Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estimating pollination success with novel artificial flowers: Effects of nectar concentration

We developed novel artificial flowers that dispense and receive powdered food dyes as pollen analogues while their nectar is replenished by capillary action. Dye receipt, which can be measured colourimetrically, is a direct surrogate for pollen receipt or female reproductive success, but can also serve to compare pollen donation (male reproductive success) from flowers with different colours of dye. By allowing captive bumble bee colonies to visit large arrays of such flowers, we investigated whether total dye receipt depended on the sugar concentration of a flower’s nectar. Estimating pollen transfer, rather than simply visitation rate, is appropriate for this question because flowers with more concentrated nectar might accrue more pollen not only through higher visitation rates but also through longer visits that transfer more pollen per visit. Flowers with richer nectar did receive more dye regardless of their spatial arrangement, but the effect was greatest when rich and poor flowers were segregated in large blocks, as opposed to being intermingled.
Locked Nucleic Acids

The intensive research and development of antisense oligonucleotides in the past decades has refined our knowledge of this class of molecules, and they are now recognized as potent reagents for gene-target validation and therapeutic uses. Within this field, a very promising class is locked nucleic acid (LNA). In recent years, the number of applications for LNA in basic research, molecular diagnostics, and therapeutics has expanded continuously. In this article, the general biophysical, biochemical, and pharmacological properties of LNA will be summarised. The ability of LNA oligonucleotides to target both coding and noncoding RNAs effectively and specifically via different modes of action will be discussed. Several LNA oligonucleotides have completed preclinical toxicology and are now tested in clinical trials. The status of one drug candidate will be presented briefly at the end of the article.
Strengthening the Practical Application of Experiments Assessing Maize Drought Tolerance

Drought is among the most important abiotic stressors influencing food-crop production worldwide. Currently, drought-tolerant maize materials are rarely used for actual breeding because corn production primarily focuses on heterosis to generate desired varieties. In this article, we reviewed current work on assessing maize drought tolerance. We suggested that the development of enhanced screening techniques must clearly consider the connection between theory and application. We strongly recommend that agricultural scientists focus on translating the results of laboratory experiments into practical methods for improving crop productivity.
A in Interleukin-1/3 Production in the Line RINm-5F Role for Tyrosine Kinase Activation Induced Nitric Oxide Insulin Producing Cell

The aim of this investigation was to study the putative role of protein phosphorylation in interleukin-lfl (IL-lfl) induced signal transduction in insulin producing cells. For this purpose, insulin producing RINm-5F cells were exposed to IL-lfl for 7 hours with or without different agonists and antagonists to protein kinases and phosphatases and the production of nitrite was subsequently determined. It has been shown earlier that IL-lfl will stimulate the production of nitrite in such cells. It was found that EDTA, TPA and staurosporine did not affect IL-lfl induced nitrite production. However, the tyrosine kinase antagonist tyrphostin inhibited, whereas sodium orthovanadate, okadaic acid and cyclosporin A, all inhibitors of protein phosphatases, potentiated IL-lfl induced nitrite release to the medium. The tyrosine kinase antagonist genistein potentiated at a low concentration a n d inhibited at a high concentration the IL-lfl effect. It is concluded that protein phosphorylation events, mediated either by protein kinases or phosphatases on both tyrosine and serine]threonine residues, may mediate or antagonize IL-1 induced signal transduction in insulin producing cells.
Mitotic stress-induced secretome primes cancer cells to apoptosis and maximizes paclitaxel response in breast tumors when combined with BCL-xL-targeting BH3 mimetics

ABSTRACT We recently identified a previously unappreciated ability of antimitotics to propagate apoptotic priming across cancer cell populations. The underlying paracrine cytotoxic signal, fueled by undead cells activating the cGAS/STING pathway, is required for in vivo antitumor response and it can be further exploited by delayed, but not synchronous, BCL-xL inhibition.
How Many Persian Gazelle ( Gazella subgutturosa ) Can Graze on Golestan National Park of Iran

Part of the Plant Sciences Commons, and the Soil Science Commons This document is available at https://uknowledge.uky. edu/igc/22/2-15/7 The 22nd International Grassland Congress (Revitalising Grasslands to Sustain Our Communities) took place in Sydney, Australia from September 15 through September 19, 2013. Proceedings Editors: David L. Michalk, Geoffrey D. Millar, Warwick B. Badgery, and Kim M. Broadfoot Publisher: New South Wales Department of Primary Industry, Kite St., Orange New South Wales, Australia
The effect of ultrasonic melt treatment on solid solution treatment temperature and/or time for an Al-7Si-2Cu-1Mg alloy

