Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lead Toxicity and infertility in Female Swiss Mice : A Review

Lead is one of the oldest known and most widely studied occupational and environmental toxicant. Lead is a metal, which has been associated with human activities from the past 6000 years. Today, lead is still used in batteries and some insecticides and is found in cigarette smoke. Sources of lead may be natural, as it is found in the earth’s crust and thus enters the food and water supply. Lead compounds are known to adversely affect the various mammalian systems. Reproductive toxicity, which can be defined as the adverse effect of chemicals, lead being one that can affect the gonadal structure and functions, can cause alterations in fertility and impaired gamete function. However reproductive toxicity is comparatively less expedited. The toxicant can also lead to induction of malformations in children, reduce chances of conception, may be embryocidal and cause still birth, or death of progeny. The toxic effects of lead on adult female reproduction are decreased fertility, the inability to sustain pregnancy and reduced pregnancy outcomes. There is a lack of information concerning whether environmental health effects are more or less prevalent or manifested differently in women compared to men. Previously, most research in the area of toxicology and environmental and occupational health involved male subjects. There is paucity of information about the direct actions of heavy metals on the female reproductive system, fertility and development. Unlike the testes, the ovary has not been as amenable to study; hence the present review aims to accomplish the lacuna by reviewing exposure and health effects of lead manifested in females.
Scale and heterogeneity in habitat selection by elk in Yellowstone National Park

Abstract Resource selection functions (RSF) can be used to explore the role of scale in determining patterns of habitat use. We estimated RSFs for 93 radiocollared adult female elk (Cervus canadensis) with resource availability defined at four spatial scales and two seasons in Yellowstone National Park. Habitat selection differed markedly among scales and seasonal ranges. During winter elk moved to ranges at lower elevations where snow water equivalents were low and selected landscapes with a mix of forest and open vegetation at all spatial scales. Areas of high vegetation diversity were selected at large spatial scales during summer, whereas elk selected less diverse areas on winter range. During summer elk selected forests that burned 12-14 y earlier, but they used these burns less than expected by chance during winter. Habitat selection by elk occurred at multiple spatial scales; thus, we cannot prescribe a single scale as being best for modelling habitat use by elk. Instead, selection of an appropriate scale will vary depending on the research question or management issue at hand.
Morphologic and Physiologic Characterization of an Ovule Abortion Mutant in Brassica napus

Objective)The development of ovule is closely related with seed-setting and seed weight, which are components of seed yield in rapeseed. The investigation of morphologic and physiologic characterization of abortion mutant will benefit understanding the mechanism of development of ovule. (Method) In this study, OVA047,an ovule abortion mutant, was characterized in histological anatomy and investigated for the effects of nutrition of boron and temperature in Chongqing. Acetic red dyeing method was used to identify pollen fertility of OVA047. The buds of OVA047 which were about to open were selected for artificial emasculation and pollination. The ovary samples were taken and the pollen tube elongation was observed every 4 hours after artificial pollination. Foliar boron treatments were applied for one month seedlings of the normal materials and OVA047.
Sex Determination in Bees (Apinae)

SUMMARYInbred lines of 7 species of social bees were studied, and checked for the presence of diploid male larvae: 7 lines of Apis mellifera, and 15 of Meliponini, representing 6 species. In 3 lines of Apis mellifera showing 50% viability, the non-surviving larvae were males, but diploid males could have some female-like characters. None of the species of Meliponini showed 50% mortality of brood, or 50% diploid males. The bearing of these results on the theory of sex determination in Apinae is discussed.
dSLIM Immunomodulators Induce Anti-Tumor Responses Both In Vitro and In Vivo.

