Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spiraea virginiana Britton: I. Delineation and Distribution

Spiraea virginiana Britton is a Southern Appalachian endemic that occurs ex- clusively in the southern Blue Ridge and Appalachian Plateau physiographic pro- vinces. Although S. virginiana exhibits great phenotypic plasticity, it is allopatric with the taxon it most closely resembles, S. betulifolia Pallas var. corymbosa (Raf.) Wenzig. The two species have several overlapping phenotypic characters and are both quite variable but may be generally distinguished by leaf and flower characters, plant size, habitat, and distribution. Character states and general distribution are given for both species and detailed distribution is given for S. virginiana.
Adventive aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) of America north of Mexico

We provide a compilation of 262 species of aphids that are considered as adventive to North America north of Mexico. Included for each species, where applicable, is reference to: the location and date of introduction of the first North American record; pest status in North America; principal economic hosts; and biogeographical origin. Information is also provided for species whose presence in North America is considered erroneous or questionable and for those species that are considered Holarctic or Beringian.
Animal Body Size: Linking Pattern and Process across Space, Time, and Taxonomic Group

A number of common themes run throughout this volume. First, one begins to appreciate just how much variation there is in body size among most groups of animals. For the most part, a clade is not a homogenous collection of similar bauplans. Even among volant taxa, such as birds and bats, substantial variation in body mass exists despite the considerable constraints imposed by fl ight (chaps. 3, 4, 8). Moreover, body size variation is clearly important in terms of community and ecosystem dynamics and structure (e.g., chaps. 6–9); how animals interact with their environment is strongly mediated by their body mass. Thus, the size of an organism is of great physiological and ecological signifi cance (Peters 1983). Second, there are remarkably consistent patterns in the body size distributions of some taxa across spatial and temporal gradients that may well refl ect how organisms acquire and allocate energy. For example, right-skewed body size distributions seem to be quite common among diverse clades (chaps. 1–5). However, these regular patterns vary between groups in ways that we do not yet understand. As Maurer and Marquet (chap. 7) note, numerous processes have been invoked to explain the minimum, maximum, mode, and shape of body mass distributions. Which of these processes are universal? Which are unique to particular taxa or geological histories (e.g., response to glaciation; chap. 2)? Are size frequency distributions similarly skewed to the right because organisms contributing to these distributions share similar trophic or life history traits? To some extent, our inability to develop universal explanations may refl ect a lack of fundamental information. For example, as Gaston and Chown (chap. 1) note, it is likely that only 9%–24% of
Giant foxtail (Setaria faberi) interference in nonirrigated corn (Zea mays)

Studies were conducted at East Lansing, MI, in 1994 and 1995 to examine corn yield response to giant foxtail interference and to examine the effect of giant foxtail density on giant foxtail biomass, seed production, and seed germination. Treatments consisted of 0, 10, 30, 60, 84, and 98 giant foxtail plants m−1 of row in 1994 and 0, 10, 27, 30, 60, and 69 plants m−1 of row in 1995. The influence of giant foxtail density on corn yield fit a hyperbolic equation. Corn yields were reduced 13% in 1994 and 14% in 1995 from 10 giant foxtail plants m−1 of row. Corn dry matter at maturity was decreased 24 and 23% from 10 giant foxtail plants m−1 of row in 1994 and 1995, respectively. Giant foxtail seed production increased linearly as inflorescence length increased. The length of a single giant foxtail inflorescence increased as plant density increased and the number of inflorescence produced per plant decreased. Giant foxtail seed production ranged from 518 to 2,544 seeds per plant. Ten giant foxtail plants m−1 of row produced 15,700 seeds m−2. Giant foxtail seed germination was not affected by plant density.
Prescribed burning for control of yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) and enhanced native plant diversity

