Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Medullary bundles and the evolution of cacti

Medullary bundles are absent from the pith of the leafy, relictual cacti (genus Pereskia) but are present in most members of subfamily Cactoideae. They are absent only from tribes Hylocereeae, Rhipsalideae, and some members of Cacteae and Notocacteae. Presence of medullary bundles tends to be correlated with presence of a broad pith, but exceptions occur. Most medullary bundles are collateral, and in all genera phloem is produced and accumulates throughout the lifetime of the bundle. Xylem definitely accumulates as medullary bundles age in some groups, but it definitely does not accumulate in others, being produced only while the bundle is young. Pith can be broad (up to 75 mm in diameter), can constitute half the shoot volume, and is long-lived, remaining alive as long as the shoot is alive. Medullary bundles appear to be adaptive in allowing this large pith to be used for storage of water and starch. Medullary bundles have fewer, narrower tracheary elements than does the stele xylem in the same region; medullary bundles probably could not carry out significant longdistance transport if a major part of the stele becomes damaged. As cacti evolved from rather mesophytic ancestors into their current drought and water-stress adapted forms, there occurred more changes than just becoming leafless and developing a thick water-storing cortex. The stem epidermis now has a high, leaflike density of stomata and the outer cortex is arranged as palisades of chlorenchyma cells with large intercellular spaces and a high internal surface density (Sajeva and Mauseth, 1991). Modern highly derived cacti also have an extensive set of collateral cortical bundles that distributes water and carbohydrates throughout the voluminous cortex (Mauseth and Sajeva, 1992). Wood has also been modified evolutionarily, resulting in more characters well adapted for water-stress (Mauseth, in press).
Amino acid profile of milk-based infant formulas

The protein content and amino acid profile of three milk-based infant formulas, two of which were powdered (adapted and follow-on) and the third liquid, were determined to check their compliance with the EU directive and to evaluate whether or not they fulfil an infant's nutritional needs. To obtain the amino acid profile proteins were subjected to acid hydrolysis, prior to which the sulfur-containing amino acids were oxidized with performic acid. The amino acids were derivatized with phenylisothiocyanate (PITC) and then determined by ion-pair reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) In the case of tryptophan a basic hydrolysis was applied and there was no need of derivatization. The protein contents of the analysed formulas were in the ranges established by the EU directive for these products and the amino acid contents were in the ranges reported by other authors for these types of formulas. In all cases the tryptophan content determined the value of the chemical score, which was always lower than 80% of the reference protein but in the ranges reported by other authors. The analysed adapted infant formula provides amino acids in amounts higher than the established nutritional requirements.
The microscopic lesions of acute fowl cholera in mature chickens.

Fowl cholera, a contagious bacterial disease caused by Pasteurella multocida, occurs in all types of poultry and is widespread. In chickens the disease is often acute, and affected birds may be found dead with no premonitory signs of infection. Descriptions are readily available of the gross lesions of fowl cholera in ohickens, but information on microscopic changes is relatively scant. Apparently the only descriptions available are reports, of somewhat limited scope, by Barboni and Tolomei (3), Barboni and Arangio (2), and Kaupp (6). This study was undertaken to determine the microscopic lesions of acute fowl cholera, and the cause of death in terms of the type of cellular response observed.
QUANTITATIVE ASPECTS OF OVARIAN DEVELOPMENT IN MOSQUITOES

Abstract Experiments on an anautogenous strain of Culex pipiens L. failed to support the theory that sustained gut stretching initiates egg development by anautogenous mosquitoes. The stomach expanded in females fed sugar after the anus was sealed, but eggs did not develop. Also, the ovaries were not activated by an enema of agar which congealed in the stomach and kept it distended. Development of eggs by females given enemas of γ-globulin or egg albumen was presumably an ovarian response to nutrient; development of eggs by some females that received nutrient (amino acids) by direct injection into the haemocoele supported this interpretation. When 1, 4, 7, and 10% egg albumen or γ-globulin were supplied as volumetrically equal enemas, response to 1% was least (few eggs matured and these by only a few females), but was greater with increased amounts of nutrient. It is proposed that certain mechanisms permit the mosquito to evaluate the nutrient potentially available in a blood meal before its complete digestion and to start maturation of an appropriate number of eggs.
Age-associated micronuclei containing centromeres and the X chromosome in lymphocytes of women