Cytosine-guanine (CpG) motifs containing oligonucleotides (ODN) are commonly used for immunomodulatory purpose in cancer therapy and for the treatment of allergic diseases since they resemble bacterial DNA and serve as “danger signals”. These CpG-ODNs promote predominately a T H 1-response with secretion of IL-12 and IFN-γ, In addition their broad potential includes activation of B-cell proliferation, monocyte stimulation and secretion of IgM and IL-6, and stimulation of plasmacytoid DC to produce IFN-α/-β and thus γδT-cells and NK-cells to express CD69 and secrete IFN-γ. Usually phosphorothioate (PS) modifications are to enhance the stability, but these are leading to several side-effects, like severe organ enlargements, morphological changes and immunosuppression in mice. We designed immunomodulatory molecules based on short covalently-closed dumbbell-like structures (dSLIM) to stabilize the DNA without the otherwise necessary PS-modification. To evaluate the anti-tumor effect of the dSLIM molecules we developed an in vitro anti-tumor assay. This assay uses supernatant from dSLIM-activated human PBMCs for incubation with tumor cells in vitro . We observed increased apoptosis and necrosis by the HT-29 tumor cell line after incubation with supernatant from dSLIM-treated PBMC which was significantly higher than the effect of supernatant from non-treated PBMC. In addition, supernatant from dSLIM-treated PBMC increased the expression of HLA-ABC on the tumor cells, a pre-requisite for tumor cell recognition by the immune system. These effects were confirmed with human HEK293 and murine Renca cell lines. Analyzing the effect with neutralizing antibodies to various apoptosis-related cytokines, we observed a crucial role of IFN-γ but not IFN-α or TNFα. To investigate the anti-tumor effects of dSLIM in vivo , we employed a SKH1 murine model which is prone to spontaneous development of papillomas. Using chemicals for initiation and weekly promotion of de novo papilloma development we compared groups of weekly s.c. or i.p. dSLIM injections, respectively, with the PBS control group. The number of papilloma developing mice was significantly lower in the dSLIM groups and the total number of papillomas on all mice was reduced by approximately 50%. In conclusion, we showed that dSLIM immunomodulators exhibit potent anti-tumor effects in vitro and in vivo .
Migrating birds reorient toward land at dawn over the Great Lakes, USA

ABSTRACT Most landbirds migrate at night and typically make landfall in suitable stopover habitat before dawn. However, when birds find themselves over large water bodies at dawn, they must continue flying into the day and either finish crossing the water body and land on the far shore or backtrack to the near (i.e. first encountered) shore to land. Their collective decisions will influence how migrants are distributed among shoreline stopover habitats on either side of the water crossing. We studied birds during 4 spring migration seasons from 2010 to 2013 in the Great Lakes region, USA. We used 3 weather surveillance radars to observe migrating landbirds' behavior at dawn and subsequent terrestrial distributions during stopover. Mean flight heights over land and water were higher and mean flight directions were more oriented toward the closest shore at dawn when compared to peak migration earlier in the night. The wider the lake crossing, the higher that birds along the lakeshore flew at dawn. Seasonal mean stopover densities of migrants on land within 3 km of shorelines were 48% higher on the near shores of lakes (based on the seasonal mean direction of migration) than on the far shores. There was a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.584, P < 0.001, n = 358) between the seasonal mean density of birds aloft over water at dawn and the stopover density of birds in adjacent shorelines. Thus, birds over the water at dawn may tend to return to the near shore of the Great Lakes for stopover rather than continuing across the water. As a result, shoreline habitats on the near shores of lakes harbor greater densities of migrants and are thus critical stopover sites for migrating landbirds in the Great Lakes region.
ELUCIDATING BINDING, FUSION AND ENTRY OF HUMAN METAPNEUMOVIRUS

