Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic aspects of cold resistance and related characters in newborn Merino lambs

Resistance to body cooling and rate of recovery from induced hypothermia were measured in 287 single, newborn Merino lambs from 24 different sire families, using a water bath test in which partly immersed lambs were progressively cooled. Birth weight, birthcoat type (fine-hairy) and skin thickness were recorded at the time of test. There was an unexpected occurrence of congenital goitre, the incidence and severity of which was estimated by manual palpation of the thyroid gland. Heritability (¦ s.e.) of cold resistance (CR), estimated by paternal half-sib analysis, was 0.70 ¦ 0.25. Sex of lamb, type of weather, time of test, Fecundin treatment and age of ewe were fitted in the model as fixed effects but none were significant. Other heritable traits (h2 ¦ s.e.) included birthweight (0.50 ¦ 0.22), birthcoat grade (0.61 ¦ 0.24), coat depth (0.62 ¦ 0.24), skin thickness (0.35 ¦ 0.19) and the severity of goitre (0.21 ¦ 0.16). Significant genetic correlations (r ¦s.e.) between cold resistance and other traits were: birthweight, +0.76 ¦ 0.18; birthcoat grade, +0.56 ¦ 0.24; birthcoat depth, +0.56 ¦ 0.24; skin thickness, +0.51 ¦ 0.27; goitre, -0.58 ¦ 0.40. Most of the corresponding phenotypic correlations were small. Goitre did not affect CR significantly, despite the genetic correlation between them. Heritability of CR, further adjusted for the effects of birthweight, birthcoat grade and depth, and skin thickness as covariates, was 0.55 ¦ 0.23. About 40% of the variation in CR was accounted for by fitting fixed effects and covariates, but significant sire effects remained. Rate of recovery from hypothermia was not heritable and it was unrelated to any other variable except goitre, which tended to be associated with slower recovery (rp = 0.18). It was concluded that genetic selection for increased CR would succeed but would promote birthcoat hairiness unless a corrective selection index was used. The relationship between birthcoat type and CR was considered to be mediated by genes affecting both coat type and CR, not primarily by a direct effect of coat insulation.
Clone Diversity in the Polyploid Weevil Otiorhynchus Scaber

Parthenogenetic insects are in general polyploid. These polyploid parthenogenetic forms seem to be superior competitors compared to their diploid and sexual relatives. Numerous studies have shown a surprisingly high clonal diversity in parthenogeinetic insects. We have studied Otiorhynchus scaiber, a common flightless weevil. O. scaber consists of three forms: one diploid sexually reproducing form with a very limited distribution and two widely distributed polyploid parthenogenetic forms. All forms, diploids and polyploids, coexist within the central area of distribution where both genetic and clonal diversity are highest. Diversity and degree of ploidy decrease towards the margin of distribution, so that only tetraploids inhabit the margins. This geographical pattern of distribution is a common phenomenon in parthenogenetic animals with different ploidy levels. We suggest that the high clonal diversity in populations of O. scaber is due to a continuous transition from diploid sexuality to triploid and finally to tetraploid parthenogenesis. We propose that the transition is caused by chance fertilisations of unreduced eggs.
The utility of the eddy covariance techniques as a tool in carbon accounting: tropical savanna as a case study

