Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Composition of Eggs by Commercial Size Categories: Effects of Genetic Group, Age, and Diet

Abstract Effects of genetic group, age, and dietary protein level on composition of eggs within the commercial size categories were studied in two Leghorn control strains formed in 1950 and 1958, two corresponding strains selected for high egg production and related traits, their reciprocal crosses, and a commercial Leghorn stock. Mean hen-housed egg production to 385 days was 154, 184, 197, and 191 eggs, and 385-day egg weight was 59.4, 63.1, 64.4, and 62.0 g for the control strains, selected strains, strain crosses, and commercial stock, respectively. In the eggs graded as large, wet and dry yolk weights, percent of yolk, and dry yolk/albumen ratio increased while wet albumen weight and percent of albumen decreased as dietary protein level increased from 15 to 19%. No such effects were observed in the medium or extra large eggs. Within each egg size category, wet and dry yolk weight and percent of yolk increased and wet and dry albumen weight, percent of albumen, albumen percent solids, and shell weight decreased with age. These trends were reversed by forced molting between the sixty-fourth and seventy-first weeks of age but they resumed afterwards. There was no heterosis for any egg composition trait and no genetic group effects on yolk percent solids. Within the same commercial size category, eggs of the control strains had lower albumen percent solids than those of selected strains or the commercial stock and contained more yolk and less albumen and shell. These differences reflect changes in the composition of the eggs from hens that have been under selection for increased production since the control strains were formed.
Hydrographic features and seabird foraging in Aleutian Passes

Strong tidal currents crossing over the abrupt topography of the Aleutian Passes result in regions with high horizontal property gradients. These frontal regions vary with the tidal cycle and form the boundary between vertically mixed and stratified regions. Concentrations of seabirds were associated with convergence zones in the mixed water (MW) and with the front between North Pacific (NP) water and MW. Species that were foraging by picking at prey from the surface were associated with surface convergences that appeared to be associated with Langmuir circulation cells or tidal features (all fulmar aggregations) in the central passes (Samalga, Seguam). In contrast, sub-surface foraging puffins and small alcids were mostly observed in areas of turbulent, well-mixed water near the shallow regions of the passes. Short-tailed shearwater flocks that were plunge-diving for prey were associated with the front between the NP water and MW in the passes. On our transects, we observed no significant aggregations of seabirds associated with Bering Sea water or NP water away from the frontal zones. The interaction of strong currents with bathymetric features results in zones of vertical advection, mixing, and surface convergences that make island passes attractive foraging regions for seabirds. Deep passes lacking these features, such as many of the passes in the western Aleutian Archipelago, are not as likely to facilitate trophic transfer to top predators as shallow passes, such as those found in the eastern Aleutian Islands. © 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Diversidade e distribuição espaço-temporal de anuros em região com pronunciada estação seca no sudeste do Brasil

Anthropic activities have deeply changed natural environments and constantly affected the diversity and distribution of anurans. This study aimed to investigate the following questions: (1) What is the frogs composition in a pasture region with a pronounced seasonal climate in extreme northwest of the state of Sao Paulo? (2) How are adults and tadpoles of the species distributed temporally and spatially? (3) Is species richness correlated to descriptors of reproductive habitats heterogeneity? In the study site 20 anuran species were recorded, distributed in 11 genus of four families: Leptodactylidae (9), Hylidae (8), Microhylidae (2) and Bufonidae (1). From these, Chaunus schneideri (Werner, 1894), Physalaemus centralis Bokermann, 1962 and Physalaemus fuscomaculatus (Steindachner, 1864) were recorded only by tadpoles collection, whereas Dendropsophus minutus (Peters, 1872) and Leptodactylus labyrinthicus (Spix, 1824) occurred only in water bodies next to the studied ones. The recorded species are known by their ample geographic distribution and for colonizing disturbed areas in other localities. There was no correlation between species richness and structural complexity of water bodies. However, the greater richness was recorded in temporary water bodies that kept water more than six months throughout the year. The temporary ponds of unstable hydroperiod were colonized initially by leptodactylids, while the permanent or temporary ponds were colonized by hylids. The vocalization and reproductive activity of most species were restricted to the warm and rainy period of the year, a typical pattern of communities in the tropical seasonal regions. Five species [Chaunus schneideri, Dendropsophus nanus (Boulenger, 1889), Hypsiboas albopunctatus Spix, 1824, Leptodactylus podicipinus (Cope, 1862) and Pseudopaludicola aff. saltica (Cope, 1887)] vocalized during the dry and rainy seasons, but only C. schneideri and H. albopunctatus reproduced during the dry season. The weak spatial and temporal segregation, recorded to adults and tadpoles, is not enough to explain reproductive isolation among species. Other factors, like acoustic segregation and calling site segregation, may have major importance to explain species coexistence. Climatic severity (wide and pronounced dry season, unpredictability and inconstancy of rains in the beginning of the rainy season), along with the high level of natural habitat being converted in cultivated areas are, probably, the factors responsible for the predominance of species typical from disturbed areas.
Peer Effects in Welfare Dependence

