Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Root Distribution Patterns of Nine Apple Rootstock in Two Contrasting Soil Types

Root distribution of 'Starkspur Supreme Dellclous' on nine apple (Malll .domestica Borkh.) rootstocks grown in twn different soil types in the 1980NC·140 Uniform Apple Regional Rootstock Trial (Michigan and Ohio sites) was determined usin~the trench profile method. Basedon the number ofroots counted per tree, rootstocks could beseparated into fivegroups for the Marlette soilfrom most 10least: MAC.24 > OARI > M.26EMLA :: M.9EMLA > M.7EMlA =0.3 =M.9 =MAC.9 > M.27(MI.A. For the Canfield soil. rootstocks were ranked for number of roots counted from most to least Il5 follows: MAC.24 > OAR I =MAC.9 =M,7EMIA > M.26EMLA =0.3 =M.9 F:MLA=M.9. Rool dtstributlon pattern by depth W:lS nfTe('tedh~'soil type with rootsfairly welldixtr+butcd throughout the Marlette soil hut restricted primarily atx)\t' the Iragipun In the Canfield soil. Two rootstocks performed difTcrenUyfrom others in adaptin~ to soil conditions at the different sites. MAC.9 had the second lowest number of total roots/dm' inthe Marlette soilyet the second most in the Cnnfleld soil. while thc opposite . as found for M.9£MLA. Rcgresston analysis demonstrated positive correlations between number of roots counted and "igor and yield of the scion. The NC-14O Technical Cornrniuec was established in 1967 with the central objective of facilitating cooperative research on new rootstoc~s and their adaptahility to environmental conditiom of different North America regions (Ferree and Perry. 1981l). Cooperators agreed lO follow the T~hnical Committcc's planting design and cultural guidelines for tree training nnd support. thin- ning, and fertilizing ns well as to collect specific data. Cooperators were encouragt:d to collect Jdditional data on speCific interests such as lhose reported in this study. The IYXONC- I40 Unifoml Apple Regional RootstOCKsTrial consisted of I Starkspur Supreme Delicious' (Malus donu:stica Borkh ) on nine rootstocKs of vary· ing size. Rootstock vigor Iisted from least to most dWOJrfing for the Michigan and Ohio plantings were as follows: MAC.24. M.7 EMLA. OAR). M.26EMLA. OttJWU ) (0.3), M.YEMLA. M 9, MAC.Y. and M.27EMLA WIthOAR I being mme dwarfing than M 26EMLA and M.9 more dwarfing than MAC9 in Ohio (NC·
COMBINING ABILITY STUDIES FOR SOME YIELD CONTRIBUTING TRAITS OF BREAD WHEAT UNDER NORMAL AND LATE SOWING CONDITIONS

A 7 × 7 diallel analysis involving seven wheat genotypes was conducted under normal and late sowing conditions to determine the combining ability of these genotypes for yield related traits i.e. plant height, tillers per plant, spikelets per spike, grains per spike, 1000-grain weight and grain yield per plant. Preponderance of non-additive effects was observed for tillers per plant, spikelets per spike, grains per spike, 1000-grain weight and grain yield per plant under both normal and late sowing conditions. Plant height showed high additive variance and over dominance variance under both sowing conditions. GA-2002 was the best general combiner for tillers per plant, spikelets per spike, grains per spike and grain yield per plant under both plantings, while SH-2002 for 1000-grain weight under late sowing. Chenab 2002 was the best combiner for 1000-grain weight under normal planting. Cross combinations involving GA-2002 and SH-2002 proved to be useful in selecting high yielding genotypes for normal as well as late sowing conditions.
Unexpected presence of the nitrogen‐fixing symbiotic cyanobacterium UCYN‐A in Monterey Bay, California

