Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perspectives Poulton, Wallace and Jordan: How discoveries in Papilio butterflies led to a new species concept 100 years ago

Abstract A hundred years ago, in January 1904, E.B. Poulton gave an address entitled ‘What is a species? ’ The resulting article, published in the Proceedings of the Entomological Society of London, is perhaps the first paper ever devoted entirely to a discussion of species concepts, and the first to elaborate what became known as the ‘biological species concept’. Poulton argued that species were syngamic (i.e. formed reproductive communities), the individual members of which were united by synepigony (common descent). Poulton's species concept was informed by his knowledge of polymorphic mimicry in Papilio butterflies: male and female forms were members of the same species, in spite of being quite distinct morphologically, because they belonged to syngamic communities. It is almost certainly not a coincidence that Alfred Russel Wallace had just given Poulton a book on mimicry in December 1903. This volume contained key reprints from the 1860s including the first mimicry papers, by Henry Walter Bates, Wallace himself and Roland Trimen. All these papers deal with species concepts and speciation as well as mimicry, and the last two contain the initial discoveries about mimetic polymorphism in Papilio: strongly divergent female morphs must belong to the same species as non‐mimetic males, because they can be observed in copula in nature. Poulton, together with his contemporaries Karl Jordan and Walter Rothschild, who had monographed world Papilionidae, were strongly influential on the evolutionary synthesis 40 years later. Ernst Mayr, in particular, had collected birds and butterflies for Walter Rothschild, and had visited Tring, where Jordan worked, in the 1920s. The recognition of different kinds of reproductive and geographic isolation, the classification of isolating mechanisms, the use of the term sympatry, and the biological species concept all trace back to Poulton's 1904 paper. Poulton's paper, in turn, inherits much from Wallace's 1865 paper on Asian Papilio contained in the very book Wallace gave Poulton a month earlier. Wallace's gift, and Poulton's subsequent New Year address are thus key events in the history of species concepts, systematics and evolutionary biology.
17β-Estradiol Inhibits Inflammatory Gene Expression by Controlling NF-κB Intracellular Localization

ABSTRACT Estrogen is an immunoregulatory agent, in that hormone deprivation increases while 17β-estradiol (E2) administration blocks the inflammatory response; however, the underlying mechanism is still unknown. The transcription factor p65/relA, a member of the nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) family, plays a major role in inflammation and drives the expression of proinflammatory mediators. Here we report a novel mechanism of action of E2 in inflammation. We observe that in macrophages E2 blocks lipopolysaccharide-induced DNA binding and transcriptional activity of p65 by preventing its nuclear translocation. This effect is selectively activated in macrophages to prevent p65 activation by inflammatory agents and extends to other members of the NF-κB family, including c-Rel and p50. We observe that E2 activates a rapid and persistent response that involves the activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, without requiring de novo protein synthesis or modifying Iκ-Bα degradation and mitogen-activated protein kinase activation. Using a time course experiment and the microtubule-disrupting agent nocodazole, we observe that the hormone inhibits p65 intracellular transport to the nucleus. This activity is selectively mediated by estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and not ERβ and is not shared by conventional anti-inflammatory drugs. These results unravel a novel and unique mechanism for E2 anti-inflammatory activity, which may be useful for identifying more selective ligands for the prevention of the inflammatory response.
Distribution and population dynamics of Aurelia aurita (Cnidaria; Scyphozoa) in the southern Black Sea

The distribution, abundance, biomass and population dynamics of the jelly fish, Aurelia aurita were determined during 2001-2003 in the southern Black Sea (Sinop Region). Aurelia aurita was collected by hand net from inshore and with vertical and with horizontal net hauls from offshore. Volume (wet weight) to length (disc diameter) relation was calculated to be WW= 0.1988 L2.4406 (R= 0.9525, N= 1162) during October 2001-December 2003 in handling samples; WW= 0.2773 L2.1282 (R= 0.9351, N= 351) during May 2002-December 2003 in vertical and horizontal net hauls, respectively. In March 2003, maximal abundance and biomass of Aurelia aurita were 20 ind.m-2 and 2130 ml.m-2 at station A, respectively. In horizontal tows, maximum abundance and biomass was found in November 2003 (10.63 ind.100m-3) at station A and in April 2003 (291 ml.100m-3) at station C. Abundance and biomass of A. aurita was detected to increase in autumn and from early to late spring. The highest biomass of A. aurita was observed in March, July and December of 2002 and March and April of 2003. Biomass and abundance was not found to be significantly different between stations A, B and C at Sinop region in the southern Black Sea (p>0.05). Difference of the size and weight relationships was not found among different months in 2002 and 2003 in shallow and hauls sampling (p>0.05). In survey, the difference in diameter groups was found significant (p<0.05) among months of 2002 and 2003.
Exploring Low Loss and Single Mode in Antiresonant Tube Lattice Terahertz Fibers

