Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transcriptomic response during wasp parasitism in the Drosophila-Spiroplasma interaction

Several facultative bacterial symbionts of insects protect their hosts against natural enemies. Spiroplasma poulsonii strain sMel, a male-killing heritable symbiont of Drosophila melanogaster, confers protection against some species of parasitic wasps. Several lines of evidence suggest that Spiroplasma-encoded ribosome inactivating proteins (RIPs) are involved in the protection mechanism, but the potential contribution of the fly-encoded functions has not been deeply explored. Here we used RNA-seq to evaluate the response of D. melanogaster to infection by Spiroplasma and parasitism by the Spiroplasma-susceptible wasp Leptopilina heterotoma, and the Spiroplasma-resistant wasp Ganaspis hookeri. In the absence of Spiroplasma infection, we found evidence of Drosophila immune activation by G. hookeri, but not by L. heterotoma, which in turn negatively influenced functions associated with male gonad development. As expected for a symbiont that kills males, we detected extensive downregulation in the Spiroplasma-infected treatments of genes known to have male-biased expression. We detected very few genes whose expression was influenced by the Spiroplasma-L. heterotoma interaction, and they do not appear to be related to immune response. For most of them, parasitism by L. heterotoma (in the absence of Spiroplasma) caused an expression change that was at least partly reversed when Spiroplasma was also present. It is unclear whether such genes are involved in the Spiroplasma-mediated mechanism that leads to wasp death or fly rescue. Nonetheless, the expression pattern of some of these genes, which reportedly undergo expression shifts during the larva-to-pupa transition, is suggestive of an influence of Spiroplasma on the development time of L. heterotoma-parasitized flies. In addition, we used the RNAseq data and quantitative (q)PCR to evaluate the transcript levels of the Spiroplasma-encoded RIP genes. One of the five RIP genes (RIP2) was consistently highly expressed independently of wasp parasitism, in two substrains of sMel. Finally, the RNAseq data revealed evidence consistent with RIP-induced damage in the ribosomal (r)RNA of the Spiroplasma-susceptible, but not the Spiroplasma-resistant, wasp. We conclude that immune priming is unlikely to contribute to the Spiroplasma-mediated protection against wasps, and that the mechanism by which G. hookeri resists/tolerates Spiroplasma does not involve inhibition of RIP transcription.
Effect of Broiler Breeders’ Age on Eggshell Temperature, Embryo Viability and Hatchability Parameters

Abstract The aim of the study was to analyze eggshell temperature, embryo viability, and hatchability parameters of broiler breeders at different ages (26-30, 31-35, 36-40, 41-45, and 46-64 weeks). A total of 33,150 eggs from Ross 308 broiler breeders collected from commercial flocks were used to analyze the following: egg weight and egg weight loss during 18 days of incubation; eggshell temperature controlled on days 3, 14, and 18 of incubation; number of infertile eggs including eggs with dead embryos at early stages of development, that is, in the oviduct or after oviposition; the total percentage of embryonic mortality and the percentage of embryonic mortality at different times of incubation; unhatched, dead after hatching, and culled chicks as well as hatchability percentage from fertilized eggs. The hatchability results of Ross 308 broiler breeders were high from the beginning of reproductive season till the 40th week. However, the study failed to reveal any relationships between hatchability and the egg weight, average temperature of the shell, and egg weight loss during incubation period. The oldest hens, over 45 weeks of age, had the highest mortality of chicks and the greatest share of unhatched chicks.
Manipulation of litter size reveals no cost of reproduction in Columbian ground squirrels

Survival and reproductive effort of female Columbian ground squirrels ( Spermophilus columbianus ) were examined for 1 year following experimental manipulation of litter size that either increased, decreased, or left their lactational cost of reproduction unmanipulated. Except for a trend towards females that incurred decreased costs in year 1 being heavier than other females at spring emergence in year 2, no short-term cost of reproduction was detected. The results fail to support the assumption of reproductive costs implicit in most life-history models, and are in accord with an earlier correlational study of reproduction of Columbian ground squirrels that found no trade off between current and future reproductive success.
Cutting practices in mature stands of Tilia cordata Mill.

Abstract The right timing for replacing mature and over-mature forest stands with a young generation of trees is evident as it ensures continuity in forest management. The study aimed to assess the efficiency of cutting practices in mature stands of Tilia cordata Mill. Mono-dominant and poly-dominant, even- and different-aged linden tree forests in the southern Urals were studied. The study found that in the first years following the small scale forest cutting practices (the Murakhtanov method), retention trees of Tilia cordata Mill. showed longer crowns (by 0.3 ± 0.01 m) and higher crown diameter indices (by 0.11 ± 0.04 m). A single selection showed that nectar secretion potential was 2.1 ± 0.06 mg/flower in the first assessment year, the index was 1.8 ± 0.03 mg/flower in the control forest area where no trees were cut. In the third assessment year, nectar secretion potential rose to 4.1 ± 0.04 mg/flower, while the index fell to 2.0 ± 0.01 mg/flower in the control forest area. The comparative analysis of the shoot growth capacity in stools of different diameters showed that shoots regrew from 82% of stumps. Shoots did not regrow from stumps affected by rot, those ones destroyed in the cutting process, and also from stumps of 59 – 62 cm in diameter.
Variation and distribution of seed storage protein content and composition among different rice varieties.

