Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A ‘long-fuse domestication’ of the horse? Tooth shape suggests explosive change in modern breeds compared with extinct populations and living Przewalski’s horses

Archaeological and molecular data suggest that horses were domesticated comparatively recently, the genetic evidence indicating that this was from several maternal haplotypes but only a single paternal one. However, although central to our understanding of how humans and environmental conditions shaped animals during domestication, the phenotypic changes associated with this idiosyncratic domestication process remain unclear. Using geometric morphometrics on a sample of horse teeth including Pleistocene wild horses, modern Icelandic and Thoroughbred domestic horses, Przewalski’s wild horses of recent age and domestic horses of different ages through the Holocene, we show that, despite variations in size likely related to allometry (changes to bone size in proportion to body size), natural and artificial selective pressures and geographic and temporal heterogeneity, the shape of horse teeth has changed surprisingly little over thousands of years across Eurasia: the shapes of the premolars of prehistoric and historic domestic horses largely resemble those of Pleistocene and recent wild horses. However, this changed dramatically after the end of the Iron Age with an explosive increase in the pace and scale of variation in the past two millennia, ultimately resulting in a twofold jump in the magnitude of shape divergence in modern breeds. Our findings indicate that the pace of change during domestication may vary even within the same structure with shape, but not size, suggesting a ‘long-fuse’ model of phenotypic modification, where an initial lengthy period of invariance is followed by an explosive increase in the phenotypic change. These observations support a testable model that is applicable to other traits and species and add a new layer of complexity to the study of interactions between humans and the organisms they domesticated.
Persistence of malaria transmission in a tribal area in Maharashtra, India

In recent years the incidence of malaria in most of the di stricts of Maharashtra has reduced but the problem in Gadchiroli district was still persisting in spite of i m ple -mentation of the main tools of intervention, i.e. i n door residual spray (IRS) by deltamethrin and fever radical treatment (FRT) to all fever cases. A study was made to find out the reasons for persistence of malaria in Gadchiroli district during November 2002. The cove rag e of two rounds of IRS by synthetic pyrethroids was around 85%. Detailed parasitological survey revealed that slide positivity rate ranged from 3.22 to 42.8 and P . falciparum was sensitive to chloroquine in majority of the subjects (92.6%). Twenty-five per cent of positive cases detected were having gametocyte stage of P. fal-ciparum parasite, indicating that compliance to FRT was not satisfactory. Entomological findings revealed that the main vector, Anopheles culicifacies was resting indoor and was 100% sensitive to deltamethrin. R esul ts of cone bioassay indicated that on the wall surface sprayed before nine days, mortality of An. culicifacies was around 67.8%, while the mortalit y was only 13% on the surface sprayed before one month, indicating unsatisfactory quality of spray. An insight into the reasons for persistence of malaria revealed that the i n-tervention measures were being affected by the social factors. The findings empha size the importance of health education to community and their involvement in m alar ia co n trol for achieving best results. T
Biological degradation of motor oil in water

The biodegradability of petroleum hydrocarbons from motor oil (Proton Avant, Petrol, Slovenia) was studied in aqueous media using different bacterial strains isolated from native catchments in Stajerska and Prekmurje. An unidentified bacterial strain AL-12 from the culture of cyanobacteria was found as the most successful in degrading alkanes from n-C 1 5 to n-C 4 0 present in the fresh motor oil in a quantity of 98%. Small aliquots of motor oil were incubated aerobically for a period of up to 50 days, following the hydrocarbon content by GC/MSD analysis. Within 5 days of incubation up to 70% of n-alkanes n-C 1 5 -n-C 2 2 , up to 45% of n-C 2 2 -n-C 3 0 and up to 20% of n-C 3 0 -n-C 4 0 were biodegraded. As expected, abiotic losses were smaller with increasing alkane chain length, but increased with incubation time.
The inhibitory effects of different diets on the protease activities of Argyrosomus regius (Pisces, Scianidae) larvae as a potential candidate species

