Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PHYLOGEOGRAPHY, POPULATION STRUCTURE, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR CONSERVATION OF WHITE-TAILED DEER (ODOCOILEUS VIRGINIANUS) IN VENEZUELA

Abstract White-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus, is the most important game species in Venezuela. Some populations are currently threatened by overhunting and habitat loss, making it necessary for implementation of conservation programs. In this study, we employed molecular phylogenetics and population genetics principles to identify conservation units of Venezuelan populations of this species and to provide recommendations for its management. We analyzed DNA sequences—730 base pairs of the mitochondrial control region—in 26 individuals sampled from the 3 subspecies present in Venezuela. Results revealed moderate levels of genetic polymorphism. In addition, evidence of significant population structure was found. Phylogeographic analyses showed 4 lineages with the nominal subspecies O. v. gymnotis appearing to be polyphyletic. A remarkable divergence among haplotypes from Venezuela and North America was revealed in phylogenetic analyses, the former comprising a monophyletic group. The observed divergence among haplotypes from Venezuelan and North American populations was, in most cases, higher than that observed among the latter and haplotypes of O. hemionus (black-tailed deer). This result suggests that Venezuelan white-tailed deer could be considered an evolutionarily significant unit. We interpreted the results obtained within the context of climatic changes since Late Pleistocene. In addition to ecological and morphological evidence, our data suggest that O. v. margaritae and O. v. goudotii populations, the 2 subspecies considered endangered, are clearly differentiated and should be recognized as geminate evolutionary units and protected as distinct groups, even though there is no clear support for elevating these subspecies to species rank, as proposed recently.
Sex ratios, intersexuality and sex change in copepods

Female-biased adult sex ratios are common in copepod species, and have been observed both in wild populations and in cultures. Biased sex ratios are most commonly explained by sex- or stagespecific differences in longevity or mortality. However, neither differential longevity nor differential mortality fully explains skewed sex ratios in planktonic copepod populations. We propose that sex change is an important mechanism determining the adult sex ratio. Though sex change has been proposed for only a few copepod species, intersexuality is widespread. We review the occurrence and causation of intersexuality in planktonic copepods, which is a manifestation of late sex change during development. By way of example, we demonstrate that skewed sex ratios of Acrocalanus gracilis, a common tropical paracalanid copepod, could be explained by sex change alone. Our observations suggest that sex determination in copepods is under strong environmental control, and we argue that the food limitation is an important determinant of sex change.
Job Analysis

Mr. Leek's experience in teaching in police management courses has been of special advantage in the following treatment of an important aspect of the management of human resources. Our scarcest commodity is manpower and the article discusses ways of applying it to the best advantage. Industry's latest management techniques and control systems are drawn upon.
REPERTOIRE, STRUCTURE, AND INDIVIDUAL DISTINCTIVENESS OF THICK-BILLED MURRE CALLS

Abstract We describe the vocal repertoires of Thick-billed Murre (Uria lomvia) adults and chicks during the breeding season. Using recordings from throughout the chick-rearing period, we identified four distinct calls of chicks and six of adults. We present sonograms and quantitative descriptions of each call and summarize the behavioral context in which they were used. Chick calls are mostly flute-like sounds at approximately the same pitch that tend to develop from a simple peep during hatching through a rapidly frequency-modulated departure call, given shortly before, during, and after they leave the colony at fledging. Departure calls appear to facilitate interactions between the chick and the attending male parent during this risky period for the chick. Adult calls are lower pitched and sound more gruff, with different call types having significantly different pitch, duration, and number of syllables. Among-individual variation in the crow calls of adults accounts for 44% of the measured variation in this call and indicates the potential for individual recognition, such as the recognition of parents' calls by their chicks, which we have previously documented. Temporal features may form the basis of recognition of adult calls in this species, given that they accounted for twice as much variation as frequency features among individual adults.
Mothers’ Tolerance of Own and Child Distress: Associations with Discipline Practices

