Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The systematics of the pseudoscorpion family Ideoroncidae (Pseudoscorpiones: Neobisioidea) in the New World

Abstract A review of the pseudoscorpion family Ideoroncidae in North and South America has revealed seven genera and 43 species. The genus Albiorix occurs in xeric environments in western USA and in Mexico, with two outlying species in Chile and Argentina. It includes 18 species, including five new species from Mexico (A. meraculus, A. minor, A. oaxaca, A. puebla and A. rosario), and three from USA (A. gertschi, A. sarahae and A. vigintus). Albiorix bolivari is treated as a junior synonym of A. retrodentatus. The genus Ideoroncus has nine species and is endemic to southern Brazil and Paraguay. Pseudalbiorix has four species and occurs in Central America and western Cuba. Typhloroncus has six species from Mexico and U.S. Virgin Islands, including the new species T. planodentatus from Mexico. Xorilbia has three species and occurs in the Amazonian rainforest ecosystems of northern Brazil and southern Venezuela. Two new genera are described: Mahnertius Harvey & Muchmore for the new species M. stipodentatus (type species) and M. hadrodentatus, both from Colombia; and Muchmoreus Harvey for the new species M. ignotus (type species) from Mexico. Several keys are provided, including one to separate the New World genera, and others to distinguish the species of each genus (apart from the monotypic Muchmoreus). The post-embryonic development of New World ideoroncids is reviewed, particularly the trichobothrial patterns of nymphs and adults.
Population genetic analysis of white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) in the Fraser River

White sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) in the Fraser River are listed as imperiled (the second highest possible rating) by the British Columbia Conservation Data Centre. A difficulty in trying to protect this species in the Fraser River and elsewhere is the lack of knowledge regarding their population biology. Variation in the mitochondrial DNA control region and at four microsatellite loci was examined in order to characterize white sturgeon samples from throughout the Fraser River mainstem and from a major tributary, the Nechako River. Samples from the adjacent Columbia River were analyzed for comparison. In contrast to previous work, present data indicate that white sturgeon population structure in this region reflects post-glacial dispersal more than it does recent anthropogenic effects. The data divided the Fraser into four biogeographic regions: (i) the lower Fraser, below Hell’s Gate; (ii) the middle Fraser, between Hell’s Gate and river km 553; (iii) the upper Fraser, above the Nechako confluence; and (iv) the Nechako River. These four groups are concordant with those suggested by tag and recapture and catch per unit effort data, and are separated by what have been identified as barriers to white sturgeon migration. Based on concordance between these different types of data, it is argued that the four groups identified here merit evolutionarily significant unit (ESU) status.
Lesser Flamingo Phoenicopterus minor populations in eastern and southern Africa are not genetically isolated

A preliminary analysis of the phylogeographic pattern of the two main African populations of Lesser Flamingo Phoenicopterus minor from East and southern Africa was carried out to evaluate possible gene flow. A fragment of mitochondrial DNA encoding the NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 gene (ND2) was sequenced in 27 specimens from these two populations and 11 haplotypes were identified. The phylogenetic analyses, based both on distance and parsimonious methods (neighbour joining and maximum parsimony), showed a homogeneous clade with a low level of genetic distance (0.26% ± 0.12 SD), which was also evidenced by the minimum spanning network method. The mismatch distribution analysis suggested a sudden demographic expansion from a single ancestral population. This latter result is also reinforced by the presence of few ancestral haplotypes, by the high level of haplotype diversity (0.83) and the low level of nucleotide diversity (0.0015–0.0017). These data support the belief of field ornithologists for restricted interchange between the two populations determined by the geographical distance between the two populations and lack of any observations of movement between them, but with evidence of changes in each population's numbers, giving the concept of a permeable geographic barrier.
Growth and survival of juvenile june suckers in enclosures in Utah Lake: feasibility of modified cage culture for an endangered species.

