"Arctic-alpine" refers to a biogeographical zone characterized by the presence of plants and animals adapted to cold environments, typically found in high-latitude regions and at high altitudes. This term is often used in ecology and geography to describe ecosystems that share similarities between Arctic regions, which are typically found near the poles, and alpine regions, which are found in high mountain ranges regardless of latitude.
A list of biogeographic provinces refers to the classification of different regions of the world based on their distinct ecological and biological characteristics, including flora and fauna. These provinces help in understanding the distribution of species and ecosystems, and they are often used in conservation biology and biodiversity studies. One of the commonly referenced systems for classifying biogeographic provinces is the "Wallacean biogeographic regions," which divides the world into several major areas based on the distribution of terrestrial animals.
The term "land bridges of Japan" generally refers to the historical land connections that existed between the Japanese archipelago and the Asian continent. Japan is an island nation, but during certain geological periods, particularly during the Ice Ages, sea levels were lower, and land bridges connected the islands to the mainland. ### Key points about Japan's land bridges: 1. **Pleistocene Epoch**: During the last Ice Age, which took place approximately 2.
Tussock grass refers to a group of grass species characterized by clumps or tufts, typically found in various ecosystems, especially in temperate regions. Some common examples include: 1. **Poa tussock** - This is native to New Zealand and is often found in alpine and subalpine environments. 2. **Danthonia** - This is a genus of grasses commonly found in Australia and New Zealand, particularly in open grasslands.
The World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) is a systematic framework developed to facilitate the recording and reporting of plant distributions around the globe. Established by the International Working Group on Taxonomic Databases for Plant Sciences (TDP), the scheme provides a standardized method for categorizing geographical areas based on their flora.
BIOSCI, which stands for Biological Sciences Electronic Communication Network, was an online discussion platform and a mailing list that facilitated communication among professionals in the biological sciences. It was a place for researchers, educators, and practitioners to share information, ask questions, and discuss various topics related to biology and life sciences.
ANOVA-simultaneous component analysis (ASCA) is a statistical method that combines analysis of variance (ANOVA) with principal component analysis (PCA) for the analysis of high-dimensional data, particularly in the context of multivariate datasets. ### Key Features of ASCA: 1. **Purpose**: ASCA aims to identify and visualize the differences between groups while reducing the complexity of the data.
Automated species identification is a technological approach that utilizes various methods and tools to quickly and accurately identify different species of organisms—such as plants, animals, fungi, and microbes—without the need for manual classification by experts. This process often incorporates various technologies, including: 1. **Image Recognition**: Machine learning algorithms and computer vision techniques analyze images of specimens, comparing them to large databases of known species to determine an appropriate match.
The Benjamin Franklin Award in Bioinformatics is an honor presented by the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB). Established to recognize outstanding contributions in the field of bioinformatics, the award is named after Benjamin Franklin, the American polymath known for his contributions to science, among other fields. This award is typically given to individuals who have made significant advancements in bioinformatics research, which encompasses the development and application of computational tools to understand biological data.
Binning in metagenomics refers to the process of grouping or categorizing DNA sequences obtained from metagenomic studies into distinct bins that correspond to specific genomes or taxonomic groups. This is important because metagenomic data often come from environmental samples, where multiple microorganisms coexist, making it challenging to analyze the genetic material as a cohesive unit.
A dual-flashlight plot is a visualization technique used in statistical analysis, particularly in the fields of genomics and bioinformatics. The term is often associated with the display of two-dimensional data sets, particularly in the context of visualizing relationships between variables or categories. In a dual-flashlight plot, two sets of data or two variables are represented on a two-dimensional axis, allowing for the comparison of their distributions, correlations, or other relationships.
The term "EMBRACE" can refer to a variety of things depending on the context. It could be an acronym for specific initiatives, programs, or terms in different fields, such as healthcare, education, or technology. For example, in healthcare, EMBRACE could refer to a specific program aimed at improving maternal and child health.
Digital phenotyping is a research method that involves the use of data collected from personal digital devices, such as smartphones, wearables, and other digital technologies, to assess and analyze an individual's behaviors, activities, and experiences. This approach aims to provide insights into an individual's health and well-being by capturing real-time, continuous data that reflects their psychological and physical states.
The Computer Atlas of Surface Topography of Proteins (CASTp) is a computational tool and database designed to analyze the surface topology of proteins. It provides detailed information about the surface characteristics of protein structures, including information about cavities, channels, and pockets on protein surfaces. CASTp uses algorithms to identify and characterize these topographical features based on the three-dimensional coordinates of protein structures, typically derived from X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, or computational modeling.
