Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The circulatory system and its spatial relations to other major organ systems in Spelaeogriphacea and Mictacea (Malacostraca, Crustacea) – a three-dimensional analysis

Spelaeogriphacea and Mictacea are enigmatic taxa within malacostracan crustaceans that play a pivotal role in peracarid phylogeny. Anatomical data on both taxa that are suitable for use in cladistic analyses are still scarce. Here, we provide for the first time detailed three-dimensional information on the major organ systems of Spelaeogriphacea and Mictacea (the circulatory system, the digestive system, and the central nervous system) using semithin sections in combination with computer aided three-dimensional reconstruction techniques. The digestive system in both Spelaeogriphus lepidops and Mictocaris halope is made up of a short oesophagus leading to a voluminous stomach chamber. Posteriorly, a pylorus is attached to the stomach chamber. An antechamber of the midgut glands is situated at the transition into the midgut, from which up to four tubular midgut glands emanate. The midgut is a straight tube running through the body terminating in a short hindgut. The central nervous system in the cephalothorax is made up of a brain and a suboesophageal ganglion. Both species show some reduction of the protocerebrum caused by the lack of eyes. The circulatory system is made up of a tubular heart that is situated in the thorax. It is equipped with two pairs of incurrent ostia in S. lepidops and one pair in M. halope. The only artery leading off the heart is the anterior aorta, which runs into the cephalothorax. A dilation is formed between the brain and the anterior stomach wall, into which oesophageal dilator muscles are internalized. The function of this so-called ‘myoarterial formation a’ as an accessory pulsatile structure in the anterior cephalothorax of these animals is discussed. © 2007 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2007, 149, 629–642.
Searching Behavior Patterns in Insects

Afin d'etudier les differents comportements de recherche chez l'insecte, la structure environnementale et la distribution des ressources, les sources d'information et l'orientation des insectes, les mecanismes de recherche, les sources de variabilite externes (facteurs abiotiques et biotiques) et internes, et les differentes bactiques employees par l'insecte sont examines
Soil respiration and photosynthetic uptake of carbon dioxide by ground-cover plants in four ages of jack pine forest

Soil carbon dioxide (CO2) emission (soil respiration), net CO2 exchange after photosynthetic uptake by ground-cover plants, and soil CO2 concentration versus depth below land surface were measured at four ages of jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) forest in central Saskatchewan. Soil respiration was smallest at a clear-cut site, largest in an 8-year-old stand, and decreased with stand age in 20-year-old and mature (6075 years old) stands during May September 1994 (12.1, 34.6, 31.5, and 24.9 mol C·m2, respectively). Simulations of soil respiration at each stand based on continuously recorded soil temperature were within one standard deviation of measured flux for 48 of 52 measurement periods, but were 10%30% less than linear interpolations of measured flux for the season. This was probably due to decreased soil respiration at night modeled by the temperature-flux relationships, but not documented by daytime chamber measurements. CO2 uptake by ground-cover plants ranged from 0 at the clear-cut site to 29.
Registration of 'Tetonia' Barley

10 Journal of Plant Registrations, Vol. 2, No. 1, January 2008 ‘Tetonia’ two-rowed spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), (Reg. no. CV-334, PI 646199) was developed by the Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, and the Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station and released in January 2007. Tetonia was tested under the experimental designation 98Ab11720 and has the pedigree 85Ab2323/‘Baronesse’. The parent 85Ab2323 has the pedigree 79Ab10542/‘Crystal’ (Wesenberg et al., 1991). 79Ab10542 has the pedigree 60Ab1810-53/‘Hector’ (Wells, 1973). 60Ab1810-53 is one of 35 F11:12 lines which were composited to form the cultivar ‘Klages’ (Wesenberg et al., 1974) and has the pedigree ‘Betzes’/‘Domen’. Baronesse, a two-rowed feed barley, developed by the company Nordsaat in Germany and marketed in the U.S. by WestBred, LLC (Bozeman, MT) has the pedigree ‘Mentor’/‘Minerva’//Vada mutant/4/‘Carlsberg’/ ‘Union’//‘Opavsky’/‘Salle’/3/‘Ricardo’/5/‘Oriol’/6153P40. The spike of Tetonia is moderately lax, medium-long, and nodding. Its kernels have white aleurone and long rachilla hairs. Its hull is smooth to slightly wrinkled and it has rough awns. The cross that produced Tetonia was made in 1993 and 100 F5 spikes were selected in 1997 following pedigree selection in the F2 through F4 generations for resistance to lodging, shattering, and favorable plant and spike type under irrigation at Aberdeen, ID. These spikes were grown as progeny rows in 1998 and the row designated no. 11720 was selected because of its resistance to lodging, grain shattering, and favorable plant and spike type. Tetonia was evaluated in a non-replicated yield trial at Aberdeen, ID in 1999 and entered in replicated yield trials at Aberdeen and Tetonia, ID beginning in 2000. Tetonia entered preliminary statewide trials in 2001 and elite trials throughout Idaho in Registration of ‘Tetonia’ Barley
Pollination ecology of Campanula species on Mt Olympos, Greece

