Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Letter to the Editor Regarding Page et al. (2012)

Dear Editor, We reject Page et al . ’s (2012) recent criticisms of experiments we conducted in the 1990s to evaluate the toxicity of petroleum on developing fish embryos following the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill. Much of their criticism is focused on our supposed failure to adequately control exposure levels in both our pink salmon (Onchorhynchus gorbuscha) and herring (Clupea pallasi) experiments. The goal of these laboratory studies was to evaluate the plausibility of an exposure path identified following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. We hypothesized embryos were injured by incubating in water contaminated with dissolved polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAC) that percolated through oiled gravel on stream banks and beaches adjacent to spawning beds. Based on our analysis of PAC loadings on gravel, in water and in embryo tissues we concluded exposure to low concentrations of high molecular weight PAC were responsible for increased teratogenesis and mortality. We focused on PAC because they are the most persistently abundant class of toxicologically-active compounds in crude oils. As with most pioneering studies, our results raised a number of questions associated with the main effects. Since publishing our findings, others (Turcotte et al . 2011) have performed the corroborating studies involving fresh and saltwater species using exposure methods consistent with those recommended by Page et al . The other criticisms offered by Page et al . are not new and are based on selective reading of the literature combined with their speculative misinterpretation of experimental and other records obtained under several comprehensive Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. We are concerned that they inappropriately continue to criticize our work in new venues by reiterating previously rebutted arguments (Neff et al . 2013). Their 2012 effort, which includes excerpts of our primary notes published without the courtesy of prior communication, implies we withheld key evidence that exculpates PAC and therefore contradicts our conclusions. This is not true. We addressed most of their criticisms of our results showing developmental defects following exposure to our very weathered oil (VWO or MWO) doses in a series of letters exchanged in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry in 2012 (Heintz et al . 2012). In those exchanges we noted the concentrations of the most persistent alkyl-PAC (e.g., the C3-dibenzothiophenes, C3and C4-phenanthrenes, chrysene and alkyl-chrysenes) in the VWO used in the 1993 pink salmon experiment exceeded the concentrations in all the artificially weathered oil doses except the highest treatment. Similarly, embryo mortality was greater in the VWO than in all treatments except the highest. For this reason we suspected these persistent PAC may be the most
Adipose tissue: a master in toxicology

Conventional wisdom in the pathogenesis of obesity and related cardiometabolic, malignant and neurodegenerative diseases focuses mainly on genetic predisposition and lifestyle (high caloric foods, sedentary lifestyle, smoking). The human genome project's big promise was that it could improve our understanding of the pathogenesis and therapy of diseases. However, the genes have been found to account for only about 10% of diseases, and the remaining causes appear to be from environmental exposures, hence the exposure science emerges. Note that molecular epidemiology and toxicology may be essential partners of exposure science. Indeed, Homo sapiens recens is exposed to an overwhelming number of chemical contaminants circulating every day in the air, water, food, and general environment. The body is a well-equipped entity with capabilities to excrete water-soluble pollutants, but not as well-equipped to excrete some of the lipid-soluble xenobiotics. In the late 1990's, according to the European Environmental Agency more than 100 000 chemical compounds were registered in the European Catalogue of Commercialized Chemical Substances. Here we present data that adipose tissue may be an important participant in the environmental molecular toxicology. The discovery of adipocyte-secreted leptin in 1994 was a paradigm shift event in the study of adipose tissue. It was applauded by scientific community and thus triggered a new direction in the evaluation of endocrine function of adipose tissue, that is, adipoendocrinology. This is why the today's adipose tissue is viewed not merely as a lipid storage, but also as a dynamic secretory - endocrine and paracrine - organ, synthesizing, storing, and releasing a dazzling number of signaling proteins collectively termed adipokines. Numerous evidence demonstrates that the exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POP) may contribute to the pathogenesis of obesity and its related diseases. Noteworthy, these pollutants accumulate mainly in the adipose tissue. And xenobiotic-metabolizing cytochromes p450 (CYP ) are expressed in adipose tissue, where CYP 1A1 and CYP 1B1 can bioactivate carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and xenoestrogens. Altogether, the present review highlights an adipocentric approach in molecular toxicology. It is conceptualized as adipotoxicology, that is, the study of accumulation, metabolism, and release of xenobiotics in adipose tissue in health and disease. In effect, the adipose tissue may be a new bridge between environment and health - let us call it a master in toxicology. Adipobiology 2012; 4: 59-66.
Lobster trap impact on coral reefs: Effects of wind‐driven trap movement