In the last decade, the known biogeography of nitrogen fixation in the ocean has been expanded to colder and nitrogen‐rich coastal environments. The symbiotic nitrogen‐fixing cyanobacteria group A (UCYN‐A) has been revealed as one of the most abundant and widespread nitrogen‐fixers, and includes several sublineages that live associated with genetically distinct but closely related prymnesiophyte hosts. The UCYN‐A1 sublineage is associated with an open ocean picoplanktonic prymnesiophyte, whereas UCYN‐A2 is associated with the coastal nanoplanktonic coccolithophore Braarudosphaera bigelowii, suggesting that different sublineages may be adapted to different environments. Here, we study the diversity of nifH genes present at the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf in the Monterey Bay (MB), California, and report for the first time the presence of multiple UCYN‐A sublineages, unexpectedly dominated by the UCYN‐A2 sublineage. Sequence and quantitative PCR data over an 8‐year time‐series (2011–2018) showed a shift toward increasing UCYN‐A2 abundances after 2013, and a marked seasonality for this sublineage which was present during summer‐fall months, coinciding with the upwelling‐relaxation period in the MB. Increased abundances corresponded to positive temperature anomalies in MB, and we discuss the possibility of a benthic life stage of the associated coccolithophore host to explain the seasonal pattern. The dominance of UCYN‐A2 in coastal waters of the MB underscores the need to further explore the habitat preference of the different sublineages in order to provide additional support for the hypothesis that UCYN‐A1 and UCYN‐A2 sublineages are different ecotypes.
Processing by RNase 1 forms tRNA halves and distinct Y RNA fragments in the extracellular environment

Abstract Extracellular RNAs participate in intercellular communication, and are being studied as promising minimally invasive diagnostic markers. Several studies in recent years showed that tRNA halves and distinct Y RNA fragments are abundant in the extracellular space, including in biofluids. While their regulatory and diagnostic potential has gained a substantial amount of attention, the biogenesis of these extracellular RNA fragments remains largely unexplored. Here, we demonstrate that these fragments are produced by RNase 1, a highly active secreted nuclease. We use RNA sequencing to investigate the effect of a null mutation of RNase 1 on the levels of tRNA halves and Y RNA fragments in the extracellular environment of cultured human cells. We complement and extend our RNA sequencing results with northern blots, showing that tRNAs and Y RNAs in the non-vesicular extracellular compartment are released from cells as full-length precursors and are subsequently cleaved to distinct fragments. In support of these results, formation of tRNA halves is recapitulated by recombinant human RNase 1 in our in vitro assay. These findings assign a novel function for RNase 1, and position it as a strong candidate for generation of tRNA halves and Y RNA fragments in biofluids.
Tomato supplement ameliorates castration-induced oxidative stress in the rat

Castration has previously been shown to induce oxidative stress. Previous studies have shown tomato to be a potent anti-oxidant which reduces oxidative stress in many disease conditions. However, the likely role of tomato in ameliorating castration-induced oxidative stress has not been studied and was of interest to us. The present study looked into the effect of tomato supplement on the plasma level of antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase, level of lipid peroxidation rate by estimating the malondialdehyde (MDA) and other parameters like weight gain and blood glucose levels in castrated and sham-operated rats. Castration did not affect weight gain and plasma catalase level; but increased plasma glucose and MDA levels and decreased plasma SOD level. Tomato supple-mentation reduced weight gain but had no effect on castration-induced hyperglycemia. It also increased plasma SOD and catalase, and decreased plasma MDA level in the castrated rats. These findings suggested that tomato supplementation might have important therapeutic potential as an anti-oxidant during castration and a weight regulator in castrates and non-castrates. Key words: Anti-oxidant, Blood glucose, Castration, Oxidative stress, Tomato.
Apgar Score and Risk of Neonatal Death among Preterm Infants.

