Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The impact of temperature variability on wheat yields

With current annual production at over 600 million tonnes, wheat is the third largest crop in the world behind corn and rice, and an essential source of carbohydrates for millions of people. While wheat is grown over a wide range of environments, it is common in the major wheat‐producing countries for grain filling to occur when soil moisture is declining and temperature is increasing. Average global temperatures have increased over the last decades and are predicted to continue rising, along with a greater frequency of extremely hot days. Such events have already been reported for major wheat growing regions in the world. However, the direct impact of past temperature variability and changes in averages and extremes on wheat production has not been quantified. Attributing changes in observed yields over recent decades to a single factor such as temperature is not possible due to the confounding effects of other factors. By using simulation modelling, we were able to separate the impact of temperature from other factors and show that the effect of temperature on wheat production has been underestimated. Surprisingly, observed variations in average growing‐season temperatures of ±2 °C in the main wheat growing regions of Australia can cause reductions in grain production of up to 50%. Most of this can be attributed to increased leaf senescence as a result of temperatures >34 °C. Temperature conditions during grain filling in the major wheat growing regions of the world are similar to the Australian conditions during grain filling. With average temperatures and the frequency of heat events projected to increase world‐wide with global warming, yield reductions due to higher temperatures during the important grain‐filling stage alone could substantially undermine future global food security. Adaptation strategies need to be considered now to prevent substantial yield losses in wheat from increasing future heat stress.
Effects of NaCl salinity in vivo and in vitro on ribonuclease activity of Vigna unguiculata cotyledons during germination

Pitiuba bean [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. ] seeds were sown in water or. in 0.1 M NaCl. Seedling growth and cotyledon nucleic acid mobilization were delayed by NaCl salinity. The differences in cotyledonary RNase activity between seeds sown in water and in NaCl solutions suggest that salinity delays the activation and/or de novo synthesis of the enzyme. Cotyledon extracts were subjected to gel filtration through Sephadex G-100, and RNase activity measured. Only one cotyledonary RNase appeared during germination, and salinity did not induce any change in molecular weight of the enzyme. Salinity inhibited 45% of the specific activity of the RNase on the 5th day of the experimental period. The same salt concentration (0.1 M NaCl) added in vitro inhibited only 8 % of the specific activity of the enzyme. This difference may indicate that NaCl in vivo affects mainly the de novo synthesis of the RNase.
MATURATION OF THE IMMUNE RESPONSE IN VITRO

We have cultivated lymph node microfragments from β-D-galactosidase (Escherichia coli) primed rabbits and have measured their secondary response directed towards the whole molecule (precipitating antibodies) and to a single determinant (activating antibodies) of the antigen. By decreasing the size of the fragments to 105 cells, we began to observe heterogeneity among identical cultures in terms of positivity of response, antibody specificity, and titers. The affinity of "early" activating antibodies was inversely proportional to the dose of challenge. While no maturation was seen in low and excessive challenge, in all cultures receiving intermediate doses the association constant was raised several orders of magnitude within periods of 20 days. The relevance of these data to the mechanism of affinity selection of antigen-sensitive cells is discussed.
FACILITATION AMONG PISCIVOROUS PREDATORS: EFFECTS OF PREY HABITAT USE

The combined effects of predators on prey may substantially differ from thatof each predator species alone because of alterations in prey behavior. Using enclosures within a pond, we examined experimentally the effects of two piscivorous predators on prey mortality and prey resource levels in two habitats. The two predators use two different foraging modes, which also allowed us to examine the behaviorally induced indirect effects of prey on predator growth and prey food resources. Both perch (Perca fluviatilis) and pike (Esox lucius) caused significant mortality of roach (Rutilus rutilus), and the combined predator mortality was higher than predicted from a multiplicative prey consumption model. Growth rates of perch were similar when enclosures contained only perch and when they contained perch combined with pike. The growth rate of pike was higher when they were together with perch compared to when alone. Growth of roach was similar among treatments. The invertebrate food resources of roach increased by a factor 10 in the open water but remained at similar levels throughout the experiment in the vegetation. Biomass of Daphnia longispina, the dominant zooplankton species in the open water, was strongly correlated with mortality of roach, indicating a density-mediated indirect effect of predators on prey resources. There was no indirect effect on D. longispina in the vegetation caused by habitat restriction of roach and only a weak relationship in the open water. There was a strong indirect effect of pike predation on macroinvertebrates induced by a habitat shift of roach. Our results suggest that there was facilitation between predators caused by conflicting antipredator behavior of roach, which resulted in density-mediated indirect effects on prey resources. The behavioral response of roach to the two predators also induced indirect effects on invertebrate prey.
Untangling associations between chironomid taxa in Neotropical streams using local and landscape filters

