Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phytoplankton inhibition of copepod egg hatching: test of an exudate hypothesis

Recent papers have reported that certain marine diatoms are deleterious to copepod egg production and hatching. Diatom harmful effects can result from 2 different mechanisms: diet- induced maternal effects and external effects. We conducted 5 separate egg incubation experiments to test if phytoplankton exudates (an external effect) were harmful to copepod eggs. Exudates pro- duced by 3 reportedly toxic diatoms, plus 2 non-diatom species, had no effects on egg hatching in the copepod Acartia tonsa. Thus, phytoplankton exudates are not likely to inhibit egg hatching. A sea- sonal relationship was observed between egg production and egg hatching of A. tonsa such that high egg production rate resulted in high egg hatching success (80 to 100%), but low egg production rate resulted in highly variable egg hatching success (0 to 90%).
Root‐growth characteristics contributing to genotypic variation in nitrogen efficiency of oilseed rape

A 3-year field experiment was carried out to determine the significance of root-growth characteristics contributing to N-uptake efficiency of two oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) cultivars differing in N efficiency. Two N treatments were applied, and the core and minirhizotron techniques were used to study root-length density and number of living roots, respectively. Fertilizer-N supply increased shoot dry matter, grain yield, total N uptake, and total soil Nmin contents particularly in the top soil. Although significant differences occurred in all parameters between years, the interactions between years and cultivars were mostly not significant. Compared to cv. Capitol, the N-efficient cv. Apex was characterized by a higher grain yield at N0 and a higher N uptake during reproductive growth. This genotype also had a higher root-length density and more living fine roots particularly in the topsoil layer. Root growth of this genotype was especially high from beginning of shooting to beginning of flowering, while shoot growth and N uptake during vegetative growth were comparatively low. Our results suggest that N-efficient cultivars can be characterized by a high investment in root growth during the vegetative stage with a comparatively slow shoot growth and N-uptake rate until beginning of flowering, which, however, continues during reproductive growth. High root production only during reproductive growth seems to be less effective to achieve high N efficiency, because this may lead to a shortage of assimilates for seed filling. High root-length density at vegetative stages may thus be advantageous for N uptake and reproductive growth and could be a useful morphological character for the selection and breeding of N-efficient cultivars.
Onchocerca volvulus microfilariae avoid complement attack by direct binding of factor H

The filarial parasite Onchocerca volvulus is the causative agent of river blindness. The adult worms produce microfilariae (mf), which are responsible for the disease pathogenesis; mf activate the complement system, but the activation stops before the formation of terminal complement complexes. Because of the arrest of complement activation, this study analyzed binding of the main alternative pathway regulator, factor H (fH), to the mf. The mf bound fH after incubation in nonimmune human serum or with purified radiolabeled fH. In the presence of factor I, mf-bound fH promoted the cleavage of complement 3 molecule b (C3b) to iC3b. An analysis with recombinant constructs of fH showed that the C-terminal short consensus repeats (SCRs) 8-20 of fH bound to mf, whereas the N-terminal SCRs 1-7 containing the complement-regulatory domains in SCRs 1-5 did not. Thus, mf of the nematode O. volvulus may evade human complement by binding fH and by promoting inactivation of C3b into iC3b.
Antioxidant activity, phenol and flavonoid contents of some selected Iranian medicinal plants

In present study, we carried out a systematic record of the relative antioxidant activity in selected Iranian medicinal plant species' extracts. The total phenol varied from 24.1 ± 1 to 289.5 ± 5 mg g -1 in the extracts. Flavonoid contents were between 25.15 ± 0.8 and 78.3 ± 4.5 mg g-1. 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging effect of the extracts was determined spectrophotometrically. The highest radical scavenging effect was observed in Mellilotus officinalis with IC50 = 0.018 mg ml –1. The potency of radical scavenging effect of M. officinalis extract was about 4 times greater than synthetic antioxidant butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT). The greater amount of phenolic compounds leads to morepotent radical scavenging effect as shown by M. officinalis extract
Cutworm Species (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Feeding on Grapevines in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, with Notes on Rearing

