Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic Structure and Migration in Native and Reintroduced Rocky Mountain Wolf Populations

Gray wolf (Canis lupus) recovery in the Rocky Mountains of the U.S. is proceeding by both natural recolonization and managed reintroduction. We used DNA microsatellite analysis of wolves transplanted from Canada to two reintroduction sites in the U.S. to study population structure in native and reintroduced wolf populations. Gene flow due to migration between regions in Canada is substantial, and all three recovery populations in the U.S. had high genetic variation. The reintroduced founders were moderately genetically divergent from the naturally colonizing U.S. population. These findings corroborate that the reintroduction more than meets generally accepted genetic guidelines. Maintaining this variation, however, will depend on ample reproduction in the first few generations. In the long term genetic variation will best be retained if migration occurs among the recolonizing and the two transplanted populations. Evidence from field observation and genetic studies shows extensive dispersal by wolves, and we conclude that exchange among these groups due to natural dispersal is likely if public tolerance and legal protection are adequate outside lands designated for wolf recovery.
The Performance and Characteristics of Carcass and Breast Meat of Broiler Chickens Fed Diets Containing Flaxseed Meal

The effects of flaxseed meal (FSM) feeding on the performance (weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio), carcass characteristics and pectoral muscles fillets [major (PMJ) and minor (PMN)] quality [shear force, pH and cooking water loss percentage (CWLP)] and colour [redness (a*), lightness (L*) and yellowness (b*)] were evaluated in a factorial design experiment with five graded levels of FSM (0, 20, 40, 60 and 80 g) and sex of broiler chickens from 21 to 39 days (d) of age. The addition of FSM to the diet did not affect the performance and carcass characteristics, but significantly (P<0.05) increased CWLP and reduced pH of the PMJ (80>20=0, and 80<60=40=20=0 g FSM/kg) and PMN (80>40=20=0 g and 80<60=20=0 g FSM/kg), and (P<0.01) increased a* value of the PMJ (80=60>40 g FSM/kg). The male birds had significantly (P<0.01) higher performance, L* value of the PMN and lower a* value of the PMN than females. The breast weight of males fed 20 g FSM/kg was significantly (P<0.05) higher than that of females. However, higher dietary levels of FSM/kg increased breast weight of females when compared with those of males. It was concluded that the addition of up to 80 g FSM/kg to the diet during 21 to 39 d did not affect the performance and carcass characteristics of broiler chickens, and that of 80 g FSM/kg increased CWLP and reduced pH of PMs. Sex of birds influenced the performance and characteristics of PMs.
Do bare-nosed wombat (Vombatus ursinus) mounds influence terrestrial macroinvertebrate assemblages in agricultural riparian zones?

Riparian ecosystems contain a complex mosaic of habitat structure types that can support distinct macroinvertebrate communities. Bare-nosed wombats (Vombatus ursinus) are often an integral component of agricultural riparian systems in south-eastern Australia. In these systems, wombats construct large burrow systems and mounds in the stream banks. Wombat mound structures vary markedly from the surrounding landscape and they may influence macroinvertebrate assemblages. We examined this ecosystem-engineering role of wombats as well as the ecological variability within our agricultural riparian study sites on the possible influence on macroinvertebrate assemblages. There were no detectable effects of wombat mounds on the richness or abundance of macroinvertebrates on the soil surface. At the site level, however, macroinvertebrate assemblages were most influenced by litter depth, upper canopy cover, cattle hoof prints and slope. The ecological variables within the study sites strongly affected macroinvertebrate assemblages. These findings reflect an influence of anthropogenic impact on communities of ground-dwelling invertebrates that have been found in other studies. It is possible that a finer resolution of taxa may highlight a unique pattern of macroinvertebrate use of wombat mounds.
Religion and Politics in America : Faith, Culture, and Strategic Choices

