Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Paedogenesis in the dipteran insect Heteropeza pygmaea: an interpretation

A comparison of the modified oocyte development in paedogenetic reproduction with ‘regular’ oogenesis in imaginal reproduction of H. pygmaea shows that the paedogenetically developing eggs start embryonic development long before the usual processes of oocyte growth have been terminated or even initiated. Under certain experimental conditions, uncoupling of meiotic and growth processes could be observed in eggs cultured in vitro and showing aberrant development. We, therefore, assume that in paedogenetic egg development a meiotic block is not properly established or removed precociously. An interpretation of the evolution of paedogenetic reproduction is given.
Behavioral Responses to Disturbance in Freshwater Mussels with Implications for Conservation and Management

Knowledge about the ability of freshwater unionid mussels to recover from physical disturbance is important to their conservation and management. Threatened species may be disturbed by relocation to refugia as a conservation measure, and some species are disturbed by size- and species-selective harvesting of shells for use in the production of cultured pearls. The activity of freshwater unionid mussels generally decreases with water temperature, but intra- and interspecific differences in the frequency and distribution of recovery behaviors following disturbances at specific water temperatures have not been previously quantified. We observed righting, moving, and burrowing behavior of 4 mussel species, Amblema plicata plicata, Potamilus alatus, Fusconaia flava, and Lampsilis cardium, at 3 water temperatures (7, 14, and 21°C). The temporal frequency (intensity) and times-to-1st-event of behaviors were analyzed using proportional hazards models. Righting events and consecutive movements occurred at different intensities among temperatures and species. For righting, intensity increased by 8%/°C within the range of 7-21°C. Subsequent movements increased in intensity by 10%/°C. Amblema plicata was the slowest to respond, and had an intensity of turning upright only 27% of that for P. alatus. The intensities of movements for A. plicata and F. flava were 16% of those for P. alatus. Lampsilis cardium righted themselves most quickly, and had an intensity of righting 124% of that for P. alatus. The distribution of the 3 behaviors among treatment groups at 1 wk was analyzed with a proportional odds model. The distribution of righting, moving, and burrowing 1 wk after disturbance was described entirely by high-order interactions in our proportional odds model. Therefore, that model revealed little interpretable pattern in the endpoint data and it was less sensitive than our analysis of time-to-event data for measuring the effects of disturbance. We attributed the difference in sensitivity between the 2 models to the greater information content of time-until-event data. For similar studies of occurrences of key events, times to events should be recorded and interpreted whenever feasible and consistent with study objectives. Our results suggest that water temperature has an important effect on the outcome of mussel conservation projects and commercial harvesting activities. Our modeling approach, applied to other species, could help guide decisions about which species can safely be disturbed and the optimal seasonal timing of those disturbances.
Contribution of proteomics to tumor immunology

In the postgenome era, the global analysis of gene and protein expression is allowed at RNA and protein level by microarrays and proteomics. The application of these complementary approaches provides new opportunities for tumor immunology investigation. Indeed, applied to the study at the molecular level of the differentiation and maturation of dendritic cells which are the most potent antigen presenting cells, microarray analysis has identified important changes in a large number of genes, whereas the proteomic analysis provided information that could not be obtained at the RNA level, such as the separation of different isoforms and the characterization of post‐translational modifications. On the other hand, proteomics allows serological screening of tumor antigens. Indeed, two‐dimensional (2‐D) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis allows simultaneously separation several thousand individual proteins from tumor tissue or tumor cell lines. Proteins eliciting humoral response in cancer are identified by 2‐D Western blot using cancer patient sera, followed by mass spectrometry analysis and database search. Applied to different types of cancer, the proteome based approach has allowed us to define several tumor antigens. The common occurrence of autoantibodies to certain of these proteins in different cancers may be useful in cancer screening and diagnosis as well as for immunotherapy.
The impact of deoxynivalenol, fumonisins, and their combination on performance, nutrient, and energy digestibility in broiler chickens

This study evaluated the effects of the mycotoxins deoxynivalenol (DON), fumonisins (FUM), and their combination on growth performance, nutrient, and energy digestibility in broilers. A total of 960 Cobb-Cobb male broilers were obtained on the day of hatch and placed 10 birds per cage with 8 cages per treatment. The experiment consisted of 12 treatments: control; DON 1.5 mg/kg; DON 5.0 mg/kg; FUM 20.0 mg/kg; DON 1.5 mg/kg + FUM 20.0 mg/kg; and DON 5.0 mg/kg + FUM 20 mg/kg. The remaining dietary treatments were the correlative nitrogen-free diets (NFD) for determining the endogenous nutrients loss. All birds were fed with a corn−soybean meal diet from days 1 to 15, until birds from latter 6 treatments were switched to their correlative NFD diet from days 15 to 21. Feed and BW were weighed by cage on days 8, 15, and 21. On day 21, ileal digesta was collected for digestibility determination. Both DON 1.5 mg/kg + FUM 20 mg/kg and DON 5.0 mg/kg + FUM 20 mg/kg treatments showed reduced feed intake (P ≤ 0.05) from days 8 to 15 and days 15 to 21. However, no significant effects were noted for BW gain or mortality-adjusted feed conversion ratio after adding single or combined mycotoxin on days 8 and 15. At day 21, cumulative BW gain was less (P ≤ 0.05) in birds fed with the mycotoxin combination diets than the control. No significant changes were shown for ileal endogenous amino acids losses. Control treatment had significantly higher (P ≤ 0.05) apparent ileal energy digestibility than the DON 5.0 mg/kg + FUM 20.0 mg/kg treatment (3,126 vs. 2,895 kcal/kg), representing a 5%-unit loss in apparent DM digestibility. No significant difference was found for standardized crude protein and amino acid digestibility. In conclusion, the combination of DON and FUM (DON 1.5 mg/kg + FUM 20 mg/kg or DON 5.0 mg/kg + FUM 20 mg/kg) reduced DM and ileal energy digestibility, which negatively affected BW gain in broilers.
Differential levels of mite infestation of wheat and barley in Czech grain stores

Abstract While mites are able to utilize numerous food sources, the suitability of the food strongly influences population growth. The different suitabilities of various stored agricultural products will thus affect the level of infestation. In this study, we compared field mite infestation rates in two stored cereals: wheat and barley. We analyzed mite abundance, frequency and species composition in samples of grain obtained from 79 selected Czech grain stores. Stored barley seemed to be more vulnerable to mite attack than wheat, as we consistently found more infested samples, more species and higher mean and median mite abundance per sample in barley as compared to wheat. The mean mite abundance per sample were 55 and 506 individuals for wheat and barley, respectively. In barley, 10% of samples exceeded allergen risk threshold (i.e., 1 000 individuals per kg of grain). Altogether, 25 species were identified from approximately 35 000 individuals. The most frequently identified species were the same in wheat and barley, that is, Tydeus interruptus Sig Thor, Acarus siro L. , Tarsonemus granarius Lindquist, Lepidoglyphus destructor (Schrank) and Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank). Based on principal components analysis, we found a closer association of T. interruptus, T. putrescentiae, L. destructor and Cheyletus eruditus (Schrank) with barley samples, corresponding to the high frequency and abundance values of these mites. The probable reasons for the higher infestation, especially mite abundance in barley, are discussed in relation to the higher proportion of crushed parts, which may release favorable nutrient sources and amplify the abundance values.
Depressão endogâmica e heterose de híbridos de populações F2 de milho no estado de São Paulo

A heterose e a depressao por endogamia sao fenomenos complementares importantes nas estrategias de melhoramento, como para a obtencao de hibridos convencionais e melhoramento de populacoes. Este trabalho teve por objetivos avaliar hibridos de populacoes F2 de milho quanto aos caracteres agronomicos, estimar a heterose em relacao a media dos pais e determinar a depressao endogâmica na obtencao das populacoes de genitores F2. Foram avaliados 10 hibridos de populacoes F2, cinco populacoes de genitores F2 e os respectivos hibridos comerciais (HC) quanto aos seguintes caracteres agronomicos: florescimento masculino (FM), altura de planta (AP), altura de espiga (AE) e massa de graos (MG), em dois locais do estado de Sao Paulo, Mococa e Palmital, sob delineamento de blocos ao acaso. A estimativa de depressao por endogamia ao passar da geracao F1 para F2 variou de 18,0% no HC12 a 48,1% no HC10, para MG. A heterose media em relacao a media dos pais obtida para massa de graos foi de 37,2%, representada pela elevada produtividade alcancada pelos hibridos de F2. Baseando-se nesses resultados foi possivel evidenciar dois hibridos de populacoes F2 que apresentaram potencial produtivo, alta heterose media e populacoes F2 com potencial para extracao de linhagens.
Impact of galactooligosaccharides delivered in ovo on mitigating negative effects of heat stress on performance and welfare of broilers

Galactooligosaccharides (GOS) delivered in ovo improve intestinal health of broiler chickens. This study aimed to demonstrate the impact of in ovo stimulation with GOS prebiotic on day 12 of egg incubation on performance and welfare traits in broiler chickens. The incubating eggs were divided into 3 groups, based on the substance injected in ovo: 3.5 mg of GOS dissolved in 0.2 mL physiological saline (GOS), 0.2 mL physiological saline (S), or uninjected controls (C). Constant heat stress (HS) was induced on days 32 to 42 post-hatch by increasing environmental temperature to 30°C. Thermoneutral (TN) animals were kept at 25°C. The performance (body weight [BW], daily feed intake [DFI], daily weight gain [DWG], and feed conversion rate [FCR]) were measured and mortality was scored for starter (days 0 to 13), grower (days 14 to 27), and finisher (days 28 to 42) feeding phases. Rectal temperature was scored on days 32 to 42. Food-pad dermatitis (FPD) was scored post-mortem (day 42). GOS increased (P < 0.01) BW on day 42 (2.892 kg in GOS vs. 2.758 kg in C). Heat stress significantly reduced (P < 0.01) final BW (2.516 kg in TN vs. 3.110 kg in HS). During finisher phase, DFI was significantly higher in GOS vs. C (173.2 g vs. 165.7 g; P < 0.05). FCR calculated for the entire rearing period (days 0 to 42) ranged from 1.701 in C to 1.653 in GOS (P < 0.05). GOS improved FCR in HS animals during finisher phase (P < 0.05). Rectal temperature of GOS chickens under HS reached 42.5°C 1 day earlier than C and S (P < 0.05), which suggests that those birds recovered earlier from the high environmental temperature. Heat stress increased (P < 0.05) mortality about 5 times compared to TN during finisher phase (from 1.59% in TN to 7.69% in HS). GOS decreased FPD in TN conditions by 20% (no lesions in 81% in GOS vs. 60% in C). GOS delivered in ovo mitigated negative effects of HS on performance and welfare in broiler chickens.
Comparison of psoriasis guidelines for use of apremilast in the United States and Europe: a critical appraisal and comprehensive review

Abstract Purpose This review article serves to compare global dermatologic organizations and the available clinical practice guidelines for the use of apremilast in the treatment of psoriasis. Materials and methods Guidelines from the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF), the European S3, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the French Society of Dermatology (SFD), the Swiss S1, and Italy were reviewed and compared. Results Of the American and European guidelines available for use of apremilast, several organizations are in agreement regarding the dosage of apremilast, but there are significant disagreements concerning matters such as medication indication, pretreatment laboratory testing, and contraindications to therapy. Conclusion Apremilast is an effective and well-tolerated treatment option for patients with psoriasis and should be considered in the line of therapy that dermatologists discuss with their patients, especially those with contraindications to other systemic therapies such as biologics. Consideration should be given to the evidence-based recommendations of global dermatology organizations to help guide therapeutic decisions.
Part-Time α-Secretases: The Functional Biology of ADAM 9, 10 and 17

Disintegrin metalloproteases of the ADAM family form a large (at present > 40 members in mammals) family of multidomain membrane proteins that in their ectodomain combine a cystein-rich, disintegrin and a zinc metalloprotease domain. Via their metalloprotease domain, ADAMs are often implicated in ectodomain shedding, either to release e.g. growth factors or to initiate further intracellular signalling via regulated intramembrane proteolysis. Mainly based upon overexpression studies in vehicle cells, three of them, ADAMs 9, 10 and 17, have been proposed to act as alpha-secretases for amyloid precursor protein (APP). It is striking thereby that this role has since then remained somewhat ill-defined, as APP processing in ADAM9 deficient neurons is unaltered, and also ADAM10 deficient murine embryonic fibroblasts exhibit at best a highly variable reduction in alpha-secretase activity. However, during the past years, numerous other substrates have been linked to all three sheddases, the cleavage of which in some cases appears to be strikingly more important for the organism than APP processing. Most notably, the perinatally lethal phenotype of ADAM17 knockout mice is dominated by a loss of growth factor shedding, while the even earlier fatal effects of ADAM10 deficiency exhibit key features of disabled Notch signalling and possibly also cadherin processing defects. In this review, we will summarize the published data on the "non-APP" functions of all three ADAMs, the further evaluation of which may be crucial when attempting to treat Alzheimer s Disease by increasing their expression and/or activity. As the knockouts of ADAM10 and ADAM17 are only informative for their roles in (early) development, while a number of recently assigned new substrates play crucial roles in the normal and/or diseased adult organism as well, work on conditional knockout models will be crucial to fully characterize both the full functional portfolio of (candidate) alpha-secretases as well as their clinical relevance, which may go way beyond Alzheimer s Disease.
Antifungal activities of cinnamon oil against Rhizopus nigricans, Aspergillus flavus and Penicillium expansum in vitro and in vivo fruit test

The postharvest pathogens such as R. nigricans, A. flavas and P. expansum are the causal agents of jujube or orange fruit, therefore, in vitro and in vivo antifungal activities of cinnamon oil to inactivate these fungi were investigated. Cinnamaldehyde is the main constituent of cinnamon oil. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of cinnamon oil against Rhizopus nigricans, Aspergillus flavus and Penicillium expansum were 0.64% (v/v), 0.16% (v/v) and 0.16% (v/v), respectively. The antifungal activity of cinnamon oil against A. flavus and P. expansum was stronger than that against R. nigricans and the activity was improved with increasing its concentration. In an in vivo study, cinnamon oil with concentrations of 2.0% (v/v) and 3.0% (v/v) showed complete control the growth of fungi in wound-inoculated Lingwu Long Jujube and Sand Sugar Orange fruits. These results revealed that cinnamon oil has a good potential to be as a natural antifungal agent for fruit applications.
Effects of additional dosage of vitamin D3, vitamin D2, and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 on calcium and phosphorus utilization, egg quality and bone mineralization in laying hens

Vitamin D is essential for the metabolism of calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) in birds. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of different isoforms of dietary vitamin D on Ca and P utilization, egg quality, and bone mineralization of laying hens. A total of 42 Lohmann white laying hens at 57 wk of age were randomly assigned to 7 dietary treatments for 6 wk. Dietary treatments were: 3,000 IU/kg Vit D3 as control, and control with additional 3,000 IU/kg 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (T1), 9,000 IU/kg 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (T2), 3,000 IU/kg vitamin D3 (T3), 9,000 IU/kg vitamin D3 (T4), 3,000 IU/kg of vitamin D2 (T5), or 9,000 IU/kg of vitamin D2 (T6). Egg production and egg quality were measured weekly. Fecal samples were collected at weeks 2 and 6 to measure Ca and P utilization. After 6 wk, the left tibia and femurs were collected to measure bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC). A 1-way ANOVA with Tukey HSD means separation test was used for statistical analysis. There were no significant differences in egg production, egg quality, BMD, or BMC of tibia and femurs among the treatments (P > 0.05). T6 significantly reduced feed intake (P < 0.05). The apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of Ca was higher (P < 0.012) in treatments supplemented with additional vitamin D, irrespective of forms. The ATTD of P was higher (P < 0.0001) in T5 compared to the other treatments at both time points. The utilization of Ca and P by laying hens can be improved through the addition of different isoforms of vitamin D in diets. However, additional vitamin D supplementation to laying hens, regardless of forms, had no effect on either bone mineralization or measures of egg quality.
Is the Long-Term Elevated Air CO2 Environment Beneficial for Plants, Crops and Vegetation?

