Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A literature review of the spider monkey, Ateles sp., with special focus on risk for extinction

This literature review summarizes and clarifies taxonomy, geographic distribution, status, habitat and food choice, threats, social organization and reproduction of spider monkeys, genus Ateles. The aim of the study is to asses why spider monkeys are vulnerable for extinction and discuss possible conservation actions. Spider monkeys live in subtropical and tropical rainforest in the Neotropic ecoregion from southern Mexico to northern Bolivia. At the time sixteen species and subspecies are accepted, of which thirteen are considered as endangered, vulnerable or critically endangered at the IUCN's red list; only three of them are at least concern. They are one of the largest New World monkeys. They travel fast with assistant by their prehensile tail, have large home ranges and prefer undisturbed old rainforest as habitat and are considered to be ripe-fruit specialists, although they have been seen to eat larger amount of unripe fruits and leaves and can temporally shift habitat in search for food. Many different kinds of fruits are eaten depending on the availability and season but species from Moraceae, Myristicaeae and Burseraceae family are reported from several sites. They are also important seed dispersals, which may play a role in the rainforest composition in long terms. They live in a fission-fusion system in sex segregated social groups, where small subgroups join and split. Reproductively they mature late and have long interbirth interval. Major threats are habitat reduction and not least hunting. Many of the spider monkeys characteristics and demand for special and large habitat and suitable food makes it very vulnerable for extinction, and all this information is important for the conservation of the species.
Role of Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3α in Insulin Action in Cultured Human Skeletal Muscle Cells

An association between glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3) in skeletal muscle and insulin resistance has been demonstrated in type 2 diabetic patients. In addition, inhibition of GSK3 improves insulin action. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the role of the α-isoform of GSK3 in insulin resistance in human skeletal muscle cells from nondiabetic subjects maintained in culture. Transfection of muscle cells with specific antisense oligonucleotides resulted in a 30–50% decrease of GSK3α protein expression (P < 0.05). Whereas neither the basal fractional velocity of glycogen synthase (GS FV) (an indicator of the activation state of the enzyme) nor glucose uptake (GU) were altered, reducing GSK3α expression resulted in increases in insulin stimulation of both GS FV and GU. GSK3α overexpression (60–100% increase over control) did not alter basal GS FV or GU but impaired insulin stimulation of both responses. Knockdown of GSKα also led to an increase in insulin receptor substrate-1 protein expression bu.
Riverine endosulfan concentrations in the Namoi River, Australia: Link to cotton field runoff and macroinvertebrate population densities

Population densities of six dominant macroinvertebrate taxa (mayfly nymphs Jappa kutera, Atalophlebia sp., Tasma‐nocoenis sp., Baetis sp. and the caddisfly larvae Cheumatopsyche sp. and Ecnomus sp.) were negatively correlated to total endosulfan concentrations in the Namoi River (New South Wales, Australia) in the 1995/96 and 1997/98 cotton growing seasons (November‐March). Total endosulfan concentrations measured in solvent‐filled polyethylene bags (passive samplers) at the exposed sites correlated with rainfall, suggesting that endosulfan entered the riverine environment in runoff from land. At the start of both surveys, in November 1995 and November 1997, there was no significant difference (p < 0.05) between the reference and exposed sites for both total endosulfan concentrations and mean population densities of the combined study taxa. This indicates distance downstream, which was negatively correlated with exposure, was not an important variable in explaining the significantly higher population densities in other months at the reference sites compared with those at sites subsequently exposed to increased (10–25‐fold) total endosulfan concentrations. The multivariate analysis of the 1997/98 data with the principal response curves (PRC) method indicated that endosulfan explained a significant proportion (25%) of the variation in the total macroinvertebrate community. Principal components analysis (PCA) indicated other covariables were involved, including river discharge. River discharge was positively correlated to increased densities of the mayfly taxa at the reference sites in the 1995/96 survey, but these correlations were reduced to near zero, except for Baetis sp. , in the 1997/98 survey.
ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTI-HEMOLITIC ACTIVITIES OF ALGERIAN NIGELLA SATIVA TOTAL OIL AND ITS NEUTRAL LIPID FRACTION

