Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contrasting migration tendencies of sympatric red deer and roe deer suggest multiple causes of migration in ungulates

Understanding the drivers of seasonal migration among large herbivores is crucial for management and conservation. The forage maturation hypothesis predicts migration even at low population density, due to the benefits of increased access to newly emergent, high quality forage. We provide the first study comparing migration tendency of the two most widely distributed deer species in Europe, roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and red deer (Cervus elaphus). The study was conducted in an area with a low population density of both species. We found that 94% of the GPS-collared red deer, but only 27% of the roe deer, migrated. This supports the forage maturation hypothesis in red deer only. Our study thus provides evidence of multiple causation of migration in ungulates, and is consistent with the hypothesis that the forage maturation hypothesis might be a more important driver for migration in grazers compared to browsers.
SLDNet: A Branched, Spatio-Temporal Convolution Neural Network for Detecting Solid Line Driving Violation in Intelligent Transportation Systems

Solid line driving is known as one of the major driving violations in China. In this paper, we propose a branched, spatio-temporal convolution neural network, named SLDNet, to recognize these violation acts from photographs captured by surveillance cameras and train it on Pingxiang solid-line-driving dataset. SLDNet can achieve 0.91 in accuracy and 0.92 in recall, out-perform the current human review (80% in accuracy). Our method will be implemented in intelligent transportation systems in Pingxiang city, Jiangxi Province in near future.
Infrared and Visible Image Fusion Based on a Latent Low-Rank Representation Nested With Multiscale Geometric Transform

To solve the problems of low image contrast and low feature representation in infrared and visible image fusion, an image fusion algorithm based on latent low-rank representation (LatLRR) and non-subsampled shearlet transform (NSST) methods is proposed. First, infrared and visible images are decomposed into base subbands, saliency subbands and sparse noise subbands by the LatLRR model. Then, the base subbands are decomposed into low-frequency and high-frequency coefficients by NSST, and a feature extraction algorithm based on VGGNet and a logical weighting algorithm based on filtering are proposed to merge the coefficients. An adaptive threshold algorithm based on the regional energy ratio is proposed to fuse the saliency subbands. Finally, the fused base subbands are reconstructed, the sparse noise subbands are discarded, and a fused image is obtained by combining the subband information after fusion. Experimental results show that for the fused image produced, the algorithm performs well in both subjective and objective evaluation.
Phosphorylation of β-Catenin by Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinase Stabilizes β-Catenin through Inhibition of Its Ubiquitination

ABSTRACT The mechanism of cross talk between the Wnt signaling and cyclic AMP (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase A [PKA]) pathways was studied. Prostaglandin E1 (PGE1), isoproterenol, and dibutyryl cAMP (Bt2cAMP), all of which activate PKA, increased the cytoplasmic and nuclear β-catenin protein level, and these actions were suppressed by a PKA inhibitor and RNA interference for PKA. PGE1 and Bt2cAMP also increased T-cell factor (Tcf)-dependent transcription through β-catenin. Bt2cAMP suppressed degradation of β-catenin at the protein level. Although PKA did not affect the formation of a complex between glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK-3β), β-catenin, and Axin, phosphorylation of β-catenin by PKA inhibited ubiquitination of β-catenin in intact cells and in vitro. Ser675 was found to be a site for phosphorylation by PKA, and substitution of this serine residue with alanine in β-catenin attenuated inhibition of the ubiquitination of β-catenin by PKA, PKA-induced stabilization of β-catenin, and PKA-dependent activation of Tcf. These results indicate that PKA inhibits the ubiquitination of β-catenin by phosphorylating β-catenin, thereby causing β-catenin to accumulate and the Wnt signaling pathway to be activated.
Fingerprint-Based Indoor Localization Algorithm with Extended Deep Belief Networks

