Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In vitro multiplication of Prunus spp. rootstocks "Carelli"

In Brazil the lack of well adapted rootstocks in the Peach industry, mainly of clonal origin, forces the selection of new varieties and the use of tissue culture techniques for the mass clonal propagation. In the present work it was evaluated the in vitro multiplication potential of "Carelli" rootstock in response to different levels of BA. Nodal segments (0.5 cm length) were inoculated in test tubes containing 20 ml of Lepoivre culture medium supplemented with 0.0; 0.5; 1.0; 2.0 and 4.0 mg.L-1 BA. This nodal segments were originated from in vitro pre-established plants after two subcultures in Lepoivre culture medium supplemented with 0.5 mg.L-1 BA. Evaluations done after 21 days in culture showed that the different levels of BA resulted in values statistically similar for the multiplication rate and length of regenerated shoots. The values for multiplication rate ranged from 3.3 to 3.4 shoots/explant. The treatment control did not result in multiple shoots but showed shoots with the highest lengh (16.2 mm). BA significativelly affected the length of shoots and the increase in its levels reduced the shoot lengh. BA levels higher than 1.0 mg.L-1 reduced the shoot length and promoted vitrification. BA in the level of 0.5 mg.L-1 resulted in the induction of 3.3 shoots/explant with means values of 11.0 mm in length in adequate conditions for rooting.
THE THEORETICAL BASIS AND PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN DIFFERENT DISEASE INTENSITY MEASUREMENTS IN PLANTS

Summary The literature concerning relationships among different measures of plant disease intensity is reviewed. Some previous confusion over the definition of the terms “incidence” and “severity” is noted and clarified. The review highlights the common features of relationships between incidence and severity, incidence and disease density, and incidence at pairs of scales in a spatial hierarchy. These relationships often show a similar saturation curve form that can frequently be described empirically using the complementary log-log transformation. A catalogue of alternative functional forms is provided. Practical applications in varietal evaluation are discussed.
Kinetics and Thermodynamics of Halide and Nitrite Oxidation by Mammalian Heme Peroxidases

The human heme peroxidases myeloperoxidase (MPO),eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) and lactoperoxidase (LPO) are able to oxidise (pseudo)halides and nitrite to reactive species that participate in host defence against foreign microorganisms as well as in immunomodulation and tissue degradation in certain pathologies. The heme in EPO and LPO is covalently linked to the apoprotein by two ester bonds, whereas in MPO it is additionally linked by a unique sulfonium ion bond to a methionine residue. As a consequence, the prosthetic group in MPO is significantly distorted from a planar conformation. These structural differences are reflected by distinct spectral and redox properties as well as reactivities toward chloride, bromide, iodide, thiocyanate and nitrite, which function as endogenous two- and one-electron donors for these enzymes in vivo. Standard reduction potentials at pH 7 have been determined for all redox couples involved in the halogenation and peroxidase cycle of MPO and LPO and partially of EPO. A detailed thermodynamic analysis of the formation of reactive halide species by MPO and EPO was also performed. Thus, for the first time, a comprehensive analysis of reactions catalysed by human heme peroxidases is presented that allows a better understanding of their role in physiological and pathophysiological processes. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2006)
Plant size effects on allocation to male and female functions in pearl millet, a hermaphroditic wind-pollinated species

In hermaphroditic higher plants, reproductive fitness can be achieved through male and female functions. The relative allocations to reproduction by maternal and paternal investments define the gender of each individual. In wind-pollinated species, the theory predicts that gender should evolve with plant size, the largest plants investing the most in male function. More specifically, the tallest plants should exhibit the highest degree of maleness, because pollen dispersal is most effective when the release point is high. We searched for potential variation in gender with plant size in pearl millet (Pennisetum typhoides), where each plant produces several shoots. Size was estimated by using four parameters, namely height, stem diameter, total leaf area, and vegetative weight, for shoots and for plants. Gender was estimated as the pollen to ovule (P:O) ratio for each shoot or plant. We found that allocation to male function is very variable, both between shoots within a plant and between plants. Most of th.
Consequences of protecting flowers in a fig: a one-way trip for pollinators?

