Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effects of Bacteria in Vase Water on the Vase Life of Cut Gerbera Cultivars

A factor that shortens the vase life of cut gerbera was investigated. When cut ‘Minou’ gerbera flowers were placed in water with a relatively high bacterial concentration, the vase life was markedly shortened. An experiment using vase water of cut ‘Picture Perfect’ and ‘Pinta’ revealed a correlation between the turbidity and bacterial number, suggesting that an increase in the turbidity of vase water is attributable to bacterial proliferation. There were differences among seven cultivars in the turbidity of vase water. Treatment with an isothiazolinonic germicide markedly extended the vase life of some cultivars, such as ‘Picture Perfect’, in which the turbidity of vase water was relatively high. In cut ‘Minou’, turbidity of vase water increased with time, and treatment with the germicide almost completely suppressed this increase. Treatment with the germicide increased water uptake of cut flowers and suppressed any decrease in the fresh weight. These results suggest that there is variation among culti vars in the turbidity of vase water, which is closely associated with the vase life of cut gerbera.
Using an in-situ infra-red camera system for sea turtle hatchling emergence monitoring

We tested for the first time the efficiency of the use of infra-red (IR) cameras for sea turtle hatchling monitoring. The cameras were installed on one green turtle ( Chelonia mydas ) and four loggerhead turtle ( Caretta caretta ) nests during 2014 and 2015 nesting season in the south-east Mediterranean, Turkey. The camera monitoring, even with the limited sample size, have successfully corroborated the previous observations and provided further insights on hatchling emergence behavior. The analysis of the camera recordings revealed that hatchlings emerged from the nests asynchronously in varying numbers of groups and different group sizes, while c. 60% hatchlings emerged during the first 5 days of emergence activity. 98.6% of hatchlings emerged at night with a peak activity between 21:00 and 00:00. The day of first emergence varied between 38 and 64 days since egg deposition, while the day of last emergence varied only between 60 and 65 days. Total emergence activity continued up to maximum of 22 days, which is longer than that of previous records. Overall, the present study showed that IR camera monitoring is a promising tool for sea turtle monitoring and can provide detailed insights on sea turtle hatchling behavior.
B cells maturation in infancy and its affect in early allergy

The last decades, the presence of allergy has increased in countries belonging to the Western world and over 25 % of Swedish young people are aﬀected of allergic symptoms. One reasonable explanation is the hygiene hypothesis, mentioned by David Strachan 1989, that associate the increase in allergy development with a cleaner lifestyle. Previous studies showed that children who grew up on a farm with animals had a more maturated immune system and therefore developed less allergy. With samples received from the study named Nutritional impact on Immunological maturation during Childhood in relation to the Environment(NICE),I have studied the B cells maturation during early time in life. By studying subpopulations of B cells, speciﬁc surface markers are stained with ﬂuorochromes to be analysed with a ﬂow cytometer. Thus, the development of B cell subpopulations from birth up to 4 months can be charted. Several surface markers can indicate the same subpopulation, i.e. CD27+ and CD24hiCD38lo that are expressed by memory B cells. However, the percentage diﬀer from each other and the most liable reason is that the surface markers have diﬀerent functions in the B cells, and are therefore not only expressed during one phase of the development of B cells. My results shows that the development of percentage of subpopulations of B cells diﬀer from each other from birth up to 4 months. Correlation tests indicate that CD27+ and CD24hiCD38lo could both be used to detect memory B cells. Correlation tests at number of subpopulations had higher correlation coeﬃcient and were strongly signiﬁcant at birth. Therefore, it would be interesting to continue the analysis of numbers of B cells populations at 48h, 1, 4 and 12 months of life. In the NICE study, so far 452 children have been examined for allergy and 6.2 % suﬀered from eczema, 2.4 % of food allergy and 6.2 % of the children had developed asthmaat1yearofage. Inthisthesis, there was no signiﬁcant associations between B cell maturity and the development of allergy.
Use of golden mussel and wattle tannin in the supply of cut chickens

