Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MANAGEMENT OF APHID BORNE POTATO VIRUS Y (PVY) THROUGH CHEMICAL AND BIO-CHEMICAL METHODS

The aim of this study was the management of potato virus Y (PVY) in potato cv. Desiree through chemical and non-chemical methods. The experiment was carried out at the New Developmental Farm (NDF), The University of Agriculture, Peshawar during spring season, 2014 under field conditions. One of the major objectives of the experiment was to assess the effectiveness of the treatments application in their individual state as well as in combinations under field conditions. The treatments were mineral oil, insecticide, biocide and their combinations. Among various treatments, Diver was effective with disease severity level (1) and % disease incidence (40) in individual state and in combination (Diver + Confidor) and (Diver + Confidor + Neem extract) gave good results with % disease incidence (33.33) and with disease severity level (1). Neem extract was found to be less effective when used individually with % disease incidence (56.66) and with disease severity level (3), whereas Confidor when applied individually was more effective than Neem extract with % disease incidence (50) and with disease severity level (2). Moreover Diver in combination with Neem extract was found to be less effective in management of PVY as compared to Diver in combination with Confidor with % disease incidence (40) and disease severity level (1). Three aphid species were found in the field i.e Myzus persicae (Sulzer), Aphid gossypii (Glover) and Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas). In case of aphid’s population, Confidor was more effective in reducing aphid’s population as compared to Diver and Neem extract. Finally, it can be concluded that Diver alone was more effective in the management of PVY. However in combination, Diver with Confidor significantly managed PVY under field conditions
Health risk assessment of selected heavy metals in some edible fishes from Gorgan Bay, Iran

The objective of this study was to assess the bioaccumulation of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cr and Fe) in the muscles of five fish species ( Sander lucioperca , Liza auratus , Alosa caspia , Cyprinus carpio and Liza saliens ) from Gorgan Bay in the south-eastern Caspian Sea, in order to determine the value daily intake of heavy metals by consumption of fish and human health risk assessment. The concentration of metals was estimated using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer. Potential health risk assessments based on estimated daily intake (EDI) values and target hazard quotient (THQ) indicated that the intakes of metals by consuming these fish species do not result in an appreciable hazard risk for the human body. The hazard index (HI) calculated was lower than 1 for all the species. However, the results indicate that the high concentrations of Pb (in the muscle of L. auratus ) and Fe in all fish is alarming.
Identification et caractérisation d'un récepteur d'enveloppe au virus de leucémie T humaine (HTLV), le transporteur de glucose GLUT1

Le retrovirus HTLV-1 (Human T-cell Leukemia Virus type 1) est l'agent responsable de la leucemie T de l'adulte (ATL) et de la paraparesie spastique tropicale (TSP/HAM). Le HTLV est present de maniere endemique au Japon, en Afrique centrale, en Oceanie, en Amerique du sud et aux Caraibes. Chez les patients, le HTLV est detecte principalement dans les lymphocytes T CD4+. Le recepteur du HTLV est present chez tous les vertebres, et toutes les lignees cellulaires de vertebres semblent l'exprimer in vitro. L'organisation de la glycoproteine d'enveloppe (Env) du HTLV est similaire a celle des MLV (Murine Leukemia Virus), avec un domaine de liaison au recepteur situe dans la partie N-terminale. Au cours de cette these, nous avons derives des produits tronques de l'Env, sur la base de cette organisation, nous permettant de mesurer l'expression de surface du recepteur HTLV. Nous avons ainsi pu mettre en evidence que le recepteur HTLV n'est pas detectable a la surface des lymphocytes T CD4+, mais que son expression est induite par l'activation lymphocytaire. Nous avons egalement montre qu'un traitement a l'IL-7 des lymphocytes T de sang de cordon, qui provoque la proliferation, induit l'expression du recepteur HTLV. Ces observations nous ont permis de conclure que le recepteur HTLV est un marqueur d'activation des lymphocytes associe a l'etat proliferatif. Par la suite, nous avons montre que l'expression de l'Env HTLV induit un blocage de la production de lactate. Nous avons pu etablir que ce blocage est du a l'inhibition par l'Env HTLV du transport de glucose dans la cellule, induisant un blocage de la glycolyse. Ces observations nous ont conduit a evaluer si le principal transporteur du glucose GLUT1 pouvait etre un recepteur pour le virus HTLV. Effectivement, nous avons pu demontrer que GLUT1 permet a la fois la liaison a l'Env HTLV et l'entree de particules virales. Afin de comprendre cette interaction, nous avons construit des molecules chimeriques entre GLUT1 et GLUT3. Nous avons ainsi observe que 7 acides amines de la 6eme boucle extracellulaire de GLUT1 conferent l'activite de liaison a l'Env. Cependant cette propriete n'est pas suffisante pour permettre l'entree virale, et la presence concomitante de la 1ere, la 5eme et la 6eme boucle extracellulaire est requise pour permettre l'entree virale, suggerant l'existence d'une nouvelle activite associee a la notion de recepteur retroviral. L'ensemble de ces donnees nous a enfin conduit a proposer de nouveaux modeles de pathogenese. La prise en compte de l'inhibition de l'activite de transport de GLUT1 par l'Env autorise en effet de nouvelles hypotheses pour expliquer l'emergence de clones leucemiques et la demyelinisation associee a la TSP/HAM.
Genetic studies on some economic traits in rabbits 2-post-weaning body weight and growth rate

