Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Six reasons why feral house mouse populations might have low recapture rates.

Many feral house mouse populations have low recapture rates (0-20%) in live-trapping studies carried out at 2-4-week intervals. We consider six hypotheses to explain low recapture rates. We radio-collared 155 house mice between September 1992 and May 1993 in agricultural fields on the Darling Downs of south-eastern Queensland during a phase of population increase. Low recapture rates during the breeding season were due to low trappability and during the non-breeding period to nomadic movements. During the breeding season radio-collared mice of both sexes survived well and moved mostly small distances (<ll m). Low trappability has consequences for the precision of population indices that rely on catch per unit effort. Capture-recapture models robust to heterogeneity of trap responses should be used to census feral Mus populations.
The Differential Effects of Subtitles on the Comprehension of Native English Connected Speech Varying in Types and Word Familiarity

Connected speech produced by native speakers poses a challenge to second language learners. Video subtitles have been found to assist the decoding of English connected speech for learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). However, the presence of subtitles may divert the listeners’ attention to the visual cues while paying less attention to the speech signals. To test this proposal, we employed a bi-modal audio-visual listening test and examined whether EFL listeners were able to correctly identify the connected speech when misleading subtitles were present. We further tested whether connected speech with words of lower frequency further reduced the accuracy rate. Twenty-eight adolescent EFL learners, all with more than 10 years of experiences in learning English in schools, were tested with three major types of connected speech phonological processes, namely assimilation, elision, and juncture. The results of statistical analyses showed that matched and mismatched subtitles facilitated the comprehension of both familiar and unfamiliar connected speech. Error analyses revealed the degree of item-specific variations across the three types of connected speech processes as well as across the three subtitling conditions. This research provides insights on the immediate and long-term impact of subtitles on the decoding of English connected speech.
Earthworms and soil fertility. III. The influence of earthworms on the availability of nitrogen

When young growing worms of the species Allolobophora caliginosa (Sav.) were fed with a soil containing finely ground plant litter, about 6 per cent. of the non-available nitrogen ingested by the worms was excreted in forms available to plants. The presence of worms in cultures of well-aerated moist soil increased the rate of oxygen consumption and the rate of accumulation of ammonium and nitrate during the early stages of decay. Part of the increase in oxygen consumption was due to an interaction between the earthworms and other decomposers.
Short- and Long-Term Exposure of Lumbriculus variegatus (Oligochaete) to Metal Lead: Ecotoxicological and Behavioral Effects

ABSTRACT Metals are naturally occurring constituents of the environment and although many are essential nutrients for living organisms, at higher concentrations they can be toxic. Some aquatic species can help understand and even predict the impact of those contaminants. Lumbriculus variegatus is a recommended species for use in sediment toxicity tests and is known to have a remarkable ability of segmental regeneration. Short- (10-day) and long-term (28-day) toxicity tests were used to test the effects of a metal on the survival, growth, and behavior of L. variegatus. This work aims to investigate and validate the use of behavior as a new parameter in standard toxicity tests. Worms were exposed to sediments contaminated with different levels of lead and the results indicated a positive relation between lead concentrations and mortality and growth: higher lead concentrations resulted in higher mortalities and strong inhibition of growth. An inhibition of behavior was observed and results suggested that although behavior could not be used in sediment toxicity tests, it proved useful as an addition to short-term tests and helps select sediments. Thus, exposure to sediments contaminated with lead affects the presence of this species in nature, because it interferes with growth and survival.
Complete Face Recovering: An Approach towards Recognizing a Person by a Single Partial Face Image without the Target Photo in Gallery

Complete face recovering (CFR) is to recover the complete face image of a given partial face image of a target person whose photo may not be included in the gallery set. The CFR has several attractive potential applications but is challenging. As far as we know, the CFR problem has yet to be explored in the literature. This paper therefore proposes an identity-preserved CFR approach (IP-CFR) to addressing the CFR. First, a denoising auto-encoder based network is applied to acquire the discriminative feature. Then, we propose an identity-preserved loss function to keep the personal identity information. Furthermore, the acquired features are fed into a new variant of the generative adversarial network (GAN) to restore the complete face image. In addition, a two-pathway discriminator is leveraged to enhance the quality of the recovered image. Experimental results on the benchmark datasets show the promising result of the proposed approach.
The Fauna from Shanidar Cave : Mousterian wild goat exploitation in Northeastern Iraq

