Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A review of the Mutillidae (Hymenoptera) of Yemen

3 Introduction 3 Material and methods 4 Subfamily Pseudophotopsidinae Bischoff 1920 6 1. Genus Pseudophotopsis Andre 1896 6 Pseudophotopsis aurea (Klug 1829) 7 *Pseudophotopsis mascatiana Invrea 1962 7 *Pseudophotopsis maura Bischoff 1920 9 Subfamily Myrmillinae Bischoff 1920 10 *2. Genus Arnoldtilla Nonveiller 1996, stat. nov. 10 Arnoldtilla achterbergi Lelej, sp. nov. 10 3. Genus Myrmilla Wesmael 1852 11 *Myrmilla parvula Magretti 1906, stat. nov. 12 *Myrmilla rubida Magretti 1906, stat. nov. 12 Myrmilla scorteccii Invrea 1965 13 *4. Genus Omotilla Invrea 1943 13 Omotilla conjuncta (Klug 1829), comb. nov. 14 Subfamily Mutillinae Latreille 1802 15 Tribe Mutillini Latreille 1802 15 *5. Genus Macromyrme Lelej 1984 15 Macromyrme chrysophthalma (Klug 1829), comb. nov. 15 *6. Genus Ronisia Costa 1858 16 *Ronisia idonea (Andre 1901) 16 *7. Genus Strangulotilla Nonveiller 1978 16 *Strangulotilla samharica (Magretti 1906) 17 *8. Genus Tropidotilla Bischoff 1920 17 *Tropidotilla bellii (Magretti 1906) 18
Regulation of Skeletal Muscle Formation and Regeneration by the Cellular Inhibitor of Apoptosis 1 (cIAP1) Protein

The inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) proteins traditionally regulate programmed cell death by binding to and inhibiting caspases. Recent studies have uncovered a variety of alternate cellular roles for several IAP family members. The cellular inhibitor of apoptosis 1 (cIAP1) protein, for instance, regulates different axes of the NF-κB signalling pathway. Given the extensive functions of NF-κB signalling in muscle differentiation and regeneration, I asked if cIAP1 also plays critical roles in skeletal muscle myogenesis. In a primary myoblast cell-culture system, genetic and pharmacological approaches revealed that loss of cIAP1 dramatically increases the fusion of myoblasts into myotubes. NF-κB signalling occurs along a classical and an alternative pathway, both of which are highly active in cIAP1-/- myoblasts. Suppression of the alternative pathway attenuates myotube fusion in wildtype and cIAP1-/- myoblasts. Conversely, constitutive activation of the alternative pathway increases myoblast fusion in wildtype myoblasts. cIAP1-/- mice have greater muscle weight and size than wildtypes, as well as an increased number of muscle stem cells. These results identify cIAP1 as a regulator of myogenesis through its modulation of classical and alternative NF-κB signalling pathways. Loss of the structural protein dystrophin in the mdx mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy leads to chronic degeneration of skeletal muscle. The muscle pathology is strongly influenced by NF-κB signaling. Given the roles demonstrated for cIAP1 in cell culture and in vivo, I asked whether loss of cIAP1 would influence muscle pathology in the mdx mouse. To address this question, double-mutant mice were bred lacking both cIAP1 and dystrophin (cIAP1-/-;mdx). Histological analyses revealed that double-mutant mice exhibited reduced indications of damage on several measures, as compared to single-mutant (cIAP1+/+;mdx) controls. Unexpectedly, these reductions were seen in the “slow-twitch” soleus muscle but not in the “fast-twitch” extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle. The improvements in pathology of double-mutant solei were associated with reductions in muscle infiltration by CD68-expressing macrophages. Finally, the double-mutant mice exhibited improved endurance and resistance to damage during treadmill-running exercise. Taken together, these results suggest that loss of cIAP1, through its multiple regulatory functions, acts to improve myogenesis and increase muscle resistance to damage.
Influence of seed treatment on the enhancement of germination and seedling vigour of papaya.

