Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nursery practices increase seedling performance on nutrient-poor soils in Swietenia humilis

Abstract: Swietenia humilis is a valued tree species for its high-quality wood, among other commercial interests. Attempts to plant the species in southwest Mexico have often failed due to poor quality seedlings combined with low soil fertility and dry environments. Nursery top-pruning and fertilization are practices previously reported to improve seedling quality, and facilitate rapid establishment under poor site conditions. In the present study, the effects of three top-pruning intensities (0%, 25%, and 50%), and two fertilizer regimes (traditional and exponential) on several S. humilis seedling morphological and physiological indices were tested in the nursery, and a quality test trial on nutrient-poor soils was conducted. Significant interactions between the above two treatments were not detected. Top pruning at 25% and 50% intensity did not improve S. humilis seedling quality. However, exponential nutrient supply exhibited favorable effects on seedling growth. Results of the quality test trial revealed exponential fertilization promoted satisfactory seedling performance when low nutrient availability was a limiting factor.
Age at maturity in cavies: Are precocial mammals different?

ABSTRACT In short-lived mammals, age at maturity is a particularly important parameter influencing lifetime fitness. Age at maturity proves highly variable in altricial rodents, but little is known for small precocial rodents of the order Caviomorpha. Even though extreme precociality implies early maturation, female cavies and guinea-pigs (genus Cavia) advance puberty considerably in the presence of males. We briefly review earlier findings and compare them to data from altricial rodents. We report experiments on 2 very similar species of cavy, the dark-backed (C. magna) and the wild cavy (C. aperea). In the dark-backed cavy, we tested whether the male signal responsible for acceleration of maturity is a chemical in urine, as demonstrated for mice. Females exposed twice daily to male urine on their nares matured at the same age (73–75 d) and mass (around 330 g, 4 times birth mass) as females treated with water. Thus, chemicals in urine did not replace the effect of male presence. Two experiments with wild cavies showed that male presence without physical contact was sufficient to accelerate puberty, even though physical interaction leads to even earlier maturation. Presence of a male during the first 10 d of life only did not lead to advanced maturation in young females. Functionally, it may be more correct to speak of a delay in the onset of maturity in the absence of males rather than considering male presence to stimulate early maturation. Comparative evidence suggests that precocial species generally mature earlier than altricials.
Spatial and temporal variation in the genetic composition of a larval cod (Gadus morhua) aggregation: Cohort contribution and genetic stability

Le polymorphisme observe a six loci de microsatellites de l'ADN chez des larves de morue echantillonnees de facon repetee, pendant une periode de 3 semaines, sur le banc Occidental de la plate-forme neo-ecossaise a prouve l'existence de plusieurs groupes heterogenes dans cette concentration de larves. Les indications etaient fortes d'un defaut d'heterozygotie et d'un ecart par rapport a la loi de Hardy-Weinberg pour l'ensemble de la concentration de larves et pour toutes les larves echantillonnees dans une seule masse d'eau (eau de crete, larves CW), mais non pour un sous-ensemble de ces larves considere comme faisant partie d'une seule cohorte d'apres l'âge selon la longueur. Ces resultats permettent de penser que la concentration entiere et le sous-ensemble de larves CW provenaient de plusieurs episodes distincts de fraye impliquant des geniteurs presentant des compositions alleliques heterogenes, mais que les larves formant la cohorte provenaient d'un seul episode de fraye. Nos resultats ont etablit un lien entre l'hypothese ecologique bon assortiment - erreur d'assortiment et l'hypothese genetique de selection « sweepstake. » Rien n'indiquait que les larves provenaient de populations differentes, d'apres les estimations de la distance (δμ) 2 , de R ST et de F ST entre les sous-ensembles. Des analyses additionnelles ont montre que la cohorte de larves presentait une plus grande similarite genetique avec les morues adultes echantillonnees sur le banc Occidental 2 ans plus tard qu'avec les adultes captures sur le Banquereau (150 km de distance) egalement 2 ans plus tard. Ces resultats permettent de penser que la composition genetique de la morue du banc Occidental reste stable au fil du temps.
A Simple Electroporation Method for the Introduction of Plasmids into Cells Cultured on Coverslips for Histochemical Examination

