Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nectar Secretion in Dandelion

SummaryNectar secretion was studied in dandelion growing in a crested wheat-grass field in the Peace River region of Alberta, Canada. The average number of flowers produced daily in an area 1 m2 was 59·2 in 1981 and 8·9 in 1982. Most flowers opened in the morning and closed in the afternoon. Quantity and concentration of nectar were significantly higher in flowers 2 days old than in those 1 day old. Average nectar volume, sugar concentration and sugar value were 7·4 μl/flower, 55·1% and 5·2 mg/flower/24 h respectively in 1981 and 3·7 μl/flower, 42·6% and 1·9 mg/flower/24 h in 1982. Larger flowers produced more nectar. Nectar-sugar concentration and sugar value increased with increasing temperature. High nectar-foraging activity by honeybees coincided with peak nectar-sugar production.
Gender determination in populus

Gender, the expression of maleness or femaleness, in dioecious plants has been associated with changes in morphology, physiology, ecological position, and commercial importance of several species, including members of the Salicaceae family. Various mechanisms have been proposed to explain the expression of gender in Salicaceae, including sex chromosomes, simple Mendelian genes, quantitative genes, environment, and genotype-by-environment interactions. Published reports would favor a genetic basis for gender. The objective of this study was to identify molecular markers associated with gender in a segregating family of hybrid poplars. Bulked segregant analysis and chi-squared analysis were used to test for the occurrence of sex chromosomes, individual loci, and chromosome ratios (i.e., ploidy levels) as the mechanisms for gender determination. Examination of 2488 PCR based RAPD markers from 1219 primers revealed nine polymorphic bands between male and female bulked samples. However, linkage analysis indicated that none of these markers were significantly associated with gender. Chisquared results for difference in male-to-female ratios between diploid and triploid genotypes also revealed no significant differences. These findings suggest gender is not controlled via sex chromosomes, simple Mendelian loci or ratios of autosome to gender-determining loci. It is possible that gender is determined genetically by regions of the genome not sampled by the tested markers or by a complex of loci operating in an additive threshold manner or in an epistatic manner. It is also possible that gender is determined environmentally at an early zygote stage, canalizing gender expression.
Molecular, genetic, physiological and biochemical studies of 3-methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase and biotin carboxyl carrier protein-like proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana

3-Methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase (MCCase) is a nuclear-encoded, mitochondriallocalized biotin-containing enzyme. The reaction catalyzed by this enzyme is required for leucine (Leu) catabolism in mitochondria, and it may also play a role in the catabolism of isoprenoids and in the mevalonate shunt. In Arabidopsis, two MCCase subunits (the biotinylated MCCA subunit and the non-biotinylated MCCB subunit) are each encoded by single genes (At1g03090 and At4g34030, respectively). A reverse genetic approach was undertaken to dissect the physiological role of MCCase in plants. We have recovered and characterized T-DNA and transposon knockout alleles of MCCA and MCCB genes.
Phytosphere Microbiology and Antimicrobial Efficacy of Trigonella foenum-graecum L.

Fenugreek ( Trigonella foenum-graecum L.), one of the oldest known medicinal plants belonging to the family Fabacecae is commonly used as traditional food, nutraceuticals and medicine. These multi-functional activities of fenugreek have been attributed to diverse chemical constituents of its stem, leaf and seeds and include galactomannans, diosgenin, tigogenin, neotigogenin, triterpenoids, trigonelline, choline, isoleucine, flavonoids, and various phenolic compounds. Recent research has indicated that conventional culture-dependent approaches have been made to study the microbiota associated with the aerial and underground parts of T. foenum-graecum L. Emphasis, however, has been given on the diversity of different groups microorganisms associated with the root system and include rhizobial resources of different origin groups of fenugreek, root nodule tissue associated non-rhizobial endophytic bacteria and rhizobacteria of different physio-biochemical categories. This associated microbiota contribute significantly in increasing growth and productivity of fenugreek through fixation of atmospheric nitrogen, production of growth hormones, siderophores, and solubilisation of phosphate. The dependency and beneficiary effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in stress tolerance, development of biofertilizer particularly for metal polluted soil and uptake of nutrients have also been evaluated. The antibacterial and antifungal efficacy of fenugreek has been ascertained mostly with crude aqueous or organic extracts of leaf, stem and seeds of the plant. Attempts have, however, been made to evaluate the beneficiary effects of the phytosphere microbiota on the host plant but their products of metabolism remained poorly known, which could be an open area of research for developing novel bioactive compounds for pharmaceutical as well as biotechnological applications.
Intercultural Communication Competence and Acculturation Dialectics: A Study on International Students in a Private University in Malaysia

