Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Development of the Wing of Sterna wilsonii

Although various students have investigated the structure and the development of the wing of the bird, many points still remain unsettled, and prominent among them, the relations of the carpal elements, the number of digits present and the comparison of these digits with those of the normal pentadactyl manus. Professor J. S. Kingsley suggested to me to attempt he solution of some of these problems and the studies detailed below were carried out in the Biological Laboratory of Tufts College under his direction. To him I owe the material-embryos of various stages of Wilson's tern, Sterna wilsonii from the Island of Penekese, Mass. -which formed the basis of my work. The alcoholic material was studied both in toto by clearing with oil of clove, and by means of serial sections. The latter proved far preferable and much more dependence can be placed upon results obtained in this way, especially with the younger embryos than by the more common methods of dissection and clearing in essential oils. The figures of structural details which illustrate the paper were obtained from reconstruction projections of the sections and are magnified twenty diameters. I am not able to state the ages of the various embryos, but this is a matter of little importance since the approximate . development can readily be made out from the figures of the various stages, each natural size. The numbering of the separate stages is entirely arbitrary. I might state here, incidentally, that I have also studied to some extent he foot of the tern and I find in it, as has already been pointed out by other observers, (Miss Johnson, Studer, W. K. Parker and others) a fifth metatarsal present.
Essential Role of PDGFR&agr;-p70S6K Signaling in Mesenchymal Cells During Therapeutic and Tumor Angiogenesis In Vivo: Role of PDGFR&agr; During Angiogenesis

Discovery of the common and ubiquitous molecular targets for the disruption of angiogenesis, that are independent of the characteristics of malignant tumors, is desired to develop the more effective antitumor drugs. In this study, we propose that the platelet-derived growth factor receptor-&agr;(PDGFR&agr;)-p70S6K signal transduction pathway in mesenchymal cells, which is required for functional angiogenesis induced by fibroblast growth factor-2, is the potent candidate. Using murine limb ischemia as a tumor-free assay system, we demonstrated that p70S6K inhibitor rapamycin (RAPA) targets mesenchymal cells to shut down the sustained expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), via silencing of the PDGFR&agr;-p70S6K pathway. Irrespective of the varied expression profiles of angiogenic factors in each tumor tested, RAPA constantly led the tumors to dormancy and severe ischemia in the time course, even associated with upregulated expression of VEGF from tumors. Because RAPA showed only a minimal effect to hypoxia-related expression of VEGF in culture, these results suggest that RAPA targets the host-vasculature rather than tumor itself in vivo. Thus, our current study indicates that the PDGFR&agr;-p70S6K pathway is an essential regulator for FGF-2–mediated therapeutic neovascularization, as well as for the host-derived vasculature but not tumors during tumor angiogenesis, via controlling continuity of expression of multiple angiogenic growth factors.
STUDIES ON THE MECHANISM OF ACTION OF RILEY VIRUS

The plasma clearance of intravenously injected rabbit muscle LDH was studied. In normal mice the clearance followed a biphasic exponential curve comprising an initial fast and subsequent slow phase. Riley virus-infected mice showed only the slow phase of enzyme clearance. The change from fast to slow clearance rate in normal mice appeared to depend upon the level of plasma enzyme activity rather than on the amount of enzyme cleared. Treatment of mice with RES-blocking agents (cholesterol oleate and carbon) inhibited the fast clearance phase, whereas an RES-stimulating agent (stilbestrol) caused an accelerated rate of enzyme clearance. Riley virus infection was found to inhibit the clearance of phosphoglucose isomerase, but had no effect on the clearance of alanine transaminase. The activity of the former enzyme is raised in the plasma of infected mice, whereas the activity of the latter enzyme is unaltered.
Ribosomal DNA sequences indicate isolated populations of Ichthyophonus hoferi in geographic sympatry in the north‐eastern Pacific Ocean

