Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Do Native Pacific Lamprey and Invasive Sea Lamprey Share an Alarm Cue? Implications for Use of a Natural Repellent to Guide Imperiled Pacific Lamprey into Fishways

AbstractInstream barriers affect anadromous lampreys worldwide by preventing access to spawning habitat, resulting in the decline of several species. Because lampreys rely heavily on olfactory cues to choose movement paths during upstream migration in rivers, the manipulation of these cues may be used to guide individuals into the vicinity of fish passage devices and thereby mitigate the impacts of barriers during migration. However, because experimentation with imperiled species presents significant legal and ethical challenges, use of a surrogate species that exhibits similar responses may prove very useful. Our laboratory study established that (1) the odor derived from dead Pacific Lamprey Entosphenus tridentatus elicits an avoidance response from invasive Sea Lamprey Petromyzon marinus from the Laurentian Great Lakes, and (2) the magnitude of this response does not differ from the conspecific alarm cue present in Sea Lamprey. By presenting the odor on the side of a river channel opposite a lamprey fi.
Irnmunoreactive Characteristics and of Hyperparathyroidisrn Classification

Abstract Hyperparathyroidism is caused mainly by three different conditions: namely, secondary hyperplasia, primary hyperplasia, and adenoma with only a few cases due to carcinomas. Histological distinction among these diseases is still difficult. In an attempt to character- ize the three conditions, 17 cases from patients with hyperparathyroidism and 12 with normal glands were investigated immunohistochemically using antibodies against PTH, PTHrP, Ki-67 (MIB-1), and chromogranin A. The normal glands showed a diffuse staining pattern for PTH, and focal staining for PTHrP and for chromogranin A. Secondary hyperplasia demonstrated either focal, diffuse, or mixed staining in one gland with the three antibodies. For the primary hyperplasias and adenomas, the cases could be divided into two groups. The first group (group I), including 1 case of primary hyperplasia and 3 cases of adenoma, showed a homogeneous staining pattern with all three antibodies. A heterogeneous staining pattern similar to secondary hyperplasia was found in the other 8 cases that formed the second group (group II). There were five types of cytologic stain- ing patterns after immunostaining. In secondary hyperplasia and group II, several pat- terns appeared simultaneously. On the contrary, only one pattern was found in group I. The proliferative index (PI) from Ki-67 staining of group I was also significantly higher than in group II. A lower PI was observed in the normal glands. The present results indi- cate that different immunohistochemical characteristics exist in primary hyperplasias and in adenomas. Key Words: Parathyroid gland; hyperparathyroidism; immunohistochemistry; character- istic; growth fraction.
Evolution of plant defences along an invasion chronosequence: defence is lost due to enemy release – but not forever

The success of invasive plants has often been attributed to their rapid evolution at the introduced range. In particular, release from native enemies has been suggested to select for an evolutionary shift in resource allocation patterns from herbivore defence to increased size. Such evolutionary processes can take place not only between the native and invasive ranges but also within the invasive range over time, but this premise has been very seldom studied. In this study, we examined the potential for post‐invasion evolution in two traits hypothesized to facilitate plant invasion success, that is herbivore resistance and allelopathic ability. We studied these traits in the invasive plant Impatiens glandulifera by comparing plants from its native populations and from populations across its invasion chronosequence. Results of common‐garden experiment and chemical analyses revealed that plants from native populations or older populations within the invasive range show greater resistance to the generalist herbivore, Deilephila elpenor, coupled with greater production of the secondary defence compound 2‐methoxy‐1,4‐naphthoquinone glycoside. In contrast, no differences were found between populations in their allelopathic effect on the germination of the co‐occurring neighbour, Urtica doica. Finally, results from a field survey suggested that older populations within the invasive range incur greater attack rates from local herbivores compared to more recently established populations. Synthesis. Our findings support the idea that the selection pressure of enemy release at the introduced range might attenuate over time, leading to the evolutionary recovery of enemy resistance. This study emphasizes the importance of incorporating the effect of time since introduction when examining evolutionary or ecological processes of plant invasions.
Effects of a single injection of Flunixin meglumine or Carprofen postpartum on haematological parameters, productive performance and fertility of dairy cattle

