Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
189 SMALL MOLECULE INHIBITORS PD0325901 AND CHIR99021 CAUSE REDUCED EXPRESSION OF PLURIPOTENCY GENES IN PUTATIVE PORCINE INDUCED PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS

Small molecule inhibitors acting on the MEK and Wnt signalling pathways (PD0325901 and CHIR99021, respectively) have been used successfully for the maintenance of murine and rat pluripotent stem cells in the in vitro culture. The effects of these compounds in other species have not been conclusively determined, and some reports suggest that they may actually cause loss of pluripotency in human embryonic stem cells and decrease of OCT4 expression levels in porcine induced pluripotent stem cells (piPSC). In our experiments, putative piPSC lines derived from transgenic porcine fetal fibroblasts (pFF) and adipose mesenchymal stem cells (pAMSC) that harbor the OCT4-EGFP reporter construct were maintained in piPSC culture medium [DMEM supplemented with 10% Knockout Serum Replacement (Life Technologies, Carlsbad, CA, USA), 10% fetal bovine serum, nonessential amino acids, L-glutamine, penicillin-streptomycin, and 1000 U mL–1 murine leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF)], with or without addition of 1 μM PD0325901 and 3 μM CHIR99021. After five passages in the two experimental culture conditions, three pFF-derived putative piPSC lines were evaluated morphologically and the expression of various pluripotency genes was analysed by real-time quantitative PCR. The results showed decrease of OCT4-EGFP expression and loss of compact colony morphology of the cells cultured in the presence of PD0325901 and CHIR99021. Moreover, the transcriptional expression levels of OCT4, SOX2, NANOG, REX1, UTF1, and TDH were reduced by 12-, 9-, 10-, 3-, 5-, and 20-fold, respectively, compared with the cells cultured without these inhibitors. When putative piPSC derived from pAMSC were cultured in medium supplemented with small molecule inhibitors, the OCT4-EGFP expression was completely lost within a few days. The cells also lost their iPSC-like colony morphology and were further propagated as single, mesenchymal-like cells. The same effects were observed when the cells were cultured with CHIR99021 alone, whereas there were no such changes when we used only PD0325901. This suggests that, similarly to human embryonic stem cells (ESC), the activation of the Wnt pathway in pAMSC-derived iPSC may lead to differentiation in these cells. The effects of the CHIR99021 alone on the pFF-derived piPSC-like cells are still to be determined. In conclusion, the results of our preliminary investigations call into question the effectiveness of PD0325901 and CHIR99021 in the maintenance of piPSC in culture.
The Greenhouse Effect and Nature ReservesGlobal warming would diminish biological diversity by causing extinctions among reserve species

Global warming would diminish biological diversity by causing extinctions among reserve species. Patterns of climatic change are discussed, including global patterns of surface temperature increase, as predicted by the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and global changes in moisture patterns. The concept of biological reserves (essentially the same concept as biological refugia) is discussed, and the effect of climatic changes on reserves is discussed. The types of biological communities particularly at risk due to climatic changes are identified. 67 references, 3 figures.
Sphagnum establishment and expansion in black spruce (Picea mariana) boreal forests

Boreal forest bryophyte communities are made up of distinct colonies of feathermosses that cover the forest floor. In some black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) boreal forests, Sphagnum spp. establish colonies on the forest floor 30–40 years after the feathermosses, and ultimately expand to dominate the community. The mechanisms that permit the Sphagnum spp. to establish and expand are unknown. The objectives of this study were to examine the establishment and expansion substrates of Sphagnum spp. , and the conditions correlated with colony expansion. Forty colonies, in six stands, of Sphagnum capillifolium (Ehrh.) Hedw. were dissected to determine their substrates, and the environmental conditions in which all colonies present were growing were measured. Coarse woody debris was the dominant establishment and early expansion substrate for Sphagnum capillifolium colonies. With age as the control factor, large colonies showed a significant partial correlation with canopy openness, and there were fewer ind.
Determining background levels and defining outbreaks of crustose coralline algae disease on the Great Barrier Reef

