Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Systematic dismantlement of Lichenostomus improves the basis for understanding relationships within the honeyeaters (Meliphagidae) and the historical development of Australo-Papuan bird communities

Abstract Evaluations of relationships among honeyeaters (Passeriformes: Meliphagidae) have used dense taxon and nucleotide sampling. Here we focus on the systematically contentious meliphagid genus Lichenostomus. We use data from two molecular markers that were common to two major recent studies, the mitochondrial protein-coding gene ND2 and the nuclear intron Fib5. Based on complete species-level sampling of Lichenostomus, we confirm the recent finding that Lichenostomus is not monophyletic. We recover seven distinct lineages dispersed within the meliphagid assemblage. Two uniform and unadorned species, the White-gaped (L. unicolor) and Yellow (L. flavus) Honeyeaters, were sister species close to some other taxa currently placed in Lichenostomus. The only two mangrove specialists, the Varied (L. versicolor) and Mangrove (L. fasciogularis) Honeyeaters from north-eastern and central-eastern Australia respectively, were not sisterspecies, but the former was sister to the pair comprising Mangrove Honeyeater and the widespread Singing Honeyeater (L. virescens). Two endemic New Guinean species, the Obscure (L. obscurus) and Black-throated (L. subfrenatus) Honeyeaters, are a sister pair to the Yellow-faced Honeyeater (L. chrysops) of eastern Australia. We suggest a revised generic nomenclature for the species recently placed in Lichenostomus and erect one new genus-group name, Bolemoreus, to include two species that have been previously grouped in Caligavis.
The response of perennial ryegrass/white clover swards to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations 1. Effects on competition and species composition and interaction with N supply.

The effects of long-term carbon dioxide enrichment on competition for nutrients and light in a ryegrass/clover association were determined for simulated swards of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L. cv. Parcour) and white clover (Trifolium repens L. cv. Karina), which were grown as monocultures and in three mixtures (25/75, 50/50, 75/25), according to the replacement design, at two levels of nitrogen (N) supply (no additional N and 200 kg N ha-1 ) and at season-long ambient (380 ppm) and elevated (670 ppm) CO2 concentrations, in open-top chambers. Stands were cut four times, at about monthly intervals, to a height of 5 cm. Plant material was separated into different species, fresh and dry weights were determined and the content of macroelements (N, P, K, S, Mg) in both species was measured. In addition, plant height of both species at harvest dates and during several regrowth periods was monitored. Results indicate that both species made demand on different resources and profited from growth in a mixed sward. Co2 related yield increase amounted to 16-4-2 % for white clover whereas the effect of high CO2 on ryegrass yield ranged between -33% and +9% depending on N supply, mixture and year. As a result the contribution of white clover to total yield in mixed swards was significantly enhanced by CO2 enrichment at many harvests in both N supply treatments. Without additional N supply, shoot competition for light was intensified by CO2 enrichment to the disadvantage of ryegrass, since clover petioles grew longer and ryegrass was shorter at elevated CO2 With N fertilization, no marked effect of CO2 enrichment on interspecific competition could be observed. Since clover and total yield were increased by CO2 enrichment, nutrient requirements were also increased and potassium deficiency and increased intraspecific competition of clover for K was observed in the mixtures under elevated CO2 which had the highest nutrient withdrawal. Although white clover profited much more from CO2 enrichment in both N fertilization treatments, the suppression of ryegrass in mixed swards could only be observed under low N conditions. Generally, the effect of N fertilization on competitive interference between both species was much greater than the effect of CO2 enrichment and it is suggested that the effect of elevated CO2 on the balance of species and the outcome of competition in a grass/clover sward is mainly dependent on the N status.
Oviposition deterrent effect of Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) larval frass to adult females of two major noctuid insect pests

