Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The comparative breeding biology of sympatric crested terns Sterna bergii (Lichtenstein), and Silver Gulls Larus novaehollandiae (Stephens) in south-western Australia

This thesis reports an investigation of the double-nesting phenomenon, a unique pattern of anomalous, protracted breeding, reported in seabirds from mid-western and south-western Australia. In particular, it deals with the Crested Tern Sterna bergii Lichtenstein and the Silver Gull Larus novaehollandiae Stephens, two related lariform seabirds which nest in sympatry, and possibly associatively, in the Fremantle area of south-western Australia. Both species have protracted breeding seasons in the study area, superficially similar in timing and duration, and therefore provided useful subjects for a comparative study of their breeding biology. From 1979 to 1984, the reproductive cycles of the two species were examined in detail. Emphasis was placed on determining the timing and periodicity of breeding, both at the population and at the individual level, and on determining those factors involved in the ’proximate' control of the reproductive cycle. The results showed that, despite superficial similarities in breeding seasons, there were fundamental differences in biology between the two species, particularly with respect to the influence of environmental ‘proximate’ factors. These contrasts are interpreted primarily in terms of the different evolutionary origins of the two species, although the various constraints on the reproductive cycle, which are imposed by their differing nesting adaptations and feeding behaviour, are also discussed. Models of the reproductive cycle at the individual level, and of the breeding season(s) at the population level, are developed for both species. Using data for some other seabird species breeding in south-western Australia, the Crested Tern and Silver Gull models are incorporated in a general explanation of ‘double-nesting’. The views presented not only provide some insight into a unique, localised phenomenon but should also lead to a re-examination of conventional ideas about seabird breeding seasons generally.
Role Of Β-Carotene Against Toxic Effect Of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles On Cerebral Cortex Of Adult Albino Rat: Histological And Biochemical Approach

Objective: Detect the neurotoxic effect of titanium dioxide nanoparticles by investigation of the biochemical and histological changes in cerebral cortex of albino rats, and to evaluate the potential protective role of β-carotene against this toxicity.Methods: Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) administered intraperitoneal 100, 300 mg/kg, daily for 14 days besides one protected group received 10mg/kg β-carotene by gavage for 7 days prior and 14 days with 300 mg/kg nanoparticles administration, along with one control group and one group received 10mg/kg β-carotene by gavage for 21 days. Histological and histochemichal cerebral cortical tissue examination and standard biochemical methods for estimation of enzymes superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase, alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, and 5’ nucleotidase were implemented.Results: In contrast to administration of low dose TiO2 NPs, administration of high dose TiO2 NPs led to marked histological changes in form of decrease number of vesicular neurons and loss of background homogeneity with appearance of vacuolations and hydropic changes. Moreover, increase in astrocytes number with appearance of area of gliosis and increase in apoptosis index. Biochemical analysis showed significant decreases in the activities of the antioxidant enzymes: superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase. Besides, significant decrease in the activities of alkaline phosphatase and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, although the activity of 5’-nucleotidase was not inclined significantly by administration of nanoparticles. These changes didn’t markedly appear with the use of β-carotene.Conclusion: High dose TiO2 NPs has neurotoxic effects but application of β-carotene may serve as a beneficial medication to protect against neurotoxicity induced by nanoparticles.
Collateral fitness effects of mutations

Significance Mutations provide the source of genetic variability upon which evolution acts. Deleterious protein mutations are commonly thought of in terms of how they compromise the protein’s ability to perform its physiological function. However, mutations might also be deleterious if they cause negative effects on one of the countless other cellular processes. The frequency and magnitude of such collateral fitness effects are unknown. Our systematic study of mutations in a bacterial protein finds widespread collateral fitness effects that were associated with protein aggregation, improper protein processing, incomplete protein transport across membranes, incorrect disulfide-bond formation, induction of stress-response pathways, and unexpected changes in cell properties. The distribution of fitness effects of mutation plays a central role in constraining protein evolution. The underlying mechanisms by which mutations lead to fitness effects are typically attributed to changes in protein specific activity or abundance. Here, we reveal the importance of a mutation’s collateral fitness effects, which we define as effects that do not derive from changes in the protein’s ability to perform its physiological function. We comprehensively measured the collateral fitness effects of missense mutations in the Escherichia coli TEM-1 β-lactamase antibiotic resistance gene using growth competition experiments in the absence of antibiotic. At least 42% of missense mutations in TEM-1 were deleterious, indicating that for some proteins collateral fitness effects occur as frequently as effects on protein activity and abundance. Deleterious mutations caused improper posttranslational processing, incorrect disulfide-bond formation, protein aggregation, changes in gene expression, and pleiotropic effects on cell phenotype. Deleterious collateral fitness effects occurred more frequently in TEM-1 than deleterious effects on antibiotic resistance in environments with low concentrations of the antibiotic. The surprising prevalence of deleterious collateral fitness effects suggests they may play a role in constraining protein evolution, particularly for highly expressed proteins, for proteins under intermittent selection for their physiological function, and for proteins whose contribution to fitness is buffered against deleterious effects on protein activity and protein abundance.
Pedunculate and sessile oaks (Quercus robur and Quercus petraea)