Crustose coralline algae (CCA) play a vital role in coral-reef ecosystems and, like other marine organisms, they are vulnerable to disease. Between 2006 and 2011, incidence of two types of CCA disease was systematically recorded over a large portion of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). The two CCA diseases that were recorded, coralline lethal orange disease and coralline white-band syndrome, were ubiquitous on the GBR, but generally at low levels comparable to those found on reefs in other parts of the Indo-Pacific. The present broad-scale study of the distribution and abundance of CCA disease on the GBR provides information on background levels of these diseases and allows regional thresholds for outbreaks to be defined. This will allow managers and researchers to focus attention on areas of high incidence of CCA disease to increase our understanding of causes and the environmental impacts of CCA disease at a time when coral reefs are under growing anthropogenic threats.
Produção de alface em NFT e Floating aproveitando água salobra e o rejeito da dessalinização

Plants of lettuce cv. Elba were grown under two hydroponic systems, Floating and NFT, aiming to evaluate three water resources: natural brackish water (2,47 dS m-1) obtained from a deep well; fresh water (0,11 dS m-1) produced by reverse osmosis desalination; and reject brine (5,15 dS m-1), a wastewater from desalination process. These waters were combined in six treatments resulted from their alternated use to prepare nutrient solution (NS) and/or replace the evapotranspiration loss (ETc). The experiment was carried out under a greenhouse condition in the semiarid region of Pernambuco State, Brazil; 48 experimental units were used for both hydroponic systems. The lettuce yield (shoot fresh matter) was higher under Floating conditions. The single use of deep well water and reject brine decreased 22.7 and 39.6% the lettuce yield, respectively. For a better combination of fresh and brackish waters, the use of brackish water to replace ETc loss may increase the lettuce yield in comparison to use these waters to prepare the NS; this result was registered for deep well water and reject.
Records of East African lichens in cool temperate Australia

Three East African lichens, Cladonia praetermissa var. modesta comb, nov., Phaeophyscia fumosa, Pyxine nubila are recorded from cool temperate Australia and their distribution and ecology are discussed. The disjunction in distribution is considered unlikely to be due to long-distance dispersal and the species may represent ancient relicts.
Effect of imidacloprid on nonflight movement of Rhopalosiphum padi and the subsequent spread of barley yellow dwarf virus.

The bird cherry-oat aphid (Rhopalosiphum padi) is an important vector of the barley yellow dwarf luteovirus, BYDV-PAV-IL. Insecticides used to reduce the abundance of the vector on small grains can result in an increase in aphid activity and a subsequent increase in disease incidence. The transmission characteristics of viruliferous wingless (nymphs and apterous adults) R. padi after access to oats treated with different rates of imidacloprid, a seed-treatment insecticide, were compared. After access to treated plants, aphid fecundity was reduced and aphids walked and fed atypically and often abandoned the host plant
Involvement of Ca2+‐calmodulin in Cd2+ toxicity during the early phases of radish (Raphanus sativus L.) seed germination

The toxicity of Cd2+in vivo during the early phases of radish (Raphanus sativus L.) seed germination and the in vitro Cd2+ effect on radish calmodulin (CaM) were studied. Cd2+ was taken up in the embryo axes of radish seeds; the increase in fresh weight of embryo axes after 24 h of incubation was inhibited significantly in the presence of 10 mmol m−3 Cd2+ in the external medium, when the Cd2+ content in the embryo axes was c. 1.1 μmol g−1 FW. The reabsorption of K+, which characterizes germination, was inhibited by Cd2+, suggesting that Cd2+ affected metabolic reactivation. The slight effect of Cd2+ on the transmembrane electric potential of the cortical cells of the embryo axes excluded a generalized toxicity of Cd2+ at the plasma membrane level. After 24 h of incubation, Cd2+ induced no increase in total acid-soluble thiols and Cd2+-binding peptides able to reduce Cd2+ toxicity. Ca2+ added to the incubation medium partially reversed the Cd2+-induced inhibition of the increase in fresh weight of embryo axes and concomitantly reduced Cd2+ uptake. Equilibrium dialysis experiments indicated that Cd2+ bound to CaM and competed with Ca2+ in this binding. Cd2+ inhibited the activation of Ca2+-CaM-dependent calf-brain phosphodiesterase, inhibiting the Ca2+-CaM active complex. Cd2+ reduced the binding of CaM to the Ca2+-CaM binding enzymes present in the soluble fraction of the embryo axes of radish seeds. The possibility that Cd2+ toxicity in radish seed germination is mediated by the action of Cd2+ on Ca2+-CaM is discussed in relation to the in vivo and in vitro effects of Cd2+.
Antioxidants and poultry semen quality