Water extract of fresh frass of Spodoptera littoralis larval instars (L1–3, L4, L5 and L6) fed on Castor oil leaves was prepared by soaking at concentration (20 g frass/50 ml distiled water) followed by steering before filtration. Oviposition deterrent activity of the extract to S. littoralis and A. ipsilon adult females was evaluated as the mean number of laid eggs in treatments in comparison with control under laboratory conditions. Total amount of phenols and flavonoids in larval frass was determined. Extraction of L6 frass obtained complete oviposition deterrent to S. littoralis adult moths and the minimum number of laid eggs by A. ipsilon adult females (11.8 eggs/female) in comparison with control (1026.0 and 848.2 eggs/female respectively). Maximum number of laid eggs by S. littoralis females was 361.0/f at treatment with L1–3 frass extract and 748.0/adult female of A. ipsilon at treatment with L4 frass extract. Low amount of phenols and/or flavonoids in frass extract of L6 increased the oviposition deterrent effect while high amount of them as obtained in L4 frass extract (3.504 and 1.610%, respectively) decreased the effect at both of tested insects.
RESURRECTION OF THE GENUS OSMUNDEA WITH AN EMENDATION OF THE GENERIC DELINEATION OF LAURENCIA (CERAMIALES, RHODOPHYTA)

Abstract Vegetative and reproductive development of some European and Californian species of Laurencia Lamouroux (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta), L. obtusa (Hudson) Lamouroux, L. spectabilis Postels et Ruprecht, L. crispa Hollenberg, L. osmunda (S.G. Gmelin) Maggs et Hommersand, L. pinnatifida (Hudson) Lamouroux and L. truncata Kutzing, is investigated on the basis of liquid-preserved and herbarium specimens. The latter five species share several features, but they differ distinctly from L. obtusa, the lectotype of the genus, in essential anatomical characters of vegetative and male reproductive structures and tetrasporangial development. In these five species each vegetative axial segment produces two rather than four pericentral cells, and spermatangial branches (filaments) are produced in apical pits of branchlets from apical and epidermal cells rather than from trichoblasts arising from axial cells. The spermatangial branches are usually branched alternately and usually terminate in a cluster of several larg.
A novel method for rearing wild tephritid fruit flies

Wild-caught tephritid fruit flies can differ significantly from colony-reared flies. Some characteristics of wild flies that are commonly found to be different from those of colony flies include longer lifespan (Gilchrist et al., 2012), stricter host fruit ranges (Sauers-Muller, 2005; Rwomushana et al., 2008), slower development and ovarianmaturation (Meats et al., 2004), and various behavioral attributes (Miyatake, 1998). Wild fruit flies reared in the laboratory begin adapting to laboratory conditions in only a few generations (Economopoulos, 1992; Cayol, 2000). The differences between wild and laboratoryor mass-reared flies may limit the applicability of studies employing colony material on, for example, life history, behavior, and toxicology, as results may not translate to wild populations. Though there is a considerable body of research on mass-rearing techniques for tephritids once they are in a colony (Vargas, 1989), there has not been comparable progress on developing improved methods for rearing a first generation of wild flies from fruit collected in the field. The current standard protocol (hereafter the ‘screen method’) for holding field-collected host fruits at mass-rearing facilities is to place the fruits on a large mesh screen rack with absorbent paper placed between the fruits and rack inside a larger holding container with screened holes for ventilation. Dry sand is placed at the bottom of the container as a pupation substrate for mature larvae. This is the approach used by laboratories around the world (e.g., Meats et al., 2004). The improved protocol presented here (hereafter the ‘diet method’) involves adding dry artificial larval diet (Tanaka et al., 1969) to soak up excess liquid from the decomposing fruits and to provide supplementary nutrition for developing larvae. Preservatives in the larval diet suppress the growth of bacteria and fungi. In this article, we describe both the screen and diet methods in detail, and we compare them using wild melon flies, Bactrocera cucurbitae Coquillett (Diptera: Tephritidae). We report the effects of the two rearing methods on mean pupal weight, yield, eclosion, and quality of the flies. We find that the diet method produced higher numbers of higher-quality flies compared with flies with the screen method and that it required less clean-up at the end of the process. We also assess the effect of fruit and artificial diet separately and together to test the role of supplemental nutrition on fly quality under the diet method.
Post-harvest Treatment with Citric Acid or Hydrogen Peroxide to Extend the Shelf Life of Fresh Sliced Mushrooms

