Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Site Fidelity, Mate Fidelity, and Breeding Dispersal in American Kestrels

Abstract We assessed mate fidelity, nest-box fidelity, and breeding dispersal distances of American Kestrels (Falco sparverius) nesting in boxes in southwestern Idaho from 1990 through 2006. Seventy-seven percent of boxes had different males and 87% had different females where nest-box occupants were identified in consecutive years. High turnover rates were partly a result of box-switching. Forty-eight percent of males and 58% of females that nested within the study area in successive years used different boxes. The probability of changing boxes was unrelated to gender, nesting success in the prior year, or years of nesting experience. Breeding dispersal distances for birds that moved to different boxes averaged 2.2 km for males (max = 22 km) and 3.2 km for females (max = 32 km). Approximately 70% of birds that nested in consecutive years on the study area had a different mate in the second year. Mate fidelity was related to box fidelity but not to prior nesting success or years of nesting experience. Mate changes occurred 32% of the time when the previous mate was known to be alive and nesting in the area. Kestrels that switched mates and boxes did not improve or decrease their subsequent nesting success. Kestrels usually switched to mates with less experience and lower lifetime productivity than their previous mates. The costs of switching boxes and mates were low, and there were no obvious benefits to fidelity. The cost of “waiting” for a previous mate that might have died could be high in species with high annual mortality.
Characteristics of Double Tropopause Layers Observed During TORERO

TORERO Field Campaign The Tropical Ocean tRoposphere Exchange of Reactive Halogen and Oxygenated VOC (TORERO) experiment was designed to study the release, transport, and fate of reactive halogen gases and oxidized volatile organic compounds. Specifically, their effect on the atmospheric oxidation capacity in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean during the season of high biological ocean productivity was observed from airborne and ship platforms. The NSF/NCAR Gulfstream V (GV) aircraft collected remote and in situ data during flights based in Antofagasta, Chile and San Jose, Costa Rica (TORERO, 2012).
Advances in Rhizobium Research

Referee: Prof. Dr. Dietrich Werner, FG Zellbiologie und Angewandte Botanik, Fachbereich Biologie, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch-Strasse, D-35032 Marburg, Germany Rhizobia are well known for their capacity to establish a symbiosis with legumes. They inhabit root nodules, where they reduce atmospheric nitrogen and make it available to the plant. Biological nitrogen fixation is an important component of sustainable agriculture, and rhizobial inoculants have been applied frequently as biofertilizers. In this review we present recently developed technologies and strategies for selecting quality inoculant strains by taking into consideration the complex interaction between the edaphic environment with the genotypes of both the legume and its microsymbiont. Enhanced competitive ability in an inoculant strain is a key requirement for successful colonization of plant roots, nodule formation, and subsequent N2-fixation. We discuss several avenues for the management and manipulation of rhizobial competition as well as genes that influence competition in the rhizosphere. The use of molecular techniques has greatly contributed to our knowledge of nodule-bacterial diversity and phylogeny. Approaches to the study of rhizobial diversity as well as mechanisms for the evolutionary diversification of nodulating bacteria are presented. Rhizobium genomes ranging from 5.5 to 9 Mb have been sequenced recently and deposited in public databases. A comparison of sequence data has led to a better understanding of genes involved in the symbiotic process as well as possible mechanisms responsible for horizontal transfer of genetic elements and symbiosis genes among rhizobia. Furthermore, rhizobia are frequent rhizosphere colonizers of a wide range of plants and may also inhabit nonleguminous plants endophytically. In these rhizospheric and endophytic habitats they may exhibit several plant growth-promoting effects, such as hormone production, phosphate solubilization, and the suppression of pathogens.
Metabolic changes in soybean nodules after inhibition of nitrogen fixation by treatment with oxygen

