Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A review of methods used to analyse albatross diets—assessing priorities across their range

Many seabird populations are threatened by interactions with commercial fisheries, and climate change. Understanding their prey requirements and dietary flexibility in this context is important for effective conservation and management. However, changes in the methods used to assess diet, as well as the spatial and temporal coverage of monitoring schemes, may reduce our ability to detect and monitor these marine threats. To help assess conservation priorities linked to diet, we performed a systematic review of 109 albatross diet papers published between 1950 and 2016, which corresponded to 296 studies when stratified by sampling year, breeding site, and breeding species. We assessed the methods used, changes over time, and spatial and temporal sampling coverage by species and island group. Most albatross studies have focused on chick-rearing, and diet during other breeding phases is comparatively poorly known. Furthermore, chicks are more commonly sampled than adults and very rarely immature birds, all of which may differ in diet composition. There was a pronounced shift over time in the preferred method of characterising diet, from the morphological examination of prey remains to stable isotope analysis of tissue. This shift has reduced the volume of detailed taxonomic information available from morphological studies. This difference in resolution hinders the ability to detect changes in prey species, with implications for management of threatened albatrosses and for monitoring broader changes in marine ecosystems. In a knowledge gap analysis for important breeding colonies (with>5% of global population), we identified key sites where existing monitoring has provided a foundation for robust longitudinal diet studies. Maintaining and augmenting these long-term research programmes will enable analyses of the impacts of changing climate and fishing practices on seabird populations and facilitate the timely identification and implementation of management options.
SPOROZOITES INTRA- AND EXTRA-ENTERICALLY

Chickens were dosed orally with sporulated oocysts ofEimeria acervulina, E. brunetti, E. maxima, or E. praecox and the subsequent presence, in various tissues, of parasites capable of inducing patent infections was detected by transferring the tissues to coccidia-free recipients. Similar results were obtained with each of the 4 species studied, irrespective of whether initial development occurs in the superficial (E. praecox, E. brunetti) or crypt (E. acervulina, E. maxima) epithelium. Infection was transferable by gut scrapings and liver homogenates at all time intervals (3, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 hr postinoculation) studied. Infection was also transferable with blood and with splenic homogenates but not consistently. Transfers made within a short time of the inoculation of donors were more successful in producing patent infections in the recipients. In all transfers the prepatent period was normal for the species. These findings suggest that sporozoites enter the mucosa very shortly after inoculation, and some of them pass to the liver and spleen and then leave these tissues at a somewhat slower rate, possibly to reenter the mucosa. Sporozoites in the lamina propria of the gut were found within host mononuclear cells in all 4 species studied. Most of the cells harbouring E. maxima and some of those with E. praecox were identified as intraepithelial lymphocytes while all others could only be identified as agranular mononuclear cells that were not character- istically macrophages. Seven species of Eimeria parasitize the chick- en and, although their life cycles in the intestines of this host are fundamentally similar, there are some differences, for example, in the location of the early developmental stages. In the case of all 7 species, the sporozoites penetrate enterocytes of the villi (or the surface epithelium of the large intestine), but only E. brunetti and E. praecox begin their growth there. The first-generation schizonts of the other 5 species are formed in the enterocytes of the crypts. The sporozoites of E. tenella (Lawn and Rose, 1982) and E. necatrix
The Behavior of Yeast Populations in Stracchino Cheese Packaged under Various Conditions.

The growth of yeasts, lactic acid bacteria, pseudomonads, and enterobacteria during the refrigerated storage of an Italian soft cheese (Stracchino) in various packaging conditions (under air, under vacuum, and in the presence of ethanol) was studied. Yeasts were found to play a significant role in cheese spoilage, producing unplesant flavors and odors and causing significant reductions in the shelf life of the paper-wrapped cheeses. Packaging under vacuum decreased the yeast growth rates and reduced the populations attained at the end of the exponential phase of growth, resulting in a shelf-life extension of the Stracchino cheese of over 28 days. A total of 129 yeasts isolates were identified according to conventional methods. The most frequently isolated yeasts were Candida colliculosa , Debaryomyces hansenii , and Candida famata . Other species encountered were Tolurospora delbrueckii , Kluyveromyces marxianus , and Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Myxobacteria as a potential biocontrol agent effective against pathogenic fungi of economically important forest trees