With the tremendous development of mobile applications, location-based services are indispensable in people's daily lives. Fingerprint-based indoor localization has been widely employed to improve position accuracy. A deep-learning-based indoor localization system has been proposed with Extended Deep Belief Networks and measured channel state information (CSI). The proposed system can extract position fingerprints effectively by combining the raw CSI and hidden features as the inputs of each extended restricted boltzmann machine, and retain enough valuable location information. Experiment is carried out in a complex indoor environment to verify the proposed system.
Recurrent Neural Network Based Modelling of Industrial Grinding Time Series Data

Modelling the time series data generated from a complex and nonlinear industrial grinding unit mandates the use of sophisticated algorithms capable of efficiently approximating the system under consideration. Recurrent Neural Networks, which are proven to be competent enough to approximate many time series systems, can be utilized for identification of industrial grinding circuits. However, the usage of RNNs for system identification tool is limited due to the heuristic estimation of network hyper parameters viz., number of hidden layers to be explored, number of nodes in each hidden layer, activation function and number of previous time instances to be considered for capturing the dynamics of the process. In this study, we address this heuristic approach by proposing an algorithm which can determine the optimal values of these hyper parameters for RNNs. This optimal determination of hyper parameters is done by adopting a multi-objective optimization problem with maximization of the accuracy of the developed model and minimization of the number of nodes in the network as the two conflicting objectives. The performance of the proposed algorithm on a real life industrial grinding circuit data shows its success and competitiveness.
Characterization and Evaluation of a Rare Orchid Renanthera imschootiana Rolfe from Manipur & Nagaland

The orchid Renanthera imschootiana Rolfe is the only species under the genus available in India at Manipur and Nagaland, which is a part of Indo-Burma mega diversity hot-spot. The only collection, NRCO-Coll-77 (1998)/IC 566525 of this species available with us was evaluated and characterized as per 'Common Descriptors of Orchids' developed at this center. Monopodial nature in habit, un-branched raceme with a length of 32.2 cm having attractive dominant red-purple (RHS-60A) flowers and petals coloured grayed orange (RHS-164C) with shade is typical of this species. Broad, lateral sepals with attractive dominant crimson/red purple colour flower having medium-range vase life of 23.7 days, imparts high breeding value to this species for developing new hybrid derivatives.
Conservation of cattle genetic resources: the role of breeds

SUMMARY Focusing on cattle (Bos taurus, Bos indicus), the present paper discusses the concept of the breed in the context of the dynamic history of livestock domestication. A breed categorization is proposed on the basis of how the breeds came into existence. The online Appendix (available at http://journals.cambridge.org/AGS) presents a survey of the cattle breeds of the world consisting of: (1) a list of breeds per country and then subdivided according to the proposed categories; (2) a list of breed names, including synonyms and translations, ordered according to a comprehensive breed classification; and (3) an alphabetical list of these names. The commonly accepted perceptions of breeds and how these are influenced by the nomenclature are described. Considering the history of breeds, it is argued that conservation of genetic diversity does not necessarily imply conservation of breeds. However, breeds are instrumental for the conservation of genetic diversity as independent genetic management units. These considerations may very well be extrapolated to other domestic species.
Sun-shade variation in bamboo (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) leaves.

The differential occurrence of fusoid cells in sun compared to shade leaves of three species of bamboo (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) was examined through leaf morphology and anatomy. Leaves grown in sun were consistently smaller and thicker and lacked fusoid cells, whereas leaves grown in shade were consistently larger, thinner, and had fusoid cells. These differences were also found between exterior and interior leaves within one individual of one of these three species. An infusion experiment using a fourth species indicated that light transmission increased dramatically as fusoid cells (or the spaces formed by their collapse) absorbed mineral oil. We propose that fusoid cells are a mechanism to trap and redistribute light more efficiently in shade leaves of bamboo and early-diverging grasses. This is the first report of leaf anatomical sunshade variation in bamboo leaves, but we emphasize the preliminary nature of our observations and the need for further study.
Initiation and kinetic profiles of spermatogenesis in the frog, Runa esculenta (Amphibia)

