Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Naturally Occurring Variant of Estrogen Receptor (ER) ERΔE7 Suppresses Estrogen-Dependent Transcriptional Activation by Both Wild-Type ERα and ERβ

We have isolated and functionally characterized the exon 7-skipped variant (ERΔE7) of estrogen receptor (ER)α, which has emerged as the predominant variant expressed in multiple normal and tumoral tissues. However, to date no function has been established for this variant in mammalian cells. ERΔE7 exhibits a negligible ability to bind ligands, insensitivity to allosteric modulation by estrogen and antiestrogens, and loss of estrogen-dependent interaction with p160 coactivators such as SRC-1 and AIB1. ERΔE7 is able to form heterodimers with both ERα and ERβ in a ligand-independent manner. Transient expression experiments in HeLa cells show that increasing amounts of ERΔE7 result in a progressive inhibition of the estrogen-dependent transcriptional activation by both wild-type ERα and ERβ on estrogen response element-driven promoters. The inhibitory effect of ERΔE7 is due to the inhibition of binding of wild-type receptors to their responsive elements. Surprisingly, the activation function (AF)-1-dependent .
Weather factors influencing capture of Cydia pomonella (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in pheromone traps during overwintering flight in California.

Capture of male codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), with pheromone-baited sticky traps in an orchard in Kern County, Calif. , during 1983–1988 was associated with air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, vapor pressure, dew point temperature, and rainfall. Based on a stepwise logistic regression analysis, mean evening air temperature, wind speed, and vapor pressure significantly affected the probability of moth capture. All moths were captured on dates whose mean evening air temperature was > 12.01°C, wind speed was 15.8°C (21.1°C maximum daily) were associated with consistent observations of male flight as measured by pheromone traps. Knowledge of weather factors affecting moth capture in pheromone traps could help in interpreting trap catch data and may lead to fewer treatment decision errors.
Injuries to jackass penguins (Spheniscus demersus): evidence for shark involvement

An analysis is presented of records of injuries and the types of injuries to jackass penguins in Algoa Bay, South Africa, over a 10-year-period. Sharks are implicated in causing most of the injuries, but other possible agents are discussed. The types of injuries were categorized and compared to the dentition of sharks known to occur in the area. Using a life-size model of a jackass penguin and preserved jaws of sharks, bites were simulated to establish the types of injury inflicted by different species. Certain injuries indicate attack by great white sharks, while others cannot be ascribed to any particular species. Most shark injuries show single jaw involvement, and range from small cuts across the feathers to the bird being cut in two. Sharks accounted for the highest number of identifiable natural causes of death, but the significance of shark attack as a mortality factor in jackass penguins is difficult to assess.
The effect of grazing severity and fertiliser application during winter on herbage regrowth and quality of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.)

The objective of the current study was to quantify the effects of greater herbage residuals in winter on leaf appearance rate, herbage accumulation and quality, and plant energy reserves, as well as quantifying the effects nitrogen (N), or phosphorus (P) and sulfur (S) fertilisers had on the above measures. Ten pasture areas were grazed to different residual masses (1260 ± 101 and 1868 ± 139 kg DM/ha, Severe and Lax, respectively) over five consecutive days by dry dairy cows. Two randomly located subplots within each grazing area were fertilised with either 50 kg N/ha (N treatment) or 50 kg N/ha, 31 kg S/ha plus 26 kg P/ha (N + S + P treatment) on the day immediately following defoliation (day 1), and were compared with a control subplot. Neither growth rate (15.1 ± 8.1 kg DM/ha.day), nor leaf appearance rate (15.1 ± 0.3 days per new leaf) differed between treatments. As a result, herbage accumulated over the 49 days of regrowth was similar across grazing treatments and averaged 726 kg DM/ha. Application of N + S + P tended to increase total herbage accumulated during regrowth compared with either the control or N treatment subplots (860 v. 675 and 643 kg DM/ha, respectively), likely a result of increased tiller density. Swards defoliated more severely had lower initial water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) concentrations compared with swards laxly defoliated, but this difference had disappeared before appearance of the third new leaf. Herbage quality improved in the Severe treatment subplots after emergence of the third new leaf, with higher digestibility, greater WSC and metabolisable energy, and lower fibre content than in laxly grazed subplots.
PHOTOSYNTHETIC CHARACTERISTICS OF SOME FRESHWATER PLANKTON DIATOMS IN RELATION TO UNDERWATER RADIATION

