Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors influencing casein distribution in cold-stored milk and their effects on cheese-making parameters

Summary In assessing the performance of milk for cheese-making, the influence of a number of factors in addition to cold storage time and temperature of the milk on the equilibria between the soluble and micellar phases and on cheese-making parameters has now been examined. An important factor was pH and although not apparent in fresh unstored milk, after storage at 4 °C there was a minimum in the soluble casein concentration at about pH 6·6, largely due to variations in β-casein concentration. As expected, addition of Ca reduced soluble casein concentrations while treatment with EDTA caused increases, and in most cases the cyclic pattern of casein dissociation from the micellar phase followed by a partial reassociation was again observed during storage at 4 °C over a 3-d period. Addition of low levels of urea (up to 75 mg/100 ml milk) led to some dissociation of all casein components, Ca and phosphate into the soluble phase while treatment of milk with urease caused small decreases. Additions of purified casein components to milk were accompanied by only small alterations to the composition of the soluble phase and added casein was largely incorporated into the micellar phase. In spite of this, most added casein was not recovered in curds, and cheese yields were not greatly enhanced by quite considerable additions of caseins to the milk. The effects of pH adjustment, addition of Ca, EDTA, urea, cyanate, purified αs1-, β- or κ-casein and urease treatment on rennet clotting time, curd strength, curd moisture and cheese yield are presented.
Biochemical Characteristics of Flours from Ivorian Taro (Colocasia Esculenta, Cv Yatan) Corm as Affected by Boiling Time

This study aimed at determining the chemical composition and physico-functional properties of flour from Ivorian taro (Colocasia esculenta, cv yatan) corm as affected by boiling time. The change in boiling time led to a significant (p<0.05) reduction in the iodine affinity of starch, total carbohydrate, total phenolic compound, reducing and total sugars contents, whereas the moisture content, water absorption capacity, water solubility index, paste clarity and foam capacity increased significantly (p<0.05). The crude fat, crude fibre, crude protein and total ash contents were not affected by the change in boiling time. The flour of Ivorian taro corm is a good source of carbohydrate, fiber and ash. It contained a fair amount of crude protein and showed a high water absorption capacity and iodine affinity of starch. Within this flour, calcium, iron, sodium, zinc and copper had the lowest values while phosphorus, potassium and magnesium had the highest values. Significant correlations were observed between such constituents and physico-functional properties as moisture and water solubility index; crude fat and iodine affinity starch; total carbohydrate and paste clarity; total phenolic compound and forming capacity. PCA showed that FRTC was located at the left of the score plot, while FBTC20, FBTC35 and FBTC50 had a positive score in the first principal component.
Two new species of Schistonchus (Nematoda: Aphelenchoididae) associated with Ficus hispida in China

Two new nematode species of the genus Schistonchus were recovered from syconia from a single Ficus hispida caprifig tree in Guangzhou, China. They are described herein as Schistonchus guangzhouensis n. sp. and S. centerae n. sp. Schistonchus guangzhouensis n. sp. is characterised by possessing the longest postuterine sac (PUS) of all currently described females in the genus (84-148 μm or >3.5 vulval body diam. (VBD) long), excretory pore situated near the level of the metacorpus, two pairs of subventral papillae on the male tail, and unique recurved and mitten-shaped spicules. Schistonchus centerae n. sp. is characterised by a unique fusiform tail tip and short PUS (8-20 μm or <1.0 VBD long) in reproductive females, excretory pore located near the head, spicules with an indistinct rostrum, male tail with three pairs of papillae, and broadly truncate tail tip. Both new species were easily differentiated from each other and other members of the genus for which sequences of the D2/D3 expansion segments of the large subunit rRNA gene (LSU) and partial small subunit rRNA gene (SSU) were available. Phylogenetic analysis also supported a monophyletic Schistonchus within a well-supported clade of Aphelenchoididae (sensu Hunt, 1993) and shared a most recent common ancestor with Aphelenchoides and Laimaphelenchus.
Microbial Decontamination of Tea (Camellia sinensis) by Gamma Radiation

