Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ARTHROPODS THAT PREY ON VERTEBRATES

1. Many arthropods are predators of vertebrates: four orders of the class arachnida, six orders of insecta, five orders of crustacea and one order of chilopoda include species that have been reported to eat vertebrates. At the population level, some arthropods are responsible for significant mortality among some vertebrates.
Representação e recuperação de imagens por meio de relações espaciais entre objetos

Due to the increasing number of digital images generated every day, also increases the need to recover information contained in large databases of images quickly and accurately. The applied techniques in image retrieval, in general, make use of features extracted from images and in this feature space make comparisons through similarity metrics. As the focus of these techniques of content retrieval is the use of low level features, there is a problem because the semantic content is unrelated with these low level features. Besides, the relations between objects are not considered. This work addresses this problem also known as semantic gap and intends to apply spatial relations with the goal of reducing the semantic gap impact in the scene analysis. In this work, the spatial relations are expressed in terms of spatial prepositions. Thus, in order to define a preposition from an image it is necessary to segment the objects within the image and by each pair of segmented object establish the topology between them. To perform segmentation, neural networks are used. Considering one image, the neural network provides a probabilistic value for every pixel in the image, therefore, the regions covered by similar values belong to the same class and are considered as being the segmented object. Furthermore, these objects are combined in pairs in order to establish binary relations between them. Relying on the objects and their respective regions, mereotopological relations are established according to Region Connection Calculus (RCC). The definition of these relations is performed through a procedure that intends to assign a pair of objects identified in the image with one of the eight relations defined in RCC. These relations established, based on these procedure, are converted to linguistic prepositions (in English language), through another neural network. Finally, the object information and their respective relations is applied to extend an upper ontology. The applied ontology is the Suggested Upper Merged Ontology (SUMO). The procedure of introducing a formal representation allows the establishment of new relations, unknown a priori. This fact enables image retrieval from relations derived through the existing axioms in the applied formal representation.
Production of conjugated linoleic acid by food-grade bacteria: A review

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a group of isomers of linoleic acid (LA) with several potential health benefits which justifies the efforts to obtain foods with enhanced CLA contents. A possible way to obtain CLA-enriched products is via fermentation as several micro-organisms, many of which are employed in the manufacture of foods, are known to convert free LA into CLA. However, due to several constraints, the use of CLA-producing bacteria still remains challenging and continuous efforts are required. This review summarises the current knowledge on microbial CLA production by food-grade micro-organisms, its technical issues and limitations, potential applications and bioactivities.
Analysis of CYP2D6 Allele Frequencies and Identification of Novel SNPs and Sequence Variations in Sardinians

The CYP2D6 enzyme is involved in the metabolism of many commonly prescribed drugs. The presence of polymorphisms in the CYP2D6 gene may modulate the enzyme level and activity affecting individual responses, to pharmacological treatment in drug level, response and adverse reactions. Aims. This study aimed to analyze the determination of allele frequencies in Sardinians and the comparison to frequencies found in the Caucasian Population. Methods and Materials. We used a Long PCR strategy coupled to direct genomic DNA sequencing analysis. An amplification allele-specific was carried out to infer the correct allelic phase. The TaqMan Gene Copy Number Assay (Applied Biosystems) was used to verify the presence of gene deletions/multiplications. Results and Conclusions. Our results indicated that CYP2D6 allele frequencies in Sardinians differed from those previously detected in the Caucasian Population. Moreover, three new SNPs and four novel haplotypes were identified.
Testing a key assumption of host-pathogen theory: density and disease transmission

