interestingly Cx43 fragments of less than 43 kDa were shown to be mostly intranuclear when using antibodies against the phosphorylated forms of Cx43, suggesting a role for phosphorylation in the protein's turnover and sub-localization. Intercellular communication assays showed a lack of GJ function in U-251 cells; however, the presence of open hemichannels in U-87 MGs was observed. Protein kinase inhibitors including Bis I (PKC), PKAI (PKA) and PD98059 (ERK-MAPK) were tested on their ability to affect Cx43 expression and/or sub-localization. PD98059 treatment increased Cx43 expression in U-87 MG cells and partially restored normal membrane localization in U-251 MG. All three inhibitors either increased or decreased the presence of Cx43 fragments, depending on the phosphorylation site observed, suggesting a role for these pathways in Cx43 degradation. Morin, a natural flavonoid with anti-tumorigenic properties, was shown to increase Cx43 phosphorylation on Ser-262 but only in U-251 MG. This effect was exerted through the p38 MAPK pathway. Fractionation experiments showed that Cx43 is not present in caveolae, a structure which helps to compartmentalize signaling molecules with their protein targets. Our results suggest that it is worthwhile to continue in our attempts to restore function of Cx43 in human astrocytoma.
Seasonal variation of copepoda in Chabahar Bay-gulf of Oman.

صخلملا Zooplankton was collected with vertical plankton tows using 100 μm mesh nets during August to November 2007 and February to May 2008 from five stations through the Chabahar Bay. Totally, 75 copepods species were identified. Post-monsoon was characterized by the highest numerous of copepod species and diversity. Premonsoon showed the lowest number of copepod species and diversity index. The results showed that seasonal variation of chlorophyll-a concentration associated phosphate concentration is a major factor controlling abundance of copepod after a time lag. Abundance of copepod was significantly higher during the premonsoon as compared to other seasons. ةرتفلا للاخ ةيناويحلا مئاوهلا تعمج ) يناثلا نيرشت ىلا بأ 2007 و رايا ىلا طابش 2008 ( راهبهش جيلخ يف عقاوم ةسمخ نم . ديدحت مت 75 تايفاججملا نم اعون . دعب تايفادجملا روهظل ازيمت جئاتنلا ترهظا حايرلا بوبه لبق اروهظ لقا كلاذآ و ةيمسوملا راطملاا لوطه ةيمسوملا . لاا ام ةرتف للاخ احضاو ناآ تايفادجملل يرهوجلا فلاتخ ىرخلاا مساوملاب ةنراقم ةيمسوملا حايرلا بوبه لبق . نا جئاتنلا ةرهظا زيآارتب اقيثو اطابترا طبترا تايفادجملا روهظل ةيلصفلا تاريغتلا تافسوفلا و روضخيلا . © 2010 Jordan Journal of Biological Sciences. All rights reserved
Assessment of pollen assemblages on footwear for evidence of pollen deriving from a mock crime scene: a contribution to forensic palynology

Abstract To provide evidence of a link between a crime scene and a suspect, pollen analysis is occasionally employed. However, experimental research linking pollen on footwear to a specific crime scene has been infrequently undertaken such that there are limited references to cite in court. In this blind study, the author had to determine, which of 12 pairs of footwear had walked on a mock scene by comparing their assemblages to those of two scene controls. An additional four control pairs of footwear that had not been worn on or near the scene were also analysed. The pollen data from the footwear was assessed and compared with the scene control samples for: number of taxa, key types, Czekanowski Coefficient and general assemblages. Results indicated that six of the pairs of footwear had walked on the scene and these were, indeed, the ones that actually had done so. The four control pairs were dissimilar in most aspects, particularly key types. This research demonstrates, with some limitations, that evidence of a match between footwear sample and location can be found, even when material from other habitats is present on an exhibit.
Squeezing Water From a Stone: H2O In Nominally Anhydrous Minerals From Granulite Xenoliths and Deep, Hydrous Fractional Crystallization