Summary 1. Analyses of species association have major implications for selecting indicators for freshwater biomonitoring and conservation, because they allow for the elimination of redundant information and focus on taxa that can be easily handled and identified. These analyses are particularly relevant in the debate about using speciose groups (such as the Chironomidae) as indicators in the tropics, because they require difficult and time-consuming analysis, and their responses to environmental gradients, including anthropogenic stressors, are poorly known. 2. Our objective was to show whether chironomid assemblages in Neotropical streams include clear associations of taxa and, if so, how well these associations could be explained by a set of models containing information from different spatial scales. For this, we formulated a priori models that allowed for the influence of local, landscape and spatial factors on chironomid taxon associations (CTA). These models represented biological hypotheses capable of explaining associations between chironomid taxa. For instance, CTA could be best explained by local variables (e.g. pH, conductivity and water temperature) or by processes acting at wider landscape scales (e.g. percentage of forest cover). 3. Biological data were taken from 61 streams in Southeastern Brazil, 47 of which were in well-preserved regions, and 14 of which drained areas severely affected by anthropogenic activities. We adopted a model selection procedure using Akaike’s information criterion to determine the most parsimonious models for explaining CTA. 4. Applying Kendall’s coefficient of concordance, seven genera (Tanytarsus/Caladomyia, Ablabesmyia, Parametriocnemus, Pentaneura, Nanocladius, Polypedilum and Rheotanytarsus) were identified as associated taxa. The best-supported model explained 42.6% of the total variance in the abundance of associated taxa. This model combined local and landscape environmental filters and spatial variables (which were derived from eigenfunction analysis). However, the model with local filters and spatial variables also had a good chance of being selected as the best model. 5. Standardised partial regression coefficients of local and landscape filters, including spatial variables, derived from model averaging allowed an estimation of which variables were best correlated with the abundance of associated taxa. In general, the abundance of the associated genera tended to be lower in streams characterised by a high percentage of forest cover (landscape scale), lower proportion of muddy substrata and high values of pH and conductivity (local scale). 6. Overall, our main result adds to the increasing number of studies that have indicated the importance of local and landscape variables, as well as the spatial relationships among sampling sites, for explaining aquatic insect community patterns in streams. Furthermore, our findings open new possibilities for the elimination of redundant data in the assessment of anthropogenic impacts on tropical streams.
Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation of Cattleya with an Odontoglossum ringspot virus replicase gene sequence

Protocorm-like bodies (PLBs) of Cattleya orchid CM2450 cultured either under constant illumination with cool-white-fluorescent lamps or in the dark were cocultivated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA105 carrying plasmid pSMAHdN627-ORSV harboring genes coding for Odontoglossum ringspot virus (ORSV) replicase and hygromycin phosphotransferase. PLBs were maintained in liquid New Dogashima (ND) medium and then added to a bacterial suspension culture (OD600�0.6) yielding medium dilution ratio of 1 : 10 and incubated for either 30 minutes or 3 h. Hygromycin-resistant secondary PLBs were induced after 4 weeks of culture on 2.5 g l �1 gellan gum-solidified ND medium containing 1 mg l �1 naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), 0.1 mg l �1 benzyladenine (BA), 10 mg l �1 hygromycin, 20 mg l �1 meropenem, 10 g l �1 sucrose in both light- and dark-cultured PLBs. The number of resistant PLBs generated using dark-cultured PLBs was higher than those cultured under constant illumination. Presence of acetosyringone (AS) in the pre-culture medium was also effective for the transformation. The highest frequency of transformation was obtained when dark-cultured PLBs were pre-cultured with 100 mM AS for 3 days and inoculated with Agrobacterium liquid culture for 3 h. Transformation of hygromycin-resistant plantlets regenerated from different sites of inoculated PLBs was confirmed by Southern blot hybridization. Transcription of ORSV replicase gene in transgenic lines was successfully confirmed by Northern blot hybridization.
REVISION OF THE ARAGONIAN (MIOCENE) ATLANTOXERUS (SCIURIDAE)