Infections of Ichthyophonus hoferi, a cosmopolitan parasite of marine fish, have recently been reported in rockfish, Sebastes spp. , from the north-eastern Pacific. Because I. hoferi also infects Pacific herring, Clupea pallasi Valenciennes, and salmonids in this region, we wanted to determine if Ichthyophonus parasites from rockfishes, Pacific herring and chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum), were the same. Small subunit ribosomal deoxyribonucleic acid sequence data revealed two haplotypes that were fixed among host species in geographic sympatry, one from rockfish and the other from both Pacific herring and salmon. These isolated populations of Ichthyophonus could be part of the same species that are ecologically separated because of host behaviours, or they could be distinct species that are host specific. Dietary patterns of the hosts indicate that ecological separation among hosts is possible, but the presence of distinct species may better explain the observed Ichthyophonus haplotype association with host species.
Host‐specific variation in off‐host performance of a temperate ectoparasite

Antagonistic host–parasite interactions are rarely considered from an ecological perspective of the parasite. We used a blood-feeding ectoparasite of boreal cervids, the deer ked (Lipoptena cervi L., Hippoboscidae), to study host-dependent variation in a parasite's ability to cope with an abiotic environment during the free-living stage(s) in two allopatric Fennoscandian populations. We found that a strongly host-specific deer ked population in eastern Fennoscandia, exploiting only moose (Alces alces), produced the largest offspring that were the most cold-tolerant and emerged the earliest as adults, when compared with the western Fennoscandian population that exploited two hosts efficiently. Within the western population, however, offspring produced on roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) were significantly larger, more cold-tolerant, and had higher survival than those produced on moose in the same area. We discuss potential causes for both host-specific and geographical differences in off-host performance: (1) maternal host directly affects the offspring survival prospects; (2) divergent co-evolution with local main host(s) has shaped the parasite's life history; and/or (3) off-host performance is shaped by adaptation to the local abiotic environment. In conclusion, this study increases our understanding of the evolution of host–parasite interactions by demonstrating how geographical differences in host exploitation may result in differences in survival prospects outside the host.
Effect of fertilizer treatment on the antimicrobial activity of the leaves of Ocimum gratissimum (L.) and Gongronema latifolium (Benth)

The effect of fertilizer treatment on the antimicrobial activity of the leaves of Ocimum gratissimum (L.) and Gongronema latifolium (Benth) was investigated. Cultivated O. gratissimum (L) and G. latifolium were applied with NPK (15:15:15) fertilizer at 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 kg/ha treatment levels in planting buckets derived using the furrow slice method two months after seedling emergence. No fertilizer treatment served as control. Leaves were harvested one month after treatment. The ethanolic extracts of the harvested leaves were used to determine the sensitivity of the extracts on Klebsiella pneumonia , Escherichia coli , Staphylococcus aurues , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Salmonella typhi , Streptococcus faecalis , Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger . The result obtained showed that the antimicrobial activity of the leaves of O. gratissimum and G. latifolium was significantly (P < 0.05) increased by fertilizer treatment. The inhibition zone increased with increase in the level of fertilizer treatment. The ethanolic extracts of both plants whether treated or not had no antimicrobial effect on A. niger . This research revealed that fertilizer treatment might have increased the phytochemical content of the leaves of the plants which in turn enhanced their antimicrobial potential. Keywords: Pathogens, NPK fertilizer, ethanolic extracts, inhibition zone
Bridging structure and function with brain network modeling

High-throughput neuroimaging technology enables rapid acquisition of vast amounts of structural and functional data on multiple spatial and temporal scales. While novel methods to extract information from these data are continuously developed, there is no principled approach for the systematic integration of distinct experimental results into a common theoretical framework, yet. The central result of this dissertation is a biophysically-based framework for brain network modeling that links structural and functional data across scales and modalities and integrates them with dynamical systems theory. Specifically, the publications in this thesis i. introduce an automated pipeline that extracts structural and functional information from multimodal imaging data to construct and constrain brain models, ii. l i nk w ho l e -b ra i n m ode l s w i t h e m p i r i c a l E E G fM RI ( s i m u l t a ne ous electroencephalography and functional magnetic resonance imaging) data to integrate neural signals with simulated activity, iii. propose a framework for reverse-engineering neurophysiological dynamics and mechanisms underlying commonly observed features of neural activity, iv. document a software module that makes users acquainted with theory and practice of
Estimation of microbial flora in mince meat collected from Nandus nandus, Channa marulius and Puntius sarana during six months storage at -20°C