Abstract Whole fresh mushrooms were soaked for 10 min in solutions of citric acid or hydrogen peroxide, then sliced, packed and stored at 4 °C for up to 19 d. Both treatments reduced the number of pseudomonad bacteria and improved the keeping quality of the sliced mushrooms when compared to control (water soaked) slices. A specification of 75 Hunter L units was established to quantify sliced mushroom shelf life and this showed that the treatments extended the shelf life by about 50%. Treatment effectiveness varied with mushroom batch, with first and third flush mushrooms from phase III compost responding better than mushrooms from phase II compost and second flush. The citric acid treatment had no deleterious effect on the sensory properties of sliced mushrooms.
Targeting the Endocannabinoid CB1 Receptor to Treat Body Weight Disorders: A Preclinical and Clinical Review of the Therapeutic Potential of Past and Present CB1 Drugs

Obesity rates are increasing worldwide and there is a need for novel therapeutic treatment options. The endocannabinoid system has been linked to homeostatic processes, including metabolism, food intake, and the regulation of body weight. Rimonabant, an inverse agonist for the cannabinoid CB1 receptor, was effective at producing weight loss in obese subjects. However, due to adverse psychiatric side effects, rimonabant was removed from the market. More recently, we reported an inverse relationship between cannabis use and BMI, which has now been duplicated by several groups. As those results may appear contradictory, we review here preclinical and clinical studies that have studied the impact on body weight of various cannabinoid CB1 drugs. Notably, we will review the impact of CB1 inverse agonists, agonists, partial agonists, and neutral antagonists. Those findings clearly point out the cannabinoid CB1 as a potential effective target for the treatment of obesity. Recent preclinical studies suggest that ligands targeting the CB1 may retain the therapeutic potential of rimonabant without the negative side effect profile. Such approaches should be tested in clinical trials for validation.
Liquidity and solvency of a company and the rate of return – an analysis of the Warsaw Stock Exchange

Abstract The purpose of the article is to analyse the impact of various financial ratios used to evaluate a company’s liquidity and solvency on the rates of return on the shares of companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. In the context of developing countries, the relationship between liquidity and solvency on the one hand and the return on equity on the other is still not clear. Poland is the most economically developed country in Central and Eastern Europe. A thorough analysis is necessary to take appropriate action and introduce adequate regulations in the country, as well as to create the foundation for researching other economies in this region. In addition, this article includes new estimators that have not yet been taken into account but that may affect the rates of return, which will contribute to the literature on the subject and to the development of knowledge on the volatility of returns on shares. In the study, we have calculated the time-varying beta coefficients of the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) model and analysed portfolios based on three liquidity ratios and four solvency ratios, which were computed using the CAPM, Fama–French and Carhart models. The empirical study described in the article focuses on companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in the period from 1 January 1999 to 30 June 2013. Regressions were estimated by the least-squares method and by quantile regression. Based on the results, it was found that listed companies at risk of bankruptcy are able to meet their short-term liabilities. Liquidity and solvency measured by financial ratios significantly affect the sensitivity of the rate of return on shares to the risk factors expressed in the CAPM, Fama––French and Carhart models.
Visceral Fat Is a Negative Determinant of Bone Health in Obese Postmenopausal Women