Abstract Eighteen species of cutworm moths were collected as larvae feeding at night on grapevines, Vitis sp. L. (Vitaceae), in south-central British Columbia, Canada, during April and May from 2004 to 2008. Ten species belonged to two genera, Abagrotis Smith and Euxoa Hübner. Abagrotis orbis (Grote), A. nefascia (Smith), and A. reedi Buckett accounted for over 85% of cutworms reared to adulthood. Abagrotis orbis and A. reedi were found in all locations; the former accounted for nearly 90% of larvae collected from vineyards on warm sandy soils. Abagrotis nefascia was largely restricted to cooler sites with heavier soils. For laboratory-reared A. orbis, pupal mass was highest and sex ratios were approximately equal when larvae were reared either on a pinto bean-based diet prepared with the recommended amount of water or on a commercial black cutworm diet and 50% of the recommended water. Survival to adult eclosion was significantly higher on the black cutworm diet, but because this was thicker than the pinto bean-based diet it was impractical to use. To date, A. orbis, A. nefascia, and A. reedi have been laboratory-reared continuously on artificial diet for more than six generations.
The Guayana Highlands: A Promised (but Threatened) Land for Ecological and Evolutionary Science 1

THIS COMMENTARY STRESSES THE POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE GUAYANA HIGHLANDS, in northern South America, to provide evidence for relevant biogeographical and evolutionary theories that are being intensively discussed. Some regions of the world seem to be especially well suited for this purpose, as is for example the case of the Galapagos Islands, the Panama Isthmus, Beringia, or the Amazon basin. Singular features of these areas include a key emplacement with respect to Earth’s biogeographical regions, unique and specialized life forms, amazing biodiversity and endemism levels, or highly pristine ecosystems, among others. The remote and mysterious Guayana Highlands—the A. C. Doyle’s (1912) “Lost World,” at the top of characteristic sandstone table mountains (tepuis) of the Neotropical Guayana region, could have a place among these privileged areas (Fig. 1). The Guayana Highlands (GH), also known as Pantepui, constitute a singular biogeographical province of about 5000 km2, split into numerous topographical islands between about 1500 and 3000 m altitude (Huber 1994). Pantepui lies on the Precambrian Guayana Shield, which had been separated from the African Shield by continental drift, leading to the formation of the Atlantic Ocean, around 80–100 million years ago (Edmond et al. 1995). The tepuis are remnants of ancient erosion surfaces that have been isolated by denudation due to the Gondwana breakup and the formation of the extensive Orinoco and Amazon river basins (Briceno & Schubert 1990). The uniqueness of the GH biota, as well as its striking degree of biodiversity and endemism, are well known and have been recognized for long time (Huber 2005). This is especially manifest in vascular plants, the better known organisms of the region (Berry et al. 1995), with ca 630 genera and 2500 species, of which 42 percent are endemic to the GH and 25 percent are endemic to a single tepui (Berry & Riina 2005). As a consequence, the GH have been traditionally considered an important speciation center of the Neotropics (e.g., Funk & Brooks 1990). Furthermore, the GH lie in a strategic geographical location, among key Neotropical areas such as the Amazon basin, the Caribbean region, and the Atlantic domain (Huber 1995). In addition, the almost pristine nature of the tepui summits make them unique environments to record natural environmental variability, and hence to test hypotheses about climatic or nonclimatic forcing, and the corresponding ecosystem responses. Here, the main biogeo-
Ultrasound-assisted extraction of Psyllium mucilage: evaluation of functional and technological properties

R E S E A R C H A R T I C L E *Corresponding author: Grasiele Scaramal Madrona, Departamento de Engenharia de Alimentos, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Avenida Colombo 5790, Maringá-PR, Brazil. Telephone: +55 (44) 30113863. E-mail: grasiele@yahoo.com Received: 24 January 2020; Accepted: 18 March 2020
Relationships among oxidative status, breeding conditions and life-history traits in free-living Great Tits Parus major and Common Starlings Sturnus vulgaris