The objective of the present research was to evaluate the effects of a single injection of Flunixin meglumine (FM) or Carprofen postpartum on haematological indicators, productive performance and fertility of Italian Friesian dairy cattle. In total, 60 cows, including 42 multiparous and 18 primiparous, were assigned to one of the following three treatments: (1) FM (2.2 mg i.m./kg of bodyweight (BW); Meflosyl 50 mg/mL), (2) Carprofen (CA; 1.4 mg s.c./kg of BW; Rymadil 50 mg/mL) or (3) saline (control) at 2.0 mL s.c. /45.5 kg of BW. All treatments were administrated by a single injection within 12 h after calving. Individual milk yield was daily recorded during the trial and composition was determined at 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 and 60 days in milk (DIM). BWs were recorded at –21 ± 5 days before calving, and 1, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 and 60 days after calving before the morning milking. Individual blood samples were collected from each animal for haemato-biochemical evaluation 3 weeks before calving (T0) and then repeated at the following times: within 12 h after calving, immediately before the administration of the anti-inflammatory drug (FM or CA; T1), ~36 h after calving (T2), 4 days after calving (T3) and 11 days after calving (T4). At each sampling time, the rectal temperature and the heart rate were monitored. Body condition score was determined after each sampling time and at 35 and 60 DIM. FM and CA treatments did not influence rectal temperature and heart rate during the first 11 DIM; no differences in overall milk yield, milk composition and dry matter intake were found. BW and body condition score were not affected by treatments throughout the study. Treatments did not affect serum metabolite concentrations of glucose, non-esterified fatty acids, β-hydroxybutyrate, serum urea nitrogen, total protein and albumin. Control cows showed a higher culling rate (P < 0.05) than did the FM- and CA-treated cows (25% vs 15% vs 5% respectively). FM-treated multiparous cows had a significantly (P < 0.05) lower incidence of retained placenta than did control and CA-treated cows (2.3% vs 9.3% vs 14% respectively). Furthermore, a greater percentage of cows pregnant (35% vs 10%) at the first insemination (P < 0.001) in non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug groups than in control was found. Our findings evidenced that a single injection of FM or CA to non-febrile cows immediately after parturition could positively affect the metabolic adaptation of the cows at the onset of lactation and this aspect can positively influence reproductive performances and the culling rate.
Étude de la diversité ichtyologique du bassin du fleuve Ouémé au Bénin (Afrique de l'Ouest)

L'etude de la faune ichtyologique du bassin du fleuve Oueme, realisee entre 1998 et 2001, a permis d'inventorier 122 especes reparties en 87 genres appartenant a 50 familles. Les Mormyridae sont les plus nombreux avec 12 especes. Les Cichlidae, Characidae, Cyprinidae et Gobiidae viennent ensuite avec respectivement 10, 8, 7 et 6 especes. Les Clariidae, Aplocheilidae et Eleotridae sont representees chacune avec 5 especes. Trente especes appartenant a 20 familles sont typiquement d'origines marines ou estuariennes. Vingt-quatre especes jamais signalees dans le bassin du fleuve Oueme et appartenant a 17 familles s'ajoutent a la faune ichtyologique connue jusque-la. La richesse specifique est inegalement repartie sur l'ensemble du bassin. Les zones aval du bassin, representees par les stations d'Agonlin Lowe et de Toue, presentent les richesses specifiques les plus elevees (Agonlin Lowe, 71 especes, soit 59,2% de l'ensemble de l'ichtyofaune du fleuve; Toue, 67 especes, soit 55,8% de l'ichtyofaune). Il s'agit des zones comportant de vastes plaines d'inondation dont les caracteristiques ecologiques favorisent cette importante colonisation par les poissons. Les stations situees en amont et au centre du bassin, representees par Kpassa et Atchakpa, ont les plus faibles richesses specifiques (47 et 46 especes respectivement).
Bamboo parts and seeds for additional source of nutrition