Two separate open grassland areas within Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, Sonoma County, CA, were burned for three consecutive years (1993–1995 [Site A] and 1995–1997 [Site B]) for control of yellow starthistle. Burns were conducted in late June to early July following seed dispersal and senescence of desirable grasses and forbs but prior to viable seed production in yellow starthistle. After the first year burn, there was no significant reduction in yellow starthistle cover the following spring and summer. Despite the lack of control, the first year burn reduced the yellow starthistle soil seedbank by 74% and the number of seedlings the following spring by 83%. However, total plant diversity and species richness increased dramatically in the burned areas. This was due primarily to an increase in the number of native broadleaf species. A second burn the next summer (1995–1997 site) reduced seedbank, seedling density, and summer vegetative cover the following year by 94, 92, and 85%, respectively, while maintaining significantly higher native plant cover and richness. A third consecutive summer burn decreased yellow starthistle seedbank and seedling density by 96, 98, and 85%, respectively, in the 1995–1997 burn site. Three consecutive years of burning in the 1993–1995 site reduced yellow starthistle seedbank and seedling density by over 99% and summer vegetative cover by 91%. These results indicate that prescribed burning can be an effective tool for the management of yellow starthistle and can have a long-term benefit on native broadleaf diversity and richness.
Description of some phytoseiid mites from Brazil (Acarina: Phytoseiidae)

Ten new species, 7 in the genus Amblyseius Berlese, one in the genus Typhlodromus Scheuten and 2 in the genus Phytoseius Ribaga collected from the natural reserve of Sooretama in the east of Brazil, are described. A. ipomeai (Narayanan, Kour and Ghai) comb. nov., is recorded for the first time and T. regularis (De Leon) is redescribed.
Drip Irrigation Based on Soil Matric Potential Conserves Water in Peach and Grape

Drip irrigation of peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch cv. Hermosa] and grape [Vitis vinifera (L.) cv. Perlette] was scheduled according to soil matric potential and water applied was expressed as a coefficient of class A pan evaporation. Water consumption by grape increased progressively from planting until the 4th year. A sigmoidal pattern of water consumption from budbreak through harvest was evident in both crops. The gradual rise of water consumption after budbreak was correlated with development of the full canopy, while a 2nd rise coincided with the final fruit-swelling stage and harvest. An intermediate period of steady water consumption was evident in the late-maturing crop (peach) while absent in early maturing crop (grape). Volume of water, as well as frequency of applications, had to be increased to maintain soil water potential within predetermined limits. At the period of peak requirement, tensiometers indicated rapid withdrawal of soil water and the necessity for daily irrigation. Estimates show a 12% to 23% conservation in water use by programming irrigation according to soil water potential rather than by pan evaporation.
Can in-situ experience compensate for hatchery-deprivation? Enhancing post-stocking survival of juvenile Atlantic salmon.

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) exhibit maladaptive behaviour when stocked into natural streams following one generation in a hatchery setting, reducing post-stocking survival. These behavioural patterns are commonly attributed to ‘hatchery selection’, where maladaptive phenotypes arise from the inadvertent selection of behavioural traits, lack of experience caused by captivity, or a combination of both. ‘Life skills training’, in which hatchery-reared fish are conditioned to exhibit appropriate behaviour responses, may increase post-stocking survival. A semi-natural field experiment, using in-situ mesh enclosures, compared wild-caught juvenile salmon to hatchery-reared counterparts from the same population. Fish were observed for antipredator, foraging, and territorial defense responses. Results showed no significant differences between wild and hatchery raised fish, although behaviour was significantly different between years. Overall, week long trials were insufficient in separating significant differences between strains, indicating one generation in captivity may not create major behavioural separation between wild and hatchery fish from the same population, or that more than one week is required for differences to become apparent. Behavioural response training protocols are suggested for hatchery raised experientially deprived fish destined for stocking.
Populations of fungi in some reservoirs in Serbia

