Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
FUNDECTOMY EVOKES ELEVATED GASTRIN AND LOWERED GHRELIN SERUM LEVELS ACCOMPANIED BY DECREASE IN GEOMETRICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF FEMORA IN RATS

The aim of the study was to characterize physical parameters of bones in rats 12 weeks after fundectomy. Femora were isolated for the measurement of their physical and geometrical parameters. The three-point bending test was used to determine mechanical bone properties – maximum strength and maximum elastic force. Bone mineral density was measured in shaft with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry employing a high-resolution scanning protocol and programme for small animals. Structural parameters were also measured – cross-sectional area, second moment of inertia, cortical area, cortical thickness, cortical area index and cortical index. The circulating concentration of gastrin, ghrelin, and calcium were determined, too. The gastric resection was not accompanied by changes in body weight, mass and length of the femur. Physical and geometrical parameters of the bone were reduced by fundectomy. Serum gastrin concentration was 3.8 times higher and serum total ghrelin concentration was about 30 times lower in fundectomised rats than in controls.
Environmental impacts of grazed clover/grass pastures

Grazed clover/grass pastures are important for animal production systems and the clover component is critical for its contribution to N inputs via biological fixation of atmospheric N 2 . The resource efficiency and environmental emissions for clover/grass pastures can differ from that of N-fertilised grass-only pastures. Fixation of N 2 by clover uses photosynthetically-fixed carbon, whereas fertiliser N production consumes fossil fuels and has net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Clover has a higher phosphorus (P) requirement than grass and where extra P fertiliser is used for clover/grass pastures the risk of P loss to waterways is greater than for grass-only pastures. Nitrogen leaching from grazed pasture increases exponentially with increased N inputs and urinary-N contributes 70 to 90% of total N leaching. However, the few studies comparing clover/grass and N-fertilised grass-only pastures at similar total N inputs indicated similar N leaching losses. Nitrous oxide emissions from grazed pastures due to N-cycling of excreta are similar for clover/grass and N-fertilised grass-only pastures at similar total N inputs. However, grass-only pasture requires the application of N fertiliser, which will result in additional specific losses that don’t occur from clover-fixed N. Thus, total N 2 O emissions are generally higher for N-fertilised grass pastures than for clover/grass pastures. A summary of various whole-system and life cycle assessment analyses for dairy farms from various countries indicated that at similar total N inputs, clover/grass pasture systems can be more efficient than N-fertilised grass systems per kilogram of milk produced from an energy use and GHG perspective whereas results for nutrient losses to waterways were mixed and appear to be similar for both pasture types. In practice, other management practices on farm, such as crop integration, supplementary feeding strategy and winter management, can have a larger overall effect on environmental emissions than whether the N input is derived from fertiliser N or from N 2 fixation.
Differences in the abundance and distribution of copepods in two estuaries of the Basque coast (Bay of Biscay) in relation to pollution

The abundance and spatial distribution of copepod species were compared in the euhaline region of the polluted estuary of Bilbao [mean biological oxygen demand (BOD): 49748.05 kg day -1 in 1996] and the unperturbed estuary of Urdaibai. Sampling was performed at fixed salinity sites, where data of temperature, dissolved oxygen saturation, particulate organic matter, Secchi disk depth and chlorophyll were also obtained. Differences between the estuaries and within the estuaries for environmental variables and copepod abundances were tested statistically. The dominant species Acartia clausi and Paracalanus parvus differed significantly in abundance between estuaries, and most of nerilic species diminished more drastically with decreasing salinity in Bilbao by the effect of pollution. The different responses observed among species in relation to pollution and water desalination are discussed. The lack of the brackish-water species in Bilbao indicated that water quality worsening upward the estuary of Bilbao not only limited the penetration of neritic species but also prevented the development of autochthonous estuarine species. At the outer euhaline region of Bilbao, however, pollution was found to be low enough to enhance the development of tolerant neritic species that are favoured under moderate pollution conditions. Results indicate that comparisons of copepod abundances and distributions with salinity in estuaries may he a useful tool to evaluate the health of the different estuarine pelagic habitats.
Effect of dietary vitamin E on the performance of broilers and quality of broiler meat during refrigerated and frozen storage

