Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Proposed standard weight (W s) equations for Telestes muticellus (Bonaparte, 1837) in the Tiber River basin

relative weight (W r) is a body condition index that enables the evaluation of the wellbeing of fish by com- paring the actual weight of a specimen with the ideal weight of a specimen of the same species and same length, in good physiological condition, i.e., standard weight (W s). two methods of calculating standard weight are proposed in the litera- ture: the RLP and the EmP method. The main aim of this study was to work out standard weight equations for Italian riffle dace, Telestes muticellus, in the tiber river basin. to this end, length and weight measurements of 9,186 specimens from 57 watercourses in the tiber river basin were analysed. the resulting standard weight equations were: log 10 (Ws) = -5.085 + 3.081 log 10 (tl) for rlP method and log 10 (Ws) = -3.706 + 1.685 log 10 (tl) + 0.349 (log 10 (tl)) 2 for emP method. a further aim of this research was to compare the performance of the two proposed methods ( rlP and emP). the use of the emP Ws equation to compute W r of Italian riffle dace in the Tiber River basin is suggested, as it proved not to be influenced by length-related bias.
Studying beta diversity: ecological variation partitioning by multiple regression and canonical analysis

Aims Beta diversity is the variation in species composition among sites in a geographic region. Beta diversity is a key concept for understanding the functioning of ecosystems, for the conservation of biodiversity and for ecosystem management. The present report describes how to analyse beta diversity from community composition and associated environmental and spatial data tables. Methods Beta diversity can be studied by computing diversity indices for each site and testing hypotheses about the factors that may explain the variation among sites. Alternatively, one can carry out a direct analysis of the community composition data table over the study sites, as a function of sets of environmental and spatial variables. These analyses are carried out by the statistical method of partitioning the variation of the diversity indices or the community composition data table with respect to environmental and spatial variables. Variation partitioning is briefly described herein. Important findings Variation partitioning is a method of choice for the interpretation of beta diversity using tables of environmental and spatial variables. Beta diversity is an interesting ‘currency’ for ecologists to compare either different sampling areas or different ecological communities cooccurring in an area. Partitioning must be based upon unbiased estimates of the variation of the community composition data table that is explained by the various tables of explanatory variables. The adjusted coefficient of determination provides such an unbiased estimate in both multiple regression and canonical redundancy analysis. After partitioning, one can test the significance of the fractions of interest and plot maps of the fitted values corresponding to these fractions.
Agronomic and seed traits of soybean lines with high-oleate concentration

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr. ] lines with the transgenic event DP-305423-1 produce a high-oleate oil and those with the fan1(C1640) and fan3(RG10) alleles produce a low-linolenate oil. The objective of this study was to evaluate the agronomic and seed traits of high-oleate and low-linolenate (HOLL) lines, high-oleate and normal-linolenate (HONL) lines, and normal-oleate and normal-linolenate (NONL) lines selected from four single-cross populations segregating for the three genes. A minimum of 14 F 3:5 lines of each class in the four populations were evaluated in five environments during 2009. The mean fatty ester concentrations averaged across populations were 786 g kg -1 oleate and 24 g kg- 1 linolenate for the HOLL lines, 784 g kg -1 oleate and 56 g kg -1 linolenate for the HONL lines, and 226 g kg -1 oleate and 75 g kg -1 linolenate for the NONL lines. The mean yield of the NONL lines was significantly greater than the HOLL lines by 4.5% and the HONL lines by 3.0%. Of the 10 highest yielding lines in each population, 60% were NONL, 25% HOLL, and 15% HONL, which indicated that it would be possible to select cultivars of both classes that yield as well as NONL cultivars. The overlap among the three classes in the distributions of lines for protein, oil, seed weight, maturity, height, and lodging indicated that it would be possible to develop HOLL and HONL cultivars comparable to NONL cultivars for those traits.
Evaluating exotic predator control programs using non-invasive genetic tagging