The crude protein contents(PC) in 351 varieties were measured by near infrared spectroscopy(NIRS) and their distribution and classification were analyzed.The results showed that the average value of crude protein content in indica and japonica types were 13.2% and 12.2%,respectively,with an average of 12.42%. The ranges of those above were 10.8-16.8%,9.3-17.7%,and 9.3-17.7%,respectively.It elucidated that PC was higher in indica rice than that in japonica rice.The huge difference in ratios of varieties(lines) based on their PC showed the genetic disequilibrium between subspecies indica and japonica,for example,the ratio of japonica rice with low PC was eight times that of indica rice with low PC.According to the criterion classifying varieties with different protein contents,most of rice genotypes fell into the group with intermediate PC,and there was very small number of varieties with either high or low PC,especially with very high PC in japonica rice.However,we could find some extreme individuals whose PC were very high/low,such as those with high PC:forage rice,early maturity varieties and indica-japonica hybrid progenies close to indica in the subspecies of indica,or close to japonica in the subspecies of japonica;and those with low PC:some japonica rice(but the PC not low enough),some overseas germplasms in indica.Thus it was not impossible to find out extreme germplasms on PC from landrace,overseas germplasms or indica-japonica hybrid progenies etc.,which are fine basic materials in genetic and breeding research.From the results of SDS-PAGE analysis of the total seed storage proteins among some representative varieties,we could know that the seed storage protein composition was different among different types of rice genotypes.
Technology and innovation: Changing concept of rural tourism – A systematic review

Abstract This study aims to carry out a systematic review of the literature on the impact of technology in the tourism industry and its application in rural tourism research to serve the objective of socio-economic development. Research articles were selected from journals indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, or those that are listed in the Australian Business Deans Council or University Grants Commission – Consortium for Academic & Research Ethics list. This study provides a summarized conclusion of research trends undergoing rural tourisms area while simultaneously highlighting the themes and areas that could be addressed through the tourism industry. This study tries to establish a link between the use of technology and the development of the rural tourism industry. Also, it concludes that the use of technology has evolved the way that rural tourism could be conducted. Furthermore, it has opened up ways to use rural tourism as a means to solve existing socio-economic challenges in society. This study is new and it certainly adds to the value of researchers and academicians working in this domain by providing them with research areas that require a thought to ponder upon.
Inhibitory Effect of Low Salinity on Growth and Reproduction of the Estuarine Sheepshead Minnow, Cyprinodon variegatus

A central problem in ecology is determination of the primary biotic and abiotic factors limiting the distribution and abundance of organisms. Estuarine organisms have often been considered to be more subject to control by abiotic than biotic variables (Dunson and Travis, 1991, 1994). The sheepshead minnow, Cyprinodon variegatus, is a primarily herbivorous fish found in salt, brackish, and hard fresh waters. Inland populations are much more common in Florida than elsewhere, occupying several lakes of the upper SaintJohn's River system (Guillory and Johnson, 1986), Lake Okeechobee (Ager, 1971), and the Everglades (Loftus and Kushlan, 1987). Although Martin (1972) concluded that C. variegatus is excluded from fresh water by competition with primary freshwater fish, it is found in the Everglades where numerous freshwater species also occur (Loftus and Kushlan, 1987). Here we test the hypothesis that C. variegatus is excluded from most fresh waters because it is
Multidestination travel of the Slovenian population

Abstract This paper focuses on the multidestination travel of the Slovenian population. It presents the results of a questionnaire survey that aimed to gain insight into some relevant characteristics of the travel behaviour of the Slovenian population and its links to factors that were found in previous research to be related to the incidence of multidestination travel. A destination was defined within this research as any location where an overnight stop is made. Single-destination trips prevailed. Still, a considerable percentage of respondents’ most recent trips had been multidestination trips. The greater part of them was directed to just one country within which they visited several overnight destinations. The results indicate that duration of trip, distance of destination from tourists’ residential location, familiarity of destination, travel-group size and tourists’ activities are associated with the likelihood of multidestination travel.
Chloroplast microsatellites reveal genetic diversity and population structure in natural populations of Himalayan Cedar (Cedrus deodara (Roxb.) G. Don) in India

