Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changes in Radical-scavenging Activity and Components of Mulberry Fruit During Maturation

Extracts of mulberry fruits (Morus sp.) were prepared from 8 cultivars harvested at 4 stages of maturity, and their radicalscavenging activity, anthocyanin content, and total phenolic content were measured. The radical-scavenging activity was evaluated by a spectrophotometric assay using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) in a 96-well microplate. Mulberry fruit extracts exhibited the DPPH-scavenging activities, ranging from 2.5 to 20.3 μmol-Trolox equiv/g-FW. Their activities were variable during maturation, and the highest activity was observed in the fully mature mulberry fruit in all cultivars. Anthocyanin was scarcely present in the immature mulberry fruits; however, its content increased as the fruit matured in all cultivars. On the other hand, all immature mulberry fruits contained non-anthocyanin phenolic compound. An on-line high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the detection of DPPH-scavenging compounds revealed the difference in predominant radical scavengers between the immature and fully mature stages in the Miran 5 cultivar. Four major radical scavengers in the Miran 5 cultivar were assigned to 2 caffeoylquinic acids (chlorogenic acid and its isomer) and 2 anthocyanins (cyanidin 3-glucoside and cyanidin 3-rutinoside) in the immature and fully mature stages, respectively, by LC-ESI-MS/MS analysis. The change in the content of 4 compounds in mulberry fruits during maturation demonstrated that the most likely contributors to the DPPH-scavenging activity were caffeoylquinic acids in the immature mulberry and anthocyanins in the mature and fully mature mulberry.
Effect of N-acetylcysteine on TNF-α Level of Substantia Nigra and Striatum in Rat Model of Parkinson’s Disease

Background and purpose: Accumulated evidences indicate that the inflammatory pathways have an important role in both the initiation and progression of Parkinson’s disease. On the other hand the anti-inflammatory properties of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) have been proven in many studies. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of NAC on motor symptoms and TNF-α level of substantia nigra and striatum in animal model of Parkinson’s disease. Materials and methods: In order to induce Parkinson’s disease model, male Wistar rats weighting 400±50g (10-12 months) received rotenone (2.5 mg/kg/48h sc) for 20 days. Pretreatment with NAC (25 and 50 mg/kg/48h ip) was administered one hour before the rotenone injection. For behavioral assessment, rotarod test was run in order to measure motor symptoms and certifying the model. The TNFα level in substantia nigra and striatum region of brain was determined using ELISA technique. Results: The results showed that N-acetylcysteine prevented both failure of motor performance and increasing of TNF-α level. Conclusion: This study found that N-acetylcysteine prevented the development of rotenone model of Parkinson’s disease. This effect might be related to the anti-inflammatory characteristics of Nacetylcysteine.
On the smooth muscle in the turtle's heart

While working out the comparative anatomy of the vertebrate heart musculature, I have been able to correct and extend the observations of Bottazzi (’07) and Laurens (’13) on the occurrence of smooth muscle in the heart of the turtle. 1,aurens refers to the smooth-muscle cells: “They occur, as Bottazxi described theni, as a layer immediately under the endothelium of the auricles, and are a continuation of trhe tunica media of the large veins. I have not been able to follow them into the ventricle” (p. 278). I have found that the smooth muscle can be traced from the sinus venosus, through the atria into the ventricle, and thence out into the conus and great arteries of the heart. A thin and interrupted layer can be found in the sinus venosus, where it is apparently a continuation of the muscle coat of the great veins. A far heavier coat lines the two atria and the atrial septum (figs. 1, 2, and 6). As the septum extends downward into the atrial canal, the smooth muscle gathers into two masses along its dorsal and ventral margins, and in the adjacent parts of the canal (fig. 3). Below the atrioventricular valves, the two masses of smooth muscle pass out into the ventricle. Each immediately breaks into many strands, which lie upon the cardiac trabeculae, just beneath the endocardium. The strands subdivide and radiate int80 the deepest recesses of the ventricular cavity (figs. 3, 4, and 5 ) . At the root of the conus, muscle strands pass upwards into the muscular tunic of the great arteries (fig. 4).
Life table response experiment analysis of the stochastic growth rate

