Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A review of male mating success in the blue crab, Callinectes Sapidus, in reference to the potential for fisheries-induced sperm limitation

This paper reviews information learned on reproduction and mating system structure of the blue crab since the last Blue Crab Symposium in relation to the potential for fisheries-induced effects on reproduction. Male size influences male mating success through its effect on male-male interactions, and the investments males make in the duration of mate guarding and the amount of ejaculate they pass to females. As compared with small males, large males are more often paired with larger females, win at aggressive interactions with rivals, guard longer, store more ejaculate contents before and after copulation, and pass larger ejaculates to females. The time a male spends guarding influences the female's survival, his access to her and, combined with his ejaculate output, to her unfertilized eggs. Mate guarding time and ejaculate size increase at high male : female ratios but ejaculate size decreases when males mate frequently, with short inter-mating intervals. Intense, size-biased fishing on males may alter the male size structure and sex ratio of local populations. These changes increase mating opportunities for small males and reduce the advantages to males of providing long periods of mate guarding and large ejaculates to females, thereby creating conditions that diminish the amount of ejaculate females receive. Female blue crabs use stored sperm to fertilize their lifetime production of eggs, and reduced amounts of stored sperm may limit the total number of eggs they produce.
Growth analysis of sugarcane inoculated with diazotrophic bacteria and nitrogen fertilization

The use of inoculants containing growth-promoting diazotrophic bacteria can stimulate mass and nutrient accumulation in sugarcane. The purpose of this study was to evaluate plant growth and accumulation of macroelements in sugarcane, variety RB92579, under bacterial inoculation with or without N fertilization. The field experiment was carried out in a Red-Yellow Podzolic soil in Seropedica, RJ, in a randomized block design with four replications. The treatments consisted of 50 kg N ha-1; 50 kg N ha-1 + inoculation; inoculation; and an absolute control. The following bacteria were inoculated: Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus, Herbaspirillum seropedicae, Herbaspirillum rubrisubalbicans, Azospirillum amazonense, and Burkholderia tropica. The plants were sampled at 100, 130, 168, 212, 261, and 295 days after planting (DAP), and growth and nutrient accumulation rates were estimated by functional analysis of plant growth. Nutrient accumulation rates were highest around 180 DAP for N and P, and around 160 DAP for K, in the different treatments, preceding the maximal crop growth rate (between 210 and 220 DAP). The accumulation of biomass, N, P and K was greater and crop growth rates were higher in the treatments with bacterial inoculation fertilized or not with 50 kg N ha-1, compared with the control. Key words: Saccharum species, inoculum, growth promotion.
Westersheimia pramelreuthensis from the Carnian (Upper Triassic) of Lunz, Austria: More Evidence for a Unitegmic Seed Coat in Early Bennettitales

Premise of research. Isolated ovules and dispersed seeds have been obtained from bulk macerations of carbonaceous shales bearing fossil plants from the Carnian (Upper Triassic) flora of Lunz am See, Austria. Through cuticle analysis, these well-preserved specimens were identified as ovules, interseminal scales, and seeds of Westersheimia pramelreuthensis, a peculiar bennettitalean ovuliferous organ. The preservation of several cuticular layers enables for interpretation of the architecture of the ovules and seeds. Methodology. The excellently preserved plant fossils were investigated using LM and epifluorescence microscopy of cuticles. For comparison, the architecture of ovules and seeds of bennettitalean reproductive organs from Scania (Sweden), Jameson Land (Greenland), and Yorkshire (United Kingdom) were reevaluated. Pivotal results. The preserved layers indicate that the nucellus is surrounded by an integument, whose apical end constitutes the micropyle. The single integument constitutes the monolayered seed coat in Westersheimia. The ovules and seeds are surrounded by interseminal scales. Of the latter, the cuticle is preserved that abuts the ovule-seed surface, together with portions of the interseminal scale heads. The seeds provide additional information on the cuticles of the nucellus or embryo. Conclusions. Studies of bennettitalean reproductive organs from Scania (Sweden), Jameson Land (Greenland), and Yorkshire (United Kingdom) facilitated reevaluation of the disputed architecture of bennettitalean seeds. The findings clearly indicate that early bennettitalean seeds can be interpreted as unitegmic.
Intramolecular fatty acids distribution in the triglycerides of Hordeum vulgare

Triglycerides of a local variety of Hordeum vulgare, 'jao-87,' were separated from the lipids by column chromatography, purified on plain thin layer chromatography plates, and then fractionated by silver nitrate impregnated thin layer chromatography. Fatty acids composition of these fractions was verified by gas chromatography after their methylation. The distribution of fatty acids, attached at a, a'- and β-positions of the triglycerides and their fractions, was determined by lipolytic hydrolysis and subsequent gas chromatographic analysis of the 2-monoglycerides. The β-position was usually occupied by oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids, depending upon the comparative high percentage of the respective fatty acid in that triglyceride fraction.
Nutritional Status of Leaf and Fruit Yield of Sweet Orange Influenced by Foliar Application of Potassium

