Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Temperatura y germinación de las semillas de Dalbergia retusa (Papilionaceae), árbol en peligro de extinción

The effec! of ternperature over Dalbergia retusa Hernsl. germination was studied in the laboratory. Seeds were disinfected and placed in Petri dishes for germination at 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, and 45 oc. Germination percentage and the hypocotyl-radicle length were rneasured after three and five days. The highest germination (85.6%) was obtained at 30 oc. Lower temperatures did no! favor germination. Sorne seeds were able lo germinate at 40 and 45 oC, a physiological adaptation to hol environrnents.
Multiple Parasitism by Cotesia sesamiae and Cotesia flavipes (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) on Busseola fusca (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Busseola fusca (Fuller) is one of the most important pest of cereals in sub-Saharan Africa. Cotesia sesamiae (Cameron) is the predominant parasitoid attacking B. fusca larvae in many parts of Africa. An exotic parasitoid, Cotesia flavipes Cameron, was introduced into Kenya in 1993 for the control of Chilo partellus (Swinhoe). Laboratory studies indicated that although C. flavipes would search for, and attack B. fusca , it was not able to complete its development in this host. The aim of the present study was to investigate the outcome of multiple parasitism of B. fusca by the two Cotesia species. The study showed that when both parasitoid species stung a B. fusca larva at the same time, both parasitoids emerged from more than half of the host larvae, C. flavipes alone emerged from 17%, and C. sesamiae alone emerged from 9%. When the larvae were parasitized by C. sesamiae first, and then 2 h later by C. flavipes , and vice versa, most of the progeny were C. flavipes . However, when B. fusca larvae were stung by C. sesamiae three days before oviposition by C. flavipes , significantly more C. sesamiae emerged from the larvae. When C. flavipes oviposited first, no larvae produced C. flavipes only. The interaction of parasitoids and the host immune system, and the implications of these results for the biological control of stem borers in East Africa are discussed.
Milk production and composition in dairy cows receiving diets with different levels of whole cottonseed

The present study aimed to evaluate the production and milk composition of four multiparous Holstein-Zebu lactating cows average 70 days of lactation, 488 kg of body weight fed different levels of whole cottonseed will be added to sugarcane silage and concentrate consisting of corn and cottonseed meal. The treatments consisted of four diets with increasing levels of whole cottonseed (5, 10 and 15%) in the diet dry matter. The experimental design was a 4x4 Latin Square. The results demonstrate that supplementation with cottonseed did not affect the efficiency of milk production (EfMP, kg milk / DMI), concentration of net energy (NE) and protein: fat ratio (PFR) in milk, but was able to change corrected milk production (MPcorr) and the percentage of lactose content. The data from this study suggest that using supplemental whole cottonseed in the diet of dairy cows, maintaining the quality of milk produced and consequently is an alternative for sustainable food systems for milk production.
Genetic variability within and among sympatric brown trout (Salmo trutta) populations: multi‐locus DNA fingerprint analysis

Three brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) morphotypes, sonaghen, gillaroo, and ferox have been described from Lough Melvin, Ireland. Previous isozyme studies have shown these to be three genetically distinct and reproductively isolated populations. Multi-locus DNA fingerprinting of these populations was carried out to provide an initial assessment of this technique’s potential use for salmonid population genetic studies. Highly variable profiles of Pal I digested genomic DNA were revealed for all three populations, using the human minisatellite 33.6 hybridization probe. Band-sharing analysis concurred with previous isozyme studies in showing a lower level of genetic variability within the ferox as compared with sonaghen and gillaroo. The analysis also confirmed the genetic distinctness of each population. While no unambiguous diagnostic fragments were observed for any of the populations, it was possible to discriminate ferox from both sonaghen and gillaroo based on the higher mean band-sharing coefficient observed within ferox. The main value for multi-locus DNA fingerprinting in salmonid population genetic studies may be as an alternative rapid method of determining overall levels of genetic variability (heterozygosity).
Relationships between macroinvertebrate communities and land use types within different riparian widths in three headwater streams of Taizi River, China