ABSTRACT Ultrasonic melt treatment (UST) is known for refining microstructures including intermetallic compound (IMC)s, and it is expected that the microstructural benefits induced by UST may reduce the time and temperature of solid solution treatment (SST). The effect of UST on SST for an Al-7Si-2Cu-1 Mg alloy was investigated in terms of changes of volume fraction of IMCs in connection with the tensile properties. The results show that UST not only refined the constituent phases but also reduced the volume fraction of IMCs in the as-cast microstructure, which promoted dissolution of Cu and Mg rich IMCs during SST, increasing the yield strength of the alloy. In addition, the SST time to achieve maximum strength was shortened by UST. Without UST, the strength was maximised at 520 °C for 8 hours, while with UST the strength was maximised at 2 ~ 4 hours. The dissolution of the constituent phases upon SST was also discussed.
Demand-driven fertilization. Part I: Nitrogen productivity in four high-maintenance turf grass species

Abstract The effect of four nitrogen (N) availabilities on growth, leaf N concentration, N productivity (dry matter production per unit time and unit N taken up), shoot:root ratio and carbohydrate storage was studied in velvet bentgrass (Agrostis canina ‘Legendary’), creeping bentgrass (A. stolonifera ‘Independence’), slender creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra ssp. trichophylla ‘Cezanne’) and chewings fescue (F. rubra ssp. commutata ‘Center’). In growth chamber experiments, plants were grown for 3 weeks in sand with 12.5, 25, 50 or 200 mg N L−1 in the irrigation water and at two mowing intensities, cut at 5 mm twice per week or uncut. It proved possible to control important turf grass traits such as shoot growth rate, shoot:root ratio, leaf morphology and carbohydrate storage through leaf N concentration. The relationship between leaf N concentration and aboveground growth was linear for both cut and uncut turf. The relative N demand of the studied species, based on their N productivity, was 1:0.67:0.67:0.37 for creeping bentgrass, velvet bentgrass, chewings fescue and slender creeping red fescue, respectively. Clipping significantly reduced N productivity, and hence turf N demand. The lowest possible leaf N concentration without adverse effects on plant health and appearance was between 3.1 and 3.5% of dry matter (DM) in both bentgrasses and fescues. This value can be used as a target in minimizing fertilizer usage and N leaching losses. In conclusion, fertilization based on the influence of leaf N concentration on growth-related processes offers possibilities to control growth in a predictable and desirable manner under varying climate and growth conditions. This could provide more environmentally friendly and economic fertilization regimes and also better playing quality.
Dynamics of Above-Ground Biomass in the Brazilian Amazon Using LiDAR Data

Tropical forest biomass plays an important role in the global carbon cycle. Thus, a better understanding of varia tions in the stocks, dynamics and structure of tropical forests is important to understanding the global carbon cycle. In this sense, the objective of this study was to evaluate the dynamics of above-ground biomass (AGB) in a rainforest using LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data over a period of two years (2011-2013). Automatic crown detection techni ques were used in a complementary way to observe whether structural changes may influence the dynamics of AGB. The study was conducted in Jamari National Forest in Rondonia. The methodology was composed of LiDAR processing and classification of objects (Crowns). Estimates of AGB were generated via LiDAR for the forest inventory plots and for the sample of the study area. Strong correlations were observed between estimates of AGB (r> 0.88). The structural changes identified in the outlined crowns did not influence the values obtained for the sample area, which presented a reduction pattern (5.64%). Despite the negative changes that occurred in this study, no significant difference (p> 0.05; Tukey test) of AGB was found among the evaluated period. The LiDAR technology has great potential for detecting lar -ge-scale changes and it is possible to obtain accurate environmental information (AGB). The approach used in the study may contribute for further analyses aimed at evaluating changes in AGB stock.
Effects of certain antagonistic fungi and rhizobacteria on wilt disease complex of tomato caused by Meloidogyne incognita and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Lycopersici.

An investigation was carried out to examine the effect of soil application of Paecilomyces lilacinus, Gliocladium virens, Pseudomonas fluorescens PRS-9, Bacillus polymyxa and pesticides (aldicarb + thiram) against a disease complex caused by Meloidogyne incognita and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici on growth and yield of tomato in field plots. The nematode and fungus, acting alone caused characteristic root galling and shoot wilting, respectively and significantly reduced plant growth and yield. In concomitant inoculation, severity of fusarial wilt was significantly increased and plant growth and yield reductions were also considerably greater compared to the sum of individual effects of the pathogens. On such plants, pathogenesis and reproduction of the nematode was, however, suppressed. Application of P. lilacinus and G. virens significantly enhanced the plant growth and yield of nematode and fungus inoculated plants, respectively. Greatest enhancement of plant growth and yield of nematode-fungus infected plants occurred with P. fluorescens, followed by the pesticides and G. virens or P. lilacinus. Hatching of larvae, gall formation, egg mass production, fecundity and soil population of M. incognita and wilting index and rhizospheric population of F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici were decreased due to application of the control agents except B. polymyxa, which caused increase in the dry matter production and yield of uninfected tomato plants and soil population and fecundity of the nematode and rhizosphere population of the fungus.
17 – Pathogenic Escherichia coli

