Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The olfactory system in Alzheimer’s disease: Pathology, pathophysiology and pathway for therapy

Olfaction is frequently mentioned as a “neglected sense”, although the olfactory system has several interesting and unique anatomical and physiological features. Olfactory involvement is present in several degenerative disorders, especially in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The peripheral and central parts of the olfactory system are damaged even in the early stages of AD, manifesting in profound olfactory deficits. Besides the early pathology, the olfactory system may be involved in the pathogenesis of AD by providing a route of entry for pathological agents still unknown. In contrast to this olfactory vector hypothesis, the olfactory system can be used to deliver therapeutic agents in AD, such as nerve growth factor and insulin, by decreasing the side-effects of the therapy or providing a non-invasive method of delivery.
Experimental Evidence for a Causal Relationship between Timing and Success of Reproduction in the Great Tit Parus m. major

SUMMARY (1) We investigated experimentally whether timing of reproduction is causally involved in the seasonal decline in reproductive success in the great tit Parus m. major L. This is important because of its implications for the optimization of reproductive decisions of the individual bird. (2) Timing of breeding was manipulated by inducing repeat clutches through removal of the first clutch. The experiment was performed in 1987 in two forests (W and 0) and followed up the year after. It was assumed that parental quality was unaffected by the ex-periment. Reproductive success of the experimental and undisturbed control clutches were compared. For forest 0, reproductive success of the experimental clutches was also compared with the expected reproductive success of first clutches laid at the same time. (3) Clutch size, fledging success and nestling weight in experimental clutches were reduced as compared with controls in forest W but not in forest 0. We conclude that late breeding causes reduced pre-fledging reproductive success in forest W but not in forest 0. (4) Recruitment of fledged young in the breeding population was strongly reduced by the experiment. We conclude that late breeding caused reduced post-fledging reproductive success in both forests. (5) Survival of females was reduced by the experiment in forest 0 relative to controls and this corresponded with the natural seasonal trend. Survival of females in W and of males in both forests was unaffected. In experimental females, clutch size in the next breeding season was reduced by 16 eggs compared with controls. The clutch size of the males was unaffected, as was the following year's laying date for both sexes. We conclude that future reproductive success of females, but not of males, is also related to the timing of current reproduction. (6) Possible mechanisms underlying the relationship between date and reproductive success are discussed. It is suggested that differences in pre-fledging reproductive success induced by the experiment are related to food availability. Differences in post-fledging reproductive success are probably caused by competition between early and late young.
Carbon balance and tree growth in a Fagus sylvatica stand

Les objectifs de cette etude etaient 1) d'estimer la photosynthese a l'echelle de la couronne, puis a l'echelle de l'arbre a partir de mesures foliaires, 2) de determiner la proportion du carbone assimile utilisee pour la construction de bois et sa variation en fonction du statut social de l'arbre, 3) de valider l'estimation de l'assimilation en la comparant a une mesure independante (technique des correlations turbulentes, EC). Les mesures (croissance et echanges gazeux) ont ete effectuees pendant la saison de vegetation 1997 sur cinq hetres de 30 ans de statuts sociaux differents (dominant, codominant et domine). Une relation non lineaire entre l'assimilation nette de CO 2 et le rayonnement photosynthetiquement actif (PAR) a ete etablie pour chaque arbre echantillon. L'assimilation nette de CO 2 a l'echelle de la couronne a ensuite ete estimee pour une periode sans stress hydrique. L'estimation de l'assimilation brute a l'echelle du peuplement a partir de mesures foliaires est en bon accord avec des mesures effectuees a l'echelle du peuplement par EC.
Survivorship in Philopatric and Dispersing Kangaroo Rats (Dipodomys Spectabilis)

I use long—term mark—recapture data for banner—tailed kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spectabilis) to assess survival of philopatric and dispersing individuals. Results for 147 juveniles indicate that individuals that acquired parental resources, in this case large complex burrow systems and food catches, were significantly more likely to survive to reproductive age than individuals that successfully dispersed but did not acquire parental resources. Survival of juveniles that left their natal burrows and moved to other burrows was independent of the distance moved, which suggests that familiarity with natal areas and proximity to relatives impart no survival advantage in this species. Of the 37 juveniles that acquired natal burrows, 5 males and 7 females did so after their mothers abandoned those burrows. The frequency of burrow abandonment by adult females was independent of maternal age, and survival of abandoning mothers did not differ significantly from that of nonabandoning females See full-text article at .
Diurnal and circadian regulations by three melatonin receptors in the brain and retina of olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus: profiles following exogenous melatonin