SYNOPSIS Objective. To evaluate the associations among negative affect, mothers’ tolerance of her own and her child’s distress, and dysfunctional disciplinary practices. Design. In Study 1, 71 mothers of children ages 2–5 years completed concurrent measures of discipline, distress tolerance, tolerance of child distress, and parenting-specific anger. In Study 2, 91 mothers of children ages 2–5 years completed concurrent measures related to parent disciplinary behavior, distress tolerance, tolerance of child distress, and measures of trait anger and trait anxiety. Results. In both studies, anger was associated with overreactivity, and own and child distress tolerance were associated with overreactive and lax discipline. In Study 1, own and child distress tolerance evidenced differential patterns of association with discipline. Moreover, there were significant indirect effects of anger on overreactive discipline via tolerance of own distress, and of anger on lax discipline via tolerance of child distress. In the second study, trait anger and anxiety were associated with lax discipline via its association with tolerance of child distress. Conclusions. Dysfunctional discipline may serve, at least in part, as an attempt to terminate or avoid emotional distress; that is, some parents may engage in less effective discipline that works to quickly reduce overwhelming emotions perceived as intolerable. As such, incorporating distress tolerance skills into parenting interventions, with an emphasis on the type of distress tolerance (own or child), may improve outcomes for parents who find implementing learned skills challenging. Notably, the correlational and concurrent nature of this study precludes causal interpretations.
Armazenamento de sementes de cafeeiro: ambientes e métodos de secagem

The loss of seed viability, what makes it difficult to keep the high physiological quality, is one the greatest problems faced by the coffee seed producers during seed storage. Thus, the performance of the coffee seeds (Coffea arabica L. cv. Rubi) during storage harvested in 2001/2002, at Federal University of Lavras-Brazil (UFLA), was investigated. After cleaning seeds were kept at 47,5% of water content (WC), fast (forced air chamber at 35oC) and slow (open environment with 20oC and 60% of relative humidity (RH)) dried until reaching 12%. The seeds were packed in hermetic bags and stored for 9 months at two environments: regular, with monitored temperature and RH, and in dry cold chamber at 10oC and 50% of RH. Before storage and every three months seed quality was evaluated by the germination test, seedlings emergency, emergency speed index and tetrazolium test. Fast drying decreases the vigor of seeds independent from where they dry. In cold chamber it is possible to store regular seeds or slowly dried seeds for up to nine months. In a regular warehouse environment the vigor is affected independently from the way they are dried.
EFFECT OF THE NEMATODE PHASMARHABDITIS HERMAPHRODITA ON YOUNG STAGES OF THE PEST SLUG ARION LUSITANICUS

In a soil bioassay, adult Deroceras reticulatum (Stylommatophora: Limacidae) and three different weight-classes of young Arion lusitanicus (Stylommatophora: Arionidae) were exposed to a single dosage (170 dauer larvae per g of soil) of the nematode Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita monoxenically associated with the bacterium Moraxella osloensis. Groups of 10 slugs were continuously exposed to nematodes for 4 days, and then transferred individually to Petri-dishes containing a disc of Chinese cabbage as food. Food consumption—measured by image analysis—and slug mortality were recorded daily for 10 days. Food consumption was inhibited in both slug species tested. D. reticulatum stopped feeding 6 days after the start of nematode treatment, while all A. lusitanicus continued to feed. However, in the three weight-classes of A. lusitanicus (0.15 g, 0.24 g, 0.45 g), food consumption was reduced by at least 50 %. The greatest reduction in feeding, nearly 90 %, was noted in the smallest A. lusitanicus. The nematodes successfully killed D. reticulatum but were less efficient at killing young A. lusitanicus. At the end of the experiment, mortality was highest in D. reticultatum (98 %) and the smallest weight-class of A. lusitanicus (47 %). There was almost no mortality in the largest weight-class of A. lusitanicus treated with nematodes. P. hermaphrodita associated with M. osloensis can thus be considered as a biological control agent for young stages of A. lusitanicus for its effect as a feeding inhibitor, rather than for its ability to kill the slugs.
Evaluation of equivalency values of microbial phytase to inorganic phosphorus in 22- to 42-day-old broilers

