Canonical Discriminant Function Research Articles

Impact of masticatory activity and rehabilitation on astrocyte morphology across the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus: Insights from the outer, medial, and inner sublayers and their relationship with spatial learning and memory

The dentate gyrus plays a crucial role in learning and spatial memory, particularly in its middle third molecular layer, which receives the primary afferent input via the medial perforant path. Interestingly, changes in masticatory activity are described to affect this region with visible astrogliosis, release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress, affecting synaptic physiology, and cognition. This study aimed to investigate the impact of altered masticatory activity on spatial memory in young Swiss albino mice, correlating these effects with morphological changes in astrocytes. The mice were divided into three groups: Hard diet with pellets (HD), hard diet/soft diet (HD/SD, reduced masticatory activity), and HD/SD/HD (rehabilitated). The Morris water maze test was used to measure escape latency, while three-dimensional microscopic reconstruction methods provided morphometric data on the astrocytes. Hierarchical clustering analysis validated the existence of four morphological subtypes with decreasing complexity (AST1, AST2, AST3, and AST4), in the outer, middle, and inner thirds of the dentate gyrus molecular layer. Changes in masticatory activity affected the number and distribution of astrocytes subtypes excepting AST3 in the middle third layer. Canonical discriminant function analysis indicated that complexity was the variable most influencing cluster formation. Correlation tests between complexity and escape latency for each animal group showed a significant correlation with a large effect size of 60 % [Pearson’s R: 0.605, p < 0.001] in the HD group in the middle third, which was disrupted by altered masticatory activity. AST3 morphotype in the middle third showed a linear correlation with learning and spatial memory functions in the HD group [Pearson’s R: 0.624, p < 0.001] that disappeared with a reduction in masticatory activity, and nor restored by diet rehabilitation. This finding was not observed for inner and outer layers, supporting the contribution of middle third AST3 to learning and spatial memory. Group comparison tests also revealed that diet differentially impacts astrocyte subpopulations on each third of the dentate gyrus molecular layer. Data validate the influence of the masticatory activity on astrocyte complexity and suggest the existence of AST3 association with spatial memory and learning tasks in young female mice. Further research on the underlying mechanisms of these relationships is essential to identify potential therapeutic targets for cognitive disorders and to develop effective interventions to preserve cognitive function.

Sustainable Cropping Sequences to Improve Soil Fertility and Microbiological Properties

Different cropping systems and nutrient management techniques impact the microbiological characteristics of soil and nutrient availability for plants. This study assessed four cropping systems—rice–wheat, cotton–wheat, pearl millet–wheat, and pearl millet–mustard in Hisar district, Haryana, using 80 soil samples (20 from each system) collected in April 2022 after the Rabi crop harvest. The cotton–wheat system had the highest accessible nitrogen (N) at 155.9 kg ha−1, while both the cotton–wheat (59.3 kg ha−1) and rice–wheat (54.0 kg ha−1) systems had higher available sulfur (S) levels compared to pearl millet–wheat (41.2 kg ha−1). Pearl millet–wheat also showed 12.4% higher potassium (K) levels than rice–wheat. The rice–wheat system exhibited the highest phosphorus (P) concentration at 54.3 kg ha−1 and greater DTPA-extractable micronutrients. Soils from the rice–wheat system had higher DTPA-extractable micronutrients (Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu) and superior microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN, 54.7 mg kg−1), urease (37.9 µg NH4+-N g−1 h−1), and alkaline phosphatase activity (APA, 269.7 µg PNP g−1 h−1) compared to other systems. Canonical discriminant functions explained 88.1% of the variability among cropping systems, while principal component analysis identified available P, DTPA-extractable Zn, and Cu as key soil quality indicators, accounting for 66.9% of the variance. These insights can inform policymakers on promoting effective cropping systems and sustainable soil health in northwestern India.

