Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PHOTOCHEMICAL ACTIVITY OF ISOLATED CHLOROPLASTS IN RELATION TO THEIR SOURCE AND PREVIOUS HISTORY

A survey of the major subdivisions of the plant kingdom revealed photochemical activity in chloroplasts and chloroplast fragments isolated from unicellular and filamentous green algae, liverworts, horsetails, herbaceous monocotyledons, and dicotyledons. Active chloroplasts were not obtained from mosses, ferns, gymnosperms, and woody angiosperms. Among 80 species and varieties tested in Hill solution by the titration method, 45 showed photochemical activity quotients above 100, 19 had quotients above 500, and six (millet, flax, spinach, lamb's-quarters, Swiss chard, and lettuce) showed quotients above 1000. Photochemical activity varied greatly within both genera and species. The majority of the chloroplast suspensions produced acid in darkness when mixed with ferricyanide – ferric oxalate solution. Natural inhibitors of photochemical activity were found in the cell sap and cytoplasm of several species.Chloroplast activity quotients in ferricyanide – ferric oxalate and quinone solutions increased with leaf.
Inheritance and Biochemistry of Pollen Pigmentation in California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica Cham.)

A mutation to white pollen and petals in California poppy (Eschscholzia californica Cham.) is inherited as a single locus, with the mutant white allele recessive to the wild‐type orange allele. White pollen and petals were always coinherited, indicating the same mutation was responsible for both phenotypes. The inheritance of this mutation is sporophytic because all pollen from heterozygous plants produced 100% orange pollen. In contrast to white pollen mutants in other species, white pollen of California poppy is highly fertile. Measurements of total phenolics and UVA‐absorbing compounds within the petals and pollen showed no significant differences between the white mutant and wild‐type orange plants. Spectrophotometric measurements showed that white petals and pollen had significantly lower total carotenoid levels than the orange wild‐type petals and pollen, with carotenoids being virtually undetectable in the white pollen and present in only minute amounts in the white petals. Amounts of carotenoids were significantly lower in heterozygous orange plants than in homozygous orange plants, indicating that the wild‐type orange allele exhibits incomplete dominance over the white allele at the biochemical level. No carotenoids were detected in the white pollen using HPLC, with trace amounts detected in the petals. Despite differences in the amounts of carotenoids between heterozygous and homozygous orange plants, the same carotenoids were identified in equivalent tissues between these genotypes. The carotenoids present in orange petals and pollen were completely different. It would appear that for California poppy, carotenoids are not essential for pollen fertility.
Obesity Research: Researchers Nail Down Leptin Receptor

During the past 18 months, researchers have learned a great deal about what causes obesity, identifying first a hormone, called leptin, needed for normal weight maintenance, as well as a possible candidate for the hormone's receptor. Now three groups, one of which reports its findings on page 994, have confirmed that they have indeed found the right receptor by showing that it's the product of the db gene, which has long been thought to encode the receptor for the weight-controlling hormone. What's more, they have shown how db mutations might lead to an inactive product—and grossly overweight mice as a result.
A procedure for taxon assessment based on morphological variation in European water frogs (Pelophylax esculentus complex)

Methods for morphological identification of water frogs from the Pelophylax esculentus complex have changed over the decades. Still, without resort to genetic analyses, water frogs remain among the most difficult European amphibians to distinguish due to their hybrid nature. The aim of this study was to identify a reliable set of quantitative and qualitative morphological characters that objectively resolve species? identification in the Pelophylax esculentus complex and provide a rapid and robust procedure for taxon identification. Our results showed a substantial difference in morphological characteristics among taxa. The shape and size of the metatarsal tubercle along with the coloration of the hind limbs and flanks appear to be the most important diagnostic traits. Linear discriminant analysis with both quantitative and qualitative traits as a rapid method for the assessment of water frog taxa showed satisfactory accuracy and prediction classification for all 3 members of the complex.
Transcriptome Profiling of hrf2 Transgenic Rapeseed Revealed Genes Related to the Defense Responses and Signaling Pathways

