Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Winter browsing of moose on two different willow species: food selection in relation to plant chemistry and plant response

We investigated the selection criteria of moose, Alces alces (L., 1758), feeding on two willow species, Salix phylicifolia L. and Salix myrsinifolia Salisb. , and whether these willows respond chemically. We correlated winter twig browsing with the concentrations of primary and secondary plant compounds in twigs and new leaves. Furthermore, we investigated 12 specific phenolics in twigs of S. phylicifolia. During winter, moose browsed twigs with low concentrations of phenolic compounds. Additionally, we found significant negative correlations between browsing and the concentration of 7 of the 12 specific phenolic compounds in S. phylicifolia. Most importantly, even though ours was a field study and had many potential sources of variation, a multivariate analysis revealed that these specific phenolics predicted 47% of the variation in moose browsing. The two willows reacted in different chemical ways to moose browsing, but both showed signs of defensive response in early spring and compensation growth in su.
Predicting population responses to environmental change: the importance of considering informed dispersal strategies in spatially structured population models

Because of its complexity, dispersal has often been simplified when implemented in models aiming at understanding and predicting population dynamics and persistence in a context of environmental change. In particular, informed dispersal, that is the use of personal and social information to decide whether to leave a natal or current breeding site and where to settle, has seldom been considered. Informed dispersal could nevertheless be critical for predicting population dynamics, structure and persistence, as it could help populations track environmental change. Here, we develop a simulation model to examine the consequences of four dispersal strategies (informed, semi‐informed, fixed random dispersal and philopatry) on the dynamics, structure and persistence of a spatially structured population under different environmental scenarios.
Uprooting in boreal spruce forests: long-term variation in disturbance rate

Uprooted trees provide many kinds of exposed and colonizable substrates and may mediate coexistence of plant species. Here we present, for the first time, the temporal forest floor disturbance pattern caused by uprooted trees over a long period of time (120 years). There was a significant correlation between the frequency of high winds and number of uprooted trees, and the fall direction was closely related to the main direction of high winds. The temporal distribution was strongly aggregated, with many uprootings in the 1890s and the 1970s, resulting in large variations in disturbance rate between different decades. This implies periods with low availability of exposed soil. To interpret traits among species dependent on the disturbance as adaptations to some mean rate may thus be strongly misleading. However, the occurrence and importance of such bottleneck periods is hard to evaluate, as studies of the process of uprooting have only documented numbers and rates of uprooted trees and not the availabilit.
Effects of Pratylenchus penetrans on development of strawberry wilt caused by Verticillium dahliae.

SUMMARY The nematode Pratylenchus penetrans or the closely related P. fallax occurred in three out of four strawberry plantations infested with Verticillium dahliae surveyed in Kent. When plants of cv. Cambridge Vigour were inoculated with P. penetrans and V. dahliae together in field ‘micro-plots’ the nematode increased the rate of wilt development except when the concentration of V. dahliae microsclerotia in the soil was very low. In a pot experiment, under conditions not conducive to symptom expression, the incidence of infection was increased by nematodes in Cambridge Favourite, Cambridge Vigour and Redgauntlet; the incidence was least in Red-gauntlet, the most resistant cultivar. The nematode appeared to cause local changes in the root cortex which aided hyphal penetration of the adjacent tissues. Growth of strawberry plants in the absence of V. dahliae was not significantly affected even by large populations of the nematode, but growth was reduced by V. dahliae at all rates of inoculation in the field. Infection by Verticillium did not affect the total numbers of nematode per plant at the end of the experiments, although the number per g fresh weight was greater on the small amount of white root on severely diseased plants than on the larger amount on healthy or mildly diseased plants.
Detection and Phylogenetic Relationships of Highly Diverse Uncultured Acidobacterial Communities in Altamira Cave Using 23S rRNA Sequence Analyses

Acidobacteria have been established as a novel and widespread bacterial phylum consistently detected during 16S rDNA-based molecular surveys. Recently, representatives of the phylum Acidobacteria were found to make up a large percentage of cloned sequences recovered from paleolithic paintings. The present study addresses the intraphylum diversity of Acidobacteria in Altamira Cave. In contrast to previous studies, we have focused on 23S rRNA-based phylogenetic analyses, exploiting the high information content of the 23S RNA gene. Comparison with existing studies was facilitated by the preparation of corresponding 16S rRNA clone libraries. Fourty-one distinct operational taxonomic units (OTU) could be identified. Of the eight described acidobacterial subgroups, five were represented in the cave; only subgroups 1, 2, and 8 were not found. Subgroup 4 was the group harbouring the highest number of OTUs. Various clusters that could not be assigned to any of the established subgroups, but were clearly grouped within the phylum and appeared to represent new taxa at elevated phylogenetic levels, were detected. Results from this study give a first insight into the enormous acidobacterial diversity existing in a single hypogean environment containing unique paleolithic paintings, the Altamira Cave. Novel taxa have been found within the phylum, suggesting a higher diversity of Acidobacteria than previously suspected even at a local scale.
Conception rate in Holstein cows treated with GnRH or hCG on the fifth day post artificial insemination during summer