has constituted an obstacle to the causal analysis of many aspects of phytoplankton ecology. Most measurements on photosynthetic rates of phytoplankton have been carried out under field conditions in which the relevant physical variables (notably light intensity) were inadequately known. Moreover, such experiments have generally utilized mixed natural populations whose history was little understood. This paper is concerned with information on the photosynthetic characteristics of three freshwater planlkton diatoms derived from experiments in the English Lakes. Photosynethtic behaviour of the diatoms, recorded from exposures at varying depths in the lakes, is analysed in terms of the photosynthetic characteristics of the species and the environmental conditions of underwater radiation and temperature. In certain aspects, the interpretation has been aided by supplementary data from laboratory experiments. Cultured populations of one species, Asterionella formosa Hass. , have been used as the standard material in this work. With the photosynthetic characteristics of this material the photosynthetic behaviour of various natural populations of the same species, of known history, have been compared. A further, inter-specific, comparison has been made with the photosynthetic characteristics derived for the diatoms Fragilaria crotonensis Kitton (cultured population) and Melosira italica (Ehr.) Kiitz. subsp. subarctica 0. MUll. (natural population).
Effects of N addition on ecological stoichiometric characteristics in six dominant plant species of alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, China

Aims Our purpose was to characterize the effects of nitrogen (N) addition on plant carbon (C), N, phosphorus (P), and C:N:P ecological stoichiometric characteristics in six dominant plant species, including Kobresia myo- suroides, Elymus nutans, Anemone rivularis, Pedicularis kansuensis, Potentilla fragarioides and Oxytropis ochrocephala, of alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, China. Methods N was added at four levels. Concentrations of C, N and P were measured, and C:N:P was estimated in the six plant species following the N addition treatments. Important findings Significant differences in leaf N and P concentrations existed among the six species under natural conditions. The N and P concentrations were highest in O. ochrocephala, at 24.5 and 2.51 g·kg -1 , respec- tively. The leaf N concentration was significantly lower and leaf P concentration was significantly higher in O. ochrocephala than in legume plants of other grasslands in China. Leaf N and P concentrations in the other five species were in the ranges of 11.5-18.1 and 1.49-1.72 g·kg -1 , respectively. Kokresia myosuroides had the lowest N concentrations and E. nutans had the lowest P concentrations; they were significantly lower than the non-legume plants in other grasslands in China (p < 0.001). P and C concentrations did not respond to N addition in all the six plant species, but N concentration significantly increased with N addition in five species other than O. ochrocephala, which did not respond to N addition. Values of the N:P varied in the range of 7.3-11.2 in treat- ment without N addition, indicating that the plant growth was limited by N in the alpine meadow. Values of the N:P increased and were greater than 16 with N addition in five species other than O. ochrocephala, indicating that N addition induced P deficiency in these five species. Our results point to very low leaf N concentration and
Depolymerization of the Glutenin Macropolymer During Dough Mixing: I. Changes in Levels, Molecular Weight Distribution, and Overall Composition

ABSTRACT Changes in the amounts, molecular weight distributions, and levels of major groups of subunits in the glutenin macropolymer (GMP) of doughs during mixing were investigated. The GMP (gel protein) is the unreduced fraction of gluten protein that remains as a layer on top of the starch after extraction of SDS-soluble proteins and centrifugation. Experiments involved doughs prepared from flours derived from one weak and one strong cultivar and lines derived from cv. Olympic that were null for specific high molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS). During mixing, the amount of GMP decreased; the major changes occurred before peak mixing time (MT, achievement of peak resistance). In addition, the average apparent molecular weight of GMP (determined by both size-exclusion HPLC and multilayer gel electrophoresis) decreased during mixing, but in this case, the major changes were seen later in the mixing process, during dough breakdown. Even after extensive mixing, polymers and oligomers were released, .
Regulation of the Hypoxia-inducible Factor 1α by the Inflammatory Mediators Nitric Oxide and Tumor Necrosis Factor-α in Contrast to Desferroxamine and Phenylarsine Oxide*

