Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effects of the inclusion of either maize silage, fermented whole crop wheat or ure‐treated whole crop wheat in a diet based on a high‐quality grass silage on the performance of dairy cows

Sixteen multiparous Holstein/Friesian cows were used to examine the effect on food intake and milk production of replacing 40% of the dry matter (DM) of first cut perennial ryegrass silage (G) with either maize silage (M), fermented (F) or urea-treated (U) wheat whole crop silage. In addition to the forage mixtures, the animals received 5.25 kg DM d −1 of a standard concentrate and 1.75 kg DM d −1 of soya bean meal. The experiment consisted of four periods, each of 4 weeks duration, in a Latin square design. The grass silage used was of high quality with an estimated metabolizable energy (ME) content of 11.4 MJ kg −1 DM and in vitro digestibility of 748 g kg −1 DM. DM intake was significantly increased (s.e.d. = 0.364, P < 0.01) with the inclusion of M, F and U. The resulting total DM intakes were 17.6, 18.4, 19.2 and 20.1 kg d −1 for treatments G, M, F and U respectively. None of the animal production variables was significantly affected by the treatments. Milk yield was 27.4, 26.4, 27.1 and 26.9 kg d −1 for treatments G, M, F and U respectively. Milk fat content was 48.9, 46.9, 49.0 and 48.1 g kg −1, and milk protein content was 34.1, 33.6, 34.0 and 34.3 g kg −1 for treatments G, M, F and U respectively. The results show that partly (40%) replacing a high-quality grass silage with forage maize, fermented whole crop wheat or urea-treated whole crop wheat will increase DM intake in dairy cows but is not accompanied by an increase in animal performance and therefore will result in decreased efficiency of forage DM utilization.
The Fossil Mammals of the Order Dinocerata

the Indians in the neighborhood of New Amsterdam (now New York) employed, during the middle of the seventeenth century, various kinds of nets; but this author does not state whether these nets were original Indian inventions, or adopted from the Dutch colonists. The Natchez, on the Lower Mississippi, made their nets from the bark of the linden tree, and knitted them quite in the European fashion. * Reverting, in conclusion, once more to netsinkers, I will mention that in the United States there also occur some provided with a perforation, instead of being notched. I had occasion to examine in the collection of Col. Charles C. Jones, of Brooklyn, a number of the perforated kind, which the owner had found in Eastern Georgia, at the confluence of the Great Kiokee Creek with the Savannah river, a spot where Indian relics abound. The material of these sinkers is the talcose stone commonly called soapstone. They consist of flat smoothed pieces, of indefinite but mostly rounded outline, which are an inch or less in thickness, and measure from three to . six inches in diameter. The holes are usually drilled from two sides, and therefore narrowing in the middle, where they are about half an inch wide". Col. Jones will figure and describe these Indian implements in his forthcoming work on the antiquities of the State of Georgia.
Phylogenetic-Relationships in the Genus Limnodynastes (Anura, Myobatrachidae) - a Molecular Perspective

Phylogenetic relationships among 10 of the 12 currently recognised species of Limnodynastes were investigated by the quantitative immunological technique of micro-complement fixation (MC'F). Analyses of albumin differentiation in Limnodynastes suggest that L. ornatus and L. spenceri are representatives of an independent lineage that emerged in the early Tertiary. We identify four additional lineages appearing in the early Oligocene (L. terraereginae, L. dumerili, L. dorsalis and probably L. interioris; L. tasmaniensis, L. fletcheri and L. peroni; L. salminr; and L. convexiusculus). Our data do not support the recognition of Platyplectron (Heyer & Liem, 1976) as a separate genus. Members of Platyplectron are more closely related to various groupings within Limnodynastes than they are to other burrowing genera (Heleioporus, Notaden and Neobatrachus). Analyses of geographically widespread populations of L. ornatus, L. tasmaniensis, L. peroni and of the subspecies of L. dumerili indicate degrees of genetic differentiation which are correlated with distance.
Rastin Crowdfunding (RCF): A Financial Subsystem of Rastin Banking