Different cropping systems impact soil health by improving soil biological activities and total organic carbon content

ABSTRACT This study assesses the impact of different cropping systems on changes in total organic carbon (TOC), its fractions and biological activities to evaluate the changes in soil health. The rice-wheat cropping system (RWCS) had significantly higher total organic carbon (TOC) (38.8%) and soil organic carbon (SOC, 43.6%) compared to the pearl millet-mustard cropping system (PMCS). Active C pools were significantly higher in soils under cotton-wheat (CW) and pearl millet-wheat cropping systems (PWCS) than RWCS, whereas passive C pools (63% of TOC), the microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and dehydrogenase activity (DHA) were highest under RWCS than other systems. Soils under these cropping systems exhibited a significant polynomial relationship of TOC with SOC and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Two significant canonical discriminant functions involving TOC, SOC, DOC, very labile carbon (CVL), labile carbon (CL), less labile carbon (CLL), recalcitrant carbon (CR), MBC and DHA could distinguish the different cropping systems and contributed 94.7%. The principal component analysis identified that TOC, SOC, pH and EC were the most reliable and contributing variables for assessing soil health under different cropping systems. Three PCs explained the 79.2% variability of the total variance of the original data set.

Анализ влияния нарушений требований безопасности на возникновение происшествий на предприятиях магистрального транспорта газа

The procedure of behavioral safety audit has successfully established itself in the practices of Russian and international companies in various industrial sectors. When conducting a behavioral safety audit, an auditor compares the observed conditions and employee’s actions with the established classifier based on the behavioral safety audit results report. In order to determine the relationship between hazardous actions of employees and dangerous conditions at their workplaces with the potential severity of accident consequences, a retrospective analysis has been conducted for the study, where the root causes of 411 accidents that occurred at main gas transportation enterprises have been compared with violations of safety requirements using 33 criteria of the behavioral safety audit. During the discriminant analysis, canonical discriminant functions and centroids have been determined, the coefficient of canonical correlation and the values of Wilks' lambda criterion and F-criterion have been calculated, and standardized and structural coefficients have been identified. As a result of the study, 10 criteria of the classifier of the behavioral safety audit have been detected, whose violation significantly affects the determination of the potential severity of accidents; the degree and conditions of such impact within the context of the examined selection have been established and substantiated.

ANALISIS POSITIONING COFFEE SHOP LOKAL DI WILAYAH JABODETABEK

This research aims to examine the concept of coffee shop brand positioning in Indonesia, namely Kopi Janji Jiwa, Kopi Kenangan, Point Coffee, Kopi Lain Hati, and Kopi Kulo. The data collection method used was by distributing questionnaires online with samples taken using non-probability sampling techniques with purposive sampling to respondents who enjoy 5 coffee shop brands in Indonesia. Descriptive testing is used to analyze the influence of positioning on the coffee shop brand. The data used in this research is primary data obtained from distributing questionnaires to 41 respondents. This research uses cross sectional research, namely a research method carried out over a relatively short time and in a certain place. The data analysis method used in this research is to analyze the attributes owned using the attribute based approach. In this research, three outputs will be produced, namely canonical discriminant function, preference map, as well as market strategy and marketing mix.

МАТЕМАТИЧЕСКОЕ МОДЕЛИРОВАНИЕ В ДИФФЕРЕНЦИАЛЬНОЙ ДИАГНОСТИКЕ АНЕМИИ ХРОНИЧЕСКИХ ЗАБОЛЕВАНИЙ И ЖЕЛЕЗОДЕФИЦИТНОЙ АНЕМИИ У ПАЦИЕНТОВ С ВОСПАЛИТЕЛЬНЫМИ ЗАБОЛЕВАНИЯМИ СУСТАВОВ

Aim. To develop based on the indicators of clinical blood tests, some biochemical markers, iron metabolism and cytokines a mathematical model that allows with high sensitivity and specificity to conduct differential diagnosis of anemia of chronic diseases (AHD) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in patients with inflammatory joint diseases (rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PSA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS)). Material and methods. The study included 104 patients with inflammatory joint diseases and anemic syndrome (37 males/67 females, age 48.4±5.42 years old), of which 54 patients with RA, 27 patients with PSA and 23 patients with AS. The control group consisted of 22 patients with inflammatory diseases of the joints without anemia (13 males/9 females, age 47.8±3.55 years old), of which 7 patients with RA, 10 with PSA, 5 with AS. For all patients, in addition to hemogram parameters, the concentrations of interleukin-6, interleukin-10, interleukin-1β, interferon-gamma, tumor necrosis factor alpha, ferritin, C-reactive protein, hepcidin, transferrin, soluble transferrin receptor were determined. For quantitative indicators, the median, standard error of the mean, and interquartile range was calculated. The significance of differences between several unrelated groups was determined using the Kruskal-Wallis test. The calculation of a mathematical model for the differential diagnosis of ACD and IDA was carried out using discriminant analysis. Results. As a result of the study, a canonical linear discriminant function (CLDF) was obtained: CLDF = 1.612171-0.002725× Hepcidin -0.005429× Ferritin The coordinates of the centroids are calculated, for ACD it is -1.44222008, and for IDA it is 1.52705656. A patient whose CLDF value is determined based on ferritin and hepcidin concentrations should be classified into the ACD or IDA group based on the minimum distance to the corresponding centroid. The resulting mathematical model has 100% sensitivity and 80% specificity. Conclusions. The equation based on hepcidin and ferritin (obtained from the results of discriminant analysis) allows, with high sensitivity, specificity and information ability, to carry out differential diagnosis of ACD and IDA in patients with inflammatory joints diseases instantly at the stage of initial contact with the doctor. Using of the equation will make it possible to more effectively diagnose and correct these types of anemia in this pathology, including for the purpose of more effective treatment.

