Faculty of Science
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An effective and efficient technique for supporting privacy-preserving keyword-based search over encrypted data in clouds
(Elsevier, 2020)Nowadays, cloud providers offer to their clients the possibility of storage of emails and files on the cloud server. To avoid privacy concerns, encryption should be applied to data. Unlike searching plaintext documents by ... -
A combined deep-learning and transfer-learning approach for supporting social influence prediction
(Elsevier, 2020)Social influence is a phenomenon describing the spread of opinions across the population. Nowadays, social influence analysis (SIA) has a great impact. For example, viral marketing and online content recommendation are ... -
Predictive analytics on open big data for supporting smart transportation services
(Elsevier, 2020)In the current era of big data, huge quantities of valuable data, which may be of different levels of veracity, are being generated at a rapid rate. Embedded into these big data are implicit, previously unknown and potentially ... -
Operon-based approach for the inference of rRNA and tRNA evolutionary histories in bacteria
(Springer Nature, 2020)In bacterial genomes, rRNA and tRNA genes are often organized into operons, i.e., segments of closely located genes that share a single promoter and are transcribed as a single unit. Analyzing how these genes and operons ... -
Increasing levels of Parasutterella in the gut microbiome correlate with improving low-density lipoprotein levels in healthy adults consuming resistant potato starch during a randomised trial
(2020-12-11)Abstract Background Prebiotics, defined as a substrate that is selectively utilized by host microorganisms conferring a health benefit, present a potential option to optimize gut microbiome health. Elucidating the ... -
How do genes flow? Identifying potential dispersal mode for the semi-aquatic lichen Dermatocarpon luridum using spatial modelling and photobiont markers
(2020-10-15)Abstract Background Landscape genetics is an interdisciplinary field that combines tools and techniques from population genetics with the spatially explicit principles from landscape ecology. Spatial variation in genotypes ... -
Not playing by the rules: mixed support of ecogeographic rules in an arid-adapted African ground squirrel
(2020-08)Body size impacts nearly all aspects of an animal’s life and can be subject to considerable variation in response to differences in climate and resource availability. We studied the impact of temperature and resource ... -
Eavesdropping of an African ground squirrel on the heterospecific alarm calls of a noisy ground-nesting bird
(Ethology, 2020)Animals gather information about their environment from a variety of sources to enable adaptive decision-making behaviour. Eavesdropping on heterospecific alarm calls enhances predator avoidance, reduces time spent vigilant ... -
Widely distributed breeding populations of Canada warbler (Cardellina canadensis) converge on migration through Central America
(2020-07-31)Abstract Background To effectively conserve migratory species, the entire range encompassed by their annual life cycle needs to be considered. Most research on Nearctic-Neotropical migratory birds has focused on the ... -
Quantifying the annual incidence and underestimation of seasonal influenza: A modelling approach
(2020-07-10)Abstract Background Seasonal influenza poses a significant public health and economic burden, associated with the outcome of infection and resulting complications. The true burden of the disease is difficult to capture ... -
Group-enhanced predator detection and quality of vigilance in a social ground squirrel.
(Elsevier, 2019-05)Animals may form groups for different reasons, and one major benefit of grouping in many species is reduced predation risk. In diurnal species, vigilance is used to detect predators, resulting in a trade-off between feeding ... -
Both familiarity and kinship influence odour discrimination by females in a highly social African ground squirrel
(Elsevier, 2019-02)Kin recognition can be important in species where inbreeding avoidance or nepotism (favouritism towards kin) rely on identifying kin, particularly in species with alloparental care. The mechanisms that facilitate kin ... -
Unraveling behavioral and pace-of-life syndromes in a reduced parasite and predation pressure context: personality and survival of the Barbary ground squirrel
(Springer, 2018-08-18)Personality traits overlap in behavioral syndromes that are assumed to be related to physiology and life history traits, shaping pace-of-life syndromes. Boldness and explorative behavior are frequently associated to higher ... -
Trade-offs between immunity and testosterone in male African ground squirrels.
(The Company of Biologists, 2018-08-23)The immunocompetence handicap hypothesis (ICHH) proposes that testosterone has both beneficial effects on male reproductive potential and negative effects by suppressing the immune system. However, support for the ICHH ... -
The effects of familiarity and reproductive status on olfactory discrimination by female Cape ground squirrels (Xerus inauris)
(Springer, 2017-12-03)The ability to differentiate among conspecifics on the basis of genetic relatedness can be advantageous in kin and mate selection. Selection of mates that are of an intermediate degree of relatedness maximizes the propagation ... -
Cape ground squirrels as ecosystem engineers: modifying habitat for plants, small mammals, and beetles in the Namib Desert
(Wiley, 2016-02-09)Burrowing and foraging of semi-fossorial rodents can affect species distribution and composition. Ground squirrels dig large burrow systems for refuge from predators and temperature extremes. Burrowing and foraging around ... -
Anti-snake behaviour in a facultative cooperative breeder, the Cape ground squirrel
(Brill Publishers, 2014-10)Predator harassment is an anti-predator behaviour that may increase an individual’s risk of predation, as individuals approach, threaten and harass a potential predator, yet this behaviour is still not well understood. The ... -
Social organization in a North African ground squirrel.
(Cambridge University Press, 2020)Research on sociality in temperate ground-dwelling squirrels has focused on female philopatry and other life history trade-offs, which are influenced by constraints in the duration of the active growing season. Temperate ... -
Operon-based approach for the inference of rRNA and tRNA evolutionary histories in bacteria
(2020-04-16)Abstract Background In bacterial genomes, rRNA and tRNA genes are often organized into operons, i.e. segments of closely located genes that share a single promoter and are transcribed as a single unit. Analyzing how these ... -
Parasite-modified behaviour in non-trophic transmission: Trematode parasitism increases the attraction between snail intermediate hosts
(Canadian Science Publishing, 2020-03-13)Many parasites with complex life cycles cause host behavioral changes that increase the likelihood of transmission to the next host. Parasite modification is often found in trophic transmission, but its influence on ...