Experiment 1 was carried out with 220 one-day-old broiler chicks to evaluate the effect of 11 different levels of vitamin E supplementation (viz. 0 to 200 mg a-tocopheryl acetate/kg diet) on the production performance of broilers and oxidative stability of frozen broiler carcasses. The diets with vitamin E levels of 0 to 100 mg were fed from day-old to 42 days of age, and the diets with vitamin E levels of 120 to 200 mg were fed from 21 to 42 days of age. The oxidative stability, evaluated by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), was determined after 30, 90, 120 and 150 days of storage at -20 ? C. There were no differences in weight gain (2.29 ? 0.397 kg) or feed conversion ratios (1.85 ? 0.111 kg feed/kg gain) between dietary treatments. TBARS values increased with increasing time of storage (basal diet: day 30 = 1.71 ? 0.51; day 150 = 4.89 ? 0.51), but decreased with increasing vitamin E levels (day 150: basal = 4.89 ? 0.51; 100 mg/kg = 1.09 ? 0.27). Experiment 2 was carried out with day-old broiler chicks to evaluate the effect of five levels of vitamin E supplementation (viz. 0 to 160 mg a-tocopheryl acetate/kg diet) on performance parameters and the oxidative stability of refrigerated carcasses. The experimental diets were fed from day-old to 42 days of age. Oxidative stability, evaluated by TBARS, colour deterioration and microbiological stability was determined after 0, 4, 8, 10 and 12 days of storage at 4 ? C. Fatty acid analysis was done on samples obtained on days 0 and 12. There were no differences in total weight gain (2.37 ? 0.467 kg) or feed conversion ratio (1.88 ? 0.117 kg feed/kg gain) between dietary treatments. TBARS values increased with increasing storage time, but decreased with increasing vitamin E levels. There were no differences between treatments for colour measurements for L* (44.97 ? 0.662), a* (5.23 ? 0.315) or b* (12.76 ? 0.321) values. Microbiological counts increased over time, but dietary vitamin E concentration had no effect. There were no differences between dietary treatments for any of the groups of fatty acids measured (SFA: Day 0 = 26.1 ? 1.13 %, Day 12 = 26.1 ? 1.17 %; MUFA: Day 0 = 41.4 ? 1.46 %, Day 12 = 40.2 ? 2.28 %; PUFA: Day 0 = 32.4 ? 1.95 %, Day 12 = 33.8 ? 2.52 %). Similarly, fatty acid proportions did not change over time. There were no differences between dietary groups for mean muscle pH (6.01 ? 0.206). South African Journal of Animal Science, Vol 31, Issue 3, Oct – Dec (2001): pp.158-173 Key Words Broiler meat, Vitamin E, TBA, Fatty acids, Shelf life, Refrigeration, Frozen storage, Poultry
Seasonal incidence of brinjal hadda beetle, Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata (F.) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.

The seasonal incidence of Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata on brinjal was studied at experimental farm of AMU, Aligarh during Feb. to April 2009. Initial incidence of the beetle was noticed on the 3rd week of January. The brinjal hadda beetle population reached the peak in the 3rd week of February. Decreasing trend in population was observed from Feb. to April 2009. The beetle incidence showed negative correlation with maximum and minimum temperature, and was positively correlated with minimum and maximum relative humidity.
Linkage Mapping in Rhizobium leguminosarum by means of R Plasmid-mediated Recombination

SUMMARY: Wild-type R plasmids of the P1 incompatibility group mediated the transfer of chromosomal genes in Rhizobium leguminosarum, but only at very low frequencies. Two P1 R plasmids, which had originally been selected in Pseudomonas aeruginosa for enhanced donor properties, promoted much higher levels of gene transfer in R. leguminosarum. One of these, R68.45, was used for linkage mapping. All markers tested mapped on a single circular linkage group. Segments of donor chromosome up to at least one-seventh of its total length were transferred and integrated into the recipient chromosome.
Producing Superstars for the Economic Mundial: The Mexican Predicament with Quality of Education