Objective: Nigella sativa (NS) oil is usually considered as oxidatively stable, the aim of this study is to evaluate its antioxidant capacity in vitro through four mechanisms. Methods: NS seed total oil (TO) was extracted with n-hexane and this oil was further fractionated into neutral lipid fraction (NLF) and polar lipid fraction. Total oil and its neutral lipid fraction were investigated for the antioxidant activity using the following spectrophotometric assays; DPPH and ABTS radicals scavenging tests, reducing power test, s-carotene bleaching test and anti-hemolytic test. All tests were realized by spectrophotometric methods. Results: Quantitative determination of phenols and flavonoids in TO and NLF showed that TO has the highest phenolic and flavonoid concentrations with 26,44±0,21 µg GAE/g extract and 1.34±0.21 µg QAE/g extract respectively. All antioxidant assays showed that TO has the strongest antioxidant capacity with; IC 50 83.023±4.58 µg/ml in DPPH scavenging assay, IC 50 80.09±10.51 µg/ml in ABTS scavenging assay, EC 50 85.93±20.01 µg/ml in reducing power assay and a percentage of inhibition 60.62 % in s-carotene bleaching assay, equally, TO has the strongest anti-hemolytic activity with HT 50 of 76.96±1.22 µg/ml. Conclusion: The results obtained in this investigation showed that Nigella sativa has an important antioxidant capacity, which makes it an attractive source of new therapeutic components.
Effect of polyethylene glycol in plasmid DNA solution on transformation of CaCl2-treated Escherichia coli cells.

Transformation of pBR322 DNA to Escherichia coli cells treated with CaCl2 was stimulated by addition of 8% polyethylene glycol (PEG) 600 to the DNA solution. Prolonged incubation of the competent cells in chilled CaCl2 solution (Dargert and Ehrlich, 1979) raised the transformation efficiency by a factor of 5. This prolonged incubation did not inhibit the stimulus effect of PEG. When PEG 600 or PEG 1,000 was added to the mixture of plasmid pBR322 DNA to a final concentration of 2% and the competent cells were incubated at 0°C for 24 hr, we routinely obtained over 107 transformants per μg of pBR322 DNA, and the competent cells transformed comprised 24% of the viable cells.
Estimation of a Nonlinear Density-Dependence Parameter for Wild Turkey

Abstract Although previous research and theory has suggested that wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) populations may be subject to some form of density dependence, there has been no effort to estimate and incorporate a density-dependence parameter into wild turkey population models. To estimate a functional relationship for density dependence in wild turkey, we analyzed a set of harvest-index time series from 11 state wildlife agencies. We tested for lagged correlations between annual harvest indices using partial autocorrelation analysis. We assessed the ability of the density-dependent theta-Ricker model to explain harvest indices over time relative to exponential or random walk growth models. We tested the homogeneity of the density-dependence parameter estimates (θ) from 3 different harvest indices (spring harvest no. reported harvest/effort, survey harvest/effort) and calculated a weighted average based on each estimate's variance and its estimated covariance with the other indices. To estimate the potential bias in parameter estimates from measurement error, we conducted a simulation study using the theta-Ricker with known values and lognormally distributed measurement error. Partial autocorrelation function analysis indicated that harvest indices were significantly correlated only with their value at the previous time step. The theta-Ricker model performed better than the exponential growth or random walk models for all 3 indices. Simulation of known parameters and measurement error indicated a strong positive upward bias in the density-dependent parameter estimate, with increasing measurement error. The average density-dependence estimate, corrected for measurement error ranged 0.25 ≤ θ̂ ≤ 0.49, depending on the amount of measurement error and assumed spring harvest rate. We infer that density dependence is nonlinear in wild turkey, where growth rates are maximized at 39–42% of carrying capacity. The annual yield produced by density-dependent population growth will tend to be less than that caused by extrinsic environmental factors. This study indicates that both density-dependent and density-independent processes are important to wild turkey population growth, and we make initial suggestions on incorporating both into harvest management strategies.
La diversidad política va a mejorar la ciencia de la psicología social

