Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long-term seed bank dynamics in a temperate forest under conversion from coppice-with-standards to high forest management

ABSTRACT Questions: How do changes in forest management, i.e. in disturbance type and frequency, influence species diversity, abundance and composition of the seed bank? How does the relationship between seed bank and vegetation change? What are the implications for seed bank dynamics? Location: An ancient Quercus petraea - Carpinus betulus forest in conversion from coppice-with-standards to regular Quercus high forest near Montargis, France. Methods: Seed bank and vegetation were sampled in six replicated stand types, forming a chronosequence along the conversion pathway. The stand types represented mid-successional stages of stands in transition from coppice-with-standards (to high forest (16 plots) and early- and mid-successional high forest stands (32 plots). Results: Seed bank density and species richness decreased with time since last disturbance. Adjusting for seed density effects obscured species richness differences between stand types, but species of later seres were nested subsets of earlier seres, implying concomitant shifts in species richness and composition with time since disturbance. Later seres were characterized by species with low seed weight and high seed longevity. Seed banks of early seres were more similar to vegetation than to later seres. Conclusions: Abandonment of the coppice-with-standards regime altered the seed bank characteristics, as well as its relationship with vegetation. Longer management cycles under high forest yield impoverished seed banks. For their persistence, seed bank species will increasingly rely on management of permanently open areas in the forest landscape. Thus, revegetation at the beginning of new high-forest cycles may increasingly depend on inflow from seed sources. Nomenclature: Lambinon et al. (1998).
A note on the non-existence of infixes in Mandarin Chinese

This note examines the so-called infixes in Mandarin Chinese and argues that they can be analyzed as non-infixes. To be specific, the -de/bu 得/不 in potential V-de/bu-R constructions is analyzed as an affix, which merges with VR after syntax via Morphological Merger. The -bu in V-bu-R is taken as an allomorph of a potential affix -bude 不得. The drop of -de in V-bude-R is motivated prosodically. The -li 里 in A-li-AB (i.e. hu-li-hutu 糊里糊涂 ‘sort of silly’) is analyzed as a prefix to a root adjective AB, with A being further copied from AB and attached to immediately before -li to satisfy the prosodic requirements of a sizige ‘four character pattern’. The -bu 不 in A-bu-BB (i.e. suan-bu-liuliu 酸不溜溜 ‘sort of sour’) and A-bu-BC (i.e. suan-bu-liuqiu 酸不溜秋 ‘sort of sour’) is analyzed as a segment of pejorative suffixes bu-BB and bu-BC, which are added to the monosyllabic adjective A. In this line, the -bu in V-bu-R and the -bu in A-bu-BB and A-bu-BC are distinct, even though they are homophonous and represented orthographically with the same Chinese character 不.
Plant defence systems induced by ozone

Recent advances in the understanding of the molecular basis of plant response to ozone attack are reviewed. Plants grown in elevated atmospheric ozone are known to undergo several biochemical changes before any actual damage can be detected. These reactions include increases in the activities of enzymes associated with general plant defence mechanisms. Ozone exposure often causes a surge in the production of the plant hormone ethylene, as well as changes in polyamine metabolism and increases in the activities of several phenylpropanoid and flavonoid pathway enzymes. The activities of superoxide dismutase and peroxidases that protect cells from the oxidative damage caused by hydroxyl radicals, H2O2 and superoxides also increase. However, ozone-induced changes in plant cells at the gene level are almost unknown. The limited data available suggest close similarities between ozone-induced and pathogen-induced defence responses in plants. Several general defence genes that have been cloned in other studies will soon be applied to studies of gene expression in ozone-exposed plants. The use of molecular biological tools in ozone research should enable the development of highly specific and sensitive molecular markers for biomonitoring ozone-induced injuries in plants.
Object-based change detection for VHR remote sensing images based on a Trisiamese-LSTM

