Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phylogenetic relationships of species of Gingidia and related genera (Apiaceae, subfamily Apioideae)

Abstract Five genera of Australasian apioid Apiaceae (Gingidia, Scandia, Lignocarpa, Anisotome, and Aciphylla) have a complex taxo‐nomic history with the circumscription of, and inferred relationships among, the currently accepted genera based on only morphological characters. This molecular and phylogenetic study focuses on the relationships among the taxa currently included within Gingidia using the other genera as outgroups. Phylogenetic analyses of nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer region sequences for 17 species from these genera, and comparison with Smyrnium to root the trees, indicate that Gingidia is polyphyletic as currently circumscribed, the species belonging in two distinct monophyletic groups. However, morphological characters do not support these two groups, making taxonomic interpretation difficult. The monophyletic G. montana group includes the ditypic endemic genera Scandia and Lignocarpa, suggesting that they should not be maintained. The second monophyletic group include.
Olfactory responses of the leaf-cutting ants Atta cephalotes (L.) and Acromyrmex octospinosus (Reich) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the laboratory

The leaf-cutting ants Atta cephalotes (L.) and Acromyrmex octospinosus (Reich) were tested in a moving-air olfactometer for their responses to a variety of odours from leaves, fruit, flowers, essential oils, other ants and a fungus garden. The line of a foraging trail established in still air tended to loop downwind in the presence of a laminar air flow. The ants exhibited positive, negative and neutral responses to the test odours, confirming the existence of attractants and repellents in substrate materials. Neutral responses to the odours of several of the materials that were acceptable for cutting showed that arrestive materials were not necessarily attractive. Ants orientating towards the source of an odour often secreted a pheromone trail. Atta and Acromyrmex responded differently to several of the materials tested, and the responses to odours of young and old leaves were not totally consistent with the observed cutting preferences. Removal of wax from non-attractive leaves made them attractive. Both species responded negatively to lemon-oil odour, but some Acromyrmex workers showed a hostile response. A hostile response was also elicited by the odour from other ants. Fungus-garden odour elicited a positive investigatory response, and no response was shown to queen odour. Laden Atta workers did not respond to an odour that was attractive to unladen ants, and laden examples of Acromyrmex responded in small numbers to such odours. The addition of attractive chemicals to baits for the control of leaf-cutting ants would improve pick-up by making the bait particle easier to find.
Hydrolysis of 1, 3‐dichloropropene in dilute aqueous solution

Hydrolysis of [14C]-radiolabeled 1, 3-dichloropropene (1, 3-D) was studied at pH 5, 7 and 9 at 10, 20 and 30°C in sterile buffered water. The rate of hydrolysis was independent of pH at each temperature, with measured half-lives of 3-1 (±0.l), 11.3 (±0.5) and 51 (±2.3) days at 30, 20 and 10°C, respectively. The activation energy for the hydrolysis reaction was determined to be 23.9 kcal mol−1 deg−1. One hydrolysis product was formed during the course of the study and was identified by co-chrornatography with analytical standards, using h.p.l.c. , to be 3-chloroallyl alcohol. The alcohol appeared to be stable to further hydrolytic conversion and was formed in the same cis: trans ratio as in the initial 1, 3-D starting material, indicating essentially identical rates of hydrolysis for the cis and trans isomers of 1, 3-D.
Effects of dietary fish oil replacement by microalgae raw materials on growth performance, body composition and fatty acid profile of juvenile olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus

Replacing dietary fish oil with DHA-rich microalgae Schizochytrium sp. and EPA-rich microalgae Nannochloropsis sp. for olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) was examined. Three experimental isonitrogenous and isolipidic diets with lipid source provided by 50% fish oil (F50S50), 50% (M50F25S25) and 100% microalgae raw material (M100) respectively were compared with a soybean oil (S100) diet as control. Triplicate groups of olive flounder juveniles (16.5 ± 0.91 g) were fed the experimental diets, and a group was fed the control diets for 8 weeks in a recirculation system. Results showed feed efficiency and growth performance were not significantly changed when fish oil (FO) was totally substituted by soybean oil (SO) or microalgae raw material (MRM). The whole-body composition, lipid content of liver and muscle, and lipid composition of plasma were not significantly influenced by the total substitution of FO by MRM. The polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) content of muscle and liver declined in fish fed S100 diet, whereas it was not significantly reduced in fish fed M50F25S25 and M100 diets. The total substitution of FO by MRM not only maintained the levels of arachidonic acid, EPA or DHA but also increased n-3/n-6 ratio. In conclusion, MRM as the sole lipid source is sufficient to obtain good feed efficiency, growth performance and human health value in olive flounder juveniles.
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS: HARBINGERS OF ENDOCRINE DISRUPTION

In the 1950s, top predator wildlife populations in aquatic systems signaled disturbances in their environment through a series of adverse health effects. Bioaccumu- lation in plant and animal tissue, with accompanying biomagnification in the animals that consumed these tissues, led to extremely high concentrations of some synthetic chemicals in top predator species in aquatic trophic systems. By the late 1960s technological im- provements in analytical chemistry allowed for associations between a suite of persistent chemicals in the tissues of affected animals and the health status of wildlife populations. This group of contaminants, the organochlorine chemicals, and their effects on wildlife provided the insight into the phenomenon called "endocrine disruption," where certain synthetic chemicals can interfere with the natural chemical messengers that control normal development and function. Because the effects were most often expressed in offspring that were exposed via maternal transfer before, or soon after, birth or hatching, the damage in wildlife was often overlooked. Forensic field research over the past decade has revealed far wider damage than heretofore had been realized. In addition, interest in chemicals that can interfere with the endocrine system has expanded to include natural plant and animal compounds, nonhalogenated compounds, and other large-volume chemicals (>4.5 x 106 kg/yr) that had been considered benign until only recently. Concern about the effects of contaminants in wildlife and their implications for human health led to the discovery that human offspring are experiencing developmental and neurological damage. These effects have been associated with exposure to certain organochlorine chemicals and their co- contaminants at, or slightly above, ambient concentrations in the industrialized world.
Experiments on the origin of the sensory ganglia of the facial nerve in the chick

The origins of the sensory ganglia on the mixed cranial nerves in avian embryos have not been clearly established. Until recently, the studies have been made upon normal series of embryos. The earlier workers, His (1868) and Marshall (1878), found that these ganglia arise from the ectodermal neural crest. Beard (1888) added to this conclusion with the finding that contributions pass by proliferation from epibranchial placodes (rudinientarp sense organs) into the ganglia. Subsequently, the contribution of head ectoderm to the ganglia has been described by other investigators (Goronowitsch, 1893 ; Belogolowy, '08 ; van Campenhout, '32, '39). However, the conclusion of His that the ganglia arise from neural crest alone still receives support. Recently, the problem has been studied by experiments on the chick embryo. Szepsenwol ( '38) cultured neural crest and placodal ectoderm in vitro and concluded that the crest, not placodes, gives rise to the sensory cranial ganglia. Van Campenhout ('40) reported removal of neural crest of the hindbrain in three animals; he concluded that the ganglia arise, in part at least, from other sources. Jones ('42) removed both crest and tube of the hindbrain in one group of experiments and head ectoderm in another. He concluded that the jugular ganglion of the vagus is derived from neural crest, and that the trunk ganglia of the VIIth, IXth, and Xth cranial nerves arise from entoderm of pharyngeal pouches as well as from placodal ectoderm. In a preliminary notice (Yntema, '42), the origin of the trunk ganglia of the VIIth, IXth and Xth cranial nerves from epibranchial placodes was reported. Observations on the origin of the facial ganglia are reported in the present paper.
Seasonal and management effects on the composition and availability of herbage, steer diet and live-weight gains in a Themeda triandra grassland in Kenya. II. Results of herbage studies, diet selected and live-weight gains