Papaya is mainly propagated through seeds. The seeds are covered with sarcotesta, a whitish succulent and translucent material which has been reported to delay germination. The freshly extracted seeds exhibit dormancy when sown immediately and the dormancy can be broken by after-ripening by storage for a short period, but prolonged storage also results in poor germinability. Treatment of seeds with growth regulators and certain chemicals has been found to break dormancy and improve the germination. Hence an experiment was conducted in order to study the effect of various chemicals on seed germination and seedling growth of papaya. The experiment was carried out in completely randomized design with fifteen treatments in three replications. The treatments included soaking the seeds in GA 3 (50, 100 and 200 ppm), NAA (100 and 200 ppm) and thiourea (1000, 2000 ppm) for 6 and 12 h duration along with a control. The results revealed that seeds soaked in GA 3 200 ppm for 12 h reduced the time taken for 50% germination, increased root and shoot length and vigour index followed by seed treatment with thiourea 2000 ppm for 12 h. The least values were recorded in the control.
Linking the hierarchical decision-making process of fruit choice and the phenotypic selection strength on fruit traits by birds

Aims Animals in search of fleshy fruits forage mostly according to the number of available fruits and then select individual fruits based on reward quality or advertised subtle traits. This hierarchical pattern of fruit choice would be translated into patterns of selection strength mediated by frugivores on fruit display traits. Thus, frugivores would exert higher selection pressures on fruit crop size and lower selection pressures on within-plant variation of phenotypic traits (infructescence, fruit and seed size). However, no attempt to link this behavioral mechanism of hierarchical trait selection to natural selection patterns has been made. Therefore, we sought to determine the relationship between the hierarchical decision-making process of fruit choice and patterns of natural selection on fruit traits. Methods We recorded bird visits and measured fruit-related traits (fruit crop size, fruit diameter and seed weight) in a natural population of Psychotria carthagenensis, a bird-dispersed treelet, in a Yungas forest from Argentina. To assess phenotypic selection patterns on fruit display traits, we performed multivariate selection analysis, and to explicitly identify a hierarchy of fruit trait choice we used a classification tree as a predictive model. Important Findings Selection patterns on fruit display traits were in agreement with a hierarchical process of fruit choice made by birds. The strength of directional selection on the total number of fruits in a plant (i.e. fruit crop size) was nearly two times higher than on fruit size, and the classification tree analysis supported this hierarchical pattern. Our results support previous evidence that seed dispersers shape fruit crop size with higher intensity than subindividual fruit traits. Also, high levels of subindividual phenotypic variation of fruit display traits may be explained by relaxed selection pressures exerted by frugivores. Empirical studies also show that this pattern may constitute a general phenomenon among other plant–animal interactions.
Investigating the influence of local weather conditions and alternative prey composition on the breeding performance of urban Eurasian Kestrels Falco tinnunculus

ABSTRACT Capsule: Local weather conditions, but not a city-associated diet composition, influence the breeding performance of urban Eurasian Kestrels Falco tinnunculus. Aims: We aim to explore the impact of diet composition, specifically a high proportion of avian prey, on the breeding performance of urban Eurasian Kestrels under different weather conditions. Methods: The Eurasian Kestrel is known to exploit cities and occurs in the study area of Vienna, Austria (415 km2) at high breeding densities of 89–122 pairs/100 km2. Unlike their rural conspecifics which specialize in voles, urban Kestrels are generalists, preying on passerines and mammals, but also reptiles and insects. We explore this alternative diet through pellet analyses along an urbanization gradient over a 5-year period and link diet to reproductive performance, taking local weather conditions into account. Results: Our results showed that weather had a greater influence on breeding performance than did diet. Warm and dry weather during the arrival and courtship period was correlated with earlier egg-laying, higher nestling survival and an overall higher breeding success. Dry winters increased the proportion of mammalian prey, whereas low temperatures and high rainfall during the nestling phase increased the proportion of avian prey. Overall, a more diverse diet was also associated with higher rainfall, but only during the arrival and courtship period. Conclusion: Our research shows a stronger connection between breeding performance and weather conditions than between breeding performance and diet composition, although there may be indirect effects of weather on prey availability which augment the impact of diet on reproductive output in the Eurasian Kestrel.
Global versus Chinese perspectives on the phylogeny of the N‐fixing clade