The study was designed to investigate the microbial estimation in the fish mince collected from Nandus nandus, Channa marulius and Puntius sarana which was stored at -20°C for a period of six months and analyzed every fortnightly for total plate count. During the study period, in the mince of N. nandus, C. marulius and P. sarana, there was a continuous decrease in the total plate count from 4.5 × 105, 4 × 105 and 3.33 × 105,respectively on 0 day to 8.3 × 104, 6.6 × 103 and 3 × 104, respectively on 180 days of storage. There was a difference of one log cycle in TPC from 0 to 180 days in the mince of N. nandus and P. sarana; whereas, in the mince of C. marulius, this difference was of two log cycles. The colonies of Esherichia coli were found up to 120 days in mince of N. nandus and C. marulius; whereas, in P. sarana, the colonies were found only up to 75 days. The overall results of microbiological analysis revealed a continuous decrease in the total plate count and E. coli count on all the days of storage. Stayphylococcus aureus was not found throughout the storage period. Key words: Escherichia coli, Stayphylococcus aureus, fish mince, frozen storage, total plate count.
Acceleration of Pupal-Adult Development by Fenoxycarb in the Silkworm, Bombyx mori

Abstract Treatment by fenoxycarb (> 0.1 μg/animal) during a short developmental period in the pharate pupal stage of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, induced alterations in the normal pupal-adult development. All fenoxycarb-treated animals showed accelerated development and precocious adult cuticle deposition very early in the pupal stage. Various internal and external organs of the developing adults underwent abnormal differentiation and were extensively malformed. Consequently, pupal-adult development and adult eclosion behaviour were disturbed. Similar effects were induced by injections of high doses (≥ 4 μg/animal) of 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) only around the time of pupal ecdysis. Treatment with 1 μg of fenoxycarb in the pharate pupal stage did not affect haemolymph ecdysteroid titers early in the pupal stage. Our results, therefore, suggest that fenoxycarb, a potent juvenile hormone mimic, can imitate the developmental effects of excess 20E and behave as an ecdysteroid mimic after its application during the short developmental period of the pharate pupal stage of B. mori. These results shed light on the timely and coordinated increase of endogenous juvenile hormone titer before pupal ecdysis.
Survey on Contaminated Raw Milks with Aflatoxin M1 in the Sarab Region, Iran

Mycotoxins are those groups of fungus metabolites witch as the result of the consumption of contaminated food causes human or animal illness or death and the resulted illness from this is called mycotoxicosis. In this study 100 samples from milk were analyzed for the presence of aflatoxin M1 by thin layer chromatography. This study showed that from 100 samples were analyzed a total of 84 samples (84%) were positive for aflatoxin M1and 16 samples (16%) were negative. The range of aflatoxin M 1 content was 30-630 ng/lit. Contamination rate of aflatoxin M 1 in tanks milk in around (84%) with amounts ranging 30 to 630 ng/lit. All contaminated samples had a level of aflatoxin M1 above the European countries standard (50ng/lit). Therefore, the following suggestions are made. Determined standard complications for aflatoxin limit value in feed and aflatoxin M1 in milk and dairy products- use of effective methods for treatment of contaminated feed, milk and dairy products.
ANTI-NOCICEPTIVE ACTIVITY OF HYGROPHILA AURICULATA (SCHUM) HEINE

Hygrophila auriculata (Schum) Heine (syn) Asteracantha longifolia Nees, Acanthaceae was described in ayurvedic literature as Ikshura, Ikshugandha, and Kokilasha. The plant was extensively used in traditional system of medicine for various ailments like rheumatism, inflammation, jaundice, hepatic obstruction, pain, etc. The aqueous extract of aerial parts (HAA) and root(HAR) were screened for its anti-nociceptive property using both chemical and thermal methods of nociception in mice. In chemical method acetic acid writhing test and in thermal methods hot plate and tail flick tests were performed. Both the extracts at doses 100 and 200 mg/kg/p.o inhibited the abdominal constrictions induced by acetic acid and also increased the pain threshold of mice towards the thermal source in a dose dependent manner. The activity exhibited by the extracts was comparable to that of the standard drug aspirin (100 mg/kg/p.o). From the results it was concluded that both extracts exhibited anti-nociceptive activity by central and peripheral mechanism(s).
A Waterhemp (Amaranthus tuberculatus) Population Resistant to 2,4-D

