Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DIGESTIVE CONSTRAINTS AND NUTRIENT HYDROLYSIS IN NESTLINGS OF TWO FLAMINGO SPECIES

Abstract In vertebrates, enzymatic activity levels in the small intestine are correlated with dietary composition. We examined enzymatic activity levels in juvenile specimens of two flamingo species, Phoenicoparrus andinus and Phoenicoparrus jamesi. Both species feed their chicks with esophageal secretions. Based on the chemical composition of these secretions in flamingoes, we predicted low activity levels of disaccharidases and higher activities of aminopeptidase-N and esterase. As predicted, sucrase was absent in P. andinus, and its activity was low in P. jamesi. Esterase and aminopeptidase-N activities were relatively high. Low maltase activity suggested the presence of carbohydrates in esophageal secretions. Digestive features can have consequences on the growth and survival of chicks. Hence the data presented here may be relevant to the maintenance and reproduction of wild and captive endangered flamingoes.
DECOMPOSITION OF POLYVINYL CHLORIDE, POLYPROPYLENE AND MELAMINE USING THERMOGRAVIMETRIC ANALYZER

Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA) is a tool for analyzing thermal where the mass change of test material is measured in proportion to temperature rise and time function (with constant temperature rise rate). TGA is usually used to determine the material characteristics such as polymer. The loss curve of the polymer mass can be used to determine the decomposition of the material, the point of loss of weight, and to calculate the activation energy. This research uses Q500 series Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA), with 3 (three) types of polymer materials i.e. PVC, Polypropylene, and Melamine. There are also tests of the above-mentioned polymer types which have been pre-treated thereby further referred to as PVC (x), PP (x), and Melamine (x). The results showed that the heat treatment given before the TGA test had a negative and significant impact on PVC and PP polymer materials, but not significantly against Melamine. Obtained activation energy value from each test material that is E = 66.27 kJ/mol for PVC (x) and E = 63.93 kJ/mol for PVC. E = 62.30 kJ/mol for PP (x) and E = 69.55 kJ/mol for PP. E = 47.40 kJ/mol for Melamine (x) and E = 46.14 kJ/mol for Melamine.
Benthic impacts of recreational divers in a Mediterranean Marine Protected Area.

The features of many Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have increased scuba diving tourism in these areas. Impacts caused by recreational scuba activity vary widely among different divers with differing underwater behaviour. We studied diver underwater behaviour, the effects on the natural environment, and the characteristics that may influence diver behaviour. In all, 181 recreational divers were followed, and contacts and the effects produced were recorded. Information on diver profile and dive features was recorded. Field sampling revealed that 175 of the divers observed (96.7%) made at least one contact with the seabed, with a mean contact of 41.20+ 3.55 (mean+ s.e.) per diver per 10 min. Flapping was the most frequent type of contact, and the main damage by this action was to raise sediment. Contact with the seabed was greater for males than for females, inexperienced divers than for experienced divers, camera or lantern (dive light) users than for non-users, and divers unaccompanied by a dive leader or who had not been briefed about avoiding seabed contact before undertaking a dive than for accompanied or briefed divers. A greater understanding of the causes of harmful behaviour may be useful for stricter management, reducing diving damage and assuring the sustainability of this activity in MPAs.
Plant Lectins: A Composite of Several Distinct Families of Structurally and Evolutionary Related Proteins with Diverse Biological Roles

Many plants contain carbohydrate-binding proteins that are commonly designated as lectins, agglutinins, or hemagglutinins. Due to the obvious differences in molecular structure, biochemical properties, and carbohydrate-binding specificity, plant lectins are usually considered a complex and heterogeneous group of proteins. Recent advances in the structural analysis of lectins and molecular cloning of lectin genes enable subdividision of plant lectins in a limited number of subgroups of structurally and evolutionary related proteins. Four major lectin families, namely, the legume lectins, the chitin-binding lectins composed of hevein domains, the type 2 ribosome-inactivating proteins, and the monocot mannose-binding lectins comprise the majority of all currently known plant lectins. In addition to these four large families the jacalin-related lectins, the amaranthin family, and the Cucurbitaceae phloem lectins are now recognized as separate subgroups. Each of the above-mentioned lectin families is discussed.
Bladder Cancer Stage and Outcome by Array-Based Comparative Genomic Hybridization