A. L. Greer (amy.greer@sickkids.ca) and J. P. Collins, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ 85287-4601, USA. Presentaddress for ALG: Child Health Evaluative Sciences, Res. Inst. of the Hospital for Sick Children, 123 Edward St. Suite 420, Toronto, Ontario,M5G 1E3, Canada. C. J. Briggs, Dept of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9610,USA.Conventional disease theory suggests that extinction with density-dependent transmission is unlikely as the threshold hostdensity (KT) is greater than zero. Extinction may result if transmission is frequency dependent or the pathogen has anenvironmental reservoir. Given the importance of understanding how pathogens affect species richness and diversity thereare few empirical tests of these conclusions. We used an Ambystoma tigrinum Ambystoma tigrinum virus (ATV) modelsystem in the laboratory to examine disease transmission dynamics. Susceptible A. tigrinum larvae were exposed to threedifferent densities and proportions of infected larvae for 24 h. We then housed susceptible hosts individually for 28 daysand monitored them for infection. The density of infected hosts to which susceptible hosts were exposed was the bestpredictor of infection (p 0.037). There was no effect of host clutch on the probability of becoming infected (p 0.67). Larvae in the highest density treatments died sooner than larvae in lower density treatments (pB0.001). Asymptomaticbut infected hosts shed sufficient virus into the water in a 24-h period to infect susceptible hosts without any directcontact between individuals. ATV transmission was best described by a power function, leading to the prediction thatextinction of A. tigrinum as a result of this pathogen is unlikely. Indeed, field observations show that larval salamanderpopulations that experience ATV-driven epidemics may decrease, but not to extinction, and then recover. Disease isproposed as a possible explanation for the global decline of amphibians. Ranaviruses infect many amphibian populations,but based on our results may not be a general cause of declines to extinction. In contrast, frequency dependenttransmission, environmental reservoirs and alternative hosts may be the most likely explanation for the enigmatic decline,at times to extinction, of some amphibian populations as a result of emerging infectious diseases, like the chytrid fungusBatrachochytrium dendrobatidis.
10-Hydroxy-Δ2-Decenoic Acid, an Antibiotic Found in Royal Jelly

10-Hydroxy-Δ2-decenoic acid, the major component of the lipide fraction of royal jelly, exhibits antibiotic activity against many bacteria and fungi. This fatty acid is less than one-fourth as active as penicillin against Micrococcus pyogenes and less than one-fifth as active as chlortetracycline against Escherichia coli. It also slows the growth rate of Neurospora sitophila and some unidentified molds. The salt of this compound is considerably less active than the free acid.
The New Zealand flora - entirely long-distance dispersal?

The present New Zealand flora is popularly seen as a living example of «Gondwanan» vegetation isolated by sea-floor spreading in the Late Cretaceous. However, living plants on purely oceanic islands give clear evidence of many New Zealand genera which could have arrived this way. The geology of Norfolk, Lord Howe, Fiji and the Kermadec Islands is reviewed. They are shown to be oceanic, and their flora therefore dispersed. A good palynological record indicates that almost all of New Zealand's flora can be seen to have arrived'post-drift'. The macrofossil record supports this showing complete change since the Late Cretaceous. Throughout the Tertiary New Zealand's flora had an «Australian» character-the character of the present evergreen forests of New Zealand probably does not predate the late Tertiary or early Pleistocene times. The present New Zealand vegetation can not be called «Gondwanic», either in character or in the sense that it has evolved in isolation, directly from Gondwana-period lineages. It is probable that the entire forest-flora of New Zealand arrived by long-distance dispersal
Widespread declines in woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) continue in Alberta

Nowhere across Canada is the continued persistence of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou (Gmelin, 1788)) more uncertain than in Alberta due to widespread industrial development. A recent Government of Canada critical habitat review determined that habitat conditions within all Alberta boreal ecotype caribou ranges are unlikely or very unlikely to allow for self-sustaining caribou populations. This habitat-based assessment was based only indirectly on empirical population trends. Here, we estimated empirical population trend and growth rate (λ) for 13 of Alberta’s 16 remaining woodland caribou populations (plus one adjacent population from Saskatchewan) from 1994 to 2012 using demographic monitoring of adult female survival and calf recruitment. We captured and radio-collared a total of 1337 adult female caribou in 14 populations and estimated the mean annual adult female survival across all populations as 0.851. We conducted 158 late-winter calf recruitment surveys across the 14 populations class.
Regulation of protein synthesis in germinating wheat embryos under polyethylene glycol and salt stress