AbstrAct Ectopic expression of the Harpin Xooc –encoding gene hrf2 in rapeseed ( Brassica napus L.) con-fers enhanced resistance to Sclerotinia scleroti -orum and improved agronomic performance. To better understand the molecular mechanisms of harpin-mediated plant responses, we developed a 3’–tag digital gene expression (DGE) method to compare the mRNA expression patterns of transgenic T-4 rapeseed harboring and hrf2untransformed Yangyou 4 (Y4) at the global level. Solexa Illumina sequencing yielded 5,645,091 and 6,007,037 clean tags, corresponding to 14,237 and 14,773 genes for Y4 and T-4, respec -tively. We identified 2114 differentially expressed genes (DEGs; log2 ratio  1, false discovery rate [FDR]  0.001) between transgenic T-4 and untransformed Y4 that assigned to seven Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways and 19 Gene Ontology categories. Numerous genes related to defense responses were differentially expressed in T-4, represent-ing categories such as hypersensitive response, defense proteins, plant cell wall components, and phenylpropanoid metabolism pathway. Furthermore, expression was largely modified in T-4 in signaling pathways including G protein, Ca2
Involvement of the Antioxidative System in Tomato Response to Fusaric Acid Treatment

Changes in O2- and H2O2 generation as well as superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and guaiacol peroxidase activities were examined in fusaric acid-treated tomato leaves. Fusaric acid application resulted in a lasting activation of O2- and H2O2 production. Within the first day after toxin application the H2O2 scavenging enzymes: catalase and ascorbate peroxidase showed a strong activity decrease followed by a gradual recovery to the control level after 2 and 3 days. By contrast fusaric acid markedly stimulated peroxidase activity measured with guaiacol as well as ferulic and coumaric acids, and syringaldazine. The maximum activity increase, coinciding with the highest H2O2 level, was about two-fold and 5.5-fold for phenolic acids and syringaldazine, respectively. The results obtained are discussed in the light of the data on the role of activated oxygen species and enzymes of their metabolism in plant defence. Zusammenfassung Beteiligung des antioxidativen Systems bei der Reaktion von Tomatenpflanzen auf eine Behandlung mit Fusarinsaure In Tomatenblattern wurde nach einer Behandlung mit Fusarinsaure untersucht, ob sich die Bildung von O2- und H2O2 veranderte, und ob die Aktivitaten von Superoxid-Dismutase, Katalase, Ascorbat-Peroxidase und Guajakol-Peroxidase beeinflust wurden. Die Anwendung der Fusarinsaure fuhrte zu einer anhaltenden Aktivierung der Bildung von O2- und H2O2. Innerhalb des ersten Tages nach der Toxinanwendung zeigten die H2O2 abbauenden Enzyme Katalase und Ascorbat-Peroxidase einen starken Aktivitatsruckgang, auf den ein allmahlicher Anstieg des Kontrollwertes nach 2 und 3 Tagen folgte. Die Fusarinsaurebehandlung stimulierte die Peroxidaseaktivitat jedoch merklich, was mit Guajakol ebenso wie mit Ferulasaure, Kumarinsaure und Syringaldazin gemessen wurde. Der maximale Aktivitatsanstieg fiel mit dem hochsten H2O2-Wert zusammen und lag bei den Phenolsauren bei ungefahr dem 2-fachen und bei Syringaldazin beim 5,5-fachen. Die Ergebnisse werden im Hinblick auf die Daten zur Rolle von aktivierten Sauerstoffspezies und die fur ihren Stoffwechsel verantwortlichen Enzyme in der Abwehrreaktion von Pflanzen diskutiert.
Ecological studies on the planktonic copepoda of the Brisbane River estuary with special reference to Gladioferens pectinatus (Brady) (Calanoida)