Lactating Holstein cows (n=158), at 213±112 days in milking and averaging 26±9kg of milk per day, were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: control (CG, n=52, saline), GnRH (GG, n=55, 100g gonadorelin), and hCG (HG, n=51, 2500IU) given five days after artificial insemination (AI). Rectal temperature was taken at the moment of AI and blood samples were collected five, seven, and 12 days after AI. Pregnancy was determined between 42 and 49 days after AI. Concentration of progesterone (P4) in serum (ng/ml, mean±SE) for CG, GG, and HG were, respectively, 2.7±0.4, 2.5±0.4, and 3.2±0.5 on day 5; 4.8±0.4, 4.2±0.4, and 5.7±0.5 on day 7; and 5.2±0.4, 6.9±0.4, and 8.5±0.5 on day 12 after AI. P4 concentration had proportional increase in serum between days 5 and 7 after AI (CG: 178%, GG: 168%, and HG: 178%), suggesting that the treatments did not induce a luteotropic effect on the existing corpus luteum (CL). Concentrations of P4 increased between days 7 and 12 in cows treated with GnRH and hCG (GG: 164%, and HG: 149%, P<0.01); but not in control cows (GC: 18%, P=0.31), suggesting that a new CL was formed. Treatments with GnRH or hCG increased conception rates in cows with rectal temperature below 39.7°C (CG: 10.1%, n=26, GG: 36.8%, n=27; and HG: 32.8%, n=21), but not in cows with rectal temperature above 39.7°C (CG: 15.2%, n=26; GG: 17.8%, n=28; and HG: 24.4%, n=30). These data suggest that high body temperature masked the positive impact of treatment with GnRH or hCG on day 5 after AI on conception.
Short communication New friendly tools for users of ESTHER, the database of the /-hydrolase fold superfamily of proteins

The structural /-hydrolase fold is characterized by a -sheet core of five to eight strands connected by -helices to form a // sandwich. The superfamily members, exemplified by the cholinesterases, diverged from a common ancestor into a number of hydrolytic enzymes displaying a wide range of substrate specificities, along with proteins with no recognized hydrolytic activity. In the enzymes, the catalytic triad residues are presented on loops of which one, the nucleophile elbow, is the most conserved feature of the fold. Of the other proteins, which all lack from one to all of the catalytic residues, some may simply be ‘inactive’ enzymes while others have been shown to be involved in heterologous surface recognition functions. The ESTHER (for esterases, /-hydrolase enzymes and relatives) database (http://bioweb.ensam.inra.fr/esther ) gathers and annotates all the published pieces of information (gene and protein sequences; biochemical, pharmacological, and structural data) related to the superfamily, and connects them together to provide the bases for studying structure–function relationships within the superfamily. The most recent developments of the database are presented. © 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
The Four-Dimensional Nature of Lotic Ecosystems

The dynamic and hierarchical nature of lotic ecosystems may be conceptualized in a four-dimensional framework. Upstream-downstream interactions constitute the longitudinal dimension. The lateral dimension includes interactions between the channel and riparian/floodplain systems. Significant interactions also occur between the channel and contiguous groundwater, the vertical dimension. The fourth dimension, time, provides the temporal scale. Lotic ecosystems have developed in response to dynamic patterns and processes occurring along these four dimensions. An holistic approach that employs a spatio-temporal framework, and that perceives disturbances as forces disrupting major interactive pathways, should lead to a more complete understanding of the dynamic and hierarchical structure of natural and altered lotic ecosystems.
Effect of cotton seedling infection by cotton-leaf crumple virus on subsequent growth and yield.

Colton-leaf crumple (CLC) is a disease of cotton that occurs annually in the southwestern United States. CLC virus (CLCV) is transmitted exclusively by Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), the sweetpotato whitefly. Ten cultivars of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L. , were inoculated at the 6–8 leaf stage to simulate early infection, and then were transplanted to the field along with noninoculated control plants. The growth (height), extent of symptoms, number of open bolls and weight of seed-colton were measured. All inoculated plants, regardless of the cultivar, exhibited reduced growth immediately following inoculation and infection. Growth thereafter was normal, except for ‘Deltapine 90’, ‘Deltapine 55’, ‘Deltapine NSL’ and ‘Deltapine 30’. Inoculated plants exhibited a reduction in the number of bolls per plant (27%) and seed-colton yields (24%). Plant height in late June was the most useful parameter with which to predict potential yield losses, relative to early CLCV infection.
Quantitative control of flowering time in wheat cultivars by vernalization and photoperiod sensitivities

