Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Culture, kastom and conservation in Melanesia: what happens when worldviews collide?

Melanesia is one of the most biologically and culturally diverse regions on earth, yet its species and ecosystems are fundamentally threatened by rapidly growing and modernising populations that drive increased demands for natural resource extraction. Despite good intentions, many conservation projects in Melanesia have not succeeded, largely due to a failure on the part of researchers and practitioners to understand underlying differences between western and indigenous worldviews and issues surrounding land and marine tenure arrangements. Learning from these failures is critical in order to improve odds for future project effectiveness and sustainability. Here I present lessons from attempts across Melanesia at establishing protected areas, conservation agreements, ecotourism initiatives and research-action arenas. These showcase challenges and conflicts when worldviews collide and opportunities that arise when mutual expectations are clarified early on during planning processes. Factors that contribute to more successful outcomes include: respecting international protocols for free, prior and informed consent; co-creating research and management agendas with local communities; clearly articulating realistic expected benefits; and establishing locally perceived equitable and transparent benefits sharing mechanisms.
GERMINAÇÃO E REINDUÇÃO DA TOLERÂNCIA À DESSECAÇÃO EM SEMENTES DE Senna multijuga (RICH.) IRWIN ET BARN

The aims of this study were to verify the effects of different tests in the overcoming dormancy, excellent germination terms, as light and temperature, and the possibility of re-induction of desiccation tolerance in Senna multijuga seeds. We evaluated two tests for overcoming dormancy: immersion in water with an initial temperature of 100oC (hot water) and immersion in water at a constant temperature at 100oC for 20 seconds (boiling water), both treatments followed by rest out of the heating for 24 hours. For the germination test, we evaluated 25oC, 30oC (constant) and 20-30oC (alternate), in the presence and absence of light. For the re-induction of desiccation tolerance, we selected seeds germinated with 1, 2, 3 and 4mm of radicle length. We submitted the germinated seeds to the follow treatments: no incubation, incubation in polyethylene glycolphotoblastic required, but in light conditions the germination was higher. We observed the resumption of the radicle growth in germinated seeds of up to 3mm length.
Yield and qualitative characterisation of seeds of Amaranthus hypochondriacus L. and Amaranthus cruentus L. grown in central Italy

Amaranth can be considered a very interesting crop for the Mediterranean region, thanks to its inherent tolerance to disadvantageous growing conditions, along with the high nutritional and nutraceutical value of its seeds. The study aims to evaluate the seed yield, and the oil content and quality of two amaranth genotypes (species Amaranthus hypochondriacus L. and Amaranthus cruentu s L., respectively) grown in central Italy, testing two types of soil (loamy and sandy soil). The two species showed a good performance in the tested environment, with satisfactory seed yield and relative short growth cycle. Significant differences between the two genotypes were observed in terms of seed yield. The crude oil content ranged from 7.5% to 6.0%, with linoleic, palmitic and oleic acids as the major fatty acids of the oil in both genotypes. The unsaponifiable fraction was rich in sterols (campesterol, stigmasterol and β- sitosterol), and interesting levels of squalene were found. This study demonstrated the unique nutraceutical properties of the seeds of two genotypes of A. hypochondriacus and A. cruentus , grown in central Italy environment, as a source of polyunsaturated fatty acid and squalene. These characteristics make amaranth a valuable alternative crop for specialty oil production in the Mediterranean region.
COLOR CHANGE KINETICS AND TOTAL CAROTENOID CONTENT OF PUMPKIN AS AFFECTED BY DRYING TEMPEARTURE