Global concern over rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations has led to a proliferation of studies of carbon cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. Associated with this has been widespread adoption of the eddy covariance method to provide direct estimates of mass and energy exchange between vegetation surfaces and the atmosphere. With the eddy covariance method, fast-response instruments (10–20Hz) are typically mounted above plant canopies and the fluxes are calculated by correlating turbulent fluctuations in vertical velocity with fluctuations in various scalars such as CO2, water vapour and temperature. These techniques allow the direct and non-destructive measurement of the net exchange of CO2 owing to uptake via photosynthesis and loss owing to respiration, evapotranspiration and sensible heat. Eddy covariance measurements have a high temporal resolution, with fluxes typically calculated at 30-min intervals and can provide daily, monthly or annual estimates of carbon uptake or loss from ecosystems. Such measurements provide a bridge between ‘bottom-up’ (e.g. leaf, soil and whole plant measures of carbon fluxes) and ‘top-down’ approaches (e.g. satellite remote sensing, air sampling networks, inverse numerical methods) to understanding carbon cycling. Eddy covariance data also provide key measurements to calibrate and validate canopy- and regional-scale carbon balance models. Limitations of the method include high establishment costs, site requirements of flat and relatively uniform vegetation and problems estimating fluxes accurately at low wind speeds. Advantages include spatial averaging over 10–100ha and near-continuous measurements. The utility of the method is illustrated in current flux studies at ideal sites in northern Australia. Flux measurements spanning 3years have been made at a mesic savanna site (Howard Springs, Northern Territory) and semi-arid savanna (Virginia Park, northern Queensland). Patterns of CO2 and water vapour exchange at diurnal, seasonal and annual scales are detailed. Carbon dynamics at these sites are significantly different and reflect differences in climate and land management (impacts of frequent fire and grazing). Such studies illustrate the utility of the eddy covariance method and its potential to provide accurate data for carbon accounting purposes. If full carbon accounting is implemented, for ideal sites, the eddy covariance method provides annual estimates of carbon sink strength accurate to within 10%. The impact of land-use change on carbon sink strength could be monitored on a long-term basis and provide a valuable validation tool if carbon trading schemes were implemented.
Responses of Plant Tissue Cultures to Gibberellin

1. Forty-nine strains of tissue from twenty-five species of plants have been tested for their growth response to gibberellin at 10 p.p.m. 2. As a group, monocotyledonous tissues were inhibited. 3. There is no apparent correlation between response to gibberellin and characteristics of the tissues, such as the agents inducing proliferation, plant parts from which the tissues were obtained, age of the cultures, or media supporting tissue growth. 4. The growth of a few tissues is promoted, but the most general as well as the most pronounced effect is inhibition of growth, in two cases resulting in death of the tissues.
Dairy herd life in relation to linear type traits and production 2. Genetic analyses for pedigree and non-pedigree cows

The relation between linear type traits and survival to complete lactations 2, 3 and 4 of pedigree and non-pedigree Holstein-Friesian dairy cattle in the United Kingdom was analysed. Regressions of survival on sire transmitting abilities for type, i.e. estimates of genetic regression, were obtained for different data sets, either pedigree or non-pedigree offspring of sires whose progeny had linear type assessments made by either the Holstein Friesian Society or the Milk Marketing Board, thereby spanning different segments of the cattle population. Results were not completely consistent either over lactations or over data sets. In general, however, there was a significant positive association between survival and angularity, fore udder attachment and udder depth scores, and a negative association with chest width, rump width, and teat length. Regressions on yield were positive, while those on fat and protein content were usually negative. Survival in the herd can be predicted, although not with high accuracy, using type traits.
Consensus of Continuous-Time Multiagent Systems via Delayed Output Feedback: Delay Versus Connectivity

This article studies the consensus problem for continuous-time linear time-invariant multiagent systems, in which the agents exchange information through delayed communication channels in a fixed undirected topology. Our primary objective is to characterize explicitly the delay effect on consensus in the framework of distributed dynamic output feedback control and its implication on the graph network connectivity. For this purpose, we tackle and solve the consensus problem in the spirit of gain margin problem, using analytic interpolation techniques. We develop an explicit condition for consensus. The result provides a limit on network connectivity imposed by time delays as well as by the agent's unstable poles and nonminimum phase zeros.
Diversity, biomass and ecosystem processes in the marine benthos.

