Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Observations on tillering in cultivars of phalaris under rotational grazing in a year with a summer-autumn drought

Changes in tiller numbers, timing of stem elongation, and tiller survival under summer moisture stress were measured in phalaris (Phalaris aquatica L.) pastures rotationally grazed at 15 wethers/ha during a study of the survival and productivity of a semi-winter-dormant cultivar (Australian) compared with 3 winter-active cultivars (Sirosa, Holdfast, Perla Retainer). The semi-winter-dormant cultivar maintained higher tiller numbers per plant and per area than the 3 winter-active cultivars, was later in its reproductive stem development, and was capable of more new tillering early in spring, but could display higher rates of tiller death late in spring. Although stem elongation in Australian started later in 1990, it was no less synchronous than in the winter-active cultivars. However, Sirosa had a higher proportion of elongating tillers than Australian under very infrequent grazing in a supplementary experiment during 1991. Cultivars did not differ in the proportion of tillers that were decapitated during spring 1990. Perla Retainer displayed higher summer dormancy after rainfall in January 1991 and new tillers of Perla Retainer and Holdfast survived subsequent drought better than tillers of Australian. However, regeneration of the tiller population of Australian after drought ended was enhanced by a slightly higher propensity for tillering during July–September 1991. The results suggested that maintaining grazing pressure and frequency in late winter and early spring should enhance tiller survival and improve the resilience of phalaris to episodes of heavy spring grazing. Later reproductive development probably benefits grazing tolerance in semi-winter-dormant cultivars, but the value of selecting for this in winter-active phalaris is uncertain. In areas with harsh summers, higher summer dormancy is required for survival combined with a capacity for tiller survival should growth occur. However, unnecessarily high summer dormancy will reduce the growth of green herbage and, consequently, animal production.
DISC1 Regulates Mitochondrial Trafficking in a Miro1-GTP-Dependent Manner

The disrupted in schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) protein is implicated in major mental illnesses including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. A key feature of psychiatric disease is aberrant synaptic communication. Correct synaptic transmission is dependent on spatiotemporally regulated energy provision and calcium buffering. This can be achieved by precise distribution of mitochondria throughout the elaborate architecture of the neuron. Central to this process is the calcium sensor and GTPase Miro1, which allows mitochondrial trafficking by molecular motors. While the role of Miro1-calcium binding in mitochondrial transport is well described, far less is known regarding the functions of the two GTPase domains. Here, we investigate the effects of a psychiatric disease-associated mutation in DISC1 on mitochondrial trafficking. We show that this DISC1 mutation impairs Miro1’s ability to transport mitochondria. We also demonstrate the necessity of the first Miro1 GTPase domain in determining direction of mitochondrial transport and the involvement of DISC1 in this process. Finally, we describe the effects of mutant DISC1 on positioning of mitochondria at synapses.
Phenology and flight periodicity of Sirex noctilio (Hymenoptera: Siricidae) in central New York, U.S.A.

Field and laboratory studies were performed to determine the phenology of flight activity and the thermal requirements for adult emergence of Sirex noctilio. Degree‐day (DD) accumulation from egg to adult was measured in bolts of Pinus sylvestris infested with eggs from laboratory‐reared adults. Adult emergence was similarly monitored in bolts from trees that were naturally infested in the field by wild populations of S. noctilio reared at constant temperature. Laboratory‐infested bolts produced mostly males, whereas field‐collected material produced a 2.7 : 1 male‐biased sex ratio. Mean DDs to emergence was 1477.0 ± 13.4 (males) in laboratory‐infested bolts, as well as 1455.2 ± 11.2 (males) and 1577.8 ± 19.5 (females) in field‐collected material. Field‐trapping studies were conducted to compare flight activity with rearing data. Trap captures showed first flight activity and peak catch occurred at 709 and 1145 DDs. The resulting degree‐day model predicts early flight activity in early to mid‐April for pine stands in southeastern U.S.A. , early to mid‐May in the Mid‐Atlantic region, and late June to early July in the northeast.
Six novel PCR-RFLP loci in milk quality candidate genes in Bubalus bubalis