Spermatogenesis in Rana esculenta is initiated during metamorphic climax and mature spermatozoa are present in froglets 45 days old. Cytological analysis of cell populations shows that some of the primary spermatogonia may lie dormant for brief intervals of time. Timing analysis of the process of spermatogenesis, in adults and in developing Frog larvae maintained at approximately 18°C, was investigated by different methods. The results are remarkably similar. Although perfect synchrony of the developing cells within a single germinal cyst is not the rule, a uniform rate of advancement of germinal cysts of the same stage of development, in most of the seminiferous tubules of a testis is evident. The duration of the secondary spermatogonial divisions is five to six days, involving five or six mitotic cycles, each cycle lasting approximately 24 h. The premeiotic S-phase, and phases of leptotene, zygotene, pachytene, diplotene+secondary spermatocytes, and spermiogenesis each have a duration, respectively, of six, two, six, twelve, two and seven days. The duration of spermatogenesis, from a “committed” primary spermatogonium to the formation of spermatozoa is 41 days.
Differential effects of interferon‐γ and glucocorticoids on FcγR gene expression in murine macrophages

Interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ) was shown previously to increase Feγ receptor (FcyR)‐mediated binding and phagocytosis of immunoglobulin G‐opsonized erythrocytes in mouse peritoneal exudate macrophages. Glucocorticoids potentiated this effect. We have extended these observations to an investigation of the effects of IFN‐γ and glucocorticoids on steady‐state mRNA levels of the three FcyR genes expressed on murine macrophages: FcyRI, FcγRII, and FcγRIIIα. FcγRI mRNA was present at a barely detectable level in unstimulated cells but was induced 5‐ to 10‐fold by IFN‐γ. FcγRIIIα mRNA was expressed constitutively and was induced significantly but very modestly (1.5‐fold) by IFN‐γ. FcγRII mRNA also exhibited high constitutive expression, but it was not altered by IFN‐γ treatment. Dexamethasone (DEX) significantly increased the expression of IFN‐γ‐induced FcγRI mRNA but had no effect on the expression of FcγRII or FcγRIIIa transcripts in untreated or IFN‐ γ‐treated cells. The effect of DEX on FcγRI mRNA was seen after about 10 h of simultaneous treatment with IFN‐γ, was dose‐dependent, and was glucocorticoid specific. DEX did not modulate the rate of decay of the FcγRI mRNA, suggesting that the up‐regulatory effect of DEX may occur, in part, at the level of transcription. In the same culture system, the steady‐state level of IFN‐ γ‐induced Ia mRNA was concurrently inhibited by DEX. The up‐regulation of the IFN‐γ‐induced high‐affinity FcγRI mRNA, the failure to modulate the expression of the two low‐affinity FcγR mRNA species, and the down‐ regulation of IFN‐γ‐induced la mRNA by DEX in the same cell population illustrate the diverse, gene‐specific influence of glucocorticoids on the expression of IFN‐ γ‐inducible genes.
Adelina sp. (Apicomplexa: Adeleidae) , a pseudoparasite of Thoropa miliaris Spix (Amphibia: Cycloramphidae) in S outheastern Brazil

Lopes B doB, Santos CS, Luz HR, Berto BP, Lopes CWG. 2013. Adelina sp. (Apicomplexa: Adeleidae), a pseudoparasite of Thoropa miliaris Spix (Amphibia: Cycloramphidae) in Southeastern Brazil. [Adelina sp. (Apicomplexa: Adeleidae), um pseudoparasita de Thoropa miliaris Spix (Amphibia: Cycloramphidae) no Sudeste do Brasil] Coccidia 1, 26-31. Departamento de Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro. BR-465 km 7, 23897-970 Seropedica, RJ, Brasil. E-mail: bertobp@ufrrj.br The insectivorous habit of some vertebrates is essential for the life cycle of some coccidia of invertebrates because they depend of the feeding habits of vertebrates which ingest invertebrate hosts to ensure that the adeleid oocysts will be dispersed. This study reports adeleid polysporocystic oocysts from feces of the frog Thoropa miliaris Spix in Marambaia Island, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This sporulated oocysts belong to the genus Adelina, which was parasitizing an invertebrate ingested by T. miliaris. The oocysts were ellipsoidal, 37.6 × 31.4 μm, with a smooth, bilayered wall. Micropyle, oocyst residuum and polar granule were absent. The number of sporocysts per oocyst varied from 14 to 21. The sporocysts were subspherical, 9.1 × 8.5 μm. Stieda and substieda bodies absent. Sporocyst residuum composed of scattered granules. Sporozoites present subspherical refractile bodies at both ends. This is the first report of a pseudoparasite in amphibians. Comparative morphology of 29 Adelina spp. is presented in tabulated data.
Amphibian Disease Ecology: Are We Just Scratching the Surface?