Nine Campanula species occurring along the elevation gradient of Mt Olympos were studied regarding their pollination ecology. The main issues considered were 1) the relative importance of various insect taxa as Campanula pollinators, 2) the patterns of pollinators' size and activity as a function of altitude, 3) the effect of pollinator exclusion on floral longevity, and 4) the extent to which the morphological difference of C. versicolor from the other Campanula species on Mt Olympos is expressed in its pollinating fauna. The vast majority of Campanula pollinators were solitary bees. Andrenidae and Megachilidae bees (mainly Chelostoma campanulorum) dominated the pollinating fauna of most species, Melittidae and bumblebees were the commonest pollinators of high altitude species. Campanula versicolor differs from the other Campanula species in that its corolla is not bell-shaped but flat. Mainly Apis mellifera, syrphid flies, and carpenter bees, unlike all other Campanula species on Mt Olympos pollinated it. At the species level, rather large altitudinal differences of Campanula populations did not result into large diversification of their pollinating fauna. The insect visitation rate to flowers decreased with altitude. When pollinators were excluded, the floral longevity of the species examined increased three to five times. Neither flower phase (male of female) was consistently favoured in the absence of pollinators. The pollen loads of the different insect taxa (Apis mellifera included) were of variable purity. The majority of Megachilidae bees carried pollen loads of high purity. Pollen loads from insects visiting Campanula species at high altitudes did not differ significantly in their purity from those visiting lowland species. The distribution of Campanula pollinators' body size along the altitudinal gradient exhibited a U-shaped pattern. No relationship was found between insect-pollinator body size and corolla size of Campanula species.
Quenching of fluorescence by crystal violet and its use to differentiate between surface-bound and internalized bacteria

Phagocytosis is a complex process involving attachment, ingestion and intracellular processing of bacteria by phagocytes. A great difficulty in the evaluation of this process is to differentiate between attachment of the particles to the cell surface and internalization of the particles by the cells. Various techniques have been used to differentiate internalized and surface-attached bacteria in cultured cells, but only a few permit differentiations between surface-bound and internalized bacteria. In this study the quenching of fluorescence by crystal violet on acridine orange stained bacterial biofilm and planktonic bacterial cells is used to differentiate between surface-bound and internalized bacteria within macrophages. Method: One week old Enterococcus faecalis biofilm was grown on perspex and glass substrates in All-Culture medium (nutrient-rich condition) and phosphate buffered saline (nutrient-deprived condition). As model systems, human monocytic (THP-1) and histiocytic (U937) cell lines were used. These cell lines were incubated with the biofilm bacteria for 4 hrs in CO2 incubator at 37oC. The cells and bacteria were stained with acridine orange and quenched with crystal violet to distinguish between surface-bound and internalized bacteria. Results: The presence of green-fluorescing internalized bacteria was detected within the macrophages under the planktonic, nutrient-rich and nutrient-deprived biofilm conditions. All infecting bacteria take up acridine orange and fluoresced green, crystal violet quenched the fluorescence of extra-cellular adhering bacteria so that only fluorescent intracellular bacteria would be visible under fluorescent light microscopy.
Effects of nutrient additions on intertidal seagrass (Zostera muelleri) habitat in Western Port, Victoria, Australia