Vernalization sensitivity (V) and photoperiod sensitivity (P) were measured in a range of wheat cultivars by the hastening of development brought about by seed vernalization and long-day treatment, respectively. Using multiple linear regression analysis V and P accounted for 77-94% of cultivar variation in the time from sowing to ear emergence, or to anthesis, over 19 sowings at three sites. From the regression equations, the optimum combination of P and V for adaptation to variable sowing time was estimated. In two cases this was predicted to be a wheat with high V and low P values. Seasonal changes in the coefficients of the multiple regression equations were related to environmental changes in temperatures and photoperiod.
Reviewers

Many industries exhibit a growing trend towards better customisation. This means a larger product variety, which can be implemented in the form of product families. The main idea of product families is to combine the economy of scale offered by mass-products with the high degree of adaptation to customer needs provided by project products, which necessitates a mechanism for capturing the variation in an effective manner. In this thesis, the focus is on the conceptual modelling of product families, particularly on the problems related to the evolution of product family descriptions and the product individuals created according to them. The main goal of this thesis is to find means for representing product families in information systems so that their evolution is adequately catered for. Investigation of the STEP standard, namely its part AP214 for the automotive industry, leads to observation of conceptual mismatch. That is, a need for new conceptual modelling methods, which cannot be provided directly by traditional databases or current PDM systems. A conceptual platform with a set of invariants was defined to capture the semantics for modelling product families and their individuals. Three detailed studies were conducted on the relation of schema and individuals of product families. The first detailed study concentrated on the instantiation process, the second on the modelling support for reconfiguration of product individuals and the third on elaborate modelling of product individuals with multiple levels of abstraction, which enables systematic support for the long lifetime and large variety of product individuals. © All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the author.
Physiological role of basic FGF in peripheral nerve development and regeneration: potential for reconstruction approaches

According to expression studies and functional analyses in mutant mice and in rats, FGF-2 appears to be specifically involved during development of peripheral nerves and in de-/re-generating processes at the lesion site and in spinal ganglia. In the absence of FGF receptor (FGFR)3, axonal and myelin diameters of peripheral nerves are significantly reduced, suggesting that FGFR3 physiologically regulates axonal development. The normally occurring neuronal cell death in spinal ganglia after peripheral nerve axotomy does not take place in FGF-2 and FGFR3-deleted mice, respectively, suggesting that injury-induced apoptosis is mediated via FGF-2 binding to FGFR3. According to a bimodal function of FGF-2, lesion-induced neuron death in rat spinal ganglia can be prevented by application of FGF-2 to the proximal nerve stump, which could be mediated via FGFR1/2. At the lesion site, FGF-2 appears to be involved in stimulating Schwann cell proliferation, promoting neurite outgrowth, especially of sensory nerve fiber.
Recolonization of Hermatypic Corals on Submerged Lava Flows in Hawaii

Recovery time for recolonization of coral communities on submerged lava flows in Hawaii may largely depend on exposure to sea and swell. In exposed areas, recovery time (in terms of number of species, per cent cover, and diversity) of areas decimated by lava and perhaps similar disturbances appears to be about 20 yr. At sheltered stations, more than 50 yr may be required for complete recovery. This difference in recovery time is apparently related to differences between undisturbed coral communities at exposed and sheltered stations: in exposed areas succession seems to be constantly interrupted, resulting in pioneer stages, whereas at sheltered stations reefs are more fully developed in terms of percent cover and thickness, and are thus closer to being climax coral communities; they therefore require more time for full recovery. The data, although meager, indicate that diversity increases during succession, but attains a peak value before climax is reached. The apparent decline in diversity as climax is approached may be due to interspecific competition for space, which leads to resource monopolization. Comparison of community structurewith more tropical coral reefs reveals that this pattern may apply only to physically controlled communities.
Enhancement of downy mildew of sorghum by some organic soil amendments: a caution to organic farmers

Matured botanical compost of Croton sparsiflorus and Azadirachta indica were evaluated for promotion of sorghum downy mildew at the rate of 0.5% (w/w). Exceptionally high promotional rates of 26.9% (C. sparsiflorus) and 30.1% (A. indica) were observed as compared to negative control (8.8%). The enhancement of disease was higher than that obtained by the supply of recommended dose of urea (13.3%). As the pathogen (Peronosclerospora sorghi) is a biotroph and cannot multiply by using organics as nutrient source in the absence of a host, the mechanism of disease enhancement is inferred to be through stimulation of oospore germination by organic compounds.
Pollock (Pollachius virens (L.)) in the Bay of Fundy

