Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
FUNCTIONAL AND METABOLIC PROPERTIES OF POLYMORPHONUCLEAR LEUCOCYTES

The effects of a purified bacterial lipopolysaccharide endotoxin on homogenous populations of rabbit polymorphonuclear leucocytes have been studied in vitro under defined conditions. Employing a 500-fold range of concentration (0.1 to 50.0 µg./ml.), it was shown that endotoxin enhanced the rate at which staphylococci were killed by leucocytes. The mechanism underlying the increased killing was found to be a direct stimulation of the phagocytic activity of the leucocyte and not mediated by the release of bactericidins or opsonins from the treated cells. In the presence of 10 per cent serum all concentrations of endotoxin enhanced phagocytosis, whereas at lower serum concentrations, the higher doses of lipopolysaccharide inhibited the phagocytic activity of the cells. Similar concentrations of endotoxin were capable of increasing the utilization of glucose and the production of lactic acid. Endotoxin treated leucocytes exhibited no change in oxygen consumption, and only a slight depression in glycogen synthesis. It appeared that endotoxin could interact and alter the functional and metabolic properties of leucocytes in the absence of serum. The demonstration of enhanced phagocytic activity of endotoxin-treated cells was dependent upon the particular opsonic requirements for the organism under study.
Adaptive precocial reproduction in voles: reproductive costs and multivoltine life‐history strategies in seasonal environments

Summary 1 We determined whether reproductive costs associated with precocious or later breeding by female Townsend’s voles (Microtus townsendii) differ and how this relates to the multivoltine life history of microtines. We related the probability of mothers surviving the lactation period to maternal age and the number of pups per litter using logistic models allowing for a threshold value in either explanatory variable below (for litter size) and above (for age) which survival is constant. 2 Females born at the beginning of the breeding period were precocious, giving birth for the first time by the time they were 85 days old (min 38 days). Females born at other times delayed sexual maturation by up to 6 months. 3 The survival of females who gave birth before a fitted threshold of 85 days old declined precipitously if they gave birth to more than five pups per litter. Survival of older females did not vary in relation to the size of their litters. 4 Precocious females had not reached adult size when they conceived their first litter and substantially increased their structural mass during pregnancy. We estimated that young primiparous females gained on average 127 ± 9% of their conception weight during their 21-day first pregnancy compared to an average increase of 47 ± 2% per pregnancy for all other females. It appears that the low survival during lactation experienced by this cohort alone may be a consequence of the cumulative costs of gestation, lactation and somatic growth. 5 We build simple life-table models to estimate the contribution of very precocious (conception at 25 days), precocious (conception at 50 days) and non-precocious females (conception > 50 days) to the population as the probability of surviving the spring and summer, plus the total number of females produced and surviving until the end of the summer. We parameterized such models using the empirical survival estimates. Females who conceived five young very precociously made the greatest contribution to the autumn population. Delaying reproduction had a large cost: a very precocious female starting with five young would contribute 7·21 females, while a precocious female with the same initial litter size would contribute only 2·83 females. This advantage stems from both the longer breeding-life span and from the fact that offspring of very precocious females may themselves reproduce in the year of their birth, such that they compound the precocious investment of their mothers. 6 Thus iterated reproduction and the multivoltine nature of microtine life history select for cohort-specific trade-off between survival and reproduction.
FITNESS EFFECTS FROM EGG TO REPRODUCTION: BRIDGING THE LIFE HISTORY TRANSITION

Although complex life cycles are widespread, we know little about how constraints in the larval stage influence adult fitness. Most models assume a tight coupling of larval conditions and adult fitness through size and timing of the life history transition. However, there are few empirical tests of this assumption. We combined an experimental manipulation of larval environment with a subsequent study of adult fitness, measured as lifetime mating success. Individuals of the damselfly Lestes viridis were followed from the egg stage to adult reproduction and death. Under time constraints, emergence occurred earlier, but in late-hatched larvae, this did not result in a lower size. Under nutritional constraints, emergence occurred later, and size was reduced. Variation in survival to maturity was better explained by larval constraints than by emergence traits, whereas both larval constraints and emergence traits explained variation in lifetime mating success. Sexes reacted differently to larval constraints, and the coupling of larval constraints to adult fitness also was sex specific. Our results indicate that larval constraints do not necessarily carry over to adult fitness through size and timing of transition, and that carryover effects may be sex specific. This may explain the existence of hidden costs that become visible after maturation and may explain part of the unexplained variation in selection studies on adults.
Mink kit growth performance in the suckling period I. Environmental factors affecting body size of kits