Recent studies in terrestrial, plant-dominated systems have shown that reductions in diversity can affect essential ecosystem processes, especially productivity. However, the exact form of the relationship between diversity and ecosystem functions remains unknown, as does the relevance of these studies to other systems. We studied the relationships between macroinvertebrate species richness and ecosystem functions in a soft-bottom, intertidal system. We also considered, as a separate variable, the effects of macroinvertebrate biomass on ecosystem functions. A field experiment was conducted at Blackness, a mudflat in the Firth of Forth, Scotland, United Kingdom, using cages with different mesh sizes (195, 300, and 3000 μm) to establish low, medium, and high species richness treatments through differential colonization of defaunated sediments. Low, medium, and high biomass treatments were established by enclosing differing amounts of ambient sediment in defaunated plots. Other treatments controlled for the effects of defaunation and caging. The experiment ran for six weeks in the summer of 1999. All treatments contained species within the same five main functional groups of macroinvertebrate, but species' identity varied both within and between treatments (thus species richness was considered a random, rather than fixed, variable). A total of 27 macroinvertebrate species were sampled across all treatments; 37% of these occurred in the low, 52% in the medium, and 74% in the high diversity treatments. At the end of the experiment, the following physical variables were measured as indicators of ecosystem functions such as sediment stabilization and nutrient fluxes: sediment shear strength (a measure of sediment cohesiveness), water content, silt/clay content, organic content, redox potential (a measure of anoxia), nitrate, nitrite, phosphate and ammonium fluxes, and community respiration. Changes in biomass and species richness were found to have significant effects on oxygen consumption; these relationships were driven in particular by the presence of the largest species in our study, Nephtys hombergii. All other variables were not significantly affected by the treatments. These results support the null hypotheses of no relationship between ecosystem functions and diversity and biomass. However, our experiment was necessarily limited in both spatial and temporal scale; the implications of this when scaling up to larger scale generalizations are discussed. Our results suggest that diversity/biomass/ecosystem function relationships in the soft sediment benthos are likely to be very complex and may depend more on functional groups than species richness.
Induction and Growth Kinetics Callus of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)

Plant callus extracts are potential to be developed as ingredient in skincare products. Tomato callus is supposed to contain protein-derivatives and or other components such as secondary metabolites that play a role in skin regeneration. Therefore the production of calli is important to be studied for callus sustainable supply. This research aims to obtain optimum medium for callus induction and to analyze tomato callus development anatomically. In vitro culture response was assessed in tomato plant ( Solanum lycopersicum L. ‘Permata’) for optimum callus induction. Seeds were grown on ¼ MS medium for 10-15 days. Hypocotyl was excised and cultured on MS medium + 2 mg/l 2,4-D for 15 days as the explants for callus induction. Callus was transferred to MS medium with 8 variations of PGRs including the combination of BAP + NAA, and 2,4-D. Both fresh and dry weight was measured every 5 days over 60 days to establish the growth kinetics and growth efficiency of callus. Anatomic characters of calli were examined through paraffin-embedded method. The result showed of MS medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/l NAA and 0.2 mg/l BAP is optimum for tomato callus induction, based on highest number of the absolute growth rate on fresh weight (73.77% per day), dry weight (3.84% per day), and callus initiation time (5.56 days) achieved by the medium. Cells in the ground tissue of tomato hypocotyl are competent to be dedifferentiated into a callus. This research results were expected to find out suitable methods for tomato callus production in preparation for skincare uses.
Natural variation for carotenoids in fresh kernels is controlled by uncommon variants in sweet corn

Sweet corn (Zea mays L.) is highly consumed in the United States, but does not make major contributions to the daily intake of carotenoids (provitamin A carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin) that would help in the prevention of health complications. A genome‐wide association study of seven kernel carotenoids and twelve derivative traits was conducted in a sweet corn inbred line association panel ranging from light to dark yellow in endosperm color to elucidate the genetic basis of carotenoid levels in fresh kernels. In agreement with earlier studies of maize kernels at maturity, we detected an association of β‐carotene hydroxylase (crtRB1) with β‐carotene concentration and lycopene epsilon cyclase (lcyE) with the ratio of flux between the α‐ and β‐carotene branches in the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway. Additionally, we found that 5% or less of the evaluated inbred lines possessing the shrunken2 (sh2) endosperm mutation had the most favorable lycE allele or crtRB1 haplotype for elevating β‐branch carotenoids (β‐carotene and zeaxanthin) or β‐carotene, respectively. Genomic prediction models with genome‐wide markers obtained moderately high predictive abilities for the carotenoid traits, especially lutein, and outperformed models with less markers that targeted candidate genes implicated in the synthesis, retention, and/or genetic control of kernel carotenoids. Taken together, our results constitute an important step toward increasing carotenoids in fresh sweet corn kernels.
Toxic marine epiphytic dinoflagellates, Ostreopsis siamensis and Coolia monotis (Dinophyceae), in New Zealand

