Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Farmers' perceptions of rice production constraints and stem borers management practices in Tanzania.

Rice farmers in Tanzania continue to experience losses due to stem borers. However, the information on farmers’ knowledge and perceptions of rice stem borers is limited and farmers’ efforts on managing this insect have been ineffective. The aim of this study was to investigate constraints affecting rice production and farmers’ approaches of stem borer management in irrigated low land rice ecosystems in Tanzania. Research method: A focus group discussion with farmers using a semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The information collected included: farmers’ socio-economic profiles, farm characteristics, knowledge and perceptions of stem borers and their management practices.Farmers reported insect pests such as stem borers, white flies, leaf rollers and grasshoppers as major constraints of rice production. Other constraints reported were such as diseases, damage by birds, drought, weeds and lack of access to credit for purchasing inputs. Most of the farmers apply chemical insecticides against rice insect pests particularly stem-borers where number of health hazards have been reported. Very few farmers use cultural methods including crop residue disposal and split application of nitrogenous fertilizers for reduction of stem borer damages. The study revealed that, most farmers have limited knowledge on the recommended stem borer management practices and suggests that environmentally friendly pest management methods to be designed and implemented to minimize losses associated with rice stem borers.
Initial Development of Cowpea Bean Fertilized with Natural Phosphate in the Brazilian Cerrado Soil

Cowpea, string Bean, or Macassar bean [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp] presents a short life cycle, low water requirement, develops in soils of low fertility, and has the ability to fix nitrogen from the air. In the Cerrado, the oxisols occupy practically all the flat to soft-wavy areas with little reserve of nutrients for the plants, in general, they are soils with great limitations of fertility. A source of alternative phosphate fertilization is the use of reactive natural phosphates. The reactive natural phosphate of Bayovar presents intermediate solubility between the sources of soluble phosphates and the natural phosphates. In this context, the objective was to evaluate the initial development of Cowpea beans fertilized with the natural Bayovar phosphate used for cultivation of the Brazilian Cerrado Oxisol. The experimental design was completely randomized, with six doses of phosphorus (0, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 mg·dm-3) using natural Bayovar phosphate as a source in four replications. The species used in this study was the legume cowpea bean [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp] cultivar Tumucumaque. The treatments were applied using the natural phosphate Bayovar as a source of phosphorus (29% of P2O5). At 33 DAS (days after sowing), the variable number of leaves of the Cowpea bean was analyzed and at 40 DAS, the variables plant height, SPAD chlorophyll index (Soil Plant Analysis Development) and stem diameter were analyzed. For all variables analyzed there was a significant effect. The initial development of the cowpea bean cultivated in the Brazilian Cerrado Oxisol was significantly influenced by the Bayovar natural phosphate fertilization with the best phosphorus (P2O5) doses in the range of 200 to 350 mg·
Spring migration strategies of Whinchat Saxicola rubetra when successfully crossing potential barriers of the Sahara and the Mediterranean Sea

The flexibility for migrant land birds to be able to travel long distances rapidly without stopovers, and thus to cross wide inhospitable areas such as deserts and oceans, is likely to be a major determinant of their survival during migration. We measured variation in flight distance, speed and duration of major stopovers (more than 2 days), using geolocator tracks of 35 Whinchats Saxicola rubetra that migrated successfully from central Nigeria to Eastern Europe in spring, and examined how these measures changed, or depended on age, when crossing the barriers of the Sahara or the Mediterranean Sea. In all, 31% of Whinchats crossed at least the Sahara and the Mediterranean before a major stopover and 17% travelled over 4751 km on average without any major stopovers. Flight distance and speed during, and duration of major stopovers after, crossing the Mediterranean Sea were indistinguishable from migration over Continental Europe. Speed during a migration leg was lowest crossing Continental Europe and fastest, with longer duration major stopovers afterwards, when crossing the Sahara, but there was much individual variation, and start date of migration was also a good predictor of stopover duration. As the distance travelled during a leg increased, so major stopover duration afterwards increased (1 day for every 1000 km), but the speed of travel during the leg had no effect. There were no differences in any migration characteristics with age, other than an earlier start date for adult birds. The results suggest that adaptive shortening or even dropping of daily stopovers may occur often, allowing rapid, long‐distance migration at the cost of major stopovers afterwards, but such behaviour is not restricted to or always found when crossing barriers, even for birds on their first spring migration. The results may highlight the importance of stopover sites rather than barrier width as the likely key component to successful migration. Individual variation in spring migration may indicate that small passerine migrants like Whinchats may be resilient to future changes in the extent of barriers they encounter, although this may not be true of first autumn migrations or if stopover sites are lost.
Green tea polyphenols reduce obesity in high‐fat diet‐induced mice by modulating intestinal microbiota composition