The color changes kinetics of pumpkin slices during convective hot air drying was investigated at drying temperatures of 50, 60, 70 and 80°C. The hunter lab L* a* and b* color coordinates were used as assessment indicators. The total color change ∆E, Chroma value, hue angle and brownness index (BI) of the pumpkin slices where also determined. To determine the most suitable kinetics model for the prediction of the color changes of pumpkin, the zero-order, first-order, and fractional conversion models were fitted to the experimental data, using linear regression analysis. The activation energy of the color change parameters (L*, a*, b* and ∆E ) was estimated and found to be 41.59, 16.287 63.856 and 73.390 kJ/mol respectively. The fresh pumpkin samples contained a mean total carotenoid content of 25 μ-g/g, while the total carotenoid content of samples dried at 50, 60, 70 and 80°C were 146, 56.4, 37.9 and 102.5 μ-g/g, respectively. Further, the results of ANOVA showed there was significant difference between the total carotenoid content of the fresh pumpkin samples and those dried by convective hot air dryer at 5% (p<0.05) significant level.
First report of the Palearctic sawfly Pristiphora subbifida Thomson 1871 (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae) in Canada

Species are moved by human activity. the frequency of such movement is increasing in the Anthropocene (Steffen et al. 2011). identifying such translocations is a challenge, especially within the largest and most diverse taxon – the insects. One method to facilitate the identification of these adventives is via DnA associated with publicly accessible DnA barcodes in the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD) (Ratnasingham and hebert 2007). We report here the discovery of a Palearctic sawfly (Pristiphora subbifida (thomson 1871) (hymenoptera: tenthredinidae)) in Canada via Malaise trapping paired with DnA barcoding. the detection was contextualised to a species level via inclusion in the DnA barcode library where it was directly comparable to large-scale barcoding initiatives in Europe and Canada. During the flight season (April – november) in 2009-2011, a townes-style Malaise trap (Malaise 1937; townes 1962) was erected in a downtown backyard in Guelph, Ontario, Canada (43.554, -80.264; Fig. 1). the trees in the yard and surrounding area include several maple species (norway, Manitoba and Sugar Acer platanoides L., A. negundo L. and A. saccharum Marshall), spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss), black walnut (Juglans nigra L.), and dogwood (Cornus L. spp.). in 16 May 2010, a Malaise trap sample spanning the previous fortnight was collected from the location above. trap contents were moved to the Biodiversity institute of Ontario (BiO) where they were sorted, photographed and tissuesampled for DnA barcoding (Fig. 2) by the collections staff. the DnA barcode produced from the DnA extract of this single sawfly specimen was added immediately to the public library of DnA barcode sequences on the Barcode of Life Data System. there, it received
Results of BACE1-Inhibitor Clinical Trials Confirm Key Predictions For App-Independent Generation of Beta-Amyloid in Sporadic AD

FOR APP-INDEPENDENT GENERATION OF BETA-AMYLOID IN SPORADIC AD. Vladimir Volloch1, * and Sophia Rits 2,3 ABSTRACT. The present article analyzes the results of recent clinical trials of beta secretase inhibition in sporadic Alzheimer’ disease (SAD), considers the striking dichotomy between successes in tests of BACE1 inhibitors in healthy subjects and familial AD (FAD) models versus persistent failures of clinical trials and interprets it as a confirmation of key predictions for a mechanism of APP-independent, beta secretase inhibition-resistant production of beta amyloid in SAD, previously proposed by us. In the light of this concept, FAD and SAD should be regarded as distinctly different diseases as far as beta-amyloid generation mechanisms are concerned, and whereas beta secretase inhibition would be neither applicable nor effective in treatment of SAD, the BACE1 inhibitor(s) deemed failed in SAD trials could be perfectly suitable for treatment of FAD. Moreover, targeting the aspects of AD other than cleavages of the APP by beta and alpha secretases should have analogous impacts in both FAD and SAD.
Regulation of transcription dynamics in single cells

