Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Functional Organization of the Neural Control of Circulation in Aplysia

The abdominal ganglion of Aplysia provides a useful model for studying the functional organization of motor systems. Here we review studies of the neural network controlling circulation, emphasizing the organizational features it may share with other motor systems controlled by the abdominal ganglion. We identified seven motor neurons to the heart and vascular system. Motor neurons having similar motor effects (e.g. the two heart inhibitors, or the three vasoconstrictors), together with cells of unknown motor function located near them, make up distinct homogeneous cell groups. The members of each group appear to be nearly identical with respect to biophysical and neurochemical properties, size and effectiveness of synaplie inputs, and firing patterns. There are no interconnections between the members of the groups, but five interneurons innervate the homogeneous groups in various combinations, exciting some groups and inhibiting others. Two of the interneurons, Interneuron I (cell I10) and Interneuron II, are command cells which produce centrally generated motor programs in the absence of sensory feedback. Eacli command apparently codes for a specific homeostatic function, such as increased cardiac output. Coordination of the two commands is achieved by mutual inhibitory connections between them, ensuring that the motor neurons of the system receive only one command at a time. Some synaptic connections made by the command interneurons appear to be functionally ineffective; the possible significance of them is discussed. Available evidence suggests that many features of the network controlling circulation may be characteristic of other visceromotor systems of the abdominal ganglion.
Genetic engineering of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to ferment cellobiose

107 INTRODUCTION 107 MATERIALS AND METHODS 108 Strains and Media 108 DNA manipulations and vector construction 109 PCR amplification 109 Construction of vectors expressing different β-glucosidase genes 110 DNA sequencing 111 Yeast transformation 111 Enzyme assay 111 Medium and inoculum 111 Cultivations 111 Analytical methods 112 Substrate consumption and product formation 112 Calculations 112 RESULTS 112 Cloning of the β-glucosidase genes 112 Construction of recombinant yeast strains producing β-glucosidase 112 Recombinant β-glucosidase production 112 Growth kinetics of recombinant β-glucosidase-producing strains grown on cellobiose and glucose 113 Biomass and by-product yields during growth on cellobiose and glucose 114 DISCUSSION 115 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 117 REFERENCES 117
Food Chemical Discrimination by the Omnivorous Lizard Leiolepis belliana

Abstract The omnivorous acrodont lizard Leiolepis belliana was shown experimentally to respond more strongly to chemical cues from prey and plant food than from control stimuli, as indicated by tongue-flicking and biting responses. These results extend previous findings that prey and plant chemical discrimination is widespread among omnivorous iguanians.
Induction of Apoptosis by Double-Stranded-RNA-Dependent Protein Kinase (PKR) Involves the α Subunit of Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor 2 and NF-κB

ABSTRACT The double-stranded (ds) RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR) is a key mediator of antiviral effects of interferon (IFN) and an active player in apoptosis induced by different stimuli. The translation initiation factor eIF-2α (α subunit of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2) and IκBα, the inhibitor of the transcription factor NF-κB, have been proposed as downstream mediators of PKR effects. To evaluate the involvement of NF-κB and eIF-2α in the induction of apoptosis by PKR, we have used vaccinia virus (VV) recombinants that inducibly express PKR concomitantly with a dominant negative mutant of eIF-2α or a repressor form of IκBα. We found that while expression of PKR by a VV vector resulted in extensive inhibition of protein synthesis and induction of apoptosis, coexpression of PKR with a dominant negative mutant of eIF-2α (Ser-51→Ala) reversed both the PKR-mediated translational block and PKR-induced apoptosis. Coexpression of PKR with a repressor form of IκBα (Ser-32,36-Ala) also leads to the inhibition of apoptosis by abolishing NF-κB induction, while translation remains blocked. Treating cells with two different proteasome inhibitors which block IκBα degradation, prevented PKR-induced apoptosis, supporting results from coexpression studies. Biochemical analysis and transient assays revealed that PKR expression by a VV vector induced NF-κB binding and transactivation. In addition, upregulation of Fas mRNA transcription occurred during PKR activation. Our findings provide direct evidence for the involvement of eIF-2α and NF-κB in the induction of apoptosis by PKR.
Adhesion of Escherichia coli to human kidney cryostat sections

