Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using Well Water to Increase Hydroperiod as a Management Option for Pond-Breeding Amphibians

Abstract Drying of wetlands before the completion of larval development is a major factor controlling reproductive success of amphibians breeding in temporary ponds. For some endangered taxa, such drying can severely limit population viability and species survival. One way of reducing the impact of premature drying is to add water to temporary ponds via an outside source, but data on the value of this strategy are almost nonexistent. We tested whether water from nearby wells could be used to avoid pond drying and increase reproductive success for the endangered dusky gopher frog (Rana sevosa). During a 7-week period in 2001, we added over 366,000 L of water from nearby wells to the breeding site for this frog and were able to increase and maintain water levels until a heavy natural rainfall filled the pond basin. This avoided complete larval mortality and 130 metamorphic frogs were produced, the first successful reproduction since 1998. Our study provides an important initial step in evaluating the use of well water to increase the hydroperiod of breeding ponds for anurans; however, further studies should be undertaken before this method is used as a conservation tool to avoid larval mortality of imperiled amphibians.
Variations in zooplankton community structure and water quality conditions in three habitat types in northern Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria is vulnerable to increasing eutrophication, which has become manifested in ecological changes not yet fully understood. From October 2009 to January 2010, the influence of water quality on zooplankton community structure in three habitats in northern Lake Victoria, including sewage lagoons at the lake shores, Napoleon Gulf (NG) and the interface between the lake and the Nile River (also known as Source of the Nile River), was examined. Selected physico-chemical parameters (dissolved oxygen concentration; water temperature; electrical conductivity; water depth) were measured in-situ, while water samples were collected for chlorophyll-a determinations. Zooplankton was sampled with conical plankton net (mesh size 60 μm; 0.25-m mouth diameter). The NG and Source of the River Nile (SN) sampling sites exhibited significantly higher species richness, relative to the Sewage Lagoons (SL) site (F2,69 = 68.533; P 90% for both sites), while Rotifera dominated the zooplankton community at the SL site (97%). The mean values (±SE) of soluble reactive phosphorus (4060.7 ± 776.6 μg L−1) and nitrate–nitrogen (2121.7 ± 355.5 μg L−1) were much higher for the SL site, compared with the SN (8.2 ± 1.1 μg L−1; 28.6 ± 5.3 μg L−1, respectively), and NG site (7.8 ± 0.8 μg L−1; 32.7 ± 5.4 μg L−1, respectively). This study indicated the nutrient-rich conditions observed at the SL site suppress the zooplankton species diversity, but favour species-specific abundance and biomass. These study results indicate the zooplankton community structure can be used as a biological indicator of water quality in the Lake Victoria region.
BEHAVIOR OF LISTERIA MONOCYTOGENES AND ESCHERICHIA COLI O157:H7 IN FRESH‐SLICED CACTUS‐PEAR FRUIT

Storage experiments were conducted to follow the behavior of Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157:H7, deliberately inoculated on fresh-cut cactus-pear fruits before packaging under modified and control atmosphere and stored at four different temperatures (4, 8, 12 and 20C). L. monocytogenes was able to proliferate during storage at different temperature both in control and modified atmosphere. By comparing the sanitary-risk values with those of shelf life, it is possible to conclude that the storage of cactus-pear samples at temperatures greater than 4C, both in control and in modified atmospheres, could lead to a significant health-time risk, and that this is strictly affected by temperature. E. coli O157:H7 was able to proliferate only in the sample stored at 4 and 8C in both package atmospheres. On the contrary, this species was completely suppressed at the higher temperatures. In our study, E. coli O157:H7 appeared to be much less suited for survival on the surface of the fruit than L. monocytogenes.
Land use influences the spatiotemporal controls on nitrification and denitrification in headwater streams

