Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Integrating research on the impact of volunteering following the Rena oil spill into the University of Waikato social work teaching curriculum

On 5 October, 2011, the MV Rena ran aground off the coast of Tauranga, New Zealand, resulting in an oil spill along the nearby coastline. Some of the oil was removed from beaches by volunteers from the community organised by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Social work and psychology academics from the University of Waikato and Bay of Plenty Polytechnic researched the experiences of these volunteers. Students from their programmes, representative of the gender and ethnicity of the volunteers, conducted and transcribed qualitative interviews, reporting that their involvement as research assistants was valuable. The findings were used in class to educate social work students on disasterinformed community development and to teach critiquing skills. Students critiqued a presentation given by one of the researchers and discussed the impact of the oil spill on their communities and the role of community members in responding. They reflected on the response of tangata whenua (local indigenous people) and considered issues of human rights, social and environmental justice, and the disproportionate impact of disasters on specific communities. We learned that using real-world events to teach students about social work and acknowledging human connectedness to our broader social, spiritual and natural environment is central to social work discourse.
Oocyte quality and embryo production in cattle

New evidence indicates that bovine oocytes are not always in synchrony with their surrounding follicles. During rapid follicular growth, the oocytes do not acquire a full developmental competence. The plateau phase at the end of the growth phase resulting in dominance or atresia seems important for oocytes to accumulate the information required to become viable embryos. The ovarian follicle has a behavior similar to a fruit where the seed must await the ripening of the envelope to achieve its full potential. This knowledge can now be applied to harvest oocytes of higher quality through transvaginal aspiration in cows. Key words: Oocyte, embryo, cattle
Synthesis of nicotianamine and deoxymugineic acid is regulated by OsIRO2 in Zn excess rice plants

Abstract Zinc (Zn) excess has significant toxicity to biological systems through metal-based cytotoxic reactions. Nicotianamine (NA) and deoxymugineic acid (DMA) are low-molecular-weight, high-affinity transition metal chelators. Studies have shown that NA may have a role in the tolerance of excess Zn. We show that a gene coding the iron (Fe)-regulated DNA-binding transcription factor (OsIRO2) and the downstream genes of OsIRO2, such as NA synthase, DMA synthase and the DMA-Fe3+ transporter, were induced in rice roots by excess Zn. Consistent with the expression of these genes, the amounts of endogenous NA, endogenous DMA and DMA secretion increased in the excess Zn roots. Although the Fe concentration in the excess Zn roots was much higher than that in the control, rice ferritin gene, OsFer1, was downregulated in Zn excess roots. OsIRT1, which is upregulated by Fe deficiency, was not induced in Zn excess roots, suggesting that OsIRO2 may not be induced simply by the Fe deficiency caused by excess Zn. The data indicate that the induction of OsIRO2 by excess Zn is responsible for the production of NA and DMA, which may play a role in maintaining cellular Zn availability.
ROLE OF WOOD WATER PROPERTIES AND LEAF DYNAMICS IN PHENOLOGY AND RESPONSE TO DROUGHT IN EVERGREEN HIMALAYAN TREE SPECIES

Five evergreen Himalayan trees namely C astanopsis indica, Schima wallichii, Rhododendron arboreum, Quercus lanata and Q. semecarpifolia were studied for their phenological responses to drought. Wood water properties (wood moisture percentage, wood density and water in wood per volume), starch percentage content, specific leaf mass, nitrogen content in leaves and phenological processes such as leaf emergence, senescence, flowering and fruiting were measured. Measurements were taken 28 times from December 1998 to April 2001 except for the monsoon months. There was significant variation in starch percentage in zero and one year old twigs. Mean starch percentage content ranged from 23% and 17.1% ( S. wallichii ) to 64% and 61.7% ( C. indica ) in zero year and one year old twig, respectively. Wood water properties were highest in R. arboreum and lowest in C. indica . SLM showed significant variation with sampled species and mean SLM was highest in R arboreum (1.6 × 10-2 g cm-2) and lowest in S. wallichii (0.64 × 10-2 g cm-2). Mean N ranged from 1.13% ( R arboreum ) to 1.98% ( C. indica ). Reserved starch percentage and SLM had a strong effect on phenological activities. They increased during the vegetative bud break and leaf emergence and decreased during senescence. Similarly, leaf nitrogen in the studied species was at the crest of concentration during leaf initiation then declined, one in expanded leaves as the concentration became diluted by increasing cell wall material, and the other at the time of senescence by resorption. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3126/eco.v19i0. 9857 Ecoprint An International Journal of Ecology Vol. 19, 2012 Page: 71-84 Uploaded date : 2/14/2014
The dose response effects of liquid and lyophilized Carnobacterium divergens AS7 bacteriocin on the nutrient retention and performance of broiler chickens

