Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Length-weight relationship and condition factor of the pabo catfish Ompok pabo (Hamilton, 1822) from Tripura, India

The length -weight relationship and condition factor (K) of Ompok pabo , (Hamilton, 1822) , were studied. Length- weight relationship of the species followed the cube-law, indicating an isometric growth pattern . The regression co-efficient (b) of this relationship varied due to sex, size and seasons, showing maximum variation due to size. The overall length -weight regression equation (Log W = -2.67610654 + 3.231 log TL, r = 0.907), and also the length-weight equations of males, females and juveniles (Log W = -2.580495 + 3.266 log TL (r=0.940), Log W = -3.27312 + 3.730584 log TL (r=0.823) and Log W = -1.79226 + 2.836639 log TL (r=0.959) respectively), indicate positive correlation between length and weight in O. pabo . Variations in the condition factor were found to be influenced by the gonadal maturity and spawning season. General wellbeing of the fish is found to be good, as indicated by the values of condition factor, which were nearer to or greater than 1. Condition factor of the fish also reflected its gonadal maturity and spawning season. The species has undergone significant decline due to overexploitation as a food fish.
Tansley Review No. 74 Control of organogenesis at the shoot apex.

The processes involved in the formation of primordia on the shoor apex are those controlling (1) growth rate, (2) division plane. (3) surface microstructure, and (4) extensibility of the surface. Changes in growth rate and division planes may accompany primordium formation but are considered as probably not in themselves being causal. Changes in surface microstructure may be necessary to delimit the position and area occupied by an incipient primordium. However, attention is directed to changes in surface extensibility as perhaps being the overriding factor in primordium formation. Nevertheless, the position and form of the primordia will also depend on growth rate, division plane, and surface microstructurc being permissive. The relative importance of these four sets of processes may differ from species to species and from one stage of development to another. Chemical and metabolic changes within the apex may first be necessary to determine whether the surface can extend sufficiently for any primordia to form at all, but their positions and time of initiation may depend more on the other factors. The surface microstructure may become more important when patterning is detailed and precise as it is in the developing flower, whereas a less precise mechanism dependent on localized induction of synthesis of a morphogen (auxin? ) may provide sufficient information to determine the general position and liming of primordium initiation in vegetative apices. In determining the pattern of primordia on the apex, primordial area at initiation is important and reasons for believing that auxin may be involved in determining this are summarised. The different developmental pathways of primordia seem to diverge from the moment of initiation. Developmental fate of primordia is determined by the hamcotic genes which may in fact be heterochronic genes. How these regulatory genes control the processes involved in differentiation of different types of primordia is so far unknown. Contents Summary 1 I. Introduction 2 II. The mechanism of primordium formation: what causes an outgrowth of the apical surface? 2 III. The positions of successive primordia: what determines their size and localization, so giving rise to pattern? 11 IV. What determines the developmental pathways of the primordia once initiated? 13 V. Conclusions 15 VI. Acknowledgements 16 VII. References 16.
Soil hydraulic conductivity as affected by physical and chemical properties of effluents

SUMMARY The objective of this work was to evaluate the contributions of the physico-chemical factors which may cause reduction in soil hydraulic conductivity (K! ,) upon land disposal of sewage effluent. In particular the binding of polyvalent metals by organic molecules and the plugging by suspended solids were studied. The binding capacity of effluents discharged from oxidation ponds was determined with the aid of gel chromatography. The range of binding capacity found lies between 8 and 25 % of the total Ca + Mg content of the effluent. The effect of this binding on the exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) of two soils and a standard clay was determined. Columns packed with a sand and a sandy loam were leached with unfiltered effluents and with the same effluents after different degrees of filtration. Subsequently, distilled water was applied to the same columns. Filtered effluent caused approximately a 20 % reduction in Ksa, for both soils, whereas more than double this reduction was caused by unfiltered effluent. The results show that the main mechanism responsible for the immediate decrease in soil Ksa, upon effluent application may be the physical pore plugging by suspended solids. The binding of polyvalent cations may cause a further reduction in K,at when irrigation with high quality water or rain succeed the effluent application.
Bacteriological Study of Coagulase Positive Staphylococci from Urine in Some Akoko Communities, Ondo State, Nigeria