Carnivorous predators are difficult to detect using conventional survey methods, especially at low levels of abundance. The introduced red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in Australia is monitored to determine the effectiveness of control programs, but assessing population parameters such as abundance and recruitment is difficult. We carried out a feasibility study to determine the effectiveness of using faecal DNA analysis methods to identify individual foxes and to assess abundance before and after lethal control. Fox faeces were collected in two sampling periods over four separate transects, and genotyped at five microsatellite loci. Two transects were subject to lethal control between collection periods. DNA was extracted from 170 fox faeces and, in total, 54 unique genotypes were identified. Fifteen biopsy genotypes from 30 foxes killed during lethal control were detected among the faecal genotypes. Overall, a similar number of genotypes were detected in both sampling periods. The number of individuals sampled in both periods was low (n = 6) and new individuals (n = 24) were detected in the second collection period. We were also able to detect animals that avoided lethal control, and movement of individuals between transects. The ability to identify individual foxes using these DNA techniques highlighted the shortcomings of the sample design, in particular the spatial scale and distances between transects. This study shows that non-invasive DNA sampling can provide valuable insight into pre and post fox abundance in relation to lethal control, individual behaviour and movement, as well as sample design. The information gained from this study will contribute to the design of future studies and, ultimately, control strategies.
NEW BASAL SELENODONT ARTIODACTYLS FROM THE PONDAUNG FORMATION (LATE MIDDLE EOCENE, MYANMAR) AND THE PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS OF EARLY RUMINANTS

ABSTRACT A new genus and species of an assumed ruminant artiodactyl Thandaungia tinti and an enigmatic dichobunoid artiodactyl are reported from the late middle Eocene Pondaung Formation, central Myanmar. Phylogenetic and biogeographic implications of these taxa are discussed in the context of the adaptative radiation of Selenodontia in Asia. Although poorly represented, these new forms provide an important glimpse into the early evolution of bunoselenodont artiodactyls in Asia, and shed new light on the phylogenetic relationships of basal ruminants. The upper molars of these new taxa display a peculiar morphology that sets them apart from both previously described early ruminants and advanced dichobunoids. A cladistic analysis of early ruminants based on 60 dental features clearly indicates that the new putative ‘proto-ruminant’ from Pondaung may constitute the first offshoot from basal Ruminantia, and may be closely related to the disputed hypertragulid? Simimeryx, known from the middle Eocene of North America. Moreover, these preliminary results underscore the problem of definition for the suborder Ruminantia in that only dental features are considered. Although an Asian origin for ruminants is supported here, further evidence is needed to document the early evolution of ruminants and related selenodont artiodactyls in Asia, which would ultimately improve understanding of the phylogenetic and biogeographic patterns of Paleogene artiodactyls in Asia.
Declines in the numbers of amateur and professional taxonomists: implications for conservation

To ensure the effective conservation of biodiversity the distribution of species needs to be accurately characterized and areas of high species richness located. For many taxa this can be achieved only by experienced taxonomists. Taxonomic research has a large input from non‐professional or amateur researchers, in addition to professionals working at museums or universities. The decline of taxonomy and the number of taxonomists within the professional community has been widely publicized, but the trends in the activities of amateur taxonomists are unclear. Because amateurs contribute many valuable records of species occurrence this may have a disproportionate impact upon the information available for conservation planning and represents an underappreciated threat to conservation planning. We use taxonomic research by UK entomologists in order to evaluate the changing role of both amateur and professional taxonomists. We reviewed contributions by British‐based authors to Entomologist's Monthly Magazine over the past century. Our results show that both amateur and professional taxonomy have undergone a long and persistent decline since the 1950s, in terms of both the number of contributors and the number of papers contributed. It is argued that the conservation community needs to help try and reverse the decline of taxonomy.
Effect of variations in growth parameters on cellulase activity of Trichoderma viride NSPR006 cultured on different wood-dusts