Different edible parts of seven bamboo species were analyzed for their nutrient contents viz., total carbohydrates. proteins, vitamin C and minerals. It was found that among all the edible parts, total carbohydrate content was highest in the seeds of Bambusa arundinacea (38.0%). proteins in the seeds of Dendrocalamus strictus (13.54%) and vitamin C in the seeds of Bambusa arundinacea (50 mg/100g). The nutrient contents compared favourably with those of Cafanus cafan (arhar) and Triticum aestivum (wheat), which constitute the staple diet of the majority of Indians.
Stochastic and Multi-scale Modeling in Biology and Immunology

In this dissertation we develop a stochastic multi-scale model of the early (the first 11 hours post infection) innate immune response of dendrite cells to viral infection. Using this model we identify a mechanism by which cellular noise can be transiently enhanced via extracellular communication. This full model of the early innate immune response of dendritic cells to a viral challenge is both complex (containing thousands of parameters) and computationally expensive, which makes sensitivity analysis intractable. In order to overcome these barriers we developed a coarse-grained model of the early innate immune response of dendritic cells to viral infection that both executes five to ten times faster than the full model (depending on the simulation time point of interest) and allows us to identify key model components (e.g. the distribution of times cells activate a gene). The coarse-grained model reproduces the mean, standard deviation, distributions, and correlations between the key observables in the full model. The utility of our approach in coarse-graining computationally expensive models in immunology stems from the tractability of more intelligent and comprehensive sensitivity analysis that may provide immunologists with insights that can facilitate the development of immunotherapies. The dendritic cells whose early response to a viral challenge we model, eventually have to communicate information about the virus to T-cells, which are part of the adaptive immune system. This motivated us to sharpen our understanding of the effect of noise on the transmission of information in extracellular signals to proteins characteristic of cellular response. We quantify information transmission in cellular systems using a well established quantity from information theory, mutual information, and establish its connection to error rates in cellular response. We demonstrate that (1) small changes in mutual information
Sensitivity analysis of six soil organic matter models applied to the decomposition of animal manures and crop residues

Two features distinguishing soil organic matter simulation models are the type of kinetics used to calculate pool decomposition rates, and the algorithm used to handle the effects of nitrogen (N) shortage on carbon (C) decomposition. Compared to widely used first-order kinetics, Monod kinetics more realistically represent organic matter decomposition, because they relate decomposition to both substrate and decomposer size. Most models impose a fixed C to N ratio for microbial biomass. When N required by microbial biomass to decompose a given amount of substrate-C is larger than soil available N, carbon decomposition rates are limited proportionally to N deficit (N inhibition hypothesis). Alternatively, C-overflow was proposed as a way of getting rid of excess C, by allocating it to a storage pool of polysaccharides. We built six models to compare the combinations of three decomposition kinetics (first-order, Monod, and reverse Monod), and two ways to simulate the effect of N shortage on C decomposition (N inhibition and C-overflow). We conducted sensitivity analysis to identify model parameters that mostly affected CO 2 emissions and soil mineral N during a simulated 189-day laboratory incubation assuming constant water content and temperature. We evaluated model outputs sensitivity at different stages of organic matter decomposition in a soil amended with three inputs of increasing C to N ratio: liquid manure, solid manure, and low-N crop residue. Only few model parameters and their interactions were responsible for consistent variations of CO 2 and soil mineral N. These parameters were mostly related to microbial biomass and to the partitioning of applied C among input pools, as well as their decomposition constants. In addition, in models with Monod kinetics, CO 2 was also sensitive to a variation of the half-saturation constants. C-overflow enhanced pool decomposition compared to N inhibition hypothesis when N shortage occurred. Accumulated C in the polysaccharides pool decomposed slowly; therefore model outputs were not sensitive to a variation of its decay constant. Six-month organic matter decomposition was generally higher for models implementing classical Monod kinetics, followed by models with first-order and reverse Monod kinetics, due to the effect of soil microbial biomass growth on decomposition rates. Moreover, models implementing Monod kinetics predicted positive priming effects of native organic matter after soil amendment, according to co-metabolism theory. Thus, priming was proportional to the increase of the microbial biomass and in turn to the decomposability of applied organic matter. We conclude that model calibration should focus only on the few important parameters.
An investigation into the impact of cytomegalovirus infection in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL) is associated with significant immunosuppression, with infection being the predominant cause of death. The immunosuppression is multifactorial and includes hypogammaglobulinaemia and T cell dysfunction. Expanded populations of effector memory T cells which are oligoclonal are postulated to arise in response to common antigenic stimulation. Increased expression of the inhibitory receptor programmed-death 1 (PD-1) has also been reported on the total CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in patients with CLL. Cytomegalovirus is a ubiquitous herpes virus which contributes to the oligoclonal populations of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells described. In the healthy elderly, CMV is associated with an immune risk phenotype and leads to an earlier death. But the impact of CMV on clinical outcome measures in CLL is unknown. Using 60 CMV class I tetramer and for the first time 15 class II tetramer responses, I have characterised the phenotype and function of CMV-specific T cells in patients with CLL. Interestingly, increased expression of PD-1, was observed on CD4+ but not CD8+ CMV-specific T cells which remained constant over time and was not a result of recent T cell activation. Cytokine production of both CD4+ and CD8+ CMV-specific T cells was shown to be impaired in patients with CLL and PD-1 expression on CMV-specific CD4+ T cells contributed to this. Telomere lengths were also greatly reduced in CMV-specific T cells. I have also used droplet digital PCR to successfully measure latent CMV viral load and found in advanced stage disease an increased CMV viral load was detectable. This most likely arises as a result of the increased immunosuppression and T cell dysfunction observed. Despite these findings, this work reports no evidence that CMV infection impacts on clinical outcomes including time to first treatment or overall survival in two large independent cohorts of patients with CLL.
TAXONOMIC REVIEW OF THE GENUS PUNGITIUS, NINESPINE STICKLEBACKS (GASTEROSTEIDAE)