CREATION OF AN ALGORITHM FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF ANALOGOUS OBJECTS IN CARBONATE RESERVOIRS OF THE VOLGA-URAL OIL AND GAS PROVINCE

For the conditions of deposits confined to the carbonate reservoirs of the Volga-Ural oil and gas province, an algorithm for searching for analogous objects based on the identification procedure is proposed. The principal boundaries of the search for analogous objects confined to various stratigraphic systems have been established through a comprehensive analysis of geological and commercial data. The significant influence of tectonic confinement on the formation of the features of the geological structure of deposits and their distribution in the axes of canonical discriminant functions is shown. The presence of uncertainty in the separation of objects using the tectonic factor is explained by the similarity of objects in the marginal zones of adjacent tectonic elements in both terrigenous and carbonate reservoirs, which in turn must be taken into account when implementing key aspects of field development design. During the simulation, a certain similarity of individual deposits in the carbonate reservoirs of the carboniferous system was established, confined not only to various tectonic elements, but also to various stratigraphic complexes, which makes it possible to expand the search for analogous objects and the possibility of solving various development management tasks in conditions of deterioration of the structure of oil reserves and low technical and technological indicators of well operation. When using pattern recognition methods, in particular, discriminant analysis, dependencies were obtained that make it possible to successfully adapt the accumulated experience of developing an object to other objects while maintaining a high level of compliance with the logical aspects of hydrodynamics and physics of reservoir systems. Further development of the algorithm presented in the work lies in the plane of using a minimum number of parameters for analysis, ensuring a high percentage of separation of objects, taking into account the heterogeneity of their values.

Geometric morphometric evaluation of mandibles of four sheep breeds: Bardoka, İvesi, Polish Mountain sheep and Turcana.

The enduring relationship between humans and domestic sheep has evolved over millennia, showcasing diverse uses such as meat, milk, wool, leather and fur, shaped by geographical, historical, cultural and social factors. The sheep breeds discussed include the Ivesi from Southeastern Anatolia, known for its varied animal products; the resilient Turcana breed of Romania; Kosovo's Bardoka, valued for its triple-purpose characteristics; and Poland's Polish Mountain Sheep, uniquely utilized for milk production in cheese making. Sheep, with their enduring relationship with humans and significant economic importance, have attracted scientific interest in morphometric studies of their mandibles, yielding valuable data applicable across various fields including basic anatomy, veterinary clinical anatomy, zooarchaeology and veterinary forensic medicine. Traditional morphometric studies rely on statistical methods to compare length, depth and angular ratios between anatomical formations, often highlighting differences between specific points but not fully revealing shape variations between distinct groups. Geometric morphometric analysis has emerged as a preferred method in recent years, enabling shape analyses using coordinate data from various imaging techniques, facilitating a comprehensive examination of mandibular morphometrics among sheep breeds across different countries. This study involved four sheep breeds from different countries, namely İvesi from Turkey, Bardoka from Kosovo, Polish Mountain Sheep from Poland and Turcana from Romania, with a total of 70 mandibles sourced from various veterinary faculties. Mandibular photographs were meticulously captured, focusing on the right side of mandible pairs and placing landmarks and semi-landmarks along the entire edge, enabling geometric morphometric analysis using tpsUtil, tpsDig2 and MorphoJ software. The analysis included principal component analysis, canonical variate analysis and discriminant function analysis for pairwise comparisons, facilitating a comprehensive examination of mandibular shape variations among the different sheep breeds. Using geometric morphometric methods, this study analysed mandibles from four distinct sheep breeds sourced from different countries, revealing notable variations in regions such as the ramus mandibula, angulus mandibula and incisive areas, attributed to genetic, geographical and dietary influences, highlighting the importance of continued research to better comprehend these shape differences.