OF DISSERTATION ELUCIDATING BINDING, FUSION AND ENTRY OF HUMAN METAPNEUMOVIRUS Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a respiratory pathogen in the Paramyxoviridae family that infects nearly 100% of the world population. This enveloped RNA virus causes severe viral respiratory disease in infants, the elderly, and immunocompromised patients worldwide. Despite its prevalence and importance to human health, no therapies are available against this pathogen. Entry of paramyxoviruses into host cells generally requires the coordinated activity of the attachment glycoprotein, G, which interacts with a cell receptor, and the fusion glycoprotein, F, which promotes subsequent fusion of viral and cellular membranes. However, HMPV F is the primary viral protein mediating both binding and fusion for HMPV. Previous work that showed HMPV F mediates attachment to heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs), and some HMPV F fusion activity can be promoted by acidic pH. The work presented here provides significant advances in our understanding of the fusion and binding events during HMPV infection. We demonstrated that low pH promotes fusion in HMPV F proteins from diverse clades, challenging previously reported requirements and identifying a critical residue that enhances low pH promoted fusion. These results support our hypothesis that electrostatic interactions play a key role in HMPV F triggering and further elucidate the complexity of viral fusion proteins. Additionally, we characterized the key features of the binding interaction between HMPV and HSPGs using heparan sulfate mimetics, identifying an important sulfate modification, and demonstrated that these interactions occur at the apical surface of polarized airways tissues. We identified differences in particle binding related to the presence or absence of the HMPV G and SH glycoproteins. Lastly, we characterized paramyxovirus infection in cystic fibrosis bronchial epithelial cells, identifying a potential specific susceptibility to HMPV infection in these individuals. The work presented here contributes to our understanding of HMPV infection, from mechanisms of early events of entry to clinical scenarios.
Cambios históricos en las poblaciones de abulón azul y amarillo en la Península de Baja California

Abalone is an important fishery in Mexico. Despite strict management regulations, it has shown a significant decrease in populations in recent years. While the general trend of abalone catches has indicated a decrease in its two main species (Haliotis fulgens and H. corrugata) from its maximum historical record in 1950, it has not been uniform between species or between regions where they are captured. These differences suggest the existence of other factors besides fishing that influence changes in distribution and abundance of abalone populations in the Baja California Peninsula. This study analyzes some possible factors, biological and ecological, that could explain the differences between distribution and abundance of the populations of green and pink abalone along the Baja California. To assess the potential impact of climate change on species distribution, an abalone census was conducted along its distribution in the Baja California Peninsula to compare current densities with a report of 1970. Additionally, associated macro-invertebrate specimens were collected during the abalone survey. In the case of temperature, a model that correlates Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) with pink abalone abundances was updated. To compare the tolerance of both species to hypoxic events, a laboratory experiment was conducted to subject adult abalone to hypoxic conditions and record their tolerance limits. Feeding of both species was compared based on the analysis of stable isotopes 13C and 15N in muscle during an annual cycle. The macro-invertebrate abundance data, taken during the abalone census were employed on Cluster and MDS analyses with Bray Curtis index to identify ecological interactions. The southern distribution limit of both species has remained unchanged in the past 40 years, which suggests no significant effect is associated with climate change on populations, consistent with the fact that catches do not show correlations with PDO or other series associated with temperature. The level of hypoxia that both species could tolerate was under the experimental conditions used (0.6 mg*l-1), indicating that adults of both species were tolerant to this environmental factor. The main differences between species were found in food, where the green abalone showed greater variation in the isotopic signal throughout the year, indicating a higher trophic spectrum compared to pink abalone. While comparing the structure of the benthic community associated with abalone, the central region was observed with high abundances of abalone and other invertebrates, which could be associated with upwelling and retention of high productivity in the area considered as a biological activity center (BAC). The green abalone might have been able to use the local productivity conditions better than pink abalone because of their higher food plasticity.
Is There a Place for Legislating Place-Based Collaborative Forestry Proposals?: Examining the Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group Forest Recovery Act Pilot Project

In 1993, a group of national forest stakeholders, the Quincy Library Group, crafted a proposal that intended to reduce wildfire risk, protect the California spotted owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis), restore watersheds, and enhance community stability by ensuring a predictable supply of timber for area sawmills and biomass for energy plants. The Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group Forest Recovery Act of 1998 codified this proposal, directing the USDA Forest Service to conduct forest treatments on 40,000 – 60,000 acres per year by creating defensible fuel profile zones and logging by groupand individual tree-selection methods. The law also designated an Independent Science Panel to review monitoring studies, administrative studies, and research to assess efficacy of the implementation and achievement of goals. Although several goals were achieved, implementation fell short of treatment and volume goals, and evidence was lacking to make conclusive judgments about environmental impacts. Shortcomings were due to differing interpretations of the Act’s prescriptive intent, changes in management direction, compounding economic factors, appeals and litigation, variation in site-specific forest conditions, and variation in approaches among national forests and districts. Most notable was a lack of monitoring of the treatment effects on California spotted owl populations and other environmental concerns. These findings suggest that attempts to legislate prescriptive, collaboratively developed proposals may not account for the complex biophysical, management, social, and economic contexts within which national forest management occurs. These findings also suggest that current national forest policies and directives promoting collaboration should also be accompanied by a commitment to monitoring and adaptive management.
Leveraging the genomics revolution with high-throughput phenotyping for crop improvement of abiotic stresses