Abstract Due to similarities in size as well as in morphology between the type materials of both species, synonymy of Atlantoxerus idubedensis Cuenca Bescós, 1988, with the species A. blacki (de Bruijn, 1967) is proposed. New and previously described material of the genus Atlantoxerus from the Aragonian type area in Spain are assigned to a single species, A. blacki, on the basis of metrical and morphological analyses. An emended diagnosis for A. blacki is proposed in order to include the observed variability. This species is characterized by its high morphological variability, tendency towards reduction in some relative dental proportions, and tending to increase in size rapidly.
The effects of a dicamba herbicide mixture on the grain yield components of winter wheat

Summary: Resume: Zusammenfassung The application of a proprietary herbicide mixture containing dicamba, 2,3,6-TBA, MCPA and mecoprop to winter wheat, at twice the normal dose and when nodes were detectable, severely depressed grain yield. Grain number was reduced but the greatest effect was a diminution of grain size suggesting that the herbicide had interfered with grain swelling. This contrasts with previously published descriptions of floret sterility as the main symptom induced by late sprays of dicamba. The value of different methods of cereal yield assessment are discussed. To ascertain the effects of herbicide treatments on the number and size of grains, they should be removed from car samples by hand. Effets d'un melange herbicide contenant du dicamba sur les composantes du rendement en grain du ble d'hiver. L'application d'une specialite herbicide constituee par un melange de dicamba, de 2,3,6-TBA, de MCPA et de mecoprop, sur un ble d'hiver au double de la dose normale et lorsque les noeuds ont ete decelables. a provoque une diminution importante du rendement en grain. Le nombre de grains a ete reduit, mais l'effet le plus important a ete une diminution de la taille des grains, ce qui amene a penser que l'herbicide a interfere avec le gonftement des grains Ceci ne Concorde pas avec les publications anterieures qui ont decrit la sterilite des epillets comme le symptome principal induit par des traitements tardifs avec du dicamba. La valeur de differentes methodes d'evaluation du rendement des cereales est discutee. Pour s'assurer des eftets des traitements herbicides sur le nombre et la taille des grains, ceux-ci doivent etre extraits a la main des epis echantillonnes. Die Wirkung von Dicamba-Mischungen auf die Ertragskom-ponenten von Winterweizen Die Behandlung von Winterweizen mit der doppelten Aufwandmenge einer amtlich zugelassenen Mischung von Dicamba, 2,3,6-TBA. MOW und Mecoprop zur Zeit als die Halmknoten gerade sichtbar waren, fuhrte zu einer erheblichen Kornertragsreduktion. Die Behandlung bewirkte eine geringere Kornzahl und vor allem kleinere Korner, was den Schluss zulasst, dass das Herbizid den Prozess der Kornschwellung beeintraachtigte. Dieser Befund steht im Gegensatz zu fruheren publizierten Beobachtungen, in denen die Blutensterilitat als das wichtigste Symptom spater Dicamba-Spritzungen betrachtet wird. Es wird die Bedeutung verschiedener Methoden zur Ertrags-schatzung bei Getreide diskutiert. Um die Wirkung von Herbizidbehandlungen auf die Zahl und Grosse dcr Korner sicher zu erfassen, wird empfohlen, die Korner aus Ahrenproben von Hand zu entfernen.
Variation for seed coat and pod wall percentage and other traits in a germplasm collection and historical cultivars of lupins