In mammalian cells, the MAPK pathways regulate vital processes such as differentiation, growth or death in response to a wide array of stimuli, like hormones or stresses. To achieve this, they interpret extracellular cues and reprogram the cell transiently or on longterm, through the transcriptional regulation of target genes. Understand the regulation of the MAPK signaling and resulting transcription is of high importance because of the involvement of mis-regulation of these pathways in many diseases (cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases). As these signaling cascades are conserved among various organisms, we study them in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This widely used model organism possesses its own MAPK network, and is easy to genetically modify. The transcription is a crucial process in cellular life, as it drives the production of proteins involved in all possible aspects of life. As such, it is highly regulated through complex combination of factors. Moreover, the transcription is a dynamic process that can occur either continuously or in a bursty manner. These bursts can be variable in their frequencies and duration, leading to various mRNA productions within cells from a clonal population. Hence, the transcription regulation needs to be studied at the single cell level and in real-time. To this purpose, we developed a new kind of gene expression reporters able to quantify in real-time and at the single cell level the expression arising from a promoter, that we named dPSTR. Using this system, we measured the extremely fast and transient gene expression resulting from hyper osmotic stress, and observed a difference on the sub-minute timescale in gene induction. Then, we used the dPSTR to quantify gene expression triggered by the mating signaling. We found that despite a signaling activity occurring minutes after addition of exogenous pheromone, resulting gene expression occurs on different timescales. Finally, by means of genetic analysis and modification of endogenous promoters, we defined some rules governing the expression kinetics of mating-induced genes.
Participation by a male Grant's gazelle in the defence of a fawn

In many ungulate species, females aggressively defend their young against predators (Estes & Estes, 1979; Hamel & Côt e, 2009; Jarnemo, 2004; Reynolds, 1983; Wyman, 1967). This behaviour can improve the offspring’s chance of survival, thereby increasing the mother’s reproductive success (Grovenburg, Monteith, Klaver, & Jenks, 2012). Paternal defence has been reported in some equids, in which males form temporally stable relationships with females and their mutual dependent offspring (Berger & Rudman, 1985; Klingel, 1969). Similarly, male white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) yearlings have been reported to participate in defence of their infant half-siblings (Grovenburg, Jenks, Jacques, Klaver, & Swanson, 2009). However, most mammals, including most ungulates, exhibit male natal dispersal and isolation of females and infants during parturition and the postpartum period (Roberts & Rubenstein, 2014). Therefore, in most ungulate species, adult males are unlikely to associate with related neonates and therefore are not expected to gain inclusive fitness benefits from defensive behaviour (Jacques & Jenks, 2010). There are a handful of reports of male ungulates acting to defend apparently unrelated infants. The drivers of this behaviour are unclear, and more observations are necessary to identify potential explanations. Here, I report an instance in which an adult male Grant’s gazelle (Gazella granti) participated in the defence of a fawn against three black-backed jackals (Canis mesomelas).
Functional Pleiotropy of Melatonin in the Regulation of Reproduction: An Overview

This brief review covers recent important findings to form an informative pool depicting unique role of the pineal hormone melatonin in the regulation of reproductive axis in vertebrates. Since last decades, melatonin research witnessed an enormous progress in understanding the nature and mechanism of actions of this tiny, but versatile, product of tryptophan in the regulation of diverse body functions, especially reproduction in different groups of vertebrates. Demonstration of melatonin receptors on different peripheral organs and parts of brain essentially supported the contention of a hormonal effect of melatonin. Several lines of evidence suggest that melatonin regulates, rather modulates, vertebrate reproduction by two pathways- one through controlling the hypothalamo-hypophyseal- gonadal axis and another by inducing direct effect on the gonads through G-protein coupled MT1 and MT2 receptors. The conventional idea of the regulatory actions of melatonin on gonads via the hypothalamo-hypophyseal- gonadal axis involving gonadotrophic releasing hormone (GnRH) and gonadotrophins, has been greatly enriched by the discovery of other hypothalamic peptides like, gonadotrophic inhibitory hormone (GnIH) and kisspeptin. Additional findings that melatonin, due to its lipophilicity and potential antioxidant property, scavenges and detoxifies various free radicals, opened up a possibility of its significant contribution to the physiology of oocytes during growth and maturation. As an obvious outcome of unequivocal evidence suggesting pleiotropic functions of melatonin in the regulation of vertebrate reproduction, studies on the array of molecular events occurring at different sites of melatonin actions have emerged as a new exciting area of investigation.
Distribuição espaço-temporal de crustáceos decápodes meroplanctônicos, com ênfase nas larvas do caranguejo-uçá, na baía de Guanabara, Rio de Janeiro