Abstract Ostreopsis siamensis and Coolia monotis (Ostreopsidaceae) are newly recognised additions to New Zealand's toxic marine microflora and occur epiphytically on seaweeds throughout subtropical New Zealand. O. siamensis “blooms” during summer, becoming freely motile; it tolerates temperatures of 15–25°C and salinities of 28–34 ppt. C. monotis also occurs in sediments in Nelson/ Marlborough and Stewart Island, at 10–30°C and salinities of 20–34 ppt. O. siamensis from Rangiputa, Northland, produced activity equivalent to ≤0.3 pg cell∼’ of palytoxin as measured using a haemolysis‐neutralisation assay, and cell extracts killed mice by intraperitoneal injection. Extracts of oysters fed with O. siamensis did not kill mice. C. monotis, from Rangiputa, produced compounds in extracts of cells and of culture supernatant which were also toxic to mice and which are currently being characterised. C. monotis caused positive sodium channel activity in neuroblastoma assays; O. siamensis was cytotoxic, and irreversibly suppressed cell firing in hippocampal brain slices. Lectin probes differentiated the two species, suggesting differential sugar moieties at their cell surfaces.
Megafauna biogeography explains plant functional trait variability in the tropics

Aim: Biomes can diverge substantially in plant functional traits and disturbance regimens among regions. Given that Neotropical and Afrotropical regions have contrasting histories of the megafauna (because of the Holocene megafaunal extinction in the Neotropics), we hypothesize that they should harbour plants with different traits in relationship to herbivory and fire, especially in savannas. We predicted that her-bivory resistance traits should be more prominent in Afrotropical savanna plants and fire resistance in Neotropical savanna plants. Location: Tropics. Time period: Not applicable. Major taxa studied: Angiosperms (woody). Methods: We compiled data for five key plant functional traits (wood density, specific leaf area, maximum tree height, spinescence and proportion of geoxyles) for forest and savanna woody species from the two distant regions (Afrotropics and Neotropics). We related these data to climate, soil and fire variables and tested predictions for megafauna selection. Results: Spines and high wood density were more common among Afrotropical than Neotropical savanna species and species from the two forests. Moreover, the Neotropical savanna region contained more geoxyles than the Afrotropical savanna region
Photosynthesis of black spruce, jack pine, and trembling aspen after artificially induced frost during the growing season

Light-saturated photosynthesis following artificial frosts was monitored for black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP), jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), and trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.). None of the species exposed to -9°C in May or to -6 and -9°C in August recovered within the 23- and 14-day monitoring periods, respectively. Black spruce and jack pine treated at -6°C in May recovered within 5 and 23 days, respectively. Black spruce treated at -3°C in August recovered within 10 days. Frosts were applied to the upper and lower canopies of mature black spruce and jack pine in June and to mature trembling aspen in July. For black spruce, the lower canopy did not recover whereas the upper canopy partially recovered over the 10-day monitoring period. For jack pine and trembling aspen, there were no differences in recovery between canopy levels. Jack pine treated at -5.5°C recovered within the 10-day monitoring period whereas at -8.5°C, it only partially recovered. Although recovery period vari.
An Improved Direct Torque Control for a Single-Winding Bearingless Switched Reluctance Motor

