Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A comparative approach to determining the role of fish predation in structuring limnetic ecosystems

Strong levels of fish piscivory and planktivory are hypothesized to have pervasive influences on all lower trophic levels of limnetic ecosystems. We tested this hypothesis with a detailed comparison of the ecosystems of two small, oligotrophic, brown-water lakes located in south-central Ontario. One lake (Mouse Lake) had no primarily piscivorous fish species, while the other lake (Ranger Lake) had a large population of large- and small-mouth bass. These differences had persisted for approximately 30 years. For two years (1991 and 1992) we used standard limnological techniques to collect detailed data on populations of fish, benthos, zooplankton, and phytoplankton in both lakes, as well as data on the lakes' physical and chemical characteristics. Compared to Mouse Lake (low piscivore), Ranger Lake (high-piscivore) had (1) almost the same physical and chemical characteristics, (2) a much smaller biomass of adult fish planktivores, (3) approximately the same biomass of large-bodied invertebrate planktivores (Chaoborus), (4) a lower biomass of herbivorous zooplankton, of which a higher percentage were Daphnia spp. , and (5) about the same biomass and species composition of phytoplankton. Our results show that large differences between the lakes in the biomasses and body size of components at the top of the food web are diminished at lower trophic levels. We suggest that this attrition in the impacts of top-down control is due to compensatory mechanisms of prey populations. Since these compensatory mechanisms develop over time scales of years, short-term studies of the effects of fish predation may be biased towards detection of strong top-down control.
In Vitro Studies of Acrylamide Neurotoxicity in Rat Pheochromocytoma (PC12) Cells

This review discusses our studies on molecular mechanisms of acrylamide neurotoxicity by using the rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cell line. The results showed that: a) acrylamide altered the gross morphology of PC12 cells; b) acrylamide induced neurofilament accumulation in PC12 cells; c) the effects of acrylamide on PC12 cells are consistent with its neurotoxicity in vivo; d) acrylamide stimulated neurofilament protein synthesis in PC12 cells; e) acrylamide did not act via nerve growth factor (NGF) receptor gp140trk to regulate neurofilament synthesis in PC12 cells; f) dexamethasone antagonised NGF and/or acrylamide-induced neurofilament protein synthesis and expression; and g) acrylamide differentially regulated the mRNA levels of three neurofilament subunit genes in PC12 cells. These molecular studies provide the first evidence that: a) there are distinctive and convergent signalling pathways for NGF-regulated and acrylamide-regulated neurofilament expression; b) acrylamide may differentially regulate the expression of each subunit, resulting in aberrant accumulation of neurofilament proteins; and c) there is a dexamethasone-sensitive signalling step common to NGF and acrylamide. These results could partially explain the mechanisms of neurofilament accumulation in distal axonal swellings, a pathognomonic feature of acrylamide neurotoxicity.
Development of formation flying in juvenile White Ibises (Eudocimus albus)

pian Terns (Hydroprogne tschegrava; Bergman 1953), Arctic Terns (Sterna paradisaea; Cullen 1956), Sandwich Terns (Sterna sandvicensis; Veen 1977), and Little Terns (Sterna albifrons; Nadler 1976) apparently resemble Least Terns in delaying the nocturnal occupation of their breeding colonies until after the onset of egg-laying and incubation. Tinbergen (1967) hypothesized that off-colony nocturnal roosting prior to egg-laying functioned to reduce predation on adult Common Black-headed Gulls "since the breeding habitatß with its cover, is more dangerous to gulls than are wide open spaces [used for roosting]. " Least Ternsß however, typically nest and roost in equally open habitats, suggesting that this behavior might also function to lower predation on eggs and juveniles by reducing the period of time that colony locations are subject to discovery by nocturnal predatots.
Fishing livelihoods as key to marine protected areas: insights from the World Parks Congress