Hypoxic/ischemic conditions provoke activation of the hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), which functions as a transcription factor. HIF-1 is composed of the HIF-1α and -β subunits, and stability regulation occurs via accumulation/degradation of HIF-1α with the notion that a prolyl hydroxylase accounts for changes in protein level. In addition, there is evidence that HIF-1 is up-regulated by diverse agonists during normoxia. We investigated the impact of inflammatory mediators nitric oxide (NO) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) on HIF-1α regulation. For comparison, LLC-PK1 cells were exposed to hypoxia, stimulated with desferroxamine (DFX, known to mimic hypoxia), and the thiol-cross-linking agent phenylarsine oxide (PAO). Although all stimuli elicited HIF-1α stabilization with differences in the time-dependent accumulation pattern, significant variations appeared with regard to signaling. With the use of a superoxide anion (O 2 − ) generator, we established an O 2 − -sensitive pathway that blocked HIF-1α stabilization in response to NO and TNF-α while DFX- and PAO-evoked HIF-1α stabilization appeared O 2 − -insensitive. NO and TNF-α signaling required phosphorylation events, especially activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt, which is in contrast to DFX and PAO. Based on HIF-1-dependent luciferase reporter gene analysis, it was found that, in contrast to NO and TNF-α, PAO resembled a stimulus that induced a dysfunctional HIF-1 complex. These data indicate that diverse agonists activate HIF-1α under normoxic conditions by employing different signaling pathways.
Prediction of marsupial body mass

Cranio-dental variables are correlated with body mass in marsupials, using a species data-set derived from extant australidelphian representatives, to predict body mass in fossil species. Thirty-eight extant australidelphian species, including 10 dasyuromorphians, 22 diprotodontians, 1 notoryctomorphian and 5 peramelemorphians, were analysed. Where sexual dimorphism was prominent, genders were evaluated separately. Twenty-nine cranio-dental variables were measured for each specimen and species averages calculated. Body masses were taken as recorded for each specimen or as published species averages. The cranio-dental measures for each morpho-species were then regressed against average body mass in four distinct data-sets: (1) the entire species sample, (2) only dasyuromorphian taxa, (3) only diprotodontians, and (4) all species excluding dasyuromorphians. Each cranio-dental variable was then ranked according to various error statistics and correlation coefficients. Results suggest that predictors of body size in eutherians (such as first lower molar area), commonly used to estimate body mass in marsupials may not be reliable or accurate indicators. Significant differences in the usefulness of predictor variables between taxonomic data-sets were also observed. Total jaw length is the most reliable predictor for diprotodontians, as well as for all species combined, whereas lower molar row length appears to be more appropriate for dasyuromorphians. Multiple variable regressions variably offer more precision than those derived from individual parameters. On the basis of these data, body mass estimations are provided for a number of extinct marsupial taxa.
Population Structure of Porthetes hispidus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a Pollinator of the African Cycad Encephalartos friderici-guilielmi

ABSTRACT Porthetes hispidus (Roheman) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Amorphocerini) is thought to be the primary pollinator of and is completely host specific to Encephalartos firiderici-guilielmi Lehmann, which is considered threatened. It is distributed across the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Here, genetic diversity and structure of a cycad-associated weevil, P. hispidus, was investigated using the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and elongation factor la genes (EF-1&agr;). Samples were taken from nine populations on isolated colonies of the host plant from across its known range. Nucleotide and haplotype diversity were moderate to high. Little to no phylogeographic structure was found, and very low values of FST and high values of Nm (COI: FST = 0.0759, Nm = 3.04; EF-1&agr;: FST = -0.0175, Nm = ∞) indicated high levels of gene flow despite current geographical disjunctions. These data suggest that isolated colonies of E.friderici-guilielmi maintain a viable population of pollinators. However, more rapidly evolving markers may reveal current genetic differentiation that did not exist in the past.
Thermal habitat use and juvenile growth of Svalbard Arctic charr: evidence from otolith stable oxygen isotope analyses

