Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of graded levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium on yield and quality of polyhouse grown tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) hybrids

An experiment comprising 3 levels ofN : P : K (200:100:150; 350:200:250 and 500:300:350 kg/ha) and 4 indeterminate tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Miller nom. cons.) hybrids ('Rakshita', 'Karnataka', 'Naveen' and 'Sun 7611') was conducted under multi-span polyhouse during 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 at New Delhi. The hybrid 'Karnataka' showed the maximum fruit diameter (6.97 and 6.98 cm), average fruit weight (83.28 and 83.88 g), fruit yield (2.85 and 3.07 kg/ plant), calculated yield (8.55 and 9.21 kg/m 2 ), juice content (58.84 and 62.43%), gross income (Rs 94. 05 and 101.31/m 2 ), net income (Rs 17.38 and 24.64/m 2 ), benefit : cost ratio (1.23 : 1.00 and 1.32 : 1.00) and minimum cost of cultivation (Rs 76.67/m 2 in each year). The hybrid 'Rakshita' exhibited the maximum pulp content (77.46 and 78.73%), total soluble solids (6.07 and 6.27%), and shelf-life (6.40 and 6.50 days) compared to other hybrids. Among the fertility levels, N : P : K @ 350 : 200 : 250 kg/ha was found superior in influencing fruit diameter, average fruit weight and yield. The gross income and benefit : cost ratio were higher at this fertility level. The fruits/plant were the maximum at higher dose ofNPK. The quality parameters were not significantly influenced by the NPK levels in both the years.
The Regulation of AMD Pathobiology by Complement Factor H

The Regulation of AMD Pathobiology by Complement Factor H by Christopher B. Toomey Department of Cell Biology Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Catherine Bowes Rickman, Supervisor ___________________________ Scott Cousins ___________________________ Donald McDonnell ___________________________ Thomas McIntosh, Chair ___________________________ Daniel Saban ___________________________ Mary Sunday An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Cell Biology in the Graduate School of Duke University 2015 Copyright by Christopher B. Toomey 2015
Family Planning in the Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus): The Ultimate Control of Covariation of Laying Date and Clutch Size

The time in spring when a male kestrel rapidly increases his daily hunting time and his hunting yield, and thereby the amount of food delivered to the female, determines the date when she lays the first egg. Food experiments in free-living and captive kestrels gave a significant advance in laying date. Clutch size, which decreases with progressive laying date, did not change independent of date in response to food manipulation. These effects are in agreement with most other feeding experiments. Photoperiod experiments in kestrels advanced the reproductive cycle in constant long days, and a similar seasonal decline in clutch size was found. It seems that there is an internally preprogrammed decrease in clutch size within an annual "reproductive window". A proximate control model for the seasonal decline of clutch size is proposed, modified from an earlier model by HAFTORN (1985). This incorporates an increasing tendency to incubate the first eggs with progression of the season, an egg contact-incubation positive feedback loop, and the resorption of further follicles in the ovary when the laying female incubates 50% of the time. This follicle resorption fixes the clutch size ca. four days before the last egg is laid. the 50% incubation level is reached earlier in late females and consequently resorption starts earlier and the resulting clutch is smaller than in early females. Experiments in kestrels with removal and addition of eggs, in combination with measurements of incubation behaviour are discussed in relation to the model. Plasma prolactin data of female kestrels show that this hormone is a serious candidate for a physiological component relaying time of year in our model for clutch size regulation.
Age, body size and growth of Lacerta agilis boemica and L. strigata: a comparative study of two closely related lizard species based on skeletochronology