espanolLos psicologos han demostrado el valor de la diversidad —en especial, la diversidad de puntos de vista— para potenciar la creatividad, la capacidad de descubrimiento y la solucion de problemas. Pero un tipo clave de diversidad sigue ausente en la psicologia academica, en general, y en la psicologia social, en particular: la diversidad politica. Este articulo revisa la evidencia disponible y halla elementos que respaldan cuatro afirmaciones: 1) La psicologia academica solia tener una considerable diversidad politica, pero la ha perdido casi por completo en los ultimos 50 anos. 2) Esta falta de diversidad politica puede socavar la validez de la psicologia social como ciencia, al introducir valores liberales1 en las interrogantes y metodologias de investigacion, alejar a los investigadores de temas de investigacion relevantes, pero politicamente incomodos y generar conclusiones que describen erroneamente tanto a los liberales como a los conservadores. 3) Una mayor diversidad politica mejoraria la ciencia de la psicologia social, reduciendo el impacto de los mecanismos de sesgo, tales como el sesgo de confirmacion, y empoderando a las minorias disidentes para que mejoren la calidad de la reflexion de las mayorias. 4) La baja representacion de no liberales en la psicologia social muy probablemente se deba a una combinacion de autoseleccion, ambiente hostil y discriminacion. El articulo concluye con una serie de recomendaciones para lograr una mayor diversidad politica en la psicologia social. EnglishPsychologists have demonstrated the value of diversity –particularly diversity of viewpoints– for enhancing creativity, discovery, and problem solving. But one key type of viewpoint diversity is lacking in academic psychology in general and social psychology in particular: political diversity. This article reviews the available evidence and finds support for four claims: (1) Academic psychology once had considerable political diversity, but has lost nearly all of it in the last 50 years. (2) This lack of political diversity can undermine the validity of social psychological science via mechanisms such as the embedding of liberal values into research questions and methods, steering researchers away from important but politically unpalatable research topics, and producing conclusions that mischaracterize liberals and conservatives alike. (3) Increased political diversity would improve social psychological science by reducing the impact of bias mechanisms such as confirmation bias, and by empowering dissenting minorities to improve the quality of the majority’s thinking. The underrepresentation of non-liberals in social psychology is most likely due to a combination of self-selection, hostile climate, and discrimination. We close with recommendations for increasing political diversity in social psychology
A Requirement for ARF6 in Fcγ Receptor-mediated Phagocytosis in Macrophages*

Phagocytosis requires extension of F-actin-rich pseudopods and is accompanied by membrane fusion events. Members of the ARF family of GTPases are essential for many aspects of membrane trafficking. To test a role for this family of proteins in Fcγ receptor-mediated phagocytosis, we utilized the fungal metabolite brefeldin A (BFA). The addition of 100 μm BFA to a subclone of RAW 264.7 macrophages disrupted the appearance and function of the Golgi apparatus as indicated by altered immunofluorescent distribution of β-COP and reduced efflux of BODIPY C5-ceramide, a phospholipid that normally accumulates in the Golgi apparatus. In contrast, BFA had no effect on phagocytosis of IgG-coated erythrocytes. These results suggested that activation of BFA-sensitive ARFs is not required for phagocytosis. ARF6 is unique among members of the ARF family in that its membrane association is unaffected by BFA. Expression of ARF6 mutants defective in either GTP hydrolysis (Q67L) or binding (T27N) inhibited phagocytosis of IgG-coated erythrocytes and attenuated the focal accumulation of F-actin beneath the test particles. These results indicate a requirement for ARF6 in Fcγ receptor-mediated phagocytosis and suggest that ARF6 is an important mediator of cytoskeletal alterations after Fcγ receptor activation.
Effect of condensed tannins on the production of wool and on its processing characteristics in sheep grazing Lotus corniculatus

