Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The evolutionary and ecological role of heat shock proteins

Most heat shock proteins (Hsp) function as molecular chaperones that help organisms to cope with stress of both an internal and external nature. Here, we review the recent evidence of the relationship between stress resistance and inducible Hsp expression, including a characterization of factors that induce the heat shock response and a discussion of the associated costs. We report on studies of stress resistance including mild stress, effects of high larval densities, inbreeding and age on Hsp expression, as well as on natural variation in the expression of Hsps. The relationship between Hsps and life history traits is discussed with special emphasis on the ecological and evolutionary relevance of Hsps. It is known that up-regulation of the Hsps is a common cellular response to increased levels of non-native proteins that facilitates correct protein folding/refolding or degradation of non-functional proteins. However, we also suggest that the expression level of Hsp in each species and population is a balance between benefits and costs, i.e. a negative impact on growth, development rate and fertility as a result of overexpression of Hsps. To date, investigations have focused primarily on the Hsp70 family. There is evidence that representatives of this Hsp family and other molecular chaperones play significant roles in relation to stress resistance. Future studies including genomic and proteonomic analyses will increase our understanding of molecular chaperones in stress research.
Growth performance and body composition of sub-yearling Persian sturgeon, (Acipenser persicus, Borodin, 1897), fed different dietary protein and lipid levels

Summary In order to evaluate the protein and energy requirement of Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) sub-yearlings, eight experimental diets containing two protein levels (40% and 45%) and four lipid levels (10%, 15%, 20% and 25%) were tested. Sturgeons (W0 = 136.8 g) were fed the experimental diets to satiation four times daily for 150 days, resulting in a final mean weight of 375.8 g. Growth was significantly affected by lipid content of the diets. At 40% protein level, weight gain and specific growth rate (% per day) were significantly improved (P < 0.05) by increasing the dietary lipid (energy) content. Protein efficiency ratio (PER) was significantly affected by different dietary treatments for each dietary protein level tested, reaching a mean value of 3.58 in fish fed high lipid diets and a PER of 2.77 in low lipid diets. Results obtained in the present study suggest that the optimum dietary protein content for Persian sturgeon is 40%, with an estimated optimum protein-to-energy ratio of 18–20 mg kJ−1.
SEX DIFFERENCES IN PARENTAL INVESTMENT AND CHICK GROWTH IN WANDERING ALBATROSSES: FITNESS CONSEQUENCES

Parents should adjust expenditure on parental care so as to maximize fitness, but quantitative data are sparse, particularly for sexually dimorphic species. We use data from two breeding seasons to investigate the fitness consequences of variation in parent provisioning behavior and chick growth in a sexually dimorphic seabird, the Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans). Male parents brought more food to their single offspring than females did, and male chicks (sons) received more food than female chicks (daughters). The study of growth parameters indicates that sons had faster growth rates, reached higher asymptotic mass, and were heavier and larger at fledging than daughters. Male chicks that survived to adult age were larger than those that disappeared, whereas the females that survived were those in better condition at fledging, indicating that different factors affect survival of each sex during the first years of independence at sea. Survival to adult age seems to be influenced by the ability of parents to provision the offspring adequately, especially in the case of male chicks, whose costs appear to be higher. The age and ex- perience of parents did not influence the amount of food delivered to the chick, but older birds rearing male chicks were more synchronized on a within-pair basis than younger parents, and consequently their sons grew faster, attaining both higher asymptotic mass and higher mass at fledging. Old adult males appeared to have a higher mortality rate than younger males when rearing a son. There was no such tendency for adult males rearing a daughter or for females rearing a son. Younger, less experienced pairs may tend to produce more sons than daughters when compared to older and more experienced pairs. If valid, this tendency for an age-related sex ratio could be the result of higher costs of raising the more expensive sex. These findings indicate that the optimal age-related investment by parents varies between males and females but also depends to a large degree on whether they are rearing a son or a daughter.
Gasto Público Social: conceptos y alcances

Although the concept of social public expenditure is widely familiar, literature on the subject contains no agreed definition for the term. Countries use functional definitions, and this makes comparison impossible. Modalities for State intervention in social policy include: a) centralization or decentralization, and b) different types of policy: universality and targeting. The problem of decentralization exists in a broader context that needs to be resolved by means of substantial changes in federal revenue-sharing, with progress being made on both the decentralization of revenue and responsibility for local fiscal revenue. Targeting facilitates universality, which forms the very essence of social policy. In practice, it is impossible to achieve universality by means of traditional instruments, and targeting is a useful tool to be able to reach those who are poorest, who in the long term should become subjects of a universal nature.
Ação de Azadirachta indica (Neem) em nematódeos gastrintestinais de caprinos

