Testing mechanisms of compensatory fitness of dioecy in a cosexual world

Questions: All else being equal, populations of dioecious species with a 50:50 sex ratio have only half the effective reproductive population size of bisexual species of equal abundance. Consequently, there is a need to explain how dioecious and bisexual species coexist. Increased mean individual seed mass, fecundity, and population density have all been proposed as attributes of unisexual individuals or populations that may contribute to the persistence or resilience of dioecious species. To date, no studies have compared sympatric dioecious and cosexual species with respect to all three components of fitness. In this study, we sought evidence for these compensatory advantages (higher seed mass, greater seed production per unit basal area, and higher population density) in dioecious species. Location: Five 20–25 ha forest dynamic plots spanning a latitudinal gradient in China, including two temperate, two subtropical, and one tropical forest. Methods: We used a phylogenetically corrected generalized linear modelling approach to assess the phylogenetic dependence and joint evolution of sexual system, seed mass and production, and ecological abundances among 48–333 species and 32,568–136,237 individuals per forest. Results: Across all five forests, we detected no consistent advantage for dioecious relative to sympatric cosexual species with respect to mean individual seed mass, seed production or the density of stems in any size class. Conclusions: Our study suggests that seed traits may provide compensatory mechanisms in some forests, but most often the coexistence of sexual systems cannot be explained by advantages of dioecy related to seed quality and demographic parameters. Future investigations of the factors that promote coexistence may increase our understanding by expanding the search to include attributes such as lifespan and tolerance or resistance to herbivores

A novel method for restoring the trajectory of the inland waterway ship by using AIS data

The trajectory of the inland waterway ship is important and useful in analysing the features of the ship behaviour and simulating traffic flows. In the proposed research, a method is designed to restore the trajectory of an inland waterway ship based on the Automatic Identification System (AIS) data. Firstly, three rules are developed to identify and remove the inaccurate data, based on the reception range of the received AIS data and the manoeuvring characteristics of the inland waterway ship. Secondly, the method of restoring the full trajectory incorporating navigational features of the inland waterway ship is proposed to model the ship trajectory. The trajectory is characterised by three types (line, curve and arc) and five steps (line, curve, arc, curve and line) during the turning section. In order to validate the proposed method, the AIS data of two inland waterway ships collected from three AIS-base-stations is selected for the analysis, all inaccurate AIS data is identified and removed by the use of three cleansing rules. The results show that the three developed rules can effectively identify the inaccurate AIS data. The AIS data collected by an AIS-shipboard-unit is then used to: (1) restore the ship trajectory, and (2) validate the proposed method by comparing the reconstituted trajectories with the actual trajectory. This actual trajectory is determined from intermediate higher frequency Global Positioning System (GPS) data and collected from the AIS-shipboard-unit. The residual errors are calculated as the differences between the estimated latitude values of the restored trajectory functions and the real latitude values of the GPS data. Three alternative methods of trajectory restoring are also evaluated. The results show that the proposed method can be used to restore the full trajectory in an effective manner by using AIS data

Origin of Pinning Enhancement in a Ferromagnet-Superconductor Bilayer

Vortex pinning has been studied for the superconducting Nb film covering ferromagnetic Co/Pt multilayer with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, in which the magnetization reversal proceeds via domain-wall motion. Large enhancement of pinning in the Nb film has been observed in the final stages of the reversal process, and we demonstrate that it is caused by residual uninverted dendrite-shaped magnetic domains

CPA Calculation Method based on AIS Position Prediction

The information on the Closest Point of Approach (CPA) is required in a potential collision situation as it determines the risk to each vessel. CPA is usually calculated based on the speed and direction of the approaching ship neglecting the Change Of Speed (COS) and the Rate Of Turn (ROT). This will make the CPA less useful. To improve the CPA calculation, the Automatic Identification System (AIS) information containing the Speed Over Ground (SOG), Course Over Ground (COG), COS and ROT is used. Firstly, a model using these four factors is built to predict ship positions better. Secondly, a three-step CPA searching method is developed. The developed CPA calculation method can assist in informing the navigation decisions and reducing unnecessary manoeuvres. Through the analysis of a real collision scenario, this paper shows that the proposed method can help identify and warn anomalous ship behaviours in a realistic time frame

Influence of temperature, light and plant growth regulators on germination of black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) seeds

Effects of temperature, light and different concentrations of plant growth regulators on germination of Piper nigrum L. seeds was studied under controlled environmental conditions. Black pepper seeds were placed inPetri dishes with filtration papers and the germination and radical  development followed during eighteen days periods. The seeds generally germinated within six or seven days. There was no difference in percentgermination between dark and light treatments, but the development of radical length was significantly influenced by both light and temperature. Germination was highest at 30°C, but seeds also germinated at 25and 35°C. No germination was observed at low (20°C) and high (40 and 45°C) temperatures. The plant growth regulators enhanced the seeds germination and radical length different degree. The results are consistent with the Piper nigrum L. being recalcitrant species need a certain environment condition to germinate