Age and growth in Lacerta agilis (ssp. L. a. boemica) and a closely related sympatric species L. strigata from the eastern North Caucasus, Russia were assessed by skeletochronology and back-calculation methods. We examined 320 specimens from one lowland, two submontane (both species), and two mountain (L. agilis) localities. Age structure, back-calculated snout-vent length (SVL) at hatching and subsequent hibernations, and asymptotic SVL were studied for sexual dimorphism, altitudinal variation and interspecific differences. Pattern of resorption of growth layers in bone and its possible effects on growth inferences from skeletochronological data were also considered. The back-calculated SVLs showed a good conformity to comparable field data. Mean and maximum SVL at the first hibernation clearly decreased with altitude. Within the same localities, these parameters were consistently higher in L. agilis than in L. strigata. Between the 1 st and 2 nd hibernations (the period of the highest increment in SVL in all study populations), L. strigata grew faster than the syntopic L. agilis. In the lowland locality, females of both species tended to grow slower than males between the 1 st and 2 nd hibernations, while at higher elevations they exhibited lower SVL increments than the males between the 2 nd and 3 d hibernations. This pattern, along with occurrence of gravid yearlings in the lowland locality (but not in the other sites), suggests an earlier onset of reproduction in the lowland populations compared to those from higher elevations. Asymptotic SVLs in the study populations tended to be larger in males than in females. In L. agilis these sexual size differences (SSD) varied among populations, being quite strong in the lowland site and negligible at the highest locality. The mountain populations (960 and 1900 m a.s.l.) of L. a. boemica exhibited higher mean age and longevity than the lowland and submontane populations (20-600 m a.s.l.) of both species; however, no clear altitudinal trend was found for adult SVL. Much of the variation revealed in this study, including the interlocality differences in SSD, can be related to the length of activity season, in line with recently published theoretical models and experimental studies stressing the role of proximate factors.
Determination of the effect of lyophilised kiwifruit on digestion of protein: in vitro and in vivo

17 CHAPTER 1. Preamble and Background . 22 1.1 What is it about kiwifruit that makes it a Kiwi icon? 22 1.2 Preamble . 22 1.3 The growth and importance of the kiwifruit industry to New Zealand . 23 1.4 Background . 26 CHAPTER 2. Literature Review: kiwifruit / digestion associations . 27 2.1 Kiwifruit, constipation and digestion . 28 2.2 Protease . 30 2.3 Protein digestion, absorption and turnover . 31 2.4 Gastric acidity . 35 2.5 Summary . 43 CHAPTER 3. Kiwifruit hydrolysis of protein — an in vitro study . 45 3.
Analysis of permanent magnets as elasmobranch bycatch reduction devices in hook-and-line and longline trials

Previous studies indicate that elasmobranch fishes (sharks, skates and rays) detect the Earth’s geomagnetic field by indirect magnetoreception through electromagnetic induction, using their ampullae of Lorenzini. Applying this concept, we evaluated the capture of elasmobranchs in the presence of permanent magnets in hook-and-line and inshore longline fishing experiments. Hooks with neodymium-iron-boron magnets significantly reduced the capture of elasmobranchs overall in comparison with control and procedural control hooks in the hook-and-line experiment. Catches of Atlantic sharpnose shark (Rhizoprionodon terraenovae) and smooth dogfish (Mustelus canis) were signif icantly reduced with magnetic hook-and-line treatments, whereas catches of spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) and clearnose skate (Raja eglanteria) were not. Longline hooks with barium-ferrite magnets significantly reduced total elasmobranch capture when compared with control hooks. In the longline study, capture of blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) and southern stingrays (Dasyatis americana) was reduced on magnetic hooks, whereas capture of sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) was not affected. Teleosts, such as red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus), oyster toadfish (Opsanus tau), black sea bass (Centropristis striata), and the bluefish (Pomatomas saltatrix), showed no hook preference in either hook-and-line or longline studies. These results indicate that permanent magnets, although eliciting species-specific capture trends, warrant further investigation in commercial longline and recreational fisheries, where bycatch mortality is a leading contributor to declines in elasmobranch populations.
Knowing when (not) to attempt ecological restoration

