Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mosquitoes in Malta: Preliminary entomological investigation and risk assessment for vector-borne diseases (Diptera: Culicidae)

At the request of Malta’s Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Unit (IDCU), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) organized an expert mission in Malta in 2009 to provide support for a vector-borne disease (VBD) risk assessment. As these diseases are clearly related to the presence of competent and efficient vectors, and as little information was available on the local mosquito fauna (Diptera: Culicidae), a field study was implemented during the mission. The aim was to determine the presence and relative abundance of potential vectors, and to assess the risk of transmission of mosquito-borne diseases. From April 6th to May 1st, 2009, a total of 114 among 513 investigated putative larval habitat units contained mosquito immature stages. Artificial habitats and coastal saltwater rock pools predominated among the larval habitats. Also, 1,150 female mosquitoes were caught with dry-ice baited light traps. Seven species among the nine known to occur in Malta at the time of the study were observed and Culex theileri is reported here for the first time. The most commonly encountered species were Culiseta longiareolata and Culex pipiens. Culex hortensis was only found on the island of Gozo. The mosquitoes of the Mariae complex have been identified in the past as Aedes zammitii but all except four of the specimens collected showed morphological characters corresponding to Aedes mariae. Neither Anopheles spp. nor Aedes albopictus were found despite the investigation of suitable larval habitats and the use of CO2-baited light traps and a few ovitraps. However, these species are known to be more abundant during the summer months and further investigations are needed to confirm their absence or their presence and distribution on the islands. The mosquito-related risk of disease for humans in Malta is discussed and West Nile fever appears to be the most probable mosquito-borne disease that could appear in Malta. The eventual finding of Aedes albopictus after this study was completed further strengthens the need to survey both chikungunya and dengue infections.
Conséquences du stress maternel pendant la gestation sur l'immunité et la santé des nouveau-nés en élevage

EnglishThe rate of mortality before weaning is high in farm mammals. In France, it varies between 11 and 14% depending on the species (foals, kids, labs, piglets, calves), but it can be lower than 5% or exceed 20% in some farms. Approximately half of the mortality occurs during the 48 first hours after birth. Gestating females have to face numerous environmental stressors, including inappropriate housing conditions, which also question industrial farming acceptability. The present review synthesizes data from the scientific literature aiming at determining if stress in gestating females can impair health and survival of their offspring. It mainly focuses on pigs and ruminants and shows that prenatal stress might act through mechanisms related to alterations in maternal behaviour, foetal development and acquisition of the neonate passive and active immunity. francaisLa mortalite des jeunes avant le sevrage est elevee chez les mammiferes de rente. En France, elle varie de 11 a 14% en moyenne selon les especes (poulains, chevreaux, agneux, procelets, veaux), mais peut etre inferieurs a 5% ou superieure a 20% dans certains elevages. Environ la moitie de cette mortalite survient pendant les 48 premieres heures suivant la naissance. Les femelles gestantes sont exposees a de nombreux facteurs de stress, dont des conditions de logement inadaptees, qui remettent egalement en question l'acceptabilite de l'elevage industriel. Cette synthese presente les resultats de la litterature scientifique visant a determiner si le stress des femelles gestantes peut affecter ulterieurement la sante et la survie de leur progeniture. Elle porte essentiellement sur les porcs et les ruminants et montre que l'impact du stress prenatal pourrait passer a la fois par des mecanismes lies a une alteration du comportement maternel, du developpment foetal et de l'acquisition par le nouveau-ne de l'immunite passive puis de son immunite propre.
Is citizen science an open science in the case of biodiversity observations