Aims: The biotechnology research into agro wastes has been driven by the need to screen organisms for hyperproduction of novel extracellular enzymes in which cellulase plays a significant role. Therefore, the aim of the study was to pre-screen selected fungal strains and optimize cultural conditions for cellulase production by Trichoderma viride NSPR006 cultured on pretreated sawdust as lignocellulosic substrate. Methodology and results: The selected fungal isolates namely Trichoderma viride NSPR006, Botrydiplodia NSPR007 and Acremonium butyri NSPR06B obtained from the culture collection of the Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria were screened for the production of cellulase in mineral salt medium in which carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) had been incorporated as the sole carbon source. All the tested fungal isolates produced cellulase with differences in the amount of enzyme production. Of all the selected fungal isolates screened, Trichoderma viride NSPR006 was found to yield highest cellulase activity compared to the other isolates. Among tested carbon sources, Pachyslasma tessmani wood dust at 3% level proved to the best for cellulase production. Of the entire tested organic nitrogen sources, locust beans were observed to yield maximum cellulase activity (0.194 µmol/min/mL). The optimum temperature, incubation time and pH for maximum cellulase production were 28 °C, 72 h and 6.5, respectively. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: Outcome of this study shows the effectiveness of pre-treatment of wood dust as low cost system for hyper-production of cellulase for industrial application. Also, the work revealed the use of pretreated wood dust as substitute to commercial substrate known to be expensive in cellulase production.
Taxa de cruzamento e sistema reprodutivo de uma população natural de Copaifera langsdorffii Desf. na região de Lavras (MG) por meio de isoenzimas

A natural population of the tree species Copaifera langsdorffii Desf. , commonly found in Brazil, was investigated by isozyme electrophoresis, aiming to determine the outcrossing rate and mating system. The population sampled is located along a stretch of the river Capivari in an area of preservation (Riparian Forest), between the towns of Lavras and Itumirim, south of Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Samples of leaf tissue were taken from 20 adult individuals and from 400 progenies for isozyme analysis. Five enzymatic systems were evaluated in adults (24 alleles average) and progenies (29 total alleles). The mating system of this population was approached by the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium test (HWE) where it was found that most loci of the adult individuals is in the ratios of the HWE and most loci of the progenies is out of the it. The estimate of the average multilocus (tm) and unilocus outcrossing rate (ts) was respectively 0.917 and 0.877, pointing out the existence of self-fertilization (8%) in the population studied. The results obtained by isozymes analyses indicated also that the species Copaifera langsdorffii is predominantly alogamous. The population has relatively high genetic variation making this population of C. langsdorffii a valuable source for genetic conservation. The minimum area size estimated for the in situ conservation was 5.0 ha.
Effect of Maitake (Grifola frondosa) Mushroom Powder on Bread Properties

: Maitake mushroom powder drastically decreased dough strength in Brabender farinography and was also effective in deteriorating bread-making properties (bread height and specific volume). These effects of maitake on farinograph values and bread-making properties were lost by boiling maitake/water suspensions or by adding EDTA, suggesting that the deteriorative effects by maitake may be caused by a metal protease. Flour dough that contained maitake was treated with 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and extracted proteins were subjected to SE-HPLC and SDS-PAGE. The range of high-molecular-weight (HMW) protein in those profiles gradually decreased with an increase of maitake, and HMW protein/total protein correlated well with bread height but did not have a clear effect on specific volume.
Gene expression pattern Expression of ARNT, ARNT2, HIF1a, HIF2a and Ah receptor mRNAs in the developing mouse

The basic helix-loop-helix-PAS (bHLH-PAS) protein ARNT is a dimeric partner of the Ah receptor (AHR) and hypoxia inducible factor 1a (HIF1a). These dimers mediate biological responses to xenobiotic exposure and low oxygen tension. The recent cloning of ARNT and HIF1 homologues (ARNT2 and HIF2a) indicates that at least six distinct bHLH-PAS heterodimeric combinations can occur in response to a number of environmental stimuli. In an effort to understand the biological relevance of this combinatorial complexity, we characterized their relative expression at a number of developmental time points by parallel in situ hybridization of adjacent tissue sections. Our results reveal that in general there is limited redundancy in the expression of these six transcription factors and that each of these bHLH-PAS members displays a unique pattern of developmental expression emerging as early as embryonic day 9.5. © 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.
A new HpaII PCR-RFLP within the porcine prolactin receptor (PRLR) gene and study of its effect on litter size and number of teats