Chronological aging of women is clearly associated with an increase in both X-chromosome loss and micronuclei formation in peripheral lymphocytes. It has been suggested that micronucleus formation is an important mechanism of chromosome loss. In the present study, fluorescence in situ hybridization was used to study micronuclei content in two age groups (women below 30 and above 50 years old). A probe for centromeric alphoid consensus sequences (SO-αAllCen) and a cloned X-specific centromeric probe (pXBR) were separately used to detect the presence of any chromosomes and the X chromosome, respectively. The presence of centromere-positive micronuclei was significantly higher among the older donors (51.5%) than among the younger donors (34.3%). The X chromosome was highly overrepresented in the micronuclei, the older women showing a higher proportion of X-positive micronuclei (24.0%) than the younger women (14.0%). Assuming that the rest of the centromere-positive micronuclei contained autosomes, a significant age-dependent difference was also noted for micronuclei harboring autosomes (27.5 % among the older women and 20.3 % among the younger women). These findings suggest that both the X chromosome and autosomes are responsible for the age-dependent increase of micronuclei in women’s peripheral lymphocytes.
Is the fatty acid composition of Daphnia galeata determined by the fatty acid composition of the ingested diet

1. The fatty acid (FA) composition of Daphnia galeata and their algal food was analysed and showed many similarities, however, some significant differences were also found in the relative abundance of the FA C16:4 omega 3 and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Their relative abundances were much lower in daphnids than in their algal diet. 2. When daphnids were fed three distinct emulsion particles with DHA: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) ratios of c. 0.7, 2 and 4, the final DHA: EPA ratio in the daphnids always favoured EPA. The increase of the food DHA : EPA ratio resulted in a minor increase of DHA (to c. 2%). Feeding the animals on emulsion particles with increasing ratios of DHA : EPA, caused a minor (c. 2%) increase of DHA level but EPA levels remained high (c. 10%). 3. When labelled with [C-14]linoleic acid and [C-14]linolenic acid daphnids showed low conversion of both essential FA into C20 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). This low conversion activity might explain the importance of C20 PUFAs as dietary compounds in the food of Daphnia. 4. The results indicate the insignificance of DHA and C16:4 omega 3 for daphnids. As EPA can be derived from C18:3 omega 3 it is not strictly essential, although it might be a significant factor in food quality for Daphnia. [KEYWORDS: Insects; microalgae; metabolism; quality; lipids; magna]
FRET Detection of Cellular a 4 -Integrin Conformational Activation

Integrins are cell adhesion receptors, expressed on every cell type, that have been postulated to undergo conformational changes upon activation. Here, different afﬁnity states were generated by exposing a 4 -integrins to divalent ions or by inside-out activation using a chemokine receptor. We probed the dynamic structural transformation of the integrin on live cells using ﬂuorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between a peptide donor, which speciﬁcally binds to the a 4 -integrin, and octadecyl rhodamine B acceptors incorporated into the plasma membrane. We analyzed the data using a model that describes FRET between a random distribution of donors and acceptors in an inﬁnite plane. The distance of closest approach was found to vary with the afﬁnity of the integrin. The change in distance of closest approach was ; 50 A˚ between resting and Mn 2 1 activated receptors and ; 25 A˚ after chemokine activation. We used confocal microscopy to probe the lateral organization of donors and acceptors subsequent to integrin activation. Taken together, FRET and confocal results suggest that changes in FRET efﬁciencies are primarily due to the vertical extension of the integrin. The coordination between the extension of a 4 -integrin and its afﬁnity provides a mechanism for Dembo’s catch-bond concept.
Associations of Doctor-Diagnosed Asthma with Immigration Status, Age at Immigration, and Length of Residence in the United States in a Sample of Mexican American School Children in Chicago

Objectives. Among Mexican Americans in the United States, children who were born in the US had higher rates of asthma than their Mexico-born peers. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations of doctor-diagnosed asthma with immigration-related variables and to investigate whether these associations could be explained by factors that may change with migration. Methods. We surveyed parents of 2,023 school children of Mexican descent and examined the associations of asthma with nativity, age at immigration, and length of residence in the US after adjusting for potential confounding variables. Results. In multivariate analyses, US-born children had a 2.42-fold (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.52–3.83) increased odds of asthma compared with their Mexico-born peers. Mexico-born participants who moved to the US before 2 years of age were almost twice as likely to experience asthma compared with Mexico-born children who moved to the US ≥2 years of age. In addition, Mexico-born participants who lived in the US for 10 years or more were 2.37 times more likely to have asthma than Mexico-born students who lived in the US for less than 10 years. These associations were not explained by a wide variety of factors such as place of residence in infancy; exposure to animals/pets; history of infections, Tylenol use, and antibiotic use in infancy; breastfeeding; exposure to environmental tobacco smoke; daycare attendance and number of siblings; and language use. Conclusions. Our findings point to the effects of nativity, age at immigration, and duration of residence in the US on the risk of asthma in Mexican American children, suggesting that potentially modifiable factors that change with migration may be linked with the disease. The findings of this study should stimulate further research to explain factors that may be responsible for the observed differentials in the risk of asthma among Mexican Americans.
Caloric availability of SALATRIM in rats and humans

