Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THE BIOLOGY OF CANADIAN WEEDS.: 25. Silene alba (Miller) E. H. L. Krause

A review is provided of information on the biology of Silene alba (Lychnis alba, Melandrium album), a weed species introduced from Eurasia, which occurs across the agricultural areas of Canada. A serious weed, especially of leguminous forage crops, white cockle is resistant to common herbicides such as 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T.
Effect of timber harvest practices on populations of Cornus florida and severity of dogwood anthracnose in western North Carolina

Stand composition and severity of dogwood anthracnose, caused by Discula destructiva, were measured on 39 plots located at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory in western North Carolina. The 0.08-ha plots were selected along transects across watersheds previously clearcut, partially harvested, or not harvested. Basal diameter, percent leaf area with dogwood anthracnose symptoms, and percent branch dieback were estimated for Cornus florida. Dogwood anthracnose was most severe on partially harvested watersheds and least severe on the clearcut watershed. Density of C. florida was greatest on the clearcut watershed, and the number of dogwood stems was inversely correlated (r=-0.31, P=0.05) with disease severity
ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES, TOTAL FLAVONOID, PHENOLIC, CAROTENOID OF VARIOUS SHELLS EXTRACTS FROM FOUR SPECIES OF LEGUMES

Objectives. The objectives of this research were to study antioxidant capacity from various extracts of legumes shells using two methods of antioxidant testing which were DPPH (2.2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and FRAP (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power) and correlation of total flavonoid, phenolic and carotenoid content in various extracts of legumes shells with DPPH and FRAP antioxidant capacities. Methods. Extraction was performed by reflux using different polarity solvents. The extracts were vaporated using rotavapor. Antioxidant capacities using DPPH and FRAP assays, determination of total phenolic, flavonoid and carotenoid content were performed by spectrophotometry UV-visible and its correlation with DPPH and FRAP antioxidant capacities were analyzed by Pearson method. Results. TNH2 (ethyl acetate shells extract of peanut) had the highest DPPH scavenging capacity with IC 50 0.595 mg/mL, while MRH2 (ethyl acetate shells extract of red kidney bean) had the highest FRAP capacity with EC 50 294.781 mg/mL. TNH2 contained the highest total flavonoid (13.37 g QE/100 g), TNH3 (ethanolic shells extract of peanut) had the highest phenolic content (6.91 g GAE/100 g) and KDL2 (ethyl acetate shells extract of soybean) had the highest carotenoid 0.33 g BET/100 g. Conclusions. There were positively and high correlation between total phenolic and total flavonoid content in bogor peanut and peanut shells extracts with their antioxidant activity using DPPH assays. FRAP capacities in all of shells extracts had no linier result with DPPH scavenging capacities. Keywords : Antioxidants, DPPH, FRAP, legumes shells, flavonoid, phenolic, carotenoid
Resistance of the European catfish (Silurus glanis) to channel catfish virus

Summary European catfish (Silurus glanis) fingerlings (2 to 4 g each) were tested for susceptibility to channel catfish virus (CCV). They had supported CCV replication at 2 days after intraperitoneal injection with 0.1 ml of saline containing 105 TCID50. Homogenized visceral organs (liver, kidney and spleen) contained 104 TCID50/0.1 ml at 2 days post inoculation (PI) but at 4 days the titer decreased to 101 TCID50. Bathing European catfish in CCV yielded only one positive sample with a titer of 100.83 TCID50 per 0.1 ml of tissue. No clinical signs of CCV developed and no virus related deaths occurred.
A Test of the Tilman Model of Plant Strategies: Relative Growth Rate and Biomass Partitioning

Tilman's allocation model attempted to explain broad-scale patterns in plant morphology and vegetational structure. A fundamental assumption of this model is that the maximum relative growth rate of a species is negatively correlated with the ratio of non-photosynthetic to photosynthetic tissues that it possesses. We tested this assumption, and therefore Tilman's model, using data of maximum relative growth rates and the ratio of root-to-shoot partitioning in 68 species of wetland angiosperm seedlings. We found no evidence for such a correlation at 10 d after germination (r = -0.19), and the hypothesis was rejected after 30 d (r = 0.20). There was a significant correlation opposite that predicted by Tilman's model (r = 0.53) between the maximum relative growth rate of a species and the allometric relationship between root growth and shoot growth. Species that allocated part of their biomass to stem tissues had higher relative growth rates than did species without stems. According to these data, Tilman's model must be rejected. We offer an alternative explanation of these trends, based on the concept of balanced growth.
Studies on Inbred Strains of Drosophila melanogaster