Tea (Camellia sinensis) cultivated in three agro-ecological regions of Bangladesh: Unveiling the variability of methylxanthine, bioactive phenolic compound, and antioxidant activity

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is a widely consumed beverage known for its numerous health benefits, largely attributed to its rich content of quality determining secondary metabolites such as methylxanthine compounds and bioactive phenolic compounds. The goal of this study was to find out variations of the levels of methylxanthines, bioactive phenolic compounds, and antioxidant activity in methanolic and hot water extracts of 129 tea samples grown in three different ecological regions of Bangladesh named Panchagar, Sylhet, and Chattogram. Methylxanthine and bioactive phenolic compounds were determined by using HPLC-DAD, and the antioxidant profile was analysed by UV–vis spectrophotometric methods for methanol and hot water extracts of tea leaves. The IC50 values showed the trend as Panchagar > Sylhet > Chattogram and Sylhet > Chattogram > Panchagar for water and methanol extract, respectively. The results revealed significant (p < 0.05) variations in the levels of methylxanthines content: Panchagar > Chattogram > Sylhet. Caffeine was significantly higher (103.02 ± 5.55 mg/g of dry extract) in the methanolic extract of tea leaves of Panchagar district and lower (53.33 ± 4.30 mg/g of dry extract) in the hot water extract of Sylhet district. Panchagar and Chattogram possessed significantly (p < 0.05) higher catechin content for methanol (57.01 ± 5.50 mg/g dry extract) and hot water (55.23 ± 4.11 mg/g dry extract) extracts, respectively. The utilization of canonical discriminant functions yielded highly favorable outcomes in the classification of tea from three distinct cultivation origins in Bangladesh, relying on their inherent features. This study demonstrated the potential effects of geographical variations on the bioactive compounds and antioxidant properties of tea, emphasizing the importance of regional differences in tea cultivation for optimizing its health benefits as well as dispersing tea cultivation across the country.

Phenotypic Variation and Genetic Diversity of Colocynth (Citrullus colocynthis [L.] Schrad.) Varieties Collected in the Southeastern of Benin Republic

Citrullus colocynthis belongs to the plant family Cucurbitaceae. Despite its nutritional importance for human beings, it is less promoted. The present study aims to explore the phenotypic variation and genetic diversity existing in the crop, to examine its breeding potential and to identify useful characters to distinguish between genotypes. 40 provenances collected from farmers in the Southeastern of Benin Republic were multiplied during the growing season 2013-2014. They were surveyed in field trials at three locations (each year) and three years (2014-2017). 20 quantitative and 14 qualitative traits were then studied. Diversity within and among genotypes was analyzed by diverse statistical methods. Phenotypic variation within and between genotypes was investigated using the Shannon-Weaver diversity index (H’). Moreover, diversity between entries was analyzed by principal component analysis, multivariate analysis of variance and discriminant function analysis. Quantitative trait variation ranged from 12.44 (for seed width) to 139.35% (for limb peduncle length). Phenotypic variation was higher overall for qualitative than quantitative traits. It ranged from 3.34 (seed tegument percent) to 41.54% (seed length) and from 25.23 (leaf size) to 62.22% (primary skin color) for quantitative and qualitative traits, respectively. Shannon–Weaver diversity index (H') was in general high and over 1.00 for most of the traits. It was higher for qualitative than quantitative traits. Monomorphism (H’=0.00) was not observed. Shannon-Weaver diversity index ranged from 0.08 (time to emergence) to 2.26 (fruit width) and 1.47 (leaf pubescence density) to 2.29 (leaf color, stem pubescence density). The first five principal components explained, 99.73% of the total variation in all traits. Multivariate analysis of variance indicates significant differences between genotypes for all individual or grouped traits. Discriminant function analysis revealed that the first five canonical discriminant functions were almost significant. We conclude that the cultivated colocynth genotypes represent heterogenous groups and efficient collection, evaluation and selection are needed for great breeding success as well as promotion of the species.

