Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Results of treatments with natural insecticidal substances on the development and physiological state of insects

Reviewed are the results of treatments carried out in the Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences of treatments with natural insecticidal substances on the development and physiological state of insects, using neurotoxical plant extracts (pyrethrins), plant extracts possessing several modes of action (neem) and an Insect Growth Regulator (extract of Ledum palustre possessing properties of juvenile hormone). Physiological changes evoked with treatments were monitored by means of complex methods including a constant volume respirometer, infrared actograph, infrared gas analyzer (IRGA),and a microcalorimeter. Diapausing lepidopterous pupae (Pieris brassicae, Mamestra brassicae) exhibited discontinuous gas exchange cycles (DGCs). After treatments of the pupae of P. brassicae with neem, the DGCs were abolished, suggesting direct action on the neuromuscular system. The disappearance of DGCs was accompanied with lethal desiccation, supporting the hypothesis that DGC is an adaptation for restricting the respiratory water losses. Cyclic gas exchange was also lost after treatments with neem in adults of Leptinotarsa decemlineata. The clear gas exchange cycles in the pupae of Galleria mellonella, Tenebrio molitor and P. brassicae were also abolished after treatments with extracts of Artemisia vulgaris, Tanacetum vulgare, T. roseum and L. palustre. The timing of the normal and failed ecdysis (after treatment with L. palustre) as well as length of intercdysial periods in T. molitor pupae was measured exactly from calorimetric recordings. The treated pharate pupae transformed into extra-pupal instars, which is a symptom of juvenilizing effect.
A presence-only habitat suitability model for Persian leopard Panthera pardus saxicolor in Golestan National Park, Iran

Top predators such as leopard Panthera spp. are often associated with high biodiversity, so the protection of their habitats is one of the most effective ways to conserve biodiversity globally. In this paper, we use ecological niche factor analysis (ENFA), a presence-only environmental habitat-envelope based method to create habitat suitability maps for Persian leopard in Golestan National Park (GNP), Iran. The Persian leopard Panthera pardus saxicolor is an endangered subspecies on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. During a one-year field study in 2009, we recorded 120 leopard locations and related these to 14 environmental variables. Our analysis shows that the Persian leopard in this area lives within a very narrow range of conditions and therefore may require rather specific habitat protection and management in this area.
The Effect of Maternal and Fetal Inbreeding on Dystocia, Calf Survival, Days to First Service and Non-Return Performance in U.S. Dairy Cattle

Intensive selection for increased milk production over many generations has led to growing genetic similarity and increased relationships in dairy population. In the current study, inbreeding depression was estimated for number of days to first service, summit milk, conception by 70 days non-return, and calving rate with a linear mixed model (LMM) approach and for calving difficulty, calf mortality with a Bayesian threshold model (BTM) for categorical traits. Effectiveness of classical and unknown parentage group procedures to estimate inbreeding coefficients was evaluated depending on completeness of a 5-generation pedigree. A novel method derived from the classical formula to estimate inbreeding was utilized to evaluate completeness of pedigrees. Two different estimates of maternal inbreeding were fitted in separate models as a linear covariate in combined LMM analyses (Holstein registered and grade cows and Jersey cows) or separate analyses (registered Holstein cows) by parity (1-4) with fetal inbreeding. Impact of inbreeding type, model, data structure, and treatment of herd-year-season (HYS) on magnitude and size of inbreeding depression were assessed. Grade Holstein datasets were sampled and analyzed by percentage of pedigree present (0-30%, 30-70% and 70-100%). BTM analyses (sire-mgs) were performed using Gibbs sampling for parities 1, 2 and 3 fitting maternal inbreeding only. In LMM analyses of grade data, the least pedigree and diagonal A matrix performed the worst. Significant inbreeding effects were obtained in most traits in cows
Differential Gene Expression of Resistant and Susceptible Sweetpotato Plants after Infection with the Causal Agents of Sweet Potato Virus Disease

ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS. Ipomoea batatas, SPFMV, SPCSV, SPVD ABSTRACT. Sweet potato virus disease (SPVD) is one of the most devastating diseases affecting sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas), an important food crop in developing countries. SPVD develops when sweetpotato plants are dually infected with sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV) and sweet potato chlorotic stunt virus (SPCSV). To better understand the synergistic interaction between these viruses, global gene expression was previously studied in the susceptible cultivar Beauregard. In the current study, global gene expression between SPVD-affected plants and virus-tested control plants (VT) were compared in 'Beauregard' (Bx) and resistant 'NASPOT 1' (Nas) sweetpotato cultivars at 5, 9, 13, and 17 days post inoculation (DPI). Titer levels of SPFMV and SPCSV were significantly lower in inoculated resistant plants (Nas_SPVD) than in susceptible plants (Bx_SPVD) at most of the time points. Chloroplast genes and cell expansion-related genes (including xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolases) were suppressed in Bx_SPVD, while stress-related genes were induced. This trend was not observed in resistant NAS_SPVD. Genes related to protein synthesis (e.g., ribosomal proteins and elongation factor genes) were induced in resistant NAS_SPVD at 5 DPI before returning to levels comparable with NAS_VT plants. At this time (5 DPI), individual viruses could not be detected in NAS_SPVD samples, and no symptoms were observed. Induction of protein synthesis- related genes is common in susceptible plants after virus infection and is generally in proportion to virus accumulation. Our results show that induction of protein synthesis genes also occurs early in the infection process in resistant plants, while virus titers were below the level of detection, suggesting that virus accumulation is not required for induction.
Generation Means Analysis in Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) for Drought Tolerance

Four genotypes of Gossypium hirsutum L; two drought tolerant (NIAB-78, CIM-482) and two susceptible (CIM-446 and FH-1000) were selected to make cross combinations. The parents, F1, F 2 and backcross generations of two crosses were studied under drought and normal conditions in the field to find gene action involved in the inheritance of the traits; number of bolls per plant, boll weight, seed cotton yield and ginning out turn. There were significant differences among six generations (P1, P2, F1, F2, BC1 and BC2) of two crosses for all the plant traits both under normal and drought conditions. Generation means analysis revealed additive, dominance and epistatic genetic effects operating in the phenotypic manifestation of the plant characters under both the conditions.
Chemical and Biochemical Changes in African Locust Bean (Parkia biglobosa) and Melon (Citrullus vulgaris) Seeds During Fermentation to Condiments

The chemical (proximate composition, pH, total tocopherol, acid and iodine values, total and reducing sugars) and biochemical (α-amylase, sucrase and protease) changes occurring during the fermentation of locust bean and melon to the condiments - iru and ogiri respectively were monitored. Processing locust bean to the condiment involved boiling for 12 hours, soaking the seeds in water, dehulling, boiling for another 6 hours and fermentation for 3-4 days while melon is boiled for 6 hours, cooled and fermented. Boiling, soaking (in water) and dehulling of locust bean resulted in reduction of ash, crude fibre (CF) and total tocopherol but increased ether extract. Fermentation increased the pH value, crude protein (CP), reducing sugar, α-amylase, sucrase, protease and free amino acid, decreased the total sugar in both samples and also increased the CF of locust bean sample but had no effect on the CF in melon. Fermentation had no effect on total tocopherol content in both samples. Heat treatment and fermentation employed in processing both samples increased the acid value with a corresponding decrease in iodin e value. High negative correlation was observed between acid and iodine values while a high positive correlation was observed between tocopherol and iodine value.
Adaptive, Distribution-Free Prediction Intervals for Deep Networks

The machine learning literature contains several constructions for prediction intervals that are intuitively reasonable but ultimately ad-hoc in that they do not come with provable performance guarantees. We present methods from the statistics literature that can be used efficiently with neural networks under minimal assumptions with guaranteed performance. We propose a neural network that outputs three values instead of a single point estimate and optimizes a loss function motivated by the standard quantile regression loss. We provide two prediction interval methods with finite sample coverage guarantees solely under the assumption that the observations are independent and identically distributed. The first method leverages the conformal inference framework and provides average coverage. The second method provides a new, stronger guarantee by conditioning on the observed data. Lastly, our loss function does not compromise the predictive accuracy of the network like other prediction interval methods. We demonstrate the ease of use of our procedures as well as its improvements over other methods on both simulated and real data. As most deep networks can easily be modified by our method to output predictions with valid prediction intervals, its use should become standard practice, much like reporting standard errors along with mean estimates.
A Neural Substrate of Prediction and Reward