The direct torque control (DTC) and direct force control (DFC) method were introduced to reduce the torque and levitation force ripple in single-winding bearingless switched reluctance motors (SWBSRMs). However, it still has some disadvantages. Firstly, the flux-linkage control is not suitable for the DTC method in SWBSRMs. On the one hand, it can increase the torque ripple. On the other hand, the RMS current can be increased and then the torque-ampere ratio is decreased. Secondly, the vectors selection is also unreasonable, which can increase the torque ripple further. In order to solve these problems, an improved control method based on DTC and DFC method for SWBSRMs is proposed in this paper, which can obtain high torque-ampere ratio and low torque ripple simultaneously. In the proposed method, the flux-linkage loop control is not needed and the space voltage vector table is improved. The experimental results show that the torque ripple is reduced by 66.7%, the torque-ampere ratio is increased by 200% and the switching times in one electrical period are reduced by 47.3%.
Analyse Phytoécologique de la Flore Ligneuse de la Haute Sangha (République du Congo)

ABSTRACT Phytoecological analysis of the woody flora of High Sangha (Republic of Congo). The flora of the High Sangha, just like that of Congo as a whole, develops in the corridor of the “Sangha River” of Guineo-Congolian area. Still badly known, it is studied according to a North-eastern South-western floristic gradient, corresponding to a phytogeographical distribution extending from the Atlantic element (Nigero-Cameroono-Gabonese) to the Cameroono-Congolese element. On both side of the Sangha River, the surface of study is subdivided in three sectors whose central zone is the floristic junction between South-west and the North-East. The inventory of the individuals of dbh ≥ 10 cm counts 387 species of which 12 mark the South-western sector, 18 for the North-eastern sector and six for the central sector. The vertical distribution distinguishes three layers from unequal importance, of which the percentage of species oscillates from 24 to 42%. Floristic diversity, interpreted by the indices of biological diversity of Shannon (6.51 à 7.89) and Simpson (0.96 à 0.99), of the correlations of similarity of Jaccard (31 to 38%) and of Sørensen (62 to 76%) authenticates the floristic change throughout gradient of study, without any dominance of taxa. The weakest indices of biological diversity characterize the Central sector. The floristic composition of the three sectors, concomitantly, shows a reduction in the number of individuals for certain species, and concerning some others an extinction of their surface of distribution, as approaching or moving away from the Sangha River. The ecological characteristics of the flora show 77% of sarcochores and 88% of mesophylles. The ecological valence and the abundance-dominance ratio show that 72% of species are ubiquists and their density lies between three and five individuals/ha.
Teaching life cycles: the four-dimensional organism

Biology teaching at senior school level in the United Kingdom is dominated by the functional approach which gives little prominence to life cycles. It is argued that life cycles and the concept of the four-dimensional organism should be the single most important idea in teaching at this level. A set of concepts and terms is presented with a view to clearing up some of the confusion in present teaching.
New Exploration of Embedded Knowledge Service in University Library Based on Mooc

: Large Scale Open Curriculum (Mooc) Has a Great Impact on the Existing Higher Education Since 2012, and the Research on Ooc Has Also Begun. At the Same Time, the University Library Which Occupies the Important Place of Higher Education System is Also Changing. University Library Users Get Equal Access to All Users from a Limited Group. Library Service Has Changed from Document Information Management and Service to Knowledge Management and Knowledge Service. the Traditional Intermediary Librarian's Intermediary Service is Gradually Changing to User Self-Service. under the Change of the External Environment of the University Library from Self Closing to Continuous Propaganda, It is an Urgent Task to Improve the Service Methods of the University Library. with the Continuous Development of 1000c Research, the Relationship between University Library and National 1000c Has Been Continuously Displayed. in Order to Improve Its Influence and Value, the University Library Can Take Mooc as the Starting Point.
Ziebur's matrix equation for population growth

Abstract The paper examines a matrix equation given by Ziebur [6] for the growth of a population in which the birth-rate and death-rate are age-dependent. For convenience the population was sub-divided into four age groups, with the same birth-rate and death-rate for individuals in a particular group, and the matrix equation relates the numbers in each sub-division in consecutive years. This avoids delay terms and makes it easier to modify the growth equation but it is shown that the form suggested by Ziebur for the transition matrix leads to some difficulties.