Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SEED ECOLOGY IN MONTANE FORESTS ON O‘AHU: IMPLICATIONS FOR CONSERVATION

Species introductions and extinctions have altered islands worldwide. Loss of mutualistic partners and the formation of novel mutualisms between alien and native species may have drastic consequences, potentially facilitating invasions by alien species. The Hawaiian Islands have lost key seed dispersers, and native plants either partially or completely rely on alien dispersers; however, it is unclear to what extent alien birds facilitate or inhibit the regeneration of both alien and native plant species across the islands. We conducted vegetation surveys and used seed traps to compare the vegetation, seed production, and dispersal of all fleshy-fruited plant species in four forest communities on O‘ahu, where all native seed dispersers are extinct. All plant species dispersed were small-seeded (<10 mm), and most species produced multiple small seeds/fruit. At all sites, alien seeds were more abundant and frequently dispersed compared to native species, even where alien species made up <5% of the cover. Abundant alien species both in the vegetation and seed rain are among some of the most invasive alien species in the world. While alien birds are the only dispersers of small-seeded natives, they are predominantly vectors for invasive alien species. If novel ecosystems are utilized for conservation, creative methods will need to be developed to reduce the dispersal of invasive alien species.
BIOLOGICAL VERSUS CHEMICAL CONTROL OF FALL ARMYWORM AND LEPIDOPTERA STEM BORERS OF MAIZE

Insect pests are serious constraints to production of maize. There is little information on the control measures against those insects in Cameroon. This study was carried out to identify the different species of fall armyworm and stem borers of maize and test the efficacy of different control methods. The maize variety ATP (Acid Tolerant Population) was used in a randomized complete block design. Synthetic insecticides, lambda cyalothrine and cypermethrin, were applied at one and two weeks intervals at the recommended doses of 2 L/ha and 1.5 l/ha respectively. Bio insecticides: Neem oil (Azadirachta indica), and aqueous extracts of Chenopodium ambrosioides leaves were applied weekly at the doses of 1.40 L/ha and 6.80 L/ha respectively. The different larvae recorded were the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) and stem borers (Busseola fusca and Sesamia calamistis). All the treatments used in this study had significant effects on the number of pupae, the tunnels and the number of perforations on stems of the maize. The Neem oil at one-week interval was more effective in reducing the incidence (81, 21%) and severity (61, 54%) at 76 Days After Planting of the attack by the caterpillars as well as on the number of larvae (14, 82%) throughout the trial.
Multimodal Study of the Effects of Varying Task Load Utilizing EEG, GSR and Eye-Tracking

Objective The effect of task load on performance is investigated by simultaneously collecting multi-modal physiological data and participant response data. Periodic response to a questionnaire is also obtained. The goal is to determine combinations of modalities that best serve as predictors of task performance. Approach A group of participants performed a computer-based visual search task mimicking postal code sorting. A five-digit number had to be assigned to one of six different non-overlapping numeric ranges. Trials were presented in blocks of progressively increasing task difficulty. The participants’ responses were collected simultaneously with 32 channels of electroencephalography (EEG) data, eye-tracking data, and Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) data. The NASA Task-Load-Index self-reporting instrument was administered at discrete time points in the experiment. Main results Low beta frequency EEG waves (12.5-18 Hz) were more prominent as cognitive task load increased, with most activity in frontal and parietal regions. These were accompanied by more frequent eye blinks and increased pupillary dilation. Blink duration correlated strongly with task performance. Phasic components of the GSR signal were related to cognitive workload, whereas tonic components indicated a more general state of arousal. Subjective data (NASA TLX) as reported by the participants showed an increase in frustration and mental workload. Based on one-way ANOVA, EEG and GSR provided the most reliable correlation to perceived workload level and were the most informative measures (taken together) for performance prediction. Significance Numerous modalities come into play during task-related activity. Many of these modalities can provide information on task performance when appropriately grouped. This study suggests that while EEG is a good predictor of task performance, additional modalities such as GSR increase the likelihood of more accurate predictions. Further, in controlled laboratory conditions, the most informative or minimum number of modalities can be isolated for monitoring in real work environments.
Reliability of Three Single-Leg Hop Tests

Traditionally, lower extremity strength assessment has been performed in an open kinetic chain. Several authors, however, recommend closed kinetic chain assessment of lower extremity performance. Reliability of closed kinetic chain tests is not available. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of the following single-leg hop tests: hop for distance, 6-m hop for time, and 30-m agility hop. Eighteen subjects (4 males and 14 females) participated in this study. An ANOVA repeated measures analysis revealed significant differences between the test trials within and between sessions for all dependent variables. However, when the mean of two test trials was analyzed, the three single-leg hop tests values were stable, that is, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC 2,1) ranged from 0.77 to 0.99. Results demonstrate that these three single-leg hop tests were reliable as used in this study. Future research is needed to determine the sensitivity of these tests in the assessment of low.
Abstract 454: Plasticizer Interaction With the Heart: Chemicals Used in Plastic Medical Devices Can Interfere With Cardiac Electrophysiology