ABSTRACT Change detection has been a research hotspot in remote sensing fields for decades. However, the increasing use of very high-resolution (VHR) remote sensing images have introduced more difficulties in change detection because of the complex details these images contain. In this paper, we propose a novel deep learning architecture for change detection composed of a Trisiamese subnetwork and a long short-term memory (LSTM) subnetwork that fully utilizes the spatial, spectral and multiphase information and improves the change detection capabilities for VHR remote sensing images. Multiscale simple linear iterative clustering (SLIC)-based image segmentation is first performed on multitemporal images at different image scales to obtain edge information-based objects. A Trisiamese subnetwork with six inputs can extract abundant spectral-spatial feature representations; the LSTM subnetwork then uses the extracted image features to effectively analyse the multiphase information in bitemporal images. The proposed method has the following advantages: 1) it can fully utilize the significant spatial information to improve the detection task; 2) it combines the advantages of convolutional architectures for image feature representation and recurrent neural network (RNN) architectures for sequential data representation, unlike most of the algorithms that use either method or that merely use image differencing or stacking operations. The controlled experiments reveal that the multiphase information extracted by the LSTM subnetwork is important to improve the accuracy of the change detection results. The influence of the Trisiamese subnetwork on change detection is even more significant than that of the LSTM subnetwork. Comparisons with other state-of-the-art change detection methods indicate that in areas with clear surface features and limited interference, the proposed method obtains more competitive results compared to state-of-the-art methods, and in regions where the changed objects occur in complex patterns, the proposed method exhibited an ideal performance.
Safety and efficacy of l‐lysine monohydrochloride and concentrated liquid l‐lysine (base) produced by fermentation using Corynebacterium glutamicum strain NRRL B‐50775 for all animal species based on a dossier submitted by ADM

Abstract The European Commission asked EFSA for an opinion on the safety for the target animals, consumer, user and the environment and on the efficacy of a l‐lysine monohydrochloride (HCl, minimum 98.5%) and of a concentrated liquid l‐lysine (base, minimum 50%) produced by a genetically modified strain of Corynebacterium glutamicum (NRRL B‐50775). They are intended to be used in feed or water for drinking for all animal species and categories. Neither the production strain C. glutamicum NRRL B‐50775 nor its recombinant DNA was detected in the final product. Therefore, the product does not pose any safety concern associated with the genetic modification of the production strain. l‐Lysine HCl and concentrated liquid l‐lysine (base) produced by C. glutamicum NRRL B‐50775 are considered safe for the target species, for the consumer and for the environment. l‐Lysine HCl produced by C. glutamicum NRRL B‐50775 is considered not irritant to skin or eyes and not a skin sensitiser. In the absence of data, the FEEDAP Panel cannot conclude on the potential toxicity by inhalation of l‐lysine HCl produced by C. glutamicum NRRL B‐50775. Concentrated liquid l‐lysine (base) produced by C. glutamicum NRRL B‐50775, due to its high pH (11) it is anticipated to be corrosive to skin and eyes and poses a risk by inhalation. l‐Lysine HCl and concentrated liquid l‐lysine (base) produced by C. glutamicum NRRL B‐50775 are considered as efficacious sources of the essential amino acid l‐lysine for non‐ruminant animal species. For the supplemental l‐lysine to be as efficacious in ruminants as in non‐ruminant species, it would require protection against degradation in the rumen.
Effluent predictions in wastewater treatment plants for the control strategies selection

One of the main objectives of a wastewater treatment plant is to ensure that the concentrations of pollutants in the effluent are below the limits established. This is due to the consequent environmental effects and the economic penalties to be paid if these limits are violated. It is very likely that the plant is not designed to prevent these violations of pollutant concentrations in all cases due to the large variability of the influent. One of the possible methods of preventing violations is the adequate implementation of control strategies. However, these control strategies may result in an increase in operational costs, which is why it is convenient to apply them only when there is a risk of violation. If the risk detection is based on some states variables of the plant, in many cases there will not be enough time to prevent violations. Therefore, this work presents the prediction of the effluent in order to detect a risk of violation with enough time in advance to select the suitable control strategy. This prediction is carried out by Artificial Neural Networks that estimate the future effluent values, based on information of the entrance of the biological treatment. The prediction is applied to a controlled plant and it is shown how a logical signal can be generated at the instants where such a risk of violation is detected.
Invaders' control on post-disturbance succession in coastal mangroves

Aims In recent years, coastal mangroves have been frequently affected by large disturbances (cyclones, hurricanes, flooding and tsunamis) and post-disturbance vegetation is often dominated by small stature mangrove, mangrove-associate and non-mangrove species potentially affecting ecosystem functioning. Knowledge on the processes of mangrove vegetation development and recovery (succession) following normal and large disturbances will benefit practitioners in designing robust ecosystem management/restoration plans. Here we propose a conceptual model of disturbance-mediated succession in mangroves. Methods Based on field observations and species’ life history traits, we develop conceptual models of mangrove succession under normal disturbance regime and recently experienced increased frequency of large disturbances. We evaluate our conceptual models by conducting a scenario testing experiment. Important Findings We suggest two predominant processes affecting mangrove succession after disturbance: propagule limitation due to damage of seed producing mature trees and dispersal barrier resulting from biological invasion associated with large disturbance. We argue that large disturbances affect mature trees more than the small-stature non-tree (shrubs, herbs and climbers) species creating a larger propagule shortage for mangrove tree species than non-tree species. Secondly, large disturbances facilitate invasion of free-floating aquatics, which may interfere with the flow-facilitated propagule dispersal and seedling establishment of mangrove species. In a scenario testing experiment, we have shown that similar levels of disturbance impact vegetation development and recovery differently depending on the presence or absence of invasive species. We conclude that since biological invasion is one of the major drivers of post-disturbance mangrove succession, the dimension of biological invasion should be included in prediction, management and restoration of mangrove forests.
From Sentence to Concept