Loss of seagrass habitat in many parts of the world has been attributed to increases in nutrient loading to nearshore areas. The role of excess epiphyte, macroalgal or phytoplankton growth in shading of seagrass leaves and negatively affecting seagrass health is generally agreed to be a prevalent mechanism in seagrass decline worldwide. In the present study nutrient addition experiments were undertaken at three sites in Western Port, Victoria. Nutrients were added to the water column using the controlled release fertiliser Osmocote™ in late summer 2005. The experiments ran for one month at two of the sites (Blind Bight and Hastings) and at the third site (Crib Point) the experiment ran for three months. Control and nutrient addition plots were monitored for concentrations of inorganic nutrients, number of seagrass leaves, seagrass, epiphyte and loose algal biomass and invertebrate faunal assemblages. Nutrient additions had increased ash free dry weight of seagrass leaves and loose algae at two of the three sites studied. There was also an increase in gammarid amphipod densities at the Crib Point site. We consider that Western Port seagrass habitat is sensitive to increased loads of nutrients within the water column with the Blind Bight region most at risk.
Protection of Barteria (Passifloraceae) By Pachysima Ants (Pseudomyrmecinae) in a Nigerian Rain Forest

In a Nigerian rain forest, occupation of Barteria fistulosa saplings by Pachysima aethiops ants results in the plants having more leaves, more branches, more leaves per branch, and less damage to the shoot tips than do unoccupied Barteria. At present this difference is the result of insect damage to unprotected Barteria, but several traits of the ant colony suggest that in the recent past, large browsing mammals may also have been a threat to Barteria. These traits include a few large workers per colony, a deeply painful sting, and the habit of frequently dropping from the Barteria crown. Pachysima workers attack plants adjacent to their Barteria and clean the large Barteria leaves of debris and epiphyllae. See full-text article at JSTOR
Plant species richness promotes soil carbon and nitrogen stocks in grasslands without legumes

The storage of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in soil is important ecosystem functions. Grassland biodiversity experiments have shown a positive effect of plant diversity on soil C and N storage. However, these experiments all included legumes, which constitute an important N input through N2‐fixation. Indeed, the results of these experiments suggest that N2 fixation by legumes is a major driver of soil C and N storage. We studied whether plant diversity affects soil C and N storage in the absence of legumes. In an 11‐year grassland biodiversity experiment without legumes, we measured soil C and N stocks. We further determined above‐ground biomass productivity, standing root biomass, soil organic matter decomposition and N mineralization rates to understand the mechanisms underlying the change in soil C and N stocks in relation to plant diversity and their feedbacks to plant productivity. We found that soil C and N stocks increased by 18% and 16% in eight‐species mixtures compared to the average of monocultures of the same species, respectively. Increased soil C and N stocks were mainly driven by increased C input and N retention, resulting from enhanced plant productivity, which surpassed enhanced C loss from decomposition. Importantly, higher soil C and N stocks were associated with enhanced soil N mineralization rates, which can explain the strengthening of the positive diversity–productivity relationship observed in the last years of the experiment. Synthesis. We demonstrated that also in the absence of legumes, plant species richness promotes soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks via increased plant productivity. In turn, enhanced soil C and N stocks showed a positive feedback to plant productivity via enhanced N mineralization, which could further accelerate soil C and N storage in the long term.
Winter severity, survival, and cause-specific mortality of female white-tailed deer in north-central Minnesota