Abstract Commercial fishers report finding their lobster traps often great distances from their original location following major hurricanes. But traps also move during lesser wind events, such as during winter cold fronts. To assess trap impact on coral communities following winter storms, lobster traps were placed in hardbottom and reef habitats commonly used by commercial fishers in the Florida Keys, United States. Trap movement, percentage benthic faunal cover, and benthic faunal damage were assessed after 26 wind events occuring over three winters. Traps moved when storms with sustained winds greater than 15 knots (27.8 km/h) persisted for more than 2 days. Winter storms above this threshold moved buoyed traps a mean (±SE) distance of 3.63 ± 0.62 m, 3.21 ± 0.36 m, and 0.73 ± 0.15 m per trap and affected a mean area of 4.66 ± 0.76 m2, 2.88 ± 0.29 m2, and 1.06 ± 0.17 m2, per trap at 4‐m, 8‐m, and 12‐m depths, respectively. Unbuoyed traps, simulating derelict traps, moved a mean distance of 0.43 ± 0.08 m and 0.44 ± 0.02 m, and affected a mean area of 0.77 ± 0.06 m2 and 0.90 ± 0.08 m2 per trap at 4‐m and 8‐m depths, respectively. Injuries caused by trap movement included scraped, fragmented, and dislodged sessile fauna, resulting in significant damage to stony coral, octocoral, and sponges. Overall, sessile fauna cover along the trap movement path was reduced from 45% to 31%, 51% to 41%, and 41% to 35% at the 4‐m, 8‐m, and 12‐m sites, respectively. Because of the large numbers of traps deployed and reported lost each season, damage to sessile fauna and loss of benthic faunal cover caused by traps needs to be considered to effectively protect coral reefs and manage essential fishery habitat in the future.
Glisoprenin A, an inhibitor of the signal transduction pathway leading to appressorium formation in germinating conidia of Magnaporthe grisea on hydrophobic surfaces

Glisoprenin A, a fungal metabolite obtained from submerged cultures of Gliocladium roseum, interfered with appressorium formation in germinating conidiospores of Magnaporthe grisea on hydrophobic surfaces. In the absence of a hydrophobic surface, induction of appressorium formation by cAMP, 8,4-chlorophenylthio-adenosine-3′,5′-monophosphate, 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine or 1,16-hexadecanediol, a plant wax component, was not affected. When the chemical signals were tested on a hydrophobic surface, however, no formation of infectious structures was observed in the presence of glisoprenin A. The results indicate that in appressorium formation two signal transducing pathways are involved, which operate partly independently of each other.
Interaction of U2AF65 RS Region with Pre-mRNA of Branch Point and Promotion Base Pairing with U2 snRNA

The mammalian splicing factor U2AF65 binds to the polypyrimidine tract adjacent to the 3′ splice site and promotes assembly of U2 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein on the upstream branch point, an interaction that involves base pairing with U2 small nuclear RNA (snRNA). U2AF65 contains an RNA binding domain, required for interaction with the polypyrimidine tract, and an arginine-serine-rich (RS) region, required for U2 snRNP recruitment and splicing. Here it is reported that binding of U2AF65 to the polypyrimidine tract directed the RS domain to contact the branch point and promoted U2 snRNA-branch point base pairing even in the absence of other splicing factors. Analysis of RS domain mutants indicated that the ability of U2AF65 to contact the branch point, to promote the U2 snRNA-branch point interaction, and to support splicing are related activities, requiring only a few basic amino acids. Thus, the U2AF65 RS domain plays a direct role in modulating spliceosomal RNA-RNA interactions.
La generalización de vocês en el portugués europeo continental y su patrón de difusión geográfica

