Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Apparent digestibility of various feedstuffs for bluntnose black bream Megalobrama amblycephala Yih

The apparent digestibility of 66 different feedstuffs by the bluntnose black bream Megalobrama amblycephala Yih was determined in digestibility trials in a recirculation aquaculture system. The ingredients consisted of 26 distinct energy feedstuffs, 18 nonanimal protein feedstuffs and 22 animal protein feedstuffs. In each of three trials, a reference diet was mixed with various test ingredients in a 70 : 30 ratio; reference and test diets were fed to the fish, and faecal samples were collected using a hand-held screen system. Energy availability for the 26 energy feedstuffs varied between )23.0% (silkworm manure) and 89.5% (millet grain), protein digestibility for the 18 nonanimal protein ingredients varied from 58.0% (pea protein meal) to 98.1% (soybean meal), and protein digestibility for the 22 animal protein feedstuffs varied between )5.7% (feather meal) and 99.1% (fermented dried blood meal). The average protein digestibility of 85.9% for the nonanimal protein feedstuffs was significantly higher than that for the animal feedstuffs (P < 0.05), partly validating the assumption that herbivorous bluntnose black bream would digest proteinic nutrients in nonanimal feedstuffs better than in animal ingredients under intensive aquaculture. Finally, the energy availability of nonanimal protein feedstuffs was significantly lower than that of animal feedstuffs (P < 0.05).
Breeding experience and foraging behaviour of Imperial Shags (Leucocarbo atriceps) in Argentina

Abstract Breeding success depends on efficient foraging behaviour by breeding individuals. However, foraging skills are acquired over time and foraging behaviour is expected to be optimised over the course of successive breeding events. In 2008, 32 Imperial Shags (Leucocarbo atriceps) breeding at the Punta León colony, Argentina, either with prior breeding experience (4 males and 9 females) or without (10 males, 9 females), were fitted with tracking devices to record one foraging trip during the early chick-rearing period. Birds did not differ in the maximum distance from the colony or duration of foraging trips, but males spent more time flying than females. Inexperienced individuals spent more time diving than experienced individuals, and inexperienced males in particular spent more time flying and performed more dives than other birds. Experienced males and females differed in the areas that they searched most intensively, and inexperienced males used different areas from experienced males. This study shows the importance of considering sex-and age-related differences when studying behavioural aspects, such as foraging patterns in seabirds.
Diversity analysis of amp gene sequences in the ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma meliae’

Phytoplasmas are plant pathogenic bacteria transmitted by insects. As endosymbiotic bacteria that lack a cell wall, their membrane proteins are in direct contact with host cytoplasm. In phytoplasmas the immunodominant membrane proteins (IDPs), are the most abundant proteins of the cell membrane. The antigenic membrane protein (Amp), one of the three types of IDPs, is characterized by a positive selection pressure acting in their extracellular domain. In South America, the ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma meliae’ has been associated to chinaberry yellows disease. In the present work, we describe for the first time the structure, phylogeny and selection pressure of amp gene in sixteen ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma meliae’ isolates. Our results indicate that amp gene sequences preserve the structure, large extracellular domain flanked by to hydrophobic domains in the N- (signal peptide) and C-termini (transmembrane), previously described in its orthologues and high divergence in the amino acids residues from extracellular domain. Moreover, a positive selection pressure was detected predominantly in this region confirming previous reports.
Comparing the Electrophysiology and Morphology of Human and Mouse Layer 2/3 Pyramidal Neurons With Bayesian Networks

Pyramidal neurons are the most common neurons in the cerebral cortex. Understanding how they differ between species is a key challenge in neuroscience. We compared human temporal cortex and mouse visual cortex pyramidal neurons from the Allen Cell Types Database in terms of their electrophysiology and basal dendrites’ morphology. We found that, among other differences, human pyramidal neurons had a higher threshold voltage, a lower input resistance, and a larger basal dendritic arbor. We learned Gaussian Bayesian networks from the data in order to identify correlations and conditional independencies between the variables and compare them between the species. We found strong correlations between electrophysiological and morphological variables in both species. One result is that, in human cells, dendritic arbor width had the strongest effect on input resistance after accounting for the remaining variables. Electrophysiological variables were correlated, in both species, even with morphological variables that are not directly related to dendritic arbor size or diameter, such as mean bifurcation angle and mean branch tortuosity. Contrary to previous results, cortical depth was correlated with both electrophysiological and morphological variables, and its effect on electrophysiological could not be explained in terms of the morphological variables. Overall, the correlations among the variables differed strikingly between human and mouse neurons. Besides identifying correlations and conditional independencies, the learned Bayesian networks might be useful for probabilistic reasoning regarding the morphology and electrophysiology of pyramidal neurons.
Getting stuck in a rut as an emergent feature of a dynamic decision-making system

