Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Foods of the Racer, Coluber constrictor, in Southern Illinois

and the base of the ultimate phalanx of the others; a small outer and a larger inner metatarsal tubercle on each foot. Legs short, heel reaching posterior margin of eye when leg is pressed along side of body; elbow and knee just meeting when arm and leg are pressed along side; heels slightly overlapping when hind legs are held at right angles to body. Skin of dorsum rough and finely warty, particularly along sides; skin on snout and top of head smooth but upper eyelids covered with fine warts; a narrow glandular fold extending from posterior corner of eye to above tympanum where it turns down and is lost in the wartiness of the sides; no apparent subgular vocal pouch. Dimensions (in mm.)-Snout-vent length, 82.0; head length, 30.0; head width, 34.6; crus, 32.3; shank, 36.2; pes, 62.3; hand, 20.4. Color in alcohol-Top of head and dorsum very dark brownish gray; a light gray band on each side extending from below the eye o the anterior margin of tympanum; the region of the dorsum immediately behind the eyes just perceptibly paler than rest of dorsum; tops of arms and legs slightly paler than dorsum, with blotches of dark grayish black, these mottlings taking the form of indefinite cross bars on the thighs; ground color of ventral surface dirty white; a few dots of grayish black pigment under tip of chin; along the posterior borders of jaws, across the chest and belly, and under the arms extensive mottlings of dark grayish black, these mottlings becoming confluent on the under sides of the thighs and shanks so that they form definite reticulations.
Clutch size in spiders: is more better?

1. After controlling for phylogenetic correlation, clutch size in spiders (suborder Araneomorphae) increases with body mass. 2. Clutch mass scales isometrically with adult female body mass while individual egg mass scales with negative allometry. Clutch size therefore is a result of scaling constraints on egg size and total clutch mass. 3. There is no empirical evidence for a size-number trade-off in allocation of resources within clutches. Theory predicts that spiders are selected to maximize clutch size, with no cost of decreased egg size. Spiders are constrained from achieving an optimal clutch size
Effects of carbohydrate content on the seasonal rooting of vegetative and reproductive cuttings of olive

SummaryExperiments on the rooting of vegetative and reproductive cuttings of olive showed that the availability and mobilization of carbohydrates towards the base of the cuttings were essential for rooting. Seasonal variation in the rooting of vegetative and reproductive cuttings was associated with concomitant changes in carbohydrate concentrations in the bases of the cuttings. Rooting of cuttings with the reproductive organs attached was prevented by fruit growth or fruit ripening, as carbohydrates were diverted towards the reproductive organs rather than to the IBA-treated bases of the cuttings. However, the failure of rooting in winter for most types of cuttings could not be explained in terms of carbohydrate availability. Similarly, the role of the inflorescence in reducing rooting could not be explained by redirection of assimilates to this reproductive organ.
Host response of Oryza glaberrima and O. sativa rice genotypes to the rice root-knot nematode Meloidogyne graminicola in a hydroponic system under growth chamber

The host response of 25 rice genotypes belonging to Oryza glaberrima and Oryza sativa to Meloidogyne graminicola infection was examined in a hydroponic system. The M. graminicola can build up high population densities in a hydroponic system. Resistance to this nematode species was found in O. glaberrima genotypes which supported significantly lower nematode numbers per plant and per unit root than O. sativa genotypes. The M. graminicola-infected O. sativa genotypes showed a higher root galling index than the O. glaberrima genotypes. The hydroponic system is efficient and reliable method to examine the host response of rice genotypes to M. graminicola infection, and can be useful for the fast screening of high numbers of rice genotypes for the selection of M. graminicola-resistant rice germplasm for breeding purposes.
Assessment of anti-biofilm activity and bifidogenic growth stimulator (BGS) effect of lyophilized exopolysaccharides (l-EPSs) from Lactobacilli strains