Expression of genes followed by the examination of the localization of their products by histochemical methods is one of important and powerful approaches to elucidate the role of genes of interest. We show here a simple and versatile electroporation method for the introduction of plasmids into cells cultured on coverslips for histochemical examination. Electroporation apparatus was assembled using a 35-mm plastic dish and aluminum wire. The apparatus was placed over the coverslip and plasmid DNA was applied onto it. Green fluorescent protein (GFP) was used as a reporter of transfection. Under the appropriate settings of voltage, duration, and pulse numbers, successful transfection was easily achieved in 3T3-L1 fibroblasts, HeLa cells, Cos7 cells, and MDCK cells. The electroporation method described here is simple, easy, rapid, and economical, and may be best suited for the screening of many genes for their histochemical examination.
Energy generation from salinity gradients through reverse electrodialysis and capacitive reverse electrodialysis

El presente trabajo constituye el primer esfuerzo en Colombia y America Latina para desarrollar la tecnologia de electrodialisis inversa para obtencion de energia a partir de gradiente salino. En esta tesis se utiliza un modelo en estado estacionario previamente descrito en la literatura y se desarrolla un modelo dinamico para describir el comportamiento de las tecnologias electrodialisis inversa (RED) y electrodialisis inversa capacitiva (CRED). Los modelos son validados experimentalmente. Se realiza la construccion y puesta en marcha de un generador de energia funcional para RED y CRED, se estudia el efecto de espaciadores conductores con geometrias alternativas sugeridas en la literatura. Ademas se estudia el potencial de generacion de energia en Colombia mediante la prueba de la pila construida, utilizando agua recogida en campanas de campo proveniente del rio Magdalena y del mar Caribe. La maxima densidad de potencia obtenida experimentalmente fue de 0.14 W/m2 para una pila de RED con 10 celdas con soluciones artificiales, mientras que la maxima potencia obtenida para CRED fue de 0.035 W/m2 para un stack con 3 celdas y espaciadores utilizando agua del rio Magdalena y del mar Caribe. Finalmente se estudia experimentalmente el efecto que tiene en la concentracion en equilibrio de membranas de intercambio ionico selectivas, el uso de soluciones de NaCl en presencia de iones bivalentes. Se estudia el efecto de los iones mas abundantes en el agua de mar, tales como Mg+2, Ca+2 y SO4 -2 . Se observa un comportamiento de decrecimiento exponencial en la absorcion de iones monovalentes en presencia de iones bivalentes, es decir, a bajas concentraciones de iones bivalentes (concentraciones similares al agua de mar), la capacidad de absorcion de iones monovalentes de la membrana disminuye considerablemente
Sex-Ratio Selection in Species with Helpers-At-The-Nest

Among many cooperatively breeding birds and mammals, grown offspring remain with their parents and aid them in rearing successive broods/litters of young. Through such actions, helpers can be said to "repay" part of the cost of their production. When a strong sexual asymmetry exists in the preponderance of philopatry and helping behavior, selection should favor females that skew the sex ratio of their offspring in favor of the helping sex. We expand Fisher's sex-ratio model to incorporate the concept of a sex-specific helper payback. The result is an imbalance in the evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) sex ratio at the termination of parental care; the magnitude of the imbalance is proportional to the product of P, the fraction of the helper sex that actually acts as helpers, and α, the average magnitude of the helper contribution measured relative to that of either parent. This formulation leads to the testable hypothesis that the male-biased adult sex ratio found in most species of cooperatively breeding birds may be a result rather than a cause of the helping behavior.
Application strategies for control of onion white rot by fungal antagonists