Background: Phthalates are employed as plasticizers in the manufacturing of flexible, plastic medical products. Patients can be subjected to high phthalate exposure through contact with plastic medical devices. We aimed to investigate the cardiac safety and biocompatibility of mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP), a phthalate with documented exposure in intensive care patients. Methods and Results: Optical mapping of transmembrane voltage and pacing studies were performed on isolated, Langendorff-perfused rat hearts to assess cardiac electrophysiology after MEHP exposure compared with controls. MEHP dose was chosen based on reported blood concentrations following an exchange transfusion procedure. 30-min exposure to MEHP increased the atrioventricular node (147 vs. 107msec) and ventricular (117 vs. 77.5msec) effective refractory periods, compared with controls. Optical mapping revealed prolonged action potential duration (APD) at slower pacing cycle lengths, akin to reverse use-dependence. The plateau phase of the APD restitution curve steepened and became monophasic in MEHP-exposed hearts (0.18 vs. 0.06 slope). APD lengthening occurred during late-phase repolarization resulting in triangulation (70.3 vs. 56.6 msec). MEHP-exposure also slowed epicardial conduction velocity (35 vs. 60 cm/sec), which may be partly explained by inhibition of Na v 1.5 (874 μM and 231 μM IC50, fast and late sodium current). Conclusions: This study highlights the impact of acute MEHP exposure, using a clinically-relevant dose, on cardiac electrophysiology in the intact heart. Heightened clinical exposure to plasticized medical products may have cardiac safety implications – given that action potential triangulation and electrical restitution modifications are a risk factor for early after depolarizations and cardiac arrhythmias.
Age-related changes in bone morphometry, densitometry and osteoarthritis in macaques

i Acknowledgements. ii List of Tables. v List of Figures. vi General Introduction. 1 Chapter 1: Age-related changes in osteometry, bone mineral density and osteophytosis of the lumbar vertebrae in Japanese macaques Introduction. 7 Materials and methods. 9 Results. 15 Discussion. 31 Chapter 2: Effect of physical activity and body mass on osteoarthritis in Japanese macaques in different living conditions Introduction. 37 Materials and methods. 39 Results. 43 Discussion. 54 Chapter 3: Relation between bone mass and osteoarthritis in female Japanese and cynomolgus macaques Introduction. 58 Materials and methods. 60 Results. 64 Discussion. 83 General Discussion and Conclusion. 89 References. 95 Appendices Appendix 1. 110 Appendix 2. 126 Appendix 3. 134
Identification and Analysis of a Gene with Potential to Repress the IMD Pathway in Drosophila melanogaster

The IMD pathway is one of the signal transduction pathways that regulates innate immune responses in Drosophila. To understand the regulation mechanism of the IMD pathway, we performed a mis-expression screening and identified a gene, Dyro, which potentially repress the expression of the downstream target genes of the IMD pathway. We confirmed that Dyro was expressed in the fat body where the IMD pathway is functional and that the overexpression of Dyro increases susceptibility. However, we detected neither an increased expression of target genes nor reduced susceptibility in mutants. During the analysis, we observed that the Dyro mutant exhibits a female sterile phenotype, and observed oogenesis defects. The results suggest that Dyro have potential to suppress immune response but its main role is regulation of oogenesis.
Variation and relationships between twig and leaf traits of species across successional status in temperate forests

ABSTRACT Relationships among twig size, leaf size and leafing intensity are essential for predicting structure and function of twigs and leaves and ability of plants to acquire different environmental resources. We aimed to test whether trade-offs between twig and leaf traits for species would be influenced by forest successional status and sampling orientation within canopy. We measured four twig and leaf traits for seven coexisting broadleaf species across successional statuses in mixed broadleaved-Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) forests in Northeast China. The results showed that both twig and leaf traits varied with successional status and twig level explained the largest variations in traits. Slopes of regression of leaf traits (i.e. individual leaf area, total leaf area and volume-based leafing intensity) against twig cross-sectional area were late-successional species > middle-successional species > early-successional species. Relationships between twig cross-sectional area and total leaf area in upper south and lower north canopy orientations did not vary with successional status of species. However, slopes of regression of twig cross-sectional area against total leaf area varied with successional status in other four sampling orientations. Our results highlight the importance of successional status and sampling orientation within canopy in controlling variations and trade-offs between twig and leaf traits.
First record of domestic colonies of the dark chromatic variant of Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae)