Com o objetivo de caracterizar a assembleia de crustaceos decapodes planctonicos da baia de Guanabara, foram feitas amostragens de zooplâncton em sete campanhas, de dezembro de 2012 a janeiro de 2014, principalmente nos meses de verao - periodo de desova do caranguejo-uca, Ucides cordatus . Ao todo, foram analisadas 105 amostras, provenientes de cinco pontos do eixo norte-sul da baia. As amostragens foram feitas na margem leste, da APA de Guapimirim a saida da baia. Foram identificados 51 taxons zooplanctonicos, sendo 30 de crustaceos decapodes. No holoplâncton, Copepoda e Cladocera apresentaram as maiores densidades populacionais. Os decapodes foram encontrados em todas as amostras, sendo a maioria na fase larval, especialmente zoes. Dentre eles, observou-se predominio de braquiuros (caranguejos e siris), especialmente larvas zoe I-II de Uca spp. , Ucides cordatus, Eurytium limosum , Neohelice granulata e Pachygrapsus transversus e das Familias Portunidae e Sesarminae. A diversidade media de decapodes foi baixa, sendo de 0,78 ± 0,34 bits.org -1 . Foram encontradas larvas e pos-larvas do caranguejo-uca, em todos os estadios de desenvolvimento, sendo o periodo de ocorrencia coerente com o previsto. As maiores densidades larvais dessa especie foram observadas em dezembro, na regiao intermediaria da baia, com maximo de 106,9 org.m -3 (zoes l-ll). Apesar da degradacao ambiental historica, a riqueza de crustaceos decapodes observada na baia, apontou enorme potencial ecologico, especialmente como bercario e habitat. Contudo, comparando-se com ecossistemas mais conservados, densidades populacionais das larvas do caranguejo-uca foram baixas, apontando a necessidade de maior conservacao dos manguezais e das populacoes adultas.
Diversität nitratreduzierender Bakteriengemeinschaften in den Sedimenten der Ostsee und Untersuchungen zur Phylogenie der respiratorischen Nitratreduktase.

On the basis of available nitrate reductase gene sequences primer pairs were designed to specifically amplify gene stretches of the -subunit of the membrane-bound nitrate reductase (narH)and applied to DNA from new isolates and reference species as well as environmental DNA. According to phylogenetic calculations the respiratory nitrate reduction is one of the most original physiological functions of prokaryotic life, which was already present in the „urkaryotes“ together with other respiratory functions like sulfate reduction. The highly congruent evolution of the 16S rDNA and narH allows the phylogenetic classification of sequences from environmental DNA. Since the proteins for nitrate reduction (NarH) and nitrite oxidation (NorB), which may have evolved from one common progenitor, are highly orthologous within bacterial and archaeal species the primer systems can be used for phylogenetic and diversity analysis of both functional groups, nitrate reducers and nitrite oxidizers. Analysis of communities from Baltic Sea sediments revealed information about the diversity and the interactions of the environmental community. Numerous bands could be extracted from DG-DGGE gels, sequenced and classified within the phylogenetic tree of reference sequences. None of the bands could be identified by comparison to sequences from reference organisms but many of them could be ordered to taxonomic groups like proteobacteria or Gram-positive bacteria. The molecular analysis of the Baltic Sea sediments was completed with results from isolation of nitrate reducing bacteria from environmental samples. Both techniques revealed large differences between the various sampling stations which could be discussed due to chemical and physical conditions. The shallow water sediments from the sampling stations „westliche Ostsee“ and „finnischer Meerbusen“ showed a strong coupling of nitrification and denitrification processes within the uppermost sediment layers which could be inferred from diversity analysis as well. The „sulfidic“ sampling stations at deep basins within the central Baltic Sea revealed a competition of nitrate reducers and sulfate reducers on organic material which led to a strong stratification of the bacterial iversity.
The role of the PsbS protein in the regulation of energy dissipation in vascular plants and green algae

