Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Recent Advances in Marker-Assisted Selection for Drought Tolerance in Pearl Millet

Abstract Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br. ] is the staple cereal of the hottest, driest areas of the tropics and subtropics. Drought stress is a regular occurrence in these regions, making stress tolerance an essential attribute of new pearl millet cultivars. Recent breeding research has mapped several quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for components of grain and stover yield per se, as well as yield maintenance, under terminal drought stress conditions. We report here the evaluation of these QTLs as possible selection criteria for improving stress tolerance of an elite hybrid cultivar. Initial evaluations, based on hybrids made with topcross pollinators bred from lines selected directly from the mapping population, indicated an advantage to the QTL-based topcross hybrids. This advantage seemed to be related to a particular plant phenotype that was similar to that of the drought tolerant parent of the mapping population. Subsequent evaluations were based on testcross hybrids of drought tolerance QTL introgression lines in the background of the drought-sensitive parent of the mapping population, H 77/833-2. These introgression lines were bred by limited marker-assisted backcrossing of a putative major drought tolerance QTL into H 77/833-2 from the mapping population’s drought tolerant parent. Several of these QTL introgression lines had a significant positive general combining ability for grain yield under terminal stress and significantly out-yielded testcross hybrids made with the original recurrent parent both in unrelieved terminal drought stress and in gradient stress evaluations.
Reproductive Biology and Growth of the Genus Epizoanthus (Zoanthidea) From the North-East Atlantic

The genus Epizoanthus Gray is represented in the north-east Atlantic by three species, all of which live commensally with pagurid crabs. The shallowest-living of the three, Epizoanthus incrustatus (Duben and Koren) occurs with Anapagurus laevis (Bell) within the depth range 20–200 m (Manuel, 1981). Epizoanthus paguriphilus Verrill and Epizoanthus abyssorum Verrill are associated with Parapagurus pilosimanus (Smith), the former within the depth range 600–1550 m and the latter at 3500–4350 m.
Water consumption in broiler chicken: a welfare indicator

The aim of the study was to analyse water consumption data of commercially grown broiler chicken in order to ascertain whether: i) the results obtained correlated with those reported in other studies;ii) water consumption can be objectively used as a measure of bird health and welfare; andiii) there is a correlation between total water consumed, reject levels and the incidence of contact dermatitis. Water consumption has been analysed in terms of litres/bird/cycle, and litres/bird/day. In order to determine the impact of water consumption on the moisture content of the litter the water usage was also analysed in terms of litres/m2 of floor area/cycle and litres/m2 of floor area/day which take into account the stocking density of the birds. The results indicated that whilst water consumption in l/m2 of floor area per crop cycle is potentially a beneficial lag indicator, l/bird/day or l/m2/day could be lead indicators which relate to bird health and the impact of water consumption on litter quality. More research should be undertaken to determine whether there is a direct relationship between changes in observed versus expected daily water consumption and health issues such as enteritis and contact dermatitis. This research should define the threshold level of water usage at which there is a resultant impact on litter quality in terms of daily use per unit of floor area. This may be influenced by the stocking density, ventilation profile and the degree of absorbency of the litter material but the value would provide managers with a “trigger-point” at which they need to take action to minimise the resultant impact on air quality in terms of ammonia levels and the potential for contact dermatitis.
Accurate equilibrium structures for small polyatomic molecules, radicals and carbenes

The paper reports on recent efforts to establish accurate equilibrium structures for small polyatomic molecules, radicals and carbenes most of which are of relevance to interstellar cloud chemistry, combustion processes or atmospheric chemistry. Among these are the well–known interstellar cyanopolyynes HC3N and HC5N, members of the series NC2 n N, HC2 n + 1P and NC2 n P, linear silicon carbides of type SiC2 n and pure carbon chains up to C14, the radicals HC3O, HOCO and CH2CHO as well as cumulene carbenes of type H2C n . Whenever possible, a mixed experimental/theoretical procedure is employed which makes use of accurate experimental values for the ground–state rotational constants of a sufficiently large number of different isotopomers plus the results of coupled cluster calculations (variant CCSD(T)). In less favourable cases, the transfer of well–established correction parameters as developed from related smaller molecules appears to be the method of choice.
Synthesis of starch vernolate in 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium chloride ionic liquid