1. There is a high demand for biodiversity observation data to inform conservation and environmental policy, and citizen scientists generate the vast majority of terrestrial biodiversity observations. As this work is voluntary, many people assume that these data are openly available for use in conservation and scientific research. 2. Here, the openness of biodiversity observation data that are contributed to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility is examined by the data provider. Contrary to what many people assume, data sets from volunteers are among the most restrictive in how they can be used. 3. Policy implications. The assumption that voluntary data collection leads to data sharing does not recognize the wishes and motivations of those who collect data, nor does it respect the crucial contributions of these data to long‐term monitoring of biodiversity trends. To improve data openness, citizen scientists should be recognized in ways that correspond with their motivations. Furthermore, organizations that manage these data should make their data sharing policies open and explicit.
Chromosome Numbers and a Sex Chromosome of Laminaria yendoana Miyabe (Phaeophyta)

Figs. 1-7. Nuclear divisions in the gametophytes and the young sporophytes of Laminaria yendoana Miyabe. Scale=10ƒÊm. 1, Metaphase chromosomes in the male gametophyte. 2 and 3, Metaphase chromosomes in the female gametophytes. Arrow showing one V-shaped sex chromosome in each nucleus. 3', Drawing of Fig. 3. 4-6, Metaphase with a sex chromosome (arrows) in the haploid nuclei of one(Figs. 4 and 4'), two(Fig. 5), and threecelled (Fig. 6) sporophytes. 4', Drawing of Fig. 4. 7, Metaphase with a sex chromosome (arrow) in diploid nucleus of three-or four-celled sporophyte. The present paper reports the chromosome numbers together with a large sex chromosome in the female
Question Mark Polygonia interrogationis (Fabricius) (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Nymphalinae) 1

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other UF/IFAS Extension publications, contact your county’s UF/IFAS Extension office.
PROTEOMIC ANALYSIS OF A GENETICALLY MODIFIED MAIZE FLOUR CARRYING CRY1AB GENE AND COMPARISON TO THE CORRESPONDING WILD-TYPE

Protein expression in a maize hybrid flour (hereafter called WT) and its corresponding transgenic version resistant to European corn borer (hereafter called BT and carrying a gene encoding for the Bacillus thuringiensis insecticidal protein Cry1Ab) has been stud- ied by means of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis cou- pled with mass spectrometry. This comparison has been chosen as a model to verify proteomics capability in de- tecting unexpected differences between near-isogenic lines (differing in the ideal case only for the presence of the transgenic protein). Some unpredictable differences were detected: i) glucose and ribitol dehydrogenase spot was unique of BT maize; ii) endochitinase A spot was unique of WT maize; iii) triosephosphate isomerase 1 and one spot of globulin-1 S were overexpressed while cy- tosolic 3-phosphoglycerate kinase and one spot of aldose reductase were down-regulated in BT maize with respect to WT. These results outline the potential of the new non- targeted "-omics" technologies (in particular proteomics) in the detection of unexpected, unintended and unwant- ed variations in Genetically Modified (GM) versus non-GM food comparison and suggest the possible employment of these technologies in substantial equivalence evaluation. Moreover, a reference map for maize flour was built: forty spots, corresponding to twenty-five different proteins, were successfully identified.
10 Functional Properties of Bioactive Peptides Derived From Meat Proteins

10.1 Overview of Bioactive Peptides Derived From Food Proteins 246 10.1. 1 ACE Inhibitory and Antihypertensive Peptides 247 10.1. 2 Opioid Peptides 249 10.1. 3 Immunomodulating Peptides 250 10.1. 4 Antimicrobial Peptides 251 10.1. 5 Prebiotic Peptides 251 10.1. 6 Mineral-Binding Peptides 252 10.1. 7 Antithrombotic Peptides 252 10.1. 8 Hypocholesterolemic Peptides 252 10.1. 9 Antioxidative Peptides 253 10.2 Generation of Peptides From Meat Proteins 253 10.2. 1 Aging of Meats 253 10.2. 2 Fermented Meats 254 10.2. 3 Enzymatic Treatment 254 10.2. 4 Identification of Peptides 255 10.3 Antihypertensive Peptides Derived From Meat Proteins 256 10.3. 1 ACE Inhibitory Peptides From Meat Proteins 256 10.3. 2 Antihypertensive Activity of ACE Inhibitory Peptides 259 10.3. 3 Structure–Activity Relationships 259 10.4 Promising Bioactive Peptides From Meat Proteins 260 10.4. 1 Opioid Peptides 260 10.4. 2 Antioxidative Peptides 261 10.4. 3 Peptides With Organoleptic Properties 262 10.5 Conclusions and Future Prospects 262 References 264 DK3813_C010. fm Page 245 Friday, February 17, 2006 9:20 AM
Bioactive Lignans: A Survey Report on their Chemical Structures?

