Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Review: Annual crop adaptation to abiotic stress on the Canadian prairies: Six case studies

Bueckert, R. A. and Clarke, J. M. 2013. Review: Annual crop adaptation to abiotic stress on the Canadian prairies: Six case studies. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 375-385. More than half of Canada's grain crop production comes from the Canadian prairies, a region that experiences short growing seasons characterized by temperature and moisture stress. Historically, the region was dominated by temperate cereal production, but in recent decades crops have included canola (Brassica species) and pulses (chickpea, Cicer arietinum L.; dry bean, Phaseolus vulgaris L.; pea, Pisum sativum L.; lentil, Lens culinaris L.). Here we describe climatic conditions and the resulting abiotic stresses that are common in prairie crop production. We also showcase how specific cultivars have been successfully adapted to fit a short growing season of 95 to 120 d, and examine current strategies to improve crop performance on the Canadian prairies. Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum) production has been increased by incorporating stress escape through early flowering, and stress avoidance through increased seasonal water extraction, water use efficiency and reduced loss from leaves. Dry bean, a warm-season crop, has been improved by selecting for rapid emergence in cool soils. The indeterminate crops chickpea, lentil, and canola (Brassica juncea L.) have been improved through breeding for early flowering, double podding (chickpea), high harvest index, and a longer reproductive duration (lentil and canola). Enhanced drought tolerance in chickpea is in progress using early flowering for drought escape, and rooting traits that improve water extraction and canopy transpiration to avoid water and heat stress. Crops grown on the Canadian prairies have superior quality profiles and two crops, durum and lentil, have become dominant in global exports.
Handling Practice and Microbial Quality of Raw Cow’s Milk Produced and Marketed In Adigrat Town, North Eastern Tigray

Milk is a yellowish-white non-transparent liquid secreted by the mammary glands of all mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition and food for offspring of mammals before they are able to eat and digest other types of food. Study was conducted in Adigrat town, Northern Ethiopia, aimed to assess the general handling practice and microbial quality of raw cow’s milk. A total of 47 respondents were randomly selected from dairy cooperative milk producing center. A total of 3 sample of raw cow’s milk were collected at morning to investigate the microbial quality of raw cow’s milk. The entire sample was collected using random proportional sampling method. The overall mean of coliform count, spore forming bacterial count, staphylococcus aurous bacterial count and aerobic mesophilic bacterial count of raw cow’s milk obtained in the study area were, 9.5*10 4 , 3.6*10 4 , 9.91*10 4 and 7.4*10 4 cfu/ml, respectively. Staphylococcus aurous count, coliform count, aerobic mesophilic bacteria count were significantly higher than spore forming bacteria count in the study area (P <0.05). The overall hygienic status and the sanitary condition and handling practices of the vendors were not to the standard. The milk is sold to unsuspecting clients who are likely to get food-borne diseases. This study recommends training of dairy cooperative milk producers on hygiene, sanitation and the establishment of code of practice for dairy cooperative milk producers. Keywords: Raw milk, microbial quality, handling practice
Differences in Diet Between Spider Monkey Groups Living in Forest Fragments and Continuous Forest in Mexico

Forest fragmentation can lead to reductions in food availability, especially for some large‐bodied tropical mammals such as spider monkeys. During a 15\xE2\x80\x90mo period, we assessed the diet of Geoffroyi's spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) in continuous forest and fragments in the Lacandona region, southern Mexico, and related differences in diet to differences in vegetation structure and composition. We found that both forest types presented top food species for monkeys (e.g., Spondias spp., Brosimum alicastrum), but the sum of the importance value index of these species and the density of large trees were lower in fragments than in continuous forest. We also found that, compared with continuous forest, monkeys in fragments diversified their overall diet, increased consumption of leaves, and reduced the time they spent feeding on trees in favor of more time feeding on hemiepiphytes (particularly Ficus spp.) and palms, both of which were common in fragments. We attribute these changes to the relative food scarcity of the most favored feeding plants in forest fragments. Overall, our findings suggest that monkeys are able to adjust their diet to food availability in fragments, and thus persist in small‐ and medium‐sized fragments. Although it is unlikely that the small size of two of the three study fragments (14 and 31 ha) can maintain viable populations of monkeys in the long term, they may function as stepping stones, facilitating inter‐fragment movements and ultimately enhancing seed dispersal in fragmented landscapes.
Combining ability analysis in bread wheat