SALATRIM is a reduced-calorie fat substitute composed of structured triacylglycerols. These structured triacylglycerolB are composed of long-chain fatty acids (predominantly stearic) and short-chain aliphatic acids (acetic, propionic, and/or butyric). It has been demonstrated in rat studies and in a clinical study that SALATRIM with various combinations of these aliphatic acid and fatty acid side chains delivers fewer calories per gram than conventional triacylglycerols such as corn oil. The reduced calories are accounted for by the lower caloric value of the short-chain aliphatic acids and limited absorption of the stearic acid which is freed by enzymatic hydrolyse in the gastrointestinal tract. In caloric availability studies with rats SALATRIM was found to deliver between 4.5 and 6.0 kcal/g
Effect of Sex, Menstrual Cycle Phase, and Oral Contraceptive Use on Circadian Temperature Rhythms

The circadian rhythm of rectal temperature was continuously recorded over several consecutive days in young men and women on regular nocturnal sleep schedules. There were 50 men, 21 women with natural menstrual cycles [i.e., not taking oral contraceptives (OCs) (10 in the follicular phase and 11 in the luteal phase)], and 14 women using OCs (6 in the pseudofollicular phase and 8 in the pseudoluteal phase). Circadian phase and amplitude were estimated using a curve-fitting procedure, and temperature levels were determined from the raw data. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) on the data from the four groups of women, with factors menstrual cycle phase (follicular, luteal) and OC use (yes, no), showed that temperature during sleep was lower during the follicular phase than during the luteal phase. Since waking temperatures were similar in the two phases, the circadian amplitude was also larger during the follicular phase. The lower follicular phase sleep temperature also resulted in a lower 24-h tempera.
Genetic analysis of spike traits in two- and multi-rowed barley crosses

Mode of inheritance and genetic variance components for spike length, grain number per spike and grain weight per spike were evaluated in four parental genotypes and their F1 and F2 hybrids obtained through incomplete diallel crossing. Multi-rowed barley genotypes HVW-247 and Partizan and two-rowed barley genotypes KG-15 and NS-293 were selected for the crossing based on the trait concept with the parents being divergent for spike length, grain number per spike and grain weight per spike. The average values for spike length in F1 and F2 generations were intermediate or close to those of the parent having longer spikes, with the mode of inheritance being partial dominance, dominance or overdominance, depending on the crossing combination. The six-rowed x six-rowed and two-rowed x two-rowed crossing combinations showed dominance of increased grain number per spike and increased grain weight per spike in the inheritance of grain number per spike and grain weight per spike, respectively, whereas the six-rowed x two-rowed cross was predominated by partial dominance. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 031092: A study of the genetic basis of yield and quality improvements in cereals under different agro-environmental conditions]
EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT PRETREATMENTS ON THE GERMINATION OF Faidherbia albida (DEL.) A. CHEV. SEEDS

SUMMARY The difficulties of using sulphuric acid for removing the physical dormancy of Faidherbia albida seeds have resulted in a search for alternative methods of pretreatment of the seeds. This trial tested the efffciency of 10 alternative pretreatments. The results show that the sulphuric acid, manual scarification and scarification by hot wire, which achieved stable values of over 90% of germination of seeds after eight days, were clearly superior to the use of a seed gun (80% germination after 16 days at the optimal setting of the gun) or of hot/boiling water methods (less than 20% germination after 16 days). Due to the high capacity of seed gun (i.e. around 1 kg/minute), it appears that the gun method, although methods which treat seeds individually result in higher germination percentages, could be a useful way to treat large quantities of seeds. However, the optimal speed of the rotation of the gun must be determined beforehand for each lot of seeds.
Sources of resistance to Plasmodiophora brassicae (clubroot) pathotypes virulent on canola

Abstract A collection of 955 Brassica accessions including B. rapa (718), B. napus (94), B. juncea (93), B. oleracea (30), B. carinata (12) and B. nigra (8) was screened against Plasmodiophora brassicae pathotype 3 (1 × 106 resting spores cc−1 growth medium), the predominant strain of the pathogen on canola in western Canada. A total of 35 accessions (mostly B. rapa) showed at least 50% reduced clubroot severity relative to a susceptible control, with 15 showing complete resistance (clubroot-free). Ten resistant accessions representing Brassica A-, B- and C-genome species were tested further using a 10-fold higher pathogen inoculum dose (1 × 107 resting spores cc−1 growth medium) and by testing them against the five pathotypes (2, 3, 5, 6 and 8) of P. brassicae found in Canada. One B. nigra, two B. oleracea and four B. rapa (oriental vegetable) accessions maintained a high level of resistance under the higher pathogen inoculum pressure, while one B. nigra and two B. rapa (turnip) accessions showed moderate resistance. Most of the selected clubroot-resistant accessions showed consistent resistance to each of the five P. brassicae pathotypes found in Canada, except for one B. nigra and two turnip accessions, which varied slightly against different pathotypes. Several promising sources of clubroot resistance were identified in this study that can be used to develop new canola germplasm with a diverse clubroot resistance background for potentially more durable clubroot resistance.
Habitat Use, Diet, and Population Structure of Adult and Juvenile Paddlefish in the Lower Alabama River