SUMMARY This experiment was conducted to evaluate the equivalency values of microbial phytase to inorganic phosphorus (Pi) in 22- to 42-d-old broilers fed a corn-soybean meal diet. Ten dietary treatments were designed in which diet 1 was the basal diet [calcium 0.90%, total phosphorus 0.35%, nonphytate phosphorus (NPP) 0.13%] and diet 4 was control (calcium 0.90%, total phosphorus 0.57%, NPP 0.35%). Diets 2 and 3 included 0.20 and 0.27% of NPP, and diets 5 to 10 contained graded levels of microbial phytase (125, 250, 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 4,000 U/kg of diet). Body weight gain, feed intake, phosphorus retained, plasma Pi concentration, tibia ash content, and tibia-breaking strength increased, but plasma calcium concentration decreased with increasing dietary NPP content (from 0.13 to 0.35%) or phytase activity. Microbial phytase caused an increase, whereas dietary NPP caused a decrease in phytate phosphorus (PP) retention. When 4,000 U of phytase was added to the basal diet with 0.13% NPP, 95% PP was released based on tibia ash content, and broiler BW gain and feed intake were equal to those of broilers fed the control diet (NPP 0.35%). Microbial phytase at 125, 250, 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 4,000 U/kg of diet was determined to be equivalent to the addition of 0.035 to 0.208% of Pi from dicalcium phosphate in 22- to 42-d-old broilers. These data suggest that high levels of microbial phytase could release almost all dietary PP and replace all supplemental Pi in growing-finishing broilers.
MODELLING THE ANNUAL SHOOT STRUCTURE OF THE APRICOT TREE (CV LAMBERTIN) IN TERMS OF AXILLARY FLOWERING AND VEGETATIVE GROWTH

On the apricot tree, one-year buds can bear flowers on their prophylls. According to the twig type developed and the number of flowers, we consider different axillary complexes. They organize the annual shoot in successive zones. The resulting structure is modelled by a Markov chain. To each state of the Markov chain are associated an occupancy distribution which represents the zone length in terms of number of nodes and two observation distributions which represent respectively the twig type and the number of flowers. The whole model is a hidden semi-Markov chain. The basal part of the shoot is represented by two transient states. For the remaining part of the shoot, the states are recurrent and structured by the number of flowers which increases from 1 flower to 2 flowers, then from 2 flowers to 3 flowers, and afterwards decreases by the inverse arrangement. This emphasizes the flowering and growth capability of the buds according to their rank on the annual shoot. Dependencies along the shoot and within an axillary complex are discussed.
Natural concurrent infections associated with infectious laryngotracheitis in layer chickens

SUMMARY Layer chickens with severe respiratory disease belonging to farms with chickens infected by gallid herpesvirus (GaHV-1) were evaluated. Samples of nasal turbinates/sinuses and trachea from 31 chickens were subjected to histopathological analysis, which showed that 22.6% of chickens had lesions suggestive of co-infection, most frequently by GaHV-1 or Mycoplasma spp. PCR analysis showed the presence of at least two respiratory pathogens in 61.2% of chickens. Partial sequencing was performed for identification of the intergenic spacer region (IGSR) and cytadhesin 2 (mgc2) gene of the Mycoplasma gallisepticum genome. Analysis of IGSR revealed the involvement of two field and one vaccine strains. However, analysis of mgc2 from the same samples revealed five different strains of M. gallisepticum, four of which were field strains and one of which was a vaccine strain. These results demonstrate that combined molecular and histopathological analysis is a reliable and conclusive method for diagnosis of respiratory diseases in chickens since some etiologic agents can remain latent or maintain chickens as carriers. The results further confirm the importance and feasibility of the molecular characterization of M. gallisepticum genes to differentiate between vaccine and field strains involved in cases of respiratory disease in chickens.
Growth and photosynthetic responses to salinity in an extreme halophyte, Sarcocornia fruticosa

