Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Water and Nutrient Outflow Following the Ecological Restoration of a Ponderosa Pine‐Bunchgrass Ecosystem

In the late 1800s, fire suppression, livestock grazing, and a wet and warm climate led to an irruption of pine regeneration in Pinus ponderosa Laws. (ponderosa pine) forests of the southwestern United States. Pines invaded bunchgrass openings, causing stand structure changes that increased the number of stand‐replacing fires. Ecological restoration, via thinning and prescribed burning, is being used to decrease the risk of stand‐replacing fires and ameliorate other effects of pine invasion. The effects of aboveground restoration on belowground processes are poorly understood. We used a hydrologic model and soil water nutrient concentrations, measured monthly below the rooting zone, to estimate restoration effects on nutrient losses by leaching from a mature ponderosa pine forest near Flagstaff, Arizona. Replicated restoration treatments included thinning to pre‐1880 stand densities (partial restoration), thinning plus forest floor fuel reduction followed by a prescribed burn (complete restoration), and an untreated control. Water outflow occurred only between January and May and was lowest from the control (47 and 28 mm in 1995 and 1996) and highest from the partial restoration treatment (67 and 59 mm in 1995 and 1996). The concentrations (typically <0.10 mg/ L) and estimated annual losses (<0.02 kg/ha) of NH4+‐N, PO43−‐P, and organic P were similar among treatments. Nitrate and organic N concentrations were as high as 0.80 mg N/L; however, these concentrations and estimated annual losses (<0.13 kg N/ha) were similar among treatments. Our results suggest that restoration will not enhance nutrient loss by leaching or alter stream chemistry in ponderosa pine forests.
Role as Consumers

Cephalopods are voracious, versatile predators. They generally have a short life span and a single spawning event followed by death. Populations are subject to dramatic fluctuations and their impact on prey populations is equally variable. The prehensile arms and tentacles of cephalopods, coupled with a highly evolved sensory system, allow them to occupy a broad trophic niche and migrations enable populations to exploit the temporal and spatial variability of production systems and populations of prey. Shoaling is a common behavioural feature of many species which facilitates prey capture and contributes to the impact of cephalopods on prey populations. Research on cephalopod stomach contents is hampered because the beak is used to bite the prey into small pieces so hard parts, which are usually needed for identification of prey species, are often rejected causing potential bias in estimation of diet. Cephalopods may also feed unnaturally in the presence of sampling gear. Despite these problems there is a growing body of data on cephalopod predation collected using direct observations, conventional visual analysis of stomach contents and serological methods. Most species feed on small crustaceans as juveniles and shift the diet to larger fish and other cephalopods during growth. This shift is accompanied by ontogenetic changes in the allometry of the brachial crown. There is increasing evidence that myctophid fishes are an important food resource for oceanic squid. The diet and stock size of some commercially exploited squid populations is sufficiently well known to quantify the impact of a single generation on the prey community. Where there is predation on commercial stocks of fish and crustaceans, the effect of cephalopod feeding on recruitment may be significant. Cephalopods are trophic opportunists in marine food webs from polar to equatorial seas.
Phylogenetic Relationships within Phacelia subgenus Phacelia (Hydrophyllaceae) Inferred From Nuclear rDNA ITS Sequence Data

Abstract We examined infrageneric relationships within Phacelia subgenus Phacelia based on phylogenetic hypotheses derived from internal transcribed spacers (ITS) and the 5.8S gene of nuclear ribosomal DNA. Maximum parsimony (MP) and maximum likelihood (ML) phylogenies support the monophyly of sects. Euglypta and Miltitzia, previously hypothesized based on seed characters and ecological distribution. Tree branching patterns within the Euglypta/Miltitzia clade indicate three principle lineages: 1) the P. pachyphylla complex, 2) a clade of P. brachyloba and 3) a clade consisting of two sister groups, the P. affinis complex and the P. fremontii complex. An aneuploid increase in chromosome number occurs from the P. pachyphylla complex (n = 11) to P. brachyloba (n = 12) while the pattern within the P. fremontii complex includes both aneuploid increases and decreases. There is high bootstrap support for monophyly of taxa representing both the P. magellanica polyploid complex and the P. humiles species group; the former contains the only known tetraploid taxa in subgenus Phacelia.
Effect of saline conditions on the maturation process of Clementine Clemenules fruits on two different rootstocks.

