Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fossile Vögel aus dem Neogen der Halbinsel Gargano (Italien) = Fossil birds from the Neogene of the Gargano Peninsula, Italy

Over two hundred bones from the Upper Miocene of Gargano are recognized as belonging to 13 different species of birds. All of them are land birds representing four orders: Falconiformes (5 species), Galliformes (1), Strigiformes (6), Passeriformes (1). One new genus (Garganoaetus) and four new species are described. Among the birds of prey Garganoaetus freudenthali nov. sp. is an eagle of great size, and Tyto gigantea nov. sp. an owl of gigantic dimensions, comparatively speaking.
Effect of processing parameters on sunflower phosphatidylcholine-enriched fractions extracted with aqueous ethanol

Lecithins are widely used in the food industry because of their multifunctional characteristics. Fractionation of the original mixture of phospholipids in lecithin is desirable for certain applications. The influence of ethanol/water mixtures (90 : 10 to 96 : 4) and other operative conditions (temperature 35–65 °C, incubation time 30–90 min, solvent/lecithin ratio 2 : 1, 3 : 1) on the extraction of phosphatidylcholine (PC)-enriched fractions of sunflower lecithin (a non-GMO product) was investigated. Yield % and phospholipid composition of the enriched PC fractions as well as the residue were determined. The percent extraction coefficient of each phospholipid (EPC, EPE and EPI) in the enriched PC fraction was calculated. Values of EPC varied from 6.5 (35 °C, 30 min, 2 : 1, 90 : 10) to 52.6 (65 °C, 90 min, 3 : 1, 96 : 4). High temperature and long incubation time produced a significant increase of this coefficient (p <0.05) while a high water content in the ethanolic mixture resulted in a considerable decrease in PC extraction. EPI (<3%) values showed the high insolubility of phosphatidylinositol. Statistical analysis and response surface methodology evidenced the influence of the different variables on the extraction of PC-enriched fractions at laboratory scale.
Genetic Diversity and Disease Resistance of Wild Malus orientalis from Turkey and Southern Russia

Genetic diversity and disease resistance are described for 496 seedlings from wild populations of Malus orientalis Uglitzh. collected in southern Russia and Turkey in 1998 and 1999. Eighty-five half-sib families were genotyped using seven microsatellite markers, and disease resistance was determined for apple scab (Venturia inaequalis Cooke), cedar apple rust (Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae Schwein), and fire blight (Erwinia amylovora Burrill). Individuals from the two Russian Caucasus collection locations were homogeneous compared with populations from the four Turkish collection locations. Within three of the Turkish collection locations, some half-sib families were highly diverse and several of these families had unusually high levels of disease resistance. In all, twenty individuals exhibited resistance to all three diseases. Bayesian analyses of the population structure revealed six distinct clusters. Most of the individuals segregated into two clusters, one containing individuals primarily from southern Russia and the other containing individuals from both Russia and northern Turkey. Individuals in the four small clusters were specific to Turkish collection locations. These data suggest wild populations of M. orientalis from regions around the Black Sea are genetically distinguishable and show high levels of diversity.
Modified hooks reduce incidental mortality of snapper (Pagrus auratus: Sparidae) in the New Zealand commercial longline fishery

In longline fisheries, decreasing the catch of undersized fish and minimizing the rate of gut-hooking over all sizes will reduce incidental mortality, and improve the landed value of the commercial catch. In this study, standard Tainawa 16R longline hooks were simultaneously fished for snapper (Pagrus auratus) with the same hook pattern modified by the addition of 20-mm and 40-mm wire appendages. The experimental design also included three bait types. Gut-hooking rates were markedly lower on modified hooks relative to normal hooks. Normal hooks gut-hooked 17% and 30% (pooled across baits) of snapper caught in January and June, respectively, whereas 20-mm modified hooks gut-hooked 7% and 12%, and 40-mm hooks gut-hooked only 2% in both seasons. Overall catch rates were significantly lower on modified hooks, however most of the loss of catch comprised undersized fish and “deads” (unsuitable for export). There was no significant reduction in the weight of export-quality snapper landed using modified hooks. Modified hooks reduced both the catch rate and gut-hooking rate of undersized snapper. If it is assumed that all gut-hooked discards are likely to die, the estimated annual reduction in discard mortality at the stock level would be 78% if 20-mm hook modifications are used, and 96% if 40-mm modifications are used. These estimates are consistent for scenarios where minimum legal size is set at both 25 cm and 27 cm, however they are based on the assumption that observed catch and mortality rates are representative of the commercial fishery.
A two thousand year history of a northern Swedish boreal forest stand