Lignans are polyphenols spread in a wide variety of plant-based foods, including seeds, whole grains, legumes, fruit, and vegetables. When consumed, lignan precursors are converted to the enterolignans, enterodiol and enterolactone, by bacteria that normally colonize the human intestine. Lignans have attracted considerable attention due to their pharmacological and biological activities. This review article is a survey on the molecular structure of about 276 new naturally occurring lignans obtained from different plant families. We classified seven main types according to their structural features, and provided a number of review reports published recently about lignans. A tabular compilation of the molecular structures of known lignans is presented at the end of this survey report. A total of 111 references were considered for this survey report.
Assessing potential impacts of sugarcane production on water resources: A case study in Brazil

Sustainability has been considered essential for the future consumption of biofuels in large scale and, thus, assessing the impacts on water resources is one of the priorities. The aim of this study is to assess the potential impacts of sugarcane expansion both on the quality and on the quantity of water resources, but using a publicly available database and well‐established statistic procedures. The case studies were defined in São Paulo state, where the bulk of sugarcane production in Brazil is, and more specifically three regions where significant expansion recently occurred: Palmares Paulista, Pontal, and Ribeirão Preto. Time series of streamflows and precipitations (1974–2011) and water quality parameters (1989–2011) were evaluated using non‐parametric tests for detecting trends and abrupt changes. Quality parameters analyzed were concentrations of potassium, total phosphorus, nitrite, nitrate, ammoniacal nitrogen, total solids, dissolved oxygen, and biochemical oxygen demand. Sugarcane cropping data were correlated with streamflows and water quality parameters. Water quality parameters were analyzed vis‐à‐vis sugarcane production and population growth. Significant impacts due to sugarcane cropping were detected only in the case of the smallest basin. In the three studied regions a significant increasing trend of nitrogen and biochemical oxygen demand was observed, but these results can be explained either by sugarcane–ethanol production or by the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents without appropriate treatment. Based on data availability it was not possible to rigorously determine the contribution of large‐scale production of sugarcane cropping to both the quantity and the quality of water resources. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Comparison of survival rates between populations of the White Stork Ciconia ciconia in Central Europe

has been stronger in the western part of its European breeding range than in the eastern. Using recent developments of capture-recapture methods to estimate survival rates, including in particular a study of relationships with environmental variables and a comparison between populations, this paper examines changes in survival rates of some European populations of the White Stork. Survival rates of all populations wintering in the Sahelian zone were positively linked to the amount of rainfall in their wintering area. However, the survival rate of the population wintering in East Africa was not significantly related to the amount of rainfall there. No significant effect of the amount of rainfall in the breeding area on survival rate was observed. Differences in survival rates were observed within western populations and between the western and eastern populations. An effect of age was only significant in the Alsacian population. No significant difference in survival rates was found between male and female storks.
Molecular markers : a continuously growing biotechnology area to help citrus improvement