Abstract N and C cycles in headwater streams are coupled, and land use can modify these cycles by increasing N availability and removing riparian vegetation. To increase our understanding of how land use modifies the controls on N cycling, we quantified rates of 2 microbial N transformations in a total of 18 agricultural and urban streams (with and without riparian buffers) for 3 y to examine how riparian vegetation and land use influence sediment nitrification and denitrification. Nitrification rates were highest in agricultural streams in late spring. Nitrification was not related to streamwater NH4+ concentrations but was positively related to sediment C content (linear regression, r2 = 0.72, p < 0.001). This result suggests that benthic decomposition provided NH4+ (via mineralization) to increase sediment nitrification. Denitrification rates did not differ among landuse types but were positively related to sediment C content and streamwater NO3– concentration (multiple linear regression, R2 = 0.78, p < 0.001). Sediment C content, the primary predictor of denitrification rates, did not differ among land uses, but streamwater NO3– concentration, the secondary predictor of denitrification rates, was highest in winter and in agricultural streams, indicating that land use and season were more important determinants of denitrification than coupled nitrification. Substrate availability (N and C) for N transformations generally did not differ between buffered and unbuffered streams within a similar landuse type, probably because of the confounding influence of tile drainage systems, which effectively decouple stream channels from their riparian zones. Land use influenced the delivery of the necessary substrates for N transformations but decreased the role of riparian zones in stream N cycling by simplifying the drainage network of headwater streams.
Gene therapy for severe combined immune deficiency

Infants born with severe combined immune deficiencies are prone to life-threatening infections and, without treatment, do not survive beyond the first year of life. Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation from a fully matched donor offers the possibility of cure. In the absence of a suitable matched donor, haploidentical transplants from a parental donor may be undertaken, but these are associated with more complications and lower success rates. Recently, an alternative therapeutic option based on retroviral gene delivery has been used to correct X-linked severe combined immune deficiency (SCID-X1) and adenosine deaminase deficiency. Clinical trials have established that in situations where ex vivo gene transfer into haematopoietic progenitor cells confers a strong selective advantage, the procedure is a feasible alternative to haploidentical transplantation, with favourable kinetics of immune reconstitution.
Suppression of PTEN Expression by NF-κB Prevents Apoptosis

ABSTRACT NF-κB is a heterodimeric transcription activator consisting of the DNA binding subunit p50 and the transactivation subunit p65/RelA. NF-κB prevents cell death caused by tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and other genotoxic insults by directly inducing antiapoptotic target genes. We report here that the tumor suppressor PTEN, which functions as a negative regulator of phosphatidylinositol (PI)-3 kinase/Akt-mediated cell survival pathway, is down regulated by p65 but not by p50. Moreover, a subset of human lung or thyroid cancer cells expressing high levels of endogenous p65 showed decreased expression of PTEN that could be rescued by specific inhibition of the NF-κB pathway with IκB overexpression as well as with small interfering RNA directed against p65. Importantly, TNF, a potent inducer of NF-κB activity, suppressed PTEN gene expression in IKKβ+/+ cells but not in IKKβ−/− cells, which are deficient in the NF-κB activation pathway. These findings indicated that NF-κB activation was necessary and sufficient for inhibition of PTEN expression. The promoter, RNA, and protein levels of PTEN are down-regulated by NF-κB. The mechanism underlying suppression of PTEN expression by NF-κB was independent of p65 DNA binding or transcription function and involved sequestration of limiting pools of transcriptional coactivators CBP/p300 by p65. Restoration of PTEN expression inhibited NF-κB transcriptional activity and augmented TNF-induced apoptosis, indicating a negative regulatory loop involving PTEN and NF-κB. PTEN is, thus, a novel target whose suppression is critical for antiapoptosis by NF-κB.
Beiträge zur Taxonomie und Chorologie der mitteleuropäischen Utricularia‐Arten 2. Androsporogenese, Chromosomenzahlen und Pollenmorphologie