1. Life table response experiment (LTRE) analyses decompose treatment effects on a dependent variable (usually, but not necessarily, population growth rate) into contributions from differences in the parameters that determine that variable. 2. Fixed, random and regression LTRE designs have been applied to plant populations in many contexts. These designs all make use of the derivative of the dependent variable with respect to the parameters, and describe differences as sums of linear approximations. 3. Here, I extend LTRE methods to analyse treatment effects on the stochastic growth rate log λs. The problem is challenging because a stochastic model contains two layers of dynamics: the stochastic dynamics of the environment and the response of the vital rates to the state of the environment. I consider the widely used case where the environment is described by a Markov chain. 4. As the parameters describing the environmental Markov chain do not appear explicitly in the calculation of log λs, derivatives cannot be calculated. The solution presented here combines derivatives for the vital rates with an alternative (and older) approach, due to Kitagawa and Keyfitz, that calculates contributions in a way analogous to the calculation of main effects in statistical models. 5. The resulting LTRE analysis decomposes log λs into contributions from differences in: (i) the stationary distribution of environmental states, (ii) the autocorrelation pattern of the environment, and (iii) the stage‐specific vital rate responses within each environmental state. 6. As an example, the methods are applied to a stage‐classified model of the prairie plant Lomatium bradshawii in a stochastic fire environment. 7. Synthesis. The stochastic growth rate is an important parameter describing the effects of environmental fluctuations on population viability. Like any growth rate, it responds to differences in environmental factors. Without a decomposition analysis there is no way to attribute differences in the stochastic growth rate to particular parts of the life cycle or particular aspects of the stochastic environment. The methods presented here provide such an analysis, extending the LTRE analyses already available for deterministic environments.
Quantifying structural variation in contour feathers to address functional variation and life history trade-offs

Body feathers are important to many interactions birds have with their physical and social environments, such as streamlining the body for flight, thermoregulation, and social signaling. Birds differ dramatically in the texture of their body plumage depending on species and age class, likely reflecting different functional demands and age-related trade-offs in feather production. Despite the important insights potentially offered by studying variation in the structure of body feathers, there is no clear system for quantifying this variation. We present methods for quantifying age and species differences in the structure of body feathers. Most variation in our measures is due to species and age-class differences, with little variance attributable to individual birds or to differences among feathers sampled from the same bird. We use our measures to test the hypothesis that the loosely-textured plumage characteristic of many juvenile passerines reflects a trade-off between investment in feather quality and rapid body growth that promotes early fledging. The structure of juvenile feathers was negatively correlated with duration of the nestling period among ten species of New World warblers (Parulidae), suggesting a trade-off between investment in feathers and investment in rapid somatic development promoting fledging. Systematic studies of variation in the structure of body feathers will likely offer numerous other insights into avian biology.
Description of chemical and biological soil characteristics of two fields subjected to different agricultural management under mediterranean conditions

Several factors such as soil pollution and intensive agricultural management continuously damage the sustainability of agricultural production, with potentially adverse effects on soil quality. It is important to create applicable and valid soil quality indicators in order to both identify areas with potential productivity problems and monitor soil quality changes due to a range of perturbations. In this work we compared several chemical and biological variables between a Mediterranean soil characterized by intensive horticulture that has been irrigated for 20 years with moderately saline waters (IM) and an adjacent soil, subjected to a sustainable agricultural production management and irrigated with plain water (SM). Soil sampling was repeated three times during a year in both sites. IM soil had lower pH, organic carbon and total nitrogen compared to SM soil at all sampling times, while its electrical conductivity was significantly higher at two sampling times only. Potentially mineralizable nitrogen pointed out significant differences only at the first sampling time, with lower levels in the SM soil. β-sitosterol, cholesterol and ergosterol varied significantly with sampling time and were influenced also by management. Statistical approach by Principal Component Analysis highlighted a contrast between two groups of soil variables: potentially mineralizable nitrogen and sterols mainly weighted on the first axis, while chemical properties, weighted on the second one. Moreover, the second axis separated the soil subjected to a sustainable agricultural production system from that subjected to intensive practice management, while the first axis separated the third sampling data from the first two.
Systematics of the Sphagnum fimbriatum Complex: Phylogenetic Relationships, Morphological Variation, and Allopolyploidy

