Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Yield-increasing effect of a major gene, Ur1 (undulate rachis -1) on different genetic backgrounds in rice

An incompletely dominant gene Ur1 (Undulate rachis -1) increases spikelet number per panicle, and can enhance grain yield by enlarging sink size. The yield-increasing effect of Uri was examined on five different genetic backgrounds. The Ur1 isogenic line of 'Nishihikari' (N U ) has been developed by successive backcrossing. 'Nishihikari' (N) has the highest lodging-resistance in southern Japan. This isogenic line, N and their F 1 possessing the Ur1/+ genotype (N H ) were grown in 2000. The yield of the three genotypes was in the order N U >N H >N, though the difference between N U and N H was not significant. Uri increased spikelet number per panicle by 29 and 24%, respectively, in N U and N H , whereas Ur1 decreased panicle number per m 2 , ripened-grain percentage and 1000 grain weight by the ranges of 4 to 8% and 4 to 6%, respectively, in N U and N H . From the F 1 of N×the isogenic line of 'Taichung 65' carrying both Ur1 and sd1-d, four isogenic-line pairs (e.g. 27 U and 27 + ) were developed after maintaining the heterozygosity (Ur1/+) to F 8 or F 9 generation. These four number-named isogenic-line pairs, N U and N were planted under a field condition in 2001. Analysis of variance indicated that the effects of Ur1, genetic background and the interaction were significant in yield. The five Ur1-carrying isogenic lines had a varying yield from 752 (N U ) to 542 (30 U ) g/m 2 . The yield increase by Ur1 ranged from 250 g/m 2 (61%) to 75 g/m 2 (16%). In spikelet number per panicle, the increase by Ur1 ranged from 62.1 to 39.2, while the percentage increase varied from 90 to 42%. The spikelet-increasing effect of Ur1 was greater on a small-panicled genetic background than on a large-panicled genetic background. Ur1 decreased ripened-grain percentage by 17% in 30 U , relative to 30 + , whereas no significant decreases were noticed in the other four Ur1-carrying isogenic lines. Ur1 increased culm length in 27 U , 52 U and 74 U , whereas no increase was noticed in N U and 30 U . It is concluded that N U could be a prospective material for developing high-yielding japonica varieties carrying Ur1, from the viewpoint of lodging tolerance as well as yield.
Adubação mineral do feijoeiro: VIII - Efeitos de N, P, K, Se de uma mistura de micronutrientes, em novas experiências conduzidas em Tatuí e Tietê

Seven fertilizer experiments with Phaseolus vulgarisL. were conducted in the State of Sao Paulo on soils frequently cropped and fertilized with NPK. Two of the experiments were repeated in the following year, when only the nitrogen fertilizer was applied. Including the results of the second year, nitrogen increased significantly the yields in five cases, phosphorus, in two, sulfur as well as the mixture of micro-nutrients (Zn, Cu, B and Mo), in one, and potassium, in none of them.
Control and Thermodynamics of Microbial Growth: Rational Tools for Bioengineering

AbstractThe metabolic control theory (MCT) provides an exact and quantitative framework for the description of microbial growth. It gives a value for the contribution of each specific individual step (or ensemble) in the total control of fluxes in a complex metabolic network (such as a microbial cell) by means of socalled flux control coefficients. Therefore, MCT is an interesting tool for modeling microbial growth and product formation.The present review focuses on the application of the concepts of MCT of a relatively simple model of microbial growth. In this model (which was already used in the mosaic nonequilibrium thermodynamic approach of Westerhoff and Van Dam (1987) Elsevier), the metabolism is lumped together in three essential steps, i.e., catabolism (all energyliberating processes), anabolism (in which ATP is used for biosynthesis) and leak (ATP hydrolysis without coupling to anabolism or catabolism). According to MCT, it is a priori not justified to describe growth by one limiting step (substra.
History of late- and post-glacial vegetation and disturbance around Upper South Branch Pond, northern Maine