Efficacy of bacteriocin-divercin AS7 supplementation of broiler diets was evaluated. In two ex periments one-day-old Ross 308 males were allocated randomly to six and eight dietary treatments, respectively, with 10 replicates (10 birds per replicate). In both experiments the birds were fed on diet non supplemented (negative control, NC) and supplemented with salinomycin (positive control, C). In Experiment 1, the effects of supplementation of the NC diet with 100, 200 or 800 units of liquid divercin, and in Experiment 2 with 100, 200 or 300 units of lyophilized divercin added in encapsulated or non-encapsulated form, were studied during starter and grower period. The response of birds in terms of feed intake, body weight gain (BWG) and feed efficiency (FE) depended on the growth period. In Experiment 1, supplementation of salinomycin or liquid divercin did not affect feed intake and BWG while FE was significantly improved by salinomycin. In Experiment 2, BWG was significantly improved by supplementation with salinomycin, all doses of non-encapsulated and the lowest dose of encapsulated divercin. In Experiment 1, the metabolizable energy content and fat digestibility tended to be greater in birds fed on diets supplemented with salinomycin and divercin than on NC diet, while in Experiment 2 were significantly greater on diet supplemented with salinomycin than on all other diets. It is suggested that divercin AS7 may improve performance of chickens but its efficacy depends on physical form.
The inflorescence structure of Kummerowia (Leguminosae)

Abstract Inflorescences of Kummerowia are compound and the component axes appear to terminate in a flower. In order to clarify whether or not the flower is truly terminal, inflorescences of Kummerowia were studied organographically, ontogenetically and anatomically. Four inflorescence phyllomes are usually produced immediately below the seemingly terminal flower and appear to be borne on the same axis. The second phyllome subsequent to the lowest one is located at right angles to the lowest one, and the third and fourth ones located opposite each other and at right angles to the second. The lowest phyllome is sometimes undeveloped in K. stipulacea . Ontogenetic observation revealed the presence of two abortive apices. Anatomical observation revealed that these two abortive apices remain rudimentary in the flowering stage. On the basis of the arrangement of these phyllomes and the presence of the remnants of apices, the structure of the component inflorescence axis in Kummerowia is interpreted as follows: the component axis branches off a lateral axis, which is reduced entirely in length, from the axil of the lowest phyllome, and terminates in an abortive apex; the lateral axis in turn branches off one lateral axis of the next order, which is also reduced in length, from the axil of the second phyllome and terminates in an abortive apex; the lateral axis of the next order produces the third and fourth phyllomes and is terminated by a flower. The flower, which seems to terminate the component axis, is therefore axillary in origin. The axillary branch of the lowest phyllomes occasionally bears two lateral flowers. The branching system of the inflorescence of Kummerowia is identical with that of an inflorescence of Lespedeza cuneata . Kummerowia and Lespedeza are continuous in characteristics of the inflorescence, indicating the relationship between the inflorescence of Kummerowia and the pseudoraceme of Lespedeza.
Dairy cow performance and labour inputs associated with two silage feeding systems