Staphylococci which can be normal skin flora as well as aetiologic agent was examined for their clinical implications from urine sources during the study. The occurrence of staphylococcal species in urine sources of some people in Akoko communities between age group 5 to 55 years was determined. 50 sample sources were screened for this purpose. The total viable bacterial count of urine sample sources range from 0, 1 x 103 cfu/ml and 4 x 103 cfu/ml from Ikun-Akoko, Supare community, Iwaro-Akoko as well as Akungba-Akoko respectively to high microbial load of 50 x 106 cfu/ml from Supare-Akoko. The bacterial isolates were identified using standard microbiological techniques including biochemical characteristics in which 23 (46%) were coagulase positive and 25 (50%) were coagulase negative and 2 (4%) show no growth on Mannitol Salt Agar. The 48 isolates obtained for this study were all Gram positive cocci (Bacteria). The Staphylococcal species obtained were grouped as C.P.S a 1:- Coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus group 1, C.P.S.a 2:- Coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus group 2, C.NS 1; Coagulase negative Staphylococcus group 1, C.N. S 2: Coagulase negative Staphylococcus group 2 and C.N. S 3: Coagulase negative Staphylococcus group 3. Some of the isolates tested show multiple antibiotic resistance which is significant clinically in case of treatment of infections in immunocompromised persons. The physico-chemical properties of urine samples collected from the Akoko communities studied was determined using Combi 9 strip/kit. This study will help to generate a database for health management purposes with the aim of controlling Staphylococcus infections. Â
Immunomostimulatory activity of aqueous extract of Azadirachta indica flowers on specific and non specific immune response.

Neem ( Azadirachta indica A. Juss) is one of the most useful traditional medicinal plants in India. Neem flowers are traditionally used as tonic and stomachic. Neem leaf, stem and seed oil has proved immunomodulatory activity along with the adverse effect on sperm count. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate immunomodulatory activity of aqueous extract of Azadirachta indica flowers on humoral and cell mediated immune response to ovalbumin, phagocytic activity by carbon clearance test and cyclophosphamide induced myelosuppression. The extract was also examined for the ability to induce secretory and cellular responses in murine peritoneal macrophages in vitro . The extract increased the production of super oxide (O 2 -) and nitric oxide (NO) in murine peritoneal macrophages. These results indicate that reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI), reactive nitrogen intermediates (RNI) are likely major mediators of cytotoxic activity of extract treated macrophages. The extract showed significant increase in phagocytic index which indicates activation of reticuloendothelial system through release of the mediators. The extract also showed increase in antibody titer against the ovalbumin and protection towards the cyclophosphamide induced myelosuppression in dose dependent manner. Increase in cell mediated immunity by increasing paw edema against ovalbumin showed significant effect of the extract on stimulation of T cell at the dose 400 mg/kg. Present study, therefore, reveals that the extract holds promise as immunomodulatory agent, which acts by stimulating both specific (humoral and cell mediated immunity) and non specific immune response (cytotoxic and phagocytic activity of macrophages).
Expression of maize D‐type cyclins: comparison, regulation by phytohormones during seed germination and description of a new D cyclin