We propose and numerically analyze various hollow-core antiresonant fiber (HC-ARF) for operation at terahertz frequencies. We compare typical HC-ARF designs with nested and adjacent nested designs while analyzing performance in terms of loss and single-mode guidance of terahertz waves. With optimized fiber dimensions, the fundamental core mode, cladding mode, core higher-order modes (HOMs), and the angle dependence of adjacent tubes are analyzed to find the best design for low loss terahertz transmission. Analysis of the fiber designs shows that the nested tube-based antiresonant fiber exhibits lower transmission loss and superior HOM suppression, exceeding 140. The nested HC-ARF is feasible for fabrication using existing fabrication technologies and opening up the possibility of efficient transmission of terahertz waves.
Design and Control of AC Current Injector for Battery EIS Measurement

Battery impedance measuring techniques provide accurate estimation of electrochemical parameters. This paper presents an AC current injection circuit, which is connected to the Li-ion battery in parallel with an LC filter-based dc/ac inverter configuration. The proposed approach injects AC perturbation current into the battery in order to measure internal battery impedance without a battery charger. It performs an AC sweep, and the measured voltage, current, and time data are processed to estimate battery impedance. This data will be utilized for further analysis for preventive maintenance and safety precautions in the battery management system. The performance of the proposed current injection and measurement technique is validated using simulations through PSIM and MATLAB Simulink and was tested with a 40Ah 13.6V Li-Ion battery.
A HEMATOLOGICAL STUDY IN MICE FOR EVALUATION OF LEUKEMOGENESIS BY EXTREMELY LOW FREQUENCY MAGNETIC FIELDS

OF1 mice were chronically exposed to a 50-Hz sinusoidal East–West magnetic field of 15 μT (rms), in order to make a peripheral blood study for a leukemogenic evaluation of this non-ionizing radiation. Mating and pregnancy of ancestors (first generation), and birth, lactation, and development of second-generation female mice until adulthood occurred in the experimental field. A hematological study of both control and exposed 14- to 15-week-old and 50- to 52-week-old, second-generation females was realized. Individual diagnosis of specimens and statistical analysis of results revealed a high incidence of blood leukoproliferative disorders in 14- to 15-week-old exposed females (relative risk [RR] = 3.00, p = 0.0033), despite the resistance of this strain of mice to developing malignancies under normal environmental conditions before they are 26 weeks old. Especially elevated incidences of lymphocytic (RR = 6.50, p = 0.0021) and chronic (RR = 4.00, p = 0.0153) leukemias were associated with medium-term (14–15 weeks) exposure. After 50–52 weeks of exposure, the mortality of exposed mice was 30% versus 0% of control mice. From dead exposed females, 67% revealed some type of malignancy. Corresponding RR for blood leukoproliferative disorders of those exposed which survived was 2.57 (p = 0.0351). Especially important was the proportion of chronic leukemias after long-term (50–52 weeks) exposure (RR = 8.57, p = 0.0118). Moreover, a statistically nonsignificant increase of lymphoblastic–myeloblastic leukemias pointed to a relation between age of specimen and type of alteration. We suggest that the increase in blood leukemias in OF1 mice agrees with the results of numerous epidemiological studies.
Exploration-Avoidance and an Anthropogenic Toxin (Lead Pb) in a Wild Parrot (Kea: Nestor notabilis)

The ecological study of personality in animals is a relatively new field of behavioural investigation and of increasing importance to wildlife conservation. Kea (Nestor notabilis), hill country parrots endemic to South Island, New Zealand, are a good model for studying personality in an ecological context because they have a neophilic and explorative nature and are accessible for experimentation in the field. The study of personality is relevant to kea conservation if particular personality types (e.g., explorative) cause increased mortality, especially where kea come into contact with anthropogenic dangers. Its relevance may be even greater if, due to kea's social nature, social facilitation spreads that risk to other personality types. In this study I use experimental presentations of novel objects to investigate individual variation in exploration-avoidance behaviour in kea and apply my findings to the risk of lead exposure and poisoning because lead is present as novel objects in kea habitat. Analyses of blood lead levels and reactions to novel objects indicate that sex and age class, but more specifically personality, underlie a kea's reactions to novel objects and lead objects. Kea with explorative personalities have higher blood lead levels than aversive individuals. My results also indicate that social context, i.e., the presence of conspecifics and group size, are influential. Kea are more inclined to investigate novel objects in the presence of conspecifics, indicating that social facilitation plays a role in the exploration of novelty. Significant relationships between dominance category and behavioural response to novel objects indicates that social rank is related to personality, with dominant individuals being more explorative and subordinate individuals less explorative. These results highlight the potentially heavy cost of explorativity where kea and human habitats overlap. Explorative kea may be subject to an increased risk of injury or death and, if they facilitate exploration in aversive kea, increases the risk to those kea as well. Lead is a known cause of death in kea and as such affects kea survival. Lead has also been shown to have deleterious effects on other species at low levels. Kea live in a highly seasonal and periodically severe environment, the dangers of which arecompounded by various anthropogenic hazards including lead exposure. Kea are a longlivedand slowreproducing species at a high risk of decline from even a small reduction in itssurvival rate an imposed reduction in numbers could result in nonrecovery.
Phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of indigenous chickens in Ethiopia: A review