Introduction. Afin d'appliquer une selection assistee par marqueurs a des programmes d'amelioration, les diverses applications de la technique des marqueurs moleculaires a l'etude des ressources genetiques des agrumes et a celle de la resistance au virus de la tristeza des agrumes (CTV) ont ete repertoriees. Ressources genetiques des agrumes. La collection d'agrumes d'IVIA (Valence, Espagne) a ete criblee a partir de l'utilisation de six systemes isoenzymatiques. Un large spectre de structures heterozygotes a ete trouve. Deux groupes principaux ont ete clairement definis au sein du genre de Citrus: le groupe des orange-mandarine et celui des lime-citron-cedrat-pamplemousse. Les differences genetiques entre especes et genres sont en general importantes, ce qui suggere que l'adaptation a joue un role capital lors de l'evolution de la sous-famille des oranges. Resistance au CTV. Il devient urgent d'elargir la base genetique des porte-greffes resistants au CTV, par developpement de programmes d'amelioration a partir de genotypes resistants. Une premiere etape a donc consiste a trouver des marqueurs moleculaires permettant d'eliminer, sans trop d'erreurs, au sein de vastes descendances, les genotypes sensibles au CTV. La resistance au CTV serait controlee au moins par deux loci, Ctr and Ctm. Utilisation des ressources genetiques des agrumes pour chercher de nouveaux genotypes resistant au CTV. Afin de trouver de nouveaux genotypes resistant au CTV, deux strategies de recherches presentees dans le document ont ete evaluees; seule l'une d'elles a donne des resultats satisfaisants. Perspectives et remarques. La rapide progression des biotechnologies oblige les selectionneurs d'agrumes a prendre en compte ces techniques pour la definition de programmes d'amelioration plus performants.
Four new species of Amphiglossus from Madagascar (Squamata: Scincidae)

Four new species of Madagascan skinks (Amphiglossus) are described from rainforest localities surveyed in the east, southeast, and northwest between 1988 and 1991. Most of these species were collected using pitfall traps with drift fences. Amphiglossus mandokava was collected at Manongarivo (northwest), A. minutus at Manongarivo (northwest) and Ambatovaky (east), A. anosyensis from the Anosy Mountains (southeast), and the fourth species, A. punctatus, from several localities from the eastern escarpment (southeast and east). Amphiglossus mandokava may be another semi-aquatic skink, like A. waterloti and A. astrolabi. Amphiglossus punctatus is the first member of the genus known to be viviparous.
Variation in booming among great bitterns Botaurus stellaris in the Camargue, France

We address the potential of booming in Great Bitterns as an indicator of male condition through a seasonal analysis of 5299 boom trains recorded from early Mar through mid Jul 2000 in ten reedbed sites in the Camargue, France. Boom train length peaked in May, averaging 3.6 and 4.7 booms at sites with single and multiple Great Bitterns, respectively. Overall, 21.6% of the 24 371 booms recorded were classified as incomplete, failed booms. These 'poor' booms occurred predominantly at the beginning of the season (Mar). Proportion of poor booms was similar at sites with single and multiple Great Bitterns, but their position in the boom train differed. Isolated bit' terns most often produced poor booms at the start of boom trains, whereas Great Bitterns from large reedbeds did so more commonly at the end of a long boom train. These results suggest that male Great Bitterns try to produce the longest possible boom train without emitting poor booms. Given the cost of booming, boom train length is likely to reflect body condition of males. This finding has interesting conservation implications for the Great Bittern, which is a vulnerable species in Europe.
Population‐level variation in senescence suggests an important role for temperature in an endangered mollusc

Age-related declines in survival and function (senescence) were thought not to exist in wild populations, as organisms, and particularly in invertebrates, do not live long enough. While recent evidence has demonstrated that senescence is both common and measurable even in wild populations under field conditions, there are still organisms that are thought to exhibit ‘negligible senescence’. We explore variation in rates and patterns of senescence in the biogerontological model organism, the freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera, across five populations, which differ in their age profile. In particular, we tested the theory of negligible senescence using time-at-death records for 1091 specimens of M. margaritifera. There is clear evidence of senescence in all populations, as indicated by an increase in mortality with age, but the nature of the relationship varies subtly between populations. We find strong evidence of a mortality plateau at later ages in some populations, but this is unequivocally absent from others. We then demonstrate that the temporal scaling of the rates of senescence between five populations of M. margaritifera can be explained by the variation in the thermal environment of the population. Hence, climate change may pose a threat to the demography of this long-lived, endangered species, and a greater understanding of the relationship between river temperature and population structure will be essential to secure the species against global temperature increases. Our findings demonstrate that useful insights can be drawn from a non-invasive monitoring method to derive demographic data, and we suggest a wide-scale application of this method to monitor populations across the whole latitudinal (and, hence, thermal) range of the species.
Incidencias del buceo recreativo sobre los arrecifes coralinos en Cayo Coco, Cuba

