Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Telomerase activity is not enough for tumor initiation in human cells

Studies have reported that the telomerase could be detected in a majority of human tumor tissues, but not in most normal tissues. In tumorigenesis, the activation of telomerase seems to be an important step for somatic cells to gain the ability of indefinite proliferation and become immortal by a way of maintaining telomere length. In clinical, telomerase activity is correlated with outcomes of patients with different types of tumor. Research data have also indicated that the inhibition or absence of telomerase activity may result in cell crisis of cancer and tumor regression. However, several reports have demonstrated a telomerase-negative status in some immortalized human cells and the absence of telomerase activity in certain kind of human tumors. Additionally, previous studies have found that the expression of the human telomerase catalytic component, hTERT, in normal human somatic cells can reconstitute telomerase activity, but does not appear to induce phenotypic changes related to malignant transformation, to explain these inconsistencies, we hypothesize that telomerase activity is not enough for tumorigenesis. Multiple mutations are required for cells to acquire malignant characteristics and telomerase should be viewed as a part of multistep tumor development process. For better outcomes of malignant tumor treatment, ongoing studies should also consider about telomerase-independent mechanism in tumorigenesis. Key words: Telomere, telomerase, somatic cells, tumorigenesis.
Direct Enumeration and Isolation of Wine Yeasts from Grape Surfaces

Recent ecological surveys indicate that the wine yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae may be isolated with extreme difficulty from natural substrates, such as vineyard soil or the surface of mature grapes, conventionally believed to be its elected habitat. Conversely, it is amply demonstrated that its preferential location as the only fermenting colonizer is the surfaces of the wineries. Non-conventional methods for the separation, isolation, and enumeration of yeast cells from mature grapes of different varieties produced additional and unequivocal evidence on the numerical inconsistency of S. cerevisiae cells in nature. The taking over of musts by the natural yeast flora was also followed in microfermentations.
Vesicular–Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Development and Growth Response of Rough Lemon in Soil and Soilless Media: Effect of Phosphorus Source

Vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) development of Glomus intraradices Schenck & Smith and growth response of container-grown rough lemon (Citrus jambhiri Lush.) were compared in a phosphorus-deficient (2 μg P/g) sand-soil and peat-perlite, soilless mix, both fertilized with 3 levels of superphosphate (SP) and rock phosphate (RP). Mycorrhizal development and growth response were affected primarily by initial P availability in the media. In both soil and peat-perlite, VAM formation was greatest at 8 μg available P/g medium and maximum growth responses occurred over a range of 4 to 8 μg P/g medium. Available P from SP greater than 20 μg P/g medium inhibited mycorrhizal colonization and eliminated growth response. Less VAM development in peat-based media compared to soil suggested an effect of organic matter. In peat-perlite, moderate levels of colonization and a growth response equal to that of nonmycorrhizal plants grown in soilless media with high levels of available P were attained if RP was used to provide a low but sustained level of available P. In soilless media, mycorrhizae prevented P-induced, copper-deficiency symptoms in rough lemon.
Landscape genetics and wing morphometrics show a lack of structuring across island and coastal populations of the drone fly in the Mediterranean

The Mediterranean basin is a region of species richness, rarity and endemism, and is thus an area of significant conservation importance. Conservation of insect biodiversity benefits pollination services in the fragmented Mediterranean landscape. However, the question of the distribution patterns of an important long-distance pollen disperser, the hoverfly Eristalis tenax (Diptera, Syrphidae), remains open. Therefore, we explored the spatial distribution of genetic and phenotypic diversity of this species across the Central-Eastern Mediterranean. Connectivity between continental and island populations of E. tenax was studied by integrating molecular (allozyme loci and mitochondrial DNA sequences of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene) and phenotypic data (wing geometric morphometrics). Allozyme (FST values, STRUCTURE analysis, analysis of molecular variance) and phenotypic data (wing shape) and landscape genetics (Alleles in Space analysis) suggest that E. tenax populations within the Mediterranean are largely connected, and that there is an absence of large-scale geographic structuring. Intraspecific variability was only 1.54% among samples, and the Mediterranean populations showed an almost complete lack of COI mtDNA haplotype diversity. Thus, our results suggest that E. tenax populations are well mixed, and that a considerable amount of gene flow takes place, even among populations that are a great distance apart. As E. tenax's ecological amplitude is wide, and the species is therefore widespread in both natural and man-made landscapes, it probably maintains a high level of population similarity by its large population sizes (as revealed by the θ parameter) and constant intermixing among populations. From an applied point of view, large-scale species intermixing enables pollen spread across distant island plant populations, especially those threatened by extinction.
The role of highly unsaturated fatty acids in aquatic foodweb processes

1. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are almost exclusively synthesized by plants. Animals can convert from one form of PUFA to another through elongation and desaturation, but very few can synthesize PUFA de novo. PUFA play an important role in regulating cell membrane properties, serve as precursors for important animal hormones and are essential for animals. 2. In aquaculture studies, highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA), a subset of PUFA, have been found to be critical for maintaining high growth, survival and reproductive rates and high food conversion efficiencies for a wide variety of marine and freshwater organisms. 3. The plankton literature suggests high food-quality algae species are rich in HUFA and low food-quality algae are poor in HUFA. Adding semi-pure emulsions of HUFA to algae monocultures can markedly increase the growth rates of zooplankton feeding on these mixtures. 4. A study measuring zooplankton biomass accrual when feeding on natural phytoplankton found a strong correlation between phytoplankton HUFA (specifically eicosapentaenoic acid) content and herbivorous zooplankton production. 5. The aquatic ecology literature suggests that planktonic foodwebs with high HUFA content phytoplankton have high zooplankton to phytoplankton biomass ratios, while systems with low HUFA phytoplankton have low zooplankton biomass. Also, the seasonal succession of plankton in many temperate lakes follows patterns tied to phytoplankton HUFA content, with intense zooplankton grazing and ‘clear-water-phases’ characteristic of periods when the phytoplankton is dominated by HUFA-rich species. 6. Herbivorous zooplankton production is constrained by the zooplankton’s ability to ingest and digest phytoplankton. It is becoming increasingly clear, however, that much of the phytoplankton which is assimilated may be nutritionally inadequate. HUFA may be key nutritional constituents of zooplankton diets, and may determine energetic efficiency across the plant–animal interface, secondary production and the strength of trophic coupling in aquatic pelagic foodwebs.
Correcting the overestimate of forest biomass carbon on the national scale

For decades, researchers have thought it was difficult to remove the uncertainty from the estimates of forest carbon storage and its changes on national sales. This is not only because of stochasticity in the data but also the bias to overcome in the computations. Most studies of the estimation, however, ignore quantitative analyses for the latter uncertainty. This bias primarily results from the widely used volume‐biomass method via scaling up forest biomass from limited sample plots to large areas. This paper addresses (i) the mechanism of scaling‐up error occurrence, and (ii) the quantitative effects of the statistical factors on the error. The error compensators were derived, and expressed by ternary functions with three variables: expectation, variance and the power in the volume‐biomass equation. This is based on analysing the effect of power‐law function convexity on scaling‐up error by solving the difference of both sides of the weighted Jensen inequality. The simulated data and the national forest inventory of China were used for algorithm testing and application, respectively. Scaling‐up error occurrence stems primarily from an effect of the distribution heterogeneity of volume density on the total biomass amount, and secondarily from the extent of function nonlinearities. In our experiments, on average 94·2% of scaling‐up error can be reduced for the statistical populations of forest stands in a region. China's forest biomass carbon was estimated as approximately 6·0 PgC or less at the beginning of the 2010s after on average 1·1% error compensation. The results of both the simulated data experiment and national‐scale estimation suggest that the biomass is overestimated for young forests more than others. It implies a necessity to compensate scaling‐up error, especially for the areas going through extensive afforestation and reforestation in past decades. This study highlights the importance of understanding how both the function nonlinearity and the statistics of the variables quantitatively affect the scaling‐up error. Generally, the presented methods will help to translate fine‐scale ecological relationships to estimate coarser scale ecosystem properties by correcting aggregation errors.
(BIO24) Detection of infectious bursal disease virus using SYBR Green 1 based real- time polymerase chain reaction