ABSTRACT The aim of this research was to gather preliminary data about the potential inhibitory effects of commercial diets on the protease activities of meagre larvae using in vitro techniques. Four commercial diets (Gemma Micro 150 (100–200 µm), Caviar (200–300 µm), Caviar (300–500 µm) and Perla Larva Proactive 4.0 (300–500 µm)) were tested in this study. The differences in the protease activities of meagre larvae during the sampling period were statistically significant (p < .05). The highest and lowest protease activities of meagre larvae were 393.97 ± 7.9 U/mg protein (7 DAH) and 9.64 ± 1.25 U/mg protein (20 DAH), respectively. The digestive proteases of meagre larvae showed the greatest sensitivity to protease inhibitors present in Gemma Micro 150 (100–200 µm). In conclusion, Caviar (200–300 µm), Caviar (300–500 µm) and Perla Larva Proactive 4.0 (300–500 µm) are moderately advisable as the commercial diets in the feeding protocol of meagre larvae from 15 to 32 DAH except for more than 50% inhibitions, but not Gemma Micro 150 (100–200 µm).
Effect of Processing, Packaging and Various Antioxidants on Lipid Oxidation of Restructured Pork.

Effects of processing (prerigor vs. postrigor), packaging (vacuum vs. PVC overwrap) and various antioxidants [sodium tripolyphosphate (STP); butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA); butylated hydro xytolulene (BHT) plus citric acid (BBC); α-tocopherol (Toc); and ascorbyl palmitate plus α-tocopherol (APT)] on the oxidation of restructured pork chops after storage at 4°C were evaluated. Three barrows were slaughtered on separate days and were used as replicates in the experiment. One side of each carcass was boned within 1 h postmortem (prerigor) and the remaining side was boned after 24 h at 4°C (postrigor). Restructured chops were formulated to contain 25% fat and six 4.5-kg batches were randomly allotted to the six antioxidant treatments: (a) 0% NaCl (NSC); (b) 0.5% NaCl (SC); (c) 0.5% NaCl + 0.5% STP; (d) 0.5% NaCl + BBC; (e) 0.5% NaCl + Toc; and (f) 0.5% NaCl + APT. Batches were stuffed in a fibrous casing, frozen for 2 h and sliced (19 mm). The sliced chops were randomly allotted to vacuum and PVC overwrap packaging treatments and evaluated for discoloration and TBA value on days 0, 4, 8, 12 and 16. Vacuum packaging reduced discoloration scores and lowered TBA values (P<0.01) on days 8, 12 and 16. TBA values for all antioxidant treatments differed from the SC treatment on days 12 and 16 (P<0.05). These data indicate that antioxidants and/or vacuum packaging are effective methods of controlling discoloration and oxidation of restructured pork during storage; however, processing time postmortem did not affect (P>0.05) the rate of lipid oxidation.
Origanum syriacum ssp. sinaicum associated Growth Promoting Bacteria

Plant growth promoting bacteria have several applications in agriculture as they could be used as bio-fertilizers and/or bio-control agents. Isolation, characterization and identification of Origanum syriacum ssp. sinaicum associated growth promoting bacteria was the aim of this study as Origanum is one of the most important wild endemic medicinal plants in Egypt. Out of 268 bacterial isolates whether rhizospheric or endophytic obtained firstly, the initial test for the production of gibberellic acid led to a reduction of this number to be 25. The nitrogenase activity was the second potential test by which 4 isolates were finally selected and tested for further plant growth promoting characteristics. 16S rRNA analysis identified two of them to be Serratia sp. (Serratia SK3 and Serratia SK1a) and the other two to be Bacillus sp. (Bacillus SK1 and Bacillus SK2). The current investigation represents four local bacterial strains that could be used to enhance the growth of the commercially grown and widely used Origanum syriacum ssp. sinaicum in Egypt.
High cover of hedgerows in the landscape supports multiple ecosystem services in Mediterranean cereal fields