Here we argue that there are two important steps in the decision process to restore ecological system that are often ignored. First, consideration of restoration is in response to observed change in a system, but ecological systems can fluctuate widely in their normal dynamic. Thus, there is an imperative to interpret ecological change; shifts in community structure that represent “typical” fluctuations in a properly functioning ecosystem do not warrant restoration, while change associated with phase shift in the system may well demand restoration action. Second, where restoration effort is warranted, it needs to be determined whether management responses are likely to be successful within resource constraints. Where ecological change involves pronounced hysteresis, even massive effort may have little chance in effecting recovery to a preferred ecosystem state. Theory and models indicate that consideration of the characteristic length scales (CLSs) of ecological systems provides an unambiguous interpretation of ecological change, enabling differentiation of “typical” fluctuations from phase shift, and here we show that CLSs can be calculated for real communities from their species' dynamics, and that their behavior is as predicted from theory. We also show that for ecological systems where local interactions and forcings are well understood, validated simulation models can provide a ready means to identify hysteresis and estimate its magnitude. We conclude that there are useful tools available for ecologists to address the key questions of (1) whether restoration attempts are warranted in the first place and, if they are, (2) whether it is practical to pursue them.
Metal Toxicity, Oxidative Stress and Antioxidative Defense System in Plants

Contamination of agricultural land with metals has become a world-wide problem due to anthropogenic release of metals into the soil environment. Excessive levels of non-essential metals like Cd, Pb, Hg, As in the soil can be highly phytotoxic, whereas the required micronutrients like Fe, Cu, Ni, Zn can also be toxic to the plants when present in high concentrations in the soil. Metals from both natural and pollutant sources enter in the plant system mainly through uptake by the roots. Inside the plant, metal toxicity is manifested through an array of physiological and metabolic alterations including altered activities of several key enzymes, synthesis of metal-detoxifying compounds and more remarkably due to induction of oxidative stress. Most of these metals, whether redox active or inactive, when accumulate in plant tissues, cause increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as superoxide anion (O2 .–), hydroxyl radical (OH.), H2O2 which somehow switch-on the signal transduction pathway meant for metal detoxifi cation. Excessively produced ROS consequently elicit oxidative stress in the tissues marked by increased lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation and fragmentation of nucleic acids. To scavenge ROS and to overcome oxidative damage, plants are equipped with antioxidative defense system comprising non-enzymic antioxidants like ascorbate, glutathione, carotenes, tocopherol and antioxidative enzymes such as superoxide dismutases, catalases, peroxidases and the enzymes of Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005, India, Fax: 91-542-2368174, E-mail: rsdbhu@rediffmail.com 178 Reactive Oxygen Species and Antioxidants in Higher Plants ascorbate-glutathione cycle. Understanding the molecular-genetic basis of plants expressing constitutively or targeted higher levels of components of the antioxidative defense system offers new hopes in establishing a link between metal tolerance of plants and enhanced capacity of antioxidative defense system. Such avenues have opened up the possibilities of producing transgenic crop plants with enhanced metal tolerance.
Crocodilian scatology, microvertebrate concentrations, and enamel-less teeth

It has been suggested that certain fossil assemblages consisting of disarticulated and broken remains of small to medium-sized vertebrates (“microvertebrate concentrations”) may be accumulations of incompletely digested material defecated by crocodilians. Experiments on crocodilian digestion show, however, that these reptiles demineralize calcified tissues, frequently leaving intact organic matrices of dentine, cementum, and bones in their feces. Such matrices, even if preserved as fossils, would not resemble most specimens in microvertebrate concentrations. Therefore, crocodilian digestion does not appear to have been an important factor in the formation of these fossil assemblages. Teeth similar to those defecated by crocodilians nevertheless do occur in the fossil record. Such teeth, lacking enamel but often complete in other respects, are interpreted here as having been digested by crocodilians, defecated as demineralized organic matrices, and subsequently remineralized. Enamel, with its extremely low organic content, does not yield a demineralized matrix susceptible to remineralization. A number of recently recognized occurrences of enamel-less teeth attest to the significance of crocodilian digestion as a factor in the taphonomic history of many Mesozoic and Cenozoic fossil vertebrate assemblages.
Mango (Mangifera indica cv. Azucar) antiinflammatory and chemopreventive role during colorectal carcinogenesis