The demand for higher education institutions to internationalize their practices is an indication of rapid globalization and transformation processes, contributing to change the of existing education system landscape. To be competitive globally, many universities open their doors to international students to fashion diversity to university’s settings, which in turns enriches and enhances university’s experiences for students. However, cross-cultural adjustment for international students can be challenging. Numerous researches have established that it is more susceptible for the international students to create their own circle and be detached from the local community; consequently, leads to social and cultural disassociation from host countries. Various studies reported that intercultural communication competence (ICC) is one of the exogenous factors for adaptation to exist. Thus, this study is aimed to probe the perceptions of international students towards the perceived nuances of communication competence, acculturation attitude and language acculturation. These established dimensions were measured by adapting Berry’s Acculturation Original Research Article Malissa and Wong; AJL2C, 2(4): 1-15, 2019; Article no.AJL2C. 54858 2 Framework (1997). The results revealed that the acculturation strategies employed by the students in acquainting to the host culture have amplified their intercultural communication competence; hence, making them to be more culturally sensitive. Nonetheless, only 25% (N=3) of the participants were categorised as highly competent/ competent, suggesting that there are other contributing factors to language acculturation, as the notion of ICC is a profoundly incongruent and complex concept. The domain of inquiry could potentially contribute to the modelling of social programmes for educational institutions in Malaysia to increase the value of cross-cultural mobility’s significance for international students’ successful integration in the new environment.
The effect of rainfall on the survivorship and establishment of a biocontrol agent

Summary 1 The weather is believed to affect the establishment of insect biological control agents in the field, in particular heavy rainfall immediately after release, but few studies have quantified this impact. 2 A rain simulator was used to quantify the effect of rainfall duration and intensity on the post-release survivorship of a gorse biological control agent, the thrips Sericothripsstaphylinus. This information was then used to predict the effect of rainfall on the establishment of thrips in the field. 3 Rainfall significantly decreased the numbers of thrips remaining on the plants, but significantly increased the numbers of thrips found dead and missing. As rain duration increased, the numbers of thrips remaining on the plants decreased. However, the relationship was not linear: the majority of thrips were washed off the plants within 30 min of the 120-min experiment. 4 Thrips survivorship was significantly affected by rainfall intensity (moderate, heavy and violent rainfall). Increasing rainfall intensity caused a significant decrease in the numbers of thrips remaining on the plants and significant increases in the numbers missing or found dead. 5 The relationship between rainfall, thrips release size and their probability of establishment was determined by combining published data on their probability of establishment with the results of our experiments. Rainfall is likely to change the relationship between the release size and the probability of establishment. 6 We advocate that biological control practitioners should be cognisant of weather conditions prior to any release. Control agents at risk from rain might be released in protective cages, while smaller sequential releases might be preferable to single large releases if adverse conditions are likely. This study demonstrates the value of controlled environments in understanding the effects of weather on biocontrol, and for invasion ecology more generally.
Characterisation of CD8neg and CD8+ human natural killer cell subsets

NK cells are CD3neg CD56+ lymphocytes that constitute about 10-15% of peripheral blood lymphocytes. They have an innate ability to recognise and kill virus infected cells and tumour cells. Their decision to either kill or not to kill a given target is governed by the balance of signals received from inhibitory and activation receptors. NK cells induce target cell death via production of cytotoxic proteins including perforin and granzymes and death ligands expressed on their cell surface. They can be sub-divided according to their surface expression of CD8 antigens into CD8neg and CD8+ subsets. NK cells express CD8αα homodimer unlike those expressed on cytotoxic T lymphocytes, which are CD8αβ heterodimers. The aim of this study was to compare the phenotype and function of the CD8+ and CD8neg NK cell subsets. The results show that CD8+ NK cells comprise about 50% of human resting peripheral NK cells. This percentage increases following IL-2 and IL-15 activation of NK cells because the CD8neg NK cells upregulate expression of the CD8 antigen. The CD8+ subset is more cytotoxic than the CD8neg subset. This was not due to differential expression of NK cell activation or inhibitory receptors, nor due to differences in the expression of perforin and granzymes. Furthermore, both subsets express comparable levels of IFN-γ and TNF-α and degranulated their cytotoxic granules with similar efficiency. Analysis of NK cells from myeloma patients revealed that the two subsets responded differently in different disease stages. Furthermore, Thalidomide treatment increased the frequency of the CD8+ subset, most likely by inducing T cell production of IL-2, which in turn activates NK cells and promotes CD8neg subset development to the more cytotoxic CD8+ subset that facilitates tumour killing.
Gas exchange characteristics of the hybrid Azadirachta indica × Melia azedarach