Avian spermatozoa are characterised by high proportions of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) which is associated with increased susceptibility to reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation. Recent advances in avian reproduction have focused on the potential of ROS as one of the prime mediators of infertility. Although ROS are involved in many physiological functions of spermatozoa, their excessive production may result in oxidative stress. The production of ROS is enhanced during unfavourable environmental and stressful conditions, and an effective scavenging system is essential to counter the production of ROS. Antioxidants are compounds that suppress the formation of ROS. Enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants build a powerful antioxidant system in avian semen which is able to protect it against ROS and lipid peroxidation. The balance between ROS and antioxidants in avian semen is a fundamental determinant of membrane integrity, sperm viability and fertilising ability. A regulating role of ROS in sperm function in mammalian sperm along with their counteractive mechanisms have been extensively studied; but their role for avian species reproduction remains to be elucidated. Various antioxidants belonging both to enzymatic and non-enzymatic groups can counter oxidative stress. Hence the rationale of using antioxidants is advocated.
Apoplastic Na+ in Vicia faba Leaves Rises After Short‐Term Salt Stress and Is Remedied by Silicon

Salinity primarily affects plants by inhibiting shoot growth. Salt-sensitive plants have been suggested to accumulate Na+ within their leaf apoplast under salinity, leading to a reduced water status. Evidence related to apoplastic Na+ accumulation is still enigmatic. We have focused on the effect of a short-term salt treatment by using the salt-sensitive Vicia faba. Moreover, we have examined the role of silicon in alleviating sodium accumulation in the apoplast. Salt-sensitive field beans have been subjected to increasing levels of salinity, with and without the addition of silicon under hydroponic conditions. We have demonstrated that the dicot Vicia faba exhibits a rise in Na+ concentration in the leaf apoplast at higher salinity levels; this is significantly ameliorated by the addition of silicon. Further, enhanced shoot growth under high salt treatment in the presence of added silicon is correlated with a significant decrease in Na+ concentration in the leaves. The novelty of the current study is the detection of a high Na+ concentration in the leaf apoplast of the salt-sensitive dicot field bean. Our results support Oertli's hypothesis that extracellular salt accumulation can lead to wilting leaves, plant growth reduction and cell death.
Comunicación consciente para acompañar de forma eficaz: protocolo de 5 pasos

Las personas con enfermedades crónicas y graves, necesitan ser escuchadas, entendidas y atendidas a su ritmo. Los profesionales necesitan herramientas sencillas y eficientes que les faciliten una buena comunicación con sus pacientes, en el menor tiempo posible. Ojetivo: describir un protocolo sistemático de comunicación en cinco pasos. Método: Se ha diseñado un enfoque cualitativo basado en la revisión documental, que ha incluido la revisión bibliográfica y de evidencias para apoyar el análisis y poder llegar a conclusiones con la información extraída del proceso. Resultado: Como resultado se propone un protocolo básico de comunicación fundamentado en el counselling y en los principios de la bioética moderna, capaz de facilitar las funciones de informar, motivar la adhesión terapéutica, promover cambios de conducta, abordar situaciones de comunicación difícil y, especialmente, de tener un encuentro auténtico con el paciente y su familia. Por conclusión sin comunicación eficaz no hay encuentro, y sin encuentro, la relación clínica entre profesional y paciente se puede convertir en un intercambio de palabras vacías, de imposiciones de tratamientos, que difícilmente el paciente va a cumplir adecuadamente. Los tiempos cambian y la Medicina participativa va encontrando un lugar más adecuado en el entorno clínico.
Fossil vertebrates associated with paleo-Indian artifact at Little Salt Spring, Florida

