Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
History matters: tree establishment variability and species turnover in an African savanna

Demographic variability in the tree component of savannas, arising from both spatial and temporal variability in fire, herbivory, and climate, is thought to be a key driver maintaining tree-grass co-existence in savannas. Modeling work has shown that this variability can be vital to the persistence of savanna as a biome and that variability in climate, herbivory and fire affect tree establishment. However, empirical evaluations of the idea that savanna tree establishment is variable have so far been limited to tests of the effects of major events (such as the East African rinderpest epidemic) on tree establishment. The degree to which tree establishment varies in savannas under less extreme variability in climate, herbivory and fire remains unknown. We tested whether establishment of adult trees was constant or episodic using tree ring counting of three Acacia species in Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park in South Africa. Patterns of establishment of adult trees were analyzed at three spatial scales for temporal and spatial patchiness. Establishment of adult trees was not constant for any of the three species of Acacia, and all three species showed significant spatial patchiness and larger-scale temporal variability in establishment patterns. Spatial patchiness highlights the importance of landscape processes like fire and herbivory, while larger-scale temporal variability indicates that climatic variability also structures tree demography. These results suggest that current tree cover in savannas is a product of ecological history and is not necessarily determined by current ecological processes. An historical perspective is essential for interpreting patterns of tree cover in savannas, in models of the effects of climate, fire and herbivory (especially elephants), in experimental work, and in analyses of continental patterns of tree cover alike.
Robust Reinforcement Learning using Adversarial Populations

Reinforcement Learning (RL) is an effective tool for controller design but can struggle with issues of robustness, failing catastrophically when the underlying system dynamics are perturbed. The Robust RL formulation tackles this by adding worst-case adversarial noise to the dynamics and constructing the noise distribution as the solution to a zero-sum minimax game. However, existing work on learning solutions to the Robust RL formulation has primarily focused on training a single RL agent against a single adversary. In this work, we demonstrate that using a single adversary does not consistently yield robustness to dynamics variations under standard parametrizations of the adversary; the resulting policy is highly exploitable by new adversaries. We propose a population-based augmentation to the Robust RL formulation in which we randomly initialize a population of adversaries and sample from the population uniformly during training. We empirically validate across robotics benchmarks that the use of an adversarial population results in a more robust policy that also improves out-of-distribution generalization. Finally, we demonstrate that this approach provides comparable robustness and generalization as domain randomization on these benchmarks while avoiding a ubiquitous domain randomization failure mode.
From the CMF to the IMF: Failure of the Core-Collapse Model

Observations have indicated that the prestellar core mass function is similar to the IMF, except for an offset towards larger masses. This has led to the idea that there is a one-to-one relation between cores and stars, such that the whole stellar mass reservoir is contained in a gravitationally-bound prestellar core, as postulated by the core-collapse model, and assumed in recent theoretical models of the stellar IMF. We test the validity of this assumption by comparing the final mass of stars with the mass of their progenitor cores in a high-resolution star-formation simulation that generates a realistic IMF under physical conditions characteristic of observed molecular clouds. We find that the core mass function and the IMF are closely related in a statistical sense only; for any individual star there is only a weak correlation between the progenitor core mass and the final stellar mass. In particular, for high mass stars only a small fraction of the final stellar mass comes from the progenitor core, and even for low mass stars the fraction is highly variable, with a median fraction of only about 50%. We conclude that the core-collapse scenario and related models for the origin of the IMF are incomplete.
Structure-SLAM: Low-Drift Monocular SLAM in Indoor Environments

In this letter a low-drift monocular SLAM method is proposed targeting indoor scenarios, where monocular SLAM often fails due to the lack of textured surfaces. Our approach decouples rotation and translation estimation of the tracking process to reduce the long-term drift in indoor environments. In order to take full advantage of the available geometric information in the scene, surface normals are predicted by a convolutional neural network from each input RGB image in real-time. First, a drift-free rotation is estimated based on lines and surface normals using spherical mean-shift clustering, leveraging the weak Manhattan World assumption. Then translation is computed from point and line features. Finally, the estimated poses are refined with a map-to-frame optimization strategy. The proposed method outperforms the state of the art on common SLAM benchmarks such as ICL-NUIM and TUM RGB-D.
Substructure in the Globular Cluster Populations of the Virgo Cluster Elliptical Galaxies M84 and M86