* Introduction 1. Religion and Political Culture in America: The Historical Legacy * The Puritan Temper * Religious Freedom and Pluralism * The Evangelical Dimension * The Populist Dimension of American Religion 2. Christianity and Its Major Branches * The Status of Religion in the United States * The Major Christian Traditions and Politics 3. Judaism, Islam, and Other Expressions of Religious Pluralism * Major Alternative Religions * Separatist Religions and Politics * Other Small Religions * Case Study: Mormons and Jehovahs Witnesses * Political Assessments Further Reading 4. Voting and Religion in American Politics * A Historical Review * Continuity and Change in the Postindustrial Era * Roman Catholics: Bellwether Group * Evangelical Protestants: A Pietistic Revival for the GOP * Mainline Protestants: No Longer Solidly Republican * The Secular Vote: A Growing Democratic Stronghold * Jews, Liberalism, and Democratic Loyalty * African American and Latino Christian 5. The Politics of Organized Religious Groups * The Evolution of National Religious Lobbies * Strategies for Effective Advocacy * The Legislative Process and the Imperative of Compromise * A Model of Religious Group Effectiveness * Mainline Protestant Groups * Roman Catholic Groups * Jewish Groups * Evangelical Protestant Groups 6. Religion and Political Elites * Religion and the Presidency * Religion and Congress * Religion and Other Political Elites * Religion and Cultural Elites 7. Evangelicals in Domestic and International Politics: A Case Study * Evangelical Conservatives and Domestic Politics * New Evangelical Activism in American Foreign Policy * Assessments of Evangelical Success * Implications for Religion and Politics 8. Religious Politics and the Legal System * Judicial Politics * Key Players * Factors for Success * The Politics of Church and State 9. Church and State in the Courts * Religious Free Exercise * The Limits of Free Exercise * The Politics of Religious Establishment 10. Latino and African American Religion and Politics * The Changing Role of Latino Religion * Latinos, Religion, and Politics * African American Religion and Politics: Toward a Broader View * History and Black Political Attitudes * Connections Between Religion and Politics * The Muslim Challenge 11. Gender, Religion, and Politics * Women and Religion in American Life * Women, Religion, and Perspectives on American Politics * Women in the Pews 12. Theories of Religion, Culture, and American Politics * Culture Wars * The Secularization Thesis * Culture Shift Analysis * Civil Religion * Unconventional Partners * Thesis Populism * Market Theory, Religious Pluralism, and Politics * Toward the Future * List of Tables and Boxes * Appendix: Selected Web sites on Religion and Politics
Leicester

Adult health In 2012, 19.6% of adults are classified as obese. The rate of alcohol related harm hospital stays was 717*, worse than the average for England. This represents 1,988 stays per year. The rate of self-harm hospital stays was 137.4*, better than the average for England. This represents 488 stays per year. The rate of smoking related deaths was 293*. This represents 366 deaths per year. Estimated levels of adult physical activity are worse than the England average. Estimated levels of adult excess weight are better than the England average. Rates of sexually transmitted infections and TB are worse than average. The rate of people killed and seriously injured on roads is better than average.
Use of a reduced‐gravity model to evaluate present and past primary productivity in the tropical open ocean

Upwelling predicted by a reduced‐gravity model is compared with remotely sensed primary productivity data through the tropical Atlantic and Pacific. The model upper layer thickness, an indicator of vertical motion, is correlated with primary productivity. We suggest that the Atlantic basin is more efficient than the Pacific in its production for the same degree of upwelling. This is a characteristic of the tropical Pacific ecological provinces being featured by low salinity in the western tropics and high nutrient, but low chlorophyll in the eastern equatorial region. A comprehensive relationship between model upper layer thickness and primary productivity is established through the tropical basins, with emphasis on the equatorial strip. Our work has implications for the application of reduced‐gravity models to estimate productivity in palaeocean studies.
LAND-MOLLUSC FOREST COMMUNITIES ALONG AN ALTITUDINAL TRANSECT IN NORTHERN ITALY

While central and northern European land-mollusc forest communities have received considerable research effort, southern Europe has enjoyed much less attention. Despite the extent of Italian forests in terms of altitude and latitude, there has been only one previous quantitative study of their molluscan faunas. This paper describes the molluscan communities of six forest habitats in northern Italy along an altitudinal transect. Species richness had its highest values at low elevations, especially in maritime woodland and in riverine poplar woodland. Species abundance decreased from lowland to montane habitats, possibly as a consequence of a transition from eutrophic to oligotrophic habitats and from calcareous to acidic soils. Compared with the central and northern European forests, the Italian forests were poorer as far as species richness is concerned, but showed greater diversity among locations as the Jaccard presence/absence similarity index among habitats is equal or lower than 0.5. Considering abundances, all molluscan communities were significantly different in pairwise comparisons, with the single exception of the montane mixed-deciduous and beech forests. The low faunal similarity among sites and the high percentage of species found in only one habitat support the need for a network of diverse protected areas to preserve land-mollusc biodiversity.
Clutch predation in great tinamous Tinamus major and implications for the evolution of egg color

Egg camouflage has been found to reduce predation in several ground-nesting species. Therefore, the evolution of eggs that lack camouflage in ground nesting birds is puzzling. Even though clutch predation in the tropics is high, tinamous are the only tropical ground-nesting birds that do not build a nest and do not lay cryptic eggs. I studied predation of great tinamou clutches in a lowland tropical forest and found that risk of predation was higher during incubation when the eggs are covered by the parent, than during laying when they are exposed, suggesting that predators primarily use cues from the incubating males to locate the clutch and not cues from the eggs. Clutch size had no effect on predation rate, even though larger clutches are more conspicuous to a human observer. Predation by visual cues is likely reduced during incubation by the camouflaged plumage and high nest attendance of males. If most predators use cues from the incubating male and not the eggs to locate clutches, then conspicuous egg color may have evolved in great tinamous as an intra-specific signal. I evaluate hypotheses that may explain the maintenance of conspicuous egg color in tinamous.
Phenotypic Evolution in Fossil Species: Pattern and Process

