Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Study of spontaneous infectious diseases of primates: Contributions of the regional primate research centers program to conservation and new scientific opportunities

Careful investigation of spontaneous diseases of nonhuman primates is critical to maintaining the health of captive breeding colonies and, therefore, conservation. Without an understanding of those infectious agents to which nonhuman primates are susceptible and their sources, all colonies are at risk of catastrophic illness. Such studies also regularly generate new opportunities for improved studies of the causes and nature of diseases of human beings. Inquiries into an epizootic in owl monkeys (Aotus trivirgatus) led to the identification of fatal herpes virus infections transmitted by squirrel monkeys (Herpesvirus T) and human beings (H. simplex), and to mechanisms for their prevention. This also paved the way for the discovery of a new virus, H. saimiri, which has provided a unique opportunity to study mechanisms of viral oncogenesis. Research on spontaneous immunodeficiency disease of macaques led to uncovering a new group of viral diseases (type D retrovirus) of major importance to colony health, and subsequently to the identification of another new virus (simian immunodeficiency virus) which has provided an exquisite system in which to investigate AIDS of human beings. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
3D Deformable Object Manipulation using Fast Online Gaussian Process Regression

In this paper, we present a general approach to automatically visual-servo control the position and shape of a deformable object whose deformation parameters are unknown. The servo-control is achieved by online learning a model mapping between the robotic end-effector's movement and the object's deformation measurement. The model is learned using the Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) to deal with its highly nonlinear property, and once learned, the model is used for predicting the required control at each time step. To overcome GPR's high computational cost while dealing with long manipulation sequences, we implement a fast online GPR by selectively removing uninformative observation data from the regression process. We validate the performance of our controller on a set of deformable object manipulation tasks and demonstrate that our method can achieve effective and accurate servo-control for general deformable objects with a wide variety of goal settings. Experiment videos are available at this https URL
Regulation of organ development by auxin and the SHI/STY-family of transcriptional regulators

Transcription factors, proteins regulating the transcription of target genes, and plant hormones play important roles in the regulation of plant development. The plant hormone auxin has been assigned functions in many developmental processes and its differential distribution between cells, created mainly by local auxin biosynthesis and polar auxin transport, results in auxin maxima and gradients, which appear to be important for its role in developmental regulation. The work in this thesis reveals that members of the Arabidopsis thaliana SHI/STY protein family, which redundantly regulates the development of lateral organs, act as DNA binding transcriptional activators. The SHI/STY member STY1, expressed at specific sites in developing primordia and organs, binds to the promoter of the YUC4 auxin biosynthesis gene. Our data suggest that the control of local auxin biosynthesis, through transcriptional activation of e.g. YUC4, is important for SHI/STY regulated development of lateral organs. We could show that local auxin application restores SHI/STY mutant style defects. Furthermore, using a polar auxin transport inhibitor, auxin was found to act independently of the style-promoting factors CRC, LUG, SEU, SPT and STY1 in style development, suggesting that auxin may act downstream or in parallel with these genes, but not in apical-basal patterning of the gynoecium. Additional STY1 downstream targets have been identified and include genes encoding transcription factors, another auxin biosynthesis enzyme, and enzymes involved in cell expansion. Functional studies on some of these genes reveal roles in stamen and leaf development as well as in flowering time regulation. The upstream regulation of SHI/STY genes has also been studied and a conserved GCC-box-like promoter element has been shown to be important for the transcriptional regulation of SHI/STY genes, providing a possible mechanism for the co-regulation of the SHI/STY protein accumulation.
FORAGING STRATEGIES AND NICHE DYNAMICS OF COEXISTING SHOREBIRDS AT STOPOVER SITES IN THE SOUTHERN GREAT PLAINS

