Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The late Miocene Phractocephalus catfish (Siluriformes: Pimelodidae) from Urumaco, Venezuela: additional specimens and reinterpretation as a distinct species

Based on additional specimens the fossil pimelodid catfish from the upper Miocene Urumaco Formation, Falcon State, Venezuela originally assigned to the extant species Phractocephalus hemioliopterus is described as a new, extinct species. Phractocephalus nassi n. sp. is diagnosed by the following combination of characters: 1) posterior half of frontals and anterior half of supraoccipital with elongate, coarse ridges and sulci in addition to reticulating ridges and subcircular pits; 2) very broad and ornamented mesethmoid bone; 3) lateral ethmoid margin convex and eliminating orbital notch but not projecting far anteriorly over palatine condyle; 4) anterior cranial fontanelle closed or represented by a small pit; 5) supraoccipital process rounded laterally and posterolaterally, concave posteriorly and completely concealing Weberian complex in dorsal view; 6) opercle covered with reticulating ridges and pits; 7) cleithrum coarsely ornamented along ventral edge and bulging outward lateral to spine articulation; 8) pectoral spine mostly ornamented with coarse ridges and sulci. Phractocephalus nassi is compared to modern P. hemioliopterus and an undescribed extinct species from the upper Miocene Solimoes Formation, Acre, Brazil. New diagnostic characters of Phractocephalus are presented that apply to the modern and fossil species, including: 1) ornamentation of skull, pectoral girdle and fin spines comprising a coarse meshwork of reticulating ridges surrounding rounded pits plus some elongate ridges and sulci; 2) supraoccipital posterior process greatly expanded laterally and posteriorly behind occipital wall; 3) lateral ethmoid and sphenotic broadly sutured behind eye; 4) anterior cranial fontanelle reduced or completely closed and posterior cranial fontanelle closed; 5) vomerine tooth plate large, roughly pentagonal to triangular in form, and with fine teeth. Today Phractocephalus ranges widely throughout the lowland Orinoco, Amazon and Essequibo basins. However, the genus does not occur west or north of the Andes or Venezuelan coastal ranges. Recognizing the Urumaco Phractocephalus as a distinct species does not alter the obvious conclusion that this catfish marks a large river connection between the Caribbean coastal region and the Orinoco system during at least part of the Neogene. Other Urumaco fossils show this same biogeographic relationship.
Wetland Restoration in the New Millennium: Do Research Efforts Match Opportunities?

Of 311 papers on wetland restoration, only 15 concerned large‐scale experimentation in restoration sites. Most papers described what happened, reported on small field experiments, or discussed restoration targets. While these are important topics, our opinion is that we lose significant opportunities to learn how to recover populations, community structure, and ecosystem processes, and we limit our ability to document variability and whole‐system responses, when we do not experiment at large scales. We suggest that, wherever possible, large projects facilitate field tests of alternative restoration approaches. Furthermore, we encourage researchers to take advantage of major restoration efforts by conducting large field experiments, assessing multiple responses, and offering restoration guidance in an adaptive framework.
The interplay of dispersal limitation, rivers, and historical events shapes the genetic structure of an Amazonian frog

Disentangling the impact of landscape features such as rivers and historical events on dispersal is a challenging but necessary task to gain a comprehensive picture of the evolution of diverse biota such as that found in Amazonia. Adenomera andreae, a small, territorial, terrestrial frog species of the Amazonian forest represents a good model for such studies. We combined cytochrome b sequences with 12 microsatellites to investigate the genetic structure at two contrasted spatial scales in French Guiana: along a similar to 6-km transect, to evaluate dispersal ability, and between paired bank populations along a similar to 65-km stretch of the Approuague river, to test the effect of rivers as barriers to dispersal. We observed significant spatial genetic structure between individuals at a remarkably small geographical scale, and conclude that the species has a restricted dispersal ability that is probably tied to its life-history traits. Mitochondrial and microsatellite data also indicate a high level of differentiation among populations on opposite banks of the river, and, in some cases, among populations on the same riverbank. These results suggest that the observed population structure in A. andreae is the result of restricted dispersal abilities combined with the action of rivers and Quaternary population isolation. Given that Amazonia hosts a great portion of anurans, as well as other small vertebrates, that display life-history traits comparable with A. andreae, we argue that our analyses provide new insights into the complex interactions among evolutionary processes shaping Amazonian biodiversity. (c) 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 106, 356373.
Study of genetic diversity in Mycobacterium tuberculosis by using mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit: Variable number tandem repeat typing in Khuzestan Province, Iran