Abstract The fungal species Chaetomium globosum, Coniothyrium minitans, Trichoderma harzianum, T. koningii, and T. virens were confirmed as antagonists of Sclerotium cepivorum, the causal agent of onion white rot in two glasshouse trials. In Trial 1, all fungal treatments afforded disease control equivalent to the fungicide procymidone (1 g a.i./ 100 g seed) when applied to the soil as a soil additive (sand:bran:fungal mix, 1:1:2) at the time of planting. Applications of T. harzianum (C52) and T. koningii (C62) significantly reduced disease incidence from 39.8% in the control to 7.7 and 5.4%, respectively. When treatments were applied 2 weeks before planting, only T. harzianum (C52) gave disease control equivalent to the fungicide. In Trial 2, disease incidence was significantly less when T. harzianum (C52, D73) and T. virens (GV4) were applied as soil additives at planting (34, 40, and 43.1 %, respectively) compared with that in the control treatment (66.5%) 8 weeks after planting. However, disease control declined as Trial 2 progressed with over 95% of the plants infected in all treatments at trial completion. Strategies for field application of the best biological control agents for control of onion white rot are discussed.
Regulatory, Developmental and Tissue Aspects of Mitochondrial Biogenesis in Plants

: Although mitochondria play a central role in energy production in all plant tissues, the amount and activity of mitochondria differs among tissues and with development. These differences are due to the changing demands of various tissues for energy during development and the presence of different metabolic pathways in mitochondria from a variety of tissues. As mitochondria contain proteins encoded in both the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes the expression of these genomes must be coordinated. Progress has been achieved in understanding transcription of genes in both genomes. It appears from investigations to date that: i) transcriptional regulation is not a major feature of control of mitochondrial-encoded genes, and ii) the transcription of nuclear- and mitochondrial-encoded genes for proteins of a multi-subunit complex are not coordinated. Rather several post-transcriptional and/or post-translational mechanisms exist to achieve the desired coordination between the two genomes. Specific examples of the regulation of expression of mitochondrial proteins with development and among tissues are outlined which indicate the complexity of factors that interplay to achieve regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis.
Field‐based grassland management for cirl buntings (Emberiza cirlus L.) and its effect on plant‐ and leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha)

The cirl bunting (Emberiza cirlus L.) has been the subject of targeted and successful conservation efforts based on agri‐environment schemes (AES) in the UK since 1993. Recent work has suggested that although focused on a single species, there have been wider biodiversity benefits for plants and some invertebrates. In this study we investigated whether a similar pattern could be found for the Auchenorrhyncha (plant‐ and leafhoppers) within agricultural grasslands, where they form an important component of the herbivore community. Sweep netting was used to sample Auchenorrhyncha from AES pastures, on which no pesticide or fertiliser inputs are allowed, and from conventionally grazed and cut (silage) fields at 25 locations in south Devon UK, during 2008. Generalised linear mixed models and non‐metric multidimensional scaling were used to model abundance, species density, and community structure. AES fields had the highest abundance, followed by conventionally grazed and then cut fields. The same pattern occurred for species density, although there was no significant difference between conventionally grazed and cut fields. There was no difference in community structure between field types. Number of plant species, sward age, and nitrogen input were important covariates of field type, suggesting that the limitations on inputs resulting from AES are the likely drivers of the observed differences. The results add to the evidence base that suggests that increased agricultural intensity is inversely related to invertebrate biodiversity. They also provide evidence that AES designed for the cirl bunting have provided wider biodiversity benefits.
Effectiveness of Sulphuric Acid and Gypsum for the Reclamation of a Calcareous Saline-Sodic Soil Under Four Crop Rotations

As a low-cost strategy, the cultivation of certain salt-tolerant crop species on calcareous saline-sodic soils, i.e. phytoreclamation, has enjoyed great attention in recent years. A lysimeter study was carried out to evaluate whether a phytoreclamation approach alone, or in combination with some booster dose of either gypsum or sulphuric acid, is sufficient to reclaim a calcareous, moderately saline-sodic soil. Four crop rotations, rice (Oryza sativa L.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-sesbania (Sesbania aculeata L.); rice-berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum L.); Kallar grass (Leptochloa fusca L.)-alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and sesbania-berseem were tested against three treatments: (T 1 ) control, (T 2 ) sulphuric acid application 25 % of soil gypsum requirement (SGR), and (T 3 ) application of gypsum 25 % SGR. To decrease the sodium adsorption ratio of the saline-sodic soil well below the threshold level, especially from deeper depth, a booster dose of gypsum or sulphuric acid 25 % SGR was quite effective. Rice-berseem and Kallar grass-alfalfa rotations were more promising in combination with inorganic amendments than the rest of the rotations. The study also suggests that better yields of wheat and rice crops can be obtained with the application of inorganic amendments like gypsum or sulphuric acid. However, Kallar grass yield was somewhat suppressed with these amendments.
Role of Armillaria calvescens and Glycobius speciosus in a sugar maple decline