The protective effect of obesity on bone health has been challenged by studies that link visceral adiposity to poor bone microarchitecture in young obese men and women. In postmenopausal women, the role of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) on bone turnover markers (BTMs) has not been investigated. The aim was to investigate the impact of VAT on BTMs, total bone mineral density (BMD), vitamin D metabolites and parathyroid levels (1-84 PTH) levels in postmenopausal women. A total of 76 lean and overweight women (without osteoporosis) underwent VAT measurements by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (iDXA). Blood samples were analyzed for serum C-terminal telopeptide of type 1 collagen (CTX-1), osteocalcin, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (bone ALP), 1–84 PTH and vitamin D (25 hydroxyvitamin D, 25(OH)D) levels. VAT volumes ranged from 91 to 3392 cm3 and body mass index (BMI) ranged from 18.3 to 53.9 kg/m2. Women in the highest VAT quartile had significantly lower CTX-1, 25(OH)D, osteocalcin and the highest BMD (p < 0.05, for all). While VAT positively associated with BMD, after controlling for BMI, VAT was a negative predictor of BMD (β = 0.368, p < 0.05). VAT was an independent negative predictor of CTX-1 (β = −0.263, p < 0.05) and osteocalcin levels (β = −0.277, p < 0.05). Among all measures of adiposity, VAT was the strongest independent determinant of BMD and BTMs. In clinical settings, VAT, and not BMI, may be a sensitive predictor of bone health in obese women.
DIFFERENTIATION OF NUCLEAR AND CYTOPLASMIC FINE STRUCTURE DURING SPOROGONIC DEVELOPMENT OF PLASMODIUM BERGHEI

The value of protozoa in investigations of nucleocytoplasmic relationships has long been appreciated, as indicated by reviews (1, 3, 7) of the extensive literature on this subject. Though the malarial parasite apparently has not previously been employed in such studies, we have found it to be a potentially useful organism in this regard. The elaborate differentiation that the parasite undergoes during its complex life cycle makes it possible for us to study nucleocytoplasmic relationships during the process of cellular development. After a suitable vector mosquito has ingested blood from an animal infected with malaria, parasite macrogametes are fertilized by microgametes in the midgut of the mosquito. The resulting zygote, known as the ookinete, then penetrates the midgut epithelium of the mosquito and continues its sporogonic development as an encapsulated oocyst attached to the epithelium. In the course of electron microscopical studies which we conducted with the rodent malarial parasite, Plasmodium berghei, we observed a simultaneous differentiation of nuclei and of regions of cytoplasm in their immediate vicinity during this developing sporogonic stage of the parasite. The changes in fine structure appear to represent interactions between the nuclei and cytoplasm during development. The development of the uninuclear oocyst into the mature oocyst containing many infective sporozoites has already been described by us (11). The work reported here focuses on one aspect of this differentiation process: a morphological indication of nucleocytoplasmic relationships resulting in the initiation of sporozoite fcrmation.
Sex chromosome aneuploidy alters the relationship between neuroanatomy and cognition

Sex chromosome aneuploidy (SCA) increases the risk for cognitive deficits, and confers changes in regional cortical thickness (CT) and surface area (SA). Neuroanatomical correlates of inter‐individual variation in cognitive ability have been described in health, but are not well‐characterized in SCA. Here, we modeled relationships between general cognitive ability (estimated using full‐scale IQ [FSIQ] from Wechsler scales) and regional estimates of SA and CT (from structural MRI scans) in both aneuploid (28 XXX, 55 XXY, 22 XYY, 19 XXYY) and typically‐developing euploid (79 XX, 85 XY) individuals. Results indicated widespread decoupling of normative anatomical–cognitive relationships in SCA: we found five regions where SCA significantly altered SA–FSIQ relationships, and five regions where SCA significantly altered CT–FSIQ relationships. The majority of areas were characterized by the presence of positive anatomy‐IQ relationships in health, but no or slightly negative anatomy‐IQ relationships in SCA. Disrupted anatomical–cognitive relationships generalized from the full cohort to karyotypically defined subcohorts (i.e., XX‐XXX; XY‐XYY; XY‐XXY), demonstrating continuity across multiple supernumerary SCA conditions. As the first direct evidence of altered regional neuroanatomical–cognitive relationships in supernumerary SCA, our findings shed light on potential genetic and structural correlates of the cognitive phenotype in SCA, and may have implications for other neurogenetic disorders.
Various Oils and Fats as Substitutes for Butterfat in the Ration of Young Calves