and sessile (Q. petraea (Matt.) Liebl. ) oaks are large deciduous trees that reach 30–40 m in height and live 800 years and more. They are monoecious and allogamous, anemophilous and predominantly outcrossing. Trees usually reach seedbearing age at between 40 and 100 years old. Mast seed crops vary according to individual tree, population, region and year. Vegetative reproduction through coppicing has been widely used to regenerate oak stands. Natural hybridization in oaks has been reported in many studies. In European white oaks hybridization is asymmetric: Q. petraea preferentially pollinates Q. robur. This asymmetry can reinforce the succession of species, replacing the pioneer species (Q. robur) with a late successional species (Q. petraea). The hybrid foliar characteristics resulting from controlled crosses resemble more the female parent and are not intermediate between the parental forms. Pedunculate oak is very tolerant to soil conditions and the continental climate but it prefers fertile and well-watered soils. Mature trees tolerate flooding. Sessile oak has a very large ecological niche because it accepts soil pH from 3.5 to 9 and xeric to humid conditions. It is more tolerant to drought and poor soil than pedunculate oak but more sensitive to airless soil conditions. The minor species of sessile oak in southeastern Europe are well adapted to wide ecological niches from humid to extremely xeric. In plains, plateaux and hills, pedunculate oak is a pioneer species and sessile oak a late successional species. Sessile oak could reach climax stage if summers are dry. In valleys and flood plains pedunculate oak is a late successional species which reaches climax with sycamore, plane, maple, ash and elm. EUFORGEN
Prognostic factors in the treatment of breast carcinoma

Background: According to literature, the prognostic factors such as tumor size, grade and lymph node involvement are very important in the treatment and survival of patients with breast carcinoma. We try to analyse our the study cohort patients according to these prognostic factors. Materials and methods: At the Department of Breast Diseases of the Institute of Oncology of Vilnius University, 1269 patients with breast carcinoma were treated in 1998–2000. Most of the patients (929, 73.2%) were treated in early stages of the disease (I–IIA and IIB). In stage IIIA were 199 (15.7%) patients, in IIIB (pT4) 103 (8.1%), 38 (3.0%) were in stage IV of the disease. The most common operation was a modified mastectomy by the Madden method (in 807, 63.4%). Quadrantectomy was performed in 439 (34.6%) cases. Results: Most of the treated patients (1197, 94.3%) received combined treatment – surgery and additional therapy (radiotherapy, chemotherapy or both, hormonal therapy). The 5-year survival (90.9%, 95% CI 59.1–78.2) was longest in patients who were treated with quadrantectomy+chemotherapy. We received good results in patients treated with mastectomy and tamoxifen 74.8% (95% CI 63.6– 82.9) of them survived for 5 years. Conclusions: According to multivariate analysis, tumor size, lymph node involvement and histological grade are important prognostic factors of the survival of patients with breast carcinoma. Hormone receptor status in the early stages of the disease has a marginal influence on the survival of such patients. Optimization of treatment in the early stages has improved the folow-up results.
Prey fractionation in the Archaeocyatha and its implication for the ecology of the first animal reef systems

Abstract. Archaeocyaths are the most abundant sponges from the Cambrian period, having formed the first animal reef communities more than 500 million years ago. The Archaeocyatha are index fossils for correlating rocks of similar ages globally because of their abundance, extensive geographic distribution, detailed anatomy, and well-established taxonomy. Their ecological significance remains incompletely explored, yet they are known to have strongly competitively interacted, unlike modern sponges. This study examines the feeding ecology of the fossil remains of Siberian archaeocyath assemblages. As suspension feeders, archaeocyaths filtered plankton from the water column through pores in their outer wall. Here we outline a new method to estimate the limit on the upper size of plankton that could be consumed by an archaeocyath during life. The archaeocyaths examined were predominantly feeding on nanoplankton and microplankton such as phytoplankton and protozooplankton. Size-frequency distributions of pore sizes from six different Siberian archaeocyath assemblages, ranging from Tommotian to Botoman in age, reveal significantly different upper limits to the prey consumed at each locality. Some of the assemblages contain specimens that could have fed on larger organisms extending into the mesoplankton, including micro-invertebrates as a possible food resource. These results show that during the establishment of the first animal reef systems, prey partitioning was established as a way of reducing competition. This method has applicability for understanding the construction and the functioning of the first reef systems, as well as helping to understand modern reef systems and their development though time and space.
Gamma-cycle duration predicts instantaneous amplitude, spike rate and synchrony in macaque V1.