Two experiments were conducted to examine the effect of two winter feeding systems on the performance of dairy cows in early lactation. Experiments 1 (144 d duration) and 2 (146 d duration) involved sixty-four (primiparous) and eighty-six (primiparous and multiparous) Holstein Friesian dairy cows respectively. Rations offered comprised grass silage, maize silage [0·26–0·29 of forage dry matter (DM)] and concentrates (10–12 kg d−1). With the complete diet (treatment CD), the forage and concentrate components were mixed using a complete diet mixer wagon, and offered daily in the form of a ‘complete diet’. With the easy feed (treatment EF), the dairy cows were offered the forage component of the ration twice weekly in whole blocks, in quantities sufficient for the following 3- or 4-d period, while the concentrate component of the diet was offered via electronic out-of-parlour feeding stations. Total DM intakes were similar, namely 17·6 and 17·0 kg d−1 (Experiment 1) and 18·7 and 18·5 kg d−1 (Experiment 2), for treatments CD and EF respectively. Feeding system had no significant effect on milk yield, milk fat or milk protein content, or on end of study indices of body tissue reserves in either experiment (P > 0·05). Similarly, feeding system had no significant effect on the digestibility of the ration measured in Experiment 2 (P > 0·05). Feeding times associated with each component of the two feeding systems were measured, and these were then used to calculate total feeding time for a 97-cow dairy herd. Calculated feeding times for this herd were 209·3 and 156·0 min week−1 for treatments CD and EF respectively.
Behavioural Correlates of Female Social Status and Birth Mass of Male and Female Calves in Reindeer

In polygyny, male breeding success depends more than female success on body size, and male birth mass may therefore be more strongly correlated with mother's social dominance status. Among female reindeer, Rangifer tarandus, the rate at which a female took over winter feeding craters from conspecifics depended on rank and the mass loss decreased with increasing rank. Birth mass of male calves depended on mother's social rank, but that of female calves did not. Male foetuses appeared to be more effective than females to utilize resources associated with mother's phenotypical superiority.
Produtividade biológica em sistemas consorciados de cenoura e alface avaliada através de indicadores agroeconômicos e métodos multicritério

The experiment was carried out from May to September 2002, at the Federal University of the Semi-Arid Tropic in Mossoro-RN, to evaluate the performance of carrot-lettuce intercropping systems by means of agronomic criteria, economic (profit margin) indicators, and yield efficiency (assessed through Data Envelopment Analysis models - DEA). We also used the ordinal multicriteria methods of Borda, Condorcet, and Copeland to aggregate information to all criteria and to identify the best treatments. The experimental design was randomized complete blocks, in a 3 (sole crop, three carrot rows alternate with three lettuce rows 3F, and four carrot rows alternate with four lettuce rows 4F) x 4 (crisp head lettuce cultivars: Lucy Brown, Taina, Laurel, and Mesa 659) factorial scheme, with four replications. In each block, carrot was grown as sole crop. Agroeconomic indicators, such as land equivalent ratio - LER - and profit margin, yield efficiency of intercropping systems by DEA models, were assessed. A univariate analysis of variance in a 2 x 4 + 1 factorial scheme (treatments from two intercropping systems versus four crisp head lettuce cultivars, plus carrot in sole crop) was used to assess all indicators. LER of intercropping systems were significantly higher as compared to that of sole crop, with the efficiency of intercropping systems varying from 90 (Carrot + Taina 4F) to 133% (Carrot + Mesa 659 4F). There was no significant difference in the profit margin between sole crop and intercropping systems. A significant interaction was observed between cropping systems and lettuce cultivars for yield efficiency by DEA. According to the ranks of ordinal multicriteria methods, the best intercropping systems were carrot + Mesa 659 (4F), carrot + Laurel (3R) and carrot + Mesa 659 (4R). The yield efficiency by DEA and the ordering of ranks based on ordinal multicriteria methods were more efficient than the agroeconomic indicators for discriminating the intercropping systems performance.
The inflammatory response of rainbow trout

The basic responses of piscine tissues to inflammatory agents were investigated, using light microscopy. Tissue sections, smears and blood smears were examined. The period studied was from 3 h to 16 days after initial injury at 15°C. The piscine inflammatory response was compared to that of mammals, especially that of mice. The responses examined were basically similar to those of mammals. They varied by being less intense and slower to appear and resolve.
Light Regulation of Nitrate Reductase in Higher Plants: Which Photoreceptors are Involved?