The production of mandarins is important in the Mediterranean area, where the continued use of saline water reduces fruit yield and modifies fruit quality. Grafted trees of Clemenules mandarin scion on Carrizo citrange and Cleopatra mandarin rootstocks, two of the most common citrus rootstocks employed in this area, were irrigated with two saline treatments (control and 30 mM NaCl). The fruit quality was studied through the last two months before the fruit harvest. Salinity reduced both the fruit number and the mean fruit weight on Carrizo trees whereas no fruit weight reduction was observed on Cleopatra. The decrease of fruit weight on Carrizo trees is probably due to the lower water content and consequently the lower juice percentage. Although the saline treatment produced significant differences in some fruit quality variables (shape and thickness indices) throughout the maturation process, they were minimal at the harvest time. Total soluble solids (TSS) were significantly higher in fruits from the saline treatments, probably due to a passive dehydration. It is also possible that de novo synthesis of sugars occurred, since fruits from Cleopatra trees receiving the saline treatment had similar water contents but higher TSS than control fruits. The external fruit colour indicated that the saline treatment accelerated the maturation process; however, the maturity index showed that the high acidity of these fruits delayed the internal maturation with respect to the control fruits. Additional key words: acidity; Carrizo citrange; Cleopatra mandarin; fruit colour; maturity index; shape index; total soluble solids. Resumen Efecto del riego con agua salina en el proceso de maduracion de los frutos de Clementina Clemenules
High level of variation among Sri Lankan weedy rice populations, as estimated by morphological characterization

Weedy rice (Oryza sativa f. spontanea) is a notorious weed that infests paddy fields worldwide. Understanding the morphological variation pattern of this weed in a given rice-planting region will facilitate its effective management and use. Here, 29 populations, covering nearly all the rice-cultivation regions in Sri Lanka, were characterized in a common-garden cultivation experiment that was based on 13 morphological traits. The variation level of the weedy rice populations was considerably high, as estimated by the Simpson and Shannon‐Weaver indices. An ANOVA revealed a higher level of among-population variation than withinpopulation variation. Seed shattering was the most variable trait and the seed length and width were the least variable traits, as indicated by their coefficient of variation. The results of the principal component analysis, in which the first two principal components represented 57.5% of the total variation, indicated the important role of such traits as plant height, seed weight and number of tillers and panicles in the divergence of the weedy rice populations. However, the variation was not associated with their geographical locality. Knowledge of such a morphological variation pattern provides opportunities to design strategic management methods for weedy rice control in Sri Lanka, in addition to the proper use of it as a genetic resource for rice improvement.
Genotypic frequency of calpastatin gene in lori sheep by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method

Calpastatin is a natural occurring inhibitor of calpastatin (CAST) and consequently the balance of calpain-calpastatin activity in muscles is believed to dictate the rate of tenderization in post-mortem meat. Genomic DNA was extracted from 100 sheep blood sample. Polymerase chain reaction was performed to amplify a 622 bp fragment of this gene. Restriction reaction of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products was done using MspI enzyme. The MspI digestion of the PCR products produced digestion fragments of 336 and 286 bp. The results show that in the population, genotypes AA, AB and BB, respectively, had frequencies 32.2, 63.2 and 4.6, and that this locus was not at Hardy - Weinberg equilibrium in the lori sheep strain (P<0.05). Keywords: Calpastatin gene, polymorphism, lori sheep, polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). African Journal of Biotechnology , Vol 13(19), 1952-1954
The connection of the vomeronasal nerves with the accessory olfactory bulb in the opossum and other mammals