ABSTRACT In the present study, a total of used six lactic acid bacterial strains that isolated from children’s feces and milk products. This study investigated the exopolysacch aride production of these strains. In the culture broth, highest exopolysaccharide production capacity was detected in GD-11, LB-69, and B-3 strains. Monosaccharide compositions of the exopolysaccharides that were purified and lyophilized in the culture medium were investigated and dominant monomer was found to be mannose in all strains. The biofilm-forming capacity of 13 pathogen bacteria was determined and four strains with the highest biofilm-forming capacity were selected as test bacteria for anti-biofilm studies. Different concentrations of l-exopolysaccharides of three lactic acid bacteria were tested for anti-biofilm effect. Highest anti-biofilm effects were exhibited by the L. fermentum LB-69 (90%) against B. cereus RSKK 863. In the statistical analyses performed using the available data, a strong correlation was found between the amount of mannose present in l-exopolysaccharides and the anti-biofilm activity exhibited by l-exopolysaccharides (p < 0.01). In this study, it was concluded that the l-exopolysaccharides of the L. fermentum LB-69 strain could be used as efficient agents with both bifidogenic growth stimulator effect and anti-biofilm effect. If these agents are taken via oral route, it would be possible to provide beneficial effects for the host by increasing the development of bifidobacteria present in the gastrointestinal tract as well as to prevent and treat the diseases by hindering the biofilm formation by harmful bacteria.
Reduction in the range of the Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aquila adalberti Brehm, 1861) since AD 1850

In this paper, the historical (i.e. the nineteenth and the early twentieth century) distribution of the Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aquila adalberti Brehm, 1861), one of the rarest birds of prey in the world, is analysed. Evidence shows that at the beginning of the present century the range extended over most of the Iberian Peninsula, and the north of Morocco, but was drastically reduced during the last 80 years, the species being lost from Morocco, Portugal, and the borders of its range in Spain (Penibetic Mountains, Levante and north of Guadarrama Mountains). Human persecution, habitat alterations and egg collecting seem to have been the main causes of this decline. There are no reliable data on the breeding of Aquila adalberti in France and Algeria, the available information suggesting that the species which inhabited these countries was Aquila heliaca Savigny, 1809.
Morphology and development of Tetrastichus sp. (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), parasitizing fallwebworm pupae, Hyphantria cunea Drury (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae)

The life history and development of Tetrastichus sp. parasitizing fallwebworm pupa in Korea were studied. The mean lifetime fecundity was 94.7 with a maximum of 125, and the portion of female progeny averaged 90.3%. A male and a female lived for an average of 19.8±4.5 and 21.7±4.2 days, respectively. The duration of development for each stage was as follows: egg, 2 d; the 1st instar larva, 2±1 d; the 2nd instar larva, 2±1 d; the 3rd instar larva, 3±1 d; the 4th instar larva, 6±2 d; and pupa, 8±2 d. Total developmental duration from hatching of the larva to adult emergence required 21.1±3.7 d, and females took 1–2 days more than males in the incubator (28°C, 70% RH, and 16:8 LD).
Competitive Interference between the Puerto Rican Lizards, Anolis cooki and A. cristatellus

Anolis cooki and Anolis cristatellus are sympatric lizards engaged in intense interspecific competition. We have identified and analyzed a critical area of competitive interference by measuring various niche dimensions and behavioral interactions under natural conditions. Four study areas of similar habitat composition were established within 5 km of each other: one allopatric for A. cooki, one allopatric for A. cristatellus and two sympatric areas. The variables of cloacal temperatures, perch height, perch diameter and habitat type were compared between lizards in and among the study areas. No significant differences in the variables were found between the sexes of a species or between species on the allopatric areas, nor were there differences between sympatric and allopatric A. cristatellus. Sympatric A. cooki males and females, however, exhibited a significant divergence from their allopatric counterparts by utilizing standing dead vegetation and small bushes rather than larger and more complex microhabitat. This shift was most likely in response to competitive interference from A. cristatellus. Except for sympatric A. cooki, adult males in both the allopatric and sympatric conditions showed a significant and positive correlation between snout-vent lengths and the relative complexity and height of their immediate microhabitat. This suggests that there is intraspecific competition among males, with the larger conspecific males controlling the taller and more complex habitat. Thus when the sympatric male A. cooki occupy small types of microhabitat, they are only likely to encounter the smaller size classes of A. cristatellus males. Intruder-release experiments showed that encounters between male A. cooki and A. cristatellus were very aggressive, similar in intensity to conspecific interactions. Less than one out of two times were resident A. cooki able to evict A.
Ruffs, Philomachus pugnax, and distribution models: can leks be regarded as patches?

