Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gene expression profiling of ovine skin and wool follicle development using a combined ovine-bovine skin cDNA microarray.

Low fibre diameter and high fleece weight are important determinants of the economic value of the Merino fleece. The combination of these traits is found in Merino sheep with high follicle densities resulting from a high secondary to primary follicle ratio. Morphological stages in the development of primary and secondary follicles of fetal sheep skin have been well described. We have used gene expression profiling of fetal skin to identify genes that may be important in controlling these follicle developmental processes. A combined ovine (2.3 K) and bovine (6.14 K) cDNA microarray of 2 fetal and 1 adult stage skin tissues was constructed to compare gene expression levels between fetal day 82, day 105, day 120 and adult sheep skin developmental stages. The transcript profile resulted in 238 differentially expressed array elements relative to the adult expression, which represented 132 unique genes. These clustered into 50 up- and 82 down-regulated genes and distinct gene ontologies including structural constituents, phosphate transport, signal transduction and organogenesis. Northern blot analysis of 2 selected genes, S100A7LI and TAGLN, validated the microarray results. This list of genes contains candidates of interest for further investigation into the molecular control of wool follicle development.
Phylogenetic analysis of major molds inhabiting woods. Part 4. Genus Alternaria

Abstract Twenty-four Alternaria strains have been isolated from wood samples in Korea and submitted to phylogenetic analyses. The gene trees generated from the ITS and histone gene region sequences revealed that, among the genus Alternaria, two species, Alternaria alternata sensu lato (s.l.) and Alternaria tenuissima, are involved in wood discoloration. In addition, the histone gene was useful as a marker for differentiating between A. alternata s.l. and A. tenuissima.
Effects of leaf development and phosphorus supply on the photosynthetic characteristics of perennial legume species with pasture potential: modelling photosynthesis with leaf development

Age-dependent changes in leaf photosynthetic characteristics (i.e. parameters of the light response curve (maximum photosynthetic rate (Pmax), quantum yield (Φ) and the convexity parameter (θ)), stomatal conductance (gs) and dark respiration rate (Rd)) of an exotic perennial legume, Medicago sativa L. (lucerne), and two potential pasture legumes native to Australia, Cullen australasicum (Schltdl.) J.W. Grime and Cullen pallidum A. Lee, grown in a glasshouse for 5 months at two phosphorus (P) levels (3 (P3) and 30 (P30) mg P kg–1 dry soil) were tested. Leaf appearance rate and leaf area were lower at P3 than at P30 in all species, with M. sativa being the most sensitive to P3. At any leaf age, photosynthetic characteristics did not differ between P treatments. However, Pmax and gs for all the species and Φ for Cullen species increased until full leaf expansion and then decreased. The convexity parameter, θ, did not change with leaf age, whereas Rd decreased. The estimates of leaf net photosynthetic rate (Pleaf) obtained through simulations at variable Pmax and Φ were lower during early and late leaf developmental stages and at lower light intensities than those obtained when Φ was assumed to be constant (e.g. for a horizontally placed leaf, during the 1500°C days developmental period, 3 and 19% reduction of Pleaf at light intensities of 1500 and 500 µmol m–2 s–1, respectively). Therefore, developmental changes in leaf photosynthetic characteristics should be considered when estimating and simulating Pleaf of these pasture species.
Water Exercise and Its Effect on Balance and Gait to Reduce the Risk of Falling in Older Adults

Abstract The purpose of this research was to compare the effect of land-based and water-based exercise on gait and balance in two groups of women 65 years and older who engaged in regular exercise. Gait and balance was assessed with the Tinetti Gait and Balance Assessment. The Health Survey SF36v2 and a demographic/health survey were used to collect information concerning overall health and to identify other factors influencing the risk to fall. Forty-three women were recruited, 20 from land-based and 23 from water-based exercise programs. The findings indicated water exercise may contribute a positive benefit on balance and gait for women 65 years and older. No significant differences were found in the gait and balance scores between the two groups, after controlling for significant risk factors for falling. The results suggest that both types of exercise may be similarly beneficial on balance and gait and thereby reduce the risk for falls. Water-based exercise could be considered as an alternate exercise activity for seniors, especially if land-based exercise is difficult due to chronic musculoskeletal disorders.
Is the relation between nutrient supply and biodiversity co-determined by the type of nutrient limitation?

