Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Importance of Terrestrial Dispersal for Connectivity Among Headwater Salamander Populations

Many organisms are primarily constrained to the channels of the upstream terminus of river networks with limited capacities for both in-stream and overland dispersal. Dispersal is believed to contribute to gene flow and the demographic stability of headwater populations. While assumed, the importance of overland dispersal to gene flow is largely unexplored in headwater salamanders. Six microsatellite markers were used to assess patterns of genetic population structure for a headwater salamander, Desmognathus fuscus. Tissue samples were collected using a nested hierarchical study design, which specifically addressed the contribution of overland movements to the genetic connectivity of headwater populations. Genetic divergence was significant among all populations (Fst = 0.027–0.405) and at all hierarchical spatial scales. However, lower degrees of genetic population structure were observed among proximal streams that shared no downstream hydrologic connections. Mantel tests indicated a significant relation.
THE ENVIRONMENT FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL ATTITUDES IN POPULATIONS OF RURAL AREAS IN POLAND FORMERLY OCCUPIED BY STATE-OWNED FARMS

Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Vytautas Magnus University. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. THE ENVIRONMENT FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL ATTITUDES IN POPULATIONS OF RURAL AREAS IN POLAND FORMERLY OCCUPIED BY STATE-OWNED FARMS
The Presence of Poultry Influenza Strains in Two Live Bird Markets near the East-West Boundary of Vietnam

The spread of avian influenza virus among Asian countries is becoming a concern after influenza epidemics in recent years. This study is aimed at identifying the subtypes of avian influenza viruses collected from healthy chickens and ducks at two live bird markets in a border province of Vietnam and the Lao People Democratic Republic. Cloacal and tracheal swab samples from 100 chickens and 101 ducks were collected in May 2017. All samples were screened to detect avian influenza virus by real-time reverse transcriptase PCR. Samples that are avian influenza virus-positive were isolated in embryonated chicken eggs, and the subtypes were identified by RT-PCR with the specific primers. The samples positive for influenza virus H5 were sequenced to identify HA and NA genes. The prevalence of avian influenza virus (AIV) among chicken and duck samples was 27.5% (55/200) and 24.8% (50/202), respectively. AIV subtypes identified among 17 samples positive with the hemagglutination test include H3N6, H6N6, and H9N2. Of these 17 samples, 7 duck samples were found to be H6N6, 4 duck samples were infected with both subtypes of H3N6 and H6N6, and two chicken samples were recorded as H9N2. A positive chicken sample with A/H5 contains 99% similarity nucleotide with H5N6 reference strain. Results suggested that while the presence of low pathogenic avian influenza virus is predominant, potential risks of the appearance of high pathogen avian influenza virus in the east-west boundary in Vietnam should be concerned and studied further. Furthermore, prevention activities are needed to reduce such biosecurity threats in Vietnam and other Asian countries.
Does chemical composition of individual Scots pine trees determine the biodiversity of their associated ground vegetation

Despite plant secondary metabolites being major determinants of species interactions and ecosystem processes, their role in the maintenance of biodiversity has received little attention. In order to investigate the relationship between chemical and biological diversity in a natural ecosystem, we considered the impact of chemical diversity in individual Scots pine trees (Pinus sylvestris) on species richness of associated ground vegetation. Scots pine trees show substantial genetically determined constitutive variation between individuals in concentrations of a group of secondary metabolites, the monoterpenes. When the monoterpenes of particular trees were assessed individually, there was no relationship with species richness of associated ground flora. However, the chemical diversity of monoterpenes of individual trees was significantly positively associated with the species richness of the ground vegetation beneath each tree, mainly the result of an effect among the non-woody vascular plants. This correlation suggests that the chemical diversity of the ecosystem dominant species has an important role in shaping the biodiversity of the associated plant community. The extent and significance of this effect, and its underlying processes require further investigation.
Effect of cryopreservation on the enzyme activity of Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii Brandt & Ratzeburg, 1833) semen