Abstract Himalayan cedar (Cedrus deodara) is one of the most important temperate timber species of Western Himalayas and is considered to be among the endangered conifer species in the region. Knowledge of genetic diversity and population structure will help guide gene conservation strategies for this species. Ten polymorphic chloroplast microsatellites (cpSSR) were used to study genetic diversity and population structure in twenty one natural populations of C. deodara throughout its entire distribution range in Western Himalayas. When alleles at each of the 10 loci were jointly analysed, 254 different haplotypes were identified among 1050 individuals. The cpSSRs indicate that C. deodara forests maintain a moderately high level of genetic diversity (mean h = 0.79 ). AMOVA analysis showed that most of the diversity in C. deodara occurs within populations. Bayesian analysis for population structure (BAPS) revealed spatial structuration of the variation (22 % of the total variation) and substructuring captured nineteen genetic clusters in the entire divisions of the populations. Most of the populations were clustered independently with minor admixtures. The distribution of genetic diversity and sub-structuring of C. deodara may be due to restricted gene flow due to geographic isolation, genetic drift, and natural selection. These findings indicated existence of genetically distinct and different high diversity and low diversity clusters, which are potential groups of populations that require attention for their conservation and management. The results are interpreted in context of future conservation plans for C. deodara.
Ecological Attributes of Two Commercially-harvested Python Species in Northern Sumatra

Examination of specimens collected for the international leather trade provided data on two species of large, heavy-bodied snakes: blood pythons (Python brongersmai) from northeastern Sumatra and short-tailed pythons (P curtus) from northwestern Sumatra. Measurement and dissection of 2063 P bron- gersmai and 181 P curtus revealed broad interspecific similarities in morphology (size, shape, sexual di- morphism), food habits (feeding frequencies, dietary composition) and reproductive output (reproductive frequencies, egg sizes, and clutch sizes). Females of both species attain larger sizes than males, mature at larger sizes, and contain larger abdominal fatbodies. Python curtus is more heavy-bodied and longer-tailed than P brongersmai, and more heavily infested with gut parasites. Both species feed almost exclusively on commensal rodents. Feeding rates increase with body size, and vary seasonally. Reproduction is highly seasonal. Adult females reproduce biennially, producing an average clutch of 12 to 16 large (mean = 83 to 90 g) eggs. The data also enable us to comment on the sustainability of the existing commercial trade, which is based mainly on adult males, and adult plus juvenile females. Anthropogenic habitat modification (es- pecially, the establishment of oil-palm plantations) has increased the abundance of these taxa. Although neither species is likely to be extirpated by current levels of offtake, we need additional information to evaluate long-term sustainability of the commercial industry based on these snakes.
Potential utilization of neopterin measurements in the assessment of pyrexia in metastatic melanoma treated with combined targeted therapy: a case report

Abstract In patients with metastatic melanoma the advent of targeted therapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors has transformed the management of advanced and metastatic disease, resulting in improved outcomes. Neopterin is a biomarker of immune activation increased in cancer as well as in other conditions associated with immune activation. We present a case of a patient with advanced metastatic melanoma responding to the combination targeted therapy with dabrafenib and trametinib. The treatment was complicated by a fever that was accompanied by a marked rise in serum and urinary neopterin concentrations. Present case report illustrates not only the efficacy of combined targeted therapy, but also the utilization of neopterin measurements in the diagnosis and monitoring of pyrexia in patients with metastatic malignant melanoma.
The Reunion of Setcreasea and Separotheca with Tradescantia American Commelinaceae: I

Elsewhere (Hunt, i973), I have suggested that the species assigned to Setcreasea K. Schum. & Sydow would be better disposed as two sections or series within Tradescantia L. , the genus from which the original species were taken. The justification for this point of view arises partly from re-examination of Setcreasea itself, and partly from synoptic study of the tribe Tradescantieae, where generic limits have been drawn with increasing fineness in recent years. The latter aspect of the case will be briefly considered first. The tribe Tradescantieae Meisn. as redefined by Rohweder (1956) contained 13 genera, resulting from the gradual dismemberment of Tradescantia L. itself and Callisia L. Since Rohweder's paper, further genera have been recognized by H. E. Moore (1958, 1962), Leiandra Rafin. and Hadrodemas H. E. Moore, which, with the addition of Cuthbertia Small, whose position is controversial, and Separotheca Waterfall, bring the total to 17. According to Brenan (1966) such dismemberment has been 'undoubtedly necessary'. Despite the process of dismemberment, however, Tradescantia itself remains a heterogeneous assemblage: the 50 or so species it contains (out of about 130 in the tribe as a whole) are a residual mass of species containing, in the writer's opinion, about eight groups and isolated species worthy of rank equivalent to many of the putative genera already proposed. In the final analysis, dismemberment will only be complete when the North American T. virginiana group (about 20 closely related species, fide Anderson & Woodson) is all that is left in Tradescantia.
Perceived and one’s own motion in response priming