Growth performance was studied in 2918 standard black mink kits. The kits originated from a divergent selection experiment for body growth between two and four weeks. Growth was influenced by sex, litter size, age of dam, and production year. Sex dimorphism was found already at birth. Litter size had a negative effect on body weight and body length from birth to pelting. The age of the dam (yearlings vs. adults) had a positive influence on body weight, especially during the suckling period, and after weaning until September (age about 4.5 months) and even longer in female kits. The effect on body length was significant for female kits until July (age about 3 months).
Economic Values of Increasingly Rare and Endangered Fish

Abstract This paper discusses the types of economic benefits that rare and endangered fish provide members of the general public, and a survey method increasingly used to measure those benefits. The paper also presents results from recent surveys that have attempted to elicit the economic values the public holds for rare and endangered fish. These surveys indicate that citizens would pay US$4–$9 per year to increase stream flows and restore habitat of species such as the Colorado squawfish and $30–$60 per year for increasing populations of Pacific Northwest salmon. Validation of market simulations shows that Montana resident anglers donated on average $2 and nonresident anglers $12 to The Nature Conservancy to increase flows in one river for the Arctic grayling and Yellowstone cutthroat trout. A large portion of the dollar values reflect the benefits citizens derive from simply knowing the abundance of these species will be increased and available for future generations. Legislators, policy makers, and so.
Genetic Resistance to Soybean Rust in PI567099A is at or Near the Rpp3 Locus

Our objective was to map the soybean rust (SBR) resistance genes(s) in PI 567099A. A population segregating for SBR resistance was evaluated in 2008 and 2009 in Paraguay. In both seasons, F2:3 families were grown in a field naturally infested with SBR. F2:3 families were rated as resistant, segregating, or susceptible on the basis of the lesion type present, and this classification was used to infer the F2-phenotype. Molecular markers flanking five SBR-resistance genes were applied to the F2 population, and markers flanking Rpp3 were significantly associated with the observed resistance (P < 0.0001) in both years. The phenotype of 24-F1 plants evaluated in the 2008 season indicated that the resistance was recessive. This is the first report of recessive resistance at or near the Rpp3 locus. Knowledge of the location and nature of resistance in PI 567099A will allow its more efficient utilization as an SBR-resistance source in breeding programs.
Effect of illumination on degradation of pyriproxyfen in water-sediment system

The aerobic aquatic soil metabolism of pyriproxyfen [(4-phenoxyphenyl (RS)-2-(2-pyridyloxy) propyl ether] was examined in a UK lake water-sediment system together with the effect of illumination on its degradation profile. The partition of pyriproxyfen in water to the bottom sediment was more rapid under illumination with concomitantly enhanced degradation in the total system. The main photoproduct of pyriproxyfen in sterile water, 2-(pyridin-2-yloxy) propan-1-ol, formed via cleavage of the central ether bond, was further degraded via oxidation in the illuminated water-sediment system and no degradate was found to be accumulated. Hydroxylation at the 4′-position of the phenoxyphenyl moiety dominantly proceeding in darkness was observed as a transient reaction in the early period of illumination.
Molecular mechanisms associated with ALA-PDT of brain tumor cells