Processed dry tea leaves are prone to microbial contamination during post-processing handling and storage. The dry tea leaves may thus carry bacteria and fungi of potential health risk to consumers. Also, during storage under high humidity, absorption of moisture may encourage fungal growth and result in caking of the product. Gamma radiation processing was tried as a method for microbial decontamination. A radiation dose of 5 kGy was found to be effective for this purpose. No significant effect was observed on total phenolics in radiation-processed tea leaves. The antioxidant and biological properties of tea such as free radical scavenging activity, inhibition of xanthine oxidase and lipid peroxidation, and superoxide and nitrite scavenging activities were not affected due to radiation treatment within a dose of 10 kGy. The antimicrobial and sensory properties were also unaffected by the radiation treatment.
Herbivory in Forested Ecosystems

Forest canopies support a complex assemblage of herbivores that are usually inconspicuous except when population outbreaks of one or more species pro­ duce noticeable defoliation or other signs of herbivore activity. Little is known about the ecological impacts of herbivores during non-outbreak phases (52, 109, 137, 141). Foliage consumption during non-outbreak periods has been measured as 5-15 % of leaf area production in temperate forests (109), but the techniques used may underestimate actual herbivory (88). Foliage loss may reach 100% of foliage production during herbivore population outbreaks (33, 89, 168). In the last five years there has been an explosion of information on both the process of herbivory and the nature of inseCt/plant relationships. Recent com­ pendia include volumes by Ahmad (2), Bell & Carde (10), Crawley (34), Denno & McClure (37), Edwards & Wratten (42), Hedin (65), Rosenthal & Janzen ( 130), and Strong et al (147). Ecological chemistry has been a fun­ damental organizing theme for many of these works. As recently as 1960, Hairston et al (57) based their "green world" hypothesis on the premise that all green foliage was equally available to herbivores. "Secondary" metabolites were considered to be metabolic by-products with no known function. The emergence of ecological chemistry can be traced from Fraenkel' s (49) concept of plant chemical defense to Feeny's (46) classic study of plant regulation of winter moth (Operophtera brumata L.) populations. More recently, the induc-
Phylogenetic Inference in Sapindaceae sensu lato Using Plastid matK and rbcL DNA Sequences

Abstract Phylogenetic relationships within Sapindaceae sensu lato are assessed using sequence data from two plastid genes, analyzed separately and together. A total of 46 rbcL sequences (31 of which are new), and 89 matK sequences (75 new) representing 64 genera were subjected to parsimony and Bayesian analysis. The results support three major lineages, relationships between which are only weakly supported. Xanthoceras sorbifolium is not clearly a member of any of these lineages, and there is some support for it being the first lineage to diverge within the entire assemblage. Support for a broadly defined Sapindaceae incorporating Aceraceae, Hippocastanaceae, and Xanthoceras is very robust. A division into four subfamilies is proposed: Sapindoideae (including Koelreuteria and Ungnadia); Hippocastanoideae (including taxa previously referred to Aceraceae and Hippocastanaceae, plus Handeliodendron); a more narrowly defined Dodonaeoideae; and a monotypic Xanthoceroideae. Tribal groupings are critically evaluated in light of the analyses. Although many of the current tribes appear paraphyletic or polyphyletic, there is support for the monophyly of some core groups of genera that suggest realignments of tribal concepts that would render them more informative of relationships.
Socially cued developmental plasticity affects condition-dependent trait expression

Condition-dependent sexually selected traits are thought to indicate an individual’s quality or breeding value for fitness. Variation in developmental environments, however, introduces much complexity to resource allocation, and therefore, to phenotypic expression. The extent to which environment-specific developmental tactics interact with resource allocation and impinge on the relationship between condition and adult phenotype remains largely untested. Here, we used the black field cricket (Teleogryllus commodus), a species known to modify allocation tactics in response to both nutrition and social environments, to examine whether socially cued plasticity affects condition-dependent trait expression. We reared juvenile males in a 2 by 2 factorial experiment, crossing 2 social environments with 2 diets, and examined allocation toward life-history, morphological traits and costly sexual signaling (i.e., calling) in adulthood. Although diet significantly affected phenotypes during the second-last juvenile stadium, shifts in development rate in response to both the nutrient and social environment during the last juvenile stadium obscured the effects of condition on male phenotypes. Our results suggest that sexually selected signals may be poor indicators of individual quality due to interactions among sources of environmental variance. We suggest that the correlation between trait expression and condition is more complex under natural environments than most literature in this area assumes.
Seasonal changes in plasma concentrations of proteins, urea, glucose, calcium and phosphorus in sheep grazing a hill pasture and their relationship to changes in body composition

