Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reação de genótipos de maracujazeiro-azedo a Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. passiflorae, em casa de vegetação

Apesar da grande importância economica do maracujazeiro azedo, tal cultura vem enfrentando varios problemas fitossanitarios, entre os quais, a mancha oleosa causada por Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. passiflorae. Com o objetivo de avaliar a reacao de 76 genotipos de maracujazeiro azedo a Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. passiflorae e selecionar plantas resistentes, foi conduzido um experimento em casa de vegetacao, na Estacao Biologica da Universidade de Brasilia. Foi utilizado o delineamento de blocos casualizados, com 76 tratamentos (76 genotipos), quatro repeticoes e seis plantas por parcela. A inoculacao foi feita pelo metodo de aspersao na concentracao estimada de 1 x 108 UFC/ml. A avaliacao dos sintomas foi feita utilizando-se uma escala de notas de 0 a 4, onde 0 significou uma planta resistente (R), 1 uma planta medianamente resistente (MR), 2 uma planta medianamente suscetivel (MS), 3 uma planta suscetivel (S) e 4 uma planta altamente suscetivel (AS). Alguns genotipos apresentaram uma alta porcentagem de plantas resistentes (70 a 95%), entre os quais, MAR 20-07, MAR 20-12, MAR 20-17, MAR 20-18, MAR 20-21, MAR 20-29, MAR 20-48, MAR 20-51, MAR 20-54, IAC, `Maguary Mesa`, `Maguary Mesa 1`, F1 (Roxo Fiji x Marilia), Vermelhao e EC-2-O. Foram selecionadas as plantas resistentes de cada genotipo, para posterior inoculacao e nova selecao de plantas resistentes, dando continuidade ao programa de melhoramento genetico.
Diet composition of the endangered giant water bug Lethocerus deyrolli (Hemiptera: Belostomatidae) in the rice fields of Japan: Which is the most important prey item among frogs, fish, and aquatic insects?

The food habits of the endangered giant water bug, Lethocerus deyrolli, were studied in the rice fields of Nose, in the north of Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Field observations revealed that frogs were the most important prey item. Frogs represented 86.4% and 78.6% in the diet of L. deyrolli in spring and summer, respectively. Among seven species of three families (Hylidae, Rhacophoridae, and Ranidae) exploited by L. deyrolli, the most important food item was adult Hyla japonica in spring and juvenile Rana nigromaculta in summer. Fish and aquatic arthropods were not considered important foods for L. deyrolli. The frog‐dependent food habits indicate that the recovery and conservation of frogs should be prioritized to protect L. deyrolli from extinction.
Synthesis and Evaluation of Novel Substrates and Inhibitors of N-Succinyl-LL-diaminopimelate Aminotransferase (DAP-AT) from Escherichia coli

N-Succinyl-LL-diaminopimelate aminotransferase (DAP-AT) (EC 2.6.1.17), a key enzyme in the bacterial pathway to L-lysine, was purified to near homogeneity (1500-fold) in five steps from wild type Escherichia coli ATCC 9637. This pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) dependent enzyme has a molecular weight of 39.9 kDa, appears to form an active homodimer, and uses L-glutamate as the amino group donor for its substrate, N-succinyl-R-amino- -ketopimelic acid (1a )( K m )0.18 ( 0.04 mM, kcat ) 86 ( 5s - 1 ). Progress of the reaction is monitored by spectrophotometric observation of decrease in NADPH concentration at 340 nm in a coupled enzyme assay with L-glutamate dehydrogenase (EC 1.4.1.4). Stereochemically pure 1a was synthesized as its trilithium salt by ene reaction of methyl glyoxylate with methyl N-succinyl-L-allylglycinate (4a) followed by hydrogenation of the double bond, Dess-Martin oxidation of the alcohol, and careful lithium hydroxide hydrolysis. Similar approaches allowed synthesis of a series of substrate analogues 1b-g having different N-acyl substituents, as well as derivatives missing the carboxyl group or the amide functionality (13 and 17, respectively). Compounds lacking the keto functionality (18a, 18c, and 19) were also prepared. Assay of DAP-AT shows that the enzyme has quite strict requirements for substrate recognition, but it will accept compounds with an aromatic ring in place of the terminal succinyl carboxyl group in 1a (e.g. N-Cbz-R-amino--ketopimelic acid (1c)). Reaction of substrates 1a,c with hydrazine hydrate followed by NaCNBH3 reduction gives 2-(N-(succinylamino))- (20a) and 2-(N-Cbz-amino)-6-hydrazinoheptane-1,7-dioic acids (20c), respectively. These are the most potent slow-binding inhibitors of any DAP-metabolyzing enzyme reported so far (Ki* for DAP-AT: 20a is 22 ( 4 nM; 20c is 54 ( 9 nM).
Climate-driven range changes in Tasmanian intertidal fauna