A field study to evaluate the effect of foliar application of potassium sources at various concentration and spray schedule on sweet orange cv. Jaffa was undertaken at experimental orchard, Department of Horticulture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during the year 2013–14. The results revealed that the foliar application of potassium nitrate @ 2 and 4 per cent and potassium sulphate at 1.5 and 3.0 per cent improved nitrogen and potash content of leaf over control (water spray) irrespective of spray schedule. Phosphorus content of leaf was not influenced due to K sources at various concentrations. Spray schedule did not affect the nutritional status of the leaf. There was an increase in fruit yield with the increase in K doses of KNO3 and K2SO4. The maximum yield (74.76 kg/plant) was recorded with the application of KNO3 at 4 per cent. Fruit yield was found the highest with three sprays of K in the last week of April, May and August but at par with two sprays in the last week of April and August.
Assessment of phenotypic diversity in pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] germplasm of Indian origin and identification of trait-specific germplasm

Abstract. Evaluation of genetic diversity within germplasm collections and identification of trait-specific germplasm is a basic requirement for plant breeders. A total of 221 Indian pearl millet collections from the National Genebank were characterised and evaluated for 27 agro-morphological descriptors. Considerable variation was observed for all characters. Frequency distribution analysis showed predominance of cylindrical and compact spike, grey seeds, earliness (less than 40 days to spike emergence). Hierarchical clustering method was used for classifying 221 pearl millet accessions based on agronomic and disease resistance traits, which resulted into three clusters. Clusters 1, 2 and 3 comprised 91, 54 and 76 accessions respectively. There was high correspondence between the geographic collection sites of accessions and their inclusion in particular clusters. In addition, principal component analysis was used for data reduction and generating biplot. First four principal components explained 66.43% of total variability. Among the traits analysed, plant height, nodes/plant, days to spike emergence, number of tillers, leaf width and leaf length are major contributor towards phenotypic diversity. Further the trait-specific germplasm were identified for agronomic traits, disease resistance, popping and antioxidants activity, namely for earliness (IC343664, IC343689, IC343661, IC309064), spike girth (IC283693, IC283842, IC367638), dual purpose with high grain and fodder yield (IC283705, IC283745, IC283885 and IC335901 and so on). Four accessions of pearl millet germplasm viz., IC309064, IC393365, IC306465 and IC283866, were observed as multiple disease resistant. This study suggested that application of appropriate techniques and their interpretations provide more efficient way to identify potential accessions and improve the utilisation of germplasm collections in plant breeding.
Ein Beitrag über die Pentosane im Prozess der Bierherstellung ― sind sie wichtig oder technologisch unbedeutend?

Les pentoses de l'orge et leur degradation enzymatique au cours du maltage et brassage, peuvent avoir une influence, en tant que constituants de la charpente cellulaire de l'endosperme, la formation et l'obtention de l'extrait en salle a brasser et la clarification et filtrabilite de la biere. Par une substitution de 50% de malt par les grains crus de l'orge, et en appliquant des preparations enzymatiques microbiennes efficaces sur les plan cytolytique, une quantite importante de pentosanes insolubles et a poids moleculaire eleve a ete introduite dans la maische. Une comparaison aete effectuee avec un essai 100% de malt. Malgre de plan d'experience extreme, les pentosanes et leurs produits de degradation pour les parametres determines, pendant le procede technologique et les criteres de qualite testes sur les mouts et des bieres, n'avaient qu'une importance secondaire.
Deep Annotation of Protein Function across Diverse Bacteria from Mutant Phenotypes

Summary The function of nearly half of all protein-coding genes identified in bacterial genomes remains unknown. To systematically explore the functions of these proteins, we generated saturated transposon mutant libraries from 25 diverse bacteria and we assayed mutant phenotypes across hundreds of distinct conditions. From 3,903 genome-wide mutant fitness assays, we obtained 14.9 million gene phenotype measurements and we identified a mutant phenotype for 8,487 proteins with previously unknown functions. The majority of these hypothetical proteins (57%) had phenotypes that were either specific to a few conditions or were similar to that of another gene, thus enabling us to make informed predictions of protein function. For 1,914 of these hypothetical proteins, the functional associations are conserved across related proteins from different bacteria, which confirms that these associations are genuine. This comprehensive catalogue of experimentally-annotated protein functions also enables the targeted exploration of specific biological processes. For example, sensitivity to a DNA-damaging agent revealed 28 known families of DNA repair proteins and 11 putative novel families. Across all sequenced bacteria, 14% of proteins that lack detailed annotations have an ortholog with a functional association in our data set. Our study demonstrates the utility and scalability of high-throughput genetics for large-scale annotation of bacterial proteins and provides a vast compendium of experimentally-determined protein functions across diverse bacteria.
High resveratrol or quercetin concentrations reduce the oscillation index of frozen goat semen