To investigate the genetic diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) strains MIRU-VNTR as a powerful tool was used. In this study 80 isolates from patients were analyzed using primers based on IS6110 gene fragment specific for MTB complex. Then R&D typing based on regions of difference was used to differentiate MTBC members. The MTB isolates were genotyped by 12 loci based MIRU-VNTR. The discriminatory index for each loci was calculated using the Hunter Gaston Discriminatory Index (HGDI), of these, 60 cases were identified as MTB by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method and RD-PCR typing. Forty eight distinct patterns comprising of 11 clusters and 37 unique patterns were identified. The discriminatory power of MIRU-VNTR typing was high (HGDI= 0.991) for these samples. Also we could detect a case of mixed infection by MIRU-VNTR. The results show that MIRU-VNTR typing is a useful method for studying genetic diversity of MTB in regional settings. Key words: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, genotyping, mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit – variable number tandem repeat, Khuzestan, tuberculosis.
Spatial heterogeneity of a parasitic plant drives the seed‐dispersal pattern of a zoochorous plant community in a generalist dispersal system

Summary Biota plays a central role as sources of spatial heterogeneity, having great potential to define ecological processes and patterns in the landscape. Mistletoes are fleshy-fruited parasitic plants that dwell in forest canopies showing a strong aggregated spatial distribution. Parasitized trees potentially concentrate frugivore activity on their canopy, where birds find food, places to perch and protection against predators. Thus, seed-deposition patterns generated from the canopy are expected to reflect the heterogeneity associated with the parasite. This becomes especially important in generalist dispersal systems; however, so far, we do not know the implications of mistletoe spatial heterogeneity on the seed-dispersal pattern of other plants with which they simultaneously fruit. In a Mediterranean pineland, we analyse the impact of Viscum album subsp. austriacum on the seed-deposition pattern of a zoochorous plant community, taking into consideration the spatial and temporal variability of environmental factors influencing the frugivore's habitat use, such as fruit availability and forest tree density. For four consecutive years, we studied 55 pairs of trees parasitized and unparasitized by mistletoe, analysing zoochorous fruit availability, frugivore visits and the zoochorous seed rain in selected trees. As expected, frugivorous birds responded to mistletoe heterogeneity by visiting parasitized trees preferentially to unparasitized ones, generating a differential deposition of mistletoe seeds on tree branches while dispersing seeds of co-fruiting species under the host canopy. Availability of understory fruits remained similar in patches of parasitized and unparasitized trees, but showed strong temporal fluctuations reflected in the seed rain. On the other hand, mistletoe proved more copious in patches of parasitized trees and their fruit crops varied little between years, making mistletoes reliable food resources likely to lead to consistency in fruit-deposition patterns. In conclusion, mistletoes, by patchily growing on the canopy layer and concentrating zoochorous seeds underneath, can shape the spatial seed-deposition pattern of fleshy-fruited plants in the forest. Moreover, as seeds constantly reach the same deposition sites over long periods, the soil beneath the host canopy could become hotspots for community regeneration. In degraded areas, such mistletoe effects might be critical, possibly promoting recolonization and vegetation recovery through the frugivore's activity.
Wet litter not only induces footpad dermatitis but also reduces overall welfare, technical performance, and carcass yield in broiler chickens