: The regulation by light of nitrate reductase (NR) in higher plants is very complex. NR is firstly regulated by transcriptional control. In etiolated plants, phytochrome is the main photoreceptor involved and its low fluence response (LFR) is the common response mode. The effect of the very low fluence response (VLFR) has been reported for one of the isoforms in Arabidopsis thaliana, NIA2. The existence of a far-red light-mediated high irradiance response (HIR) has been demonstrated in phytochrome A over-expressing tobacco, confirming classical photophysiological experiments. For Lemna aequinoctialis, the existence of a red light-mediated high irradiance response has been assumed. In green plants, the effect of phytochrome on the level of NR protein is very modest, and the effect of light is mediated via photosynthesis, most probably through biochemical signals. The molecular basis of this switch from the action of phytochromes in etiolated tissue to effects of photosynthesis in green tissue is not known. The influence of light on NR is also regulated by fast post-translational modification. This mechanism is based on the phosphorylation/dephosphorylation of a serine residue in the hinge 1 region of NR and the subsequent Mg2+/polyamine-dependent binding of the phosphorylated form to a 14-3-3 protein. Several kinases phosphorylate NR, and phosphatases not only act on NR but also dephosphorylate NR kinases. No influence of phytochrome is detectable. Instead, post-translational modification depends on the effect of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis may exert its effect on this process via biochemical products of photosynthesis (glucose, sugar phosphates), via substrates (nitrate, NADH) and/or by influencing Ca2+ flux.
Modelling of Protein Metabolism Yields Amino Acid Requirements Dependent on Dietary Amino Acid efficiency, Growth Response, Genotype and Age of Growing Chicken

Four separate nitrogen balance experiments with fast and slow growing genotypes of growing chicken were conducted to yield basic data for modelling of lysine and threonine requirements dependent on genotype, age, protein deposition and dietary amino acid efficiency. A total of 1008 individual nitrogen balance data in up to four age periods (I: 10–25 days; II: 30–45 days; III: 50–65 days; IV: 70–85 days) was utilised. According to principles of the diet dilution technique, experimental diets provided graded protein supply (60–360 g·kg-1 crude protein) with lysine or threonine as the first limiting amino acid. The modelling procedure utilised currently observed model parameters for the theoretical potential of nitrogen retention (NRmaxT) and nitrogen maintenance requirement (NMR), respectively. The selected results of the applied modelling procedure are discussed in comparison with current recommendations for growing chickens and aspects of different procedures utilised for assessing quantitative amino acid requirements, respectively. The amino acid requirement data yielded by modelling were in line with current recommendations, but are not directly comparable due to discrepancies in the applied procedures. However, the concluded requirements for lysine and threonine are useful to improve actual predictions for “ideal amino acid ratio” in growing chickens which are in focus of on-going studies.
Biogeographical variation in the harvestman Mitopus morio (Opiliones, Arachnida)

The taxonomic status of three forms of the harvestman Mitopus morio in Britain have been examined. These have been identified by previous workers as a small, upland M, morio cinerascens, a larger, lowland M. morio morio, and a northern M. morio borealis. In this paper, the delimitation of trinomials has been found to be inappropriate for M. morio. since all three forms have been shown to lie at different points on a continuum of phenotypic variation within the species M. morio. It is suggested that this phenotypic variation is mediated by the variation in temperature regimes between different localities.
Blood Malondialdehyde, Reproductive, and Lactation Performances of Ewes Fed High PUFA Rations Supplemented with Different Antioxidant Sources

