Neurons have complex axonal and dendritic morphologies that are the structural building blocks of neural circuits. The traditional method to capture these morphological structures using manual reconstructions is time-consuming and partly subjective, so it appears important to develop automatic or semi-automatic methods to reconstruct neurons. Here we introduce a fast algorithm for tracking neur...

Recent evidence indicates that fruit size has evolved according to dispersers' size. This is hypothesized to result from a balance between factors favouring large seeds and dispersers setting the maximum fruit size. This hypothesis assumes that (1) the size of fruits that can be consumed by dispersers is limited, (2) fruit and seed size are positively correlated, and (3) the result of multiple ...

This study was performed to develop and evaluate a semi-automatic seed localization algorithm from magnetic resonance (MR) images for interstitial prostate brachytherapy. The computerized tomography (CT) and MR images (3 mm-slice thickness) of six patients who had received real-time MR imaging-guided interstitial prostate brachytherapy were obtained. An automatic seed localization method was pe...

The strength and outcome of interspecific interactions often vary across the landscape because of differences in community context. We investigated how the presence or absence of pine squirrels (Tamiasciurus spp.) influences the ecology and (co)evolution of seeddispersal mutualisms between Clark’s Nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) and limber (Pinus flexilis) and whitebark (P. albicaulis) pines...

Offspring number and size are key traits determining an individual's fitness and a crop's yield. Yet, extensive natural variation within species is observed for these traits. Such variation is typically explained by trade-offs between fecundity and quality, for which an optimal solution is environmentally dependent. Understanding the genetic basis of seed size and number, as well as any possibl...

during the fragmented phases of the tree-improvement delivery system are reviewed. The impacts of intentional and unintentional directional selection during phenotypic selection, seed production (with its associated reproductive-phenology asynchrony, fecundity differential and varying propensity to inbreeding), seed processing and storage, and seedling production are evaluated. In general, gene...

Fruit-eating birds are the primary seed dispersers for many plant species in various habitats (Ridley 1930; van der PijI1969). Because seed dispersal is important for plants (Howe and Smallwood 1982), the criteria that birds use in choosing fruits should directly affect the reproductive success of plants that depend on avian seed dispersal. Any fruit trait that enhances the likelihood that an a...