The changing character of vegetation and the effects of disturbance on vegetation are inferred from pollen, plant macrofossils, charcoal, and microlepidopteran larvel head capsules in sediment cores from Upper South Branch Pond, Maine. Following deglaciation 12 500 – 12 000 years ago, a herb–shrub tundra developed which included moss species characteristic of calcareous, mineral soils. Fire and infestation by microlepidopterans were unimportant initially but became important upon arrival of spruce, paper birch, balsam fir, white pine, and tamarack trees (ca. 10 200 – 9500 years BP). Fires were infrequent in the watershed between 7500 and 5000 years BP. The relatively stable forests of this period, dominated by hemlock and yellow birch, grew in what may have been the moistest part of the Holocene. The maximum postglacial abundance of microlepidopteran larvae is centered around the hemlock decline (ca. 4800 years BP). Subsequently, the forest was composed largely of deciduous trees and white pine. Fire inci.
Physiological responses to stoichiometric constraints: nutrient limitation and compensatory feeding in a freshwater snail

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are considered to be essential nutrients that control secondary production in various ecosystems; insufficient availability of N and P can limit herbivore growth. Here, data are presented from field samplings and from a laboratory experiment on the potential of primary producers low in P, N, or P and N to constrain growth of the freshwater gastropod Radix ovata. The filamentous green alga Ulothrix fimbriata was cultured under different nutrient regimes, resulting in algae with different C:N:P ratios. The pure algae were fed in high and low quantities to juvenile R. ovata. Low availability of N and especially P in the algae strongly constrained the biomass accrual of the herbivore. In accordance with theoretical predictions, these food quality differences were highly dependent on the food quantity. The snails’ growth rate was significantly related to their body C:P ratio, thereby supporting the growth rate hypothesis. R. ovata displayed a pronounced compensatory feeding response to low-nutrient food that could partly dampen but not fully compensate the food quality effects on snail growth. Increased feeding of gastropods at low P and/or N availability leads to depletion of periphyton biomass; hence compensatory feeding would shift the benthic herbivore community from a P or N limitation to a C limitation and thus have whole-ecosystem effects.
The diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizas of selected Australian Fabaceae

Abstract Members of the Australian native perennial Fabaceae have been little explored with regard to their root biology and the role played by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in their establishment, nutrition and long-term health. The ultimate goal of our research is to determine the dependency of native perennial legumes on their co-evolved AM fungi and conversely, the impact of AM fungal species in agricultural fields on the productivity of sown native perennial legume pastures. In this paper we investigate the colonisation morphology in roots and the AMF, identified by spores extracted from rhizosphere soil, from three replicate plots of each of the native legumes, Cullen australasicum, C. tenax and Lotus australis and the exotic legumes L. pedunculatus and Medicago sativa. The plants were grown in an agricultural field. The level and density of colonisation by AM fungi, and the frequency of intraradical and extraradical hyphae, arbuscules, intraradical spores and hyphal coils all differed between host plants and did not consistently differ between native and exotic species. However, there were strong similarities between species in the same genus. The three dominant species of AM fungi in rhizosphere soil also differed with host plant, but one fungus (Glomus mosseae) was always the most dominant. Sub-dominant AM species were the same between species in the same genus. No consistent differences in dominant spores were observed between the exotic and native Fabaceae species. Our results suggest that plant host influences the mycorrhizal community in the rhizosphere soil and that structural and functional differences in the symbiosis may occur at the plant genus level, not the species level or due to provenance.
Regulation of autophagy in rat hepatocytes treated in vitro with low concentration of mercury

Several proteins are implicated in the regulation of autophagy in cells under various physiological and pathological conditions. Recently it was found that in vitro initiation of autophagy in 5 μM mercuric chloride (HgCl2) treated rat hepatocytes occurred within 30 min of incubation. The aim of this study was to monitor the autophagy–ubiquitination link to determine the regulatory mechanisms underlying autophagy at a concentration of 5 μM HgCl2. Autophagic cell death was evidenced by the presence of LC3B positive hepatocytes throughout the incubation period of 4 hr. Autophagosome maturation occurred following 1 hr of metal treatment accompanied by an enhanced expression of several regulatory proteins such as p62, Keap1, and caspase-8, which drive the hepatocytes toward autophagy. In addition, the rate of increase in down-regulation in a p38 expression was significantly higher than that of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) at 1 hr incubation, followed by a significant decline in the p38 level at 2 and 4 hr following metal treatment. In contrast, the expression of ERK remained higher than that of p38 at 2 and 4 hr. Data indicate that intracellular activation of the major regulatory proteins such as LC3B, caspase-8, Keap1, p62, ERK, and p38 modulates autophagy through ubiquitination in rat hepatocytes exposed to low concentrations of Hg.
Phenology of the Predatory Bugs Orius vicinus (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) and Sejanus albisignata (Heteroptera: Miridae) in Otago, New Zealand, Apple Orchards