SUMMARY The seasonal changes in plasma concentrations of albumin, globulin, transferrin, urea, Ca, P and glucose were measured in 59 Scottish Blackface sheep grazing a hill pasture. The sheep were classified according to age and state of permanent incisor dentition into four groups. Sheep were slaughtered at mating (November), mid-lactation (June) and in the late dry period (November), and the changes in plasma constituents related to changes in body composition. A protein-free supplement was offered during late pregnancy. Another group of sheep was used in the subsequent year to investigate the significance of helminth infections on such pastures. Plasma albumin concentration fell from 32·0 g/1 in all sheep in early pregnancy to 17·5–19·5 g/1 in late pregnancy and early lactation in 5½- to 6½-year-old animals. Younger animals (2½ year old) maintained higher (23·0 g/1) levels at these latter times. The extent of the decrease in plasma albumin concentration of the groups was related to the loss of N from their soft tissues during the same period. Plasma volume increased from 2·10 to 2·491 between early pregnancy and midlactation (45 and 66 ml/kg body weight respectively). The increase in volume was considered to account for the reduction in the concentration of plasma globulin which took place during this period. Plasma urea-N concentrations were extremely low (50—60mg/l) between February and April and had fallen from their highest values (240 mg/1) in August to 150 mg/1 by the following November. It is argued that the fall in albumin concentration which occurred in early pregnancy, coupled with the extremely low urea-N concentration, reflects a very low digestible crude protein intake during most of pregnancy. Transferrin concentration followed a similar seasonal pattern to urea. The concentration was extremely low in February (2·2–2·4 g/1), highest in August (3·45 g/1) and had fallen by November (3·0 g/1). The value of transferrin as a nutritional index is discussed. Regular dosing with anthelminthic of sheep on these pastures had a beneficial effect on plasma albumin concentrations, particularly during critical nutritional periods, namely late pregnancy and lactation. Plasma glucose, Ca and P concentrations were of no value in monitoring the nutritional status of the animal with respect to these nutrients.
Several haplotypes of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) seed-beetle, Caryedon serratus Ol. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Bruchinae), in West Africa: Genetic identification using 28S sequences

Département de Biologie Animale, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, B. P. 5005 Dakar, Sénégal. CERAAS ISRA, route de Khombole, B. P. 3320, Thiès, Sénégal. Université Abdou Moumouni Niamey, Faculté des Sciences, P. O. Box 10662, Niamey, Niger. Laboratoire d’entomologie, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Lomé, B. P. 1515, Lomé, Togo. Laboratoire d’entomologie, Université de Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Diet of the Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) at Ra's Al Hadd, Sultanate of Oman

Abstract Digestive tract contents of stranded green turtles (Chelonia mydas) from Ra's Al Hadd area, Oman, were examined. In decreasing order of importance, the food items (dry weight) comprised 19 taxa of algae (49%), 22 taxa of animal matter (26%), 2 seagrasses (15%), litter (7%), and substrate (3%).
The impact of civil war on forest wildlife in West Africa: mammals in Gola Forest, Sierra Leone

Abstract Human conflicts may sometimes benefit wildlife by depopulating wilderness areas but there is evidence from Africa that the impacts tend to be negative. The forested states of West Africa have experienced much recent human conflict but there have been no assessments of impacts on the wildlife. We conducted surveys of mammals in the 710-km2 Gola Forest reserves to assess the impact of the 1991–2001 civil war in Sierra Leone. Gola is the most important remaining tract of lowland forest in the country and a key site for the conservation of the highly threatened forests of the Upper Guinea region. We found that Gola has survived well despite being in the heart of the area occupied by the rebels. We recorded 44 species of larger mammal, including 18 threatened, near-threatened and endemic species, accounting for all species recorded in pre-war surveys and adding several more (African buffalo Syncerus caffer nanus and water chevrotain Hyemoschus aquaticus). Populations of primates were healthy with little evidence of decline. Duiker detection rates were low and further work is required to confirm their numbers as they include five species endemic (or near endemic) to the Upper Guinea region, three of which are threatened. However, the population of African forest elephants Loxodonta cyclotis has collapsed, with only a few individuals remaining from c. 110 in the mid 1980s. We conclude that peacetime pressures from the bushmeat trade, clearance for agriculture, logging and mining are likely to be far greater for Gola than the pressures from the civil war.
Effects of landscape type and extensive management on use of motorway roadsides by small mammals