Metabolites that accumulated in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr. ] nodules after inhibition of nitrogen fixation were analysed to determine what carbon compounds the bacteroids might obtain from their host. Exposure of roots of intact soybean plants to 100% O 2 for 5 min caused a decrease in acetylene reduction activity within 10 min and then the activity recovered only slowly. Analysis of carbohydrates, organic acids, volatile compounds and amino acids in extracts of nodules revealed that succinate, malate and alanine all accumulated within 10 min after treatment with O 2 . The concentrations of sucrose, acetone, tyrosine, valine, isoleucine, leucine, and ornithine in the nodules increased slowly after such treatment. The results are discussed in terms of carbon sources for supporting nitrogen fixation of soybean bacteroids
Photosynthesis and Plant Growth at Elevated Levels of CO2

In this review, we discuss the effects of elevated CO2 levels on photosynthesi s in relation to the whole plant growth in terrestrial higher C3 plants. Short-term CO2 enrichment stimulates the rate of photosynthesi s. Plant mass is also enhanced by CO2 enrichment. However, the effects of long-term CO2 enrichment on photosynthesis are variable. Generally, the prolonged exposure to CO2 enrichment reduces the initial stimulation of photosynthesi s in many species, and frequently suppresses photosynthesis. These responses are attributed to secondary responses related to either excess carbohydrate accumulation or decreased N content rather than direct responses to CO2. Accumulation of carbohydrates in leaves may lead to the repression of photosynthetic gene expression and excess starch seems to hinder CO2 diffusion. Therefore, the species which have the sink organs for carbohydrate accumulation do not show the suppression of photosynthesi s. The suppression of photosynthesis by CO 2 enrichment is always associated with decreases in leaf N and Rubisco contents. These decreases are not due to dilution of N caused by a relative increase in the plant mass but are the result of a decrease in N allocation to leaves at the level of the whole plant, and the decrease in Rubisco content is not selective. Leaf senescence and plant development are also accelerated by CO2 enrichment. However, they are independent of each other in some species. Thus, various responses to CO 2 observed at the level of a single leaf result from manifold responses at the level of the whole plant grown under conditions of CO2 enrichment.
Dynamics of savanna ecosystems

Theories concerning the factors involved in the dynamics of savannas, particularly the tree-grass interface, are reviewed. Emphasis is put on factors related to soil moisture, soil nutrients, fire and large herbivores. The distinction be- tween external (independent) and internal (dependent, interac- tive) environment is discussed and it is explained how this distinction is affected by the scale of observation.
Stochastic Binary Opinion Model

We study a stochastic binary opinion model where agents in a group are considered to hold an opinion of 0 or 1 at each moment. An agent in the group updates his/her opinion based on the group's opinion configuration and his/her personality. Considering the number of agents with opinion 1 as a continuous time Markov process, we analyze the long-term probabilities for large population size in relation to the personalities of the group. In particular, we focus on the question of "balance" where both opinions are present in nearly equal numbers as opposed to "dominance" when one opinion is dominant.
The Evolution of Squamosal Shape in Ceratopsid Dinosaurs (Dinosauria, Ornithischia)

ABSTRACT Ceratopsidae represents one of the last and best-known radiations of non-avian dinosaurs. Interspecific variation is well documented qualitatively with linear measurements, but little has been done to quantify shape differences in the frill that may indicate functional or evolutionary signals. In order to investigate shape change in the squamosal across Chasmosaurinae and Centrosaurinae, we applied geometric morphometrics to the outline of the squamosal for 155 specimens representing 27 ceratopsid species and Protoceratops spp. A Mantel test suggests that the shape of ceratopsid squamosals is highly constrained by phylogeny. MANOVA, ANOVA, and their phylogenetic versions suggest that an evolutionarily significant allometric signal exists between the two clades, but not within clades. Principal component analysis indicates that centrosaurines have a uniform squamosal shape, with the exceptions of Spinops and Diabloceratops. Even when accounting for phylogeny, the relationship between squamosal shape and size is significant. Mapping shape onto the phylogeny, we estimated ancestral shapes at nodes. The transition from the non-ceratopsid to ceratopsid condition is characterized by a squamosal with a wider angle between the infratemporal process and the caudoventral margin, and a more dorsoventrally elongated and caudally expanded blade. From root to tips, centrosaurine squamosals were found to be conservative, but exhibit a slight dorsoventral expansion and a narrow angle between the infratemporal process and the caudoventral margin in more derived taxa. Chasmosaurines, compared with centrosaurines, show a derived morphology, with a trend towards a blade that is strongly expanded dorsoventrally and with a narrower angle between the infratemporal process and the caudoventral margin.
Plankton community structure during an ecosystem disruptive algal bloom of Prymnesium parvum