Introduction Infectious bursal disease (IBD) is an acute contagious viral disease of young chickens known as Gumboro disease (Lasher and Shane, 1994). The etiological agent, IBD virus (IBDV), has a predilection for the cells of the bursa of Fabricius where the virus infects lymphocytes of the B-cell lineage (Burkhardt et al., 1987). Thus, IBD is a fatal immunosuppressive disease causing heavy losses to the poultry industry. The current method to detect and differentiate very virulent and vaccine strains of IBDV is by restriction fragment length polymorphism of (RFLP) VP2 gene. However, this method is time consuming, prone to error and less sensitive. The newly developed TaqMan real-time PCR is very sensitive but not suitable as routine test since the test is expensive (Jackwood, et al., 2003). Moreover, application of the assay in detecting very virulent and vaccine strains of IBDV has not been reported. Thus, SYBR Green 1 based real-time PCR assays were developed for the detection and differentiation of very virulent and vaccine strains of IBDV.
Scarabaeine dung beetles as indicators of biodiversity, habitat transformation and pest control chemicals in agro-ecosystems

As integral members of pasture ecosystems in warmer climates, scarabaeine dung beetles are useful indicators both of high biodiversity in untransformed pastoral regions and of healthy pastures in untransformed or intensively farmed areas. We outline the use of dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) variously as biodiversity, ecological or environmental indicators at each of three spatial scales: regional, local, and pasture. At a regional scale, analyses of species distribution are useful both for determining regional boundaries, thus defining limits within which local comparisons are valid, and for defining group distribution centres, which facilitates comparison of biogeographical group compositions of local faunas. At a local scale, characteristic differences in species assemblage structure between natural and transformed habitats are useful both for conservation issues and for certification and marketing of high quality meat produced on natural pastures. At a pasture scale, species responses or assemblage structure may differ between dung containing residues and that lacking residues of avermectin or synthetic pyrethroid livestock pesticides. Thus, dung beetles are useful both for bioassaying the relative toxicity of old and newly developed veterinary products, and for developing more environmentally benign pest control practices. For each of the three spatial scales, we discuss goals, provide mini-reviews of pertinent results, and discuss further research.
L1(CAM) Mutation in Males with Mental Retardation

Abstract L1 CAM (L1 cell adhesion molecule) plays a key role in the development of nervous system. Recent studies have shown the evidence for the involvement of L1 (CAM) mutations in X-linked mental retardation syndromes. No such studies were undertaken from India and hence, an attempt was made to detect L1 (CAM) mutations in mental retardation. Eight patients from different families were selected to know the molecular basis of mental retardation in these patients. Genomic DNA from all the patients and controls was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction. PCR analysis was carried out using specific primers to screen for L1 (CAM) mutations. Among the eight patients, in two patients mutations in exon-4 and intron-4 junction were detected.
Partial Resistance to Bacterial Wilt in Transgenic Tomato Plants Expressing Antibacterial Lactoferrin Gene

ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS. Lycopersicon esculentum, Ralstonia solanacearum, bacterial concentrations, early resistance, Agrobacterium, Mendelian segregation ABSTRACT. Expression of lactoferrin ( LF) gene, a cationic iron-binding glycoprotein, was investigated in transgenic tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). Resistance of the transgenic tomato plants to the pathogen (Ralstonia solanacearum Smith) causing bacterial wilt was also determined. Tomato line F7926-96, susceptible to bacterial wilt, was transformed with Agrobacterium strain C58C1 containing a plasmid construction carrying a modified LF cDNA. The introgression of LF cDNA into the susceptible tomato line was confirmed by Southern blot and the expression of full-length lactoferrin transcript and protein was also detected by northern and western blots, respectively. Based on resistance to kanamycin, a Mendelian segregation for a single locus insertion was observed in the T1 and T2 generations and all T1 and T2 plants resistant to kanamycin showed the single corresponding band of LF cDNA in Southern blot analysis. Two transgenic tomato lines inoculated with 1 × 10 7 and 1 × 10 8 colony-forming units (CFU)/mL with Rs isolate NC251 (K60, race 1) exhibited early resistance and subsequent susceptibility, while 44% to 55% of plants survived until maturity (fruit ripening) when inoculated with 1 × 10 5 CFU/mL in comparison with the fully susceptible tomato line. The latter resistance to bacterial wilt in transgenic tomatoes with the stable Mendelian segregation patterns for the LF gene suggests a potential new approach to consider for control of bacterial wilt of tomato. The possible value of this gene along with other plant genes to control bacterial pathogens is discussed.
Taxonomic studies in Antarctic Bryophytes with particular reference to the genus Tortula