Le present article resume les etudes mycologiques realisees sur les trois plus impportants reservoirs de Serbie (Celije, Grosnica et Gruža), qui possedent des caracteristiques hydrologiques differentes. Ces etudes ont ete effectuees durant l'annee 1996. Les analyses quantitatives des communautes fongiques indiquent que le nombre moyen de spores par litre d'eau est compris entre 2000 et 4990; la valeur la plus elevee correspondant au reservoir eutrophique de Gruža et la plus basse au reservoir oligo-mesotrophique de Celije. Le nombre de spores est plus important dans les echantillons preleves a proximite du fond du lac et dans la frange littorale riche en macrovegetation, que dans les prelevements effectues en moyenne profondeur. Dans ces reservoirs 45 especes ont ete identifiees sur un total de 384 isolats. Les genres dominants sont: Aspergillus, Penicillium, Cladosporium, Fusarium, Phoma, Rhizopus et Verticillium. La communaute fongique aquatique autochtone etait constituee des especes suivantes: Achlya americana, Achlya racemosa, Catenaria sp. , Dictyuchus sterile, Pythium ultimum, Saprolegnia ferax, Saprolegnia hypogyna et Saprolegnia monica.
Fluorometric Analysis of Alkaline Phosphatase Inactivation Correlated to Salmonella and Listeria Inactiviation.

The correlation between alkaline phosphatase (ALP) inactivation and bacterial pathogen inactivation in raw milk was studied using a newly Association of Official Analytical Chemists-approved fluorometric assay (AOAC 991.24). Fresh, raw milk was inoculated with Listeria monocytogenes Scott A and Salmonella senftenberg 775W at levels of approximately 1 × 104 and 1 × 106 CFU/g milk, respectively. Milk was heat treated to target temperatures of 63 ± 0.5°C, 65 ± 0.5°C, 67 ± 0.5°C, 68 ± 0.5°C, or 71 ± 0.5°C in five trials. The D values calculated for S. senftenberg 775W ranged from 4.6 at 63°C to 0.17 at 71 °C with z values of 5.0 to 6.7. The D values calculated for L. monocytogenes Scott A ranged from 8.4 at 63°C to 0.19 at 71°C with z value of 4.8 to 6.1. Concomitantly, ALP concentration was monitored using a fluorometric assay. The inactivation rates of the test microbes were greater than or equal to that of alkaline phosphatase over the temperature range tested. The fluorometric assay exhibited excellent accuracy, precision, reproducibility, and repeatability under the test conditions. Viable test pathogens were isolated from milk samples with ALP levels corresponding to legal pasteurization requirements of < 500 milli-Units/L ALP activity assayed fluorometrically (=1.0μg phenol per mL/15 min) when inoculated with 1 × 106 CFU/g milk.
New records of mosquitoes from the southern Brazilian States of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, with 18 species new for the States (Diptera: Culicidae)

Records of mosquitoes not related to malaria or filariasis in the two most southern states of Brazil (Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul) are scanty. We report the finding of 18 species new for these states: Aedeomyia squamipennis, Ochlerotatus albifasciatus, Oc. fulvus, Oc. rhyacophilus, Oc. terrens, Psorophora lutzii, Runchomyia cerqueirai, Ru. theobaldi, Sa. melanonymphe, Trichoprosopon pallidiventer, Wyeomyia argenteorostris, Wy. bourrouli, Wy. cesari/moerbista, Wy. edwardsi, Wy. lutzi, Wy. quasilongirostris, Wy. tarsata and Wy. tripartita. Other species are referred for some peculiarity. Their possible medical and veterinary importance is commented.
Effect of potassium on morphological and physiological parameters in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genotypes

A field experiment was conducted during the rabi season of 1998-99, to study the influence of potassium nutrition on morphological and physiological parameters in barley genotypes. Successive increase in potassium levels had significant effect on growth parameters such as plant height, tillers per plants, leaf age per plant, functional leaves per plant and leaf area per plant at all the three main growth stages. Potassium nutrition had highly significant effect on chlorophyll content in flag leaf. Barley genotypes also differed significantly with regard to these growth parameters because of their genotypic variation in our study.
Pollination and the evolution of floral traits : selected studies in the Cape flora