Buffalo have a pivotal and pre-eminent importance in the livestock sector of the country (India). In all the domestic animals, the water buffalo holds the greatest promise and potential for production. Buffalo has star performer status as the premier dairy animal of the country with high potential for milk, meat, fuel, draught power and farm manure production. According to estimates by the "Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations" the global water buffalo population has increased 98% in the last decades, from 88 million in 1961 to 188 million in 2009. India has over 105 million buffaloes with 12 well recognized breeds (Murrah, Nili-Ravi, Surti, Jaffarabadi, Bhadawari, Mehasana, Toda, Pandharpuri, Marthwada, Nagpuri, Banni and Chilka) distributed over different agro-climatic zones and they contribute to about 57% of total milk production in the country. Genetic polymorphisms are playing an increasingly important role as DNA markers in many fields of animal breeding. It has been estimated that there is on an average 0.5 to 1.0 heterozygous SNPs per 1000 base pairs in the human genome (Mark, 2001). In livestock, one expects a slightly lower number of SNPs because of intensive selection in their breeding programmes but the number of SNPs still exceeds other types of genetic
Proteomic Analyses of a Listeria monocytogenes Mutant Lacking σB Identify New Components of the σB Regulon and Highlight a Role for σB in the Utilization of Glycerol

ABSTRACT In Listeria monocytogenes the alternative sigma factor σB plays important roles in both virulence and stress tolerance. In this study a proteomic approach was used to define components of the σB regulon in L. monocytogenes 10403S (serotype 1/2a). Using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and the recently developed isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation technique, the protein expression profiles of the wild type and an isogenic ΔsigB deletion strain were compared. Overall, this study identified 38 proteins whose expression was σB dependent; 17 of these proteins were found to require the presence of σB for full expression, while 21 were expressed at a higher level in the ΔsigB mutant background. The data obtained with the two proteomic approaches showed limited overlap (four proteins were identified by both methods), a finding that highlights the complementarity of the two technologies. Overall, the proteomic data reaffirmed a role for σB in the general stress response and highlighted a probable role for σB in metabolism, especially in the utilization of alternative carbon sources. Proteomic and physiological data revealed the involvement of σB in glycerol metabolism. Five newly identified members of the σB regulon were shown to be under direct regulation of σB using reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR), while random amplification of cDNA ends-PCR was used to map four σB-dependent promoters upstream from lmo0796, lmo1830, lmo2391, and lmo2695. Using RT-PCR analysis of known and newly identified σB-dependent genes, as well as proteomic analyses, σB was shown to play a major role in the stationary phase of growth in complex media.
Canopy gaps in subtropical forest in South Africa: size of the species pool and not the number of available niches limits species richness

We consider whether species richness in canopy gaps in coastal scarp forest (South Africa) is constrained by competition for a limited number of available niches or is a chance effect of recruitment and dispersal limitation on species derived from the surrounding species pool. In so doing we confirm findings from relatively species-poor New Zealand Nothofagus forest. We investigate the contrasting roles of determinism and chance, and the putative assembly of woody plants in gaps, using a technique in which the species richness of small, replicate local assemblages (0.25–m2 quadrats) are sampled within regions (the surrounding gap) that vary in total species richness. The form of the regression of local species richness against regional species richness indicates the extent to which community assembly is under local-ecological control (niche limited). Species richness of local assemblages was not niche limited and increased as a constant proportion of the size of the species pool in a gap. We argue that, in general, species assembly in these forest gaps is chance-driven, and discuss the management implications this has for selective pole-harvesting in these forests.
Response of Tribolium castaneum and Rhyzopertha dominica to various resources, near and far from grain storage

Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) and Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) are common cosmopolitan pests of stored grain and grain products. We evaluated the relative attraction of T. castaneum and R. dominica to wheat, sorghum and cotton seeds in the field, near grain storage facilities and well away from storages in southern and central Queensland using multiple trapping techniques. The results show that T. castaneum is more strongly attracted to linted cotton seed relative to wheat, whereas R. dominica did not respond to cotton seed at all and was attracted only to wheat. Significantly more adults of T. castaneum (10–15 times) were attracted to traps placed on the ground, near grain storage, than to equivalent traps that were suspended (1.5 m above the ground) nearby. These results suggest that Tribolium beetles detect and respond to resources towards the end of their dispersal flight, after which they localize resources while walking. By contrast R. dominica was captured only in suspended traps, which suggests they fly directly onto resources as they localize them. The ability of both species to colonize and reproduce in isolated resource patches within the relatively short time of 1 month is illustrated by the returns from the traps deployed in the field (at least 1 km from the nearest stored grain) even though they caught only a few beetles. The results presented here provide novel insights about the resource location behaviours of both T. castaneum and R. dominica. In particular, the relationship of T. castaneum with non‐cereal resources that are not conventionally associated with this species suggests an emphasis on these other resources in investigating the resource location behaviour of these beetles. This new perspective on the ecology of T. castaneum highlights the potential role of non‐cereal resources (such as the lint on cotton seed) in the spread of grain pest infestations.
How to infer population trends in sparse data: examples with opportunistic sighting records for great white sharks

Aim Biodiversity is declining at accelerating rates. Understanding past and ongoing changes to biodiversity is paramount in prioritizing conservation action and restoring functional ecosystems. Yet long‐term, systematic data on the distribution and abundance of species are sparse. For many organisms, specimen collections and anecdotal accounts of chance sightings or captures constitute the only source of information. Such data have the potential to provide valuable insights on long‐term ecosystem changes, but are often neglected because they are difficult to analyse quantitatively. Here we review available methods and introduce a new approach.
Alternative Risk Premia And Optimal Exercise Of Equity- Based Incentives Under MN-TU, WTAL And Regret- Minimization Regimes.