Theoretical distribution models may be applied to explain male distributions in lekking species if leks are regarded as patches differing in female encounter rate. Here, we investigate whether this assumption is valid in the ruff, Philomachus pugnax. Nests were found in places where the plant species composition was different as compared to randomly sampled plots. Furthermore, nests were found in higher than average vegetation and there was a positive relationship between the height of the surrounding vegetation and the number of females visiting and mating on a lek as well as the mean number of males occupying territories there. A positive relationship between the number of females visiting a lek and per capita male mating rate was also found. Males did not enjoy equal mating success, and the relative competitive ability of a male may determine his optimal lek site. These observations suggest that resources, in the form of suitable nesting habitat, to some extent determine where females mate and that the distribution of males in space, again to some extent is determined by the female distribution pattern and ultimately by the distribution of resources. Thus, empirical support for regarding leks as patches differing in female encounter rate exists in the ruff.
EFFECT OF LONG.TERM ADDITIONS OF ORGANIC MATTER ON CROP YIELDS AND SOIL PROPERTIES

Annual additions of green rye, stlaw, alfalfa, Ieaves, peat, muck and manure to a sand and a clav"soii foi zo \/ears tended to increase the mean yields of the crops grown in ih" 6"1d. This positive efiect of the. organic amendments on yield ri'as confirmed in a greenhouse experiment with oats,. which were grown in samples obtained at ;he end of the experimental period'. Additions 6f ,tt"t", alfaifa, leaves and mauute had tl-re greatest effeci on yield and on uptake of N and P by the oats. A comoarison of the amended and untreated samples at the end of the experiment showed that the amendments usually inireased the t-otal C and rrslightly, nitrate production capacity, exchangc capacity, exchangeable and witer--soluble Ca, Mg and K, ind lhosphatase enzyme activiry of- the soils' whereas their eftect on soil P was Ie ss coniistent. In most instances, the amendments increased the aggregate stability of thc clay soil. Of the N fractions investigated, only the nitrate N released during a trvo-week incubation period was coirelarcd silnificantly rvith yield and N uptake in the greenhouse^experiment. These yiel-d p"ta-. i". t and the amounts of nitrate N produced wer-e not related significantly to total. hexosamine, NH, ol amino acid N forms or to individual amino acids in the soils.
Post-fledging habitat selection in a rapidly declining farmland bird, the European Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur

Summary Post-fledging survival plays a vital role in the dynamics of bird populations and yet is the least-studied avian life-stage. Habitat requirements post-fledging may have important implications for behaviour and survival, especially for declining populations in landscapes that have undergone wide-scale anthropogenic modification, resulting in an altered distribution and composition of habitats. The European Turtle Dove is a widespread but rapidly declining species both within the UK and across Europe. Reduced seed food availability is thought to influence breeding success of this species, but it is not known whether post-fledging survival may also be influenced by seed availability. Here, we use leg-ring radio-tag attachments to monitor post-fledging survival and movements in 15 Turtle Dove nestlings from eight nests monitored during 2014 as part of a wider autecological study. Fledglings remained in close proximity to their nest for three weeks post-tagging, spending more than half their time in the immediate vicinity (within ∼20 m) of the nest. 95% of foraging trips during this period were within 329 m of the nest and fledglings selected seed-rich habitat (semi-natural grassland, low-intensity grazing, fallow and quarries). Fledglings that were heavier and in better body condition at seven days old were more likely to survive for 30 days post-fledging, and the proportion of available seed-rich habitat was a strong predictor of nestling weight and condition at seven days old. Whilst our sample size is modest, this study highlights the crucial role of food availability in juvenile survival, both while adults are feeding nestlings, and to recently fledged young, and the potential for agri-environment schemes providing foraging and nesting habitats in close proximity to provide important benefits.
Selection and Genetic Analysis of a Heliothis virescens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Strain with High Levels of Resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins

Heliothis virescens (F.), tobacco budworms eggs were collected from 3 adjacent counties in North Carolina. A laboratory strain (YDK) was established from these eggs using precautions to avoid loss of genetic diversity. A subset of this laboratory strain (YHD2) was selected on artificial diet containing the Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner) toxin, CryIA(c). In the first 12 episodes of selection only moderate resistance (7- to 8-fold) was found. However, after 19 episodes of selection the strain had developed >500-fold resistance to the CryIA(c) toxin. Further selection lead to higher levels of resistance with the greatest resistance ratio recorded being 10,000-fold. The YHD2 strain was cross-resistant to CryIA(a), CryIA(b) and CryIF. We also found some resistance to CryIB, CryIC and CryIIA, but the level of resistance to these toxins was more moderate. Reciprocal genetic crosses between the resistant and control strains indicated that resistance to CryIA(c) and to CryIA(b) was partially recessive, but that the low level of resistance to CryIIA was more dominant. Progeny from backcrosses of F 1 larvae to the resistant parent were placed on artificial diet containing a concentration of CryIA(b) that had previously been found to slow the growth of F 1 larvae. When these larvae were weighed after 10 d, two clearly demarcated size classes were found in 1 :1 ratios as is expected in backcrosses when a single locus (or a set of tightly linked loci) is coding for a major component of a recessive trait. Adults that developed from the larger size class of larvae were mated and their offspring inherited the ability to grow well on CryIA(b). As expected from the single locus model, one quarter of the offspring from matings of the small backcross larvae grew well on CryIA(b). Results of this selection experiment indicate that the initial frequency of this resistance trait could be approximately 10 -3 , but field tests will be needed to confirm this rough estimate.
Effects of down regulation of lignin content in maize (Zea mays L.) plants expressing C4H3 gene in the antisense orientation

ABSTRACT Lignin is an aromatic biopolymer, an integral cell wall constituent in all vascular plants including the herbaceous varies. Genetic engineering using an antisense system offers the way to modulate enzymes in the lignin pathway and leads to reduced lignin content. The Hi II, a highly embryogenic genotype of maize, has been extensively used in transformation protocols. The plasmid pZMAS-C4H3 10,907bp has C4H3 antisense (AS) to down regulate O-methyltransferase and reduce lignin level in the maize and bar gene as selectable marker that confers glufosinate herbicide resistance under 35s promoter. Eleven transgenic lines exhibited detectable levels of bar gene activity. Three lines of AS plants, C4H3-AS, displayed a significant reduction in lignin content (14–17%). The results of this study pointed to possible use of the genetic transformation approach to minimize lignin content and consequently enhancing biofuel production from stover.
Chemostratigraphy and Characterization Diagenetic of Carbonate Rocks, Colombian NE (Cogollo Gr.)