Abstract Shorebirds encounter variable and unpredictable food resources at stopover sites during migration through interior North America. We studied foraging strategies and niche dynamics of American Avocets (Recurvirostra americana), Long-billed Dowitchers (Limnodromus scolopaceus), Least Sandpipers (Calidris minutilla), and Western Sandpipers (C. mauri) at stopover sites in 60 playa lakes of the southern Great Plains. Those species were selected because they are common in our study area during migration and represent a wide range of morphological classes. Overall foraging niches (linear combination of diet diversity, prey size, foraging-method diversity, and water depth) of avocets and dowitchers were segregated from each other and from Least and Western sandpipers. Overall foraging niches of Least and Western sandpipers were similar. Examination of single niche dimensions showed that avocets and dowitchers consumed larger prey and foraged in deeper water than did Least and Western sandpipers. Within the range of prey sizes consumed by the four individual species, all species selected small prey (0.1–5.0 mm). Preference of relatively small prey by avocets and dowitchers was likely a function of small prey being more abundant in playas than large prey (>10 mm). However, selection of small prey by Least and Western sandpipers was likely a function of lower handling costs associated with small prey. Abundance of prey items in diets of each species was not correlated with nutritional and energetic quality of prey items, but abundance of prey in the diet was correlated with abundance of prey in playa lakes. That suggests that all four shorebird species adopt an opportunistic foraging strategy during migration. Use of opportunism is likely critical for shorebirds to continue migration and arrive on breeding grounds in good condition.
Multi-Level Power-Imbalance Allocation Control for Secondary Frequency Control in Power Systems

This paper focuses on secondary frequency control of large-scale power systems. First a centralized and a consensus control based distributed control law are presented, then a multi-level control law, named Multi-Level Power-Imbalance Allocation Control (MLPIAC), for the large-scale power systems partitioned into more than one region. The centralized and distributed control law are applied within each region and over the regions respectively. Besides restoring nominal frequency with a minimized control cost, MLPIAC also considers the transient behavior of the system after a disturbance. We present a control strategy different from the one applied in the Power-Imbalance Allocation Control (PIAC), which also enhances the transient behavior of the frequency through an accelerated convergence of the control inputs eliminating overshoots in MLPIAC. In the level of the distributed control over the regions, the consensus of the marginal costs can be accelerated through a single parameter. Furthermore, because the number of regions is smaller than that of nodes, MLPIAC is more effective to obtain the minimized cost than the purely distributed control law. The asymptotic stability of MLPIAC is proven using the Lyapunov method and the performance is evaluated through simulations.
RNA METABOLISM IN DEVELOPING COTYLEDONS OF PHASEOLUS VULGARIS

SUMMARY RNA metabolism in the cotyledons of Phaseolus vulgaris L. , cv. Taylor's Horticultural, has been examined as well as the composition of the RNA synthesized during embryogeny and germination. The cotyledons cease RNA synthesis during maturation at the onset of dehydration. During germination RNA synthesis resumes; however, organellar rRNA is the major class of RNA synthesized. The total RNA content of the cotyledons doubles during the first 3 days of germination and then declines as the cotyledons senesce. RNA synthesis is restricted to periods of near normal water content.
Airborne Particles in Animal Houses

This paper presents a study in which concentrations and size distributions of airborne particles were measured inside and outside typical animal houses for broilers, broiler breeder (both floor housing with litter); layers (floor housing system and aviary housing system); turkeys (floor housing with litter), pigs: fattening pigs (traditional houses, low emission houses with dry feed, and low emission houses with wet feed), piglets, sows (in individual and in group housing); cattle (cubicle house), and mink (cages). Dust concentrations in the different particle size ranges were generally higher, both in counts and mass, in poultry houses than in pig houses. The concentrations in pig houses were higher than those in cattle and mink houses. The particle counts in animal houses were highest (on average 87%) in the size ranges 2.5 µm (on average 95%). Most particles outside were in the size range < 1.0 µm (99% in counts).
THE SIGNIFICANCE AND LEGACY OF FLORA EUROPAEA IN THE ERA OF MOLECULAR SYSTEMATICS

Flora Europaea (1964-1980, 1993) was a concise, practical taxonomic synthesis of the European flora, based in Britain and Ireland but with a pan-European outlook and international collaboration. It was thus able to reconcile parochial inconsistencies in the treatment of genera and species across Europe, to allow comparisons between geographical regions, and to draw attention to topics for further research. The project encouraged and inspired other initiatives, especially regional Floras, Atlas Florae Europaeae and monographic research. Two subsequent developments have challenged the traditional systematic agenda: first, molecular techniques involving DNA sequencing; and second, the increasing use of electronic media. At the same time, taxonomy has retreated from tertiary education. Considerable changes to the Flora Europaea volumes would be needed to achieve a worthwhile revision and incorporate the sheer quantity of new taxonomic and floristic data. Having achieved some sort of pan-European taxonomic consensus, a substantial proportion of the original content is now being disregarded in favour of more recent taxonomic revisions. These frequently involve generic and specific splits and changes to once familiar plant names, posing unforeseen consequences for users in other branches of plant science, conservation, phytosociology, medicine and legislation. We need to return to the pragmatic vision inherent in Flora Europaea.
Effects of flooding regime and diel cycle on diet of a small sized fish associated to macrophytes Efeitos do regime hidrológico e do ciclo diário na dieta de uma espécie de pequeno porte associada à macrófitas