SUMMARY Communication among visual cortical areas depends on gamma oscillations. Respective gamma cycles vary substantially in amplitude and duration, yet it is unclear how those fundamental parameters relate to each other and to spiking activity. We recorded local-field-potentials (LFPs) and spiking activity from awake macaque area V1 and detected amplitude, duration and spiking activity per gamma cycle. Longer durations predicted larger amplitudes and stronger spike synchrony, yet lower spike rates. These findings suggest that spontaneous gamma-variability reflects inhibitory mechanisms that reduce spike rates, increase synchronization, and prolong the cycle duration. The classical LFP power-spectrum, estimated on longer time scales, was most strongly predicted from how often certain gamma-cycle durations occurred, rather than by their associated instantaneous amplitudes.
Development of a Standardized Knowledge Test for Measuring Knowledge Level of Dairy Farmers about Improved Dairy Husbandry Practices

Knowledge is one of the most crucial inputs for development because everything we do depends upon knowledge. Keeping the importance in assessing knowledge of clietele in the field of Extension Education, an attempt has been made to develop a knowledge test for measuring knowledge level of dairy farmers about improved dairy husbandry practices in Rajasthan state. In developing this test, the scientific procedure was adopted with due care i.e. Collection of items, jury opinion and the collected items were analysed through item difficulty index, Discrimination index (E1/3), Biserial correlations(rbis). Finally reliability and validity of the test was also measured which contained 50 items related to dairy husbandry practices. The developed knowledge test was administered to the selected 300 respondents selected for the study. With the using of this test it was found that majority of the respondents had medium level of knowledge (72.33%) followed by high (15.00%) and low knowledge (12.67%) about improved dairy husbandry practices.
Evaluation of Cyphocleonus trisulcatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) as a potential biological control agent for Leucanthemum vulgare in North America

Leucanthemum vulgare, a perennial forb native to Eurasia, has become invasive in several other parts of the world. Since there is a lack of methods suitable for sustainable management of this plant across invaded landscapes, a biological control project has been initiated in North America and Australia. We evaluated the potential of the root‐feeding weevil Cyphocleonus trisulcatus as a biological control agent for L. vulgare in North America by investigating its impact on L. vulgare and studying its larval host range under no‐choice, multiple‐choice cage and open‐field conditions. Our impact experiment revealed that larval feeding by C. trisulcatus can severely damage and even kill plants. No‐choice tests conducted with 41 non‐target species showed that C. trisulcatus can develop on five closely related species. In a multiple‐choice cage test established with three of these species, the medicinal plant Matricaria chamomilla and the native North American M. occidentalis were also attacked, but to a lower degree than L. vulgare. An open‐field test conducted with four varieties of the ornamental Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum × superbum and L. × maximum) revealed similar attack on Shasta daisy as on L. vulgare. Due to the popularity of Shasta daisies, we suggest that C. trisulcatus, despite its potential to suppress L. vulgare populations, is not a suitable biological control agent for North America. However, C. trisulcatus may still be a potential biological control agent for L. vulgare in regions where Shasta daisy is less popular, such as Australia. Further host‐range tests with species native to Australia as well as with additional species important for the horticultural industry in Australia are currently under way.
Inhibition of the Ventral Hippocampus Increases Alcohol Drinking

The function of the ventral hippocampus (vHC) supports many behaviors, including those related to reward seeking behaviors and drug addiction. We used a mouse model of alcohol dependence and relapse to investigate the role of the vHC in alcohol (ethanol) drinking. One experiment used a chemogenetic approach to inhibit vHC function while ethanol dependent and non-dependent mice had access to ethanol. Interestingly, the non-dependent mice expressing an inhibitory DREADD in the VHC showed a significant increase in ethanol drinking (∼30%) after hM4Di DREADD activation with clozapine-n-oxide (CNO; 3 mg/kg, ip.) compared to vehicle. On the other hand, ethanol dependent mice, which were already drinking significantly more ethanol than non-dependent mice, only had a slight, non-significant increase in drinking after CNO challenge. In a separate group of dependent and non-dependent mice, GCaMP6f calcium-dependent activity was recorded in the vHC while mice were actively drinking ethanol. These data showed that once mice were rendered ethanol dependent and were drinking more ethanol than the non-dependent mice, calcium signaling in the ventral hippocampus decreased (∼45%) in the ethanol dependent mice compared to the non-dependent mice. Together, these findings suggest that ethanol dependence reduces activity of the ventral hippocampus and that reduced function of this brain region contributes to increased ethanol drinking.
Four Amino Acid Residues in Acyltransferase Affect the Production of Epothilone A to Mixed Epothilones A and B