This study aimed to evaluate the use of acacia tannin as a toxic metal adsorbent in the diets of broilers fed with the inclusion of golden mussel meal in substitution for calcitic limestone. In the first trial, 648 male 21-day-old animals were divided among six treatments and six replicates, with 18 birds per experimental unit, organized in a completely randomized design (DIC). The treatments were diets with different acacia tannin levels (0, 250, 500, 750, 1000, or 1250 g ton-1). The results indicated that 250 g ton-1 of tannin was not harmful to weight gain, final weight, or feed conversion. Tannin levels caused a decrease in carcass yield and fat deposition and an increase in liver size. For the second trial, 900 male broilers of 21 days of age were used and distributed in a DIC, with different levels of substitution of calcitic limestone by the golden mussel meal (0, 25, 50, 75, or 100 %) and supplementation or not with acacia tannins (250 g ton-1), with 5 replicates and each experimental unit being composed of 18 birds. The performance data show that the use of 250 g ton-1 of tannin is detrimental to bone performance and resistance and golden mussel meal can be used to substitute up to 100 % of the limestone in the diets without affecting the variables studied.
Foraging behaviour of the stingless bee Melipona orbignyi (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini) in a dry forest assessed by multivariate analysis from palynological data

Abstract Pollen analysis was applied to study the botanical composition of honey and pollen stored by Melipona orbignyi in its southernmost distributional range. Many studies have revealed that robust buzzing bees of this genus are associated with diverse plant families, some of which are different to those exploited by the remaining genera of Meliponini. Cluster analysis was performed to assess similarity in botanical composition between pot-pollen and pot-honey provisions from different colonies. The results indicated that each colony was capable to access to different plant species for obtaining nectar and pollen, a fact observed when discarding the contaminated honey samples. As honey samples were not clustered together with other ones but with pollen samples indicating a similar botanical composition, it could be assumed that a same plant species provided nectar and pollen to bees. Resource partitioning was not clearly observed among a subset of late spring colonies, as two families of high richness of species and abundant in this dry forest (the mimosoid clade in Fabaceae and Capparaceae) were foraged. A higher number of synchronously sampled colonies would be necessary to detect this ecological aspect. The botanical composition of samples of M. orbignyi was governed by both random factors such as local and temporary flower availability plus preferences for particular plant species such as those from Solanaceae and Ximeniaceae. The Capparaceae and Ximeniaceae are here reported for the first time as intensively foraged pollen resources by the genus Melipona.
Marker assisted introgression for brown planthopper resistance genes Bph20 and Bph21 in CO43Sub1 variety of rice

BPH is the most destructive pest of rice. Host plant resistance is the most desirable way to control the BPH damage. The single gene resistance is easily broken by the evolution of new BPH biotypes, it can be addressed by the gene pyramiding. In order to improve CO43Sub1 with BPH resistance, the foreground selection was carried out in BC2F2 lines derived from the cross CO43Sub1 and donor IR71033-121-15. In this, 44 plants were homozygous and 13 plants were heterozygous for Bph20. Seven plants were homozygous and 31 plants were found heterozygous for Bph21. Only four plants were found to be homozygous for both the genes. Fifteen lines were selected for the phenotypic screening of BPH resistance. The lines 32-434 and 32-4-35 were resistance to BPH and six lines were observed with moderate resistance.
Quantification and understanding of the fermentative ability of re-pitched yeast

Brewer’s collect yeast from one fermentation and re-pitch the cells into subsequent fermentations; this process is termed serial re-pitching. Deviations in the serial repitching process often impact the quality of the beer produced. Three variables within this process were investigated: the percentage of petite mutants in the pitched yeast, varying levels of dissolved oxygen in the wort and the length of yeast storage time between re-pitched fermentations. Results found that when petites in the culture increased from 3.7 % to 10.8 %, levels of esters and vicinal diketones were increased after the primary fermentation. The elevated concentrations of flavour compounds, however, would likely be undetectable to a consumer. When the yeast was subjected to 66 hour storage between fermentations, as opposed to 18 hour, the density attenuation rates during fermentation became less consistent. When investigating dissolved oxygen on serial re-pitching, the effect of low (3 mg/L) and high (16 mg/L) dissolved wort oxygen levels were not apparent on the flavours produced until the third fermentation; then, levels of propan-1-ol and 2,3-butanedione were increased with higher dissolved oxygen levels. Overall, these results could be used to help a brewer prioritize the controllable variables within the re-pitching process.
Can ants contribute to the conservative biological control of the south american fruit fly?

: Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) are an efficient group of insects as predators of various arthropods. Based on records of the predatory ant activity, a survey was carried out on the efficiency in predation of Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera: Tephritidae) larvae, considering the percentage of removal of larvae using the variables of soil density and moisture content and their effect on the larvae burying. For this, A. fraterculus larvae were released to the soil and observed for 10 min while burying or removed by the ants in a peach ( Prunus persica , Rosaceae) orchard. Eight ant species were recorded removing 32.70% of the larvae. Solenopsis saevissima was the most efficient species, with 42.86% of larvae removal. There were no significant correlations between the predation by ants with soil density and soil moisture content. Despite this, the study pointed out that ants belong to genera Pachycondyla , Pheidole , Pogonomyrmex and Solenopsis can be predators on A. fraterculus larvae, with emphasis on the S. saevissima . These ants can contribute as important agents of conservative biological control of the population of A. fraterculus in peach orchard and their conservation becomes interesting to use of combined control methods aiming to reduce insecticides and aggressive soil management methods.
Disseminated melioidosis with native valve endocarditis: a case report

Abstract Background Burkholderia pseudomallei is a Gram negative, soil-water saprophytic bacterium endemic in South-East Asia and Northern Australia. Melioidosis is being increasingly diagnosed in other regions like India, China, and Sri Lanka during recent years. The clinical presentation of melioidosis is extremely variable. Case summary We present a case of melioidosis presenting as native valve infective endocarditis with concomitant hepatic and splenic abscesses. This is the second case of melioidosis with infective endocarditis reported from India. Discussion Melioidosis can present with pneumonia, pleural effusion, subcutaneous abscesses, visceral abscesses, osteomyelitis, and septicaemia, but cardiac involvement is rare. Endocarditis due to melioidosis is rare (∼1%) and is rarely reported in literature. This case highlights the unusual presentation of this emerging disease.
Polyploidy does not control all: Lineage‐specific average chromosome length constrains genome size evolution in ferns

Recent studies investigating the evolution of genome size diversity in ferns have shown that they have a distinctive genome profile compared with other land plants. Ferns are typically characterized by possessing medium‐sized genomes, although a few lineages have evolved very large genomes. Ferns are different from other vascular plant lineages as they are the only group to show evidence for a correlation between genome size and chromosome number. In this study, we aim to explore whether the evolution of fern genome sizes is not only shaped by chromosome number changes arising from polyploidy but also by constraints on the average amount of DNA per chromosome. We selected the genus Asplenium L. as a model genus to study the question because of the unique combination of a highly conserved base chromosome number and a high frequency of polyploidy. New genome size data for Asplenium taxa were combined with existing data and analyzed within a phylogenetic framework. Genome size varied substantially between diploid species, resulting in overlapping genome sizes among diploid and tetraploid spleenworts. The observed additive pattern indicates the absence of genome downsizing following polyploidy. The genome size of diploids varied non‐randomly and we found evidence for clade‐specific trends towards larger or smaller genomes. The 578‐fold range of fern genome sizes have arisen not only from repeated cycles of polyploidy but also through clade‐specific constraints governing accumulation and/or elimination of DNA.
Optimal foraging of benthic diatoms evolving novel movement behaviours