Abstract: Aim: In this paper we assessed the effects of flooding (low and high water period) on the feeding activity and diet composition of Serrapinus notomelas in patches of the macrophyte Eichhornia azurea in a shallow floodplain lake (upper Parana River Floodplain, Brazil). We also assessed the variations of diet composition and feeding activity along the diel cycle. Methods: Traps were used to catch the fish inside of macrophyte patches monthly from June/2007 to May/2008. A total of 1038 stomachs were examined. We assessed the feeding activity with the mean stomach fullness degree method. To summarize and support the results of diet composition in the different periods (low and high water periods) and times (dawn, light period, and dusk), was applied a nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMS). Results: The feeding activity of S. notomelas did not differ between low and high water periods, but it differed along the diel cycle. The feeding activity was higher during the light period and dusk, at both the low and high water period. The diet composition differed significantly between low and high water periods, and also along the diel cycle. In the low water the diet of
Efficacy of insecticide mixtures against a resistant strain of house fly (Diptera: Muscidae) collected from a poultry farm

House flies (Musca domestica L.) are key pests of poultry and are managed worldwide with a variety of insecticides. However, extensive and injudicious use of insecticides has led to the development of resistance in many insect pests. Insecticide mixtures can increase the efficacy of the product and/or delay the development of resistance, thus making them a useful tool for pest control. In addition to their efficacy when used alone, mixtures of emamectin benzoate, spinosad or nitenpyram with either lambda-cyhalothrin or profenofos were assessed against a susceptible strain of house flies collected from poultry farms. The analysis revealed that combination indices for lambda-cyhalothrin/emamectin benzoate and lambda-cyhalothrin/spinosad mixtures were significantly >1, indicating an antagonistic effect. In contrast, the indices for all the tested ratios of lambda-cyhalothrin/nitenpyram were significantly < 1, suggesting a synergistic effect. For mixtures containing profenofos, combination indices varied significantly. For example, synergism was observed in a 1:1 mixture containing lambda-cyhalothrin and emamectin benzoate, but antagonism occurred when a higher proportion of the latter insecticide was used. Conversely, synergism in a mixture containing profenofos and nitenpyram was observed only when a lower proportion of the second insecticide was used. The present results suggest that ideal insecticide mixtures must be empirically determined and alternative strategies such as mosaics, rotations and cultural control should be considered for the management of the house fly.
Restoration of biodiversity enhances agricultural production

Restoration of ecological communities is important to counteract global losses in biodiversity. However, restoration on agricultural land is perceived as being costly because of losses in agricultural production. We suggest the reported positive relationship between diversity and productivity means biodiversity could be used to enhance agricultural production. We examined this in hay meadow restoration experiments at seven sites across southern Britain. At each site two seed mixes (“species-poor” with 6–17 species and “species-rich” with 25–41 species) were applied in a randomised block experiment. Hay yield was higher in the species-rich treatment from the second year onward, by up to 60%. Comparing the two treatments in all sites, there was a simple linear relationship between the difference in species number and the amount of increase in hay production. Fodder quality was the same in both treatments. This suggests farmers can maximize high quality herbage production in re-sown grasslands by maximizing biodiversity.
Translocation of cytoplasmic β-galactosidase across the inner membranes of Kluyveromyces lactis

The translocation behaviour of cytoplasmic β-galactosidase to periplasmic space and through the outside cell wall across the inner membranes of Kluveromyces lactis has been investigated to optimize the cell disruption process by ultrasonication for the production and separation of intracellular target biomolecule i.e. β-galactosidase. The translocation of β-galactosidase in the cells was judged by a concept of location factor (LF), which allows the location of the enzymes to be judged within the cell and has been determined using the relative rates of the enzyme and protein during the cell disruption process. The temperature was found to be useful external stimuli for the translocation of target enzyme (LF could be increased to one or more). The LF values were maximum when cells were subjected to heat stress between 45-50°C for a specified time. The enzyme activity was also found to decrease with an increase in the temperature. Maximum enzyme activity was found to be at 45°C of the heat treatment process for translocation. The kinetics of translocation of the target enzyme across the inner membrane has been reported on the basis of the variation in the location LF.
Homology Modeling of DNA polymerases of Herpesviridae family and structure-based virtual screening for inhibitor identification