A new method for the preparation of epoxy fatty acid esters of cassava starch (starch vernolates) is presented based on the reaction of cassava starch with vernonia oil methyl ester (epoxy ester) using only 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, [C4C1im]Cl, ionic liquid as a reaction medium and a cheap inexpensive base such as pyridine as a catalyst. Under the reported reaction conditions, a high degree of substitution of 1.03 was achieved, at a reaction temperature of 110°C and 24 h reaction time. The new starch vernolates were characterized by infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and solid state NMR (CP/MAS 13C NMR). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that the new product is an amorphous material with a continuous and shapeless morphology. The melting point measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is 111.4°C. The new synthetic method makes the synthesis of starch vernolates less time consuming and more inexpensive. The differences in melting point and degree of substitution with previously synthesized starch vernolates using enzymatic catalysis suggest a difference in reaction selectivity via this new reaction path.
The Effect of Static Magnetic Field on E. coli, S. aureus and B. subtilis Viability

This study investigated the effects of low static magnetic field on the growth of three bacterial strains ( Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis ) that plays a versatile role in infecting wounded tissues. The viability of these bacteria was measured with and without different magnetic fields (30, 50, and 80) mT after 24 hours. Results illustrate that magnetic field decreased the growth rate of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, while increased the growth rate of Bacillus subtilis after 24 hours of exposure. Keywords: Magnetic field, Bacillus subtilis , Escherichia coli , Staphylococcus aureus .
Exotic plants in the soil-stored seed bank of urban bushland

Native vegetation reserves in urban areas have been invaded by exotic plants, particularly along edges. However, it is not known whether the seeds of exotic plants in the soil-stored seed bank are also largely restricted to edges. Ten urban bushland sites in northern Sydney were randomly selected and the readily germinable, soilstored seed bank examined to assess whether the number of exotic and native species varied with distance from an urban edge. The similarity of the contents of the seed bank and the composition of the above-ground vegetation was also examined. Soil samples were collected from quadrats 0–10, 20–30 and 50–60 m from the edge at each site, then spread on germination trays in a glasshouse and germinated seedlings identified. Soil samples were collected every 3 months for a year. The number of exotic species in the seed bank was found to be highest near urban edges, as was the total number of species. The above-ground vegetation was found to be a poor indicator of the contents of the seed bank, for both native and exotic species. Most of the exotic species found in the seed bank were not found in the immediately surrounding vegetation. Furthermore, some exotic species were found in the seed bank at sites where no exotic species were present in the vegetation. The results suggest that it is the lack of suitable conditions that is largely restricting invasion of exotic species to edges of bushland. The results also highlight the need for seedbank studies to assess the contents of the soil seed bank in urban bushland in order to prevent further invasions of exotic plants.
Food technologies and developing countries: a processing method for making edible the highly toxic cassava roots.

In addition to be a possible solution to the food crisis becoming a productive model to follow, the development of a process and/or a technique of food production in a developing country could create advantages from an industrial point of view due to the use of alternative raw materials, which have a potentially high competitiveness. In developing countries, agriculture is able to offer a variety of products making up the daily diet and provide products with potential that could make up for many nutritional deficiencies to which resident populations are subject. Food technology applications on cereals, tubers, roots, fruits, and by-products from related processes are reported at aiming to obtain finished and semi-finished foods and/or basic ingredients meeting the food safety criteria. In detail, this study aims to generate a processing method for the white bitter roots collected in a rural area of Burundi with a cyanogenic glycoside content >400 mg cyanide equivalent/kg dry weight. A standardised procedure consisting of peeling, grating, and oven drying at 60°C, with or without fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, was successfully tested.
Sink control of nitrogen uptake and assimilation during regrowth after‐cutting of ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.)