The south-eastern coast of Australia is recognised as a climate-change hotspot; warming over the past 50 years has exceeded the global average. The marine fauna in the region is responding to this warming with several subtidal species showing a pole-ward range expansion. We provide the first evidence for a similar response in intertidal invertebrates, on the basis of surveys from the eastern coast of Tasmania in 2007–2008 that replicated a set from the 1950s. Of 29 species used in the analysis, 55% were detected further south than in the 1950s. The average minimum movement of the southern (pole-ward) range edges was 116 km (range 20–250 km), representing a rate of ∼29 km per decade for a warming rate of 0.22°C per decade. Barnacles and gastropods showed the greatest range extensions, with one species absent from Tasmania in the 1950s, the giant rock barnacle, Austromegabalanus nigrescens, now recorded widely along the eastern coast of Tasmania. The distance that the southern (pole-ward) range limit moved south for each species was not related to a qualitative dispersal potential index. Local extinction of some species in north-eastern Tasmania may also occur in the coming decades.
Differences in the environmental control of leaf senescence of four Quercus species coexisting in a Mediterranean environment

Aims of study : Our aim is to check the effect of different environmental factors on the leaf senescence of four Quercus species with different leaf longevities, to help us better understand the implications of climate change on leaf demography. Area of study: The study was carried out in two sites of theprovince of Salamanca (central-westernSpain), both sites showing differences in their temperatures and soil water availability. Material and Methods: Over four years (2007-2010) we monitored the number of leaves of the different cohorts labelled on five specimens of each species at both sites to elaborate life-tables and calculate mortality rates. Mortality rates were then related to several other variables measured during the same period: air temperature, soil water availability, precipitation, predawn water potentials (Y pd ) and leaf N resorption. Main results: In the two deciduous species maximum daily temperatures and the time during which their values remain above a certain threshold (between 11 and12oC of maximum daily temperature) are the main factors controlling the timing of leaf abscission. In the evergreen species abscission of old leaves showed no relationship with the environmental factors analyzed. By contrast, mortality rates of old leaves were related to seasonal N resorption values, with the maximum mortality of old leaves coinciding in time with the maximum withdrawal of N from shed leaves and also with the emergence of the new leaf cohort. Research highlights: The increase in the duration of the leaves of the two deciduous species, as a result of the delayed senescence by warmer autumnal temperatures, could contribute to reducing the differences in the length of the productive leaf life with respect to the evergreen species. This could improve the competitive capacity of deciduous species as opposed to that of evergreen species, and thus alter their respective distribution patterns. Keywords: climate change; deciduous; evergreen; leaf abscission; temperature; water availability.
Modeling mechanical interactions between cancerous mammary acini