The main objective of the present study is to investigate some genetic aspects such as estimates of heritabilities, genetic and phenotypic correlations between body weight and body gain, genetic gain and heterotic effects of (Nzwzealand) white and (California) rabbits and their crosses. Results obtained could be summarized as follows: Heritability estimates for body weights were high and moderate at 4, 6, 10 and 12 weeks in NZW rabbits, and at 4 weeks in Cal rabbits. The values of NZW rabbits were 0.58, 0.63, 0.53 and 0.43, respectively. In Cal rabbits, the corresponding value was 0.61. The estimates of genetic correlation between records of the different post-weaning body weights and growth rates at different age stages were high and positive in NZW rabbits. Estimates of direct heterosis for body weight was mostly positive and evidenced the existence of heterotic effect as a result of crossing between NZW and Cal rabbits. The heterotic effect was significant (P<0.01) on body weight at 4,6,8,10 and 12 weeks of age, and growth rate during 4 -6, 6-8, 8-10 and 4 -12. Maternal additive effect on post-weaning growth rate was in favour of NZW dams, and significant differences (P<0.01) during 4-6, 6-8 and 4-12.
Efeito de intensidade de desponte na maturação de 'Cabernet Franc' cultivada em região de altitude

The objective of this work was to evaluate the chemical composition of 'Cabernet Franc' grape subjected to different levels of shoot topping. The experiment was conducted in the 2008 and 2009 vintages, and the levels of shoot topping consisted of: control, without topping; and reductions of 15, 30, and 45% in total leaf area. The effect of shoot topping intensity on the chemical composition of the 'Cabernet Franc' grape berries was observed. A reduction of 26% in the vegetative canopy through a moderate shoot topping increased the total polyphenol index and the anthocyanin content. Shoot topping is a practice that must be carried out with caution, since severe shoot topping, i.e., a reduction greater than 26% of the leaf area, may negatively impact grape quality by reducing the content of soluble solids and decreasing the total polyphenol index and the content of anthocyanins of 'Cabernet Franc' grape berries.
Assessing the dynamics of natural populations by fitting individual‐based models with approximate Bayesian computation

