Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High temperatures during endosperm cell division in maize: A genotypic comparison under in vitro and field conditions

High temperature during endosperm cell division reduces grain yield of maize (Zea mays L.). The objective of the study was to determine if there were differences in tolerance of two inbred lines (B73 and Mo17) to exposure to brief high temperature treatments (HTTs). Beginning 5 d after pollination (DAP), kernels were exposed to a continuous 35 degrees C temperature for either 4 or 6 d. The effects of HTTs on kernel development, ultrastructure, and sink capacity were evaluated under both in vitro and field conditions. In B73, the 4 and 6 d HTT reduced final kernel dry weights >40 to 60% under in vitro and 79 to 95% under field conditions, compared with the controls. The HTT-induced reduction in kernel mass was due mainly to reduction in starch granule number, since by 16 DAP the endosperm cell number had recovered and was not significantly different from the controls. In contrast, in Mo17 both the number of endosperm cells and starch granules were reduced by >45 to 80% by the 4 and 6 d HTT imposed under the two growing conditions. Hence, these data and kernel ultrastructure evidence confirm that kernel development is more tolerant to high temperature in B73 than in Mo17. The difference appears to be due mainly to the ability of B73 to maintain a higher kernel sink capacity after exposure to HTT during endosperm cell division. Exploiting the differential response of these genotypes appears to be a viable approach to further elucidate the physiological basis for heat tolerance during early kernel development.
Variations of Drosophila in relation to its environment VII

1. Drosophila melanogaster (Oregon strain), that has long been reared by the Kozi medium (K strain), changes some characters when it is provided with the Pearl's medium (n strain). Flies, maintained on the new medium, lay more eggs per day or through their lives (averages 1.7 times) (Tables 2, 3), increase a tendency to lay eggs on the Pearl's medium (Table 5), and show an accelerated rate of development (average durations of larvae and pupae are shortened ca. 7-24 hours and ca. 5.2-9.3 hours respectively) (Tables 6, 7, 8, 9, 10). 2. When crossed, the F1 hybrids lay eggs considerably greater than the parental strains (i. e. show conspicuous heterosis) (Table 4), whereas the preference test reveals no significant difference from liking of the K strain (Table 5), and the rate of development seems to be, though slightly accelerated, nearly equal to that of the n strain.3. We have an opinion that these changes in character are hereditary. Cautions taken in the procedures of the experiments (Fig. 1) and various results obtained seem to warrant the above opinion. As for hereditary control of these characters, both nucleus and protoplasm seem to be concerned.
Tertiary Control of Islanded Microgrids Based on a Linearized ACOPF with Losses Compensation

A tertiary control based on linearized AC optimal power flow(OPF) for islanded microgrids is developed. Nonlinear power flow constraints typically make AC OPF problems nonconvex and computationally intractable. To address this concern, a lossless linearized power flow (LPF) for islanded microgrids is proposed that does not assume a fixed slack bus voltage to convexify AC OPFs under some reasonable assumptions. The approximation error of LPF is examined via norm inequality in finite-dimensional vector space. The geometry of the proposed LPF model is then explored and the effect of fixed voltage assumptions on power generation is studied. As OPFs based on lossless power flow cannot limit power losses when minimizing operational cost as an AC OPF does, a linearized AC OPF model that minimizes operational cost and active power losses as the core of the tertiary control is developed. Moreover, a losses compensation algorithm is proposed to supply power losses using dispatchable generators. Case studies demonstrate that the proposed approach provides substantial computational speed improvements with minimal errors compared to a typical AC OPF.
IoT Based Smart Wearable for Air Quality Monitoring