The effect of condensed tannins (CT) in Lotus corniculatus upon voluntary feed intake (VFI), concentration of rumen and plasma metabolites, production of wool, and wool processing characteristics was measured in grazing ewes restricted to maintenance feeding for 125 days during summer. A rotational grazing system with restricted feed allowance with 40 mixed aged dry ewes (54±1·0 kg) was used. Half of the ewes were selected randomly for twice-daily oral polyethylene glycol (PEG; MW 3500) supplementation (CT-inactivated), with the remainder being CT-acting animals. Measurements of the diet selected, VFI, wool production, and wool processing characteristics were made. The concentration of ammonia in rumen fluid and the concentrations of methionine, cysteine, and urea in blood plasma were also measured. The diet selected contained 32 g total nitrogen (N) and 28 g total CT/kg dry matter (DM) and had an in vitro organic matter digestibility of 0·70. Action of CT reduced rumen ammonia concentration (256 v. 302 mg N/L), reduced blood plasma urea concentration (7·3 v. 8·9 µM), and increased blood plasma cysteine concentration (30 v. 27 µM) compared with sheep receiving PEG supplementation. CT had no effect on VFI but increased clean fleece weight (2·53 v. 2·28 kg/ewe) and staple length (7·7 v. 6·9 cm), but did not affect liveweight gain (54 v 67 g/day). The CT reduced dag weight and tended to reduce wool yellowness relative to sheep receiving PEG. There were no signifiant effects of CT on fibre diameter, staple strength, bulk density, and wool resilience. It was concluded that action of CT in sheep fed L. corniculatus reduced the degradation of forage protein in the rumen and the principal effect of this was to increase the efficiency of wool production, with more wool being produced at the same feed intake and the wool being of reduced yellowness.
Prevalence and experimental transmission of the steelhead herpesvirus in salmonid fishes

Steelhead herpesvirus (SHV) was isolated from 5.8% of the ovarian fluids of female steelhead trout Oncorhynchus mykiss returning to the Warm Springs Hatchery, Geyserville, California, from January through April 1986, and has currently been isolated from steelhead or rainbow trout 0. mykiss from 7 hatcheries and 2 lakes in California. Following injection, the virus replicated in rainbow trout and chinook salmon 0. tshawytscha, but not in coho salmon 0. lusutch or brown trout S a l m trutta. The virus was also transrmtted to steelhead and rainbow trout by waterborne exposures. In laboratory experiments, SHV induced only minor histopathologic changes in rainbow trout liver; the most prominent being hepatocyte syncytia which contain Feulgen positive, eosinophilic Cowdry Type A inclusions.
Minimal similarity in songs suggests limited exchange between humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the southern Indian Ocean

Comparing humpback whale song from different breeding assemblages can reveal similarities in song due to acoustically interacting males, and therefore indirectly test whether males from different breeding sites are mixing. Northern Hemisphere song comparisons illustrated that whales within ocean basins share similar songs and are subpopulations within a larger population, whereas whales in different ocean basins are isolated populations and therefore do not share songs. During the 2006 breeding season, recordings were collected in Madagascar and Western Australia, and were compared visually plus aurally. Both regions shared one theme, whereas each region had four and six private themes, respectively. This study had a substantially low number of shared themes. The co-occurrence of one theme was interpreted as an indication of limited exchange between these breeding assemblages, and we speculate that limited song similarity is due to inter-oceanic interactions. Male(s) from an Indian Ocean breeding group could be exposed to novel song when they geographically overlap, and acoustically interact, with males from a different ocean basin. Novel song could induce rapid temporal changes as new song content is incorporated, thereby minimizing song similarities between that breeding group and other Indian Ocean breeding groups that were not exposed to the novel song.
Streptococcus thermophilus strains of plant origin as dairy starters: Isolation and characterisation

Streptococcus thermophilus strains have been isolated mainly from dairy environments. To prospect for new strains of S. thermophilus, isolation was made from different plant sources. In this study, 74 plant isolates were characterised as S. thermophilus by a polyphasic approach and by 16S rRNA sequencing. The isolates were further evaluated for their physiological and biochemical properties. Plant isolates exhibited good acid production and varying proteolytic activity. All the isolates showed acetaldehyde and capsular exopolysaccharide (EPS) production and few revealed diacetyl production. In contrast to industrial strains, six isolates were able to ferment galactose and 25 were found to have no urease activity. Both the plant isolates and reference dairy cultures were found to possess similar physiological and biochemical properties and can be considered for developing new starters.
Pathogenic fungi associated with Fusarium foot rot of winter wheat in the semiarid Pacific Northwest