We have carried out a search for substructure within the globular cluster (GC) systems of M84 (NGC 4374) and M86 (NGC 4406), two giant elliptical galaxies in the Virgo Cluster. We use wide-field (36′ × 36′), multicolor broadband imaging to identify GC candidates in these two galaxies, as well as several other nearby lower-mass galaxies. Our analysis of the spatial locations of the GC candidates reveals several substructures, including a peak in the projected number density of GCs in M86 that is offset from the system center and may be at least partly due to the presence of the dwarf elliptical galaxy NGC 4406B, a bridge that connects the M84 and M86 GC systems, and a boxy isodensity contour along the southeast side of the M86 GC system. We divide our sample into red (metal-rich) and blue (metal-poor) GC candidates to look for differences in the spatial distributions of the two populations and find that the blue cluster candidates are the dominant population in each of the substructures we identify. We also incorporate the measurements from two radial velocity surveys of the GCs in the region and find that the bridge substructure is populated by GCs with a mix of velocities that are consistent with either M86 and M84, possibly providing further evidence for interaction signatures between the two galaxies.
State-Of-The-Art X-Ray Digital Tomosynthesis Imaging

Digital tomosynthesis (DT) is a notable modality in medical imaging because it shows the spread of the target area with lower radiation dose relative to computed tomography. In this section, we describe the technique in two parts: (1) image quality (contrast) and (2) DT image reconstruction algorithms, including state-of-the-art total variation minimization reconstruction algorithms with single-energy X-ray conventional polychromatic imaging and novel dual-energy (DE) virtual monochromatic imaging. The novel DE virtual monochromatic image-processing algorithm provides adequate overall performance (especially, reduction of beam-hardening, reduction of noise). The DE virtual monochromatic image-processing algorithm appears to be a promising new option for imaging in DT because it provides three-dimensional visualizations of high-contrast images that are far superior to those of images processed by using conventional single-energy polychromatic image- processing algorithms.
Random-cluster dynamics on random graphs in tree uniqueness

We establish rapid mixing of the random-cluster Glauber dynamics on random $\Delta$-regular graphs for all $q\ge 1$ and $p 2$ this threshold is sharp, and the Glauber dynamics on random $\Delta$-regular graphs undergoes an exponential slowdown at $p_u(q,\Delta)$. More precisely, we show that for every $q\ge 1$, $\Delta\ge 3$, and $p<p_u(q,\Delta)$, with probability $1-o(1)$ over the choice of a random $\Delta$-regular graph on $n$ vertices, the Glauber dynamics for the random-cluster model has $\Theta(n \log n)$ mixing time. As a corollary, we deduce fast mixing of the Swendsen--Wang dynamics for the Potts model on random $\Delta$-regular graphs for every $q\ge 2$, in the tree uniqueness region. Our proof relies on a sharp bound on the "shattering time", i.e., the number of steps required to break up any configuration into $O(\log n)$ sized clusters. This is established by analyzing a delicate and novel iterative scheme to simultaneously reveal the underlying random graph with clusters of the Glauber dynamics configuration on it, at a given time.
Minimum maximal matchings in cubic graphs

We prove that every connected cubic graph with $n$ vertices has a maximal matching of size at most $\frac{5}{12} n+ \frac{1}{2}$. This confirms the cubic case of a conjecture of Baste, Fürst, Henning, Mohr and Rautenbach (2019) on regular graphs. More generally, we prove that every graph with $n$ vertices and $m$ edges and maximum degree at most $3$ has a maximal matching of size at most $\frac{4n-m}{6}+ \frac{1}{2}$. These bounds are attained by the graph $K_{3,3}$, but asymptotically there may still be some room for improvement. Moreover, the claimed maximal matchings can be found efficiently. As a corollary, we have a $\left(\frac{25}{18} + O \left( \frac{1}{n}\right)\right) $-approximation algorithm for minimum maximal matching in connected cubic graphs.
Antioxidant activities of organic grape, pomace, juice, must, wine and their correlation with phenolic content