: The broad biocontrol properties of myxobacteria (mainly members of the genera Corallococcus and Myxococcus) isolated from forest soils against main fungal pathogens of pine seedlings were estimat-ed. Among the myxobacterial strains studied ( in vivo tests), the strongest antagonism towards fungi was noticed for the strains of the species Myxococcus virescens Thaxter and Corallococcus exiguus Reichenbach. They inhibited the fungal growth within the range 38–63%. The strongest inhibitory reaction towards Cylindrocarpon destructans (Zinssm.) Scholten was observed. A predominating part of myxobacteria (22 from among 30) inhibited the growth of Rhizoctonia solani Kühn. Myxobacteria suppressed any pathogenic action of Rhizoctonia solani (strain 411) towards Scots pine seedlings ( in vitro tests). They produced extracellular (but not intracellular) acidic and neutral proteinases. None of the myxobacterial strain under examination produced chitinases. The 57% of the myxobacterial strains studied produced siderophores. The numbers of myxobacterial strains, obtained from under forest trees were in the following order: Betula pendula Roth. Pinus sylvestris Alnus glutinosa Gaertn. = Quercus robur L. The results gained in present work have proved potential use of myxobacteria as biocontrol agents against Rhizoctonia solani , common fungal pathogen of pine seedlings.
Effect of tannic acid on feed intake, survival and growth of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) larvae

The role of tannins (tannic acid and other derivatives) has been extensively studied in plant kingdom. Quite a few investigations have report the function of these compounds in animals specifically the fish. Current studies were aimed to find the role of tannic acid in feeding of larval striped-bass (Morone saxatilis). Fish was fed on live Artemia, encapsulated Artemia with and without tannic acid and encapsulated casein based diet with and without tannic acid. Live Artemia was also supplemented to some of the dietary treatments irrespective of the presence or absence of tannic acid. Fish raised on live food achieved significantly higher growth and survival than rest of the treatments. Presence of tannic acid in the capsule materials alone or supplemented with live Artemia enhanced the growth exceeding the survival of striped bass larvae to the rest of the dietary groups. Fish group raised on the diet prepared without tannic acid in the capsule material exhibited very poor response.
Effect of organic acids and polyphenols on in vitro available iron from foods

Effect of various organic acids and polyphenols on in vitro available iron, in terms of ionizable iron from some cereals and pulses was studied using first order derivative spectrophotometry. Ascorbic, citric and malic acids were found to increase the lonizable iron. Catechin, despite of its polyphenolic nature had improved the availability of iron from foods. Gallic acid at lower concentrations showed enhancing Influence whereas at higher concentrations it inhibited the availability of iron. Tannic acid at all concentrations showed a powerful inhibitory action on the ionizable iron percentages of foods.
Osmotic Changes of Sareoplasmic Reticulum Vesicles during Ca 2 + Uptake

Summary. The ATP-dependent accumulation of Ca z + by sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles at 37 ~ C reaches a peak after approximately 100 sec. The CaZ+-loading level then declines until a steady-state level is reached which is 20% less than the peak value. This spontaneous release of Ca 2 + is enhanced by inclusion of maleate in the Ca 2+ uptake medium. Increasing the extravesicular osmolarity by the addition of sucrose to the Ca 2 + uptake medium prevents spontaneous Ca 2+ release and increases the steady-state Ca z +-loading capacity of sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles. Swelling of sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles during Ca z + uptake in medium containing sucrose is indicated by changes in the light-scattering intensity. These experiments indicate that the capacity of sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles to accumulate Ca 2 + is limited by the osmotic gradient generated by the increase in intravesicular Ca 2 +. Swelling of sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles during Ca 2 + uptake causes spontaneous Ca 2 + release.
Ill. Purification and Characterization of Phenylalanine Ammonia-Lyase

Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL, EC 4.3.1.5) is involved in the lignification of pine suspension cultures in response to an elicitor prepared from an ectomycorrhizal fungus. To elucidate the molecular basis of this response, PAL was purified to homogeneity from jack pine (Pinus banksiana) suspension cultures using anion-exchange and chromatofocussing fast protein liquid chromatography. Physical characterization of the enzyme revealed that pine PAL was similar to PAL from other plant sources. Pine PAL had a pH optimum of 8.8, an isoelectric point of 5.75, and a native molecular mass of 340 kilodaltons. The enzyme appears to be a tetramer composed of 77 kilodalton subunits. Chromatographic and western blot analyses were used to identify possible isoenzymic changes in pine PAL in response to elicitation and to determine the nature of the increase in PAL activity associated with inducible lignification in these cultures. Only one species of PAL was detected in P. banksiana cell cultures and increased quantities of this protein were correlated with the enhanced enzyme activity observed in elicited cultures. P. banksiana PAL was not feedback-inhibited by a wide range of phenolic compounds at micromolar concentrations, including the reaction product cinnamic acid. Our data suggest that a different set of metabolic and molecular controls must be in place for the regulation of PAL in pine.
DYNAMICAL ASSESSMENT OF VEGETATION TRENDS OVER MARGALLA HILLS NATIONAL PARK BY USING MODIS VEGETATION INDICES

Vegetation is the most visible characteristic of the terrestrial ecosystems and is considered as an important biophysical parameter due to its specific role in the lithosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and atmospheric interactions. It plays a vital role in the global hydrological cycle (Hutjes et al., 1998). Vegetation is very sensitive to environmental changes brought about by either natural processes or anthropogenic activities (Liu and Kogan, 1996). Rapid increase in human population has resulted in the exploitation of natural resources (Vitousek et al., 2008). The reduced vegetation cover has broad range impacts on various ecosystems (Pregitzer and Euskirchen, 2004; Song and Woodcock, 2003) such as loss of biodiversity, reduced water dynamics, soil hydrologic conditions, infiltration rate and sediment yield (Fearnside, 2005). Therefore, vegetation activity needs to be observed extensively on both spatial and temporal scales. Earth Observation Science (EOS) Data Gateway offers the vegetation index (VI) data product and several studies have recommended the use of MOD13Q1 data products for the vegetation change detection (e.g. Coppin and Bauer, 1996; Franklin and Wulder, 2002; Coppin et al., 2004; Chuvieco et al., 2005; Fraser et al., 2005). The data set offer good quality, cloud free mosaics composites at 16-day intervals and is available free of cost from the Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LPDAAC) data pool in HDF (Hierarchical Data Format). One of the most widely and successfully used index for vegetation activity is normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI Gitelson et al., 1996) derived from NIR and Red spectral wavelengths. NDVI acts as a biophysical parameter linking photosynthetic activity of vegetation with greenness which is based on chlorophyll content and energy absorption by the plant (Shabanov et al., 2002). It provides a significant basis to assess seasonal and inter-annual changes in both vegetation and photosynthetic activities (Huete et al., 2002). Although, NDVI differencing is a successful changedetection method (Lyon et al., 1998), it has limitations in estimating the variance in canopy structure and architecture. As it is potentially affected by soil background and saturates at high biomass (Huete et al., 2002; (Jackson et al., 2004) and at intermediate leaf area index (LAI) values (Carlson and Ripley, 1997). Therefore, the enhanced vegetation index (EVI Justice et al., 1998) is used as an alternative to NDVI and is less sensitive to aforementioned limitations (Kim et al., 2007). Due to improved performance of EVI over NDVI; it has been considered as second best global vegetation index provided by the MODIS Landsat Discipline Group (Huete et al., 1994). Pak. J. Agri. Sci., Vol. 53(4), 777-786; 2016 ISSN (Print) 0552-9034, ISSN (Online) 2076-0906 DOI: 10.21162/PAKJAS/16.3759 http://www.pakjas. com.pk
Biocontrol genotypes of Fusarium oxysporum from tomato fields in Florida