Correlative studies have shown a ‘hump-backed’ relation between the vegetation N:P ratio and plant species diversity with the highest diversity at balanced N:P ratios (between 10 and 14). We tested the hypothesis that adding growth-limiting nutrients to mesotrophic grasslands that were in shortage of either N (N:P ratio 14) would lead to an increase of plant diversity. Thereto, we studied the effects of long-term (11 yr) experimentally increased N and/or P supply on soil nutrient pools, vegetation nutrient dynamics and biodiversity in a riverine grassland in the Netherlands with a low soil N:P ratio (N shortage) and a peat grassland with a high soil N:P ratio (P shortage), respectively. Eleven years of nutrient addition hardly had any effects on the total stocks of C, N and P in the soils of both sites, due to the large size of the soil nutrient pools already present and to the management at both sites (annual hay-making and -removal). However, in the riverine grassland the treatments increased the cycling of the small pool of labile N and P compounds resulting in large increases in annual fluxes of especially N. In the unfertilised controls, species establishments balanced more or less species losses during an 11 year period, thus leading to a dynamic equilibrium of the species pool. However, contrary to our hypothesis, addition of the growth-limiting nutrient led at both sites to a reduction of species diversity even when total biomass remained below critical levels. Species diversity and species evenness were strongly determined by N mineralisation and to a lesser extent by total soil N and extractable P, respectively. Total aboveground biomass of the vegetation was determined by total soil N. Our study shows that patterns found in correlative studies of the relation between plant diversity and soil and vegetation N:P ratio can not be translated into successful experimental manipulations to enhance biodiversity. The most likely explanation is that colonization limitation occurred in the fertilized plots and that not sufficient diaspores of potentially new species could reach and/or colonize the plots to compensate for the species extinctions as a result of increased nutrient supply.
How Do Female Red-Winged Blackbirds Allocate Food Within Broods?

Abstract. Nestlings communicate with parents via begging, but what does begging signal and how do parents allocate food to their nestlings? We tested the signal-of-need (SoN) and signal-of-quality (SoQ) hypotheses for nestling begging in the Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) by attempting to determine whether begging is negatively (SoN) or positively (SoQ) condition dependent, and by attempting to identify the attributes of nestlings that parents use to allocate food within broods. We quantified begging by its mean intensity (scale 0–7) and mean duration and parental allocation by the number of times each nestling was fed. We found that the intensity and duration of begging were not correlated with nestlings' size (estimated by body mass and tarsus length), condition (estimated from the residual of mass regressed on tarsus length), age, sex, or testosterone concentration, so begging did not appear to be negatively or positively condition dependent. A generalized linear model showed that mean intensity of begging, body condition, and log testosterone concentration were significant predictors of the number of feedings. These results are consistent with parents using begging intensity and nestling quality, but not long-term need, to allocate food within broods.
Use of Penn State Particle Separator for the evaluation of total mixed rations typical of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese production area

Abstract An observational study was conducted on 18 dairy farms located in the area of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese production with the aim to supply some recommendations regarding the more efficient TMR physical form. The effects of TMR particle size distributions on digestion process and on dairy productivity were investigated. Lower particle size appeared to improve digestion process and resulted in increased DMI, milk yield, and milk casein level without affecting milk fat. Routinary TMR particle size measurement with PSPS could be a good practice to standardize TMR particle size distribution and to maximize DMI and dairy productivity.
The Influence of Rotation Crops in Rice Soils on the Dynamics of Parasitic Nematodes