Expansion and development of social networks have provided new backgrounds for financial activities. Based on Rastin Banking Regulations, crowdfunding can be installed to apply social networks in the direction of Islamic finance. Two methods of crowdfunding are introduced in Rastin Crowd Funding. Sponsor Crowd Funding (SCF) is for the absorption of peoples’ funds for special protective goals in the form of non-profit and free payments to an entrepreneur through banks. Peer to Peer Loan (PPL) is defined for absorption and collection of peoples’ funds for extending interest-free loans to a specific project of an entrepreneur.Regarding the characteristics of crowdfunding and application of social networks, the Crowd Funding System (CFS) is used as a web-based portal for absorption and collection of money resources for crowdfunding project through social networks in Rastin Banking.
Sequence analysis of the EF-lα gene family of Mucor racemosus

Our previous studies have shown that Mucor racemosus possesses three genes (TEF-1, -2 and -3) for EF-1 alpha, and that all three genes are transcribed. However, the level of transcription varies markedly between the three genes, with TEF-1 mRNA levels being approximately two fold higher than TEF-3 and 6 fold higher than TEF-2. We have now completed the DNA sequence of both strands of all three genes and have found that these genes are highly homologous. TEF-2 and TEF-3 are more similar to each other than they are to TEF-1. The TEF-2 and the TEF-3 coding regions differ from TEF-1 at 30 and 37 positions respectively out of 1374 nucleotides. Twenty-six of these nucleotide substitutions were common to both TEF-2 and TEF-3, and the majority of the substitutions were clustered in the 5' region of the coding sequences. While the majority of these changes were silent, TEF-2 and TEF-3 differed from TEF-1 by having a lysine instead of a glutamate at amino acid position 41. In addition, TEF-2 and -3, but not TEF-1, each have an intron located near the 5' end of the coding region, although its size and sequence is not conserved between the two genes. All three genes have a conserved intron near the 3' end of the coding region. The sequence data have been analyzed with respect to the structure and function of EF-1 alpha in protein biosynthesis.
Evaluation of sheep genetic resources in North America: Ewe productivity of purebred, crossbred and synthetic populations

Ewe productivity from divergent genetic types of established purebreds e.g., Dorset (D), Lincoln (L), Rambouillet (Ra), Suffolk (Su) and Targhee (T); fecund-type breeds e.g., Finnsheep (F) and Romanov (Ro) breeds, and their reciprocal crosses; the Outaouais (O) and Rideau (R) Arcott breeds and their reciprocal crosses; and Synthetic I (½ F, ½ L), Synthetic II (½ D, ½ Ra) and Synthetic III (¼ F, ¼ L, ¼ D, ¼ Ra) populations were evaluated. Prolificacy, fecundity, ewe weight, grease fleece weight, wool grade, lamb survival and total lamb weights at birth, 30 d and 140 d per ewe lambing were considered jointly as a measure of ewe productivity. In general, fecund-type breed cross and Arcott breed cross were highest in productivity, the fecund-type breed, Arcott breed and synthetic populations were intermediate, in contrast the established breeds was lowest. Regardless of significantly heavier ewe and grease fleece weights, and superior wool grade of the established breeds, their poor performance can be attribu.
Immunomodulation of Isolated Human Neutrophils by a Green Tea Extract

ABSTRACT Over the last few years certain phytochemicals have been advocated as immunomodulatory agents. We have screened three commercially available extracts of ginger, echinacea, and green tea to investigate if they can prime isolated human neutrophils. The efficacy of these phytochemicals was compared to a recognised neutrophil priming agent GM-CSF. In this study, priming was defined as the ability of the neutro-phils to release more superoxide and myeloperoxidase when challenged with the bacterial peptide fMet-Leu-Phe. The green tea extract was shown to prime neutrophils, with optimal activity following a 30 min incubation at 37°C, after washing the cells and then stimulating with fMet-Leu-Phe. The green tea treated neutrophils produced more superoxide (11.4 ± 0.71 nmoles/106 vs. control cells 5.7 ± 0.8 nmoles/106 neu-trophils) and released more myeloperoxidase (3.9% ± 0.1 vs. control cells 0.7% ± 0.7) than the control cells. Priming of human neutrophils with GM-CSF induced tyrosine kinase activity, that resulted in a distinct phosphorylation pattern. The priming mechanism of green tea was not similar to that of GM-CSF as no tyrosine kinase activity was observed in the cells during the priming process. The reported neutrophil priming effects of the green tea extract are novel and may promote further health benefits in immunocompromised patients.
MORPHOGENESIS OF A NUCLEAR POLYHEDROSIS VIRUS OF THE ALFALFA LOOPER IN A CONTINUOUS CABBAGE LOOPER CELL LINE

