Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of feeding time constraints on body mass regulation and energy expenditure in wintering dunlin (Calidris alpina)

We examined the effects of time-restricted feeding on regulation of body mass and activity energy expenditure in captive wintering dunlin (Calidris alpina) held in outdoor aviaries at Tomales Bay, California. In the first of two experiments, we compared birds under 24 h : 24 h (fasting : ad libitum feeding) food restriction with controls under continuous ad libitum feeding. In the second experiment, we compared birds under 24 h : 6 h : 12 h : 6 h (fasting : ad libitum : fasting : ad libitum) food restriction with birds under 24 h : 24 h food restriction. We estimated total energy expended on activities from daily mass balance using an additive model based on measures of gross energy intake, thermoregulation, basal metabolism, and a sensitivity analysis of gross utilization efficiency and energy density of reserve body tissue. Dunlin under 24 h : 24 h food restriction overcompensated for body mass lost while fasting, increasing their body mass relative to controls fed ad libitum. Dunlin under 24 h : 6 h : 12 h : 6 h food restriction were unable to recover body mass lost during the first fasting day. When allowed to feed, food-restricted birds reduced the amount of energy spent on being active and increased food intake and energy storage relative to controls, but when forced to fast, they increased their activity energy expenditure. These patterns suggest winter body mass regulation consistent with the behaviors of free-living dunlin in winter. Copyright 2002.
Some effects of cold exposure, nutrition and experimental handling on serum free fatty-acid levels in sheep

Blood serum free fatty acid (FFA) levels have been measured in sheep subjected to: ( a ) short periods (20–24 hours) of fasting, ( b ) physical and emotional disturbances associated with experimental handling, and ( c ) exposure to cold temperatures when either pregnant or unmated. The first two factors acted additively, each causing a small elevation of about 100–200 μ-equiv/litre above the pre-existing FFA level. The effect of short-fasting gradually disappeared during the first 6 hours after feeding; the effect of experimental disturbance lasted less than 2 hours. The effect of severe cold treatment (exposure to approximately 60°C subcriticai ambient temperatures for 2–10 hours) was very marked, producing mean FFA elevations of about 2000 μ-equiv/litre. Mild cold exposure (3−8°C below the critical temperature), even when maintained for several days, produced little change in the FFA levels already typical of either well-fed or short-fasted sheep. Exposures of moderate intensity (25°C below the critical temperature) apparently produced small elevations in short-fasted sheep only. It was concluded that a large increase in FFA level was the normal response to acute cold exposure. Elevations due to other factors were, in the context of these experiments, very small. Within the normal range of response to cold exposure there was considerable individual variation in the degree of FFA elevation, but this variation was not generally related to cold resistance expressed as the ability to maintain rectal temperature. However, a few sheep which failed to raise FFA values to the normal extent did show poor cold resistance.
On the occurrence of the longfin mako, Isurus paucus (Chondrichthyes: Isuridae) off the Algerian coast (southwestern Mediterranean)

The authors describe in this paper one male and one female longfin makos Isurus paucus Guitart Manday, 1966 caught off Beni-Saf, city located on the Algerian coast, close to the Moroccan border. These captures confirm the occurrence of the species in the Algerian waters and in the Mediterranean.
Anthropogenic influences on the spatial ecology of a semi-arid python

Populations of carpet pythons Morelia spilota have declined across much of inland Australia, apparently because of anthropogenic disturbances, yet continue to persist in areas that have been heavily modified by humans along the eastern seaboard of Australia. To help to clarify this paradox, we undertook a radiotelemetric study of M. spilota in a semi-arid, agricultural landscape in inland Australia, making comparisons at two spatial scales. First, we compared activity and space use at the local regional level, between an area of high human modification: a homestead; and one that has experienced low human disturbance: a nearby woodland. During spring and summer, snakes inhabiting woodland environments moved more frequently and farther than those inhabiting humanmodified environments. Home-range sizes did not differ between landscapes. Home ranges of M. spilota from semi-arid Australia were nearly five times smaller than those of conspecifics from coastal eastern Australia, yet daily distances moved were more than three times larger in semi-arid inland populations. Although a number of factors could explain differences in the spatial ecology between inland and coastal populations, the surprisingly ‘healthy’ population at the homestead, a modified area adjacent to relatively intact woodland, suggests the absence or reduction of processes threatening inland M. spilota at other locations. This scenario supports the idea that declines of inland M. spilota are related to habitat loss. For instance, most inland areas differ from our homestead site in having (1) greater fragmentation and thus smaller, more isolated woodland remnants; (2) a higher loss of understorey vegetation, which provides concealment from both predators and prey.
The Shark: Barbarian and Benefactor