Summary The highest values of antioxidant activity (AOA), inhibition of low-density lipoproteins (LDL-diene, LDL-MDA) and total phenols were determined in pomace (82.30 and 82.60%), grapes (68.91%) and must [2750 mg L−1 gallic acid equivalents (GAE)], respectively. For all parameters (AOA, iLDL-diene, iLDL-MDA, total phenols) the highest values were obtained in Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grape varieties. Positive correlations were determined between AOA and iLDL-diene (r = 0.809); AOA and total phenols (r = 0.528); total phenols and iLDL-diene (r = 0.451) with significance of P < 0.005. The results of principal component analysis demonstrated that the location of iLDL-diene and AOA is the same for pomace, must and red wines. The total phenols are found in the same place in red wines, red grapes, pomace and must. The results emphasize the importance of must, pomace and red wine for inhibiting LDL-oxidation.
Control and Stability Analysis of DC-DC Converters under Power Sharing Mode

This paper presents a comparative study among techniques applied to control the output voltage of dc-dc converters in which the outputs are connected in parallel. This type of connection is usual in applications involving microgrids, in which the same DC bus is shared by several converters. The control techniques covered in this paper are compared in terms of complexity, robustness, reference tracking, and stability, since they alter the closed loop output impedance of the converters. In order to evaluate such characteristics, the paper experimentally compares the droop, hierarchical and slave-master control techniques and presents a stability analysis in the power electronics level, considering a system composed of three Boost converters with outputs connected in parallel to a common DC voltage bus.
Éléments mobiles SINE en phylogénie

Les SINE (short interspersed repetitive elements) sont des elements mobiles de l’ADN derives principalement des ARN de transfert ou de l’ARN cytoplasmique 7SL. Ils forment une composante majeure du genome des eucaryotes, puisque leur nombre peut atteindre plus de 104 copies par genome. Aucune fonction evidente n’est encore aujourd’hui attribuee a ces elements. Recemment, ces « ADN egoistes » se sont reveles etre des outils tres efficaces en systematique moleculaire: en effet, l’insertion d’un SINE a un site donne est un evenement unique et non reversible a l’echelle des genomes. Les SINE se revelent ainsi des outils phylogenetiques « parfaits ». L’etude de la presence ou de l’absence de sites d’insertion de ces elements transposables a recemment conduit a des resultats phylogenetiques inattendus. Les qualites et les limites de ce nouvel outil phylogenetique sont presentees dans cet article.
Physiological acclimatization of fowls to a hot humid environment

1. The resting heart rate of cocks and hens was measured in varying degrees of heat stress, and during acclimatization to heat. 2. When the rectal temperature was below 110°F. (43·3° C), the heart rate varied inversely with the severity of the climate up to an air temperature around 99° F. (37·2° C). 3. At air temperatures of 99° F. (37·2° C.) and above the heart rate was nearly constant over a wide range of rectal temperatures below 110° F. (43·3° C). It averaged about 50 beats/min. less than in an equable climate. 4. Above 110° F. (43·3° C.) there was an increase of about 30 beats/min./° F. (17 beats/min./° C.) rise in rectal temperature. The rate equalled that found in an equable climate, when the rectal temperature reached 111–112° F. (43·9–44·4° C). Over this zone of body temperature the fowls were often agitated. 5. In severe heat stress there was a slight fall in the heart rate on acclimatization, but this was small compared with the effect of climate. 6. In severe heat stress the heart rate during the day was slightly higher than that at night. 7. The relation of these findings to the mechanism of temperature regulation is discussed.
Mango Modulates Blood Glucose Similar to Rosiglitazone without Compromising Bone Parameters in Mice Fed High Fat Diet