Previous studies have shown that low-dose PDT using 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA)-induced photoporphyrin IX (PpIX) can induce apoptosis in tumor cells without causing necrosis. In this study we investigated the molecular mechanisms associated with apoptosis after ALA-PDT treatment in two brain glioma cell lines: human U87, and rat CNS-1cells. We used high energy light at a short time (acute PDT) and low energy light at a long time of exposure (metronomic PDT) to treat both cell lines. The cells were treated with 0.25 mM ALA at 5 joules for energy. We found that CNS-1 cells were more resistant to ALA-PDT than U87 cells when treated by both acute and metronomic PDT. To screen possible apoptosis mechanisms associated with acute and metronomic PDT, microarray analysis of gene expression was performed on RNA from glioblastoma cells treated with either acute or metronomic ALA-PDT. Within the set of genes that were negatively or positively regulated by both treatments are tumor necrosis factor receptors. The expression of TNF receptors was investigated further by RT-PCR and western blotting. The apoptosis mechanism of the cell death occurred through different pathways including BCL-2 and TNF receptors, and in part caused by cleaving caspase 3. Interestingly, metronomic ALA-PDT inhibited the expression of LTβR and the transcription factor NFκB. This inhibition was ALA concentration dependent at low concentrations.
Variabilidad genética y morfológica y estructuración poblacional en Alstroemeria hookeri subsp. hookeri (Alstroemeriaceae), endémica de Chile

El genero Alstroemeria es exclusivamente sudamericano y consta de 82 taxa distribuyendose, principalmente en Chile y Brasil. La gran importancia economica que han adquirido las Alstroemerias chilenas como plantas ornamentales ha despertado gran interes en la variabilidad morfologica de las flores y variabilidad genetica en especies con potencial valor economico. Una de ellas es Alstroemeria hookeri que posee cuatro subespecies, de las cuales, la subespecie tipo, es endemica de las regiones del Maule y Biobio. Su distribucion geografica consiste de dos rangos, separados por la Cordillera de la Costa. Asi, existen poblaciones costeras, creciendo, entre los 5-20 m de altura en las provincias de Arauco, Concepcion, Nuble y Cauquenes y poblaciones del interior creciendo entre los 100-150 m de altura, en las provincias de Biobio y Nuble. Evidencias preliminares senalan diferencias fenotipicas entre poblaciones costeras y del interior, relacionadas con el color y forma de los tepalos. Por esta razon, se realizo un estudio morfologico comparativo en el rango completo de distribucion de esta subespecie y estudiar su genetica poblacional, especialmente los niveles de estructuracion poblacional. Se analizaron 33 caracteres florales, mediante metodos de ordenacion. El estudio morfologico indica una tendencia a separar las poblaciones en dos grupos, coincidiendo con los extremos de la variacion morfologica y con ambos rangos de distribucion, existiendo caracteres que aportan a ello. Los indices de variabilidad genetica fueron determinados usando 17 loci aloenzimaticos. Ademas, se estimaron los valores de estructuracion poblacional y se realizo un analisis de AMOVA. Se estimaron valores de distancia genetica de Nei, entre todos los pares de poblaciones para construir un dendrograma que refleje las relaciones de similitud genetica. Los resultados indican altos valores de estructuracion entre poblaciones y baja variabilidad genetica intrapoblacional en esta subespecie. Los resultados del AMOVA indican que la variabilidad se da principalmente entre poblaciones. Sin embargo, estos resultados variaron cuando se analizan las poblaciones de ambos rangos de distribucion separadamente. La similitud genetica no coincide con la divergencia morfologica entre individuos de la costa e interior, indicando que algunas poblaciones del interior estan mas relacionadas geneticamente, con poblaciones costeras que con aquellas de su mismo rango geografico.
Sulphate reduction in the root zone of the seagrass Zostera noltii on the intertidal flats of a coastal lagoon (Arcachon, France)