Fig trees (Ficus) have closed inflorescences. Closure is an efficient protection of flowers against non-specialist predators and harsh external environmental conditions. Each Ficus species is pollinated by a single insect species, an agaonid wasp, capable of forcing its way through a bract-covered pore, the ostiole, to gain access to the flowers. Figs also provide oviposition sites for the wasps. The fig/pollinator interaction is a classic example of mutualism. It has been widely assumed that, once pollinators have entered a fig, oviposited and pollinated, they die trapped within the fig. In this paper, we present observations under natural conditions and results of field experiments on three very different fig species (Ficus aurea Nutt., F. carica L. and F. microcarpa L.) showing that some pollinators do exit or try to exit from the fig after pollination and oviposition. Moreover, experimental results demonstrate that in at least one species (F. carica), the pollinator is able to oviposit successively in two different figs. The frequency of re-emergences from figs after pollination varies among species and this may be related to variations in pollination dynamics depending on environmental constraints such as the abundance of trees and tree phenology. Several factors that may favour pollinators that leave figs after pollination and oviposition are discussed. They include competition between pollinators for oviposition sites, and minimising of the risk of vertical transmission of parasites and pathogens.
Institutions and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan African Countries: The Effect of Investment Climate Quality

This paper assesses the impact of investment climate quality on economic growth for a sample of 21 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), over the period 1996-2014. The investment climate is measured simultaneously by individual components and composite indices, in order to capture both its global and specific effects, with a view to possibly identifying the most determining factors in the economic growth of SSA countries. In addition, in order to verify the robustness of our results, two composite indices of investment climate were constructed using the Principal Component Analysis method, with variables from two main databases (the World Governance Indicators database of World Bank and the International Country Risk Guide database). By using fixed and random effects models based on Hausman test results, we generally find that investment climate is a major determinant of economic growth in the countries of the SSA of the study sample. This result is valid regardless of the composite index or the individual component considered. Fight against corruption, protection of private property rights, efficiency of government, the quality of bureaucracy and regulation appear to be the most decisive components in accelerating economic growth for the sample of country considered.
Identifying realistic recovery targets and conservation actions for tigers in a human‐dominated landscape using spatially explicit densities of wild prey and their determinants

Setting realistic population targets and identifying actions for site and landscape‐level recovery plans are critical for achieving the global target of doubling wild tiger numbers by 2022. Here, we estimate the spatially explicit densities of wild ungulate prey across a gradient of disturbances in two disjunct tiger habitat blocks (THBs) covering 5212 km2, to evaluate landscape‐wide conditions for tigers and identify opportunities and specific actions for recovery.
Exploring Innovation Adoption Behavior for Sustainable Development: The Case of Hungarian Food Sector

Innovation plays a key role in the success and sustainable development of businesses. The innovation process derives from the combination of personal skills and company resources that influence food company managers in their choices on innovation (the decision-making process). This study is an attempt to try to understand which psychological constructs affect innovation decision-making in the Hungarian food sector, using the empirical data from a 2017 survey conducted in Hungary among the largest food processing companies. Planned behavior theory (TPB) was applied to the study of factors affecting innovation decision-making. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used for data analysis. The results show that the positive attitude of Hungarian food business leaders towards innovation, evaluation of innovation and the strategic intention of placing innovative products and processes on the market have a positive relationship with innovation performance; however, the lack of adequate research skills, plus specific knowledge and skills is hindering the development of the hoped for process.
Phosphorus uptake by resting cysts of the marine dinoflagellate Scrippsiella trochoidea

Resting cysts of the marine dinoflagellate Scrippsiella trochoidea were produced under phosphorus (P)-deficient conditions, separated from vegatative cells, and incubated for 28 days in darkness at 4 and 20 degrees C in P-enriched and P-deplete medium. Th
Effect of soluble salts on water absorption by gel‐forming soil conditioners