Close inbreeding leads to homozygosis and, as a rule, to a decline in fitness. The latter-inbreeding depression-results in part from the expression of deleterious recessive mutations that ordinarily are concealed by more nearly normal, dominant alleles. Because of the large numbers of loci at which deleterious mutations occur and because of linkage, it is virtually impossible to obtain a line entirely homozygous for normal genes. In recent years it has become apparent that the above account of inbreeding depression is incomplete. Crow (1948, 1952), for instance, has made calculations which indicate that in cross-fertilizing populations some loci seem to be heterozygous for alleles either of which when homozygous leads to an impairment of fitness. The optimal functioning of these alleles depends on their being in heterozygous condition. Crow concluded, however, that the number of loci occupied by such "overdominant" alleles represents but a small fraction of all loci. Other experimental approaches to this problem (Wallace, 1958, 1963a) suggest that a considerable fraction of all loci possess some alleles that confer an enhanced fitness when in heterozygous condition. Experiments of Robertson and Reeve (1955) and Tantawy and Reeve (1956) suggest that it becomes increasingly difficult to attain homozygosis at unfixed loci in inbred material as the proportion of fixed loci increases; overdominance, in other words, may be a function of the background genotype rather than a characteristic of a given locus. Wallace (1963b) has discussed a model of gene regulation that accounts for the interdependence of intra-allelic (overdominance) and inter-allelic (epistatic) phenomena. While studying heterosis in Drosophila, Gowen and his co-workers (Gowen and Johnson, 1946; Gowen, Stadler and Johnson, 1946) found that some inbred lines of D. melanogaster establish balanced lethal systems instead of achieving homozygosis. Bennett (1956) has shown that the origin of a balanced lethal system within an inbred strain is so unlikely an event that the balanced lethal systems observed by Gowen and his colleagues probably existed as such in the material from which his lines were derived. The studies reported below were made to determine empirically the proportion of inbred lines of D. melanogaster that establish balanced lethal systems
Perbedaan Rerata Kadar Gula Darah pada Luaran Stroke Iskemik Berdasarkan Indeks Barthel

Abstrak Stroke merupakan salah satu sindrom yang ditandai oleh gangguan fungsi otak dengan angka morbiditas dan mortalitas yang tinggi bila tidak ditangani dengan adekuat. Kenaikan kadar gula darah yang terjadi 48 jam pertama pada penderita stroke fase akut dapat memengaruhi morbiditas dan luaran serta mortalitas penderita. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui perbedaan rerata kadar gula darah pada stroke iskemik fase akut yang dihubungkan dengan luaran berdasarkan Indeks Barthel. Desain penelitian yang digunakan ialah retrospektif dengan mengumpulkan data rekam medis pasien stroke iskemik yang dirawat di bagian ilmu penyakit saraf RSUP Dr. M. Djamil Padang periode 1 Desember 2012 – 31 Desember 2013. Dari 24 sampel, didapatkan nilai rerata gula darah pada luaran ketergantungan total 163,50 mg/dL; SD : 48,59, nilai rerata gula darah pada luiaran ketergantungan berat 150,25 mg/dL; SD : 36,291 dan nilai rerata gula darah pada luaran ketergantungan sedang 156,75 mg/dL; SD: 61,799. Hasil analisis bivariat dengan uji Anova menunjukkan tidak terdapat perbedaan bermakna rerata kadar gula darah pada luaran ketergantungan total, luaran ketergantungan berat dan luaran ketergantungan sedang pada pasien stroke iskemik fase akut berdasarkan indeks Barthel dengan nilai p = 0,862 (p>0,05). Kata kunci: kadar gula darah, luaran, stroke iskemik, indeks Barthel Abstract Stroke is a clinical syndrome characterized by losing of cerebral function with high morbidity and high mortality rate if not getting an adequate treatment. Raised of blood glucose that occur in first 48 hours in acute phase of stroke can influence morbidity or severity and mortality rate. This analytic research with a retrospective design by obtaining datas from medical records of patient who hospitalize in department of neurology RSUP Dr. M.Djamil Padang during December 1st 2012 – December 31st 2013. Mean of blood glucose level of totally dependent 163.50 mg/dL with standard of deviation 48.59, whereas mean of blood glucose level of severely dependent 150.25 mg/dL with standard of deviation 36.291, mean of blood glucose level of moderately dependent 156.75 mg/dL with standard of deviation 61.799 on total 24 cases. The result of bivariate analysis using Anova test showed there is no significant difference average of blood glucose level between totally dependent, severely dependent, and moderately dependent stroke of acute phase of ischemic stroke with use Barthel Index (BI) with p value = 0,862 (p>0,05) Keywords: blood glucose level, outcome, Barthel Index
Lunar cycles and reproductive activity in reef fishes with particular attention to rabbitfishes