Sunlight drives photosynthesis, the biological process that oxidizes water to molecular oxygen and fixes CO2 into complex carbohydrates. Under most natural conditions, however, the absorbed light energy exceeds the capacity of light utilization in photosynthesis, giving rise to the formation of reactive oxygen species and thus photo-oxidative damage of the chloroplast. Non-photochemical quenching of excitation energy (NPQ) in the antenna of photosystem II (LHCII) allows the harmless dissipation of excess light energy as heat and thereby avoids oxidative damage to the photosynthetic apparatus. The energy dependent-quenching mechanism (qE) represents the dominating NPQ component under most conditions. In Arabidopsis thaliana, NPQ is a constitutive mechanism and depends on the ΔpH-dependent activation of the PsbS protein, the rearrangement of LHCII complexes and the xanthophyll zeaxanthin (Zx). PsbS is supposed to activate NPQ through specific, light-regulated interactions with PSII antenna proteins. In this work, an effective assay using chemical cross-linking was developed to sequester PsbS with its interaction partners in dark (qE inactive) and light states (qE active). The localization and protein interactions of PsbS in thylakoid membranes were determined by mass spectrometric analyses of proteins co-purified with PsbS after chemical cross-linking. The analyses provided evidence that PsbS is localized in PSII supercomplexes and that the light activation of qE is based on the monomerization of dimeric PsbS, and an increased interaction of PsbS with Lhcb1, the major component of trimeric LHCII. In the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, NPQ has to be activated upon high light acclimation and essentially requires the accumulation of the LHCSR proteins. Expression of the PsbS protein in C. reinhardtii has not been reported so far. In this work, it is shown that PsbS is a light induced protein that accumulates under high light and is further controlled by CO2 availability. At high CO2, PsbS was only transiently expressed under high light and was degraded after 1 h. PsbS accumulation correlated with an enhanced NPQ capacity in high light acclimated cells grown at low CO2. However, PsbS could not complement the function of LHCSR in LHCSR-deficient mutants. These data suggest that PsbS might be involved in the regulation of the qE capacity in C. reinhardtii by promoting conformational changes required for NPQ activation in the antenna of photosystem II, similar to its counterpart in land plants.
Phenolic fingerprint of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica from four locations in the Mediterranean Sea: first evidence for the large predominance of chicoric acid

Abstract The phenolic fingerprint of the leaves of Posidonia oceanica collected from four different Mediterranean Sea regions was determined using a panel of analytical techniques. It was found to be dominated by caffeic tartrates, along with low amounts of coumaric and ferulic tartrates. Chicoric acid (CA) was unambiguously identified as the major phenolic compound, regardless of the sample or collection site. Caftaric acid (CAF) was the second most abundant phenolic, but in much lower average concentrations. These results contrast with most of the previous works, in which CA was not even mentioned. The dramatic influence of extract handling, as well as the importance of choosing the adequate criteria of identity to standards, was demonstrated. These results show the importance of analyzing the crude extract to avoid some of the major pitfalls in determining the phenolic fingerprints. This is the first report to identify and quantify CAF in the Posidoniaceae and to identify CA as the dominant phenolic in Posidonia leaves. The large accumulation of CA in both living (10.12–12.78 mg g-1 dw) and detrital leaves (2.49–12.11 mg g-1 dw) across large geographical scales is noteworthy. The lack of significant concentrations of flavonoids contrasts with other seagrass genera. Importantly, the phenolic signature of P. oceanica shows significant similarities to those of Cymodocea nodosa and Syringodium filiforme, both belonging to the Cymodoceaceae. These results are discussed in terms of metabolic pathways and phylogenetic relationships.