Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Are less vocal rainforest mammals susceptible to impacts from traffic noise?

Abstract Context. Traffic noise is believed to cause road avoidance and other barrier effects in a variety of wildlife species, and to force changes to call pitch or loudness in others; however, this has never been tested in the absence of other road impacts. Noise impacts on species that do not frequently vocalise are also poorly understood. We investigated traffic-noise impacts on the following three rainforest mammals that do not often vocalise: Hypsiprymnodon moschatus, Uromys caudimaculatus and Perameles nasuta. These species have previously been observed to exhibit varying levels of road avoidance. Aims. To determine whether traffic noise affects movement and behaviour of medium-sized, ground-dwelling rainforest mammals in the absence of other road-associated variables and potential impacts. We hypothesised that noise impacts would be greatest for species previously shown to avoid roads. Noise impacts on these less vocal species compared with more vocal species is also discussed. Methods. In north-eastern Queensland, Australia, mammals captured at least 500 m from any road were tracked after fitting with spool-and-line equipment. On noisy nights, traffic noise at levels similar to a busy highway was played continuously throughout the night from a line of 12 speakers mounted on trees. Speakers were silent on quiet nights. Key results. Traffic noise caused no increase in avoidance of the speaker line and was not a barrier to movements across the line. Overall, movement paths on noisy nights appeared similar in pattern (tortuosity) to those of quiet nights. At a finer scale, movements of H. moschatus and P. nasuta became more tortuous later in the track, suggesting a return to normal foraging behaviour and possible habituation to the noise. Conclusions. These three species with varying levels of previously recorded road avoidance, did not respond negatively to traffic noise. There was, however, a suggestion of habituation by H. moschatus and P. nasuta in response to the noise. Implications. The demonstrated lack of response to traffic noise in these less vocal species means that traffic noise is unlikely to cause road avoidance or barrier effects. Instead, lack of response and possible habituation to traffic noise may increase vulnerability to road mortality.
LIFE SATISFACTION:-A STUDY OF PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYEES BY AFFECTIVE COMMITMENT

In organizational commitment is predicts work variables such as turnover, organizational citizenship behavior, and job performance. An affective commitment is an employee’s emotional attachment to, identification with and involvement in an organization. It influence personal characteristics, structural characteristics, and work experiences. The purpose of it is study is to analyze the role of affective commitment in employee’s life satisfaction. Life satisfaction is the embodiment of a global judgment about one’s life taken as a whole. It is positive evaluation of the condition of one’s life, judgment. In this study sample includes 200 employees of NTPC Ltd of India from Faridabad (Haryana). The sample consisted of managerial employees who volunteered to participate in the study. The data has been analyzing by descriptive analysis, correlation, linear regression, and ANOVA. The results were found that organizational affective commitment is highly significantly related with life satisfaction among managerial employees.
Toxic phytoplankton as a keystone species in aquatic ecosystems: stable coexistence to biodiversity

The effect of allelochemicals released by toxic species in plankton community is often taken into account to reveal plankton biodiversity. Using a minimal chemostat model we show that the interaction between toxic and non-toxic phytoplankton species with changing competitive effects among species due to allelopathy helps to promote the stable coexistence of many species on a single resource and hence can solve the paradox of plankton. We emphasize toxic phytoplankton as a keystone species that strongly uncovers its allelochemicals on other non-toxic phytoplankton and enhances the species persistence and diversity in aquatic ecosystems. In addition, we analyze the consistency of ecosystem functioning and species diversity using a number of approaches, such as sampling hypothesis with selection and complementarity effects, cascading extinction–reinvasion, and examining system dynamics at different enrichment levels and toxicity. Our results suggest that chemostats with one toxic and one or more nontoxic phytoplankton species can be used for the experimental verification of the stable coexistence of many species on a single resource in aquatic ecology.
Eficiência de atrativos alimentares no monitoramento de Zaprionus indianus (Diptera:Drosophilidae) em pomar de Psidium guajava