Abstract The application of genetic tools for studying species delimitation and relationships in Sphagnum (peatmosses) has demonstrated that evolutionary patterns are complex and include homoploid hybridization and multiple taxa of allopolyploid origin. We investigated evolutionary relationships in the so-called S. fimbriatum complex and tested hypotheses of species delimitation derived from patterns of morphological variation, and determined the origin of one species with diploid gametophytes. Plastid DNA sequences resolve a single haplotype shared by one described species, S. concinnum, and a morphotype that we had hypothesized to be another species (referred to informally as S. “diskoense”). All samples of the polyploid, S. tescorum, share an identical haplotype with most samples of S. girgensohnii. Sphagnum fimbriatum and S. girgensohnii share several plastid DNA haplotypes, and also share haplotypes with two other morphotypes that we had hypothesized to be distinct species (S. “obscurum” and S. “ubertum”). Fixed or nearly fixed heterozygosity at ten microsatellite loci show that S. tescorum is an allopolyploid. Genetic admixture analyses and computation of hybrid indices from microsatellite data, in combination with sequences from the plastid genome, support the hypothesis that S. fimbriatum and S. girgensohnii are progenitors of S. tescorum, with S. girgensohnii as the maternal parent. Data from 14 microsatellite loci demonstrate that S. concinnum, S. fimbriatum, S. girgensohnii, and S. tescorum are genetically distinct but the same data do not support separation of S. “diskoense,” S. “obscurum,” and S. “ubertum. ” Homoploid hybridization between S. fimbriatum and S. girgensohnii is strongly suggested by genetic data and phylogenetic analyses.
The Impact of Hydrological Restoration on Benthic Aquatic Invertebrate Communities in a New Zealand Wetland

Drainage is a major disturbance affecting wetlands, as drains lower water tables and convert lentic habitats to lotic ones. Consequently, invertebrate communities in drained wetlands are likely to differ from those in unimpacted wetlands. This study investigated the effect of hydrological restoration on invertebrate communities in small drains in a New Zealand fen. Invertebrates were collected over 4 summers from 10 drains within the wetland, one of which was blocked as part of a restoration program. The sampling protocol thus represented a Before‐After Control‐Impact experiment. Invertebrate community composition varied over the 4 years, but variability was greatest in the manipulated drain before and after it was blocked. Relative abundance of the amphipod Paraleptamphopus decreased after blockage, whereas those of the midges Chironomus zelandicus and Tanypodinae increased. Relative abundances of these taxa in control sites were unchanged. Hydraulic restoration thus had a demonstrable impact on the invertebrate communities. The invertebrate community of the blocked drain was compared to that of natural wetlands in undisturbed catchments. Similarity was very low prior to drain blockage, but increased following drain blockage. Invertebrate communities in the restored drain were more similar to those of low pH wetlands than high pH wetlands. Given the goal of restoring the communities to those similar to natural conditions, this was a beneficial result. These results, coupled with studies that showed a decline in the cover of alien pasture grasses around the blocked drain, suggest that drain blockage represents a cost‐effective way of restoring wetland plant and aquatic invertebrate communities, especially where connectivity allows for the natural recruitment of these organisms into restored areas.
Morphological and Pathological Variability in Rice Isolates of Rhizoctonia solani and Molecular Analysis of their Genetic Variability

