Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Riparian tree cover enhances the resistance and stability of woodland bird communities during an extreme climatic event

Summary Ecosystems world-wide increasingly are subject to multiple interacting disturbances. Biodiversity in anthropogenic landscapes can be enhanced by manipulating landscape patterns, but could such landscape management also assist biota to cope with the effects of extreme climatic events, such as drought? We surveyed woodland bird communities in 24 ‘whole’ landscapes (each 100 km2) in an agricultural region of south-eastern Australia near the beginning (2002–2003), middle (2006–2007) and after (2011–2012) an extreme drought (the ‘Millennium Drought’). We quantified the resistance, resilience and stability of the avifauna to the decade of drought and related these measures to properties of the study landscapes: the extent of wooded habitat, configuration of habitat, land-use composition, landscape productivity and geographic context. Landscape productivity, represented by the extent of riparian tree cover in the landscape, was the strongest driver of the resistance, resilience and stability of avifaunal richness to severe drought. Woodland bird communities in landscapes with larger areas of riparian tree cover retained a larger proportion of their species richness during the Millennium Drought and consequently had greater stability over the drought's duration. Synthesis and applications. Landscape properties can influence the resistance, resilience and stability of faunal communities to an extreme climatic event. By protecting, restoring and enhancing native vegetation in productive areas of landscapes along stream systems, drainage lines and floodplains, land managers can effectively build climatic refugia and thereby enhance the resistance of biota to climatic extremes. However, a net decline over the entire study period suggests this will not, by itself, arrest decline during periods of extreme drought.
COMPORTAMIENTO AGRONÓMICO Y COMPOSICIÓN QUÍMICA DE TRES VARIEDADES DE Brachiaria EN DIFERENTES EDADES DE COSECHA

The effect of the age (A) and the variety (V) on: plant height (PH) (cm), root longitude (cm) (RL), number of stems (NT) and leaves (NL), forage biomass (FB) (kg MS ha-1), relationship leaf stem (in number and weigh), in situ digestibility DISMS, and chemical composition of Brachiaria decumbens, brizantha and mulatto grass (ruzizienzis 44-6 x brizantha cv. Marandu), cut at the 28, 56, 84 and 112 d was evaluated. A split plot design was used. The main plot was the Brachiaria variety, and the subplots the crop age. The PH, didn�t present differences (p>0.05) among varieties. The RL presented difference (p<0.05) among variety, the best was the mulatto grass for the age 28, 56, 84 and 112 d. The biggest NT to the 56, 84 and 112 d, and NL for plant until the 84 d were obtained for mulatto. The biomass (kg MS ha-1) didn�t present significant differences (p>0.05). The mulatto grass presented the best relationship leaf/stem, to the 28, 56 and 84 d and the brizantha to the 112 d (p<0.05). The digestibility in situ diminished when increasing the age. The major percentage in MS and raw fiber, and smaller protein was presented to the 112 d.
PHYSICAL FACTORS VS. BIOTIC RESISTANCE IN CONTROLLING THE INVASION OF AN ESTUARINE MARSH GRASS

We examined the relative roles of biotic resistance and abiotic factors in controlling the establishment and early survival of an invasive marine grass, Spartina anglica, in the Pacific Northwest. S. anglica can invade diverse estuarine habitats, including established salt marshes, mudflats, and cobble beaches; these vary in native species assemblages and in abiotic conditions, especially sediment salinity, water content, and composition. In four habitat types in northern Puget Sound, we conducted a seed addition experiment to quantify germination and early growth. In vegetated habitats we also manipulated plant neighbors. Seed germination and early growth varied with habitat and zone, but physical factors played a more important role than species interactions. Seedlings in low-salinity marshes and mudflats grew almost 10 times larger than those in coarse-grained or high-salinity habitats. Patterns of seedling persistence among habitats matched those of natural seedling abundances and mirrored the degree .
Perception of Mental Illness by Medical Students 1

