Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stable isotope analysis of baleen reveals resource partitioning among sympatric rorquals and population structure in fin whales

Stable isotope analysis is a useful tool for investigating diet, migrations and niche in ecological communities by tracing energy through food-webs. In this study, the stable isotopic composition of carbon and nitrogen in keratin was measured at growth increments of baleen plates from 3 sympatric species of rorquals (Balaenoptera acutrostrata, B. physalus and Megaptera novaeangliae), which died between 1985 and 2010 in Irish and contiguous waters. Bivariate ellipses were used to plot isotopic niches and standard ellipse area parameters were estimated via Bayesian inference using the SIBER routine in the SIAR package in R. Evidence of resource parti- tioning was thus found among fin, humpback and minke whales using isotopic niches. Highest δ 15 N values were found in minke whales followed by humpback, and fin whales. Comparison between Northeast Atlantic (Irish/UK and Biscayan) and Mediterranean fin whale isotopic niches support the current International Whaling Commission stock assessment of an isolated Medi - terranean population. Significantly larger niche area and higher overall δ 15 N and δ 13 C values found in fin whales from Irish/UK waters compared to those sampled in adjacent regions (Bay of Biscay and Mediterranean) suggest inshore foraging that may be unique to fin whales in Ireland and the UK. Isotopic profiles support spatial overlap but different foraging strategies between fin whales sampled in Ireland/UK and the Bay of Biscay. Stable isotope analysis of baleen could pro- vide an additional means for identifying ecological units, thus supporting more effective manage- ment for the conservation of baleen whales.
The Effect of PIPS on Three Different Types of Dentin: A Surface Observational Study

Aim: To study the effect of 17% EDTA with PIPS on dentinal surfaces of pediatric, adolescent and geriatric teeth using scan­ ning electron microscope (SEM). Background data: The debriding ability of an Er:YAG laser system equipped with a new tapered and stripped tip of 400 micron diameter and auxiliary irrigating solutions after mecha nical preparation. Materials and methods: For each group, 20 single rooted human mandibular premolars were selected. The groups were categorized as group 1 pediatric, group 2 adolescent and group 3 geriatric. These groups were further divided as subgroup A (control)—saline and subgroup B—EDTA and PIPS. Access opening was done for all the samples and respective irrigation pro tocol was followed. The samples were then sectioned and observed under SEM. Results: The observational study shows that the efficacy of smear layer removal was better in the pediatrics group followed by adolescent and geriatric groups. Conclusion: The PIPS technique resulted in effective debriding and decontamination of the root canal system in all the three types of dentin.
Effect of sibling competition and male carotenoid supply on offspring condition and oxidative stress

Early developmental conditions have major implications for an individual’s fitness. In species where offspring are born simultaneously, the level of sibling competition for food access is intense. In birds, high sibling competition may subject nestlings to decreased growth rate as a result of limited food and increased levels of oxidative stress through high metabolic activity induced by begging behaviors. We manipulated the level of sibling competition in a natural population of great tits and assessed the consequences for nestling body condition and resistance to oxidative stress. In a full factorial design, we both augmented brood size to increase sibling competition and supplemented the male parents with physiological doses of carotenoids thereby doubling the natural carotenoid intake, aiming at increasing the males’ investment in current reproduction and thereby decreasing sibling competition. Nestling body mass was reduced by the brood enlargement and enhanced by the carotenoid supplementation of fathers. Nestling resistance to oxidative stress, measured as total antioxidant defenses in whole blood, was not influenced by the treatments. Because nestlings experience high metabolic activities, an absence of an effect of sibling competition on free radicals production seems unlikely. Nestling body mass decreased and resistance to oxidative stress tended to increase with initial brood size, and hence these correlational effects suggest a trade-off between morphological growth and development of the antioxidant system. However, the result of the experimental treatment did not support this trade-off hypothesis. Alternatively, it suggests that nestling developed compensatory mechanisms that were not detected by our antioxidant capacity measure. Key words: antioxidant capacity, body condition, brood size manipulation, carotenoid supplementation, Parus major, sibling competition. [Behav Ecol]
An Adaptive Energy Aware Clustering Based Reliable Routing for in-Network Aggregation in Wireless Sensor Network

Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) consists of spatially distributed autonomous devices that cooperatively sense physical or environmental conditions. Due to the non-uniform node deployment, the energy consumption among nodes are more imbalanced in cluster-based wireless sensor networks this factor will affect the network life time. Cluster-based routing and EADC algorithm through an efficient energy aware clustering algorithm is employed to avoid imbalance network distribution. Our proposed protocol EADC aims at minimizing the overall network overhead and energy expenditure associated with the multi hop data retrieval process while also ensuring balanced energy consumption among SNs and prolonged network life time . A optimal one-hop based selective node in building cluster structures consisted of member nodes that route their measured data to their assigned cluster head is identified to ensure efficient communication. The proposed routing algorithm increases forwarding tasks of the nodes in scarcely covered areas by forcing cluster heads to choose nodes with higher energy and fewer member nodes and finally, achieves imbalanced among cluster head and improve the network life time.
Invasion success in polyploids: the role of inbreeding in the contrasting colonization abilities of diploid versus tetraploid populations of Centaurea stoebe s.l.

As a consequence of founder effects, inbreeding can hamper colonization success: First, in species with self‐incompatibility controlled by an S‐locus, inbreeding may decrease cross‐compatibility, mainly due to the sharing of identical S‐alleles between closely related mating partners. Secondly, inbreeding can reduce fitness of inbred relative to outbred offspring (i.e. inbreeding depression). Polyploids often show reduced inbreeding depression compared to diploids, which may contribute to the overrepresentation of polyploids among invasive species. This is the first study that tests how the effects of inbreeding differ between geocytotypes (i.e. ploidy levels within a given range). Our model organism, Centaurea stoebe, is strictly self‐incompatible and comprises three geocytotypes: diploids are more frequent than tetraploids in the native range, while only tetraploids occur in the invasive range. We conducted a breeding experiment (sib‐mating vs. outcrossing) with 14 native diploid, 13 native tetraploid and 15 invasive tetraploid populations. We recorded cross‐compatibility and estimated a cumulative index for offspring fitness. Since frequent inbreeding can result in purging of genetic load responsible for inbreeding depression, our analyses included a metric for within‐population relatedness, based on eight microsatellite markers, to assess the effect of purging. Inbreeding was found to reduce cross‐compatibility, which was similarly pronounced in diploids and tetraploids. It also caused inbreeding depression in cumulative fitness, which was significant in diploids but not in tetraploids. No evidence of purging was observed as inbred fitness was not affected by within‐population relatedness. Synthesis. Our results provide new insights into the contrasting invasion success of the cytotypes of C. stoebe. As the effects of cross‐compatibility and purging were comparable between cytotypes, both processes can be ruled out to affect the colonization success of diploids versus tetraploids. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that polyploidy increases the masking of recessive mutations, which maintains high fitness in inbred tetraploids and may thus facilitate colonization of new ranges. We highlight that reduced inbreeding depression may add to previously acknowledged advantages of polyploids in range expansions, a mechanism that may hitherto have been underestimated due to a lack of data on variation in inbreeding depression across geocytotypes.
Pediatric Myelodysplastic Syndrome: Cytomorphological Correlation with Outcome from a Single Tertiary Institution in Oman