Summary The hypothesis was tested that cryodamage occurs during the storage of semen at −196°C and that cryopreservation has a negative effect on the enzyme activity and motility of semen in the Russian sturgeon, Acipenser gueldenstaedtii. In addition, the aim of the study was to determine the activity of metabolic enzymes, including adenosintriphosphatase (total ATPase), creatine kinase (CK), succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), plus antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and glutathione reductase (GR). After cryopreservation (storage at −196°C), the motility and duration of semen fell and the total ATPase, SDH, LDH and CK activity in the spermatozoa was reduced. In the seminal plasma, however, total ATPase, SDH, LDH and CK activity increased markedly. Activity also notably increased in the group with no diluents or cryoprotectants. SOD, CAT and GSH-Px activities also increased in the seminal plasma but dropped with regard to the spermatozoa, whereas the GR activity varied. The antioxidant enzyme activity trend between the groups with and without the addition of cryoprotectants was the same as in the metabolic enzyme activity. Cryopreservation had a great effect on the enzyme activity and motility of A. gueldenstaedtii semen; however, the cryoprotectant protected the semen during cryopreservation.
Isoniazid Preventive Therapy in Contacts of Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis.

RATIONALE The World Health Organization recommends the use of isoniazid alone or in combination with rifapentine to treat latent tuberculosis infection. The recent rise of drug-resistant tuberculosis has complicated the choice of latent tuberculosis infection treatment regimen. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the effects of isoniazid preventive therapy on contacts of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis patients Methods: In a prospective cohort study conducted between September 2009 and August 2012, we identified 4,500 index tuberculosis patients and 14,044 tuberculosis-exposed household contacts whom we followed for one year for the occurrence of incident tuberculosis disease. Although Peruvian national guidelines specify that isoniazid preventive therapy should be provided to contacts aged 19 and under, only half this group received isoniazid preventive therapy. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Among 4,216 contacts under 19 years of age, 2,106 (50%) initiated isoniazid preventive therapy at enrollment. The protective effect of isoniazid was more extreme in contacts exposed to drug-sensitive (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.30 [95% confidence interval, 0.18-0.48]) and to multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (0.19 [0.05-0.66]) compared to those exposed to mono-isoniazid-resistant (0.80 [0.23-2.80]). In the second independent study, tuberculosis occurred in none of the 76 household contacts who received isoniazid preventive therapy compared to 3% (8/273) of those who did not. CONCLUSION Household contacts who received isoniazid preventive therapy had a lower incidence of tuberculosis disease even when they had been exposed to an index patient with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Isoniazid may have a role in the management of latent multidrug-resistant tuberculosis infection.
Ecological studies on the Lime Hill serpentine, Scotland

Summary Lime Hill is an example of a serpentine outcrop which shows only to a limited extent the features of vegetation often associated with ultrabasic rock. Plant and soil analyses from this site are presented and compared with those from other Scottish serpentines. Substantial quantities of heavy metals are present at Lime Hill. It is suggested that the cause of the absence of serpentine-characteristic plants lies in a relatively low soil Mg : Ca ratio and/or high P and K levels.
Glucose Transporter-1 Cooperating with AKT Signaling Promote Gastric Cancer Progression