derstanding of the biology and behavior of sharks. To activate and implement these recommendations, the AIBS Shark Research Panel' was formed and much of the impetus given to shark research in the past decade has stemmed directly from the activity of this panel. From its inception the Shark Research Panel has been concerned not only with the development of protective measures man might employ in shark infested waters but also with basic research programs that lead to a better understanding of the species. Under the able direction of Leonard P. Schultz, a Shark Attack File for the world was set up at the Smithsonian Institution and to date nearly 1500 case histories are on file. From the documentation in this file we hope to learn more about those environmental conditions under which attack takes place as well as the behavior patterns of swimmers that attract sharks. Information in the file is now being transferred to IBM cards for use in a data retrieval system and the file is presently located at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota in the charge of Captain H. David Baldridge, USN. Other activities of the Panel have
Feed conversion efficiency and marginal milk production responses of pasture-fed dairy cows offered supplementary grain during an extended lactation

A study was conducted to quantify the feed conversion efficiency (FCE) and marginal milk responses of pasture-fed cows offered supplementary grain during an extended lactation of 670 days. The experiment used three groups of 10 Holstein cows in four experimental periods of 4 weeks, beginning when cows were ~60, 240, 420 and 530 days in milk (DIM). In each experimental period, cows were individually fed diets of either freshly cut perennial ryegrass pasture supplemented with triticale (60 and 420 DIM), or pasture silage and lucerne hay supplemented with wheat (240 and 530 DIM). On each occasion, one of the three groups was offered additional grain at 0.0, 2.5 or 5.0 kg DM/cow.day. Milk production was measured daily and concentrations of milk fat and protein weekly. These data were used to calculate FCE and marginal responses of milk, energy-corrected milk and milk solids (fat + protein). Results showed FCE was highest at 60 DIM and lowest at 530 DIM. Increased DM intake because of increased grain intake led to increased FCE at 240 and 530 DIM when the energy concentration of forage was lowest. Marginal milk responses were not different at any stage of lactation. For milk solids and energy-corrected milk, responses at 240 DIM were the same as at 530 DIM, but greater than at 60 DIM and 420 DIM. This study provides the first Australian data about FCE and marginal milk production responses to grain supplementation of pasture-fed cows undergoing an extended lactation. The results should provide farmers with confidence that good responses to grain can be achieved even in the latter part of a 22-month lactation.
Effects of various extracts from Pistacia eurycarpa Yalt. on growth duration of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of various extracts obtained fromPistacia eurycarpa Yalt. on the exact time of appearance of the colonies of Mycobacterium tuberculosis on solid media. For this purpose, the fatty acid compositions of the fixed oils were analyzed using Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) in the fruit and peels. The fixed oils and the water-soluble extracts obtained from the plant as well as the fatty acids were added either separately or together on the surfaces of the Lowenstein Jensen and Middlebrook 7H11 agar media. Their effects on growth time of 40 strains of M. tuberculosis complex were investigated. Therefore, all of water-soluble extracts accelerated the growth of the mycobacteria in a statistically significant manner in both media. It was observed that the fixed oils and the fatty acids individually did not cause any significant effect on growth duration of the M. tuberculosis strains. Finally, the water-soluble extracts of P. eurycarpa fruit and its peel significantly accelerated the growth of M. tuberculosis by shortening the growth duration of M. tuberculosis at least by one third. Key words: M. tuberculosis, Pistacia eurycarpa, gas chromatography – massspectrometry, growth time
How grazing and soil quality affect native and exotic plant diversity in Rocky Mountain grasslands