O problema da resistencia em nematodeos gastrintestinais de caprinos, associado ao crescente interesse por alternativas de controle, levou a investigacao da acao de Azadirachta indica sobre estes parasitas. No teste in vitro observou-se a acao ovicida e larvicida de extratos aquosos de folhas verdes e secas de Neem, em cinco concentracoes. No teste in vivo administrou-se 30g de folhas secas por animal/dia, durante cinco dias. Os animais foram monitorados atraves de OPG diario durante 28 dias e as larvas foram quantificadas e identificadas atraves de coprocultura. Detectou-se a predominância de Haemonchus sp. na estacao chuvosa e de Trichostrongylus spp. na estacao seca. O extrato aquoso de folhas secas in vitro, na concentracao de 240.000ppm, reduziu em 89% a eclosao das larvas de nematodeos gastrintestinais. Entretanto, esta concentracao e muita elevada e inviabiliza sua aplicacao no controle da verminose. A administracao oral de folhas secas trituradas nao reduziu o OPG dos animais durante um periodo de 28 dias apos o tratamento. Estudos investigativos com A. indica devem se concentrar na acao biologica do oleo extraido diretamente da semente, que possui maior quantidade de azadirachtina que as folhas. A administracao do oleo tambem e mais facil, ja que as folhas tem sabor amargo e sao evitadas pelos animais.
Methanol: Coenzyme M Methyltransferase from Methanosarcina Barkeri

The enzyme system catalyzing the formation of methyl-coenzyme M from methanol and coenzyme M in Methanosarcina barkeri is composed of the three different polypeptides MtaA, MtaB and MtaC of which MtaC harbors a corrinoid prosthetic group. The heterologous expression of mtaA and mtaB in Escherichia coli has been described previously. We report here on the overproduction of the apoprotein of MtaC in E. coli, on its reconstitution to the active holoprotein with either cob(II)alamin or methylcob(III)alamin, and on the properties of the reconstituted corrinoid protein. Reconstituted MtaC was found to contain 1 mol bound cobamide/mol. EPR spectroscopic evidence is presented for a His residue as an axial ligand to Co2+of the bound corrinoid. This active-site His was identified by site-directed mutagenesis as His136 in the MtaC sequence that contains four His residues. The reconstituted MtaC, in the cob(I)amide oxidation state, was methylated with methanol in the presence of MtaB and demethylated with coenzyme M in the presence of MtaA. In the presence of both MtaB and MtaA, methyl-coenzyme M was formed from methanol and coenzyme M at specific rates comparable to those determined for the enzyme system purified from M. barkeri. M. barkeri contains an isoenzyme of MtaA designated MtbA. The isoenzyme reacted with MtaC with only 2.5 % of the activity of MtaA.
The evolutionary ecology of dominance-recessivity.

An "adaptive dynamics" modeling approach to the evolution of dominance-recessivity is presented. In this approach fitness derives from an explicit ecological scenario. The ecology consists of a within-individual part presenting a locus with regulated activity, and a between-individual part that is a two-patch soft selection model. Evolutionary freedom is allowed at a single locus. The evolutionary analysis considers directed random walks on trait space, generated by invasions of mutants. The phenotype of an individual is determined by allelic parameters. Mutations can have two effects: they either affect the affinity of the promoter sequence for transcription factors, or they affect the gene product. The dominance interaction between alleles derives from their promoter affinities. I show by means of an example that additive genetics is evolutionarily unstable when selection and evolution maintain two alleles in the population. In such a situation, dominance interactions can become stationary close to additive genetics or they continue to evolve at a very slow pace towards dominance-recessivity. The probability that a specific dominance interaction will evolve depends on the relative mutation rate of promoter compared to gene product and the distribution of mutational effect sizes. Either of both alleles in the dimorphism can become dominant and dominance-recessivity is always most likely to evolve. Evolution then approaches a population state where every phenotype in the population has a maximum viability in one of the two patches. When the within-individual part is replaced by a housekeeping locus that codes for a metabolic enzyme, evolution favors a population of two alleles on the same conditions as for a regulated locus. In the case of housekeeping gene however, the evolutionary dynamics is attracted towards a population state where the heterozygote phenotype equal the optimum phenotypes in the two patches.
Control of established alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) in a no-till corn (Zea mays L.) cropping sequence

Evaluation of several herbicides for the control of alfalfa and red clover in a legume-corn no-till system showed that spring burn-down of the legumes may be preferred to fall burn-down. Spring application gave similar or greater control of these species than fall applications. Treatments with dicamba (3,6-dichloro-2-methoxybenzoic acid) at 0.6 kg ha−1 were the most effective in controlling red clover and alfalfa. Key words: Weed control, perennial legumes, spring application, fall application
Marine Plant-Herbivore Interactions: The Ecology of Chemical Defense