Knowledge of age-specific survival of deer (Odocoileus spp.) and the underlying causes of mortality are essential to our understanding of their population dynamics. We examined age-specific survival and cause-specific mortality of female white-tailed deer (O. virginianus) in an area where wolves (Canis lupus) recently had become reestablished and assessed the influence of winter severity during 1991-1996 using new survival analysis procedures. Sufficient data permitted rigorous survival analyses on 153 of 179 radiocollared females ≥0.6 years old, whose age distribution remained stable with annual median ages of 5.9-6.7 years old during the last 5 years of the study. Winter severities ranged from unusually mild to historically severe; 84% (81 of 97) of all mortalities occurred during November-May. The median age of deer survival according to the iterative Nelson estimator (INE) was 3.6 years (90% confidence limits [CL] = 2.4, 4.0). The smoothed estimate of the hazard function was a U-shaped curve with an elevated risk of mortality at 0.6 years old, which declined progressively until 5 years old, then increased steadily with the highest age-specific risk of death for deer ≥10 years old. Fits of the Anderson-Gill (AG) proportional hazards model to our data indicated that survival was negatively associated (P < 0.0001) with winter severity (primarily snow depth), but not with site of winter capture or body mass at capture. The risk of death increased progressively over the course of each winter, with maximum risk occurring in winters of greatest snow depth. Estimated life-time mortality rates (90% CL) due to hunting, wolf predation, and miscellaneous causes were 43.3% (29.5, 57.1%), 33.1% (20.1, 45.3%), and 23.6% (13.2, 34.0%), respectively. Within 5-11 years of reestablishment in our area, wolf predation became a leading cause of mortality for female deer, but its importance relative to hunting depended on annual fluctuations in winter severity. Competing risk analyses permitted comparison of age-specific hazards associated with hunter harvest, wolf predation, and miscellaneous causes of mortality. The nature of the observed interaction between the cause-specific hazards and the effects of winter severity appears to validate the practice of regulating the issuance of antlerless deer permits based on population condition. Collective evidence suggests that as agencies formulate management strategies relative to wolf reintroduction or range expansion, the frequency of severe winters, snow depth, deer population goals, and the use of antlerless permits should be primary considerations.
FINE STRUCTURE OF PLASMODIOPHORA BRASSICAE IN SPOROGENESIS

The vegetative Plasmodium of Plasmodiophora brassicae is contained within host cell cytoplasm. The multinucleate Plasmodium contains numerous large lipid droplets and is replete with mitochondria, dictyosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, and ribosomes. A 250 A thick osmiophilic plasmodial envelope is characteristic of the vegetative Plasmodium. This envelope is composed of two closely appressed membranes each consisting of a pair of electron-dense layers. As sporogenesis is initiated, the outer membrane of the plasmodial envelope disintegrates, leaving the Plasmodium surrounded by the plasmodial membrane. Nucleoli disappear and numerous vacuoles and vesicles appear in the cytoplasm of the parasite. Vacuoles appear to be formed from invaginations of the plasmodial membrane. These vacuoles become aligned in planes of cleavage around each nucleus, forming the boundaries of each future sporangium. As these vacuoles coalesce, the nucleus of each young resting sporangium becomes surrounded with cytoplasm and is enve.
Proposta para identificação rápida dos períodos hidrológicos em áreas de várzea do rio Solimões-Amazonas nas proximidades de Manaus

A variacao periodica do nivel das aguas e o principal fator que determina a comunidade de organismos aquaticos presente em rios com planicies alagadas. Muitos estudos na Amazonia sao desenvolvidos nas varzeas proximas a cidade de Manaus, mas, comparacoes entre essas informacoes sao dificultadas pela ausencia de padronizacao na denominacao das diferentes etapas do ciclo de cheia-seca. Este trabalho teve como objetivo a identificacao e a padronizacao da nomenclatura das diferentes fases do ciclo hidrologico para possibilitar analises que envolvam resultados de mais de um ano e de mais de um local. Os dados do nivel da agua do rio Negro, coletados no porto de Manaus foram utilizados para o desenvolvimento da metodologia. Sao propostos valores da cota do rio Negro para limitar os quatro periodos hidrologicos (enchente, cheia, vazante e seca) e definir a intensidade da cheia e da seca. O numero de dias de cada um dos periodos hidrologicos foi obtido e foi estimada a duracao para periodos considerados tipicos, longos e curtos. Considerando que modificacoes abioticas e bioticas do meio estao relacionadas com as mudancas no nivel da agua, a identificacao e a padronizacao da nomenclatura dos periodos hidrologicos mostraram-se extremamente uteis para uma primeira analise de informacoes biologicas dos organismos da varzea.
Effect of soil‐applied complex fertiliser on an insect–host plant relationship: Liriomyza trifolii on Solanum tuberosum