Evolution@Home is a scientific research initiative that aims to study evolutionary processes using distributed computing. Participants can contribute their personal computing power to run simulations and experiments that model evolutionary dynamics, such as natural selection, population genetics, and species interactions. By leveraging the power of many individual computers, researchers can conduct large-scale simulations that would be impractical to run on a single machine. This collaborative approach allows for the gathering of significant amounts of data, facilitating a deeper understanding of evolutionary principles and processes.
GLIMMER is a tool designed for gene prediction in genomic sequences. Specifically, it employs statistical algorithms based on hidden Markov models (HMMs) to identify genes in DNA sequences. Developed by Burge and Karlin in the late 1990s, GLIMMER has been used extensively in the annotation of genomes, especially for prokaryotic organisms like bacteria.
Digital transcriptome subtraction (DTS) is a computational technique used in bioinformatics and molecular biology to identify and differentiate between RNA transcripts that are present in a given sample. This method involves comparing the transcriptome of a particular sample against a reference transcriptome to subtract out unwanted or irrelevant transcripts, thereby highlighting specific transcripts of interest.
GISAID, which stands for the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data, is a platform that promotes the sharing of genetic and epidemiological data related to influenza viruses and, more recently, coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19. Launched in 2008, GISAID aims to facilitate rapid access to genomic data during public health emergencies, enhance global surveillance of infectious diseases, and improve preparedness for future outbreaks.
The Macromolecular Crystallographic Information File (mmCIF) is a specialized data format used to describe the structures of macromolecules, such as proteins and nucleic acids, that have been determined through X-ray crystallography. It is an extension of the CIF (Crystallographic Information File) format, which was originally designed for small-molecule crystallography.
Gene Ontology (GO) Term Enrichment is a statistical analysis technique used to determine whether specific biological processes, cellular components, or molecular functions are overrepresented (enriched) or underrepresented in a particular set of genes or gene products compared to a broader reference set, usually the entire genome or a specific biological context. The Gene Ontology project provides a comprehensive vocabulary to describe gene product attributes across all species.

Pinned article: Introduction to the OurBigBook Project

Welcome to the OurBigBook Project! Our goal is to create the perfect publishing platform for STEM subjects, and get university-level students to write the best free STEM tutorials ever.
Everyone is welcome to create an account and play with the site: ourbigbook.com/go/register. We belive that students themselves can write amazing tutorials, but teachers are welcome too. You can write about anything you want, it doesn't have to be STEM or even educational. Silly test content is very welcome and you won't be penalized in any way. Just keep it legal!
We have two killer features:
  1. topics: topics group articles by different users with the same title, e.g. here is the topic for the "Fundamental Theorem of Calculus" ourbigbook.com/go/topic/fundamental-theorem-of-calculus
    Articles of different users are sorted by upvote within each article page. This feature is a bit like:
    • a Wikipedia where each user can have their own version of each article
    • a Q&A website like Stack Overflow, where multiple people can give their views on a given topic, and the best ones are sorted by upvote. Except you don't need to wait for someone to ask first, and any topic goes, no matter how narrow or broad
    This feature makes it possible for readers to find better explanations of any topic created by other writers. And it allows writers to create an explanation in a place that readers might actually find it.
    Figure 1.
    Screenshot of the "Derivative" topic page
    . View it live at: ourbigbook.com/go/topic/derivative
  2. local editing: you can store all your personal knowledge base content locally in a plaintext markup format that can be edited locally and published either:
    This way you can be sure that even if OurBigBook.com were to go down one day (which we have no plans to do as it is quite cheap to host!), your content will still be perfectly readable as a static site.
    Figure 2.
    You can publish local OurBigBook lightweight markup files to either https://OurBigBook.com or as a static website
    .
    Figure 3.
    Visual Studio Code extension installation
    .
    Figure 4.
    Visual Studio Code extension tree navigation
    .
    Figure 5.
    Web editor
    . You can also edit articles on the Web editor without installing anything locally.
    Video 3.
    Edit locally and publish demo
    . Source. This shows editing OurBigBook Markup and publishing it using the Visual Studio Code extension.
    Video 4.
    OurBigBook Visual Studio Code extension editing and navigation demo
    . Source.
  3. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook-media/master/feature/x/hilbert-space-arrow.png
  4. Infinitely deep tables of contents:
    Figure 6.
    Dynamic article tree with infinitely deep table of contents
    .
    Descendant pages can also show up as toplevel e.g.: ourbigbook.com/cirosantilli/chordate-subclade
All our software is open source and hosted at: github.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook
Further documentation can be found at: docs.ourbigbook.com
Feel free to reach our to us for any help or suggestions: docs.ourbigbook.com/#contact