SUMMARY The environment, design and methods of this 2-year Kedong grazing trial in the Rift Valley of Kenya were described in Part I. Crude protein of grasses varied seasonally, usually between 3 and 6 %, while most shrubs and herbs, leguminous and non-leguminous, were in the 10–20 % range, although contributing only about 3 % by weight of the total sward, excluding large bushes and trees. Steers selected herbage of 2–3 % units higher C. P., more Themeda leaf and more herbs than the sward average. Treatment effects on sward and diet C. P., and their relationships, were generally small and inconsistent. Higher C. P. in post-burning ro-growth declined to average levels after 2–3 months, except when grazed at one steer to 4–4 acres, rotational (i.e. 1–5 acres available). At this pressure available herbage fell below 1000 lb D.M. /acre (1120 kg/ha). In all other treatments 2500–4500 lb D.M. /acre wore available at all times. Estimated herbage production varied from almost nil to 320 lb D. M. /acre/month. Burning removed 3000 lb D.M. /acre. Relationships between herbage C. P., diet c. p. (oesophageal fistula samples) and faeces N were determined.
ORDERED VERSUS UNORDERED CHARACTERS

In a recent paper in this journal, Hauser and Presch (1991) discussed the relative merits of ordered and unordered treatments of multistate character data in phylogenetic inference and presented empirical results concerning the effects of such hypotheses on cladogram topology, resolution and length. Although their study serves to focus attention on an important issue and provides useful empirical data, both general and specific aspects of their discussion warrant comment.
A comparison between allozyme data and phenotypic distances from defensive secretion in Oreina leaf‐beetles (Chrysomelinae)

The genetic relationships between five Oreina species (Chrysomelidae, Coleoptera) were studied. Of these species, four (O. bifrons, O. gloriosa, O. speciosa, O. variabilis) feed on Apiaceae and secrete mixtures of autogenous cardenolides from defensive glands, whilst the other (O. speciosissima) feeds on Asteraceae and is able both to produce cardenolides and to sequester pyrrolizidines N‐oxides (PAs). A dendrogram based on the different mixtures of cardenolides produced by the different species agreed with these genetic relationships. In other words, cardenolide mixtures are good taxonomic markers, since the clustering method based on chemical defense produces a branching pattern similar to that based on genetic relationships.
Detecting Ecosystem Responses to Anthropogenic Stress

Recent ecological work on aquatic populations, communities, and ecosystems is reviewed for advances which show promise as early indicators of anthropogenic stress in aquatic ecosystems. Work at the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) in northwestern Ontario indicates that among the earliest of responses to stress are changes in species composition of small, rapidly-reproducing species with wide dispersal powers such as phytoplankton, and the disappearance of sensitive organisms from aquatic communities. Work elsewhere illustrates that the incidence of morphological abnormalities in benthic invertebrates is also highly sensitive to pollution stress. For several categories of pollutants, this sensitivity of benthic organisms may be due to the greater concentrations of pollutants in sediments than in the water column. Variables reflecting ecosystem functions such as primary production, nutrient cycling, and respiration, were not altered by eutrophication, acidification, or cadmium addition at ELA, and are relative.
Adição da vitamina E aos alimentos: implicações para os alimentos e para a saúde humana

Taking vitamin E in higher doses than those recommended by the Dietary Reference Intake in foods or supplements helps prevent non-communicable chronic diseases, stimulates the immune system and modulates the degenerative processes associated with aging. On the other hand, the addition of vitamin E to foods to obtain those effects is not common yet because there is no consensus on an ideal dose. Vitamin E has been added to the foods consumed by some populations because their intake used to be below the recommended amount. This study focuses on the role of vitamin E (1) as an antioxidant used by the food industry, (2) as acompound with specific functions in the human body and in foods, (3) as an important nutrient that, when added to foods, is capable of inhibiting lipoperoxidation and increase its intake and (4) as a substance that might be capable of reducing the deleterious effects of the oxidative processes that occur in the human body and therefore helping to prevent non-communicable chronic diseases.
Degradation of starch by incubation with rumen fluid. A comparison of different starch sources