Com o objetivo de avaliar atrativos alimentares, no monitoramento populacional de Zaprionus indianus em pomar de goiaba e o comportamento populacional a partir de tecnicas de manejo empregadas no cultivo de goiaba como fatores limitantes na dispersao da mosca do figo desenvolveu-se este trabalho. Conduzido na area experimental de Setor de Fruticultura do Colegio Politecnico da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, de 18 de marco a 17 de junho, de 2009, em pomar de goiabeira. Como modelo de frascos caca-mosca, garrafas pet. de 600 ml, com dois furos cada, de 8mm de diâmetro. Os atrativos alimentares utilizados foram: suco de goiaba e suco de butia. Os valores obtidos foram submetidos a analise estatistica. Calda de butia + agua (20%+80%) apresentou as maiores niveis de captura. A utilizacao de atrativos alimentares aliado ao manejo de restos culturais pode atuar de maneira supressora ao avanco populacional de Z. indianus para pomares de figo.
Control by enzymes, coenzymes and conserved moieties

The control and regulation of metabolic systems are determined by their responses to changes in the internal metabolites (the internal state) and parameters of the system. In many cases, the concentrations of the intermediates are constrained by moiety conservations, for example those requiring that all intermediate forms of any enzyme sum to the conserved total concentration of that enzyme. In this study, we show how responses to changes in the internal state are related to responses to changes in the total amounts of conserved moieties. The relationship between these two different measures of control leads to a generalisation of the connectivity theorems. The results have important implications for the study of a variety of phenomena such as metabolite (coenzyme) sequestration, group-transfer and channelling. The relationships we derive make it possible to determine the control features of these pathways. As an illustration, two examples are chosen. The first shows the effect of sequestration of substrate moiety while the second deals with the sequestration of the enzyme moieties and enzyme/enzyme interactions.
Post-Fledging Estimation of Annual Productivity in Boreal Owls Based on Prey Detritus Mass

ESTIMACIÓN POST-EMPLUMAMIENTO DE LA PRODUCTIVIDAD ANUAL EN AEGOLIUS FUNEREUS BASADA EN EL PESO DE LOS RESTOS DE PRESAS Se monitorearon nidos artificiales de Aegolius funereus del interior de Alaska en primavera y verano de 2005 y 2006, y se registró el éxito de emplumamiento. En septiembre y octubre, se colectaron restos de presas en 23 nidos artificiales donde las lechuzas habían realizado intentos de nidificación previos en el año. Los pesos secos de los restos de las presas estuvieron correlacionados significativamente con las tasas de emplumamiento (regresión lineal, P < 0.05). Esto sugiere que el peso del conglomerado de los restos de las presas puede ser usado como una alternativa a las observaciones directas de las tasas de emplumamiento, permitiendo documentar datos importantes sobre la productividad anual cuando no pueden realizarse conteos directos. Mediante evaluaciones adicionales, este método puede ser útil para estimar la productividad en otras especies de lechuza que nidifican en cavidades.
Effects of forest disturbances on aquatic insect assemblages

Natural and human‐made disasters such as floods and logging occur in and around rivers. Stream‐dwelling aquatic insects respond to these disturbances in various ways. Primary consumers among them rely greatly on algae and leaf litter from riparian vegetation as food. Therefore, once a disturbance such as a flood has occurred, insects may find it difficult to find food in a stream, and the aquatic insect assemblage can be impacted greatly as a result. Disturbances in riparian areas also increase fine sediment loads into streams, damaging habitat and altering the aquatic insect assemblage. Deforestation impacts not only terrestrial but also aquatic animals. In this review paper, aquatic insect assemblages are assessed according to alterations in land use in and around streams. Following this paper, it is expected that clarification of aquatic insect fauna and their life cycles will progress and that the distribution and habitat use of aquatic insects will be afforded greater attention in forest management.
Genomic resources for the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens: Transcriptome pyrosequencing and microarray design