Creation of a shortened version of the Sleep Disorders Questionnaire (SDQ).

The 176-item Sleep Disorders Questionnaire (SDQ) was initially developed using canonical discriminant function analysis on 4 groups of sleep disorder patients, but it was never studied by factor analysis in its entirety. Several authors have criticized 2 of its subscales as being confounded with each other, and its narcolepsy scale as substantially over-diagnosing narcolepsy. This study describes its first exploratory factor analysis (EFA), the intent of which was to reassess item membership on the 4 existing subscales and to derive new scales to improve differential diagnosis between patient groups. It was also hoped that EFA could reduce the total number of questions, to increase speed of completion. The EFA was performed on the anonymized SDQ results from a retrospective review of the charts of 2131 persons from 7 sleep disorders clinics and research centers. Factors were assessed via scree plots and eigenvalues. The EFA identified four main factors: insomnia, daytime sleepiness, substance use, and sleep-disordered breathing. The insomnia factor had 3 subfactors: psychological symptoms of insomnia, subjective description of insomnia, and insomnia due to periodic limb movements. The sleepiness factor had two subfactors: daytime sleepiness and neurological symptoms of narcolepsy. The novel substance use factor was homogeneous, as was the sleep-disordered breathing factor. Importantly, the EFA reassigned items from the original SDQ's NAR, PSY, and PLM subscales to five of the new subscales. The Sleep Apnea (SA) subscale emerged mostly unchanged. The 7 resulting factors comprised only 66 items of the original 176-item SDQ. These results have allowed the creation of a new shorter questionnaire, to be called the SDQ-2. External validation of the SDQ-2 is currently underway. It will likely prove to be a superior differential diagnostic instrument for sleep disorders clinics, compared to the original SDQ.

Evaluation of morphological traits using multivariate techniques in Kotdhar goat native to Shivalik hill region of Himachal Pradesh.

The objective of this study was to analyze the diverse morphological attributes of Kotdhar goat native to Shivalik hill region of Himachal Pradesh. A total number of 180 goats, comprising 150 females and 30 males aged between 1 and 3years, were randomly selected to estimate15 distinct morphological traits and ten body indices. Mean values of 17.66cm, 11.68cm, 8.73cm, 71.94cm, 69.83cm, 74.48cm, 38.10cm, 73.38cm, 20.55cm, 16.48cm, 14.89cm, 13.57cm, 19.20cm, 7.71cm and 26.12kg were estimated for head length, head width, face length, body length, wither height, heart girth, chest depth, rump height, rump length, rump width, haunch width, bicoastal width, shoulder width, cannon bone and body weight respectively. In addition, morphological indices viz. body index, length index, body ratio, thoracic development, pelvic index, longitudinal pelvic index, transverse pelvic index, proportionality index, dactyl thorax index and relative depth of thorax were estimated from morphological traits. Results of morphological indices indicated that Kotdhar goat are medium bodied, longilinear, tall animals and well-suited for meat production. Phenotypic correlation among most of traits was positive and significant. Among all correlations, correlation between head length and head width was found lowest (- 0.270), while the correlation between heart girth and chest depth was observed highest (0.861). Canonical discriminant function analysis showed that there was no considerable level of intermixing for morphological traits in Kotdhar goat. Employing principal component analysis with varimax rotation, three principal components were observed, accounting for 68.47% of the total variation. First principal component (PC1) encapsulated the highest proportion of variance (44.39), revealing the high loadings on head length (0.777), body length (0.747), wither height (0.782), heart girth (0.785), chest depth (0.706), rump height (0.762), haunch width (0.734) and bicoastal width (0.793). Hence, it is possible to utilize these eight variables out of the 15 morphological traits for the characterization of the Kotdhar goat.