The seasonal salinity and temperature characteristics of the Brisbane River estuary are discussed, and, in addition, the changes in relative ionic proportions that occur in passing from the gradient to the freshwater zone. Preliminary consideration is given to the taxonomy of three species of Pseudodiaptomus that occurred in the estuary. The spatial and temporal distribution of the following copepods is discussed in relation to salinity and temperature: Oithona sp. ; Acartia sp. ; Pseudodiaptomus, 3 spp. ; Labidocera sp. ; Isias uncipes; Gladioferens pectinatus; Sulcanus conflictus. The most striking features of the distribution of Gladioferens pectinatus were its continuous presence at the freshwater end of the gradient zone, and its downstream extension into water of high salinity during the colder months. Spatial and seasonal variation in egg number within the Gladioferens population was studied. In this population the relative proportion of immature copepodid stages decreased with increasing depth. There was evidence that portion of the mature female component of the Gladioferens population underwent diurnal vertical migration. The occurrence of Isias uncipes was restricted to winter and early spring when population densities were at a maximum immediately adjacent to the bottom and rapidly decreased to zero at higher levels. Evidence is presented that the range of salinity tolerance of Sulcanus is less than that of Gladioferens. Results obtained are compared with those of similar studies elsewhere. Possible relationships between congeneric occurrence, sex ratio, and relative abundance are discussed.
Spatial Subdivision and Genetic Diversity in Populations on the East and West Coasts of Australia: The Multi-Faceted Case of Nautilus pompilius (Mollusca, Cephalopoda)

The fragmented distribution of Nautilus pompilius and its biology suggest there will be significant genetic divergence and spatial subdivision between east and west Australian populations. Samples were collected from the northern Great Barrier Reef, the Coral Sea, and the Scott Reef off Western Australia. Phylogenetic trees and a minimum spanning tree were developed from these data to elucidate evolutionary relationships. These data demonstrate significant evolutionary separation of each of the three populations into strongly supported discrete clades matching geographic stratification. Within each of the discrete populations, genetic variation is evident. Strong inter-population variation is evident, with discrete geographic clades being recognized for each extant group. The distinct spatial subdivision between east and west Australian populations of Nautilus are related to geographic and physical isolation over evolutionary time, and this has important fisheries management implications. The distinct geographic patterns of genetic structuring demonstrated by these data indicate the existence of discrete eastern and western Australian management units, and as such, these Nautilus populations should be managed discretely, as each has a high conservation value containing unique genetic variation.
Assessment of vegetation response to grazing management in arid rangelands of southern Tunisia

Livestock grazing influences arid rangelands greatly with important effects on vegetation dynamics. Two areas traditionally grazed by sheep and goats in southern Tunisia were sampled to evaluate the vegetation response to grazing management. A continuous grazing (CG) area was sampled in March 2007. A 2000 ha exclosure that had been rested for 3 years (2004–2007), grazed for 2 months (July and August 2007), and then rested for 7 months (September 2007 to February 2008) was sampled before and after grazing, and again after the 7 months’ rest. Results show that vegetation dynamics in arid rangelands respond strongly to changes in grazing management. Our results suggest that even previously overgrazed rangelands are resilient and are able to recover if given rest periods. In the studied Tunisian rangeland that has been moderately or lightly grazed, we found that recovery improved faster compared with continuously grazed. In practice, excluding grazing livestock and the use of a rotational grazing system are available ways to restore vegetation affected by CG. Therefore, a stocking rate not exceeding the carrying capacity is vital to maintain grazing operations under changing conditions and sustain rangeland resources over the long term. Increased stocking rates generally promote rangeland degradation.
Remote Sensing Image Generation From Audio

Generating image from other modal data has attracted much attention in cross-modal studies, since the generated image offers intuitive vision information. Unlike the previous works which generate an image from text, a novel task is introduced, generating an image from audio. However, semantic gap intrinsically exists in cross-modal data, which disturbs the generative results. In order to explore the relevance between the audio and image, a novel reranking audio-image translation method is proposed. The proposed method: 1) maps the audio and image into a uniform feature space; 2) designs an audio-audio matching network to match the related audio; and 3) adopts an audio-image matching network for every matched audio to generate a related image, and the most frequent image is voted as the final result. Extensive experiments on two remote sensing cross-modal data sets demonstrate that the proposed method can visualize the content of audio.
Leptosphaeria maculans causing stem canker of oilseed rape in China