A method for studying adhesion of fluorochrome-stained Escherichia coli to cryostat sections of human kidney is described. Of the 3 model strains used, the P-fimbriated strain KS71 adhered more effectively than the type-1-fimbriated or nonfimbriated strains. Adhesion of KS71 was inhibited specifically by anti-P-fimbriae Fab fragments, and it was concluded that P-fimbriae mediate E. coli adhesion in the kidneys.
Standardising multi‐laboratory microsatellite data in Pacific salmon: an historical view of the future

For at least 15 years, multiple Pacific Rim Laboratories have cooperated to standardise the collection of Pacific salmon genetic data. For species such as Chinook salmon and chum salmon, allozyme electrophoretic data sets now include hundreds of populations sampled over multiple years throughout the north Pacific. More recently, microsatellite DNA markers have emerged as a new cornerstone of Pacific salmon genetic research. The allozyme experience provides at least two important lessons regarding shared, standardised databases. First, interlaboratory standardisation is sufficiently costly and time consuming that little progress is typically made in the absence of specific fishery management and conservation needs; thus immediate needs will direct future standardisation. Secondly, justified or not, there are significant concerns regarding intellectual propriety and other perceived privileges associated with unpublished genetic data that are shared among laboratories. This article describes challenges to genetic standardisation relative to new research goals, along with specific suggestions for meeting those challenges.
The past and the future of Behavioral Ecology

The design of brains, sense organs, or immune systems is an impressive product of natural selection, far ahead of human engineering capability. But what if behavior is less well adapted? A bird’s perfect eye is useless if it fails to avoid a stalking cat. If we fail in choosing a partner with complementary immunogenes, our ability to detect major histocompatibility complex–dependent body odors is worthless. Besides being able to detect all available prey items, the diet that maximizes net energy gain must be chosen. Individuals that are selected naturally will be those best able to avoid predators, choose mates, select food, and so on. Those with less perfect behavior produce fewer offspring, and their genotypes will disappear. Ecology is the stage on which the fittest have behaved most successfully. Thus, their strategies prevail today. Behavioral ecology is about the optimal design of behavior.
The Despotic Distribution and Deferred Maturity: Two Sides of the Same Coin

For an individual, the decision on when to settle (i.e., at what age) cannot be separated from the decision on where to settle (i.e., in which habitat). We tackle both problems simultaneously by treating territory settlement in the long-lived oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus (in which territories differ strikingly in quality and many individuals delay settlement) as a career decision with long-term fitness consequences through its effect on social status. We reject the hypothesis that oystercatchers are not able to judge territory quality or that short-term advantages of a high-quality territory are offset by long-term costs. We estimate the expected future reproductive success (EFRS) of birds of different social status on the basis of a Markov model. A simple contest model shows that owners of high-quality territories must have a considerable advantage that allows them to despotically exclude other birds. We find no evidence for a phenotypic superiority of owners of high-quality territories. Also, the act of breeding, even in a poor territory, does not enhance the probability of subsequently settling in a good territory. The available data support the queue hypothesis that unsettled individuals must develop site dominance in order to overcome the owner advantage. By queuing for a specific territory, an individual reduces its chances of becoming established elsewhere. At evolutionary equilibrium, the local queues for high-quality territories are longer, which implies longer waiting times and a higher probability of premature death. This trade-off between territory quality and waiting time links the despotic distribution to deferred maturity and provides a partial explanation for both.
Host-pathogen dynamics in a metapopulation context:the ecological and evolutionary consequences of being spatial