Des rapports sur la faune recueillie au cours de la quatrieme et derniere campagne de fouille dans la grotte de Shanidar, en Iraq, ont ete publies en 1964 par Dexter Perkins, Jr. Cependant, les collections, plus importantes, provenant des trois premieres campagnes, n'avaient pas ete etudiees. Cet article presente un resume des resultats obtenus grâce a l'etude de la faune des importants niveaux mousieriens fouilles entre 1951 et 1957, lorsque la sequence verticale des depots de la grotte fut entierement exploree. La chevre sauvage represente l'ongule le plus exploite au cours du mousterien a Shanidar. La courbe des âges des chevres, etablie a partir de l'echantillon archeologique, semble prouver un cas de mortalite catastrophique.
Purification, Biochemical and Immunological Characterization of Acid Invertases from Apple Fruit

: The soluble acid invertase (SAI) and cell wall-bound invertase (CWI) were purified from apple fruit to apparent electrophoretic homogeneity. Based on sequencing, substrate specificity, and immunoblotting assay, the purified enzymes were identified to be two isoforms of acid invertase (β-fructosidase; EC 3.2.1. 26). The SAI and CWI have the same apparent molecular mass with a holoenzyme of molecular mass of 220 kDa composed of 50 kDa subunits. The SAI has a lower Km value for sucrose and higher Km for raffinose compared with CWI. These acid invertases differ from those in other plants in some of their biochemical properties, such as the extremely high Km value for raffinose, no hydrolytic activity for stachyose, and a mixed form of inhibition by fructose to their activity. The antibodies directed against the SAI and CWI recognized, from the crude extract, three polypeptides with a molecular mass of 50, 68, and 30 kDa, respectively. These results provide a substantial basis for the further studies of the acid invertases in apple fruit. ( Managing editor: Ping HE)
Production of methane and carbon dioxide in peatland ecosystems across North America: Effects of temperature, aeration, and organic chemistry of peat

Peat soil from 12 northern peatlands, spanning broad gradients in mean annual temperature (MAT), mean annual precipitation (MAP), and plant species composition, was incubated in vitro at differing temperature (2, 12, 22°C), aeration (anoxic, oxic), and with or without added glucose to evaluate controls on potential production of CH4 and CO2 (and CH4 consumption). Methane production and CH4 consumption (at 12°C) were significantly higher in open (nonforested) than forested peatlands, and varied as a function of MAT at each site, with maximum CH4 production (>450 nmol g‐1 d‐1) and minimum CH4 consumption (‐0.03 h‐1 g‐1) at intermediate MAT (i.e., CH4 production <200 nmol g‐1 d‐1 and CH4 consumption ‐0.06 h‐1 g‐1 at lower and higher MAT). Differences in lignin chemistry of the peat helped explain the variation in CH4 cycling: Added glucose stimulated CH4 production, but only in lignin‐rich peat. Carbon dioxide production (10–60 μmol g‐1 d‐1 at 12°C) showed a strong negative relationship with MAT and with the.
NAD(P)+-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenases in mitochondria purified from Picea abies seedlings

Isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) activities were measured in mitochondria isolated from aerial parts of 21-day-old spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.) seedlings. Mitochondria were purified by two methods, involving continuous and discontinuous Percoll gradients. Whatever the method of purification, the mitochondrial outer membrane was about 69% intact, and the mitochondria contained very low cytosolic, chloroplastic and peroxisomal contaminations. Nevertheless, as judged by the recovery of furnarase activity, purification on a continuous 28% Percoll gradient gave the best yield in mitochondria, which exhibited a high degree of inner membrane intactness (91%). The purified mitochondria oxidized succinate and malate with good respiratory control and ADP/O ratios. The highest oxidation rate was obtained with succinate as substrate, and malate oxidation was improved (+ 60%) by addition of exogenous NAD + . Experiments using standard respiratory chain inhibitors indicated that, in spruce mitochondria, the alternative pathway was present. Both NAD + -isocitrate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.41) and NADP + -isocitrate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.42) were present in the mitochondrial matrix fraction, and NAD + -IDH activity was about 2-fold higher than NADP + -IDH activity. The NAD + -IDH showed sigmoidal kinetics in response to isocitrate and standard Michaelis-Menten kinetics for NAD + and Mg 2+ . The NADP + -IDH, in contrast, displayed lower K m values. For NAD + -IDH the pH optimum was at 7.4, whereas NADP + -IDH exhibited a broad pH optimum between 8.3 and 9. In addition, NAD + -IDH was more thermolabile. Adenine nucleotides and 2-oxoglutarate were found to inhibit NAD(P) + -IDH activities only at high concentrations.
Water relations and ultrasound emissions of Pinus sylvestris L. before, during and after a period of water stress

Summary Using potted plants in a glasshouse, the relationship between ultrasound emission rate and water potential was investigated before, during and after a period of simulated drought. At the start of the experiment, just before budbreak, the plants emitted ultrasound pulses at rates of up to 25 c.p.m. During drought the rate increased to 60 c.p.m. Droughted plants displayed lower xylem density than the controls; and on this basis it was estimated that a third of the tracheids had emptied as a result of cavitation. On rewatering, the density of the xylem recovered and, after recovery, the plants that had been droughted failed to produce ultrasound emissions when water potential fell. By this time, the control plants, which had been well watered all the time, produced only a small number of ultrasound emissions when water potential fell.
Dynamic Durable Goods Monopoly and Market Power

We analyze a vertically differentiated market for an imperfectly durable good served by a monopolist in an infinite-horizon, discrete-time game. Our goal is to identify the Markov perfect stationary equilibria where the seller can maintain his monopoly power. We establish that the set of parameters supporting a monopoly outcome is larger when the seller offers different quality versions of the same product. Hence, our results suggest that, when the innate durability of a product is high, the seller should offer different quality versions of the product.
The urban moisture island phenomenon and its mechanisms in a high‐rise high‐density city

Previous studies tend to report the effect of rapid urbanization on temperature, but not on humidity. In this study, we aimed to address this research gap by examining diurnal profiles of temperature and humidity in Hong Kong. Our analysis revealed a more significant rising trend in humidity. In addition, our analysis of equivalent temperature revealed that latent temperature (i.e., moisture) contributes more to the aggravation of urban heat stress than does sensible temperature. The average urban air moisture concentration exceeds that in rural areas for both day and night, confirming the existence of an urban moisture island. A new lumped moisture model is developed to predict the hourly urban air humidity using weather data from the operational suburban weather stations, to better understand and quantify the urban moisture environment. The resulting coupled thermal‐moisture model can capture the main characteristics of diurnal profiles of urban air temperature and humidity in Hong Kong. The modelling results demonstrate that weakened city ventilation tends to lead to an increase in urban air moisture. Furthermore, natural surfaces (vegetation and bare soil) reduce urban heat stress by evapotranspiration. It is noteworthy that although the increase in fractions of natural surfaces can lead to more potential moisture sources, the absolute humidity will start to decrease when the fraction of natural surfaces reaches a threshold. This decreasing moisture trend may be attributable to reduced evaporation owing to the decreased surface temperature, reduced anthropogenic moisture and increased ventilation. Besides, the large wall areas in the compact high‐rise areas of Hong Kong function as both sinks and storage sites, contributing to a noticeable diurnal trend in the urban air humidity profile. In brief, the significant urban moisture island phenomenon in Hong Kong may result from enhanced evapotranspiration, restrained moisture sinks, intensive human activities and a weakened wind environment.
Prediction of metabolic clearance of diclofenac in adjuvant-induced arthritis rats using a substrate depletion assay