The capacity to predict future events permits a creature to detect, model, and manipulate the causal structure of its interactions with its environment. Behavioral experiments suggest that learning is driven by changes in the expectations about future salient events such as rewards and punishments. Physiological work has recently complemented these studies by identifying dopaminergic neurons in the primate whose fluctuating output apparently signals changes or errors in the predictions of future salient and rewarding events. Taken together, these findings can be understood through quantitative theories of adaptive optimizing control.
EFFECTS OF NITROGEN ON REPRODUCTIVE DURATION AND YIELD IN LENTIL CULTIVARS

Reduced nitrogen (N) uptake and N2 fixation during the reproductive growth may reduce the yield in lentil. Five cultivars were grown in two soil media and four N treatments of an inoculated control (NI), and receiving N until flowering (NF), podding (NP) and maturity (NM) in Saskatchewan, Canada. The NF treatment produced the lowest yield, and plants relying on fixation grew larger and yielded more. But NI produced less growth and yield than NP and NM plants, demonstrating that N2 fixation needed improvement for maximal yield. The NP treatment produced the highest yield and more efficiently used N than the later N application in NM. Nitrogen applied at and after mid-pod extended the days to maturity by increasing the reproductive growth period and post-flowering vegetative biomass. Current lentil cultivars require N supply up to at least the mid-pod stage, although the exact stage and timing of N supply need refinement.
EPIZOOTIOLOGY, TREATMENT AND CONTROL OF TROPICAL RAT-MITE INFESTATION IN A BREEDING COLONY OF SWISS MICE UNDER TEMPERATE CLIMATE OF NILGIRIS HILL - INDIA

Ectoparasites are a cause of concern to laboratory mice colonies maintained for research, as they cause severe annoyance to the host, affecting colony production, besides transmitting zoonotic diseases. Tropical rat-mite (Ornithonyssus bacoti) is an obligate, blood-feeding parasite with an extensive host range, but common in wild rodents. There are ample records regarding the existence of this parasite in rodent breeding colonies in many countries in the world. This paper describes the epizootiology, treatment and control of rat-mite infestation in a breeding mice colony at Pasteur Institute in Nilgiris hill in India. Incidentally, it is the first report on the epizootiology of this parasite in a temperate climate in India. This mite was discovered following the complaint received from the personnel working in the mice colony about the development of insect-bite like lesions on the skin, along with intense itching. The mice were also found to be infested with mites. The infested mice were hyperactive, as evidenced by their grooming activities. The mites were also present in mice cages and racks. The mites were identified as Ornithonyssus bacoti on the basis of morphological characteristics, magnified under a simple microscope. The mice in the colony were dipped in a solution of Butox vet ® (Deltamethrin, 12.5% suspension, Intervet, Mumbai, India). The animals completely recovered after a single treatment, and did not show any side effect during the observation period of six months. The treated animals did not express any short term or long term side effects, including toxic effect. There was no untoward skin reaction, abnormality in behavior, and colony production. The mites started disappearing from the cages and racks after a single treatment of Butox vet ® spray, and were observed in abundance in a sluggish state in the environment, e.g., floor and walls of the shelter room. There was no recurrence of the parasite in animal cages and shelter during the observation period of six months. It is concluded that Butox vet ® was an effective and safe acaricide in the eradication of tropical rat mites from the rodents as well as its environment.
Identity and genetic diversity of Pectobacterium spp., causal agents of potato soft rot in Zanjan, Iran