Successional processes within northern Swedish boreal forest are investigated for the last 2000 years by analysis of pollen, charcoal fragments and insect remains preserved in a deep mor humus layer on a small island in a large lake. Frequent disturbances by fire, blow-down, insect attack and flood have been the chief influence on vegetation dynamics. The gradual climatically induced replacement of Betula pubescens by Picea abies is superimposed on the disturbance dynamics. Picea first became established during the Little Ice Age, which was the longest period without fire in the record. A thin layer of volcanic ash from Iceland confirms the chronology at the onset of the Little Ice Age. The present importance of Pinus sylvestris and Ericaceae on the island is a product of a recent increase in disturbance frequency. The disturbance regime ensures that the communities stay in equilibrium with prevailing climate.
Effects of the Pitcher Plant Mining Moth Exyra semicrocea on the Hooded Pitcher Plant Sarracenia Minor

ABSTRACT The relationship between carnivorous pitcher plants (Family Sarraceniaceae) is not well understood. While a limited amount of such data are available for some pitcher plant species such as Sarracenia purpurea, very little is know about others such as S. minor. This study examined the relationship between the hooded pitcher plant S. minor and its most common herbivore, the pitcher plant mining moth Exyra semicrocea, in northeast Florida. At the beginning of the growing season, moth densities were positively correlated with plant height, number of pitchers per plant and the proportion of non-pitcher leaves. Over the growing season, plants with higher moth densities decreased in size, while plants with lower moth densities increased. Plants with higher moth densities also produced fewer phyllodia than plants with fewer moths. Data from this study suggest that herbivory by E. semicrocea moth larvae may have a significant negative impact on the hooded pitcher plant and that this effect could be stronger for larger higher quality plants.
Effect of Dietary Formic Acid Level on Artificially Contaminated Broiler Feed with Salmonella Gallinarum

Reported here are the effects of additive formic acid on inhibitory effect of Salmonella gallinarum in poultry feed. Two experiments were conducted to investigate the viability of S. g. and pH of poultry feed using different dietary formic acid level (0.0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5%) on inhibitory effect of S. g. in broiler feed. Experiment one was conducted to investigate the viability of S. g. and pH of artificially contaminated diet at 0, 1, 3, 5 and 7 days after treatment in vitro. Formic acid showed a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in the viability for all treatments with time after treatment. Various formic acid levels in vitro showed a reduction in the pH of the diet depend upon the concentration of treated acid and the diet remains acidic below the growth range of S. g,. which means that the bacterial cells were exposed to stressful conditions that make them unable to grow. Experiment two was conducted to find out the effect of dietary formic acid levels on S. gallinarum colonization and pH in the contents of crop, small intestine, large intestine and ceca and mortality rate of broiler chicks at 7, 14, and 21 days of age when fed artificially contaminated diet with S.g. The numbers of S.g. re-isolated from all treated groups except groups treated with 0.5% formic acid, decreased significantly (p < 0.05) compared with the control groups. The treatment significantly (p < 0.05) lowered the pH of the crop, small intestine, large intestine, and ceca contents in all groups except the groups treated with 0.5% formic acid compared with the control. The mortality rate of all treated groups showed a significant (p<0.05) reduction in overall mortality rate during (3-21 days) compared with the control. These results indicate that the addition of formic acid in a total concentration of 1.5% to the diet of newly hatched broiler chicks decreases significantly the contamination diet with S.g.
Potencial medicinal de cactáceas en la región semiárida del Nordeste de Brasil