Marine protected areas (MPAs) have become a widely used tool for marine conservation and fisheries management. In coastal areas, it has become clear that the success of MPAs, and the achievement of sustainable fishery production, requires a combination of effective management and conservation frameworks, maintenance of decent fisheries livelihoods, and a governance system that allows for effective participation of coastal communities, fishing people, and other ocean users in considering, designing and implementing MPAs. These ingredients are crucial to provide the social sustainability needed to achieve ecological sustainability, and in particular, to reconcile fisheries and marine conservation objectives, in light of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Aichi targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Since its inception in 1962, the series of World Parks Congresses (WPC) has focused on protected areas, in both terrestrial and marine domains. The 2014 WPC in Sydney reinforced the apparent movement, started at the Durban WPC of 2003, towards recognition of social and economic issues related to MPAs, including the importance of food security and livelihoods, and the crucial nature of interactions between MPAs and fisheries. Many discussions at the 2014 WPC focused on these human dimensions of MPAs, and the need to incorporate them into MPA decision-making. This article examines the process and outcomes of the 2014 WPC, with emphasis on the role of people (in particular, fishers) in marine conservation, and particularly in coastal MPAs. In doing so, the article examines the process of producing a Marine Statement at the end of the WPC, as a component of the final ‘Promise of Sydney’ declaration. That process led to a range of concerns including (i) issues over transparency and inclusiveness in the statement's development, and (ii) content issues focused on representation of the social and economic conclusions, and advocacy of a specific MPA target for no-take areas. The article focuses on potential strategies for moving constructively beyond the still existing tensions between environment- and people-focused conservation and development. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Using regional bird community dynamics to evaluate ecological integrity within national parks

Understanding how biological communities respond to global change is important for the conservation of functioning ecosystems as anthropogenic environmental threats increase. National parks within the United States provide unique ecological and cultural resources that can help conserve biodiversity and maintain ecological integrity, especially in heavily urbanized environments. Parks within the National Capital Region (NCRN) and Mid-Atlantic (MIDN) Networks, representing federally protected areas located within a mixed landscape of rural to urban areas, have been monitoring forest and grassland birds annually to evaluate long-term trends in bird community dynamics. Given increasing rates of decline in forest- and grassland-breeding songbirds in North America, understanding community-level trends in parks will help their preservation for future generations. We used point count data collected between 2007 and 2015 from 640 sampling locations to calculate a bird community index (BCI) to infer relative estimates of ecological integrity. Our objectives were to (1) quantify BCI in 17 national parks in the mid-Atlantic region, (2) test for relationships between BCI and the proportion of forest and developed land cover types, (3) assess temporal variation in BCI, and (4) additionally test for differences in estimates of species detection probability between volunteer citizen scientists and paid observers. Mean BCI scores and ecological integrity ranks among parks ranged between 33.5 (low integrity) and 58.3 (high integrity), while the majority of parks had BCI scores ranging between 40.1 and 52.0 (medium integrity). For both networks, we found that BCI was positively related to the extent of forest cover, and for NCRN, the more heavily urbanized network, we found that BCI was negatively related to developed land cover. Assessment of temporal changes in BCI within parks indicated that BCI was stable for 12 parks, increased in four parks, and decreased in one park within our study. Lastly, we detected no differences in species detection probability between citizen scientist- and paid observer-collected data which lends support for the future comparison of bird monitoring data in regional analyses across NPS I&M Networks. The continued evaluation of ecological integrity, through measuring bird community dynamics at regional scales, is important for conserving biological diversity.
The binding affinity of human serum albumin and paclitaxel through MMPBSA based on docked complex