The compositional functional logical models of natural language are recast as compact closed categories. Composition is based on the geometrical representation of information flow characteristic for these categories. The functional logical interpretation of (strings of) words is carried over to projectors in a finite tensor product of 2-dimensional spaces such that the truth of a sentence is equivalent to the truth of the corresponding projector. Examples include sentences with compound noun phrases involving quantifiers, adjectives and negation.
Age-related Alterations in IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6 Concentrations in Parotid Acinar Cells from BALB/c and Non-obese Diabetic Mice

IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6 have been implicated in the destruction of parotid gland acinar cells (but not duct cells) in autoimmune sialoadenitis. Here we report the temporal alterations of these cytokines in parotid acinar cells that may lead to this specificity in cell death in the non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse model for Sjögren's syndrome. Immunohistochemistry on paraffin sections of parotid gland from 5- and 10-week-old BALB/c and NOD mice confirmed the presence of many peri-acinar lymphoid nodules but few T-cells and macrophages between acinar cells. RT-PCR on enzymatically dispersed mouse parotid acinar cells (MPACs) showed no bands for CD3∊, CD20, or F4/80 regardless of mouse strain or age. By ELISA, MPACs from 10-week-old NODs showed a small but highly significant (p < 0.003) increase in IL-1β and a large significant decrease (p < 0.008) in IL-6 compared to 5-week-old NODs. Norepinephrine-stimulated amylase release from MPACs was not different regardless of mouse strain or age. These data show that alterations in acinar cell production of IL-1β and IL-6 in aging NODs precede periductal lymphoid aggregates and acinar cell secretory dysfunction. (J Histochem Cytochem 48:1033–1041, 2000)
Erste Ergebnisse und Implikationen

Inken Christoph-Schulz, Monika Hartmann, Peter Kenning, Jörg Luy, Marcus Mergenthaler, Lucia Reisch, Jutta Roosen, Achim Spiller Thünen-Institut für Marktanalyse, Braunschweig Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Bonn Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf Privates Forschungsund Beratungsinstitut für angewandte Ethik und Tierschutz INSTETgGmbH, Berlin Fachhochschule Südwestfalen, Soest Copenhagen Business School, Zeppelin Universität, Friedrichshafen Technische Universität München Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen inken.christoph@thuenen.de
Comparison of body mass index and intraocular pressure

Background: Raised intaocular pressure is considered as a major risk factor for developing optic neuropathy. Intraocular pressure (IOP) depends on various systemic and local factors and it has been postulated that IOP increases proportionately with increase in systolic blood pressure and increase in degree of obesity. The aim of this study was to compare the Body Mass Index (BMI) and Intraocular Pressure (IOP) in adult population.Methods: Four hundred ninety nine participants (284 male, 215 female) aged between 20 to 70 years were included in the cross-sectional study. On the basis of BMI subjects were divided into four categories i.e. underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese as per revised body type classification for Indian population recommended by Ministry of Health and Diabetes foundation of India. The mean IOP difference was 14.6±1.8 as compared amongst the four categories.Results: The participants were divided into six categories according to age and the mean IOP of different age groups was calculated. The changes in the mean IOP of males was 15.8±2.5 mm of Hg and the mean IOP of females was 14.7±2.2 mm of Hg. The results of the current study were statistically significant p<0.01. Conclusions: By concluding the current study as well as in the previous published literature, the findings of the current study were statistically significant. IOP was positively correlated with BMI. However, the clinical significance cannot be confirmed by the minor deviation in the IOP as well as BMI of the participants.
Hash Partition Approach for Improving theEfficiency of Key Value Architecture usingMapReduce