Resumen La generalización de vocês como único pronombre de segunda persona del plural en el portugués europeo no ha despertado el interés de otros fenómenos. Se sabe que apareció en el siglo XVIII, pero carecemos de una investigación pormenorizada de este tema y de las discordancias de persona que se manifiestan dentro de esta innovación. Aunque actualmente este fenómeno represente el uso estándar, la distinción diafásica mediante dos pronombres, dependiendo de la situación comunicativa, aún se atestigua en las zonas más septentrionales de Portugal. El Atlas lingüístico de la Península Ibérica, elaborado a mediados del siglo XX, el corpus sociolingüístico Cordial-Sin, recogido en la década de 1990 y un nuevo trabajo de campo llevado a cabo en 2013 proporcionarán suficiente información para descubrir qué comportamiento lingüístico posee el fenómeno, así como su extensión geográfica y su patrón de difusión.
Intertidal rivulets and creekbanks: corridors between tidal creeks and marshes

We sampled rivulets and creekbanks of tidal freshwater creeks (Virginia, USA) with flume nets between June and October 1986 to determine whether fishes preferentially use rivulets to reach the marsh surface. The average number of fishes collected in rivulets was more than 3 hmes that taken on creekbanks. Average total fish biomass was more than 14 times greater in rivulets. We estimated that rivulets occupied only 3 % of the area along our study creeks. Therefore, despite a preference for rivulets as corridors, most fishes (88 %) reach the marsh surface via creekbanks Depositional creekbanks are the primary corridors between tidal creeks and the marsh surface.
Guttation in Rice: Occurrence, Regulation, and Significance in Varietal Improvement

Guttation is a physiological phenomenon resulting in oozing of drops of xylem sap on the tips or edges of leaves of some vascular plants. Of 11 species belonging to different botanical families, only rice (Oryza sativa L.) was found to guttate heavily. Therefore, the process of guttation in rice was studied in depth. Guttation was found to occur from margins, tips, adaxial and abaxial surfaces of leaves. It was the leaf margins that exuded most (151 μl), followed by adaxial surface (135 μl), and tips (98 μl), in that order. Further, the “ridged” portions exuded more fluid than “smooth” portions of the same leaf blade. The rate of guttation was 132 μl at anthesis, 120 μl at tillering, 112 μl at heading and milky stages, and 42 μl at dough stage. The wind velocity and soil moisture stress, as external factors, played dominant roles in the regulation of guttation. Genotypic variability existed for guttation among six cultivars, with cv. NDRH-2 registering the highest value of 110 μl and Mahsuri the lowest (62 μl). The guttational rates exhibited by various cultivars were positively correlated with their panicle weights, i.e., the yield sink capacity, which may be used as a selection criterion for breeding for enhanced yield. These findings on various aspects of guttation in rice are novel. The information should be useful to breeders for creating a new efficient rice plant having altered genetic makeup for increased guttation for yield improvement.
Improved Accuracy in Determining Optimal Harvest Time for Pitaya ( Hylocereus undatus ) Using the Elasticity Index