Triatoma infestans (Klug) is the main vector of Chagas disease in southern South America. Although this species shows a similar morphology and chromatic pattern throughout its geographical distribution, some melanic variations have been described. Most of these variants were recognized as part of wild populations constituting evidence of a wild distribution for T. infestans greater than the expected. This paper reports the presence of eight adults and fifteen immature individuals of melanic T. infestans in domiciliary units of Argentine Gran Chaco. This is the first report of domestic colonies of the dark chromatic morph of T. infestans.
Field decomposition of Bt-506 corn leaf and its effect on Collembola in the black soil region of Northeast China

The litters of Bt corn would go into the soil through straw returning and field ploughing after cultivation. To clarify whether the leaf litter decomposition rate and the non-target soil Collembola were influenced by the Bt protein or other litter properties in leaf litters of Bt corn in Northeast China, leaf litterbags of Bt-506, its near isoline Zheng 58 and a local type Zhengdan 958 were used in the field in Northeast China. The leaf decomposition rate, the leaf properties and the collembolan community in litterbags were investigated later. After seven months, only 43.5 ng/g Bt protein in Bt-506 leaf litter was left. All the investigated indices were not significantly different between Bt-506 and its near isoline Zheng 58. But when compared with local type Zhengdan 958, Bt-506 and its near isoline Zheng 58 contained lower non-structural carbohydrate content but higher total nitrogen content, and had lower litter decomposition rate and less abundance of Collembola. Collembolan abundance and litter decomposition rate were both significantly correlated with the non-structural carbohydrate and total nitrogen contents of the leaf litters. Field study results revealed Bt protein did not affect the leaf litter decomposition rate and the collembolan community in leaf litterbags in short term. The significant differences of these investigated indices among corn types were caused by the different non-structural carbohydrate and total nitrogen contents in leaf litter.
Wave stress and biotic facilitation drive community composition in a marginal hard‐bottom ecosystem

Ecological patterns are inherently scale-dependent and driven by the interplay of abiotic gradients and biotic processes. Despite the fundamental importance of such gradients, there are many gaps in our understanding of how abiotic stress gradients interplay with biotic processes and how these collectively affect species distributions. Using a hierarchical design, we sampled two communities separated by depth along wave exposure and salinity gradients to elucidate how these two gradients affect species composition in habitats formed by the foundation species Mytilus trossulus and Fucus vesiculosus. Specifically, we looked at the impacts of regional salinity and temperature, local wave exposure, and site-dependent facilitation effects on the associated community composition. Wave exposure was the best predictor for species assembly structure, which was also affected byMytilus biomass and by salinity and water temperature. While the tested variables provided robust explanations for community structure and density, they did not provide conclusive explanations for variation in species richness or evenness. Mytilus biomass had a stronger effect on the associated community with increasing wave exposure at the deeper depth, but the patterns were less obvious at the shallower depth. The latter was also the case for Fucus. These findings comply partly with theoretical predictions suggesting stronger facilitation effects in physically harsh environments. Our results indicate that environmental drivers are the main structuring forces that affect species assembly structure, but also foundation species are important. Thus, predicting changes in species distributions and biodiversity requires the simultaneous consideration of environmental gradients, as well as the structure and composition of foundation species and the interplay between these factors. This work advances our understanding of the processes that modulate species distributions in a marginal marine area and broadens the knowledge of how biological and environmental factors interplay and have an influence on hard-bottom community structure in brackish water seas.
ECMarker: interpretable machine learning model identifies gene expression biomarkers predicting clinical outcomes and reveals molecular mechanisms of human disease in early stages

Gene expression and regulation, a key molecular mechanism driving human disease development, remains elusive, especially at early stages. The increasing amount of genomics data gathered from patients allows for better understanding of gene regulatory mechanisms that occur during disease development at a system level. However, integrating such a large amount of population data is still a challenging task. To address this, we developed an interpretable machine learning model, ECMarker, to predict gene expression biomarkers and regulatory networks specific for disease stages such as early cancer. In particular, ECMarker was built on the semi-restricted Boltzmann machine, a machine learning model with multiple hierarchical layers. This model allows one to directly model and prioritize gene interactions for the classification of clinical phenotypes, revealing potential gene regulatory networks (GRNs) for various cancer stages. We applied ECMarker to the gene expression data of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Unlike the state-of-the-art machine learning methods designed for classification only, ECMarker not only achieved an accuracy > 85% for classification but also predicted a lung cancer GRN that is highly consistent with previous findings. Additionally, ECMarker has clear clinical interpretability as it is able to prioritize biomarker genes for early lung cancer that can predict survival rates of early cancer patients (p-value < 0.0035). Finally, we identified a number of drugs currently in clinical use for late stages (e.g., Navitoclax, Cyclopamine and Erlotinib) with effects on these early cancer biomarker genes, suggesting potential novel insights on early cancer medicine. ECMarker is also general purpose for other disease types and available as an open-source tool at https://github.com/daifengwanglab/tools.
Morphological characterization and phylogenetic relationships of Indochinese box turtles—The Cuora galbinifrons complex