SUMMARY This study investigated whether a high level of footpad dermatitis (FPD) in broiler chickens induced by increased litter moisture content is accompanied by negative effects on technical performance, carcass yield, and other welfare aspects. Litter moisture content was increased by systematically spraying water over the litter from 6 d of age onward (lesion-induction treatment). Results were compared with a control group kept on relatively good quality litter and having a very low prevalence of footpad lesions. Litter quality significantly decreased from 7 d of age onward in the pens with the lesion-induction treatment compared with the control pens. At 21 and 36 d of age, significantly more FPD was observed in the lesion-induction groups compared with the control groups. Technical performance of the broilers was negatively affected for the lesion-induction groups from 28 d of age onward; lesion-induction groups had significantly lower BW gain, feed intake, and water intake and significantly higher FCR compared with control groups. As a result of the lower BW gain, carcass weight was less for the lesion-induction group and significantly more rejections for commercial parts were found. The lesion-induction groups also had significantly more hock burns and breast irritations at d 21 and 36, and were dirtier but had fewer thigh scratches at d 35 compared with the control groups. In addition, locomotion was negatively affected among the lesion-induction group, as they had a higher gait score at d 36 compared with the control group. We concluded that increased litter moisture content not only caused severe FPD but also reduced broiler performance and carcass yield and had a negative effect on other welfare aspects.
The role of body odours in the relative attractiveness of different men to malarial vectors in Burkina Faso

People seem differentially attractive to mosquitoes. If this is so, key odours may exist to be exploited for sampling mosquitoes without putting men at risk in human-biting catches (HBC). To investigate this possibility, HBC and catches based on entry traps baited with the odours from the men used as bait in the HBC (OBET) were performed in parallel.In the HBC, the ‘most attractive’ catcher, in each of three teams of four men, collected around twice as many mosquitoes as the ‘least attractive’. This differential across each team, which remained unchanged for 10 weeks, was not due to differences in catching skill because the ranking varied between the mosquito species caught. Although, when the men's odours were tested with OBET, significant ranking was still observed for catches of Anopheles gambiae s.l. , this ranking was lost if the men's CO2 outputs were artificially standardized.The search for a synthetic attractant is still worthwhile, however, because: (1) there appears to be real differences between.
Cost of resistance: relationship between reduced fertility and increased resistance in a snail—schistosome host—parasite system

Natural host populations often exhibit genetic variability in resistance to parasitism. One possible mechanism for maintaining such diversity is a trade–off between fitness costs associated with resistance and fitness costs associated with parasitism. However, little is known about the nature or magnitude of these costs in animal populations. Using artificial selection experiments in a Biomphalaria glabrata–Schistosoma mansoni host–parasite system, we demonstrated that resistance and susceptibility to infection are heritable. We then investigated whether resistance had any associated costs in terms of snail reproductive success. Susceptible–selected snail lines showed significantly higher fertility (number of offspring produced) than resistant–selected or unselected control snail lines, irrespective of current infection status. There were no consistent differences between snail lines in fecundity, proportion of abnormal egg masses produced, or mean number of eggs per egg mass. Mortality rate was higher among infected than uninfected snails. These results are consistent with snails incurring costs of resistance to schistosome infection in the absence of the parasite.
Heat stress amelioration and production performance in layers supplemented with herbal liquid anti-stressor product

Poultry flocks are particularly vulnerable to climate change and poultry production efficiency is adversely affected by high ambient temperatures and humidity. As the body temperature of birds rise, feed consumption, growth rate, feed efficiency, survivability, egg production, egg quality tends to decline. In order to address the problem of heat stress an experiment was conducted to determine the effect of AV/LAP/19 liquid (Supplied by M/s Ayurvet Ltd. Baddi, HP, India) containing natural vitamin C with bioflavonoids and selenium, and synthetic ascorbic-acid (vit C) supplementation on the performance of commercial layers. Total 120 birds of 55 weeks age were divided in 4 equal groups of 30 birds in each. They were exposed to a heat stress of daily temperature 39±8°C, and temperature humidity index (THI) 81.33±1.20. All bird groups were offered basal diet deficient in vit C. Group T0 was not treated by any supplementation and kept as control. Group T1 was treated with synthetic vit C @ 100 g/tonne of feed whilst group T2 and T3 were supplemented with AV/LAP/19 liquid @ 3ml and 5ml per 100 birds respectively on daily basis for a period of 56 th week to 62 nd week. Negative effect of high ambient temperature and relative humidity was evidenced from the high serum cortisol level (mg/L) (3.42 ±0.19 to 3.67±0.20) in all groups. It was significantly optimized and lowered down in all treated groups. The rate of reduction in serum cortisol level was much pronounced in the herbal liquid supplemented groups. Concomitantly, increased Alkaline Phosphatase and Alkaline transaminase levels were also lowered in treated birds. The total protein, albumin and globulin were having numerically higher levels in treated birds. Higher body weight was attained by AV/LAP/19 liquid supplementation in group T2 and T3. Synthetic vit C supplementation in group T1 had nearly equal weight to that of untreated control T0. Similar trend was noticed in egg weight and egg production (%) of layer birds. It was concluded that the herbal liquid AV/LAP/19 at both the dosages ameliorated the heat stress in layer birds as well as resulted in better feed efficiency and immunoregulation. However, significantly better egg production (%) was recorded in the birds of group T2 supplemented with AV/LAP/19@3ml/100birds/day.
Survival and growth responses of native and introduced vines in New Zealand to light availability.