This paper examines peer effects in welfare use among refugees. We exploit a Swedish refugee placement policy, which generated exogenous variation in peer group composition. Our analysis distinguishes between the quantity of contacts—the number of individuals of the same ethnicity—and the quality of contacts—welfare use among members of the ethnic group. Long-term welfare dependence increases if the individual is placed in a welfare dependent community. The number of contacts is either irrelevant or negatively related to welfare receipt; not controlling for residential self-selection yields the opposite conclusion. The results are very similar across household types and in different parts of the predicted earnings distribution.
Influence of enzyme conformational changes on catalytic activity investigated by circular dichroism spectroscopy

Enzyme activity is dependent on native conformational integrity. Here we present a simple laboratory exercise based on dichroism spectroscopy in which the change in enzyme structure induced by denaturation is correlated with the loss of catalytic activity. The results of circular dichroism spectra show that enzyme denaturation by either trifluoroethanol (enhancement of α‐helix structure) or guanidinium chloride (reduction of α‐helix and enhancement of random coil structure) leads to a concomitant reduction in enzyme activity, which demonstrates the relationship between structure and catalytic activity of the enzyme. This simple experimental approach demonstrates that only a single native protein (enzyme) conformation has the ability to catalyze substrate hydrolysis.
Chapter 15 Construction of a Paleozoic–Mesozoic accretionary orogen along the active continental margin of SE Gondwana (South Island, New Zealand): summary and overview

Abstract The Western Province is a fragment of the c. 500 Ma SE Gondwana active continental margin. The Eastern Province is a terrane assemblage, which is partly stitched by the Median Batholith. Fragments of the batholith are preserved in the adjacent Drumduan and Brook Street terranes. Permian arc magmatism of the Brook Street Terrane involved both oceanic and continental margin settings. The Permian (c. 285–275 Ma) supra-subduction zone Dun Mountain ophiolite records subduction initiation and subsequent oceanic-arc magmatism. The Permian Patuki and Croisilles melanges represent detachment of the ophiolitic forearc and trench–seamount accretion. The Murihiku Terrane, a proximal continental margin forearc basin, received detritus from the Median Batholith (or equivalent). The south coast, Early–Late Triassic Willsher Group is another proximal forearc basin unit. The sediments of the Dun Mountain–Maitai Terrane (Maitai basin) represent a distal segment of a continental margin forearc basin. The Caples Terrane is a mainly Triassic trench accretionary complex, dominantly sourced from a continental margin arc, similar to the Median Batholith. The outboard (older) Torlesse and Waipapa terranes are composite subduction complexes. Successively more outboard terranes may restore farther north along the SE Gondwana continental margin. Subduction and terrane assembly were terminated by collision (at c. 100 Ma), followed by rifting of the Tasman Sea Basin.
Mariculture of the Agar-Producing Gracilarioid Red Algae