Abstract The distribution, free concentration and metabolism of drugs can be significantly altered as a result of binding to albumin. At the same time, the conformational of serum albumin was also changed by interaction with low molecular weight drugs. In present work, we first equilibrated HSA in aqueous solution to obtain the solvated-HSA model. Further solvated-HSA was performed molecular docking with paclitaxel to find the binding sites. The two docking HSA-paclitaxel complexes were obtained and further equilibrated by a 12 ns MD simulation. Then, MMPBSA method was used to investigate the binding free energy of them. Finally, we correlated the fluctuations of residues with corresponding changes in the secondary structure by dssp method. Two binding sites of paclitaxel were found on HSA having considered the solvation effect. More hydrogen bonds were formed at site I respected to site II. A larger binding energy for primary binding also indicated that paclitaxel showed higher binding affinity mainly due to the stronger hydrogen bonding interactions. There was a significant difference between the two complexes on structure according to the dssp results. Moreover, structure of the binding sites exhibited more fluctuations after binding paclitaxel compared with other regions. Paclitaxel binding also induced distinct conformational changes in drug binding site even when it was empty and have contributed to a reduced binding capacity of HSA towards adriamycin.
SOBREVIVÊNCIA E CRESCIMENTO DE ESPÉCIES TROPICAIS MADEIREIRAS EM CONSÓRCIO COM ESPÉCIE PIONEIRA EM DIFERENTES PROPORÇÕES 1 SURVIVAL AND GROWTH OF TROPICAL TIMBER SPECIES INTERCROPPED WITH PIONEER SPECIES IN DIFFERENT PROPORTIONS

RESUMO – O cultivo de especies florestais nativas com fins comerciais em plantios monoespecificos vem sendo estudado ha algumas decadas no Brasil. A silvicultura por meio de plantios consorciados, porem, raramente tem sido objeto de estudo. Avaliou-se o desempenho de duas especies nativas de interesse comercial: a aroeira (Myracrodruon urundeuva) e o angico vermelho (Anadenanthera colubrina var. cebil), em consorciacao com uma especie pioneira, o capixingui (Croton floribundus), para verificar a influencia de diferentes proporcoes da especie pioneira na sobrevivencia e crescimento das especies de interesse comercial. Testaram-se as hipoteses de que diferentes proporcoes no plantio consorciado resultam em diferencas no crescimento das especies e que a resposta ao plantio consorciado e diferente entre as especies-alvo. O presente estudo foi realizado em dois experimentos, um para cada especie-alvo, instalados em blocos ao acaso, com cinco repeticoes de cada tratamento (25, 50, 75 e 85% da especie pioneira), em Paraguacu Paulista, SP. Quinze anos apos o plantio, os sistemas consorciados apresentaram alguns padroes: 1) a mortalidade superior para a especie pioneira em comparacao com as especies-alvo, 2) crescimento mais rapido das arvores das especies-alvo quanto maior a proporcao da especie pioneira, 3) quanto maior a proporcao de pioneiras, menor densidade final do sistema, resultando em menor competicao e favorecendo o crescimento individual das especies-alvo, e 4) nao houve variacao volumetrica por hectare das especies-alvo que possa ser explicada pela proporcao de pioneiras para nenhuma das duas especies. Assim, embora a consorciacao com especies pioneiras favoreca o crescimento individual das especies-alvo, nao ha nenhum efeito da consorciacao no volume de madeira produzido por hectare.
Climate change impacts on the ecology of Fusarium graminearum species complex and susceptibility of wheat to Fusarium head blight: a review

Fusarium head blight (FHB) of wheat, caused mainly by a few members of the Fusarium graminearum species complex (FGSC), is a major threat to agricultural grain production, food safety, and animal health. The severity of disease epidemics and accumulation of associated trichothecene mycotoxins in wheat kernels is strongly driven by meteorological factors. The potential impacts of change in climate are reviewed from the perspective of the FGSC life cycle and host resistance mechanisms influenced by abiotic pressures at the ecological, physiological and molecular level. Alterations in climate patterns and cropping systems may affect the distribution, composition and load of FGSC inoculum, but quantitative information is lacking regarding the differential responses among FGSC members. In general, the coincidence of wet and warm environment during flowering enhances the risk of FHB epidemics, but the magnitude and direction of the change in FHB and mycotoxin risk will be a consequence of a multitude of effects.
Identification of phenolic profiles, fatty acid compositions, antioxidant activities, and enzyme inhibition effects of seven wheat cultivars grown in Turkey: A phytochemical approach for their nutritional value