The question of how to build the capabilities to both initiate a resurgence of growth and facilitate Mexico’s transition into a broader set of growth enhancing industries and activities is pressing. In this regard it seems important to understand the quality of the skills of the labor force. Moreover, in increasingly knowledge based economies it is not just the skills of the typical worker than matter, but also the skills of the most highly skilled. While everyone is aware of the lagging performance of Mexico on internationally comparable examinations like the PISA, what has been less explored is the consequence of that for the absolute number of very highly skilled. We examine how many students Mexico produces per year above the “high international benchmark” of the PISA in mathematics. While the calculations are somewhat crude and only indicative, our estimates are that Mexico produces only between 3,500 and 6,000 students per year above the high international benchmark (of a cohort of roughly 2 million). In spite of educational performance that is widely lamented within the USA, it produces a quarter of a million, Korea 125,000 and even India, who in general has much worse performance on average, produces over 100,000 high performance in math students per year. The issue is not about math per se, this is just an illustration and we feel similar findings would hold in other domains. The consequences of the dearth of globally competitive human capital are explored, with an emphasis on the rise of super star phenomena in labor markets (best documented in the USA). Finally, we explore the educational policies that one might consider to focus on the upper tail of performance, which are at odds with much of the “quality” focus of typical educational policies which are often remedial and focused on the lower, not upper tail of performance.
Patterns of variation of serum oxidative stress markers in two seabird species

Variation in oxidative stress markers in natural populations may provide a useful background for understanding variation in life history strategies. In this study, we seek to evaluate patterns of variation in levels of reactive oxygen metabolites (markers of oxidative damage), serum antioxidant capacity, and serum concentration of thiols (antioxidants endogenously synthesized) in nestling and breeding blue petrels (Halobaena caerulea) and in breeding Antarctic prions (Pachyptila desolata). Male and female prions and nestling petrels did not differ in any of the oxidative stress markers. The serum antioxidant capacity positively correlated with the sample time in nestling blue petrels. Breeding petrels with higher body condition index had higher serum antioxidant capacity and circulating thiols. Finally, both seabird species showed lower levels of reactive oxygen metabolites and higher levels of serum antioxidant capacity than previously studied bird species.
Oxygen reduction in the Mehler reaction is insufficient to protect photosystems I and II of leaves against photoinactivation

The relative roles of assimilatory and photorespiratory electron flows on one side and of the Mehler-peroxidase pathway on the other side in sustaining electron transport and providing protection against photoinhibition were investigated in leaves of spinach (Spinacia oleraea L.) and sunflower (Heliantus annuus L.). After inhibiting photosynthesis and photorespiration of intact leaves by either HCN or glycolaldehyde, light-dependent linear electron transport was decreased by more than 90% at a photon flux density of 800 μmol m -2 s -1 . Remaining electron transport exhibited characteristics of the Mehler reaction. Nonphotochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence increased after inhibition of CO 2 assimilation and photorespiration indicating effective dissipation of excess excitation energy. Nevertheless, appreciable photoinactivation was observed under these conditions not only of photosystem II but also is photosystem I. This damage was oxygen-dependent. It was much reduced or absent when the oxygen concentration of the atmosphere was reduced from 21 to 1%.
Phylogenetic relationships of Moxostoma and Scartomyzon (Catostomidae) based on mitochondrial cytochrome b sequence data