Abstract A waterhemp population from a native-grass seed production field in Nebraska was no longer effectively controlled by 2,4-D. Seed was collected from the site, and dose-response studies were conducted to determine if this population was herbicide resistant. In the greenhouse, plants from the putative resistant and a susceptible waterhemp population were treated with 0, 18, 35, 70, 140, 280, 560, 1,120, or 2,240 g ae ha−1 2,4-D. Visual injury estimates (I) were made 28 d after treatment (DAT), and plants were harvested and dry weights (GR) measured. The putative resistant population was approximately 10-fold more resistant to 2,4-D (R∶S ratio) than the susceptible population based on both I50 (50% visual injury) and GR50 (50% reduction in dry weight) values. The R∶S ratio increased to 19 and 111 as the data were extrapolated to I90 and GR90 estimates, respectively. GR50 doses of 995 g ha−1 for the resistant and 109 g ha−1 for the susceptible populations were estimated. A field dose-response study was conducted at the suspected resistant site with 2,4-D doses of 0, 140, 280, 560, 1,120, 2,240, 4,480, 8,960, 17,920, and 35,840 g ha−1. At 28 DAT, visual injury estimates were 44% in plots treated with 35,840 g ha−1. Some plants treated with the highest rate recovered and produced seed. Plants from the resistant and susceptible populations were also treated with 0, 9, 18, 35, 70, 140, 280, 560, or 1,120 g ae ha−1 dicamba in greenhouse bioassays. The 2,4-D resistant population was threefold less sensitive to dicamba based on I50 estimates but less than twofold less sensitive based on GR50 estimates. The synthetic auxins are the sixth mechanism-of-action herbicide group to which waterhemp has evolved resistance. Nomenclature: 2,4-D; dicamba; waterhemp, Amaranthus tuberculatus (Moq.) Sauer var. rudis (Sauer) Costea and Tardif AMATU.
A MATLAB TOOLBOX FOR INTERVAL VALUED NEUTROSOPHIC MATRICES FOR COMPUTER APPLICATIONS

The concept of interval valued neutrosophic matrices is a generalized structure of fuzzy matrices, intuitionistic fuzzy matrices, interval fuzzy matrices and single valued neutrosophic matrices. Recently many studies have focused on interval valued neutrosophic matrices, In this paper, a variety of operations on interval valued neutrosophic matrices are presented using a new Matlab’ package. This package contains some essential functions which could help the researchers to do computations on interval valued neutrosophic matrices quickly.
Zinc oxide nanoparticles-induced DNA damage in human lymphocytes

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (<20 nm) were synthesised by sol-gel method and characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Extensive use of ZnO in sunscreens and cosmetics, and their reported photoclastogenicity has prompted us to investigate its genotoxic potential. We have assessed the ZnO-induced DNA damage, intracellular ROS generation and change in mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), employing alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay), flow cytometry and spectrofluorometric analysis. Significant increase in the Olive tail moment (OTM-62.72) in treated lymphocytes vis-a-vis untreated control (OTM-0.78), clearly indicated the formation of ZnO nanoparticles-induced single strand breaks. Exposure of human lymphocytes to ZnO nanoparticles also resulted in significant reduction in membrane potential (ΔΨm). Enhancement in fluorescence intensity of intracellular probe 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein (DCF), in treated cells suggested the ZnO-induced oxidative stress. Overall, the data revealed the genotoxic potential of ZnO nanoparticles and their ability to perturb the mitochondrial membrane potential, possibly through oxidative mechanism.
Ecology of Hypsiboas albopunctatus (Anura: Hylidae) in a Neotropical Savanna