DNA polymorphism of the porcine prolactin receptor gene (PRLR) was investigated and used to study its effect on litter size and number of teats in pigs. By means of PRLR gene sequence homology in pig, human and other species, primers were designed for PCR amplification within 5′ unknown (to date) part of the prolactin receptor gene in pigs. In this part of the gene, a new polymorphism with HpaII restriction endonuclease was detected. AluI polymorphism described before and our new HpaII polymorphism were used to study the associations with reproduction traits. The PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method was used to genotype AluI and HpaII loci of the PRLR gene in line A with 83 sows of Landrace breed and in two lines (B and C) with 75 and 86 Large White sows, respectively. Statistical analysis of 1020 litters showed that AluI locus was associated with litter size mainly in Landrace and affected the first parities, while HpaII locus of the gene was associated with the same traits in Landrace and Large White pigs and mainly affected numbers of weaned of pigs. The magnitude of the effect varied by population with the effects exceeding two pigs per litter in Landrace line and 1 pig per litter in Large White populations. Ein neuer HpaII PCR-RFLP innerhalb des porcinen Prolaktionrezeptorgens (PRLR), und Zusammenhange zur Wurfgrose und Zitzenzahl DNA-Polymorphismen im porcinen Prolaktionrezeptorgen (PRLR) wurden untersucht und fur die Analyse von Einflussen auf Wurfgrose und Zitzenzahl bei Schweinen verwendet. Auf der Basis der PRLR-Gensequenzhomologie zwischen Schwein, Mensch und anderen Spezies wurden Primer fur die PCR-Amplifikation aus dem 5′ Bereich des Prolaktionrezeptorgens abgeleitet, der bisher beim Schwein noch unbekannt ist. In diesem Teil des Gens wurde mittels HpaII-Restriktionsendonuklease ein neuer Polymorphismus dargestellt. AluI Polymorphismus und der neue HpaII Polymorphismus wurden fur Assoziationsstudien in Bezug auf Reproduktionsmerkmale verwendet. Mittels PCR-RFLP wurden in Linie A 83 Sauen der Landrasse und die Linien B und C mit 75 bzw. 86 Large White Sauen unter Verwendung von AluI und HpaII am PRLR-Gen genotypisiert. Die statistische Analyse von 1.020 Wurfen zeigte, dass der AluI-Polymorphismus insbesondere in der Landrasse mit der Wurfgrose assoziiert ist, sowie die ersten Trachtigkeiten beeinflusst, wahrend der HpaII Polymorphismus die gleichen Merkmale in der Landrasse und Large White Schweinen und insbesondere die Zahl an abgesetzten Ferkeln beeinflusste. Die Auswirkungen des Effekts variierten innerhalb Population, wobei der Effekt 2 Ferkel je Wurf in der Landrasse-Linie und 1 Ferkel je Wurf in der Large White Populationen uberstieg.
Beach rock as a keystone habitat for amphibious sea snakes

SUMMARY The shorelines of coral islets are subject to strong anthropogenic pressure, being highly coveted for tourism. These landforms contain unique biotic assemblages but unfortunately are limited in size making them extremely vulnerable to perturbation. Robust information linking habitat structure and species requirements is urgently needed to promote and guide the conservation of these fragile areas. New Caledonia contains critical shore habitats for two species of amphibious sea snakes. One species (Laticauda laticaudata) shelters almost exclusively under mobile beach rocks, which are both easily accessible from the sea and regularly submerged at high tide. The scarcity of such specific and spatially limited habitat restricts the distribution of this species to highly localized areas. The other species (L. saintgironsi) uses a greater variety of terrestrial refuges, but has a preference for shores with abundant beach rocks. These findings offer a robust basis to promote the conservation of these crucial habitats and to justify their inclusion in marine protected areas (MPA), which in turn should benefit a wide array of other organisms also dependent on beach rocks.
Risk factors for the exacerbation of patients with 2019 Novel Coronavirus: A meta-analysis

