Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Response of native versus exotic plant guilds to cattle and elk herbivory in forested rangeland

Questions: Are exotic plant species favoured by non-native ungulate herbivores and disadvantaged by native herbivores in forested rangelands? Do the impacts of ungulates on exotic vs native plants depend on forest management activities such as prescribed fire and stand thinning? Location: Northeastern Oregon, USA. Methods: We recorded changes in richness and cover of different exotic and native plant life forms in experimental plots that were grazed only by cattle (a non-native herbivore), only by elk (a native herbivore) or not grazed by any ungulate over a 7-yr period at bothmanaged (recently burned and thinned) and unmanaged (where no fire and thinning has occurred in >40 yr) forest stands. Results: There was a general decrease in exotic plant species richness and cover across all treatments. However, the decrease in exotic richness, particularly of exotic annual forbs, was slightly lower in plots grazed by elk than in ungrazed plots at managed stands. Managed stands also displayed a larger increase in native annual forb richness and exotic graminoid richness, and a larger decrease in native perennial graminoid cover with cattle grazing than elk grazing. At unmanaged stands, cover of woody native plants such as shrubs, sub-shrubs and trees as well as native perennial forbs decreased or remained relatively constant with elk grazing while increasing strongly at plots that were ungrazed or grazed by cattle. Conclusions: Cattle and elk have variable effects on different plant guilds at managed vs unmanaged forest stands. Overall, cattle grazing tends to have a larger impact on herbaceous plant guilds at managed stands, while elk grazing tends to have a larger impact on woody plant guilds at unmanaged stands. However, in contrast to findings from other ecosystems, grazing only has a minor impact on exotic plant dynamics in our study area, and cattle grazing does not favour exotic plants anymore than grazing by elk or ungulate exclusion.
Evaluation of the liver and renal function in patients of chronic heart failure based on the body mass index: A retrospective study

[8] Literature search revealed that majority of CHF patients are obese, and this may be related to the impaired LFTs and RFTs in these patients. [9] However, the specific impact of increased ABSTRACT Background: Chronic heart failure (CHF) is known to affect hepatic and renal function adversely, but relevant Indian data is scarce. This study aimed to assess liver function tests (LFTs) and renal function tests (RFTs) of CHF patients and their relation to BMI status. Methodology: The retrospective study considered data of patients who consulted Madhavbaug clinics in Maharashtra, India between July-December 2018. Baseline LFTs and RFTs were analyzed wholly and based on BMI status, viz. normal-BMI, overweight and obese. Results: Of 147 patients, majority were males (74.15%) with mean age of 59.15+10.28 years. Based on BMI, three patient sub-groups were made: (56 with normal BMI, 60 were overweight and 30 were obese). Mean SGOT and SGPT were lower in obese group, but this was insignificant (p>0.05). Overall ALP was increased in all CHF patients but was comparable in all three sub-groups (p>0.05). Mean direct bilirubin were above-normal in all sub-groups, but mean total and indirect bilirubin were normal. Mean A/G ratio was normal in all sub-groups. Total serum protein was below normal in all sub-groups, being lowest in overweight group, but these findings were insignificant (p>0.05). RFTs, viz. BUN and serum creatinine, were normal and comparable in all sub-groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: Mild elevation in direct bilirubin and notable ALP elevations were seen in CHF patients but their RFTs were normal. Mean LFTs and RFTs were comparable in patients with normal BMI, overweight or obese patients, indicating lack of association between BMI and hepatic or renal function.
Carbon sequestration in soils-A Review