The degradability of starch from various feedstuffs was investigated in vitro by incubation of 500-mg amounts in 50 ml of a 3:1 rumen fluid/buffer solution at 39°C for 6 h. The rumen fluid was obtained from one of three cows fed on hay or hay and concentrate. The degree of degradation after 6 h incubation varied strongly for the 23 feedstuffs investigated. The degradation of starch from the same feedstuff in rumen fluid from a hay-fed cow was significantly lower than in rumen fluid from a concentrate-fed cow. It seemed that differences in degradability between feedstuffs were not determined by the ration of the donor cow, but merely by the properties of the starch. Processed feedstuffs showed a higher degradation of their starch than the unprocessed feedstuffs, independent of the ration of the donor cow. Particle size influenced degradation, but not of the starch of tapioca meal. A fairly constant ranking in degradability between the various feedstuffs was found. Fermentation of mixtures of feedstuffs showed about the same rate of degradation as found for the single products. Only when great differences in the degree of degradability existed was the degradation of the total starch enhanced. The time of collection of rumen fluid strongly influenced the in-vitro degradation of starch.
New insights to discriminate between Sympterygia acuta Garman 1877 and Sympterygia bonapartii Müller & Henle, 1841 (Rajidae) of the Southwest Atlantic Ocean: on the use of geometric morphometrics and spinulation patterns

Summary Geometric-morphometric and spinulation pattern approaches were employed to assess the discrimination of two species of Sympterygia skates in the Southwest Atlantic: Sympterygia acuta Garman 1877 and Sympterygia bonapartii Muller & Henle, 1841. Two types of variables were employed: linear morphometrics measurements (LMMs), and interlandmark distances (IlDs). The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and the discriminant analysis (DA) do not overlap between the species. Morphometrically, S. bonapartii is characterized by a wider disc, larger pelvic fins, larger eyes, a greater distance between nostrils and between the first pair of gill slits, a greater interorbital distance between spiracles, and a wider mouth. On the other hand, S. acuta has a larger disc due to the snout size. Regarding the allometric coefficient analysis performed on the IlDs, S. bonapartii showed a positive allometry for the variables that comprise the Box-Truss 3 (Ventral protocol), which can be related to the mouth width and the first gill slits. This growth type is consistent with those observed in the Box-Truss 3 (Outline protocol), which is related to the disc width. It has been interpreted that both structures could develop together. In opposition, S. acuta showed isometric growth for the above-mentioned variables; on the other hand, S. acuta showed positive allometry for all variables that defined the snout in the three protocols, indicating that the snout has a distinctive growth relative to the size through ontogeny. S. bonapartii, however, showed an isometric snout growth. The remaining variables that defined the morphogeometrical protocols displayed the same type of growth. Regarding spinulation, the thorns and dermal denticles proved to be useful to discriminate both species. Thorns of the caudal region were large and oval with smooth edges in S. bonapartii, and oval with lobed edges in S. acuta. Dermal denticles in S. acuta also presented two elongated ridges with a third small ridge between them, whereas those of S. bonapartii presented three elongated ridges of the same size.
Simulating switchgrass biomass production across ecoregions using the DAYCENT model