Water is key to plate tectonics on Earth, which, in turn, is vital to the production of continental crust. Although arc lavas erupt in a volatile‐rich state and calc‐alkaline arc plutons are distinguished by the presence of hydrous minerals such as hornblende and biotite, the water content of arc magmas earlier in their evolution—in the deep crust—remains poorly constrained. Here, we report H2O contents in nominally anhydrous minerals measured in situ on petrographic thin sections by secondary ion mass spectrometry of Proterozoic deep crustal xenoliths from Colorado, USA. Clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, and garnet contain average H2O contents ranging from 75–760, 233–410, and 42–139 ppm, respectively. Reconstructed bulk rock H2O contents range from ~60 to ~650 ppm. Intermineral H2O ratios overlap experimental mineral/melt D values and are used to calculate H2O of melts last in equilibrium with the xenoliths. We propose that these xenoliths represent cumulates fractionated from a primitive, hydrous (≥1 wt.% H2O) melt at high (~1 GPa) pressures, similar to conditions in modern subduction zones and potentially associated with widespread arc accretion that formed the core of North America in the Precambrian.
Investigating the transmission of epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) among white-tailed deer in Alabama

ii Acknowledgments . iii List of Tables . vii List of Illustrations . ix List of Abbreviations . x Chapter I: Introduction . 1 Systematics and General Biology of Culicoides Biting Midges . 1 Culicoides as Vectors of Disease Agents . 5 Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) and EHD Virus (EHDV) . 8 Chapter II: Investigating potential vectors of EHDV among white-­‐tailed deer in Alabama . 14 Introduction . 14 EHD in the southeastern United States . 14 Investigating Culicoides and Potential Vectors of EHDV . 16 Vector-­‐Incrimination Studies . 20 Material and Methods . 21 Trapping methodology . 22 Culicoides identification and storage . 23
Description d'une espèce nouvelle de colchique (Colchicum, Liliaceae) en Sardaigne : Colchicum actupii Fridlender

Une revision du genre Colchicum, basee sur de nombreuses prospections de terrain, nous a permis de reconnaitre cinq especes de colchiques en Sardaigne. C. corsicum Baker et C. gonarei Camarda sont endemiques tandis que C. multiflorum Brot. et C. cupanii Guss. sont assez repandus en Mediterranee. Enfin, la cinquieme espece presente en Sardaigne avait ete confondue avec le C. lusitanum Brot. Il s'agit, en fait, d'une espece nouvelle : C. actupii sp. nov.
Large Variations in Volcanic Aerosol Forcing Efficiency Due to Eruption Source Parameters and Rapid Adjustments

The relationship between volcanic stratospheric aerosol optical depth (SAOD) and volcanic radiative forcing is key for quantifying volcanic climate impacts. In their Fifth Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change used one scaling factor between volcanic SAOD and volcanic forcing based on climate model simulations of the 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption, which may not be appropriate for all eruptions. Using a large ensemble of aerosol‐chemistry‐climate simulations of eruptions with different sulfur dioxide emissions, latitudes, emission altitudes, and seasons, we find that the effective radiative forcing (ERF) is on average 20% less than the instantaneous radiative forcing, predominantly due to a positive shortwave cloud adjustment. In our model, the volcanic SAOD‐ERF relationship is non‐unique and varies widely depending on time since an eruption, eruption latitude, and season due to differences in aerosol dispersion and incoming solar radiation. Our revised SAOD‐ERF relationships suggest that volcanic forcing has been previously overestimated.
A rotating machinery fault diagnosis method using composite multiscale fuzzy distribution entropy and minimal error of convex hull approximation

Rotating machinery plays an increasingly crucial role in mechanical systems. For its normal operation, a novel fault diagnosis method is proposed in this paper, using composite multiscale fuzzy distribution entropy (CMFDE) and minimal error of convex hull approximation (MECHA). In this paper, CMFDE is utilized to extract essential information and measure time series complexity for vibration signals. Results indicate the CMFDE has less information loss and better stability. Then, to fulfill the classification tasks, the first several main features obtained by principal components analysis are fed into the proposed MECHA-based classifier. Results show MECHA has better classification performance. Using the laboratory data, we validate the feasibility and superiority of the proposed fault diagnosis method through two cases consisting of different fault types or fault severity degrees.