To establish the molecular basis of circadian rhythm control by melatonin receptors (MTs), we investigated the mitochondrial ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expressions of three types of MTs in different tissues of the olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus). All three types of MT mRNAs were expressed in the neural tissues, while MT1 mRNA was expressed in the peripheral tissues and MT2 and MT3 mRNAs were weakly expressed or undetected in these tissues. We observed increased MT mRNA expression in the neural tissues at night under both light–dark (LD) and constant dark (DD) conditions. Although the melatonin-treated cultured pineal gland samples showed similar diurnal variations with high-MT mRNA expression levels at night compared to those of untreated cultured pineal gland samples, the expression levels were considerably higher in the melatonin-treated samples. The plasma melatonin level also significantly increased at night. Under DD conditions, the expression patterns of MT mRNAs were similar to those under the LD photocycle, but the peak was lower and the circadian change patterns were less clear. These findings reinforce the hypothesis that MTs are active in processing light information, and that these genes are regulated by the circadian clock and light, thus suggesting that MTs play an important role in daily and circadian variations in the brain and retina of olive flounders.
Spatial and temporal changes in egg production in the western rock lobster (Panulirus cygnus) fishery

Abstract Size at maturity in the western rock lobster (Panulirus cygnus) fishery in Australia increases from north to south and female lobsters carry either one or two batches of eggs per season depending on their carapace length. There has been a steady decrease in the size at first maturity of western rock lobster over the last 30 years, and there are now significantly more small females, many below the legal minimum size, contributing to the brood stock than any time since the fishery has been researched. Biological data were used to show the current contribution to egg production in different management regions of the fishery and historical length‐frequency data were used to show how egg production has changed in those regions overtime. Reasons for the change in size at maturity in this fishery are unclear, but the outcome has been that egg production is now more evenly distributed across management zones. Egg production was high at Abrolhos Islands in the 1990s owing to strong year classes of breeding animals entering the fishery over those years. In the period since 2000, egg production has fallen sharply at the islands, but has increased in the coastal population compared with the 1980s and 1990s.
UNSECURED CREDIT, PRODUCT VARIETY, AND UNEMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS

Revolving credit is the prime determinant of short-run household liquidity and comoves positively with product variety and negatively with unemployment. I develop a theory of feedback between revolving credit and product development and examine its ability to explain labor market volatility. Extending the Mortensen–Pissarides model with an endogenous borrowing constraint and free entry of monopolistically competitive firms reproduces stylized facts in the data and amplifies both productivity and financial shocks through mutual causality. Higher debt limits encourage firm entry and raise product variety (the entry channel), and greater variety makes default more costly and thereby raises the equilibrium debt level (the consumption value channel). Though productivity shocks are sufficient to generate higher volatility, financial shocks are essential in approximating the time series patterns of unemployment, vacancies, and revolving credit in the data, and reproduce the rise in unemployment during the Great Recession.
Absorption from the peritoneal cavity

This paper deals with a continuation of earlier studies,' more particularly of Part II. , in which absorption of typhoid bacilli from the peritoneal cavity, and the distribution of the bacilli in the blood and organs, were considered. In the present work an attempt has been made to determine the number of typhoid bacilli present in the blood of a rabbit at varying intervals after injection into the peritoneal cavity, the animal being sacrificed after four days, and the bacilli still remaining alive in the peritoneum and organs estimated.
Morphological transitions in the life cycle of Ustilago maydis and their genetic control by the a and b loci

Abstract Banuett, F. , and Herskowitz, I. 1994. Morphological transitions in the life cycle of Ustilago maydis and their genetic control by the a and b loci. Experimental Mycology 18: 247-266. Two forms characterize the life cycle of Ustilago maydis: a haploid yeast-like form and a filamentous dikaryotic form. Dimorphism and other aspects of the life cycle (including tumor induction) are governed by two mating type loci, a and b . Here we report characterization of two different morphological transitions in the life cycle of U. maydis . First, we describe an assay for conjugation tube formation in which cellular response is rapid and occurs synchronously and uniformly in the population. Using this assay, we demonstrate that different alleles of the a locus (but not the b locus) are necessary for conjugation tube formation. We also show that the b locus determines the type of filament formed after cell fusion: different b alleles lead to formation of true filaments, whereas identical b alleles result in production of pseudofilaments. Second, we analyze the role of a and b in postfusion events leading to filament formation in diploid strains. We show that diploid strains heterozygous for both a and b are capable of a dimorphic transition from yeast-like to filamentous growth when shifted from rich medium to low-nitrogen medium. This transition has two components: the first is dependent on the a locus and generates structures similar to conjugation tubes; the second is dependent on the b locus and produces true hyphal structures. We surmise that similar events take place in formation of the dikaryotic filament.
Teacher perceptions of facilitators and barriers to implementing classroom physical activity breaks