Summary Field-margin diversification through conservation and restoration of hedgerows is becoming a prominent intervention for promoting biodiversity and associated ecosystem services in intensive agricultural landscapes. However, how increasing cover of hedgerows in the landscape can affect ecosystem services has rarely been considered. Here, we assessed the effect of increased field-margin complexity at the local scale and increasing cover of hedgerows in the landscape on the provision of pest control, weed control and potential pollination. Locally, three types of field margin were compared as follows: (i) standard grass margin, (ii) simple hedgerow and (iii) complex hedgerow, along two independent gradients of hedgerow cover and arable land cover in the landscape. We performed an exclusion experiment to measure biological control of cereal aphids and assessed natural enemy and pest abundance in the field. We sampled plant weed communities and performed a phytometer experiment to test the effects of pollinators on plant reproductive success. At the local scale, planting a new hedgerow or improving its structural complexity and vegetation diversity did not enhance the delivery of ecosystem services in the neighbouring field. However, high cover of hedgerows in the landscape enhanced aphid parasitism (from 12 to 18%) and potential pollination (visitation rate and seed set increased up to 70%) irrespective of local margin quality. The cover of arable land in the landscape reduced the abundance of plant-dwelling predators and weed diversity, but did not affect the delivery of the investigated ecosystem services. Synthesis and applications. Our results highlight the key importance of the surrounding landscape context, rather than local factors, to the delivery of ecosystem services. This suggests a need for new policies that pay particular attention to the conservation of hedgerows at large scales for promoting multiple ecosystem services in agroecosystems. Specifically, hedgerows can serve to develop a network of ecological corridors that can facilitate the movement of beneficial organisms, such as pollinators and natural enemies in the agricultural matrix. Such interventions may be a ‘low cost–high benefit solution’, since farmers can create or conserve high-quality habitats taking little or no land from crop production and without the need to change their crop management.
Génétique de l'ours brun des Pyrénées (Ursus arctos) : premiers résultats

A partir des cellules presentes a la base d'un seul poil preleve sur un Ours brun des Pyrenees (Ursus arctos) captif, nous avons extrait l'ADN total, amplifie et sequence 307 nucleotides correspondants a une partie du gene du cytochrome b(ADN mitochondrial). La comparaison avec trois sequences homologues recemment publiees par Shields et Kocher [4] a permis de construire un arbre phylogenetique faisant apparaitre que l'Ours brun des Pyrenees se serait individualise nettement avant la divergence recente de l'Ours brun d'Alaska (U. arctos) et de l'Ours blanc (U. maritimus)
MUSCLE METABOLISM AND FATIGUE DURING SPRINT EXERCISE: EFFECTS OF CREATINE SUPPLEMENTATION

The aim of this paper was to examine muscle metabolism and fatigue during sprint exercise and also to critically evaluate the evidence regarding the efficacy of Cr supplementation in improving performance and reducing fatigue during one bout and repeated bouts of sprint exercise. Although glycolysis provides more than 50% of total energy supply during a single sprint, its contribution is reduced significantly and may drop to zero when sprints are repeated. Thus in this case, muscle relies exclusively on phosphocreatine (PCr) degradation and aerobic metabolism. Fatigue is shown to be related more to energy deficiency and performance recovery during repeated sprints follows closely the resynthesis of PCr. Due to the important role of PCr on muscle metabolism, an increase of PCr and creatine (Cr) content following oral Cr supplementation has been shown to be beneficial for performance. The effect of Cr supplementation on single sprint performance is small (around 5%) and not always present. A more substantial improvement in performance (around 10%) is demonstrated during repeated sprints, especially during the last repetitions. Although, Cr supplementation has not always proved to be beneficial for performance enhancement, even a small improvement may be important for competitive athletes. Research is needed to investigate and substantiate the effects of combining Cr supplementation with long term training on single and repeated sprints performance.
Resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis in sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis (F.)

The sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis (F.), is a dominant corn stack boring pest and a major target of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)-corn in many areas of the mid-southern region of the United States. A Cry1Ab-resistant strain of D. saccharalis, capable of survival on commercial Bt corn plants, was established using an F2 screening procedure. Larval survival of Cry1Ab-resistant, -susceptible, and -heterozygous genotypes was evaluated on five non-Bt and seven Bt field corn hybrids at two plant stages. During the vegetative stages, all seven Bt corn hybrids were highly efficacious against the three genotypes, while 8-18% of the heterozygous genotype survived on reproductive stage plants for four Bt corn hybrids. Susceptibilities of Cry1Ab-susceptible and -resistant strains were evaluated for four Bt proteins: Cry1Aa, Cry1Ac, Cry1A.105, and Cry2Ab2. LC50 values of the Cry1Ab-resistant strain were >80-, 45-, 4.1-, and -0.5-fold greater than that of the susceptible strain to the four proteins, respectively. Relative fitness on non-toxic diet, diet treated with low concentrations of Cry1Ab toxin, and on conventional corn plants was compared for five genotypes of D. saccharalis. Larvae of Cry1Ab-susceptible and Cry1Ab-resistant strains on both non-toxic diet and non-Bt corn plants developed normally. There were no significant differences between the two strains in all measured biological parameters, suggesting a lack-of-fitness cost of the Cry1Ab resistance in D. saccharalis. Larval development, growth, and survival of the Cry1Ab-susceptible strain were significantly affected on diet treated with low concentrations of Cry1Ab toxin, while the effect to the resistant strains was not/or less significant. Using various genetic crosses, inheritance of Cry1Ab resistance in D. saccharalis was assessed on Bt corn leaf tissue, intact Bt corn plants, and diet containing Cry1Ab toxin. Cry1Ab resistance in D. saccharalis was inherited as a single autosomal gene. The resistance was incompletely or nearly completely recessive on Bt corn leaf tissue and intact Bt corn plants, while the dominance increased as Cry1Ab concentrations decreased when it was tested on Cry1Ab-treated diet. Results generated from this study will provide valuable information in understanding Bt resistance mechanisms and developing effective strategies for managing resistance of D. saccharalis to Bt corn.
Local genetic differentiation and adaptation in freshwater zooplankton populations: Patterns and processes

Abstract:Literature on local genetic differentiation in freshwater zooplankton populations is reviewed. The island-like nature of limnetic habitats creates opportunities for local genetic differentiation and adaptation to develop. There is a wealth of data available on genetic differentiation among populations of zooplankton with respect to allozyme markers. Data from welldesigned studies on ecologically relevant, quantitative traits are less abundant and indicate a different pattern from that obtained using electrophoretic markers. It is argued that whereas the analysis of (quasi) neutral markers emphasizes the importance of long-lasting founder effects and genetic drift, the pattern of local genetic differentiation of ecologically relevant traits may often reflect local adaptation. In reviewing the data, the importance of temporal and spatial habitat selection in maintaining genetic polymorphism for ecologically relevant traits is emphasized, without denying the importance of stochasticity. Most availab.
Complete mitochondrial genome of the Amur sculpin Cottus szanaga (Cottoidei: Cottidae)*

Abstract The complete mitochondrial genome was sequenced in two individuals of the Amur sculpin Cottus szanaga. The genome sequences are 16,518 bp in size, and the gene arrangement, composition, and size are very similar to the other sculpin genomes published previously. The low level of sequence divergence detected between the genome of C. szanaga and the GenBank complete mitochondrial genome of the Cherskii's sculpin Cottus czerskii (KJ956027) may likely be due to recent divergence, historical hybridization, or presence of a new unrecognized taxonomic unit close to C. szanaga but erroneously identified as C. czerskii.
Metopelloides paguri sp. nov., a new species of symbiotic stenothoid amphipod (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Stenothoidae) associated with sublittoral hermit crabs from the Russian coasts of the Sea of Japan

A new species of amphipod from the genus Metopelloides Gurjanova, 1938 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Stenothoidae) asso-ciated with two species of sublittoral hermit crab species, Pagurus pectinatus (Stimpson, 1858) and Elassochirus cavi- manus (Miers, 1879) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Paguridae), is described from the Russian coasts of the Sea of Japan. The newspecies clearly differs from the congeners by the combination of morphological features such as telson without lateralspines, an elongated mandibular palp with single apical setae, the structures of distoventral palmar margins of subchelaon gnathopods I and II in females, bright white-red body coloration. Thus, the record of Metopelloides paguri sp. nov. represents the second record of the family Stenothoidae in the association with sublittoral hermit crabs from the Sea of Japan.
Summer lamb production from puna chicory (Cichorium intybus) and lucerne (Medicago sativa)