1 The metapopulation concept is useful when considering ecological and evolutionary dynamics of spatially structured populations. However, debate has focused on genetic variation that is neutral rather than under selection. This distinction is particularly important in antagonistic or co-evolutionary interactions such as host-pathogen or predator-prey systems. Plant host-pathogen systems provide some of the best examples of studies in which numerical and genetic dynamics have been investigated in a spatially explicit context, and where genes under selection can be unambiguously identified. 2 Empirical studies of natural host-pathogen interactions have shown that, while in some cases pathogens appear to be locally adapted to their hosts, in others there is no local correspondence between resistance and virulence genes. Recent theory suggests that the dynamics (epidemic vs. endemic) and migration rates of host and pathogen will be important factors in the maintenance of genetic polymorphisms in resistance and virulence. 3 We argue that the relative spatial scales at which hosts and pathogens interact are crucial to understanding the evolution of resistance/virulence structure. Pathogens that disperse further than their hosts will be more likely to show gene-for-gene interactions than pathogens dispersing over spatial scales similar to or smaller than their hosts. 4 We predict that life-history features that influence encounter rates between specific host and pathogen genotypes will be important factors in determining the evolution of resistance-virulence structures. In particular, we would expect correlative and/or causal relationships between pathogen life-history features [e.g. local vs. systemic infection, type (fecundity vs. mortality) and severity of effects], and whether dynamics are endemic or epidemic. 5 Plant host-pathogen systems provide ideal models for investigating the evolution of non-neutral genetic variation in spatial systems. Understanding the co-evolution of such systems will require research programmes that integrate long-term descriptive and experimental studies of multiple populations, with analytical and computer simulation modelling and comparative/phylogenetic studies.
The conservation value of private property; a case study of the birds of 'Woopenatty', Arrino, in the northern wheatbelt of Western Australia, 1987-2002

Woopenatty was a 7,293 ha wheat-sheep property in the Geraldton Sandplains biogeographic region of the northern wheatbelt of Western Australia. Data were collected on the presence of bird species seen on a weekly basis on the property from October 1987 until the end of 2002. A total of 133 species was recorded from the property during this period with 52 species of resident, 16 species of regular visitor, 15 species of irregular visitor and 50 vagrant species. The avifauna of the property was compared with records collated from 1904 from eight locations within a radius of 110 km of the property and from records within a radius of 50 km of the property from two Birds Australia atlases (1977 - 1981 and 1997 - 2002). Seventy-four percent of the species, including many dependent on remnant native vegetation, recorded from the other localities were recorded on Woopenatty. The property was clearly of importance for conservation of the avifauna of the Geraldton Sandplains. This study illustrates the importance of publishing descriptions of regional biota in order to assess changes over time and the significance of remnant native vegetation on private property to conservation. Suggestions for setting priorities for conservation and management of such remnant native vegetation are made.
Variabilidades fenotípica e genotípica de estirpes de Staphylococcus aureus isoladas em casos de mastite subclínica bovina

Seventy-seven S. aureus strains, isolated in milk samples obtained from 40 Holstein cows suffering from subclinical mastitis in a dairy herd in the state of Sao Paulo – Brazil, were undergone to PCR-ribotyping and in vitro susceptibility testing to 12 antimicrobial drugs. PCR-ribotyping revealed nine different patterns and presented a higher discriminatory power (D = 0.82) in comparison with the in vitro antibiotic susceptibility test (D = 0.42). Moreover,, the results showed four antibiotic resistance patterns, with the resistance to lincomycin being the most predominant and comprising 19 (24.7%) S. aureus strains. The other 58 (75.3%) isolates were sensitive to all antibiotics tested. Of the 19 isolates which presented resistance to antibiotics, 14 (73.7%) were grouped in three ribotypes, and 13 (92.9%) of them were resistant to eritromycin and/or lincomycin. The large number of ribotypes and antibiotic resistance patterns found in this single dairy herd showed that one must be careful when considering the results of in vitro susceptibility tests obtained from a few S. aureus strains, because there is a high heterogeneity among naturally occurring populations of S. aureus, which must be taken into consideration in control programs against bovine mastitis.
A new approach to detect non-pleiotropic QTL for correlated traits