The phenology of the anthocorid, Orius vicinus and the mirid, Sejanus albisignata , was studied in apple orchards in Otago, New Zealand, from 1995 to 1998. The bugs were sampled on shoot and fruit clusters, and with beating trays and passive sticky traps. Three age classes of each bug were identified in the cluster and tray sampling, while the traps caught only adults. Both cluster and beating tray sampling successfully identified the generations. O. vicinus completed two generations per year with peak numbers of adults of each generation occurring in January and February/March, respectively. A very small partial third generation occurred in the warmest season. Adult females from the second generation overwintered. S. albisignata completed two full generations and a partial third generation each season. Peak adult numbers of each generation occurred, respectively, in December/January, February/March and April/May. S. albisignata overwinters in the egg stage but the proportions of these eggs from the three generations are not known. Both O. vicinus and S. albsignata are polyphagous and a range of their known prey species coexist with them on the apple trees in spring and summer.
Biochemical changes induced by accelerated aging in sunflower seeds. II. RNA populations and protein synthesis.

Sunflower seeds (Helianthus annuus L. cv Rodeo) slowly lose their viability when subjected to accelerated aging (42°C and 100% relative humidity). After 12 h imbibition, in vivo protein labelling profiles show dramatic changes as a function of accelerated aging. Total and poly(A+)-RNA content of embryonic axes were similar regardless of the time spent in hot and wet conditions. However, the ability of mRNA to be translated in cell-free system was largely reduced in acceleratedly aged seeds. In vitro protein synthesis revealed the observed changes to be largely quantitative rather than qualitative, and to result mainly from post-transcriptional regulation. However, the induction of two proteins (15 and 43 kDa) subsequent to accelerated aging resulted from an increase in their corresponding mRNA, The accelerated aging treatment of sunflower seeds primarily induces quantitative changes in the translation of pre-existing mRNA, rather than the production of new mRNA species.
Increased opportunities for cuckoldry may be why dominant male fairy-wrens tolerate helpers

The highest known rates of extra-pair fertilization (76%) occur in the superb fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus), a bird that lives in both breeding pairs and in cooperative groups where 2-5 males assist a single female. Males living in groups are cuckolded more often than males in pairs, apparently because females can rely on helpers as an alternative source of care, and so do not need to allow their mate fertilizations. It is therefore unclear why dominant males tolerate helpers. Here we show that dominant males with helpers provide less parental care during the nestling period, and use this reduced workload to make extra-territorial forays which are used to court extra-group females. DNA fingerprinting suggests that this increased display rate provides them with an advantage in obtaining extra-group copulations. These data suggest that within-pair and extra-pair paternity will not always be positively correlated.
Quirópteros do Parque Estadual da Pedra Branca, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil (Mammalia, Chiroptera)