It is well known that there exists in most mammals an accessory olfactory bulb, which is similar in structure and in its peripheral and central connections to the chief olfactory bulb, though it is much smaller and is distinctly separated from it. On the other hand, it has been clearly shown that the vomeronasal or Jacobson’s organ is olfactory in character and that it gives origin to nerve filaments, like those of the olfactory mucosa, which form bundles that pass upward through the cribriform plate to the region of the median surface of the olfactory bulb. It has not, however, been recognized, as far as the writer knows, that the fibers arising from the vomeronasal organ and the fibers connected with the accessory bulb are one and the same thing. It is the purpose of the present paper to report some observations which establish this connection, and which show that we have in the vomeronasal nerves the combined filaments from the vomeronasal organ, and that they are the fibers that terminate in the accessory olfactory bulb and are the only fibers i t receives. We thus have in the accessory olfactory bulb a receptive station for the stimuli coming from the mucosa of the vomeronasal organ. The writer’s attention was turned toward this subject in the course of an investigation of the olfactory apparatus of the
Genetic Variability for Haploid Production in Crosses Between Tetraploid and Hexaploid Wheats with Maize

Crosses were made between 14 wheat genotypes (11 tetraploid, 3 hexaploid) and a single Fl hybrid of maize that was used as the male parent. The experimental design consisted of randomized blocks with three replications. Plants were grown under controlled greenhouse conditions (day length 16 h and temperature 25 °C/15 °C, day/night). To enhance embryo survival, 2, 4-D treatment (10 mg/1) was applied to spikes 24 h after pollination with maize. Embryos were recovered from all tetraploid and hexaploid wheats at a rate of 2.09 to 26.76 per 100 pollinated florets. Haploid and doubled haploid plants were obtained from all hexaploid genotypes (T. aestivum) and from 5 of 11 tetraploid genotypes (T. turgidum var.). The most important point of these experiments was the ability to produce haploid plants from tetraploid wheat for two reasons: firstly, anther culture cannot be applied in tetraploid wheat (T. turgidum var.) due to the inefficiency of embryo formation and the high proportion of albino plants. Secondly, to date, crosses between tetraploid wheat and maize have resulted in embryo formation, but not in haploid plants.
Xyleborus nigricans, a second species for the previously monospecific genus newly found in the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain of North America

Abstract A second species of the genus Xyleborus, X. nigricans, is described as new to science from the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain of eastern North America where it appears to be endemic. The species is illustrated and compared to the allopatric X. sporodochifer, which occurs in the Ozark Highlands and Appalachian Mountains of eastern North America. The northern temperate and Appalachian floristic elements within the Atlantic Coastal Plain are also discussed.
STUDIES ON EPIZOOTIOLOGY AND AEROBIOLOGY OF NOMURAEA RILEYI (FARLOW) SAMSON

Abstract: Investigations on the epizootics and aerobiology of Nomuraea rileyi were carried out at the main campus of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Karnatak, India during 2001 to 2002. Mycosis due to N. rileyi prevailed from 28 th to 43 rd standard week during 2001 attaining peaks in 33 rd (16.74%) and 41 st week (11.65%). During the succeeding year, it prevailed from 27 th to 38 th week with peak during 33 rd week (19.50%) only. Among the crops observed, epizootic was more in soybean followed by groundnut. Atmospheric spore load of N. rileyi failed to establish any definite relationship with disease incidence. Weather parameters prevailed during one and two weeks before disease incidence exhibited both positive and negative relationships of varied intensity with disease incidence than those prevailed during the same week.
PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF LEAF EXTRACT OF AESCULUS INDICA Research Article

The aim of the study was to evaluate the phyto-constituents present in Aesculus indica leaves.The present study on Aesculus indica leaves shows that various phyto-constituents like saponins, flavonoids, tannins, amino acids, carbohydrates, triterpenoids and steroids were present but alkaloids and glycosides were found to be absent in both extracts in this plant and this plant found to be useful as traditional medicine against various human ailments. This article describes methods for performing qualitative and quantitative analysis of both the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of medicinal plant Aesculus indica. The amount of the saponins and tannins in ethanolic extract (13.4% and 5% respectively). These findings suggest that the rich phytochemical content of Aesculus indica may be responsible for its popular and wide traditional use.
Anatomy of the serotonergic nervous system of an entoproct creeping-type larva and its phylogenetic implications