Herbivory has a profound effect on seaweeds in both temperate and tropical communities (11, 17, 21, 33, 43, 47, 80, 124). This is especially true on coral reefs where 60-97% (11, 42) of the total seaweed production may be removed by herbivores. To persist in marine communities, seaweeds must escape, deter, or tolerate herbivory. The ecological and evolutionary importance of spatial and temporal escapes has been extensively studied for seaweeds and adequately reviewed in the recent literature (33, 45, 47, 71, 80). The ability of seaweeds to tolerate herbivory has received limited attention. On coral reefs, rapidly growing filamentous algae are heavily grazed, but the algae quickly replace these losses and appear to be dependent upon herbivores to prevent their habitat from being overgrown by larger but less herbivoretolerant species (11, 71). Additionally, several seaweeds have spores or vegetative portions that can withstand gut passage; in some cases this significantly increases the growth rates of the newly settled spores (6, 122). These types of seaweeds may be considered herbivore tolerant. Although numerous seaweed characteristics can deter some herbivores, the effects of morphology and chemistry have been studied most thoroughly. The
A trial of odour baited targets to control the tsetse fly, Glossina morsitans centralis (Diptera: Glossinidae) in west Zambia

Targets of black cloth with or without flanking netting panels (ca. 1 m tall × 1.7 m) baited with acetone (130 mg/h) and 1-octen-3-ol (0.5 mg/h), coated with deltamethrin suspension concentrate and deployed at 4/km 2 , produced a decline of 3% per day in the apparent density of the tsetse fly Glossina morsitans centralis Machado in 500 km 2 of the Western Province of Zambia. Flies were eradicated in a year as evidenced by the absence of catches from flyrounds and traps and the elimination of the transmission of trypanosomiasis. The promise of the target technique is confirmed but the need for its further development is emphasized.
Growth, development and yield of bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea) in response to soil moisture

SUMMARY Stands of bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verde. ) were grown in five controlledenvironment glasshouses at the Tropical Crops Research Unit, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, in 1990. Five soil moisture regimes were imposed (one per house), from fully irrigated each week (treatment A), to no irrigation after crop establishment at 35 days after sowing (DAS) (treatment E). Decreasing the amount of water applied resulted in a decline in total dry matter production and harvest index, and a reduction in pod yield from 412 (treatment B) to 0·041 ha-1 (treatment E) at 125 DAS. A maximum leaf area index of 5–4 was achieved by treatments B and C at 90 DAS, resulting in a fractional interception of c. 0·8 of incoming radiation. Total accumulated radiation interception values were 749, 693, 688, 618 and 554 MJ m-2 for treatments A, B, C, D and E, respectively. The efficiency of conversion of the radiation intercepted into dry matter was reduced from 1·41 to 0·50 g MJ-1 by drought.
Nutritional deficiency in crisphead lettuce grown in hydroponics

The identification of nutrient deficiency symptoms in lettuce helps both producers and technical staff to keep the plant nutritional balance in their producing areas. The objective of this study was to evaluate production and describe and record the visual symptoms caused by the isolated or combined shortage of K, Ca, B and Zn in crisphead lettuce grown in hydroponics. The experimental design was completely randomized blocks with four replications and eight treatments, representing the single (K, Ca, B, Zn) and combined (Ca and B, K and Zn, B and Zn) omission of nutrients, with a control treatment containing a complete nutrient solution. We used the crisphead lettuce cultivar Rider Plus. Under Ca shortage, plant growth was reduced and chlorosis appeared in the borders of young leaves. K shortage was the most detrimental to production of shoot fresh and dry matter and root dry matter. Where B was absent, plant growth was limited, the apical dominance was lost and leaves became wrinkled. Plants without Zn showed mild chlorosis in the blade of young leaves, elongation and bending of petioles and reduction in root density. The combined omission of Ca and B slowed down plant growth and induced necrosis at the borders of young leaves, while the combined omission of K and Zn initially induced K deficiency symptoms with reduced growth. When B and Zn were simultaneously subtracted, plants first showed B deficiency symptoms: reduction in plant size as compared to the control treatment and death of the apical bud.
Fatty acids of polar lipids in heart tissue are good taxonomic markers for tropical African freshwater fish