Abstract : Congenital factors have been thoroughly explored in recent years revealing the role of genetic mutations and polymorphisms, and highlighting the contribution of epigenetics in the pathogenesis of certain forms of infertility. Acquired male infertility is commonly due to varicocele, male accessory gland infection, immunological infertility, and idiopathic oligozoospermia. The mechanisms by which these causes interfere with male reproduction are endocrine deregulation, inflammation through prostaglandins and cytokines, and oxidative overload damaging the cell membrane, inducing mutagenesis of the DNA, and impairing mitochondrial energy production. Causal treatment includes (non-surgical) interruption of spermatic venous reflux in varicocele, adequate antibiotic treatment with third generation Quinolones in accessory gland infection, assisted reproduction techniques in immunological infertility, and the anti-estrogen Tamoxifen for idiopathic oligozoospermia. In addition, a novel nutriceutical food supplement (NFS) has been formulated that aims at correcting the pathological mechanisms and at reducing the influence of detrimental environmental factors. Complementary NFS-treatment also may improve the fertilizing capacity of spermatozoa in some patients with a congenital cause of sperm deficiency. The efficiency of adding this NFS to causal therapy, or in assisted reproduction is expressed as numbers of couples needed to treat (NNT) to obtain one additional pregnancy. Male infertility, causes, treatment, antioxidants, food supplements.
FIRST-PRINCIPLES INVESTIGATIONS OF LATTICE PARAMETERS, BULK MODULI AND PHASE STABILITIES OF Ti1−xVx AND Ti1−xNbx ALLOYS

Although Ti-V and Ti-Nb binary systems are subjected to many investigations, there remain some issues open for discussion, among which are the lattice parameter misfit and phase boundary between the non-equilibrium ω and β phases. On the other hand, the experimental elastic moduli of the non-equilibrium phases are rarely reported due to the difficulty of the measurement. In this paper, the lattice parameters, bulk moduli and phase stabilities of α(α � ), ω ,a ndβ phases of binary Ti-V(Nb) alloys are investigated by the use of first-principles exact Muffin-Tin orbital method in combination with coherent potential approximation. It is shown that, with the increase in the V content, the lattice parameter aα of the α(α � ) phase decreases, whereas cα/aα slightly increases; aω and cω/aω of the ω phase and aβ of the β phase decrease. For Ti-Nb alloy, with increasing Nb content, aα keeps almost unchanged whereas cα/aα increases; aω increases and cω/aω deceases; aβ does not change significantly. The lattice parameter misfit between the ω and β phases increases with increasing V or Nb content. Both V and Nb harden the bulk modulus of Ti and improve the phase stability of the β phase relative to the α(α � )a ndω phases. The theoretical predictions are compared in detail with the
Helminths from Seven Species of Lizards (Reptilia: Squamata) at the Cerrado of Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil

Abstract Sixteen specimens representing 7 species of lizards (Hoplocercus spinosus, Ophiodes striatus, Polychrus acutirostris, Stenocercus caducus, Tropidurus guarani, Tropidurus itambere, and Tupinambis merianae) collected in the Cerrado biome at the Brazilian state Mato Grosso do Sul were examined for helminths. Nine species of nematodes were recovered from lizard hosts (Cruzia travassosi, Cyrtosomum sp., Diaphanocephalus galeatus, Gynaecometra bahiensis, Pharyngodon cesarpintoi, Physaloptera sp., Skrjabinellazia intermedia, Strongyluris oscari, and an unidentified species of nematode). Five new host records and 3 new locality records were reported.
Growth and Phosphate Transport in Barley and Tomato Plants During the Development of, and Recovery from, Phosphate-stress

Barley and tomato plants were cultured in nutrient solutions including 0-15 mol m 3 H2P04. The phosphate supply was discontinued and the subsequent effects on growth, internal phosphorus concentrations, phosphate absorption and translocation were measured at frequent intervals. Growth rates were at first unchanged and the internal phosphorus concentration decreased. During this phase the rate of phosphate transport by the roots sometimes increased significantly. Growth slowed more in shoots than in roots during a second phase of stress development and visual symptoms of deficiency appeared in tomato but not in barley. During this phase, enhancement of phosphate uptake capacity reached a maximum in both species. The subsequent decline in uptake capacity was associated with visible symptoms of deficiency developing in barley and intensifying in tomato. When stressed plants were returned to a solution containing 0-15 mol m"3 H2P04 rapid absorption continued for several days after the internal phosphorus concentration had returned to the level of the controls. Phosphate toxicity may have been the cause of leaf lesions and necrosis during the 'recovery' phase. Stomatal conductance in tomato was decreased at an early stage of stress development. Foliar-applied phosphate was absorbed more rapidly by P-stressed barley leaves than by their controls and much larger amounts were translocated from the leaves to the roots.
Changes in the ovary related to pollen tube guidance.