Magneto-transport and electronic structures in MoSi2_2 bulks and thin films with different orientations

We report a comprehensive study of magneto-transport properties in MoSi$_2$ bulk and thin films. Textured MoSi$_2$ thin films of around 70 nm were deposited on silicon substrates with different orientations. Giant magnetoresistance of 1000% was observed in sintered bulk samples while MoSi$_2$ single crystals exhibit a magnetoresistance (MR) value of 800% at low temperatures. At the low temperatures, the MR of the textured thin films show weak anti-localization behaviour owing to the spin orbit coupling effects. Our first principle calculation show the presence of surface states in this material. The resistivity of all the MoSi$_2$ thin films is significantly low and nearly independent of the temperature, which is important for electronic devices

Evaporation, infiltration and storage of soil water in different vegetation zones in the Qilian Mountains: a stable isotope perspective

The processes of water storage have not been fully understood in different vegetation zones of mountainous areas, which is the main obstacle to further understanding hydrological processes and improving water resource assessments. To further understand the process of soil water movement in different vegetation zones (alpine meadow (AM), coniferous forest (CF), mountain grassland (MG) and deciduous forest (DF)) of mountainous areas, this study monitored the temporal and spatial dynamics of hydrogen- and oxygen-stable isotopes in the precipitation and soil water of the Xiying River basin. The results show that the order of soil water evaporation intensities in the four vegetation zones was MG (SWLslop: 3.4) &gt;  DF (SWLslop: 4.1) &gt;  CF (SWLslop: 4.7) &gt;  AM (SWLslop: 6.4). The soil water in the AM and CF evaporated from only the topsoil, and the rainfall input was fully mixed with each layer of soil. The evaporation signals of the MG and DF could penetrate deep into the middle and lower layers of the soil as precipitation quickly flowed into the deep soil through the soil matrix. Each vegetation zone's water storage capacity of the 0–40 cm soil layer followed the order of AM (46.9 mm) &gt;  DF (33.0 mm) &gt;  CF (32.1 mm) &gt;  MG (20.3 mm). In addition, the 0–10 cm soil layer has the smallest soil water storage capacity (AM: 43.0 mm; CF: 28.0 mm; MG: 17.5 mm; DF: 29.1 mm). This work will provide a new reference for understanding soil hydrology in arid headwater areas.</p

Selenium Yeast Alleviates Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Chronic Colitis in Mice by Reducing Proinflammatory Cytokines and Regulating the Gut Microbiota and Their Metabolites

Zeyu Wu,1,&ast; Yan Li,1,&ast; Min Jiang,1 Lixuan Sang,2 Bing Chang1 1Department of Gastroenterology, First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Gastroenterology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Lixuan Sang, Department of Gastroenterology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, People’s Republic of China, Email [email protected] Bing Chang, Department of Gastroenterology, First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, People’s Republic of China, Email [email protected]: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic recurrent gastrointestinal inflammatory disease. Selenium has been reported to have therapeutic potential in IBD. Selenium yeast is a common selenium supplement that is convenient to access. This study explored the effect of selenium yeast on dextran sulfate sodium- (DSS-)induced chronic colitis in mice.Methods: Mice were randomly divided into four groups: the control group, selenium yeast group, chronic colitis group, and chronic colitis+selenium yeast group (n=6). Mice were killed on the 26th day. The disease activity index (DAI) score and histological damage score were calculated. Cytokines, serum selenium, colonic tissue selenium, gut microbiota and their metabolites short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were evaluated.Results: Selenium yeast lowered IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-17A, IL-22 and IFN-γ (P< 0.05). In addition, selenium yeast significantly elevated Turicibacter, Bifidobacterium, Allobaculum, Prevotella, Halomonas, Adlercreutzia (P< 0.05), and butyric acid (P< 0.05).Conclusion: Selenium yeast could improve DSS-induced chronic colitis in mice by regulating cytokines, gut microbiota and their metabolites.Keywords: selenium yeast, chronic colitis, gut microbiota, metabolis

Accessibility-based reranking in multimedia search engines

Traditional multimedia search engines retrieve results based mostly on the query submitted by the user, or using a log of previous searches to provide personalized results, while not considering the accessibility of the results for users with vision or other types of impairments. In this paper, a novel approach is presented which incorporates the accessibility of images for users with various vision impairments, such as color blindness, cataract and glaucoma, in order to rerank the results of an image search engine. The accessibility of individual images is measured through the use of vision simulation filters. Multi-objective optimization techniques utilizing the image accessibility scores are used to handle users with multiple vision impairments, while the impairment profile of a specific user is used to select one from the Pareto-optimal solutions. The proposed approach has been tested with two image datasets, using both simulated and real impaired users, and the results verify its applicability. Although the proposed method has been used for vision accessibility-based reranking, it can also be extended for other types of personalization context