: Based on their extensive experience working within the food industry and supported by published reports and research work, the authors describe in sections titled with self-explanatory headings the key characteristics of pathogenic Escherichia coli, particularly Vero cytotoxigenic E. coli, that help to explain why they are important foodborne pathogens and approaches to the monitoring and control of these organisms in food production processes.
The Effect of Vitamin C Intake on Schooling Behavior of Amphidromous Fish, Ayu Plecoglossus altivelis

*'Faculty of Fisheries , Kagoshima University, Shimoarata, Kagoshima 890, Japan *2Ocean Research Institute , University of Tokyo, Tokyo 164, Japan *3Freshwater Fish Branch , Hiroshima Prefectural Fisheries Experiment Station, Shobara, Hiroshima 727, Japan *4Vitamin & Food Division , Takeda Chemical Ind. , Ltd., Osaka 532, Japan *5School of Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
MODELING OF ROOFS FROM POINT CLOUDS USING GENETIC ALGORITHMS

Building roof extraction has been studied for more than thirty years and it generates models that provide important information for many applications, especially urban planning. The present work aimed to model roofs only from point clouds using genetic algorithms (GAs) to develop a more automatized and efficient method. For this, firstly, an algorithm for edge detection was developed. Experiments were performed with simulated and real point clouds, obtained by LIDAR. In the experiments with simulated point clouds, three types of point clouds with different complexities were created, and the effects of noise and scan line spacing on the results were evaluated. For the experiments with real point clouds, five roofs were chosen as examples, each with a different characteristic. GAs were used to select, among the points identified during edge detection, the so-called ‘significant points’, those which are essential to the accurate reconstruction of the roof model. These points were then used to generate the models, which were assessed qualitatively and quantitatively. Such evaluations showed that the use of GAs proved to be efficient for the modeling of roofs, as the model geometry was satisfactory, the error was within an acceptable range, and the computational effort was clearly reduced.
On Randomized Sampling Kaczmarz Method with Application in Compressed Sensing

We propose a randomized sampling Kaczmarz algorithm for the solution of very large systems of linear equations by introducing a maximal sampling probability control criterion, which is aimed at grasping the largest entry of the absolute sampling residual vector at each iteration. This new method differs from the greedy randomized Kaczmarz algorithm, which needs not to compute the residual vector of the whole linear system to determine the working rows. Numerical experiments show that the proposed algorithm has the most significant effect when the selected row number, i.e, the size of samples, is equal to the logarithm of all rows. Finally, we extend the randomized sampling Kaczmarz to signal reconstruction problems in compressed sensing. Signal experiments show that the new extended algorithm is more effective than the randomized sparse Kaczmarz method for online compressed sensing.
Microbial Cystic Fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common genetic disease in Caucasians that increases the mortality rate. This disease retards the passage of water and salt through the cells and therefore affects the vital functions of different organs. Pulmonary cystic fibrosis is the most common and responsible for the majority of symptoms, burden of care, and mortality. The gene that causes the disease has now been identified and sequenced. The lung diseases with CF are usually have three pathological elements; mucus obstruction, inflammation, and infection. In the last century, the relationship between CF, respiratory microbiology, and inflammation has been understood with increased longevity and development of new treatments and laboratory techniques. In this chapter, we will illustrate causes of CF lung diseases and modern therapeutic strategies.
Assessing genetic diversity based on gliadin proteins in Aegilops cylindrica populations from northwest of Iran.

Wild wheat progenitors served as a valuable gene pool in breeding perspectives. In this respect, gliadins could be an important tool in assessing genetic variability as protein markers. Thus, genetic diversity of gliadin protein patterns in seventeen populations of Aegilops cylindrica collected from northwest of Iran were investigated using acid polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Results showed that the highest number of bands in the electrophoregrams were related to the ω type of geliadins. Conversely, the lowest number of bands were pertained to the β type of gliadins. Genetic diversity between populations was greater than within population variation. Assessment of total variation for the three gliadin types indicated that the highest total variation was related to β type while, the lowest one was belonged to ω type. Cluster analysis using complete linkage method divided populations into two separated groups in which genetic diversity does not follow from geographical distribution.
The Regulation of NAP4 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

This Thesis-Restricted is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by ScholarWorks@UNO with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis-Restricted in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself.
Congrid leptocephali in the western North and Middle Pacific - I : Exterilium Ariosoma-type larvae