Winter wheat plants and soil were collected from 288 nonirrigated fields in the semiarid Pacific Northwest during 1993 and 1994. Fungi associated with 5,390 crown and subcrown internodes from 10 Oregon and nine Washington counties were identified. Fusarium graminearum Group 1 was most widespread and the dominant pathogen associated with a crown and root rot named Fusarium foot rot or dryland root rot. E culmorum was widely distributed in soil but was detected in plants in only half as many locations as F. graminearum. Other pathogens included Bipolaris sorokiniana, Microdochium nivale, and F. avenaceum. Highly variable isolation frequencies for all five pathogens were presumed related to a very dry and a very wet survey year. Each pathogen was considered dominant or co-dominant at one or more sites during one or more years. All five species and F acuminatum and F. oxysporum included isolates capable of killing wheat seedlings in the greenhouse.
Incubation of eggs of three species of Chelid tortoises, and notes on their embryological development

Incubation periods and nest contents of three species of chelid tortoises in northern Victoria were recorded. Mean incubation period for eggs of Emydura macquari (Cuvier) was 75 days and average number of eggs per nest was 15.7; for Chelodina longicollis (Shaw), 138 days and 10.7 eggs per nest; for Chelodina expansa Gray, normally exceeding 324 days and 15.4 eggs per nest. In abnormal seasons C. expansa hatchlings may emerge from the nest in less than 193 days or more than 522 days after eggs were deposited. Eggs artificially incubated at 30°C consistently develop more quickly than those at lower temperatures under natural conditions. In the field nest temperatures closely approximate the mean daily air temperature. Embryos of C. expansa are tolerant to nest temperatures ranging from 4.9°C minimum to 29.6°C maximum. The other species are subject to variations of about 15 degC with up to 8.5 degC variation being recorded in 1 day. Development of early embryos approximated that recorded for cryptodire tortoises. However, there are large individual differences in the period of incubation needed for specific stages to be reached, especially between embryos of the short-necked and long-necked species of these pleurodire tortoises. It is suggested that differences in the anatomy of their eggs are the main factors in the different incubation periods between short-necked and long-necked species.
Social Business Process Management and Knowledge Intensive Processes

Business process management (BPM) is a worldwide spread holistic management discipline which increases organizational performance by managing its business processes. A number of researchers indicate the need for further examination of the role of organizational culture in BPM and its maturity. In addition, there has been a recent development of social BPM as an effort to overcome the traditional BPM limitations by using social software for managing the organizations' business processes and increasing collaboration between BPM project teams. Therefore, we conducted a case study in one Croatian IT company which operates as a consultant company and deals with software implementation. Since their processes are knowledge intensive, they are not always formal and structured so social BPM helps the company with process change and optimization. The aim of this paper is to examine the role of organizational culture and social software usage on BPM maturity in the observed company
Cytokinin levels in healthy and Verticillium-infected tomato plants

Yellowing of leaves is often an early and persistent symptom of plants infected with vascular wilt fungi. This symptom is also characteristic of senescence and hence the cytokinin levels in healthy and Verticillium-infected tomato plants were investigated. Tomato plants (Lyeopersicon esculentum L. cv. Bonny Best) were inoculated with the fungus Verticillium dahliae Kleb. 49 days after seeding. At intervals after inoculation, cytokinin levels in root xylem exudate were determined in healthy and infected plants. Cytokinin concentrations (per plant and per millilitre of exudate) were similar in healthy and infected plants at days 50 and 55 but were lower in infected plants at days 61 and 65 owing to reduced concentrations of both free and bound forms of cytokinin. Infected plants first showed visible symptoms of chlorosis on older leaves at day 56. By day 61 the lower three to five leaves were obviously wilted and chlorotic and by day 65 wilt and chlorosis were apparent on most leaves on the lower half of th.