We used multiscale plots to sample vascular plant diversity and soil characteristics in and adjacent to 26 long-term grazing exclosure sites in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota, USA. The exclosures were 7–60 yr old (31.2 ± 2.5 yr, mean ± 1 se). Plots were also randomly placed in the broader landscape in open rangeland in the same vegetation type at each site to assess spatial variation in grazed landscapes. Consistent sampling in the nine National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, and other management units yielded data from 78 1000-m2 plots and 780 1-m2 subplots. We hypothesized that native species richness would be lower in the exclosures than in grazed sites, due to competitive exclusion in the absence of grazing. We also hypothesized that grazed sites would have higher native and exotic species richness compared to ungrazed areas, due to disturbance (i.e., the intermediate-disturbance hypothesis) and the conventional wisdom that grazing may accelerate weed invasion. Both hypotheses were soundly rej.
THE INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE ON THE PROCESS OF WATER UPTAKE BY DETACHED LEAVES AND LEAF DISCS

Summary When a water deficit was induced in a mature fully turgid leaf of Ricinus communis L. the tissues could completely regain full turgidity by absorption of water at around 1° C. This was true of large water deficits (40%) which greatly exceeded the cell wall volume (12%). This uptake therefore included movement into the protoplasts and was not restricted to the cell walls alone as had been previously supposed (Weatherley, 1963). However, resaturation of leaf tissues taken from plants which had suffered from drought for more prolonged periods, could be separated into two fractions. An uptake at 1° C was attributable as before to recovery of turgor; an extra uptake at 25° C seemed to be a growth phenomenon inhibited at the lower temperature. This represented a rapid cell expansion following a period of growth arrestment due to water stress. The implications of these findings for the measurement of relative water content are discussed.
Rst1 and Rst2 are required for the a/α diploid cell type in yeast

In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the preservation of the mating competent haploid (a or α) and the mating incompetent diploid (a/α) is necessary to prevent aneuploidy. Once haploid cells respond to pheromone, the mating‐specific signal transduction pathway is activated, and the MAP kinase Fus3 phosphorylates two specific repressor proteins Rst1 and Rst2 (also known as Dig1 and Dig2) to promote Ste12‐dependent transcription of mating‐specific genes. In contrast, diploid cells cannot mate because genes that encode components of the mating pathway are repressed through the combined action of the Mata1–Matα2 and Matα2–Mcm1 repressors. Surprisingly, repression of Ste12 by Rst1 and Rst2 is essential for diploid sterility. Homozygous deletion of both RST1 and RST2 (rst–) causes a/α diploid cells constitutively to express a‐specific genes and mate preferentially as a‐cells. This phenotype is sensitive to Ste12 dosage, as removal of one copy of STE12 completely reduces the ectopic activation of a‐specific genes. The Matα2–Mcm1 complex, which normally represses a‐specific genes, is defective in rst– diploids because Matα2 is destabilized in rst– diploids, possibly as a consequence of its relocalization from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. This study finds that Rst1 and Rst2 are necessary for the a/α diploid cell type. Rst1 and Rst2 are required in order to prevent the amplification of a robust Ste12 transcriptional programme that appears to over‐ride Matα2‐dependent repression of haploid and a‐specific genes.
Acute Onset Asymmetric Sensorimotor Paraparesis: Not Always Spinal!