The interest shown by ecologists in antioxidants and oxidative stress as potential modulators of life-history trade-offs has expanded greatly in recent years. However, we still know very little about natural variation in oxidative damage and antioxidant capacity in free-living animals. In this study, we describe the natural variation in three components of oxidative balance in nestlings and breeding females in free-living Great Tits Parus major and Common Starlings Sturnus vulgaris in central Italy, and relate these to breeding conditions and life-history traits. Our results suggest that there are associations among oxidative physiology, reproductive activity, growth pattern and season in wild birds, but that the nature of these associations might be species-specific rather than general across species.
A Supernova Candidate at z = 0.092 in XMM–Newton Archival Data

During a search for X-ray transients in the XMM–Newton archive within the EXTraS project, we discovered a new X-ray source that is detected only during an ∼5 min interval of an ∼21 hr-long observation performed on 2011 June 21 (EXMM 023135.0–603743, probability of a random Poissonian fluctuation: ∼1.4 × 10−27). With dedicated follow-up observations, we found that its position is consistent with a star-forming galaxy (SFR = 1–2 M⊙ yr−1) at redshift z = 0.092 ± 0.003 (d = 435 ± 15 Mpc). At this redshift, the energy released during the transient event was 2.8 × 1046 erg in the 0.3–10 keV energy band (in the source rest frame). The luminosity of the transient, together with its spectral and timing properties, make EXMM 023135.0–603743 a gripping analog to the X-ray transient associated to SN 2008D, which was discovered during a Swift/XRT observation of the nearby (d = 27 Mpc) supernova-rich galaxy NGC 2770. We interpret the XMM–Newton event as a supernova shock break-out or an early cocoon, and show that our serendipitous discovery is broadly compatible with the rate of core-collapse supernovae derived from optical observations and much higher than that of tidal disruption events.
Long-term effects of early parasite exposure on song duration and singing strategy in great tits.

Song is a sexually selected trait in many bird species and has been suggested to function as a signal of a male's health and parasite resistance. Here we present an experimental field study on the long-term effects of parasite exposure early in life on adult bird song. We exposed nestling great tits (Parus major) to ectoparasitic hen fleas (Ceratophyllus gallinae) and on their recruitment into the local breeding population assessed the response to a playback of a challenging male in their breeding territory. We show, to our knowledge for the first time in a wild bird population, that parasite exposure early in life affects bird song: song duration of males that were exposed to parasites early in life was reduced by 32% compared with males that grew up in a flea-free environment. Early parasite exposure also significantly reduced the degree of song overlap with the playback, which has been shown to correlate with social status. There was no effect of early parasite exposure on the number of different song types sung or on the latency until the males started the vocal response to the playback. These results suggest that mates or rivals can use song duration and song overlap as proxies for an individual's exposure to parasites early in life. It thereby highlights both the importance of parasites in maintaining honesty of sexually selected traits and the costs of parasitism in terms of reduced attractiveness and competitiveness.
Biomass and Molecular Characteristics of Multi-tillering Miscanthus Mutants

Compared to wide ranges of genetic variation of natural populations, very limited Miscanthus cultivar has been released. This study was the first report on the development of Miscanthus cultivar by means of radiation breeding. Seeds of M. sinensis were initially exposed to gamma rays of 250 Gy for 24 h, generated from a 60 Co gamma-irradiator. The irradiated seeds were sown and then the highly tiller-producing mutants were selected for this study. Biomass-related parameters including tiller number, plant height, stem diameter, and leaf number were measured. Ploidy level and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) were investigated to characterize the mutants compared to wild type (WT) Miscanthus. Plant height and tiller number were negatively related, where multi-tillering mutants were relatively short after 4 month growth. However stem diameter and leaf number were greater in mutants. All the materials used in this study were diploid, implying that the mutants with greater tiller numbers and stem diameter were not likely related to polyploidization. Based on the sequence of ITS regions, the mutants demonstrated base changes from the gamma irradiation where G+C content (%) was decreased in the ITS1, but increased in ITS2 when compared to WT sequence. ITS2 region was more variable than in ITS1 in the mutants, which collectively allows identification of the mutants from WT. Those mutants having enhanced tillers and allelic variations might be used as breeding materials for enhanced biomass-producing Miscanthus cultivars.
The Psychological Dynamics of Youth with Internet Addiction