Abstract. Although the internal phyletic relationships of Spiralia (and Lophotrochozoa) remain unresolved, recent progress has been made due to molecular phylogenetic analyses as well as developmental studies of crucial taxa such as Mollusca, Sipuncula, or Annelida. Despite this progress, the phylogenetic position of a number of phyla, such as Entoprocta, remains problematic, mainly due to their unique morphology, their aberrant mode of development, and their exclusion in most large-scale phylogenetic analyses. In order to extend the morphological dataset of this enigmatic taxon, we herein describe the anatomy of the serotonergic nervous system of the creeping-type larva of Loxosomella murmanica. The apical organ is very complex and comprises six to eight centrally positioned flask cells and eight bipolar peripheral cells. In addition, a prototroch nerve ring, an anterior nerve loop, a paired buccal nerve, and an oral nerve ring are found. Moreover, the larva of L. murmanica has one pair of pedal and one pair of lateral longitudinal nerve cords and thus expresses a tetraneurous condition. Several paired serotonergic perikarya, which form contact with the pedal nerve cords but not with the lateral ones, are found along the anterior–posterior axis. The combination of a complex larval serotonergic apical organ and (adult) tetraneury, comprising one pair of ventral and one pair of more dorsally situated lateral longitudinal nerve cords without ganglia, has so far only been reported for basal molluscs and may be diagnostic for a mollusc–entoproct clade. In addition, the larva of Loxosomella expresses a mosaic of certain neural features that are also found in other larval or adult Spiralia, e.g., a prototroch nerve ring, an anterior nerve loop, and a buccal nervous system.
Combining Ability Studies in Rapeseed (Brassica napus)

A 5 x 5 diallel cross of (Brassica napus) was evaluated using combining ability analysis. Data were recorded from F1 generation for plant height, primary branches plant -1 , silique length, siliques plant -1 , seeds silique -1 , 1000-seed-weight and seed yield plant -1 . Mean Squares for all the traits except for 1000-seed weight were found highly significant for all the characters. RBN 96040 proved good general combiner for all the traits studied. KS-75 proved good general combiner for all the traits except plant height and primary branches plant -1 . The cross “RBN 96040/RBN 96038” was the best specific combiner for all the traits studied followed by “RBN 96038//DGL/SHIRALEE” which proved good specific combiner for most of the traits including seed yield plant -1
Nitrogen Sustains Seed Yield of Quinoa Under Intermediate Drought

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a promising crop for food security in dry areas. Studies have been conducted to define nitrogen (N) fertilization levels and to understand the responses of quinoa to drought, but little is known about the response of this crop to N fertilization under drought stress. The aim of this study was to investigate whether N fertilization could improve quinoa yield and physiology under limited water. A greenhouse experiment was carried out with quinoa grown at four N fertilization levels (0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 g N pot−1) and two watering treatments (progressive drought and full irrigation; 10 and 98 % of pot water holding capacity, respectively). Results of this experiment showed that N may confer a certain degree of drought tolerance to quinoa as seed quality and yield of N-fertilized plants were not affected by drought stress. Responses such as faster stomatal closure, reduced leaf water potential, higher leaf abscisic acid (ABA) concentration and particularly an improved N remobilization in N-fertilized plants may have played a role in sustaining seed yield in the drought-stressed treatment. These results under controlled conditions serve as a basis to elucidate drought tolerance mechanisms activated with N fertilization and to define the use of N in management practices under semi-arid environments.
Optimization of extracellular lipase production by Fusarium oxysporum

During screening of lipolytic fungi, a strain of Fusarium oxysporum was isolated. Culture conditions of liquid medium were optimized and the highest lipase production amounting 44.9 U/ ml was achieved at the 5th day of cultivation at 30°C. The medium containing 0.2% (w/v) peptone and sunflower oil was used. Lipase activity was optimum at pH 7.0 and 55°C and a good stability up to 90% activity retention was observed at pH ranging from 6.5 to 8.0. The enzyme activity rapidly dropped at temperature above 70°C. Analysis of enzymatic glycerolysis of triolein by thinlayer chomatography showed a clear fatty acid spot.
Fungal saprobes and pathogens as endophytes of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