BACKGROUND Gestational age is the major determinant of neonatal death (death within the first 28 days of life) in preterm infants. The joint effect of gestational age and Apgar score on the risk of neonatal death is unknown. METHODS Using data from the Swedish Medical Birth Register, we identified 113,300 preterm infants (22 weeks 0 days to 36 weeks 6 days of gestation) born from 1992 through 2016. In analyses stratified according to gestational age (22 to 24 weeks, 25 to 27 weeks, 28 to 31 weeks, 32 to 34 weeks, and 35 or 36 weeks), we estimated adjusted relative risks of neonatal death and absolute rate differences in neonatal mortality (i.e., the excess number of neonatal deaths per 100 births) according to the Apgar scores at 5 and 10 minutes and according to the change in the Apgar score between 5 minutes and 10 minutes. Scores range from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating a better physical condition of the newborn. RESULTS There were 1986 neonatal deaths (1.8%). The incidence of neonatal death ranged from 0.2% (at 36 weeks of gestation) to 76.5% (at 22 weeks of gestation). Lower Apgar scores were associated with higher relative risks of neonatal death and greater absolute rate differences in neonatal mortality in all gestational-age strata. For example, among infants born at 28 to 31 weeks, the adjusted absolute rate differences according to the 5-minute Apgar score, with those who had a score of 9 or 10 serving as the reference group, were 51.7 (95% confidence interval [CI], 38.1 to 65.4) for a score of 0 or 1, 25.5 (95% CI, 18.3 to 32.8) for a score of 2 or 3, 7.1 (95% CI, 5.1 to 9.1) for a score of 4 to 6, and 1.2 (95% CI, 0.5 to 1.9) for a score of 7 or 8. An increase in the Apgar score between 5 minutes and 10 minutes was associated with lower neonatal mortality than a stable Apgar score. CONCLUSIONS In this study, Apgar scores at 5 and 10 minutes provided prognostic information about neonatal survival among preterm infants across gestational-age strata. (Funded by the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life, and Welfare and Karolinska Institutet.).
Patterns of Dyadic Appraisal of Decision-Making Involvement of African American Persons Living with Dementia.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Greater everyday decision-making involvement by persons living with dementia (PLWD) and congruent appraisal between PLWDs and their caregivers have been associated with better quality of life (QOL) for both members of the dyad. However, no study has examined the association between the appraisals of everyday decision-making involvement of PLWDs and their QOL among African Americans. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from 62 African American dementia dyads was conducted. Multilevel and latent class mixture modeling were used to characterize dyadic appraisal of the decision-making involvement of African American PLWDs and identify distinct patterns thereof. RESULTS Three distinct patterns were observed. "Incongruent, PLWD Low Involvement" labeled in 19.4% of the sample, 53.2% were labeled "Incongruent, PLWD Moderate Involvement;" and 27.4% were labeled "Congruent, PLWD High Involvement. " The Congruent, PLWD High Involvement pattern consisted of PLWDs who were significantly younger and had significantly less cognitive impairment than PLWDs in the other patterns. In the Incongruent, PLWD Moderate Involvement pattern, PLWDs had significantly better QOL than PLWDs in the Incongruent, PLWD Low Involvement pattern but QOL did not significantly differ from PLWDs in the Congruent, PLWD High Involvement pattern. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS There is a need to tailor strategies to optimize QOL in African American dementia dyads. While increasing everyday decision-making involvement for PLWDs in the Incongruent, PLWD Low Involvement pattern is an important goal, other strategies may be needed to improve QOL of PLWDs in the remaining patterns.
Virtual enclaves or global networks? The role of Information and Communication Technologies in development cooperation

This article investigates the evolution of the struggle for bridging the digital divide in developing countries. Taking into account tendencies that have been registered in disciplines other than development, such as urban sociology and social psychology, the author demonstrates how a frequent over-estimation of the potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has influenced the previsions about their impacts and led to results and phenomena different from the expected ones. ICTs have been perceived more as a black box that can produce the same effects everywhere, independent from preexisting cultural and socio-economic contexts, than as an open artifact, capable of integrating local needs in their functioning mechanism and being adapted according to different conditions of use. Nevertheless 10 years have passed since the first pioneers launched their projects for reducing the digital gap and new approaches have emerged since then. ICTs are more and more at the heart of the strategies developed by international organizations for providing a better future to new generations and a new consciousness has emerged as a result of the many errors. The article describes some of the new approaches in the fight against the digital divide, explaining how they have a better chance to success and bring digital equity.
Wild Oat (Avena fatua) Seed Bank Dynamics in Transition to Organic Wheat Production Systems