A recent phylogenetic study based on morphological, biochemical and early life history characters resurrected the genus Scartomyzon (jumprock suckers, c. eight-10 species) from Moxostoma (redhorse suckers, c. 10-11 species) and advanced the understanding of relationships among species in these two genera, and the genealogical affinities of these genera with other evolutionary lineages within the tribe Moxostomatini in the subfamily Catostominae. To further examine phylogenetic relationships among moxostomatin suckers, the complete mitochondrial (mt) cytochrome b gene was sequenced from all species within this tribe and representative outgroup taxa from the Catostomini and other catostomid subfamilies. Phylogenetic analysis of gene sequences yielded two monophyletic clades within Catostominae: Catstomus+Deltistes+Xyrauchen+Erimyzon+Minytrema and Moxostoma + Scartomyzon+Hypenteilum+Thoburnia. Within the Moxostomatini, Thoburnia was either unresolved or polyphyletic; Thoburnia atripinnis was sister to a monophyletic Hypentelium. In turn, this clade was sister to a monophyletic clade containing Scartomyzon and Moxostoma. Scartomyzon was never resolved as monophyletic, but was always recovered as a polyphyletic group embedded within Moxostoma, rendering the latter genus paraphyletic if 'Scartomyzon' continues to be recognized. Relationships among lineages within the Moxostoma and 'Scartomyzon' clade were resolved as a polytomy. To better reflect phylogenetic relationships resolved in this analysis, the following changes to the classification of the tribe Moxostomatini are proposed: subsumption of 'Scartomyzon' into Moxostoma; restriction of the tribe Moxostomatini to Moxostoma; resurrect the tribe Erimyzonini, containing Erimyzon and Minytrema, classified as incertae sedis within Catostominae; retain the tribe Thoburniini.
Physical-mechanical and anatomical characterization in 26-year-old Eucalyptus resinifera wood

In the present study, we aimed to characterize Eucalyptus resinifera wood through physical and mechanical assays and wood anatomy studies, as well as determine the relationships between the properties and anatomy of wood. We used samples collected from the area close to the bark of ten 26-year-old E. resinifera trees. We concluded that the specific gravity (Gb), compression (fc0), and shear parallel to grain (fv0) were ranked in strength classes C30, C40 and C60, respectively, and that volumetric shrinkage (VS) was ranked as high. A positive relationship between Gb and fv0 results from the higher specific gravity associated with higher tissue proportion, in turn, causing higher shear strength. Higher ray frequency increases shear strength, because rays act as reinforcing elements. A negative relationship between VS and vessel diameter occurs because vessel walls are highly resistant to collapse, and since larger lumens represent a higher proportion of empty spaces, less tissue is available for shrinkage.
Some factors influencing milk somatic cell count of Holstein Friesian and Brown Swiss cows under the Mediterranean climatic conditions

Abstract. The aim of this study was to determine the influencing factors on somatic cell count (SCC) in the milk of Holstein Friesian (HF) and Brown Swiss (BS) cows raised on three dairy farms under the Mediterranean climatic conditions in Turkey. For a two-year period, farms were visited monthly to measure daily milk yield (DMY) and collect milk samples from each cow during the morning and evening milking. Total of 1 429 SCC readings from 67 HF and 16 BS cows were analyzed by using repeated measures. Breed (P 0.05). The SCC means for BS and HF cows were 5.464±0.060 (291 072 cells/ml) and 5.654±0.029 (450 817 cells/ml), respectively. The SCC mean for morning milking (338 065 cells/ml) was 25 850 cells/ml lower than that of evening milking. The LN4 had the highest SCC mean (490 908 cells/ml) and was statistically different from those of LN1 (P
Zinc hyperaccumulation and cellular distribution in Arabidopsis halleri

