Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Review: Redesigning Canadian prairie cropping systems for profitability, sustainability, and resilience

Thiessen Martens, J. R. , Entz, M. H. and Wonneck, M. D. 2015. Review: Redesigning Canadian prairie cropping systems for profitability, sustainability, and resilience. Can. J. Plant Sci. 95: 1049–1072. Redesign of agricultural systems according to ecological principles has been proposed for the development of sustainable systems. We review a wide variety of ecologically based crop production practices, including crop varieties and genetic diversity, crop selection and rotation, cover crops, annual polyculture, perennial forages, perennial grains, agroforestry systems, reducing tillage, use of animal manures and green manures, soil biological fertility, organic production systems, integrated crop–livestock systems, and purposeful design of farm landscapes (farmscaping), and discuss their potential role in enhancing the profitability, environmental sustainability, and resilience of Canadian prairie cropping systems. Farming systems that most closely mimic natural systems through appropriate integration of di.
Comparative Characterization of Four Mouse Parthenogenetic Embryonic Stem (pES) Cell Lines

Derivation of embryonic stem (ES) cells from parthenogenetic embryos represents a possible alternative approach to create histocompatible cells for regenerative medicine. The objectives of this study were to establish mouse parthenogenetic ES (pES) cell lines from parthenogenetically-derived blastocysts as a model system for human and animal research and to examine pluripotency differences among the pES cell lines. We are able to report the successful establishment of four pluripotent pES cell lines from blastocysts of parthenogenetic origin (22% efficiency of pES cell line establishment). Four pES cell lines (pES#1-4) exhibited a typical ES cell morphology and expression of key pluripotency markers (ALP, Oct4, Nanog and SSEA-1). Three of the four pES cell lines have shown a high percentage of normal karyotype during long-term culture. Variability in the in vitro differentiation potential into cell types of the 3 germ layers was observed among the different pES cell lines. Three of these (pES#1-3) exhibited a higher efficiency towards endo-mesoderm differentiation, strongly expressed differentiation markers towards endomesoderm lineage (α-fetoprotein; Flk-1; PECAM and collagen IV) than pES#4. Differentiation towards cardiac cells resulted in all cell lines 33-100% of spontaneous beating cell clusters/well. Furthermore, following injection into blastocysts pES#1 cells differentiated successfully in vivo into chimeric mice with an efficiency of 75% (three chimeras of four newborns). In conclusion, our results have demonstrated that there are major differences among pES lines in their differentiation ability in vitro and that it was possible to generate chimera forming pES cell lines in mouse.
Modelling exposure to selected temperature during pregnancy: the limitations of squamate viviparity in a cool-climate environment

Behavioural thermoregulation is important for the success of cool-climate lizards, and a basis of the cold-climate hypothesis for the evolution of viviparity in squamate reptiles. The temperature (Tsel) selected by pregnant females in a thermal gradient is considered to be optimal for embryonic development; however, exposure to Tsel throughout pregnancy has been difficult to estimate in small-bodied lizards as temperature-sensitive telemetry is impractical. In addition, the value of maternal thermophily during pregnancy is controversial: some studies have shown elevated Tsel, whereas others have found lowered Tsel or no change during pregnancy. We estimated indirectly the overall exposure to Tsel during the 4–5 months of pregnancy of the cool-climate, sub-alpine species Oligosoma maccanni (McCann's skink, 3–6 g) from southern New Zealand. The thermal environment available to skinks was modelled using temperature loggers inside validated copper models in basking and retreat sites. Pregnant skinks were able to achieve mean Tsel (28.9 °C) in the field very infrequently (4–15% of each month during the final 4 months of pregnancy). In field thermoregulatory studies, pregnant females did not bask more frequently and did not show altered field body temperature compared with non-pregnant adults, suggesting that all skinks (whether pregnant or not) thermoregulate maximally whenever conditions allow. Further research on cool-climate lizards should address the significance for offspring phenotypes of low and variable exposure to Tsel during pregnancy, as well as the significance of temperatures for embryos in maternal bodies (viviparity) versus nest sites (oviparity) arising from differences in maternal body size. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 96, 541–552.
The leaf phenology of woody plants in the gallery forests (central Black Sea region, Turkey)

We study the interactions between leaf emergence and leaf survival in four deciduous woody species of aPlatanus orientalis gallery forest occurring in the central Black Sea region. We found Rubus discolor to be a flush leaf emergence type species. However, P. orientalis, Robinia pseudoacacia and Salix alba are intermediate leaf emergence type. Leaf durations of all species in the study area usually varied between 210–254 days. The species that havemore bud scales show a tendency toward the shortening of leaf emergence duration. The peak of leaf fall was observed between November and December. Leaf fall was strongly seasonal and statistically significant differences were observed among months, species and localities in terms of leaf number.
Seasonal adaptations of insects.