Abstract. The 15N isotope was used to compare the uptake and the assimilation of NH4+ and NO3 nitrogen in ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) during regrowth after cutting. Uptake of nitrate-N, expressed per plant, was at all times greater than ammonium-N uptake and assimilation decreased in roots and stubble while its assimilation was maintained at a high level in leaves. It has been suggested that ammonium assimilation is directly related to the availability of carbohydrates in the sink organ (leaves) resulting from their remobilization from the source organs (roots and stubble). Nitrate reduction decreased in all organs, while the uptake of NO3 was still high. After this first period of regrowth, nitrogen assimilation both from nitrate and ammonium increased in all the plants. Nitrate reduction capacity (expressed in μg NO3-N reduced per g D.W. per d) is 7.5 and 22.5 times greater in leaves than in stubble and roots, respectively. Therefore, nitrogen assimilation in stubble and particularly in roots was mainly dependent on ammonium nitrogen.
Postbuckling Formulation for Symmetric Laminated Panels with Various Edge Support Conditions

A study into the structural postbuckling response of symmetric laminated composite plates subjected to in-plane compressive load is presented in this contribution. Various cases of support conditions are investigated: loaded ends are either simply supported or clamped, while the unloaded edges are a combination of simple support, clamp, and free. The method of analysis used is the combination of the semienergy approach using the semianalytical finite-strip methodology and the well-known von Karman large-deflection equations. Extensive validation of the analytical solution with published theoretical solutions and experimental data are presented. The final form of the expression is quite versatile and can be readily used for design purposes.
Viscosity and thermal conductivity from non-conformal potentials. I Theory and application to noble gases

The approximate non-conformal (ANC) theory provides effective spherical potentials for more than 40 pure real gases and predicts many of their binary mixtures in the case of the second volumetric virial coefficients B(T). Each substance is characterized by only three parameters; besides the usual minimum energy ε and its corresponding position r m, a softness parameter s is proposed to take account of the form of a particular potential. In this work the ANC theory is extended to take account of viscosity η(T) and thermal conductivity λ(T) coefficients in dilute gases. Very simple expressions are derived to calculate the appropriate collision integral Ω as a function of temperature and in terms of the parameters ε, r m and s, using a reference collision integral Ω0(T). The theory is successfully applied to the noble gases Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe, with deviations from experiment for η(T) and λ(T) within experimental uncertainties. In the case of Ne, the ANC potential obtained here reproduces simultaneously η(T) and λ(T) as well as B(T) within experimental uncertainty, using a single set of parameters. A prediction for the radon gas is proposed.
Diurnal Time-Activity Budgets of Wintering Hooded Cranes (Grus monacha) in Shengjin Lake, China

Abstract. The Hooded Crane (Grus monacha) is a globally threatened waterbird. From October 2007 to April 2008, the time-activity budgets of the cranes were recorded in Shengjin Lake, the main wintering area for the crane in China. Instantaneous scan sampling was used to observe the behavior of the wintering cranes. Foraging and alerting were the most frequent diurnal behaviors, with average diurnal time-activity budgets of 60.4% and 15.5%, respectively. The time budgets for diurnal behaviors were significantly different from 07:00 to 18:00 for all behavior categories except for alerting and social behaviors. Over the winter period, the time budget for foraging increased from 56.2% in the early stages to 65.7% in the late stage. However, the percentage of time spent alerting decreased from 20.7% to 10.4% as winter progressed. In family groups, adults usually spent more time on maintenance, alerting, locomotion and social behaviors, and less time on foraging and resting than juveniles, in all wintering stages. In the early and middle of winter, the foraging time budget of adults was significantly different from that of juveniles, while at the late stage it was not. The alerting time budget of adults was significantly different from that of juveniles in the early and middle stages of winter, but the difference were less statistically significance in the late stage. The results imply that wintering cranes in Shengjin Lake exhibit different behavioral patterns over the different winter stages to adapt to the degraded and disturbed environment, and parental care of offspring should increase juvenile survival.
Evaluation of the quality of steamed yogurt treated by Lavandula and Chamaemelum species essential oils