Nuclear polyhedrosis viruses (NPVs) are an important group of insect pathogenic viruses placed in the genus Baculovirus. ' Of particular interest are the NPVs that infect members of the order Lepidoptera. Because these viruses have a potential use as biologic control agents of lepidopteran insect pests, they have recently received considerable attention. In general, NPVs are species specific. Certain viruses, however, are known to be cross infective to alternate hosts. *-5 An NPV isolated from the alfalfa looper, Aurographa californica,4 is of special interest, because it is known to be cross infective to six alternate hosts, which belong to four genera.l, Continuous cell cultures derived from either original (homologous) or alternate (heterologous) host insects facilitate the study of the morphogenesis, species specificity, pathogenicity, and possible changes that occur during prolonged passages in vifro of the N P V S . ~ ~ In addition, cell cultures have the advantage of economic production of "clean" virus under highly controlled conditions, in comparison with in vivo systems.e, Complete replication of various NPVs in their homologous 11-11 and heterologous lilo* 15, lo host cell lines has been reported. Several NPVs have been successfully propagated in vitro through several passages without loss of their infectivity to host insects.e. lo, 11* l4 However, it was demonstrated recently that long-term serial passages of the cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni, NPV in the homologous host cell cultures greatly diminished the infectivity of polyhedral inclusion bodies (PIBS). ~ Prolonged serial passages of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, NPV in larvae of the rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis, also exhibited production of morphologically different PIBs.17 Before field applications of NPVs can be made, it is important that their biologic characteristics be fully understood. This is especially true for NPVs that are cross infective to various alternate hosts. An attempt, therefore, was made to elucidate the ultrastructural aspects of A. californicu NPV replication in an established cell line of its alternate host, T. ni, with special emphasis on morphogenesis after prolonged serial passages in vitro.
No Defensive Role of Ants throughout a Broad Latitudinal and Elevational Range of a Cactus

Defensive mutualisms mediated by extrafloral nectaries are particularly variable; their net results may change with seasons, communities and environmental contexts. Particularly, an environmental factor that can promote changes in outcomes of ant‐plant interactions is elevation in mountainous regions. We tested whether (1) the interaction between the cactus Opuntia sulphurea and ant visitors of extrafloral nectaries is a defensive mutualism; and (2) ant‐plant interaction outcomes vary with elevation as a result of changes in herbivory rate and ant activity. To evaluate if the outcome of interactions was consistent at two extremes of the range distribution of O. sulphurea, we performed an ant‐exclusion experiment with plants at two growth conditions (natural or potted) in two sites with contrasting elevation (1235–1787 m asl) in a temperate region (Villavicencio Nature Reserve, Mendoza, Argentina), and in a tropical region (Huajchilla, La Paz, Bolivia). Although herbivory rate and ant visitation frequency increased with elevation, herbivore damage, plant reproductive success, and cladode growth rate were similar between plants excluded and non‐excluded from ants among sites, geographic regions and growth conditions. These results do not support the hypotheses that the interaction between O. sulphurea and ants is a defensive mutualism, and that elevation affects the net outcome of this ant‐plant interaction.
The ecology of marine hydroids and effects of environmental factors: a review

Abstract. The history of the study of hydroid ecology is briefly outlined, pointing out the major methodological innovations which have contributed to the development of ecological research in the last thirty years. The influence of the major ecological factors on hydroid ecology and biology is synthesized, taking into account: substratum, water movement, light, salinity, sedimentation, exposure to air, temperature, food availability and pollution. Besides affecting the species composition of the hydroid community, these factors also influence the morphology and general biology of the individual species. The adaptations and reactions of hydroids to different intensities of the various environmental factors and to their combinations are reported.
Associative effects of poor-quality forages combined with food industry byproducts determined in vitro with an automated gas-production system