Surveying more than 100 native epothilone producing strains were isolated from different locales revealed that the production ratio of epothilones A and B was sorted into two groups, almost single epothilone A or approximate 2:1 ratio of A and B. Sequencing the second acyltransferase in the epoC module (ATModC2) of different Sorangium producers indicated that four amino acid residues at sites 90, 91, 95 and 196 in the enzyme active centre altered in parallel to the production ratio shift. In those producers with single epothilone A, ATModC2 had almost the same sequence and computational structure as ATModC1, which selectively accepts malonyl-CoA as the extender units.
Nuclear and mitochondrial ribosomal ratio as an index of animal growth rate

Quantification of growth is an important step to understand the flow of elements and energy in food webs, although in situ estimation of the growth rate is generally very difficult. The present study proposes the nuclear and mitochondrial ribosomal ratio as a novel index of animal growth rate. Mitochondrial ribosomes are responsible for biosynthesis of energy (adenosine triphosphate) producing proteins, while nuclear‐encoded cytosolic ribosomes are responsible for other proteins, including cell growth and division. Synthesis of ribosomes requires large amounts of environmentally limiting nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Therefore, it is hypothesized that the allocation of those elements between the two ribosome types changes with nutrient availability and hence, affects growth rate. The present study conducted laboratory growth experiments of Daphnia magna using various food concentration and temperature treatments. A positive correlation was found between nuclear‐encoded cytosolic to mitochondrial ribosomal ratio and somatic growth rate. A significant positive correlation was found between food concentration treatments and the ratio, but not between temperature treatments and the ratio. Our results demonstrate that the ratio between nuclear‐encoded cytosolic and mitochondrial ribosomes has the potential to be an effective growth rate estimator, but requires further modification and improvement. As total RNA of community samples is mostly composed of ribosomal RNA, analysis of sequence frequencies using high‐throughput sequencers allow application of our findings. Ratios of the obtained ribosomal RNA sequences from the community sample give us not only the taxonomic composition of the community but also a growth index of each group.
The complete mitochondrial genome of Pareuchiloglanis myzostoma (Teleostei, Siluriformes)

Abstract Pareuchiloglanis myzostoma is a key-listed protected indigenous fish species in Nujiang, Yunnan, China. In this study, we firstly reported the complete mitochondrial genome of P. myzostoma, which was 16,584 bp in length, containing 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNAs (tRNAs), 2 ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs), and a non-coding control region (D-loop). The overall base composition of P. myzostoma was 30.7% for A, 24.2% for T, 16.0% for G, and 29.1% for C. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all Sisoridae species clustered together formed a monophyletic group. This work would provide a set of useful data on further molecular evolution studies of this precious species.
ASSESSMENT OF SPINAL CORD ABNORMALITIES AND ITS RELATED FACTORS IN MALE STUDENTS OF ISLAMIC AZAD UNIVERSITY AT SEMNAN

Background and aim Decreased mobility and physical activity are threatening factors of health and spinal cord as the basic axis of the body is of critical importance in this regard because any injury of deformity of it can cause body malfunction. The aim of this study was to assess abnormalities of spinal cord and some of their related factors in male students of Islamic Azad University at Semnan. Materials and methods In this descriptive study, 240 students in their Physical Education Course 1 took part in the study. New York Test Posture Screen validated and made reliable by content and test-retest (r=0.80) methods respectively as well as Matiyas Test were applied for the assessment. A 3-grade scale including good, fair and poor was used for classification and those classified as good were regarded normal and those classified as fair or poor were considered as abnormal. Data were analyzed by SPSS 14. Findings 91.3% of the subjects suffer at least from one of spinal cord abnormalities. The most common condition was falling shoulders (74.2%) and the least frequent was pelvic obliquity (2.5%). Matiyas test was negative in 58.8% (not able to remain in requested position). 33.3% was overweight and obese in terms of body mass index (BMI). Conclusion The results showed that the prevalence of spinal cord abnormalities in the subjects was very high (91.3%) mostly due to poor mobility, weakness in the muscles of upper extremities particularly those holding the spine and lack of exercise. Thus, planning for physical activities and exercise in the leisure time of students seems essential. Keywords: Spinal cord, Spinal cord abnormalities, Exercise, Scoliosis. * Corresponding Author: Mohammad Rashidi. Dept. of Physical Education, Islamic Azad University, Semnan, Iran. E-mail: Mrashidi48@Yahoo. com