Abstract Internet users are increasing over time. The increasing of internet users, especially for youth people, tends to create internet addiction in each user. Internet addiction in youth people is interesting to know their attitudes and behavior psychologically, because it is related to their daily conditions. This research was conducted to answer the psychological dynamics of youth people with internet addiction. To answer that, there are some research questions such as what factors make young people addicted to the internet? what do they feel when not using the internet? and what are the impacts of using the internet for them? The research method uses qualitative methods with narrative descriptive approaches. Data analysis using thematic data analysis. The results showed that 1) the need for affiliation, high curiosity about information, and online business became the reason youth people access the internet, 2) youth people feel anxious and loneliness when not accessing the internet, 3) the impact of accessing the internet such as sad and happy on their emotions that occur according to situations and conditions. In addition, researchers also found interesting things from their attitude who experienced boredom when often using the internet but failed for them to stop or reduce access to the internet. The conclusion that the internet now is a necessary for youth people, because the internet has a major impact on their psychological factors. Abstrak Pengguna internet semakin bertambah dari waktu ke waktu. Jumlah penggunanaan internet yang semakin meningkat khususnya pada anak muda cenderung dapat menciptakan kecanduan internet pada diri masing-masing pengguna. Kecanduan internet pada anak muda menarik untuk diketahui sikap dan perilakunya secara psikologis, karena hal itu berkaitan dengan kondisi keseharian mereka. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk menjawab dinamika psikologis anak muda yang kecanduan internet. Untuk menjawab hal itu, terdapat beberapa pertanyaan penelitian seperti faktor apa yang membuat anak muda kecanduan internet? apa yang mereka rasakan ketika tidak menggunakan internet? serta apa dampak dari penggunaan internet bagi mereka? Metode penelitian menggunakan metode kualitatif dengan pendekatan naratif deskripif. Analisis data menggunakan analisis data tematik. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa 1) kebutuhan untuk afliasi, keingintahuan yang tinggi terhadap informasi, dan bisnis online menjadi alasan anak muda mengakses internet, 2) anak muda merasa cemas dan kesepian ketika tidak mengakses internet, 3) dampak dari mengakses internet berupa perasaan sedih dan senang pada emosi mereka yang terjadi sesuai situasi dan kondisi. Selain itu, peneliti juga menemukan hal yang menarik dari sikap mereka yang mengalami kebosanan ketika sering bermain internet namun gagal bagi mereka untuk berhenti maupun mengurangi dalam mengakses internet. Kesimpulan bahwa internet saat ini sudah menjadi kebutuhan anak muda, karena internet berdampak besar pada faktor psikologis mereka.
MyoD Synergizes with the E-Protein HEBβ To Induce Myogenic Differentiation

ABSTRACT The MyoD family of basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors function as heterodimers with members of the E-protein family to induce myogenic gene activation. The E-protein HEB is alternatively spliced to generate α and β isoforms. While the function of these molecules has been studied in other cell types, questions persist regarding the molecular functions of HEB proteins in skeletal muscle. Our data demonstrate that HEBα expression remains unchanged in both myoblasts and myotubes, whereas HEBβ is upregulated during the early phases of terminal differentiation. Upon induction of differentiation, a MyoD-HEBβ complex bound the E1 E-box of the myogenin promoter leading to transcriptional activation. Importantly, forced expression of HEBβ with MyoD synergistically lead to precocious myogenin expression in proliferating myoblasts. However, after differentiation, HEBα and HEBβ synergized with myogenin, but not MyoD, to activate the myogenin promoter. Specific knockdown of HEBβ by small interfering RNA in myoblasts blocked differentiation and inhibited induction of myogenin transcription. Therefore, HEBα and HEBβ play novel and central roles in orchestrating the regulation of myogenic factor activity through myogenic differentiation.
Estimation of effective population size (Ne) in an island population of feral horses (Equus caballus L.)