Abstract Wheat seeds were imbibed in solutions of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and NaCl, and embryo water content and incorporation of [35S]methionine into proteins were determined. Both osmotica reduced water uptake and protein synthesis, though these were immediately resumed upon removal of stress. Results of in vivo labelling of newly synthesized proteins showed differences in the synthesis of many polypeptides when embryos that had imbibed in water passed from the radicle pre-emergence phase to early growth. The synthesis of a group of proteins associated with radicle emergence was reduced during imbibition in PEG or NaCl. All the major proteins of the pre-germination phase were produced in PEG-treated embryos, while some new polypeptides (‘salt stress’ proteins? ) were actively synthesized in salt-treated embryos. Upon removal of PEG or NaCl, synthesis of proteins common to the phase of early embryo growth increased, while specific saltimbibition proteins disappeared. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that biochemical processes leading to radicle emergence can be affected by osmotic stress and are likely to be damaged by severe stress.
A molecular study of the viral proteins of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus

approved: Redacted for privacy -7 Jo-Ann Ching Leo g The virion protein patterns of 72 isolates of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of S-methionine labeled virus. This analysis led to the classification of these virus isolates into 4 or more types. Type 1 virus is characterized by a nucleocapsid protein with an approximate molecular weight of 40,500 daltons. The type 2 and 3 viruses have N proteins of 42,800 and 43,250 daltons respectively. Virus belonging to Type 2 was responsible for the recent epizootics of IHN among fish in the lower Columbia River. The California IHNV isolates were Type 3 with the exception of those isolated from fish at Coleman Hatchery on the Sacramento River. These Coleman Hatchery isolates belonged to a Type 4 virus group which are characterized by a larger G or glycoprotein of approximately 70,000 daltons. All other viruses examined have G proteins of 67,000 daltons. The Type 5 virus isolates were not sufficiently distinct to warrant classification into a separate type. These findings have been useful in determining that (1) a particular virus type is characteristic for a geographic area and will infect many different salmonid species in that area and (2) the same type isolated from parental fish is responsible for the subsequent outbreak of the disease
Emendation of the Genus Acetivibrio and Description of Acetivibrio cellulosolvens sp. nov., a Nonmotile Cellulolytic Mesophile†

The genus Acetivibrio is emended to include nonmotile, gram-negative, obligately anaerobic rods that produce acetic acid and ethanol from fermentation of carbohydrates. A new species, Acetivibrio cellulosolvens, which was isolated from a cellulose-enriched culture of sludge, is described. The colonies on agar are entire, raised, and cream colored. The cells are straight rods, gram-negative, nonsporeforming, and nonmotile. The isolate which we studied ferments cellobiose, cellulose, esculin, and salicin and does not require yeast extract or rumen fluid for growth. The major end products produced from cellobiose or cellulose are acetic acid, ethanol, CO2, and H2. Lactic acid and glucose also are produced in small amounts. The type strain of A. cellulosolvens is strains BAS (= NRC 2936).
Cytoskeletal Links of Neuronal Acetylcholine Receptors Containing α7 Subunits

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors serve a variety of signaling functions in the nervous system depending on cellular location, but little is known about mechanisms responsible for tethering them at specific sites. Among the most interesting are receptors containing the α7 gene product, because of their abundance and high relative permeability to calcium. On chick ciliary ganglion neurons α7-containing receptors are highly concentrated on somatic spines folded into discrete patches on the cell. We show that the spines contain filamentous actin and drebrin. After cell dissociation, the actin slowly redistributes, the spines retract, and the α7-containing receptors disperse and are subsequently lost from the surface. Latrunculin A, a drug that depolymerizes filamentous actin, accelerates receptor dispersal, whereas jasplikinolide, a drug that stabilizes the actin cytoskeleton, preserves large receptor clusters and prevents receptor loss from the surface. The receptors are resistant to extraction by nonionic detergent even after latrunculin A treatment. Other, less abundant, nicotinic receptors on the neurons are readily solubilized by the detergent even though these receptors are located in part on the spines. The results demonstrate that the actin cytoskeleton is important for retaining receptor-rich spines and indicate that additional cytoskeletal elements or molecular interactions specific for α7-containing receptors influence their fate in the membrane. The cytoskeletal elements involved are not dependent on the architecture of the postsynaptic density because α7-containing receptors are excluded from such sites on ciliary ganglion neurons.
Selection of method for obtaining an active lactase preparation from Penicillium notatum