Abstract An objective of the recovery program for the federally endangered June sucker Chasmistes liorus is to produce large numbers of artificially propagated individuals to augment the wild population and offset recruitment deficits. We tested the feasibility of modified cage culture in Utah Lake, Utah, as a cost-effective addition to the current hatchery program. Specifically, we examined the survival and growth of age-0 June suckers from July to September at two densities (62 and 187 fish/m3) in two cage types (fixed and floating; n = 12 cages total) in a complete factorial design and compared the cost of production with hatchery costs of production. June suckers were not given supplemental feed during the study but instead preyed on zooplankton that drifted into the cages. Mean survival of June suckers was 45.5% and was not significantly different between cage types or density. Cage design significantly affected growth of June suckers, with fish growing larger in floating cages (mean standard length .
Effects of Entrainment and Bypass at Screened Irrigation Canals on Juvenile Steelhead

Abstract Expensive bypass screens have been installed throughout the western United States to prevent the entrainment of valuable anadromous salmonids into irrigation canals. However, few studies have quantified the annual extent and variability of entrainment and bypass success for anadromous salmonids emigrating through screened irrigation diversion networks in a basinwide context. By monitoring the movement of hatchery steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss surrogates marked with passive integrated transponder tags through three irrigation canals, we estimated canal entrainment, bypass success, and survival for threatened juvenile steelhead emigrating from the Umatilla River in northeast Oregon. Annual entrainment of steelhead was positively related to the days of canal operation and negatively related to mean seasonal river flow. The relationship between flow and entrainment differed by canal; as a result, steelhead entrainment was not always greatest at canals with the largest water diversion rates. Binary mo.
A Report on Five New Records of Nudibranch Molluscs from Korea

The Korean nudibranch faunal study has been conducted since 2011 and five species including Dermatobranchus otome Baba, 1992, Mexichromis festiva (Angas, 1864), Noumea nivalis Baba, 1937, Hoplodoris armata (Baba, 1993), and Okenia hiroi (Baba, 1938) were newly reported with re-descriptions and figures. Also, Noumea purpurea Baba, 1949 was re-described with illustrations because previous records for this species were given without a description. Two congeneric species in the genus Noumea could be distinguished by ground color, dorsal markings, color of the mantle edge and gills, and mantle and dorsal marking. In addition, mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences of five species were provided for further molecular identification study. Consequently, a total of 43 species have been reported for the Korean nudibranch fauna.
Receptors sensitive to muscle length in the horseshoe crab

Sensory activity was recorded extracellularly from fine branches of the internal pedal nerve in the femur of the horseshoe crab walking leg. Increased receptor spike frequency was associated with an increase in the length of the tibial flexor muscle produced by extension of the femero‐patellar and patello‐tibial joints. Active flexor contraction led to a reduction in spike frequency, and this reduction was smaller when contraction was isometric. Studies which combined methylene blue staining of putative receptor neurons, local mechanical stimulation and physiological recording suggest that multipolar neurons located near the tibial flexor insertions are muscle length receptors.
EFFECT OF INDUCTION TEMPERATURE AND PARTIAL THERMAL DENATURATION ON THE CATALYTIC AND ELECTROPHORETIC HETEROGENEITY OF β-GALACTOSIDASE FROM TWO ESCHERICHIA COLI STRAINS

β-Galactosidase was induced in a wild-type and an rpsL mutant E. coli at 37 and 42°C (heat shock). The samples were subjected to capillary electrophoresis-based single enzyme molecule assays and the distribution of the populations' catalytic rates and electrophoretic mobilities were determined. The populations were found to differ significantly with respect to both properties which is consistent with conformational differences between molecules being an underlying basis for enzyme heterogeneity. The samples were also subjected to partial thermal denaturation which, in all but one population, led to a decrease in average activity and a decrease in variance. Furthermore, it was found that the electrophoretic mobility of the enzyme was altered by the presence of citrate in the buffer system, likely due to nonspecific binding.
Evidence for a Causative Role of Cyanide, Derived from Ethylene Biosynthesis, in the Herbicidal Mode of Action of Quinclorac in Barnyard Grass