Sarcocornia fruticosa (L.) A.J. Scott is found in coastal marshes of south-west Spain, growing under a very wide range of interstitial soil salinity from 10 mM up to nearly 1000 mM. A glasshouse experiment was designed to investigate the effect of this range of salinities on the morphology and the photosynthetic apparatus of S. fruticosa by measuring growth rate, photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic area, atrophy of distal branch ends, water status, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, gas exchange and photosynthetic pigment concentrations. The long-term effects of salinity on the growth of S. fruticosa were mainly determined by the extent of photosynthetic area rather than the variations in net photosynthetic rate. Photosynthetic area was reduced at 1030 mM as a result of a decrease in the length of the photosynthetic portions. This was induced by fewer internodes and, at salinities lower than 510 mM, smaller internode diameter. Net photosynthetic rate increased as the quantum efficiency of photosystem II decreased in the different salinity treatments, which means that the plant could be increasing photorespiration and/or using cyclic electron transport as additional photoprotective mechanisms. The recorded drop in net photosynthetic rate at higher salinities appeared to be due to a reduction in stomatal conductance. The results indicate that S. fruticosa is capable of tolerating very high and continued exposure to salt, showing its greatest growth rate at 510 mM NaCl.
Component Required for T Cell Activation CD4 Dimers Constitute the Functional

The CD4 molecule plays a key role in the development and activation of helper T cells. Dimerization and oligomerization is often a necessary step in the function of several cell surface receptors. Herein, we provide direct biochemical evidence conﬁrming the presence of CD4 as dimers in transfected cells from hemopoetic and ﬁbroblastic origin as well as in primary T cells. Such dimers are also observed with murine CD4 conﬁrming selective pressure during evolution to maintain such a structure. Using a series of point mutations, we have precisely mapped the dimerization site at residues K318 and Q344 within the fourth extracellular domain of CD4. These residues are highly conserved and their mutation results in interference with dimer formation. More importantly, we demonstrate that dimer formation is essential for the coligand and coreceptor functions of CD4 in T cell activation. These data strongly suggest that CD4 dimerization is necessary for helper T cell function. The Journal of Immunology, 2002, 169: 6261–6268. he CD4 molecule is composed of an N-terminal extracellular portion, a transmembrane part and a short cytoplasmic tail. This molecule plays an important role in the development and the activation of T cells by increasing the afﬁnity/ avidity of TCR for the peptide/class II molecule of MHC II and/or by transducing signals through the associated tyrosine kinase p56 lck (1– 4). The extracellular part of CD4 consists of four domains (D1–D4) with Ig-like structures and is involved in the interaction with class II molecules of the MHC and other ligands (1, 2, 5). SVCMV WT CD4 mutated (C4202A) CD4 and/or WT p56 (28, COS-7 methionine- and cysteine-free DMEM CA); then, the transla-bel mix ([ 35 S]methionine and [ 35 S]cysteine 200 (cid:3) Ci; ICN Pharmaceuti- cals) was added for 5 h. Immunoprecipitations were conducted on cell lysates using OKT4 hybridoma supernatant in the presence of protein A- Sepharose beads, then resuspended in nondenaturing and nonreducing Laemmli buffer and fractionated in 8% SDS-PAGE gels. Dried gels were au- toradiographed. Alternatively, total cellular proteins were prepared in 0.5% digitonin and protein inhibitors mixture (2 mM PMSF, 10 (cid:3) g/ml leupeptin, and 0.1 (cid:3) M pepstatin). Protein G-Sepharose beads (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech) were incubated with rabbit anti-HA polyclonal Ab Y-11, and immunoprecipitations were then conducted by adding the coupled Y-11 Ab to the cell lysate supernatants. Immunoprecipitates were resuspended in denaturing, but nonreducing Laemmli buffer to prevent the dissociation of the Ig chains H and L, and then resolved in 9% SDS-PAGE gels. Proteins were transferred to nitrocellulose membranes (Amersham Pharmacia Bio-tech) and blotted with the mouse anti-EP mAb CLP001A (10 (cid:3) g/ml) or the mouse anti-CD4 mAb L-68 (1 (cid:3) g/ml) followed by anti-mouse peroxidase-conjugated secondary Ab and developed using ECL and autoradiography.
A NEW BENCHMARK QUALITY SOLUTION FOR THE BUOYANCY-DRIVEN CAVITY BY DISCRETE SINGULAR CONVOLUTION