We compared the relative abundances of small mammals along extensively managed motorway roadsides (with a narrow mown strip adjacent to the roadway) in three distinct landscapes (garrigue, pine plantation, and intensive farmland), to evaluate the relative effects of management and landscape traversed on roadside small-mammal populations. In each landscape, the landscape matrix (adjacent habitats), the mown strip, and the intervening unmown strip of roadside were sampled using snap traps. The roadside communities differed from those of landscape matrices, both in the relative abundances of individual species and in the proportion of each species captured. Species richness was greater on roadsides than in cropland and pine plantations, but there was no difference in the garrigue landscape. However, this greater richness was due to species that were rarely caught. The three dominant species (93.7% of captures), greater white-toothed shrew (Crocidura russula), wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus), and common vole.
COMPARISON OF CARBON EMITTED FROM OX, BUFFALO, PIG, AND CHICKEN FARMS AND SLAUGHTERHOUSES IN MEAT PRODUCTION

The carbon budget of oxen, buffaloes, pigs, and chickens during meat production were studied to determine carbon emitted from farms, to investigate the rate of carbon massflow from plants to ox, buffalo, pig, and chicken in the food chain and to study the carbon emission in energy patterns that was used in meat production in Nakhon Ratchasima province. The study showed that the carbon emitted per unit from farms and slaughterhouses in ox, buffalo, pig, and chicken meat production was 0.0066, 0.0051, 0.0339, and 0.0851 kg.C/kg. living weight/day, respectively. The carbon fixation in meat and organs of ox, buffalo, pig, and chicken was 0.0102, 0.0104, 0.0062, and 0.0111 kg.C/kg. living weight/day, respectively, and the rate of carbon massflow from grass and animal feed was 0.0148, 0.0143, 0.0087, and 0.0184 kg.C/kg. living weight/day, respectively. This study also showed that the percentage of carbon fixation in meat and organs of ox, buffalo, pig, and chicken to the sum of carbon contents in grass and feed used for feeding was 69.24%, 72.53%, 71.18%, and 60.45%, respectively. The ratio of total carbon emitted to total carbon contents in grass and feed used for ox, buffalo, pig, and chicken feeding was 0.31, 0.28, 0.28, and 0.39, respectively. The ratio of total carbon emitted per day to carbon fixation per day in meat and organs of ox, buffalo, pig, and chicken was 0.45, 0.38, 0.40, and 0.65, respectively. Ox production produced more environmentally harmful carbon than buffalo production. The results also showed that the ratio of CH 4 to CO 2 emitted from faeces, enteric fermentation and respiration of ox was higher than the value from buffalo. For the equal quantity of meat production, it is suggested that ox meat production should be reduced while the buffalo meat production should be increased to lessen the environmental impact. Moreover, of the four animals, carbon emitted from buffalo and pig will give less environmental problems and farming/slaughterhouses should be more encouraged than ox and chicken farming/slaughterhouses. The carbon contents emitted in meat production in ton C per year from ox, buffalo, pig, and chicken farms and slaughterhouses in Nakhon Ratchasima province can be shown by using the equation from mass conservation and the numbers of animals as follows; C emitted = (0.73) Oxen + (0.85) Buffaloes + (1.25) Pigs + (0.07) Chickens.
Vegetation changes in boreo–nemoral forest stands depending on soil factors and past land use during an 80 year period of no human impact