Abstract We quantified habitat use, diet, and population characteristics of paddlefish Polyodon spathula in the lower Alabama River, Alabama, in an effort to determine whether juveniles and adults differ in their seasonal use of three types of habitats (oxbow lakes, backwater areas, and channel areas) and to identify differences in population characteristics between fish from the Alabama River and those from other drainage systems. Both juveniles and adults used backwater and channel areas. Paddlefish used backwater areas primarily during summer and fall and channel habitats during winter and spring. Juvenile paddlefish that were present in backwater areas migrated with prespawn adults, whereas juveniles in the oxbow habitat did not. Juvenile paddlefish used oxbow lakes as nursery areas, remaining there until sexual maturity. Paddlefish in the lower Alabama River had shorter life spans than those previously studied further north, suggesting a latitudinal gradient in fish survival. Although fecundity rates.
Anthropometry of adolescent girls in Bahrain, including body fat distribution

Primary objective : To determine anthropometric measurements of adolescent Bahraini girls, including obesity and fat composition. Methods and procedures: A cross-sectional sample of 584 Bahraini girls aged 12-19 years were selected from schools using multistage stratified sampling procedure. Fifteen anthropometric measurements were taken (weight, height, circumferences for upper arm, upper forearm, upper chest, chest, waist, hip, thigh and medial calf, triceps, biceps, subscapular and suprailiac). Body mass index (BMI), waist/hip ratio, sum of skinfold thickness and % body fat were also computed. Main outcomes and results: The findings revealed a significant increase in all anthropometric measurements with increase in age. The mean weights for girls was higher than those reported in 1986 for the same age group, but no difference was observed in the mean heights, indicating a trend toward overweight. Using the 85th and 95th centiles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I (NHANESI) BMI distribution to define respectively overweight and obesity, the prevalence of overweight was 38.5% and of obesity was 6.3%. The means for BMI, waist/hip ratio, sum of skinfold thickness and % body fat were higher than those reported in many developed and developing countries. Conclusions: Bahraini adolescent girls have a higher proportion of body fat than their counterparts in many Western countries. This may contribute to some chronic diseases in adulthood. An intervention programme, therefore, is urgently needed to reduce overweight and obesity at childhood and adolescent stages.
MALAYSIAN JOURNAL OF CONSUMER AND FAMILY ECONOMICS

Understanding halal violation effect is important as it can harm product through negative behaviors. This study aims to investigate the effect of psychological contract violation (PCV), recovery satisfaction and severity of violation on boycott. Furthermore, this study will also examine the moderating effect of PCV in the relationship between recovery satisfaction and severity of violation on boycott. A total of 212 questionnaires were collected from consumers who were aware and/or had experienced the violation of a halal product in Malaysia. A hierarchical linear regression analysis was used to test the research model. This study found that PCV and recovery satisfaction have a significant influence on boycott. The contribution of this study is obvious as the resulting outcomes can be capitalized as a guideline for managers to design recovery action towards halal violation incident. This study is among the first few attempts towards investigating halal violation and psychological contract violation effect.
Fatty acids in pollen: a review of their importance for honey bees

Plant pollens have distinctive fatty acid profiles; some are characteristically dominant in one or more fatty acids. Pollens with high lipid concentrations and dominated by linoleic, linolenic, myristic and dodecanoic acids probably play a significant role in inhibiting the growth of the spore-forming bacteria, Paenibacillus larvae larvae (American foulbrood), Melissococcus pluton (European foulbrood) and other microbes that inhabit the brood combs of beehives. Those pollens high in oleic and palmitic acids probably have a greater role in honey bee nutrition.
Influence of legume blends on fried papad quality

Legumes and their blends are widely used for the production of papads. Papads with low fat content would be a boon to populations looking for low-calorie foods with retention of organoleptic profile. Judicious blending of legumes such as black gram, green gram, bengal gram, red gram and cowpea revealed that low-fat fried papads could be prepared from a blend of 40:36:24 blend of bengal gram: black gram: green gram flours. The blend had 15.6% lower fat content as compared to the control prepared from black gram flour alone. Other quality parameters such as expansion ratio, texture in terms of crispness, colour and overall organoleptic quality were also evaluated.