The use of gel-forming synthetic polymers as aids to water retention in sandy soils is an important development to assist plant growth in arid regions. However, the water storage properties of these soil conditioners are significantly affected by the nature and concentrations of dissolved salts in irrigation waters. Moreover, the salt response of products in the three main chemical families—starch copolymers, polyvinylalcohols and polyacrylamides—is very different, emphasising the importance of detailed assays in selecting a product for a particular set of environmental conditions.
Effects of Young Cladodes on the Gas Exchange of Basal Cladodes of Opuntia ficus‐indica (Cactaceae) under Wet and Dry Conditions

Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plants, such as the cultivated Opuntia ficus‐indica, are resistant to drought, but their responses can be affected by development of new organs, such as young, developing cladodes. The effect of a variable number of daughter cladodes on net CO2 uptake, nighttime intercellular CO2 concentration, stomatal conductance, and relative water content for mother cladodes exposed to wet and dry conditions was evaluated. Daily net CO2 uptake by mother cladodes of O. ficus‐indica was significantly reduced as the number of daughter cladodes increased under dry conditions but was less affected under wet conditions. Stress caused by daughter cladodes and dry soil affected the expression of CAM phases in mother cladodes, curtailing CO2 uptake in the late afternoon (phase IV) and reducing carbon gain during the night (phase I) and early morning (phase II), the reduction being most marked under dry conditions. Dry soil and daughter cladodes reduced the relative water content (RWC) of mother cladodes, decreased the net CO2 uptake during the day and at night, and increased the internal cellular CO2 concentration. Under wet conditions, the RWC of mother cladodes was only slightly affected by daughter cladodes; nevertheless, daughter cladodes affected the recovery of phases I, II, and IV after substantial rainfall interrupted drought, and they also affected the net CO2 uptake in phases II and IV; this is one of the first times that an ontogenic factor has been shown to affect net CO2 uptake under well‐watered conditions. The increase in the number of daughter cladodes did not increase the photosynthetic capacity of mother cladodes under wet or dry conditions.
Nexus of Economic Growth on Happiness and Inequality: Reexamine the Paradox

Economic Growth is the essence of capitalism and it has the paradoxical relation on happiness and an inverse relationship with inequality. Capitalism is fueling the inequality in terms of access, opportunities, production, and distribution. The paper entitled “Nexus of Economic Growth on Happiness and Inequality” is reexamined the paradox which estimated the effect of economic growth and income on happiness and inequality by analyzing 1080 observations from 2008 to 2016 period covered 120 countries. The main explained variable of this paper is happiness and major interested explanatory variables are GDP per capita, GDP growth and inequality. The paper applied fixed and random effect and Linear Dynamic Panel Data (LDPD)/generalized method of moment estimation method as its estimation strategy. This paper investigated the positive association between GDP growth and income with happiness and found that the increase of economic growth and income lead to increase inequality which has a negative association with happiness.
No‐till establishment improves the climate benefit of bioenergy crops on marginal grasslands

Funding information USDepartment ofEnergy,Grant/Award Numbers:DE-SC0018409,DE-ACO576RL01830;National ScienceFoundation, Grant/AwardNumber:DEB 1027253 Abstract Expanding biofuel production is expected to accelerate the conversion of unmanaged marginal lands to meet biomass feedstock needs. Greenhouse gas production during conversion jeopardizes the ensuing climate benefits, but most research to date has focused only on conversion to annual crops and only following tillage. Here we report the global warming impact of converting USDA Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) grasslands to three types of bioenergy crops using no-till (NT) vs. conventional tillage (CT). We established replicated NT and CT plots in three CRP fields planted to continuous corn, switchgrass, or restored prairie. For the 2 yr following an initial soybean year in all fields, we found that, on average, NT conversion reduced nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions by 50% and CO2 emissions by 20% compared with CT conversion. Differences were higher in Year 1 than in Year 2 in the continuous corn field, and in the two perennial systems the differences disappeared after Year 1. In all fields net CO2 emissions (asmeasured by eddy covariance)were positive for the first 2 yr following CT establishment, but following NT establishment net CO2 emissions were close to zero or negative, indicating net C sequestration. Overall, NT improved the global warming impact of biofuel crop establishment following CRP conversion by over 20-fold compared with CT (−6.01 Mg CO2e ha−1 yr−1 for NT vs. −0.25 Mg CO2e ha−1 yr−1 for CT, on average). We also found that Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates of N2O emissions (as measured by static chambers) greatly underestimated actual emissions for converted fields regardless of tillage. Policies should encourage adoption of NT for converting marginal grasslands to perennial bioenergy crops to reduce C debt andmaximize climate benefits.
Interleukin‐1β induces interleukin‐6 mRNA expression and protein production in synovial cells from human temporomandibular joint