A concern of conservation biology is the viability of small, isolated populations because these are expected to lose genetic diversity at a greater rate than large populations due to genetic drift. Factors such as non-random mating systems and population fluctuations are known to reduce genetic diversity in natural populations. The Sable Island Horse (Equus caballus L.) population exhibits these characteristics; as such it is an interesting population in which to explore change in genetic diversity over time. Effective population size (Ne) is the size of a Wright-Fisher ideal population exhibiting the same level of genetic drift as the study population. Comparison of Ne with census population size can be informative about the rate at which genetic diversity is changing in the study population, and about what factors are likely influencing patterns of genetic diversity. This study aimed to use the Sable Island Horse population as a case study of how traits known to reduce genetic diversity affect estimates of Ne. Heterozygosity (±SE) of the population based on samples collected in 1987-88 was 0.560 (±0.020). By 2011 heterozygosity had declined to 0.536 (±0.018). The maximum range of Ne estimates was 20 to 244 individuals with 2011 estimates averaging 60.9 individuals. This is well below the census size of 150 to 400, which is consistent with expectations given the size, lack of migration, non-random mating system, and population fluctuations of the horse population. It seems that the population has not yet reached mutation-drift equilibrium. Areas for future investigation include developing a pedigree of the horses and deeper investigation of the mating system, particularly in regards to mate choice and relatedness in harem bands. Date: April 17, 2013
Induced γ-Band Activity during the Delay of a Visual Short-Term Memory Task in Humans

It has been hypothesized that visual objects could be represented in the brain by a distributed cell assembly synchronized on an oscillatory mode in the γ-band (20–80 Hz). If this hypothesis is correct, then oscillatory γ-band activity should appear in any task requiring the activation of an object representation, and in particular when an object representation is held active in short-term memory: sustained γ-band activity is thus expected during the delay of a delayed-matching-to-sample task. EEG was recorded while subjects performed such a task. Induced (e.g., appearing with a jitter in latency from one trial to the next) γ-band activity was observed during the delay. In a control task, in which no memorization was required, this activity disappeared. Furthermore, this γ-band activity during the rehearsal of the first stimulus representation in short-term memory peaked at both occipitotemporal and frontal electrodes. This topography fits with the idea of a synchronized cortical network centered on prefrontal and ventral visual areas. Activities in the α band, in the 15–20 Hz band, and in the averaged evoked potential were also analyzed. The γ-band activity during the delay can be distinguished from all of these other components of the response, on the basis of either its variations or its topography. It thus seems to be a specific functional component of the response that could correspond to the rehearsal of an object representation in short-term memory.
Regional Distribution of the GABAA/Benzodiazepine Receptor (α Subunit) mRNA in Rat Brain

Abstract: A human cDNA clone containing the 5’coding region of the GABAA/benzodiazepine receptor α subunit was used to quantify and visualize receptor mRNA in various regions of the rat brain. Using a [32P]CTP‐labelled antisense RNA probe (860 bases) prepared from the α subunit cDNA, multiple mRNA species were detected in Northern blots using total and poly A rat brain RNA. In all brain regions, mRNAs of 4.4 and 4.8 kb were observed, and an additional mRNA of 3.0 kb was detected in the cerebellum and hippocampus. The level of GABAA/benzodiazepine receptor mRNA was highest in the cerebellum followed by the thalamus = frontal cortex = hippocampus = parietal cortex = hypothalamus ≫ pons = striatum = medulla. In situ hybridization revealed high levels of α subunit mRNA in cerebellar gray matter, olfactory bulb, thalamus, hippocampus/dentate gyrus, and the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus. These data suggest the presence of multiple GABAA/benzodiazepine receptor α subunit mRNAs in rat brain and demonstrate the feasibility of studying the expression of genes encoding the GABAA/benzodiazepine receptor after pharmacological and/or environmental manipulation.