Related research results and facts of indigenous chicken production in and out of Ethiopia were reviewed with the aim of delivering information to the improved production and for the breeding plan of a country. The study revealed that the common production system used was mostly extensive type that is characterized by small flock sizes; it needs no or less inputs and a periodic devastation of the flock by diseases. Sharing the house with the family is their housing methods and scavenging is also almost the only source of diets with no planned breeding. Some indigenous chicken groups of a country were characterized and the names of the flocks are mostly designated from their niche areas. The study also showed that there are large variations in plumage colors, comb types and shank types of the indigenous birds. Social cultures and believes of most of the community have been highly attached and attracted by these morphological variations of birds. Consequently, birds endowed with red or white plumage colors combined with pea shaped comb-types have always 15 to 35% exceeded price values at marketing, than those with similar age birds that endowed neither of the aforementioned combinations. The micro-satellites of indigenous chicken population were highly polymorphic. However, there is a minimum generation response for selection. As a conclusion, breeding and improved production programs to the local chickens should also incorporate the production objectives and trait preferences of the society. Moreover, the direct implication of the diversified phenotypic appearances of local chickens indicates the genetic potential for improvement. Hence, this huge gene pool should be protected from genetic erosion and be used for improvement through traditional selections together with genomic technology. Key words: Indigenous chickens, ecotypes, review, morphological variations, traits, production parameters, systems.
Tax planning and Profitability of Nigerian Deposit Money Banks: Evidence from Dynamic Panel Model

Corporate tax represents the transfer of wealth from corporate entities to the government. It is a veritable source of revenue generation to the government while it is a burden on corporate entities. Therefore corporate entities are always reluctant in its payment while government forcefully collects it from their profit. Amidst this divergence is the examination of corporate tax planning and profitability of Nigerian listed deposit money banks. The study adopted an ex post facto research design by obtaining relevant data of sampled 9 banks from 2012 to 2018 from their annual financial statements. Findings from the study show that tax planning (effective tax rate) has a significant negative effect on profitability. The study further found a significant positive effect of capital adequacy ratio as a control variable on profitability. However, no evidence of the negative effect of bank age and bank size on profitability is established by the study. The study, therefore, concludes that tax planning has a significant negative effect on the profitability of Nigerian deposit money banks. Going by the findings from the study, it is recommended that money deposit banks should engage the services of a tax consultant and also make use of a reasonable level of debt in their overall capital structure so as to reduce their tax burden and ultimately improve their profitability.
Photosynthesis and calcification in the articulated coralline alga Ellisolandia elongata (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) from intertidal rock pools

Abstract Calcifying coralline algae are functionally important in many ecosystems but their existence is now threatened by global climate change. The aim of this study is to improve our understanding of coralline algal metabolic functions and their interactions by assessing the respiration, photosynthesis and calcification rates in an articulated (geniculate) coralline alga, Ellisolandia elongata. Algal samples selected for this case study were collected from an intertidal rock-pool on the coast of Brittany (France). Physiological rates were assessed in summer and winter by measuring the concentration of oxygen, dissolved inorganic carbon and total alkalinity fluxes at five irradiance levels and in the dark using incubation chambers. Respiration, photosynthetic and calcification rates were strongly affected by seasonal changes. Respiration increased with temperature, being ten-fold higher in summer than in winter. Photosynthetic parameters of the photosynthesis-irradiance (P-E) curve, Pgmax, Pnmax and Ek, were two- to three-fold higher in summer relative to winter. Photoinhibition was observed under high irradiance indicating an acclimation of E. elongata to low irradiance levels. Parameters of the calcification-irradiance (G-E) curve, Gmax and Ek, were approximately two-fold higher in summer compared with winter. In summer, calcification rates were more strongly inhibited under high irradiance than photosynthetic rates, suggesting a dynamic relationship between these metabolic processes. By inhabiting intertidal rock pools, E. elongata exhibits tolerance to a dynamic physico-chemical environment. Information on respiration, photosynthesis and calcification rates in a calcifying coralline alga inhabiting such dynamic environments in terms of pH and temperature is important in order to better understand how ocean acidification and warming will affect coralline algae in the future.
Effects of Amaranthus spinosus (green) leaf meal on the performance of broiler chicks.