Riassunto Un nuovo metodo per l’individuazione di QTL non-pleiotropici nel caso di caratteri correlati. L’approccio si basa sull’analisi dei fenotipi per un carattere d’interesse (A) ottenuti come residui della regressione lineare su un carattere positivamente correlato (B). Il lavoro dimostra, attraverso simulazioni e con un’applicazione a dati reali, che tale approccio aumenta la potenza di individuazione di QTL con solo effetto su A, in misura proporzionale alla correlazione tra caratteri. Esso comporta tuttavia il rischio di concludere erroneamente all’esistenza di QTL non-pleiotropici per A quando il locus influenza B. E’ possibile limitare tale rischio estendendo la ricerca di QTL al carattere correlato. In tal modo, l’effettiva probabilità di false identificazioni si riduce proporzionalmente al rischio di errore di prima specie scelto per B.
Allocation of resources within mountain birch canopy after simulated winter browsing

As a response to browsing, birches are known to produce fewer but larger, more nutritious leaves, with enhanced palatability for herbivores. We simulated winter browsing in ramets of mountain birch (Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii) to find out whether it decreases subsequent foliage biomass and alters the number and type of shoots. After removal of a considerable proportion of buds (up to 35%) in late winter, the birches were able to compensate for the lost leaf biomass in the following summer; there were no differences in total leaf biomass between winter-clipped and control ramets. This indicates that foliage growth was limited by the total amount of stored resources, not by the number of buds. Depending on the position of the buds removed, different mechanisms were responsible for the compensation. After removal of apical buds, the number of leaves decreased significantly but leaves were larger than in control ramets. Removal of the same mass of basal buds – containing similar amount of carbohydrates and proteins as in the treatment removing apical buds – activated dormant buds, especially in apical locations, so that leaf number was similar as in the controls; consequently, size of individual leaves increased only slightly. Thus, while the total leaf biomass in a tree seems to be limited by resources from source organs, the distribution of resources among different canopy sections is controlled by their relative sink strengths. In terms of leaf biomass, apical parts are able to compensate for bud loss by increasing shoot number, basal parts only by increasing leaf size.
Practical Breeding of Red-fleshed Apple: Cultivar Combination for Efficient Red-fleshed Progeny Production

Additional index words. Malus ·domestica, red flesh color, S3-RNase allele, S11-RNase allele Abstract. We re-investigated the flesh color and S-genotypes of progenies of red-fleshed apple cultivar JPP35, which was produced by 'Jonathan' · 'Pink Pearl', and clarified that 100% and 96% of progenies from 'Shinano Sweet' (S1S7) · 'JPP35' (S3S7) and 'Orin' (S2S7) · 'JPP35' (S3S7) containing S3-RNase allele, respectively, showed the red flesh trait.Usingthis tightlinkage betweenredflesh traitandself- and cross-compatibility relating allele such as S3-RNase allele, we showed suitable cultivar combinations for efficient production of various red-fleshed apples. We also identified an unknown S-RNase allele in 'Pink Pearl' as S11 and determined its partial genomic sequence, including a complete intron with its known S3-RNase allele.
Observações sobre ação do fungo metarrhizium anisopliae metschnikoff sobre algumas espécies de triatominae (Hemiptera, Reduviidae)

Adults and nymphs of Panstrongylus megistus, Triatoma infestans, Triatoma brasiliensis and Rhodnius neglectus were sprayed with water suspension of spores of the fungus Metarrhizium anisopliae (Metsch.). During six months two single sprayed triatomines were lightly infected with the fungus and mortality among triatomines were similar both in the test and control groups. 1) Adults and nymphs of T. infestans and T. brasiliensis were maintained together with cultures of M. anisopliae. After twenty days, the mortality started in the test group reaching 80% of the specimens with were securely infected with the fungus, whIIe only 20% of the controls (non-infected) died. 2) Adults and nyrnphs of T. infestans and T. brasiliensis were maintained together with dead specimens of T. infestans infected. with M. anisopliae. Twenty days later the mortality of the tested specimens started, most of them were seen infected by the fungus. The control group remained normal. 3) The Authors concluded that M. anisopliae used in water suspension has low infectivity but when in pure state it is highly infective for triatomines, when it also seems to have lethal effect for the vectors of Chagas disease.
Multiple Roles for Platelet GPIIb/IIIa and αvβ3 Integrins in Tumor Growth, Angiogenesis, and Metastasis