There has been increasing interest in integrating a regional tree of life with community assembly rules in the ecological research. This raises questions regarding the impacts of taxon sampling strategies at the regional versus global scales on the topology. To address this concern, we constructed two trees for the nitrogen‐fixing clade: (i) a genus‐level global tree including 1023 genera; and (ii) a regional tree comprising 303 genera, with taxon sampling limited to China. We used the supermatrix approach and performed maximum likelihood analyses on combined matK, rbcL, and trnL‐F plastid sequences. We found that the topology of the global and the regional tree of the N‐fixing clade were generally congruent. However, whereas relationships among the four orders obtained with the global tree agreed with the accepted topology obtained in focused analyses with more genes, the regional topology obtained different relationships, albeit weakly supported. At a finer scale, the phylogenetic position of the family Myricaceae was found to be sensitive to sampling density. We expect that internal support throughout the phylogeny could be improved with denser taxon sampling. The taxon sampling approach (global vs. regional) did not have a major impact on fine‐level branching patterns of the N‐fixing clade. Thus, a well‐resolved phylogeny with relatively dense taxon sampling strategy at the regional scale appears, in this case, to be a good representation of the overall phylogenetic pattern and could be used in ecological research. Otherwise, the regional tree should be adjusted according to the correspondingly reliable global tree.
Synalpheus shrimps (Crustacea: Decapoda: Alpheidae). I. The Gambarelloides group, with a description of a new species

The genus Synalpheus Bate, 1888, is one of the most diverse and widely distributed genera of caridean shrimps in the world. Often known as snapping shrimps because of the popping sound made by the major first pereopod when the chela is closed rapidly, members of this genus are important components of coral reef and live bottom communities in all tropical and subtropical seas. The Gambarelloides group (a well-defined, homogeneous group within the genus but lacking formal subgeneric status) contains over half the described species of Synalpheus in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. Its many species are distinguished from each other by subtle, and often variable, characters. Accurate inventories of the Gulf fauna have been handicapped by difficulty in separating these shrimps at the specific level. Distributional data, diagnoses, and references to each of the 19 species of the group from the Western Atlantic Region are presented in this report. The 11 species known from the Gulf of Mexico are illustrated. Details of specific ecological associations, morphological variation, and life history strategies are also summarized. (Document has 125 pages.)
Air pollution exacerbates effect of allergenic pollen proteins of Cassia siamea: a preliminary report

Abstract Pollinosis caused by several allergenic proteins in pollen grains has been a major problem of healthcare in most parts of the world. Environmental factors such as air pollution are known to alter the release of allergenic pollen proteins from a variety of the plant species. Cassia siamea is commonly planted along roadsides and in industrialised areas in many parts of India. The present study reports the findings of animal experiments demonstrating the effect of air pollution on the allergenicity of Cassia siamea pollen proteins. Total white blood cell (WBC) count and lymphocyte count were significantly higher in animals that received protein extract of pollen collected from a polluted site compared to those that received protein extract of pollen collected from a non-polluted site. This was concomitant with increased production of IgE antibodies; followed by marked degranulation of mast cell leading to heighten type I hypersensitivity in these animals. These results are important for the development of a consensus linking ever-increasing pollution due to industrialisation and an increase in associated pollinosis.
"Diverse weights and diverse measures": factors affecting the post-natal growth of the Grey-headed Flying-fox Pteropus poliocephalus and implications for ageing juvenile flying-foxes

Determining the population dynamics of the vulnerable Grey-headed Flying-fox, Pteropus poliocephalus requires accurate methods of estimating the age of wild animals. Traditionally, wild juvenile P. poliocephalus have been aged by comparing their forearm measurements to those of known-aged captive bred juveniles. To determine the degree of plasticity in the forearm growth rate and hence the reliability of this method, the forearm growth of two groups of captive-bred flying-foxes whose mothers were fed different diets was compared. The difference in diet, a protein supplement of pollen rather than milk powder, made no significant difference in the average length of the forearm at birth, but there were significant differences in the subsequent growth of each growth parameter tested, with the pollen supplemented maternal diet providing faster post-natal growth than the milk supplemented maternal diet. Maternal diet was also significantly correlated with a difference in the sex ratio with a majority of females being produced on the milk supplemented maternal diet and a majority of males being produced on the pollen supplemented maternal diet. There was no significant difference in the post-natal forearm growth of males and females independent of their mother’s diet. The sigmoidal curve that best described the average post-natal growth rate of mother-reared P. poliocephalus was the Logistic Model Function. As the diet of wild flying-foxes varies from year to year it is likely that the growth rates of wild mother-reared flying-foxes vary from year to year along with the age of competent flight and independence. The plasticity in the forearm growth rate indicates that estimating the age of wild juvenile flying-foxes using growth rates of captive mother reared juveniles is unlikely to be an accurate method of ageing wild juvenile flying-foxes and other methods of ageing these animals should be investigated.
Photoperiod, temperature, gibberellin, and an anti-gibberellin affect tuberization of potato stem segments in vitro