Equity Based Incentives (“EBIs”) remain the dominant form of incentives in many developed and developing countries; and thus have significant effects on the quality-of-life and subjective well-being of individuals in both small and large firms. The timing of exercise of EBIs and the associated legal and economic ramifications have generated substantial debate. This article: i) critiques existing academic thought on information (disseminated primarily through the Internet) and exercise of employees‟ incentive contracts within the context of industry competition, ii) shows how Equity-Based Incentives (“EBIs”) cause information asymmetry, and vice versa (even with substantial Internet access/penetration), iii) introduces the optimal conditions for exercise of EBIs by „insiders‟ in an era of Internet access; and introduces new methods/conditions to control the monetization of EBIs by executives/employees; and introduces new distribution-free methods/models for the prediction and prevention of the monetization of EBIs; and these models can incorporate estimates of future states of the subject company, behavior patterns (of investors and employees) and the Stock markets and some of the conditions introduced herein are or can be transformed into alternative risk premia strategies; iv) explains how the option exercise decision is part of, and affects capital budgeting decisions of firms; v) applies MN-Transferable-Utility, and introduces the “Flexible Utility Framework” which implicitly assigns a dynamic utility function to specific instances; vi) introduces a new distribution-free approach to modeling risk and behavior. Most of the monetization of EBIs is executed with swaps, forward contracts, futures contracts, Indexed Annuities, equity-linked Annuities, regular loans and insured loans that are secured with EBIs. The analysis of optimal exercise of EBIs may help in formulation of appropriate policies for taxation of EBIs, regulation of securities markets, employee compensation and regulation of competition. <br><br>
Unearthing Details of Time Series of Load: A Dual-scale Input Structured LSTM Approach

Ultrashort term load forecasting for fine-grained residential load has been a challenge due to the uncertainty of residential electricity consumption behaviors. It is a good idea to mine more power consumption details for precise forecasting. Long short-term memory network (LSTM) can do well in characterizing general load shapes referring to daily life routine, but is limited in characterizing peaks and valleys referring to detailed knowledge lying in event-driven activities. To unearth more details, a new input structure named event window (EW) is designed based on reliable analysis that explains a symbiotic relationship between randomness and determinacy of household consumptive activities. Combining an EW structured LSTM to the conventional LSTM, this paper proposes a dual-scale input structured LSTM ultrashort term load forecaster (DILF). The DILF shows satisfactory increased performance in forecasting accuracy in the experiment with an increase in the proportion of training data carrying details led by the synthetic input. More understanding is delivered via cases analyses on the two original networks, i.e., conventional LSTM and pure EW structured LSTM. Finally, applicability of the dual-scale input structure to other neural networks is verified in the experiment.
Towards Federated Learning for HVAC Analytics: A Measurement Study

In recent years, many machine learning (ML) models have been developed for enhancing the performance of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. In all these studies, it is commonly assumed that building data is collected and stored at a central location, usually a cloud server, where the ML models are trained. Collecting data in a centralized location introduces privacy concerns since building data can reveal sensitive information such as the arrival and departure patterns of occupants. In this paper, we advocate federated learning (FL), a new distributed learning paradigm, where an overall ML model is trained without the need for exchanging raw data between the data source and the cloud. It has been noted that model training through FL can compromise the accuracy of ML models. In this paper, we study the question: what is the impact of FL on HVAC model accuracy? As there is no FL platform readily applicable for HVAC analytics, we first develop BuildFL, an open-source platform that is specifically designed for FL of HVAC models. We then present a comprehensive measurement study using five HVAC ML models applied to three building data sets. We analyze the impact of different factors on the model accuracy and set the stage for a deeper study of FL to enable enhanced privacy-preserving HVAC models.
Parameter Estimation of Pramecium Model using Real-coded Genetic Algorithm