La familia Cactaceae incluye diversas especies de gran potencial terapeutico con uso medicinal relevante en las poblaciones rurales del Nordeste Brasileno. Este estudio registra el conocimiento sobre el potencial medicinal de cactus en cuatro comunidades rurales del semiarido paraibano. Los usos medicinales de las cactaceas fueron registrados por medio de entrevistas semi-estructuradas a 109 jefes de familia. Para cada especie reportada se calculo el indice de importancia relativa (IR) y el indice de Valor de Uso (VU). Se utilizo ademas el Factor de Consenso del Informante (FCI) para examinar los sistemas corporales que mostraron una mayor importancia relativa local. Para determinar la diversidad y la heterogeneidad de los conocimientos de las especies de cactus medicinales al nivel intra-cultural, se estimo el indice de riqueza del informante (KRI) y el indice de uso compartido del informante (KSI). Los resultados muestran el uso de Cereus jamacaru, Melocactus sp. , Opuntia ficus-indica, Pilosocereus gounellei, Pilosocereus pachycladus para el tratamiento de 27 tipos de enfermedades. El indice FCI mostro enfermedades del sistema osteomuscular y del tejido conjuntivo, asi como trastornos del sistema circulatorio como las subcategorias con el valor maximo de consenso. La especie con mayor valor de uso fue Melocactus sp. Los valores mas altos de importancia relativa se calcularon para C. jamacaru y Melocactus sp. Los resultados de KRI y KSI mostraron que el conocimiento de la riqueza de especies de cactus medicinales es heterogeneo y poco compartido entre las comunidades. Este trabajo revelo la importancia que tienen las cactaceas en la atencion de la salud de las poblaciones rurales del Nordeste Brasileno.
C/EBPα Regulates Hepatic Transcription of Hepcidin, an Antimicrobial Peptide and Regulator of Iron Metabolism

Originally identified as a gene up-regulated by iron overload in mouse liver, the HEPC gene encodes hepcidin, the first mammalian liver-specific antimicrobial peptide and potential key regulator of iron metabolism. Here we demonstrate that during rat liver development, amounts of HEPC transcripts were very low in fetal liver, strongly and transiently increased shortly after birth, and reappeared in adult liver. To gain insight into mechanisms that regulate hepatic expression of hepcidin, 5′-flanking regions of human and mouse HEPC genes were isolated and analyzed by functional and DNA binding assays. Human and mouseHEPC promoter-luciferase reporter vectors exhibited strong basal activity in hepatoma HuH-7 and mouse hepatocytes, respectively, but not in non-hepatic U-2OS cells. We found that CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα) and C/EBPβ were respectively very potent and weak activators of both human and mouse promoters. In contrast, co-expression of hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α) failed to induce HEPC promoter activity. By electrophoretic mobility shift assay we demonstrated that one putative C/EBP element found in the human HEPCpromoter (−250/−230) predominantly bound C/EBPα from rat liver nuclear extracts. Hepatic deletion of the C/EBPα gene resulted in reduced expression of HEPC transcripts in mouse liver. In contrast, amounts of HEPC transcripts increased in liver-specific HNF4α-null mice. Decrease of hepcidin mRNA in mice lacking hepatic C/EBPα was accompanied by iron accumulation in periportal hepatocytes. Finally, iron overload led to a significant increase of C/EBPα protein and HEPC transcripts in mouse liver. Taken together, these data demonstrate that C/EBPα is likely to be a key regulator of HEPC gene transcription and provide a novel mechanism for cross-talk between the C/EBP pathway and iron metabolism.
Habitat and bathymetry influence the landscape‐scale distribution and abundance of drift macrophytes and associated invertebrates

We used a remotely operated vehicle to investigate landscape‐scale patterns of subtidal drift material and invertebrates within a 60‐km2 marine basin in Washington State. Specifically, we quantified the distribution and abundance of drift macrophytes (seaweed and seagrass) and four macroinvertebrate species across depth and habitat type to depths of 170 m. Drift macrophytes were present on 97% of all video segments deeper than 30 m, with large drift piles particularly associated with low‐angle habitats at depths exceeding 70 m. Two commercially harvested species (Strongylocentrotus franciscanus and Pandalus platyceros) that feed directly on drift material appear to be distributed in space (depth and substrate type) so as to maximize access to drift macrophyte food resources, according to their respective feeding modes. Basin shape and depth drive the landscape‐scale distribution of drift material and indirectly the consumers that feed on it. The export of large amounts of detritus derived from nearshore macrophyte production into deep‐water habitats likely fuels extensive secondary production in these aphotic zones.
Radiation interception and conversion to biomass in two potassium-deficient cotton crops in South Benin

SUMMARY A potassium fertilizer field trial of rain-fed cotton crop was carried out on ferrasols at two sites in Benin. The measurements focused on leaf formation patterns and their ability to convert intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) into biomass. The results highlighted the role of K in plant architecture and leaf area development. On K deficient plots, the reduction in leaf area was mostly the result of a decreased number of leaves and, to a lesser extent, leaves of a smaller individual size. During vegetative growth, leaf senescence did not differ between treatments. Biomass partitioning to different plant compartments was found to be affected by potassium deficiency, in favour of leaves. No significant effect of K treatment was observed on the conversion of intercepted radiation into biomass.
Effect of body weight on processing yields of Pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus)

The objective was to evaluate the effect of slaughter weight on the processing efficiency of Pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus). The fish were cultivated in a soil vivarium and fed commercial feed. After ten months of cultivation, 96 fish were deadened, slaughtered, weighed and dissected to determine the yield of clean body, fillet and percentage of entrails. The weight classes analyzed were: CI - 135 to 285g; CII - 310 to 385g; CIII - 400 to 585g; CIV - 600 to 1.285g. For the variance analysis the data was grouped in four weight classes, and the regression equations were estimated regarding mean weight in each class. No effect of the weight class (P>0,05) was observed on the yield of clean body (RTL). However, there was a linear effect (P<0,05) of the weight classes in slaughter over the fillet yield (RF) and percentage of entrails. Pacus slaughtered in more elevated weight classes had greater filled yield. Thus, the fish destined to the fillet process should preferably be slaughtered at higher weights. The fish cultivated with the objective of being commercialized as a carcass or whole with entrails removed may be slaughtered at lower weights.
"Terror cranes" or peaceful plant-eaters: changing interpretations of the palaeobiology of gastornithid birds

Since the original description of a gastornithid in 1855, widely divergent hypotheses about the palaeobiology of these Early Tertiary giant birds have been put forward. Early interpretations, based on scanty material, often suggested aquatic habits. A faulty skeletal reconstruction by Lemoine in 1881 hindered the recognition of the close similarities between the European Gastornis and the North American Diatryma. After the description of a nearly complete skeleton from Wyoming in 1917, most reconstructions were based on it. The hypothesis of carnivorous gastornithids, on the model of the South American phorusrhacids, gained wide acceptance in the mid-20th century, and these giant birds were often considered as having competed with mammals. The alternative view of planteating gastornithids has gained ground since the 1990s, but their image as predators remains popular, partly on the basis of erroneous conceptions about their osteology. Contrary to what many reconstructions show, gastornithids had a short tarsometatarsus, a beak that was not hooked, and ungual phalanges that were more hoof-like than claw-like.
Decreasing methane emissions from ruminants grazing forages: a fit with productive and financial realities?

Ruminants contribute to human food supply and also anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. An understanding of production systems and information on animal populations has enabled global inventories of ruminant GHG emissions (methane and nitrous oxide), and dietary strategies are being developed to reduce GHG emissions from ruminants. Mitigation strategies need to consider the management/feeding systems used to ensure that these strategies will be readily accepted and adopted by farmers. Housed systems allow diets to be formulated in ways that may reduce GHG production, but the challenge is much greater for systems where animals graze outdoors for long periods. A methane mitigation option in the form of fresh forage would be desirable in livestock production systems with high reliance on grazing. A brief summary of New Zealand research, carried out on fresh grasses, legumes, herbs and crops, suggest that we have an incomplete understanding of the feed characteristics that define a ‘high’ or a ‘low’ methane feed. The variation in methane emissions measured between feeds, individual animals and experiment is large, even in controlled conditions, and the dynamic nature of sward-animal interactions will only exacerbate this variation, creating challenges beyond the identification of mitigants. Furthermore, implementation of knowledge gained from controlled studies requires validation under grazing systems to identify any trade-offs between methane reduction and animal productivity or emission of other pollutants. Therefore, investment and research should be targeted at mitigation options that can and will be adopted on-farm, and the characteristics of temperate grasslands farming suggest that these options may differ from those for intensive (high input/output) or extensive (low input/output) systems.
Predicting responses of chlorophyll and primary production to changes in phosphorus, grazing, and dissolved organic carbon (Reply to comment by Nürnberg)

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Isolation of Microbial Antagonists for Biocontrol of Grey Mould Disease of Strawberries

A screening programme is described for the assessment of the potential of biocontrol agents to control grey mould of strawberries caused by Botrytis cinerea. Bacteria were isolated from strawberry fruits, leaves and flowers from a commercial field site and screened for antagonism towards B. cinerea using two in vitro and one in vivo screening techniques. From 559 microorganisms isolated, 108 inhibited pathogen growth on agar plates and 27 of these prevented spore germination on Cellophane membranes. The ability of these 27 isolates to inhibit infection of young strawberry leaves by B. cinerea on whole plants under glass was then tested. Seven isolates reduced grey mould development and were subsequently assessed in a field trial. Two isolates, one of Bacillus pumilus and one of Pseudomonas fluorescens, were as effective or more effective than standard dichlofluanid sprays and may therefore be of potential value as antagonists of B. cinerea.