Search results for "BIOLOGICAL"

Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover

2022

Made available in DSpace on 2022-04-28T19:52:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2022-03-18 Urbanization transforms environments in ways that alter biological evolution. We examined whether urban environmental change drives parallel evolution by sampling 110,019 white clover plants from 6169 populations in 160 cities globally. Plants were assayed for a Mendelian antiherbivore defense that also affects tolerance to abiotic stressors. Urban-rural gradients were associated with the evolution of clines in defense in 47% of cities throughout the world. Variation in the strength of clines was explained by environmental changes in drought stress and vegetation cover that varied am…

Biological adaptation in light of the Lewontin–Williams (a)symmetry

2022

Neo-Darwinism characterises biological adaptation as a one-sided process, in which organisms adapt to their environment but not vice versa. This asymmetric relationship – here called Williams’ asymmetry – is called into question by Niche Construction Theory, which emphasises that organisms and their environments often mutually affect each other. Here we clarify that Williams’ asymmetry is specifically concerned with (quasi-) directed modifications towards phenotypes that increase individual fitness. This directedness – which drives the adaptive fit between organism and environment – entails far more than the mere presence of cause-effect relationships. We argue that difficulties with invoki…

Application of neural networks in diagnostics of chemical compounds based on their infrared spectra

2017

Abstract The paper presents possibilities of using the so-called „finger-print“ identification method and artificial neural network (ANN) for diagnosis of chemical compounds. The construction of a tool specifically developed for this purpose and the ANN, as well as the required conditions for its proper functioning were described. The identification of chemical compounds was tested in two different ways for proving correctness of the assumptions. First of all, initial studies were carried out with the objective to verify the proper functioning of the developed procedure for IR spectrum interpretation. The second research stage was to find out how the properties of artificial neural networks…

Silk-Water: a dynamic duo

2010

Inferring directionality of coupled dynamical systems using Gaussian process priors: Application on neurovascular systems

2022

Dynamical system theory has recently shown promise for uncovering causality and directionality in complex systems, particularly using the method of convergent cross mapping (CCM). In spite of its success in the literature, the presence of process noise raises concern about CCM's ability to uncover coupling direction. Furthermore, CCM's capacity to detect indirect causal links may be challenged in simulated unidrectionally coupled Rossler-Lorenz systems. To overcome these limitations, we propose a method that places a Gaussian process prior on a cross mapping function (named GP-CCM) to impose constraints on local state space neighborhood comparisons. Bayesian posterior likelihood and…

Possibilities of Dental Age Assessment in Permanent Teeth: A Review

2012

The developmental stages of the first and second dentition, combined with abrasive wear of the dental hard tissue can be used for age determination in many mammal species and in humans. Concerning dental age determination, one has to distinguish between invasive techniques, which are mainly applied in dead individuals, and non-invasive methods suitable for living individuals. In contrast to in adults, where only few parameters are available for orientation, age determination in children and adolescents is in general fairly easy, and is facilitated by stereotypical biological growth patterns. In the present article, different methods for dental age determination are introduced, with a specia…

The Essential Oil of

2019

Many chemicals used nowadays for the preservation of cultural heritage pose a risk to both human health and the environment. Thus, it is desirable to find new and eco-friendly biocides that can replace the synthetic ones. In this regard, plant essential oils represent effective alternatives to synthetic substances for the preservation of historical monuments. Thymbra capitata (syn. Thymus capitatus) is a medicinal and aromatic plant growing in the Mediterranean area and endowed with important pharmacological properties related to its essential oil. Among them, the antimicrobial ones make the T. capitata essential oil an ideal candidate for industrial applications; for instance, as biocide f…

Editorial: Neurobehavioural Mechanisms of Resilience and Vulnerability in Addictive Disorders

2021

Parasite avoidance behaviours in aquatic environments

2018

Parasites, including macroparasites, protists, fungi, bacteria and viruses, can impose a heavy burden upon host animals. However, hosts are not without defences. One aspect of host defence, behavioural avoidance, has been studied in the terrestrial realm for over 50 years, but was first reported from the aquatic environment approximately 20 years ago. Evidence has mounted on the importance of parasite avoidance behaviours and it is increasingly apparent that there are core similarities in the function and benefit of this defence mechanism between terrestrial and aquatic systems. However, there are also stark differences driven by the unique biotic and abiotic characteristics of terrestrial …

Comparative transcriptomics of albino and warningly‐coloured caterpillars

2021

Abstract Coloration is perhaps one of the most prominent adaptations for survival and reproduction of many taxa. Coloration is of particular importance for aposematic species, which rely on their coloring and patterning acting as a warning signal to deter predators. Most research has focused on the evolution of warning coloration by natural selection. However, little information is available for color mutants of aposematic species, particularly at the genomic level. Here, I compare the transcriptomes of albino mutant caterpillars of the aposematic wood tiger moth (Arctia plantaginis) to those of their full sibs having their distinctive orange‐black warning coloration. The results showed >29…