Abstract: The hybrid Azadirachta indica × Melia azedarach is a new plant variety that was obtained through somatic hybridization. The plant could grow normally in regions with an average annual temperature of 15 °C, and it had a higher concentration of active insecticidal substance in its seeds. Therefore, the hybrid will likely become a valuable new tree species in subtropical and warm temperate regions. However, the photosynthetic physiological characteristics of A. indica × M. azedarach remain unknown. The photosynthetic gas exchange of the hybrid at three different ages (one year old (AM1), three years old (AM3), and five years old (AM5)) were measured. The specific leaf mass per area (LMA), leaf N, leaf P, and leaf N/P of each tree sample were measured, and the photosynthetic N and P use efficiencies (PNUE and PPUE, respectively) were also calculated. The maximum leaf net photosynthetic rate Pa (based on area), Pm (based on mass), light saturation point (LSP), light compensation point (LCP), stomatal conductance (gs), and transpiration rate (Tr) of A. indica × M. azedarach decreased with increasing tree age, whereas the instantaneous water use efficiency (WUE) increased with age. The photosynthetic capacity showed no significant differences between AM3 and AM5 but was significantly higher in AM3 and AM5 when compared with AM1.The Pa, Pm, apparent quantum yield (AQY), LSP, gs, and Tr of A. indica × M. azedarach were significantly lower than that of the parental M. azedarach, whereas the dark respiration rate (Rd) and WUE were significantly higher than that of M. azedarach. A reduction in the maximal photosynthetic rate of A. indica × M. azedarach that was observed with increased age was primarily related to the increased LMA and the decline in leaf nitrogen (N) and leaf phosphorus (P) concentrations. Additionally, the decline in stomatal conductance (gs) was also an important factor leading to age-dependent reductions in the photosynthetic rate. These findings suggest that the tree’s age has a significant impact on A. indica × M. azedarach gas exchange during juvenile stages, and the photosynthetic capacity of the hybrid was significantly lower than that of the parental M. azedarach.
Functional characterization of MADS box transcription factors in Petunia hybrida

Transcription factors play a central role in the regulation and integration of several developmental pathways in all organisms. MADS box proteins are, among transcription factors, key players in the regulation of flower induction, flower architecture and vegetative development and have been isolated and studied in many different plant species. Chapter 2 offers an overview of floral development in several species from which MADS box genes have been analyzed, their function in determining the diversity of floral organs and their role in the evolution of floral morphologies. The rest of the thesis focuses on MADS box transcription factors in Petunia hybrida. The isolation of new genes and their preliminary characterization is described in Chapter 3. Phylogenetic analysis, expression analysis and interaction patterns of all the family members are included in this study. Strategies such as overexpression, cosuppression and knockout via transposon insertion have been adopted for a more detailed functional analysis of a few MADS box genes, as described in Chapter 4. These genes have been selected on the basis of their sequences, expression and interaction patterns which altogether suggested possible roles in floral organ determination, flower induction and vegetative development. A thorough analysis of the genes belonging to the FBP2 subfamily follows in Chapter 5, where it is demonstrated that FBP2 is functionally equivalent to the Arabidopsis SEPALLATA (SEP) proteins on the basis of similarities in sequence, expression, interaction patterns, mutant phenotypes and the functional complementation of the Arabidopsis sep triple mutant with FBP2. In Chapter 6 the function of UNS is studied in detail, by sequence and expression analysis, and overexpression of a full-length and a truncated protein in both petunia and Arabidopsis plants. The function of UNS in petunia is similar to SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXEPRESSION OF CONSTANS1 (SOC1), a promoter of flowering in Arabidopsis. A possible function of a MADS box complex including C-, D- and E-type proteins in bringing the flower meristem to an end, is proposed in Chapter 7. The hypothesis is supported by the phenotype of transgenic plants simultaneously overexpressing FBP2 and FBP11, which show an early arrest in development and a downregulation of TERMINATOR (TER), the petunia WUS homolog. An upregulation of the petunia C-type gene FBP6 and the D-type FBP7 and FBP11 is also observed. A positive feedback loop among C-, D-, and E- type genes is most likely occurring also within the flower. General considerations about the strategies adopted in this study, the relevance of such a research in the understanding of diversity and conservation in plant development, conclude this thesis.
Rationalising Racial Inequality: Ideology, Hegemony and Post-Racialism among the Black and South Asian Middle-Classes

Drawing upon 38 qualitative interviews with Black and South Asian middle-class individuals we theorise post-racialism as a hegemonic ideology. While research tends to focus on how racialised people experience racial inequality, some of our participants rationalised such inequality through a post-racial understanding. This post-racial understanding involves commitments to racial progress and transcendence, the view that racism is no longer a societal issue; race-neutral universalism, the belief that we live in a colourblind meritocracy; and a moral equivalence between anti-racism and anti-racialism, allowing for forms of ‘cultural’ racial prejudice. We examine how these components of post-racialism travel from the political macro-ideological level, to the micro-phenomenological level. Through this analysis we argue that these post-racial rationalisations are not the result of false consciousness, but reflect how post-racialism, as a hegemonic ideology, can manifest itself as common-sense and consistent with particular individuals’ histories of mobility and success.
Comparison of microscopic agglutination test and indirect elisa in the diagnosis of bovine leptospirosis = Comparação da soroaglutinação microscópica e elisa indireto para o diagnóstico da leptospirose bovina