Abstract Physical activity plays an important role in childhood development and is associated with positive health, social, emotional, and academic benefits. Despite this, children are often sedentary for most of their school day and fail to meet daily activity recommendations. Incorporating physical activity breaks into the classroom can achieve many positive outcomes, however has not been widely adopted. This study used the diffusion of innovation theory as a framework to examine teacher perceptions of barriers and facilitators to incorporating physical activity breaks into their elementary classrooms. Teachers perceived compatibility with teaching philosophy and observability of benefits to most students as strong facilitators. They struggled to reconcile relative advantage and trailability, primarily due to classroom management issues associated with just a few students. Lack of complexity facilitated implementation, however upper grade teachers felt a strong need to connect activity to academics which threatened complexity. The authors conclude with recommendations to increase adoption.
Piscivory and prey selection of four predator species in a whitefish dominated subarctic lake

According to logistic regressions derived for pike Esox lucius and burbot Lota lota, the probability of ingesting fishes in Lake Muddusjarvi, northern Finland, was 50% at 19·3 and 22·1 cm LT, whereas Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus and brown trout Salmo trutta shifted to piscivory at the lengths of 25·7 and 26·4 cm LT. The specialist piscivores, pike and burbot, consumed more prey species and took a wider range of prey sizes than Arctic charr and brown trout. The prey length for all predators increased in relationship to predator length. Whitefish Coregonus lavaretus was the dominant prey species in the lake and in the diet of all the piscivorous species. The whitefish population was divided into three forms, of which the slow-growing, and the most numerous densely rakered whitefish form (DR), was selected by all predator species. This form also had the smallest average size and widest habitat range, utilizing both pelagic and epibenthic habitats. Two sparsely rakered whitefish forms (LSR and SSR) occupied only epibenthic habitats and had lower relative densities than DR. These forms, LSR and SSR, had a minor importance in the diet of predator species.
Survival of Wild Boars in a Variable Environment: Unexpected Life-history Variation in an Unusual Ungulate

Abstract The wild boar (Sus scrofa) is a large, sexually dimorphic ungulate that exhibits a life-history tactic different from what would be predicted for a mammal of its size. In particular, litter size is larger and adult survival usually lower in wild boars than in other species of comparable size. We used capture–mark–recapture methods to model survival in a Mediterranean population (S. s. majori) of wild boars during an 8-year period, using a large sample of individually tagged animals of known age, to investigate demographic patterns and the effects of variable environmental conditions (e.g., summer droughts), which are believed to have a strong impact on the demography of this species. Contrary to the predictions based on our current knowledge of life-history theory, survival of wild boars differed less among age classes and between sexes than has been reported in other large mammals. As predicted from current theories on sexual selection, the impact of environmental factors was stronger on males than on females. This study documents for wild boars a life-history tactic different from the accepted model for large ungulates but similar to the tactic observed in small terrestrial mammals.
Pattern in Life History and the Environment

The possibility that iteroparity may be an evolutionary response to uncertain survival from zygote to first maturity is examined in a competition model and a genetic model. The competition model used is an alternative to the logistic model and is based on the Ricker formulation of population growth. The genetic model is a straightforward two-allele system. Both models show clear advantage in iteroparity if there is uncertainty from zygote to first maturity. Illustrative material on marine plankton-feeding fishes suggests the modeling is realistic. Consideration of other evidence suggests the approach may contribute to understanding the dynamics of evolution.
INDUCED LONG-TERM RESISTANCE OF BIRCH FOLIAGE AGAINST DEFOLIATORS: DEFENSIVE OR INCIDENTAL?

The long—term increase in foliage resistance of white birch subjected to artificial defoliation, which has been previously documented, may be a defensive response against leaf predators, or it may be passive deterioration in foliage quality due to lost nutrients. We tested these hypotheses by two experiments in which foliage quality was assayed by the growth response of a geometrid caterpillar that is the tree's major herbivore in our area. Fertilization of the soil around defoliated trees did not eliminate the change in foliage quality caused by mechanical damage, contrary to the prediction of the nutrient—stress hypothesis. Another result consistent with the defensive hypothesis was that insect damage was a more effective inducer of changes in birch foliage than mechanical damages was. Artificial defoliation was an effective inducer in a nutrient—poor but not in a nutrient—rich site; this result can be explained by either of the two hypotheses.
Electrophoretic Analysis of Isoenzymes of Acholeplasma Species