Combining ability analysis was studied in a 10 × 10 half diallel set of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The analysis of variance for combining ability revealed that the mean squares due to both general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) were highly significant for number of effective tillers per plant, length of spike, number of spikelets per spike, peduncle length of spike, number of grains per spike, grain weight per spike, 100-grain weight and grain yield per plant. This indicated that both additive and non-additive genetics variances played a vital role in the inheritance of all these eight traits.The GCA and SCA ratio (σ2GCA/σ2SCA) was less than unity for all the traits indicated that non-additive component play relatively greater role in the inheritance of all the eight traits.The line, HW 5018 and HI 1544 were good general combiners for grain yield per plant and some of its component traits. Nine crosses exhibited significant and positive SCA effects for grain yield per plant. The highest SCA effect for grain yield per plant was exhibited by the cross HW 5018 x K 604 followed by RAJ 4136 x UAS 281, KYZ 300 x RAJ 4136, KYZ 300 x HW 5018 and GW 173 x RAJ 4136. The cross KYZ 300 x RAJ 4136 was found most promising having high SCA effect together with per se performance for grain yield per plant, number of effective tillers per plant, grain weight per spike and 100-grain weight which could be further exploited in practical plant breeding programme.
Predicting spatial and temporal patterns of bud‐burst and spring frost risk in north‐west Europe: the implications of local adaptation to climate

The timing of spring bud‐burst and leaf development in temperate, boreal and Arctic trees and shrubs fluctuates from year to year, depending on meteorological conditions. Over several generations, the sensitivity of bud‐burst to meteorological conditions is subject to selection pressure. The timing of spring bud‐burst is considered to be under opposing evolutionary pressures; earlier bud‐burst increases the available growing season (capacity adaptation) but later bud‐burst decreases the risk of frost damage to actively growing parts (survival adaptation). The optimum trade‐off between these two forms of adaptation may be considered an evolutionarily stable strategy that maximizes the long‐term ecological fitness of a phenotype under a given climate. Rapid changes in climate, as predicted for this century, are likely to exceed the rate at which trees and shrubs can adapt through evolution or migration. Therefore the response of spring phenology will depend not only on future climatic conditions but also on the limits imposed by adaptation to current and historical climate. Using a dataset of bud‐burst dates from twenty‐nine sites in Finland for downy birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh.), we parameterize a simple thermal time bud‐burst model in which the critical temperature threshold for bud‐burst is a function of recent historical climatic conditions and reflects a trade‐off between capacity and survival adaptation. We validate this approach with independent data from eight independent sites outside Finland, and use the parameterized model to predict the response of bud‐burst to future climate scenarios in north‐west Europe. Current strategies for budburst are predicted to be suboptimal for future climates, with bud‐burst generally occurring earlier than the optimal strategy. Nevertheless, exposure to frost risk is predicted to decrease slightly and the growing season is predicted to increase considerably across most of the region. However, in high‐altitude maritime regions exposure to frost risk following bud‐burst is predicted to increase.
Male Gametic Strategies: Sperm Size, Testes Size, and the Allocation of Ejaculate Among Successive Mates by the Sperm-Limited Fly Drosophila pachea and Its Relatives