Insects respond to very low levels of nutritional and non‐nutritional compounds in plants, which influence their acceptance and colonisation of the plant or plant part, and thereby their growth and development. Plant nutrient levels can vary within and between plants, and are influenced by external factors such as fertiliser treatments, irrigation regime, and light. Soil levels of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium can have significant effects on the amounts of these nutrients in the plant, and thereby on pest infestation. This study reports on the influence of seven different NPK fertiliser rates in potted potato (Solanum tuberosum cv. Mondial) plants on the nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and magnesium levels in the leaves, and the concomitant influence on infestation by, and development of, the serpentine leafminer, Liriomyza trifolii Burgess (Diptera: Agromyzidae). Results showed that increases in nitrogen in the potato leaves increased larval and pupal survival, and pupal and adult body weight and length. Potassium and phosphorus, on the other hand, decreased the host suitability of potato plants to L. trifolii, and were detrimental to the pest.
Electrophysiological and behavioural response of Aedes albopictus to n‐heinecosane, an ovipositional pheromone of Aedes aegypti

Aedes aegypti (L.) and Aedes albopictus (Skuse) (Diptera: Culicidae) are highly anthropophilic mosquito species and potential vectors of dengue and yellow fever. The location of suitable sites for oviposition requires a set of visual, tactile, and olfactory cues that influence females before they lay their eggs. In this study, the effect of n‐heneicosane, a recognized oviposition pheromone of Ae. aegypti, on the olfactory receptors of the antennae of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus was studied using electroantennographic detection coupled to gas chromatography (GC‐EAD). A significant electroantennographic response to n‐heneicosane in adult females of both mosquito species was observed. In addition, gravid Ae. albopictus females laid more eggs in substrate treated with n‐heneicosane at 0.1, 1, or 10 p.p.m. than in the control, denoting oviposition attractancy. Conversely, at 30, 50, 100, and 200 p.p.m. , more eggs were laid in the control substrate, indicating oviposition repellency. Analysis of the larval cuticle by GC and mass spectrometry confirmed the presence of n‐heneicosane in the cuticles of Ae. albopictus larvae. The species‐specific role of n‐heneicosane as an oviposition pheromone in Ae. aegypti and its significance as a behaviour modifier of Ae. albopictus in breeding sites is discussed.
Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Essential Oil and Methanolic Extracts of Ferula microcolea (Boiss.) Boiss (Apiaceae)

The essential oils of Ferula microcolea, collected from west Iran were obtained by hydrodistillation during the flowering stage and analyzed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Under the optimum conditions of analysis, 22 constituents (mainly monoterpen compounds) were identified in Ferula microcolea, representing 93.6% of the oil. The main constituents were α-pinene (27.3%), β-pinene (16.4%), nonanal (8.7%), β-caryophyllene (8.5%), and thymol (6.7%). The samples were also subjected to screening for their possible antioxidant activity using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and β-carotene-linoleic acid assays. In the first case, the free radical-scavenging activity of polar sub-fraction of methanol extract showed to be superior as compared to other extracts (IC50 = 34.3 ± 0.3 μg/ml). Nonpolar sub-fraction of methanol extract exhibited stronger activity than the essential oil. In the case of the linoleic acid system, oxidation of the linoleic acid was effectively inhibited by the polar sub-fraction of methanol extract (86.5 ± 0.9%), while the oil and nonpolar sub-fraction of methanol extract were less effective (55.2 ± 0.4% and 81.5 ± 0.8%, respectively).
The Genetic Structure of Populations ofPotato virus Yin Japan; Based on the Analysis of 20 Full Genomic Sequences

The genetic structure of Potato virus Y (PVY) populations in Japan was analysed using 20 isolates; five were retrieved from the public DNA sequence databases, and an additional 15 complete genomic sequences were determined using field samples collected in Japan. Recombination and phylogenetic analyses of a total of 149 isolates from Japan and other countries showed that PVY has three major lineages (C, N and O); at least one, two and six sublineages in C, N and O lineages, respectively. One recombination pattern was newly found among Japanese PVYNTN strain isolates, which was most closely related to the PVYNTN strain isolates previously found in Europe and North America. On the other hand, PVYO was a complex of several divergent lineages, and there were at least three non-recombinant subpopulations in Japan. Studies on nucleotide diversities of populations and phylogenetic relationships of the isolates in the PVY sequences showed that Japanese PVY populations were in part distinct from the European and North American populations.