Objective High expression of GLUT1 has been observed in numerous solid cancers, facilitating glucose consumption for supporting tumor cell survival. The altered metabolic activity is regulated by series of signaling pathways, including AKT signaling that acts as a key role in glucose metabolism and shows close correlation with the malignant transformation. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the effect of GLUT1 on gastric cancer (GC) and to explore the relation between GLUT1 and AKT signaling. Materials and Methods GLUT1, p-AKT, and p-S6k1 expression were investigated by immunohistochemistry and semi-quantitative analysis in 57 paired-GC samples. The relationship of GLUT1 with clinical indexes in GC tissues was investigated. The effects of GLUT1 on the prognosis of GC patients and the underlying mechanism involved were studied by subgroup analysis. Results In GC tissues, an obvious increase in GLUT1 expression was observed when compared with that of normal tissues (P<0.001). Advanced clinicopathological factors (tumor size P=0.019, invasion depth P=0.002, lymph node metastasis P<0.001, differentiation P=0.024, neural invasion P=0.003, and TNM staging P=0.001) correlated with high GLUT1 levels. GLUT1 was an independent risk factor resulting in poor prognosis (P=0.002, HR=5.132). GLUT1 increased the activation ratio of p-AKT (P<0.01) and p-S6K1 (P<0.001) in GC. The expression of p-S6K1 and GLUT1 was positively correlated. (P=0.001, R=0.173). The survival probability of GC patients with GLUT1(+)/p-S6K1(+) was worse when compared to that of GLUT1(+)/p-S6K1(-) or GLUT1(-)/p-S6K1(+) (P<0.001). Conclusion High expression of GLUT1 facilitated GC progression, leading to poor prognosis. Overexpression of GLUT1 activated AKT-S6K1 axis, resulting in adverse outcomes of GC. GLUT1 is novel indicator of GC prognosis and GLUT1 targeted metabolic treatment that has potential therapeutic value.
Provisioning calls of the cooperatively breeding bell miner Manorina melanophrys encode sufficient information for individual discrimination

Acoustically-mediated individual discrimination has been the focus of much investigation in ornithology. For cooperatively breeding species, strong selection pressure favouring individual recognition during acts of altruism is predicted under many of the most interesting hypotheses proposed to account for helping behaviour. We investigated differences in 157 calls given by 12 different individuals as they provisioned nestlings, including both breeding and helper bell miners Manorina melanophrys (Meliphagidae), a cooperatively breeding honeyeater endemic to south-eastern Australia. Individual differences were apparent in all 15 call parameters analysed, many with a high level of repeatability. Moreover, the information capacity of mew calls allows as many as 515 different signatures to exist in the system. As many parameters showed strong sex differences, separate discriminant functions were used to predict individual identity within each sex. Five parameters were used in a function that correctly identified over 90% of female calls in both a training (n / 35) and test dataset (n / 11) not used to generate the function. Among males, a separate function used six parameters to correctly assign individual identity in 89.3% (n /84; training) and 77.8% (n /27; test) of cases. Three original parameters, including spectral and spatial characteristics, were highly correlated with functions predicting identity in both sexes. The accuracy of functions was not influenced by a signaller’s sex, breeding status, or by sampling period which was spread over as much as two breeding seasons within individuals. Significant potential therefore exists for bell miners to use these simple provisioning calls in individual discrimination. If this is the case, call information also has the potential to be used by receivers as predicted by signalling hypotheses proposed to account for cooperative helping behaviour, such as the pay-to-stay and social prestige hypotheses.
MIGRATION OF LIMULUS FOR MATING: RELATION TO LUNAR PHASE, TIDE HEIGHT, AND SUNLIGHT

In the spring, horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) along the eastern coast of North America migrate toward shore to build nests close to the water's edge. In 1984 the mating season near Woods Hole, Massachusetts, extended from 14 May to 7 July. Mating activity during this period fluctuated with the phase of the moon, the height of the tide, and diurnal changes in daylight. As the moon approached new and full phases, large numbers of animals migrated into the intertidal zone to mate and build nests. They appeared 1-2 h before high tide, and returned to deep water about 2 h after high tide. No mating activity occurred during low tides. The two daily high tides in this region are unequal in height. The inequality is greatest during new and full moons. At these times most animals migrated toward shore on the higher tide, which occurred in the late afternoon and throughout the night. As the moon passed through quadrature the tidal inequality diminished and reversed. Mating activity changed accordingly: shore .
Population structure and growth of the squid Todarodes sagittatus (Cephalopoda: Ommastrephidae) in north-west African waters