Individual‐based models (IBMs) allow realistic and flexible modelling of ecological systems, but their parameterization with empirical data is statistically and computationally challenging. Approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) has been proposed as an efficient approach for inference with IBMs, but its applicability to data on natural populations has not been yet fully explored. We construct an IBM for the metapopulation dynamics of a species inhabiting a fragmented patch network, and develop an ABC method for parameterization of the model. We consider several scenarios of data availability from count data to combination of mark‐recapture and genetic data. We analyse both simulated and real data on white‐starred robin (Pogonocichla stellata), a passerine bird living in montane forest environment in Kenya, and assess how the amount and type of data affect the estimates of model parameters and indicators of population state. The indicators of the population state could be reliably estimated using the ABC method, but full parameterization was not achieved due to strong posterior correlations between model parameters. While the combination of the data types did not provide more accurate estimates for most of the indicators of population state or model parameters than the most informative data type (ringing data or genetic data) alone, the combined data allowed robust simultaneous estimation of all unknown quantities. Our results show that ABC methods provide a powerful and flexible technique for parameterizing complex IBMs with multiple data sources, and assessing the dynamics of the population in a robust manner.
Lhx2 regulates temporal changes in chromatin accessibility and transcription factor binding in retinal progenitor cells

Retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) pass through multiple stages of developmental competence, where they successively acquire and lose the ability to generate individual cell subtypes. To identify the transcriptional regulatory networks that control these transitions, we conducted epigenomic and transcriptomic profiling of early and late-stage RPCs and observed a developmentally dynamic landscape of chromatin accessibility. Open chromatin regions that showed stage-specificity, as well as those shared by early and late-stage RPCs, were selectively targeted by the homeodomain factor Lhx2, which is expressed throughout retinal neurogenesis but also regulates many stage-specific processes in RPCs. Stage-specific Lhx2 binding sites were frequently associated with target sites for transcription factors that are preferentially expressed in either early or late-stage RPCs, and which were predicted to possess pioneer activity. Lhx2 loss of function in RPCs led to a loss of chromatin accessibility at both direct Lhx2 target sites and more broadly across the genome, as well as a loss of binding by transcription factors associated with stage-specific Lhx2 target sites. These findings demonstrate a central role for Lhx2 in control of chromatin accessibility in RPCs, and identify transcription factors that may guide stage-specific target site selection by Lhx2. Summary Lhx2 is a central regulator of chromatin accessibility in retinal progenitor cells, and interacts with stage-specific transcription factors to regulate genes that are dynamically expressed during retinal neurogenesis.
The genetic characterisation of a carbon starvation gene of Helicobacter pylori : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Microbiology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

The carbon starvation gene (csg) of the gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori was studied to elucidate the role of the gene product during the carbon starvation response. Studies were also conducted to investigate the relationship of csg to the glutamine permease operon (glnP 1, glnP2, glnQ, and glnH), which is located directly upstream of csg on the H. pylori chromosome. csg and glnP 1 were sequenced to determine the length of the genes, the base composition, and the location of putative promoters and regulator binding sites. The sequence information was then used to construct a csg mutant using a deletion:insertion strategy, whereby the promoter regions of csg and glnP 1 were removed and replaced with the Kann antibiotic resistance marker. Phenotypic analysis was carried out on this mutant in complex, defined, and semidefined media. The plasmid carrying the csg mutation \ 1as also transformed into H. pylori \ Sydney strain to allow colonisation studies in mice. A H. pylori strain was constructed, which would allow the study of the expression of csg under various environmental conditions. The promoterless chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) cassette from pCM4 was used as the reporter gene and cloned into an engineered Bgm site directly downstream of csg to disrupt the transcription terminator. The kanamycin resistance cassette from pILL600 was also cloned into this site in a three way ligation, to allow selection oftransformants in H. pylori.
Evaluation of Physicochemical Properties of Honey Bees (Apis Mellifera) in Godere Woreda, Gambella, Ethiopia