Abstract Concern over the consequences of increased weed seed inputs to the soil seed bank during the transition period from conventional to organic production is one obstacle to grower adoption of reduced input and nonchemical weed management strategies. An 11-yr study was established in southwest Montana to investigate the effect of a single pulse of wild oat seeds on subsequent seed bank dynamics. In 1993, wild oat seeds were sown at five densities (0, 20, 80, 320, and 800 seeds m−2) in eight wheat–small grain cropping systems that differed in the number of crops in rotation and fallow periods. Wild oat seed banks were measured each spring from 1994 to 2004 in half of the cropping systems and from 2001 to 2004 in all eight systems. In 1994, seed bank densities in response to the pulse were as much as 11 times higher than controls that received no seeds in 1993. By 1996, after mechanical fallowing of all cropping systems, wild oat seed bank densities were not significantly different from densities in control plots regardless of the size of the initial seed pulse and remained so through 2004. These data suggest that increases in wild oat seed inputs during the organic transition period will have relatively few long-term agronomic effects on the dynamics of wild oat seed banks in these systems. In addition, wild oat seed banks may be constrained by factors other than cropping sequence when herbicides are not used, such as possible density-dependent regulation as a result of increased soil pathogen attack and seed predation. Nomenclature: Wild oat, Avena fatua L. AVEFA, wheat, Triticum aestivum L
Soil CO2 emission in sugarcane management systems

Sugarcane management systems affect soil attributes such as the carbon cycle. This fact has stimulated the sugar and alcohol industry to refine the sugarcane production systems by replacing the pre-harvest burning (PB) and manual harvest with mechanized harvesting followed by residue deposition. The aim of this study was to evaluate different management systems with respect to C cycling carbon dioxide and soil parameters (chemical, physical and biological) which were determined over the season. Three sugarcane cultivation systems were evaluated at the following periods: (a) PB, (b) 5-year green harvest and (c) 10-year green harvest. The results indicated that CO2 emission was 36% greater in the 10-year sugarcane green harvest system than in the PB system. The bulk density and macroporosity were the factors that were most affected by the different sugarcane management systems and that significantly influenced soil CO2 emissions. The principal component analysis showed that soil CO2 emission was 18% influenced by base saturation (V%) and 14% by pH, especially in the PB area. Additionally, 19% was affected by carbon and macroporosity in the 5- and 10-year green harvest areas, respectively. From our results, it can be concluded that the most CO2 emissions are in the areas of sugarcane green, this is due to the higher carbon concentration when compared with the area of burning sugarcane. The parameters that most influenced the CO2 emissions were bulk density, porosity, macroporosity, pH and V%.
Identity Expression Through Collective Action: How Identification With a Politicized Group and Its Identity Contents Differently Motivated Identity-Expressive Collective Action in the U.S. 2016 Presidential Elections

Although political action often requires activists to express who they are and what they stand for, little is known about the motivators of such identity expression. This research investigates how group identity content and identification with this content predict identity-expressive collective action in the U.S. 2016 presidential elections. We recruited a longitudinal community sample of U.S. party supporters (N = 426) mid-October (T1), beginning November (T2), and mid-November (T3). Participants listed words they associated with party campaigners, and self-reported their identification with this identity content and the politicized group. Supporting H1, politicized group identification longitudinally predicted increased frequency of collective action more strongly than did identification with specific identity content. Supporting H2, identification with specific identity content longitudinally predicted increased desires to express that content through collective action more strongly than politicized group identification. Implications for our understanding of identity expression and identity content in collective action are discussed.
Psychosocial effects of forgiveness petition and “self-criticism” by the Basque Government and Parliament directed to the victims of collective violence

Abstract This experimental study analyses the psychosocial effects of apologies directed to the victims of collective violence by the Basque Government and Parliament on Basque participants. It was expected that institutional apology would lead to an increase in collective guilt, shame and sorrow, while at the same time it would induce a more positive perception of emotional climate, as well as increasing positive beliefs and support for reparative actions towards the victims. As expected, when reminded of apology and past collective violence, participants reported higher shame and sorrow and agreed more with new reparations in comparison with the control condition, in which people were only reminded of past collective violence. Low identifiers exhibited a more positive perception of the social climate in the apology condition than in the control group, whereas high identifiers displayed the opposite pattern. In addition, high identifiers agreed more with defensive opinions related to past collective violence and reported lower agreement with reparations, although they did not express less collective guilt, or shame and sorrow.
Regulation of assimilate partitioning in leaves