Refining solutions of development problems of the Volga-Ural oil and gas province fields using geological and statistical model ranking methods

The purpose of the present research is to provide a comprehensive analysis of data on the geological and physical properties of formations and the fluids saturating them in the Volga-Ural oil and gas province using the methods of geological and statistical model ranking. The discriminant analysis conducted on the basis of qualitative criteria (reservoir type and stratigraphic confinement) identified in all cases the zones of uncertainty, which affect the effectiveness of managerial decision-making in the conditions of analog objects. On this score, the results for six models were refined and updated according to the principle of rank uniqueness value calculation by three methods, both for each model individually and for model systems while using them within the obtained distributions of objects in the axes of canonical discriminant functions. Theoretical and practical recommendations were given regarding the use of geological and statistical models in the development of Volga-Ural oil and gas province fields. The results obtained can be used to solve a wide range of practical problems of proactive resource management, which enable effective determination of the best strategy for the successful extraction of residual and hard-to-recover oil reserves. The proposed parameter ranking table allows both to determine the most unstable parameters with a high degree of probability and to level the factor of heterogeneity and disequilibrium of field data. The conducted study established that identification of object association with a particular group in the axes of canonical discriminant functions leads to the formation of the zone of uncertainty. The latter increases the risks of making ineffective managerial decisions when developing different categories of subsoil users’ assets. Using the methods of ranking geological and statistical models, an algorithm for constructing a hierarchical system is proposed, which allows to expand the application field of the results of geological and statistical modeling in the oil and gas industry as well as to reduce the risk of nonrepresentative results.

Discriminant analysis reveals differences in breed structure in river buffaloes of Maharashtra (India).

Buffaloes are a major milch species of India, and owning a true-to-breed buffalo herd is a reverie for livestock keepers, as it substantiates their incomes. Multivariate discriminate analysis is an efficient methodology to classify different farm animal populations based on canonical discriminant function. The present study was conducted on 392 adult buffaloes using 18 body biometric traits. Except for body height and body length, all the body characters revealed significant differences amongst the four buffalo populations. Unlike cattle, distance between horns and rump width were more discriminating factors, compared to body height, leg length, chest girth, and body length. We report the most suitable discriminate function which can discriminate with maximum between-group variation in four studied populations. Mahalanobis distances were calculated between populations and they ranged from 0.786 to 1.227. Purnathadi has revealed a distinct phenotypic structure, and these buffaloes have a distinct native breeding region comprising Akola, Amravati, and Buldhana districts of Maharashtra state. On the other hand, Elachpuri animals failed to depict physical and biometric discriminations from Nagpuri, Marathwadi, and Purnathadi buffalo populations, and Elachpuri can be considered as a strain of Nagpuri buffalo.

Stepwise canonical discriminant analysis for morphometric characterization of three strains of broiler chicken

Stepwise canonical discriminant analysis of quantitative traits was performed to characterize Arbor Acre (n = 29), Marshall (n = 29) and Ross 308 (n = 30) strains of broiler chicken at two weeks of age. Average body weight of 322.11 ? 51.33 g, 310.70 ? 51.20 g and 310.24 ? 42.37 g were obtained for Arbor Acre, Marshall and Ross 308 strains, respectively. Correlation coefficients between traits was positive (0.13-0.80). Out of the eight traits used, shank length (SL), body length (BL), wing length (WL), breast girth (BG) and thigh circumference (TC) were selected by stepwise procedure as discriminating variables with respective tolerance of 0.75, 0.84, 0.86, 0.57 and 0.66. The Mahalanobis distance indicated that Arbor Acre and Marshall were closely related by SL (2.006), WL (5.704), BG (6.002) and TC (6.314) while Arbor Acre and Ross 308 were related by BL (4.212). Two canonical discriminant functions were generated. Function 1, with smaller Wilk's Lambda (0.15), stronger canonical correlation coefficient (0.88), highly significant Chi-square (p&lt;0.0001), greater eigenvalue (3.14) and percentage variance (87.28%), possessed higher discriminatory power than function 2.72.4%, 82.8% and 90.0% of the cross validated cases were correctly classified as Arbor Acre, Marshall and Ross broilers, respectively. The study revealed that Ross 308 was genetically distinct from Arbor Acre and Marshall, which were more closely related, using shank length, body length, wing length, breast girth and thigh circumference as discriminating traits. Stepwise canonical discriminant analysis is therefore relevant in classification genetics.