Although Arabidopsis halleri (=Cardaminopsis halleri) is known as a Zn hyperaccumulator, there have been no detailed studies on Zn accumulation, tolerance and cellular distribution in this species. In a hydroponic experiment, A. halleri grew healthily with Zn concentrations varying from 1 to 1000 μM, without showing phytotoxicity or reduction in root or shoot dry weights. The concentration of Zn in the shoots increased from 300 μg g−1 dry weight in the 1 μM Zn treatment to 32 000 μg g−1 in the 1000 μM Zn treatment. Approximately 60% of the total Zn in the shoots were water-soluble, and there was no evidence of Zn and P co-precipitation. Both citric and malic acid concentrations in the shoots were not significantly affected by the Zn treatments, whereas in the roots there was a positive response in both organic acids to increasing Zn in solution. Cellular distribution of Zn, Ca and K in frozen hydrated leaf tissues was examined using energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis. Zinc was sequestered in the base of trichomes, whereas the middle and upper parts of trichomes were highly enriched with Ca. Mesophyll cells appeared to have more Zn than the epidermis, probably because the latter were very small in size. Similarities and differences between A. halleri and the other well-known Zn hyperaccumulator, Thlaspi caerulescens, are discussed.
Maize seed selection by East African smallholder farmers and resistance to Maize streak virus

Interviews identified that most small-scale maize farmers in central Uganda and in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania plant home-saved seed of landraces or seed derived from various open-pollinated and hybrid varieties. Some farmers also bought a portion of their seed, either certified seed, locally traded seed or even maize sold for consumption. Selection for home-saved seed was generally among harvested cobs. Big cobs with many, regularly arranged, large, white, flint kernels were preferred. A maize cob may bear several hundred seeds, so a farmer needs to save <1% of cobs for seed. A form of resistance in which plants show only moderate symptoms and suffer only a small reduction in yield when infected has been incorporated in some released varieties. Because not all plants in most crops are infected and because plants uninfected with Maize streak virus (MSV) tend to produce bigger cobs than infected resistant plants, the few cobs selected by a farmer for seed may all be from the uninfected ‘escapes’, with no preferential selection of resistant types. On-station simulation of the farmers’ selection process in a crop of the MSV-resistant maize variety, Longe 1, confirmed this. An alternative very strong form of MSV resistance was identified.
Competition for mutualists: aphids and ants

Evidence is presented which supports the hypothesis that competition occurs among species of aphids for the services of ants. It is suggested that, in addition to the more familiar pollination systems, aphid–ant systems should be used for the study of competition for mutualists because aphid–ant systems have both a significant advantage and important differences with respect to pollination systems.
Retiree Health Benefits and the Decision to Retire

We estimate the effect of employer offers of retiree health benefits (RHBs) on the timing of retirement using a sample of men observed over a period of up to 12 years in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Our main concern is that such estimates may be contaminated by unobserved heterogeneity—workers with a taste for early retirement sort into jobs offering RHBs. We attempt to address this concern by using a fixed-effects estimator, which yields substantially smaller estimates of the effect of RHB offers than estimators that do not attempt to control for unobservables. The findings suggest that an RHB offer increased the probability of retirement by 14 percent on average for men born between 1931 and 1941.
ALTERNATING MAGNETIC FIELD IRRADIATION EFFECTS ON THREE GENOTYPE MAIZE SEED FIELD PERFORMANCE

A b s t r a c t . In this study alternating magnetic field treatments at low frequency (60 Hz) with combinations of three magnetic flux densities (20, 60 and 100 mT) and three exposure times (7.5, 15 and 30 minutes) were used as pre-sowing seed treatments in three maize ( Zea mays L.) genotypes (CL-12 X CL-11, CL-4 X CL-1 and CL-13 x CL-1). In the case of CL-12 X CL-11 genotype these treatments increased significantly the seedling eme rgence rate, seedling dry weight and emergence in soil. The best treatment was found at magnetic f lux density of 100 mT and exposure time of 7.5 min, with significant improvements in seedling emer gence rate by 123.2%, field emergence by 110% and seedling dry weight, 21 days after plantin g, by 30.1%. In the case of CL-4 X CL-1 genotype it was found a negative biostimulation for see dling emergence percentage; finally in the CL-13 x CL-1 genotype there was not any significant effec t. These results show that electromagnetic field treatment provide a simple and ecologically well co mpatible method to improve seed vigour in maize but is necessary to find the optimal irradiat ion parameters to induce a positive biostimulation in the maize seeds which also depends on the seed g enotype.