Abstract Objective: To report an atypical case of acute onset sensorimotor paraparesis secondary to bilateral cerebral stroke. Background: Acute onset paraparesis or paraplegia is usually secondary to a spinal cord disease. Central or cerebral causes of paraparesis are rare and include parasagittal and bilateral precentral lesions. Design/Methods: Case report and literature review. Results: A 65-year-old man presented with acute onset weakness of both lower limbs, associated with pins and needle sensation. On examination, he was found to have paraparesis (grade 2/5, both legs) and an asymmetric sensory loss in both legs and thighs. Spinal magnetic resonance imaging ruled out any compressive or noncompressive etiology. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed an acute infarction in the bilateral cerebral hemisphere in both the pre- and postcentral gyrus. An angiogram of the brain revealed an aplastic right ACA-A1 with left ACA-A1 feeding bilateral A2. There was distal left ACA-A1 stenosis seen, the probable cause of bilateral stroke in this patient. The patient was treated conservatively and showed symptomatic improvement during the course of stay at the hospital. Conclusion: This case of acute paraparesis secondary to bilateral cerebral infarction demonstrates the need to always look for a cerebral cause. In patients with cerebral infarction, who present early to a hospital, it may provide a window for thrombolytic or endovascular therapy.
Multiple Dimensions of Reform

We conducted a study using mixed methods to explore implementation of reform legislation and related outcomes for students with disabilities and those placed at risk of school failure. Designed to promote equal educational opportunities, the legislation included provisions for (a) redistributing state funding so that schools would have more equal access to resources and (b) requiring all schools to adopt and use state standards and standards-based assessments. Almost one fourth of the public schools in the state participated in the study, including schools that gained, lost, or were not affected by the redistribution of state education funds. A cross-case analysis identified both benefits and challenges for students with disabilities and those placed at risk of school failure, suggesting a need to ensure that reforms focus on outcomes for all students and include adequate resources and professional development opportunities for educators and administrators in both general and special education.
Pharmacological activity of Althaea officinalis L.

Althaea officinalis belongs to family Malvaceae. It is one of the medicinal plants used therapeutically since ancient time. The leaves of the A. officinalis plant as well as the root are used as medicine. Roots of A. officinalis contain mucilage, flavonoids and glycosides, additionally the leaves contain the coumarin scopoletin. Due to having valuable secondary metabolites it exert potential therapeutic effect. In vitro and in vivo study of A. officinalisindicates significant pharmacological activity in the cough, irritation of the throat, gastric inflammation, anti-tumor, antiviral and immunostimulant. Anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory activities, effects on mucociliary transport, adhesion of polysaccharide to buccal membranes and reduction of cough are reported. Key words: Pharmacological activity, Althaea officinalis, pectin.
Tomato chlorosis virus in pepper: prevalence in commercial crops in southeastern Spain and symptomatology under experimental conditions

Tomato chlorosis virus (ToCV), a member of the genus Crinivirus (family Closteroviridae), has been present in Spain since at least 1997, causing annual epidemics of yellowing in protected tomato crops. In 1999, sweet pepper plants exhibiting stunting and symptoms of interveinal yellowing and mild upward curling in the leaves, were found to be infected with ToCV in a greenhouse heavily infested with the whitefly Bemisia tabaci in the province of Almeria, southeastern Spain. This study investigated the prevalence of ToCV in tomato and pepper crops in the major growing areas of southeastern Spain (Murcia, Almeria and Malaga provinces) over a 3-year period. In addition, an experimental system was developed for ToCV inoculation using B. tabaci as a vector, which allowed analysis of susceptibility of different pepper cultivars to the virus. The disease syndrome and yield losses induced by ToCV in pepper were also studied under experimental conditions, confirming severe yield reduction in infected plants.
The Potential for Unreported Artificial Reefs to Serve as Refuges from Fishing Mortality for Reef Fishes

AbstractThis study tested the potential for 27 artificial reefs, which were deployed in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM) but not reported to the public, to serve as refuges from fishing mortality for reef fishes. Red Snapper Lutjanus campechanus (n = 2,114) and Gray Triggerfish Balistes capriscus (n = 267) were tagged at a subset (n = 9) of the study reefs from winter 2005 to fall 2007 to estimate their site fidelity and mortality rates. Mortality was also estimated from catch curves fit to Red Snapper and Gray Triggerfish age distributions that were estimated at the study reefs both before (2005–2007) and after (2007–2008) the GPS coordinates of the above subset were advertised to the public. Red Snapper site fidelity (f), estimated by fitting Burnham's (1993) joint encounter model to tagging data, was 12.8% per year; while estimated instantaneous total mortality (Z) of Red Snapper ranged from 0.08 per year during the closed recreational fishing seasons to 1.31 per year during the open seasons. Sim.
Isolation and Structure-Activity of μ-Conotoxin TIIIA, A Potent Inhibitor of Tetrodotoxin-Sensitive Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels

μ-Conotoxins are three-loop peptides produced by cone snails to inhibit voltage-gated sodium channels during prey capture. Using polymerase chain reaction techniques, we identified a gene sequence from the venom duct of Conus tulipa encoding a new μ-conotoxin-TIIIA (TIIIA). A 125I-TIIIA binding assay was established to isolate native TIIIA from the crude venom of Conus striatus. The isolated peptide had three post-translational modifications, including two hydroxyproline residues and C-terminal amidation, and <35% homology to other μ-conotoxins. TIIIA potently displaced [3H]saxitoxin and 125I-TIIIA from rat brain (Nav1.2) and skeletal muscle (Nav1.4) membranes. Alanine and glutamine scans of TIIIA revealed several residues, including Arg14, that were critical for high-affinity binding to tetrodotoxin (TTX)-sensitive Na+ channels. We were surprised to find that [E15A]TIIIA had a 10-fold higher affinity than TIIIA for TTX-sensitive sodium channels (IC50, 15 vs. 148 pM at rat brain membrane). TIIIA was selective for Nav1.2 and -1.4 over Nav1.3, -1.5, -1.7, and -1.8 expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes and had no effect on rat dorsal root ganglion neuron Na+ current. 1H NMR studies revealed that TIIIA adopted a single conformation in solution that was similar to the major conformation described previously for μ-conotoxin PIIIA. TIIIA and analogs provide new biochemical probes as well as insights into the structure-activity of μ-conotoxins.
Photomodulation of stem extension in light-grown plants: evidence for two reactions

Internode elongation was measured in plants of Phaseolus vulgaris and Glycine max grown under 8 h photoperiods at 25 W m−2 in white fluorescent light, followed by light-extensions varying in quality, irradiance and duration. Two distinct responses to light were observed under these conditions. A reduction in PFR/P increased elongation, but elongation was also modified by a second reaction in which internode length increased with increase in the duration and irradiance of the day-extension. This light-promoted response occurred in both red and blue light. In the PFR-inhibition response, light acted directly on the expanding internode. The light-promoted response, in contrast, required irradiation of the leaf. The response to a short end-of-day exposure to far-red light progressively diminished as successive internodes expanded under the treatment, whereas the light-promoted response increased. The two processes appeared to interact and, in the later-expanding internodes, the effect of a reduction in PFR was greater under long day-extensions with mixed red and far-red light than in the end-of-day treatments.
Book Reviews

In 1981 Philip Abrams served as President of the Sociology Section of the British Association at York. Most of the papers in this volume are culled from that event. Abrams died later that year and the book is dedicated to his memory. Martin Bulmer has done a fine editorial job and the Preface pays fitting tribute to Abrams's academic achievements and professional concerns. As the author of The Origins of British Sociology 1834-1914, Abrams had already displayed his interest in the institutional, intellectual and practical strands that contributed to the development of the discipline. But he also used his historical knowledge as a means of contextualising and understanding contemporary sociology. This comes out clearly in his Presidential Address, reprinted here, 'The uses of British sociology, 1831-1981' This is an impressive and provocative essay. He distinguishes five categories of use: Policy science, Socio-technics, Enlightenment as clarification. Enlightenment as advocacy and, cutting across the first four. Education. These uses, he contends, have fluctuated in different historical situations but the question this prompts him to ask is how would the 'compleat sociologist' use sociology in 1981. His answer is that, while the task of Clarification and Education must go on, there is much to be said for Advocacy. 'Exponents of Advocacy, he wrote, 'seem to me to be distinguished by their determination to insist on the proper continuity of sociological work beyond the printed page; recognising sociological knowledge as argumentative knowledge they follow their arguments through to the point of action in ways which the devotees of other models