Nineteen isolates of Rhizoctonia solani collected from different rice varieties grown in various regions of Pun-jab were studied for their morphological and pathological characterization. Majority of the isolates were fast growing with raised and fluffy colonies and hyphal width of 9.6 μm while four exhibited moderate growth rate. Colony colour in all except two isolates was light yellowish brown. While sclerotial number per 5.0 mm culture disc of the test isolates ranged between 2.1 and 11.2 mm, their size varied between 1.31 and 2.08 mm. Sclerotial colour in all except two isolates was dark brown and most of these were found scattered in the colony. There was no relationship between morphologically similar isolates and their pathogenic behaviour. Majority of the isolates produced lesion length between 45.6 and 58.2 mm on detached rice leaves (cv. PR116). Molecular characterization of genetic diversity in the test isolates was studied by using 10 inter simple sequence repeats (ISSR) and eight random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. The size of amplified DNA bands ranged from 0.25-3.0 to 0.5-4.0 kb with ISSR and RAPD markers, respectively. Combined data set of 155 DNA markers were analysed with UPGMA resulting five clusters with 49-89% genetic similarity. Most of the isolates showed grouping specific to the host variety. Out of these two types of DNA markers, RAPD markers were able to detect more genetic variability when compared to ISSR markers.
Permeability of Root Cells of Dutch ‘Dundee’ and Japanese ‘Reiyo’ Varieties of Tomato Seedlings to Hydroponic Solution and Potassium Ions

We examined the permeability of roots of Dutch ‘Dundee’ and Japanese ‘Reiyo’ varieties of tomato seedlings to nutrient solutions and potassium ions. Seedlings were grown under 5 different conditions: (1) Seedlings were grown in Otsuka-A nutrient solution adjusted to an electric conductivity (EC) of 2.4 dS·m−1, and on the experiment day their roots were permeated with EC 2.4; (2) before the experiment day the EC was changed to 7.2 dS·m−1, and then roots were permeated with EC 7.2 in the experiment; (3) roots were permeated with potassium chloride (KCl) solution whose water potential was equivalent to EC 2.4 in the experiment; (4) before the experiment day the EC was changed to EC 7.2, and then roots were permeated with KCl solution whose water potential was equivalent to EC 7.2 in the experiment; and (5) roots were permeated with that KCl solution whose water potential was equivalent to EC 7.2 in the experiment. We measured the root permeability of seedlings grown in each solution, and the water potentials of exudates by using a pressure chamber and an isopiestic psychrometer. The nutrient solution or potassium solution in the chamber was forced into the plants under pressure. We then measured the quantity of extraction from the cutting surface of the root and root surface area to calculate root permeability. As a result, we found that, except in the KCl permeability experiment with a water potential equivalent to EC 2.4, the Japanese variety had greater permeability of nutrient solution and potassium. On this basis we conjectured that the Japanese variety ‘Reiyo’, whose root permeability was high, is able to assimilate more water and nutrients than the Dutch variety ‘Dundee’. On this basis we found that differences in root permeability can be considered one reason why ‘Reiyo’ grows larger than ‘Dundee’ in the initial part of its growth period.
Analysis of Xenopus laevis RECK and Its Relationship to Other Vertebrate RECK Sequences

Aims: Reversion - inducing cysteine - rich protein with Kazal motifs (RECK) is a membrane - anchored protein that regulates cell migration by both inhibiting matrix metalloproteinases and modulating cellular pathways. Our study is the first to clone and examine the expression pattern of reck during early Xenopus laevis development. Study Design : Expression and sequence analysis.
Rapeseed is an efficient energy crop which can still improve