The gametic strategy of males comprises the amount of energy invested per sperm, the total amount invested in sperm production, and the pattern of sperm allocation among successive reproductive bouts. All of these variables were measured for each of the four species constituting the nannoptera species group of the Drosophilidae. Extreme interspecific variation was identified for all variables and enigmatic male reproductive strategies, including submaximal insemination of females, partitioning of ejaculate among successive mates, and production of few large sperm, were observed. Variation among species in female remating behavior was found to occur concomitantly with male remating behavior, probably because of female fertility demands. Relationships among testes size, sperm size, sperm numbers, and mating systems in these fruit flies are examined. These relationships are not consistent with patterns identified in studies of vertebrate taxa and suggest fundamental differences between vertebrates and invertebrates with respect to these traits. Hypotheses to explain the maintenance of male ejaculate delivery patterns that are consistent with sperm competition and bet-hedging theory are examined, as are potential selection pressures responsible for sperm-size evolution.
Gill size of trichopteran larvae and oxygen supply in streams along a 4000-m gradient of altitude

It is a common belief that mountain streams are richer in oxygen than lowland streams and, as a result, macroinvertebrates inhabiting streams at high altitudes are thought to have smaller gills than invertebrates from lowland streams. I examined gill development of assemblages of trichopteran larvae in relation to water temperature, oxygen concentration, and oxygen supply in a number of small streams along a 4000-m gradient of altitude in tropical Ecuador. Oxygen concentration was almost independent of altitude and followed the pattern predicted from considering the changes in solubility of oxygen with water temperature and atmospheric pressure. The estimated oxygen supply, however, was higher in warm lowland streams than in cold highland streams because the oxygen partial pressure decreases with increasing altitude, the diffusion coefficient of oxygen in water increases with increasing temperature, and the kinematic viscosity of water and thus the thickness of the diffusive sublayer decreases with increasing temperature. Allometric scaling showed that total body surface area (including gills) increased with body volume at a rate b = 0.72 (±0.01 SE), suggesting that total body surface area reflects metabolic oxygen demand. Mean body volume of larvae with gills was independent of altitude, whereas mean body volume of gill-less larvae increased with altitude. Overall, high-altitude larvae had slightly smaller gill surface area relative to body volume than low-altitude larvae. This pattern mainly reflected the predominance of relatively large-gilled, caseless Hydropsychidae at low altitudes. Gill size of case-bearing larvae actually increased, although not significantly, with altitude. The study showed that taxa with small gills did not generally replace taxa with large gills as stream altitude increased and stream temperature decreased. The nearly constant mean gill size can be explained by a balance between increased metabolic oxygen demand and increased oxygen supply in warm lowland streams.
The Hawksbill Turtle, Eremochelys imbricata (L.), in North-Eastern Australia: the Campbell Island Rookery

Low-density nesting by hawksbill turtles at Campbell I. , Torres Strait, is described. The average female measured 83.2 cm in carapace length, weighed 51.6 kg and laid three clutches per season with a renesting interval of 14.7 days. The average clutch contained 131.8 eggs, mean egg weight was 26 g and mean diameter was 3.6 cm. Hatchling weight was 14.3 g, mean period to emergence was 55 days. Varanid predation is described. Scute variation of adults and hatchlings is summarized.
Influência do tempo de agitação na adsorção de Cd, Cu, Ni e Zn em latossolo tratado com lodo de esgoto

The objective of the present paper is to evaluate the influence of equilibrium time in metal adsorption on sludge-amended soil samples (0-0,2 m) collected in a sewage sludge trial. Soil samples (2.00 g) were shaked during 1 and 24 h with 20 mL of Ca(NO3)2 0,01 mol L-1 solution containing increasing concentrations of Cd, Cu, Ni and Zn. Adsorption isotherms for 1 and 24 h were compared using the F test. In general greater amounts of metals were adsorbed when a 24h-shaking time was used except for cadmium in sludge-amended sample. It is recommended a 24-h shaking period for equilibrium.
Effect of high-intensity pulse electric fields on denaturation of bovine whey proteins.