ABSTRACT The gracilarioid red algae (Gracilaria, Gracilariopsis, and Polycavernosa) are the basis of a worldwide, multimillion-dollar industry, mainly associated with the production of agar, a commercially useful polysaccharide. Much of the current production comes from mariculture, and there have been numerous advances in research and cultivation in recent years. This review summarizes recent advances in the cultivation of gracilarioid algae in tanks, ponds, and in the sea (bottom planting and suspended cultivation) and compares those techniques. The main constraints to cultivation are discussed, including nutrient supply, epiphytes, grazers, and diseases. Further advances are predicted to depend on effective domestication of the wild plants, strain selection, and the commercialization of integrated cultivation with animals.
Temporal trends in amount and placement of conservation practices in the South Fork of the Iowa River watershed

Conservation practices (CP) for erosion prevention include contour buffers, terraces, grassed waterways, water and sediment control basins, and ponds. Quantifying the amount and placement of CP in watersheds is one step in assessment of their potential effectiveness at the watershed scale. We used geographic information system (GIS) mapping techniques and aerial photography to document installation and removal of these CP from the 1930s to 2016. The study was performed in the South Fork of the Iowa River in central Iowa as part of the Conservation Effects Assessment Program (CEAP). Installation of CP increased in each decade from the 1930s to 2002 and then increased only slightly from 2,169 CP in 2002 to 2,282 in 2016. Grassed waterways were the most numerous and treated the largest area within the watershed. In the 1980s through 2010, some grassed waterways were removed as water and sediment control basins (WASCOBs) were installed. The mean duration of 1,696 grassed waterways installed before 2007 was 31.6 ± 18.6 years, and the duration of WASCOBs averaged 24 years, suggesting that farmers are making long-term commitments to these CP. Land areas treated with CP tended to be greater in the HUC12 subwatersheds where estimated erosion was greater. Land areas treated by existing grassed waterways (21,609 ha) tended to match areas identified for that CP by the Agricultural Conservation Planning Framework (ACPF) tool: 20,866 ha of existing grassed waterways overlapped with the area predicted by the ACPF. However, the ACPF identified an additional 20,866 ha where grassed waterways could be installed, primarily in the western part of the watershed. Mapping of CP and the land areas treated illustrates some of the potential utility of these techniques at the watershed scale. The application of these techniques, which integrate CP amounts and placement in relation to potential placement of CP, provide a different perspective on conservation planning that may interest soil conservationists.
Factors controlling pelagic production and respiration in a shallow polymictic lake

Shallow lakes, defined as ‘nonstratifying’, polymictic water bodies are usually eutrophic and highly productive, and more turbid than deeper lakes due to bottom sediment resuspension. Gross primary production (GPP) and total planktonic community respiration (TCR) were measured in a very shallow (on average 1.2 m deep) and large (area 25 km2), polymictic, eutrophic Lake Gardno (Baltic coastal lake, Northern Poland) with the light-and-dark bottle method. The aim was to compare GPP to TCR ratio in the pelagic zone in a course of a year and identify factors governing these processes. Identified factors governing GPP were light conditions and temperature, with Q10 = 2.23 in the 2–24.5°C temperature range, whereas TCR was driven by water temperature (Q10 = 2.15 in the same temperature range) and by organic matter content in water. TCR was correlated with total suspended matter (effect of bottom sediment resuspension due to wind action in a very shallow lake), however not with chlorophyll content. During two-year measurement period (years 2006 and 2007), annual GPP amounted to 402 and 471 g C m-2, and TCR amounted to 192 and 223 g C m-2 respectively. Lake Gardno pelagic system seemed to be net autotrophic on annual basis; GPP to TCR ratio = 2.1. Part of the organic matter produced in pelagial is probably deposited in bottom sediments decomposed there. Wind induced resuspension increases matter content in water (measured here as TSM content) and thus contributes to pelagic respiration processes (TCR).
Managing Nesting by Chihuahuan Ravens on H-Frame Electric Transmission Structures