Internet of Things has been providential in tackling a lot of problems that amassed a lot of attention and concern among people. A lot of consumer electronics today have multiple IoT subsystems functioning in them, that not only make a product smart, but also increases its value as a product. Air pollution is a very serious problem, that has proved its deleteriousness over the past few years. With a lot of densely populated cities, now branded as unsafe for people to live in, due mainly to the polluted air it is home to, the importance for a solution that alerts city dwellers about the air quality of a space is gaining momentum. IoT, however could solve this problem, by educating people about the air quality, after measuring them. A dedicated air pollution monitoring device will not be effective enough in making people accept that an air quality monitor is a necessity and not a luxury. Therefore, this work integrates an air pollution monitoring system into a wearable like a watch that also doubles as a fitness tracker and a temperature monitor. Air pollutant levels, footsteps taken and ambient temperature are all sensed and displayed by the smart watch proposed in this work and is also casted to a custom designed smartphone application. The device proposed is novel in what it can do at the extremely low cost that it takes for its build. Thus a watch that can do everything that other watches can and cannot do has been proposed, with a tight integration to a smartphone app.
A Community’s Propensity for Investing in Resiliency Improvement of their Distribution Network by Sharing their PVs and Batteries

Electricity supply is vital for community response and recovery in the aftermath of a disaster. This dependency, coupled with the vulnerability of electricity networks to the increasing severity and frequency of natural disasters, highlights the need to establish resilient distribution networks. The notion that small-scale solar photovoltaic systems (SSPVs) and battery energy storage systems (BESs) might contribute to network resilience has become a popular avenue of investigation with the growing uptake of these technologies. Beyond the technical challenges of establishing a smart network and reaching the required SSPV and BESS for enough storage capacity, the third factor of the householders’ willingness to share the stored energy with their community remains largely unexplored. This paper investigates the community’s attitudes towards sharing energy resources and focusses on the behavioral component founded in social sciences.
Young adult outcomes of childhood prophylaxis for severe hemophilia A: results of the Joint Outcome Continuation Study.

The Joint Outcome Study (JOS), a randomized controlled trial, demonstrated that children with severe hemophilia A (HA) initiating prophylactic factor VIII (FVIII) prior to age 2.5 years had reduced joint damage at age 6 years compared with those treated with episodic FVIII for bleeding. The Joint Outcome Continuation Study (JOS-C) evaluated early vs delayed prophylaxis effects on long-term joint health, following JOS participants to age 18 years in an observational, partially retrospective study. Index joint magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scores of osteochondral (OC) damage (primary outcome), joint physical examination scores, and annualized rates of joint/other bleeding episodes (secondary outcomes) were collected. Thirty-seven of 65 JOS participants enrolled in JOS-C, including 15 randomized to prophylaxis at mean age 1.3 years ("early prophylaxis"); 18 initially randomized to episodic treatment, starting "delayed prophylaxis" at mean age 7.5 years; and 4 with high-titer inhibitors. At JOS-C exit, MRI OC damage was found in 77% of those on delayed and 35% of those on early prophylaxis for an odds ratio of OC damage, in the delayed vs early prophylaxis group, of 6.3 (95% confidence interval, 1.3, 29.9; P = .02). Annualized bleeding rates were higher with delayed prophylaxis (mean plus or minus standard deviation, 10.6 ± 6.6 vs 3.5 ± 2.1; P < .001), including when only comparing time periods on prophylaxis (6.2 ± 5.3 vs 3.3 ± 1.9; P < .05). In severe HA, early initiation of prophylaxis provided continued protection against joint damage throughout childhood compared with delayed initiation, but early prophylaxis was not sufficient to fully prevent damage. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials. gov as #NCT01000844.
Localization and Function of SolubleN-Ethylmaleimide-sensitive Factor Attachment Protein-25 and Vesicle-associated Membrane Protein-2 in Functioning Gastric Parietal Cells*

