Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bed-site selection by adult roe deer Capreolus capreolus in southern Norway during summer

Bed-sites of radio-collared adult roe deer Capreolus capreolus were identified during summer 1994 in the Lier valley, southern Norway. Site characteristics were measured at the bed-site and at a randomly chosen site 50 m away. Roe deer preferred to bed down below dense canopy cover, but showed no preference for bedding close to tree trunks. The availability of herbs was higher at bed-sites than at random sites, and higher at bed-sites used by females than at bed-sites used by males. On warm days the abundance of herbs at bed-sites was lower than on cold days, indicating movement away from feeding sites. During warm days roe deer selected bed-sites with humid substrates, probably to increase heat loss by conduction. Bed-sites were well concealed.
Cooperation under autonomy: Building and analyzing the Informal Intergovernmental Organizations 2.0 dataset

Informal intergovernmental organizations (IIGOs) such as the Proliferation Security Initiative and G20 increasingly play a central role in governing international relations. IIGOs are based on recurrent meetings among high-level state representatives but are not legalized through a treaty and have no permanent secretariat. They allow states to organize internationally without sacrificing autonomy to a supranational entity. We present the IIGO 2.0 dataset, the most comprehensive compilation of these institutions to date, and illustrate the significance of IIGOs through several key empirical findings. First, while the creation of formal IGOs (FIGOs) has plateaued, states are increasingly creating IIGOs to address critical global issues. Second, states disproportionately use IIGOs for high politics issue areas including peace, security, and political agenda-setting which challenges conventional wisdom that IGOs (intergovernmental organizations) are less relevant in the security realm. Third, IIGOs are remarkably durable. Although states could readily formalize or abandon IIGOs, they generally organize cooperation informally for long periods. Finally, IIGOs are typically smaller than FIGOs and this design choice is increasingly used by states of all levels of development, power, and region. The availability of the IIGO 2.0 dataset will promote further analysis on the growing diversity of international institutions.
Evaluation of teosinte genetic diversity for agronomic and domestication traits in maize

Teosinte (Zea mays ssp. parviglumis) is the wild ancestor of modern maize (Zea mays ssp. mays). Teosinte contains greater genetic diversity compared to maize inbreds and landraces, but its use is limited by insufficient genetic resources to evaluate its value. A population of teosinte near isogenic lines (teosinte NILs) was previously developed to broaden the resources for genetic diversity of maize, and to discover novel alleles for agronomic and domestication traits. The 961 teosinte NILs were developed by backcrossing ten geographically diverse parviglumis accessions into the B73 (reference genome inbred) background. The NILs were grown in two replications in 2009 and 2010 in Columbia, Missouri and Aurora, New York, respectively, and Near Infrared Reflectance (NIR) spectroscopy and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) calibrations were developed and used to rapidly predict total kernel starch, protein and oil content on a dry matter basis in bulk whole grains of teosinte NILs. Our joint-linkage quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping analysis identified two starch, three protein and six oil QTLs, which collectively explained 18%, 23% and 45% of the total variation, respectively. A
Nonlinear dynamics of a shell encapsulated microbubble near solid boundary in an ultrasonic field

Microbubbles have the potential to be used for diagnostic imaging and therapeutic delivery. However, the transition from microbubbles currently being used as ultrasound contrast agents to achieve its’ potentials in the biomedical field requires more in depth understanding. Of particular importance is the influence of microbubble encapsulation of a microbubble near a vessel wall on the dynamical behaviour as it stabilizes the bubble. However, many bubble studies do not consider shell encapsulation in their studies. In this work, the dynamics of an encapsulated microbubble near a boundary was studied by numerically solving the governing equations for microbubble oscillation. In order to elucidate the effects of a boundary to the non-linear microbubble oscillation the separation distances between microbubble will be varied along with the acoustic driving. The complex nonlinear vibration response was studied in terms of bifurcation diagrams and the maximum radial expansion. It was found that the increase in distance between the boundary and the encapsulated bubble will increase the oscillation amplitude. When the value of pressure amplitude increased the single bubble is more likely to exhibit the chaotic behaviour and maximum radius also increase as the inter wall-bubble distance is gradually increased. While, with higher driving frequency the maximum radial expansion decreases and suppress the chaotic behaviour.
Hydroxyapatite-dextran methacrylate core/shell hybrid nanocarriers for combinatorial drug therapy