Mental illnesses in any society affect a significant proportion of a population at a given time and cause considerable morbidity (WHO, 1975 Giel and van Luijk, 1970; Giel and Fikre, 1977). However, in developing countries there has been a lack. of trained psychiatrists t o provide adequate care to a large mentally sick population. Many studies indicate that seriously incapaand Wig, 1983). However, there is still very l i t t le systematic work relating t o the training of medical students and general practitioners and their effectiveness i n providing psychiatric care. To make any training programme successful, it is important t o assess ( i ) acquisition of skill and ( i i ) development of attitude towards a given problem If we know before hand what citating mental disorders are likely t o affect kind of attitude the trainees have regarding at least 1% of any population at any one time and 10% at some time in their l i fe time (WHO, 1975). Training psychiatrists t o provide care to such a large number of patients may involve an enormous amount of money and manpower which may even be beyond the resources of developed countries, leave alone developing countries. I n order to handle the problem, the emphasis is now decentralization and integration of mental health care with the existing general health services to reach whole of the community. This means that general practitioners, nurses and other health auxiliaries should be given adequate training in psychiatry to meet this goal. This philosophy was remental illness and their causes, treatment, prognosis and social consequence, their training can be planned in a manner so as to modify their attitude in the right direction, increase their perception of mental illness and sharpen their skills t o provide the care. With this i n mind, the present study was envisaged t o study the perception of mental illnesses by the undergraduate medical students before their 6-week psychiatric attachment commenced.
Shading, Defoliation and Light Enrichment Effects on Chickpea in Northern Latitudes

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) has an indeterminate growth nature, and the plant canopy with an improved light environment during critical growth stages may increase biomass (BM) production and improve crop yield. This study examined (i) the effects of shading, light enrichment and defoliation applied at various growth stages on BM and seed yield of chickpea in northern latitudes; and (ii) the difference between cultivars with fern- vs. unfoliate-leaf type in responding to the altered canopy light environments. Field studies were conducted at Saskatoon and Swift Current, Saskatchewan in 2004 and 2005. Different light environments were created by 50 % defoliation at vegetative growth and at first flower, 50 % shading from vegetative growth to first flower, and two light enrichment treatments initiated at the first flower and pod formation stages. The 50 % shade treatment prior to flowering significantly decreased harvest index (HI) and seed yield. Light enrichments increased seed yield only one of three location-years (the fourth site excluded because of disease damage). Defoliation at vegetative growth or first flower had a marginal effect on seed yield, largely as a result of the regrowth of vegetative tissues compensating for the lost plant tissues. The cultivar CDC Yuma (fern-leaf type) exhibited consistently greater maximum light interception (LI), cumulative intercepted radiation, HI and seed yield than the cultivar Sanford (unifoliate-leaf type) across all location-years. Selective use of chickpea cultivars with improved morphological traits such as fern-leaf type will likely improve LI and increase crop yield for chickpea in northern latitudes. Moreover, optimized crop management practices should be adopted to ensure that chickpea be grown under conditions with minimum shading before flowering and optimum light environment within the canopy especially during reproductive growth period.
Comparison of Four Diagnostic Methods for Helicobacter pylori

Objective: To compare the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of four different H. pylori diagnostic methods, and to correlate the histological analysis of the gastric mucosa with H. pylori infection. Materials and Methods: One hundred and eleven antral biopsies were collected and four different H. pylori diagnostic procedures were performed, namely H&E stain, Giemsa stain, rapid urease test, and imprint cytology. The histology of the gastric mucosa was also interpreted. Results: Forty five of the 48 patients (93.8%) who showed chronic active gastritis demonstrated H. pylori infection, but only eight of the 47 patients (17.0%) who showed chronic gastritis presented with H. pylori infection. Sixty of 111 patients (54.1%) tested positive for H. pylori infection by all four diagnostic methods, and 43 patients (38.7%) were negative infection by all four diagnostic methods. Four patients showed positive infection by three diagnostic methods, two were positive by two methods, and the last two tested were positive for H. pylori infection by only one method. There was no difference in the sensitivity, specificity, and PPV for the four diagnostic methods (p＞0.05). Finally, the NPV of the imprint cytology showed a significant difference from H&E and Giemsa stains (p＜0.05), but no difference from the rapid urease test. Conclusions: Histologically, H. pylori infection was associated with chronic active gastritis more often than with chronic gastritis. The four different diagnostic methods performed equally well in terms of sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV, except for the NPV of imprint cytology. In cases where the level of H. pylori infection is low, it is recommended that more than one diagnostic method should be utilized to decrease the false-negative rate.
Land use effects on carbon quality and soil biological properties in Eutric Cambisol