Crude lactase (β‐galactosidase) preparations of Penicillium notatum 1 were obtained from the culture supernate by means of concentration under reduced pressure, freeze‐drying, fractional precipitation with alcohols (methanol, ethanol, propanol, isopropanol) and acetone, ammonium sulfate salting out, and ultrafiltration. The last three methods of enzyme recovery from the post‐culture fluid yielded the best results in regard to specific and overall activities of the enzymatic preparations.
Lichens found on Larix lyallii and Pinus albicaulis in southwestern Alberta, Canada

Fifty-two species of lichens were found on Larix lyallii Parl. and Pinus albicaulis Engelm. trees in 31 stands in the subalpine zone of the mountains of southwestern Alberta. The species belong to the following North American distributional elements: 25, Pan Boreal; 13, Arctic Boreal; 8, Cordilleran or Western Boreal; 2, Pan North American; 2, Eastern Boreal; and 1, uncertain.In Larix lyallii, quadrats occupying the lower 30 cm of the trunk were characterized by a Parmeliopsis hyperopta – P. ambigua – Cetraria pinastri union whereas quadrats in a region 40 cm deep, centered at 1.3 m from the base, were occupied by a Letharia californica – Alectoria glabra union. In Pinus albicaulis, the lower quadrats were characterized by a Parmeliopsis ambigua – Cetraria pinastri – Parmeliopsis hyperopta – Lecidea fuscescens union whereas the upper were occupied by a Parmelia sphaerosporella – Letharia californica – Lecanora varia – Alectoria glabra union.Forty-eight species occurred on the smooth to rough, more absorbe.
Kinematics of Pectoral Fin Propulsion in Cymatogaster Aggregata

1. The kinematics of pectoral-fin propulsion have been measured for Cymatogaster aggregata , 14·3 cm in length, during an increasing-velocity performance test. Acclimation and test temperature was 15 °C, similar to the fishes' normal environmental temperature for the time of year of the tests. 2. Locomotion was in the labriform mode. Within this mode two pectoral-fin patterns were observed, differing only in the details of fin kinematics. These differences resulted from the length of the propagated wave passed over the fin. At low swimming speeds, up to about 2 L /sec, the wavelength was relatively short, approximately twice the length of the trailing edge of the fin. At higher speeds, a wave of very much longer wavelength was passed over the fin. 3. The pectoral fin-beat cycle was divisible into abduction, adduction and refractory phases. Abduction and adduction phases were of equal duration, and the proportion of time occupied by these phases increased with swimming speed. The duration of the refractory phase decreased with increasing speed. 4. The kinematics indicated that thrust was generated throughout abduction and adduction phases, together with lift forces that cancelled out over a complete cycle. As a result of lift forces and the refractory phase the body moved in a figure-8 motion relative to the flow. 5. Pectoral fin-beat frequency and amplitude increased with swimming speed, and the product of frequencyxamplitude was linearly related to swimming speed. 6. Interactions between pectoral fin-beat frequency, amplitude, refractory phase and kinematic patterns were interpreted as a mechanism to permit the propulsive muscles to operate at optimum efficiency and power output over a wider range of swimming speeds than would otherwise be possible. 7. Pectoral-fin propulsion was augmented by caudal-fin propulsion only at swimming speeds greater than 3·4 L /sec. 8. The mean 45 min critical swimming speed was 3·94 L /sec, and compares favourably with similar levels of activity for fish swimming by means of body and caudal-fin movements.
Spawning, Larviculture, and Salinity Tolerance of Alewives and Blueback Herring in Captivity