In vivo tumor cells interact with a variety of host cells such as endothelial cells and platelets, and these interactions are mediated by integrins GPIIb/IIIa and alphavbeta3. We used chimeric (c) 7E3 Fab (ReoPro) and murine (m) 7E3 F(ab')(2) to elucidate the role of these integrins in angiogenesis, tumor growth, and metastasis. These antibodies are potent inhibitors of GPIIb/IIIa and alphavbeta3. c7E3 Fab inhibited alphavbeta3-mediated human umbilical vein endothelial (HUVEC) and melanoma cell adhesion, migration, invasion, and basic fibroblast growth factor stimulated proliferation of HUVECs (IC(50) values range from 0.15 to 5 microg/ml for different assays). In an in vitro angiogenesis assay, c7E3 Fab inhibited basic fibroblast growth factor and platelet-stimulated capillary formation of HUVECs (IC(50) = 10 microg/ml and 15 microg/ml, respectively), demonstrating that endothelial alphavbeta3 is important for sprouting, and platelet-stimulated sprouting is mediated by GPIIb/IIIa. In an experimental metastasis assay, a single pretreatment of human melanoma cells with c7E3 Fab (2.5 microg/ml) inhibited lung colonization of the tumor cells in severe combined immunodeficient mice. In vivo, m7E3 F(ab')(2) partially inhibited growth of human melanoma tumors in nude mice compared with control-treated animals. These data suggest that tumor cell-expressed integrins are important but not the only component involved in tumor growth. Because c7E3 Fab and m7E3 F(ab')(2) do not cross-react with murine integrins, this inhibition of metastasis and tumor growth is attributable to direct blockade of human tumor alphavbeta3 integrins. m7E3 F(ab')(2) completely blocked tumor formation and growth of human melanoma tumors growing in nude rats. In this xenograft model, m7E3 F(ab')(2) simultaneously binds to both human tumor and host platelet GPIIb/IIIa and endothelial alphavbeta3 integrins, thus participating as an antiangiogenic and an antitumor agent. Collectively, these results indicate that combined blockade of GPIIb/IIIa and alphavbeta3 affords significant antiangiogenic and antitumor benefit.
Impact on the Chinese soybean markets from international prices volatility: Empirical study based on VEC model

The paper uses VEC model to analyze the impact of international prices volatility on Chinese soybean spot and future markets before and since the outbreak of the global financial crisis. The results show that: there is a one-way or both-way leading relation between domestic and international soybean markets; there is an equilibrating mechanism of prices in the world soybean market, which shows that the ability of market correction and the degree of adjustment of the mechanism became higher since the outbreak of the crisis; the future market can reduce the risk of prices volatility; prices volatility in domestic soybean markets is aroused by leading exporters, and there has been a volatility spillover effect between domestic soybean spot market and future market since the outbreak of the crisis. Key words: Soybean market, soybean import, prices volatility, financial crisis, VEC model.
Positional signals: evidence for a possible role in muscle fibre-type patterning of the embryonic avian limb

Current evidence favours the hypothesis that avian muscle fibre-type differentiation is intrinsically programmed during early embryogenesis and proceeds independent of neuronal influences (for review, Miller & Stockdale, 1987; Sanes, 1987). Previous interspecific (chick/quail) and intraspecific (chick/chick) chimaeric studies, involving the heterotopic transplantation of unsegmented somitic mesoderm, indicate that the ability of premyogenic cells to form specific limb muscles is determined by positional cues operative in the host embryo. To determine if similar influences are associated with embryonic fibre-type differentiation, the limb musculature of intraspecific (chick/chick) chimaeras was assessed using differential myosin-ATPase activity. The limb musculature analysed histochemically was derived from donor unsegmented thoracic somitic mesoderm transplanted to replace extirpated brachial somites of a host embryo at 48–52h in ovo. Our results demonstrated that (1) the donor tissue formed, on schedule, an appropriate brachial musculature and (2) the experimental muscles duplicated the fibre- type patterning characteristic of control muscles. Thus, our data suggest that an extramyogenic, non-neural factor(s) operative in the host limb-forming region is associated with both muscle pattern formation and muscle fibre-type pattern formation. Whether or not the same putative factor(s) influences both processes remains to be determined.