Human herpes viruses are responsible for the several transmitted infections in human. It is known that the DNA polymerase enzyme is one of the putative targets for herpes. Therefore, it is of interest to model all known DNA polymerases of herpesviridae family. So, all the DNA polymerases of herpesviridae without any crystal structure were modeled using HHV-1 DNA polymerase as a template. Modeled structures were screened by ramachandran plots and Discrete Optimization of Protein Energy (DOPE) scores. To find out multi-target inhibitor for herpesviridae, 21 natural antiviral compounds were selected from literature and screened using Lipinski’s rule of five. Binding pose of acyclovir with HHV-1 DNA polymerase was taken for the comparative docking study. Comparative binding analysis was done after settling of 120 and eight partial mono flexible protein-ligand docking sets for natural compounds and acyclovir, respectively. From the study it is found that alliin and gallic acid exhibit good binding affinity than acyclovir and other natural compounds. So here we purpose these two compounds which can be potential candidates to inhibit herpesviridae family.
Culling in Quebec Holstein herds. 2. Study of phenotypic trends in reasons for disposal

A total of 1 558 080 lactation records from PATLQ Holstein cows were used to describe the annual trends in reasons for disposal in Quebec dairy herds from 1981 to 1994. Differences in culling trends between official and owner sampler herds, between parities, and between Quebec agricultural regions were compared. Statistical analysis was carried out by means of a logistic regression model, and the significance of trends was tested by linear contrasts. Involuntary culling had a clearly ascending trend during the period of study (from 23% in 1981 to 32% in 1994), as opposed to culling for low production (voluntary), which had a descending trend (from 16% in 1981 to 4.5% in 1994). This increase in involuntary culling was mainly due to increasing trends in culling for reproductive problems, mastitis and feet and leg problems. Official herds had a greater proportion of cows with sale codes and fewer cows culled for mastitis than owner sampler herds, and the trend for sale codes was ascending for official and st.
Sexual behaviour of immature male eastern mosquitofish: a way to measure intensity of intra-sexual selection?

Immature males of eastern mosquitofish Gambusia holbrooki start to be sexually active well before their copulatory organ (gonopodium) has completely developed and before they become able to transfer sperm. Sexual activity of males, consisting of copulatory attempts tending to bypass female acceptance, is intense (one attempt per minute) and is likely to be energetically very costly. The sexual behaviour of immature males relative to their maturation stage is described and tested against two possible adaptive explanations. Sexual activity was present in males from the beginning of the development of their gonopodium and increased during the following stages of maturation. Two to three weeks before gonopodium development was completed, sexual activity of immatures was as high as that of adults. Adult males showed aggressive behaviour against a male attempting a copulation, irrespective of the maturity of the latter. Since previous studies have shown that the reproductive success in this species is negatively correlated with male size when male‐male competition is low (i.e. when the sex ratio is female biased), but decreases with male size when competition is high, the hypothesis was tested that sexual activity of immature males functions as a way to predict their future reproductive success if they mature at a given size. A second hypothesis tested was that precocious sexual experience improves the eYciency of copulatory attempts. Results were more in agreement with the first hypothesis, since size at maturity of males was influenced by the sex ratio experienced during maturation and precocious experience gave very little advantage. 1996 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles
On bacterial formats in protein library technology

The introduction of different methodologies for construction and screening ofcomplex protein libraries has provided powerful means in protein engineeringfor development of molecules with desired traits. A challenge faced in manysituations is to adapt a given methodology for efficient and rapid identification ofthe most interesting variants present in a library. In the present study, theconcept of Darwinian selection based on a growth advantage for clones havingthe desired trait has been investigated. Using a β-lactamase-based ProteinFragment Complementation Assay (PCA), an affinity maturation of a TNF-αbinding affibody molecule of an initial 2 nM affinity for the target has beenperformed. Initial characterization of the PCA system, based on the affinitydriven reconstitution of β-lactamase activity in the periplasm of cells harbouringa library member showing affinity for a co-expressed target protein, showed thatthe system was responsive to promoter induction level, interaction affinity andapplied selection pressure. Using combinatorial protein engineering principles, a107 library of second generation affibody molecules was constructed andsubjected to selection of improved variants by library growth in liquid culture.The results showed that after a pre-selection step on semi-solid media toeliminate non-binding variants, present in majority, two rounds of selection inliquid culture resulted in an enrichment for binders showing up ten-fold higheraffinity to the TNF-α target than the ancestral variant. Biosensor analysesshowed that the major factor for the improved affinity could be attributed toreduced off-rate constants.