Adaptive locomotion of living organisms contributes to their competitive abilities and help maintain their fitness in diverse environments. To date, understanding of searching behaviours and how microscale dynamics scale up to ecosystem-level processes remain poorly understood in ecology. Here, we investigate the motion patterns of the biofilm-inhabiting marine diatom Navicula arenaria var. rostellata at the two-dimensional space. We report that individual Navicula cells display a novel “rotational run-and-reversal” movement behaviour at different concentrations of dissolved silicate (dSi). Using experimental measurements of the search behaviours, we show that translation motions of cells can be predicted exactly with a universal model—the generalized Langevin theoretical model. Both the experimental and theoretical results reveal quantitative agreement with an optimal foraging strategy and show that circular and reversal behaviours both contribute to comparable spatial diffusion properties. Our modelling results suggest that the evolving movement behaviours of diatom cells are driven by optimization of searching their physical surroundings, and predicted behavioural parameters coincide with the experimental observations. These optimized movement behaviours are an evolutionarily stable strategy to cope with environmental complexity. One sentence summary Contrary to wide belief, new experiments reveal that diatoms can active search food in their physical surroundings by adjusting movement behaviours.
Prescription and consumption patterns of blood and blood components in patients undergoing orthopaedic and neurosurgical procedures at Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute, DSM, Tanzania.

Background: Blood is a scarce resource, since there's limited availability of donated blood and absence of effective substitute that can perform the vital functions of blood; therefore, clinicians should cautiously assess the appropriateness of prescription of blood and blood components to minimize wastage of blood resources and optimize the utilization of blood products. Objective: To determine prescription and consumption patterns of blood and blood components in patients undergoing orthopaedic and neurosurgical procedures at Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute, from May to September 2016. Methodology: Prospective Descriptive Cross-Sectional study was conducted at MOI, over period of five months. Data for elective and emergency surgeries were collected from patient’s case files, laboratory requisition forms and blood bank registries. Blood utilization was calculated using crossmatch to transfusion ratio (CTR), transfusion probability (%T), and transfusion index (TI) indices. Results: During the study period, a total of 563 units of blood were crossmatched, and 502 units (89%) were transfused for 280 patients, and the overall blood transfusion of the requested blood which was explained by indices of CTR, %T, and TI were 1.12, 100%, and 1.79, respectively. Conclusion: The data for the crossmatch to transfusion ratio (CTR), transfusion probability (%T), and transfusion index (TI) were optimal; Hence, Blood utilization was efficient in both orthopaedic and neurosurgical procedures.
Differential distribution of resources for females on a dioecious plant affects the small–scale distribution of male of an oligolectic bee

Females of the solitary digger bee Andrena florea Fabricius, 1793 (Hymenoptera, Andrenidae) nest in aggregations and collect pollen almost exclusively on dioecious plants of the genus Bryonia, making this species a good model to study the relationship between nest density, male density, male behaviour and female lecty. At a study site in the valley of the river Serio, in Italy, an aggregation of this bee showed low density of randomly distributed nests and was closely surrounded by B. dioica plants. Female nectar foraging and male feeding and mate–searching activity, confined to the host plants, peaked at similar hours across the day, while female pollen foraging peaked earlier. Males fed on plants of both sexes but seemed to perch waiting for females more frequently on male B. dioica leaves. Individual males more often visited only one of the male plants, for up to four days; here they did not interact aggressively with conspecifics, suggesting scramble competition in resource–based home ranges and not territoriality. These findings are preliminarily in accordance with the predicted resource–based rendez–vous sites at low nest density for oligolectic bees and the predicted occurrence of scramble competition in case of high male density. Additionally, males would maximize their mating opportunity by mainly perching on male plants, the only source of the most limited resource for females (pollen).
The interaction of phylogeny and community structure: Linking the community composition and trait evolution of clades