The ability of biofuels to contribute efficiently to the replacement of fossil energy and to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions has been a matter of debate. Hence, there is a need to assess accurately the energy balance of biofuels and their ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in order to evaluate and to improve the benefit for society. In rapeseed, the energy ratio (energy produced per unit of non-renewable energy input) is well above 2 whatever the method of calculation. In order to investigate the variability of energy ratios and to identify ways of improvement, a study was conducted in France in 2005 and 2006. The method of mass allocation of input energy was used for calculations, instead of the substitution method, because with this method the results do not depend on the utilization of co-products. Hence, this method is better adapted to follow improvements. A great variability in the energy ratio was observed in 2005 and 2006. Seed yields and energy cost of fertilizer N explained most of this variability. Hence, improvements should focus on increasing yield with little increase in energy cost, and on decreasing wasting of N fertilizer. However the farmer incomes, and the net production of energy per hectare, must also be a matter of concern. The inventories of greenhouse gas emissions of biofuels are still uncertain because of the great variability of soil emissions, due to environmental and management factors. Hence, in order to assess the effect of rapeseed on greenhouse gas emissions, methods based on process-oriented models accounting for these factors must be used. Such models give promising results, but further testing is still needed.
L-Threonine for Poultry: A Review

Abstract The costs of protein and energy have fluctuated dramatically for the feed industry during the last few years. As a consequence, feed formulation practices are directed toward economic analysis rather than optimal bird performance. In addition, use of alternate ingredients and amino acid formulation on a digestible bases has become more common in the United States. The industrial production of methionine and lysine has resulted in poultry nutritionists reducing the level of dietary crude protein while maintaining bird performance and profitability. Indeed, the commercial availability of other amino acids may allow nutritionists to further decrease crude protein while more effectively meeting the birds’ amino acid requirements for maintenance and tissue accretion. This review examines poultry literature on L-threonine and makes extrapolations relating to commercial situations. Functions of L-threonine in metabolism and threonine's content in feedstuffs are discussed.
Choosing Appropriate Taxonomic Units for Ecological Survey and Experimentation: the Response of Aristida to Management and Landscape Factors as an Example.

The use of appropriate taxonomic units to describe herbaceous vegetation is an issue of increasing importance due to developing interest in the effects of grazing and other management on plant diversity in pastures. We use data for the genus Aristida as an example to examine patterns of ecological response to grazing, pasture sowing and landscape position in different taxonomic units. Responses of Aristida at the level of genus, section and species were compared over the gradients. There was strong evidence of differential responses to these factors, both between sections within genus, and between species within sections. The planning and execution of botanical field descriptions involve striking a balance between taxonomic accuracy and precision that will best address the objectives of a particular project. The species of the genus Aristida have a range of ecological responses, the variety of which can not be captured in data sets which record Aristida as a single entity. As a result, management recommendations for the genus in its entirety are likely to be inaccurate. Although data collection might ideally record individual species, this is not always practicable. In any case, there may be many rare species in the data set, with occurrences too low to detect ecological pattern. Delineation of rare species may only be important if diversity issues are being examined. In other circumstances the use of an intermediate unit (e.g. section or species groups) may be appropriate. The latter approach may be required if there are practical limitations to the collection of data at specific level for all groups, or if the research objectives do not require a high level of precision.
Wintering Reserve Queens in Mini-Plus and 3-Comb Nuclei

Abstract The aim of this study was to develop an effective method of overwintering reserve honey bee queens in two-storey mini-plus mating nuclei and in 3-comb nuclei (frames 36 x 26 cm, Wielkopolski hive). The assay was performed during three wintering seasons (2005 - 2008) parallel at two centers in Poland: the Division of Apiculture at the University of Life Sciences (SGGW) in Warsaw, and the Apiculture Division at the University of Warmia and Mazury (UWM) in Olsztyn. The results showed that 59% of queens overwintered in mini-plus nuclei and 77% in 3-comb nuclei. Among queens in mini-plus nuclei 63% overwintered in bee yard and only 55% in cellar. Within queens in 3-comb nuclei, 62% overwintered in Olsztyn and 91% in Warsaw. The highest survival rate of 93% was observed in Warsaw during the first season. Due to low survival rate, it is not recommended to overwinter the queens in miniplus nuclei.