Details of the distribution of Mielichhoferia austro-georgica C. Muell. and Muelleriella crassifolia (Hook. f. et Wils.) Dus. in the Antarctic botanical zone are provided, together with notes on identification and sporophyte production. Mielichhoferia austro-georgica C. Much. According to Muller (1890), Cardot (1908) and Clarke (1973), M. austro-georgica is endemic to the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. Smith and Corner (1973) however, recorded the species in their survey of the vegetation of an area of the Graham and Danco coast regions of the Antarctic Peninsula. This extension to its geographical range is particularly significant since it is within the Antarctic botanical zone as defined by Greene (1964). Smith and Corner's (1973) field observations were supported by a voucher specimen (R. I. L. Smith No. 938, see Table 1) determined by B. G. Bell in 1970. Further specimens have been collected or have come to light during a recent re-examination of all Antarctic material determined as Pohlia nutans (Hedw.) Lindb. in the British Antarctic Survey Herbarium (AAS) currently located at the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian. A list of all known Antarctic specimens of M. austro-georgica is given in Table I. The majority of the specimens have sporophytes, some in profusion, suggesting that the species may be capable of completing its life cycle even at these high latitudes. Its Antarctic distribution appears to be limited to the Graham and Danco coast areas of the Antarctic Peninsula where it is rare but abundant in a few localities such as Rasmussen Island where a single stand is known to cover 2 m2 (R. I. L. Smith, personal communication). As on South Georgia, it typically forms short turves in rock crevices and on sheltered rock faces near the sea. Surprisingly, it has not been recorded from the more northerly South Shetland or South Orkney islands. The Antarctic specimens of M. austro-georgica agree well with South Georgian material, the fertile plants falling well within the range of stem, leaf and cell measurements given by Clarke (1973). One of the sterile specimens is somewhat smaller, but the key provided by Clarke (1973) identifies this and all other specimens without difficulty. In view of the confusion with Pohlia nutans, the major differences between the two species are summarized in Table II. In conclusion, M. austro-georgica is a relatively little-known and local constituent of the Antarctic coastal moss flora. It is possible that specimens exist, in other collections, which have been mis-identified as P. nutans. Muelleriella crassifolia (Hook. f. et Wils.) Dus. M. crassifolia (as Orthotrichum crassifolium) was first noted from the Antarctic botanical zone by Gimingham and Smith (1970), with more precise locations cited by Br. Anrorc:. Sun. Bull. No. 59, 1983, pp. 35-39 35
Forest recreation in 1977 and 1997 in Sweden: changes in public preferences and behaviour

Summary This paper focuses on changes in the relationship of the Swedish public with the forest. By repeating a postal survey after 20 years, changes in the recreational use of forests, and preferences according to suitability of forest sites for outdoor recreation, are measured. The main result is that the changes are generally small. The visiting frequency remains unaltered and the typical Swede visits a forest for recreational purposes once a week in summer and once a fortnight during the winter. A few differences between the studies in 1977 and in 1997 were observed. The amount of wild berries picked for home consumption had decreased in 1997 to about one-third of the volume picked in 1977. A black and white photo of a virgin forest was considered a more suitable image for outdoor recreation in 1997. A Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) shelterwood was considered less suitable for outdoor recreation. It is concluded that the relationship with the forest is still close, but that public use is changing from harvesting towards purely recreational. Further conclusions are that new recommendations for silvicultural actions will be needed due to these changing preferences and that the conflict between recreational and biodiversity goals in forestry has slightly decreased.
GOSLING GROWTH AND SURVIVAL IN RELATION TO BROOD MOVEMENTS IN GREATER SNOW GEESE (CHEN CAERULESCENS ATLANTICA)