The aims of this study were to evaluate the effect of vitamin E (vit E) and black tea extract (BTE) as antioxidant sources in high poly-unsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) rations on blood malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations and the performance of reproduction and lactation of Garut ewes. Twelve ewes on late pregnancy periods were divided into completely randomized design (CRD) with 3 treatments and 4 replicates. The treatments were control: basal diet without antioxidant, vit E: basal diet supplemented with vit E, and BTE: basal diet supplemented with BTE. The results showed that vit E and BTE supplementation did not affect blood MDA concentration of ewes on late pregnancy, lactation periods, and weaning periods. Antioxidant sources supplementation had no effect on ewe’s nutrient intake, pre-lambing live weight change (LWC), and post-lambing average daily gain (ADG). Vit E supplementation had decreased the milk production, but both of antioxidant sources give positive effect on the milk composition. Nevertheless, the supplementation of vit E and BTE increased the twin type of birth. The vit E supplementation resulted higher lambing rate than BTE, although it had the highest mortality rate of twin lamb. BTE also had better lamb weaning weight than vit E. BTE and vit E gave similar results in ewes productivity on lactation period. In conclusion, this study confirmed that BTE was more effective used as antioxidant source than vit E to prevent the oxidative reaction of PUFA. Vit E supplementation on high PUFA ration reduced ewes milk production but it had similar reproduction performance with BTE. Key words: antioxidant, black tea extract, ewes, lactation, reproduction, vitamin E
Problems in Zoogeography of the Lake Trout, Salvelinus namaycush

Disagreement exists in the literature as to whether lake trout survived Wisconsin glaciation north or south of the ice sheet. Other freshwater fishes whose range in North America equals or exceeds that of lake trout all survived in both northern and southern refugia. Arguments in favour of a southern refugium for lake trout include their wide distribution eastward to Nova Scotia and New England, their presence in some Mississippi headwaters, and possible late-Wisconsin date of a fossil lake trout south of glaciation. Absence from some habitable lakes along the southern margin of glaciation is attributable to northward shift of isotherms during the hypsithermal period. A northern refugium is suggested by occurrence of lake trout in remote parts of Alaska, and the improbability of their having failed to reach and persist in Alaska prior to last glacial advance. They do not now closely approach Bering Strait, and may be held in check by ecological factors which have been operative also during previous glacia.
A SIMPLIFIED METHOD FOR OBTAINING MONITORED PHOSPHORUS LOADINGS

ABSTRACT A method for computing phosphorus loadings from continuous stream discharge records and discrete water samples is presented. Because of the highly variable relationship between phosphorus concentrations and runoff discharges, loadings for runoff events with incomplete or no concentration data become difficult to compute. However, concentrations can be predicted from instantaneous discharge data using simple linear regression after separating the phosphorus data into the dissolved and particulate components. Dissolved phosphorus is stratified according to season when the ground is either frozen or not. Particulate phosphorus, because of its strong correlation to suspended sediment, is stratified according to the “event intensity” as determined by rainfall intensity and rate of rise of the stream hydrograph. The particulate data can be further stratified according to whether the sample was taken on the rise or fall (including peak) of the hydrograph. Field sampling recommendations are made based on.
Preferência hospedeira do parasitoide de ovos Trichogramma pretiosum

The success of Trichogramma spp. releases in biological control programs relies upon the knowledge of the parasitoid bio-ecological characteristics and the parasitoid interaction with the target pest. Therefore, this research aimed to evaluate T. pretiosum host preference among eggs of S. frugiperda, S. albula, S. eridania, A. gemmatalis, P. includens, D. saccharalis and A. kuehniella. Polyethylene cages were set to test host preference of T. pretiosum comparing each two groups of host species. The evaluated parameter was parasitism (%) and parasitoid emergence (%). T. pretiosum females parasitized preferably A. kuehniella eggs. However, in the bioassay with A. gemmatalis X P. includens and D. saccharalis X S. frugiperda there was no difference in the parasitism. Then, in the free choice test, in the absence of the host in which the parasitoid was reared (A. kuehniella), T. pretiosum shows no host preference indicating the existence of pre-imaginal conditioning acquired during larval development. The parasitism viability results were variable among the different tested hosts.