This study was conducted to determine whether the optimal harvest time of pitaya (Hylocereus undatus) could be identified more accurately using the elasticity index as determined by a nondestructive resonant-vibration method. Seven-year-old pitaya grown in beds filled with sand in an unheated greenhouse were used, and pollinated fruit in July (Jul.-PF) and September (Sep.-PF) were harvested at intervals of 4 days during days 20–36 or 20– 40 days, respectively, after anthesis. The second resonant frequency, the elasticity index, and flesh firmness decreased with ripening; however, values for Jul.-PF decreased faster than those for Sep.-PF. During the final harvest time, both groups of pollinated fruits had similar values for second resonant frequency (330 Hz), the elasticity index (60 × 10), and flesh firmness (7 N·cm). The a-value of peel color for Jul.-PF and Sep.-PF increased rapidly during days 24–32 and 28–36, respectively, after anthesis and thereafter showed almost constant values. Total sugar content in Jul.-PF increased rapidly until 28 days after anthesis and then increased slightly. Total sugar content in Sep.-PF increased later than in Jul.-PF. Organic acid in Jul.-PF and Sep.-PF decreased rapidly until 28 and 36 days, respectively, after anthesis and thereafter decreased slowly. In Sep.-PF that were harvested at the optimal time, the second resonant frequency declined as fruit size increased, but the elasticity index was not affected by fruit size. High positive correlations were found among the second resonant frequency, the elasticity index, and flesh firmness in both groups of pollinated fruit. Considering a comprehensive suite of parameters including pulp rate, peel color, sugar, organic acid, flesh firmness, and occurrence of cracking, the optimal harvest time was estimated to be 36 and 40 days after anthesis for Jul.-PF and Sep.-PF, respectively, and the elasticity index of fruit at optimal harvest time was 62 × 10 and 73 × 10, respectively. This study showed that the optimal harvest time of pitaya could be determined more accurately by measuring the elasticity index of on-tree fruit.
Population size estimation of Amur tigers in Russian Far East using noninvasive genetic samples

The Amur tiger, Panthera tigris altaica, is currently distributed across the southern part of the Russian Far East and parts of northeastern China. Most Amur tigers are found in Russia, where their range is fragmented into at least 3 populations (a large population centered in the Sikhote-Alin Mountains and 2 smaller populations in northwest and southwest Primorye Krai). Traditionally, track-based techniques have been used for surveys of tigers in Russia. However, such techniques involve problems such as misinterpretation of track sizes due to snow degradation, and thus, other survey protocols have been needed. This study aimed to identify individuals and estimate population size using noninvasive genetic samples, such as feces, hairs, and saliva, collected from southwest Primorye Krai during 4 winters (2000–2001, 2001–2002, 2002–2003, and 2004–2005). During these winters, we identified 12 tigers (5 males and 7 females) using 10 microsatellite markers. Population size estimated from the 2002–2003 samples was 12 (95% confidence interval = 9–19), which was comparable to the estimate from the track count survey. Of the 3 types of noninvasive genetic samples we collected, feces were the most useful in terms of genotyping success rate and sampling efficiency. The noninvasive genetic methods developed in this study can contribute to population monitoring and management assessment of tiger conservation in the Russian Far East.
Rapid recycling of triose phosphates in oak stem tissue

We report the carbon-13 and oxygen-18 isotope ratios in cellulose from the early and late wood of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.). The δ13 C value of the early wood correlates best with that of the late wood of the previous year. The δ18O value of the early wood correlates best with that of the late wood of the same year. We suggest that a biochemical explanation of these data is that there is a rapid cycle between hexose monophosphates and triose phosphates in oak stem tissue during cellulose synthesis. Evidence in support of this explanation is provided by the intramolecular distribution of 14C in labelled fructose extracted from cores of wood that had been supplied with [1−14C]- and [6-14C]glucose.
A Rapid RP-HPLC Method for Determination of Dihydroartimisinine Derivatives Followed by LC-MS/MS Characterization to Confirm its Stability during Routine Analysis