Observations made on the biology of the pollock in the western Atlantic, and primarily in the Bay of Fundy region of the northern Gulf of Maine, are presented. The largest landings of pollock in the western Atlantic are made in this area (ICNAF Division 4X). The best catches of large fish are made at temperatures above 1.1 °C, at depths of 20–100 fathoms (35–185 m) on the edges of shoals and banks where food is abundant. Spawning occurs in the winter and takes place in the southern Gulf of Maine and probably also on the Scotian Shelf, but not in the northern Gulf of Maine. The Bay of Fundy pollock are recruited from spawning in the southern Gulf of Maine and possibly on the Scotian Shelf. The pollock found in the Bay of Fundy appear to remain separate from those of the southern Gulf of Maine and the Scotian Shelf in the summer, but migrate south, spawn and probably mix with those of the southern Gulf of Maine, and possibly also those of the Scotian Shelf in the winter. The offshore pollock have a regular .
Phenolic Compounds of Commercial Wheat Germ

SUMMARY Two related glycoflavones (flavonoids A and B) have been isolated from commercial wheat germ samples, where they occur to the extent of some Q.2–0.3%. Each consists of an apigenin nucleus to which is attached a highly hydroxylated glycosyl-type side chain. Evidence from ultraviolet spectrophotometric studies and from similarities with known glycoflavones suggests that the side chain is in the & position. Short hydrolysis of flavonoid A splits off a molecule of sinapic acid, leaving flavonoid B, while more prolonged mineral acid treatment of both flavonoids leads to partial formation of a third glycoflavoue. In addition to the glycoflavones, ferulic acid and vanillic acid have been found in wheat germ in the free form. The presence of a methoxy hydroquinone glycoside has also been indicated.
Intraspecific and intragenomic variability of ITS rDNA sequences reveals taxonomic problems in Ceratocystis fimbriata sensu stricto

Fourteen new species in the Latin American Clade (LAC) of the Ceratocystis fimbriata complex recently were distinguished from C. fimbriata sensu stricto largely based on variation in ITS rDNA sequences. Among the 116 isolates representing the LAC, there were 41 ITS haplotypes. Maximum parsimony (MP) analysis of ITS sequences produced poorly resolved trees. In contrast, analyses of mating-type genes (MAT1-1-2 and MAT1-2-1) resolved a single MP tree with branches of high bootstrap and posterior probability support. Four isolates showed intragenomic variation in ITS sequences. Cloning and sequencing of PCR products from a single haploid strain identified two or more ITS sequences differing at up to 16 base positions and representing two described species. Isolates from introduced populations that appeared to be clonal based on microsatellite markers varied at up to 14 bp in ITS sequence. Strains of seven Brazilian ITS haplotypes and an isolate from Ipomoea batatas (on which the species name C. fimbriata was based) were fully interfertile in sexual crosses. These analyses support three phylogenetic species that differ in pathogenicity: C. platani, C. cacaofunesta and C. colombiana. Five ITS species (C. manginecans, C. mangicola, C. mangivora, C. acaciivora, C. eucalypticola) appear to be ITS haplotypes that have been moved from or within Brazil on nursery stock. The taxonomic status of other species delineated primarily by ITS sequences (C. diversiconidia, C. papillata, C. neglecta, C. ecuadoriana, C. fimbriatomima, C. curvata) needs further study, but they are considered doubtful species.
The economic impact of obesity in the United States

Over the past several decades, obesity has grown into a major global epidemic. In the United States (US), more than two-thirds of adults are now overweight and one-third is obese. In this article, we provide an overview of the state of research on the likely economic impact of the US obesity epidemic at the national level. Research to date has identified at least four major categories of economic impact linked with the obesity epidemic: direct medical costs, productivity costs, transportation costs, and human capital costs. We review current evidence on each set of costs in turn, and identify important gaps for future research and potential trends in future economic impacts of obesity. Although more comprehensive analysis of costs is needed, substantial economic impacts of obesity are identified in all four categories by existing research. The magnitude of potential economic impact underscores the importance of the obesity epidemic as a focus for policy and a topic for future research.
Acetobacter methanolicus sp. nov., an acidophilic facultatively methylotrophic bacterium

A new species, Acetobacter methanolicus, is described. The strains investigated were isolated from sludge and from a yeast fermentation process in which methanol was the sole source of carbon and energy. A total of about 140 phenotypic features were tested. The strains proved to be acidophilic and facultatively methylotrophic, and they differed from other Acetobacter species by growing well on methanol, glucose, gluconate, 2,3-butanediol, and caproic acid as sole sources of carbon and energy. Ethanol was “overoxidized” only at initial concentrations of <0.5%. Lactate was oxidized very weakly, but it was not utilized as a sole carbon source for growth. Yeast extract or pantothenic acid was essential for growth. The specific epithet of the proposed new species refers to its isolation from media in which methanol was the sole source of carbon. The deoxyribonucleic acid base composition of type strain MB58 (= IMET 10945) is 62.3 mol% guanine plus cytosine.