Electric utility structures occur widely in natural and human-dominated landscapes and are often used by birds for nesting. Nests can cause power outages, fires, and electrocution of birds and their young, particularly if nests occur directly above energized equipment and incorporate metal wire. Chihuahuan raven (Corvus cryptoleucus) nests often contain metal wire and occur over energized equipment. To explore a proactive risk mitigation strategy we deployed novel nest diverters on 51 structures supporting a 230 kV H-frame transmission line in Kiowa and Bent Counties, Colorado, USA, and compared nesting on these structures with nesting on 66 structures without nest diverters on the same line. Chihuahuan ravens placed nest material on 7% of treated structures and 43% of untreated structures and nested on 0% of treated structures and 34% of untreated structures. Chihuahuan ravens were less likely to attempt to nest on, or actually nest on, structures treated with nest diverters. Future research should evaluate nest diverters over larger spatial and temporal scales and compare prey populations in areas where ravens are excluded to prey populations in areas where ravens persist. © 2012 The Wildlife Society.
Phenological Development in Timothy, Red Clover and Lucerne

Abstract This report describes (a) the distribution of phenological stages of timothy, red clover and lucerne as maturity increases (diagrams), (b) the change of the mean stage by weight (MSW) with time and degree days (regression equations). The development ceased in all species in June when the temperature fell about 4°C below normal during 3–4 days. Rain fall after very dry periods stimulated growth of new shoots. Consequently the distribution of the phenological stages changed primarily in timothy. The different rates of development of the three species during two-three growth periods are illustrated in the diagrams and calculated in the regression equations. The degree days were considerably lower in lucerne when the elongation phase started than in timothy and red clover. The budding stages in lucerne lasted longer than in red clover.
The more stirring the better: cichlid fishes associate with foraging potamotrygonid rays

One hunting tactic of freshwater rays (Potamotrygonidae), termed "undulate the disc and stir substrate", is here reported to attract cichlids at two sites in the upper Parana River. The ray species involved in such association are Potamotrygon falkneri and P. motoro, whose activity attract four cichlid species, namely Crenicichla britskii, Satanoperca pappaterra, Cichla kelberi, and Geophagus proximus, the two latter non-native species to the study area. The cichlids approach a ray when it begins to stir the substrate and form sediment clouds, and remain close to the ray during this activity only. The association is here regarded as following behavior even if very transient.
Solvent Based Effectiveness of Antibacterial and Phytochemical Derivatized from the Seeds of Harpullia arborea (Blanco) Radlk. (Sapindaceae

Phytochemical investigation was carried out on the crude methanol and aqueous extracts of the seeds of Harpullia arborea (Blanco) Radlk. (Sapindaceae). The antimicrobial activity of the extract was tested against standard strains and clinical isolates of some bacteria using the disc diffusion method. Preliminary phytochemical studies revealed the presence of glycosides, steroids, saponins and resins as the chemical class present in the extracts. The extracts showed inhibitory activity against clinical isolates of Bacillus subtilis, Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Proteus vulgaris. The results showed that the methanol extract was more potent than the aqueous extract.
Determination of host-selective toxin production during spore germination of Alternaria alternata by high-performance liquid chromatography.

The Japanese pear pathotype of Alternaria alternata, which causes black spot disease, produces multiple host-selective toxins (AK-toxins I and II) in culture; the strawberry pathotype, which causes black spot disease, also produces a series of analogous host-selective toxins (AF-toxins I, II, and III). Analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography of toxin production during spore germination showed that virulent isolate A85-10 of the Japanese pear pathotype produced about 0.02 pg of AK-toxin I per spore in the first 6 hr after germination and a trace amount of AK-toxin II after 24 hr (.)
MOLECULAR IDENTIFICATION (RAPD) OF THE EIGHT SPECIES OF THE GENUS BARBUS (CYPRINIDAE) IN THE IBERIAN PENINSULA