The fatty acid profiles in total, neutral and polar lipids in the heart tissues of five freshwater fish species (Nile perch Lates niloticus, Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus, marbled lungfish Protopterus aethiopicus, Bagrus docmak and African catfish Clarias gariepinus) from Lakes Victoria and Kyoga were determined chemometrically by methanolysis of the lipid extracts and gas chromatography of the resulting methyl esters. The analytical data were treated using multivariate principal component analysis. In neutral and polar lipids palmitic acid (16:0) and stearic acid (18:0) were the dominant saturated fatty acids. The polyunsaturated fatty acids in the polar lipid fraction ranged from 33% to 56% and in the neutral lipid fraction from 23% to 30%, dominated by arachidonic acid (20:4n6) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n3). The amount of cholesterol in the neutral fraction was 57–89 mg g−1 lipid. The amount of plasmalogen was 12–27 mg g−1 and 14–37 mg g−1 lipid in the polar fraction and total lipid, respectively. In the principal component plots, the fish species from the two lakes were distinguished by fatty acid profiles in neutral, polar and total lipid from the heart tissue. However, polar lipid fractions were better markers of fish species and populations than the neutral fraction and total lipids. Heart tissues have low lipid levels dominated by polar lipids (phospholipids), with polyunsaturated fatty acids as the principal components. The dominance of genetically controlled phospholipids in the heart tissue makes heart tissue most suitable for differentiating between species and populations.
The role of spontaneous vegetation succession in ecosystem restoration: A perspective

The paper summarizes ideas which were discussed during the 'Spontaneous Succession in Ecosystem Restora- tion' conference and elaborated through further discussion among the authors. It seeks to promote the integration of scientific knowledge on spontaneous vegetation succession into restoration programs. A scheme illustrating how knowl- edge of spontaneous succession may be applied to restoration is presented, and perspectives and possible future research on using spontaneous vegetation succession in ecosystem resto- ration are proposed. It is concluded that when implementing spontaneous succession for ecological restoration the follow- ing points must be considered: setting clear aims; evaluation of environmental site conditions; deciding whether spontane- ous succession is an appropriate way to achieve the aims; prediction of successional development; monitoring of the results. The need for interdisciplinary approaches and com- munication between scientists, engineers and decision-makers is emphasized.
Strategies for preventing heat stress in poultry

Their higher production performance and feed conversion efficiency make today's chickens more susceptible to heat stress than ever before. The increasing proportion of poultry production in tropical and subtropical regions makes it necessary to reconsider the long-term selection strategy of today's commercial breeding programmes. Also, the importance of the potential use of Naked neck and Frizzle genes is accentuated. Nutritional strategies aimed to alleviate the negative effects of heat stress by maintaining feed intake, electrolytic and water balance or by supplementing micronutrients such as Vitamins and minerals to satisfy the special needs during heat stress have been proven advantageous. To enhance the birds' thermotolerance by early heat conditioning or feed restriction seems to be one of the most promising management methods in enhancing the heat resistance of broiler chickens in the short run.
Toward bio-kinematic for secure use of rehabilitation exoskeleton

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. Toward Bio-Kinematic for Secure Use of Rehabilitation Exoskeleton J. Charafeddine, D. Pradon, S. Alfayad, Sylvain Chevallier, M. Khalil
PERFORMANCE OF CROSSBRED DAIRY CATTLE AT MILITARY DAIRY FARMS IN PAKISTAN

Crossbreeding has been considered as a quick way of increasing performance of low productive tropical breeds. Crossbreeding of indigenous cattle with exotic such as Holstein is underway in Pakistan for the last four decades . Data on first lactation milk yield of crossbred dairy cattle (n=2025) from three Military dairy h erds for 1985-2006 were used for this study to evaluate performance of crossbred dairy cattle. The exotic cattle represented mainly Holstein while Jersey, Ayrshire and Red Dane were also used sporadically. The local cattle were generally Sahiwal. The total first lactation milk yield for crossbreds averaged 1633±47.0 kg. The highest total milk yield was found for Neelum Military dairy farm (2328±62.3 kg) and lowest for Lahore Military dairy farm (1356±50.1 kg). These values had almost 1000 kg range. The first lactation length in this study averaged 240±5.5 days. Cows had longest lactation length at Neelum Military farm (264±6.8 days) while cows at Lahore Militar y farm (229±5.5 days) had the shorter lactations. First lactation performance of different genetic groups showed higher total milk yield for 50% e xotic inheritance (1749±33.3 kg) as compared to all other genetic groups. The lowest total milk yield was foun d for ≤25% exotic inheritance (1567±171.3 kg). The season of calving had non-significant effect on milk yield and lactation length while year of calving affected both traits significantly. Phenotypic trends revealed that first lactation milk yield and lact ation length increased @ 27.7 kg/year and 0.45 days/year respectively, from 1985 to 2005. Managemental and feeding differences at various farms accounted for most of the variation in first lactation milk yield. The performance of these crossbreds as compared to buffaloes with average first lactation milk yield of 1800 kg or those of Sahiwal purebreds (1430 kg) challenges the sustainability of the system especially when demands of these crossbreds are higher to cope with disease and environmental stresses.