AbstractPrecipitous declines in wild populations of river herring species (Alewives Alosa pseudoharengus and Blueback Herring A. aestivalis) have led to increased interest in stock enhancement efforts. Additionally, their popularity as a baitfish among recreational anglers has generated interest in commercial production of these species for marine baitfish markets. The objective of this investigation was to elucidate practical culture protocols for captive propagation of these species for commercial and restoration purposes. Wild Blueback Herring, captured during their annual spawning migration, spawned in tanks volitionally, while Alewives required exogenous hormone administration. Larvae of both species were successfully raised through metamorphosis using a feeding regime comprised of enriched rotifers followed by Artemia nauplii and a commercially available diet. Survival of early larvae acclimated to salinities ranging from 5‰ to 15‰ was high for both species (>94.0%) while that for older larvae accli.
Instream Habitat Associations among Three Federally Threatened and a Common Freshwater Mussel Species in a Southeastern Watershed

Abstract The current study examined instream habitat associations among 1 common and 3 federally threatened mussel species at 3 sites in a southeastern watershed (Choctawhatchee River). We documented instream habitat structures (e.g., leaf pack, root mat, root wad, woody debris, and log) in the immediate vicinity (∼5 cm) of 94 Elliptio pullata (Gulf Spike), 263 Pleurobema strodeanum (Fuzzy Pigtoe), 117 Fusconaia burkei (Tapered Pigtoe), and 25 Hamiota australis (Southern Sandshell). Results of chi-square tests showed significant differences in use of instream habitat types among species (P < 0.05). At all 3 sites, the threatened species were almost exclusively associated with either woody debris or logs. When we found the mussels with leaf pack, we also recorded a majority of the individuals with at least one additional instream habitat (usually woody debris). In contrast, we observed the majority of the common species, E. pullata, either exclusively with leaf pack or, at 1 site, equally with leaf pack and woody debris. Our results suggested that instream habitats associated with threatened mussel species were relatively different from those of the common species.
Effect of prey density on intraguild interactions among foliar‐ and ground‐foraging predators of aphids associated with alfalfa crops in Chile: a laboratory assessment

Among the aphidophaga guild present in alfalfa [Medicago sativa L. (Fabaceae)], coccinellids forage on aphids most of the time on the foliage and carabids on the ground. The result of their combined effect can be synergistic, additive, or antagonistic, but this may depend on the prey density and interacting predatory species. In this study, we first determined, under laboratory conditions, the relative tendencies of Therioaphis trifolii (Monell), Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), and Aphis craccivora Koch (all Hemiptera: Aphididae) to drop in the presence and absence of two predators: Eriopis connexa (Germ) and Hippodamia variegata (Goeze) (both Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). These experiments showed that T. trifolii and A. pisum dropped more frequently than A. craccivora, and dropping was more frequent in the presence of H. variegata. We also determined the functional responses to aphid densities of five beetle species (Coleoptera: Carabidae) commonly found in alfalfa fields in Chile. All carabid species consumed aphids, with Trirammatus aerea (Dejean) being one of the most voracious. Then, we tested the hypothesis that the interactions between both coccinellid species and T. aerea would be antagonistic at low prey densities, because of competition or intraguild predation, and synergistic as prey density increases. For this, we recorded aphid consumption when predators were alone, or in combinations of a foliar and a ground predator, for five prey densities. For all predators and combinations, aphid consumption increased continuously with aphid density, and more prey were eaten when a foliar‐ and a ground‐foraging predator were combined than when either predator was present. But, contrary to our expectations, we found that the interaction of these foliar‐ and ground‐foraging predators was additive for all prey densities. Our results suggest that coexistence of these species would not interfere with aphid biological control in alfalfa.