Purpose: Bladder carcinogenesis is believed to follow alternative pathways of disease progression driven by an accumulation of genetic alterations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate associations between measures of genomic instability and bladder cancer clinical phenotype. Experimental Design: Genome-wide copy number profiles were obtained for 98 bladder tumors of diverse stages (29 pTa, 14 pT1, 55 pT2-4) and grades (21 low-grade and 8 high-grade superficial tumors) by array-based comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). Each array contained 2,464 bacterial artificial chromosome and P1 clones, providing an average resolution of 1.5 Mb across the genome. A total of 54 muscle-invasive cases had follow-up information available. Overall outcome analysis was done for patients with muscle-invasive tumors having “good” (alive >2 years) versus “bad” (dead in <2 years) prognosis. Results: Array CGH analysis showed significant increases in copy number alterations and genomic instability with increasing stage and with outcome. The fraction of genome altered (FGA) was significantly different between tumors of different stages (pTa versus pT1, P = 0.0003; pTa versus pT2-4, P = 0.02; and pT1 versus pT2-4, P = 0.03). Individual clones that differed significantly between different tumor stages were identified after adjustment for multiple comparisons (false discovery rate < 0.05). For muscle-invasive tumors, the FGA was associated with patient outcome (bad versus good prognosis patients, P = 0.002) and was identified as the only independent predictor of overall outcome based on a multivariate Cox proportional hazards method. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering separated “good” and “bad” prognosis muscle-invasive tumors into clusters that showed significant association with FGA and survival (Kaplan-Meier, P = 0.019). Supervised tumor classification (prediction analysis for microarrays) had a 71% classification success rate based on 102 unique clones. Conclusions: Array-based CGH identified quantitative and qualitative differences in DNA copy number alterations at high resolution according to tumor stage and grade. Fraction genome altered was associated with worse outcome in muscle-invasive tumors, independent of other clinicopathologic parameters. Measures of genomic instability add independent power to outcome prediction of bladder tumors.
Relationship of actin and tubulin distribution to bud growth in wild- type and morphogenetic-mutant Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The distribution of actin in wild-type cells and in morphogenetic mutants of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was explored by staining cells with fluorochrome-labeled phallotoxins after fixing and permeabilizing the cells by several methods. The actin appeared to be localized in a set of cortical spots or patches, as well as in a network of cytoplasmic fibers. Bundles of filaments that may possibly correspond to the fibers visualized by fluorescence were observed with the electron microscope. The putative actin spots were concentrated in small and medium-sized buds and at what were apparently the sites of incipient bud formation on unbudded cells, whereas the putative actin fibers were generally oriented along the long axes of the mother-bud pairs. In several morphogenetic mutants that form multiple, abnormally elongated buds, the actin patches were conspicuously clustered at the tips of most buds, and actin fibers were clearly oriented along the long axes of the buds. There was a strong correlation between the occurrence of active growth at particular bud tips and clustering of actin spots at those same tips. Near the end of the cell cycle in wild- type cells, actin appeared to concentrate (as a cluster of spots or a band) in the neck region connecting the mother cell to its bud. Observations made using indirect immunofluorescence with a monoclonal anti-yeast-tubulin antibody on the morphogenetic mutant cdc4 (which forms multiple, abnormally elongated buds while the nuclear cycle is arrested) revealed the surprising occurrence of multiple bundles of cytoplasmic microtubules emanating from the one duplicated spindle-pole body per cell. It seems that most or all of the buds contain one or more of these bundles of microtubules, which often can be seen to extend to the very tips of the buds. These observations are consistent with the hypotheses that actin, tubulin, or both may be involved in the polarization of growth and localization of cell-wall deposition that occurs during the yeast cell cycle.
PARÁMETROS Y VALORES GENÉTICOS PARA CARACTERÍSTICAS DE COMPOSICIÓN CORPORAL, ÁREA DE OJO DEL LOMO Y GRASA DORSAL MEDIDOS MEDIANTE ULTRASONIDO EN LA RAZA BRAHMAN