Los arrecifes coralinos aportan incalculables beneficios al hombre, a pesar de ello son afectados por actividades humanas. Dentro de dichas actividades estan las asociadas al turismo; como el buceo recreativo. Este trabajo se realizo para conocer las posibles incidencias que el buceo recreativo tuvo sobre los arrecifes coralinos en Cayo Coco. Con este fin, se realizaron encuestas a 160 buceadores y se monitorearon los contactos que estos tuvieron sobre los organismos del arrecife durante el buceo libre (3 m de profundidad) y el buceo autonomo (3 m, 15 m y 24 m de profundidad). Las encuestas sugirieron que el 81% de los buceadores conocian que los arrecifes son un ecosistema amenazado por las actividades humanas. Sin embargo, demostraron que el conocimiento sobre sus caracteristicas particulares es muy limitado. Dentro de los organismos del arrecife, los octocorales fueron los que mayor numero de contactos recibieron por parte de los buceadores. A los 15 m de profundidad se registraron como promedio hasta 28 contactos por buceador, en diez minutos. Similar resultado fue registrado a los 3 m, profundidad donde se realizo el buceo autonomo de iniciacion. En menor medida los octocorales fueron afectados durante el buceo libre (3 m) y a los 24 m de profundidad. Dichos resultados demostraron la necesidad de implementar un programa de capacitacion dirigido a los trabajadores de la empresa nautica de Cayo Coco, mediante el cual se formen agentes de proteccion del medio ambiente marino, promotores de una etica ambiental
Evolution "for the Good of the Group The process known as group selection was once accepted unthinkingly, then was widely discredited; it's time for a more discriminating assessment

Is evolution a team sport, or is the contest f r survival played out strictly between individuals? There's no question that natural selection acts on individual organisms: Those with favorable traits are more likely to pass along their genes to the next genera tion. But perhaps similar processes could operate at other levels of the bio logical hierarchy. In this way natural selection could perpetuate traits that are favorable not to an individual but to a social unit such as a flock or a col ony, or to an entire species, or even to an ecosystem made up of many spe cies. The underlying question is: Can biological traits evolve "for the good of the group"? Many early biologists accepted the idea of group selection without think ing very critically about it. For exam ple, herds of grazing animals might be described as evolving to conserve their food supply over the long term. Herds
La facilitación como un mecanismo que incrementa la diversidad vegetal en ambientes extremos

Negative interactions among plants are considered the most important factors determining the shape, structure and dynamics of plant communities, and because of this viewpoint, much research has been devoted to understanding the nature of competitive interactions among plants. However, the result of multiple studies in the last two decades had shown that positive interaction could also play an important role determining the structure and function of terrestrial ecosystems. Facilitation is a type of nontrophic positive interaction that occurs between physiologically independent individuals and is mediated through changes in the abiotic environment or through other organisms. Most of the research in the field of facilitation in the last twenty years has been developed from the stress gradient hypothesis (SGH). Facilitation may act directly or indirectly through different mechanisms. The results of multiple investigations indicate that facilitation can increase the diversity of plant species in harsh environments, where facilitator species can mitigate extreme conditions and benefit other species. Still, few studies have quantified the number of species that are added to a community because facilitation and the challenge is to design experiments and studies to quantify the relative importance of the provision for the maintenance of biodiversity in extreme environments.
Nutritional value of seaweeds

In the Far East and Pacific, there has been a long tradition of consuming seaweeds as sea vegetables, while in Western countries the principal use of seaweeds has been as source of phycocolloids (alginate, carrageenan and agar), thickening and gelling agents for various industrial applications, including uses in foods. In addition, seaweeds constitute an interesting source of compounds with health protective effects. This paper is a short review on the biochemical composition and the nutritional value of seaweeds.