Zanjan province is one of the areas of potato production in Iran with more than 6917 ha of cultivation. One of the most important factors to limit potato cultivation is soft rot bacteria belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae. During the years 2007 to 2008, different potato fields and the most important potato storages in Zanjan province were surveyed. Phenotypic identification of the strains was performed using recommended biochemical and physiological tests. Genetic diversity was determined by BOXPCR and ERIC-PCR. Also all of the strains were identified with specific primers (Y1, Y2 and ECA1f, ECA2r). The strains belonged to "carotovora" group and identified as Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum and Pectobacterium atrosepticum. Although there were some atypical characteristics among the strains, but a very close relationship were found between DNA fingerprints and geographical origins of isolates.
INHIBITION OF ACKA AND PTA GENES USING TWO SPECIFIC ANTISENSE RNAS REDUCED ACETATE ACCUMULATION IN BATCH FERMENTATION OF E. COLI BL21 (DE3)

Expression of foreign proteins in E. coli is normally inhibited by exogenous production of acetate. To overcome this problem, various strategies have been proposed and tested to reduce the extent of acetate accumulation. Although these strategies can improve the outcome, the implementation of their proposed techniques is not practical. Because to achieve optimal results, it requires extremely tight control conditions and the actual cost is very high. Furthermore, a simple knockout mutation of the target metabolic pathway would not be appropriate because the acetate pathway plays an important physiological role in E. coli. In this study, we employed an antisense RNA strategy as an elaborated metabolic engineering tool to partially block biosynthesis of two major acetate pathway enzymes, acetate kinase (ACK) and phosphotransacetylase (PTA). The fragments of antisense cassette were cloned sequentially in pBluescriptsk+ and completed cassette subcloned in pLT10T3. The function of this cassette was evaluated with RT-PCR and ACK and PTA assay. The effect of cassette on cell physiology was monitored by determination of optical density, glucose consumption and acetate production. We found that the antisense method partially reduced mRNA levels of the target genes, lowered the concentration of acetate in culture media and increased growth rate and final cell density in antisense-regulated strain. This strategy could provide us with a useful, inexpensive and practical tool to achieve a large-scale protein production system.
Annual variations of phytoplankton biomass in the Eastern English Channel: comparison by pigment signatures and microscopic counts

From November 1995 to July 1997, phytoplankton composition was followed fortnightly, microscopically as well as by pigment analysis, in the coastal and offshore waters of the Eastern English Channel. By relating chlorophyll (Chl) c3, peridinin and alloxanthin to biomass estimates of Phaeocystis sp. , Dinophyceae and Cryptophyceae, respectively, it has been shown that these pigments are good quantitative markers of these classes. Fucoxanthin was quantitatively related to brown algae (sum of diatoms, Prymnesiophyceae, Raphidophyceae and Chrysophyceae) if the largest cells of diatoms (size >200 µm) were not taken into account. On the other hand, no relationship was found between green algae and Chl b, perhaps due to uncertainties in the microscopic counts for cells of small size (<5 µm) and/or with membranes of low visibility. While Prasinophyceae and Chrysophyceae were sometimes observed, prasinoxanthin and 19� -butanoyloxyfucoxanthin were never detected. Finally, Chl a did not always give a good estimation of the total phytoplankton biomass. Thus, during the spring bloom of Phaeocystis sp. (Prymnesiophyceae), total biomass was overestimated by pigment analysis with respect to microscopic counts, while during summer biomass was underestimated by pigment analysis.
Induction of chlorophyll mutants in Zingiber officinale Roscoe by gamma rays and EMS.

The present investigation comprises the data on frequency percentage of chlorophyllmutations in the different doses of gamma rays coupled with EMS in ginger. Different mutationfrequencies and width of mutation spectra were induced under the action of differentconcentrations of the two applied mutagens. The spectrums of chlorophyll mutations (albino,xantha, and chlorina) were observed and grouped. The overall mutation spectrum for gingershowed that xantha occurred with the highest frequency, followed by chlorina and albino. Themutagenic effectiveness decreased with the increase in dose of mutagen for both the mutagenindicating that negative relationship between effectiveness and dose of mutagen. EMS providedmore number of chlorophyll mutants than gamma rays in this investigation.
Phytoplankton-linked viable non-culturable Vibrio cholerae O1 (VNC) from rivers in Tucumán, Argentina