Leptosphaeria maculans occurs on oilseed rape (Brassica napus) as two types: the aggressive A-group and less damaging B-group (West et al., 1999). The disease occurs worldwide, but little is known of L. maculans from China. Stems with early stem lesion symptoms were collected from three field-sites in central China, Wuhan, Hefei and Guiyang, in April 1999. Pseudothecia appeared on stem surfaces after three months incubation in natural conditions. The ascospores produced in the pseudothecia (Figure 1) fit the description of Leptosphaeria maculans (Knashnobish & Shearer, 1996; Punithalingham & Holliday, 1972) and were similar to ascospores produced from UK debris (Figure 2). Pseudothecia did not develop on stems from Wuhan. Eight single ascospore cultures were made from two stems collected in Hefei, and ten were made from two stems collected in Guiyang. All isolates were classified in the B-group of L. maculans, based on colony growth rate and production of a yellow pigment (Williams & Fitt, 1999). Leaves two and four of oilseed rape plants cv. Lipton, grown in 9 cm pots, with 4 leaves expanded, were wounded with three adjacent pinpricks. Conidial suspensions (2x107 ml-1) of two isolates from Hefei (HefA1 and HefB2), two from Guiyang (Gui2b3 and Gui2a2), a UK B-group isolate (UK11) and a UK A-group isolate (96M5) were sprayed onto two plants, per isolate. Plants were grown at 15°C, initially under polyethylene to maintain high humidity. Small lesions appeared at the wound sites after 12 days on all inoculated leaves and "pin-point" lesions appeared on unwounded areas. Isolations from wound-site lesions confirmed the presence of the inoculated pathogen. After 14 days, some "pin-point" lesions expanded (Figure 3) occasionally coalescing and producing pycnidia, with a bright pink cirrus. In central China in April 1999, stem canker was found rarely but only the less aggressive, B-group was found. This, and cultural practices that result in the removal of most potential inoculum, suggests why stem canker is not currently considered to be a problem in central China.
How Fit are Floaters? Consequences of Alternative Territorial Behaviors in a Nonmigratory Sparrow

Yearling male song sparrows on Mandarte Island, British Columbia, fell into two social categories: territorial birds and nonterritorial floaters. Some territorial yearlings failed to gain mates. Mated yearlings with territories and floaters were much more common than unmated yearlings with territories. Floaters made up a higher proportion of the population in years of high population density. Unmated territorial birds accounted for a higher proportion of all yearling males at low population densities. Most floaters and unmated territorial yearlings remained unmated during their first breeding season. Floating males were more likely to disappear from the island than territorial males after the first year of life. Nearly all birds that survived to 2 years of age defended territories and bred. Birds that were floaters as yearlings and later gained a territory did not reproduce better in later life than birds that acquired territories as yearlings. As a result of these patterns, males that obtained territories and mates as yearlings raised more than twice as many breeding offspring during their lifetimes as floaters. Yearling territorial males without mates survived well but did not breed more successfully than floaters over their life spans. Defending a territory without a mate and living as a floater were densitydependent alternative reproductive behaviors in yearling male song sparrows. Territoriality, however, was greatly superior to floating as a social and reproductive strategy for yearling males.
Security analysis of first responder mobile and wearable devices

Public safety practitioners utilizing the forthcoming Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) will have smartphones, tablets, and wearables at their disposal. Although these devices should enable first responders to complete their missions, any influx of new technologies will introduce new security vulnerabilities. This document analyzes the needs of public safety mobile devices and wearables from a cybersecurity perspective, specifically for the fire service, emergency medical service (EMS), and law enforcement. To accomplish this goal, cybersecurity use cases were analyzed, previously known attacks against related systems were reviewed, and a threat model was created. The overarching goal of this work is to identify security objectives for these devices, enabling jurisdictions to more easily select and purchase secure devices and industry to design and build more secure public safety devices.
Efeito da temperatura e de fungicida na transmissão de Bipolaris sorokiniana da semente para plântulas de cevada