-In the time of BigData, huge measures of organized and unstructured information are being made each day by a large number of everpresent sources. BigData is confused to work with and needs greatly parallel programming executing on countless. MapReduce is a present programming model that makes less complex composition circulated applications which control BigData. Keeping in mind the end goal to make MapReduce to work, it needs to separate the workload between the PCs in the system. Accordingly, the execution of MapReduce vivaciously relies upon how reliably it circulates this investigation stack. This can be a challenge, especially in the landing of information skew. In MapReduce, workload distribution relies upon the calculation that segments the information. How reliably the partitioner disseminates the information relies upon how tremendous furthermore, appoint the example is and on how solid the examples are inspected by the apportioning strategy. This investigation suggests an upgraded dividing calculation utilizing adjusted key apportioning that advances stack adjusting and memory use. This is finished by means of an upgraded examining calculation and partitioner. To assess the proposed calculation, its execution was looked at against a cutting edge apportioning component utilized by TeraSort. Experimentations exhibit that the proposed calculation is faster, more memory productive and more precise than the existing execution.
A computational model for predicting perceived musical expression in branding scenarios

We describe the development of a computational model predicting listener-perceived expressions of music in branding contexts. Representative ground truth from multi-national online listening experiments was combined with machine learning of music branding expert knowledge, and audio signal analysis toolbox outputs. A mixture of random forest and traditional regression models is able to predict average ratings of perceived brand image on four dimensions. Resulting cross-validated prediction accuracy (R²) was Arousal: 61%, Valence: 44%, Authenticity: 55%, and Timeliness: 74%. Audio descriptors for rhythm, instrumentation, and musical style contributed most. Adaptive sub-models for different marketing target groups further increase prediction accuracy.
Use of Internet of Things( IoT) in Indian Healthcare from Doctor's point of view

An improvement in the lifestyle is achieved by different new technologies. In today’s world of connectivity, with the advancement of Internet of Things (IoT) all entities are connected to each other by some communication means. IoT enabled sensors for measuring vital parameters can be used by doctors for real-time monitoring of patient. Whereas actual technology used by majority of hospitals is a multimodal monitors which measures and displays the relevant vital parameters. It is commonly integrated into the bedside monitors in critical care units. These devices neither have storage capacity nor connected to internet and they are costly as well. Real time patient monitoring is the main objective of IoT based healthcare systems for improving quality of everyone’s life. The purpose of this exploratory research is to provide first insights into the way doctor perceive use of IoT enabled devices in healthcare. A questionnaire was developed. Data was collected from 26 physicians from 26 different hospitals where surgical units are available. Result of survey and interviews of four physicians’ shows that there is still not enough awareness and readiness for the use of IoT enabled medical devices, but all are willing to make use of this new technology.
Autoantibodies: Key Mediators of Autoimmune Infertility

Autoimmune diseases have gender bias with predominance in females, autoimmune infer- tility (AI) being no exception. This chapter will focus on AI in females with brief reference to the same in males. Autoimmune diseases have established protocols for detection and management of ensuing infertility, however similar protocols for unexplained infertility [tubal blockage, endometriosis, premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), undiagnosed under- lying autoimmune disease (Sjögren ’ s syndrome, IBS, celiac disease) and tubal blockage] are not established. Endometriosis and POI, in particular, have autoimmune etiology yet lack specific and sensitive biomarkers for accurate diagnosis. If autoantibodies are indeed diagnosed, then treatment regimen focuses on AI which has known adverse effects. The detec- tion of natural antibodies as autoantibodies presents a viable alternative to organ specific biomarker panel for better management of AI.
Calling, caring, and connecting: burnout in Christian ministry

ABSTRACT This article explores burnout, and constructs related to burnout, in relation to pastors. Burnout has been found to exist in a multitude of occupations that are service-, or people, oriented. As a large portion of the role of a pastor involves contact with individuals, pastors may experience burnout. It is through a pastoral lens that burnout, and concepts related to burnout such as emotional labour, role salience, differentiation of self, and differentiation of self in Christ, are examined. Methods to cope with burnout such mindfulness and prayer are also reviewed.
Premature Ovarian Insufficiency

Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is a heterogeneous disorder, affecting approximately 1% of women before the age of 40. Heterogeneity of POI is reflected by various causes. The known causes are genetic defects, autoimmune ovarian damage, metabolic, iatrogenic following surgery, cancer therapy, and environmental factors. However, in most cases, the cause remains unknown (idiopathic POI). The main symptom is the absence of regular men - strual cycles, and the diagnosis is confirmed by the raised gonadotropins and low estradiol. The disorder usually leads to infertility and has long-term comorbidities such as cardiovas - cular diseases, osteoporosis, and cognitive impairments. Management includes the use of hormone replacement therapy till the age of natural menopause. In women having fertility issues, the spontaneous conception varies between 5 and 10%, and in vitro fertilization with donor oocytes remains the treatment of choice. Moreover, fertility preservation options can be offered to some patients with cancer and those at risk of early menopause, such as those with familial cases of POI. Further research is clearly needed, to identify new mechanisms which may improve the prediction of the early onset of the disease.