The diversity of Fusarium oxysporum isolated from two Florida (USA) tomato fields (organic and conventional farms) was studied to explore the relationships among pathogenic, saprophytic and biocontrol Fusarium spp. More than 63,000 fungal colonies were recovered, including 21,826 Fusarium spp. , with 3110 of these tentatively identified as F oxysporum. Of the Fusarium recovered from samples, in the organic farm 5.3-13.5% and in the conventional farm 36.4-49.8% were F oxysporum. Eleven different species of Fusarium were recovered from the organic farm and eight from the conventional farm. Sixty-six (21.9%) of 302 F. oxysporum isolates were pathogenic to tomato, including 31 and 35 isolates identified as F.o. lycopersici with-three races, and F.o. radicis-lycopersici, respectively. In greenhouse bioassays that included the known biocontrol agents F oxysporum strains CS-20 and Fo47, nonpathogenic strains (305, 81 and 16 isolates of F. oxysporum, F proliferatum, and Fusarium sp., respectively) revealed a range of biocontrol ability in a normal distribution. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis indicated that 15 out of 20 high biocontrol ability F oxysporum isolates were clustered closely, but they did not have a unique RAPD pattern to differentiate them from saprophytic or pathogenic isolates.
Effect of Lipases from Candida cylinderacea on Enrichment of PUFA in Marine Microalgae

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) have a fundamental role in human metabolism. Here, a study was attempted to develop a commercially feasible technology to enrich eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) present in Isochrysis galbana, Chaetocerous calcitran, Chlorella marina and Tetraselmis gracillus using lipase source Candida cylinderacea. To the wet mass of algae added 4, 8 and 12 U of lipase enzyme concentration and was incubated at 37C for 4, 8, 16 and 24 h of hydrolysis. Control was taken without any added enzyme. The experiment investigated the optimum conditions of lipases as a function of time and enzyme concentrations. The study reveals that the uses of biolipases under standardized condition are useful for commercial production of PUFA in pharmaceutical industries. Practical Application Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) have a fundamental role in human metabolism due to their antibacterial, antiinflammatory and antioxidant properties, and play role in the prevention of cardiac diseases and inhibition of tumor progression. Marine fish oil is the richest source for eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), but the limitations are its high susceptibility toward oxidation and consequent off-flavors and production of toxic compounds, as well as geographical and seasonal variations in quality and quantity. As marine algae is the primary producer of n-3 PUFA in the natural environment, replacing fish oil with n-3 PUFA enriched algae provides an excellent opportunity to develop alternative n-3 PUFA for nutraceutical and pharmaceutical purposes. Following this background, a study was attempted to develop a commercially feasible technology to enrich Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) present in microalgae.
Oxidation Of LDL :Role In Atherosclerosis

Atherogenesis is a multifaceted condition which has a complicated pathogenesis that is still being unraveled. Both systemic and local inflammation have been implicated in the development of atherosclerosis. Oxidative stress, or oxidation of LDL, is considered a marker of inflammation. This brief review focuses on the role of oxidation of LDL in development of atherosclerosis.
Modeling of Porphyrin Metabolism with PyBioS

Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) involves administration of a photosensitizer (PS) either systemically or locally, followed by illumination of the lesion with visible light. PDT of cancer is now evolving from experimental treatment to a therapeutic alternative. Clinical results have shown that PDT is at least as efficacious as standard treatments of malignancies of the skin and Barrett’s esophagus. Hemes and heme proteins are vital components of essentially every cell in virtually all eukaryote organisms. Protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) is produced in cells via the heme synthesis pathway from the substrate aminolevulinic acid (ALA). Exogenous administration of ALA induces accumulation of (PpIX), which can be used as a photosensitiser for tumor detection or photodynamic therapy. Although the basis of the selectivity of ALA-based PDT or photodiagnosis is not fully understood, it has sometimes been correlated with the metabolic rate of the cells, or with the differential enzyme expressions along the heme biosynthetic pathway in cancer cells. An in silico analysis by modeling may be performed in order to determine the functional roles of genes coding enzymes of the heme biosynthetic pathway like ferrochelatase. Modeling and simulation systems are a valuable tool for the understanding of complex biological systems. With PyBioS, an object-oriented modAndriani Daskalaki Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Germany Modeling of Porphyrin Metabolism with PyBioS DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60960-561-2.ch315
Differences in activity patterns of the Neotropical otter Lontra longicaudis between rivers of two Brazilian ecoregions