SUMMARY The need for quality nutrition over summer to finish prime lambs in Eastern Australia led to a comparison of puna chicory with the more traditional dryland lucerne. Four month old second cross lambs were grazed on the chicory and lucerne and slaughtered as large lean lambs. Liveweight gain, carcase weight and fat were measured. Both pastures produced excellent forage with daily lamb growth rates of 172 - 312 g/day and lean carcases. Cryptorchids grew significantly faster than female lambs and lambs on chicory grew significantly (P<0.05) faster than those on lucerne in three of five groups. It was concluded that both pastures produced quality forage to finish lambs over summer.
Analysis of genetic diversity based on molecular markers (AFLP) and of heterosis in faba bean (Vicia faba L.)

Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers were used to study the genetic diversity among a large set (N = 79) of inbred lines of recent elite faba bean (Vicia faba L.) cultivars with Asian, European (Northern and Southern) and North African origin. The inbred lines were analyzed using eight selected AFLP primer combinations that produced 477 polymorphic fragments. Errors when scoring repeated lanes of one pre-amplification reaction on one gel were negligible, whereas errors when scoring lanes of two individuals of the same inbred line run on different gels were markedly higher. Scoring across gels should be backed by replicates and several appropriate check entries. Based on clustering with Jaccard’s similarity coefficient and Principal Coordinate Analysis, only the Asian lines were distinct as group, the other lines showed no marked further grouping. Nevertheless, several known pedigree relationships were verified. A priori grouping of inbred lines (geographic origin and seed size) and AFLP data corroborate available information on the history of spread and cultivation of faba bean in the studied regions. Based on the diversity observed, studies especially concerning the relationship between genetic similarity based on AFLP markers and hybrid performance within the European elite germplasm have been launched. *A modified, shortened version of this chapter is in preparation as manuscript for Theoretical and Applied Genetics with the following authors: Mahmoud Zeid, Chris-Carolin Schon and Wolfgang Link Institute of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, Georg-August-University, 37075 Gottingen, Germany; State Plant Breeding Institute, University of Hohenheim, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany
Variation in colloid-chemical status of casein micelles with influence on the chymosin coagulation properties of raw milk samples

The colloid-chemical status of casein micelles in raw milk with influence on rates of gel formation was investigated to confirm preliminary chromatographic findings using a specific methodical approach. This study was carried out using four milk samples of different rheology of their rennet gels, i.e., 49, 26.5, 19 and 11 mPas after 60 min for samples No. 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. The cleavage of the Phe 105 -Met 106 bond in K-casein was followed spectrophotometrically and revealed a complete release of the glycosylated macropeptide for all tested samples, whereas the bonds in sugar-free K-casein were only partly cleaved, concerning the samples 2, 3 and 4 amounting to 82.7, 75.0 and 15.9 % in comparison to sample 1. The colloidal status of casein micelles in No. 1 and 4 was compared with two profiles of micellar surface hydrophobicity (SHP)) vs. pH (pH 6.0-7.5) and in parallel with inherent results of dye-protein binding. From the profiles it was derived that poor/non-coagulability of milk is attributable to oxidative changes of free sulfhydryl groups in micellar K-casein forming intermolecular disulfide bridges at the micellar surface. It is a matter of debate whether due to activity of lactoperoxidase (LPO) and inherent effects from free radical damage in the mammary gland.
The prevalence of Plasmodium vivax in Vanuatu Islands: Computer simulation of malaria control trails

We have estimated the degree of transmission of Plasmodium vivax malaria in Vanuatu Islands, eastern Melanesia with the aid of the computer simulations, which has been carried out on the platform of a mathematical transmission model. The malaria caused by Plasmodium vivax has a relapse character, which arises from hypnozoites in the liver. This phenomen makes a malaria control strategy difficult. When the mass drug administration is executed, the prevalence of Plasmodium vivax decreases moderately as compared with that of Plasmodium falciparum, and it recovers before long being affected by the relapses. The simulations suggest that one cannot attain the eradication of Plasmodium vivax malaria without the concentrated execution of the mass drug administration and the vector control that fairly reduces the vactorial capacity.