The solubleN-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein of 25 kDa (SNAP-25) plays an important role in vesicle trafficking. Together with vesicle-associated membrane protein-2 (VAMP-2) and syntaxin, SNAP-25 forms a ternary complex implicated in docking and fusion of secretory vesicles with the plasma membrane during exocytosis. These so-called SNARE proteins are believed to regulate tubulovesicle trafficking and fusion during the secretory cycle of the gastric parietal cell. Here we examined the cellular localization and functional importance of SNAP-25 in parietal cell cultures. Adenoviral constructs were used to express SNAP-25 tagged with cyan fluorescent protein, VAMP-2 tagged with yellow fluorescent protein, and SNAP-25 in which the C-terminal 25 amino acids were deleted (SNAP-25 Δ181–206). Membrane fractionation experiments and fluorescent imaging showed that SNAP-25 is localized to the apical plasma membrane. The expression of the mutant SNAP-25 Δ181–226 inhibited the acid secretory response of parietal cells. Also, SNAP Δ181–226 bound poorly in vitro with recombinant syntaxin-1 compared with wild type SNAP-25, indicating that pairing between syntaxin-1 and SNAP-25 is required for parietal cell activation. Dual expression of SNAP-25 tagged with cyan fluorescent protein and VAMP-2 tagged with yellow fluorescent protein revealed a dynamic change in distribution associated with acid secretion. In resting cells, SNAP-25 is at the apical plasma membrane and VAMP-2 is associated with cytoplasmic H,K-ATPase-rich tubulovesicles. After stimulation, the two proteins co-localize on the apical plasma membrane. These data demonstrate the functional significance of SNAP-25 as a SNARE protein in the parietal cell and show the dynamic stimulation-associated redistribution of VAMP-2 from H,K-ATPase-rich tubulovesicles to co-localize with SNAP-25 on the apical plasma membrane.
Deep Learning Based Person Authentication Using Hand Radiographs: A Forensic Approach

Biometric radiographs have gained importance in recent times owing to the rise in crime and disaster incidents. In recent times, authentication and identification of a person has become an essential part of most of the computer vision automation systems. Conventional fingerprint, iris, face, palm prints fail to recognize the human when the external biometric parts have been damaged due to rashes, wounds, and severe burning. Security, robustness, privacy, and non-forgery are the critical aspects of any person authentication system. In such situations, identification based on radiographs of the skull, hand, and teeth are effective replacement methods. In this paper, a novel forensic hand radiograph based human authentication is proposed using a deep neural network. Three-layered convolutional deep neural network architecture is used for the feature extraction of hand radiographs and for recognition; KNN and SVM classifiers are used. As a part of the experimentation, a total of 750 hand radiographs acquired from 150 subjects of different age groups, professions, and gender are considered. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated based on cross-validation accuracy by varying striding pixels, polling window size, kernel size, and the number of filters. Our experiment reveals that hand radiographs contain biometric information that can be used to identify humans in disaster victim identification. The experimental study also indicates that the proposed approach is significantly effective than conventional methods for the person authentication using hand radiographs.
Power Efficient Sense Amplifier For Emerging Non Volatile Memories

A low power and low voltage sense amplifier is presented in this brief for emerging nonvolatile memories such as Phase Change Memory (PCM), Resistive RAM (ReRAM) and Spin Transfer Torque Magnetic RAM (STT-MRAM). These memories use a special Alloy element, which is modeled as variable resistor. During programmed (RSET) and erased (SET) state, these elements exhibit large distribution in resistance value. This work presents a fast, reliable, power and area efficient sense amplifier in 110nm BCD technology with embedded PCM option. The proposed sense amplifier is able to sense sub $\mu$A current difference between memory cell and reference current at 1. 2V supply voltage and can operate at entire automotive grade temperature range from -40°C to 175°C.
Therapeutic effects of human stem cells in experimentally induced acute kidney injury in rats

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of stem cell therapy in drug-induced acute kidney injury in rats. Background Acute kidney injury (AKI) is defined as a rapid decrease in renal functions within few days; thus drug-induced AKI is a frequent entity in clinical medicine. Stem cell therapy provides a hopeful prospective for injured tissues and for repairing damaged organs. Materials and methods A total of 30 male Swiss albino rats were used in the present study. The animals were randomly divided into three groups. Group I: control group (10 rats). Group II: AKI group (10 rats), gentamicin-induced AKI rat models were used. Group III: stem-cell-treated AKI group (10 rats). Rats with established AKI were injected with CD34-positive stem cells. The three studied groups were assessed for serum urea, blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, and kidney injury molecule 1 (KIM-1). At the end, all the rats were killed and their kidneys were excised for histopathology and immunohistochemical studies. Results Serum KIM-1 level was significantly higher in the AKI group in comparison with both control group and stem-cell-treated group (P = 0.001), whereas no statistically significant difference was found between control group and stem-cell-treated group regarding serum KIM-1 level (P = 0.755). The results of the immunohistopathological studies have shown no significant changes between control group and AKI-stem-cell-treated group. Conclusion This study showed that AKI markers improved after treatment by stem cells in AKI-induced group.
Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Gap-Filling Method Producing Daily Cloud-Free NDSI Time Series