The study of plant pollination mechanisms has produced some of the most convincing examples of natural selection and adaptation. The aims of this thesis were to determine the role of pollinators in the evolution of floral traits in selected Cape plants, and to reach a better understanding of the relationship between floral adaptation and speciation. To establish a set of testable hypotheses, I asked specifically how adaptation to pollinators can explain three striking patterns in the Cape flora, namely (1) convergence in floral form between unrelated lineages (2) floral mimicry and (3) adaptive radiation within genera. The convergent evolution of very large red flowers in unrelated Cape plants is addressed in Chapter 1. These species are shown to be pollinated almost exclusively by the Mountain Pride butterfly Meneris tulbaghia (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae). The convergent floral features in the guild were found to reflect the peculiar foraging behaviour of the butterfly, which includes a strong preference for large, red flowers over other sizes and colours. Chapter 2 deals with the evolution of floral similarity through mimicry, rather than convergence. Extensive evidence is provided in support of the hypothesis that Disa ferruginea, a non-rewarding orchid, secures pollinator visits through mimicry of the floral traits of two nectar-producing species. Patterns of radiation in pollination systems are examined in chapters 3-4. I carried out a detailed study of pollination in the large orchid genus, Disa, which has radiated extensively in the Cape flora. This first involved intensive field observations, since there was very little pre-existing information on pollination in this genus. Case histories based on these observations are given in Chapter 3. Pollination systems were then mapped onto a phylogeny in order to derive pathways of radiation within the group (Chapter 4). This showed that the cladogenesis of Disa is replete with examples of floral shifts between different pollinators. In chapters 5-7, I deal with the process of radiation, specifically the roles of spatial heterogeneity in pollinator availability and pollen-limitation of plant reproductive success. In Chapter 5, I show that divergence in spur length in Dis a species complex is attributable to a shift between a short-tongued fly in the mountains and a long-tongued fly on the sandplain. In Chapter 6, I establish that reproductive success in populations of Disa unijlora (Orchidaceae) is affected by the habitat preferences of its pollinator, the Mountain Pride butterfly. In Chapter 7, I show that fecundity was limited by pollinator availability, rather than resources, in eleven out of twelve herbaceous Cape wildflower species. Strong selection for traits which improve the effectiveness of pollination may, therefore, explain the numerous pollinator shifts shown by Cape plants.
Cancer immunotherapy: new technology to target cancer cells

Submit Manuscript | http://medcraveonline.com and renal cell carcinoma [4]. However, according to the recent studies conducted on metastatic patient of different etiology, patient has shown the unlikely relapse and toxicity after IL-2 treatment [4,5]. Nevertheless, IL-2 still serves as one of the important adjunct in the therapy of various cancers as shown in Figure 1. The programmed cell death receptor (PD-1) is present on T cells while its ligand PD-L1 is expressed by variety of tumor cells to dampen the immune response. This evasion of tumor cells from immunosurveillance is reported in 19% to 92% of tumor cells and often associated with poor prognosis [6]. Targeting the immune checkpoint PD-1 using inhibitors therefore represents a novel therapy to prevent the immune dampening response by advanced cancers as shown in Figure 1. In phase I clinical trial study conducted on metastatic melanoma patient, the anti-PD1-1 pembrolizumab has demonstrated significant long lasting activity and increase in the survival rate [7]. Another FDA approved drug called atezolizumab works by inhibiting the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction and has shown to drastically reduce the tumor size in patient suffering from advanced bladder cancer [8]. Another superfamily of immune checkpoint called CTLA-4, a protein expressed on the surface of killer T cells and blocks the ability of T cells to kill cancers as shown in Figure 1. In 2011 FDA approved the drug called Ipilimumab (CTLA-4 inhibitor) for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and the results were very promising [9]. Volume 3 Issue 4 2016
Genetic differentiation among and within natural and planted Cupressus sempervirens L. eastern Mediterranean populations