The effect of pulsed electric field (PEF) processing on denaturation of bovine whey proteins has been studied. Protein concentration was determined by radial immunodiffusion and lactoperoxidase activity by a spectrophotometric technique. For the five proteins studied (β-lactoglobulin, α-lactalbumin, lactoperoxidase, IgG and lactoferrin), no significant differences were found in the concentration of immunoreactive proteins between untreated milk or whey samples and those subjected to a treatment of 50, 100 and 200 pulses at 37.6 kV/cm. Likewise, lactoperoxidase activity did not change under PEF conditions tested. The effect of pasteurization treatments on whey proteins was also determined for comparison with PEF treatments. Treatment at 65°C for 30 min and at 75°C for 15 s markedly decreased concentration of lactoferrin to 53% and 58% of the initial value when heated in whey. Besides, both treatments caused a considerable decrease of concentration and enzymatic activity of lactoperoxidase treated in milk or whey. Heat treatments at 80 and 90 °C for 15 s produced a severe loss of immunoreactivity of IgG, lactoferrin and lactoperoxidase. The application of PEF treatments for milk preservation could prevent changes in structure and functionality of whey proteins with biological activity that are heat-sensitive.
A comparative study of spirituality and burnout among employees in different sectors

Organizations now days expect employees to outperform and quickly adapt to the technological and market changes, which is affecting employee welbeing. Therefore, it becomes important to understand mental and physical wellbeing of employees and ways to pacify them. The present study attempts to examine the relationship between spirituality and employee burnout in organizational context. The study divides into two phases. First phase tries to understand the conceptualisation of spirituality and the second phase examines the relationship between spirituality and burnout. The study includes different private and public sector enterprises in Gujarat, India. The results reveals that people conceptualise spirituality as ethical or morale goodness rather than religious belief. Spirituality can be an important measure in moderating employee burnout. The study has managerial implications for sustaining employee well being thereby, organization development.
Lead poisoning in cattle in southern Brazil

Em setembro de 2000, tres novilhas, provenientes de um pequeno rebanho de bovinos de corte, apresentaram severa depressao, tremores musculares, ato de pressionar a cabeca contra objetos e de ranger de dentes, intensa salivacao, cegueira e morte. Envenenamento por chumbo foi diagnosticado com base nos sinais clinicos e em funcao da presenca de grandes concentracoes de chumbo nos rins e no figado de um dos animais afetados. Latas de tinta velhas, presentes no potreiro onde estavam os animais e cujo conteudo extravasava atraves de fendas provocadas pela ferrugem, foram identificadas como a fonte de chumbo que causou a toxicose nos animais.
Study on antioxidative, antidiabetic and antiobesity activity of solvent fractions of smilax china L. leaf extract

Smilax china L. , a native plant found in Asian countries, has several medicinal properties including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects. Although the root of the plant is commonly used as traditional herbal medicine in Korea and China, the medicinal properties of the leaves have not gained the same attention. In this study, we analyzed the antioxidant activity, α-glucosidase inhibitory effect and lipid accumulation inhibition effect of Smilax china L. leaf water extract (SCLE) and its solvent fractions. SCLE was fractionated by using a series of organic solvents, including ethylacetate (EA) and n-butanol (BuOH). The EA fraction had the highest total polyphenol content (440.20 ± 12.67 mg GAE/g) and total flavonoid content (215.14 ± 24.83 mg QE/g). The radical scavenging activity IC 50 values of the EA fraction for 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline)-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) were 0.022 mg/mL and 0.13 mg/mL, respectively. Further, SOD-like activity and reducing power values of the EA fraction were higher than those of the other fractions. However, both the α-glucosidase and lipid accumulation inhibition assays showed that the BuOH fraction (83.35 ± 4.18% at 1 mg/mL) and water extract (11.27 ± 2.67%) were more effective than the EA fraction (64.13 ± 6.35%, and 45.66 ± 7.20%). These results provide new insights into the potential anti-diabetic and anti-obesity effects of Smilax china L. leaf.
Migration of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus in cortical and xylem axial resin canals of resistant pines