Rates of sulphate reduction were determined in sediments from the eutrophic Bay of Arcachon, France. A comparison was made between sediment overgrown with the eelgrass Zostera noltii and unvegetated sediment. Rates of sulphate reduction were about twice as high in the root zone from 1 to 4 cm depth in the Z. noltii sedunents (about 600 nmol cm-3 d-l) as compared to the activity in the equivalent layer of the unvegetated sediment. The sulphate reduction in the root zone was not stimulated by light, which in other studies with other submersed macrophytes has been shown to promote sulphate reduction due to heightened excretion of organic molecules. Furthermore, in a field experiment, we were not able to detect any diurnal variation in the activity within the root zone. The stimulatlon of sulphate reduction by the presence of the Z. noltii was most likely due to degradation of leaf and root fragments which were found mlxed into the sediment. lncubatlon times with radioactive sulphate had to be kept very short (preferably 15 min) to avo~d a substantial reoxidation of sulphide and hence an underestimation of the rate of sulphate reduction.
Evolution of the diatoms: V. Morphological and cytological support for the major clades and a taxonomic revision

Abstract Phylogenetic reconstructions of the diatoms have been inferred with the 18S and 16S ribosomal RNA genes. Previous studies have shown that the group is divided into two major clades, with support coming initially from the arrangement of the Golgi bodies inside the cells in extant taxa. Features of extinct taxa that also support these clades can be found in the earliest fossil record of the diatoms and include the presence or absence of a central structure in the valve wall and the type of peripheral linking mechanisms between cells. Here we demonstrate that the general pattern of the auxospore expansion and the structure of their walls, the structure of the pyrenoid and the ultrastructure of the spermatozoid further support the molecular clades. Given the combined molecular and morphological support, we propose two new subdivisions (Coscinodiscophytina and Bacillariophytina), emend the classes Coscinodiscophyceae and Bacillariophyceae and propose a new class, the Mediophyceae for the bipolar centrics and the Thalassiosirales.
AUTOCIDAL CONTROL OF THE CODLING MOTH BY RELEASE OF MALES AND FEMALES STERILIZED AS ADULTS BY GAMMA RADIATION.

Larval progeny of Carpocapsa pomonella (L.), was reduced 80% when adult moths, exposed to 48 krad in carbon dioxide, were caged in the laboratory with untreated moths at a ratio of 15 irradiated males and 15 irradiated females to 1 untreated male and 1 untreated female. In an abandoned 2-hectare apple orchard, release of 271.000 irradiated (50 krad) male and female moths in 1964, and 478,000 in 1965, reduced the numbers of apples injured by codling moth at harvest from approximately 60% in 1963 to 1.6% in 1964 and to 0.3% in 1965.
The True Metabolizable Energy Values of Mixtures of Tallow with Either Soybean Oil or Lard

Abstract Two experiments were made to measure the effects of fat ratios on the true metabolizable energy (TME) values of two-component fat mixtures. When soybean oil was added to tallow the TME values of the mixtures were greater than the sum of the means of the component parts. As little as 2 parts of soybean oil, per 98 parts of tallow, were able to increase the TME value of the tallow. The data obtained suggest that the response per unit of soybean oil decreases as the amount in the fat mixture increases; this requires confirmation. When lard was combined with tallow the TME values were additive.
Design, Synthesis, and Analysis of Yeast tRNAPhe Analogs Possessing Intra- and Interhelical Disulfide Cross-Links†

Disulfide cross-links have been site-specifically incorporated into unmodified yeast tRNAPhe by total chemical synthesis. One cross-link is between positions 1 and 72 in the amino-acid acceptor stem, and it was prepared by replacing G1 and C72 with N3-(thioethyl)uridine. A second cross-link is in the central D-region of yeast tRNAPhe between 11 and 25, and it was synthesized by replacing C11 and C25 with 2‘-O-alkylthiol modified cytosine residues. Air oxidation to form the cross-link at both sites occurs in 12 h and is nearly quantitative. Analysis of the cross-linked products by native and denaturing PAGE along with Pb(II) cleavage experiments demonstrates that the cross-linked molecules are monomeric and suggests that the disulfide bridges do not significantly alter the structure of the modified tRNAs relative to the parent sequence. The finding that cross-link formation between thiol-derivatized residues correlates with the position of these groups in the crystal structure of native yeast tRNAPhe and t.
An operative kairomonal lure for managing pine sawyer beetle Monochamus galloprovincialis (Coleoptera: Cerymbycidae)