The purpose of this paper was to study the plankton food web structure in Lake Koronia during an extremely dense bloom of Prymnesium parvum. The Prymnesium bloom fulfilled the main criteria of an ecosystem disruptive algal bloom, since it was a massive persistent, monospecific bloom which disrupted the dynamics of the plankton community. It appeared after an N-fixing cyanobacterial bloom, when a decrease in temperature and low nitrogen conditions may have caused a positive feedback, which allowed the replacement of cyanobacteria by the invasive Prymnesium. The initiation of the bloom was further facilitated by the disruption of zooplankton grazing, with the biomass of the primary grazers, rotifers and cladocerans, dropping to undetectable levels. Furthermore, the rest of the phytoplankton responded to the onset of the bloom by an 82% decrease. Cyanobacteria and diatoms exhibited the highest decrease in biomass (95 and 99%, respectively) followed by chlorophytes (55% decrease). This enabled the uncontrolled increase of the P. parvum population to numbers close to the highest abundance ever recorded. At that point, the grazing community was reinstated and the system became replete with nutrients with an N:P ratio of 10:1. This coincided with the beginning of the bloom termination, which was followed by an increase in the biomass of competing phytoplankton.
Hyponatremia and Psychotropic Drugs

Given the widespread use of psychotropic drugs in the population, it’s important to consider hyponatremia as an avoidable and reversible adverse effect and include the detection of high-risk subjects to establish safer medications, as well as early detection measures in routine clinical practice. Although hyponatremia has been especially associated with serotonergic antidepressants (SSRIs), there is also an elevated risk with tricy- clics, duals and heterocyclic antidepressants, due to the different mechanisms of action at the renal tubular level and the release of ADH. Hyponatremia secondary to tricyclics with slow CYP2D6 metabolizers have higher plasma concentrations of antidepressants metabolized by CYP2D6. Hyponatremia secondary to SSRIs appears in the first week of treatment, it is “not dose-dependent” and normalization of natremia occurs between 2 and 20 days after stopping the medication. Bupropion, trazodone, mianserin, reboxetine and agomelatine are a safe alternative. Also antiepileptics have been related to hyponatremia. Both typical and atypical antipsychotics have been exposed to an increased risk of hyponatremia, even after adjusted factors such as age, sex and comorbidity. Other factors that favor the onset of hyponatremia act synergistically with psychotropic drugs, such as: advanced age, female sex, concomitant diuretic intake, low body weight and low sodium levels; and warm. clinically by the presence of acute confusional symptoms derived from symptomatic hyponatremia and water intoxication. 6 and 20% of psychotic patients presents with polydipsia. In psychotic patients, in addition to xerostomia and consequent compulsive water intake, the role of supra-optic and paraventricular hypothalamic nuclei, responsible for the regulation of thirst and secretion of antidiuretic hormone (ADH) the pathophysiology of hyponatremia, is postulated, as well as dopamine and endogenous opioids as neurotransmitters involved in the ingestion of Neuroimaging studies in schizophrenic patients ventricular dilation in basal under and ventricular
An Enhancement of Security level under varying Black Hole attacks in Mobile ad-hoc Network