Abstract Although the treefrog Hypsiboas albopunctatus (Spix, 1824) (Anura: Hylidae) is abundant in South America, especially in regions of open vegetation in Brazil, information regarding its natural history is still scarce. This study describes its ecology including aspects of microhabitat use, population dynamics, diet, and reproduction in the Cerrado biome of central Brazil. We used model selection to test hypotheses of variation in survival and recapture rates as a function of differences in sex, seasonality, and climatic variables. We also tested hypotheses regarding sexual dimorphism. This species uses mainly herbaceous vegetation and bushes along margins of the ponds. Apparent survival, estimated using the Cormack-Jolly-Seber mark-recapture model, was higher for males than females and was negatively correlated with rainfall. Recapture probability was influenced by seasonality, presenting higher values in the wet season. This highlights the influence of weather, especially seasonal rainfall, on the population dynamics of anurans occurring in tropical savannas. The analysis of previously preserved individuals showed strong sexual dimorphism in body size and shape, with females being larger than males. Female body size positively correlated with clutch volume. Hypsiboas albopunctatus seems to have a generalist diet, consuming primarily Coleoptera, Aranae, and Orthoptera (assuming accidental vegetal ingestion). Prey size was positively correlated with anuran head size. Hypsiboas albopunctatus seems to be a generalist, as demonstrated by its continuous activity and reproduction, generalist diet, and habitat use, presenting some breeding adaptations to enhance offspring size, such as sexual size dimorphism related to clutch volume in females.
Fatty and Amino Acids Composition of Melon (Cucumis melo Var. saccharinus) Seeds

Abstract Seeds obtained from melon ( Cucumis melo var. saccharinus Naud, cv. Daimiel commercially classified as “Pele de Sapo”) were analyzed for their proximate composition. The seeds contained high percentage of lipids (32.3%) and proteins (19.3%). Freshly extracted oil presented acid and peroxide values of 1.76 and 4.02, respectively. The iodine and saponification values were 109.6 and 191.4, respectively. Gas chromatographic analysis of the oil revealed the presence of 23 fatty acids varying from C-6 to C-24 with the exception of C-11, C-19, C-21 and C-23. The concentrations of individual fatty acids varied from trace (less than 0.06%) quantities to about 51%. Linoleic, oleic, palmitic, and stearic acids were the principal fatty acids contributing to 51, 31, 8.5 and 6.1%, respectively, of the total fatty acids which had a relatively high percentage (82.76%) of unsaturated fatty acids. Seed proteins were deficient in the essential amino acids methionine, lysine, threonine and valine. Methionine and lysine were the first and second limiting amino acids, while arginine, aspartic and glutamic acids (13.4, 8.9 and 19.7 g/100 g of proteins, respectively), were present in good quantities.
Characterization of Resistance to Pepper Huasteco Geminivirus in Chili Peppers from Yucatán, México

Seven pepper (Capsicum chinense Jacq.) populations from the Yucatan Penin- sula, Mexico, that were selected from a field screening for viral diseases were tested for pepper huasteco geminivirus (PHV) resistance. Two populations (UX-SMH-1 and UX- SMH-24) displayed <50% of infection with PHV. Four plants did not show viral symptoms 3 months postinoculation using biolistic and grafting methods. When leaf tissue from these individuals was analyzed for PHV using quantitative PCR, it supported PHV replication, thus, the ineffective PHV infection in these symptomless individuals may be a result of restricted viral movement.
Where is the cost in copper tolerance in Mimulus guttatus? Testing the trade-off hypothesis

1. It is frequently asserted that the adaptation of metal tolerance involves a cost, i.e. tolerant individuals have a lowered fitness on uncontaminated soil. To date, however, evidence for a cost has been highly circumstantial. One well-known example of metal tolerance, copper tolerance in Mimulus guttatus, is used in this paper to search for a cost. 2. The absence of highly tolerant plants in the field, despite the ability to select, rapidly and artificially, for extreme levels of tolerance, indicates that strong selection against extreme tolerance occurs in this species. 3. Negative genetic correlations between plants selected for increased degree of tolerance and other fitness traits were sought to test the trade-off hypothesis that energy/resources needed to manifest tolerance are diverted away from other essential traits. 4. The case for using replicated selection lines when using this methodology to demonstrate a cost is put forward. It is argued that replication is required to show unambiguously that any correlations found result from the pleiotropic effects of the gene(s) that govern the adaptation and not the consequence of linkage disequilibrium. 5. No clear evidence to support the trade-off hypothesis was found.