Summary In this study, the modulatory effect of green tea polyphenols (GTP) on human intestinal microbiota was investigated. Firstly, germ-free mice were inoculated with faecal suspension derived from healthy volunteers to obtain human flora-associated (HFA) mice model. When the high-fat diet-induced obese mice model was successfully established, they were randomly divided into high-fat diet group (HFD) and high-fat diet group with GTP (HFD-GTP), and the shifts in relative abundance of the dominant taxa at the phylum, family and genus levels were studied by high-throughput sequencing. The diversity of the total bacterial community reached the maximum after GTP treatment for 3 weeks, and then decreased when the mice were fed without GTP. Despite interindividual variation, the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes increased from 0.56 ± 0.06 (1st week) to 0.60 ± 0.05 (3th week), while Firmicutes decreased from 0.42 ± 0.06 to 0.37 ± 0.02. Interestingly, certain bacterial communities such as Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria still increased and Firmicutes showed a decreasing trend when the mice were fed without GTP (4th week). The results showed that GTP benefits the stability of certain gut microbiota, especially in an environment-triggered microbial imbalance; therefore, it may have prebiotic-like activity contributing to the prevention of obesity.
How do MAR(1) models cope with hidden nonlinearities in ecological dynamics?

Multivariate autoregressive (MAR) models are an increasingly popular technique to infer interaction strengths between species in a community and to predict the community response to environmental change. The most commonly employed MAR(1) models, with one time lag, can be viewed either as multispecies competition models with Gompertz density dependence or, more generally, as a linear approximation of more complex, nonlinear dynamics around stable equilibria. This latter interpretation allows for broader applicability, but may come at a cost in terms of interpretation of estimates and reliability of both short‐ and long‐term predictions. We investigate what these costs might be by fitting MAR(1) models to simulated 2‐species competition, consumer‐resource and host–parasitoid systems, as well as a larger food web influenced by the environment. We review how MAR(1) coefficients can be interpreted and evaluate how reliable are estimates of interaction strength, rank, or sign; accuracy of short‐term forecasts; as well as the ability of MAR(1) models to predict the long‐term responses of communities submitted to environmental change such as PRESS perturbations. The net effects of species j on species i are usually (90%‐95%) well recovered in terms of sign or rank, with the notable exception of overcompensatory dynamics. In actual values, net effects of species j on species i are not well recovered when the underlying dynamics are nonlinear. MAR(1) models are better at making short‐term qualitative forecasts (next point going up or down) than at predicting long‐term responses to environmental perturbations, which can be severely over‐ as well as underestimated. We conclude that when applying MAR(1) models to ecological data, inferences on net effects among species should be limited to signs, or the Gompertz assumption should be tested and discussed. This particular assumption on density‐dependence (log‐linearity) is also required for unbiased long‐term predictions. Overall, we think that MAR(1) models are highly useful tools to resolve and characterize community dynamics, but we recommend to use them in conjunction with alternative, nonlinear models resembling the ecological context in order to improve their interpretation in specific applications.
Physiological Response to Thermal Stress in Sahiwal and Karan Fries Cows