Information on the long-term changes in plant communities that occur without human interference is limited, due to insufficient studies where vegetation can be resurveyed. In 1912, a strict nature protection reserve, with non-intervention management, was established on Moricsala Island in Latvia, located in the boreo–nemoral forest zone. Prior to establishment of the nature reserve, part of the island area was used for agriculture. The island is now covered almost entirely by forest dominated by Quercus robur L. and Tilia cordata Mill. on sandy soils. Resurvey was conducted in 2011 in 17 plots in which tree layers and the understory vegetation had been described in 1930. The plots were classified into two groups based on tree species composition in 1930 to determine changes in species composition. Differences in understory and tree canopy composition between these groups persisted over the period between the studies, in relation to soil factors and past stand history. Considerable turnover of species occu.
Morphological vs. molecular delineation of taxa across montane regions in Europe: the case study of Gammarus balcanicus Schäferna, (Crustacea: Amphipoda)

Mountainous areas are characterized by substantial biodiversity and endemicity due to their complex geological history and habitat fragmentation. Hence, it can be assumed that particularly high species richness can be found in organisms with limited dispersal capabilities that inhabit mountain streams. A number of scientific papers focus on molecular phylogeography or traditional taxonomy of species or species groups inhabiting such habitats. However, there is a lack of studies that integrate morphological and molecular data to identify and delineate cryptic species. For practical reasons, uncovering cryptic diversity is crucial in taxa used in biomonitoring. Distinct species, hard to separate based on morphology only, may have different tolerance ranges towards a variety of factors. Thus, our goal is to combine the two approaches to reveal potential patterns of diversification within a species widely distributed across European mountains: the amphipod crustacean Gammarus balcanicus. The data were obtained from 13 populations spread across the range of the species. Individuals were initially ascribed to G. balcanicus based on conventional fauna key morpho-anatomical diagnostic features and were further analysed for 23 additional features to explore any putative diversification. Morphometric data were analysed with use of the multiple correspondence analysis and anova. Molecular distances were calculated for 551-bp-long COI sequences. Test for isolation by distance was performed for both morphological and molecular data. The morphometric studies showed that some of the analysed features differed significantly between populations, although there was only a weak correlation between the morphological divergence and the between-population geographical distances. Moreover, high morphological diversity was present within sites. A set of 42 COI haplotypes was identified among the 135 individuals sequenced. No haplotype was shared among populations. The molecular p-distances within the nine localities presenting more than one haplotype were either almost null (ca. 0.14), similar as between other well-defined species of the genus Gammarus. Surprisingly, G. balcanicus appears to be polyphyletic based on topology of the neighbour-joining tree. The level of genetic distance between localities was not correlated with their geographical proximity. Globally, combining spatial patterns of morphological versus molecular divergence indicates a high level of cryptic diversity within a species conventionally defined based upon fauna key morphological features. In this context, the name G. balcanicus should be applied only to the population from locus typicus, while the other populations represent a number of putative distinct species. We may expect that such phenomenon would apply also to other animal taxa with conserved morphology, which are widespread over different mountain ranges in Europe.
Chemical composition and seasonal variation of essential oil of Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst subsp birrea leaves from Benin

Essential oils from fresh leaves of Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst. were extracted by steam distillation. The oil yield from plant collected during the hot season (February) was 0.10±0.02 and 0.24±0.01% from plant collected during the cold season (August). GC/FID and GC/MS analysis allowed us to identify a total of 49 compounds, representing 98% of the hydrodistillate. The oils contained about 96% sesquiterpenes among which 38±0.034% of 7-epi-α-selinene during the hot season and 51.7±0.12% of 7-epi-α- selinene during the cold. The main components of the oil from the hot period were 7-epi-α-selinene (38±0.03%), α-muurolene (25±0.03%), valencene (17±0.06%), β-selinene (4.3±0.01), β-caryophyllene (3.2±0.02) allo-aromadendrene-epoxide (1.5±0.03) and 14-hydrox-α-humulene (1.5±0.03). The essential oil from the cold season was characterized by 7-epi-α-selinene (51.7±0.12%), β-selinene (15.1±0.2%), valencene (12.9±0.05%), α-selinene (8.1±0.03) and β-caryophyllene (1.8±0.02%). This is the first report of these components in the essential oil of Sclerocarya birrea.