Abstract Root application of the quinolinecarboxylic acid herbicide quinclorac to barnyard grass (( Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv. ) caused inhibition of shoot growth accompanied by chlorosis and necrosis. After 1 day of exposure, cyanide levels in the shoot tissue increased according to the concentration of the herbicide and the time of its application and closely correlated with the reduction in shoot fresh weight. Four days after the application of 10 and 100 μM quinclorac, the respective cyanide levels in the shoot tissue were approximately two and three times higher than controls and reached a maximum of 40 μM . Increases in β-cyanoalanine synthase activity, the main HCN detoxifying enzyme, ethylene production, and in the endogenous levels of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) preceded cyanide accumulation, When ACC was exogenously supplied to detached shoots of barnyard grass via the vascular system, its accumulation within the tissue coincided with increases in ethylene formation and cyanide content. Both metabolites of ACC appeared to be formed in stoichiometrically equivalent amounts. Root treatment of intact plants with KCN caused concentration-dependent increases in the levels of cyanide found in the shoot tissue which inversely correlated with the changes in fresh weight. The concentrations of quinclorac or KCN applied via the roots which led to twofold increases in the cyanide levels of the shoots had similar effects on the shoot fresh weight, causing reductions of nearly 30%. The phytotoxic symptoms, chlorosis and necrosis, were also similar. In contrast, phytotoxic tissue sensitivity to ethylene released by applied 2-chloroethylphosphonic acid (ethephon) was only very low. It is concluded that cyanide, derived ultimately from quinchlorac-stimulated ACC synthesis, is a causative factor in the herbicidal effects observed in the shoots of barnyard grass.
Molecular characterisation of T cell receptor-zeta subunit (CD247) gene in buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

The cDNA encoding T cell receptor-zeta (TCR-ζ; CD247) molecule of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) was isolated, cloned and sequenced in the present study. The CD247 cDNA comprised 1078 nucleotides including a 30 nucleotide 5′-untranslated region (UTR), 495 nucleotide single open reading frame (ORF) and 553 nucleotide 3′-UTR. Deduced amino acid of buffalo CD247 sequence was two residues shorter than the corresponding cattle and sheep sequences. However, ruminant-specific insertions and substitutions in intra-cytoplasmic (IC) domain were present in buffalo. Immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motifs (ITAMs), the important motifs for TCR signalling, were totally conserved among ruminants including buffalo. The 3′-UTR region of the buffalo CD247 was highly homologous to the corresponding region in the cattle sequence and showed lack of polymorphism after polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis using HaeIII and MseI restriction enzymes in buffalo population. Phylogenetically, buffalo sequence was closer to cattle sequence under the ruminant's lineage. The conserved nature of this gene ensures TCR integrity which is vital for induction of optimal and efficient immune response.
Temporal segregation in larval amphibian communities in temporary ponds at a locality in SW Spain

The amphibian community of the Biological Reserve of Donana (SW Spain) is composed of 10 species, their period of larval occurrence commonly taking place from autumn to early summer, although it may vary from year to year in relation to the flooding conditions of ponds. A segregation is observed according to temporal use of temporary ponds by larvae of different species. Pelobates cultripes and Discoglossus galganoi tadpoles occur in ponds during their whole persistence, from flooding to drying up. Hyla meridionalis, Triturus marmoratus and Triturus boscai larvae commonly exploit a shorter temporal range, appearing about two months later until early summer. Bufo bufo, Bufo calamita and normally also Rana perezi have the shortest larval periods, of about two months. Rana perezi is also characterized by its delay in temporal use of the ponds in comparison with the other species. The flexibility of the larval period season is considered an adaptation to the unpredictability of temporary ponds. Thus, under certain climatic conditions, the two first groups of species may occur in the same temporal range.
Scanning electron microscopic aspects of short tuberized roots, with special reference to cell rhizodermis evolution under drought and rehydration