Pediatric MDS is currently classified into three distinct groups namely MDS, Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) and Down Syndrome-associated leukemias (DSAL). The aim of this study was to evaluate pediatric MDS patients using the WHO 2008 morphological classification with the clinical outcome. In this retrospective single centre study, 19 pediatric MDS patients (median age 6 years; range 3 months – 16 years) were analyzed for their initial presentation, type of progression, leukemic transformation and overall survival as well as MDS related cytogenetic abnormalities. The median follow-up was 26.5 months. The most common single presentation of childhood MDS was RCC (26%). Leukemic transformation was seen in almost half of this cohort but was completely restricted to the DSAL and RAEB-T subgroups only. The median survival in the MDS group was 50 months, whereas for the entire cohort it was 35 months. RCC cohort showed the best survival with the median of 53.75 months, whereas the Down-related disease cohort showed the worst survival estimates with a median of only 11.25 months. Multivariate analysis showed that gender, platelet count, HbF, bone marrow cellularity, bone marrow blast percentage contributed significantly to the prognosis and survival. The study shows that cytogenetics, including monosomy 7 did not influence the outcome or the overall survival of childhood MDS. We identified that thrombocytopenia and BM blasts >5% were associated with a poor survival in this childhood MDS cohort.
Informing the Design of Teacher Awareness Tools through Causal Alignment Analysis

: Designers of teacher awareness tools (e.g., dashboards) must not only anticipate the effects analytics will have on awareness, but also how this enhanced awareness might affect teacher decision-making, and in turn, student learning. Yet teacher awareness tools are not commonly optimized to guide teacher behavior in ways that are productive for learning. In this paper, we introduce Causal Alignment Analysis (CAA) , a framework for data-informed, iterative design of teacher awareness tools, which links the design of awareness tools to educational goals. We illustrate the usefulness of CAA with a case study, demonstrating the successful design alignment of an awareness tool with a causal path from teacher tool use to student learning. Over a sequence of four pilot studies conducted in both simulated and live classrooms, we demonstrate the iterative refinement of Lumilo , a real-time awareness tool, to draw teachers’ attention towards students who may benefit most from a teacher’s help.
Preemployment Predictors of Union Attitudes: The Role of Family Socialization and Work Beliefs

A process model of the preemployment predictors of union attitudes was developed and tested. Fifty-nine high school and 143 university students completed questionnaires on family socialization, work beliefs, union attitudes, and willingness to join a union. Linear structural equation modeling showed that union attitudes predicted willingness to join a union and were predicted by humanist and Marxist work beliefs and by subjects' perceptions of their parents' union attitudes. Subjects' perceptions of their parents' union attitudes were predicted by perceptions of parents' involvement in union activities. The results extend findings that union attitudes are of critical importance to unionization in a sample of individuals not yet employed. In addition, several predictors of union attitudes prior to entry into the workplace were identified.
Matrix Recovery from Rank-One Projection Measurements via Nonconvex Minimization

In this paper, we consider the matrix recovery from rank-one projection measurements proposed in [Cai and Zhang, Ann. Statist. , 43(2015), 102-138], via nonconvex minimization. We establish a sufficient identifiability condition, which can guarantee the exact recovery of low-rank matrix via Schatten-$p$ minimization $\min_{X}\|X\|_{S_p}^p$ for $0<p<1$ under affine constraint, and stable recovery of low-rank matrix under $\ell_q$ constraint and Dantzig selector constraint. Our condition is also sufficient to guarantee low-rank matrix recovery via least $q$ minimization $\min_{X}\|\mathcal{A}(X)-b\|_{q}^q$ for $0<q\leq1$. And we also extend our result to Gaussian design distribution, and show that any matrix can be stably recovered for rank-one projection from Gaussian distributions via least $1$ minimization with high probability.
Assessment of transport stress on cattle travelling a long distance (≈648 km), from Jessore (Indian border) to Chittagong, Bangladesh