Accessions totalling 1425 from the Australian Lupin Collection representing 9 Old World lupin species and Lupinus mutabilis Sweet, a New World species, were sampled for seed coat and pod wall percentage, seed weight, and number of seeds per pod. These traits are of importance to the breeding objective of lowering seed coat and pod wall proportions in crop lupins. Seed coat percentage mean values among the species ranged from 12.7 in L. mutabilis to 33.7 in L. pilosus L. The 4 species that have been subject to selection (L. mutabilis, L. albus L., L. angustifolius L., and L. luteus L.) had lower mean seed coat percentages than the other species with little domestication. The rough-seeded lupin species had higher seed coat percentages relative to the smooth-seeded species except for L. micranthus Guss. , which had 31.5% seed coat and small seeds. Within L. angustifolius there was no difference between the mean seed coat percentage values for wild v. domesticated or hard v. soft-seeded entries, although wild accessions of L. angustifolius tended to have lower seed weight, higher pod wall percentage, and more seeds per pod than domesticated accessions. There was no correlation in L. angustifolius germplasm between seed coat percentage and pod wall percentage, indicating that selection for one will not influence the other character. Accessions with the lowest seed coat percentage were from Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus, and those with the lowest average pod wall percentage were from Spain and Cyprus. Mean pod wall percentages ranged from 30.9 in L. albus to 57.1 in L. micranthus; figures that are high compared with other legumes. Large ranges in seed weight were found particularly in L. albus, L. pilosus, and L. angustifolius. In addition to the germplasm collection, 21 Australian cultivars, released from 1967 to 1999, were evaluated at one site over 2 years for the same traits. There was a negative correlation between seed coat percentage and seed weight for both L. angustifolius historical cultivars and germplasm, indicating that further reductions in seed coat percentage could be achieved by crossing large seeded types with low seed coat types. Pod wall percentage was negatively correlated with both year of release and yield, and positively correlated with days to flowering. These data support other findings that breeding for the reduction of pod wall can lead to yield improvements. The germplasm collection assessed here provides lines with lower seed coat and pod wall compared with what is available in breeding lines or cultivars.
El fin del trámite eterno: Ciudadanos, burocracia y gobierno digital

Este libro se centra en la unidad mas pequena de la politica publica: el tramite. El tramite –sacar la partida de nacimiento, registrar una propiedad, o abrir un negocio, por ejemplo– es lo que conecta a los ciudadanos y las empresas con su gobierno. Los tramites agiles impactan positivamente en el clima de negocios, en la percepcion ciudadana del gobierno, y en el acceso a servicios y programas publicos de primera necesidad. Pero en America Latina y el Caribe, la palabra “tramite” es sinonimo de “dolor de cabeza”. Y con toda razon: las instituciones publicas no suelen coordinarse bien entre si, funcionan con archivos de papel y se preocupan mas en cumplir con las normas burocraticas que en atender las necesidades ciudadanas. El fin del tramite eterno confirma empiricamente una realidad que se conocia a traves de anecdotas cotidianas pero que no se habia podido dimensionar, y ofrece una hoja de ruta para salir del laberinto.
Development of compatible fungal mixed culture for composting process of oil palm industrial waste

�Six filamentous fungal strains/isolates such as Aspergillus niger (A), Trichoderma viride (Tv), Trichoderma reesei (Tr), Penicillium sp. (P), Basidiomycete M1 (M1) and Panus tigrinus M609RQY (IMI 398363)(M6) were tested to find their mutual growth in the laboratory. Potato dextrose agar (PDA) as a media was used for their fifteen combinations and two different fungi were grown 4 cm apart in every combination. The results of this present study showed that the combinations of T. viride and Penicillium sp. (Tv/P), T. viride and Basidiomycete M1 (Tv/M1), T. reesei and P. tigrinus M609RQY (Tr/M6) may interact as compatible, while A. niger and T. viride (A/Tv), A. niger and T. reesei (A/Tr), T. viride and T. reesei (Tv/Tr) and Penicillium sp. And P. tigrinus M609RQY (P/M6) were partially compatible and the other combinations were incompatible or inhibited by each other. Furthermore, the cellulolytic fungus T. viride was the dominant in all its combinations, and its growth rate and hyphal expansion showed the highest responses as compared to all combinations. These compatible filamentous fungi would be useful for effective composting process in further study.
New species of Cletocamptus and a new and fully illustrated record of C. sinaloensis (Copepoda: Harpacticoida) from Brazil