Abstract Post-hatch brood movements to high-quality foraging sites are common in precocial birds but may entail costs for young. We assessed effects of overland movements of broods between the nesting and rearing areas in Greater Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens atlantica) breeding on Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada, to determine whether these movements affected gosling survival and growth. We monitored 51 radiomarked females over five years to quantify movement distance, movement duration, and gosling survival. Gosling growth was compared over four years using a sample of web-tagged broods recaptured shortly before fledging among adults that (1) nested and reared their young in a dense colony, (2) left the colony and moved ≈30 km to reach the main brood-rearing area, or (3) nested and reared their young in the main brood-rearing area. Brood movements by radio-marked birds were highly variable (2.6-52.5 km, depending on rearing areas used) and fairly rapid (≤6 days after hatch for 72% of the females). Gosling survival was not related to distance moved between nesting and brood-rearing areas. However, gosling growth was influenced by areas used and whether or not they had to move to reach their brood-rearing area. Geese nesting at the main brood-rearing area generally reared heavier and larger goslings than those that moved ≈30 km from the main nesting colony to rear their brood at the main brood-rearing area. On the other hand, goslings leaving the nesting colony after hatch were heavier and larger than those that stayed there throughout brood rearing in one of two years. Although brood movements allow goslings access to high-quality habitats, they entail some costs. Thus, minimizing such movements through nest-site selection should provide a selective advantage by allowing goslings to maximize their growth. Croissance et Survie des Oisons en Relation avec les Déplacements des Familles chez Chen caerulescens atlantica
PART OF A HIGHLIGHT ON CLONAL PLANT ECOLOGY Clonal growth and plant species abundance

† Background and Aims Both regional and local plant abundances are driven by species’ dispersal capacities and theirabilitiestoexploitnewhabitatsandpersistthere.Theseprocessesareaffectedbyclonalgrowth,whichisdifﬁculttoevaluateandcompareacrosslargenumbersofspecies. Thisstudyassessedtheinﬂuenceofclonalreproductiononlocalandregionalabundancesofalargesetofspeciesandcomparedthepredictivepowerofmorphologicallydeﬁnedtraitsofclonalgrowthwithdataonactualclonalgrowthfromabotanicalgarden. Theroleofclonalgrowthwascomparedwiththeeffectsofseedreproduction,habitatrequirementsandgrowth,proxiedbothbyLHS(leaf–height–seed)traitsandbyactualperformanceinthebotanicalgarden. † Methods Morphologicalparametersofclonalgrowth,actualclonalreproductioninthegardenandLHStraits(leaf-speciﬁc area – height – seed mass) were used as predictors of species abundance, both regional (number of species records in the Czech Republic) and local (mean species cover in vegetation records) for 836 perennial herbaceous species. Species differences in habitat requirements were accounted for by classifying the dataset by habitat type and also by using Ellenberg indicator values as covariates. † KeyResults Afterhabitatdifferences wereaccountedfor,clonalgrowthparameters explainedan importantpartof variation in species abundance, both at regional and at local levels. At both levels, both greater vegetative growth in cultivation and greater lateral expansion trait values were correlated with higher abundance. Seed reproduction had weaker effects, being positive at the regional level and negative at the local level. † Conclusions Morphologicallydeﬁnedtraitsarepredictive ofspecies abundance,andit isconcludedthatsimultan-eous investigation of several such traits can help develop hypotheses on speciﬁc processes (e.g. avoidance of self- competition, support of offspring) potentially underlying clonal growth effects on abundance. Garden performance parameters provide a practical approach to assessing the roles of clonal growth morphological traits (and LHS traits) for large sets of species.