Human sensorimotor decision-making has a tendency to get ‘stuck in a rut’, being biased towards selecting a previously implemented action structure (‘hysteresis’). Existing explanations cannot provide a principled account of when hysteresis will occur. We propose that hysteresis is an emergent property of a dynamical system learning from the consequences of its actions. To examine this, 152 participants moved a cursor to a target on a tablet device whilst avoiding an obstacle. Hysteresis was observed when the obstacle moved sequentially across the screen between trials, but not with random obstacle placement. Two further experiments (n = 20) showed an attenuation when time and resource constraints were eased. We created a simple computational model capturing dynamic probabilistic estimate updating that showed the same patterns of results. This provides the first computational demonstration of how sensorimotor decision-making can get ‘stuck in a rut’ through the dynamic updating of its probability estimates. Significance Statement Humans show a bias to select the organisational structure of a recently carried out action, even when an alternative option is available with lower costs. This ‘hysteresis’ is said to be more efficient than creating a new plan and it has been interpreted as a ‘design feature’ within decision-making systems. We suggest such teleological arguments are redundant, with hysteresis being a naturally emergent property of a dynamic control system that evolved to operate effectively in an uncertain and partially observable world. Empirical experimentation and simulations from a ‘first principle’ computational model of decision-making were consistent with our hypothesis. The identification of such a mechanism can inform robotics research, suggesting how robotic agents can show human-like flexibility in complex dynamic environments.
CLIMATIC VARIABILITY, PLANT PHENOLOGY, AND NORTHERN UNGULATES

Models of climate change predict that global temperatures and precipitation will increase within the next century, with the most pronounced changes occurring in northern latitudes and during winter. A large-scale atmospheric phenomenon, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), is a strong determinant of both interannual variation and decadal trends in temperatures and precipitation during winter in northern latitudes, and its recent persistence in one extreme phase may be a substantial component of increases in global temperatures. Hence, we investigated the influences of large-scale climatic variability on plant phenology and ungulate population ecology by incorporating the NAO in statistical analyses of previously published data on: (1) the timing of flowering by plants in Norway, and (2) phenotypic and demographic variation in populations of northern ungulates. We analyzed 137 time series on plant phenology for 13 species of plants in Norway spanning up to 50 yr (44 ± 0.5 yr, mean ± 1 se) and 39 time seri.
Mammals of the Harrat al-Harrah Protected Area, Saudi Arabia

Abstract The 12,150 km2 Hanat al-Harrah Protected Area in northern Saudi Arabia was created in 1986 in a landscape of undulating basalt lava fields, gravel plains and sparsely vegetated wadis. Between 1991 and 1996 records of mammals in the reserve have been compiled and surveys and trapping undertaken. A total of 22 species of mammals including three domestic animals have been confirmed within the reserve’s boundaries. Harrat al-Harrah is important for wildlife, including eight species of native carnivores, the Arabian Wolf Canis lupus, the Striped Hyena Hyaena hyaena. and the Caracal Felis caracal being among them.
Mounting evidence of FKBP12 implication in neurodegeneration

Intrinsically disordered proteins, such as tau or α-synuclein, have long been associated with a dysfunctional role in neurodegenerative diseases. In Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s’ diseases, these proteins, sharing a common chemical-physical pattern with alternating hydrophobic and hydrophilic domains rich in prolines, abnormally aggregate in tangles in the brain leading to progressive loss of neurons. In this review, we present an overview linking the studies on the implication of the peptidyl-prolyl isomerase domain of immunophilins, and notably FKBP12, to a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, focusing on the molecular origin of such a role. The involvement of FKBP12 dysregulation in the aberrant aggregation of disordered proteins pinpoints this protein as a possible therapeutic target and, at the same time, as a predictive biomarker for early diagnosis in neurodegeneration, calling for the development of reliable, fast and cost-effective detection methods in body fluids for community-based screening campaigns.
Effects of leaf duration, nutrient supply, and temperature on the seasonal pattern of growth and nitrogen uptake in tree seedlings in a subarctic environment

The seasonal dynamics of growth and nitrogen uptake were measured in pine (Pinus sylvestris) and birch (Betula pubescens ssp. tortuosa) seedlings growing in a subarctic environment. Whole-plant dry matter accumulated at about the same rate in both species. A higher rate of early summer assimilation did occur in Pinus as revealed by the simultaneous increase in fine-root weight per unit length and leaf weight per unit area. Fine-root elongation and nitrogen uptake in Pinus preceded that in Betula. Seasonal variations in unit leaf rate and relative growth rate correlated with the prevailing temperature conditions. Pinus did not differ in phenology of growth with changes in nutrient supply while the growth and duration of foliage for Betula increased with increasing nutrient supply. Foliage growth in Pinus increased during spring but not in autumn. The temperature conditions during the growth period was important for determining the seasonal production of foliage in Betula.
The effect of foliage pathogens on growth of peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L.) in tropical Northern Australia