ABSTRACT In the present article, seven wheat cultivars (Ahmetaga, Bezostaya, Dagdas-94, Ekiz, Karahan-99, Konya-2002, and Tosunbey) grown in Turkey were compared for their phytochemical composition, antioxidant, and enzyme inhibitory activities. Antioxidant capacities and enzyme inhibitory effects were investigated with colorimetric methods. Total phenolic content ranged from 40.71 to 86.34 mg of gallic acid equivalent/100 g wheat grain. Tosunbey (92 mg Trolox equivalent/100 g wheat grain) and Ahmetaga (114.56 mg Trolox equivalent/100 g wheat grain) cultivars exhibited strong 2,2 azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazloine-6-sulfonic acid) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging activities. As compared to other wheat cultivars, Tosunbey cultivar had remarkable both antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory effects with the highest level of phenolics. Ferulic acid, chlorogenic acid, and apigenin were the major phenolics in extracts tested. This study suggested that an increased intake of wheat derived products could represent an effective strategy for the management of oxidative stress related chronic and degenerative diseases such as Alzheimers and diabetes mellitus.
Effet de la dérive génétique et de la sélection sur la durabilité de la résistance des plantes aux virus

Une plante peut etre totalement protegee d'un agent pathogene grâce a un gene majeur de resistance, mais ce dernier peut etre rapidement contourne suite a l'apparition et a la propagation de variants pathogenes adaptes. Cette these s'interesse aux mecanismes evolutifs permettant le ralentissement de ce contournement chez les virus de plantes en agissant sur deux forces evolutives majeures, la derive genetique et la selection, depuis le niveau de l'hote jusqu'a celui de la parcelle. D'abord, un modele epidemiologique stochastique de type SI au niveau d'une parcelle agricole a montre que la derive genetique pouvait etre particulierement benefique au rendement agricole lorsque l'adaptation du virus au gene majeur induit un cout de fitness intermediaire dans les plantes sensibles. Ensuite, la conception et la validation d'un modele base sur des equations deterministes de Lotka-Volterra et des processus stochastiques Dirichlet-multinomiaux a permis de distinguer les effets de la derive genetique et ceux de la selection sur des donnees temporelles de competition intra-plante entre variants viraux, et de mettre en evidence le controle genetique de ces effets par les plantes. Enfin, une analyse de la correlation entre ces estimations des intensites de derive genetique et de selection et une estimation experimentale de la durabilite d'un gene majeur a montre qu'une forte derive genetique lors des stades precoces de l'infection augmentait la durabilite du gene majeur. Ces resultats ouvrent des perspectives pour une gestion plus durable de la resistance des plantes, par la selection de varietes de plantes induisant une forte derive genetique sur les populations d'agents pathogenes
Use of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens for Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium difficile associated disease

In the past decade, Clostridium difficile has emerged as an important human pathogen with steady increases in incidence and severity worldwide. Current treatment strategies with broad spectrum antibiotics have some major drawbacks such as treatment failures with high recurrence rates and the destructive effect on the intestinal microbiota. In addition, antibiotic consumption is always associated with the fear of antibiotic resistance development. This has created the urgent need to find alternative treatment options. We isolated a Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain that is able to inhibit the growth of C. difficile. In this study, we characterized the anti-C. difficile activity of cell free supernatant obtained from a B. amyloliquefaciens SG1 overnight culture. Determination of the antibacterial spectrum indicated only a narrow spectrum of activity. The antibacterial activity was stable over a wide pH and temperature range. No loss of activity was observed after treatment of the supernatant with catalase, amylase, pepsin, protease P, protease K, chymotrypsin and pronase with the exception of only a minor loss of activity due to trypsin treatment. Overall, the antibacterial activity was relatively resistant to proteolytic digestion. The antibacterial activity was impaired by exposure to pancreatin and lipase indicating the presence of a lipid moiety. Lysozyme treatment affected the antibacterial activity weakly. The supernatant showed no hemolytic activity and was not cytotoxic towards IPEC-J2 cells. Next, the antimicrobial compound was purified using acid precipitation, solid phase extraction and reversed phase-HPLC. Mass spectral analysis of the antibacterial fraction revealed the presence of a major peak at 1036.65 Da. MSMS analysis indicated that this peak corresponded to the lipopeptide surfactin. Our results indicate that B. amyloliquefaciens SG1 produces at least one compound, the lipopeptide surfactin, with potent antibacterial activity towards C. difficile, making the strain or the lipopeptide a potential alternative treatment option for C. difficile associated disease. 106 Characterization of CFSN
Streptomycin and Misreading of the Genetic Code