Abstract The brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens is a pest of cultivated rice throughout Asia and is controlled using insecticides and/or resistant rice varieties. This species has developed resistance to many classes of insecticide and biotypes have developed that are virulent against formerly resistant rice cultivars. Insects use a suite of detoxification enzymes, including cytochrome P450s, glutathione S‐transferases and carboxyl/cholinesterases to defend themselves against plant secondary metabolites and pesticides. Pyrosequencing on the Roche 454‐FLX platform was used to produce a substantial expressed sequence tag (EST) dataset to complement the existing Sanger sequenced ESTs in GenBank. A total of 78 959 reads were combined with the 37 392 publically available Sanger ESTs; these assembled into 8 911 contigs and 10 620 singletons. Analysis of the distribution of tentative unique genes (TUGs) with the gene ontology for biological processes and molecular functions suggests that the 454 and Sanger EST assembly is broadly representative of the N. lugens transcriptome. The brown planthopper transcriptome was found to contain 31 TUGs encoding P450s, nine encoding glutathione S‐transferases and 26 encoding carboxyl/cholinesterases and many of these are putatively involved in the detoxification of xenobiotics. The Agilent eArray platform was used to construct an oligonucleotide microarray populated with probes for ∼19 000 unigene sequences, including all those known to encode detoxification enzymes. The genomic resources developed in this study will be useful to the community studying this crop pest and will help elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying insecticide resistance and planthopper adaptation to resistant rice cultivars.
AVALIAÇÃO NUTRICIONAL DO FENO DE MATA PASTO COM AVES CAIPIRAS

Para avaliar a digestibilidade dos nutrientes de racoes contendo feno de mata pasto para aves caipiras em fase de crescimento, foram utilizadas 24 unidades experimentais, distribuidas em delineamento inteiramente casualizado em esquema fatorial 2x2, a saber: uma racao controle (RCO) e outra racao com feno de mata pasto (FMP), fornecidas em duas fases de crescimento, uma entre 8 e 10 semanas (fase de cria – FC) e outra entre 16 e 18 semanas de idade (fase de recria - FR). As aves foram alojadas aos pares em gaiolas metalicas adaptadas para coleta total de excretas, dispostas em baterias padronizadas, recebendo agua e alimentacao a vontade. Os resultados de digestibilidade aparente para FMP foram inferiores a RCO, sendo observadas medias gerais de 77,63% para materia seca (MS), de 83,55% para proteina bruta (PB), de 72,94% para extrato etereo (EE), de 30,62% para fibra em detergente neutro (FDN), de 20,74% para fibra em detergente acido (FDA), de 76,74% para energia bruta (EB) e disponibilidade de 18,60% para materia mineral (MM). Assim, a inclusao de 20% do feno de mata pasto na racao das aves, em ambas as fases de crescimento, proporcionou reducao significativa na digestibilidade total, sugerindo cautela para niveis superiores de inclusao dietetica desta leguminosa para aves caipiras. Palavras-Chave: Digestibilidade Aparente, Isa Label, Nutricao Avicola, Senna obtussifolia.
Thermal biology of a colour-dimorphic snake, Elaphe quadrivirgata, in a montane forest: do melanistic snakes enjoy thermal advantages?

The adaptive significance of colour polymorphisms in animals has received extensive scientific attention. In snakes, a generally accepted hypothesis is that melanistic individuals enjoy thermal advantages compared to normal coloured individuals. Elaphe quadrivirgata on Yakushima Island exhibits a distinct melanistic/striped colour dimorphism. To test this hypothesis, the thermal biology of free-ranging E. quadrivirgata was investigated using temperature-sensitive radio transmitters. The thermal quality of habitats was also evaluated using physical models of the snake. In addition, the species' set-point range (Tset) was estimated using a laboratory experiment. In July, thermal environments appear to be benign because snakes were able to maintain their body temperature (Tb) within Tset from the midday to evening by using average thermal habitats. By contrast, later months of the year were severe in thermoregulation, and snakes had difficulty maintaining their Tb within Tset by using average thermal habitats. There were no significant intermorph differences in thermoregulation indices in any months, whereas slight differences were detected in hourly comparisons. Most of these comparisons indicated active and precise thermoregulation (with respect to Tset) in striped individuals by using thermally favourable but rare microhabitats such as forest gap. Thus, the obtained values do not support the prediction that melanistic individuals are precise thermoregulators. Yet, melanistic individuals do modify their thermoregulation strategy with respect to the available thermal environments in contrast to striped individuals. Together with the fact that body heating is slower in striped individuals than in melanistic individuals under experimental conditions, it is concluded that melanistic individuals have the potential to enjoy thermal advantages but that this might be of no practical use in terms of Tb in the wild because of the greater thermoregulatory efforts of striped individuals, and because melanistic individuals may use forest gap rarely due to conspicuousness to visually orientated predators under the exposed habitat. © 2007 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2007, 92, 309–322.
MOLECULAR COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MYCOPLASMA GALLISEPTICUM FIELD AND VACCINE STRAINS IN EGYPT

Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) infection is one of the most important causes of economic losses in commercial poultry in Egypt in spite of different control strategies applied. The current study dealt with different Egyptian MG isolates obtained from poultry flocks of different ages and showing different health status. Tracheal samples of selected breeder flocks were subjected to real time polymerase chain reaction (rt PCR). DNA extracts of positive rt PCR samples were sent for mgc2 gene sequencing. In addition, mgc2 gene sequences of published strains were selected from GenBank for molecular characterization of Egyptian MG in comparison to reference MG field and vaccine strains. The sequence and molecular analysis showed that there are nucleotides and subsequent amino acids changes gained by Egyptian MG which have led to significant antigenic alterations. These antigenic profile changes could affect the MG control.
Covariation of Mutations in the V3 Loop of HIV-1: An Information Theoretic Analysis

The V3 loop of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type-1 (HIV-1) envelope protein is a highly variable region that is both functionally and immunologically important. We have used an information theoretic quantity called mutual information, a measure of covariation, to quantify dependence between mutations in the loop using available amino acid sequences from the V3 region. Certain pairs of sites, including non-contiguous sites along the sequence, do not have independent mutations, but display considerable, statistically significant, co-varying mutations as measured by mutual information. Such interdependence may have implications for structural or functional relationships between sites; separate experimental evidence indicates functional linkage between some of the pairs of sites with high mutual information. Further specific mutational studies are suggested by our analysis. The methods used are generally applicable to the study of variable proteins.
Enhancing no-tillage systems for corn with starter fertilizers, row cleaners, and nitrogen placement methods.

No-till production of corn (Zea mays L.) often gives slower early plant growth, lower yields, and reduced profitability in the northern Corn Belt. The objective of this field experiment was to determine if N source/placement method and row cleaner and starter fertilizer use on high-phosphorus testing soils would enhance no-till production of continuous corn (CC) and corn after soybean Glycine max (L.) Merr. ] (CSb). Experiments were conducted for each cropping system on a tile-drained Nicollet-Webster clay loam complex (fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Aquic Hapludoll and fine loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Endoaquoll, respectively) from 1996 to 1998. A 2 3 factorial design included combinations of with or without row cleaners, 0.0 or 93.5 L ha -1 (0 or 10 gal acre -1 ) of 10-15-0 starter fertilizer, and N sources anhydrous ammonia (AA) or spoke-injected urea-ammonium nitrate (UAN). A preplant broadcast application of UAN plus N-(n-butyl)thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) also was compared with spoke-injected UAN. Averaged across 3 yr, surface residue coverage during the growing season remained >60% for CC and >40% for CSb for all treatments, but was about 8% lower with knife application of AA compared with spoke-injecting UAN. Grain yields were not affected by N source. Yield response to starter fertilizer depended on N source and row cleaners. Continuous corn responded to starter fertilizer (0.5 Mg ha -1 or 7 bu acre 1 ) when AA was used, but not when UAN was used. Yields of CSb were increased 0.5 Mg ha -1 (8 bu acre -1 ) by starter fertilizer when row cleaners were not used, but by only 0.2 Mg ha -1 (3 bu acre -1 ) when row cleaners were used. Injecting UAN increased CC and CSb yields 0.7 Mg ha -1 (10 bu acre -1 ) and 0.4 Mg ha -1 (6 bu acre -1 ), respectively, compared with preplant broadcasting of UAN plus NBPT. The data suggest that no-till corn yields on fine-textured, high P testing soils can be enhanced most consistently by using starter fertilizer and by injecting N below the soil surface.
EFFECT OF PHOSPHOLIPASE A1 ON THE PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES OF HEN'S EGG YOLK, PLASMA AND GRANULES