Community phylogenetics (ecophylogenetics) represents an attempt to link the evolutionary history of species to their present‐day eco‐ logical interactions (Cavender‐Bares, Kozak, Fine, & Kembel, 2009; Webb, Ackerly, McPeek, & Donoghue, 2002). The field is young but controversial, and some of its fundamental assumptions have been criticised (notably, by Mayfield & Levine, 2010). Many community phy‐ logenetic studies invoke niche conservatism (reviewed by Wiens et al., 2010) to assert that phylogenetic distance is a measure of distance in niche space, making phylogenetic structure a metric of ecological structure. Under such niche conservatism, phylogeny is often assumed Received: 17 August 2018 | Revised: 20 March 2019 | Accepted: 3 April 2019 DOI: 10.1111/geb.12938
Analysis of excreta bacterial community after forced molting in aged laying hens

Objective As laying hens become aged, laying performance and egg quality are generally impaired. One of the practical methods to rejuvenate production and egg quality of aged laying hens with decreasing productivity is a forced molting. However, the changes in intestinal microbiota after forced molting of aged hens are not clearly known. The aim of the present study was to analyze the changes in excreta bacterial communities after forced molting of aged laying hens. Methods A total of one hundred 66-wk-old Hy-Line Brown laying hens were induced to molt by a 2-d water removal and an 11-d fasting until egg production completely ceased. The excreta samples of 16 hens with similar body weight were collected before and immediately after molting. Excreta bacterial communities were analyzed by high-throughput sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes. Results Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria were the three major bacterial phyla in pre-molting and immediate post-molting hens, accounting for more than 98.0%. Lactobacillus genus had relatively high abundance in both group, but decreased by molting (62.3% in pre-molting and 24.9% in post-molting hens). Moreover, pathogenic bacteria such as Enterococcus cecorum and Escherichia coli were more abundant in immediate post-molting hens than in pre-molting hens. Forced molting influenced the alpha diversity, with higher Chao1 (p = 0.012), phylogenetic diversity whole tree (p = 0.014), observed operational taxonomic unit indices (p = 0.006), and Simpson indices (p<0.001), which indicated that forced molting increased excreta bacterial richness of aged laying hens. Conclusion This study improves the current knowledge of bacterial community alterations in the excreta by forced molting in aged laying hens, which can provide increasing opportunity to develop novel dietary and management skills for improving the gastrointestinal health of aged laying hens after molting.
The influence of fire frequency on the structure and botanical composition of savanna ecosystems

Abstract Savannas cover 60% of the land surface in Southern Africa, with fires and herbivory playing a key role in their ecology. The Limpopo National Park (LNP) is a 10,000 km2 conservation area in southern Mozambique and key to protecting savannas in the region. Fire is an important factor in LNP's landscapes, but little is known about its role in the park's ecology. In this study, we explored the interaction between fire frequency (FF), landscape type, and vegetation. To assess the FF, we analyzed ten years of the Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) burned area product (2003–2013). A stratified random sampling approach was used to assess biodiversity across three dominant landscapes (Nwambia Sandveld‐NS, Lebombo North‐LN, and Shrubveld Mopane on Calcrete‐C) and two FF levels (low—twice or less; and high—3 times or more, during 10 years). Six ha were sampled in each stratum, except for the LN versus high FF in which low accessibility allowed only 3 ha sampling. FF was higher in NS and LN landscapes, where 25% and 34% of the area, respectively, burned more than three times in 10 years. The landscape type was the main determinant of grass composition and biomass. However, in the sandy NS biomass was higher under high FF. The three landscapes supported three different tree/shrub communities, but FF resulted in compositional variations in NS and LN. Fire frequency had no marked influence on woody structural parameters (height, density, and phytomass). We concluded that the savannas in LNP are mainly driven by landscape type (geology), but FF may impose specific modifications. We recommend a fire laissez‐faire management system for most of the park and a long‐term monitoring system of vegetation to address vegetation changes related to fire. Fire management should be coordinated with the neighboring Kruger National Park, given its long history of fire management. Synthesis: This study revealed that grass and tree/shrub density, biomass, and composition in LNP are determined by the landscape type, but FF determines some important modifications. We conclude that at the current levels FF is not dramatically affecting the savanna ecosystem in the LNP (Figure 1). However, an increase in FF may drive key ecosystem changes in grass biomass and tree/shrub species composition, height, phytomass, and density.