1 Die Androsporogenese und die Pollenbildung von U. vulgaris L. , U. intermedia Hayne und U. minor L. verlauft im allgemeinen typisch und normal, die von U. australis R. Br. , U. ochroleuca Hartm. und U. bremii Heer dagegen stark gestort. Hier kommt es zur Restkern-, Zwergpollen- und Polyadenbildung sowie zum Pollenabort. Die Storungen konnen fur die bekannte Sterilitat der drei Sippen verantwortlich gemacht werden. 2 Die Chromosomenzahl von U. vulgaris L. , U. australis R. Br. , U. intermedia Hayne, U. ochroleuca Hartm. und U. minor L. betragt n = 22. Daneben treten bei U. australis R. Br. und U. ochroleuca Hartm. Zahlen zwischen n = 18 und n = 24 auf. 3 Der Pollen aller Arten auser U. bremii Heer ist 10–19-stephanocolporat. Die Endoaperturen bilden einen Endocolpus transversalis. Syncolpie der Ectoaperturen tritt gelegentlich auf. Die Grose der Normalpollen betragt fur die Polachse 25–45 μm, fur den Aquatordurchmesser 22–38 μm. Die Exine ist punctitectat; infratectale Bacula sind vorhanden. 4 Der Pollen von U. bremii Heer ist unregelmasig spiraperturat. Seine Oberflache erinnert in ihrem Aussehen an „Gehirnwindungen”. 5 Der Pollen der mitteleuropaischen Arten reprasentiert den am starksten abgeleiteten Typ der Gattung. 1 Microsporogenesis and pollen development in U. vulgaris L. , U. intermedia Hayne, and U. minor L. occur typically. In U. australis R. Br. , U. ochroleuca Hartm. , and U. bremii Heer formation of micronuclei, micropollen, of polyades and abortion of pollen were observed. These aberrations may be responsible for the often affirmed sterility of the mentioned taxa. 2 In U. vulgaris L. , U. australis R. Br. , U. intermedia Hayne, U. ochroleuca Hartm. , and U. minor L. the number of chromosomes is n = 22. In U. australis R. Br. and U. ochroleuca Hartm. we occasionally counted n = 18, 19, 20, 23 or 24 chromosomes. 3 The pollen grains of all species but U. bremii Heer are 10–19-stephanocolporate. The endoapertures form an endocolpus transversalis; syncolpy of the ectoapertures occurs here and there. The size of normal pollen grains is for the polar axis 25–45 μm, for the equatorial diameter 22–38 μm. The exine is punctitectate; bacules infratectales occur. 4 The pollen grains of U. bremii Heer are irregularily spiroaperturate. Their surfaces look like the windings of the brain. 5 The pollen grains of the centraleuropean species represent the most derived type of the genus.
Comparison of two management systems of dairy farmlets based on conservation of either hay or silage

Two management systems for dairy farms, early (silage farmlet) and late (hay farmlet) conservation, were compared for milk production in 4 consecutive years, at 2 cowsha. Half of the total silage farmlet area was made to wilted silage in each year. The remaining area was conserved as direct-cut silage in the first year and hay in the fourth year. About 40-50% of the hay farmlet area was made to hay. Over the 4 years, the silage farmlet produced an average of 8.2% more milk and 11.9% more (P<0.01) milk fat per year than the hay farmlet. The improvement in milk and milk fat production averaged 2.7 and 5% (P<0.01) in the spring and 27.4 and 30% (P<0.01) in the period from commencement of supplementary feeding in the summer. On average, the silage farmlet conserved a greater area, but because of high storage losses and greater consumption, it required more brought-in feed than the hay farmlet.
Predation on the Arboreal Eggs of Three Species of Phyllomedusa in Central Amazônia

Abstract We investigated the aspects of the reproductive characteristics of three species of Phyllomedusa, identified the main embryo predators, and quantified the impact of different predators on clutches of each Phyllomedusa species in Central Amazonia, Brazil. Clutches of Phyllomedusa tarsius had the lowest proportion of attack by predators (29%), 59% of Phyllomedusa tomopterna clutches were attacked by predators, and 61% of Phyllomedusa bicolor clutches were attacked by predators. Staphilynid beetles and phorid flies were the main causes of clutch loss (18 and 17 clutches, respectively), followed by mammals (6), and unidentified (13) predators. Our field observations showed that egg mortality per clutch resulting from phorid flies and staphilynid beetles predation that varied from 67% in P. tomopterna to 77% in P. tarsius. Mammal predation was registered only in P. bicolor clutches, and it was 100%. High clutch attacked rates and within-clutch mortality suggest that predation plays an important role in determining larval recruitment for arboreal egg-laying in Central Amazonia.
Modeling the Dynamics of Natural Forest Ecosystems in the Northeast of European Russia under Climate Change and Forest Fires