Fresh egg yolk was separated into plasma and granules. Then, the egg yolk and its fractions were enzymatically modified with phospholipase A1 (PLA1). Changes in physicochemical and functional properties were investigated. We observed that enzymatic treatment showed a significant impact on the properties of egg yolk and its fractions with regard to emulsifying properties, protein solubility and foaming properties. Meanwhile, the color changes and the microstructure and the thermal behavior of egg yolk, plasma and granules before and after enzymatic treatment were also studied. This study indicated that the existence of lysophospholipids and structural changes in egg yolk granules could be responsible for significant differences in the functional properties of untreated and PLA1-modified egg yolk, plasma and granules. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS This study aimed to investigate the physicochemical and functional properties of egg yolk, including its fractions (plasma and granules), before and after phospholipase A1 (PLA1) treatment. Such modified egg yolk would have higher protein solubility, thermal stability and emulsifying properties, and present high resistance to extreme temperatures. As these properties of egg yolk powder were improved through PLA1 treatment, the application of PLA1 could make egg yolk have a good practical effect and extend the scope of application.
Organotins and Hydromineral Homeostasis in Aquatic Animals

Enzymes, non-enzymatic proteins and other organic molecules are vital components in living cells. Their respective function depends on specific spatial configurations which are linked to intracellular conditions. Any fluctuation of these conditions, beyond certain threshold values, such as a disruption of ionic regulatory mechanisms, can lead to the destabilisation of a finely balanced intracellular dynamic physiological equilibrium or homeostasis. Hydromineral homeostasis in aquatic organisms is maintained by a complex endocrine controlled array of specialised cross-membrane ion transport systems and the regulation of membrane water permeability. Depending on how aquatic organisms maintain hydromineral homeostasis, they can be roughly divided into two groups: osmoconformers and osmoregulators; the former are mostly invertebrates with high water permeability, the latter include some invertebrates and most fish species, whose permeable external epithelia are usually restricted to the gills. Other important organs involved in hydromineral regulation include the intestine and the various phyla-specific organisational types of renal systems. Environmental concentrations of organotin compounds, such as tributyltin and triphenyltin, have been shown to interfere with the maintenance of hydromineral homeostasis by inhibiting ATPases and affecting membrane permeability for water. The present chapter reviews the impact of organotin exposure on freshand seawater organisms of various phyla by examining the histophathological, physiological and molecular interactions of organotin compounds with relevant enzymes, membranes, the endocrine system, and the consequential ramifications for individuals, populations and community structure in aquatic ecosystems.
Social functions of cetacean acoustic communication

Acoustic communication in animals serves many functions. Acoustic signals contain information about sender identity, sender location, and particular contexts. Until recently, studies of cetacean acoustic communication have been hindered by the difficulty of localizing sounds underwater and thus identifying vocalizing individuals. New techniques integrate studies of the cetacean communication with social interaction. Cetaceans
Anti-stress Effects of Kimchi

The anti-stress effects of kimchi were studied in the Sprague-Dawley rats dosed with kimchi. The rats in the stress groups were subjected to immobilization stress for 2 hr/day for 5 days. At the end of the experimental period, daily average food intake and body weight (BW) gain had been reduced in the stress group compared to the control group. Daily average food intake was significantly increased in the stress-kimchi diet group compared to the stress-only group. The weights of the thymus and spleen were decreased by immobilization stress, but this reduction was partially suppressed by the addition of kimchi. The weights of the adrenal gland and epididymal adipose tissue were increased in the stress group, but ingestion of kimchi completely and partially suppressed these stress-induced changes, respectively. Serum levels of total cholesterol and triglyceride, and plasma levels of corticosterone were increased in the stress group, but at control levels in the stress-kimchi diet group.