A major challenge for 21 century plant geneticists is to predict plant performance based on genetic information. This is a daunting challenge, especially when there are thousands of genes that control complex traits as well as the extreme variation that results from the environment where plants are grown. Rapid advances in technology are assisting in overcoming the obstacle of connecting the genotype to phenotype. Next generation sequencing has provided a wealth of genomic information resulting in numerous completely sequenced genomes and the ability to quickly genotype thousands of individuals. The ability to pair the dense genotypic data with phenotypic data, the observed plant performance, will culminate in successfully predicting cultivar performance. While genomics has advanced rapidly, phenomics, the science and ability to measure plant phenotypes, has slowly progressed, resulting in an imbalance of genotypic to phenotypic data. The disproportion of high-throughput phenotyping (HTP) data is a bottleneck to many genetic and association mapping studies as well as genomic selection (GS). To alleviate the phenomics bottleneck, an affordable and portable phenotyping platform, Phenocart, was developed and evaluated. The Phenocart was capable of taking multiple types of georeferenced measurements including normalized difference vegetation index and canopy temperature, throughout the growing season. The Phenocart performed as well as existing manual measurements while increasing the amount of data exponentially. The deluge of phenotypic data offered opportunities to evaluate lines at specific time points, as well as combining data throughout the season to assess for genotypic differences. Finally in an effort to predict crop performance, the phenotypic data was used in GS models. The models combined molecular marker data from genotyping-by-sequencing with high-throughput phenotyping for plant phenotypic characterization. Utilizing HTP data, rather than just the often measured yield, increased the accuracy of GS models. Achieving the goal of connecting genotype to phenotype has direct impact on plant breeding by allowing selection of higher yielding crops as well as selecting crops that are adapted to local environments. This will allow for a faster rate of improvement in crops, which is imperative to meet the growing global population demand for plant products. LEVERAGING THE GENOMICS REVOLUTION WITH HIGH-THROUGHPUT PHENOTYPING FOR CROP IMPROVEMENT OF ABIOTIC STRESSES
THE RESIDUAL EFFECT OF RICE N-BIOFERTILIZATION AS POTENTIAL ECONOMIC FOR MINERAL NITROGENOUS FERTILIZATION OF WHEAT CROP.