Agricultural soils can be a source or sink for atmospheric CO2 depending upon the management practices and land use patterns. Progressive increase in the concentration of GHGs since industrial era has created worldwide interest in identifying strategies to reduce concentration of these gases in the atmosphere. Carbon sequestration is an important technology for the maintenance of optimum CO2 level in the atmosphere, which in-turn results in reducing the recent increase in atmosphericcarbon dioxide, contributing to global warming. Carbon stored in soilsis 2–4 times more as compared to that stored in the atmosphere and around 4 times that C stored in vegetation. The potential carbon sequestration in world soil is 0.4–1.2 Gt C/year. Therefore, it is understandable that the soil C sink has significant impact on sequestering CO2. The objective of the paperis to review the potential of soils in sequesteringcarbon and mitigating the accelerated green house effects by changing agricultural management practices viz.conservation agriculture, organic agriculture, grasses/forages, proper grazing management, biochar and land use management. Significant amount of soil organic carbon (SOC) could be sequestered by changing conventional tillage to conservation tillage, its effect is noticeable only in long term rather than short term tillage practice. Legume-based crop rotation is more efficient in converting biomass C into soil organic C than the grass based. Rotational grazing improves grass quality and reduces the total amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere. Another approach in sequestrating atmospheric carbon is biochar production and mixing it into soil.
The Great Whales: History and Status of Six SpeciesListed as Endangered Under the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973

In the history of whaling from prehistoric to modern times, the large whales, sometimes called the “great whales,” were hunted most heavily owing in part to their corresponding value in oil, meat, and baleen. Regional populations of North Atlantic right whales, Eubalaena glacialis glacialis, were already decimated by 1700, and the North Atlantic gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus, was hunted to extinction by the early 1700’s (Mitchell and Mead1).
The “Weakness” in Single Gene Disorder Research: The Role of Signaling Pathways and Vasoregulation in the Dystrophin- Glycoprotein Complex (DGC) in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the severe form of a group of muscle degenerative diseases caused by mutations in the DMD gene on the X chromosome. The DMD gene is approximately 2.4 Mb in size and encodes the muscle structural support protein dystrophin. Dystrophin is a component of the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex (DGC), which assembles at the plasma membrane of muscle and non-muscle tissues. Although the role of dystrophin and the DGC has been the focus of therapeutic studies, there is currently very little knowledge about the cell signaling events that occur within the complex or about its role in vasoconstriction. Characteristics of DMD, such as muscle weakness and impaired cognition, are thought to arise from deletions and duplications in the DMD gene that result mainly in the loss of dystrophin. Loss of dystrophin and upsetting of the DGC induces a change in the downstream cascade of events: improper placement of SLO-1 channels, decrease in nitric oxide (NO), increase in phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K/Akt) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling, increase in creatine kinase (CK) levels, and abnormal vasoconstriction. These events bring about symptoms of the disorder. This review will compare important studies that have contributed to the current understanding of the molecular basis of signaling mechanisms that occur within the DGC. Specifically, it will address the changes that occur in signaling pathways from the loss of dystrophin that lead to decreased regulation of vasoconstriction and muscle stability, thereby promoting disease. By providing a more integrated approach to analyzing cell signaling pathways, this review hopes to encourage the continuation of these types of studies and promote the understanding of single gene disorders. In this way, novel pharmacological and genetic counseling therapies can be established, and health policies can be revised for incapacitating diseases like DMD.
Data Set Incongruence and the Phylogeny of Crocodilians

