Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In Vivo Efficacies of Combinations of β-Lactams, β-Lactamase Inhibitors, and Rifampin against Acinetobacter baumannii in a Mouse Pneumonia Model

ABSTRACT The effects of various regimens containing combinations of β-lactams, β-lactam inhibitor(s), and rifampin were assessed in a recently described mouse model of Acinetobacter baumanniipneumonia (M. L. Joly-Guillou, M. Wolff, J. J. Pocidalo, F. Walker, and C. Carbon, Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 41:345–351, 1997). Two aspects of the therapeutic response were studied: the kinetics of the bactericidal effect (treatment was initiated 3 h after intratracheal inoculation, and bacterial counts were determined over a 24-h period) and survival (treatment was initiated 8 h after inoculation, and the cumulative mortality rate was assessed on day 5). Two clinical strains were used: a cephalosporinase-producing strain (SAN-94040) and a multiresistant strain (RCH-69). For SAN-94040 and RCH-69, MICs and MBCs (milligrams per liter) were as follows: ticarcillin, 32, 64, 256, and >256, respectively; ticarcillin-clavulanate, 32, 64, and 512, and >512, respectively; imipenem, 0.5, 0.5, 8, and 32, respectively; sulbactam, 0.5, 0.5, 8, and 8, respectively; and rifampin, 8, 8, 4, and 4, respectively. Against SAN-94040, four regimens, i.e., imipenem, sulbactam, imipenem-rifampin, and ticarcillin-clavulanate (at a 25/1 ratio)-sulbactam produced a true bactericidal effect (≥3-log10 reduction of CFU/g of lung). The best survival rate (i.e., 93%) was obtained with the combination of ticarcillin-clavulanate-sulbactam, and regimens containing rifampin provided a survival rate of ≥65%. Against RCH-69, only regimens containing rifampin and the combination of imipenem-sulbactam had a true bactericidal effect. The best survival rates (≥80%) were obtained with regimens containing rifampin and sulbactam. These results suggest that nonclassical combinations of β-lactams, β-lactamase inhibitors, and rifampin should be considered for the treatment of nosocomial pneumonia due to A. baumannii.
Coryphorus aquilus a new genus and species of Tricorythidae from the Amazon Basin (Ephemeroptera)

Abstract Coryphorus aquilus a new genus and species of the Tricorythidae, is described from nymphs collected in Brazil and Columbia and provisionally placed in the heretofore African subfamily Machadorythinae. The type locality is described. Relationships of Coryphorus to other genera of the Tricorythidae are discussed and illustrations of anatomical structures of Machadorythus are given for comparison.
Water Relations of Chromium VI Treated Bush Bean Plants (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Contender) under both Normal and Water Stress Conditions

The effect of Chromium VI on leaf water potential (ψw), solute potential (ψa), turgor potential (ψp) and relative water content (RWC) of primary and first trifoliatc leaves of Phaseolus vulgaris L. was studied under normal growth conditions and during an artificially induced water stress period in order to establish the possible influence of this heavy metal on the water stress resistance of plants. Plants were grown on perlite with nutrient solution containing 0, 1⋅0, 2⋅5, 5⋅0 or 10⋅0 μg cm−3 Cr as Na2Cr2O7.2H2O. The effect of Cr on water relations was highly concentration dependent, and primary and first trifoliate leaves were affected differently. The growth reducing concentrations of Cr (2⋅5, 5⋅0 and 10⋅0 μg cm−3) generally decreased ψs and ψw and increased ψp in primary leaves. The 1⋅0 μg cm−3 Cr treatment did not affect growth, but altered water relations substantially: in primary leaves ψw and ψp were increased and ψs decreased, while in trifoliate leaves the effect was the opposite. All Cr treated plants resisted water stress for longer than control plants. The higher water stress resistance may be due to the lower ψs and to the increased cell wall elasticity observed in Cr VI treated plants
A phylogenetic classification of the land plants to accompany APG III