Summary Migration of the pine wood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, in susceptible and resistant pines was investigated at the tissue level. PWN was inoculated onto the top cross-cut surface of 20-cm stem cuttings of susceptible Pinus thunbergii and resistant pines (P. strobus, P. rigida and P. thunbergii of a resistant family Namikata-(t)-73 (half-sib)). PWNs were mainly distributed in cortical resin canals of susceptible P. thunbergii down to 15 cm from the inoculated surface by 6 h after inoculation (HAI) and all tissues (including cortical and xylem resin canals) down to the bottom at 192 HAI. In P. strobus, P. rigida and P. thunbergii family Namikata-(t)-73 (half-sib), PWN was distributed in cortical resin canals down to 5 cm by 6 HAI and down to the base at 192 HAI. However, the distribution of PWN in xylem resin canals of the resistant pines was restricted near inoculated surfaces down to 5 cm, even at 192 HAI. These results demonstrated that migration of PWN in resistant pines was slowed in cortical resin canals and restricted in xylem axial resin canals, features which may be associated with the resistance.
Li, Jianfeng and Castellazzi, Alberto and Eleffendi, Mohd Amir and Gurpinar, Emre and Johnson, Christopher Mark and Mills, Liam (2017) A physical RC network model for electro-thermal analysis of a multichip SiC

This paper is concerned with the thermal models which can physically reflect the heat-flow paths in a lightweight three-phase half bridge, two-level SiC power module with 6 MOSFETs and can be used for coupled electro-thermal simulation. The finite element (FE) model was first evaluated and calibrated to provide the raw data for establishing the physical RC network model. It was experimentally verified that the cooling condition of the module mounted on a water cooler can be satisfactorily described by assuming the water cooler as a heat exchange boundary in the FE model. The compact RC network consisting of 115 R and C parameters to predict the transient junction temperatures of the 6 MOSFETS was constructed, where cross-heating effects between the MOSFETs are represented with lateral thermal resistors. A three-step curve fitting method was especially developed to overcome the challenge for extracting the R and C values of the RC network from the selected FE simulation results. The established compact RC network model can physically be correlated with the structure and heat-flow paths in the power module, and was evaluated using the FE simulation results from the power module under realistic switching conditions. It was also integrated into the LTspice model to perform the coupled electrothermal simulation to predict the power losses and junction temperatures of the 6 MOSFETs under switching frequencies from 5 kHz to 100 kHz which demonstrate the good electrothermal performance of the designed power module. Index TermsMOSFETs, SiC power module, finite element methods, RC network, curve fitting, three-phase inverters.
Effect of Glufosinate-Resistant Corn (Zea mays) Population and Row Spacing on Light Interception, Corn Yield, and Common Lambsquarters (Chenopodium album) Growth1

Abstract: Management of corn (Zea mays) row spacings and populations has been used for many years to increase corn productivity. In 1998 and 1999, nonirrigated corn was grown in 38-, 56-, and 76-cm row spacings at populations averaging 59,300, 72,900, and 83,900 plants/ha in Michigan. Glufosinate at 0.29 kg/ha was applied to common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album L.) averaging 5 cm in height in each plot. Corn population and row spacing did not influence weed emergence following application of glufosinate. Common lambsquarters biomass and seed production were reduced when grown under canopies of corn planted in populations exceeding 72,900 plants/ha. Common lambsquarters biomass was reduced as corn row spacings were reduced from 76 to 38 cm. Early-season interception of photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) by corn canopies increased as row spacings decreased, but differences were not apparent later in the season. Interception of PAR was similar throughout the season when corn populations exceeded 72,900 plants/ha. Corn yields were not affected by row spacing, but they were increased with corn populations of 72,900 plants/ha or higher. Nomenclature: Glufosinate; common lambsquarters, Chenopodium album L,. #3 CHEAL; corn, Zea mays L. ‘DK 493GR’. Additional index words: Crop density, herbicide-tolerant crops, narrow-row corn. Abbreviation: PAR, photosynthetic active radiation.