Thisexperiment aimedtoinvestigatetheassociativeeffectsamongtwolow-qualityforages(crowndaisy,milk thistle) and three agro-industrial byproducts (apple pomace, citrus pulp, tomato peel), by means of an automated gas production(GP) system.All feedswere incubated alone or as 50:50 mixtures of eachforagewitheach byproduct.Samples (0.500 � 0.0010g)ofsinglefeedsormixtureswereincubatedfor96h,inthreereplicatesinindividualbottles(310mL),with 75 mLof buffered rumen fluid. Bottles were ventedby anopen-close valve whenthe internal pressure reached 3.4kPa. The metabolisable energy content of single feeds and mixtures was computed from GP at 24 h and feed chemical composition. Feed substrates were ranked for GP in the following way: byproducts, mixtures, and forages. The two forages did not differ for GP and metabolisable energy content, although differences were observed among byproducts and among mixtures. Both forages interacted positively with apple pomace from 6 h (P < 0.001) to 24 h (P= 0.029) of incubation and with citrus pulp at 12 h (P = 0.005) and 24 h (P = 0.012), whereas no associative effects were detected when forages were incubated with tomato peels. Results suggest that in vitro fermentability of low-quality forages could be efficiently improved by combining these two forages with apple pomace or citrus pulp. These findings are relevant, because the use of low-quality forages and byproducts in ruminant feeding is considered important for improving the environmental and economic sustainability of forage systems in arid and semi-arid areas.
Territory acquisition during winter by juvenile Willow Tits Parus montanus

Willow Tits Parus montanus live within exclusive territories in non-kin winter flocks with a dominance hierarchy in which males dominate females and adults dominate juveniles. Because they live in habitats that are saturated with dominant territory owners, the options of subordinate juveniles surviving the winter are: (1) to become a dominant owner of a vacated territory, (2) to stay in an occupied territory and hope for ownership or (3) to leave the area and hope for territory acquisition elsewhere. Removal experiments during December to February revealed that particularly the most dominant of the juvenile pairs left their own flock territory and replaced birds experimentally removed from a neighbouring flock, if by doing so they increased their own dominance position. It is suggested that juvenile Willow Tits updated their information about the composition and dominance structure of adjacent winter flocks by regularly visiting these territories and attempted to become dominant owners during winter, thereby increasing their chances of breeding.
Ectomycorrhizal fungal succession in jack pine stands following wildfire

SUMMARY A study was conducted to determine if ectomycorrhizal fungi in an age sequence of jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) stands which had regenerated following wildfire disturbance followed a successional pattern. Ectomycorrhizal development and number of symbionts were assessed in the forest floor and 0-20 cm deep mineral soil in 6, 41, 65 and 122-yr-old stands by conducting a macrofungal fruit body survey and examining pine root tips microscopically for mycorrhizal status and types of fungi forming the symbiosis. The majority of roots were located in the mineral soil with no substantial invasion of the forest floor except in the 122-yr-old stand. Over 90 % of the jack pine root tips were mycorrhizal and the majority of fruit bodies were produced by ectomycorrhizal species, regardless of stand age. There was no decrease in ectomycorrhizal colonization of roots with stand age. Both fruit body and root assessments revealed a distinct sequence of mycorrhizal fungi with stand age consisting of early-stage fungi [Coltricia perennis (L: Fr.) Murr. , Thelephora spp. , E-strain]; multi-stage fungi [Suillus brevipes (Pk.) Kuntze, Inocybe spp. , Cenococcum geophilum Fr. , Mycelium radicis atrovirens Melin] and late-stage fungi [Cortinarius spp. , Lactarius spp. , Russula spp. , Tricholoma spp. , Hygrophorus spp. , Hydnellum peckii Banker, Suillus tomentosus (Kauff.) Sing. , Snell & Dick, Piloderma byssinum (Karst.) Jul. and Sarcodon scabrosus (Fr.) Karst. ]. Many of the basidiomycete species fruiting above ground were detected also on the roots below ground. Fruit bodies of 50 species of ectomycorrhizal fungi were recorded while 39 distinct mycorrhizal types were identified on the roots. There was a significant increase in mycorrhizal species richness between the 6 and 41-yr-old stands and this was primarily the result of partial replacement of Suillus brevipes on the 6-yr-old trees by late-stage fungi in the older stands. Very few species present in the 6-yr-old stand were completely replaced in the older stands; rather, the multi-stage species present in the young stand were joined by late-stage species in the mature stands. The species abundance distribution of fungi on the roots in the 6-yr-old stand was best described by a geometric series which is typical of an early successional community while the distributions in the three oldest stands conformed to a lognormal series which is indicative of a stable, species rich community. Both the composition and structure of the ectomycorrhizal community had stabilized 41 yr after wildfire.
Distribution and diagnostic characters of Nassella (Poaceae: Stipeae)