The study was conducted to observe the effect of season on thermoregulation responses. A total of 100 cows including 50 Sahiwal and 50 Karan Fries cows were selected from Livestock Research Centre of ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, India. The study was conducted during winter (THI=49.67±1.18), spring (THI=64.65±0.41) and summer (THI=87.28±1.26) seasons. The fluctuations were observed in RR, RT and HTC of Sahiwal and Karan Fries cattle in different seasons. In Sahiwal cows RT (°C) during winter, spring and summer were 37.300±0.095c, 38.178±0.095b and 38.810±0.095a respectively whereas RT (°C) in Karan Fries were 37.492±0.115c, 38.398±0.115b and 39.186±0.115a during winter, spring and summer respectively. RR (breaths min-1) in Sahiwal cows during winter, spring and summer were 15.738±0.795c, 18.158±0.795b and 29.818±0.795a respectively whereas RR in Karan Fries during winter, spring and summer were 15.779±1.136c, 22.979±1.136b and 47.299±1.136a respectively. The magnitude of increase in RR, RT and HTC were found to be higher during summer compared to other seasons in both Sahiwal and Karan Fries cattle. It was observed that Sahiwal cows are less sensitive and are better able to regulate body temperature in response to heat stress than Karan Fries cows.
Getting ready for battle: do cabbage seeds treated with jasmonic acid and chitosan affect chewing and sap‐feeding insects?

Induced defence allows plants to manage energy reserves more efficiently by synthesizing defence compounds only when needed. A risk of induced defence is that when plants are challenged by herbivores, they may suffer considerable damage before the defence is mounted. Priming can cause a state of readiness for the induction of the defence response, leading to a reduction in the damage received in an energy‐efficient and less costly manner. Our objective was to verify whether seed coating with jasmonic acid (JA) and chitosan (CH) could prime plants against chewing and sap‐feeding herbivores by affecting their herbivory of treated plants. We used Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata cv. Derby Day (Brassicaceae) seeds treated with JA and CH, second‐instar Plutella xylostella L. (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), and newborn nymphs of Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae). We evaluated life‐history, performance, and fecundity traits of the insects. Neither JA nor CH affected B. oleracea leaf area. Both JA and CH affected P. xylostella. JA reduced the mean relative growth rate of P. xylostella and led to 84% pre‐imaginal mortality, whereas CH reduced oviposition. JA reduced significantly the intrinsic rate of increase in M. persicae, whereas CH did not differ from the control. Therefore, JA and CH seed coating lead to long‐term defence priming in B. oleracea against chewing and sap‐feeding insects.
A Roadmap for Development of Novel Antipsychotic Agents Based on a Risperidone Scaffold

A ROADMAP FOR DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL ANTIPSYCHOTIC AGENTS BASED ON A RISPERIDONE SCAFFOLD By Urjita H. Shah, Ph. D. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2017 Major Director: Dr. Richard A. Glennon, Ph. D. Professor and Chairman, Department of Medicinal Chemistry Schizophrenia is a chronic psychotic illness affecting ~21 million people globally. Currently available antipsychotic agents act through a dopamine D2 receptor mechanism, and produce extrapyramidal or metabolic side effects. Hence, there is a need for novel targets and agents. The mGlu2/5-HT2A receptor heteromer has been implicated in the action of antipsychotic agents, and represents a novel and attractive therapeutic target for the treatment of schizophrenia. A long-term goal of this project is to synthesize bivalent ligands where a 5HT2A receptor antagonist is tethered to an mGlu2 PAM via a linker. The goals of the investigation were to study the SAR of risperidone (an atypical antipsychotic agent) at 5-HT2A receptors using a “deconstruction-reconstructionelaboration” approach to determine the minimal structural features of risperidone that contribute to its 5-HT2A receptor affinity and antagonism, and to determine where on the “minimized risperidone” structure an mGlu2 PAM can be introduced. Additional goals included studying the binding modes of various mGlu2 PAMs and identifying where on an mGlu2 PAM a risperidone “partial” structure could be introduced. Biological studies of deconstructed/elaborated analogs of risperidone suggest that the entire structure of risperidone is not necessary for 5-HT2A receptor affinity and antagonism, and that a fluoro group contributes to 5-HT2A binding. 6-Fluoro-3-(4-piperidinyl)-1,2benz[d]isoxazole that has only half the structural features of risperidone retains 5-HT2A receptor affinity and antagonist activity, and represents the “minimized risperidone” structure with the piperidine nitrogen atom representing a potential linker site for eventual construction of bivalent ligands. Molecular modeling studies at 5-HT2A receptors suggest that risperidone and its analogs have more than one binding mode. Modeling studies to evaluate binding modes of various PAMs at mGlu2 receptors, coupled with known SAR information, were used to identify a PAM (JNJ-40411813), and the pyridone nitrogen atom of JNJ-40411813 as a potential linker site. Additionally, potential synthetic routes for JNJ-40411813 were explored that might be of value in the synthesis of bivalent ligands. Based on the structural features of 6-fluoro-3-(4-piperidinyl)-1,2-benz[d]isoxazole, a new pharmacophore for 5-HT2A receptor antagonists, consisting of one aromatic region, a basic protonated amine and hydrogen bond acceptors, has been proposed.
Conserved elements within the genome of foot-and mouth disease virus; their influence on virus replication