ABSTRACT Eleven species of vertebrates, including an extinct giant land tortoise (Geochelone crassiscutata) killed with a sharpened wooden stake 12,000 radiocarbon years ago, are identified and discussed. The bones were collected from a ledge (reentrant) 26 meters below the present water surface at Little Salt Spring, a water-filled solution feature in coastal southwestern Florida. 12,000 years ago the water level in this feature was at the elevation of the ledge, and the sinkhole acted as a natural trap. Vertebrate remains accumulated on the ledge and were preserved in the soft clay derived from erosion of the siltstone wall in which the ledge formed. Vertebrates found with the slain tortoise include a large mouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), two aquatic turtles (Pseudemys floridana and P. nelsoni), three smaller individuals of Geochelone crassiscutata, a gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus), an extinct box turtle (Terrapene carolina putnami), a diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus), a wood sto.
Determination of GX-071 and its major metabolite in rat blood by cold on-column injection capillary GC/ECD

This work was done as part of a study of the pharmacokinetics and toxicokinetics of GX-071 (N-ethylperfluoro-octanesulfonamide) to support its registration as a pesticide. GX-071 and its major metabolite were identified in the blood of rats and dogs that had been given oral doses of GX-071
Competition and facilitation : Contrasting effects of Artemisia tridentata on desert vs. montane pines

Circumstantial evidence suggests that Artemisia tridentata may out-compete Pinus ponderosa and P. jefferyi for water at ecotones between shrub steppe and montane forest vegetation in the Great Basin. Other studies indicate that within the shrub steppe Artemisia may act as a nurse plant for a third species of pine, P. monophylla. We used field experiments to study these contrasting effects of Artemisia on P. ponderosa and P. monophylla within the context of the distributional patterns in western Nevada of all three species on andesite, and on sites where hydrothermal activity has altered the andesite. At intermediate elevations in the Great Basin Artemisia and P. monophylla are restricted to unaltered desert soils, whereas P. ponderosa is restricted to acidic, nutrient-poor altered andesite. Although mature P. monophylla were virtually absent in our study plots on altered andesite, first- and second-year seedlings were common. On adjacent unaltered andesite, all size classes of P. monophylla occurred, and P. monophylla seedlings were associated with Artemisia shrubs. Pinus ponderosa and P. jefferyi adults and seedlings were rare on unaltered andesite, but a wide range of size classes was found on altered andesite. In experiments, all P. ponderosa seedlings on unaltered andesite were consumed by predators regardless of positive or negative spatial association with shrubs. Of the P. monophylla seedlings that germinated on unaltered andesite, all that were under shrubs survived, but only 6% of those that germinated in the intershrub spaces survived. On the open altered andesite the mortality of P. monophylla seedlings due to abiotic stress was high, with a final survival of only 3%, whereas 28% of P. ponderosa seedlings survived the first growing season on altered andesite. On unaltered andesite, survival and conductance of P. ponderosa saplings was enhanced by shrub removal, but P. monophylla survival was significantly higher under shrubs than in shrub-removal plots or in intershrub spaces. In Artemisia- removal experiments, we found that Artemisia competed with P. ponderosa seedlings and saplings for water. Removal of Artemisia decreased water use efficiency (WUE) of P. monophylla seedlings. The absence of Artemisia may restrict Pinus monophylla from out- crops of altered andesite in the Great Basin, but provide refuges for P. ponderosa.
Response of Immature Leghorn Pullets to Low-Protein Amino Acid Fortified Diets at 18 or 30°C

Abstract Two experiments were conducted with Leghorn pullets grown to 126 days and fed either conventionally formulated diets or diets in which crude protein level was reduced but levels of sulfur amino acids and lysine were maintained with synthetic sources. In one experiment birds were grown at 18°C, while 30° was used in the other study. In both studies, diets were tested using DeKalb Delta, Shave, H&N, and Babcock pullets. There was no significant strain x diet protein interaction. At both environmental temperatures, pullets were smaller when diet protein level was reduced, and this effect was most evident in the 0 to 42 day starter period. Low-protein diets also resulted in reduced feed intake and shorter shank length. Reasons for failure to maintain normal growth rate, such as other limiting amino acids, are discussed in terms of potential industry application.
Morphogenesis and morphology of Certesia quadrinucleata (Protozoa: Ciliophora) from Japan