Le nombre d'especes valides dans le genre Pungitius est incertain du fait de la grande variation geographique de leur morphologie et de la plasticite de beaucoup de caracteres. Actuellement, deux a huit especes sont reconnues. Keivany et al. (1997) ont confirme la validite de P. hellenicus et ont identifie trois especes valides de Pungitius, a savoir, P. hellenicus, P. platygaster et P. pungitius. Afin d'evaluer le statut taxinomique de diverses especes nominales, nous avons examine 266 specimens des cinq especes nominales souvent designees sous le nom de complexe P. pungitius: P. laevis, P. pungitius, P. tymensis, P. sinensis, et P. occidentalis. L'osteologie et quelques caracteres meristiques ont ete etudies; les caracteres morphometriques sont discutes. Nous ne trouvons aucune preuve pour justifier l'identification de quatre des especes nominales comme valide. Cependant, nous identifions cinq sous-especes valides dans le complexe P. pungitius: P. p. laevis, P. p. pungitius, P. p. tymensis, P. p. sinensis, et P. p. occidentalis. Les trois especes et les cinq sous-especes sont decrites, une cle d'identification d'especes et de sous-especes est fournie, et leur taxinomie est discutee.
The Influence of Sperm Concentration in the Ejaculate Used for ICSI on theOutcome of the ART Cycle

The sperm concentration in the ejaculate might be a crucial factor predicting the success of the ICSI procedure. Data in the literature is controversial and not recent in spite of many technical improvements added to the ART laboratory. To examine the influence of sperm concentration in the ejaculate used in the laboratory on the live-birth rate following ICSI and embryo transfer we conducted a retrospective study on all patients that were treated at our IVF unit during the period of January 2011 and July 2014. A total of 1145 ICSI cycles were divided into four groups according to the ejaculated sperm concentration (millions/ml) on the day of oocyte retrieval: group I: <1 (254 cycles); group II: 1-5 (89 cycles); group III: 5-9 (110 cycles); group IV: 10 or more (692 cycles). Groups I-III were the study groups and group IV served as the control. The demographic background, parameters of the ovarian response and parameters of the laboratory and clinical outcomes were compared between the four groups including 2PN fertilization rate; embryo implantation rate (IR); clinical pregnancy rate (CPR) and live birth rate (LBR) per cycle initiated and per embryo transfer (ET). Comparing the four groups of sperm concentration, ICSI in group 1 resulted in significantly decreased 2-PN fertilization rate (56.3 ± 25.7, 58.4 ± 25.2, 63.3 ± 28.7, 63.3 ± 30.7 for groups I, II, III, IV respectively, p=0.006). However, live-birth rates (23.2, 24.7, 23.6, 24.0, for groups I, II, III, IV respectively, p=0.35) as well as all the other clinical parameters examined were comparable between the groups. Logistic regression stepwise analysis, found that sperm concentration had no predictive value for live-birth achievement.
Inventaire et biogéographie des poissons lagonaires et récifaux de Nouvelle-Calédonie