While cloning maize D-type cyclins previously reported in databases (described as of D1, D2 and D4 types), a fourth D cyclin was cloned that showed high homology (75%) with the D1 cyclin. Because this D1 cyclin has been recently described as a D5-type cyclin (D5;1), the new cyclin was named D5;2. All maize cyclins have been compared among themselves and among D cyclins from other plant species. All maize D cyclins possess the retinoblastoma protein–binding motif and cyclin boxes but no PEST sequences or destruction box sequences are required for protein degradation. D5 and D2 cyclins also have canonical cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk)–phosphorylation sites. Every cyclin showed a different expression pattern during seed germination, standing out cyclin D5;2, which seems to be expressed only during the early stages (equivalent to postmitotic interphase), and cyclin D4;1, which progressively accumulates from an almost undetectable level in dry seed embryo axes. Phytohormones like cytokinins and auxins, which accelerate the germination process, change the expression pattern of all cyclins, with cytokinins promoting an increase in expression during the early hours of germination (by 6 h), whereas auxins promote a constant increase in the levels of three out of the four D cyclins (except D5;1). Cyclin D5;1 is the least expressed of all cyclins in all tissues measured (embryo axes, seedlings and plantlets), and all cyclins are expressed in both meristematic and non-meristematic tissues. We discuss their relevance for the germination process and plantlet establishment.
In Vitro Antiplasmodial activity and phytochemicals screening of ethnomedicinal plants used to treat Malaria associated symptoms.

Malaria is a major health concern in Sub Saharan Africa and there are few effective treatment options. Namibia has diverse flora with potent antimalarial phytochemicals and high ethnomedicinal plants uses. This study investigated the phytochemical and in vitro antiplasmodial activity of ten ethnomedicinal plants namely: Baikea plurijuga, Cyphostemma spp, Guibourtia coleosperma, Mundulea sericea, Neptunia oleracea, Diospyros mespiliformis, Acrotome inflata, Oxygonum dregeanum, Ziziphus mucronata and Vangueria infausta. Crude methanol extracts from the ten ethno medicinal plants were screened for major classes of antiplasmodial phytochemical compounds i.e., terpenoids, alkaloids, flavonoids, anthraquinones and coumarins using thin layer chromatography (TLC). Total alkaloids and phenolics content of the ten crude methanol plant extracts were quantified spectrophotometrically. Based on the outcomes of phytochemical screen test, M. sericea, D. mespiliformis and Cyphostemma spp were selected for in vitro antiplasmodial microscopy assay of the crude methanol and aqueous extracts. The assay was done at 1% parasitaemia and 2% hematocrit in 96 wells plates for 24 and 48 hours, against P. falciparum 3D7A (chloroquine sensitive and sulfadoxine resistant strain). Coartem was used as a positive control while 0.5% DMSO in RPMI 1640 medium was used as negative control. Furthermore, Cyphostemma spp (whole plant) and D. mespiliformis (leaf and root) were fractionated through Sephadex LH20 column eluted with methanol/DCM (1:1) and nhexane/ethyl acetate (8:2) for the first and second round respectively. In vitro antiplasmodial assays and phytochemical screening of fractions were carried out at each round. TLC screening of the crude plant extracts revealed the presence of at least one of the phytochemicals screened
Effect of high‐moisture storage of barley, oats, and wheat on chemical content and nutritional value for broiler chickens

Barley, oats, and wheat were stored anaerobically for three months after adjusting the dry matter content to 60%. The content of true protein was reduced when grains were high‐moisture stored, but the amino acid content was not affected to the same extent. High‐moisture storage decreased the soluble dietary fibre and soluble β‐glucan content in barley and oats, and simultaneously the extract viscosity of the grain was reduced to the same level as for wheat. In two experiments with two to five week old broiler chickens given diets with 70% dried or high‐moisture stored grain, feed:gain ratio was reduced (P < 0.05) to the same level as for the wheat diets when high‐moisture stored barley instead of dried barley was fed, and digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, fat, and minerals increased (P < 0.05). Weight gain and cleanness of cages also increased (P < 0.05), and the relative size of the digestive tract was reduced (P < 0.05). Digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, and minerals increased (P <.
A Late Neolithic vertebrate food web based on stable isotope analyses

