Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measurement of summer dormancy in temperate perennial pasture grasses

The search to improve drought survival in temperate perennial grasses has led to a renewed interest in summer dormancy and how to quantify it. This endogenously controlled trait, found in some temperate perennial grasses, is associated with drought that normally occurs in summer. While cessation of leaf growth and senescence of herbage occurs in all grasses in response to drought, it is under summer irrigation that these same responses are observed only in summer-dormant germplasm and hence the trait can be identified in germplasm. Across the spectrum from completely summer-dormant to non-dormant, there is a range of expression. Our objective here is to highlight differences in characteristics of indices which measure summer dormancy and to identify aspects for incorporation into a superior index for use in measuring this trait. The experimental program comprised three field trials that compared 6 cultivars and a fourth that assessed a larger group of 12 cultivars of the same three species, cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.), tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.), and phalaris (Phalaris aquatica L.). Seasonal herbage yield and foliage senescence were measured under three summer watering regimes: complete drought, mid-summer storm, and full irrigation at Mauguio, France. Different indices were calculated to compare against the approach which evaluates senescence under drought. The key outcomes are as follows. (1) The assessment of summer dormancy needs to be viewed as the plant response to a period of non-limiting water supply over summer. It makes little difference whether this is produced by full summer irrigation or a mid-summer simulated storm after a drought. Assessment of this trait under conditions of unbroken drought is discouraged because it can result in false scores. (2) The determination of summer dormancy intensity under full summer irrigation is most appropriate for the intensive study of the dynamics of dormancy expression over the entire summer. A simulated mid-summer storm within a drought gives an instantaneous view of dormancy intensity at a specific observation date and may be well adapted to the requirements of plant breeding. These methods are complementary. (3) Summer dormancy intensity can be assessed either by measuring herbage production or by a visual assessment of the level of herbage senescence. (4) An index of summer dormancy based on comparing irrigated summer herbage yield of any cultivar with that of a high, summer-yielding, non-dormant control cultivar was able to provide a reliable score of dormancy intensity. This index functions across a range of cultivars and species of perennial grasses. Further refinement of the index is needed to identify ‘standard’ high and low summer-dormant populations.
Reply:

We thank Dr J. David Spence for his interest in our Review Article, “Imaging Carotid Atherosclerosis Plaque Ulceration: Comparison of Advanced Imaging Modalities and Recent Developments. ” We also thank the Editor of the American Journal of Neuroradiology for giving us the opportunity to respond to his comments. The principles, usage, advantage, and related studies of 3D sonography (US) are discussed in the last paragraph of the “Sonography” section. The application of 3D US in measuring plaque stenosis and volume is mentioned in the same paragraph. An example of comparing 3D and 2D US in depicting carotid ulceration is shown in Fig 4. In the On-line Table, we cite the study by Heliopoulos et al (reference 36 in the article), which demonstrates that the 3D US shows the ulceration more frequently than 2D US and has slightly superior interobserver reproducibility. The purpose of this Review Article was to compare imaging modalities in the evaluation of carotid ulceration. We primarily reviewed studies that compared multiple methods, as summarized in the On-line Table. We thank Dr Spence for bringing to our attention his valuable work with 3D US in imaging ulcerations.
Analysis of Determining Factors of the Public's Risk Acceptance Level in China

ABSTRACT This work will characterize risk acceptance in China, based on the psychometric paradigm, and explore the determining factors that influence the risk acceptable level to the Chinese public. For this purpose, a survey was conducted including 12 hazards, 10 risk attributes (including risk acceptance), and demographic variables. First, the research attempted to explore Nanjing citizens’ average risk acceptable level for 12 hazards in China. Second, intercorrelation analysis and factor analysis of nine risk attributes were performed to obtain the suitable risk perception factors as independent variables. Three risk perception models of acceptance were constructed, which were named “Environmental risk model,” “Daily risk model,” and “Technical risk model,” that explained 59.0–69.6% of variance separately. In general, the variables of Knowledge, Benefit, and Trust were found to be significant in all models, implying that these variables are the main determining factors. However, in the environmental risk model, the variable of effect was also significant, which means the determining factors would change for different types of hazards. These results could help the Chinese government to improve the communication of risks with the public and make effective mitigation policies to improve people's rational judgment on the acceptability of risks.
Physiological and Biochemical Responses to Aluminum Stress in the Root of a Biodiesel Plant Jatropha curcas L.

We investigated J. curcas responses to aluminum stress, histochemically and biochemically. Histochemical stainings were observed to analysis aluminum accumulation, lipid peroxidation and the loss of plasma membrane integrity on the surface and tissue of the root apex. Enzymatic analysis was conducted to measure malate content in leaf, root and malate efflux in the medium. We used M. malabathricum as a comparison for Al-tolerance plant. J. curcas root elongation was inhibited by 0.4 mM AlCl 3 , while M. malabathricum root elongation was inhibited by 0.8 mM AlCl 3 treatment. Inhibition of root elongation has high correlation with Al accumulation in the root apex, which caused lipid degradation and cell death. Generally, malate content in J. curcas leaf and root was higher than that in M. malabathricum . In the contrary malate efflux from the root into the medium was lower. J. curcas root has a different pattern compared to M. malabathricum in malate synthesis and malate secretion when treated with a different Al concentration. We categorized J. curcas acc IP3 as more sensitive to aluminum than M. malabathricum .
Use of an Annular Chamber for Testing Thermal Preference of Westslope Cutthroat Trout and Rainbow Trout

ABSTRACT Remaining populations of westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii iewisi) in western North America are primarily confined to cold headwaters whereas nonnative rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) predominate in warmer, lower elevation stream sections historically occupied by westslope cutthroat trout. We tested whether differing thermal preferences could account for the spatial segregation observed in the field. Thermal preferences of age-1 westslope cutthroat trout and rainbow trout (125 to 150 mm total length) were assessed in the laboratory using a modified annular preference chamber at acclimation temperatures of 10, 12, 14, and 16°C. Final preferred temperature of westslope cutthroat trout (14.9°C) was similar to that of rainbow trout (143°C) when tested in a thermal gradient of 11–17°C. The high degree of overlap in thermal preference indicates the two species have similar thermal niches and a high potential for competition. We suggest several modifications to the annular preference chamber to improve performance in future studies.
New perspectives in German oak silviculture

Apres des decades d'oubli, les chenes (Quercus petraea et Quercus pedunculata) sont maintenant reintroduits en Allemagne a une echelle croissante. Pour la premiere fois, le nombre de chenes plantes dans le Baden-Wurttemberg a atteint le niveau d'il y a 100-200 ans. C'est le resultat combine de facteurs lies a l'ecologie et a l'economie. L'implantation et la gestion des peuplements de chenes impliquent des concepts qui varient considerablement, de meme que leurs couts. De nouvelles perspectives en sylviculture et methodes d'amenagement du chene se sont developpees, a partir de nouveaux resultats de recherches dans le domaine de la technologie du bois, permettant l'utilisation de densites plus faibles a la plantation, de nouveaux developpements dans les equipements forestiers ou dans l'utilisation d'equipements non encore employes en foresterie permettant maintenant d'utiliser une gamme de plants de chene de taille plus elevee sans avoir a effectuer de degagement (.)
Boninia neotethydis sp. nov. (Platyhelminthes: Polycladida: Cotylea)—the first lessepsian flatworm

Based on specimens collected in the Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts of Israel, the first lessepsian flatworm (Boninia neotethydis sp. nov.) is described. The genus Boninia includes cotylean polyclads characterized by the presence of multiple accessory (prostatoid) organs. The three species described are distributed in the western Pacific (B. mirabilis) and in the Caribbean (B. antillarum and B. divae). The new species differ from congenerics in the number and arrangement of the prostatoid organs, and in the number of marginal eyes. Specimens of the new species feed on mussels, and their possible effects on Mediterranean mussel cultures should be monitored.
How Useful Are Aggregate Measures of Systemic Risk?

Following the financial crisis of 2008–2009, a large body of literature has emerged that attempts to quantify and measure systemic risk. In this article, the author focuses on some of the more popular systemic risk indicators from this literature and asks how well they work in the following sense: At the aggregate level, what information do we learn from these systemic risk indicators that is above that which is readily observable in the market? Several popular measures provide very little incremental information beyond that contained in implied volatilities and credit spreads—information that is commonly known to market participants. For some indicators, where neither the cross-sectional mean nor standard deviation contains meaningful incremental information, the author finds that the tail proportion (the cross-sectional proportion of indicators experiencing a tail realization) does contain information that is not already observable in the market.
Red herrings remain in geographical ecology: a reply to Hawkins et al. (2007)

In a recent paper Hawkins et al. (2007) question whether the use of spatially explicit methods such as generalised least squares (GLS) is necessarily better than using simpler non-spatial methods such as ordinary least squares (OLS) for fitting linear models to spatial data. This is consistent with a wider review of the literature which found that 80% of ecological publications analysing spatial data ignore spatiallyexplicit modelling methods (Dormann 2007). Since the autocorrelations of the error term may be arbitrarily close to zero, it cannot be argued that OLS is always substantially worse than GLS, as OLS is the special case of GLS when the correlations are set to zero. However, this should never be used as an excuse to ignore GLS and instead to adopt OLS as the norm for spatial data: doing so may hinder sound inference in geographical ecology. It is the need to model correlation structures correctly that has motivated the substantial bodies of research in statistical methodologies summarised for spatially correlated data by Cressie (1993) and for temporally correlated data by Diggle et al. (1995) and Chatfield (2003). Ignoring spatial autocorrelation is to treat correlated observations as independent, and so is a form of pseudoreplication which has long been discredited in ecology (Hurlbert 1984). In this short response we make three main points: firstly, Hawkins et al. have misunderstood the ‘‘redshift’’ as described by Lennon (2000); secondly, the sub-sampling method they use to reach their conclusions is inappropriate; and thirdly, improved modelling of the covariance structure of the error term allows better statistical inference to be made from spatial datasets.
Lunar tectonics

The lunar lineaments are described and their origin is considered. The components of the lunar grid-system—a system of intersecting lineaments comprised of elongated ridges, joints, crater-chains, and rilles—are described, and methods for producing orthographic charts of the principal global families A, B, C, and D of the grid-system are given. Each family, or system, of lineaments has a well-defined strike and is distinguished from one major regional system of joints (system R1) which is associated with Mare Imbrium The global systems display a strong symmetry about the Moon’s central meridian. Discussion of the origin of system R1 and a similar regional system of joints associated with Mare Humorum leads to the conclusion that these maria are igneous sinks and were not produced by impact. Examples of dip-slip and strike-slip faults are given. General properties of the mutally orthogonal systems A and B are listed and interpreted in terms of a general meridional pressure in the Moon’s crust.
Decreased Expression of 14-3-3σ Is Associated with Advanced Disease in Human Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

Purpose: In this study, we examined the promoter methylation status and expression of 14-3-3σ and evaluated its clinical significance in epithelial ovarian cancer. Experimental Design: Twelve ovarian cancer cell lines; 2 ovarian surface epithelial cell lines; and 8 normal, 8 benign, 12 borderline, and 102 ovarian cancer tissues were examined. Methylation-specific PCR, quantitative reverse transcription-PCR, and immunohistochemistry were used to evaluate methylation status and expression of 14-3-3σ gene and protein. Results: Among the 12 ovarian cancer cell lines, the presence of a methylated band was detected in seven cell lines. Median values of relative 14-3-3σ gene expression in cancers with methylation (3.27) were significantly lower than those without methylation (16.4; P < 0.001). Treatment of 5-aza-2′-deoxycitidine resulted in the demethylation of the promoter CpG islands and reexpression. All of the normal, benign, and borderline tissues were positive for 14-3-3σ protein, and in ovarian cancer tissues, 73.5% (75 of 102) were positive for 14-3-3σ protein and was almost consistent with methylation status. Negative immunoreactivity of 14-3-3σ was significantly correlated with high age and serous histology, high-grade, advanced-stage residual tumor of >2 cm, high serum CA125, high Ki-67 labeling index, and positive p53 immunoreactivity. 14-3-3σ immunoreactivity was significantly associated with overall survival (P = 0.0058). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that 14-3-3σ is inactivated mainly by aberrant DNA methylation and that it may play an important role in the pathogenesis of epithelial ovarian cancer.
Recruitment To Sedentary Marine Populations as Exemplified By the Sand Crab, Emerita Analoga (Decapoda, Hippidae)

An den Stranden zwischen Ensenada (Mexiko) und Sud Oregon (USA) zeigen Adulti von Emerita analoga (Decapoda, Hippidae) ahnliche Abundanz- und Wachstumsmuster. Nordlich und sudlich dieses Gebiets verandern sich diese Muster. Es wird vermutet, das die Mechanismen, mit Hilfe derer die pelagischen Larven zum Strand zuruckkehren, nicht ausschlieslich auf Zufalls-eddies zuruckgefuhrt werden konnen, welche die Larven in einer langsam sich bewegenden Wassermasse zu einer stromaufwarts gelegenen Position zuruckfuhren. Es wird angenommen, das Arten wie Emerita analoga nur an exponierten Kusten mit einem Gegenstrom leben konnen. Die beiden Stromungen wurden die Larven auf- und abwarts entlang der Kuste tragen, aber einige Larven stets an ihre Ausgangsstatte zuruckfuhren. Zwischen Ensenada und Sud Oregon existiert ein Gegenstrom, der Davidson-Strom, und ein ahnlicher Unteroberflachenstrom. Nordlich und sudlich dieser Region scheint die Art in der Lage zu sein, Gebiete von der Gegenstrom-Region her zu besiedeln, aber die Nachkommenschaft dieser peripheren Populationen wird normalerweise nicht in die nachste Generation aufgenommen. Es wird argumentiert, das die Temperatur weniger effektiv ist als die Stromungen in Bezug auf die Begrenzung der Verbreitung kustennaher Faunenelemente mit pelagischen Larven.
Dendrochronology of Black Oak (Quercus velutina Lam.), White Oak (Quercus alba L.), and Shortleaf Pine (Pinus echinata Mill.) in the Central Mississippi Valley

Tree—ring samples (increment cores) from living trees at 61 different forest sites were analyzed by using skeleton plots and several computer routines to determine the effect of climatic influences upon the growth of black oak, white oak, and shortleaf pine. All cores were cross—dated within each species and between species by skeleton plots, and a specific calendar year was assigned to each annual ring. Black oak was easier to cross—date than white oak or pine. Computer—calculated negative mean sensitivity values verified cross—dating by skeleton plots. Comparisons of site chronologies derived from both the skeleton plots and the index routine for each species showed that a number of narrow rings consistently occurred in certain years throughout the Central Mississippi Valley. Within any species the degree of similarity in narrow rings decreased as the distance between sites increased. Major changes in soil types also influenced the number of narrow rings; thus ecological differences may occur within the same species as well as between species. Information about the past history of the stand and its present ecology may be obtained from the increment cores and the ring—width listing routine. Bivariate distribution tables indicated that for each species annual ring widths correlated highest with certain periods of precipitation. Analyses of variance permitted the evaluation of relative similarities and differences of tree—growth response and indicated past stand disturbances as well as the effects of climatic and edaphic influences. Pine has greater tree—to—tree variability on clay soils than on cherty soils. Oaks have more tree—to—tree variability on cherty soils. Analyses of variance also indicated that black oak generally responded more to climatic influences than to other factors of the environment.
Abstract

Leptospira interrogans serovar grippotyphosa in dogs Brown, C. A. , Roberts, A. W. , Miller, M. A. , Davis, D. A. , Brown, S. A. , Bolin, C. A. , Jarecki-Black, J., Greene, C. E. & Miller-Liebl, D. (1996) Journial of the American Veteriniary Medical Association 209, 1265
POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS AND MIGRATION OF SUMMER AND LATE‐SEASON HUMPBACK WHALES (MEGAPTERA NOVAEANGLIAE) IN SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA

A total of 326 humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) were individually identified in southeastern Alaska during five summer seasons (July to September) and four late seasons (November to February) spanning the years 1979 to 1983. Peak numbers of whales were found late in August or early in September. Whales arrived 1–2 wk later in 1982 than in 1981. Whales sighted in both the summer and late seasons of 1981 and 1982 remained about 3.7 mo and one whale remained for at least 4.9 mo. Humpback whales from southeastern Alaska wintered in Hawaiian or Mexican waters, but generally did not travel to other feeding regions. The most rapid migratory transit between Hawaii and southeastern Alaska was 79 d. Based on mark-recapture analyses of the photographic data, we estimate a population of 270–372 whales in the southeastern Alaska feeding herd.
Industrial melanism and peppered moths (Biston betularia (L.))

The spread of melanic forms of the peppered moth (Biston betularia (L.)) over polluted areas of Britain from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, has become widely known and quoted as a classical example of microevolutionary change. Probably the most important factor in the spread (and subsequent decline, following the Clean Air Act) of the melanics has been bird predation on less cryptic individuals, but a range of other factors may also affect the maintenance of allele frequencies at any one place (site selection, dispersion, heterosis, frequency dependent selection, larval hardiness, etc). The development of the “Peppered Moth Story” is described, and suggestions made about needed research.
Generic assignments, strain histories, and properties of pure cultures of cyanobacteria

Summary: On the basis of a comparative study of 178 strains of cyanobacteria, representative of this group of prokaryotes, revised definitions of many genera are proposed. Revisions are designed to permit the generic identification of cultures, often difficult through use of the field-based system of phycological classification. The differential characters proposed are both constant and readily determinable in cultured material. The 22 genera recognized are placed in five sections, each distinguished by a particular pattern of structure and development. Generic descriptions are accompanied by strain histories, brief accounts of strain properties, and illustrations; one or more reference strains are proposed for each genus. The collection on which this analysis was based has been deposited in the American Type Culture Collection, where strains will be listed under the generic designations proposed here.
Vocal Responsiveness to Interfering Sounds By a Frog From The Southern Temperate Forest, Batrachyla leptopus

Interfering sounds from biotic and abiotic origins are likely to shape the responsiveness of sound communicating animals. Among these sources of interference, interactions among acoustically active species have been studied to quite a limited extent. The vocal responses of 20 male frogs Batrachyla leptopus from the temperate austral forest in Chile were tested with conspecific calls and with the calls of two sympatric species: Batrachyla taeniata and Batrachyla antartandica, broadcast at amplitudes of 73, 79, 85, 91 and 97 dB SPL peak. Also, the vocal activity of the subjects during exposure to a 3-min continuous broadband noise presented at 67 dB SPL RMS was monitored. The subjects gave higher responses on average to the conspecific relative to the heterospecific calls, but in most comparisons, these differences did not reach levels of significance. In addition, the vocal activity of males of B. leptopus did not increase in the presence of the continuous broadband noise. The lack of clear preferential responses for conspecific signals contrasts with the sharp selectivities that B. taeniata and B. antartandica have shown for their own calls in previous studies. Such different vocal behavior could be related to the extensive geographic overlap of B. leptopus with the two other species in the temperate austral forest, where mixed choruses of this species with each of the two congeneric taxa have been reported to occur occasionally. The lack of vocal activation in the presence of continuous noise also contrasts with the increased vocal output with which the other two taxa respond to this intrusion and is likely to result from a relatively high spontaneous vocal activity in B. leptopus.
The effects of prescribed fire on soil nematodes in an arid juniper savanna

Prescribed fire produced a landscape with two types of severely burned patches: charred shrub patches and charred patches with tree trunks at the center. Soil nematodes were more abundant in burned and unburned juniper (Juniperus monosperma) tree patches than in yucca-shrub patches. There were no differences in nematode abundance between burned and unburned patches during the late spring and summer samples. Nematode abundance was significantly (p i.e., by loss of tree canopies, litter accumulation, and shrub foliage, which affects soil temperatures and water redistribution.