'Katahdin' potato plants were grown under conditions that did not induce tuberization (noninducing conditions) and the foliage was sprayed with either a growth retardant (BAS-111) at 1000 mg.L -1 or distilled water. Other plants, grown under tuberinducing conditions, received a foliar spray of gibberellic acid (GA 3 ) at 100 mg.L -1 or distilled water. After 1 week, treatments were repeated. Two-node stem segments were excised from the apical, subapical, medial, and basal sections of each plant 72 hours after the second foliar treatment, disinfested, and inserted into flasks containing 50 mL of Murashige and Skoog medium (2% sucrose). After 3 weeks in a darkened incubator adjusted to 24 °C, tuberization response was evaluated. Orthogonal contrasts revealed significant differences between induced and noninduced controls for tuber number, diameter, and fresh mass. BAS-111 reduced rhizome length and increased tuber number, diameter, and fresh mass. GA 3 increased rhizome length, but reduced tuber number, diameter, and fresh mass. Node location influenced tuber development, as basal explants produced significantly more and larger tubers, as well as longer rhizomes, than did apical explants, and subapical segments produced more and larger tubers than did apical segments. There were no significant differences between medial and basal nodal segments with respect to tuber number or tuber/rhizome size. Chemical names used: 1-phenoxy-5,5-dimethyl-3-(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)-hexan-5-ol (BAS-111); 2,4a,7-trihydroxy-1. -methyl-8-methylenegibb-3-ene-1.10 -carboxylic acid 1->4 lactone (GA 3 ).
ROLE OF DIETARY POLYPHENOLS IN THE PLATELET AGGREGATION NETWORK - A REVIEW OF THE IN VITRO STUDIES

Several epidemiological studies reported the intake of dietary polyphenols to be inversely associated with risk for cardiovascular disease. The bases of this association are very complex and at least in part can be due to an effect on haemostasis. In fact, polyphenols have been reported to inhibit platelet aggregation both in vitro and in vivo. In this review, the available literature on the in vitro effect of polyphenols on platelet aggregation by different agonists is critically revised, taking into consideration all experimental conditions employed. All polyphenols show some anti-aggregating activity, however the anti-aggregative effect greatly differs between and within the different phenolic classes. Polyphenols have been shown to have an effect on platelet function through a multitude of mechanisms, significantly affecting different steps of the transductional pathway of platelet activation. The analysis of the results indicates a promising role for food polyphenols in preventing thrombosis and cardiovascular diseases, but, at the same time, suggests caution when transferring in vivo the in vitro findings.
Faculty Opinions recommendation of Beta1 integrin inhibitory antibody induces apoptosis of breast cancer cells, inhibits growth, and distinguishes malignant from normal phenotype in three dimensional cultures and in vivo.