Abstract The choice of prospective type of farming requires knowledge about the specific relationships that exist between farm management practices and base environmental conditions. Nowadays the protection of soil organic carbon is one of the main tasks, because organic carbon in addition to soil fertility can act in elimination of soil contamination and carbon sequestration. Field experiments were focused on the effect of intensive farming without organic inputs versus grassland on organic carbon content. Organic carbon content (Cox) and humic substance fractions (C-humic acids and fulvic acid fractions), hot water extractable carbon and selected microbial characteristics in Eutric Cambisol were monitored during the period 1999–2010. A priming effect of soil cultivation was detected immediately after tillage. Arable soil with ‘intensive’ crop sequences (exclusively cash crops, cereals, oil plants) and with an optimal level of chemical inputs (mineral fertilizers, pesticides), but without organic farmyard manure had lower content of all carbon forms compared with grassland. 13C NMR spectroscopy and thermal analysis (TGA) were applied to characterize humic acid (HA) structure and stability. More carbon, less oxygen and more aromatic compounds were detected in grassland HA. Slight differences were found in HA thermo-oxidative stability and degradability, which was probably caused by changes in elemental composition and structure. Even the land use had no significant effect on basic microbiological characteristics (basal respiration, microbial biomass and qCO2); the physiology of the microbial community of grassland was altered by a higher ability to utilize L- and D-glutamic acid. The L/D ratio of glutamic acid mineralization indicated no occurrence of stress in soil for both types of farming. It has been demonstrated that although losses of carbon as a result of land-use conversions are generally more rapid, gains of carbon in grassland followed by changes in management practices can also occur.
Egg Antibody Farming and IgY Technology for Food and Biomedical Applications

포유동물과 마찬가지로 암탉은 태어날 병아리에게 계란을 통해서 면역항체를 이행시켜 해로운 병원균의 침입으로부터 병아리를 보호해준다. 즉 어미 닭의 혈청으로부터 특정항체가 난황에 이행되고 이 면역항체를 IgY라고 부르며 이것이 발육중인 태아와 갓 부화한 병아리의 면역항체가 되는 것이다. 상대적으로 면역능력이 낮은 갓 부화한 병아리는 병원균에 대한 방어능력을 계란을 통해 어미로부터 받은 항체를 통해 얻는다. 그 결과, 난황 내에는 많은 양의 IgY를 보유하게 되고 이 면역물질이 있으므로 말미암아 계란 내에 들어와 있는 병원균이나 외부에서 들어오려는 병원균을 무력화시켜 아무 탈 없이 병아리가 부화하게 된다. 이처럼 산란계에 각종 병원균을 접종함으로서 면역항체 IgY가 많이 들어 있는 계란을 생산할 수 있다. 난황 1개에는 136~340 ㎎의 IgY가 들어있고, 이는 난황 ml당 8~20 ㎎의 IgY가 함유되어 있는 셈이다. 그리고 산란계 한 마리로부터 일년에 30g 이상의 IgY를 얻을 수 있다. 산란계에 항원을 접종하여 난황으로부터 IgY를 수확하면 IgY g당 10$도 안 되는 낮은 비용으로 항체를 얻을 수 있게 된다. 이에 비하여 포유동물의 경우 1g의 IgG를 얻는데 20,000$가 소요된다. 이와 같은 IgY 제조기술을 의학, 공중 보건, 수의학, 식품안전과 같은 분야에 응용을 함으로써 잠재력이 높은 새로운 시장을 여는 장이 될 것이다. IgY기술을 더욱 폭넓게 활용할 수 있는 분야들로는 생물제제나 의학진단기구, 생리적 기능성 물질이나 기능성식품의 개발, 질병예방을 위한 경구투여제 그리고 질병감염을 막는 특정 병원균성 항미생물 제제와 같은 것들을 들 수 있다. 이 논문에서 우리가 강조하고자 하는 것은 IgY가 함유된 계란을 생산하고 섭취하였을 때 특정항체들의 결합을 통해 병원성 미생물의 성장이나 군체를 형성하는 것을 무력화시켜 결과적으로 병원균을 감소시키거나 억제시킨다는 점이다. 오늘날 약물에 내성을 지닌 박테리아의 출현으로 질병감염을 막는데 항생제의 사용효과가 점차 감소하고 있기 때문에 이러한 항생제를 대체할 수 있는 방안으로 계란항체를 이용할 수 있다.
AREA SENSITIVITY IN GRASSLAND PASSERINES: EFFECTS OF PATCH SIZE, PATCH SHAPE, AND VEGETATION STRUCTURE ON BIRD ABUNDANCE AND OCCURRENCE IN SOUTHERN SASKATCHEWAN