Abstract Pathogen-induced population declines and extinction events have been recognized as main threats to amphibian species around the globe. However, the ecological drivers underlying epidemiological patterns are still poorly understood. In an attempt to assess the current knowledge on the ecological drivers of amphibian diseases, we identified 832 peer-reviewed publications on the ecology of amphibian pathogens and diseases published between 2009 and 2019. The vast majority of publications investigated either chytrid or ranavirus infections (79% of the articles), whereas other pathogens such as bacteria and helminths received considerably less attention. Just over half of the studies we reviewed included field research and 40% were experimental in nature, yet only 8% combined field and experimental approaches. More than half of the literature (56%) investigated postmetamorphic stages, whereas premetamorphic stages were considered in 23% of the reviewed studies, and only 13% included both life stages. Susceptibility and mortality have been assessed in almost every study (91%) whereas 37% of them tested for cellular, physiological, or immunological responses. However, other host characteristics such as growth/development, behavior, and specific mucosome/microbiome were considered in only one of four studies. Most research included at least one biotic factor (e.g., host and pathogen identity, species diversity, genetic adaptations), but only one-third considered environmental factors (e.g., temperature, landscape features, inorganic chemicals). Furthermore, there is no general consensus about the factors driving epidemiological patterns of pathogens in amphibian communities, and it is clear that the complexity and specificity of interactions between ecological factors and host–pathogen dynamics make conservation implications difficult and management decisions challenging. To this end, our review identifies some research gaps and proposes future directions to better understand one of the major threats to this class of vertebrates.
14C-Studies on Apple Trees. VI. The Influence of the Fruit on the Photosynthesis of the Leaves, and the Relative Photosynthetic Yields of Fruits and Leaves

When paired samples of either intact or detached apple shoots with and without fruits were exposed simultaneuosly to 14CO2, the uptake of 14CO2 of leaf area was found to be greater in the fruit-bearing shoots, often by a factor of 1.5 or more, although the difference tends to be slight or even non-existent when the experiments follow shortly after a previous dark period. The uptake of 14CO2 by photosynthesis in the skin of detached fruits is very slight compared to the simultaneous uptake of 14CO2 by the leaves from the same spur, and can hence contribute only slightly to the development of the fruit compared with the supply of assimilates taking place from the leaves to the fruit.
Redundant and Diversified Roles Among Selected Arabidopsis thaliana EXO70 Paralogs During Biotic Stress Responses

The heterooctameric vesicle-tethering complex exocyst is important for plant development, growth, and immunity. Multiple paralogs exist for most subunits of this complex; especially the membrane-interacting subunit EXO70 underwent extensive amplification in land plants, suggesting functional specialization. Despite this specialization, most Arabidopsis exo70 mutants are viable and free of developmental defects, probably as a consequence of redundancy among isoforms. Our in silico data-mining and modeling analysis, corroborated by transcriptomic experiments, pinpointed several EXO70 paralogs to be involved in plant biotic interactions. We therefore tested corresponding single and selected double mutant combinations (for paralogs EXO70A1, B1, B2, H1, E1, and F1) in their two biologically distinct responses to Pseudomonas syringae, root hair growth stimulation and general plant susceptibility. A shift in defense responses toward either increased or decreased sensitivity was found in several double mutants compared to wild type plants or corresponding single mutants, strongly indicating both additive and compensatory effects of exo70 mutations. In addition, our experiments confirm the lipid-binding capacity of selected EXO70s, however, without the clear relatedness to predicted C-terminal lipid-binding motifs. Our analysis uncovers that there is less of functional redundancy among isoforms than we could suppose from whole sequence phylogeny and that even paralogs with overlapping expression pattern and similar membrane-binding capacity appear to have exclusive roles in plant development and biotic interactions.
Influence of crop management upon the agronomic traits of spelt (Triticum spelta L.)