Abstract The members of the Indochinese box turtle complex, namely Cuora galbinifrons, Cuora bourreti, and Cuora picturata, rank the most critically endangered turtle species on earth after more than three decades of over‐harvesting for food, traditional Chinese medicine, and pet markets. Despite advances in molecular biology, species boundaries and phylogenetic relationships, the status of the C. galbinifrons complex remains unresolved due to the small number of specimens observed and collected in the field. In this study, we present analyses of morphologic characters as well as mitochondrial and nuclear DNA data to reconstruct the species boundaries and systematic relationships within the C. galbinifrons complex. Based on principal component analysis (PCA) and statistical analysis, we found that phenotypic traits partially overlapped among galbinifrons, bourreti, and picturata, and that galbinifrons and bourreti might be only subspecifically distinct. Moreover, we used the mitochondrial genome, COI, and nuclear gene Rag1 under the maximum likelihood criteria and Bayesian inference criteria to elucidate whether C. galbinifrons could be divided into three separate species or subspecies. We found strong support for a sister relationship between picturata and the other two species, and consequently, we recommend maintaining picturata as a full species, and classifying bourreti and galbinifrons as subspecies of C. galbinifrons. These findings provide evidence for a better understanding of the evolutionary histories of these critically endangered turtles.
Genetics of the Fertility Restorer (Rf) Gene which Restores Fertility in Different Cytoplasmic Male Sterility Systems (mori, eru and ber) of Brassica juncea

Indian mustard, Brassica juncea, is a major oilseed component in Indian oilseed sector. It contributes more than 80% to the total rape seed mustard production, which is the second most important oilseed crop in India after soybean. B. juncea has enormous cultivation potential in semi-arid areas as it is known to be more drought tolerant and shattering resistant than B. napus and B. rapa (Vinu et al., 2013). Increasing the productivity of this crop can lead to a major breakthrough in the rape seed – mustard production of the country. Indian mustard is a predominantly selffertilized crop with 5 to 15 per cent cross fertilization (Abraham, 1994); therefore, cultivar improvement has been mostly undertaken by breeding methodologies defined for self-fertilized crops. Significant level of heterosis has been reported in B. juncea. In India, different studies reported heterosis over better parent for yield traits to the extent of 136.75 % (Singh et al., 2015), International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 8 Number 09 (2019) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas. com
Asiatische Halictidae–8. Zwei Neue Lasioglossum s. str.-Arten von den Südlichsten Inseln (Nansei-Shot) Japans (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Halictidae: Halictinae)

A b s t r a c t : Taxonomic characters place of L. Okinawa n. sp. 9 between L subopacum (SMITH 1853) and L occidens (SMITH 1873) and their closely related species. The variation of the special character which the broadened flat and wingshaped pronotum is discussed. Concerning its taxonomic characters L. subopacum stays not isolated enough for justifying the state of a monotypic subgenus Sericohalictus PESENKO 1986. The <J holotype of I. formosae (STRAND 1910) is documented by a badly preserved specimen lacking antennae. Because these are taxonomically relevant this holotype needs further clarification. Now a series of 3 and 9 specimens, L. sakishima n. sp. , exists from the islands of Iriomote and Ishigaki, Sakishima archipelago, Japan's southernmost group of islands. This new species is in the taxonomic features near L. formosae (STRAND 1910).
Effect of Feed Restriction on Compensatory Growth and Broiler Chicks Performance

128 Unsexed broiler chicks (Ross 308) were used to assess the effect of restricted feeding on compensatory growth and performance of broiler chicks. Four experimental treatments (32 chicks/treatment), consisting of 4 levels of feed restriction were applied using standard broiler starter diet formulated according to the recommended nutrient composition of starter diets. All the experimental chicks were fed starter diet ad-libitum for an adaptation period from three weeks of age. The control group was fed Ad-libitum throughout the experimental period, while the other groups were restricted to 80, 70, or 60% of the Ad-libitum consumption of the control group of birds in the previous day. Feed restriction of the respective groups of birds continued for two weeks followed by Ad-libitum refeeding for two weeks again. The results indicated a significant (P 0.05) in the fat pad weight and viscera weight among the feed restricted birds and the birds that fed ad-libitum.