Abstract: The individual-based EFIMOD simulation model was used for regional-scale assessments of the dynamics of basic characteristics of the carbon and nitrogen balance in the forest ecosystems of north central Russia. Two forest strict nature reserves were chosen as case studies. Data from the National Forest Inventory were used for model initialization. Initial soil data were taken from a soil survey database containing data on soil organic matter and nitrogen content in the organic layer and mineral soil for different forest types and regions of European Russia. Standard meteorological data were used as climatic inputs. Two simulation scenarios (without disturbances and with forest fires) were coupled with 2 climatic ones (actual climate and the scenario of climate change). The main sources of uncertainty were analyzed and the model parameters were evaluated. A Monte Carlo procedure was applied for evaluation of the robustness of coefficients. Simulation results showed that the greatest carbon accumulation occurred in the scenario without disturbances. Fires resulted in significant losses in soil organic matter and tree biomass through direct and indirect carbon dioxide emissions. Simulated climate change led to an increased decomposition rate of soil organic matter and a related increase in the productivity of vegetation; however, for this region, the carbon balance was positive. This was primarily because young and middle-aged stands are prevalent in the region modeled. A full analysis would require analytical data on the possible dynamics of mature and over-mature forests in the same scenarios of climate change and forest fires.
Nervous Mechanisms Underlying Intersegmental Co-Ordination of Leg Movements During Walking in the Cockroach

1. The activity in identical motoneurones innervating leg muscles of the three thoracic segments of the cockroach has been recorded in ( a ) normal walking animals, ( b ) walking animals after lesions to the nervous system and/or amputation of the mesothoracic legs, and ( c ) restrained de-afferented preparations. 2. The phase of levator motoneurone burst activity of the mesothoracic leg in the metathoracic cycle is almost 0·5 for all walking speeds above 2 steps/sec, confirming that a tripod gait is used at all but the slowest speeds. 3. The burst-generating systems in each segment are centrally coupled because in de-afferented preparations there is a tendency for the bursts in the mesothoraci segment to begin near the end of the metathoracic bursts, and vice versa. 4. Sensory input from leg receptors is also important in co-ordinating stepping movements of the different legs since ( a ) there are some differences in motoneurone activity of de-afferented and walking preparations, and ( b ) amputation of the mesothoracic legs at the trochanter leads to an immediate change in the co-ordination of the remaining four legs. 5. It is proposed that two mechanisms are important in co-ordinating leg movements in a slow walking cockroach ( a ) mutual inhibition between levator burst-generating systems in adjacent ipsilateral legs, and ( b ) an inhibitory reflex pathway from the campaniform sensilla of the trochanter to the burst-generating system of each leg. The second of these two mechanisms may become less important as the walking speed increases.
In-stream itaconic acid recovery from aspergillus terreus fedbatch fermentation

Abstract The broad application of itaconic acid in synthetic resins, fibers, plastics, rubbers, surfactants, and oil additives has resulted in an increased demand for this product. As an end step of biobased itaconic acid production, a suitable downstream recovery procedure using Aspergillus terreus as a study model was analyzed. Here we present preliminary work to integrate fungal fermentation with in-stream product recovery (ISPR) using pertraction for itaconic acid. Based on prior knowledge and an initial solvent screening, solvent extraction using 2-methyl tetrahydrofuran (2m-THF) was selected as the preferred technique for recovering itaconic acid.1,2
Improving the accuracy and realism of Bayesian phylogenetic analyses