The normalized difference snow index (NDSI) is the most popular snow detection index. Due to cloud cover, it is difficult to produce complete and gap-free NDSI datasets. In this study, a spatial and temporal adaptive gap-filling method (STAGFM) is developed, whereby a weighted cloud-free similar pixel function is established for NDSI prediction. Cloud-covered NDSI gaps are filled by combining daily MOD10A1 and MYD10A1, and adjacent temporal composite is applied. STAGFM is implemented with long-time interval data to completely recover NDSI gaps. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer NDSI product data (from November 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018) of Northeast China are chosen as an example, and daily cloud-free NDSI time series over this period are produced. The method effectiveness was validated by cloud assumption and snow depth data, and the results show that STAGFM completely removes clouds and achieves an average correlation coefficient (r), root-mean-square error, and mean absolute error of 0.95, 0.08, and 0.06, respectively.
Interference interactions, co‐existence and conservation of mammalian carnivores

Abstract. The shift in emphasis from single species to ecosystem conservation is revealing how community interactions can potentially influence single species viability and conservation. Although there is much theory and empirical data concerning the dynamic consequences of exploitative interactions, there is still a very poor understanding of the effects of interference interactions. Recent studies, as shown in this review, have documented widespread effects of such interactions among mammalian carnivores. Harassment, loss of kills and intraguild predation have been documented in a wide range of species. The demonstrated effects also include avoidance of larger carnivores in both time and space and reductions in one species density or even total exclusion from certain habitats or regions. Our review of the literature thus provides a range of empirical examples that together demonstrate that these interactions have very important implications on carnivore demography. We believe that the effects of interference might differ strongly from the effects of exploitative competition. This is because interference might have the potential to affect population growth in an inverse density‐dependent manner and thereby also reduce population growth at low densities, therefore increasing extinction probabilities. These factors need to be considered when planning future multi‐species conservation. Further research into the temporal and spatial aspects of co‐existence are required if diverse guilds and communities are to be conserved.
A new sesquiterpene/phenol from the Australian marine brown alga Perithalia caudata

A chemical re-investigation of the Australian marine brown alga Perithalia caudata has resulted in the isolation of the known reverse isoprenylated aromatic [1] and the related chroman [2], along with the new sesquiterpene/phenol [3]. The structure of [3] was confirmed by spectroscopic analysis.
Direct endothelial damage and vasculitis due to SARS‐CoV‐2 in small bowel submucosa of COVID‐19 patient with diarrhea

SARS-CoV-2, responsible for CoViD-19, is a new virus that can infect different cellular lines, including endothelia and epithelial cells of the gastrointestinal tract mucosa. At this level, the virus can cause different types of direct damage, even in paucisymptomatic, young patients. Virus can be detected directly with immunohistochemistry techinques. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Biophysical studies of protein misfolding and aggregation in in vivo models of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases

Abstract Neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's (AD) and Parkinson's diseases (PD), are characterised by the formation of aberrant assemblies of misfolded proteins. The discovery of disease-modifying drugs for these disorders is challenging, in part because we still have a limited understanding of their molecular origins. In this review, we discuss how biophysical approaches can help explain the formation of the aberrant conformational states of proteins whose neurotoxic effects underlie these diseases. We discuss in particular models based on the transgenic expression of amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau in AD, and α-synuclein in PD. Because biophysical methods have enabled an accurate quantification and a detailed understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying protein misfolding and aggregation in vitro, we expect that the further development of these methods to probe directly the corresponding mechanisms in vivo will open effective routes for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.
Graph Partitioning approach for Segmentation of Banding Pattern of G-band Metaphase Human Chromosomes