Published sets of systematic data on crocodilians (18S and 28S nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) restriction fragments, mitochondrial rDNA restriction fragments, 12S mitochondrial rDNA sequences, osteology, external morphology, dentition, nest type, albumin, parasites) were used to test hypotheses of data set incongruence and phylogeny. Comparing incongruence indices be- tween molecular versus molecular data set comparisons and molecular versus morphological data set comparisons showed the morphological/molecular comparisons to be significantly more in- congruent, and experiments removing taxa suggested that morphological incongruence can be localized to the separation of Gavialis from Tomistotna. Significance tests of incongruence between the five larger crocodilian data sets relative to each other and to combined data sets supported these hypotheses and demonstrated that only 1 (12S sequences vs. morphology) of the 10 pairwise comparisons of data sets show significant incongruence. Three hypotheses of crocodilian phylog- eny were evaluated using combined parsimony analysis, separate parsimony analyses, and eval- uation of uncombinable data. The (alligatorids(crocodylids(Gflinfl/zs, Tomistoma))) hypothesis of crocodilian relationships was best supported. Although this hypothesis is not supported by one of the molecular data sets and requires additional morphological homoplasy beyond that required in most-parsimonious trees based on morphology, other hypotheses require even more homoplasy, and any particular hypothesis of crocodilian evolution requires additional homoplasy in more than one data set. Alligatorid relationships were robustly supported in both combined and sep- arate analyses. Crocodylus relationships were not well resolved in most-parsimonious trees from any individual data set but were completely resolved in the combined analysis. (Combined anal- ysis; crocodilians; incongruence; phylogeny; separate analysis.)
Electrical tuning of integrated III-V quantum dots in quantum nano-photonic circuits

This thesis describes optical measurements on nanophotonic devices with integrated electrically tuneable quantum dots. The quantum dots enable a range of non-linear behaviour, including single photon generation and the generation of entangled photonic states on-chip. Device behaviour can be controlled by applying electric fields to the devices, enabling fast switching and tuning of device behaviour. A waveguide-coupled electrically-driven single-photon source is demonstrated. Electroluminescence from a single quantum dot is coupled to a single-mode suspended nanobeam waveguide. The number of quantum dots coupled to the waveguide is limited in order to isolate emission from a single source. The single-photon nature of the emission is confirmed using correlation measurements. The non-linear behaviour of a quantum dot in a single mode photonic crystal waveguide is investigated. In this work three charge states of the same quantum dot are investigated using resonance fluorescence and resonant waveguide transmission. A strong non-linear effect is generated by the single quantum dot, enabling interactions between pairs of photons and the generation of a two photon bound state. Fast switching of the device is demonstrated by the application of an electric field. A waveguide-coupled quantum optical filter is presented. This device utilises Fano interference in a QD-waveguide system to modulate a coherent photonic input, generating a bunched or antibunched output. The photon statistics of the output can be tuned by changing the bias applied to the device.
A new species of Uleiorchis (Orchidaceae, Gastrodieae) from the Atlantic Forest of Brazil

A new species from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, Uleiorchis prataensis , is described, with illustrations and scanning electron micrographs of pollinaria and seeds. Comments on the new species are presented with a key to the species of the genus. Because the phylogenetic position of Uleiorchis has not been previously evaluated with DNA data, we estimated phylogenetic relationships using nrITS sequence data to confirm that this genus is a member of Gastrodieae. The results indicate with high support in both maximum parsimony and maximum-likelihood analyses that both species of Uleiorchis are sister and members of this tribe. Finding a new species in a relatively well-collected place such as Parana State supports the status of high diversity hotspot for the Atlantic Forest and demonstrates the need for more fieldwork on orchids and other families.
EFFICIENCY OF TRADITIONAL WATER TREATMENT PLANT AND COMPACT UNITS IN REMOVING VIRUSES

The fecal bacteria have been taken as the gold standard for water industry. However, the spread of viral gastroenteritis due to drinking water have given a momentum to a recent push by microbiologists to consider viruses as important pollution indicator as fecal bacteria. Therefore, we designed a study to evaluate the efficiency of two types of water purification systems: the traditional water treatment plant and two types compact units. Both systems produced drinking waters free of bacteria, chemical contaminants and mostly viruses free. However, recent advances in molecular biology techniques, such as RT-PCR have detected Rotaviruses in chlorinated drinking waters resulted from all systems. The frequency of Rotaviruses since October 2010 till September 2012 in Shark El-Mansoura WTP in drinking water samples was 12.5% similar to raw water. While the compact unit at Depo Awam (American design) the frequency of Rotavirus was 16.6% in both raw and drinking water samples. On the other hand the virus frequency in the raw and drinking water sample in El-Danabik unit (Egyptian design) were 12.5% and 4.16% respectively. Signifying failure of the chlorination process in removing viruses completely. However, detection of Rotavirus genome in the drinking water samples does not means the presence of its infectivity. The infectious ability of the rotaviruses was confirmed by CC-RT-PCR in all positive samples, where viral RNA was not detected in the collected drinking water samples. In conclusion RT-PCR and CC-RT-PCR techniques high lightened the need to include viruses as mandatory pollution indicator in water treatment plants. Int J Appl Sci Biotechnol, Vol 3(3): 528-536
High lucerne diets for growing rabbits