: Wireless ad hoc network is extensively useful area in the field of communication. It is autonomous system which can dynamically form the network which has self-configuring capability and infrastructure less network. Due to its dynamic behavior it is more vulnerable to severe threats such as Sybil, wormhole, byzantine, hello flood, denial of services etc. which can influence the performance of the system. It is a group of mobile nodes and each node behaves as router or host. It uses different routing protocol to route the packet from source to destination. In this work, Black hole attack in AODV is discussed. In black hole attack, the malicious node announces itself as having the shortest path to the destination and falsely replies to the route requests, and drops all receiving packets. We propose a novel approach to remove the black hole attacked activities using blacklist criteria as well as miss-activity node identification based method and also IDS node to watch the neighbor node. The simulation of the proposed methodology is done using the network simulator NS-2.34. The analysis and comparison of the proposed method is done using different performance measuring metrics such as PDR, throughput, NRL and end to end delay.
The effects of triazole and strobilurin fungicide programmes on nitrogen uptake, partitioning, remobilization and grain N accumulation in winter wheat cultivars

Field experiments were conducted over 3 years to assess the effect of a triazole fungicide programme, and additions of strobilurin fungicides to it, on nitrogen uptake, accumulation and partitioning in a range of winter wheat cultivars. Commensurate with delayed senescence, fungicide programmes, particularly when including strobilurins, improved grain yield through improvements in both crop biomass and harvest index, although the relationship with green area duration of the flag leaf (GFLAD) depended on year and in some cases, cultivar. In all years fungicide treatments significantly increased the amount of nitrogen in the above-ground biomass, the amount of nitrogen in the grain and the nitrogen harvest index. All these effects could be linearly related to the fungicide effect on GFLAD. These relationships occasionally interacted with cultivar but there was no evidence that fungicide mode of action affected the relationship between GFLAD and yield of nitrogen in the grain. Fungicide treatments significantly reduced the amount of soil mineral N at harvest and when severe disease had been controlled, the net remobilization of N from the vegetation to the grain after anthesis. Fungicide maintained the filling of grain with both dry matter and nitrogen. The proportionate accumulation of nitrogen in the grain was later than that of dry matter and this difference was greater when fungicide had been applied. Effects of fungicide on grain protein concentration and its relationship with GFLAD were inconsistent over year and cultivar. There were several instances where grain protein concentration was unaffected despite large (1·5 t/ha) increases in grain yield following fungicide use. Dilution of grain protein concentration following fungicide use, when it did occur, was small compared with what would be predicted by adoption of other yield increasing techniques such as the selection of high yielding cultivars (based on currently available cultivars) or by growing wheat in favourable climates.
Regularising Generalised Linear Mixed Models with an autoregressive random effect

We address regularised versions of the Expectation-Maximisation (EM) algorithm for Generalised Linear Mixed Models (GLMM) in the context of panel data (measured on several individuals at different time-points). A random response y is modelled by a GLMM, using a set X of explanatory variables and two random effects. The first one introduces the dependence within individuals on which data is repeatedly collected while the second one embodies the serially correlated time-specific effect shared by all the individuals. Variables in X are assumed many and redundant, so that regression demands regularisation. In this context, we first propose a L2-penalised EM algorithm, and then a supervised component-based regularised EM algorithm as an alternative.
COMPUTATIONALLY EFFICIENT PARTICLE FILTERING USING ADAPTIVE TECHNIQUES

We propose a computationally efﬁcient particle ﬁltering algo-rithm that adaptively chooses between the sequential importance resampling (SIR) particle ﬁlter and the unscented particle ﬁlter (UPF). The technique is based on the use of the Kullback-Leibler distance (KLD) sampling and the choice of either of the algorithms is governed by the error in estimation. The SIR particle ﬁlter most opted among the variations of the particle ﬁlter because of the choice of the transitional prior as the importance density and easy evaluation of weights. However, it can be inefﬁcient for highly non-linear dynamic systems . In contrast, the UPF which uses the scaled unscented transform performs better than the SIR but is computationally more expensive. The proposed algorithm couples the easy evaluation of the weights and the faster sampling capabilities of the SIR ﬁlter with the improved accuracy of the UPF. We apply the technique to a scalar estimation problem and demonstrate through simulations that the new algorithm is more accurate than the SIR particle ﬁlter and is faster than the UPF for systems characterized by highly non-linear measurement models.
Changes in local‐scale intraspecific trait variability of dominant species across contrasting island ecosystems