This study was conducted during winter seasons of (2009-2010) and (20102011) at Meet Louza Village, Mansoura Province, Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt on a silty clay soil to find out the residual effect rice N-biofertilization on the next wheat crop (Triticum aestivum L. c.v. sakha 93). Biofertilization 8 treatments involving inoculums of Azolla (Azl), Azospirillum (Azs), Azotobacter (Azt), and Cyanobacreria (Cyn) as well as mixtures (Azl + Azs), (Azl + Azt), (Azs + Azt) and (Cyn + Azt) which take the same location with the same layout of the experimental field for the previous crop (rice), soil Nfertilization (4 treatments of control, 12.5 %, 18.75 and 25 % of N-recommended level 75 kg N fed -1 as urea) were tasted in a split plot design with three replicates. The most important finding could be summarized as follows:  Treatment of 25 % N-level led to highest increases for plant height, grain yield, chlorophyll (a) and (b) content and the highest values were (101.27cm, 1.57 Mg fed 1 , 13.55 mg g -1 f.w and 8.95 mg g -1 f.w) for the previous parameters, respectively. Although, the highest straw yield, N, P, K, Fe, Mn and Zn uptake by grains of (1.31 Mg fed -1 , 26.17, 4.27, 4.67 kg fed -1 , 106.23, 47.91 and 48.33 g fed -1 ), were recorded at 18.75 % N-level, respectively. The highest mean value of caroteniods (2.75 mg g 1 f.w). achieved at, control treatment.  Inoculation of (Azl) gave maximum plant height and Mn-uptake of ((98.16 cm and 47.47 g fed -1 ), respectively. The highest grain, straw yields, caroteniods, N, K, Fe and Zn uptake were due to (Azs) Inoculation which were (1.84, 1.40 Mg fed -1 , 3.48 mg g -1 f.w, 27.13, 5.21 kg fed -1 , 18.87 and 49.65 g fed -1 ) respectively, the highest Puptake of (4.32 kg fed -1 ) occurred with (Azt). While (Azs+Azt) revealed the highest values (15.05 and 10.25 mg g -1 f.w) for chlorophyll (a) and (b) content, respectively.  The combination of 25 % N-level with (Azl, Azs, Cyn, Azs +Azt, Azs and Cyn + Azt) inoculations, gave superiority plant height (106.38 cm), grain yield (1.95 Mg fed -1 , chlorophyll (a), (b) (15.52, 13.39 mg g -1 f.w), Fe and Mn uptake of (137.32 and 55.49 g fed -1 ), respectively. The superiority average values of straw yield (1.53 Mg fed -1 ), N and Zn uptake (32.01 kg fed -1 and 57.01 g fed -1 ), release from organic and inorganic (30.25ppm), N-uptake % (67.92%) and N-recovery % (61.66%) occurred with combination of (18.75%N-level + (Azl+Azs)), but 18.75 % N-level combined with (Azl) and (Azs) respectively gave highest P-uptake of (4.90kg fed -1 ) and Kuptake of (5.88 kg fed -1 ). The uppermost caroteniods (3.71 mg g -1 f.w) occurred with the combination of (12.5% N-level + Azs) and The superiority net return (3060 £.L. fed -1 .) of wheat crop, was given by combination of (25 % N-level + Azs).
A taxonomic revision of the genera Cycas and Epicycas gen. nov. (Cycadaceae)

The genus Cycas L is divided into four subgenera, all new, and thirty species are described, of which two are new. A new Asian genus, Epicycas de Laub. , is recognized for several Cycas species and one undescribed species with a subterranean bulbous stem base. Keys to the subgenera of Cycas and their species, and to the genus Epicycas are given.
MORPHOLOGICAL VARIATION AND TAXONOMY OF LEPIDOCOLAPTES ANGUSTIROSTRIS (VIEILLOT, 1818) (PASSERIFORMES: DENDROCOLAPTIDAE)

Lepidocolaptes angustirostris is a South American woodcreeper that inhabits predominantly open lowlands such as the Cerrado, Chaco and Caatinga. Eight subspecies are currently recognized based on plumage patterns and geographical distribution. However, a more detailed morphological analysis and taxonomic revision have not been done in this species. The objective of this study was to conduct a taxonomic revision of L. angustirostris using morphometrical and plumage character, and a Generalized Linear Models analyzes (GLM) were elaborated to identify environmental variables that could account for this variation. We found a high level of intergradation among all named populations. The principal component analyzes show certain levels of morphological differentiation among the taxa, with a first component formed by bill characters (bill length, exposed and total culmen), and a second one that includes the bill width and the tarsus-metatarsus length. In the GLM analyzes, two climatic variables explain the geographical variation in the taxon, temperature seasonality and precipitation of warmest quarter. The ecogeographic rules of Bergmann and Gloger can be applied to this variation, and, more narrowly, the Allen's rule. Thus, the populations of the Narrow-billed Woodcreeper tend to be larger to the south of the distribution. We propose here that L. angustirostris is a single species, with no subordinate taxa. Any evidence analyzed here did not support the taxonomic validity of the proposed subspecies in the taxon. Despite colour-polymorphism identified in the plumage patterns, the high level of intergradation and the poor resolution of geographical boundaries did not support the splitting of this species.