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Precancerous Lesions and Conditions of the Prostate

Abstract: Prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) is composed of dysplastic cells with a luminal cell phenotype, expressing the androgen receptor as well as prostate‐specific antigen. PIN is characterized by progressive abnormalities of phenotype that are intermediate between normal prostatic epithelium and cancer, indicating impairment of cell differentiation and regulatory control with advancing stages of carcinogenesis. High‐grade PIN is considered the most likely precursor of prostatic carcinoma, according to virtually all available evidence. Androgen deprivation decreases the prevalence and extent of PIN and the degree of capillary vascularization (e.g., angiogenesis) in the surrounding stroma via suppression of vascular endothelial growth factor production. Prostatic carcinoma is also likely to arise from precursor lesions other than high‐grade PIN such as low‐grade PIN, atypical adenomatous hyperplasia, malignancy‐associated foci, and atrophy.
Investigation into the antioxidant capacity of L-arginine and L-citrulline in relation to their vascular protective properties

Oxidative stress plays a prominent role in the development of endothelial dysfunction. L-arginine and L-citrulline have been demonstrated to have beneficial effects in vascular disease and this thesis aimed to determine whether this protective effect is mediated via an antioxidant mechanism. With evidence to suggest L-citrulline may have antioxidant properties in plants, and the current contradictions that exist concerning the antioxidant properties of L-arginine in cells and in humans, a study aimed at fully characterising the antioxidant properties of both molecules was needed. The ability of L-arginine and L-citrulline to scavenge both superoxide and hydroxyl radicals were investigated with an antioxidant effect only demonstrated against hydroxyl radicals. The mechanism of antioxidant action was shown to be two fold: 1) through inhibition of hydroxyl radical production and 2) through direct scavenging of the hydroxyl radical. Three model systems were developed to test the effect of endogenous and exogenous ROS on biological function. This allowed investigation into whether the antioxidant properties demonstrated in vitro were transferable to physiological and pathophysiological systems. Both amino acids were able to regulate endogenous ROS in platelets but this was shown to have little effect on overall platelet function. In terms of exogenous radicals, L-citrulline but not L-arginine, was able to protect against superoxide mediated endothelial dysfunction in vessels however this was deemed to be through a ROS independent effect Both amino acids inhibited hydroxyl radical mediated lipid peroxidation at concentrations of amino acid found in the plasma. Taken together, these studies suggest that the improvement in vascular function seen upon administration of L-arginine and L-citrulline is in part mediated through an ability to scavenge hydroxyl radicals. However, their inability to directly affect superoxide levels draws into question whether significant antioxidant effects occurs in vivo and would suggest that a certain proportion of their protective effect on the vascular system is mediated via an antioxidant independent mechanism.
Lipid Transport Involving Chloroplast Envelope Membranes in Plants and Algae

Lipid trafficking between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and chloroplasts is essential in plant cells and involves two transport complexes in the inner and outer envelope membrane, respectively. The TGD1,2,3 ABC transporter complex so named after the accumulation of trigalactosyldiacylglycerol in the Arabidopsis mutants, consists of a permease (TGD1), an ATPase (TGD3), and substrate binding protein (TGD2). It is located in the inner envelope membrane, but TGD2 is proposed to reach out to the outer envelope membrane to facilitate lipid transfer. TGD4 forms a complex in the outer envelope membrane. TGD2 as well as TGD4 bind phosphatidic acid. However, the actual transported substrates remain to be defined. Novel in vivo and in vitro approaches are applied to address this issue.
Spatial patterns in brown bear Ursus arctos diet: the role of geographical and environmental factors

1We reviewed worldwide spatial patterns in the food habits of the brown bear Ursus arctos in relation to geographical (latitude, longitude, altitude) and environmental (temperature, snow cover depth and duration, precipitation, primary productivity) variables. 2We collected data from 28 studies on brown bear diet based on faecal analysis, covering the entire geographical range of this widely distributed large carnivore. We analysed separately four data sets based on different methods of diet assessment. 3Temperature and snow conditions were the most important factors determining the composition of brown bear diet. Populations in locations with deeper snow cover, lower temperatures and lower productivity consumed significantly more vertebrates, fewer invertebrates and less mast. Trophic diversity was positively correlated with temperature, precipitation and productivity but negatively correlated with the duration of snow cover and snow depth. Brown bear populations from temperate forest biomes had the most diverse diet. In general, environmental factors were more explicative of diet than geographical variables. 4Dietary spatial patterns were best revealed by the relative biomass and energy content methods of diet analysis, whereas the frequency of occurrence and relative biomass methods were most appropriate for investigating variation in trophic diversity. 5Spatial variation in brown bear diet is the result of environmental conditions, especially climatic factors, which affect the nutritional and energetic requirements of brown bears as well as the local availability of food. The trade-off between food availability on the one hand, and nutritional and energetic requirements on the other hand, determines brown bear foraging decisions. In hibernating species such as the brown bear, winter severity seems to play a role in determining foraging strategies. Large-scale reviews of food habits should be based on several measures of diet composition, with special attention to those methods reflecting the energetic value of food.
Degradation of the Large Subunit of Ribulose-1, 5-Bisphosphate Carboxylase／Oxygenase in Wheat Leaves