ABSTRACT The influence of crop rotations on the population of parasitic nematodes of rice has been studied. Maize and barley were observed to be suitable hosts for the root nematode Hirschmanieila' mucronata, whereas jute, potato and wheat were unsuitable. Maize was a good host to the root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus indicus, but black gram, oats, wheat and green gram were unsuitable. Green gram, cowpea and sesamum supported high populations of the lance nematode Hoplolaimus indicus. Sweet potato, cowpea, castor, sunflower, soybean, sesamum, onion and turnip were observed to inhibit the growth of root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne graminicola) populations. Sesamum and Basella rubra were found to be non-hosts for the stunt nematode Tylenchorhynchus claytoni.
Lifetime survival of Jersey‐sired cows following natural challenge with facial eczema during first lactation

Abstract During a serious natural outbreak of facial eczema (FE) in March‐May 1989 in the Northland, Auckland, and Taranaki regions of New Zealand, over 1500 Jersey‐sired 1st‐lactation heifers in 60 spring‐calving herds were blood sampled between 24 April and the end of May. The objective was to monitor their response to the FE challenge, as measured by serum activity of the enzyme gamma‐glutamyltransferase (GGT); 43 (72%) of the herds contained heifers that had been exposed. In these herds, compared with the remaining ("non‐exposed") herds, the cumulative percentages of heifers (still present for the blood sample) which were culled or had died were not significantly affected by type of herd. In the exposed herds only, the difference in log e GGT between cows culled or dead by the end of the 1 st lactation and those that survived was 0.52 ± 0.23 log e i.u. litre–1 (P < 0.05). The survival of animals to the end of the 2nd lactation in exposed herds was 5.9% lower in heifers with serum GGT > 100 i.u. litre–1 than in those with lower GGT levels (P = 0.05); the survival difference in heifers with serum GGT above or below a threshold of 200 i.u. litre–1 was 9.1% (P < 0.01). From all animals blood sampled in the exposed herds (daughters from 65 sire groups), the heritabilities of survival past the end of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th lactations following the FE field challenge were 0.01 ± 0.03, 0.02 ± 0.05, 0.02 ± 0.05, and 0.00 ± 0.05, respectively. The heritability estimate for log e GGT in the FE challenge season was 0.32 ±0.10. This study has shown significant negative associations between the GGT level after an FE challenge and cow survival.
Can Betaine Replace Supplemental DL-Methionine in Broiler Diets?

Abstract This paper reports the results of a growth study with subsequent carcass analysis to investigate the potential of betaine to replace DL-methionine as an essential amino acid supplement in broiler diets. Starter and grower diets were formulated to be deficient in sulfur amino acids, then supplemented with various combinations of DL-methionine and betaine. All diets were supplemented with choline chloride to ensure adequate methyl group supply. Growth, feed conversion, and breast meat yield were significantly improved by added DL-methionine, but not be betaine. There was no evidence that betaine can reduce the need for supplemental methionine in broiler diets deficient in sulfur amino acids.
A synthesis of large-scale patterns in the planktonic prey of larval and juvenile cod (Gadus morhua)

Data from 40 published studies of the diet composition of larval and juvenile cod (Gadus morhua) from around the northern North Atlantic were summarized to assess generic patterns in ontogenetic and regional variability in the key prey. The results showed that larvae at the northern edge of the latitudinal range of cod depend primarily on development stages of the copepod Calanus finmarchicus, whilst those at the southern edge depend on Para- and Pseudocalanus species. Juvenile cod preyed on a wider range of taxa than larvae, but euphausiids were the main target prey. Analysis of regional variations in the relative abundances of C. finmarchicus and Para/Pseudocalanus spp. in the plankton, as estimated by the continuous plankton recorder (CPR) surveys, showed a similar geographical pattern to the larval cod stomach contents. Comparison of CPR data from the 1960s and 70s with data from the 1990s showed that the boundary between C. finmarchicus and Para/Pseudocalanus spp. dominance has shifted northwards on both sides of the Atlantic, whilst the abundance of euphausiids in the southern cod stock regions has declined. The results are discussed in relation to regional differences in the response of cod stocks to climate variability.
A Comparison of the Humoral Immune Response Induced by a Recombinant Human Protein in Wild Type Mice and in Transgenic Mice Expressing the Protein