Barkworth, M. E. & Torres, M. A. : Distribution and diagnostic characters of Nassella (Poaceae: Stipeae). Taxon 50: 439-468. 2001. ISSN 0040-0262. Nassella sensu lato includes 116 species, making it one of the largest genera in tribe Stipeae. Argentina has the largest number of species, 72, with the greatest concentration being in the northwestern part of the country. Bolivia, Chile, and Uruguay have 26, 27, and 27 species, respectively. Other South American countries in which the genus is present are Brazil (18 species), Colombia (8), Ecuador (9), Paraguay (4), Peru (18), and Venezuela (2). Guatemala has two species, but Costa Rica only one. Mexico has eight native species, five of which also grow in the United States. One additional species grows in both the United States and Canada. Sixty species are known only from one country; one species, N. mexicana, grows in eight countries. Several new distribution records are documented: N. caespitosa, N. elata, N. leptothera and N. punensis for Bolivia, N. pauciciliata and N. spegazzinii for Brazil, N. airoides, N. argentinensis, N. spegazzinii for Paraguay, and N. tucumana (= N. asperifolia) for Peru. Three new combinations are presented: N. burkartii, N. ligularis, and N. quinqueciliata. Two recently transferred species, N. barrancaensis and N. brachychaeta, are excluded from the genus and N. asperifolia, N. bonariensis, and N. amethystina are placed in synonymy. Tables summarising the distribution of Nassella and its morphological variation are presented.
Limitations of molecular-marker-aided selection in forest tree breeding

The advances to date with quantitative trait locus identification in agronomic crops, which have mostly been with studies of inter- and intra-specific hybrids, are of little relevance to assessing the potential for marker-aided selection in nonhybrid forest tree populations. Although molecular markers provide great opportunities for dissection of quantitative traits in experimental populations, we expect that their near-term usefulness in most operational tree breeding programs will be limited. In addition to cost, this limitation results from quantitative trait locus–marker associations being limited to specific genetic backgrounds as a result of linkage equilibrium, interactions of quantitative trait locus effects with genetic backgrounds, genotype by environment interaction, and changes of quantitative trait locus allele frequencies among generations. Marker-aided selection within individually mapped full-sib families can substantially aid phenotypic selection, but only where large restrictions of gene.
Wind forcing of crab megalopae recruitment to an estuary (Ria de Aveiro) in the northern Portuguese upwelling system

Summary Megalopae of the common shore crab, Carcinus maenas (L.), were sampled in the Ria de Aveiro, during spring and summer of 1991. At weekly intervals, plankton samples were collected below the surface, at mid-water and above the bottom during night and day flood tides, with the use of plankton nets. In order to evaluate the relationship between wind speed and direction and input of megalopae to the estuary, a complex correlation coefficient between megalopae concentration and average daily wind stress was calculated. Maximum values of the correlation coefficient were obtained when the concentration of megalopae was lagged after wind stress by 3 d. The direction of the correlation was 2°, meaning that input of megalopae to the estuary increased as southward wind stress decreased. High densities of megalopae were not associated with strong southward wind stress. Correlation between input of megalopae to the Ria de Aveiro and wind stress improved when a cumulative wind stress vector was used, which was constructed as the sum of the wind stresses for time lags of 2, 3 and 4 days before the input of megalopae. The results are consistent with onshore transport of megalopae over the shelf following relaxation of southward, upwelling favourable, wind events.