Plankton-linked Vibrio cholerae has been detected in aquatic environments since the first decades of the 20th century. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain the survival of V. cholerae during inter-epidemic periods, one of which is through existence in its viable non-culturable (VNC) form in biological reservoirs. This latent form of V. cholerae (VNC) would explain the seasonal outbreaks and the way the pathogen survives in the environment. The objectives of this study were to assay V. cholerae O1 in its viable non-culturable form in two rivers in Tucuman, Argentina, as well as its possible association to phytoplankton and its relation to four environmental variables (pH, temperature, conductivity and dissolved oxygen), using direct immunofluorescence. Analysis of phytoplankton revealed that diatoms were predominant with percentages between 85 and 100%. Nitzschia palea was the only species found at all three sample sites with percentages between 0 and 38%. Of the 54 samples obtained during the 18 sampling periods, V. cholerae VNC was detected through direct immunofluorescence in 39% of the cases and at all three sampling sites. Positive samples were analysed for association of VNC with phytoplankton and between 1 and 10 bacteria were found adhered to a single algal cell. This confirms for the first time in northwestern Argentina adherence of this microorganism to the genera Stigeoclonium and Nitzschia as environmental reservoirs. No correlation could be found between the latent form of Vibrio and the environmental variables assayed.
The free fatty acids bound to human serum albumin

SUMMARY The fatty acid composition of human serum albumin (Cohn Fraction V) was determined by gasliquid chromatography. Forty-three peaks were observed; 26 of these were identified by various methods. Eight of the identified peaks constituted about 90% of the total free fatty acids, and 65y0 of the total were unsaturated acids. The patterns of fatty acids bound to albumin were essentially the same as those found in plasma. However, quantitative differences were observed in the percentage of 18 carbon acids in the free fatty acids of human serum albumin samples as compared to plasma. Possible explanations to account for these differences are discussed.
Evaluation of tributyltin resistance in marine sediment bacteria

Tributyltin (TBT) resistance of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria isolated from TBT-contaminated coastal sediments in Arcachon Bay, France, was determined and compared with taxonomically similar bacteria originating from diverse non-TBT-contaminated environments. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) showed that TBT was toxic to most of the bacteria studied at concentrations above 2.1 μM (0.7 mg/L) for clostridia, 76 μM (25 mg/L) for pseudomonads, and 3 mM (1000 mg/L) for enterobacteria. The aerobic or facultative anaerobic Gram-negative bacteria (pseudomonads and enterobacteria) presented the highest TBT tolerance. No difference in TBT resistance was observed between strains originating from the polluted site and strains originating from non-TBT-polluted environments (thermal muds, Hospital of Bordeaux, etc.), suggesting that a TBT-polluted environment did not select for more specific resistant bacteria. It should be noted that the bacteria tested were found to be tolerant to TBT concentrations 1000 .
Antioxidant activity of Bahraini date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) fruit of various cultivars

Summary Fruits of sixteen cultivars of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) commonly grown in Bahrain were evaluated for their antioxidant activity, total phenolics and ascorbic acid contents at different ripening stages using the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. The highest total antioxidant activity was found at biser (unripe) stage, with a mean FRAP value of 5.71 ± 4.31 mmol/100 g fresh weight (FW), followed by rutab (soft and ripped) with FRAP values of 1.2 mmol per 100 g FW and tamer (dried fruit) 0.94 ± 0.21 mmol per 100 g FW. Total antioxidant activities of locally collected and imported tamer were similar. There was about twelve and six fold difference between cultivars possessing the highest and lowest antioxidant values at biser and rutab stages, respectively. A sharp decrease in antioxidant activity was found to be associated with the fruit ripening. The average of phenolics at biser and rutab stage were 196.8 ± 72.1 and 116.7 ± 44.1 mg per 100 g fresh weight, whereas the average of ascorbic acid was 6.6 ± 2.4 and 3.3 ± 1.3 mg per 100 g fresh weight, respectively. Significant correlation was found between the antioxidant activity and total phenolic content (r = 0.595) and ascorbic acid (r = 0.385) at biser stage, but not at rutab stage. It was concluded that the phenolics were the major contributor for the antioxidant activity.