The effect of foliage pathogens on growth and development and final yield of Virginia Bunch peanuts was assessed under tropical wet season conditions in the Ord River Irrigation Area. Applications of the fungicides chlorothalonil and benomyl were used to manipulate onset and severity of disease during the season. Heavy disease pressure in unprotected plots caused severe defoliation and a 30% reduction in commercial yield. This yield reduction, associated with significantly lower pod numbers, was probably due to defoliation causing reduced interception of incident photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) during pod fill and reduced efficiency of conversion of intercepted PAR to reproductive yield. The latter was due to the effect of foliage pathogens on either photosynthetic capacity of remaining leaves, or patterns of assimilate distribution. Data on PAR interception and remaining leaf area alone did not adequately explain the effects of foliage pathogens on crop yield. Canopies with maximum disease control maintained leaf area indices well in excess of that necessary for full interception of incident radiation until maturity. However, commercial yields of pods and kernels from these plots were significantly lower than for those with intermediate foliage protection. This effect was probably due to altered patterns of assimilate distribution between vegetative and reproductive plant parts. The rate of increase in kernel size in fully protected plots was lower than in those with less effective pathogen management, so that a greater proportion of the total pod yield consisted of small, immature pods which were lost during the commercial threshing process.
Amounts and Variation of Soluble Collagen in Mink Skin During Growth from Kits to Adult Animals

The soluble collagen from mink skin was extracted from 2-week to 6-month-old animals. A total of 14 different age groups, each containing three animals, was studied by using two different buffers for collagen extraction. The amount of soluble collagen was measured. The various collagen species were characterized using capillary zone electrophoresis, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and protein blotting followed by antibody analysis for type I collagen. The data showed that the amount of soluble collagen declines with age. Using capillary electrophoresis it was also found that the distribution of soluble collagen differs in very young kits' skin compared with older animals' skin, whereas the skin from animals more than 2 weeks old was found to contain the same proportions of various collagen species. Antibody analysis of type I collagen found no difference in the relative amount between different age groups, and only the acetic acid-containing buffer extracted type I collagen from the mink skin.
Wing morph‐related differences in the walking pattern and dispersal in a flightless bug, Pyrrhocoris apterus (Heteroptera)

We tested the hypothesis that adults of flightless long-winged (macropterous) and short-winged (brachypterous) morphs of Pyrrhocoris apterus (L.) (Heteroptera) differ in their walking path characteristics and dispersal ability. Descriptive variables such as the distance moved, mean velocity, time in observation zone, turn angle, angular velocity, meander and sinuosity were computed from walking track data obtained with the use of the computerized system EthoVision. The macropterous bugs differed from the brachypterous ones by higher mean and angular velocity and distance moved, by shorter time spent in the observation zone, and by lower turn angle, meander and sinuosity parameters. The analysis of locomotory tracks revealed that the walking path of macropters is less tortuous than that of brachypters. Estimation of mean spatial displacement distance attained by two wing morphs indicate higher dispersal activity of macropters, and an important role of the macropterous morph in the dispersal strategy of this bug and spreading of the macropterous genotype into new areas. The results obtained are in accordance with our hypothesis that flightless macropters of P. apterus maintain higher dispersal ability than brachypters despite the evolutionary loss of flight capability.
Histology and microspectrophotometry of the photoreceptors of a crocodilian, Alligator mississippiensis

The photoreceptors in the retina of Alligator mississippiensis were examined by means of in situ, single cell microspectrophotometry and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The retina is characterized by a system of four cone visual pigments. One type of single cone contains a visual pigment with absorbance maximum (λmax) at 535 nm. A second type contains a visual pigment absorbing maximally at 444 nm. The principal member of the double cone has a visual pigment with λmax at 566 nm whereas the accessory member’s visual pigment absorbs maximally at 503 nm. There is only one rod pigment and it is virtually identical to that within the accessory cone, absorbing maximally at 501 nm. All visual pigments are based on the retinal or vitamin A1 chromophore. SEM confirms that the alligator retina is duplex with rods dominating but cones present in significant numbers. There is a wide range of photoreceptor shapes and sizes throughout the retina
An algorithm to improve geolocation positions using sea surface temperature and diving depth