The morphogenesis and morphology of the marine benthic ciliate Certesia quadrinucleata collected from seawater in Nagasaki Mie Port, Japan, were investigated using microscopic observation of live and protargol-stained specimens. In terms of its morphology, the current isolate possesses diagnostic features of the genus and the species: a row of left marginal cirri, a prominent paroral membrane, 11 frontoventral cirri scattered in frontoventral area, five highly developed transverse cirri, four macronuclear nodules, five dorsal kineties and a caudally located contractile vacuole. Its morphogenesis belongs to the ‘Certesia’ subtype, and main events can be summarized as follow: (1) the oral primordium in the opisthe develops de novo in a subcortical pouch; (2) the old paroral membrane is completely replaced by the new one in the proter, but the parental adoral zone of membranelles is wholly inherited; (3) five streaks of cirral anlagen are formed in a primary mode for the proter and the opisthe, which gives rise to cirri in the pattern of 3:3:3:3:3 from left to right; (4) the leftmost frontoventral cirrus develops de novo on the cell surface in both dividers, and has no connection with the undulating membrane anlage; and (5) the anlagen for marginal cirri and dorsal kineties occur intrakinetally. Current observations confirm the separation of Certesiidae from other euplotids at the familial level.
Pseudoamnion, pseudochorion, and follicular pseudoplacenta in poeciliid fishes

CONTENTS Int,roductioii . %da.pt. ations for respiration and nutrition in oviparous cpprinodonts . Structures and functions associated with viviparity in typical Poeciliidae . Yolk sac, foetal membranes and follicle in Heterandria forniosa . Adaptations in simple types of Poeciliopsinae . Follicular pseudo-placenta in Poeciliopsinae . Discussion and summary. 69 G1 63 67 72 7 3 7 7
Altitudinal and Seasonal Distribution of Orthoptera in the Rocky Mountains of Northern Colorado

Ninety—four species of Orthoptera (s. lat.) occur along an altitudinal transect from 5,000 ft (1,530 m) to above 14,000 ft (4,265 m) in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, near 40° N. Lat. These were sampled, with observations on life histories in relation to altitude, at a series of altitudinally spaced stations during the seasons of 1949, 1958, 1959, and 1960, the stations being selected for maximum variety of Orthoptera at each altitude. Other observations of the past 35 years were added. Sampling was by a sweeping technique designed to be qualitatively exhaustive of species and age groups; it was thus quasiquantitative. Times of hatching, times of different juvenile stages, and times of maturing were determined for species at the different altitudes at which they occurred. These data are summarized by species, the 94 species being in the following families: Mantidae, 2; Phasmidae, 1; Tetrigidae, 4; Acrididae, 73; Tettigoniidae, 8; Gryllacrididae, 3; Gryllidae, 3. Numbers of resident sp.
Transformational leadership and development of marketing capabilities: Explaining the mediating role intellectual capital (Case Study: SMEs operating in the food industry of IRAN)

Developing marketing capabilities without paying attention to intellectual capital and especially human capital is impossible.On the other hand, dynamic economic environment requires attention to the importance of transformational leadership development in organizations; because leaders in this level have a great role in the process of creating the human capital and other dimensions of intellectual capital and consequently, improves organizational performance. This paper explores how employees’ perceptions on leaders’ transformational style positively affect their human capital benefits and consequently affect other components of intellectual capital and ultimately marketing capabilities of business organizations. For these purposes, 368 responses from middle and top level management of small and medium sized businesses operating in the food industry located in industrial zones across the country were selected by multistage cluster sampling. The results show that transformational leadership factors have strong and significant potential to influence employee perceived human capital benefits, and most importantly, human capital, with the influence of other components of intellectual capital, plays a mediating role in the relation between transformational leadership and other components of intellectual capital. Finally, evidence suggests the direct and significant impact of informational capital, structural capital, and relational capital on marketing capabilities of small and medium-sized of enterprises operating in the food industry of IRAN.
Radiotoxicity via intake of marine organisms: exposure and risk assessment in South Indians

Naturally occurring 210Po and anthropogenic 137Cs were determined in edible marine organisms consumed by humans along the southeast coast of India, where a mega nuclear power station is situated. The edible molluscan species showed elevated 210Po activity compared to crustaceans and fish. However, 137Cs was detected only in fish. The radiotoxicity due to 210Po was evaluated by calculating the effective dose and carcinogenic risk to humans consuming these species. The results revealed that 210Po contributed 99% to the dose as opposed to 137Cs and the estimated risk exerted no significant health hazard to humans. Data generated may help in assessing any future contamination.