Sugar maple, Acersaccharum Marsh. , decline may be reversible during early stages before secondary insects and fungi invade stressed trees. Treatment with boric acid reduced the regenerative capacity of Armillariacalvescens Berube & Dessureault rhizomorphs and the percent infection of trembling aspen, Populustremuloides Michx. , stakes used as a bioassay. One year after treatment, crown condition and cambial electrical resistance of trees initially in early stages of crown dieback improved compared with controls. The crown condition of sugar maples previously attacked by the sugar maple borer, Glycobiusspeciosus (Say), did not improve during 5 years of observation, whereas 18% of uninfested trees in similar initial crown condition did improve. Sugar maple borer was more abundant in declining trees than is typical of nondeclining infested trees . Declining trees had more sugar maple borer damage than apparently healthy trees (no evidence of crown dieback). The borer and the fungus are important contributing .
Effect of dewaxing pretreatment on composition and stability of rice bran oil: Potential antioxidant activity of wax fraction

The effect of dewaxing pretreatment on rice bran oil composition and stability was investigated, as well as the possibility to use rice bran oil waxes as natural antioxidants at high temperatures. A correlation between wax content and dewaxing time was noticed. The pre-dewaxing process led to a loss of minor compounds, which negatively affected the oxidative stability index (OSI) of the dewaxed oil. The addition of rice bran oil waxes improved the oil stability index and heat stability of sunflower oil. An increase of 60% of the OSI and a significant decrease in polymer formation (59.2%) were observed.
Tiller Development and Contribution to Yield under Different Moisture Regimes in two Triticum Species

The number of productive tillers is an important yield component in wheat and is affected by water stress and genetic factors. A greenhouse experiment was conducted during spring 1992 at ICARDA, Tel Hadya, Syria, with eight genotypes representing two Triticum species (Triticum turgidum L. ssp. durum and Triticum aestivum L. ssp. aestivum) under four soil-moisture regimes (95 %, 75 %, 55 %, and 35 % field capacity) to study the effect of water deficit on tiller development and tiller contribution to grain yield. In the highest watering regime appearance of Tiller 1 was delayed in both species. Also Tiller 2 was suppressed in this treatment in durum, while its appearance was delayed in aestivum. In the driest treatment, a majority of the tillers were suppressed and the ones which emerged were delayed. In durum, the heat units required to produce successive leaves on the tillers were higher than that for the main stem and increased with increasing water stress, causing high rate of tiller abortion. In aestivum, each tiller, once produced, developed leaves at the same rate as on the main stem. Phyllochron of tillers as well as main stem was not affected by water stress in aestivum. In aestivum, contribution by tillers to yield was higher than that of durum in all treatments. Results indicate that early appearance of tillers and faster rate of leaf appearance under water stress result in higher tiller survival and greater tiller contribution to final yield. Hence, tiller dynamics under water stress can be used as a selection criterion for breeding for drought tolerance.
The effect of sodium biselenite on the growth and aflatoxin production of Aspergillus parasiticus and the growth of other aspergilli

The effect of sodium biselenite on the growth of nine isolates from Aspergillus, including an afiatoxin‐producing strain of Aspergillus parasiticus, was studied on plates of Czapek Dox agar and in the chemically defined medium of Reddy et al. (1971). Selenite (40 μ/ml) causes some inhibition of the growth of all the isolates tested and induces the formation of an orange pigment in the mycelium of all species except A. niger. The intensity of pigmentation of colonies of A. parasiticus increased with reduced growth brought about by increased concentration of selenite and the production of aflatoxin was quantitatively affected by the presence of selenite.
Evaluation of Ocimum suave (Willd) as a source of repellents, toxicants and protectants in storage against three stored product insect pests