1. The purpose of this study was to evaluate drug clearance measured by the metabolic intrinsic clearance (CLint) in a substrate depletion assay in comparison with the in vivo clearance (CLtot) observed in adjuvant-induced arthritis (AA) rats. 2. After intravenous administration of diclofenac as a model drug, CLtot was 2.8-fold higher in AA rats than in control rats. In two different substrate depletion assays with liver microsomes for glucuronidation and hydroxylation, the CLint values for glucuronidation was significantly decreased in AA rats to 60% of the value in control rats, whereas the CLint values for hydroxylation were similar. The unbound fraction of diclofenac in plasma (fu, plasma) was significantly higher (2.8-fold) in AA rats than in control rats. 3. Hepatic clearance predicted from the CLint values for both biotransformation pathways and fu, plasma was higher in AA rats than in control rats, with good consistency between predicted and observed values. The same results were obtained for experiments using hepatocytes. 4. The plasma protein-binding activities, rather than metabolic clearance, in both types of rats would be a determining factor in the pharmacokinetic behaviour differences between control and AA rats. 5. In summary, substrate depletion assays with liver microsomes and hepatocytes in combination with protein binding assessment can help to predict changes in pharmacokinetics under AA conditions.
Burden of Dental Caries in India: Current Scenario and Future Strategies

ABSTRACT Introduction Dental caries, commonly known as tooth decay or cavity, is among the most widespread oral diseases globally. It is one of the prime causative agents of oral discomfort and reason for patients to visit dental clinics or hospitals. If detected timely, the tooth can be restored and if left untreated it can eventually lead to tooth loss or other serious sequelae. Objective This article draws attention to why dental caries is a global oral health concern and problems faced in India in managing this pandemic disease. It also attempts to suggest a few preventive strategies and future research directions needed to control this national oral health concern. Materials and methods A narrative overview of the current literature is presented and a few suggestions on preventive and research strategies are highlighted. Results Oral health that is an essential component of overall well-being is often neglected in India. Basic region-wise data in the form of well-controlled surveys regarding the prevalence of dental caries across India are also not available. This is needed to frame robust preventive strategies, policies, and manpower allocation, suitable for different subgroups of the population. Conclusion State-level data should be collected to know the prevalence of this disease, identify the high-risk areas and customize region-wise preventive and treatment strategies. India has the maximum number of dental schools, efforts at individual levels are needed since everything cannot be left for the government to work upon. How to cite this article Miglani S. Burden of Dental Caries in India: Current Scenario and Future Strategies. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2020;13(2):155–159.
3-Acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid inhibits cancer cell invasion and induces apoptosis in breast cancer cells by abrogating the EGFR-mediated PI3K/Akt pathway

Introduction: Recent evidence has demonstrated the anticancer potential of 3-acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA). The current study was performed to evaluate the anti-invasive and antimotility effect of AKBA against breast cancer (BC) cells. Material and methods: The antiproliferative assay was used to evaluate cell viability. Wound healing assay and Transwell invasion assay were used for migration and invasion respectively. Annexin V FITC assay and microscopy were used to quantify and detect apoptosis. Zymography and immunoblotting analysis were used for gelatinase activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and protein expression of signaling proteins involved in apoptosis, tumor cell invasion and motility of BC cells. Results: AKBA exhibits significant inhibition of cell proliferation and suppresses BC cell motility. Mechanistically, AKBA suppresses migration and invasion, and attenuates MMP-2 and MMP-9 activity, which plays a key role in metastasis. Furthermore, a dose-dependent manner of AKBA promotes significant induction of apoptosis. Moreover, we observed that a higher concentration of AKBA reduces phosphorylation of EGFR, PI3K, and Akt with a subsequent decrease in MMP-9 and MMP-2 expression, and an increase in TIMP1 and E-cadherin expression. However, pre-treatment with EGF in BC cells restores significant cell motility and invasion even in the presence of AKBA, indicating that inhibition of cell migration by AKBA is operated by the EGFR/PI3K/Akt axis. Additionally, AKBA showed a significant inhibitory and strong synergistic effect on EGFR-mediated PI3K/Akt signaling associated proteins when compared with the known inhibitors gefitinib and erlotinib. Conclusions: AKBA exhibits potential antiproliferative effects by inducing apoptosis and suppresses tumor cell motility and invasion, which is mediated by the EGFR/PI3K/Akt axis in BC cells.
Wheat bran AX properties and choice of xylanase affect enzymic production of wheat bran-derived arabinoxylan-oligosaccharides