In this study, a hybrid dual drug-loaded hydroxyapatite-oxidized dextran methacrylate core–shell nanocarrier was formulated and explored for combinatorial delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) and methotrexate (MTX) to bone cancer. The synthesized nanocarrier was well characterized by different techniques. In vitro drug release studies in both acidic (pH 5) and alkaline (pH 7.4) conditions showed sequential release of MTX followed by DOX in a sustained manner for 10 days. Biocompatibility and cytotoxicity studies performed using drug-loaded nanoparticles (NPs) on fibroblast L929 cells and osteosarcoma MG63 cells (OMG63) showed that the NPs were highly biocompatible and showed concentration-dependent toxicity. Gene expression studies in OMG-63 cells exhibited the upregulation of caspase-3 and BAX which confirmed the apoptosis induced by dual drug-loaded NPs. The nanocarrier is expected to be a potential bone void filling material, as well as a platform for sequential delivery of DOX and MTX for the treatment of bone cancer.
The draft genome of the blood pheasant (Ithaginis cruentus): Phylogeny and high‐altitude adaptation

Abstract The blood pheasant (Ithaginis cruentus), the only species in the genus Ithaginis, lives in an extremely inhospitable high‐altitude environment, coping with hypoxia and ultraviolet (UV) radiation. To further investigate the phylogeny of Phasianidae species based on complete genomes and understand the molecular genetic mechanisms of the high‐altitude adaptation of the blood pheasant, we de novo assembled and annotated the complete genome of the blood pheasant. The blood pheasant genome size is 1.04 Gb with scaffold N50 of 10.88 Mb. We identified 109.92 Mb (10.62%) repetitive elements, 279,037 perfect microsatellites, and 17,209 protein‐coding genes. The phylogenetic tree of Phasianidae based on whole genomes revealed three highly supported major clades with the blood pheasant included in the “erectile clade. ” Comparative genomics analysis showed that many genes were positively selected in the blood pheasant, which was associated with response to hypoxia and/or UV radiation. More importantly, among these positively selected genes (PSGs) which were related to high‐altitude adaptation, sixteen PSGs had blood pheasant‐specific missense mutations. Our data and analysis lay solid foundation to the study of Phasianidae phylogeny and provided new insights into the potential adaptation mechanisms to the high altitude employed by the blood pheasant.
Is the blunderbuss a misleading visual metaphor for stasis and punctuated evolution?

I discuss the usefulness of the so-called “blunderbuss pattern” of phenotypic evolution as a visual metaphor for stasis and punctuated evolution that was originally put forward in Uyeda et al. (2011) in their highly influential paper “The million-year wait for macroevolutionary bursts”. I argue the blunderbuss pattern is not surprising, and in some cases it is misleading. I review several publications that cite Uyeda et al. (2011) that seem to be confused about the meaning of the pattern and what it implies. I do not critique the original analysis within Uyeda et al (2011), but show the blunderbuss pattern itself would be produced even when assuming a Brownian motion (completely gradual) model of phenotypic divergence. Finally, I discuss how the interesting results of the paper have been overlooked in favor of the surprisingly powerful, but also misleading visual metaphor of the blunderbuss.
Economic survey to support control decision for old world bollworm on processing tomatoes

Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) regularly requires quick deployment of control practices due to its potential of causing yield loss of processing tomatoes. The monitoring of H. armigera adults using stick traps lured with sex pheromone was correlated to egg densities, larvae, and percentage of damaged fruits, aiming to subsidize control decisions only using the number of males caught in the traps since surveying pest stages or damaged fruits is laborious and costly. Surveys were carried out on 11 tomato fields (ca. 80 to 120 hectares each) for processing during the 2015 and 2016 crop seasons. The survey was initiated at the flowering stage with traps set up along the field borders 100 m distant each. Evaluations of adult male capture in the traps were conducted twice a week for 14 and 10 weeks during the 2015 and 2016 seasons, respectively. Simultaneously, 70 tomato plants were fully inspected for eggs, larvae, and damaged fruits per area using a rate of 10 plants per point of trap setting in each area. Overall capture of male moths correlated to subsequent eggs, larvae, and damaged fruits. Based on the outcome of the regression analysis between male moths captured and percentage of damaged fruits, the control decision is suggested when three to six male moths are captured per trap during one week. The monitoring of adults using pheromone traps help deploy chemical or biological control methods to restrain H. armigera population reaching economic threshold levels.
Breeding Relationships in Macaronesian Tolpis (Asteraceae-Cichorieae): F1 Hybrid Pollen Fertility Within and Among Populations from the Azores, Canary Islands, and Madeira

Abstract The pollen fertility of F1 hybrids, ranging from progeny within natural populations to synthetic hybrids between species of Tolpis from three archipelagos in Macaronesia, was determined. Pollen fertility of F1 hybrids of inter-archipelago crosses from the Azores, Canaries, and Madeira were generally lower than crosses between populations or species in the same archipelagos. Lower pollen fertility was pronounced in hybrids between plants from the Canaries and the other archipelagos, which is concordant with a more distant phylogenetic relationship between the Canaries, and the Azores and Madeira. Lower average pollen fertility was seen between plants from different as compared to the same clades in the Canary Islands. However, low pollen fertilities were also detected between plants from some populations/species in the same archipelagos, and even among progeny of individual maternal plants. Some hybrids with reduced fertility had meiotic irregularities, suggesting chromosomal rearrangements; in other cases meiosis appeared normal. Results indicate that postzygotic isolating factors evolved subsequent to the divergence of Tolpis in the three archipelagos, but there are hybrid sterility factors among plants within each of the archipelagos, and even within some natural populations. Phylogenetic relationships in the Canary Islands indicate that divergence has occurred within the last million years. Present results implicate postzygotic factors as reproductive barriers facilitating population divergence and speciation in Macaronesian Tolpis.
The effects of major depressive disorder symptoms on audiovisual integration

ABSTRACT Previous research suggests that major depressive disorder may impact perceptual processes; however, little research has been conducted on the effects of major depressive disorder symptoms on an individual’s ability to appropriately synchronise visual and auditory stimuli (audiovisual integration capacity). The current research hypothesised that there was a relationship between the two variables, and that individuals with more severe depression symptoms were more likely to have a local precedence bias for visual stimuli. Participants were required to complete two self-report questionnaires that assessed the presence and severity of depressive symptomatology (the Clinically Useful Depression Outcome Scale and Patient Health Questionnaire-9). Participants also completed the Navon task, to assess whether individuals rating higher in depressive symptoms were more likely to focus on small details versus the bigger picture. Finally, we tested individual capacity for integrating sights and sounds. Correlational analyses showed no significant relationships between the subclinical symptoms of major depressive disorder (in a non-diagnosed population) and audiovisual integration were found. There also appeared to be a very weak, but non significant correlation between local precedence and severity of symptoms. These findings provide an initial investigation into depression and perceptual processes like audiovisual integration.
Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Security and Intention to Use E-Filing: The Role of Technology Readiness

This study aimed to analyze evidence of the effect of perceived ease-of-use, perceived usefulness, and perceived security on the citizen’s intention to use e-Filing with information technology readiness as an intervening variable. This study used primary data collected from Civil Servants Taxpayers, Indonesian National Armed Forces, and State Police of the Republic of Indonesia in Semarang City. One hundred fifty questionnaires were distributed, and 126 were processed and analyzed. The multiple linear regression and path analysis were employed to test the hypotheses. The results indicated that perceived ease-of-use and perceived security had a positive effect on the use of e-Filing, while perceived usefulness has no effect on the use of e-Filing. In addition, readiness of information technology did not mediate the relationships among the perceived ease-of-use, perceived usefulness, and perceived security on the use of e-Filing. This study implies that Directorate General of Taxes, as a provider of e-Filing services, may improve the quality of e-Filing, especially in terms of ease and security. It is because, based on the results of this study, both aspects have been empirically proven to be able to increase intention to use e-Filing in reporting the annual notification letter.
The Thermal Evolution of Mercury Over the Past ∼4.2 Ga as Revealed by Relaxation States of Mantle Plugs Beneath Impact Basins