Stable oxygen isotopes (d 18 O) derived from otoliths were used to estimate mean annual water temperatures experienced by individual Svalbard Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus (L.), during their first four growth seasons. The analysed Arctic charr experienced a high variety of temperatures, indicating the use of different thermal habitats. A higher proportion of the juveniles experienced warmer temperatures during their first summer compared with later summers, suggesting the selective use of the shallowest littoral areas of the lake. Although the estimated temperatures were consistent with water temperatures found in High Arctic rivers and lakes during summer, they did not represent the annual variation in air temperature registered over the 20 years of otolith measurement. Furthermore, summer otolith increment width did not correlate with the experienced temperature. However, after the second year, otolith increment width was highly dependent on increment width during the previous summer. This study estimated mean summer water temperatures experienced by individual Arctic charr during the first four growth seasons providing additional evidence that stable oxygen isotope analysis can be used to provide insight into the thermal habitat use by juvenile Arctic charr.
Genetic analysis of a contact zone between two lineages of the ocellated lizard (Lacerta lepida Daudin 1802) in south-eastern Iberia reveal a steep and narrow hybrid zone

Measuring the diffusion of genes between diverging taxa through zones of secondary contact is an essential step to understand the extent and nature of the reproductive isolation that has been achieved. Previous studies have shown that the ocellated lizard (Lacerta lepida Daudin, 1802) has endured repeated range fragmentation associated with the climatic oscillations of the Plio-Pleistocene that promoted diversification of many different evolutionary units within the species. However, the oldest divergence within the group is estimated to have occurred much earlier, during the Miocene, around 9 Ma and corresponds to the split between the subspecies Lacerta lepida nevadensis Buchholz (1963) and Lacerta lepida lepida Daudin (1802). Although these two evolutionary units have documented genetic and morphological differentiation, most probably accumulated during periods of allopatry, little is known about patterns of gene flow between them. In this study, we performed a population genetic analysis of a putative area of secondary contact between these two taxa, using mtDNA and microsatellite data. We assessed levels of gene flow across the contact zone to clarify to what extent gene flow may be occurring. Hybridization between the subspecies was observed by the presence of genetically introgressed individuals. However, the overall coincidence of mitochondrial and multilocus nuclear clines and generally steep clines support the idea that this contact zone is acting as a barrier to gene flow. Taken together, these results suggest that L. l. lepida and L. l. nevadensis are in independent evolutionary trajectories and should be considered as two different species.
On the feeding ecology of the pied kingfisher, Ceryle rudis at Lake Nokoué, Benin. Is there competition with fishermen ?

Lake Nokoue, in southern Benin, is a heavily exploited fishery, but it is also inhabited by numerous piscivorous birds, especially kingfishers. This chapter considers the similarity between the diet of kingfishers and fish available on the local market between midFebruary to mid-May 1999, during a low water level period. Excretory pellets were collected on the top of breeding banks and inside brood chambers. The diet was determined by comparing the bones recovered from the pellets with a reference collection. Eighteen prey categories were recognised in the 1099 diagnostic items. Kingfishers preyed mostly on cichlids (Sarotherodon melanotheron Ruppell and Hemichromis fasciatus Peters), clupeids (Ethmalosa fimbriata (Bowdich)), eleotrids (Kribia sp.) and Hyporhamphus picarti (Val.). Prey size of H. fasciatus ranged from 22 to 73 mm (46.4 11.6 mm) and for S. melanotheron from 24 to 65 mm (44 9.2 mm). The composition of the diet varied depending on time and location. Overlap with marketed fish is limited to S. melanotheron.
The dynamics of rural households debt in Thailand and Vietnam