Yoghurt is a fermented milk known with considerable development in Algeria and worldwide. The physicochemical, microbial and organoleptic qualities of a milk-derived product manufactured in the milk factory of Tizi in Mascara city North West of Algeria and enriched with two commercial essential oils extracted from Lavandula and Chamaemelum species were of great interest. Yoghurt samples were analyzed for some physical, chemical, microbiological and sensory characteristics. The total and fecal coliform count, Staphylococcus aureus count, Salmonella, yeast and mold counts were determined in yoghurt samples at 2, 7 and 21 days interval. The results showed marked differences of the physicochemical parameters between the control and enriched yogurts. The samples tested are free from the fecal coliform, Salmonella, Staphylococcus, yeasts and molds germs whose research is recommended to define the microbiological quality of this fermented milk. The essential oil did not inﬂuence the sensory properties of the yoghurt at the lower concentration (C1 and C2). The enriched yoghurt with Chamaemelum spp. oil (C3 and C4) had presented better texture than those of control. Key words: Yoghurt, essential oils, quality.
Testing GIS-Generated Least-Cost Path Predictions for Martes pennanti (Fisher) and its Application for Identifying Mammalian Road-crossings in Northern New Hampshire

Abstract To mitigate the unintended consequences of roads and habitat fragmentation, biologists model wildlife corridors with least-cost path (LCP) analysis of spatial data managed with geographic information systems. However, the ability of LCP models to accurately predict preferred movement corridors remains questionable. We tested the effectiveness of an LCP model constructed using literature review, expert opinion, and the relative distribution of land-cover types present at roadside observations of Martes pennanti (Fisher). The model was then used to predict road-crossing corridors of Fishers, Lynx rufus (Bobcat), and Ursus americanus (American Black Bear) within our study area in northern New Hampshire. Roadside data were collected through track surveys from 5 Dec 2005–25 May 2006. Our analysis demonstrated that least-cost modeling successfully identified roadside wildlife corridors for Fishers and Bobcats, but not for American Black Bears.
Efficient Direct Organogenesis from Shoot Tips and Nodal Segments of Ash Gourd (Benincasa Hispida L.)

The effect of external application of phytohormone on explants viz., shoot tips and nodal segments of ash gourd ( Benincasa hispida L.) was tested on the frequency of shoot and root induction. Shoot tips and nodal segments were cultured on MS medium supplemented with different concentrations and combinations of cytokinins (BAP, Kinetin), auxin (IBA, NAA) and gibberellic acid (GA 3 ) for multiple shoot formation and root induction. The highest number (up to 90%) of multiple shoot formation was obtained from the shoot tips in MS medium fortified with 1.5 mg/l BAP + 0.2 mg/l GA 3 , where average number of shoots per culture was 5.55. In case of nodal segment, better response (up to 78%) for shoot multiplication was found in MS with 2.0 mg/l BAP + 0.2 mg/l GA 3 . The concentration of 1.0 mg/l IBA was found to be most effective for root initiation in microshoot developed from both types of explants. Rooted plantlets were acclimatatized and established in sandy soil with good survival rate DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3329/jles.v8i0.20135 J. Life Earth Sci., Vol. 8: 17-20, 2013
Herbivore Damage to Ferns Caused by a Chrysomelid Beetle From Lower Gangetic Plains of West Bengal, India