The rules and mechanical forces governing cell motility and interactions with the extracellular matrix of a tissue are often critical for understanding the mechanisms by which breast cancer is able to spread through the breast tissue and eventually metastasize. Ex vivo experimentation has demonstrated the the formation of long collagen fibers through collagen gels between the cancerous mammary acini responsible for milk production, providing a fiber scaffolding along which cancer cells can disorganize. We present a minimal mechanical model that serves as a potential explanation for the formation of these collagen fibers and the resultant motion. Our working hypothesis is that cancerous cells induce this fiber formation by pulling on the gel and taking advantage of the specific mechanical properties of collagen. To model this system, we present a hybrid method where we employ a new Eulerian, fixed grid simulation known as the Reference Map Method to model the collagen as a nonlinear viscoelastic material coupled with a multi-agent model to describe individual cancer cells. We find that these phenomena can be explained two simple ideas: cells pull collagen radially inwards and move towards the tension gradient of the collagen gel, while being exposed to standard adhesive and collision forces. From a computational perspective, we hope that our work can serve as a generalizable framework for future theoretical studies of the mechanical interactions between a large number of cells and a dynamic environment. Acknowledgements First, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to my mentor Chris Rycroft for all of his support during the past year, and for always patiently serving as an unending source of ideas when my creative juices were dried up (which was quite the common occurrence). I have learned considerably from his tutelage, and I am indebted to him for the experience and knowledge he imparted on me. I would also like to thank his graduate student and my best friend from high school Jordan Hoffmann for all of his help revising my thesis and for many entertaining conversations around programming and practical jokes. Also, none of this work would have been possible without the data carefully collected by our stellar collaborators led by Prof. Jan Liphardt at Stanford University. It is said that a model can be only as good as the data that goes into it, and I am grateful for the extraordinary work by Matt Franklin, Rajarshi Ghosh, Quanming Shi, Hanna Engelke, and the rest of the Liphardt Lab. Many of the conversations we had helped inform the biology in this thesis. Last but not least, I would like to thank my four-year roommate Dominic Ferrante, who has always served as my pillar of support when I needed it the most. It has been a great four years, in no small part due to the wonderful friends I made here. i
Nutritional status of vines affected with esca proper.

A vineyard of the cv. Trebbiano d’Abruzzo located in Abruzzo, Italy, was monitored for more than ten years to distinguish healthy vines not only from vines with the visual leaf symptoms of esca, but also from those vines that were esca-infected but did not produce any visual symptoms for one or more growing seasons. In the period 2004–2006, leaves and berries were collected at four phenological growth stages from three groups of vines: healthy vines, infected vines showing esca symptoms, and infected vines that did not show symptoms. The macro and micro-elements of the leaves and berries, and the quality parameters of the must were determined. Esca did not seem to affect nutrient uptake in the vines. Nevertheless there were some differences in the nutrient levels of the leaves between healthy and diseased vines consistent with the degradation of the leaf blade caused by esca. Berries from symptomatic vines were less ripe at the time of harvesting and therefore had higher levels of mineral elements. These berries also had higher levels of nitrogen, which are thought to be associated with the defence response of diseased vines to esca, as are higher levels of iron in the leaves of diseased vines. The study confirmed earlier findings that fruit composition did not differ greatly between healthy and diseased-but-asymptomatic vines. In the three-year study period there were differences in the incidence of leaf symptoms and differences in nutrient levels attributable to fertiliser applications and rainfall. These differences suggested that the amount of mineral nutrients affected the onset of esca symptoms: a higher availability of nutrients in a growing season increased the proportion of diseased vines with symptoms and lowered the proportion of diseased vines without symptoms, whereas in a growing season with the lower levels of water and potassium, the yield was reduced, but this was accompanied by an increase in the proportion of diseased vines without symptoms. It is suggested that a higher availability of nutrients for diseased vines lowers the resistance of these vines and, by improving the nutrition not only of the vines themselves but also of the esca fungi, increase fungal virulence, as a result of which there is a greater incidence of diseased vines showing leaf symptoms.
Leaf Gas Exchange Parameters Vary among Cotton Genotypes