The population structure of the European flying squid Todarodes sagittatus was studied using data of about 5000 squid caught in waters off the western Sahara between 1969 and 1997. The bulk of the population consisted of winter-spawned squid, which occurred as juveniles of 80–120 mm mantle length (ML) over the slope in spring, and as immature squid of 160–180 mm ML both on the shelf and slope in summer. In autumn, the squid attained 220–280 mm ML, matured, and shifted to the slope, where the spawning was supposed to occur in winter. Age and growth of T. sagittatus was studied using statolith ageing techniques. Assuming daily production of putative growth increments within statoliths, as well as sizes and proportions of immature and maturing females, the lifespan of the west Saharan populations of T. sagittatus lasts ∼1 y. Todarodes sagittatus is a fast growing squid at juvenile and immature ontogenetic phases. Early maturation (at ages 220–230 d in males and 250–260 d in females, respectively) and subsequent decrease of somatic growth rates caused rather small modal sizes of mature squid (250–300 mm ML) compared with those of their northern counterparts (350–420 mm ML). Both hatching dates and seasonality in occurrence of mature females shows that in waters off the western Sahara T. sagittatus spawns throughout the year with a well-pronounced winter peak.
Techniques for evaluation of medicinal plant products as antimicrobial agents: Current methods and future trends

Pharmaceutical and scientific communities have recently received the attention of the medicinal plants and various publications have documented the therapeutic worth of natural compounds to validate the claims of their biological activity. Profuse use of commercial antibiotic and synthetic pesticides for human and crop protection is harmful to human health, ecosystem and environment. Attention has also been drawn to the antimicrobial properties of plants and their metabolites due to the growing incidences of drug-resistant pathogens of both clinical and agricultural importance. Medicinal plants have their intrinsic ability to resist pathogenic microorganisms and this has led the researchers to investigate their mechanisms of action and isolation of active compounds. This has enabled exploitation of medicinal plants for the treatment of microbial infections of both plants and humans by developing new antimicrobial agents. This novel search entails extensive research and it is therefore imperative to follow standard methods to authenticate claims of antimicrobial action. This paper reviewed the methods being employed earlier and recently in use related to investigations of the antimicrobial efficacy of medicinal plant extracts. Standard protocols of the various techniques used by different authors are also mentioned. Key words: Medicinal plants, plant extracts, antimicrobial activity, phytochemicals.
Fecundity and Mortality of Codling Moth, Cydia pomonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), Under Field Conditions in South Africa

The fecundity of spring and summer adults and mortality of the egg, larval and pupal stages of codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L), were studied in sleeve cages in an apple orchard not treated with insecticides. There was a significant difference between the overall fecundity of the spring (137.2 eggs/female) and summer (159.3 eggs/female) moths. During the first third of October, spring moths produced significantly fewer eggs than in November. Egg mortality in spring was 8.2 %, and in summer 21.2%. The increased summer egg mortality was due to the egg parasitoid, Trichogramma luteum Girault (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae). During spring and summer, mortality due to infertile and fertile but unhatched eggs was less than 5 %. In the absence of entomophagous insects, the failure of first instar larvae to penetrate the fruit ranged from 4.9 to 19.5 %. The mortality of larvae from egg hatch to emergence from the fruit ranged from 29.7 to 43.8 %. Mortality of fifth instar larvae in cocoons spun in corrugated cardboard after emerging from the fruit was low, ranging from 0 to 8.7 %. Pupal mortality varied from 0 to 3.5 %. These studies indicate that codling moth in South Africa probably has a higher biotic potential than in most other apple-producing countries.
Microbial community dynamics in a crust formed on carbon steel SS400 during corrosion