A survey of chiropteran fauna was conducted during the period from March 1994 to May 1998 in Pedra Branca State Park, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro State. A total of 681 specimens of 24 species were recorded: Chrotopterus auritus (Peters, 1856); Micronycteris megalotis (Gray, 1842); Micronycteris minuta (Gervais, 1856); Mimmon bennettii (Gray, 1838); Phyllostomus hastatus (Pallas, 1767); Tonatia bidens (Von Spix, 1823); Lonchophylla bokermanni Sazima, Vizotto & Taddei, 1978; Lonchophylla mordax Thomas, 1903; Anoura caudifera (E. Geoffroy, 1818); Glosso-phaga soricina (Pallas, 1766); Carollia perspicillata (Linnaeus, 1758); Artibeus fimbriatus Gray, 1838; Artibeus lituratus (Olfers, 1818); Artibeus obscuras Schinz, 1821; Chiroderma doriae Thomas, 1891; Platyrrhinus lineatus (E. Geoffroy, 1810); Platyrrhinus recifinus (Thomas, 1901); Sturnira lilium (E. Geoffroy, 1810); Vampyressa pusilla (Wagner, 1843); Desmodus rotundus (E. Geoffroy, 1810); Diphylla ecaudata Von Spix, 1823; Eptesicus brasiliensis (DesMarest, 1819); Myotis nigricans (Schinz, 1821) and Molossus molossus (Palas, 1766). One external (forearm length) and 13 cranial meansurements were studied for 23 species. The meansurements of male and female specimens were treated separately. Comments about some taxonomic respects for some species studied are also included.
Avaliação da atividade larvicida de extratos obtidos do caule de Croton linearifolius Mull. Arg. (Euphorbiaceae) sobre larvas de Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus, 1762) (Diptera: Culicidae)

Evaluation of the larvicidal activity of extracts obtained from the stem of Croton linearifolius Mull. Arg. (Euphorbiaceae) against larvae of Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus, 1762) (Diptera: Culicidae). Among the public health problems affecting the human population, at the national and world levels, dengue fever stands out, whose primary vector of the virus is Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus, 1762). For reducing the population density of this vector, an integrated control is recommended and, as an element of this control, the use of insecticides. However, this practice has led to the selection of resistant insect populations. Thus, there is a need to seek alternative insecticides that can contribute to control this vector. This study aimed to evaluate the larvicidal potential of an extract obtained from the stem of Croton linearifolius against larvae of A. aegypti,
Coupled biogeochemical and hydrological responses of streams and rivers to drought

SUMMARY 1. Severe or extreme droughts occurred about 10% of the time over a 105-year record from central New Mexico, U.S.A. , based on the Palmer Drought Severity Index. 2. Drought lowers water tables, creating extensive areas of groundwater recharge and fragmenting reaches of streams and rivers. Deeper groundwater inputs predominate as sources of surface flows during drought. Nutrient inputs to streams and rivers reflect the biogeochemistry of regional ground waters with longer subsurface residence times. 3. Inputs of bioavailable dissolved organic carbon to surface waters decrease during drought, with labile carbon limitation of microbial metabolism a byproduct of drought conditions. 4. Decreased inputs of organic forms of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus and a decrease in the organic : inorganic ratio of nutrient inputs favours autotrophs over heterotrophs during drought. 5. The fate of autotrophic production during drought will be strongly influenced by the structure of the aquatic food web within impacted sites.
Density and habitat use of sympatric Brown hares and European rabbits in a Mediterranean farmland area of Tuscany (Central Italy)

Use of habitat by sympatric Brown hare (Lepus europaeus) and wild European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) was investigated in a farmland area of western Tuscany from 1999 to 2011. We used spotlight counts in winter and indirect surveys on faecal pellet counts in spring–summer. The density of Brown hare increased during the study period, whereas the European rabbit population crashed in 2010 after a European Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease (RHD) outbreak.The results of the use of habitat type differed between the observations obtained during the spotlight census and the observations obtained from the indirect surveys carried out using faecal pellet counts.The two lagomorph populations showed a great habitat overlap; however, European rabbits seem to live at a shorter distance from permanent cover such as hedgerows and woods and seem to prefer uncultivated fields and permanent crops such as olive tree groves that offer more protection from avian predators. Brown hares seem to prefer more open habitat such as arable crops and this resulted in them being less selective than European rabbits. The differences found in habitat use have probably enabled the two species to coexist for many decades and can be used to manage these lagomorphs.
Hooking Mortality and Physiological Responses of Striped Bass Angled in Freshwater and Held in Live-Release Tubes

Abstract Mortality and physiological responses of adult striped bass Morone saxatilis angled from Lake Murray, South Carolina, and held in live-release tubes were evaluated during the spring and summer of 2003. To estimate mortality, we attached external ultrasonic transmitters to 59 striped bass (mean total length (TL) = 585 mm). Striped bass were caught with angling gear, tagged, and immediately released or held in live-release tubes for 2, 4, or 6 h prior to release. No mortality of striped bass was observed during spring. Overall mortality during summer was 83%. Mortality of summer-caught striped bass was not related to tube residence time, fish TL, depth of capture, or surface water temperature. To characterize physiological stress, we measured the plasma cortisol, glucose, lactate, and osmolality levels of 62 additional striped bass (mean TL = 563 mm) that were angled and immediately released or angled and held in live-release tubes. Plasma cortisol, glucose, lactate, and osmolality were positively .
Phenological adaptation in weeds—an evolutionary response to the use of herbicides?