Discriminant analysis: motor skills in the structure of motor readiness of 8-year-old boys practicing karate

Purpose of the study. To determine the contribution of motor skills to the structure of motor readiness of 8-year-old boys who practice karate. Materials and methods. The study involved 32 8-year-old boys who practice karate. Children and their parents were informed about all the features of the study and gave consent to participate in the experiment. The following methods were used in the study: study and analysis of scientific and methodological literature, pedagogical observation, timing of educational tasks, pedagogical experiment, methods of mathematical statistics, methods of mathematical planning of experiments. Results. The results of discriminant analysis indicate that the obtained canonical functions explain 100% of the variation in results and are informative for classifying the level of motor fitness of 8-year-old boys. The first function explains 91,9% of the variation in results (r1 = 0,996), the second – 5,9% of the variation in results (r2 = 0,948). Verification of canonical functions indicates that the first and second functions are statistically significant (λ1 = 0,001, p = 0,001; λ2 = 0,024, p = 0,043). As a result of the analysis, a significant influence of orthogonal variants of the standard-intermittent exercise on the motor readiness of 8-year-old boys was revealed. Thus, statistically significant differences in test results between groups (A1B1, A2B1, A1B2, A2B2) are observed in the technical level of performing exercises 1-6 series of training tasks (p = 0.001), as well as in the results of running 300 meters (p = 0, 01). The discrepancies in the results of other tests are not statistically significant. Conclusions. The canonical discriminant function can be used to classify the motor readiness of 8-year-old schoolchildren depending on the influence of orthogonal variants of the standard-intermittent exercise. As a result of discriminant analysis, indicators were identified that were of the greatest importance when assessing the motor readiness of boys 8 years old who have been practicing karate. These include the level of training in a series of educational tasks, indicators of physical development and the level of development of motor abilities. The formation of motor skills and the development of motor abilities is considered as a holistic process. The effectiveness of training according to an algorithmic type prescription program depends on the mode of performing a standard-intermittent exercise.

Using normalised difference vegetation index in classification and agroecological zoning of spring row crops

Remote sensing is an important branch of modern science and technology with various applications in different branches of life sciences. Its application in agriculture is focused mainly on crop monitoring and yield prediction. However, the value of remote sensing in the systems of automated crop mapping and agroecological zoning of plant species is increasing. The main purpose of this study is to establish the possibility of using normalised difference vegetation index in the main spring row crops, namely maize, soybeans, sunflower, to precisely classify the fields with each crop, and to evaluate the best agroecological zones for their cultivation in rainfed conditions in Ukraine. The study was carried out using the data on the normalised difference vegetation index for the period May – November 2018 from 750 fields and experimental plots, randomly scattered over the territory of Ukraine with equal representation by every administrative district of the country. The index values were calculated using combined Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 images, with further generalisation for every crop and region. Multiclass linear discriminant analysis and canonical discriminant analysis were applied to determine whether it is possible to distinguish between the studied crops using the values of the normalised difference vegetation index as the only input. As a result, it was established that the best zone for crop cultivation is the west of the country: NDVI values for the growing season averaged to 0.34 for sunflower, 0.36 for soybeans, and 0.36 for maize, respectively. The worst growing conditions, based on the lowest NDVI values, were observed in the east for sunflower (0.26) and maize (0.25), but the minimum NDVI for soybeans (0.27) was observed in the south. Regarding the classification problem, it was found that the highest importance for the classification of crops is attributed to the values of the normalised difference vegetation index, recorded in August. The supervised learning using canonical discriminant function resulted in mediocre predictive performance of the multiple linear function with general classification accuracy of 56.5%. The best accuracy of classification was achieved for sunflower (70.4%), while it is difficult to distinguish between maize and soybeans because these crops have quite similar intra-seasonal dynamics of the vegetation index (classification accuracy was 46.8% and 52.4%, respectively; the total number of incorrectly predicted samples in the “maize-soybeans” group was 134 or 26.8%). The main limitation of this study is its single year basis, notwithstanding the fact that the year of the study was characterized as a typical one for most territory of Ukraine in terms of meteorological conditions. Therefore, more studies are required to clarify the possibility of a classification between maize and soybeans based on remote sensing data.

Phenotypic variation of protandrous hermaphrodite fish Eleutheronema tetradactylum (Shaw, 1804) from Thailand coastal waters