The objective of this research was to compare the results obtained by the Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT) and indirect ELISA using outer membrane proteins (OMP) of the serovar Hardjo as antigen (ELISA/OMP-Hardjo). Ninety-three samples of blood serum from 3 to 6-year-old cattle of both sexes with no history of vaccination for leptospirosis were used. To perform the MAT, live cultures of 14 Leptospira serovars representing 11 serogroups of L. interrogans were used as antigen. Outer membrane proteins (OMP) of the serovar Hardjo (ELISA-OMP/Hardjo) were used as the ELISA antigen. Of the 93 samples tested by MAT, 37 (40%) were positive. None of the samples testing positive in the MAT were negative in the ELISA. Sensitivity was 100% and specificity 64%. A comparison of the MAT and ELISA-OMP/Hardjo tests showed 78% agreement and the Kappa index was 0.58 (p<0.0001). The ELISA-OMP/Hardjo proved to be a sensitive test for the diagnosis of bovine leptospirosis, indicating its potential use as a screening test and for epidemiological studies. The titration results obtained by MAT and by optical density (OD) in the ELISA-OMP/Hardjo test showed a positive correlation, and as the antibody titers in the MAT increased, so did the OD in ELISA, demonstrating the correspondence between the tests evaluated here.
Mimetic colour pattern evolution in the highly polymorphic Bombus trifasciatus (Hymenoptera: Apidae) species complex and its comimics

Mullerian mimetic systems have uncovered some of the dynamic processes by which natural selection can drive the radiation of convergent and divergent phenotypes. We examined evolution involving Mullerian mimicry in bumble bees by documenting the distribution and evolution of colour patterns amongst three colour-polymorphic lineages –Bombus trifasciatus Smith, Bombus haemorrhoidalis Smith, and Bombus breviceps Smith – that mimic each other across ∼14 colour groups in South-East Asia. Using mitochondrial DNA sequence data, we estimated relationships within each lineage to infer the processes that gave rise to the colour diversity and develop hypotheses on species recognition. We expanded on our assessment of species delineation in the B. trifasciatus lineage using three nuclear gene fragments and morphometrics. Comparison of colour patterns amongst georeferenced specimens showed considerable variation in the degree and geographical range of mimicry amongst mimicry groups. Phylogenetic estimates show high rates of colour pattern evolution, with colour variation often exceeding variation within the fast-evolving mitochondrial genes. The molecular data, and to some degree the morphometric data, support unique histories for several taxa recognized previously within the B. trifasciatus lineage, which may include several species. Early vicariant events within the B. trifasciatus lineage are likely to have occurred ∼2.2 Mya in the mountains of south-west China. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 166, 805–826.
Genetic regulation of neural crest cell differentiation

Neural crest cells are a transient population of cells which differentiate into multiple derivatives. How these derivatives become specified is not well understood but Sox10 is known to be important in many of them. We are interested in defining the precise role of Sox10 in zebrafish melanophores. Current evidence suggests that the only vital function that Sox10 performs in melanophores is to induce expression of the melanocyte master regulator mitfa (Elworthy et al. 2003). We explored a model for Sox10 function in melanophores, based upon a model for Sox10’s role in mouse sympathetic neurons (Kim et al. 2003), and tested the following predictions: as well as inducing expression of mitfa, Sox10 will repress expression of genes downstream of Mitfa thus, Sox10 must be downregulated, via Mitfa, to allow melanophore differentiation. We observed derepression of melanophore marker genes in sox10t3 mutants, supporting the hypothesis that Sox10 represses these genes in wild type melanophores. We documented Sox10/sox10 downregulation in developing melanophores and generated transgenic lines to test whether this is necessary for differentiation. Unfortunately our experimental lines did not express our transgene so we were unable to test this hypothesis. However, transgenic lines, generated as controls, which express CFP in melanophores or xanthophores will be useful tools in their own right. Finally we conducted RNA injection experiments to explore regulation of melanophore genes by Sox10 and Mitfa. We found that injection of mitfa induces expression of all our melanophore markers whereas co-injection of mitfa and sox10 does not. We also found that the 7.2 kb sox10 promoter contains six Mitf binding sites and is Mitfa responsive. Our data broadly support our original model but also suggest that it does not describe the complete network. We propose a modified model for the role of Sox10 in the genetic regulatory network controlling melanophore development.