A twenty eight -day feeding trial was conducted with one hundred and twenty 7-day old Anak 2000 broiler chicks to study the effects of green leaf (Amaranthus spinosus) as a dietary energy source. Amaranthus spinosus leaves dried and ground were used to each replace wheat offal in the following dietary levels: 0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5% and 10% respectively. The chicks were divided into five treatment groups, each group replicated four times at the rate of five chicks per replicate. The performance and organ weight characteristics were evaluated. Amaranthus spinosus leaf meals improved the mean feed intake, body weight gain and live weight of broilers. The performance of broilers in the Amaranthus spinosus leaf meal based diets was inferior to the control. Amaranthus spinosus caused significant proportionate growth in % daily weight (p < 0.05) and carcass evaluation (p < 0.05). Utilization of Amaranthus spinosus significantly increased (p < 0.05) the % live weight of the abdominal fat thus improving the nutritive value of the meat.
Formation and interpretation of morphogen gradients: Insights from mathematical modeling

Patterning of developing tissues by non-uniform distributions of transcription factors is a common strategy used by a large number of multi-cellular organisms. Different levels of a transcription factor activate transcription of different genes and thus lead to expression of distinct combination of genes within sub-domains of the tissue. Depending on the specific genes transcribed, the tissue develops to form different body-parts of the adult organism. The early Drosophila embryo is one of the best studied systems for patterning by non-uniform distribution of transcription factors. In this dissertation, different classes of mathematical models have been employed to study the distribution properties and transcriptional activity of the transcription factor Dorsal (Dl) that patterns the DV axis of the embryonic tissue. Specifically, we developed a differential-equation based model for nucleocytoplasmic shuttling and protein-protein interactions between Dl and its binding partners (Chapter 2). Model parameters were estimated using a global optimization technique (Genetic Algorithm) based on quantitative measurements of Dl protein distribution along the DV axis. The ensemble of estimated parameters was statistically analyzed and experimentally tested to generate predictions for the dynamics of the gradient of Dl. The model predicts that the gradient of Dl maintains a constant shape and increases in amplitude during the last five nuclear division cycles of the syncytial embryo. These dynamics are expected to have a significant influence on the patterning of the embryo. Further, we developed statistical and thermodynamic models for the interpretation of the Dl gradient. One of the first questions that arises in the study of patterning by transcription factor gradients is the range of the input signal; i.e. the part of the tissue where gene expression is regulated by the signal. We developed a computational statistical framework to estimate the range and associated confidence interval for any transcription factor gradient (Chapter 3). The framework was demonstrated on the iii gradient of Dl and the estimates were validated using multiple measurements of the input signal and its target genes. Finally, we developed a thermodynamic model to gain insights into the mechanism of gene transcription by Dl and its co-factor Zelda. The model describes the different microstates for activation of gene transcription and predicts the spatial profile of gene activation in response to the input factor profiles. Model predictions were tested using measurements for transcription of short gastrulation (sog) in wild-type and mutant backgrounds. The model also explains the dynamics of the sog activation profile during embryogenesis. These statistical and thermodynamic models can be directly applied for other transcription factors in Drosophila and can also be readily extended to study patterning in other developing systems.
The effects of sustained exercise on gluconeogenesis, glycogenolysis and glycogen synthesis in Merino sheep

The ability of sheep to maintain an elevated rate of glucose metabolism in the splanchnic tissues and skeletal muscle during long-term exercise was studied using isotope dilution and arteriovenous difference techniques. Comparisons were made between Merino ewes at rest or walking at 4.5 km h-I on a 0' incline (30% VOz,,,.) for 4 h or 9' incline (60% VOz,,,.) for 2 h. Sheep were close to exhaustion at the completion of the later rate of exercise. Exercise elicited an initial hyperglycemia with a return to euglycemia at the end of exercise. The entry rate of glucose increased 2-6 and 3.4 times during exercise at 30 and 60% VOz,,,. respectively. Similar increases in the rate of glucose release by the liver, were seen; the increases were maintained throughout the exercise period. Assuming complete conversion of gluconeogenic substrates extracted by the liver gluconeogenesis could have accounted for 90% and 60% of the glucose release during exercise at 30% and 60% VOz,,,. Hepatic glycogenolysis was also substantial, and when summed with gluconeogenesis 120-150% of the glucose release was accounted for. The ability of sheep to replace glycogen depleted owing to exercise was significant in liver and type IIA muscle (m. semimembranosis) and represented rates 3-6 times those previously reported in sheep and cattle. Providing sheep do not suffer hyperthermia, they are well equipped to endure long periods of exercise owing to an ability to maintain carbohydrate balance.