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of bone collagen, and stable carbon and oxygen isotope analyses of the bone's structural carbonate, were performed on 120 individuals representing 33 vertebrate species, including a single human bone find, collected from the Late Neolithic settlement at Pestenacker, Bavaria, Germany. We were thus capable of reconstructing a rather complex food web and could also address particular issues, such as whether humans influenced the diet of their domestic animals as opposed to their wild relatives, or whether humans perhaps had to compete over food with their domesticates. A rather unexpected result was that freshwater fish, which could be captured in the nearby river Lech, a major tributary of the Danube, contributed to the human diet only occasionally. As for mammals, it was also possible to recognise different trophic levels for birds and aquatic vertebrates, applying stable isotope analyses to both bone collagen and structural carbonate. In the case of fish, δ18O values at least revealed a physiological regularity in terms of temperature preference, besides diet. Conceivably, variability of δ18O in surface water as reflected, for example, by species that avoided human settlements, may help to characterise past ecosystems and to define site catchment exploited by Neolithic man in the course of food acquisition. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Pinitol is a major carbohydrate in leaves of some coastal plants indigenous to New Zealand

Abstract D-pinitol (an O-methyl inositol) is identified as a major soluble carbohydrate in the leaves and other parts of the parapara, Heimerliodendron brunonianum. Leaves of two other members of the Nyctaginaceae, Mirabilis jalapa and Bougainvillea glabra, show the same feature; a high pinitol content may be a family characteristic. Four other native coastal species from three other plant families, Tetragonia trigyna, Disphyma australe, Carmichaelia aligera, and Spergularia marginata, also show pinitol as their major soluble carbohydrate in the leaves, but Euphorbia glauca does not. The possibility that presence of pinitol contributes to the ecological behaviour of these native species, in conferring resistance to salinity stress, is discussed.
Diet of South American fur seals at the Falkland Islands

South American fur seals (SAFS) (Arctophoca australis1) are one of the most widely distributed otariids breeding on both the Atlantic and Pacific sides of South America, from Uruguay to Peru (Campagna 2008). Breeding colonies are, however, patchily distributed and geographically isolated, separated by hundreds to thousands of kilometers (Tunez et al. 2008). Two SAFS subspecies are typically recognized, but their validity is debated (reviewed in Oliveira and Brownell, in press). Specifically, the mainland subspecies (A. australis gracilis) (Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay) is separated from SAFS breeding at the Falkland Islands (A. australis australis) on the basis of skull morphometry (King 1954, Rice 1998, Brunner 2004, Campagna 2008). In addition to these subspecies, recent studies reveal genetic and morphometric differences between the Peruvian (A. australis unnamed) and Uruguayan populations of SAFS (Tunez et al. 2007, Oliveira et al. 2008, Berta and Churchill 2012, Committee on Taxonomy 2012). Genetic and morphometric discontinuities characterize distinct populations of SAFS that may constitute biologically relevant conservation and management units (Tunez et al. 2007, Oliveira et al. 2008). A prerequisite for effective SAFS conservation is the ability to identify the appropriate focus of management effort. This requires information on potential threats to distinct populations and their current conservation status.
Gliomes de bas grade et plasticité cérébrale : Implications fondamentales et cliniques

La plasticite cerebrale post-lesionnelle (PCPL) decrit l’ensemble des processus permettant au systeme nerveux central de se reorganiser apres une atteinte physique. Depuis l’influent travail de Broca et la prise de pouvoir des modeles « localisationnistes », il est largement admis que la PCPL est limitee, voire impossible, au sein des aires fonctionnelles majeures, dites eloquentes. Pourtant, depuis quelques annees, de nouvelles donnees issues de la chirurgie des gliomes infiltrants de bas-grade (GIBG) sont venues bousculer ce dogme. Il apparait en effet de plus en plus clairement que des excisions cerebrales massives peuvent etre integralement compensees, pour ne laisser place a aucun deficit fonctionnel detectable. Des techniques d’imagerie pre- et post-chirurgicales, ainsi que des procedures de stimulation peroperatoire, permettent de suivre la nature et la cinetique de ces compensations. Celles-ci debutent avant la chirurgie, en reaction a l’invasion tumorale, et se consolident pendant et apres la procedure operatoire. Les mecanismes de la compensation pre- et post-lesionnelle impliquent les aires perilesionnelles, les structures cerebrales ipsilaterales distantes et les homologues controlateraux des zones resequees. De tels resultats ont d’evidentes implications fondamentales et cliniques, et ouvrent d’importantes perspectives pour la comprehension de la dynamique cerebrale et des phenomenes de plasticite.
Avantages et limites d'Arabidopsis thaliana pour l'étude des premières étapes de la lignification