Concepts of the regulation of assimilate partitioning in leaves frequently consider only the allocation of carbon between sucrose and starch synthesis, storage and export. While carbohydrate metabolism accounts for a large proportion of assimilated carbon, such analyses provide only a restricted view of carbon metabolism and partitioning in leaf cells since photosynthetic carbon fixation provides precursors for all other biosynthetic pathways in the plant. Most of these precursors are required for biosynthesis of amino acids that form the building blocks for many compounds in plants. We have used leaf carbon : nitrogen ratios to calculate the allocation of photosynthetic electrons to the assimilation of nitrogen necessary for amino acid formation, and conclude that this allocation is variable but may be higher than values often quoted in the literature. Respiration is a significant fate of fixed carbon. In addition to supplying biosynthetic precursors, respiration is required for energy production and may also act, in both light and dark, to balance cellular energy budgets. We have used growth CO2 concentration and irradiance to modify source activity in Lolium temulentum in order to explore the interactions between photosynthetic carbon and nitrogen assimilation, assimilate production, respiration and export. It is demonstrated that there is a robust correlation between source activity and foliar respiration rates. Under some conditions concomitant increases in source activity and respiration may be necessary to support faster growth. In other conditions, increases in respiration appear to result from internal homeostatic mechanisms that may be candidate targets for increasing yield.
Bat Activity in a Forest Landscape of Central Massachusetts

Abstract Nine species of bat are known to occur across the six New England states, but most aspects of their natural history, such as foraging habitat use, are poorly understood. Recent published research has documented the importance of still-water habitats as foci of bat flight activity. To better understand and document habitat use in southern New England, we used the AnaBat II acoustical monitoring system to assess species composition and relative levels of summer flight activity. Active acoustic surveys were conducted in six habitat types on the Quabbin Reservation in central Massachusetts in 2003 and 2004. Bat flight activity, as measured by numbers of echolocation call sequences, was high, with an average of 24 search-phase and 4 feeding-buzz calls per 20-minute survey period. Myotis lucifugus (little brown bat) was the most commonly recorded species. Bat flight activity was high over all still-water habitats, but greatest over large ponds. Large-bodied bats, such as Eptesicus fuscus (big brown bat), were recorded more often in open, structurally uncluttered habitats. Of the small-bodied bats, little brown bats were ubiquitous, whereas Myotis septentrionalis (northern myotis) was most common in structurally cluttered habitats of seasonal forest (vernal) pools and along forest streams. Generalized habitat associations among the bat species we recorded are similar to those reported for other New England forest sites. The Quabbin Reservation is an excellent site to continue examining bat-habitat relationships because of the abundance and diversity of aquatic habitats, in both cluttered closed-canopy and uncluttered open-canopy settings.
Diffusion of Clostridium perfringens NetB positive strains in healthy and diseased chickens

Abstract For over 30 years α toxin was considered the key virulence factor responsible for the appearance of necrotic enteritis (NE) in chickens but, recently, a new toxin related to the occurrence of NE, called NetB, has been described. The aim of this work was to evaluate the CP toxin-type and the NetB gene presence in strains collected from chickens affected or not by enteric diseases. 107 strains were tested: 30 isolated from chickens affected by NE, 54 from subjects affected by other enteric pathologies and 22 from healthy animals. All strains resulted toxin-type A and 26.17% of these was positive also for β2 toxin gene. No strains were positive for cpe gene. 27% (29/107) of CP was NetB positive and 93% (27/29) of these was isolated from birds affected by intestinal disorders. 16 NetB positive strains were obtained from chickens affected by NE (16/30), 9 from animals affected by other intestinal disorders (9/54) and 4 from healthy animals (4/22). A significant difference between the number of NetB positive strains isolated from animals affected by NE and healthy chickens has been observed (P=0.014). However, the finding that the 17.4% of strains isolated from healthy chickens was also positive for NetB, confirm that other virulence factors could play an important role on NE appearance.