Abstract Information on area sensitivity and effects of habitat fragmentation has come largely from forest and tallgrass-prairie habitats. Research from other ecosystems is required to determine whether the fragmentation paradigm derived from those studies is applicable to passerine communities elsewhere. I examined the effects of habitat fragmentation on abundance and occurrence of nine species of mixed-grass prairie passerines in southern Saskatchewan. I conducted 190 point-counts in 1996 and 1997 on 89 pastures ranging in size from 8 to 6,475 ha. Sprague's Pipit (Anthus spragueii), Baird's Sparrow (Ammodramus bairdii), Grasshopper Sparrow (A. savannarum), and Chestnut-collared Longspur (Calcarius ornatus) were found to be area-sensitive, in that they were more abundant or occurred more frequently, or both, in larger patches of mixed-grass prairie. However, the ratio of edge to interior habitat was a better predictor of area sensitivity than patch size in most cases. Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris), Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis), Clay-colored Sparrow (Spizella pallida), Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta), and Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) were insensitive to patch size, though occurrence of Clay-colored Sparrow and Western Meadowlark tended to be greater in smaller pastures. Vegetation structure was also found to be an important predictor of grassland songbird abundance and occurrence, in that it explained additional variation not accounted for by patch size or the ratio of edge to interior habitat. Although protection of large contiguous tracts of habitat is essential to conservation of native species, small native-prairie patches with minimal edge habitat also play a vital role in conservation of grassland birds.
New records of snakes from Cat Tien National Park, Dong Nai and Lam Dong provinces, southern Vietnam

We report ten new records of snakes from Cat Tien National Park, Dong Nai and Lam Dong provinces, south- ern Vietnam. The specimen of Typhlops siamensis Gunther, 1864 from Cat Tien represents the second country record in Vietnam after more than one century. Our new record of Dendrelaphis ngansonensis (Bourret, 1935) leads to a consid- erable range extension of this species, so far known only from northern and central Indochina. Additional specimens of Oligodon deuvei David, Vogel & van Rooijen, 2008 are described, along with the first photograph of a living specimen, showing the coloration including the aposematically red-coloured underside of the tail. An updated checklist of snakes of the Cat Tien National Park is also provided.
Assessment of House Fly Dispersal between Rural and Urban Habitats in Kansas, USA

Abstract House flies, Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae), are of medical and veterinary importance due to their capacity to act as mechanical vectors of microorganisms originating in animal manure and other decaying organic substrates. House flies that disperse from rural to urban areas may also transport antibiotic resistant bacterial strains. To assess the potential of house flies to disperse from rural to urban areas and distribute antibiotic-resistant bacteria, we undertook a two part study: (i) we quantified the dispersal rate of house flies from farms (rural areas) into a city (urban area) using multilocus DNA fingerprinting and (ii) we profiled the antibiotic resistance patterns of enterococci harbored by house flies collected in rural and urban environments. The population genetic analysis indicated that there was considerable dispersal between rural and urban habitats. Although there was a significant difference in allele frequency between the urban and rural samples, genetic divergence was low (mean FST = 0.07) and migration rate relatively high (Nm = 3 individuals per generation). Almost 95% of the genetic diversity occurred within populations, suggesting a nearly panmictic population. Profiling of antibiotic resistance of enterococci isolated from house fly guts showed that house flies collected in all five urban sites carried substantial numbers of antibiotic-resistant enterococci, supporting the results of the population genetic analyses. The results of this study imply that house flies, because of their dispersal behavior and capacity to transport antibiotic-resistant bacteria, pose a serious threat to public health. We suggest that area wide management of house fly populations is therefore likely to be the most effective strategy for minimizing public health risks.
OBSERVATIONS Op THE PREY-PREDATOR RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PSEUDOREGMA BAMBUCICOLA (HOMOPTERA, PEMPHIGIDAE) AND METASYRPHUS COiVFRA TER (DIPTERA, SYRPHIDAE), WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE BEHAVIOUR OF TjHE APHID SOLDIERS

Some observations on the pseudoscorpion-like soldiers of a bamboo aphid, Pseudowgma bambucicola (Takahashi) are reported. The soldiers attack only the first instar larvae of Metasyrphus confrater (Wiedemann), which is a predaceous species of this aphid. The aphid soldiers can successfully attack the individuals in the early stage of the 1st instar larvae of the syrphid fly. However, all the soldiers that attacked the larvae died within a few minutes, probably due to a toxic chemical substance secreted by the latter.
Biological Activity of Extracts in Relationship to Structure of Pure Isolates of Abutilon indicum