BACKGROUND: Interleukin (IL)-1 beta and IL-6 were found to be elevated in fluid from the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), although the source of these cytokines was not elucidated. There is little known about the function and response of synovial cells in the TMJ. The purpose of this study was to prepare cultured human synovial cells (HTS cells) from the TMJ and to investigate IL-6 production in HTS cells incubated with IL-1 beta. METHODS: HTS cells were isolated from temporomandibular joint synovial tissue using an outgrowth method and then cultured in Ham's F12 medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum. The HTS cells were treated with or without IL-1 beta for 3, 6, 9 and 24 h. IL-6 and soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) levels in cultured supernatant were measured by ELISA. IL-6 mRNA expression was investigated using immunocytochemistry and RT-PCR. RESULTS: HTS cells were morphologically heterogeneous. IL-1 beta increased IL-6 production in HTS cells. In those treated with IL-1 beta, several cells were strongly stained in the cytoplasm around the nucleus, while several cells were weakly stained in this area. IL-1 beta also stimulated IL-6 mRNA expression. In contrast, sIL-6R could not be detected in cells treated with or without IL-1 beta. CONCLUSIONS: IL-1 beta increased IL-6 production in synovial cells resulting from an increase in IL-6 mRNA expression. Enhanced production of IL-6, which is associated with bone resorption and inflammatory response, seems to be related to the progression of TMJ disorders.
Unequal Returns: Using the Atkinson Index to Measure Financial Risk

Abstract We apply the Atkinson (1970) inequality index to time series of asset returns to offer a novel measure of financial risk consistent with expected-utility theory. This measure is converted to a certainty-equivalent return serving as a performance measure. We extend the Atkinson index to HARA utility and derive closed-form solutions to our measures for a number of preference-return combinations. Further, we establish relationships between risk aversion and the weights assigned to the cumulants of the return distribution for our performance measure. Using data from hedge funds and asset-pricing anomalies, we find that our performance measure contains additional, economically meaningful information.
ATLAS OF MARINE BONY FISH OTOLITHS (SAGITTAE) OF SOUTHEASTERN-SOUTHERN BRAZIL PART I: GADIFORMES (MACROURIDAE, MORIDAE, BREGMACEROTIDAE, PHYCIDAE AND MERLUCCIIDAE); PART II: PERCIFORMES (CARANGIDAE, SCIAENIDAE, SCOMBRIDAE AND SERRANIDAE)

A disponibilidade de desenhos, fotos detalhadas, descricoes precisas e medidas que caracterizem os otolitos sao ferramentas imprescindiveis para diversas areas: taxonomia, filogenia, ecologia, pesca, paleontologia, diversidade, relacoes presa/predador e modelagem. Da Colecao de Otolitos de Peixes Teleosteos da Regiao Sudeste-Sul do Brasil (COSS-Brasil), IOUSP, constam quarenta e cinco mil pares relativos a 210 especies. Esta publicacao e a primeira de uma serie que constituira um atlas de otolitos para Teleostei da regiao sudeste-sul brasileira e apresenta os resultados de analises morfologicas e morfometricas de 11 especies de Gadiformes e 36 de Perciformes das medidas e indices usualmente realizados. Foram desenhados e fotografados tres otolitos de cada especie sempre que possivel. A frequencia de ocorrencia foi calculada por classes de comprimento total (TL) e para toda a amostra, e diferencas ontogeneticas foram analisadas.
Antipredator strategies of caribou: dispersion along shorelines