Summary Feeding tests were conducted to compare the feeding value of the following fats and oils for calves: butterfat, lard, tallow, coconut oil, peanut oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil and soybean oil. The effect of a very fat-poor diet on calves was also determined. Each oil or fat was added to skim milk, homogenized to form a product containing 3.5 per cent fat and fed along with a low fat content concentrate mixture, cod liver oil and some alfalfa hay. One control group was fed normal whole milk not homogenized. Test periods ranged from a few days to about six months. In average daily gain in weight as well as in general well-being, the calves fed butterfat excelled those in all other groups. Following closely were those receiving lard and tallow. Corn oil, cottonseed oil and soybean oil were the least satisfactory. The average daily gains of calves in the latter three groups were . 40 pound, . 31 pound and . 32 pound, respectively. They appeared unthrifty, listless and emaciated. Some calves in these groups died and others were saved only by changing to whole milk. Post mortem examinations showed considerably more fat deposited in calves fed butterfat than in those that had been fed other oils and fats.
The pollination ecology of Actaea spicata (Ranunculaceae)

Pollination ecology of Actaea spicata L. (Ranunculaceae) was studied at localities ranging from deciduous to spruce forest. The species is self–incompatible and possibly facultatively apomictic. No anemogamy seems to occur. In deciduous forest, the plant is primarily pollinated by pollen–foraging and mate–searching Byturus ochraceus (Scriba) (Coleoptera). It flowers during a period between emergence of the beetle and onset of anthesis of the prime pollen source and only larval host plant, Geum ur–banum L. (Rosaceae). The beetles sit on the suitably long anther filaments or on top of the stigma. Floral morphology promotes pollination–performing movements by the beetle. The complex floral fragrance seems to induce close–range behaviour, i.e. alighting and/or foraging. Flies become abundant visitors only shortly before anthesis is over, and their contribution is small. Large syrphids are relatively effective as pollinators, since they grasp the stamens near the base and often touch the stigma with pollen–dusted parts of their bodies. Due to lack of its food–plant, B. ochraceus is absent at spruce forest localities and northwards. At these localities flowering is delayed until the main fly appearance, and the flowers are heavily pollinated by several syrphids and muscids. At three deciduous–forest localities a second flowering took place with new, juxtaposed inflorescences on separate stalks. The distribution of such inflorescences within the population along with the distribution and abundance of pollinators among the two generations of flowers suggest that these inflorescences occur as a response to low rate of pollination in the first anthesis.
Evaluation of Co and Nox Emissions in Real-Life Operating Conditions of Herbaceous Biomass Briquettes Combustion

Abstract The issue of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides emissions into the atmosphere is very current. This article thus focuses on the assessment of elemental composition of selected herbal biomass species and emission concentrations during combustion in a commonly available grate combustion device for briquetted fuel. In tests, emission concentrations were evaluated in contrast to the oxygen concentration in flue gas and flue gas temperatures. Samples of camelina (Camelina sativa), giant miscanthus (Miscanthus gigantheus), reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) were used. Elementary and stoichiometric combustion analyses were conducted for these samples (LECO AC-600 semi-automatic calorimeter, CHN628 + S elemental analyser and LECO TGA-701 analyser). Analyses of C, H, N and S concentrations and calorific values showed that samples of briquetted herb biomass had insignificant differences and could be used for energy purposes without limitation. The limiting factor was the high amount of ash, which amounted to 6.59% of dry weight in reed canary grass briquette sample. Furthermore, a high percentage (1.91% wt.) of nitrogen was observed in reed canary grass briquettes. Such a high amount of nitrogen during combustion tests resulted in an increase in NOx emission levels in flue gas of the Phalaris arundinacea L. sample, in which it reached the maximum concentration of 375.20 mg·m−3. The combustion tests showed that even under steady-state conditions, high concentrations of carbon monoxide could not be avoided for tested briquetted biofuels without active regulation of the combustion process.