The effect of long-distance transport on cattle health has not frequently been studied in Bangladesh. The current study investigated the health conditions, and the extent and pattern of cattle injuries, along with haemato-biochemical and hormonal changes, before and after long-distance transportation (≈648 km) from the market of origin to the market of destination. A total of 100 adult cattle were selected at the Benapole live cattle market, Bangladesh, for physical examination before and after transportation. Fifty of these cattle were randomly selected for additional haemato-biochemical evaluation just before the start of transportation (0 hour), immediately after arrival at the destination market (13.8±0.9 hours after the start of transportation) and 24 hours after arrival at the destination market. The external health conditions and injuries were assessed. Animals were fasting in the vehicle during transportation and provided only with paddy straw and water before sale at the destination market. Before and after transportation, the overall frequency of cattle injuries varied significantly (26 per cent before v 47 per cent after transportation; P<0.001). Cattle health conditions diverged significantly (such as nasal discharge: 15 per cent v 28 per cent; P=0.03). The values of haemoglobin (P=0.01), total erythrocyte count (P=0.001), total leucocyte count (P<0.001), lymphocyte (P=0.005), neutrophil (P=0.01) and eosinophil (P=0.01) varied significantly. The values of serum total protein (P=0.006), creatine kinase (P<0.001), triglyceride (P=0.04), calcium (P=0.003), phosphorus (P<0.001) and alkaline phosphatase (P=0.04) significantly differed. The overall findings indicate a high degree of transport stress and poor animal welfare.
Controlling and utilizing optical forces at the nanoscale with plasmonic antennas

Plasmonic dipole antennas are powerful optical devices for many applications since they combine a high field enhancement with outstanding tunability of their resonance frequency. The field enhancement, which is mainly localized inside the nanogap between both arms, is strong enough to generate attractive forces for trapping extremely small objects flowing nearby. Furthermore it dramatically enhances their Raman scattering cross-section generating SERS emission. In this publication, we demonstrate how plasmonic antennas provide unique means for bringing analyte directly into hotspots by merely controlling the optical force generated by the plasmon resonance. This technique is very suitable for immobilizing objects smaller that the diffraction limit and requires a very little power density. In this work, 20nm gold nanoparticles functionalized with Rhodamine 6G are trapped in the gap of nanoantennas fabricated with e-beam lithography on glass substrate. The entire system is integrated into a microfluidic chip with valves and pumps for driving the analyte. The field enhancement is generated by a near-IR laser (λ=808nm) that provides the trapping energy. It is focused on the sample through a total internal reflection (TIRF) objective in dark field configuration with a white light source. The scattered light is collected through the same objective and the spectrum of one single antenna spectrum is recorded and analyzed every second. A trapping event is characterized by a sudden red-shift of the antenna resonance. This way, it is possible to detect the trapping of extremely small objects. The SERS signal produced by a trapped analyte can then be studied by switching from the white light source to a second laser for Raman spectroscopy, while keeping the trapping laser on. The trapping and detection limit of this approach will be discussed in detail.
Sparse Change-point HAR Models for Realized Variance

ABSTRACT Change-point time series specifications constitute flexible models that capture unknown structural changes by allowing for switches in the model parameters. Nevertheless most models suffer from an over-parametrization issue since typically only one latent state variable drives the switches in all parameters. This implies that all parameters have to change when a break happens. To gauge whether and where there are structural breaks in realized variance, we introduce the sparse change-point HAR model. The approach controls for model parsimony by limiting the number of parameters which evolve from one regime to another. Sparsity is achieved thanks to employing a nonstandard shrinkage prior distribution. We derive a Gibbs sampler for inferring the parameters of this process. Simulation studies illustrate the excellent performance of the sampler. Relying on this new framework, we study the stability of the HAR model using realized variance series of several major international indices between January 2000 and August 2015.
A passive traffic algorithm for detecting unavailable periods in TCP services

—This paper presents a simple passive algorithm to mon- itor service availability. The algorithm is based on packet counting over a passive trafﬁc trace of a population of clients accessing servers of interest. The major advantage of the algorithm is that it is passive and thus not invasive while usual monitor systems that can be found on Internet are active probing agents. The proposed system does not communicate to actual servers. It is easy to build as an online monitoring system with no big constraints in software or hardware. It does not relay on a distributed number of network placements for probing agents but works on a single network observing point near network edge. Initial proof of work of the algorithm is presented by studying the inﬂuence of different kinds of disruptions on packet level trafﬁc and analyzing unavailability problems for popular servers at an academic network at Public University of Navarre.
Flexible and transparent TiO_2/Ag/ITO multilayer electrodes on PET substrates for organic photonic devices