Current research work describes rapid reverse phase high performance chromatographic method for estimation of dihydroartimisinine derivative namely arteether and artemether from bulk. This method was extended for liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis to confirm the stability of component under analysis. The mentioned components were separated on HYPERSIL® ODS C18 column (200 mm× 4.6 mm). The components were eluted by application of Methanol: Acetonitrile (60:40 v/v) as mobile phase at 216 nm and flow rate of 1 ml/minute. Retention time for artemether and arteether was found to be 1.52 and 2.70 minutes respectively. For LC-MS/MS characterization mobile phase was spiked with 0.1% ammonium format and ESI was utilized as ionization source in combination with ion trap as mass analyzer. The components were found to be stable during and after their evaluation period. Method was found to be linear in concentration range of 10 to 50 μg/ml for both components. The method was further validated as per ICH guidelines to confirm its suitability for routine analysis.
Workplace bullying and employee silence A moderated mediation model of psychological contract violation and workplace friendship

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of workplace bullying on employee silence (defensive, relational, and ineffectual silence), and to test the mediating role of psychological contract violation (PCV) in this relationship and the extent to which the mediation is moderated by workplace friendship. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 835 full-time Indian managerial employees working in different Indian organizations. Findings – Results revealed that workplace bullying positively correlated with silence (defensive, relational, and ineffectual silence). The hypothesized moderated mediation condition was supported as results suggest that PCV mediated the bullying-silence relationship and workplace friendship moderated this mediating pathway, i.e. indirect effects of workplace bullying on employee silence via PCV were weaker for employees with high workplace friendship. Research limitations/implications – A cross-sectional design, use of self-reported questionnaires, and gender-blind perspective to examine bullying are few limitations of this study. Practical implications – This is the first study examining employee silence in response to workplace bullying and one of the few attempts to examine employees’ passive coping strategies in response to workplace mistreatment. This study is also one of the rare attempts to examine bullying-outcomes relationship in the Indian context. Social implications –Awell-formulated and effectively implemented anti-bullying policy and management support may encourage employees to combat bullying by raising their voices against it. Originality/value – This is the first study examining employee silence in response to workplace bullying. This study is also one of the rare attempts to examine bullying-outcomes relationship in the Indian context.
Impacts of introduced seaweeds

Abstract We analyzed 69 publications on the impacts of introduced seaweeds. The predominant impacts were changed competitive relationships in the recipient habitat, indicated by high abundances of invaders, resultant space monopolization, and reduced abundances/biomass of native macrophytes. Changes in biodiversity, effects on fish and invertebrate fauna, toxic effects on other biota, and habitat change were also identified. The mechanisms underlying the manifestation of impacts are uncertain and inferences about common patterns were hampered because impact studies were available for only a few introduced seaweeds, covered only a fraction of their introduced distribution and generally were conducted over short time scales. There was no information about evolutionary effects or changes of ecosystem processes. Knowledge of socio-economic impacts of invasive seaweeds is poor. We collated costs associated with control/eradication activities and for national spending on marine biosecurity in Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Prevention of impacts is the driving force for costly surveillance, eradication and control programs. Until we are able to understand, predict and measure impacts of introduced seaweeds, the management of species incursions needs to remain focused on early detection, rapid response and control to reduce the likelihood of negative impact effects.
Influence of Fat on Expansion of Glassy Amylopectin Extrudates by Microwave Heating

ABSTRACT The effect of solid fat (melting point 70°C) and liquid fat (melting point -20°C) on the microwave expansion of extruded glassy amylopectin pellets was investigated. Glassy, unexpanded amylopectin extrudates containing ≤10% fat were equilibrated at different water activity levels (aw) and then expanded by microwave heating. Expanded products were characterized by analyzing degree of expansion, structure, and texture. For the aw range studied, expansion increased with increasing aw of the pellets until a maximum at aw = 0.605 and then decreased. Completely dehydrated samples did not expand at all. This demonstrated that moisture was the driving force in the microwave expansion of the pellets. The addition of solid fat contributed greatly to expansion. The highest degree of expansion was obtained for pellets containing 6% solid fat at all aw levels. Due to the effect on expansion, the addition of solid fat also affected the microstructure and texture of the expanded products. Concentrations of soli.