Les poissons lagonaires et recifaux de Nouvelle-Caledonie vivant dans la tranche bathymetrique 0-80 m ont fait l'objet d'un inventaire qui est compare a un ensemble de 23 inventaires du Pacifique tropical (4 150 taxa, 158 familles). L'ichtyofaune de la Nouvelle-Caledonie comporte 1 659 taxa dont 1 487 sur la Grande Terre, 702 aux Chesterfield et 659 a Ouvea. L'ordre d'importance des familles est le meme en Nouvelle-Caledonie que dans la plupart des autres regions du Pacifique analysees. Il existe 2 categories de familles, celles a affinite terrigene ou continentale dont l'importance relative decroit vers l'est, et celles a affinite oceanique dont l'importance s'accroit vers l'est. L'ichtyofaune neo-caledonienne presente davantage de similarites avec celle des iles Fidji ou Samoa qu'avec celle de la Grande Barriere de Corail ou de la Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinee. Cette ichtyofaune comporte aussi de nombreuses especes dont la distribution est antitropicale. Il semble que la principale voie de colonisation de l'ichtyofaune neo-caledonienne provienne de la Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinee en passant par les Salomon et le Vanuatu. Tres peu d'especes ont une origine sud australienne ou neo-zelandaise. Les Chesterfield ont probablement joue le role de relais entre la Grande Barriere de Corail et la Nouvelle-Caledonie pour nombre d'especes a affinite terrigene, La proportion d'especes connues exclusivement de la region neo-caledonienne est elevee, probablement l'une des plus fortes du Pacifique apres celle des iles Hawai et des Marquises.
EFFECT OF SEASON ON FOLLICULAR DYNAMICS AND PLASMA CONCENTRATIONS OF ESTRADIOL17& PROGESTERONE AND LUTEINIZING HORMONE IN LACTATING

Lactating Holstein cows (n=16), averaging 64.1 d in milk, were utilized over 4 replicate months (April, June, August and November) in a shade management system to examine the effects of season on follicular dynamics and plasma concentrations of estradiol (Ez) , progesterone (P,) and
Diagnosis of bovine brucellosis in bulls by seroagglutination and seminal plasma agglutination tests Diagnóstico da brucelose bovina em reprodutores através da soroaglutinação e sêmen plasma aglutinação

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease with common agent is Brucella abortus in bovine specie. The disease in bulls is usually asymptomatic and could have absence of anti- B. abortus antibody in serum. It was investigated of the occurrence of bovine brucellosis in bulls, which involved testing blood serum and seminal plasma from 177 bulls used for natural mating or as semen donors. Blood was collected from all the animals by venipuncture of the jugular vein to obtain the serum samples, while seminal plasma was obtained from the animals by electroejaculation. Samples were tested in a screening test (rose bengal test). In the second stage, the samples testing positive in the RBT were subjected to the con? rmatory test (2-mercaptoethanol). None of the animals tested positive when blood serum was used. However, 5.06% of the bulls were considered reagent positive when seminal plasma was tested. It also sought to determine whether there was an association between the kind of production and the destination of animals with positive results. The calculated odds ratio indicated that bulls of the kind of production dairy/both (beef and dairy) had a higher risk of brucellosis infection. It is recommended that seminal plasma agglutination and seroagglutination techniques are applied concomitantly.
In vitro effect of Enterococcus faecium and Lactobacillus acidophilus on cholesterol

Eighteen bacterial strains belonging to the species Lactobacillus acidophilus and Enterococcus faecium were tested for their capability of removing cholesterol from a culture medium. About 44% of the strains did not shown positive effect in MRS broth supplemented with bile salts. The highest cholesterol removal was obtained with L. acidophilus CRL 1014 and E. faecium CRL 183 (54 and 55.4%, respectively), this effect being improved in mixed cultures