The tapie is a study of rabbit production based on lucerne, using three diets: diet 1, a commercial composition having 11.4 kJ* g dry matter (DM) of digestible energy (DE) and 18.1 % DM crude protein (CP); diet 2, 96% lucerne with 9.0 kJ DE and 17.1 % CP; diet 3, 88.1 % lucerne and 8.9% animal fat, with 10.1 kJ DE and 15.6% CP. The diets were used in fattening 289 weaned rabbits from 35 to 70 days old. Daily liveweight gain, feed conversion ratio and mortality rate for the three diets were significantly different: 40.3 g, 2.8 and 18.7 % (diet 1); 37.3 g, 3.7 and 8.4 % (diet 2); 37.2 g, 3.3 and 5.1 % (diet 3). Diet 1 was linked to a lighter gastrointestinal tract, stomach and stomach contents. Dressing out percentage was 57.8 (diet 1), 55.4 (diet 2) and 57.2 (diet 3): animals on diet 2 had a lower dressing percentage. Caecum volume and contents were lower for diet 3. Perirenal fat was significantly different for the three diets: 15.6 g (diet 1), 11.4 g (diet 2) and 23.1 g (diet 3)
CONSERVING COMMUNITY MODULES: A CASE STUDY OF THE ENDANGERED LYCAENID BUTTERFLY MACULINEA ALCON

We develop a “case model” approach to investigate how conservation measures may affect the ecology of a community module, defined as a small number of tightly interacting species. The community module consists of a parasitic butterfly and its two hosts, a plant and an ant. The butterfly Maculinea alcon and its host plant Gentiana pneumonanthe have long been used as indicators of high-quality Palearctic heath and moist grassland ecosystems, and both species have been targeted for ecological research and specific conservation management. We constructed a mechanistic model of this community module, including dynamics for the three species, and conducted simulation studies of different conservation strategies (burning, sod cutting, mowing, and grazing). We identified several key parameters for the conservation of Maculinea alcon and its host plant as well as the most efficient conservation strategies for their dual long-term persistence. Our results show that the conditions that optimize the size of the butte.
Development of Molecular Markers Linked to Cladosporium fulvum Resistant Gene Cf-6 in Tomato by RAPD and SSR Methods

Leaf mold, caused by the fungus Cladosporium fulvum, is a serious disease of tomato. In the current study, the main physiological races of C. fulvum collected from three northeastern provinces of China were identified using a set of identification hosts. The results showed that the prevalent pathogenic physiological races were 1.2. 3, 1.3, 3, 1.2. 3.4, and 1.2. 4. F 1 , F 2 , and BC 1 tomato plants were obtained by crossing C. fulvum-resistant cultivar 03748 carrying the Cf-6 gene and susceptible cultivar 03036. Three 10-mer oligonucleotide random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers and two simple sequence repeat (SSR) primers were selected for the further molecular marking analysis after 210 RAPD primers and 50 SSR primers were screened using the bulked segregate analysis method. The polymorphic DNA bands were amplified among parents, 10 F 1 plants, 184 F 2 plants including 145 resistant plants and 39 sensitive plants using three RAPD primers and two SSR primers so that three RAPD molecular markers and two SSR molecular markers linked to the Cf-6 loci were identified. Three RAPD markers were linked to the Cf-6 resistant locus separated with 8.7 cM, 20.3 cM, and 33.4 cM. Also, one RAPD codominant marker S374 619/559 was found. The locations of the two SSR markers were 12.6 cM and 9.7 cM away from the Cf-6 locus. After cloning and sequencing two specific DNA fragments closely connected to the Cf-6 resistant and susceptible alleles respectively, in the RAPD codominant marker S374 619/559 and one codominant sequence characterized amplified region marker S674 619/559 was converted from RAPD marker S374 619 / 559 . In the RAPD marker S374 619/559 , the length difference of two specific fragments, 619-bp fragment and 559-bp fragment, is the result of one insertion (60 bp) in the 619-bp fragment. These markers will facilitate the selection of resistant tomato germplasm containing the Cf-6 gene and cloning of Cf-6 to breed new C. fulvum resistant tomato cultivars.
Strouhal number for flying and swimming in rhinoceros auklets Cerorhinca monocerata