The aim of the study was to extend our knowledge of the geographic patterns of genetic variation of Cupressus sempervirens L. , and to try to relate the earliest plantations of C. sempervirens in Israel to its ultimate seed origins. Seeds of 22 populations, most of them of C. sempervirens var. horizontalis, were used for the analysis of the genetic diversity within and among East Mediterranean populations. Bulk seed lots from 13 populations, and single-tree seed collections, representing about 30 trees from each of the populations from Cyprus, Syria and Turkey, and from 267 trees from 20 Israeli plantations were available. Horizontal starch gel electrophoresis was used to resolve allele patterns in 22 loci encoding 13 enzyme systems. The mean number of alleles per locus was 1.7; the over all percentage of polymorphic loci was 41.7% (S.E.±1.1). The over all mean observed heterozygosity and the expected heterozygosity, i.e., genetic diversity within populations - were 0.149 (S.E.±0.021) and 0.181 (S.E.±0.03), respectively; and the over all mean total genetic diversity among the natural populations was 0.192 (S.E.±0.032). The fixation indices, F it , F is , F st and G st for each polymorphic locus, over all the populations, are 0.180, 0.333, 0.187 and 0.049, respectively. The phylogenetic tree enabled us to define three main groups: a north-eastern Mediterranean group which includes the populations from central Mediterranean Turkey, Syria and Iran; a low-altitude east Aegean group which includes the populations of Kos, 2 Turkish population on the shores of the Aegean Sea together with populations on the island of Samos; a third group which includes populations from Crete, Cyprus, Rhodes, Jordan and plantations in Israel. The results imply that plantations of Cupressus sempervirens in Israel probably originated from seed material imported from Crete, Cyprus, Rhodes and Jordan.
Functional turnover and community assemblage during tropical forest succession

Changes in species composition during the succession of ecological communities potentially reflect the differential effects of environmental filters and limiting similarity on structuring communities. As ecological succession can represent community assembly in action, understanding how successional time affects the functional and phylogenetic structure of communities can reveal the influence of different factors on the assembly process. We analysed functional patterns of multiple traits related to the succession of tropical forests to answer if there are trait convergence and/or divergence with regeneration age, and if functional and phylogenetic diversity can be predicted by forest age. We compiled checklists from studies of 23 successional forests in Brazilian Atlantic Forest, ranging from 4 to 120 years old. We also compiled functional traits for a total of 355 species. We analysed the data by a method that includes scaling-up trait-based data to the community level and matrix correlations of multiple.
When do macroinvertebrate communities of reference streams resemble urban streams? The biological relevance of Qcritical

The threshold discharge for streambed mobilization (Qcritical) has been proposed as a mechanistically relevant management target for geomorphic stability and biological integrity. The geomorphic relevance of Qcritical (Qc)is well established, but its influence on biological communities is less documented. In urban watersheds, where increased frequency of Qc exceedance is nearly ubiquitous (i.e., the urban disturbance regime), excessive streambed disturbance typically co-occurs with other well-established drivers of the urban stream syndrome, such as habitat degradation and poor water quality. Thus, the specific influence of excess streambed disturbance on aquatic communities is not clear. We used a 7-y study of biotic integrity, geomorphic stability, and Qc exceedance at a reference site (Middle Creek [MDC 5.5]) with excellent habitat and water quality to isolate the effects of streambed disturbance. At MDC 5.5, streambed disturbance was the dominant driver of biotic variability through time, and biological indices and geomorphic stability were significantly correlated with time since a Qc event. During 2011, a year with particularly high frequency and magnitude of Qc events, the Macroinvertebrate Biotic Index (MBI) at MDC 5.5 fell to its lowest score on record. In the context of 73 monitoring sites across a gradient of urbanization, the 2011 MDC 5.5 MBI of 30 (poor) was more similar to that of communities in streams draining watersheds with ∼30% total impervious area than to reference-stream scores (∼60) during more typical sampling years. Our study underscores the contribution of excess Qc exceedance to poor biological communities. We suggest calibrating stormwater management to maintain the natural streambed disturbance regime in addition to the more common management objectives of water quality and flood control.