The effects of riparian land uses on water quality and macroinvertebrate communities were examined in three headwater streams of the Taizi River in northeastern China. Land uses of forest, grassland, farmland, and villages were evaluated within different widths of riparian corridors (length = 3 km upstream; width = 25, 50, 100, 200, and 500 m). Overall, the results revealed a significant trend for each stream linking a relatively low proportion of farmland in the riparian corridor with better water quality and healthier macroinvertebrate community. Cluster analysis confirmed significant variation in the macroinvertebrate communities found among the three streams. Correlation analysis identified significant positive correlations between the proportion of farmland and metrics of water quality (conductivity, dissolved solids, and total nitrogen) at small (25–50 m) to medium (100–200 m) widths of riparian corridors. The sensitive taxa of stoneflies and functional feeding groups of scrapers and predators were good predictors of anthropogenic disturbance associated with the proportional extent of farmland and village land use across most of all riparian widths. In contrast, correlations between biodiversity indices and proportion of villages and between bioassessment indices and proportion of farmland were only significant at relatively small widths (25–50 m) of riparian corridors. The canonical correspondence analysis revealed that the proportions of forest (25 m), farmland (200 m), grassland (200 m), and village (100 m) showed independent effects on the spatial distribution of macroinvertebrates in the Taizi River. The first two axes contributed 34.6% of the cumulative percent variance of species–environment relations. This research indicates that management of riparian corridor land uses at relatively small to medium widths (25–200 m) could be effective in restoring water quality and macroinvertebrate communities in headwater stream regions.
Use of different marker pre-selection methods based on single SNP regression in the estimation of Genomic-EBVs

Abstract Two methods of SNPs pre-selection based on single marker regression for the estimation of genomic breeding values (G-EBVs) were compared using simulated data provided by the XII QTL-MAS workshop: i) Bonferroni correction of the significance threshold and ii) Permutation test to obtain the reference distribution of the null hypothesis and identify significant markers at P<0.01 and P<0.001 significance thresholds. From the set of markers significant at P<0.001, random subsets of 50% and 25% markers were extracted, to evaluate the effect of further reducing the number of significant SNPs on G-EBV predictions. The Bonferroni correction method allowed the identification of 595 significant SNPs that gave the best G-EBV accuracies in prediction generations (82.80%). The permutation methods gave slightly lower G-EBV accuracies even if a larger number of SNPs resulted significant (2,053 and 1,352 for 0.01 and 0.001 significance thresholds, respectively). Interestingly, halving or dividing by four the number of SNPs significant at P<0.001 resulted in an only slightly decrease of G-EBV accuracies. The genetic structure of the simulated population with few QTL carrying large effects, might have favoured the Bonferroni method.
Repartição de nutrientes nas flores, folhas e ramos da laranjeira cultivar Natal

Citrus plants produce a number of flowers, but just a few of them however, become mature fruits. Many factors, as well as organic and inorganic nutrients, influence prebloom and flowers setting. The objective of this work was to evaluate the repartition of macro and micronutrients in citrus flowers, leaves and branches. Branches of "Natal" sweet orange (Citrus sinensis L.) grafted on Rangpur lime rootstock were collected and separated in flowers, leaves and wood during anthesis. Orange flowers represent a drain for organic compounds and macro and micronutrients as well. Their dry matter on anthesis is equal to that of leaves and higher than that of the branches. The highest proportion of Ca, Mg and Ni of the three parts is found in the flowers where possibly migrate in part, into the developing fruits. It is thought that leaf sprays of calcium, magnesium and nickel could raise yield under conditions of deficiency due to their effect on flowering.
Host finding by aphids in the field

SUMMARY The spectral energy distribution of the light reflected from various leaves and soils has been measured and corrected for ‘standard’ sunlit conditions, and then compared on the basis of Moericke's evidence that aphids of many species distinguish two parts of the spectrum as colours, alighting and probing in response to wavelengths greater than 500μ. Alightments by Brevicoryne brassicae and Myzus persicae in the field occurred preferentially on leaves reflecting a greater proportion of long-wave energy, with little or no regard for the ‘botanical’ (plant-taxonomic) host status of the plants for each aphid. The colour attraction of such ‘yellow-sensitive’ aphids serves rather to bias their alightments towards plants of the appropriate physiological type. Laboratory experiments confirmed the existence, inferred from field observations, of a second, non-specific mechanism of visual attraction normally involved in alightments on plants, namely a close-range optomotor reaction with both orienting and arresting components. The light reflected from various soils embodied maximum energy at the extreme long-wave end of the spectral range affecting aphids, while the leaf energy peak was 540–560 mμ. The predominantly long-wave emission from both leaves and soils contrasts sharply with the light from clear or clouded skies, wherein the peak energy region lies below 500 mμ. The aphids' type of colour vision thus provides for a primary discrimination between sky and ground, beside any subsidiary discriminations among plants and soils. Low-flying Aphis fabae were attracted to white surfaces as well as to yellowing leaves in the field. The change in the migrant's behaviour from ‘distance flight’ in the upper air to low-level ‘alighting flight’ appears to be due, not to a reversal of the response to short-wave sky light from positive to negative, but simply to a relative strengthening of the positive response to long-wave light from the ground.
Cryopreservation of Sporothalli of the Genus Porphyra (Bangiales, Rhodophyta) from Korea

Cryopreservation of sporothalli of the red alga Porphyra (P. seriata, P. yezoensis, P. tenera, P. pseudolinearis and P. dentata) was performed by the two-step cooling method in liquid nitrogen. The algal samples were suspended in various cryoprotective solutions, and slowly cooled to -40 in 4 hours using a programmed freezer. After the first slow cooling the suspensions with cryoprotectants were immediately immersed in liquid nitrogen. The suspension from the programmed freezer was thawed quickly by agitation of the vial in a water bath at 40°C. When ice in the suspension of cryogenic vial was mostly melted, the vial was transferred to an ice bath for complete melting of the residual ice. The cryoprotectants in the vial were washed off by gradual dilution with seawater. The viability of the cell was assessed with neutral red staining. The viability of Porphyra samples ranged 54.6-70.9% when the mixed suspension of 10% dimethylsulfoxide and 0.5 M sorbitol in 50% seawater used as a cryoprotectant.
Accumulation of Soluble and Insoluble Tannins during Fruit Development in Nonastringent and Astringent Persimmon

We examined the accumulation of soluble and insoluble tannins during fruit development in 'Jiro', a pollination-constant, nonastringent cultivar and 'Hiratanenashi', a pollination-variant, astringent parthenocarpic cultivar of persimmon. Soluble tannins were synthesized and had accumulated in the fruits of both cultivars by the second growth stage but 'Hiratanenashi' accumulated more tannins than 'Jiro' did. In 'Hiratanenashi' fruit, almost all of the tannins which accumulated during fruit development were in the soluble form ; the total amount varied little after the second growth stage. In 'Jiro' fruit the proportion of insoluble tannins to total tannins was about half in the early stages of growth. A portion of insoluble tannins in 'Jiro' fruits could not be dissolved after the second growth stage. These results suggest that soluble tannins in 'Jiro' fruit are more apt to polymerize into the insoluble form than those in 'Hiratanenashi' fruit, but once they become insoluble, they do not readily become soluble again.
Haematoxylon brasiletto Extracts Inhibit Growth, Enterotoxin Production, and Adhesion of Vibrio cholerae

The effects of Haematoxylon brasiletto extracts on growth, enterotoxin production, and adhesion of V. cholerae O1 and O139 to Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells were determined. The minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) for growth was 0.3–0.4 mg mL–1. No enterotoxin formation was detected when lower concentrations (50% or 75% of the MBC) of H. brasiletto extracts were added to the media. Pre-exposing bacteria and CHO cells to various concentrations of extracts affected the adhesion between bacteria and CHO cells. Partial purification of the active fraction suggested that polyphenols may play a role in the antimicrobial activity exhibited by H. brasiletto extracts.
A geometric morphometric assessment of the effects of environment and cladogenesis on the evolution of the turtle shell

In the largest group of extant turtles, the Testudinoidea, the acquisition of an aquatic or terrestrial way of life has occurred within two clades, allowing the study of homoplasy linked to environment (commonly named convergence). Here we appraise the respective importance of two sources of morphological variation: a major cladogenetic event and a major environmental shift (aquatic vs. terrestrial). The repeatability of the same evolutionary process (environmental change) allows an assessment of the weights of both natural selection and phylogenetic constraints on several morphological features of the shell. These sources of morphological variance on the complex shell structure were studied using geometric morphometrics. We depict the morphological variation of three parts of the turtle shell: epidermal carapace, bony carapace, and plastron. In the three structures, we found that both phylogeny and environment were significant sources of morphological variation, and geometric morphometrics allowed the pattern of morphological variation due to each effect to be assessed. The assessment of the homoplasy due to environment and of the pattern of morphological variability suggests that the carapace has undergone similar morphological changes between aquatic and terrestrial environments within the two clades. The radiation of the Testudinoidea is interpreted as an adaptive radiation. © 2003 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2003, 79, 485‐501.
Global Scenario of Radiation in Cancer Risk: A Review

Emission of energy from any source is known as ‘radiation’. High frequency radiation, e.g., ionizing radiation and ultraviolet (UV) radiation may cause genetic damage, leading to cancer. The ionizing radiations include x-rays, γ-rays, cosmic rays and particles given off by radioactive materials, such as α and β particles, protons and neutrons. Radiant energy (UV rays of sunlight, ionizing electromagnetic or particulate radiation) induced the neoplasm (cancer) in both human beings and experimental animals. The i onized molecules are unstable and quickly undergo chemical changes, thereby forming the ‘free radicals’ that can damage the DNA molecule or other molecules around it. Hence, the ionizing radiations can cause mutation (change) in a cell's DNA, resulting into cancer. Thyroid gland and bone marrow are most sensitive to radiations; while kidney, bladder and ovary are least affected. Some forms of leukemia (bone marrow cancer) appear to be the most common radiation-induced cancers. The atomic blasts in Japan showed that high-dose radiation increases the risk of developing several cancers, including leukemia. B reast cancer can be developed in elderly women by a much more extensive use of personal computers (more than 3 hours a day), mobile telephones, TV sets and other household electrical appliances. Children appear to be twice as sensitive as adults to the leukemia-causing effects of radiation, and unborn children exposed to radiation in the uterus are even more sensitive. The breast cancer risk is more than twice as high as normal; however, the risk of developing lung cancer is 50% higher and the risk for multiple myeloma is more than twice as high as in the general population. The radiation therapy at high doses can cause DNA mutations in cells that survive the radiation, which may lead to a second primary cancer. Of all the types of non-ionizing radiations, only UV rays are cancer-causing agents. The most skin cancers are a direct result of sunlight exposure as sun is the major source of UV radiation.
Hidden preferences and the evolution of signals

Mechanisms concerned with the recognition of biological signals act as important agents of selection on the appearance or \`form' of signals. Recognition of a given signal form can be achieved by many equally efficient alternative mechanisms. These alternative mechanisms will be selectively neutral and subject to change by genetic drift, thus preventing the fixation of a signal form that is optimal in releasing the receiver's behaviour. Because signal form is a multidimensional trait with an almost infinite potential to vary, it is expected that some novel forms of signals always exist that elicit responses more readily than any of those signals that the receiver has experienced during its evolutionary history. The existence of such \`hidden preferences' is illustrated in simple models of recognition mechanisms based on artificial neural networks. The fundamental evolutionary instability of recognition mechanisms perhaps explains why biological signals are so variable in form, and why, in experiments, animals sometimes show greater responses to novel forms of signals than they do to familiar forms.
Effects of salinity on seed set in rice

Salinity reduces fertility in rice (Oryza sativa L.), but little is known of the underlying cause(s), In order to determine the relative importance of pollen viability and stigmatic receptivity for seed setting, plants of the rice cultivar IR36 were treated with 'artificial' sea water (0, 10, 25 or 50 mol m(-3) with respect to NaCl) from 1 month after germination until the main tiller flowered. An increase in the salinity in the medium resulted in a decrease in the number of fertile florets and in the viability of pollen as determined both by pollen germination and by pollen staining with the tetrazolium salt 3-(4,5-dimethylithyazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl monotetrazolium bromide. In order to assess the effects of salt on stigmas, seed production was measured for salt-grown and non-salt-grown female plants pollinated with viable pollen (from plants grown in the absence of salt), The percentage of seed set was reduced by 38% when the female plants were grown in 10 mol m(-3) Na and by 72% at 25 mol m(-3) Na: no seed setting was recorded for plants grown in 50 mol m(-3) Na, Comparisons between crosses involving male and female parents grown at different salinities indicated that effects on the female plants dominated those on pollinator plants. Mineral analysis of leaves of different ages showed that there was a gradient of K concentration from leaf to leaf which was opposite to that of Na and Cl at all levels of applied salinity: K was maximal in the flag leaf, where Na and Cl were minimal, Analysis also revealed that there was an increase in the concentrations of Na and Cl and a decrease in the concentration of K in the pollen grains and stigmas of plants subjected to saline conditions, Correlations between the concentration of Na End Cl in pollen and pollen staining and pollen germination in vitro suggest that Na and Cl per se were responsible for the poor viability, The change in ionic concentrations in pollen and stigmas was much larger than that in the younger leaves, and in particular very much larger than that in the lemmas and paleas.
Utilização dos polinômios de Legendre e da função de Wilmink em avaliações genéticas para persistência na lactação de animais da raça Holandesa

Records of 11,023 first-parity Holstein cows belonging to 251 herds in the State of Minas Gerais were used to compare the Legendre polynomials and Wilmink function in random regression models (RRM) as for their effects in the estimate of genetic parameters and prediction of breeding values for nine types of persistency measurements and 305-day milk yield. The random regression test day models included the effect of herd-year-month test day, parameters of the function of Wilmink or 3th to 5th order Legendre polynomials to model fixed curves of the subclasses and 3th to 5th order Legendre polynomials to model genetic and permanent environmental effects. The Akaikes Information Criterion (AIC) and Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) indicated the model with larger number of parameters as the one that best fitted the data of milk yield. Using the Legrendre polynomial model large variation was observed in the estimates heritabilities for most of the persistency measures. The estimates herdabilities varied from 0.11 to 0.33 to milk yield throughout the lactation, from 0.33 to 0.36 for the 305-day milk yield and, from 0.00 to 0.32 for persistency. Genetic correlations between persistency and 305-day milk yield differed according to the model and persistency measure. Compared the Legendre polynomials to the Wilmink function provided expressive changes in rank of animals for persistency of lactation.