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o efeito de diferentes concentracoes de transresveratrol ou quercetina sobre a capacidade dos espermatozoides caprinos de resistirem a congelacao. Seis pools de semen, obtidos de seis reprodutores caprinos, foram processados com diferentes concentracoes de resveratrol ou quercetina (Experimento 1: 0, 15, 25, 50, 75 ou 100μM de resveratrol; Experimento 2: 0, 15, 25, 50, 75 ou 100μM de quercetina) e congelados. Apos o descongelamento, o semen foi avaliado quanto a cinetica espermatica, a integridade das membranas plasmatica e acrossomal, a morfologia e ao estresse oxidativo nos tempos zero e uma hora de incubacao. Imediatamente apos a descongelacao (zero hora), o wobble (indice de oscilacao) nos grupos tratados com 100μM de quercetina ou de resveratrol foi menor (P<0,05) do que nos tratados com 0 e 25μM de resveratrol e com 0μM de quercetina, respectivamente. Apos uma hora de incubacao, a motilidade total dos tratamentos com 15, 50 e 75µM de quercetina, assim como a integridade de membrana plasmatica em todas as concentracoes de quercetina, foi menor (P<0,05) do que a zero hora. Em oposicao, a linearidade das amostras de semen tratadas com 100µM de quercetina e a retilinearidade daquelas tratadas com 75µM e 100µM de quercetina foram menores (P<0,05) a zero hora do que a uma hora apos descongelacao. Assim, pode-se concluir que o resveratrol e a quercetina, em concentracoes elevadas (100μM), reduzem, transitoriamente, o indice de oscilacao de espermatozoides caprinos submetidos a congelacao e que a quercetina (75 e 100µM) aumenta a linearidade e a retilinearidade ao longo do tempo, o que pode ser favoravel a fertilidade.
Spatial and temporal patterns of bacterial density and metabolic activity in a karst aquifer

Karst aquifers are heterotrophic ecosystems fueled by organic matter imported from the surface. The temporal pattern of floods influences organic matter import and the spatial distribution of organic matter and biofilms in aquifer structural zones. We investigated spatial and temporal patterns of bacterial density and activity as indicators of energy availability and microbial dynamics in a karst aquifer. During baseflow, bacterial density and microbial hydrolytic activity were similar in the upper and lower zones of the aquifer. Floods apparently scoured aquifer biofilms and transported soil bacteria into the aquifer, increasing inactive bacterial density in the water column. Respiring bacterial density did not respond to floods and changed little over time. The overall proportion of total bacteria that were respiring was very high on some dates, resulting from a reduction of inactive cell density during flood recession. Floods appear to be key events in scouring senescent microbial assemblages in karst aquifers and stimulating microbial recolonization of the aquifer matrix. We conclude that a conceptual model of karst aquifer structure and function should incorporate changes caused by alternation between flooding and drying in the aquifer.
The Use of the Cultured Bovine Lens to Measure the In Vitro Ocular Irritancy of Ketones and Acetates

A novel in vitro alternative to in vivo eye toxicity testing measures the optical response (focal variability) of the cultured bovine lens (obtained from abattoirs) in response to exposure to potentially toxic chemicals. This approach involves measuring the optical quality of the lens by using a scanning laser system consisting of a low power scanning laser, a video camera and a video frame digitiser. This test was used to provide a rank order for the toxicity of four acetates (cellosolve acetate, ethyl acetate, methyl acetate and n-butyl acetate) and four ketones (methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, acetone and methyl amyl ketone) based on the time taken to produce a 100% increase in lens focal variability. The results indicate that the cultured lens is very sensitive to chemical damage. In particular, the test provides a much wider range of end values than does the in vivo test, especially at low concentrations.
Jaltomata aijana (Solanaceae) of Ancash, Peru

Accepted 17th September, 2016 Abstract Hebecladus weberbaueri Dammer is the oldest name for a common species of the genus Jaltomata (Solanaceae) of the Department Ancash, Peru. To transfer this species to the genus Jaltomata we here select a new specific epithet because the epithet weberbaueri is preoccupied in Jaltomata. We select the specific epithet aijana, and thus the correct name for H. weberbaueri Dammer is now J. aijana. We collected J. aijana nine times during 10 different years of field study in Peru. For J. aijana, geographic distribution, local names, phenology, a description, an illustration, and photographs are provided.
Partitioning of pollen resources by two stingless bee species in the north Bahia, Brazil