The possibility of phenological adaptation in weed species is discussed in terms of an evolved response to herbicide use. Weed populations often exhibit heritable variation in life history traits that may reflect phenological adaptations. Approaches to assessing 'adaptedness' are discussed. Selection for seed dormancy in a grass weed is considered through life history analysis. It is concluded that too little is known about both life histories and fitness of weed species in varying environments for conclusions to be drawn concerning phenological adaptation for use in herbicide resistance management.
Selective hunting of juveniles as a cause of the imperceptible overkill of the Australian Pleistocene megafauna

Overkill by human hunting has been cited consistently as a likely cause of the Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions in Australia, but little archaeological evidence has been found to support the notion of prehistoric Aboriginal people engaging in specialised “big game” hunting more than 40 millennia ago. Here we develop a demographic population model that considers explicitly the potential impact of harvest of small, immature (and presumably more vulnerable) individuals of the largest known marsupial, Diprotodon opoptatum. We show that remarkably low levels of exploitation of juveniles (the equivalent of one or two kills per 10 people per year) would have been sufficient to drive these large species to extinction within centuries, as a consequence of their “slow” life-histories. This conclusion is robust to assumptions regarding the compensatory response of the prey species and declines in the relative efficiency of hunting as the megafaunal populations declined. These findings dispel the idea that, at least in Australia, evidence for a sophisticated hunting toolkit and massive kill-sites are a necessary adjunct to “blitzkrieg”. Ironically, although the extinction event was likely geochronologically instantaneous (given the coarse resolution of dating from that time), on the scale of human (and megafaunal) lifetimes, the unfolding overkill would have been all but imperceptible.
Sem Observations on Indented Rings

The anatomy of indented rings in Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis Carr.) was examined using SEM. The tracheids and rays in these rings differed from those in nonnal wood in both morphology and arrangement. Moreover, trabeculae were commonly found to occur in their tracheids. These anatomical features are illustrated by SEM micrographs.
Mass occurrence of the recent brachiopod Magellania venosa (Terebratellidae) in the fjords Comau and Reñihué, northern Patagonia, Chile

Mass occurrences of the terebratellid brachiopod Magellania venosa with more than 200 individuals·m−2 are reported from the fjords Comau and Renihue in the northernmost region of the Chilean fjordland, whereas more southern fjords do not show these high numbers of the largest living brachiopod. This is an exception to earlier observations that the abundance of M. venosa on the Chilean shelf is positively correlated with increasing latitude. As the sympatric scleractinian coral Desmophyllum dianthus also occurs in unusually high numbers in the fjords Comau and Renihue, the hydrographical regime and its associated environmental conditions in these fjords may be responsible for these mass occurrences.
The effect of severe defoliation on the subsequent growth and development of five rangeland pasture grasses of south‐western Queensland

Young plants of five arid zone grasses. Cenchrus ciliaris, Astrebla lappacea, Artstida armata, Thyridolepis mitchelliana, and Digitaria ammophila, were heavily defoliated and their subsequent regrowth and development monitored and compared with that of intact plants. Defoliation impaired the development of both roots and plant tops in all species. Regrowth was inconsistent with theories of assimilated reserves stored in roots to support regrowth. The species differed in their apportionment of assimilate between competing plant parts. The differences were similar in both intact and defoliated plants. Both C. ciliaris and A. lappacea maintained a large root mass but produced few inflorescences whereas A. armata and D. ammophila did the opposite. T. mitchelliana had an intermediate pattern of allocation. Both D. ammophila and A. armata resumed flowering soon after defoliation. The different reactions to defoliation are discussed in relation to historical deterioration in pasture condition which may be linked with the prolific seeding capacity of A. armata.