Abstract In response priming, motor pre-activations from a prime to the response to a target can be measured, as a function of whether they require the same (compatible) or different (incompatible) responses. With moving primes and static arrow targets, the results depend on the stimulus onset asynchrony between prime and target: with short SOAs, there were faster responses to compatible than incompatible targets, with longer SOAs, the pattern reverses. However, this reversal was not found with more biological motions. The current study comprised 3 experiments in order to replicate several findings from previous research and add evidence regarding the interplay of one’s own and perceived motions. Subjects performed a response priming task with moving prime stimuli while in motion themselves. With this paradigm, we tested the general influence of motion on responding and compatibility effects in response priming with moving prime stimuli. Furthermore, we assessed specific interactions of features of the perceived stimuli (e.g., moving vs. static; direction of the prime or target) and the own motion (e.g., walking vs. standing; direction of being rotated). We used two different own motions (walking on a treadmill, Exp. 1 & 3; rotating in a human gyroscope, Exp. 2) and two different visual stimulus types (rows-of-dots, Exp. 1 & 2; point light displays, Exp. 3). Compatibility effects were, in general, neither increased nor decreased during motion. Their size depended on the stimulus type, the velocity of one’s own motion, and several interactions of perceived and own motion. We discuss our findings with respect to perception-action interactions and previous findings on response priming with moving prime stimuli.
Carbon Isotope Discrimination and Photosynthetic Gas Exchange in Coffee Hedgerows During Canopy Development

In evergreen species, leaf carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) integrates phenological rhythms in gas exchange as well as seasonal changes in environmental conditions. However, few reports on long term variations in Δ of woody plants are available. We measured Δ, gas exchange, nitrogen content, and photosynthetic nitrogen-use efficiency (PNUE) in coffee hedgerows at different stages of canopy development encompassing a range of leaf area index (LAI) from 0.7 to 7.5. Assimilation was highest in sun leaves, but stomatal conductance was highest in shaded leaves. This resulted in a high correlation between assimilation and stomatal conductance in sun, but not in shaded leaves. Δ was about 20 lower in sun than in shaded leaves, and varied by 2.30 among leaves at different positions along two-year- old branches. These differences in Δ were the result of changes in carbon isotope composition that occurred in mature, fully expanded leaves as they became shaded during subsequent canopy growth. Results from a mass balance model based on leaf gas exchange characteristics and measured foliar Δ values suggested that about 50% of the carbon originally fixed during leaf development in the sun may have subsequently been turned over in the shade. Δ of sun leaves from the upper canopy decreased by about 20 with increasing LAI, indicating that intrinsic water-use efficiency (WUE) of this canopy layer increased during canopy development. In contrast, instantaneous WUE, estimated as assimilation divided by canopy transpiration obtained from sap flow measurements, seemed to decrease with increasing LAI. PNUE of upper canopy sun leaves decreased with increasing LAI, suggesting a physiological compromise between WUE and PNUE mediated by stomatal conductance, which also decreased with increasing LAI. A strong negative correlation obtained between leaf Δ and N content was consistent with a trade-off between intrinsic water- and N-use efficiency.
Molecular approaches to axonal regeneration

The presence of inhibitory molecules is believed to contribute to the failure of axonal regeneration in the adult mammalian CNS. This thesis is focussed on the role of the Nogo-66 receptor (NgR), and its ligands, in preventing axonal regeneration, and the use of genetically modified herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) for the disruption of these interactions. The expression of ngr, nogo-66 (i.e. pan-nogo), nogo-a and omgp mRNA in the intact and injured adult rodent nervous system has been examined by in situ hybridisation. Nogo-A expression was investigated by immunohistochemistry. The most significant findings were that, although cerebral cortical neurons strongly express ngr, many other neurons do not express ngr mRNA; indeed, ngr transcripts were absent from the corpus striatum and weakly expressed, if at all, by most spinal cord neurons and most primary sensory neurons. In contrast, nogo isoforms were expressed by many types of neuron in the CNS and PNS. Nogo-A protein was found to be prominently expressed in growing and regenerating axons. It is therefore unlikely that NgR/Nogo interactions can explain the general failure of axonal regeneration in the CNS. Several genetically modified HSV-1 vectors were constructed for the disruption of the NgR-ligand interactions. The first of these was constructed for the expression of a tagged-secreted form of the NgR antagonist peptide (NEP1-40); but, this was found to express poorly both in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, a system for the expression of functional shRNA from HSV-1 is reported. As a proof of principle, eGFP expression was successfully targeted in a cell line in vitro. Similarly, NgR was also targeted in primary cultures of cerebellar granule cells in vitro, but with less effect.