summary Fungal endophytes have been isolated from inside the leaf blades, leaf sheaths, and roots of six-week-old plants as well as from seeds and ten-day-old seedlings of Oryza sativa (L.). The fungi isolated can be grouped in two categories; one containing organisms known mainly to be saprotrophic and the other comprising potential pathogens. Of the former Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissler and Epicoccum purpurascens Ehrenb. ex. Schlecht preferentially colonize the leaf blades of their host, whereas Cladosporium tenuissimum Cooke seems more generally distributed between leaf blades and leaf sheaths. Fusarium equiseti (Cords) Sacc. , F. oxysporum Schecht and Phoma sorghina (Sacc. Boerema) are latent in their hosts without causing disease symptoms. A. alternata, E. purpurascens, F, equiseti. and Nigraspora oryzae have also been frequently isolated from seeds and young seedlings and can be considered seed-borne. Principal components analysis has shown a marked tissue specificity among rice endophytes. Leaf sheaths of the rice varieties grown under dry conditions are colonized by endophyte communities different from those of the wet cultivars.
Gene Effects for Yield and its Components in Chickpea

Generation mean analysis was undertaken to estimate the gene action operating in the inheritance of yield and its components in two chickpea crosses. Six basic generations viz., P1, P2, F1, BC1, BC2 and F2 of two crosses, namely GNG 469 x ICCV 93929 (C1) and PBG 5 x ICCV 93929 (C2) were studied. Scaling tests A, B, C and Joint Scaling test were applied to test the adequacy of aditive-dominance model for eleven agronomic traits. Significant c2 values indicated higher order of interactions for all traits except grain yield/plant for C2. Generally, the dominance component was higher in magniture than additive component except for days to maturity (C1), pods/plant (both crosses), grain yield/plant (C2). Duplicate types of epistasis was present in most of the cases. Thus, it can be concluded that additive, dominance and epistatic gene effects contribute significantly to the inheritance of various component characters in chickpea and the improvement can be sought by bulk method followed by modified pedigree method.
Settlement Behavior of Black Scallop Larvae (Chlamys varia, L.) in Response to GABA, Epinephrine and IBMX

Abstract Competent larvae of the black scallop Chlamys varia (L.) were treated with the neurotransmitter gamma-amino-n-butyric acid (GABA), the catecholamine epinephrine, and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX), at different concentrations and times of exposure, to test the effects of exposure to the compounds on larval settlement. After 24 h, maximum percentage of settlement (>30%) was induced by 10−5 M epinephrine. After 48 h, maximum settlement rate was also achieved by 10−5 M epinephrine (>54%). Exposure to 10−6 M epinephrine and to 10−6 M GABA also induced significantly higher larval settlement than in control larvae. By contrast, IBMX failed to induce significantly higher settlement rates than in the control larvae. Epinephrine and GABA were identified as active inducers of settlement in C. varia, and were not toxic to black scallop larvae. This is the first report in which the involvement of epinephrine and GABA in the settlement of C. varia larvae is described.
Monthly variations in the shell structure of two freshwater ostracod (Crustacea) species in Karapinar Spring (Bolu, Turkey)

The variations of environmental conditions (T °C, pH, δ 13 C, δ 18 O, Mg/Ca, and Sr/Ca) for two ostracod species (Psychrodromus olivaceus, Potamocypris similis) were analyzed and compared to identify the controls of environmental parameters on the chemical and isotopic composition of their valves. The specimens were collected from Karapinar Spring (Bolu, Turkey) between October 2009 and November 2010. The species were observed throughout the year. Psychrodromus olivaceus showed relatively constant Mg/Ca ratios during the study period, whereas those of P. similis showed more variability. The ratio was also significantly different (P < 0.05) between the two species. We did not find significant correlation between water temperature and either of the species' Mg/Ca ratios. The stable isotope record for P. similis was very patchy, showing a small range of values consistent with the groundwater source, similar to the behavior of Sr/Ca. The Sr/Ca ratio displayed little variation throughout the year, suggesting hydrochemical stability over time, most likely in response to the groundwater source. The stable isotope data displayed pronounced variability for P. similis but little for P. olivaceus, suggesting that the former may be responding to seasonality, whereas the latter responds to groundwater.