We report on the formation of highly flexible and transparent TiO_2/Ag/ITO multilayer films deposited on polyethylene terephthalate substrates. The optical and electrical properties of the multilayer films were investigated as a function of oxide thickness. The transmission window gradually shifted toward lower energies with increasing oxide thickness. The TiO_2 (40 nm)/Ag (18 nm)/ITO (40 nm) films gave the transmittance of 93.1% at 560 nm. The relationship between transmittance and oxide thickness was simulated using the scattering matrix method to understand high transmittance. As the oxide thickness increased from 20 to 50 nm, the carrier concentration gradually decreased from 1.08 × 10^22 to 6.66 × 10^21 cm^−3, while the sheet resistance varied from 5.8 to 6.1 Ω/sq. Haacke’s figure of merit reached a maximum at 40 nm and then decreased with increasing oxide thickness. The change in resistance for the 60 nm-thick ITO single film rapidly increased with increasing bending cycles, while that of the TiO_2/Ag/ITO (40 nm/18 nm/40 nm) film remained virtually unchanged during the bending test.
Egg Limitation in Parasitoids: A Review of the Evidence and a Case Study

Abstract Life history theory predicts that a nontrivial proportion of parasitoids should exhaust their egg supply during their lifetime. We reviewed the literature on egg limitation in parasitoids and found partial support for this prediction. Most of the evidence in support of egg limitation is indirect and does not constitute absolute proof of egg limitation. However, a few direct studies in which field-collected parasitoids were dissected, gave unequivocal evidence of egg limitation. Egg limitation was detected both in proovigenic species, in which it signals the attainment of maximum fecundity, and in synovigenic species, where it is more likely to be temporary than permanent. We demonstrated substantial egg limitation in the synovigenic parasitoid Aphytis aonidiae. Although an unknown (and probably large) proportion of egg-limited individuals was apparently unable to mature eggs for unknown reasons, the egg load distribution indicated that even those individuals able to mature eggs could be at risk of becoming egg limited. Thus, egg limitation in this species can apparently occur through egg depletion or an inability to mature eggs. We investigated possible correlations between time of day, time of year, ambient temperature, parasitoid size, and host density on egg limitation in A. aonidiae. We found a slight tendency for egg load to drop during the course of the day. Although we could detect no effect of time of year or of temperature on egg load, larger parasitoids had higher egg loads than did smaller ones. Finally, we could detect no effect of host density on egg load. This result is paradoxical given recent theory predicting increased egg limitation with increased host availability. We suggest that already-documented state-dependent behavior in A. aonidiae may partly explain this unexpected result. Parasitoids may reduce the risk of egg limitation when the host encounter rate is high by exhibiting increasingly selective host-use patterns with declining egg load.
The significance of Escherichia coli-induced mastitis in cows associated with the presence of virulence genes and wide range-resistance to twenty antimicrobials.

The significance of Escherichia coli-induced mastitis in cows, associated with the presence of virulence genes and wide range resistance to 20 antimicrobials, is concluded. The targeted surveillance included 67 randomly chosen cows on 10 rural farms, distributed among four out of the five provinces of Lebanon. There was a high frequency of California Mastitis Test (CMT)positive milk samples in the targeted cows, equivalent to 77.6%, with recovered E. coli from 31% of the CMTpositive samples. A significant correlation existed between the E. coli count (Y) and the CMT score (X) in a regression equation of Y= 0.6691X0. 2454 (P < 0.05). The respective frequencies of three genes, in randomly chosen 75 biochemically confirmed E. coli isolates, recovered from CMTpositive milk samples, were: eae gene (8.0%), F5 gene of K99-E. coli (1.3%), and rfbE of O157 serotype of E. coli (0%). The nucleotide sequence of the F5 gene of K99-E. coli recovered from one cow revealed a 4% difference from that of the E. coli vaccine strain used on that herd. The range of percent resistance of the 75 E. coli isolates to 20 antimicrobials was 1-100%. The presence of an average resistance to 20 drugs of 37.9% in Intimin (author, please check spelling) (eae) positive-E. coli is of high significance in chemotherapeutic programs applied on E. coli-induced mastitis in cows.