Lignins are plant-specific phenolic polymers. They render vessels waterproof and impart strength to fibers. The biosynthesis of monolignols, which are the monomeric precursors of lignins, includes many reduction, hydroxylation and methylation steps. The discovery of Arabidopsis mutants deficient in particular steps of this complex pathway provides the means to alter the lignification profile to differing degrees and to correlate lignin structure and contents with cell wall properties. The extrapolation of results obtained with Arabidopsis may be valuable for the improvement of production and use of lignocellulosic biomass, in the case of annual crops, such as maize or alfalfa, or of fast-growing trees, such as poplar and eucalyptus.
Negative direct effects of nutrient enrichment on the establishment of Fucus vesiculosus in the Baltic Sea

The direct effect of nutrient enrichment on the early life stages of Fucus vesiculosus in the brackish Baltic Sea was followed in laboratory experiments. The effects of nitrate and phosphate on the rate of attachment, on germination and on the development of the primary rhizoid were assessed. The rate of attachment was slow compared with similar studies in a marine environment. The zygotes of the control reached only 9% attachment within the first 12 h. A significant negative effect of nitrate enrichment on the attachment rate and germination was observed. Germling survival was reduced by over 20% in moderate nitrate enrichment, and by over 50% in high nitrate (21 μM) and high phosphate (1.0 μM) enrichment during the first 10 days. The effect on the development of the primary rhizoid was also significant, but less severe. The results suggest that eutrophication may have a direct negative effect on the recruitment of Fucus vesiculosus, unrelated to the secondary effects normally attributed to the decline of Fucus in the Baltic Sea.
Adenosine A2A Receptor Inactivation Increases Survival in Polymicrobial Sepsis1

The mechanisms governing the impairment of bacterial clearance and immune function in sepsis are not known. Adenosine levels are elevated during tissue hypoxia and damage associated with sepsis. Adenosine has strong immunosuppressive effects, many of which are mediated by A2A receptors (A2AR) expressed on immune cells. We examined whether A2AR are involved in the regulation of immune function in cecal ligation and puncture-induced murine polymicrobial sepsis by genetically or pharmacologically inactivating A2AR. A2AR knockout (KO) mice were protected from the lethal effect of sepsis and had improved bacterial clearance compared with wild-type animals. cDNA microarray analysis and flow cytometry revealed increased MHC II expression in A2A-inactivated mice, suggesting improved Ag presentation as a mechanism of protection. Apoptosis was attenuated in the spleen of A2A KO mice indicating preserved lymphocyte function. Levels of the immunosuppressive cytokines IL-10 and IL-6 were markedly lower following A2AR blockade. Similar to observations with A2AR KO mice, an A2AR antagonist increased survival even when administered in a delayed fashion. These studies demonstrate that A2AR blockade may be useful in the treatment of infection and sepsis.
Inhibitory Effect on α-Glucosidase by Traditional Thai Medicinal Plants

α -glucosidase inhibitors are utilized in the treatment of type II diabetes mellitus (DM). The inhibition of intestinal α -glucosidase would delay the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates and consequently suppress postprandial hyperglycemia. Thai medicinal plants are widely used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. An attempt to verify their Inhibitory effect on α-glucosidase from two different sources are reported herein. Among of them, the methanolic extract of Amomum xanthioides showed significant inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase, the sucrase and maltase from rat intestine with IC 50 value 3.10 4.20 and α glucosidase from baker's yeast with IC 50 values of 26.6 which is 25 times greater than the standard anti diabetic drug, acarbose. The preliminary observation provides the basis for further examination of Thai medicinal plants as supplement food and DM drug toward the treatment and prevention of diabetes.