Abstract Clematis vitalba, Lonicera japonica, and Passiflora mollissima are three introduced vine species which have become naturalised in New Zealand. Their light requirements and growth rates were compared with those of two common native vine species (Muehlenbeckia australis and Parsonsia heterophylla) by growing plants under irradiance levels corresponding to 40%, 7%, 3.5%, and 2% of available sunlight (expressed as relative irradiance (% RI)). Weedy vines are characterised by a high degree of shade tolerance and a rapid growth rate in high-light environments. Clematis vitalba and Lonicera japonica have their light compensation points at 1.0% RI and 0.9% RI, respectively, and both species show high maximum growth rates. The native vine Parsonsia heterophylla has the lowest light compensation point (<1% RI), but also possesses the lowest overall growth rates. Passiflora mollissima and the native Muehlenbeckia australis have higher light compensation points (2% and 1.8% RI, respectively) and the growth r.
Studies on egg shells. XIV.—variations in egg weight, shell thickness and membrane thickness between eggs within a clutch

Clutches containing up to five eggs were available from 16 birds over a period of three laying seasons. Variations in egg weight, shell thickness and membrane thickness were studied in relation to the position of the egg within the clutch. It was found that generally the results agreed with those of earlier workers, but the main argument used in the paper is that statistically significant differences are not necessarily a good basis on which to build biological hypotheses when individual clutches and individual birds show a large proportion of results which do not agree with the mean result.
MUSCLE TRANSPLANTATION BETWEEN NORMAL AND DYSTROPHIC MICE. 1. HISTOLOGICAL STUDIES

Minced normal and dystrophic tibialis anterior muscles were transplanted into normal and dystrophic mice in the presence or absence of the peroneal nerve. Transplants were examined at intervals ranging from 0 to over 300 days in normal hosts and 0 to 200 days in dystrophic hosts. In the first 10 days after tranriplantation all muscle minces underwent degeneration followed by proliferation of precursor cells of connective tissue and muscle. By 8 days, myotubes with internal nuclei were abundant. Further differentiation of myotubes into muscle fibres occurred only in normal hosts with an intact peroneal nerve. Transplants in dystrophic mice, and in normal mice in which the peroneal nerves were capped with polydimethyl silicone rubber, underwent progressive degeneration, and by 100 days consisted mainly of connective tissue and fat. In normal hosts innervated dystrophic transplants were histologically similar to auto‐ and homotransplants of normal muscle. A significant population of regenerated fibres in normal and dystrophic transplants showed internal nuclei, variation in size and splitting, and were smaller in diameter than those from intact normal muscles. Since normal and dystrophic transplants failed to survive in the dystrophic hosts and in the denervated state in normal mice, it is suggested that the failure of dystrophic mice to maintain minced muscle transplants may be due to an inherent inability of dystrophic nerves to establish functional neuromuscular contact with these transplants.
A novel terrestrial halophilic environment: The phylloplane of Atriplex halimus, a salt-excreting plant