We investigated the relaxation states of 11 large impact basins on Mercury based on an updated crustal thickness map, finding that the pre‐Tolstojan basins have comparable instead of varied relaxation states, suggesting that Moho temperature (TempMoho ) did not decrease substantially from ∼4.2 to 3.8 Ga. At the same time, mantle uplift beneath the Caloris basin is the least degraded, therefore implying a sharp decrease of TempMoho ∼ 3.8 Ga. These findings contrast with our thermal evolution models that predict a fast decrease of TempMoho between ∼4.2 and 3.8 Ga. Therefore, the discrepancies in the cooling rate suggest that the relatively elevated bombardment history between ∼4.2 and 3.8 Ga might have input additional energy to Mercury and substantially decreased the cooling rate.
The role of nucleotide excision repair in providing resistance to the nucleoside analogue gemcitabine

Gemcitabine is a clinically important chemotherapy drug, used to treat a variety of solid tumours. It is a cytidine analogue and when inserted into DNA in place of cytidine serves to inhibit further chain extension, causing replication stress and ultimately cell death. The nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway is known to repair a variety of bulky DNA lesions but is not known to have a role mitigating replication stress. However, it was found in a S. pombe screen that mutants lacking homologues of xpa, xpc, xpf and ercc1 showed sensitivity to gemcitabine. Further to this, patient fibroblasts mutated in NER genes were shown to be sensitive to gemcitabine when compared to NER proficient fibroblasts. The sensitivity of these mutants to gemcitabine is not explained by the current understanding of NER and this project set out to unearth a new role for NER factors in gemcitabine resistance in human cells. However, data presented here show large differences in sensitivity between two NER proficient fibroblast lines MRC-5 and GM637, which confounded the previous work showing NER contributed to gemcitabine resistance in human cells. Different experimental strategies which enabled the use of controls with the same genetic background were then employed to circumvent this problem. Two ERCC1 knockout cell lines, generated via CRISPR-Cas9 in MRC-5 and HEK293 backgrounds, were characterised as part of this project. ERCC1 was shown to have a role in gemcitabine resistance in MRC-5 cells, but not HEK293 cells. The role of XPA was investigated by using a human lymphoblast (TK6) knockout cell line and complementation of an XPA deficient fibroblast line with a functional copy of the gene and neither approach showed any effect of XPA on gemcitabine resistance. XPC and XPG were also investigated by complementation of deficient fibroblasts which resulted in a small rescue of gemcitabine sensitivity and a small sensitisation respectively. A role for ERCC1 in gemcitabine resistance in human cells has not been previously reported and may have both clinical implications and implications for understanding the processes which occur at stalled replication forks. It is unclear from these results whether this role is related to NER or the NER-independent functions of this gene, but there is a suggestion that a second NER factor, XPC may also be involved. The cell line dependence of the role of ERCC1 also suggests that the DNA repair response to gemcitabine and the role of NER factors in this process differs between cell lines, and this should be an important consideration for future work on this topic.
Analysis of preterm induction of labour