The degradation of the large subunit (LSU) of ribulose- 1, 5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco; EC 4.1.1.39) in wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Yangmai 158) leaves was investigated. A 50 kDa fragment, a portion of the LSU of Rubisco, was detected by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting with antibody against tobacco Rubisco in crude enzyme extract of young wheat leaves. The appearance of the 50 kDa fragment was most obvious at 30-35 ℃ and pH 5.5. The LSU and its 50 kDa fragment both existed when the crude enzyme extract was incubated for 60 min. The amount of LSU decreased with incubation time from 0 to 3 h in crude enzyme extract. However, the 50 kDa fragment could not be found any pH from 4.5 to 8.5 in chloroplast lysates of young wheat leaves. In addition,through treatment with various inhibitors, reactions were inhibited by cysteine proteinase inhibitor E-64 or leupeptin.
Biogeographical Patterns of Liana Abundance and Diversity

This chapter examines the pantropical patterns of liana abundance and species diversity and their correlates with climatic characteristics to gain insight into which processes are important for the distribution of tropical lianas. The analyses follow from the standard sampling protocol of liana diversity and abundance used by Alwyn Gentry in the 1980s and 1990s. The chapter examines how climatic conditions are associated with liana density and diversity, by analyzing old-growth continental forests at 850mm yr-1.To broaden the discussion of determinants of liana density and diversity beyond climatic factors, the authors comment on differences between temperate and tropical forests and between continental and island regions. The chapter focuses on sites in the Global Liana Database (GLD) from temperate forests in Australia, subtropical forest in Argentina, and an island in the Caribbean, and also reviews the available literature.
The promise of paleobiology as a nomothetic, evolutionary discipline

During the past 20 years, paleobiology has established the foundations of a nomothetic science based upon evolutionary theory. This radical break with a past philosophy based on irreducible historical uniqueness is still impeded by (1) overreliance upon the inductivist methodology that embodied this previous philosophy, and (2) an unadventurous approach to biology that attempts passively to transfer the orthodoxies of microevolutionary theory across vast stretches of time and several levels of a hierarchy into the domain of macroevolution. I analyze the major trends of recent invertebrate paleobiology in the light of these two impediments. The formulation, by paleobiologists and with paleobiological data, of new macroevolutionary theories should end the subservience of passive transfer and contribute, in turn, to the formulation of a new, general theory of evolution that recognizes hierarchy and permits a set of unifying principles to work differently at various levels.
Fire emissions estimates in Siberia: evaluation of uncertainties in area burned, land cover, and fuel consumption

Boreal forests constitute the world's largest terrestrial carbon pools. The main natural disturbance in these forests is wildfire, which modifies the carbon budget and atmosphere, directly and indirectly. Wildfire emissions in Russia contribute substantially to the global carbon cycle and have potentially important feedbacks to changing climate. Published estimates of carbon emissions from fires in Russian boreal forests vary greatly depending on the methods and data sets used. We examined various fire and vegetation products used to estimate wildfire emissions for Siberia. Large (up to fivefold) differences in annual and monthly area burned estimates for Siberia were found among four satellite-based fire data sets. Official Russian data were typically less than 10% of satellite estimates. Differences in the estimated proportion of annual burned area within each ecosystem were as much as 40% among five land-cover products. As a result, fuel consumption estimates would be expected to vary widely (3%–98%) d.
Site specific differences in food and feeding biology of Nemipterus japonicus (Bloch, 1791) along Indian coast

Feeding biology of populations of a typical demersal carnivorous fish species, Nemipterus japonicus (Japanese threadfin bream) from four different locations of India was studied on the basis of percentage number, percentage weight and occurrence of food items. The basic indices viz., percentage number, gravimetric index and percentage occurrence were used to calculate preference indices like the index of relative importance (IRI) and index of preponderance (IP). Percentage similarity index (PSI) and dietary breadth (DB) were used for investigating the site specific variation in food and feeding biology from 4 sites viz . , Mumbai and Cochin from the west coast and Chennai and Kakinada from the east coast of India. Some important food items like squid, lizard fish, Solenocera sp. and polychaetes which were common in other locations, were not reported from Kakinada samples. The PSI and DB indicated marked variations in feeding biology of populations from different sites on the east and west coast. Similarity index was maximum between Mumbai and Cochin while the second highest value was between Kakinada and Chennai. A narrow spectrum of food items was observed for Kakinada and Chennai populations in contrast to a broader spectrum for Cochin and Mumbai populations. The west coast individuals revealed abundance of shrimps, while east coast individuals showed abundance of crabs in the diet. The analysis reflected a coastwise variation in the food items of the species.
Landscapes to Riverscapes: Bridging the Gap between Research and Conservation of Stream Fishes

R and streams, by their very nature long ribbons of aquatic habitat, are inherently difficult to study. Approaching the banks of a flowing-water (lotic) system, one can see only a short fragment of the entire stream, from one bend to another, and can gain little appreciation for important features that lie beyond view. Moreover, materials transported downstream by the flow, and organisms traveling up or down the hydraulic highway, are soon gone from the reach and the opportunity to study them is often lost. Lakes present their own challenges for study, but by contrast to streams, one can usually see large expanses from shore that encompass all major habitats needed for aquatic organisms to complete their life history, such as gravel shoals, beds of aquatic vegetation, and open water habitats. Much of our knowledge of the ecology of rivers and streams is based on observations and experiments on organisms and habitat in the short fragments we can view or quickly traverse on foot, and this limited understanding underpins our efforts at conservation of stream fishes. Here, we argue that this understanding is incomplete, like viewing only disjunct parts of a landscape painting through small holes in a curtain draping it. We propose that a continuous view of rivers is essential for effective research and conservation of their fishes and other aquatic biota—a view not just of disjunct reaches but of the entire spatially heterogeneous scene of the river environment, the riverscape, unfolding through time. One symptom of our incomplete understanding is the alarming rate of decline over the last 50 years of fishes that inhabit rivers and streams of North America. The public is aware that salmon are disappearing from the Pacific Northwest, with about a quarter of the 214 stocks of anadromous salmon and trout imperiled a decade ago (Nehlsen et al. 1991). Even little-known small fishes native to Great Plains and southwestern desert streams have suffered drastic declines (Minckley and Douglas 1991, Fausch and Bestgen 1997), and many are now either protected by federal or state listing as endangered or threatened species or are being considered for such protection. North America harbored the greatest diversity worldwide of temperate freshwater fishes (Warren and Burr 1994), crayfishes (Taylor et al. 1996), and mussels (Williams et al. 1993), but about 30% to 75% of the taxa in each group are at increased risk of extinction (i.e., categorized as rare, threatened, or endangered species). Fishes are also the most imperiled vertebrates worldwide (Allan and Flecker 1993, Leidy and Moyle 1998) and a large proportion spend at least part of their lives in streams.
Farewell to the bottle trap? An evaluation of aquaticfunnel traps for great crested newt surveys (Triturus cristatus)

Aquatic funnel traps are an established technique for the capture of newts. In the United Kingdom they are widely used for commercial surveys of great crested newts (Triturus cristatus) to comply with EU regulations during land developments such as construction activities. The present study demonstrates that widely-used traps constructed from plastic bottles could become replaced by more efficient funnels such as collapsible nylon traps. To achieve this, we followed standard UK survey protocols to systematically compare bottle traps with nylon traps at six ponds with known T. cristatus occurrences in western France. Out of 296 T. cristatus records, nylon traps yielded 79.7% of all captures and 83.3% of all recaptures. Standardized population size class estimates based on capture numbers were equal to or higher using nylon traps than with bottle traps, and nylon traps outperformed bottle traps for more precise population size estimates based on capture-mark-recapture. We suggest that bottle traps could be replaced by nylon traps during standard surveys for aquatic newts in the UK and elsewhere.
Investigations on Production Traits of Mulards with Experimentally Induced Aflatoxicosis

In this study the toxic effects of aflatoxin В1 (AFB1) on production traits (live body weight, weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion) and relative weights (g/100 g body weight) of visceral organs (liver, kidneys, thymus, spleen, Bursa of Fabricius, heart, gizzard and proventriculus) in mulard ducklings were investigated. The experiment was carried out with four groups of 30 10-day-old ducklings each, over 42 days. The groups were as followed: group І – control, which received standard feed according to the species and age, group ІІ – experimental, which received compound feed with 0.5 mg/kg AFB1, group ІІI – receiving compound feed supplemented with 0.8 mg/kg AFB1 and group IV – compound feed supplemented with 0.5 mg/kg AFB1 and 2 g/kg Mycotox NG. In experimental groups II and III, the body weight, weight gain, feed intake were lower, feed conversion ratio was higher as well as the relative weights of liver, kidneys, heart, pancreas, gizzard and proventriculus. At the same time, the relative weight of the thymus, bursa of Fabricius and the spleen were considerably reduced. The supplementation of feed of group IV with Mycotox NG protected birds from the negative effects of AFB1 on production traits and prevented changes in the weights of visceral organs.