A formal classification of the land plants that is compatible with the APG III classification is proposed. Previous classifications inflated taxonomic ranks, particularly of the angiosperms. If the major clades of green algae are recognized as classes, then all land plants, the embryophytes, should be included in a single class, here recognized as Equisitopsida. Accordingly, the 16 major clades of land plants, including the angiosperms, should all be recognized as subclasses, the angiosperms as Magnoliidae. Major clades within the angiosperms are then recognized as superorders. This classification still uses a few informal categories (e.g. eudicots, lamiids, etc.) within the angiosperms because this is convenient. Two new names are established: Amborellanae and Austrobaileyanae. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 161, 122–127.
Habitat use, foraging behavior, and activity patterns in reproducing western tarsiers, Tarsius bancanus, in captivity: A managment synthesis

As the only obligatorily predatory primates, tarsiers are notoriously difficult to keep successfully in captivity. Here we report empirical and experimental results from a 5-year study of behavior and life history in captive Tarsius bancanus. Four reproducing adult tarsiers used space nonrandomly, preferring small-diameter vertical or near-vertical locomotor substrates at midlevel enclosure heights (1.2–2.1 m) for sleeping, scanning, and prey capture. The tarsiers were completely nocturnal, and spent 78% of the scotophase scanning, 13% sleeping, and 9% in prey capture and other activities. Only live crickets were eaten; prey capture rates were highest in the first hour after waking, but overall activity rates were highest later in the scotophase. Adult males and nonpregnant or lactating females ingested approximately 44.7–49.7 kJ/day. Growing and lactating individuals ingested approximately 84.4–94.1 KJ/day. An energetically conservative, sit-and-wait predatory strategy was employed, in which 88% of capture attempts were successful. Most successful prey captures involved reaching for, or leaping from, 90° or 60° supports in a horizontal or downward direction onto prey less than 0.6 m away. Virtually all prey captures were in arboreal locations, despite much higher densities of crickets on enclosure floors. Prey capture rates during the first hour of the nocturnal activity period were positively correlated with arboreal cricket densities. At constant arboreal cricket densities, capture rates were negatively correlated with ambient light intensity, with optimum levels for prey capture ranging from 0.1 to 2.0 Lux. In terms of social behavior, these T. bancanus were nongregarious. Females enforced interindividual spacing by chasing and displacing males. Chase/displacement rates increased significantly during late pregnancy and lactation, apparently in an attempt to keep males from harassing infants. There was no direct male parental care. Infants were precocial at birth, and grew at a rate of 0.35–0.5 g/day, until nutritional weaning at approximately 60 days of age. The implications of specialized predatory morphology and behavior for management are discussed. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Changes in host acceptance and host suitability as an effect of rearing Trichogramma maidis on a factitious host

Host acceptance and suitability of Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn. for Trichogramma maidis Pint. et Voeg. (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) were studied, after rearing the parasitoids on O. nubilalis or Ephestia kuehniella Oliv. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) for various numbers of generations. In cages, containing two maize plants with in total 30 egg masses of the natural host (O. nubilalis), wasps continuously reared on either E. kuehniella or O. nubilalis found egg masses in equal proportions. The former however, did not parasitize the eggs successfully, due to either low degree of host acceptance or insufficient host suitability or both. Subsequently, host acceptance behaviour of individual females from different strains was studied by means of direct observations after releasing them into a small arena containing eggs of O. nubilalis or E. kuehniella. Wasps continuously reared on O. nubilalis or 1–3 generations on E. kuehniella accepted egg masses of the natural host better than wasps continuously reared on E. kuehniella. Acceptance of O. nubilalis by the wasps gradually decreased with increasing numbers of generations reared on E. kuehniella. By rearing T. maidis, previously cultured on E. kuehniella, for five generations on O. nubilalis, acceptance of egg masses of this host species did not change. Host suitability of O. nubilalis appears to correspond with host acceptance of the strains. Contrary to the observations on O. nubilalis, acceptance and suitability of E. kuehniella were not influenced by the host on which T. maidis was reared. Results of this study show that host acceptance and suitability of the natural host are important quality factors for T. maidis when mass produced on a factitious host.
Embryo Culture of Lycopersicon esculentum × L. peruvianum Hybrid Genotypes Possessing Heat-stable Resistance to Meloidogyne incognita

Genotypes of Lycopersicon peruvianum (L.) Mill. and L. peruvianum var. glandulosum (Rick), selected from accessions that possess resistance to Meloidogyne incognita ((Kofoid and White) Chitwood) at high soil temper- ature (30C), were used as male parents in crosses with L. esculentum (Mill.) susceptible cultivars UC82, Lukullus, Tropic, and male-sterile line ms-31, respectively. The incongruity barrier between the two plant species was overcome by embryo callus and embryo cloning techniques. Hybridity of the F, progeny obtained from each cross was confirmed by differences in leaf and flower morphology, plant growth habits, and by acid phosphatase isozyme phenotypes using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In greenhouse inoculation experiments, F 1 plants were highly resistant to M. incognita in soil at 25 and 30C. These results confirmed the successful transfer and expression of heat-stable resistance to M. incognita from L. peruvianum to hybrids with L. esculentum as a preliminary step to introgressing additional root-knot nematode resistance into tomato. The resistance to root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.), present in all resistant commercial cultivars of tomato (Lyco- persicon esculentum Mill.), is generally considered to be con- ferred by a single dominant gene, designated Mi (Ammati, 1985; Medina Filho and Stevens, 1980; Roberts and Thomason, 1989; Sidhu and Webster, 1981). This resistance was identified in L. peruvianum PI 128657. Using embryo rescue, Smith (1944) obtained one resistant F 1 plant from the cross L. esculentum Michigan State Forcing x PI 128657. Watts (1947) cloned this unique F1 plant and obtained the first two backcrosses to L. esculentum. Additional backcrosses to the cultivated tomato were obtained by Frazier and Dennett (1949). This material was dis- tributed to tomato breeders and led to the release of the first tomato cultivars resistant to Meloidogyne incognita. All culti- vars with gene Mi have been derived from this one F1 resistant plant obtained by Smith (1944). Plants possessing gene Mi are resistant to three of the four economically important species of root-knot nematode (RKN): M. incognita, M. arenaria (Neal) Chitwood, and M. javanica (Treub) Chitwood (Ammati, 1985; Fatunla and Salu, 1977; Medina Filho and Stevens, 1980; Roberts and Thomason, 1989; Sidhu and Webster, 1981). Gene Mi does not confer resistance to M. hapla Chitwood. In addition, the resistance conferred by Mi is not effective in soils above 28C (Ammati, 1985; Ammati et al., 1986; Dropkin, 1969). Nonselected virulent populations
The prevention and control of feather pecking in laying hens: identifying the underlying principles

Feather pecking (FP) in laying hens remains an important economic and welfare issue. This paper reviews the literature on causes of FP in laying hens. With the ban on conventional cages in the EU from 2012 and the expected future ban on beak trimming in many European countries, addressing this welfare issue has become more pressing than ever. The aim of this review paper is to provide a detailed overview of underlying principles of FP. FP is affected by many different factors and any approach to prevent or reduce FP in commercial flocks should acknowledge that fact and use a multifactorial approach to address this issue. Two forms of FP can be distinguished: gentle FP and severe FP. Severe FP causes the most welfare issues in commercial flocks. Severe FP is clearly related to feeding and foraging behaviour and its development seems to be enhanced in conditions where birds have difficulty in coping with environmental stressors. Stimulating feeding and foraging behaviour by providing high-fibre diets and suitable litter from an early age onwards, and controlling fear and stress levels through genetic selection, reducing maternal stress and improving the stockmanship skills of the farmer, together offer the best prospect for preventing or controlling FP.
Effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) inoculation on growth of Chili plant in organic manure amended soil

organic manure amended soil. In the present work, an attempt has been made to study the growth performance of Chili ( Capsicum frutescens L.) inoculated with AM fungi in soil amended with different dosages of organic manure. The experiment was conducted in a randomized design with four levels of organic manure (0, 50, 100 and 150%) and inoculation with five different AM Fungi species ( Acaulospora denticulata , Gigaspora albida , Glomus geosporum , Scutellospora corolloidea and Scutellospora scutata ). Plants were harvested after 3 months from the date of planting and plant growth was recorded. The inoculation with AM fungi at different levels of organic manure showed significantly more shoot and root dry weight than the non-mycorrhizal plants. The nitrogen content in shoot showed mixed response, resulting into significantly more nitrogen in G. geosporum , S. corolloidea and S. scutata inoculated plants in comparison to the non-mycorrhizal plants as well as plants inoculated with A. denticulata and G. albida . The Phosphorus content in the shoot was highest at 150% of organic manure application with AM plants recording significantly more phosphorus content than the non-mycorrhizal plants. Percent root infection by all AM fungi increased significantly due to amendment of soil with organic manure. Maximum root infection was caused at 100% of organic manure application in soil.
Diet, lifestyle, and molecular alterations that drive colorectal carcinogenesis

Environmental factors have been repeatedly implicated in the etiology of colorectal cancer, and much is known about the molecular events involved in colorectal carcinogenesis. The relationships between environmental risk factors and the molecular alterations that drive colorectal carcinogenesis are less dear. Further insight into these relationships may prove useful for the development of etfective colorectal cancer prevention and/or treatment strategies. In this thesis, we examine associations between dietary and lifestyle factors previously reported to be associated with colorectal cancer risk and the molecular alterations known to play important roles in colorectal carcinogenesis. Data from a case-control study of sporadic colorectal polyps (278 cases; 414 polyp-free controls) were used to evaluate associations between dietary factors and truncating APC mutations in adenomas. High intake of red meat and fat seemed to increase the risk of polyps without truncating APC mutation (APC-) in particular, whereas high intake of carbohydrates seemed to especially decrease the risk of APC. polyps . Associations between dietary factors and truncating APC mutations in colorectal carcinomas were investigated in a population-based case-control study (184 cases; 259 controls) of sporadic colon cancer. Consumption of vegetables lowered the risk of tumors with truncating APC mutation (APC+) as weil as APC- tumors, most explicitly of the last. Alcohol intake was associated with an increased risk of APC. tumors only, whereas meat, fish and fat seemed to especially increase the risk of APC+ tumors. The same study population was used to evaluate associations between dietary factors and MSI, hMLH I expression and hMLH J hypermethylation. Intake of red meat seemed to increase the risk of MSI-LIMSS carcinomas in particular, whereas alcohol intake appeared to increase the risk of MSI-H tumors. Fruit consumption seemed to especially decrease the risk of MSI-H tumors with hypermethylated hMLHJ. Associations between cigarette smoking and mutations in the APC, K-ras and p53 genes, p53 overexpression, and MSI were also assessed in this study population. Our data suggest that smoking­related colon carcinomas develop through a p53 overexpression-negative pathway and that smoking results in colon tumor cells with transversion mutations in particular. Finally, we used data from a case-control study of HNPCC-associated colorectal tumors (145 cases; 103 tumor-free controls) to gain insight into the etfects of environmental factors on colorectal tumor risk in individuals with HNPCC. Fruit consumption and dietary fiber intake lowered the risk of ever developing HNPCC-associated colorectal tumors, whereas cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption seemed to increase this risk. This suggests that also HNPCC-associated outcomes may be modified by environmental factors.
Localisation of translocated 14C in roots and root exudates of field-grown maize

The roots of a mature, field-grown maize plant are dimorphic: the primary root and those from the oldest nodes are bare with a heavily lignified cortex arid sloughed epidermis; those from younger nodes, except for a bare elongation zone, have an intact epidermis surrounded by a persistent soil sheath. Sheathed roots consistently have more layers of cortical cells, but the ratio of volumes of cortex to stele (ca 4) and the cross-sectional area of phloem (ca3× 10−2 mm2) are similar in each type. Assimilated carbon (from 14C applied to a small area of one leaf) was translocated to all roots and actively metabolized in cortex and stele of both types. After 1 to 2 days the proportion of 14C exuded from a given length of mature root into its soil sheath, or into the adjacent unattached soil in the case of bare roots, was the same (5%) in both root types when compared with the ethanol-soluble 14C in the tissues of this length. Up to 75% of the ethanol-soluble label in the roots was in a cationic fraction (amino acids and unidentified compounds), ca 1% was in an anionic fraction and the remainder was in a neutral fraction (sugars). Approximately equal amounts of soluble 14C were found in the stele, cortex and laterals.
Fire in the Forest: Public Perceptions of Ecological Restoration in North-central Arizona

In recent years residents of the intermontane West have experienced a series of expensive and high-profile fire seasons. One result is that the concept of ecological restoration has moved squarely into public view. As scientists and practitioners continue to refine the definition of ecological restoration as a practical matter, citizens are forming their own perceptions of how restoration should be applied to local forests. We used a recent public opinion survey in north-central Arizona to assess public views of restoration. Our findings indicate broad support for restoration although portions of the population, particularly those in rural areas, see restoration primarily as a means to protect human lives and property from fire. Most importantly, our findings suggest that a majority of the public in this region have a view of restoration beyond fire risk reduction, but vary in their willingness to accept dramatic changes to forest conditions.
Implications of land class and environmental factors on life cycle GHG emissions of Miscanthus as a bioenergy feedstock

Replacement of fossil fuels with sustainably produced biomass crops for energy purposes has the potential to make progress in addressing climate change concerns, nonrenewable resource use, and energy security. The perennial grass Miscanthus is a dedicated energy crop candidate being field tested in Ontario, Canada, and elsewhere. Miscanthus could potentially be grown in areas of the province that differ substantially in terms of agricultural land class, environmental factors and current land use. These differences could significantly affect Miscanthus yields, input requirements, production practices, and the types of crops being displaced by Miscanthus establishment. This study assesses implications on life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of these differences through evaluating five Miscanthus production scenarios within the Ontario context. Emissions associated with electricity generation with Miscanthus pellets in a hypothetically retrofitted coal generating station are examined. Indirect land use change impacts are not quantified but are discussed. The net life cycle emissions for Miscanthus production varied greatly among scenarios (−90–170 kg CO2eq per oven dry tonne of Miscanthus bales at the farm gate). In some cases, the carbon stock dynamics of the agricultural system offset the combined emissions of all other life cycle stages (i.e., production, harvest, transport, and processing of biomass). Yield and soil C of the displaced agricultural systems are key parameters affecting emissions. The systems with the highest potential to provide reductions in GHG emissions are those with high yields, or systems established on land with low soil carbon. All scenarios have substantially lower life cycle emissions (−20–190 g CO2eq kWh−1) compared with coal‐generated electricity (1130 g CO2eq kWh−1). Policy development should consider the implication of land class, environmental factors, and current land use on Miscanthus production.
Selection of lines with high and low sodium transport from within varieties of an inbreeding species; rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Varieties (including designated cultivars) of Asian rice (a predominantly inbreeding species) show large individual variability in sodium transport and salinity resistance. Recurrent selection has been carried out over five generations with populations of Oryza sativa L. cv. IR36 and cv. IR20. Large numbers of individuals were exposed to a low concentration of NaCl in solution culture, and their sodium uptake determined non-destructively by sampling the third leaf. The range of sodium concentrations in the leaf was two or three orders of magnitude. Individuals showing both high and low extremes of sodium uptake were selected and allowed to self-pollinate. The sodium uptake by the progeny was measured in the same way, and the selection repeated. Significant differences in the frequency distribution of sodium transport between the selected lines were evident in both varieties after three cycles of selection. The lines continued to segregate in the fourth and fifth generations by which time the high and low selected lines showed substantial differences in sodium uptake. It is concluded that useful genetic diversity for sodium uptake and hence salt resistance exists within modern rice varieties.