The Bayesian notion of probability is highly attractive for phylogenetic applications. It provides a readily interpretable measure of uncertainty in a phylogenetic estimate with explicit underlying assumptions, easily incorporates uncertainty in parameter values, does not require the specification of a null hypothesis, and naturally allows beliefs to be updated as more data are gathered. Resultant uncertainty in phylogenetic hypotheses can be accommodated in downstream comparative studies, effectively estimating the probability of comparative hypotheses directly. The primary drawback of the Bayesian approach seems to be the sensitivity of its conclusions, both to specification of a stochastic model of character change and the chosen priors on its component parameters. Given the cohesiveness and convenience of this framework, the phylogenetics community has ample motivation to work towards ensuring the accuracy of Bayesian analyses. Much remains to be done to understand the relative sensitivity of inferences to different model and prior violations, both generally (across all reasonable parts of parameter space) and specifically (for individual data sets). At a general level, we need a deeper understanding of which simplifying assumptions of our models are most likely to bias inferences and how particular prior specifications might affect inferences. At a specific level, almost all effort to date (both theoretical and empirical) has been focused on the relative fit of models to a particular data set, despite the fact that
New Species and Isolates of Spore-cyst Fungi (Plectomycetes: Ascosphaerales) from Australia

Fungi in the genus Ascosphaera (Plectomycetes: Ascosphaerales) are of agricultural and horticultural interest as they are only found, in nature, in association with social and solitary bees. To date, only one member of the genus, A. osmophila, has been described from Australia. In this paper, four new species of Ascosphaera, A. duoformis, A. flava, A. solina and A. subcuticulata, are described from Australia, together with previously unrecorded Australian isolates of A. acerosa, A. atra and the honey bee chalkbrood fungus, A. apis.
Geometric Support for Dark Matter by an Unaligned Einstein Ring in A3827

The nondetection of dark matter (DM) particles in increasingly stringent laboratory searches has encouraged alternative gravity theories where gravity is sourced only from visible matter. Here, we consider whether such theories can pass a two-dimensional test posed by gravitational lensing—to reproduce a particularly detailed Einstein ring in the core of the galaxy cluster A3827. We find that when we require the lensing mass distribution to strictly follow the shape (ellipticity and position angle) of the light distribution of cluster member galaxies, intracluster stars, and the X-ray emitting intracluster medium, we cannot reproduce the Einstein ring, despite allowing the mass-to-light ratios of these visible components to freely vary with radius to mimic alternative gravity theories. Alternatively, we show that the detailed features of the Einstein ring are accurately reproduced by allowing a smooth, freely oriented DM halo in the lens model, with relatively small contributions from the visible components at a level consistent with their observed brightnesses. This dominant DM component is constrained to have the same orientation as the light from the intracluster stars, indicating that the intracluster stars trace the gravitational potential of this component. The Einstein ring of A3827 therefore presents a new challenge for alternative gravity theories: not only must such theories find agreement between the total lensing mass and visible mass, but they must also find agreement between the projected sky distribution of the lensing mass and that of the visible matter, a more stringent test than has hitherto been posed by lensing data.
Contrastive Training for Improved Out-of-Distribution Detection

Reliable detection of out-of-distribution (OOD) inputs is increasingly understood to be a precondition for deployment of machine learning systems. This paper proposes and investigates the use of contrastive training to boost OOD detection performance. Unlike leading methods for OOD detection, our approach does not require access to examples labeled explicitly as OOD, which can be difficult to collect in practice. We show in extensive experiments that contrastive training significantly helps OOD detection performance on a number of common benchmarks. By introducing and employing the Confusion Log Probability (CLP) score, which quantifies the difficulty of the OOD detection task by capturing the similarity of inlier and outlier datasets, we show that our method especially improves performance in the `near OOD' classes -- a particularly challenging setting for previous methods.
Improved Detection of Adversarial Images Using Deep Neural Networks

Machine learning techniques are immensely deployed in both industry and academy. Recent studies indicate that machine learning models used for classification tasks are vulnerable to adversarial examples, which limits the usage of applications in the fields with high precision requirements. We propose a new approach called Feature Map Denoising to detect the adversarial inputs and show the performance of detection on the mixed dataset consisting of adversarial examples generated by different attack algorithms, which can be used to associate with any pre-trained DNNs at a low cost. Wiener filter is also introduced as the denoise algorithm to the defense model, which can further improve performance. Experimental results indicate that good accuracy of detecting the adversarial examples can be achieved through our Feature Map Denoising algorithm.