ABSTRACT This paper records the occurrence of a polyphagous beetle, Schenklingia bhaumiki (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), feeding on ten fern species growing in the Lower Gangetic Plains of West Bengal, India viz., Christella dentata, Ampelopteris prolifera, Cyclosorus sp. , Pteris vittata, Nephrolepis cordifolia, N. exaltata, Adiantum philippense, Drynaria propinqua, Pyrrosia adnascens and Phymatosorus scolopendria for the first time. The adult beetles are leaf surface scraper and skeletonize the lamina. The larvae are leaf miners and produce linear–blotch mines between the epidermal layers with continuous spiral black frass. Young leaves of all ten species of ferns are significantly less damaged than mature ones indicating that both the adults and the larvae attack leaves of all ages. Herbivore damage of the beetle infested ferns ranged from 1.94% to 25.47% and 2.68% to 54.86% for scraping feeding and mining feeding respectively. Among the host ferns, the members of Thelypteridaceae viz., Christella (Scraping feeding 25.47%; mining feeding 54.86%), Ampelopteris (Scraping feeding 24.10%; mining feeding 53.60%) and Cyclosorus (Scraping feeding 16.06%, mining feeding 27.12%) suffered maximum herbivore damage. Interspecific variation of plant size and biogeographic range of the fern species are not related to herbivore damage. Insects may perhaps attack fewer ferns than angiosperms, but there is no evidence that ferns are generally less damaged than angiosperms.
Haemopoiesis in Lepidoptera. I. The multiplication of circulating haemocytes

Haemopoiesis in Lepidoptera is doubtless accomplished to a large extent by mitosis of the circulating haemocytes. but there are some anomalies with regard to certain classes. Granular haemocytes and spherule cells are the only classes that divide frequently enough to account alone for their continued increase in numbers. Prohaemocytes divide frequently, but their numbers do not increase markedly. There is little doubt that they differentiate exclusively to plasmatocytes, which rarely divide themselves but continue to increase in numbers during larval life. An increase in plasmatocyte size and numbers after the fourth instar, when the mitotic index of prohaemocytes is declining, suggests an alternative source as well. Oenocytoids never divide, and undoubtedly derive from a separate source.
Isolation, identification and molecular characterization of IBV variant from out break of visceral gout in commercial broilers -

Kidney tissue samples of field outbreak of visceral gout in commercial broilers from Anand District of Gujarat, India were processed for virus isolation, identification and molecular characterization. Isolates produced typical embryo lesions of curling and stunting suggestive of infectious bronchitis after three passages. RT-PCR and sequence analysis was carried out from infected allantoic fluid. The nucleotide sequence was found to have 99% nucleotide sequence identity with avian infectious bronchitis virus strain 4/91(pathogenic). Phylogenetic analysis using Clustal W program, the virus was found to group with 793/B and 4/91 strain of viruses.
A Coprological Survey of Protozoan and Nematode Parasites of Free-Ranging Chacma Baboons (Papio ursinus) in the Southwestern Cape, South Africa

This study provides data on gastrointestinal parasite infections in the geographically isolated and locally fragmented Cape Peninsula baboon population and two troops from neighbouring populations in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. We obtained data on parasite diversity and prevalence from 616 faecal samples collected from over 350 individuals in eight troops between July 2006 and May 2008. We processed faecal samples using a modified formalin-ether sedimentation technique and identified nematode eggs and protozoan cysts. We recovered seven nematode genera (Trichuris sp., Oesophagostomum sp., Trichostrongylus sp., Physaloptera sp., Ascaris sp., an unidentified hookworm morphotype, and an unidentified spirurid) and eight protozoan species (Balantidium coli, Entamoeba coli, E. histolytica/dispar, E. chattoni, E. hartmanni, Iodamoeba butschlii, Endolimax nana and Chilomastix mesnili). The nematode and protozoan fauna of the Cape Peninsula baboon population was similar to both neighbouring and geographically distinct chacma baboon populations in South Africa. Parasite prevalence was variable across study sites and seasonality did not appear to have an effect on patterns of infection. The finding of the eggs of an ascarid, possibly Ascaris sp. , in the Cape Peninsula baboon population represents the first report of this nematode genus in wild baboons in South Africa.