Using default and debt-service ratio indicators of over-indebtedness, this study analyzes the determinants of household over-indebtedness and its persistence in the context of microborrowers in emerging and developing countries’ microcredit market. The persistence of over-indebtedness was tested by means of a Heckman random effects dynamic probit model controlling for the effect of households’ socioeconomic, demographic and behavioral characteristics. The results for Thailand show that past experience of over-indebtedness increases the probability of experiencing the same conditions in the future. However this could not be confirmed for Vietnam. In addition, other factors significantly influence the probability of experiencing over-indebtedness in both countries. These include being poor and experiencing negative shocks, as well as behavioral variables, such as optimistic future financial expectations, overoptimistic financial forecast errors, risk attitude and social comparison.
Understorey plant community and light availability in conifer plantations and natural hardwood forests in Taiwan

AbstractQuestions: What are the effects of replacing mixed species natural forests withCryptomeria japonica plantations on understorey plant functional and speciesdiversity? What is the role of the understorey light environment in determiningunderstoreydiversityandcommunityinthetwotypesofforest? Location:SubtropicalnortheastTaiwan.Methods: We examined light environments using hemispherical photography,and diversity and composition of understorey plants of a 35-yr C. japonica plan-tationandanadjacentnaturalhardwoodforest.Results: Understorey plant species richness was similar in the two forests, butthe communities were different; only 18 of the 91 recorded understorey plantspecies occurred in both forests. Relative abundance of plants among differentfunctional groups differed between the two forests. Relative numbers of shade-tolerant and shade-intolerant seedling individuals were also different betweenthe two forest types with only one shade-intolerant seedling in the plantationcompared to 23 seedlings belonging to two species in the natural forest. In thenatural forest 11 species of tree seedling were found, while in the plantationonly ﬁve were found, and the seedling density was only one third of that in thenaturalforest. Acrossplots inbothforests,understorey plant richnessanddiver-sity were negatively correlated with direct sunlight but not indirect sunlight,possibly because direct light plays a more important role in understorey plantgrowth.Conclusions: We report lower species and functional diversity and higher lightavailabilityinanaturalhardwoodforestthananadjacent30-yrC. japonicaplan-tation,possiblyduetotheincreaseddominanceofshade-intolerantspeciesasso-ciated with higher light availability. To maintain plant diversity, managementefforts must be made to prevent localized losses of shade-adapted understoreyplants.IntroductionForest canopies are light-absorbing objects that efﬁcientlyreduce light availability in the forest understorey (Kimmins1996), resulting in low light availability for understoryplant growth. In most forests there is high variability of un-derstorey light availability, which allows the co-existenceof plants with different light requirements (Canham et al.1990). Therefore, changes in light environments haveprofound effects on productivity and diversity of understo-rey vegetation (Menges 1985; Carol et al. 1992; Zipperlen& Press 1996; Williams et al. 1999; Myers et al. 2000). Changes in forest canopy structure can substantially affectunderstorey light environments, so management practicesleading to changes in canopy cover have major impacts onunderstorey light environments and plant diversity.Forestplantationsareexpandingattheexpenseofnatu-ral forests in many regions, such as South America
Reproductive biology of the mottled electric ray, Torpedo sinuspersici Olfer, 1831 (Pisces: Torpedinidae) off Visakhapatnam, India

Based on the length frequency data collected during the period January 2002 to August 2004, the growth and mortality parameters of Osteogeneiosus militaris was estimated. The asymptotic length (L∞), growth coefficient (K) and to were estimated as 583 mm, 0.67 yr-1, and -0.0396 years respectively. Based on the von Berttalanffy growth (VBG) parameters, the growth of the fish during 1 to 5 years of its age works out to be 292, 426, 487, 516, and 529 mm respectively. The growth performance index was estimated as 3.55. The instantaneous rate of total mortality was estimated as 3.55, natural mortality as 1.04 and fishing mortality as 2.51. The phi prime was estimated as 3.35. The exploitation ratio (U) and exploitation rate (E) were worked out as 0.67 and 0.70 respectively. The vulnerability of catfish in general and O. militaris in particular with respect to over-exploitation, destruction of eggs, incubating males and the inherent low fecundity of the family are discussed in the present communication.