Abstract Pollen tube growth in the ovary is examined, paying particular attention to how changes in the sporophytic tissues of the ovary and ovule relate to pollen tube guidance. Once pollen tubes reach the ovary they have to ‘surf’ along the placenta, reach the ovule exostome, enter the micropyle, traverse the nucellus and enter the embryo sac via a synergid. In peach, as in other Prunus species, pollen tube growth in the ovary is not straight and accelerations and decelerations occur along this path. Likewise, while some pollen tubes follow a definite route and achieve fertilization, others lose their course and navigate in a chaotic way. Developmental changes in the ovary and ovule appear to be responsible for this different pollen tube behaviour. Pollen tubes first stop at the obturator, a placental protuberance that lines the pollen tube pathway towards the ovule. Pollen tube growth is not resumed until this structure enters a secretory phase. A close examination of the integumentary domain at the ovule shows that secretion is also required at that point for successful pollen tube penetration. The external integument cells at the exostome, that look no different to their neighbouring cells at anthesis, enter a secretory phase in older ovules; once again pollen tube penetration is concomitant with production of this secretion. A similar situation occurs in the internal integument cells that line the micropylar canal since pollen tubes also require a secretion to traverse this area. However, the production of these secretions does not occur in all ovules, only in those that retain their starch at the time of pollen tube arrival and, thus, are competent to enter the secretory phase.
Inhibitors of Arachidonate Lipoxygenase from Defatted Perilla Seed

The effects of phenolic compounds isolated from defatted perilla (Perilla frutescens var. japonica Hara) seed on arachidonate 12-lipoxygenase (12-LO) and 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) activities were investigated using rat platelets and polymorphonuclear leukocytes. The ethyl acetate layer obtained by partitioning the ethanolic extract of defatted perilla seed proved to have significant inhibitory activity against lipoxygenases. Potent inhibitory principles in the ethyl acetate layer were isolated and identified as luteolin, chrysoeriol, and rosemarinic acid and its methyl ester. The most effective inhibitor of lipoxygenases was luteolin (IC50 = 20 and 102 nM for 12-LO and 5-LO, respectively). These results indicate that defatted perilla seed, now an industrial waste product, may be developed into a useful source of an agent that prevents allergic hyper-reactivity and inflammatory responses due to its antilipoxygenase activity. Keywords: Arachidonic acid; lipoxygenase; perilla seed; luteolin
Prise en charge de l'ostéoporose en médecine générale et apport d'une filière de soins spécialisée

Objectifs : Le but de cette etude est d'evaluer les difficultes de prise en charge de l'osteoporose en medecine generale et l'interet d'une filiere de soins multidisciplinaire dediee a son depistage et a sa prise en charge. Methodes : Trois focus group en entretiens semi-diriges ont ete menes aupres de 23 medecins generalistes (categorises en experimentes, enseignants et jeunes medecins). Les entretiens ont ete integralement retranscrits puis analyses afin d'identifier les caracteristiques propres a chaque groupe et de comparer les groupes entre eux. Un questionnaire postal a ete adresse a 195 medecins lorrains tires au sort, parmi lesquels 123 ont ete completes. Resultats : Enquete qualitative : les medecins generalistes experimentes ont des connaissances partielles et se fondent sur leur experience autant que sur les resultats des etudes scientifiques. Les medecins enseignants et les jeunes medecins ont une prise en charge plus conforme aux recommandations officielles. Ils connaissent plus souvent l'existence de la filiere de soins locale et sont satisfaits des services rendus. Enquete quantitative : la moitie des medecins ne connait pas parfaitement les criteres de remboursement de la densitometrie osseuse, et la moitie recherche une osteoporose suite a une fracture sentinelle. Le specialiste est souvent consulte (85,9% des cas a diverses frequences), surtout en cas de recidive fracturaire sous traitement. L'interlocuteur principal est le rhumatologue, suivi de la filiere de soins. Celle-ci est bien connue (72,4%) et rend service a 65,8% des medecins interroges. Conclusion: La prise en charge de l'osteoporose en medecine generale est ressentie comme fastidieuse et n'est pas consensuelle suivant le niveau d'experience et de connaissances scientifiques des medecins. Le recours au specialiste est pratiquement inevitable, a un moment donne du suivi. La filiere de soins multidisciplinaire contribue a ameliorer le diagnostic et le traitement de cette maladie.