Introduction: Preterm labor is defined as regular uterine contractions occurring at least once every 10 minutes and resulting in cervical dilatation or effacement before 37 weeks' gestation. A preterm infant is any infant delivered before 37 weeks' gestation. Material and Methods: This is a prospective study conducted at Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Subbaiah Institute of Medical Sciences, over a period of 1 year. All patients admitted in antenatal ward and labour room requiring preterm induction were included in this study. Pregnancies with major fetal anomalies or no intrapartum fetal monitoring were excluded. All patients were monitored in labour room with auscultation and non-stress test (NST). Mifepristone was given orally and Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) gel was inserted in posterior fornix. Results: There was a total of 70 deliveries during this period. The preterm induction majorly includes 20-34 years as this is the commonest reproductive age group seen in our hospital. Multigravida requires induction more as compared to primigravida. More number of patients were induced between 32-36 weeks, reason being Preterm premature rupture of the membranes (PPROM), severe preeclampsia, intrauterine device (IUD) and severe Fetal growth restriction (FGR). 33% of the cases being induced due to PPROM, Fetal demise being the second cause of induction in our analysis. It is also interesting to note that HCC also contributes to be one of the causes of induction. 62.8% were induced via PGE2 gel. Out of 70 patients 87.1% of them delivered vaginally, 9 underwent lower segment Caesarean section (LSCS) i/v/o fetal distress and another one i/v/o Prolonged PROM. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that vaginal delivery is likely following preterm induction of labor (IOL) irrespective of gestational age. Parity and cervical favorability are the first and second strongest predictors of a successful vaginal delivery, respectively. Labor curves accelerate with each category of GA, ultimately approximating those observed following term IOL.
PHENOTYPIC CHARACTERIZATION OF SOME ETHIOPIA LENTIL FOR SALINITY

To evaluate phenotypic variation of lentil for salinity in order to identify salt tolerant accessions at germination and early seedling stage, greenhouse experiment was carried out using twelve lentil accessions and four salinity levels. Seeds of 12 lentil accessions were grown with different levels of salinity (control, 2, 4, and dSm -1 NaCl) for one month. The experimental design was Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Germination time, germination percentage, salt tolerance index, seedling shoot and root traits were evaluated. The result showed that there were significant variation among and between lentil accessions, NaCl levels and their interaction for the entire traits (p<0.001). and salinity significantly delays and hinders s e e d germination; formation and the overall growth of seedling shoot and root traits. The degree of decrement was varied with accessions and salinity level. The greatest and the least values of germination percentage, salt tolerance index and length of plumule and radicle were observed at the control and highest salinity level respectively. However, accession Lent 12, Lent 1 and Lent 2 were performed well and gives better result than other accessions even at higher salinity level the entire traits, thus; these accessions are recommended for saline conditions. Key word: Germination, lentil, Salinity, salt tolerant, Seedling stage
Molecular Characterization of Two myo-Inositol Oxygenases in Arabidopsis thaliana

Understanding how plants respond to stress is of importance, considering the increasing need to feed a growing population and supply its energy. Plants have complex systems for detecting, and responding to stresses. One stress-responsive system involves myo-inositol (Ins). Ins is a precursor for cell wall components, inositol trisphosphate (Ins(1,4,5)P3) and phosphatidylinositol phosphate signaling molecules, and an alternate ascorbic acid (AsA) synthesis pathway. The enzyme, myo-inositol oxygenase (MIOX) is encoded by four genes in Arabidopsis and catalyzes the first step of Ins catabolism producing D-glucuronic acid (DGlcA). This research focuses on MIOX metabolism of Ins during plant growth and stress responses. I have examined miox mutants for alterations in metabolism and signaling. MIOX2 and MIOX4 expression patterns correlate with miox mutant root growth in varying nutrient conditions, and changes in flowering time. In miox2 mutants, I found an increase in Ins in most tissues, which was accompanied by coldand abscisic (ABA)sensitivity; however, miox4 mutants are ABAinsensitive, and have a small increase of Ins in flowers. MIOX2:GFP fusion protein accumulates in the cytoplasm and MIOX4:GFP accumulates in the cytoplasm and nucleus. Overexpresser MIOX4 plants provide a model system to examine how directing carbon from Ins into DGlcA impacts Ins levels and Ins signaling. I have examined MIOX4 plants for alterations in MIOX4 RNA and protein, and measured Ins by gas chromatography (GC). My results indicate that MIOX4 tissues are impacted differently by the MIOX4 transgene, with decreases in Ins after seed imbibition, and increased Ins levels later in development. Ins depletion in seedlings was correlated with a decrease in Ins(1,4,5)P3. To determine the impact of reducing Ins and Ins(1,4,5)P3 in MIOX4 seedlings, I examined processes known to involve Ins(1,4,5)P3 signaling. MIOX4 seed have increased seed dormancy, NaCl-sensitivity, and ABA-insensitivity. These results