Investigations were carried out at the experimental field of the Faculty of Agriculture in Zagreb in the growing seasons 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 with the aim to determine the influence of seeding rate and fungicide treatment upon the yield and yield components of spelt (Triticum spelta L.). The trial included two spelt cultivars: Nirvana and Ostro, three seeding rates: 200, 300, and 400 germinated seeds/m 2 , and a fungicide treatment (tebuconazole). Cultivar Nirvana produced a significantly higher grain yield in both trial years, higher number of spikelets per spike, higher grain number and mass per spike. Cultivar Ostro had a significantly higher grain crude proteins con - tent, higher 1000 grain weight, and also a higher number of sterile spikelets per spike. No significant effect of seed - ing rate on grain yield was determined while the fungicide treatment had a significant effect on grain yield only in the warmer year 2008/2009.
High Variability in Infection Mechanisms and Host Responses: A Review of Functional Genomic Studies of Amphibian Chytridiomycosis

Abstract The emergence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and B. salamandrivorans (Bsal), two fungal pathogens responsible for amphibian declines and extinctions worldwide, led to 20 years of intensive research focused on revealing mechanisms underlying infection, disease progression, and host outcome. Genetic and genomic studies in this system have contributed to our understanding of the origin and genetic diversity within these pathogens, their genetic architecture, and mechanisms used for host exploitation and host immune response. Functional genomic studies, specifically differential gene expression studies, have been used to characterize both pathogen and host mechanisms of exploitation and defense as well as host–pathogen interactions and the influence of biotic and abiotic environmental factors on disease outcomes. Here, we summarize the results of functional genomic studies in the amphibian–chytrid host–pathogen system, with a focus on identifying common patterns, and also examine the factors that contribute to the high variability in disease outcomes observed in nature. We found substantial variation in differential gene expression among lineages of Bd and between Bd and Bsal, pointing to some potential virulence factors for these pathogens. On the host side, we found variation in immune response among species with different levels of resistance to chytrid infections. Finally, we found significant effects of temperature and coinfection on host responses, underscoring the important role that abiotic and biotic factors play in modulating immune response.
Eavesdropping on Autobiographical Memory: A Naturalistic Observation Study of Older Adults’ Memory Sharing in Daily Conversations

The retrieval of autobiographical memories is an integral part of everyday social interactions. Prior laboratory research has revealed that older age is associated with a reduction in the retrieval of autobiographical episodic memories, and the ability to elaborate these memories with episodic details. However, how age-related reductions in episodic specificity unfold in everyday social contexts remains largely unknown. Also, constraints of the laboratory-based approach have limited our understanding of how autobiographical semantic memory is linked to older age. To address these gaps in knowledge, we used a smartphone application known as the Electronically Activated Recorder, or “EAR,” to unobtrusively capture real-world conversations over 4 days. In a sample of 102 cognitively normal older adults, we extracted instances where memories and future thoughts were shared by the participants, and we scored the shared episodic memories and future thoughts for their make-up of episodic and semantic detail. We found that older age was associated with a reduction in real-world sharing of autobiographical episodic and semantic memories. We also found that older age was linked to less episodically and semantically detailed descriptions of autobiographical episodic memories. Frequency and level of detail of shared future thoughts yielded weaker relationships with age, which may be related to the low frequency of future thoughts in general. Similar to laboratory research, there was no correlation between autobiographical episodic detail sharing and a standard episodic memory test. However, in contrast to laboratory studies, episodic detail production while sharing autobiographical episodic memories was weakly related to episodic detail production while describing future events, unrelated to working memory, and not different between men and women. Overall, our findings provide novel evidence of how older age relates to episodic specificity when autobiographical memories are assessed unobtrusively and objectively “in the wild. ”