ABSTRACTWheat bran-derived arabinoxylan-oligosaccharides (AXOS) recently have been shown to potentially exert prebiotic effects. In this study, 15 bran samples obtained by milling different wheat cultivars were treated with xylanases from Hypocrea jecorina (XHJ), Aspergillus aculeatus (XAA), and Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis (XPH) to assess the effect of bran source and xylanase properties on the AXOS yield and structure. The total arabinoxylan (AX) extraction yield was higher with XHJ (8.2–10.7%) and XAA (8.2–10.8%) than with XPH (6.9–9.5%). Irrespective of the enzyme, a significant negative correlation was observed between extraction yield and arabinose to xylose (A/X) ratio of bran AX (r = –0.7), but not between yield and bran AX level. The A/X ratio of the extracted material was 0.27–0.34 for all bran samples and all enzymes, which combined with yield data and microscopic analysis, indicated primary hydrolysis of aleurone and nucellar epidermis AX. The average degree of polymerization (avDP) of the e.
Lipid lateral diffusion and local microviscosity in plant mitochondrial membranes with various length and unsaturation of fatty acids

Two main aspects of the lipid dynamics, local microviscosity and lateral diffusion, were investigated in intact plant mitochondria isolated from different tissues exhibiting large differences in their fatty acids in terms of unsaturation (amount of linoleic and linolenic acids) or length of the hydrocarbon chains. In addition, the same parameters were determined in the outer and inner membranes isolated from cauliflower mitochondria, which differed not only in the fatty acid composition but also by the lipid-to-protein ratio. In intact mitochondria, local microviscosity assayed with anthroyloxy-fatty acids exhibited a transverse gradient from the surface to the center of the bilayer, which was mainly affected by the unsaturation index and the content in linoleic or linolenic acids. In contrast, lipid lateral diffusion increased as the content in linolenic or palmitic acids increased, but was not directly correlated to the unsaturation index. Interestingly, local microviscosity at the membrane surface was higher in the outer membrane than in the inner membrane, whereas no significant difference was found in lipid lateral diffusion. These results indicate that the influence of the fatty acid composition of mitochondrial membranes on the dynamics of the phospholipid bilayer depends on the type of movement considered and suggest that other parameters, such as the protein content of the bilayer, also affect membrane fluidity.
Cryptic diversity in Chortís Highland moss salamanders (Caudata: Plethodontidae: Nototriton) revealed using mtDNA barcodes and phylogenetics, with a new species from eastern Honduras

The systematic study of Central American moss salamanders has been a challenge to researchers due to their cryptic nature and subsequent difficulty in sampling. In an effort to elucidate relationships among moss salamanders from the Chortís Highlands, we quantified intra- and interspecific variation using data from the mitochondrial genes 16S (the amphibian barcoding gene), cytochrome b (cyt b; widely used in phylogenetic studies of neotropical salamanders), and cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI, the universal metazoan barcoding gene). All three loci exhibit a bimodal ‘barcoding gap’ between ranges of intra- and interspecific variation, demonstrating unambiguous species boundaries with respect to the mitochondrial loci. A barcoding approach and Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses of the mtDNA dataset revealed that the nominal species N. barbouri represents a species complex, with two of three populations assigned to this taxon being paraphyletic with respect to a sample from the type locality. These data also revealed an undescribed species from eastern Honduras, and confirmed the identity of allopatric populations of N. lignicola and N. limnospectator. Sequence data from cyt b presented an analytical challenge due to a high level of substitution saturation at the third codon position for some samples. Phylogenetic analyses of the entire dataset including and omitting the third position of cyt b resulted in conflicting results with respect to the position of the new species and N. tomamorum. Based on the molecular data, supplemented with data from external morphology and osteology, we formally describe a new species from Sierra de Agalta.