Summary En el municipio de Bosconia (Cesar), al SW del Piedemonte de la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta en la Cuenca Cesar-Rancheria, se realizaron analisis quimioestratigraficos de rocas carbonaticas del Grupo Cogollo con el fin de identificar los eventos oceanicos anoxicos (OAEs) del Cretacico inferior. Los datos isotopicos muestran excursion positiva de ca 7 per mil, indicando la presencia del evento anoxico oceanico 1a del Aptiano. El OAE-1a es corroborada con 87Sr/86Sr; estratigrafia y petrografia indican una depositacion en un ambiente marino de plataforma abierta. La baja afectacion diagenetica, apoyan la preservacion de las composiciones isotopicas (C, O y Sr), del agua de mar a partir de la cual los carbonatos se sedimentaron. La sucesion estratigrafica consiste de Packstone y Wackstone-Wackstone con siliciclasticos; la abundancia y preservacion de aloquimicos biologicos; sugieren condiciones de buena oxigenacion y alta concentracion de nutrientes al nivel de la cuenca. La excursion positiva en los isotopos de C sugiere por tanto gran potencial de acumulacion y preservacion de materia organica en las zonas mas profundas de la cuenca. Analisis de campo y petrograficos muestran una baja-media diagenesis; sugieriendo un alto potencial de generacion, acumulacion y reservorio de aceite y gas en el Grupo Cogollo.
Ecology, molecules and colour: Multivariate species delimitation and conservation of Harlequin poison frogs

We propose a iterative protocol for delimiting species under the generalized lineage concept (GLC) based on the multivariate clustering of morphological, ecological, and genetic data. Our rationale is that the resulting groups should correspond to evolutionarily independent metapopulation lineages because they reflect the common signal of different secondary defining properties (ecological and genetic distinctiveness, morphological diagnosability, etc.), implying the existence of barriers preventing or limiting gene exchange. We applied this method to study a group of highly endangered poison frogs, the Oophaga histrionica complex. In our study case, we use next generation targeted amplicon sequencing to obtain a robust genetic dataset that we then combined with patterns of morphological and ecological divergence. Our analyses revealed the existence of at least five different species in the histrionica complex (three of them new to science) occurring in very small isolated populations outside any protected areas. More broadly, our study exemplifies how transcriptome-based reduction of genomic complexity and multivariate statistical techniques can be integrated to successfully identify species and their boundaries. In memoriam “I propose that each species has a distinctive life history, which include a series of stages that correspond to some of the named species concepts” Richard G. Harrison 1945-2016
Whole-Plant Carbon Balance During Osmotic Adjustment to Drought and Salinity Stress

The whole-plant daily carbon balance (the 24-h sum of photosynthetic input of substrate carbon per plant and loss of carbon through respiration) is the CO2 exchange measure that relates most closely to crop production rates. Water stress reduces the photosynthetic input, reducing both leaf area and photosynthetic rate per unit leaf area. Respiratory losses are reduced more or less proportionately. A less-than-proportional loss was observed during osmotic adjustment in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench): the metabolic cost of storing photosynthate and using it for osmotic adjustment was less than the cost of converting it to new biomass. A slightly increased metabolic cost is often found under salt stress but, in sorghum plants that were salinized and then water stressed, the adverse effects of salt were mitigated by decreased water loss rates and enhanced osmotic adjustment during water stress. More tests involving combined salt and water stress are needed.
Identification of Different Malassezia Species Isolated from Skin of Healthy Dog Owners in Tabriz, Iran

Malassezia species are commensal organisms of human and animal skin that occasionally act as opportunistic pathogens. The lipid-dependent species are associated with human skin disorders, whereas the non-lipid-dependent species (Malassezia pachydermatis) is considered as an opportunistic secondary pathogen affecting the canine skin surface and ear canal. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the possibility of canine malassezia organisms (Pachydermatis species) present on the body sites exposed to contact with the animal using the culture method; in another side to identify and isolate different species of malassezia on the skin of studied individuals. In this study which performed in Tabriz, skin samples were obtained from 40 clinically healthy individuals who owned pet dogs. The Skin Brush Method was used for collecting skin samples. These samples were collected from four body sites including the chest, neck, palm, and the interdigital surfaces of the fingers for the microscopic examination and culture. The frequency of malassezia infection was 30% among pet owners. The isolated species were M. japonica (31%), M. globosa (18.8%), and the species with unknown culture pattern (50%). The most common site among the studied sites was the chest (with 80% infection). Not isolating pachydermatis species from the dog owners can show the low probability of infection transmission resulting from dogs and human beings relations, nevertheless, if the malassezia infection exists, the possibility of the infection transmission should be considered.