Since Darwin, scientists have looked to the fossil record with the hope of using it to document how the phenotypes of species change over substantial periods of time. How best to interpret this record has been controversial, but empirical and methodological advances have resolved at least two issues about pattern: (a) directional transformations are seldom sustained over geological timescales, and (b) net rates of morphological change in fossil species are usually quite slow. Considerable uncertainty remains, however, about the processes responsible for these patterns, but most fruitful explanations use the framework of adaptive landscapes to consider the role of natural selection and other processes. An additional, unresolved issue is the claim that most phenotypic change is associated with speciation. A variety of methods, using data from both fossil and extant species, have supported such a link, at least in some clades and traits, but its prevalence and underlying mechanism remain unresolved.
Molecular cloning, expression analysis and developmental changes in ovarian follicles of goose 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1

The enzyme 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/isomerase1 (3βHSD1) can catalyse the conversion of pregnenolone to progesterone in the 4-3-ketosteroid metabolic pathway. The aim of the present study was to clone 3βHSD1 and to determine whether this enzyme in the follicular wall has an effect on yolk progesterone in geese (Anser cygnoides). A putative coding sequence of 3βHSD1, which was 1134 nucleotides in length, was successfully obtained by using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR). A comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence with chicken, quail, zebra finch, cattle, horse, pig, human and mouse 3βHSD1 showed 89.7%, 88.4%, 87.3%, 55.6%, 54.0%, 53.5%, 55.3% and 52.9% similarity, respectively. The detection of 3βHSD1 mRNA levels in several tissues by quantitative real-time PCR showed that the highest level of 3βHSD1 was in the adrenal gland, followed by the ovary, which indicated that the gene we obtained was the adrenal gland/gonad-specific one. We measured the level of 3βHSD1 mRNA in the follicular wall and determined the concentration of progesterone in the yolk of these ovarian follicles; the concentration of progesterone in the yolk had a pattern of expression similar to that of 3βHSD1 in the follicular wall during follicular development. This result suggests that the expression of 3βHSD1 in the follicular wall may be a main factor that contributes to the accumulation of yolk progesterone.
Does Breeding System Contribute to Rarity of Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis)?

Abstract Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis L.) is an herbaceous perennial species that is becoming more rare within its range. Hydrastis canadensis populations are highly isolated and pollen flow between these populations may be restricted. I examined the breeding system of H. canadensis to determine if it may be limiting seed set due to increasing isolation of individuals and populations from one another. I tested fruit set in treatments designed to detect the presence of apomixis, passive autogamy, active autogamy, short distance outcrossing and long distance outcrossing. No fruit set occurred in flowers that were emasculated and bagged, suggesting the species is incapable of apomixis. However, low rates of fruit set were found in all other treatments, suggesting a mixed mating system in which both selfing and outcrossing may occur. Pollen transfer between highly isolated populations can result in fruit set, as can within-population pollen transfer. The breeding system type appears unlikely to be a major factor limiting the distribution or abundance of H. canadensis. However, overall low rates of fruit set may be important demographically.
Credibility of an IPM Approach for Locust and Grasshopper Control: The Australian Example*

Abstract In Australia, locusts are controlled using an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) system that aims to find and rapidly treat most gregarious locust populations. Many outbreaks have significant breeding in the arid interior of Australia during summer and treatments begin in the interior, to keep locust invasions of the agricultural zone to manageable levels. This preventive control program relies on IPM: moderately accurate forecasting and rapid response survey, followed by treatments of bands and swarms with a range of proven readily available products. IPM begins with a Decision Support System that uses data on weather and previous locust distributions to model locust development and possible migrations, so as to provide moderately accurate forecasts as to when and where locusts are likely to be present. When locusts are reported or forecast as likely to be in a region, surveys are conducted to locate any infestations and if bands or swarms are found, they are rapidly treated using a variety of techniques. Bands are commonly visible from an aircraft flying overhead and when bands are seen, the areas containing bands are normally treated using “barrier” treatments of fipronil, where synthetic insecticide is applied every few hundred meters. Swarms are located by helicopter and sprayed, using fast-acting organophosphorous compounds like fenitrothion. But an increasingly important part of IPM in Australia is having an environmentally friendly option. Locusts can then be treated even if they are found where synthetic insecticides cannot be used such as near waterways, where there are rare and endangered species, or on organically managed properties. It was the switch to produce organic beef for Japan by a number of properties in locust breeding areas in the interior that was an initial driver for the development of an alternative to synthetic pesticides for locust control in Australia. The result of an intensive research and development program was the mycopesticide Green Guard, which has as its active ingredient the FI-985 isolate of the fungus Metarhizium anisoplae var.acridum. Green Guard has played an important part in the IPM of locusts and grasshoppers in Australia, including large-scale control operations, with more than 100,000 ha treated since operational use began in 2000. However, while Green Guard plays an important part in the IPM of locusts and grasshoppers, it still accounts for only about 10% of the area treated. Green Guard costs more than synthetic insecticides and locust and grasshopper mortality is delayed when temperatures are mild. An additional factor limiting its use is a lack of biological control products for most other pests, so that synthetic insecticides are still used in most cropping systems, resulting in residues being present in most products and in most environments. As restrictions on synthetic pesticides generally increase and biological alternatives become more available, it is expected that Green Guard use should expand to become an increasingly important component of locust and grasshopper IPM.
Dissolved organic matter and persistence of the invasive zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) under low food conditions