Clinical Chemistry and Transfusion Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, S-413 45, Sweden. Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linkoping University, Department of Clinical Pathology and Clinical Genetics, Ostergotland County Council, Linkoping, Sweden and Swetox, Swedish Toxicology Sciences Research Center, Forskargatan 20, S-15136, Sweden. Astra Zeneca, Innovative Medicine, Molndal, Sweden. Department of Non-Clinical Safety and Pharmacology, Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB, Stockholm, Sweden.
TAPIR-GENERATED SEED SHADOWS : SCALE-DEPENDENT PATCHINESS IN THE AMAZON RAIN FOREST

1 Maximiliana maripa is a large seeded palm that occurs in monodominant patches (clumps) in the Amazonian forest of Marac'a Island, Roraima, Brazil. 2 Rodents, collared peccaries (Tayassu tajacu), deer (Odocoileus virginianus and Mazama spp.) and primates, all short-distance, small-to-medium bodied dispersers, ate the pulp of Maximiliana fruits and spat out intact seeds, from 97 to 100% of them within 5 m of parent plants (below the tree crown). 3 Tapirs (Tapirus terrestris) swallowed entire fruits and defecated intact seeds at latrines located up to 2 km from the nearest palm clump, creating a large-scale, punctuated seed shadow. 4 Bruchid beetle (Pachymeris cardo) larvae killed 77% of seeds remaining near parent trees, but only 0.7% of the 6140 seeds dispersed by tapirs to latrines. 5 Densities of zero-year seedlings to fifth-year saplings were significantly higher at tapir latrine sites than around parent trees located in conspecific aggregations; they were also significantly higher for the zero and one year classes at latrines than at randomly selected nonpalm, nonlatrine control trees. 6 Seeds dispersed by tapirs to latrines and secondarily dispersed by rodents gave rise to the seedlings and saplings located around the latrine sites, while seeds secondarily dispersed by rodents gave rise to the seedlings and saplings around control trees. 7 Collared (Tayassu tajacu) and white-lipped (T. pecari) peccaries accounted for high seedling and sapling mortality around parent trees. 8 Adult Maximiliana attained densities of 32 trees per 2500 m2 within these patches. 9 Clump dispersal of seeds by tapirs, a meso-scale process, interacting with the smallscale process of seed dispersal by rodents, is sufficient to explain the creation of palm patches.
Seasonal Food Limitation of Detritivores in a Montane Stream: An Experimental Test

Many species of detritivorous invertebrates in small streams depend almost entirely on inputs of leaf litter for their nutritional requirements, however the concentration of this resource varies considerably seasonally. An experiment designed to test the hy- pothesis that productivity of coarse particle detritus feeders (shredders) is seasonally food limited was performed using replicate streamside channels that received one of three input rates of whole leaf detritus (rates equal to those naturally falling into montane streams, and two levels of increased inputs). Seven of the nine common shredder species attained significantly higher adult mass, higher densities, or both when food was supplemented. Larval densities of Malenka spp. and Brillia retifinis were significantly higher when additional food was added. Brillia retifinis densities were more than 10 x greater in high food additions than in the "natural" treatment; B. retifinis apparently fills a role as a fugitive in this system and is better able to track shifts in resource abundance by virtue of its short generation time. Zapada cinctipes and Z. haysi were more dense in high and intermediate food input treatments during the last half of the summer. Other taxa had nonsignificant trends to higher densities when extra food was provided. Most of the change in benthic densities can be attributed to decreased rates of emigration with increased food supply. Six of the eight taxa for which adult mass at emergence was measured were significantly more massive (4-46%) when food was added. Both sexes exhibited this increase in mass, but females gained proportionally more in most species. There were no detectable changes in the timing of adult emergence due to food manipulations. The biomass of most taxa increased in proportion to the overall increase in biomass of the common coarse-detritus consumers. The main exceptions to that pattern were a disproportionate increase in the percentage of the biomass represented by Brillia retifinis and a decrease in the representation of Zapada cinctipes. The responses of this community to food supplementation demonstrate food limitation of detritivores. The exponential increase in benthic biomass under food addition shows the scope for productivity if food were not limiting. These coexisting species benefitted from enhanced food supply on a spatial scale that is relevant for population level processes. The large seasonal variation in resource abundance under natural conditions creates bot- tlenecks during periods of low food supply, which constrain subsequent production even during periods when food is abundant.
Effect of 28-homobrassinolide and 24-epibrassinolide on the growth, productivity and nutritional value of two faba bean (Vicia faba L.) cultivars