There is growing recognition of the need to incorporate intraspecific trait variability (ITV) into trait-based studies to improve understanding of community assembly and how plant communities drive ecosystem processes. However, most studies have focused on ITV across plant communities, with few quantifying it at local scales. Further, little is known about how ITV at local scales differs among communities or across environmental gradients. Here, we studied a well characterized 5000-year-old chronosequence involving 30 islands that differed greatly in size, soil fertility, spatial heterogeneity, and species diversity. On each island we measured foliar and litter (including nutrient resorption) traits for ten individuals for each of three species that occur on all islands, i.e., Betula pubescens, Vaccinum myrtillus and Vaccinium vitis-idaea. For each trait for each species we estimated its within-island mean, and coefficient of variation as a measure of local scale ITV. We predicted within-island ITV should be highest for larger islands that have the greatest spatial heterogeneity of soil resources but lowest species diversity. Further, we predicted that the species most dominant in the most resource heterogeneous environment (V. myrtillus) should have the greatest within-island ITV. First, we found that within-island ITV of foliar traits was generally unresponsive to island size, while for litter traits it was responsive to island size only for V. myrtillus in a direction consistent with our prediction. The within-island ITV of resorption efficiency of C, N and P for the three species was often responsive to island size, but not in a consistent direction. Second, against our prediction, V. myrtillus had the lowest within-island ITV for most traits, but its within-island ITV was generally more responsive than that of the other species to island size. While plant traits are well known to vary among and within species at broad spatial scales across environmental gradients, our results show that at local scales, ITV can also be highly responsive to fine scale environmental gradients, particularly for litter and nutrient resorptive traits. Understanding how local scale ITV varies across communities offers opportunities for improving our understanding of what drives community assembly, functional diversity and ecosystem processes.
Profile-Guided Partial Redundancy Elimination Using Control Speculation: a Lifetime Optimal Algorithm and an Experimental Evaluation

A lifetime optimal algorithm, called MC-PRE, is presented for the first time that performs partial redundancy elimination (PRE) by combining code motion and control speculation based on an edge profile. An edge profile provides an approximation of the actual edge frequencies with the predicted edge frequencies. MC-PRE is developed so that the optimality results it achieves are reasoned about with respect to a given edge profile. MC-PRE is computationally optimal since the total number of dynamic computations for an expression in the transformed code is minimized. If the predicted frequencies of all flow edges are nonzero, MC-PRE is also lifetime optimal since the lifetimes of introduced temporaries in the transformed code are also minimized. Otherwise (if some flow edges are zero-weighted), MC-PRE yields a practical transformation (as validated by extensive experiments) from the perspective that the predicted zero frequencies are (or should be) interpreted as the least frequently rather than never executed at all. The computational and lifetime optimality results are rigorously proved. This algorithm works on CFGs with standard basic blocks and is conceptually simple. First, it performs two standard bit-vector data-flow analyses, availability and partial anticipability, to transform a given CFG to an s-t flow network. It then relies on a min-cut solver to find a unique minimum cut on the flow network. Finally, it performs a third standard live range analysis to avoid making unnecessary code insertions and replacements for isolated computations. We have implemented the MC-PRE algorithm in gcc 3.4 and evaluated its performance against Knoop, Rüthing and Steffen’s profileindependent LCM, the built-in PRE pass at gcc’s O2 optimization level and above. We report and analyze our experimental results for all 22 C, C++ and FORTRAN 77 benchmarks from SPECcpu2000 on two computer architectures, Intel Xeon and UltraSPARC-III. Our results show that MC-PRE is both effective (in terms of the extra redundancies eliminated and performance improvements achieved) and practical (in terms of the relatively small compilation and space overheads introduced).