This study was conducted to evaluate the physico-chemical properties of honey bees in Godere woreda, Gambella region, Ethiopia. 12 selected honey samples from three locations of the study area (Metti town, Ashine and Cabo) were evaluated for proximate composition (moisture, protein, fat, total ash contents and energy values) and sugar contents (fructose, glucose, sucrose and reducing sugar contents). The honey samples were analyzed following the techniques proposed by the Ethiopian Conformity Assessment Enterprise (ECAE), European Union (EU) and Codex standards for honey. The overall mean of moisture, total ash, protein, fats and CHO contents of the honey samples were 18.76±1.09, 0.34±0.05, 0.37±0.03, 80.02±1.03g/100g, respectively with average energy value of 1,362.32±18.16 KJ/100g. The average sugar contents of the samples were 38.64±0.61g/100g (fructose), 36.37±2.14g/100g (glucose), 74.19±1.88g/100g (reducing sugar) and 2.66±0.23g/100g (sucrose). All the physicochemical parameters laid with-in the limits of national and international standards set by Ethiopian Conformity Assessment Enterprise for analyzing honey samples (ECAE), Codex Alimentarius Commission and EU Council.
Parallel evolution in an invasive plant species : evolutionary changes in allocation to growth, defense, competitive ability and regrowth of invasive Jacobaea vulgaris

Although the introduction of invasive plant species in a given area causes economic and ecological problems, it still provides an ideal opportunity for ecologists to study evolutionary changes. According to the Evolution of Increased Competitive Ability hypothesis and Shifting Defense Hypothesis, the release from specialist herbivores after introduction is expected invasive plants to shift their costly defense against specialist herbivores to cheaper defense against local generalist herbivores. A net gain can be saved to increase plant growth and competitive ability. In this thesis I used Jacobaea vulgaris as a model plant species to study the evolutionary changes in plant anti-herbivore defenses and growth ability. I found that invasive Jacobaea vulgaris populations indeed have evolved better growth and competitive ability, higher chemical defense but decreased structural defense and regrowth ability compare to the native populations. In addition, we show that all studied traits of invasive populations from multiple geographically distinct regions changed toward the same expected direction. It indicates parallel evolution took place in these invasive regions since they all differed significantly in climatic conditions. Such parallel evolution is most likely due to the disappearance of selection pressures from specialist herbivores rather than the adaptation to local abiotic factors after invasion.
Fludioxonil + Mefenoxam Seed Treatment Improves Edamame Seedling Emergence

S UMMARY . Poor crop establishment is a major problem in edamame ( Glycine max ), a specialty type of soybean produced in locations throughout the United States. The objective of this research was to quantify the extent to which seed treatment with ﬂudioxonil D mefenoxam improves seedling emergence of edamame. Emergence characteristics of ﬂudioxonil D mefenoxam-treated and nontreated seed of 30 cultivars were characterized in ﬁeld conditions over 2 years. Edamame cultivars used in the study exhibited poor ﬁeld emergence in a previous study despite high germinability. Seed treatment with ﬂudioxonil D mefenoxam at 2.5 and 3.75 g/ 100 kg seed, respectively, improved crop emergence 33% to 47% more than the nontreated control. The emergence rate (days to 50% emergence) was improved the most by the seed treatment for several cultivars that were generally slow to emerge. Crop establishment is essential for further development of domestic edamame production. Seed treatment with ﬂudioxonil D mefenoxam, at the rate currently registered for use on grain-type soybean, offers one approach to help vegetable growers improve edamame seedling emergence.
Effect of pre partum supplementation on certain characteristics of dam and calf in local buffaloes under mixed farming system.

Sixty buffaloes were selected for an onfarm study to elucidate the effect of pre-partum supplementation on the body condition score of the dam, milk production, birth weight and growth rate of the calf among local buffaloes reared under a mixed farming system in Bidar district, Karnataka, India. Supplementation was done for 90 days till parturition using concentrate feed of known composition. Results revealed that prepartum supplementation had a significant (P≤0.01) effect on body condition score of dam before and at the end of the 3rd month of lactation and calf birth weight (27.75±0.39, 27.33±0.40, 28±0.44 vs. 24.33±0.56), whereas, no effect was observed on calf growth rate/ average daily gain. Milk yield was significantly (P≤0.01) higher in dams supplemented (4.45±0.20, 4.62±0.20, 4.90±0.20) compared to the non supplemented groups (3.50±0.20). However, no significant difference was observed in the milk constituents like milk fat, solid not fat and total solids.
The complete mitochondrial genome of Paragabara curvicornuta (Lepidoptera: Noctuoidea: Eribidae)