Historical Background In 1961 we accidentally isolated a streptomycin-resistant auxotroph whose arginine requirement could be satisfied by streptomycin (Gorini, Gundersen and Burger 1961). It was shown a few years later (Gorini and Kataja 1964a), using the same streptomycin-resistant parent and by selecting for streptomycin dependence in minimal medium but not in broth, that a class of mutants defective in a number of unrelated metabolic pathways could be easily obtained. The members of this class share the property of “conditional streptomycin dependence (CSD). ” It could be shown in extracts that the enzyme normally missing in the mutant was formed during growth in the presence of streptomycin. We suggested that streptomycin might induce mistakes in the transmission of information from DNA to protein, compensating for the effect of the mistake encoded in the mutant DNA. Such a mechanism is analogous to that of “informational suppression” (Gorini 1970), by which the effect of a mutation persists at the level of the gene but is suppressed at the level of translation. However, informational suppression is found to be the consequence of a mutation in one of the molecules involved in the translation process (most commonly in a tRNA), whereas suppression in the case of CSD mutants appeared to depend on the environment, i.e., the presence or absence of streptomycin in the growth medium. We have suggested the designation of “phenotypic suppression” for this streptomycin effect. If streptomycin produces phenotypic suppression by inducing mistakes in translation, then the drug could be expected to induce mistakes.
Survival of Listeria monocytogenes During the Manufacture and Ripening of Trappist Cheese.

Trappist cheese constitutes more than one-third of the semisoft cheese production in Yugoslavia. The ability of Listeria monocytogenes to survive the Trappist cheese-making process and persist during 90 d of ripening and storage was examined. Trappist cheese was manufactured from pasteurized milk (trials A, B, C) and from whey (trials D and E) inoculated with L. monocytogenes (2.46-5.38 log10 CFU/ml). An increase in L. monocytogenes counts was detected after 30 d of ripening in all of the five trials. After ripening and storage for 90 d, the L. monocytogenes counts ranged from 2.72-5.64 log10 CFU/g cheese. A decline in the population of L. monocytogenes was correlated with a decrease in cheese moisture and pH and with an increase in NaCl and titratable acidity.
Graft incompatibility syndrome in New Zealand Merlot vines involves another possible variant of GLRaV-2

Many winemakers and viticulturists will be aware of the negative effects of Grapevine LeafRoll associated Viruses types 1 and 3 (GLRaV-1 and GLRaV-3) upon fruit quality, especially in the more sensitive red varieties. Few people are aware of the effects of GLRaV-2 and its associated variants. GLRaV-2 is known to be associated with graft incompatibility problems, and the combination of GLRaV-2 and some other viruses resulting in such incompatibility problems is a topic being extensively researched at the University of California at Davis (Golino et al., 1993, 2003). In New Zealand, the only reported findings of GLRaV-2 so far concern the Bordeaux clones of Sauvignon Blanc, 316 and 317, and we have observed incompatibility reactions with these clones when grafted onto some rootstock varieties. The Alfie virus appears to be a variant of GLRaV-2 and also produces similar incompatibility problems with some rootstocks. Another recently reported virus, the Grapevine Rootstock Stem Lesion associated Virus (GRSLaV) (Uyemoto et al., 2001; Rowhani et al., 2002) appears to be another variant of GLRaV-2.
Research Progress of Lycorine of Lycoris Herb

Lycorine is a kind of alkaloid constituent which is highly-contained in plant medicine.That lycorine and its derivatives have many pharmacological effects,such as anti-inflammation,an tivirus,anti-malarial,heart-blood system protection and tumor cell killing.The research chemical composition and structure,those methods of extraction and purification analysis of lycorine are reviewed especially,then provide references for further exploitation and utilization of lycoris.