In trying to increase the yield of upland cotton (L.), breeders have indirectly selected more for increases in harvest index than in photosynthesis. Future cotton yield advances may need increases in both harvest index and photosynthesis. The objectives of this study were to determine if differences in leaf CO-exchange rate (CER) existed among cotton genotypes, investigate physiological mechanisms for the gas exchange differences, and determine if gas exchange parameters were related to genotypic lint yield variability. Field studies were conducted from 1990 to 1992 on 18 cotton genotypes. Leaf CER, chlorophyli. (Chl) concentration, soluble protein concentration, specific leaf weight (SLW), lint yield, and yield components were determined each year. In addition, Chl fluorescence measurements were made in 1992. The CER of the 18 genotypes significantly varied about 10% from a low of 26.0 μmol m s to a high of 28.8 ltmol m s. DES 119 and MD 51 ne had higher CER, whereas the CER of Dixie King and Stoneviile 508 were lower. The genotypes differed in leaf Chl and soluble protein concentration in both 1991 and 1992. The CER was positively correlated with leaf Chl concentration (= 0.768*) and SLW (= 0.568*) in 1991. No difference in the Fv/Fm parameter of Chi fluorescence was found among the genotypes in 1992. A significant positive association (= 0.205**) was found between lint yield and CER during the boll filling period in 1990 and 1991. CER was positively associated with fiber micronaire (= 0.772*) and fiber maturity (0.797*) in 1992. As some cotton breeders bred for higher yielding genotypes, they may have inadvertently selected for increased photosynthesis.
A review of developments in ballast water management

Transportation and translocation of non-native species by ships through ballast water is one of the current issues the shipping industry is trying to address. The Ballast Water Convention is nearing full ratification after which treatment of ballast water will become mandatory for most of the trading merchant vessel categories. Ballast water management systems employing various technologies are commercially available but at high costs. Economics apart, the efficiency of these technologies and realistic ways to ensure compliance with stricter requirements of some Administrations are issues that need to be focussed upon. With the report of the Environmental Protection Agency as an assessment reference, this paper reviews the treatment technologies. Juxtaposing reports of Lloyd’s Register on the status, a concise overview of the technologies has been projected. A sustainable ballast water management based on data and assessments is proposed. The management must be extended to both shore and on-board platform.
Fates of seedling carpets in an Amazonian floodplain forest: intra‐cohort competition or attack by enemies?

1. The operation of ‘negative density‐dependence’ in seedling cohorts in tropical forests is empirically well‐established, but only at a phenomenological level that leaves open the question of why seedlings conspecific with an overtopping parent tree experience higher mortality than heterospecifics. The distinction is of theoretical importance because distinct mechanisms are involved.
Studies on genetic potential of baby corn (Zea mays L.) hybrids for yield and quality traits.

Baby corn is a profitable crop that allows a diversification of production, aggregation of value and increased income, and estimation of heterosis is helpful in checking the performance of parents in hybrid combination. A set of 21 baby corn single crosses were developed through diallel mating design following Model-I, Method-II of Griffing (1956) and were evaluated along with their parental inbred lines and one check variety to assess the possibility of exploiting heterosis for baby corn yield in baby corn and to identify traits having high heritability for using as selection parameter in baby corn development. High heterotic effects were observed for plant height, number of baby corn per plant, baby corn weight, baby corn yield per plot, reducing sugars and non reducing sugars. Estimates of broad sense heritability also varied with characters. High herita-bility coupled with genetic advance as per cent of mean were shown by most of the traits viz., plant height, number of baby corns per plant, baby corn length, baby corn weight, total sugars, reducing sugars, non reducing sugars and baby corn yield per plot indicating a substantial amount of genetic variation in this population of hybrids and none of the traits showed low or negligible heritability. Based on the overall performance of the hybrids FDM 7 x FDM 14 was found to have high genetic potential as it exhibited heterosis for certain important characteristics of baby corn.
Improved Acacia senegal growth after inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi under water deficiency conditions.