The at-sea movement of marine mammals is an important component of their foraging ecology, but has been difficult to study. Geolocation timed-data recorders (GLTDRs) estimate positions using measured light level to calculate day length and local noon. It is well known that these location estimates are imprecise (mean error of > 1°). Satellite telemetry generally provides a more accurate, but also more expensive means of monitoring movement. We evaluated the accuracy and precision of geolocation positions by comparing these locations with satellite data from Service Argos for eight free-ranging gray seals (Halichoerns grypus) equipped with both a satellite-linked data recorder (SDR) and a GLTDR. Geolocation positions differed by 1,026.0 ± 292.28 km from the corresponding Argos locations. We developed an algorithm to correct geolocation positions by comparing surface water temperature (ST) and dive depth collected by GLTDRs with existing sea-surface temperature and bathymetry databases. The corrected positions were significantly closer (P < 0.025) to the Argos locations of these seals (94.2 ± 8.22 km). The original geolocation positions would have led to incorrect conclusions about the use of space by gray seals; however, the corrected positions can be reliably used to study the large-scale spatial distribution of individuals.
Phragmites australis– A preliminary study of soil‐oxidizing sites and internal gas transport pathways

SUMMARY The possible pathways of oxygen transport within Phragmites australis and out into the soil were investigated by means of pressurized air flow, methylene-blue dye and by anatomical studies. In most cases, gas was easily forced through the plants, thus demonstrating gas-space connexion between aerial shoot, rhizomes and roots and a relatively low resistance to flow. Gas-space connexions between the pith cavity and cortical aerenchyma in the rhizomes were also detected and were investigated anatomically they are present only in nodal regions just above the insertion of the pith diaphragm and take the form of radial channels through the stelar cylinder. Similar pathways in the culm connect the pith cavity with nodal lines of stomata and it is suggested that these regions may often form the major oxygen entry point to the rhizome-root system. A failure to effect pressurized gas-flow through some rhizomes led to the detection of secondary barriers to longitudinal gas-flow. Seemingly a response to wounding, these are an impenetrable barrier to gases, to flooding, and probably also to microorganisms, and take the form of tylosoidal growths from and within regions of stellate-and/or circumvascular-parenchymas such as those of the nodal diaphragms. Stellate parenchymas of various sorts were found to be a common feature of the gas-path in Phragmites and evidently they form an important component of the gas-space system occurring within the nodal radial channels, the nodal diaghragms and, rather unusually, the root-shoot junctions where they must confer a porosity which is higher than for most plants. As measured by methylene-blue oxidation, oxygen release from underground parts was most rapid from young adventitious and secondary roots and particularly basal tufts of fine laterals. Zones of oxidation also occurred around the sprouting tips of horizontal and vertical rhizomes. Dormant tips showed very little oxidizing power, whilst the rhizomes themselves and the older parts of adventitious roots showed none. This was associated with cuticularization of the rhizome and hypodermal suberization and lignification; oxygen-impermeable regions of the roots were also hyperdermally suberized and lignified. The findings are discussed in relation to the use of Phragmites in sewage-treatment beds.
Early neurodevelopmental and medical profile in children with sex chromosome trisomies: Background for the prospective eXtraordinarY babies study to identify early risk factors and targets for intervention

Sex chromosome trisomies (SCT), including Klinefelter syndrome/XXY, Trisomy X, and XYY syndrome, occur in 1 of every 500 births. The past decades of research have resulted in a broadening of known associated medical comorbidities as well as advances in psychological research. This review summarizes what is known about early neurodevelopmental, behavioral, and medical manifestations in young children with SCT. We focus on recent research and unanswered questions related to the risk for neurodevelopmental disorders that commonly present in the first years of life and discuss the medical and endocrine manifestations of SCT at this young age. The increasing rate of prenatal SCT diagnoses provides the opportunity to address gaps in the existing literature in a new birth cohort, leading to development of the eXtraordinarY Babies Study. This study aims to better describe and compare the natural history of SCT conditions, identify predictors of positive and negative outcomes in SCT, evaluate developmental and autism screening measures commonly used in primary care practices for the SCT population, and build a rich data set linked to a bank of biological samples for future study. Results from this study and ongoing international research efforts will inform evidence‐based care and improve health and neurodevelopmental outcomes.
Seed bank dynamics in a Mediterranean grassland

1. Changes in the seed bank, seedling emergence and plant density of the most common grass species, and all legume species, were monitored in a grassland in north Syria from October 1986 to May 1989. 2. The seed bank was greatest in May-June, following pasture maturity, then declined to its minimum in March-April. Losses of seeds during summer were mainly due to sheep grazing, while losses in winter and spring were mainly due to germination, although some seeds were eaten by soil fauna and some seeds died. The seed bank, particularly of the small-seeded species (Trifolium tomentosum and T. campestre) was greater under the high stocking rate than under the low stocking rate