Abstract: Circadian use of time is an important, but often neglected, part of an animal's niche. We compared the activity patterns of the Neotropical otter Lontra longicaudis in two different areas in Brazil using camera traps placed at the entrance of holts. We obtained 58 independent photos in the Atlantic Forest (273 camera trap-days) and 46 photos in Pantanal (300 camera trap-days). We observed different kernel density probabilities on these two areas (45.6% and 14.1% overlap between the 95% and 50% density isopleths respectively). We observed the plasticity in Neotropical otter activity behaviour with different activity patterns in the two areas. In the Pantanal, the Neotropical otter selected daylight (Ivlev = 0.23) and avoided night (Ivlev = −0.44), while in the Atlantic Forest it selected dawn (Ivlev = 0.24) and night (Ivlev = 0.14), avoiding daylight (Ivlev = −0.33). We believe that this pattern can be due to human activity or shifts in prey activity.
Les habitudes alimentaires des poissons d'eau douce africains = Feeding habits of African freshwater fishes

Décrire d’une manière approfondie les régimes alimentaires des poissons d’eau douce de I’Afrique demanderait un volume entier. Dans le cadre de ce chapitre, nous nous sommes limités, dans une première partie à donner un aperçu aussi synthétique que possible, des habitudes alimentaires des principaux représentants de chaque famille. En tête de chaque rubrique, nous avons fait figurer le nom des auteurs auxquels le lecteur pourra se référer pour plus de précision. En nous servant des résultats exposés dans la première partie, nous avons tenté, dans une deuxième partie, de classer les poissons par niveaux trophiques. Nous avons également évoqué certains problèmes d’adaptations alimentaires liés à l’âge, aux différents biotopes (lacs, rivières, zones inondées) et à des modifications rapides et profondes de l’habitat (lacs de barrage).
Factors affecting ewe's milk fat and protein content and relationships between milk yield and milk components

Test-day records of purebred Tsigai, Improved Valachian and Lacaune ewes were used to analyse the effect of environmental factors on milk fat and protein content. There were 121 424 and 121 158 measurements of fat and protein content for Tsigai, 247 742 and 247 606 measurements of fat and protein content for Improved Valachian and 2 194 measurements of fat and protein content for Lacaune ewes lambing between 1995 and 2005. Overall means and standard deviations for fat and protein content were 7.77 ± 1.606% and 5.94 ± 0.690% for Tsigai, 7.48 ± 1.446% and 5.82 ± 0.620% for Improved Valachian, and 6.97 ± 1.514% and 5.62 ± 0.692% for Lacaune. For fat content, analyses showed a highly significant ( P < 0.01) effect of flock-test day and a highly significant ( P < 0.01) or significant ( P < 0.05) effect of the month of lambing, with the only exception of the month of lambing in Lacaune. The effect of litter size was highly significant ( P < 0.01) or significant ( P < 0.05) in Improved Valachian and Lacaune. For protein content, analyses showed a highly significant ( P < 0.01) effect of flock-test day and a highly significant ( P < 0.01) or significant ( P < 0.05) effect of the month of lambing. The effect of litter size was highly significant ( P < 0.01) in Tsigai and Improved Valachian. Covariates of days in milk which modelled the shape of lactation curves were insignificant, except for Improved Valachian fat content (Ali-Schaeffer regression adopted for sheep). The model explained about 50% of fat and protein variation in the breeds, with coefficients of determination between 0.517 and 0.587 for fat content and between 0.495 and 0.527 for protein content. Fat and protein content were almost equally correlated with milk yield in the three breeds. Lactation curves were constructed on the basis of solutions of a statistical model employed in the analyses.
CHARACTERIZATION OF RICE ROOT TRANSCRIPTOME UNDER PHOSPHORUS DEFICIENCY STRESS

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the main staple food in Asia, where about 90% of the world's rice is produced and consumed. It is the primary source of food, nutrients, energy and employment for more than 3.5 billion people across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Life in Asia depends on rice not International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 5 Number 8 (2016) pp. 273-279 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas. com