Alcids propel themselves by flapping wings in air and water that have vastly different densities. We hypothesized that alcids change wing kinematics and maintain Strouhal numbers (St = fA/U, where f is wingbeat frequency, A is the wingbeat amplitude, and U is forward speed) within a certain range, to achieve efficient locomotion during both flying and swimming. We used acceleration and GPS loggers to measure the wingbeat frequency and forward speed of free-ranging rhinoceros auklets Cerorhinca monocerata during both flying and swimming. We also measured wingbeat amplitude from video footage taken in the wild. On average, wingbeat frequency, forward speed, and wingbeat amplitude were 8.9 Hz, 15.3 m s−1, and 0.39 m, respectively, during flying, and 2.6 Hz, 1.3 m s−1, and 0.18 m, respectively, during swimming. The smaller wingbeat amplitude during swimming was achieved by partially folding the wings, while maintaining the dorso-ventral wingbeat angle. Mean St was 0.23 during flying and 0.36 during swimming. The higher St value for swimming might be related to the higher thrust force required for propulsion in water. Our results suggest that rhinoceros auklets maintain St for both flying and swimming within the range (0.2–0.4) that propulsive efficiency is known to be high and St in both flying specialists and swimming specialists are known to converge.
Nesprin-1 is required to maintain genomic stability and prevent tumorigenesis

Nuclear envelope (NE) proteins have fundamental roles in maintaining nuclear structure, cell signaling, chromatin organization and gene regulation, and mutations in genes encoding NE components were identified as primary cause of a number of age associated diseases and cancer. Nesprin-1 belongs to a family of multi-isomeric NE proteins that are characterized by spectrin repeats. Our results imply interactions between spectrin repeats and an interaction of Nesprin-1 with Nesprin-2. Furthermore, we analysed NE components in various tumor cell lines and found that Nesprin-1 levels were strongly reduced associated with alterations in further NE components. By reducing the amounts of Nesprin-1 by RNAi mediated knock down we could reproduce those alterations in mouse and human cell lines pointing towards a key role for Nesprin-1 in the maintenance of nucleus morphology, centrosome positioning, nuclear membrane structure, cytoskeleton organization, and cellular senescence. In a search for novel Nesprin-1 binding proteins we identified MSH2, MSH6, and DDB1 proteins of the DNA damage response pathway as interactors. We found alterations in the mismatch repair pathway in cells with lower Nesprin-1 levels. We also noticed an increased number of γH2AX foci in the absence of exogenous DNA damage as was seen in tumor cells. The levels of phosphorylated kinases Chk1 and 2 were altered in a manner resembling tumor cells and the levels of Ku70 were low and the protein was not recruited to the DNA after HU treatment. Our findings indicate a role for Nesprin-1 in the DNA damage response pathway and propose Nesprin-1 as novel regulator of tumorigenesis and genome instability. Loss of Nesprin-1 might play a significant role in cancer progression.