This article introduces a high-accuracy discrete singular convolution (DSC) for the numerical simulation of coupled convective heat transfer problems. The problem of a buoyancy-driven cavity is solved by two completely independent numerical procedures. One is a quasi-wavelet-based DSC approach, which uses the regularized Shannon's kernel, while the other is a standard form of the Galerkin finite-element method. The integration of the Navier-Stokes and energy equations is performed by employing velocity correction-based schemes. The entire laminar natural convection range of 10 3 h Ra h 10 8 is numerically simulated by both schemes. The reliability and robustness of the present DSC approach is extensively tested and validated by means of grid sensitivity and convergence studies. As a result, a set of new benchmark quality data is presented. The study emphasizes quantitative, rather than qualitative comparisons.
Gene Expression Changes Induced by Genistein in the Prostate CancerCell Line LNCaP

Epidemiological evidence suggests that soy consumption is associated with a decreased risk of prostate cancer. The isoflavone genistein is found at high levels in soy and a large body of evidence suggests it is important in mediating the cancer preventive effects of soy. The mechanisms through which genistein acts in prostate cancer cells have not been fully defined. We used gene expression profiling to identify genes significantly modulated by low and high doses of ge- nistein in LNCaP cells. Significant genes were identified using StepMiner analysis and significantly altered pathways with Ingenuity Pathways analysis. Genistein significantly altered expression of transcripts involved in cell growth, carcinogen defenses and steroid signaling pathways. The effects of genistein on these pathways were confirmed by directly assessing dose-related effects on LNCaP cell growth, NQO-1 enzymatic activity and PSA protein expression. Genistein produces diverse effects on gene expression that are dose-dependent and this has important implications in developing genistein as a putative prostate cancer preventive agent.
A discussion of the trematode genus Pleorchis railliet, 1896 (Digenea: Pleorchiidae Poche, 1926) with description of two new species from the intestine of marine fishes from the Indian ocean

Two new species of Trematodes of family Pleorchiidae are reported from the intestine of marine fishes from sea coast of Deegha, West Bengal, India (Indian Ocean): Pleorchis santoshai n.sp. from Parascorpaena picta (Cuvier) and Pleorchis keshavai n.sp. from Trachynotus botla (Shaw). In this study, status of genus Pleorchis, has also been critically discussed, and it is proposed that the genus Pleorchis Railliet, 1896 must be classified as member of superfamily Lepocreadioidea (Odhner, 1905) Bray, 2005 and family Pleorchiidae Poche, 1926.
Predição de médias de linhagens obtidas de híbridos simples de milho (Zea mays L.)

A utilizacao de milho hibrido foi o principal fator responsavel pelo aumento na produtividade de graos. Para a obtencao de hibridos e necessaria a identificacao da populacao mais promissora para a extracao de linhagens. Entre os procedimentos que auxiliam os melhoristas nessa escolha, destaca-se a estimativa de m+a', que corresponde a media de todas as linhagens na geracao S". O presente trabalho foi conduzido com os objetivos de estimar a contribuicao dos locos em heterozigose (d) e a contribuicao dos locos em homozigose (m+a') de caracteres morfofisiologicos para verificar o potencial de hibridos comerciais. Foram utilizadas as geracoes F1 e F2 de dez hibridos simples comerciais. Os experimentos foram conduzidos em Lavras, na Fazenda Experimental Vitorinha e em Ijaci, no ano agricola de 2005/06. Os tratamentos foram avaliados utilizando-se o delineamento em blocos casualizados, com tres repeticoes, sendo os dados tomados em cinco plantas/repeticao. Os caracteres avaliados foram: altura de plantas, altura de espiga, numero de folhas acima da espiga, diâmetro do colmo, comprimento da espiga, diâmetro da espiga, diâmetro do sabugo, peso da espiga e peso de graos. Maiores estimativas de m+a' para o carater peso de graos foram obtidas para os hibridos A2555 e AG7000, evidenciando o maior potencial para extracao de linhagens. A heterose foi responsavel, em media, por 69,36% da producao da geracao F1. As correlacoes entre o desempenho da geracao F1 e m+a' e F1 e d foram nao significativas indicando nao haver possibilidade de selecionar populacoes com base na media da geracao F1.