Current therapeutic approaches to cancer are designed to target molecules that contribute to malignant behavior but leave normal tissues intact. β 1 integrin is a candidate target well known for mediating cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions that influence diverse cellular functions; its aberrant expression has been implicated in breast cancer progression and resistance to cytotoxic therapy. The addition of β 1 integrin inhibitory agents to breast cancer cells at a single-cell stage in a laminin-rich ECM (three-dimensional lrECM) culture was shown to down-modulate β 1 integrin signaling, resulting in malignant reversion. To investigate β 1 integrin as a therapeutic target, we modified the three-dimensional lrECM protocol to approximate the clinical situation: before treatment, we allowed nonmalignant cells to form organized acinar structures and malignant cells to form tumor-like colonies. We then tested the ability of β 1 integrin inhibitory antibody, AIIB2, to inhibit tumor cell growth in several breast cancer cell lines (T4-2, MDA-MB-231, BT474, SKBR3, and MCF-7) and one nonmalignant cell line (S-1). We show that β 1 integrin inhibition resulted in a significant loss of cancer cells, associated with a decrease in proliferation and increase in apoptosis, and a global change in the composition of residual colonies. In contrast, nonmalignant cells that formed tissue-like structures remained resistant. Moreover, these cancer cell–specific antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects were confirmed in vivo with no discernible toxicity to animals. Our findings indicate that β 1 integrin is a promising therapeutic target, and that the three-dimensional lrECM culture assay can be used to effectively distinguish malignant and normal tissue response to therapy with AIIB2 These data indicate that an additive cytostatic effect is achieved by using the combination of
Air drying of osmosed button mushrooms

Mushroom quarters osmosed in brine at solution to sample ratio of 6 and a temperature of 40°C were dried in single layer at 55, 65 and 75°C. The drying was carried from an initial moisture content of about 550% d.b. to nearly constant product weight of 7.5%, 6.3% and 5.0% (d.b), respectively for 55, 65 and 75°C. Drying process was essentially in falling rate period and could be completed in 300-600 min. depending upon the air temperature. The drying kinetics could be adequately described by Page's model with temperature dependent drying constant. Shrinkage as measured by the product volume could be linearly related to moisture content. Rehydration and sensory attributes indicated that drying osmosed mushrooms at 65°C could yield a highly acceptable product, particularly for soup preparation.
Morphological and taxonomical assessment of former and present records of Pachycladella umbrina and P. zatoriensis (green alga, Chlorococcales)

La diagnose du genre Pachycladella (G.M. Smith) Silva et de son espece-type P. umbrina (G. M. Smith) Silva par G.M. Smith (1924) mentionne explicitement que les quatre appendices bifurques qui decorent cette algue unicellulaire coccoide, ont une disposition en croix, tres rarement une disposition tetraedrique. Cependant la compilation de differents travaux, montrent que cette particularite morphologique a ete souvent occultee ou modifiee sans raisons apparentes. Il en resulte une vision peu claire du genre ainsi qu'une confusion sur la morphologie exacte de Pachycladella umbrina et P. zatoriensis (Bednarz et Mrozinska-Webb) Komarek (.)
Performans Değerlendirmeye İlişkin Öğretmen Görüşleri (Bigadiç İlköğretim Öğretmenleri Örneği)

Bu calismanin amaci, ilkogretim ogretmenlerinin performans degerlendirmesinin amaci, sureci ile ilgili dusuncelerini ortaya koymak ve ortaya cikan sonuclar dogrultusunda da ogretmen performans degerlendirmesini gelistirmeye yonelik oneriler sunmaktir. Arastirmanin orneklemini 2003–2004 egitim-ogretim yilinda Balikesir- Bigadic ilcesine bagli ilkogretim okullarinda gorev yapan toplam 46 ogretmen olusturmaktadir. Calismada ogretmenlerin performans degerlendirmeye iliskin dusuncelerini belirlemek icin bir anket uygulanmistir. Arastirmada belge analizi, calismaya katilanlarin gozlemleri ve ilkogretim ogretmenleriyle gorusme ve Likert tipi anket kullanilmistir. Arastirma sonucunda elde edilen bulgular ogretmenlerin performans degerlendirmenin amaclari konusunda kararsiz oldugunu ve degerlendirme surecine guvenmedigini gostermektedir. Arastirma bulgularina gore ogretmenlerin en fazla endise ettigi konu degerlendirmenin amaci ve uygulamasi ile ilgilidir. Bu arastirmanin sinirliliklari ise arastirmaya katilanlarin sayisinin az olmasi ve bulgularin tum Turkiye’deki ilkogretim ogretmenlerinin dusuncelerini yansitmamasidir. Arastirmanin onemi Turkiye’de ogretmen performans degerlendirmesiyle ilgili arastirmalarin olmamasi ve bu calismanin Milli Egitim Bakanligi’nin ogretmen performans degerlendirme konusunda gelecekteki uygulamalarina ve kurallarina oneriler sunmasidir.