Abstract In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Paragabara curvicornuta was sequenced for the first time by traditional PCR amplification and primer walking methods. As a circular DNA molecule, the entire mitogenome is 15,532 bp in length (GeneBank accession no. KT362742), and consists of 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes and an AT-rich region. The nucleotide composition is A (39.9%), C (12.0%), G (7.6%), and T (40.4%). Based onthe amino acid sequences of 13 PCGs from 43 noctuoid species as ingroups and two drepanoid species as outgroups, the phylogenetic trees was constructed. The phylogenetic relationships of the families among Noctuoidea are (Notodontidae, (Erebidae, (Nolidae, Noctuidae)). However, the phylogenetic position of P. curvicornuta is still unclear in the family Erebidae that is a monophyletic clade strongly supported by the bootstrap value of 100%.
Performance of a mid-sized harvester-forwarder system in integrated harvesting of sawmill, pulpwood and firewood

Fully mechanized timber harvesting systems are generally characterized by a high operational performance being widespread and used across many regions. Such systems are adaptable to different levels of operational integration, enabling also the recovery of energy wood, but given integration configurations affect their performance. A production study was carried out in a Norway spruce clear-cut aiming to investigate the performance of a mid-sized harvester-forwarder system in general, and the effect that fuelwood recovery from tree tops may have on its performance. Data was collected in the field during 11 days of observation using state-of-art equipment and software. Harvester’s operations were monitored using a digital camera. Data refined from 27.5 filmed hours that accounted for 1045 felled and fully processed trees was used to model and compute its performance indicators. In addition, fuel consumption data was sampled in the field. The results indicated that a delay-free cycle time consumption was affected by variables characterizing the tree size. The net production rate was estimated to about 26.5 m3 ∙ h-1, being substantially affected by supplementary tree-top processing. Forwarding operations were monitored using a handheld computer and a Global Positioning System unit. The delay-free cycle time consumption was affected by forwarding distance and the amount of loaded wood, resulting in a net production rate of about 19.2 m3 ∙ h-1. Under these circumstances, the forwarding performance matched the harvester’s outputs for an extraction distance of about 100 m, indicating that the supplementary processing of the tree-tops had no effect on the system’s productive performance in the studied conditions. Most likely, it affected the harvester’s fuel consumption given its proportion of 9% in the delay-free harvester’s cycle time. The results also indicated a mean fuel consumption of about 1.7 l ∙ m-3 for the studied harvesting system.
Overview of LifeCLEF Plant Identification task 2020

Automated identiﬁcation of plants has improved considerably thanks to the recent progress in deep learning and the availability of training data with more and more photos in the ﬁeld. However, this profusion of data only concerns a few tens of thousands of species, mostly located in North America and Western Europe, much less in the richest regions in terms of biodiversity such as tropical countries. On the other hand, for several centuries, botanists have collected, catalogued and systematically stored plant specimens in herbaria, particularly in tropical regions, and the recent eﬀorts by the biodiversity informatics community made it possible to put millions of digitized sheets online. The LifeCLEF 2020 Plant Identiﬁcation challenge (or ”PlantCLEF 2020”) was designed to evaluate to what extent automated identiﬁcation on the ﬂora of data deﬁcient regions can be improved by the use of herbarium collections. It is based on a dataset of about 1,000 species mainly focused on the South America’s Guiana Shield, an area known to have one of the greatest diversity of plants in the world. The challenge was evaluated as a cross-domain classiﬁcation task where the training set consist of several hundred thousand herbarium sheets and few thousand of photos to enable learning a mapping between the two domains. The test set was exclusively composed of photos in the ﬁeld. This paper presents the re-sources and assessments of the conducted evaluation, summarizes the approaches and systems employed by the participating research groups, and provides an analysis of the main outcomes.