Thirteen Acholeplasma strains representing three named species, Acholeplasma laidlawii, Acholeplasma granularum, and Acholeplasma oculi, were examined for the presence of 30 enzymes by horizontal starch gel electrophoresis. A total of 29 enzymes were demonstrated. Twelve of these enzymes have not been reported previously in acholeplasmas (alcohol dehydrogenase, aldolase, alkaline phosphatase, arginase, arginine deiminase, carbarnyl phosphokinase, galactose dehydrogenase, galactose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glutamate dehydrogenase [nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide], glutamate dehydrogenase [nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate], α-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase, and xanthine dehydrogenase). An average group cluster analysis was carried out on the basis of estimates of dissimilarity coefficients. This analysis distinguished among the strains tested, was of some help in identification, and may also be useful in epidemiological investigations.
Isotopic Confirmation of the Timing and Intensity of Maize Consumption in Greater Cahokia

The history of maize (Zea mays L.) in the eastern Woodlands remains an important study topic. As currently understood, these histories appear to vary regionally and include scenarios positing an early introduction and an increase in use over hundreds of, if not a thousand, years. In this article, we address the history of maize in the American Bottom region of Illinois and its importance in the development of regional Mississippian societies, specifically in the Cahokian polity located in the central Mississippi River valley. We present new lines of evidence that confirm subsistence-level maize use at Cahokia was introduced rather abruptly at about AD 900 and increased rapidly over the following centuries. Directly dated archaeobotanical maize remains, human and dog skeletal carbon isotope values, and a revised interpretation of the archaeological record support this interpretation. Our results suggest that population increases and the nucleation associated with Cahokia were facilitated by the newly introduced practices of maize cultivation and consumption. Maize should be recognized as having had a key role in providing subsistence security that—combined with social, political, and religious changes—fueled the emergence of Cahokia in AD 1050.
Graphical Representation and Stability Conditions of Predator-Prey Interactions

The general nature of the predator-prey interaction has been depicted as a graph of predator versus prey densities from which conditions for stability of the interaction are predicted. An example of a three-species interaction is also presented. Variations of the graph are introduced, and it is shown that an otherwise unstable interaction may be stabilized by the presence of either an inviolable prey hiding place, or extremely low predation pressure at moderate predator and high prey densities, or another predator-limiting resource. Stability is always conferred when the predator is severely limited at its equilibrium density by one of its resources other than its supply of prey. Predators should tend to be limited at their equilibrium densities by more than one of their resources. When either of the two foregoing situations pertains, regular predator-prey oscillations should not be observable. The stability of the interaction close to equilibrium was found to depend exclusively, in the mathematically-continuous model, upon the slopes of two lines in the graph at equilibrium. Stability can be asymptotic rather than oscillatory in type. An equation for the period of oscillatory interactions is also advanced. The effects of Natural Selection on the isoclines, and thus the stability, is not clear-cut. Selection of the prey tends to stabilize the interaction; the opposite is true for selection on the predator.
An Online Grey-Box Model Based on Unscented Kalman Filter to Predict Temperature Profiles in Smart Buildings

Nearly 40% of primary energy consumption is related to the usage of energy in Buildings. Energy-related data such as indoor air temperature and power consumption of heating/cooling systems can be now collected due to the widespread diffusion of Internet-of-Things devices. Such energy data can be used (i) to train data-driven models than learn the thermal properties of buildings and (ii) to predict indoor temperature evolution. In this paper, we present a Grey-box model to estimate thermal dynamics in buildings based on Unscented Kalman Filter and thermal network representation. The proposed methodology has been applied in two different buildings with two different thermal network discretizations to test its accuracy in indoor air temperature prediction. Due to a lack of a real-world data sampled by Internet of Things (IoT) devices, a realistic data-set has been generated using the software Energy+, by referring to real industrial building models. Results on synthetic and realistic data show the accuracy of the proposed methodology in predicting indoor temperature trends up to the next 24 h with a maximum error lower than 2 °C, considering one year of data with different weather conditions.
Length–weight relationships and length at first maturity for fish species in the upper Miranda River, southern Pantanal wetland, Brazil

Summary Length–weight relationships (LWR) were estimated for 17 species and total length at first maturity (L50) for three species of freshwater fishes from the Miranda River, southern Pantanal, Brazil. The b values were compared for some species in the Paraguay River basin with the northern (Cuiaba River) part of the basin; differences in length–weight relationships were significantly different for Pseudoplatystoma corruscans, P. reticulatum (syn. P. fasciatum). First references on L50 and LWR are presented for two and eight fish species, respectively, as well as the new maximum total length for two species.