黒潮海域からニューカレドニア周辺海域に至る西部太平洋域(36゜N～26゜S、115～177゜E)に出現するアナゴ科のAriosoma-type幼生は、外腸の有無によって2つのグループに分けられる。 本研究では外腸をもつ幼生について、形態と地理的分布を明らかにした。 これらの幼生は体側の筋隔上に体軸に沿って並ぶ小黒色素胞列の数(1～3列)によって次の3グループに分けられた。 1)体側の小黒色素胞列は1列(TypeA₁～A₅)。 このグループは背縁部の小黒色素胞の有無によってさらに2グループに分けられる。 背縁部に小黒色素胞をもたない幼生(Type A₁)は体側の筋節上に散在する小黒色素胞を有する。 背縁部に小黒色素胞をもつグループは総筋節数と戯終垂直血管の位置によって4タイプ(TypeA₂～A₅)に類別される。 2)体側の小黒色素胞列は2列(TypeB₁、B₂)。 このグループは鰓蓋の内側と体側正中線直上部の小黒色素胞の有無によって2タイプに類別される。 3)体側の小黒色素胞列は3列(TypeC₁、C₂)。 このグループは体側の正中線付近の黒色素叢の有無によって2タイプに類別される。 これら9タイプはそれぞれ種に相当し、ゴテンアナゴ亜科(Bathymyrinae)に属すると考えられる。 これらのうち、Type A₂、A₄、A₅、B₁、B₂は本研究によって初めて記載され、TypeA₁. A₂、A₄は北西太平洋から初記録である。 また、名タイプの筋節数構成より、腹椎と尾椎の数が知られているゴテンアナゴ亜科の親魚との関連について論じた。 各タイプの地理的分布図を示し、小型の幼生が採集されたタイプについては、産卵場の推定を行った。 これらの幼生は主として、夜間の表層と中層(ワイヤー長、75～200m)で採集され、昼間の各層の曳網でははとんど採集されなかった。
Electromechanical Model of Coupling Spring Piezoelectric Oscillator with Loading

The paper studies the influence of piezoelectric materials and structural parameters on the electromechanical conversion characteristics of the piezoelectric vibrator. Employing the mechanical theory of Euler–Bernoulli beam, the mechanical vibration and circuit balance equation are obtained about the single-step variable cross-section bimorph piezoelectric vibrator under the condition of external resistance, and the analytical equations are derived for the displacement, output voltage, and conversion efficiency of the piezoelectric vibrator excited by near natural frequency simple harmonic support. The validity of the theoretical model is verified by vibration test. Theoretical analysis and experimental results show that the mechanical and electrical conversion efficiency of the piezoelectric vibrator is the highest when the circuit impedance is matched, and the mechanical and electrical conversion efficiency of the piezoelectric vibrator is determined by the resistance ratio caused by mechanical and electrical coupling after resistance optimization.
Failure of passive transfer in foals

Foals are born with a naive immune system, and rely upon the ingestion and absorption of immunoglobulins from the dam's colostrum to obtain passive immunity. Failure of passive transfer (FPT) is the most common immunodeficiency disorder in the horse and is associated with an increased risk of infectious disease and mortality. Routine screening is recommended, to allow early detection and treatment. Management of failure of passive transfer is dependent on the age of the foal at the time of diagnosis, but primarily involves intravenous plasma administration or the administration of colostrum (orally or via nasogastric intubation). Given the association between IgG concentration and clinical outcome, early detection and management of FPT are important in reducing morbidity and mortality in neonatal foals.
Place Attachment and Sustainable Communities

As cities in the developing nations are becoming urbanised at an accelerated pace and intensity, urban planners, design practitioners and policymakers conjoin efforts to satisfy the emergent needs. The design and construction of a sustainable built environment offers adaptive amelioration to the risks of climate change, which ostensibly affects the global South more than the North. Therefore, for developing cities to become sustainably urbanised and planned, socio-economic factors in addition to environmentally devised technological innovations should be comprehensively conceived, to become more consciously assimilated in urban planning and design of residential neighbourhoods in the global South. One of these social factors is place attachment, which has been gaining traction in the last three decades due to the role it plays in understanding the implications of human–place bonding on predicting behaviours, which in turn prepares communities to become resilient and sustainable in the face of possible risks, ranging from climate change displacement to environmental depletion of resources, economic constraints and social tensions. This paper explores the link between place attachment and the creation of more sustainable communities that are civically engaged and environmentally conscientious. As the dynamics of place attachment differ from one context to another, the study employs qualitative methods to mine the place attachment values of several residents of a neighbourhood in Amman, the capital city of Jordan. Through semi-structured interviews with a representative section of the residential communities and photographic documentation, the study analyses the findings from affective and cognitive perspectives, and evaluates their contribution to achieving sustainability. Based on the findings, the research proposes an agenda for future research directions in place attachment studies, providing empirical insight from the context of Jordan.