SUMMARY Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and air temperature are of major concern when considering the possible effects of global climate change on crops and vegetation and their magnitudes. Although production has been found to increase in many cases, other experiments have also indicated increased hazards for plant growth because of the increased frequency of weather extremes, such as droughts, floods, and extreme temperatures. Thus at the same time, elevated CO2 can be foreseen as an indirect constrain and as a stress alleviator. In the shorter term, the effect of CO2 is direct and is mediated by the photosynthesis.
Studies on the comparative effectiveness of permethrin and deet against bloodsucking arthropods

A comparison was made of the effectiveness of permethrin and deet against Ornithodoros parkeri (Acari: Argasidae), Leptotrombidium fletcheri (Acari: Trombiculidae), Rhodnius prolixus (Heteroptera: Reduviidae), Phlebotomus papatasi and Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae), Anopheles Stephensi, Anopheles albimanus, Aedes taeniorhynchus, Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae), Glossina morsitans (Diptera: Glossinidae) and Xenopsylla cheopis (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae), using dose-response methods. At the ED95 (95% effective dose) level, deet was more potent (P<0.05) than permethrin against all species except O. parkeri and R. prolixus. In addition, the slope of the dose-response line for deet was greater than that for permethrin against all species except O. parkeri and R. prolixus. Permethrin exhibited repellent and/or toxic effects, depending on the dose used and the individual tolerances of members of the insect test population.
ISOPRENOID QUINONE COMPOSITION IN THE CLASSIFICATION OF RHODOSPIRILLACEAE

Fifty five strains of 13 species of Rhodospirillaceae and one strain of Chromatium vinosum were examined for isoprenoid quinone composition. These bacteria were divided into the following five categories on the basis of their predominant quinone patterns: Q-10-Rhodospirillum rubrum, Rhodopseudomonas palustris, Rhodopseudomonas capsulata, Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides, and Rhodopseudomonas sulfidophila; Q-10+MK-10-Rhodopseudomonas acidophila; Q-9+MK-9-Rhodospirillum fulvum, Rhodospirillum molischianum, Rhodopseudomonas viridis, and Rhodopseudomonas globiformis; Q-8-Rhodospirillum photometricum and atypical strains of Rhodopseudomonas gelatinosa; Q-8+MK-8-Rhodospirillum tenue, R. gelatinosa, and C. vinosum. The significance of the quinone system in Rhodospinillaceae taxonomy is discussed in comparison with available information on other taxonomic properties such as morphology and photosynthetic membrane systems and on some phylogenetic characteristics.
Breeding biology, demography and success of the rufous-banded honeyeater, Conopophila albogularis, in Darwin, a monsoonal tropical city

The rufous-banded honeyeater, Conopophila albogularis, is probably the commonest small bird species in the suburbs of Darwin, Northern Territory. Nearly twenty pairs of this species were colour-banded on the Casuarina campus of the Northern Territory University, where they occupied territories of 0.15–0.47 ha all year-round, indicating a density of up to 12 birds ha-1. Six out of 48 birds survived 5 or more years, one individual being 9 years old at the time of writing. Males were larger in the four morphological dimensions measured. Breeding behaviour was recorded in every month of the year, but was concentrated in the late dry and wet seasons (September–March), commencing about two months before the rains. Over half of 274 nests were built in black wattles, Acacia auriculiformis, a common pioneer species both within urban Darwin and monsoon rainforest ecotones of the Northern Territory. Contrary to the literature, both sexes participated in building the nest, and the incubation and nestling periods each lasted 14 days. The clutch size was usually two (78%), and mean clutch size for 85 nests was 2.1 eggs. Nest success was about 70%, hatching success of eggs was 74% and fledging rate of nestlings 87%. Four broods per season were common, and two pairs successfully raised five broods in one season. Average annual pair productivity was 5.8 fledglings (possibly the highest yet recorded for an Australian passerine species), one pair raising a remarkable 32 young over five seasons (6.4 fledglings per season). The exceptionally high nest success and productivity were probably mainly due to the scarcity of predators, and the long breeding season, respectively, the latter being facilitated by artificial watering of gardens and lawns during the dry season. The colonising success of this species in Darwin is attributed to Darwin’s coastal location and the close proximity of favoured natural habitats, as well as the generalised diet of the species and its predilection for the abundant black wattle.