El ganado Brahman en Colombia es el de mayor participacion como raza pura para produccion de carne, y tiene gran influencia en el ganado comercial. Hasta el momento, Asocebu ha realizado evaluaciones geneticas para caracteristicas de crecimiento, pero aun no se han realizado para caracteristicas de la canal. El objetivo de este trabajo fue determinar parametros geneticos (heredabilidades y correlaciones), y valores geneticos (DEP) para area de ojo del lomo (AOL), grasa dorsal (GD), profundidad del musculo gluteo medio (PMGM) y grasa del anca (GA). Fueron medidos por medio de ultrasonido un total de 934 animales puros, hijos de 164 toros que se encontraban en un rango de edad de 15 a 18 meses. Para los analisis se crearon grupos contemporaneos teniendo en cuenta la epoca, el sexo y el manejo alimenticio. Se realizo un analisis univariado usando un modelo reproductor, teniendo en cuenta el grupo contemporaneo (animales del mismo sexo, de la misma epoca y en el mismo manejo alimenticio), la edad fue tomada como covariable y la finca fue incluida en el modelo. Las heredabilidades fueron 0,37 ± 0,11; 0,29 ± 0,10; 0,26 ± 0,10 y 0,11 ± 0,09 para AOL, GD, PMGM y GA respectivamente. Las DEP para AOL variaron de -2,84 a 3,43; para GD de -0,372 a 0,235; para PMGM de -0,187 a 0,235, y para GD de -0,176 a 0,298. Las correlaciones geneticas fueron positivas y altas indicando que la seleccion por musculatura no afecta el grado de acabado. Este trabajo mostro que en ganado Brahman puro existe variacion genetica para las caracteristicas medidas por ultrasonido relacionadas con la canal, lo cual permitira tenerlas en cuenta en el programa de mejoramiento genetico de la raza Brahman en Colombia.
Assessing the Response of Leptospira licerasiae serovar Varillal to Fresh and Brackish Waters Using Propidium Monoazide and qPCR (PMA-qPCR)

The mechanisms by which pathogenic Leptospira survive in the environment are poorly understood, in part due to limitations in current methodologies available to assess bacterial viability. The importance of environmental reservoirs in the transmission dynamics of leptospirosis has been difficult to establish without a mechanistic understanding of persistence. In this paper, a new method for assessing leptospiral viability is presented, and then applied to determine the salinities at which Leptospira can survive in the environment. Viable and heat-killed Leptospira were enumerated using a common dye agent, propidium monoazide (PMA), that is known for its effectiveness at removing dead bacterial DNA from qPCR amplification. Characterization of the toxicity and removal efficiency of one treatment cycle of 50 mM PMA showed moderately toxic effects on samples at 25dC compared to untreated samples, and equivalent removal of dead bacterial DNA at 4dC, 25dC, 30dC, and 37dC. Two treatment cycles at 50 mM PMA resulted in the detection of as few as 100 viable cells in 1.0 t 10 5 dead cells in a 490 mL sample. Comparing PMA-qPCR to traditional qPCR, PMA-qPCR detected 5 orders of magnitude fewer dead cells in samples of heat-killed cells. Motivated by leptospirosis epizootics in marine species, PMA-qPCR was applied to study the persistence of Leptospira in fresh and brackish water microcosms. An initial concentration of 9.93 t 10 6 cells/ml of model species Leptospira licerasiae serovar Varillal spiked into freshwater (0 ppt), low brackish (10 ppt), and high brackish (18 ppt) microcosms showed abundance of over 1.0 t 10 4 cells/ml at 22 days. The abundance seen in the brackish microcosms may be due to biofilm formation in Leptospira , or to the expression of genes shared by Leptospira licerasiae serovar Varillal with either of its related pathogenic or saprophytic cousins. PMA-qPCR provides a rapid, inexpensive, and efficient method for leptospiral investigation that will assist in answering critical questions about persistence and transmission of the pathogen within the environment.
Calanus finmarchicus in the North Atlantic: the year of Calanus in the context of interdecadal change

Using data collected by the Continuous Plankton Recorder survey, we review the regional characteristics of Calanus populations from distinct areas of the North Atlantic and update the observations of dominant changes that have occurred during the past four decades. Timing of the seasonal cycle of abundance of C. finmarchicus can vary by up to four months between oceanic provinces. We provide the first pan-Atlantic estimate of the contribution of C. finmarchicus to the biomass of the planktonic ecosystem in comparison with other copepod taxa. This estimate reveals that, over most of the North Atlantic, C. finmarchicus represents more than half the copepod biomass sampled by the CPR. Comparison of the abundance of C. finmarchicus recorded during the “Year of Calanus” (1997) with that recorded in the past indicates that, in the Northeast Atlantic, the abundance and relative biomass of the species during the TASC years have been the lowest ever recorded.
TPS-RPM Registration in Application of MS Lesions MRI Brain Images

— Correspondence problem and transformation function are the main challenges in registration so we try to solve these problems concurrently to achieve reasonable and optimum results. We employ non-rigid registration as a non-rigid point matching problem. We have also used the TPS–RPM algorithm. In addition the binary correspondence improved to fuzzy correspondence through the meaning of soft-assign and deterministic annealing. TPS-RPM is applied on MS lesion in MRI images which achieved consecutive weeks to follow up the fluctuation. We compare the iterated closest point ICP’s result to TPS-RPM in order to demonstrate the power of the TPS-RPM. Our comparison is done by Evaluated metrics such as Dice similarity measure and accuracy obtained 0.87 and 0.88 in ICP, respectively. For TPS-RPM the Dice similarity measure and accuracy are 0.9 and 0.89, respectively.
Operational implementation of a LiDAR inventory in Boreal Ontario

An existing Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data set captured on the Romeo Malette Forest near Timmins, Ontario, was used to explore and demonstrate the feasibility of such data to enrich existing strategic forest-level resource inventory data. Despite suboptimal calibration data, stand inventory variables such as top height, average height, basal area, gross total volume, gross merchantable volume, and above-ground biomass were estimated from 136 calibration plots and validated on 138 independent plots, with root mean square errors generally less than 20% of mean values. Stand densities (trees per ha) were estimated with less precision (30%). These relationships were used as regression estimators to predict the suite of variables for each 400 m2 tile on the 630 000-ha forest, with predictions capable of being aggregated in any user-defined manner—for a stand, block, or forest—with appropriate estimates of statistical precision. This pilot study demonstrated that LiDAR data may satisfy growing needs f.
Effects of ocean acidification and elevated temperature on shell plasticity and its energetic basis in an intertidal gastropod

Phenotypic plasticity is a mechanism by which organisms can alter their morphology, life history or behaviour in response to environmental change. Here, we investigate shell plasticity in the intertidal gastropod Littorina littorea in response to the ocean acidification and elevated temperature values predicted for 2100, focusing on shell traits known to relate to protection from predators (size, shape and thickness) and resistance to desiccation (aperture shape). We also measured and desiccation rates (measured as percentage water loss). Ocean acidification was simulated by bubbling carbon dioxide into closed-circuit tanks at concentrations of 380 and 1000 ppm, giving respective pH levels of 8.0 and 7.7; temperatures were set at 15 or 20°C. Both low pH and elevated temperature disrupted the overall investment in shell material; snails in acid- ified seawater and elevated temperature in isolation or in combination had lower shell growth rates than control individuals. The percentage increase in shell length was also lower for individ- uals kept under combined acidified seawater and elevated temperature, and the percentage of shell thickness increase at the growing edge was lower under acidified and combined conditions. Shells were also more globular (i.e. had lower aspect ratios) under elevated temperature and lower pH. Desiccation rates were lower at low pH and high temperature. Counter to predictions, water loss did not relate to shell biometric measures but was negatively correlated with adeno- sine triphosphate (ATP) concentrations. Finally, ATP concentration was positively correlated with shell thickening and weight, confirming the idea that negative effects of exposure to elevated pCO2/low pH and elevated temperature on shell morphology may occur (at least in part) through metabolic disruption.
Componentes glicosilados de la envoltura de Mycobacterium tuberculosis que intervienen en la patogénesis de la tuberculosis