The transmission of seed-borne pathogens and the infection of the host plants are influenced by ambient conditions, mainly temperature and soil moisture. This research studied the effects of temperature and fungicide on the transmission of Bipolaris sorokiniana from seeds to above and below ground barley (Hordeum vulgare) plant parts. The rate of transmission and the potential for fungus sporulation on the apice of coleoptiles were also quantified. These studies involved two seed samples (treated or not treated with the fungicide iminoctadine at 70 g a.i./100 kg seed) sown in non-sterilized field soil at five temperatures (10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 oC). An additional trial was conducted in sand soil, at 25 °C, to follow the fungus transmission over a period of 35 days. The relationships of temperature to transmission were represented by quadratic model equations. The observed and estimated fungus transmissions were higher at 18 - 25 oC and 18.1 - 21.3 oC, respectively. The fungus sporulation was also influenced by temperature and reached its maximum at 19.3 oC. The infection of barley coleoptiles initiated ten days after planting and increased steadily for more than 28 days.
Photobiology of microalgae mass cultures: understanding the tools for the next green revolution

Several obstacles and limitations currently prevent the industrial exploitation of microalgae for feed, food and biofuel production. Photobioreactors (closed systems for algae cultivation) suffer from high-energy expenditures for mixing and cooling, while cultures in large-scale open ponds, which have a more favorable net energy ratio, are unstable ecosystems in which maintaining selected strains for long periods is difficult. Techniques for supplying nutrients and CO2, for mixing and for harvesting and processing the biomass in an energy-efficient manner are still under study and development. Despite these impediments and although microalgae are not superior to higher plants in terms of photosynthetic efficiency and productivity, microalgal cultures remain one of the most attractive sources of feed, food and next-generation biofuels since microalgae can be grown in saline or seawater on nonarable lands, can use fertilizers with an almost 100% efficiency, are able to attain much higher oil and protein yields than traditional crops and, being endowed with high growth rates, are easier to be improved via genetic and metabolic engineering.
Phosphorus application effects on seeding chia

Chia ( Salvia Hispanica L.) is an annual herbaceous plant belonging to the family Lamiaceae, with large proportions of omega-3, omega-6, antioxidants, fibers and proteins in its composition. Information and recommendations on its cultivation are still limited, as interest in the plant is recent. Thus, the objective of this work is to verify the effects of the application of phosphorus doses in the sowing of chia. The experiment was conducted under field conditions, at Fazenda da Universidade Estadual de Maringa, at the Umuarama Regional Campus. The soil of the place where the typical Dystrophic Red Latosol, with sandy texture experiment was implanted. The experimental design was a randomized block with five treatments and five replicates. The treatments were composed of five doses of phosphorus at sowing (0, 30, 60, 90, 120 kg ha -1 ). The dry mass of the aerial part, final population of plants, mass of 1,000 grains, productivity and oil content were evaluated. Phosphorus rates application at sowing provided positive increases in the vegetative and reproductive chia development.
A Study of a Magnetic Cloud Propagating Through Large‐Amplitude Alfvén Waves

We discuss Wind observations of a long and slow magnetic cloud (MC) propagating through large‐amplitude Alfvén waves (LAAWs). The MC axis has a strong component along GSE X, as also confirmed by a Grad‐Shafranov reconstruction. It is overtaking the solar wind at a speed roughly equal to the upstream Alfvén speed, leading to a weak shock wave 17 hr ahead. We give evidence to show that the nominal sheath region is populated by LAAWs: (i) a well‐defined de Hoffmann‐Teller frame in which there is excellent correlation between the field and flow vectors, (ii) constant field and total pressure, and (iii) an Alfvén ratio (i.e., ratio of kinetic‐to‐magnetic energy of the fluctuations) near unity at frequencies much lower than the ion cyclotron frequency in the spacecraft frame. In the region where the LAAWs approach the MC's front boundary there are field and flow discontinuities. At the first, magnetic reconnection is taking place, as deduced from a stress balance test (Walén test). This severs connection of some field lines to the Sun and the solar wind strahl disappears. There follows a 2‐hr interval where the magnetic field strength is diminished while pressure balance is maintained. Here the bidirectionality of the suprathermal electron flows is intermittently disrupted. This interval ends with a slow expansion fan downstream of which there is a dropout of halo electrons just inside the front boundary of the MC. This study illustrates an untypical case of a slow MC interacting with LAAWs in the slow solar wind.