Chromosomes display a banding pattern when they are treated with some stains. Bands are simply alternating light and dark stripes that appear along the lengths of chromosomes. Banding pattern is one of the unique parameters in karyotyping chromosomes to detect chromosomal abnormalities. These banding patterns are used to identify the type of chromosomes and to diagnose chromosomal aberrations, including chromosome breakage, duplication, loss, translocation or inverted segments. There are four different segmentation algorithm is used for efficient detection of chromosome bands. These segmentation algorithms directly work on the intensity value. Firstly, watershed algorithm using distance transform is applied to the chromosome for segmentation. Over segmentation due to watershed segmentation is overcome by marker controlled watershed segmentation. Bands are not identified correctly for all the tested chromosomes using marker controlled watershed segmentation. Multi thresholding is applied where only few bands are identified. The segmentation algorithm based on watershed transform and graph cut method proves itself efficient and much better for the separation of bands.
There are Extinctions and Extinctions: Examples from the Lower Palaeozoic

The extinction events at the Cambrian-Ordovician and Ordovician-Silurian boundaries are compared and contrasted. A simple theoretical model shows that times of increased cladogenesis produce elevated rates of taxonomic pseudoextinctions, according to the recognition of paraphyletic groups. Taxonomists have traditionally placed stratigraphically early and morphologically primitive members of clades into paraphyletic groups. The Cambrian-Ordovician boundary coincided with such a period of cladogenesis. Extinctions occurred among shelf taxa: deeper-water taxa were mostly unaffected. The various explanations that have been proposed to explain Cambrian-Ordovician extinctions are evaluated. The Cambrian-Ordovician boundary event was probably similar to ‘biomere-type’ events that preceded it in the Cambrian and followed in the Ordovician. However, the rapid, but apparently staggered appearance of major new taxa at this time elevated taxonomic pseudoextinctions. In contrast, the Ordovician-Silurian extinction event terminated many major clades. An important ‘oceanic’ event (or events) profoundly affected outer- to off-shelf taxa (including plankton), some having had long and stable histories. The late Ordovician glaciation produced changes in shelf taxa, but changes in brachiopod faunal composition were spread over a long time compared with that for oceanic events. The likely role of anoxia in explaining deeper water end-Ordovician extinctions at the time of deglaciation is discussed.
Effects of polyploidy on photosynthetic properties and anatomy in leaves of Phlox drummondii.

Polyploidy affects photosynthesis by causing changes in morphology, anatomy and biochemistry. However, in newly developed polyploids, the genome may be unstable. In this study, diploid (2×) and synthetic autotetraploids in initial (4×-C0) and 11th generations (4×-C11) of Phlox drummondii Hook were used to study the effects of chromosome doubling and genome stabilisation on leaf photosynthesis and anatomical properties. The light-saturated photosynthetic rate on a leaf area basis at 360 µmol CO2 mol-1 air (A360) was highest in 4×-C11 leaves, intermediate in 4×-C0 leaves, and lowest in 2× leaves. Rubisco amounts, CO2-saturated photosynthetic rate at 1200 µmol CO2 mol-1 air at PPFD of 1000 µmol m-2 s-1 (A1200, representing the capacity for RuBP regeneration), cumulative surface areas of chloroplasts facing intercellular spaces (Sc), all expressed on a leaf area basis, were all higher in 4× leaves than in 2× leaves, and stomatal conductance (gs) at 360 µmol CO2 mol-1 air was only higher in the 4×-C11 leaves. A360 for the 4×-C11 leaves was greater than that in the 4×-C0 leaves despite having similar amounts of Rubisco. This was presumably associated with a greater RuBP regeneration capacity, as well as an increase in Sc and gs, which would increase the CO2 concentration of Rubisco. These results indicate that the higher rate of photosynthesis in 4×-C11 leaves was not an immediate outcome of chromosome doubling; rather, it was due to adjustment and adaptation during the process of genome stabilisation.