Chemopreventive activities of natural compounds result in the modulation of several pathways and molecular targets. It is common to find effective potential candidates for cancer chemoprevention with anti-inflammatory properties. Mango (Mangifera indica cv. Azucar) has shown anticarcinogenic effects and it is a source of bioactive compounds. This study evaluated the effects of mango on Aberrant Crypt Foci formation and inflammatory biomarkers after initiation of colon carcinogenesis in AOM-treated mice. Ripped mango pulp (Mangifera indica cv. Azucar) composition was identified by HPLC. Azoxymethane-treated mice received the fruit (0.3% w/v) for eight weeks and the distal part of colon was collected and stained with methylene blue to look for aberrant crypt foci (ACF); scrapped mucosal cells were processed for prostaglandin E2 detection by ELISA; and blood levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines ( interleukin 1-Beta, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin 6) were also assessed by ELISA. Student’s t.test was used for the comparisons between mango treated and untreated groups. ACF formation was reduced by 67.5% and prostaglandin E2 levels were also reduced in mice which ingested the fruit. Cytokines levels were unchanged by mango consumption. In the chromatography were identified phenolic acids and Beta-carotene. Mango pulp showed chemopreventive effects through the reduction of ACF formation, by means of blocking hyperproliferation which is correlated with decreasing levels of PGE2.
Contamination of Pork Carcasses during Slaughter, Fabrication, and Chilled Storage.

In an attempt to determine points of greatest pathogenic contamination of pork, the prevalence of five pathogens was determined on pork carcasses at specific points during slaughter, fabrication, and refrigerated storage. Pork carcass and loin surfaces were swabbed at three hog slaughtering plants. Carcasses were swabbed after singeing, after the final wash of the slaughter process, and after 24 h of chilled storage. Boneless loins were swabbed after trimming and deboning, but before packaging. Also, vacuum-packaged loins were sampled after 36 days of storage at 2°C. Staphylococcus aureus , Salmonella spp. , and Listeria monocytogenes were the most prevalent. S. aureus isolates showed a significant linear increase (P = 0.0399) from slaughter to fabrication processes, with the highest numbers detected after 24 h of refrigerated storage. Trimming fat from surfaces of pork loins reduced the number of initial S. aureus counts, but there was no further reduction after 36 days of refrigerated storage. Salmonella were isolated primarily from pork before fabrication and refrigerated storage. A continuous reduction in the numbers of Salmonella isolates was detected from the point of singeing to the point of fabrication. No Salmonella were isolated from vacuum-packaged pork stored for 36 days at 2°C. The relatively higher prevalence of the psychrotrophic pathogenic bacteria L. monocytogenes and Yersinia enterocolitica in vacuum-packaged pork loins after 36 days of storage at 2°C indicates the need for proper cooking and handling of meats prior to human consumption.
Handbook of Elemental Speciation II - Species in the Environment, Food, Medicine and Occupational Health: Cornelis/Handbook of Elemental Speciation II - Species in the Environment, Food, Medicine and Occupational Health

Handbook of Elemental Speciation II: Species in the Environment, Food, Medicine and Occupational Health Rita Cornelis (Editor-in-Chief), Joseph A. Caruso (Associate Editor), Helen Crews (Associate Editor), Klaus G. Heumann (Associate Editor) E-Book 978-0-470-85599-7 September 2005 $482.99 Hardcover 978-0-470-85598-0 June 2005 $603.25 O-Book 978-0-470-85600-0 October 2005 Available on Wiley Online Library
Mollusc grazing and seedling survivorship of four common grassland plant species : the role of gap size, species and season

Au printemps et en automne 1992, deux experiences ont ete menees afin d'etudier les effets du broutage par les mollusques et de la taille de zones nues sur la survie de plantules de quatre especes communes de prairies (Plantago lanceolata, Ranunculus acris, Senecio jacobaea et Taraxacum officinale), semees dans des zones artificiellement denudees d'une pelouse. Les mollusques ont ete exclus de la moitie des parcelles par application de molluscicide. L'intensite du broutage par les mollusques est plus forte en automne, bien qu'au printemps, le broutage reduise aussi la survie des plantules. On a trouve une relation etroite entre l'identite des plantules, la saison et la survie. Les quatre especes sont affectees defavorablement par la presence des mollusques, meme si les populations de Senecio jacobaea ne le sont qu'au printemps et celles de Plantago lanceolata en automne. La dimension des zones nues a une influence sur la survie des plantules, mais n'a pas d'effet sur le comportement alimentaire des mollusques. L'importance relative de la saveur des plantules, de leur morphologie et des modifications saisonnieres du broutage par les mollusques est examinee; l'action selective exercee par les mollusques sur la composition specifique des communautes prairiales est discutee.
Miserotoxin levels in fertilized Astragalus miser var. serotinus.

Toxin levels at each experimental site were examined separately using analysis of variance with a randomized block design. Vegetation units served as blocks for the source of experimental error and duplicated determinations were considered subsamples. Phenological stages and levels of fertilizer were factorially arranged within blocks. Initial tests indicated that the two-way interaction terms were not significantly different from the three-way interactions. Therefore the vegetation unit X fertilizer interaction (V X F) was a reasonable estimate for the error term used to test the effects of fertilizer (F) or vegetation unit (V). A pooled error term (V X P plus V X F X P) was used to test the effects of phenological stage (P) and the F X P interaction. Single degree of freedom contrasts were used to compare toxin levels at different stages of growth. Analysis of variance was also used to determine toxin differences among years, fertilizer treatments, and stages of growth. Means shown in the text are with standard errors.
Circumscription and phylogeny of the fern family Tectariaceae based on plastid and nuclear markers, with the description of two new genera: Draconopteris and Malaifilix (Tectariaceae)

The circumscription and the phylogeny of the fern family Tectariaceae have been controversial. Previous molecular studies have supported the monophyly of this family, with 4-5 genera. However, these studies were exclusively based on plastid markers and relatively small sampling, especially of the non-Tectaria genera. In the present study, DNA sequences of eight plastid and one nuclear markers of 25 accessions representing 19 species of Tectaria and 58 accessions representing ca. 90% of the non-Tectaria species in the family (including Arthropteris) were used to infer a phylogeny using maximum likelihood (ML), Bayesian inference, and maximum parsimony. Our major results include: (1) Tectaria as currently circumscribed is not monophyletic and can be divided into three genera: Tectaria s.str. , Draconopteris (gen. nov.) from Central to South America, and Malaifilix (gen. nov.) from Malesia; (2) Draconopteris and Malaifilix, the two new genera, together with Pteridrys, form a strongly supported Glade; (3) in our ML analyses, the Glade containing Draconopteris, Malaifilix, and Pteridrys (the DMP Glade) is resolved as sister to the rest of Tectariaceae and Arthropteris is sister to Tectaria+(Hypoderris + Triplophyllum), suggesting that Arthropteris should be treated as a member of Tectariaceae, and thus Tectariaceae contains seven genera: Arthropteris, Draconopteris, Hypoderris, Malaifilix, Pteridrys, Tectaria, and Triplophyllum; (4) with the well-supported relationships among the members of Tectariaceae, anastomosing venation in the family is inferred to have evolved independently at least three times; (5) Nephrolepis is strongly supported as sister to a Glade containing Cyclopeltis, Dracoglossum, and Lomariopsis, and thus we advocate that Lomariopsidaceae include these four genera (plus the unsampled Thysanosoria); and (6) intercontinental dispersal appears to have played an important role in shaping the extant distribution of Tectariaceae.