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis has been used to identify the eight Barbus species of the Iberian Peninsula, whose morphological differentiation is difficult. Ten random primers were employed to generate RAPD markers. Different RAPD profiles were observed for the different species. Four species-specific markers were found in B. bocagei, seven in B. comizo, five in B. graellsii, three in B. guiraonis, eight in B. haasi, 13 in B. meridionalis, four in B. microcephalus and four in B. sclateri. Evidence is presented that RAPD markers constitute useful tools for accurate taxonomic identification of Spanish barbels which is one of the first prerequisites in effective conservation programmes.
NEW SPECIES, CLADISTIC RELATIONSHIPS, AND BIOGEOGRAPHY OF THE GENUS FREDIUS (DECAPODA: BRACHYURA: PSEUDOTHELPHUSIDAE) FROM SOUTH AMERICA

ABSTRACT The taxonomy of the genus Fredius Pretzmann, 1967, is reviewed, and new taxa are described: Fredius adpressus, F. adpressus piaroensis, F. platyacanthus, and F. estevisi siapensis. The 8 species of this genus inhabit 4 major basins of different geological age in northern South America. The Orinoco basin is the oldest, followed by the Essequibo-Cuyuni basin. The lower Amazon basin, formed from Tertiary to Holocene by alluvionic deposition, is younger than these two. The Atlantic area, formed mainly by marine regressions, is the youngest. The phylogenetic relationships within Fredius, studied by means of a cladistic analysis, were compared with the relationships of these areas using Brooks parsimony analysis. The phylogenetic data fully agree with the area cladogram. The position of the ancestors within the area cladogram shows that most of them were present in a hypothetical major basin comprising the present Orinoco, Essequibo, and Cuyuni rivers, and that much of the evolution of the group occurred there. There is some ambiguity about the possible origin of 2 widespread species. The most parsimonious explanation for one of them is that it originated in the Atlantic drainage and then dispersed into the lower Amazon basin.
Effects of temperature on fusaria and Fusarium mycotoxins during short‐term storage of maize kernels (Zea mays)

Abstract In three trials freshly harvested maize kernels (Zea mays) of different moisture contents (MC) (19%, 24%, 27%) were stored at 20°C, 25°C, 30°C, and 37°C for 3, 6, and 10 days and changes in the percentages of Fusarium‐infected kernels and in the concentrations of the mycotoxins nivalenol (NIV) and deoxynivalenol (DON) measured. The effects of storage varied with the initial Fusarium infections and moisture content as well as with time and temperature. In the grain of 19% MC, F. subglutinans was the dominant Fusarium species and initially infected 16% of kernels, while the NIV + DON concentration was below 0.2 mg/kg. Neither the percentage of Fusarium infection nor the toxin concentration changed greatly at any temperature during the storage period, although the proportion of F. subglutinans increased at 30°C and 37°C. In the harvest sample of 24% MC, F. graminearum was the dominant Fusarium species on day 0 and infected 26% of kernels. The total content of NIV plus DON was less than 0.5 mg/kg. By day 10 during storage at 20–30°C the infection rate of F. graminearum rose to 42–60% and NIV + DON concentration to over 2 mg/kg. At 37°C F. graminearum was no longer recovered by day 6 and NIV + DON concentration was unchanged from the initial level. In the harvest sample of 27% MC, F. graminearum was dominant and initially infected 80% of the kernels. The initial NIV + DON concentration was 2 mg/kg. At 20–30°C the infection rates did not materially change but toxin content rose to c. 6 mg/kg by day 10. At 37°C F. graminearum was no longer recoverable at day 10 while the NIV + DON concentration remained at the original level. Visual inspection of the incubated samples showed visible mould growth about the grains in samples incubated for 10 days at 37°C for the 24% MC sample or for 6–10 days at all temperatures in for the 27% MC sample. The incidence of Penicillium was favoured by storage, and at 37°C the predominant fungus found at day 10 was Penicillium (19% MC and 27% MC samples) or Aspergillus (24% MC sample).