Abstract The bioactivity of materials from the leaves and succulent stems of 0. suave was tested against Sitophilus zeamais (Mots.), Rhyzopertha dominica (Fab.) and Sitotroga cerealella (Oliv.) in maize and sorghum. O. suave applied as dry or ground leaves was not toxic to S. zeamais but as essential oil extract was highly toxic to the weevil. Higher dosages of ground leaves and essential oil extract induced 100% mortality in R. dominica. S. cerealella was most susceptible to O. suave since all the plant materials bioassayed evoked higher mortalities in the moth. The materials also caused significant reduction in progeny produced by the insects. All the plant materials were highly repellent to S. zeamais with ground leaves evoking the highest repellent action. There was, however, considerable variation in the repellency of the materials against R. dominica and S. cerealella. Ground leaves and essential oil extract provided the greatest protection of maize and sorghum against attack by the insects. The pot.
Precision Manure Management across Site-Specific Management Zones: Grain Yield and Economic Analysis

Published in Agron. J. 106:2146–2156 (2014) doi:10.2134/agronj13.0400 Available freely online through the author-supported open access option. Copyright © 2014 by the American Society of Agronomy, 5585 Guilford Road, Madison, WI 53711. All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. AbStrACt
The breeding biology of the Dipper Cinclus cinclus in south-west Ireland

The breeding biology of Irish Dippers was studied over 12 years. A total of 501 nests was located, mostly at artificial sites, notably bridges. Irish Dippers start breeding earlier, lay fewer eggs, fledge fewer young and have fewer second broods than most other populations. The mean clutch size was 4.16 (±se 0.03) and the mean brood size at fledging was 3.48 (±¸se 0.05) per successful pair. The breeding biology is compared with other populations and some differences are highlighted.
Monitoring of wheat insects and their natural enemies using sticky traps in wheat

Beneficial arthropods and wheat insects were monitored using sticky traps through large-scale field in Saxony, Germany before and after insecticide applications. The tested compounds (Karate, Biscaya and NeemAzal T/S) were sprayed twice at Elongation stage (GS 32) and at the heading stage (GS 55). Monitoring was conducted for four weeks after each treatment. Cereal aphids, thrips, leafhoppers, cereal leaf beetles, cereal bugs and also many natural enemies such as predators (lady beetles, lacewings, syrphids, dance flies and spiders) and parasitoids (parasitic wasps) were surveyed. The results proved that Karate caused the highest per cent mortality to wheat insect pests. Karate also reduced natural enemy diversities. Biscaya and NeemAzal T/S is correlated with an equivalent mortality per cents to wheat insect pests and resulted in a smaller effects on natural enemies compared with Karate. Leafhoppers were less affected than Thrips and cereal bugs. Parasitoid wasps and spider were more tolerant, while lacewings and dance flies were more susceptible to insecticide effects. Finally, natural insecticides and predators and parasitoids could be highly compatible with a hygienic environment.
Familial multiple myeloma. Two more families

The authors report on two multiple myeloma sibling pairs. In the absence of a known disease-specific marker one can only speculate on an explanation: is it because of inherited errors or is it related to the same environmental exposure, or both? In this study HLA typing and metabolizing enzyme polymorphism studies have been carried out with the aim of finding inherited similarities in the siblings or characteristics that might differ from the average population. Sibling pair 1 shared an HLA haplotype. Sibling pair 2 shared only HLA-B51, DR4, DRw53, DQ3. Sibling 1/1 was GSTT1 / GSTM1 null and GSTP1 Ile105Val; sibling 1/2 was a GSTT1 / GSTM1 heterozygote and GSTP1 Ile105Val; sibling 2/1 and 2/2 were GSTT1 heterozygotes and shared GSTM1 null / GSTP1 Ile105Ile. The siblings had identical light chain or heavy chain secretion, or both. The similarities found in the inherited factors together with the same environmental exposure in the siblings’ first 20 years of life imply that the development of the same disease cannot be a coincidence.