In previouse studies (5, 7), we proposed the com- puter model of Paramecium, Virtual Paramecium, based on biological knowledge. The model can ap- proximately realize the membrane potential change for chemical stimuli and mechanical stimuli. The param- eters included in the model were determined based on the results of experiments with the actual organisms, although some parameters could include estimated er- rors. The simulated membrane potential changes by the model, however, showed the different property of time variation from the ones of the living organism. In this paper, we propose an estimation method of the model parameters included in the Virtual Parame- cium using a real-coded genetic algorithm. The method automatically searches the model parameters that can approximately realize the membrane poten- tial change in the actual Paramecium. always be applied to the actual control because the intracellular characteristics of Paramecium are deter- mined corresponding to the various ion concentrations in environments. Therefore, if a computer model can be constructed to realize the behavior based on the in- tracellular changes corresponding to the environmen- tal conditions, an effective control law of Paramecium could be derived. We have proposed the calculation model of mem- brane potential change of Paramecium (5) based on the Hodgkin-Huxley model, which could explain the generation and propagation of action potentials in the squid giant axon (6). Further, we developed the ar- tificial life model, "Virtual Paramecium," which was able to realize the behavior based on the results of the internal processing for stimuli (7). The parame- ters included in the model were determined based on the results of experiments with the actual organisms, although some parameters could include estimated er- rors. The simulated membrane potential changes by the model, however, showed the different property of time variation from the ones of the living organism. Various kinds of nonlinear optimization methods have been proposed to determine the parameters in- cluded the physical models. In several previous stud- ies (8)-(10), it was reported that the genetic algorithm method is an effective method to determine the model parameter values of organisms. In this paper, we pro- pose an estimation method of the model parameters included in the Virtual Paramecium using a real-coded genetic algorithm. In addition, we report on the re- sults that the estimated model parameters by the pro- posed method are able to realize the time variation of membrane potential change similar to that of the living organism. This paper is organized as follows: In Section 2, the calculation model of the membrane potential change of Paramecium is described. In Section 3, the estima- tion method of the model parameters to realize the membrane potential change of actual organism is pro-
The importance of open data for invasive alien species research, policy and management

Rapidly changing environmental conditions and the increasing establishment of invasive alien species present many challenges for policy makers, managers and researchers. The traditional policies for data management, or lack thereof, are obstructing an adequate response to invasive alien species, which requires accurate and up-to-date information. This information can only be provided if data regarding invasive alien species are available and useable by all, irrespective of country, status or purpose. The best way forward is for researchers to publish their data openly, by making use of repositories in which the data are licenced in a permissive manner, while making sure they are credited by the adequate provision of citation. Reducing the barriers to data sharing will improve our ability to respond to the growing issue of biological invasions.
Economic Incentives and the Quality of Return Migrant Scholars: The Impact of China's Thousand Young Talents Program

We study the effect of the Thousand Young Talents Program (TYTP) on the academic quality of return migrant scientists to China. Using a unique dataset of the top Chinese mathematics departments' new hires, we find that the program leads to considerable increases in measures of their educational background and research productivity. The effects are concentrated in the elite C9 league, where the proportion of hires who received PhD degrees from top-50 overseas mathematics departments increased nearly four times after the initiation of the program. The data also reveal large and statistically significant increases in weighted pre-hire publications and weighted citations to pre-hire publications under the program. However, it appears that research output of previously hired faculty members declined after the introduction of TYTP hires, suggesting minimal or even negative impact of TYTP on faculty colleagues' academic achievements.
The Priest, the Sex Worker, and the CEO: Measuring Motivation by Job Type

This study uses latent semantic analysis (LSA) to explore how prevalent measures of motivation are interpreted across very diverse job types. Building on the Semantic Theory of Survey Response (STSR), we calculate “semantic compliance” as the degree to which an individual’s responses follow a semantically predictable pattern. This allows us to examine how context, in the form of job type, influences respondent interpretations of items. In total, 399 respondents from 18 widely different job types (from CEOs through lawyers, priests and artists to sex workers and professional soldiers) self-rated their work motivation on eight commonly applied scales from research on motivation. A second sample served as an external evaluation panel (n = 30) and rated the 18 job types across eight job characteristics. Independent measures of the job types’ salary levels were obtained from national statistics. The findings indicate that while job type predicts motivational score levels significantly, semantic compliance as moderated by job type job also predicts motivational score levels usually at a lesser but significant magnitude. Combined, semantic compliance and job type explained up to 41% of the differences in motional score levels. The variation in semantic compliance was also significantly related to job characteristics as rated by an external panel, and to national income levels. Our findings indicate that people in different contexts interpret items differently to a degree that substantially affects their score levels. We discuss how future measurements of motivation may improve by taking semantic compliance and the STSR perspective into consideration.