This study was conducted to investigate the intraspecific variation of Eleutheronema tetradactylum (Shaw, 1804) using traditional morphometric measurements. In total, 136 samples were collected from four fishing areas across Thailand coastal waters. Raw data were standardized and then evaluated with univariate analysis of variance, canonical discriminant function analysis, and dendrogram of cluster analysis regarding to site, size, and sex. Result from ANOVA test exhibited that all morphological characters were significantly different among sites (P < 0.05). Nevertheless, forty-one morphometric characters were significantly different among size of male and female fish (P < 0.05) except for pre-orbital length, pupil diameter, eye diameter, and depth of maxilla for male fish. Forty-four morphometric characters were significantly different (P < 0.05) except of fork length among sex. From CDFA, E. tetradactylum showed phenotypic heterogeneity and two distinct stocks in the four selected fishing areas. Phenotypic variation on sites was determined by six morphological characters (MnFL, DFAF, DOM, HW, PeBFL and ED) for males, while eight characters for females (PrOL, AFSL, PeBFL, DOM, UJL, PD, AFRL and ED) in decreasing order. Differentiations between fish size classes, relied on PrDFL2, BD and UCFL in males and PrOL, PrePeFL and DFAF in females. Among sexes, PeFAF, PrDFL2, MxFL, MnFL, PrePeFL, HSDF and PrePFL were highly influential. Discriminate functions (DF1) clarified that 83.60% and 94.10% of the total variance were found among the sites of males and females, and 99.20% and 93.20% of the total variance were found among the sizes of males and females, respectively. and 73% of the total variance were found among the sexes. In the confusion matrix of CDFA, the overall assignments of individuals into their correctly classified original population were 98.68% and 100% for males and females based on site and size, and 75.74% of sex groups, respectively. Our study highlighted that the hermaphroditism of E. tetradactylum showed that three distinct stocks of males and two stocks of females inhabited Thai coastal waters.

Unexpected cognitive similarities between older adults and young people: Scores variability and cognitive performances

BackgroundIncreased interindividual variability in cognitive performance during aging has been proposed as an indicator of cognitive reserve. ObjectiveTo determine if interindividual variability performance in episodic memory (PAL), working memory (SWM), reaction time (RTI), and sustained attention (RVP) could differentiate clusters of differential cognitive performance in healthy young and older adults and search for cognitive tests that most contribute to these differential performances. MethodsWe employed hierarchical cluster and canonical discriminant function analyses of cognitive scores using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) to identify cognitive variability in older and young adults using the coefficient of variability of cognitive performances between and within groups. We also analyzed potential influences of age, education, and physical activity. ResultsCluster analysis distinguished groups with differential cognitive performance and correlation analysis revealed coefficient of variability and cognitive performance associations. The greater the coefficient of variability the poorer was cognitive performance in RTI but not in PAL and SWM. Older adults showed diverse trajectories of cognitive decline, and better education or higher percentage of physically active individuals exhibited better cognitive performance in both older and young adults. ConclusionPAL and SWM are the most sensitive tests to investigate the wide age range encompassing older and young adults. In older adults’ intragroup analysis PAL showed greater discriminatory capacity, indicating its potential for clinical applications late in life. Our data underscore the importance of studying variability as a tool for early detection of subtle cognitive declines and for interpreting results that deviate from normality.

Variations in Otolith and Scale Shape of the Invasive Round Goby Neogobius melanostomus Populations from Different Habitats of the Sava River Basin, Croatia

Abstract Round goby Neogobius melanostomus is one of the three invasive Ponto-Caspian gobies found in the Sava River basin in Croatia. It has a negative effect on the native ecosystems due to its high invasive potential that enables its rapid spread upstream in inland watercourses. The objective of this study was to determine the differences in sagittal otolith and scale shape of the frontal and established populations of N. melanostomus in two different habitat types. At two sampling sites in the main course of the Sava (Babina Greda, Slavonski Brod) and in a modified habitat (Sava-Odra canal), 20 individuals of N. melanostomus were collected and analysed. The geometric morphometric method was used together with Procrustes analysis of variance, canonical variate analysis and discriminant function analysis to analyse the otolith and scale shape. Significant differences in both otolith and scale shapes were found between settled (Babina Greda) and frontal (Slavonski Brod) populations from the main course of the Sava River. The main differences were the wider anterior part of the scales and a more pronounced open indentation on the otolith of the Babina Greda population. The settled population in the Sava-Odra canal was significantly different in otolith shape from the Babina Greda population but not from the Slavonski Brod population, suggesting that the upstream migration consisted of individuals with specific phenotype and genotype. Otoliths generally expressed greater shape variability than scales and thus may be more useful for differentiating between closely related populations on a finer scale. The results of this study suggest that the shape of otoliths and scales can be used to distinguish between closely related populations of N. melanostomus from different habitats but more comprehensive studies are needed due to the small number of samples.