Q1 Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) has a positive-sense ssRNA genome including a single, large, open reading frame. Splitting of the encoded polyprotein at the 2A/2B junction is mediated by the 2A peptide (18 residues long), which induces a nonproteolytic, cotranslational, “cleavage” at its own C terminus. A conserved feature among variants of 2A is the C-terminal motif NPG/P, where P is the first residue of 2B. It has been shown previously that certain amino acid substitutions can be tolerated at residues E, S, and N within the 2A sequence of infectious FMDVs, but no variants at residues P, G, or P have been identified. In this study, using highly degenerate primers, we analyzed if any other residues can be present at each position of the NPG/P motif within infectious FMDV. No alternative forms of this motif were found to be encoded by rescued FMDVs after 2, 3, or 4 passages. However, surprisingly, a clear codon preference for the wt nucleotide sequence encoding the NPGP motif within these viruses was observed. Indeed, the codons selected to code for P and P within this motif were distinct; thus the synonymous codons are not equivalent.
Effect of brassinosteroid (24-epibrassinolide) on morphophysiological parameters and essential oils of Calendula officinalis L. by EC nutrient solution

This study evaluated the effect of different levels of electrical conduction of nutrient solution on the morphophysiological parameters of Calendula officinalis L. and the interaction of electrical conduction of the nutrient solution and spray of 24-epibrassinolide with three electrical conduction (EC) levels of nutrient solution (1.5, 3, and 4.5 dS.m) and three hormone levels of 24-epibrassinolide (0, 0.5, and 1 μM) on C. officinalis L. under hydroponic conditions. The experiment arranged as factorial with completely randomized designs and four repetitions. Based on the results of the test with different EC levels, the nutrient solution showed significantly affected the studied parameters and diameter of C. officinalis L. (P<0.01). The traits of flowering stem height, wet weight, dry weight and volume of root, number of flowers, total phenol, total flavonoid, relative water content of leaf and stability of the petal’s cellular membrane were significantly affected by treatment with brassinosteroids, and interaction of EC of the nutrient solution and spray of brassinosteroids. On this basis, the maximum number of flowers was observed in the treatment with EC=1.5 dS.m and EBR=0.5 μM. The maximum total flavonoid was observed with EC=4.5 dS.m and EBR=1 μM and the minimum rate was observed in EC=4.5 dS.m and hormone control treatment (with no application of brassinosteroids hormone). The increase of EC in the nutrient solution led to an increase in alpha-cadinol, delta-cadinene and sigma–cadinene. Based on the results of the experiment, the application of the optimal concentration of nutrient solution and spray on acinolide is effective in helping improve morphophysiological parameters, and increases the flavonoid compounds and ingredients of C. officinalis L.
Three physical barriers with obvious effects on Carposina sasakii selection behavior to two dominant jujube tree volatiles