Many studies have reported the risk factors for exacerbations in patients with 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). This study aims to perform the meta-analysis of risk factors for the exacerbation of the novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia (NCIP). PubMed, Embase and Google scholar have been searched. We included the cohort studies involving risk factors for the exacerbation of NCIP. This meta-analysis compared the risk factors of patients between intensive care (ICU) group and non-ICU group. Two cohort studies were included in this study. After comparing the patients between intensive care (ICU) group and non-ICU group, several important factors were found to significantly increase the risk of exacerbations in patients with NCIP, and they included hypertension (RR=2.34; 95% CI=1.21 to 4.51; P=0.01), cardiovascular diseases (RR=2.28; 95% CI=1.13 to 4.58; P=0.02), COPD (RR=7.65; 95% CI=1.24 to 47.13; P=0.03), dyspnea (RR=2.89; 95% CI=2.05 to 4.08; P<0.00001), myalgia or fatigue (RR=1.24; 95% CI=1.01 to 1.52; P=0.04), but several factors such as gender, Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market exposure, diabetes, chronic liver disease, malignancy, fever, cough, expectoration, headache and diarrhoea appeared to have no obvious effect on the exacerbation of pneumonia. In addition, as the exacerbation of pneumonia, some complications had the high probability to occur according to the meta-analysis of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (RR=13.95; 95% CI=6.20 to 31.41; P<0.00001), shock (RR=24.29; 95% CI=4.66 to 126.69; P=0.0002), acute cardiac injury (RR=10.32; 95% CI=3.05 to 34.96; P=0.0002) and acute kidney injury (RR=5.90; 95% CI=1.32 to 26.35; P=0.02) between two groups. Several risk factors were confirmed to significantly improve the risk of exacerbation in patients with NCIP, which was very important for the exacerbation prediction and treatment of these patients.
ImmuneResponse toBovineHerpesHerpesvirus Type1Infections: Virus-Specific Antibodies inSeraFromInfected Animals

nonglycosylated protein. Thefour glycoproteins were allcoprecipitated bya neutralizing monoclonal antibody andwereprobably involved as target antigens invirus neutralization. Anotherantigenically unrelated glycoprotein witha molecular weight of82,000 anda nonglycosylated protein witha molecular weight of91,000 werealso precipitated, butthe immuneresponsetothese twoproteins was transient. Reactivity togp82was onlyweakly detected inserum fromnaturally infected animals. Contact control animals whichdidnotcontract a bovineherpes virustype1 infection butwere exposed toinfected animals withsigns ofsevereillness hadantibodies whichrecognized gplO2, gp96, gp69andgp55aswell aspli5. Theseantibodies werepresent inlowamountsand,incontrast to infected animals, didnotincrease between acuteandconvalescent sampling.
Vegetation transition following drainage in a high-latitude hyper-oceanic ecosystem

Questions: How does draining affect the composition of vegetation? Are certain functional groups favoured? Can soil parameters explain these differences? Location: Central Faroe Islands, treeless islands in the northern boreal vegetation zone. Since 1987, an area of 21 km2 at 100–200 m a.s. l. was drained in order to provide water for hydro-electric production. Method: Vegetation and soil of a drained area and a control, undrained neighbouring area of approximately the same size were sampled in 2007. Six sites were sampled in each area. The vegetation was classified with cluster analysis. Results: Four plant communities were defined in the area: Calluna vulgaris–Empetrum nigrum–Vaccinium myrtillus heath, Scirpus cespitosus–Eriophorum angustifolium blanket mire, Carex bigelowii–Racomitrium lanuginosum moss-heath, Narthecium ossifragum–Carex panacea mire. Heath was more extensively distributed within, and was the dominant community of the drained area, whereas moss-heath was more extensive in the undrained area. Blanket mire and mire had approximately the same distribution in both areas. For the blanket mire, species composition indicated drier conditions in the drained than in the undrained area. The drained area had higher frequencies of woody species and lichens, grasses had finer roots and available soil phosphate was considerably higher, whereas the undrained area had higher frequencies of grasses and sedges. Conclusion: The dominant plant communities were different in the two areas, which indicated that the blanket mire was drying in the drained area. Higher concentration of soil phosphate in the drained area also indicated increased decomposition of organic soils owing to desiccation.