Abstract: Monochamus galloprovincialis Olivier (Col., Cerambycidae) is a vector of the pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, causing the destructive pine wilt disease. An effective lure for monitoring and/or mass‐trapping would be of great interest in the management of this pine sawyer. Males and females of this species show an attractive kairomonal response to blends composed of four pheromone compounds used by Ips spp. bark beetles and two host volatiles from pines. This six‐component lure is highly attractive but may to be too complex and costly for practical use as each component is released from a separate lure. The role of each component, ipsdienol, ipsenol, cis‐verbenol, methyl butenol, α‐pinene and ethanol as attractants for M. galloprovincialis was field tested in Spain to obtain a simpler but equally effective bait. Ipsenol was confirmed as the strongest kairomonal signal to M. galloprovincialis synergizing response to α‐pinene by 95 times. The addition of methyl butenol to this blend doubled the number of males and females trapped. On the other hand, neither ipsdienol, cis‐verbenol nor ethanol improved the results when incorporated into the above three‐component blend. A lure consisting of ipsenol, methyl butenol and α‐pinene may be very cost‐efficient in operational monitoring or mass trapping of M. galloprovincialis. Three potentially repellent candidates, (−)verbenone, methyl cyclohexenone and trans‐conophthorin, were also tested against the attractive three‐component bait. trans‐Conophthorin significantly reduced male catches of M. galloprovincialis; methyl cyclohexenone had no effect. Verbenone significantly enhanced the response of females to the attractive combination of α‐pinene, ipsenol and methyl butenol.
Methyl benzimidazol-2-ylcarbamate, the fungitoxic principle of thiophanate-methyl

A correlation was found between the formation of benzimidazol‐2‐ylcarbamate esters from the thiophanate fungicides [thiophanate, thiophanate‐methyl and 2‐(3‐methoxycarbonylthioureido)aniline] and the fungitoxie activity of these fungicides. Fungitoxic activity of the thiophanates is increased by ageing in aqueous media while fungitoxicity as well as conversion rate decrease at lower pH. It is concluded that it is not the thiophanates themselves but the corresponding benzimidazol‐2‐ylcarbamate esters that are responsible for the fungitoxic effect. Hence thiophanate‐methyl, like benomyl, is a precursor of the fungitoxic agent methyl benzimidazol‐2‐ylcarbamate (MBC). Indications were obtained that fungal metabolic activity can increase the rate of conversion of thiophanate‐methyl into MBC.
Reply: Impaired mitochondrial function abolishes gamma oscillations in the hippocampus through an effect on fast-spiking interneurons

ARTICLE Sir, We appreciate the letter of Whittaker et al . (2011) who report on the effects of metabolic stress on the properties of excitatory pyramidal cells and fast-spiking inhibitory interneurons during gamma oscillations. The authors combined extra- and intracellular electrophysiological recordings and pharmacology in rat hippocampal slices in vitro . Gamma oscillations are generally thought to represent a temporal matrix of higher brain functions and have been observed in all cortical brain structures, including the hippocampus (Bartos et al. , 2007; Uhlhaas and Singer, 2010; Whittington et al. , 2011). In hippocampal neuronal networks, the precise interaction of several types of inhibitory GABAergic interneurons (releasing neurotransmitter, γ-aminobutyric acid) and excitatory pyramidal cells is essential for the establishment of gamma oscillations. Inhibitory GABAergic interneurons are characterized by much higher action potential firing rates than excitatory pyramidal cells (Hajos et al. , 2009). Highly active inhibitory interneurons are the axo-axonic cells and the parvalbumin-containing basket cells that have been reported to generate action potentials at ∼40 Hz during gamma oscillations or at ∼200 Hz during sharp-wave ripple activity (Ylinen et al. , 1995; Penttonen et al. , 1998; Klausberger et al. , 2003). In many in vitro studies, gamma oscillations have been induced in hippocampal slice preparations by bath application of cholinergic receptor agonists (acetylcholine or carbachol; cholinergic model) or glutamatergic receptor agonist, kainic …