Growth, yield, and chemical composition responses of two faba bean cultivars due to foliar application of 28-homobrassinolide (HBR) and 24-epibrassinolide (EBR) were studied in two field experiments conducted at the Experimental Farm of Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University at Giza, Egypt, during 2003/2004 and 2004/2005. The application of 0.10 mg l−1 EBR improved the growth characters and yield of the two cultivars over the control. Treatment with 0.05 mg l−1 EBR and 0.50 mg l−1 HBR stimulated plant growth and productivity but less effectively than treatment with 0.10 mg l−1 EBR. This increment was more pronounced in Sakha 1 cultivar as compared with Giza 40 cultivar. Application of 0.10 mg l−1 EBR gave, along with a 28% rise in productivity of Sakha 1 cultivar and 21.8% rise in productivity of Giza 40 cultivar, a better quality of yield with regard to an enhancement in the concentration of N, P, K, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, protein, and total carbohydrates. These considerable effects of EBR and HBR on plant development and yield promotion, together with the environmentally safe aspects of these compounds, would mark a major development in the field of plant growth regulators, and would minimize the risks associated with agrochemicals by reducing environmental contamination.
Evidence for scale‐ and disturbance‐dependent trait assembly patterns in dry semi‐natural grasslands

The mechanisms driving nonrandom assembly patterns in plant communities have long been of interest in ecological research. Competing ecological theories predict that coexisting species may either be more functionally dissimilar than expected by chance (with functional ‘divergence’ mainly reflecting niche differentiation) or be functionally more similar than expected (with functional ‘convergence’ reflecting either the outcome of environmental filtering or weaker‐competitor exclusion effects). Assembly patterns are usually assessed at a single scale and disturbance regime, whereas considering different spatial scales and disturbance regimes may clarify the underlying assembly mechanisms. We tested the prediction that convergence and divergence are scale‐ and disturbance‐ dependent in grazed and abandoned species‐rich dry grasslands within a 22 km2 landscape in south‐eastern Sweden. Convergence and divergence were tested for plant species' traits and phylogenetic relationships at three nested spatial scales: within 412 plots (50 × 50 cm, divided into 10 × 10 cm subplots), within 117 grassland patches (from 0.02 to 11.63 ha) and within the whole landscape (across patches). At the finest scale (10 × 10 cm subplots within plots), coexisting species were more different than expected by chance (divergence), both functionally and phylogenetically, suggesting niche differentiation. At the intermediate scale (50 × 50 cm plots within patches), coexisting species showed convergence, suggesting environmental filtering. No significant deviations from random expectations were detected at the broadest scale (patches within the 22 km2 landscape) – suggesting the prevalence of dispersal limitation at this scale. The fact that nonrandom patterns were particularly evident under grazed conditions is consistent with the prediction that assembly patterns are disturbance dependent. Synthesis. This study shows that multiple trait‐based assembly processes operate simultaneously in species‐rich communities, across spatial scales and disturbance regimes. The results support earlier theoretical predictions that divergence between coexisting species may be an important driver of community assembly, particularly at finer spatial scales, where species compete for the same local resources. In contrast, environmental filtering is expected at broader spatial scales, where species growing in particular environmental conditions share traits that are adaptive under those conditions. Within given habitat types, dispersal limitation may, however, override environmental filtering at increasing spatial scales of observation.