Two new species of harpacticoid copepods, Cletocamptus levis sp. nov. and Cletocamptus nudus sp. nov. are described from Brazil. Cletocamptus nudus sp. nov. seems to be closely related to C. schmidti based on the armature formula of mouth parts, P3 and P4, but can be separated based on the ornamentation of the anal operculum, relative length of exopodal and baseoendopodal setae of the female P5, and length ratio of the female P1 EXP:ENP. Cletocamptus levis sp. nov. seems to be more closely related to C. axi by the combination of a P1 ENP shorter than the P1 EXP, the armature formula of the mandibular palp, length: width ratio of caudal rami, and relative length of the female P3 ENP 2, male P2–P4 EXP 1, and number of segments of the male P3 ENP. It can be separated by the spinule ornamentation on the anal operculum, shape of female rostrum, relative length of outer spinules of female P2–P4 EXP, relative length of the setae on the male P5 EXP, armature of male P6, and by the dimorphic male rostrum of C. levis sp. nov. which is similar to that observed for C. retrogressus and C. albuquerquensis. Additionally, a fully illustrated record of the Mexican C. sinaloensis is reported for the first time from Brazilian waters, and C. affinis mongolicus Stěrba, 1968 is given full species status.
Interleukin 1 stimulation of collagenase production by cultured fibroblasts

Interleukin 1 is a monokine that exerts biological effects on a variety of target cells in vitro. In this report, interleukin 1 has been found to be capable of stimulating collagenase production by cultured dermal fibroblasts. The concentrations of interleukin 1 that stimulate fibroblast collagenase production are similar to those that stimulate mouse thymocyte proliferation. Analyses by high performance liquid chromatography indicate that interleukin 1, rather than a contaminating monokine, is responsible for this effect on fibroblasts. Interleukin 1, released in vivo by macrophages infiltrating sites of tissue damage or inflammation, may function to stimulate the release of collagenase by connective tissue fibroblasts.
Effects of palm kernel cake on performance and blood lipids in rats

Palm kernel cake (PKC), a by-product of oil palm seeds after extraction of their oil. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different levels of PKC on growth performance and blood lipids in rats. A total of 64 Sprague-Dawley (8 weeks of age) male rats were assigned individually to four treatments with different levels of PKC in the diet: 0, 15, 20 and 25%. No differences (p 0.05) among the treatment groups. Rats fed PKC had greater (p<0.05) ratios of total surface to core lipid components ((FC+PL)/(CE+TG)) than control rats. The results reflect dissimilarities of VLDL particle size between PKC treatment and control rats, where the plasma of the PKC treated rats contained more lipid rich VLDL. In conclusion, there was no adverse effect on growth performance when inclusion of PKC up to 25%. However, fibre content may affect the plasma lipid concentrations. (Asian- Aust. J. Anim. Sci. 2002. Vol 15, No. 8 : 1165-1169)
The leaf size-twig size spectrum in evergreen broad-leaved forest of subtropical China.

Plant twig characters for 82 woody species including individual leaf and total leaf mass, stem mass, individual leaf area, total leaf area and stem cross-sectional area were investigated at the twig level in different altitudes and life forms on Meihuashan Mountain in Southeastern China. The results showed that twig cross-sectional area of plant twigs were found to allometrically scale to individual leaf area and total leaf area that the twig supported, all with the common SMA (standardized major axis) slope being significantly larger than 1.0. However, the spectrum of twig leaf mass–stem mass was found to be mostly isometric and the slope had no significant deviation from 1.0, the same as the spectrum of twig total leaf area–twig leaf mass. The allometric constants (y-intercepts) of the relationships between the stem cross-sectional area and leaf area (both total leaf area and individual leaf area) were found to decrease significantly along the altitudinal gradient. Compared to deciduous broad-leaved species, the evergreen broad-leaved species were smaller in total leaf area for a given cross-sectional area or stem mass. This suggests that the species would support less leaf area at a given twig cross-sectional area with increasing environmental stress. And the life form can modify leaf-stem scaling relationship because of the difference of function.