Abstract Analysing the pollen stored by stingless bees allows identification of the diversity of flowering plants visited by these bees while collecting resources during a given period. However, few studies have focused on investigating the sharing of resources between species of native bees that coexist in transitional plant formations, which support conservation efforts and increase colony productivity. This study aims to describe the partitioning of pollen resources among colonies of two species of stingless bees in the state of the Bahia (Brazil) through the analysis of stored pollen. The study was conducted in neighbouring vegetation zones of the relevant species Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides and Melipona scutellaris by collecting monthly pollen samples stored by three colonies of each species over one year. The collected samples were treated using the acetolysis technique, and the partitioning of pollen resources between the two species was investigated through quali-quantitative analysis of the treated pollen. The results show that among the 16 pollen types belonging to a particular species or group identified in the Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides samples and the 18 identified in the Melipona scutellaris samples, 13 were shared by both species. The two most common pollen types stored by both species were from Mimosa arenosa (Fabaceae, Mimosoidae) and Eucalyptus sp. (Myrtaceae). These results demonstrate the niche similarity of pollen pasture between these two species and suggest that conservation efforts for these bee species should focus on the plant families most visited by bees.
EVALUATION OF DIRECT FLUORESCENT ANTIBODY AND ENZYME LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY VERSUS COPROMICROSCOPY IN DIAGNOSIS OF CRYPTOSPORIDIOSIS

Background: Cryptosporidium oocysts detection methods include alternate bright-field stains and negative stains. These methods show high sensitivities but it may leave some oocysts unstained. Objective: Evaluation of the direct fluorescence antibody (DFA) and coproantigens by ELISA versus modified Ziehl–Neelsen (MZN) stained smears in detection of Cryptosporidium. Material and Methods: Eighty two immunocompromised patients having acute/ chronic diarrhea, were selected from the attendants of the pediatrics, oncology and nephrology clinics in Al-Azhar University Hospitals, during the period from August 2013 to May 2014. All cases were subjected to history taking and clinical examination, laboratoryexaminationof their fecal smears by microscopic examination of MZN stained smears, detection of coproantigens by ELISA and DFA for diagnosis of Cryptosporidium. Results: Fifteen (18.29%) of the individuals were positive for Cryptosporidium infection using modified Ziehl–Neelsen stain, and 17 (20.73%) were positive by direct fluorescent antibody, while ELISA detect crypto-coproantigen in 18 (21.95%). Statistically, there were highly significant relations between ELISA, DFA, and MZN. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of DFA test were 100, 97, 88.2 and 100 %, respectively, and for ELISA test were 100, 95.5, 83.3 and 100%, respectively, compared with MZN method as the gold standard test for detection of the Cryptosporidium . Conclusion: Modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining remained the gold standard for the detection of Cryptosporidium spp. , but it may leave some oocysts unstained. So, the immunofluorescence assays were the methods of choice for greatest sensitivity and specificity especially when oocyst numbers in stool specimens were low.
Establishment of multiplexed reduced representation bisulfite sequencing protocol on T-cells from rheumatoid arthritis patients

DNA methylation is an important epigenetic mark with a regulatory effect on the expression of genes. It has also been shown that individuals change their DNA methylation pattern over time. In mammals, methylation only occurs in cytosines, and almost exclusively in the CpG context. Differential methylation has been shown to be important for the development and differentiation of pluripotent stem cells. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients have also been shown as having T-cells with reduced methylation compared to healthy controls. RA is a severe disease associated with great pain and disability and affects about 0.5-1% of the population. In this thesis, the process of establishing a protocol for multiplexed reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (mRRBS) in order to create a methylome profile of RA patients is described. The extracted DNA was cleaved by a restriction enzyme, MspI, which enriched for areas of the genome containing CpG islands. This DNA was then treated with sodium bisulfite which converted all unmethylated cytosines to uracils, while leaving the methylated cytosines intact. Through PCR amplification, and subsequent sequencing, all unmethylated cytosines was read by the sequencer as thymines, while methylated cytosines was read as normal. Four different DNA extraction methods were tested, as well as two DNA cleanup protocols. It was an aim in this study to extract RNA and protein, in addition to DNA, from the same sample, to enable further studies. The best results were achieved through the use of the QIAamp DNA micro kit, but comparable results were achieved by extracting the DNA with the Norgen DNA/RNA/Protein purification plus kit followed by a cleanup with the QIAamp DNA micro kit. In this thesis, it has been demonstrated that the established mRRBS protocol could generate methylome profiles of T cells from RA patients with a bisulfite conversion ratio >99.9%, and sequence alignment of at least 60%. An exploratory analysis of CD4+ T cells showed that the methylation level largely followed the expected pattern of high degree of methylation for genes with low expression, and vice versa, but also supported the notion that other regulatory factors were involved in addition to methylation.