To obtain information on the mechanism of microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) under anaerobic conditions, metabolic processes and microbial community dynamics were analysed for MIC of carbon steel with lake-mud microbial consortium as inoculum. During one month of MIC experiment, the microbial consortium corroded carbon steel with sulphate reduction, methane and acetate production. The bacterial and archaeal community structure in the suspension culture and the crust formed on carbon steel were compared using high-throughput Illumina MiSeq sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The data indicated that sulphate-reducing bacterium (Desulfovibrio genus), amino acid-degrading bacterium (Aminobacterium genus) and a hydrogenotrophic methanogen Methanofollis among Archaea increased in the crust. These microbes were estimated to collaboratively induced corrosion of carbon steel under anaerobic condition.
Discovering innovation opportunities based on SECI model: reconfiguring knowledge dynamics of the agricultural artisan production of agave-mezcal, using emerging technologies

Purpose Following the recommendation of the food and agriculture organization of the United Nations in agricultural innovation, for taking advantage of emerging technologies, in benefit of small-farmers, the present study explores one of the most ancient crops in the world that privileging the application of tacit knowledge, to become a succulent plant called agave, into the so-called drink of the gods, the mezcal. For this, the purpose of this study is to discover innovation opportunities and reconfiguring knowledge interaction dynamics of the agricultural artisan production of agave-mezcal from Oaxaca, Mexico, using emerging technologies Design/methodology/approach Following a qualitative-quantitative approach, the study was carried out with 44 mezcal producers from Oaxaca, Mexico, through face-to-face session, questionaries’ application and field visits, based on the model of socialization, externalization, combination and internalization (SECI) through Likert-scale questions, combining the non-parametric statistical analysis and digital compass, for the detection of technological opportunities Findings Basing on artisanal process, context-knowledge place, technological resources and SECIs model results, the opportunities must go in the route of labour in the logic of digital performance. In this sense, becomes relevant to develop an easy-use mobile application for improving the interaction of mezcaleros with external agents and another’s producers. , A second proposal is the creation of mezcal-tech-hub, thinking as collaborative space, for promoting the interaction producer-to-producer and producer-to-external agent. Originality/value The value of the present study is the empirical description of knowledge dynamics interaction contained in the agricultural artisan production of agave-mezcal through SECI model; the identification of problems, failure or barriers contained in the knowledge interaction dynamics of the agricultural artisan production agave-mezcal; the proposal of innovation opportunities for reconfiguring the knowledge interaction dynamics of the agricultural artisan production agave-mezcal from a developing economy, using emerging technologies.
The effects of ovalbumin as a protein source during the in vitro production of bovine embryos

Embryo quality is influenced by the culture conditions that affect in vitro maturation (IVM), fertilization (IVF) and culture (IVC) rates. The present study investigated the feasibility of producing bovine embryos after the replacement of fetal calf serum (FCS) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) by ovalbumin (OVA). The IVM and IVC medium were supplemented with 10% FCS, 4 mg/mL BSA, or 4 mg/mL OVA. The IVF medium was supplemented with 6 mg/mL BSA or OVA. For IVM, supplementation with FCS, BSA, and OVA did not affect nuclear maturation or cortical granule migration. Higher rates of formation of two pronuclei were obtained when FCS was employed for IVM (79.97%), regardless of the supplement used for IVF, and when BSA was used for IVF (59.4%), regardless of the supplement used for IVM. Supplementation with OVA for IVM+IVC (20.40%) and for IVF (22.15%) was inferior to supplementation with FCS for IVM+IVC (30.47%) and with BSA for IVF (28.91%) for blastocyst development. Hatching rates were lower using OVA for IVM+IVC (23.02%) and for IVF (28.93%) compared with FCS and BSA under the same conditions (40.78 and 34.82%, respectively) and BSA for IVF (36.82%). Supplementation with OVA for IVM+IVC and IVF resulted in reduced inner cell mass, trophectoderm cells and total blastocyst cell numbers (17.29, 37.88, and 55.17, respectively). In conclusion, OVA is a protein source for bovine in vitro embryo production, although the quantity and quality of bovine blastocysts using only ovalbumin in the entire in vitro production process are lower than those obtained in the presence of FCS and BSA, when used as supplements in any step of bovine in vitro embryo production.