The peach fruit moth (PFM), Carposina sasakii Matsumura (Lepidoptera: Carposinidae), a severe pest of Ziziphus jujuba Miller fruit trees (jujube, Rhamnaceae) mainly grown in China, has increasingly hindered the development of the jujube industry in recent years. In order to provide a theoretical basis for a physical obstruction method, we evaluated the effect of three commonly sold physical barriers on PFM host‐searching behavior. Two principal volatiles generated by the jujube tree, α‐farnesene and cis‐3‐hexenyl acetate (leaf acetate), were used as references to detect electroantennography (EAG) response values of 2‐, 4‐, and 6‐day‐old PFM adults. The results indicated different EAG responses toward α‐farnesene and leaf acetate between different ages of PFM, and males responded differently than females. The EAG responses were stronger in 4‐day‐old males to leaf acetate and in 2‐day‐old females to α‐farnesene. The two‐choice behavioral Y‐tube olfactometer assay confirmed that PFM was strongly attracted to α‐farnesene and leaf acetate. We determined the EAG and behavioral responses of PFM after spraying three kinds of physical barriers: Liquid Film Fruit Bag, High Lipid Film, and Jujube Protection No. 1. We obtained strong inhibitory effects on PFM attraction to both volatile lures using these barriers, including negative taxis by both females and males to Liquid Film Fruit Bag and Jujube Protection No. 1. We can infer that Liquid Film Fruit Bag is the most promising potential physical barrier for PFM control, with Jujube Protection No. 1 ranking as second‐best.
Pollination ecology of Cassia alata L. (Caesalpiniaceae)

Cassia alata blooms annually during October-February. The flowers are borne on typical racemes, and are yellow and devoid of nectar. They exhibit enantiostyly and heteranthery with feeding as well as pollinating anthers. In the biotope of the study area, the carpenter bees consisting of Xylocopa latipes and X. pubescens are the exclusive visitors to C. alata. They collect pollen by buzzing. During the vibratile movement of the visitor’s body, the pollen grains are discharged from pollinating anthers on to the sides of the insect visitor’s thorax and abdomen. Simultaneously, the pollen grains are also transferred to the stigmas oriented to the right or to the left. Heteranthery and enantiostyly, complemented by the buzzing behaviour of the pollinating carpenter bees, promote geitonogamy as well as xenogamy in C. alata.
Restoration Fire and Hurricanes in Longleaf Pine Sandhills

H istorical accounts characterize intact old-growth longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) forests as having a canopy of scattered large pines, clumps of younger pines, scattered hardwoods, and a low groundcover of shrubs and mixed forbs and grasses (Means and Grow, 1985; Myers, 1990; Frost, 1993; Schwartz, ! 994). The open forests of the southeastern United States were exposed to frequent, lowintensity fires caused by lightning strikes and set by Native Americans, which maintained this longleaf pine-dominated landscape. Hurricanes, which are a less frequent but consistent event in these systems, also modify the vegetation structure (Gordon and others, 1997). Thus, the openness of these forests is the direct result of storm events and fire, which together maintain hardwood species at low densities. Typically, mesic sandhills and flatwoods can sustain annual and biannual fires, whereas drier sandhills would burn every three to five years due to insufficient build-up of fine fuels (Robbins and Myers, 1992; Frost, 1993). Opencanopied longleaf pine forests support the highest plant species richness in North America (Walker and Peet, 1983; Hardin and White, 1989; Walker, 1993). This high diversity is a direct effect of fire, which reduces competition from trees and shrubs and exposes mineral soil for the establishment of seedlings of new species (Streng and others, 1993). Before the land was fragmented by roads and land clearing, lightning and human-induced fires were able to spread over vast areas because only waterways, wetland communities, recent burns, and weather conditions blocked their spread through the extensive grasslands below the longleaf pine canopy (Robbins and Myers, 1992; Frost, 1993). Fire coverage would have varied widely, from small areas, when fires were extinguished by the same storm that started the fire, to fires of thousands of acres (Stout and Marion, 1993). Many of the areas that remain in or have been planted in longleaf pine now suffer from an overabundance of hardwoods that have formed a high midstory. Hardwoods often resprout after logging or other operations and continue to dominate the midstory and canopy. Current management often does not include fire. As a result, most of the remaining 2 percent of the original 92.5 million acres once covered by longleaf pine communities is degraded. Establishment and growth of the pines, as well as habitat quality for many other species, have decreased.