In a controlled pot experiment, tropical legume tree Acacia senegal L. (Wild.) seedlings were inoculated with three different species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), Glomus intraradices, G. fasciculatum and G. mosseae. Three water levels (field capacity, moderate water deficiency & severe water deficiency) were applied to the plants after transplantation. Each treatment was replicated 5 times. After twelve weeks of water deficiency, results showed that growth of plants was improved by mycorrhizal inoculation under water deficiency conditions. Inoculation treatments under water deficiency significantly increased biomass, height and shoot water content. In non-inoculated plants, water deficiency reduced most plant growth parameters. Root colonization average varied from 30.4% to 62.5%. Lowest intensity (30.4%) was observed for field capacity associated with G. intraradices and the highest root colonization (62.5%) was observed for severe water-deficiency associated with G. fasciculatum. AM fungus G. fasciculatum can form adequate mycorrhizae with A. senegal under water deficiency conditions. © 2011 Friends Science Publishers
First report of an Anabaena Bory strain containing microcystin-LR in a freshwater body in Africa

In South Africa, little is known about the production of microcystin by the genus Anabaena Bory. In April 2012, during a cyanobacterial bloom event in Theewaterskloof Dam, Western Cape province, the plankton was sampled on 10 occasions. The dominant algae belonged to the genus Anabaena, a family of filamentous cyanobacteria known to produce cyanotoxins such as anatoxin-a, harmful to humans and the aquatic foodweb. The specimens isolated lacked the characteristic akinetes and/or heterocysts associated with this genus. Therefore the 16S rRNA gene was Sanger sequenced and a maximum parsimony tree was constructed, confirming its identity as Anabaena ucrainica (Schkorbatow) M. Watanabe. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) confirmed the presence of microcystin-LR in the isolated A. ucrainica field sample, while PCR analysis and sequencing further confirmed the presence of mcy genes in this species. It was speculated from the data that prevailing low water-column temperatures and strong gusty winds may have resulted in the lack of akinete or heterocyst production. The Anabaena strain isolated from Theewaterskloof Dam is the first report of a strain containing microcystin-LR belonging to this genus in a freshwater body in Africa.
Effect of different crop residues as litter material on performance of commercial broilers.

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of different crop residues as litter material on performance of commercial broilers. Three hundred day old Vencob commercial broilers were divided into four groups of seventy five birds each and were reared in deep litter system separately on ground nut shell (GNS), sorghum husk (SRH), red gram husk (RGS) and bajra (pearl millet) husk (BJH) as litter material for six weeks. The birds were fed adlibitum with commercial broiler feed comprised CP 20% and ME 2700 kcal/kg. During the experiment, daily feed intake (FI), water intake (WI) and weekly weight gain (WG), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and mortality rate were recorded. The dressing percentage at the end of the trial was estimated. The average weekly FI (g/d/b), WI (ml/d/b), WG (g/d/b), FCR and mortality rate (%) of birds reared on GNS, SRH, RGH and BJH were 104.3±25.7, 105.2±26.7, 91.0±21.0, 91.1±20.9; 180.8±43.7, 178.0±42.6, 282.8±75.2, 291.0±76.7; 44.4±9.8, 44.5±9.8, 45.2±8.3, 47.3±9.2; 2.3±0.2, 2.3±0.2, 2.0±0.2, 1.9±0.2 and 0.7±0.3, 0.5±0.2, 0.2±0.2, 0.4±0.3, respectively. There is no significance difference among the treatment groups. Similarly, the intake of important nutrients like dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, crude fiber, nitrogen free extractives, and energy have not shown any significance difference among the groups as well as between the weeks. The dressing percentage recorded at the end of the experiment in groups GNS, SRH, RGH and BJH were 67.5, 77.5, 68.2 and 74.1, respectively. These results clearly indicated that the performance of the birds reared on crop residues were equally good in comparison with birds reared on GNS. Hence, these crop residue can be used without any adverse effect as litter material to rear the birds on deep litter system.