Abstract. Different morphological aspects of short tuberized roots initiated during drought stress in mesophytic species, such as Sinapis alba L. , were studied with the scanning electron microscopy technique of cryofixation. Specially adapted for direct and immediate observation of fresh living roots, this method has given precise information about rhizodermal organization and evolution during drought and rehydration. The main difference from a normal lateral root grown in a well-watered soil appears in the basal enlarged zone of the short root where all the cells show the same round and turgid aspect. In the medium zone of the short root, rhizodermis differentiation into alternating rows of short (trichoblasts) and long (atrichoblasts) cells, which characterizes the typical Sinapis root, remains clearly discernible, though not so regular as in normal lateral roots. The turgid state of rhizodermal cells all over the short tuberized root grown in a drying soil suggests an effective regulatory mechanism for water deficit avoidance. During the first hours of rehydration, immediate absorption of water is noticeable through the rapid swelling of some long cells which appear to protrude considerably among other rhizodermal cells. However, these protrusions will not give rise to hairs, as further observations of short roots after growth has resumed show very distinctly that progressive hair formation occurs in the medium zone of the root, and that their emergence originates from trichoblasts only. These observations may indicate that atrichoblasts, on account of their highly vacuolated condition, are the first cells to absorb water and that they may even be stimulated, in some environmental conditions, to initiate hair formation, although they are not so well adapted to do so as the short cells in this species.
Is there wind pollination in the southern heaths (Styphelioideae, Ericaceae)?

Wind pollination is associated with particular plant groups including conifers, grasses and some tree species. However sporadically (but quite frequently) it has evolved in lineages that are predominantly biotically pollinated. Factors which have been proposed as forcing this change are often associated with extreme environmental conditions that could limit pollinator attention to the flowers of the species. The Styphelioideae has been considered exclusively biotically pollinated, with insects the predominant visitors and vertebrates somewhat less important. However at least three species of Richea seem to have a number of characteristics which point towards wind as the main pollen vector. This study enumerates some of the characteristics of selected Richea species and evaluates the likelihood that wind pollination has evolved in R. sprengelioides, R. procera and R. victoriana. The genus seems to have exaptations, for example the "operculum type" of corolla, which would facilitate development of wind pollination from an insect-pollinated ancestor. Comparison with two Erica species illustrates that different modifications may faciliate change to achieve a similar outcome.
BAMMtools: an R package for the analysis of evolutionary dynamics on phylogenetic trees

Understanding the dynamics of speciation, extinction and phenotypic evolution is a central challenge in evolutionary biology. Here, we present BAMMtools, an r package for the analysis and visualization of macroevolutionary dynamics on phylogenetic trees. BAMMtools is a companion package to BAMM, an open‐source program for reversible‐jump MCMC analyses of diversification and trait evolution. Functions in BAMMtools operate directly on output from the BAMM program. The package is oriented towards reconstructing and visualizing changes in evolutionary rates through time and across clades in a Bayesian statistical framework. BAMMtools enables users to extract credible sets of diversification shifts and to identify diversification histories with the maximum a posteriori probability. Users can compare the fit of alternative diversification models using Bayes factors and by directly comparing model posterior probabilities. By providing a robust framework for quantifying uncertainty in macroevolutionary dynamics, BAMMtools will facilitate inference on the complex mixture of processes that have shaped the distribution of species and phenotypes across the tree of life.
A test of the indirect facilitation model in a temperate hardwood forest of the northern French Alps

1 We tested the hypothesis that the more frequent occurrence of tree seedlings below the adult trees than in canopy openings might be explained by indirect facilitation. In a temperate hardwood forest, we compared the performance of five target tree seedlings (Picea abies, Abies alba, Fagus sylvatica, Acer pseudoplatanus and Quercus petraea), transplanted with or without a herbaceous competitor (Molinia caerulea), either within the forest or into experimentally created gaps. 2 We quantified changes in understorey biomass, light penetration and available forms of soil nitrogen during three growing seasons. 3 Photosynthetic photon flux density and total biomass of Molinia were significantly higher in the gap treatment than within the forest. Total available nitrogen was higher in the gaps in the absence of Molinia, but higher in the forest in the presence of Molinia. 4 Quercus survival was very low within the forest because of fungal infection, whereas survival was very high for the four other tree species in all combinations of the two treatments. 5 Although the competitive effect of Molinia on the growth of the tree seedlings was much greater in the gap treatment, seedling growth was lower within the forest. We conclude that the tree canopy imposed strong light competition, and that this direct negative influence was much greater than any indirect positive effect of increased availability of nutrients to tree seedlings, due to reduced nutrient uptake by Molinia. 6 Target species responses to treatments were similar, despite strong differences in nitrogen requirements between species. This may be due to the overwhelming negative influence of the tree canopy in our experiment.
Characterization and Activity Change of Farnesol Dehydrogenase in Black Rot Fungusinfected Sweet Potato

NADP-dependent farnesol dehydrogenase was isolated from black rot fungus-infected sweet potato root tissue and purified almost to homogeneity with several purification steps including Toyopearl HW-60(S) chromatography. The enzymewas estimated to have a molecular weight of 90, 000 and consists of two identical subunits. trans, trans-Famesol was oxdized to trans, transfarnesal at the highest level amongvarious kinds of alcohol in the presence of NADPby the enzyme, but the enzyme showed broad substrate specificity. The SH-group in the enzyme participated in its activity. The enzymewas present in small amounts in fresh tissue, but in response to the infection the activity was increased, accompanied with the accumulation of furanosesquiterpenoids. The activity was increased also in response to cut injury, although in a lesser amount.
Taxonomy of the genus Acinetobacter with the recognition of Acinetobacter baumannii sp. nov., Acinetobacter haemolyticus sp. nov., Acinetobacter johnsonii sp. nov., and Acinetobacter junii sp. nov. and emended descriptions of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus and Acinetobacter lwoffii

Using deoxyribonucleic acid hybridization (S1 nuclease method), we identified 12 hybridization groups (genospecies) containing 74 strains among 85 Acinetobacter strains studied. A total of 28 characters which allowed identification of the genospecies were applied to 266 strains. Of the 12 genospecies, 11 could be unambiguously identified. Genospecies 1 (Acinetobacter calcoaceticus sensu stricto) contained eight glucose-oxidizing strains which were unable to grow at 44°C and were isolated from soil, including the type strain of A. calcoaceticus. Genospecies 2, which contained 121 strains (mostly glucose oxidizers that were able to grow at 44°C), was named Acinetobacter baumannii sp. nov. (type strain, strain ATCC 19606). Genospecies 3 contained 15 strains that were able to oxidize glucose and to grow at 41°C but not at 44°C. Genospecies 4, which contained 23 hemolytic and proteolytic strains that were able to utilize DL-4-aminobutyrate but not DL-lactate, was named Acinetobacter haemolyticus sp. nov. (type strain, strain ATCC 17906). Genospecies 5, which contained 17 strains that were unable to oxidize glucose and able to utilize DL-lactate and L-histidine but not glutarate or azelate, was named Acinetobacter junii sp. nov. (type strain, strain ATCC 17908). Genospecies 6 contained only three hemolytic, proteolytic strains that were unable to utilize DL-lactate, malonate, or DL-4-aminobutyrate. Genospecies 7, which contained 23 strains that were unable to grow at 37°C and to oxidize glucose and utilized only a few carbon sources was named Acinetobacter johnsonii sp. nov. (type strain, strain ATCC 17909). A total of 34 strains had the characteristics of genospecies 8/9 (mostly glucose negative; utilized azelate but not Simmons citrate, glutarate, L-histidine, L-aspartate, L-leucine, β-alanine, or 2,3-butanediol). Genospecies 8 was Acinetobacter lwoffii sensu stricto since it contained the type strain of this species. Genospecies 9 could not be differentiated from genospecies 8. Genospecies 10 (four strains), 11 (four strains), and 12 (three strains) were differentiated by their nutritional patterns.