The present investigations were undertaken to determine the antibacterial and antifungal activity of the crude extract (CE) of plant parts of Abutilon indicum L. (Malvaceae) in relation to the structure of all previous isolates active and inactive against three Gram-negative bacteria, four Gram-positive rods, and three fungi using agar diffusion method. The results suggested some importance and influence of the hydroxyl groups in the isolates structures such as steroids, flavonoids, glycerides, and coumarins on the activity. The material tested had exhibited excellent activity compared to some of the typical antibiotics against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. In summary the results obtained with this plant extract may be considered very promising, indicating the potential for obtaining new antimicrobial agents.
Determinants of badger Meles meles sett location in Białowieża Primeval Forest, northeastern Poland

The aim of our research was to investigate the relative importance of food supply, geological conditions, human activity and neighbouring badger Meles meles territories for location of badger setts in Białowieża Primeval Forest (BPF) within the boundaries of Poland (595 km2). In our study, we included 67 badger setts surveyed in the field as well as 7,563 pseudo-absence points located randomly in each subcompartment of the forest. For each point, 18 habitat and landscape variables were assessed. The data were analysed using the Random Forest model in two stages, i.e. feature selection and variable importance assessment. Our results indicate that the human-related variables for location of badger setts in BPF (strong avoidance of main roads, bimodal reaction to open and built-up areas) were of highest importance. The second most important variable was the distance to neighbouring active main setts (preference of the distance of 2 km from the nearest active main sett). The least important variables were habitat conditions affecting digging possibility and food availability, such as the presence of cambisols or fresh entic podzols made of loamy sands on ablation moraine or aeolian dunes with potential vegetation of thermophilous oak Quercus robur-hornbeam Carpinus begulus forest of fresh pine Pinus sylvestris-oak mixed forest. We conclude that large intact forest complexes function as refuge areas for badger populations if badger mortality is high in open areas relative to the benefits of wide food availability in open areas.
Some Aspects of Structure and Function of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Populations in a Spring

Structure and function of populations of benthic macro- invertebrates in an open-water area and a vegetation-choked area of a spring were examined. Although more species were collected from the vegetated area, more individuals were taken from the open area. Stic- tochironomus annulicrus and Limnodrilits sp. comprised 93 % of the indi- viduals and of the biomass in the open area, and 78% of the individuals and 73% of the biomass in the vegetation. Although Stictochironomus and Limnodrilus were similar in numbers, they were considerably differ- ent in biomass/individual and therefore in total biomass. Species diversity was analyzed with the index, d-_ - i log2 i. Species diversity was less in the open area of the spring than in the vege- tation-choked area. In the open area, d increased from May through August when numbers of individuals were used and decreased when biomass units were used. Nasturtium officinale was i-mportant in influencing the structure of the benthic community, but was unimportant as a source of energy. Mean monthly standing crop of algae in the entire spring was 3500 kcal, while detritus averaged 15,900 kcal. Mean standing crop of benthic herbivores was 3800 kcal. The size of the benthic community was prob- ably limited by space but not by food. Caloric content of fourth-instar Stictochironomus larvae was 5.50 kcal/ash-free g and respiratory rate was 0.765 ml 02/ash-free g per hr. Caloric content of Limnodrilus was 5.61 kcal/ash-free g and respiratory rate was 0.810 02/ash-free g per hr. Benthic macroinvertebrate respira- tion was almost 25% of community respiration in the open area and less than 2% in vegetation.
Interactions of GPR54 and GPR147 receptors with RF-amide ligands

iii Acknowledgements iv List of Tables v List of Figures vi List of Appendices viii List of Abbreviations ix Chapter 1: Literature Review 1 Chapter 2: Materials and Methods 47 Chapter 3: Role of N-terminus, ECL1-3 and their acidic residues in GPR54 expression, binding and activation 60 Chapter 4: GPR147 interactions with select RFamides and RFRP3 analogs 91 Chapter 5: GPR147 interactions with select kisspeptin analogs 109 Chapter 6: GPR54 interactions with select neuropeptides and kisspeptin analogs . 121 Chapter 7: Conclusion 133 Chapter 8: Appendices 135 References 138