This paper describes the microbial ecosystem found on the leaves of Atriplex halimus, a salt-excreting plant in the central Negev highlands of Israel. Because of the regular nightly occurence of dew at this location, these leaves undergo a diurnal wetting so that phylloplane microorganisms experience large fluctuations in salinity and water activity, as well as tolerate repeated desiccation. During the dry season, in the late spring and summer, a significant amount of salts and organic material coats the leaf surface. During dew events the salt concentration at the leaf surface was calculated to be > 0.4 M. Direct counts of the respiring bacteria on the leaf surface ranged from 1.06×104 to 5.06×105 per cm2. Using a variety of media it was shown that there was limited bacterial diversity which could be cultured, with greater than 90% of the isolates being orange colored Gram-negative rods. Viable counts ranged from 0.32 to 2.32×104 bacteria per cm2 of A. halimus leaf surface. No bacteria capable of nucleating ice were recovered in these studies. The dominant orange pigmented bacterium, identified as a halotolerant Pseudomonas sp. , grew optimally at 30°C and at 5% NaCl and was capable of growth in media containing up to 20% NaCl. This bacterium could grow on a variety of organic compounds, including some associated with plant materials. The leaf bacteria were desiccation-tolerant when on the leaf surface or when directly washed off the leaves, but much less so when in isolatd culture. A major component of the tolerance to desiccation is probably related to the compounds on the leaf surface.
COMPARISON OF CANADIAN AND INTERNATIONAL ANGUS CATTLE POPULATIONS USING GENE VARIANTS AND MICROSATELLITES

ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.iv TABLE OF CONTENTS.v LIST OF TABLES.vii LIST OF FIGURES.ix LIST OF APPENDICES.x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.xi 1.0 INTRODUCTION . 1 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW.3 2.1 The Angus breed.3 2.1. 1 Breed history and development.3 2.1. 2 Current breed status.3 2.1. 3 International movement of Angus genetics.4 2.2 Polymorphisms in genes related to beef production.5 2.2.1 LEP.6 2.2.2 IGF2.7 2.2.3 MC1R.8 2.2.4 PMCH.9 2.2. 5 CAPN1.9 2.2. 6 CAST.10 2.3 Genetic diversity.11 2.3. 1 Genetic diversity in cattle.11 2.3. 2 Polymorphism types for studying diversity.13 2.4 Hypotheses.17
Alteraciones en la integridad del acrosoma y de la teca perinuclear en semen criopreservado de verraco

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of cryopreservation on the integrity of the acrosome and the perinuclear theca substructure (PTS) of boar spermatozoa. Semen from six boars was used. The semen was collected, diluted, and sperm motility and concentration determined. Only ejaculates showing ≥70% motility were used in this study. Diluted semen was divided in two samples: one to be evaluated fresh, and other to be evaluated after freezing-thawing. Fresh and frozen-thawed semen samples were used to assess sperm viability and acrosome integrity by light microscopy using the triple staining technique and to evaluate the PTS integrity by electron microscopy. The frozen-thawed semen had a greater proportion (P<0.05) of acrosome reacted live spermatozoa, compared to the fresh semen. The freezing-thawing process reduced (P<0.05) the proportion of intact PTS spermatozoa. The value of acrosome reacted spermatozoa was correlated with the proportion of spermatozoa with altered or absent PTS, both in fresh (r=0.93; P<0.05) and in frozen-thawed (r=0.71; P<0.05) semen. In conclusion, cryopreserved boar semen showed some alterations in the integrity of the acrosome and the PTS that might be due to cryocapacitation.
Phylogenetic relationships in the louse genus Penenirmus based on nuclear (EF‐1α) and mitochondrial (COI) DNA sequences

Abstract. Ischnoceran lice in genus Penenirmus are parasites of birds in orders Piciformes and Passeriformes. No comprehensive revision of this genus has been published, but a few host‐based revisions have been done. Here we present a phylogenetic analysis of Penenirmus based on nuclear (elongation factor‐1 alpha) and mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase I) gene sequences. Sequences from portions of both these genes provide a well resolved tree that is relatively stable across methods of analysis and to bootstrap resampling. Some aspects of the Penenirmus phylogeny reflect the phylogeny of their avian hosts. We identified monophyly of a group of Penenirmus species occurring on Passeriformes as well as monophyly of a group containing species sometimes placed in a genus Picophilopterus. Species of Penenirmus occurring on Old World barbets fall in several positions at the base of the tree, suggesting that other lineages of Penenirmus may be derived from those occurring on Old World barbets.