The production potential of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) has not been estimated in a Mediterranean climate on a regional basis and its economic and environmental contribution as a biofuel crop remains unknown. The objectives of the study were to calibrate and validate a biogeochemical model, DAYCENT, and to predict the biomass yield potential of switchgrass across the Central Valley of California. Six common cultivars were calibrated using published data across the US and validated with data generated from four field trials in California (2007–2009). After calibration, the modeled range of yields across the cultivars and various management practices in the US (excluding California) was 2.4–41.2 Mg ha−1 yr−1, generally compatible with the observed yield range of 1.3–33.7 Mg ha−1 yr−1. Overall, the model was successfully validated in California; the model explained 66–90% of observed yield variation in 2007–2009. The range of modeled yields was 2.0–41.4 Mg ha−1 yr−1, which corresponded to the observed range of 1.3–41.1 Mg ha−1 yr−1. The response to N fertilizer and harvest frequency on yields were also reasonably validated. The model estimated that Alamo (21–23 Mg ha−1 yr−1) and Kanlow (22–24 Mg ha−1 yr−1) had greatest yield potential during the years after establishment. The effects of soil texture on modeled yields tended to be consistent for all cultivars, but there were distinct climatic (e.g., annual mean maximum temperature) controls among the cultivars. Our modeled results suggest that early stand maintenance of irrigated switchgrass is strongly dependent on available soil N; estimated yields increased by 1.6–5.5 Mg ha−1 yr−1 when residual soil mineral N was sufficient for optimal re‐growth. Therefore, management options of switchgrass for regional biomass production should be ecotype‐specific and ensure available soil N maintenance.
The Role of the Subplate Zone in the Structural Plasticity of the Developing Human Cerebral Cortex

Background: Perinatal lesions of the human brain are followed by a variable extent of functional plasticity and recovery of neurological and cognitive functions. In trying to determine the structural basis of that plasticity, previous studies proposed an essential role for the neuronal elements of the subplate zone. Aim: The purpose of this review is to identify essential features of the subplate zone which represent a developmental potential significant for the areal, axonal, modular and synaptic plasticity of the cerebral cortex, with special emphasis on long ‘waiting’ axonal pathways of the subplate zone. Results: The following features of the subplate zone were found to be essential for its role in the structural plasticity of the human cerebral cortex after periventricular lesions: (1) the presence of waiting fibres; (2) early areal accumulation of thalamocortical afferents; (3) early tangential compartmentalization of neuronal elements; (4) the abundance of extracellular matrix and growth-promoting molecules; (5) the presence of early maturing neurons, neurotransmitters and synapses; (6) differential cell death, and (7) a specific response to hypoxia or perfusion failure. The crucial period for the participation of thalamocortical afferents in the areal and laminar reconstruction is around 24/26 postovulatory weeks (W). For corticocortical callosal and long associative pathways, the critical period is around 34 W and lesions of these fibres can probably cause changes in the formation of gyri, especially around ventriculomegalic and porencephalic regions. It is essential that the subplate zone as well as major related axonal bundles can be visualized in the human cerebrum by the MRI technique. Conclusions: ‘Waiting’ fibres and transient cells of the subplate zone participate in areal, laminar, gyral, axonal, modular and synaptic rearrangements after perinatal lesion in the preterm infant and set limits for the structural plasticity between 22 and 34 W.
Effect of transforming growth factor-beta1 on the cell growth and Epstein-Barr virus reactivation in EBV-infected epithelial cell lines.

Transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 is a multifunctional cytokine that plays important roles in regulating cell growth and differentiation in many biological systems. In this study, we found that gastric tissue-derived Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-infected epithelial cell lines GT38 and GT39 had resistance to TGF-beta1-mediated growth inhibition and apoptosis compared to a TGF-beta1-susceptible gastric carcinoma cell line HSC-39. However, TGF-beta1 partially induced EBV reactivation in GT38 and GT39 cells, as shown by the induction of EBV immediate-early BZLF1 RNA and its protein product ZEBRA and early antigen-D. The expressions of TGF-beta receptor I and II were detected in GT38 and GT39 cells by Northern and Western blot analyses. Both cell lines spontaneously produced the TGF-beta1, which was sufficient for inhibiting cell growth of HSC-39 cells. Taken together, these data suggest that TGF-beta1 may be a key factor for EBV reactivation and selective growth of EBV-infected epithelial cells in vivo.
An Arabinoxyloglucan from the Cell Walls of Suspension-cultured Tobacco Cells

An arabinoxyloglucan (AXG), isolated from the 24% potassium hydroxide-soluble fraction of the cell wall material of suspension-cultured tobacco cells, was characterized by methylation analysis before and after mild acid hydrolysis and cellulase degradation. The results indicated that AXG was essentially composed of the following repeating units: