Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Noonan Syndrome: Genetics and Responsiveness to Growth Hormone Therapy

Background: The autosomal-dominant Noonan syndrome (MIM 163950) is characterized by short stature, heart defects, characteristic facial dysmorphic features and other major and minor anomalies. Its incidence has been estimated to be 1 in 1,000 to 2,500 live births. Familial cases are frequent. Methods and Results: Recently, molecular data have suggested that deregulation of signaling through the Ras-mitogen-activated protein kinase (Ras-MAPK) pathway was the main molecular basis of Noonan syndrome. The frequently detected upstream defects of this pathway are gain-of-function mutations of PTPN11, which are associated with a mild form of growth hormone (GH) resistance and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) deficiency, presumably due to interference with the Janus kinase 2 and signal transducer and activator of transcription 5b (JAK2-STAT) signaling of the GH receptor. Present data suggest reduced GH responsiveness in these cases. Conclusions: Downstream defects of the Ras-MAPK pathway (like K-ras mutations) do not affect the JAK2-STAT pathway, and therefore response to GH therapy is likely to be better in these cases.
Will urbanization cause deforested areas to be abandoned in Brazilian Amazonia?

Wright and Muller-Landau (2006) proposed that rural–urban migration could reduce tropical forest loss worldwide and allow secondary forest to occupy abandoned clearings, thereby reducing the expected magnitude of tropical species extinctions. However, the usefulness of this global generalization is highly dependent on its being correct for Brazilian Amazonia, which has the world's largest remaining area of tropical forest. Among the features of the deforestation process that make urbanization an unlikely mechanism for land abandonment in Brazil is the fact that most deforestation is done by ranchers rather than by shifting cultivators. A family of shifting cultivators is only capable of farming a limited area and cannot greatly expand the area it cultivates if additional land becomes available. Ranchers, by contrast, can occupy huge areas and expand their holdings when the opportunity arises. Were part of the population to leave for the cities their land would usually be bought by neighbouring ranchers who would maintain and expand the deforested landscape. As Wright and Muller-Landau (2006) predicted, their interpretations have generated considerable controversy (Brook et al. 2006; Gardner et al. 2007; Laurance 2006; Sloan 2007). Only part of this controversy will be considered here, namely the expectation that rural population in tropical areas will decline, allowing secondary forests to regrow in large areas of abandoned farmland. Specifically, the present paper will consider the applicability of the Wright/Muller-Landau hypothesis to Brazilian Amazonia.
Distinct regulation of Arabidopsis ADP-ribose/NADH pyrophosphohydrolases, AtNUDX6 and 7, in biotic and abiotic stress responses

Among Arabidopsis Nudix hydrolases (AtNUDX1~27), AtNUDX6 and AtNUDX7 having ADP-ribose/NADH pyrophosphohydrolase activities have been found to contribute to keeping the energy and redox homeostasis, and/or modulating defense responses against biotic and abiotic stress. Interestingly, AtNUDX6 had an opposite effect to AtNUDX7 on the regulation of immune responses. A comparison of the activities of ADP-ribose/NADH pyrophosphohydrolase among wild-type, knockout (KO)-AtNUDX6, and KO-AtNUDX7 plants revealed AtNUDX7 to contribute more than AtNUDX6 to the total pyrophosphohydrolase activity toward both ADP-ribose and NADH under normal conditions and oxidative stress, while AtNUDX6 accounted for the majority of total NADH pyrophosphohydrolase activity under salicylic acid treatment. These results support the idea that the metabolism of ADP-ribose and/or NADH needs to be finely tuned for accurate regulation of cellular responses to biotic and abiotic stress.
Light is a crucial signal for zoosporogenesis and gametogenesis in some green microalgae

Patterns of reproduction were investigated in some microalgal species of Chlorophyceae (Botryosphaerella sudetica, Neochloris aquatica, Neochloris vigensis, Bracteacoccus minor). Under continuous light, the microalgae reproduced asexually producing autospores. However, appropriate manipulation of external conditions led to a change in the reproduction pattern towards production of zoospores or gametes. Production of zoospores and gametes was inhibited by light; motile cells emerged when microalgae were cultivated in darkness. The period of dark treatment necessary for zoosporogenesis or gametogenesis differed substantially among species that were tested. Sexual reproduction was observed in Neochloris vigensis and Bracteacoccus minor, whose generative life cycle had not been previously reported. The morphology of motile cells, the mode of sexual reproduction, and the efficiency of both the production of motile stages and mating events, were investigated. In order to gain detailed insights into patterns of reproduction, Botryosphaerella sudetica was selected for investigation under different light treatments. Non-actinic red light applied in the early phase of dark cultivation (up to 2 h) suppressed both zoosporogenesis and gametogenesis. However, after a 3-h dark pre-treatment, red light treatment had no effect on zoosporogenesis or gametogenesis. In contrast, non-actinic blue light did not block zoosporogenesis or gametogenesis, regardless of the time of treatment. The possible role of a red-light photoreceptor in zoosporogenesis and gametogenesis is discussed.
VARIACION INTERANUAL EN PRODUCCION DE SEMILLAS DE ALGUNAS ESPECIES ARBOREAS EN CORDILLERA PELADA, CENTRO-SUR DE CHILE

Este estudio analiza la variacion y sincronizacion en la produccion de semillas de especies arboreas en dos sitios ubicados en la Cordillera de la Costa, X Region de Chile. Se utilizan los datos publicados por Donoso (1993) y Donoso et al. (1993) sobre produccion de semillas de especies arboreas en dos sitios (correspondientes a los tipos forestales Siempreverde y Alerce) para periodos de 10 y 7 anos, respectivamente. Se encontro evidencia de mayor variacion en la produccion de semillas en el sitio (tipo forestal Alerce) que se encuentra a mayor altitud. En cambio, no hubo diferencia significativa entre especies anemofilas y especies entomofilas. En ninguno de los dos sitios hubo sincronizacion interanual significativa entre las especies del ensamble. Sin embargo, se encontro una correlacion positiva en la produccion anual de semillas entre las poblaciones de Drimys winteri de los dos sitios. La precipitacion acumulada de verano, y especialmente las temperaturas de verano y de invierno, estarian relacionadas con la produccion de semillas de algunas de las especies estudiadas en ambos tipos forestales. Los resultados obtenidos sugieren que el efecto del sitio sobre las poblaciones de plantas es un elemento importante a considerar para clarificar la sincronia y variacion en produccion de semillas.
The effects of seed size and spacing on growth and yield of lesser yam (Dioscorea esculenta)

SUMMARY The effects of seed size and spacing on growth, development and yield of lesser yam and the relationship between growth, development and yield in this yam variety were investigated in the 1967 and 1968 growing seasons. Larger seeds outyielded smaller ones both in the total and ware tuber yields. The seed size effect was associated with a difference in tuber number, leaf area duration and bulking rate. Mean tuber weight at harvest, decreased with the decrease in seed size. Total and ware tuber yields increased with the decrease in spacing distance. The spacing effect was associated with differences in leaf area duration and bulking rate per unit area. Final total dry matter produced per plant increased with the increase in both seed size and spacing distance but the dry matter produced per unit area decreased with the increase in spacing distance. Leaf area index and leaf area duration increased with an increase in seed size and decreased with increase in spacing distance. There was a greater positive relationship between total tuber yield and leaf area duration between tuber initiation and the final sampling period than that between it and absolute leaf area duration.
Biologia reprodutiva de Dipsas neivai Amaral e D. catesbyi (Sentzen) (Serpentes, Colubridae) no sudeste da Bahia, Brasil

The reproductive biology of Dipsas neivai Amaral, 1923 and Dipsas catesbyi (Sentzen, 1796), was studied by dissecting 261 specimens of D. neivai and 222 of D. catesbyi. In D. neivai males mature at smaller body size than females, and in D. catesbyi the opposite was observed. The females were larger than males in both species. The clutch size ranged from one to eight in D. neivai, and one to six in D. catesbyi, but it is not correlated with female length in the last one. Reproductive cycles in both males and females are aseasonal, with vitelogensis and spermatogenesis occurring throughout the year. The couple in females of D. neivai is dissociated from the vitellogenesis. D. neivai and D. catesbyi are syntopic and reproduce in the same time of the year, which is possibly related to the continuous availability of prey and little climate variation in southern Bahia.
Ghrelin Activates Behavior of Neonatal Chicks in a Short Period of Post-Intracerebroventricular Injection

Abstract Saito, E. , Takagi, T. , Nakanishi, T. , Sashihara, K. and Furuse, M. 2002. Ghrelin activates behavior of neonatal chicks in a short period of post-intracerebroventricular injection. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 22: 33–41. Ghrelin, a novel growth hormone (GH)-releasing peptide with an acylated side chain, is the endogenous ligand for the GH secretagogue receptor. Intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection of ghrelin stimulates GH secretion and feeding of rats, but ghrelin inhibited feeding of neonatal chicks. It was also confirmed that ghrelin induced sleep-like behavior later than 30 minutes post-administration in neonatal chicks. However, exciting behavior was observed in a short period (less than 30 min) in previous reports. Thus, we further investigated the behavioral changes in neonatal chicks by ICV administration of ghrelin within a short period. Chicks were divided into two groups and administered ICV saline or 2μg of ghrelin and the numbers of step and vocalization were monitored. Just after behavioral test, the amount of monoamines of chick hypothalamus was determined by high performance liquid chromatography. Central ghrelin enhanced the numbers of step and kept the numbers of vocalization, but no significant difference in the amount of monoamines was detected. In conclusion, central ghrelin activates chick behavior in a short period without modification of hypothalamic monoamine contents.
Evaluation of insecticidal activity of the essential oil of Eucalyptus robusta Smith leaves and its constituent compound against overwintering Cacopsylla chinensis (Yang et Li) (Hemiptera: Psyllidae)

Water-distilled essential oil from Eucalyptus robusta Smith leaves was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Thirty-six compounds, accounting for 96.21 % of the total oil, were identified and the main components of the essential oil of E. robusta leaves were α-pinene (30.18%), 1,8-cineole (26.08%), and spathulenol (5.31%), followed by globulol (4.44%), and viridiflorol (3.97%). The essential oil of E. robusta leaves possessed contact toxicity against the overwintering adults of Chinese pear psylla (Cacopsylla chinensis) with a LD50 value of 10.61 μg/adult. The two main constituent compounds, α-pinene and 1,8-cineole exhibited strong acute toxicity against the overwintering Chinese pear psylla with LD50 values of 1.34 μg/adult and 11.76 μg/adult, respectively
Digestive strategies of ruminants and non ruminants.

Of the 176 species of ungulates in the world the great majority (146 species) are ruminants. The more recent ruminants probably have displaced the older nonruminants because of their superior digestive system in combination with the ruminantion mechanism leading to significant advantageous differences in important life history traits. Nonruminants like hippos, equids, elephants and tapirs reach sexual maturity at a later age and produce fewer young per year than ruminants, relative to body size. Within the ruminants three different adaptive syndromes in feeding style are distinguished and expected differences in digestive physiology between members of the various feeding styles were tested. Nonruminants are poorer fibre digesters than ruminants while the large bovid 'grass and roughage feeders' have superior capacity for digesting fibre. In some areas in the world, notably in East Africa, species-rich ungulate communities can be found. Various guilds of species occupying different habitats and feeding niches can be distinguished and the species belonging to different guilds are sufficiently dissimilar as not to compete with each other. Within guilds frequently groups of species of similar body weight and with similar ecology occur sympatrically. The apparent peaceful co-existence of these species yet has to be explained.
Conversion of Tallgrass Prairie to Woodland: Consequences for Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling

Abstract Woody plant encroachment and proliferation in grasslands is occurring worldwide and has significant but variable effects on ecosystem processes, including primary production, litter decomposition, and N cycling. In mesic systems, recent reports suggest aboveground net primary production (ANPP) is stimulated by grass-to-woodland conversion; however, significant losses of soil C may accompany this land cover change in these environments. This study aimed to quantify how changes in plant production inputs (both above- and belowground), litter decomposition, and N cycling may feed back to reduce soil C pools in a mesic tallgrass prairie in central Texas, USA, that has undergone grass-to-woodland conversion over the past 60–70 y. Belowground net primary production (BNPP) in woodland was half that of adjacent grassland, and contrary to recent reports, no significant differences in ANPP between the two vegetation types were observed. Decomposition rates of aboveground woody and grass material were surprisingly similar. However, higher N concentrations in woodland leaves and stems meant woodland received more than 3× the amount of N via litterfall than adjacent grassland, and woody litter mineralized N when decomposing, while grassland litter tended to retain it. Losses of soil C accompanying grass-to-woodland conversion at this site (woodland soil C was ∼20% less than that of adjacent grassland) may be the result of both reduced BNPP inputs to the soil C pool and increased rates of N cycling stimulating soil organic matter decomposition. Given that the processes controlling whether grasslands accrue or lose C and N when they are replaced by woody species vary across time and depend on the species involved and the biotic and edaphic conditions and management history of the site, more complex models that incorporate these parameters may be required to understand and predict when gains and losses of C will accompany vegetation change.
Identification of the components of excitatory junction potentials in the guinea pig vas deferens

The contributions to the generation of excitatory junction potentials (EJPs) during neurotransmission in a smooth muscle organ have been investigated. The effects of nerve stimulation intensity on EJPs with complex time courses have been explored in the guinea pig vas deferens. It is shown that complex EJPs are resolvable into intermediate rapid and slow components, produced by the activity of separately recruitable innervating axons. The effects of the putative gap junctional uncoupling agent heptanol on EJPs have also been studied. Heptanol abolished the EJP reversibly. However, brief stimulus-locked depolarizations continued to occur intermittently at the same latency as the EJP even while the EJP was completely suppressed. These depolarizations had properties very similar to those of SEJPs, and reflect the fundamental quantal depolarizations underlying the EJP. They are termed quantal EJPs (QEJPs). Our results show that there are two principal contributions to the generation of the EJP, namely (i) QEJ.
The morphology and occlusion of the molariform cheek teeth in some Macropodinae (Marsupialia: Macropodidae).

The morphology and functional occlusion of the cheek teeth of Wallabia bicolor and Macropus giganteus are compared. W. bicolor seems to be essentially a browser and M. giganteus is predominantly a grazer. W. bicolor has a large sectorial premolar, weakly developed links, a plane tooth row with all the teeth in occlusion simultaneously in the adult, and no molar progression. M. giganteus has a reduced premolar, strongly developed links, a curved lower tooth row which meets the upper tooth row at a tangent allowing only a few teeth to be in occlusion at one time, and molar progression. The reconstruction of the occlusal cycles is interpreted mainly by examination of wear facet development and striae patterns. Occlusion in W. bicolor involves a strong anteroposterior action bringing the opposing surfaces together across a broad area. M. giganteus teeth occlude with an initial forward motion, followed by a lateral movement which avoids large surface-area contact. M. giganteus teeth seem to be more adapted to cutting fibrous, abrasive material. Species of Dorcopsis, Dorcopsulus, Dendrolagus, Thylogale and Setonix show the same general masticatory features as W. bicolor, but species of Macropus and Megaleia more approximate the M. giganteus condition.
Determining Leaf Toughness and Its Role in Maize Resistance to the European Com Borer (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

An instron technique was peveloped for determining leaf toughness of maize ( Zea mays L.) and its relation to maize resistance to the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hubner). Leaf tissue of field-grown maize was mounted onto a stainless steel plate, and the force required to puncture the leaf was determined using an instron. A rounded cylindrical probe attached to the instron gave consistent leaf-toughness readings. Significant negative correlations were found between leaf toughness and leaf-damage ratings taken at midwhorl and plant tasseling for five different groups of maize germplasm that included multiple borer-resistant cultivars and inbreds, Mexican landraces, BS9 selection cycles, and North American inbreds. Leaf toughness appears to be an important defense mechanism in maize across diverse groups of germplasm. Instron measurements of leaf toughness can be used to monitor leaf toughness in resistance breeding programs and as a tool to better understand phytochemical contributions to leaf toughness and behavioral ecology of lepidopteran folivores feeding on maize.
Effects of glycinin and β-conglycinin on enterocyte apoptosis, proliferation and migration of piglets

Abstract Glycinin and β-conglycinin have been identified as major food/feed allergens. But effects of glycinin and β-conglycinin on enterocyte migration in piglets are scare. Fifteen weanling (7.06±0.18 kg) General No. 1 barrows, weaned at 28 days, were used. The piglets were randomly allotted to three (A, B and C) treatments with five replicates. The piglets in the A group (control group) were fed diets without ingredients originating from leguminous products, while the piglets in the B or C groups were fed the diets containing purified glycinin or β-conglycinin, which replaced protein in Group A by 4%. All the experimental periods were followed for 7 days. Five-micrometre thick sections of small intestinal tissue were stained with the TUNEL method to assess apoptotic activity, and with Ki-67 immunohistochemistry to assess cellular proliferation. The results indicated that glycinin or β-conglycinin increased proliferative index and apoptotic index in duodenum for piglets (P<0.05).
Evidence for limiting similarity in a sand dune community

1 We sought evidence among the plant species of a New Zealand sand dune community that limiting similarity controls the ability of species to coexist. Sampling was at four spatial scales, from a single point up to a scale of 50 m2. Twenty‐three functional characters were measured on each of the species, covering the morphology of the shoot and root systems and nutrient status, and intended to represent modes of resource acquisition. 2 Patterns of association between plant species at the four scales were examined for any tendency for plants with similar functional characters to coexist less often than expected at random (e.g. if a point has three species, do they have notably different characters? ) The observed results were compared with the patterns expected under a null model using a range of test statistics. 3 A test over all characters found that the mean dissimilarity between nearest‐neighbour species in functional space, and the minimum dissimilarity, were greater than expected under the null model at the 0.5 × 0.5 m scale. This supports the MacArthur & Levins model, although the actual community did not show an even spread of species over functional space. 4 Limiting similarity effects were seen even more consistently in separate characters when within‐species variation was taken into account to calculate measures of overlap. The characters involved were mainly those related to rooting patterns and leaf water control, and thus perhaps reflecting the acquisition of nutrients and/or water. 5 Our results seem to be amongst the most convincing support for the theory of limiting similarity, and the only example involving vegetative processes in plant communities. The characters involved suggest that species can more readily coexist if they differ in their water‐use pattern, reducing competition between them.
PEP carboxylase kinase is a novel protein kinase controlled at the level of expression.

Phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxylase plays a number of key roles in the central metabolism of higher plants. The enzyme is regulated by reversible phosphorylation in response to a range of signals in many different plant tissues. The data discussed here illustrate several novel features of this system. The phosphorylation state of PEP carboxylase is controlled largely by the activity of PEP carboxylase kinase. This enzyme comprises a protein kinase catalytic domain with no regulatory regions. In many systems it is controlled at the level of expression. In C4 plants, expression of PEP carboxylase kinase is light-regulated and involves changes in cytosolic pH, InsP3 and Ca2+ levels. Expression of PEP carboxylase kinase in CAM plants is regulated by a circadian oscillator, perhaps via metabolite control. Some plants contain multiple PEP carboxylase kinase genes, probably with different expression patterns and roles. A newly discovered PEP carboxylase kinase inhibitor protein might facilitate the net dephosphorylation of PEP carboxylase under conditions in which flux through this enzyme is not required.