To determine whether the ability of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) to absorb and metabolize a variety of dissolved organic compounds allows them to persist when food levels are too low to sustain them, we compared how quickly starving mussels lost weight when kept in water with and without natural dissolved organic matter (DOM). Mussels fed a starvation ration of algae were maintained either in filtered Hudson River water or in ultraviolet‐treated deionized water with major ions added at concentrations equivalent to those in the Hudson. Both types of water were continually filtered. Zebra mussels lost weight two‐ to fivefold faster in the absence of natural DOM, consistent with the idea that the uptake of DOM provides a substantial metabolic subsidy to these organisms. Ingestion of bacteria could not account for this effect. We calculate that the DOM subsidy amounted to more than half of the zebra mussel respiratory requirement under the experimental conditions, which is enough to double the length of time that zebra mussels can survive in the complete absence of particulate food. The effect of DOM on zebra mussel metabolism is 1.5‐ to fourfold larger than that predicted solely from estimates of amino and fatty acid uptake in the Hudson River. Because Hudson River DOM is largely allochthonous in origin, this subsidy could give zebra mussels a distinct advantage over other organisms competing for phytoplankton resources. We postulate that zebra mussels will have the largest effects on freshwater ecosystems that receive substantial inputs of organic matter from the surrounding watershed.
Environmental Influences on Juvenile Fish Abundances in a River-Dominated Coastal System

Abstract We investigated the influence of climatic and environmental factors on interannual variations in juvenile abundances of marine fishes in a river-dominated coastal system of the north-central Gulf of Mexico, where an elevated primary productivity sustains fisheries of high economic importance. Fish were collected monthly with an otter trawl at three stations near Mobile Bay from 1982 to 2007. Fish sizes were used to isolate juvenile stages within the data set, and monthly patterns in juvenile fish abundance and size were then used to identify seasonal peaks for each species. The average numbers of juvenile fish collected during these seasonal peaks in each year were used as indices of annual juvenile abundances and were related to corresponding seasonal averages of selected environmental factors via a combination of principal components analysis and co-inertia analysis. Factors contributing the most to explain interannual variations in juvenile fish abundances were river discharge and water temperature during early spring—early summer, wind speed and North Atlantic Oscillation index during late fall—winter, and atmospheric pressure and wind speed during summer—fall. For example, juvenile abundances of southern kingfish Menticirrhus americanus during summer—fall were positively associated with atmospheric pressure and negatively associated with wind speed during this period. Southern kingfish juvenile abundances during late fall—winter were also negatively associated with wind speed during the same period and were positively associated with river discharge during early spring—early summer. Juvenile abundances of the Atlantic croaker Micropogonias undulatus during early spring—early summer were negatively associated with river discharge and North Atlantic Oscillation during late fall—winter. Overall, the importance of river discharge for many of the species examined emphasizes the major role of watershed processes for marine fisheries production in coastal waters of the north-central Gulf of Mexico.
Amplification of bacterial DNA bound on clay minerals by the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique

Abstract Chromosomal DNA from Bacillus subtilis, bound on the clay minerals, montmorillonite (Wyoming (W) and Apache County (Ap)) and kaolinite (K), was subjected to the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique. DNA bound on the clays was not amplified with 0.625, 1.875, 6.25, and 12.5 U of Taq DNA polymerase, but amplification occurred when the clay-DNA complexes were diluted 10- and 20-fold or when 21 U of Taq DNA polymerase was added. DNA desorbed from the Ap-DNA and K-DNA equilibrium complexes was amplified with 0.625 U of Taq DNA polymerase, whereas amplification of DNA desorbed from the W-DNA complex occurred only after a 10-fold dilution or when 1.875 U of Taq DNA polymerase was used. These observations indicate that clay minerals differentially affect the amplification process, probably by inhibiting the activity of Taq DNA polymerase.