A small herd of 15–31 caribou (Rangifer tarandus) inhabited a shoreline strip of habitat along Lake Superior from 1972 to 1983. By remaining near the shoreline, they were spaced away from the major distributions of wolves (Canis lupus) and lynx (Lynx canadensis) that hunted mainly inland for moose (Alces alces) and snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus), respectively. Lake Superior also provided a means of escape from wolves, and offshore islands constituted safe parturition sites. The persistence of this herd is consistent with the hypothesis that viable caribou populations cannot survive on ranges frequented by high numbers of wolves (maintained mainly by moose prey) unless there are special habitat features providing escape for cows with young calves.
Survival outcomes of elderly patients with pathological stages II and III gastric cancer following curative gastrectomy

Survival outcomes in elderly patients with pathological stages (pStages) II and III gastric cancer remain inadequately elucidated. We retrospectively analyzed outcomes of elderly and nonelderly patients who underwent curative gastrectomy for this cancer and considered clinical results of the Estimation of Physiologic Ability and Surgical Stress (E‐PASS) scoring system for prediction.
Ecological laws: what would they be and why would they matter?

There remains considerable debate over the existence of ecological laws. However, this debate has not made use of an adequate account of what a relationship would have to be like in order for it to qualify as an ecological law. As a result, confusions have persisted not only over how to show that ecological laws do (or do not) exist, but also regarding why their existence would matter – other than to whether ecology looks like physics. I argue that ecological laws would have to possess collectively a distinctive kind of invariance under counterfactual perturbations. I call this invariance “stability. ” A law of physics, such as the law that all bodies travel no faster than the speed of light, is not only true, but also necessary in a physically significant sense. (A body must travel no faster than light; it couldn't do otherwise, even if it were subjected to a greater force.) Likewise, the stability of ecological laws would render them necessary in an ecologically relevant sense. Furthermore, ecological laws would differ from fundamental laws of physics in the range of counterfactual perturbations under which they are invariant. Therefore, I argue, the existence of ecological laws would make ecological explanations irreducible to even the most complete possible physical explanations of the same phenomena. Ecological laws would make ecology genuinely autonomous from physics.
Catastrophe Risk-Sharing Decisions of Individuals, Insurer, and Government

We develop a dynamic game model for efficient catastrophe risk-sharing that allows decision makers to derive optimal pricing, capital, and buying decisions in one equilibrium. Existing catastrophe insurance models focus on either the primary insurance market or the reinsurance market, thus involving one or two decision makers. Our model involves both markets and three decision makers: Individuals, a private insurer, and a centralized agency acting as reinsurer. We show that government reinsurance addresses the failure of the private catastrophe insurance market, increases individuals’ willingness to pay for catastrophe risk transfer, and represents a Pareto improvement on a competitive market with no reinsurance or with private reinsurance. The government’s trade-off between using catastrophe taxes and reinsurance premiums to fund the program improves the social welfare through product quality, capital cost, and wealth transfer channels. Furthermore, a government reinsurance program is a complement to an ex-post catastrophe-relief program and a risk-based solvency regulation.
The Summer Before College: A Case Study of First-Generation, Urban High School Graduates

Often without guidance in completing college-related tasks, first-generation students face unique challenges during the summer before college. This case study investigates this critical time period by studying a cohort of 33 newly graduated students from the same urban, public high school. Guided by social capital, college readiness, and nepantla frameworks, results shed light on students’ barriers and pathways to transitioning to postsecondary education. The authors call for an extension of college readiness frameworks to the summer before college and also problematize the notion of a college-ready student.