The glycosylated compounds of Mycobacterium tuberculosis envelope play an important role in the immunopathogenesis of tuberculosis. These molecules are involved in the binding to the host cell surface followed by their internalization and persistence in macrophages; likewise they take part in the macrophage’s activation and the production of cytokines that are relevant during the immune response against mycobacteria. In this review we examine the molecular characteristics of the main mycobacterial cell surface saccharide structures and their relation with the modulation of the immune response to tuberculosis.
TraceCaps: A Capsule-based Neural Network for Semantic Segmentation

In this paper, we propose a capsule-based neural network model to solve the semantic segmentation problem. By taking advantage of the extractable part-whole dependencies available in capsule layers, we derive the probabilities of the class labels for individual capsules through a recursive, layer-by-layer procedure. We model this procedure as a traceback pipeline and take it as a central piece to build an end-to-end segmentation network. Under the proposed framework, image-level class labels and object boundaries are jointly sought in an explicit manner, which poses a significant advantage over the state-of-the-art fully convolutional network (FCN) solutions. With the capability to extracted part-whole information, our traceback pipeline can potentially be utilized as the building blocks to design interpretable neural networks. Experiments conducted on modified MNIST and neuroimages demonstrate that our model considerably enhance the segmentation performance compared to the leading FCN variants.
Detection of Microecological Phenomena in Filled Teeth I. Phenomena in Gap Between Restoration and Cavity Wall

The investigation presented was aimed at studying microecological phenomena during and after microbial penetration of the gap between restoration and tooth substance and to verify our theory on ‘microbiosphere in the marginal gap after filling’. Eighty-two teeth filled with different restorative materials were investigated by means of a combination of methods including light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. During bacterial invasion into the space between a restoration and the tooth phenomena of microbial viability such as bacterial adherence, interaction, proliferation, penetration, and metabolism were observed. The relevance of these phenomena for microbial penetration along the restoration/tooth interface and their relationship to the onset of secondary carious lesions is discussed. Keywords: Microbial leakage; Scanning electron microscopy; Bacterial viability.
Loss-tolerant quantum key distribution with a twist

The security of measurement device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI QKD) relies on a thorough characterization of one's optical source output, especially any noise in the state preparation process. Here, we provide an extension of the loss-tolerant protocol [Phys. Rev. A 90, 052314 (2014)], a leading proof technique for analyzing the security of QKD, to MDI QKD protocols that employ mixed signal states. We first reframe the core of the proof technique, noting its generalization to treat $d$-dimensional signal encodings. Concentrating on the qubit signal state case, we find that the mixed states can be interpreted as providing Alice and Bob with a virtual shield system they can employ to reduce Eve's knowledge of the secret key. We then introduce a simple semidefinite programming method for optimizing the virtual operations they can perform on the shield system to yield a higher key rate, along with an example calculation of fundamentally achievable key rates in the case of random polarization modulation error.
Spatiotemporal patterns in ectomycorrhizal populations

To understand the functioning and ecological roles of ectomycorrhizal fungi in natural ecosystems, it is necessary to have adequate knowledge of the spatial distribution of individual mycelial systems in populations and communities and how this distribution may persist or vary with time. However, this issue has attracted relatively little attention until recently. Moreover, the limited information available is mostly based on the distribution of sporocarps, which is at best an unreliable indicator of the location and activity of mycelia. More useful information can be obtained using somatic and sexual incompatibility tests, as well as molecular markers to trace the distribution of individual genets over a range of spatial and temporal scales. For example, it has been possible using this approach to demonstrate that while young populations tend to consist of numerous small mycelia, individuals in older populations tend to be fewer and larger but heterogeneous in scale. It has also been possible to verify t.