Cues from the moon influence synchrony in growth, feeding, migration, behaviour and reproduction of many reef fishes. Compared with comprehensive studies on the annual and daily activities of fish, few physiological studies have paid attention to the importance of lunar cues in reproductive activities. We review mutual and interesting relationships between fish reproduction and environmental changes induced by the moon, with particular emphasis on the reproductive activity of the rabbitfishes (Siganidae). Rabbitfish species exhibit, in nature, a definitive reproductive season, which differs among the tropical areas. During the reproductive season, synchronous spawning of rabbitfish is associated with a particular lunar phase. The lunar phase used by the respective species is similar in different regions on the earth. Histological observations revealed that gonads develop synchronously towards a peak around the spawning lunar phase, after which the gonads return to spent condition. Concomitant with gonadal development, sex steroid hormones were produced under the influence of gonadotropin (GtH). Injections of human chronic gonadotropin (hCG) to the fish that are undergoing active spermatogenesis accelerated testicular maturation. These results suggest that hormonal response in maturing the gonads in rabbitfish is under the regulation of GtH, and that pituitary secretion of GtH according to the lunar cycle accounts for the lunar rhythm in gonadal development. We speculate that the cues from the moon can be recognized by the higher parts of the hypothalamus–pituitary–gonadal axis. Possible relationships between exogenous environmental factors and the lunar-reproductive rhythm are also discussed.
Nitrilotriacetic Acid–Copper(II) Monolayer Deposited on a Gold Electrode for the Immobilization of Histidine Tagged V Domain of Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products–The Basis of Amyloid–Beta Peptide Sensing

The preparation and application of biosensors for the determination of amyloid-beta16–23′ peptide are described. The redox active nitrilotriacetic acidsingle-copper(II)-histidine6-receptor for advanced glycation end products V domain and redox active nitrilotriacetic aciddouble-Cu(II)-histidine6-receptor for advanced glycation end products V domain complexes were employed as an analytically active layer of biosensors. The preparation procedure consists of three steps: creation of a mixed layer composed of N-acetylocysteamine and thiol derivatives of nitrilotriacetic acid, complexation of Cu(II) on the N-acetylocysteamine-nitrilotriacetic acid layer, and immobilization of histidine-tagged V domains, natural or mutant on the surface of a gold electrode modified with a N-acetylocysteamine-nitrilotriacetic acid layer. The biosensors were used for the study of the interactions between the histidine-tagged V domains of receptor for advanced glycation end products and amyloid-beta16–23′ peptide. Each step was controlled by cyclic voltammetry, Osteryoung square-wave voltammetry, and atomic force microscopy. Comparisons of the electrochemical parameters of biosensors, incorporating single as well as double nitrilotriacetic acid molecules, were investigated. Both types of biosensors were used for determination of amyloid-beta16–23′ peptide, and the mechanism of electroanalytical signals generation is reported.
Uptake and oxidation of aromatic substrates by Rhizobium leguminosarum MNF 3841 and Rhizobium trifolii TA1

Rhizobium trifolii TA1 and Rhizobium leguminosarum MNF 3841 grow on a range of aromatic substrates. R. trifolii TA1 possesses enzymes of both the catechol and protocatechuate pathways, whereas R. leguminosarum MNF 3841 only has enzymes of the latter pathway. The pathways are induced by growth on benzoate or 4-hydroxybenzoate, respectively, but they are not cross-inducible. 4-Hydroxybenzoate permease and hydroxylase are induced by growth on 4-hydroxybenzoate but not on protocatechuate, suggesting that they are regulated separately from protocatechuate dioxygenase. The uptake systems for both benzoate and 4-hydroxybenzoate are inhibited by azide, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazone and N, N′-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide but are insensitive to arsenate. Salicylate and protocatechuate interfere with benzoate and 4-hydroxybenzoate uptake, respectively.
Fish Scale Evidence for Rapid Post Glacial Colonization of an Atlantic Coastal Pond

Fish scales from the sediment of Allamuchy Pond, New Jersey, USA, indicate that fishes were present in the pond within 400 years of the time of the first deposition of organic material, at approximately 12,600 yrs BP. The earliest of the scales, from a white sucker, Catostomus commersoni, appears in sediment dated 12,260 +/- 220 yrs BP. Presence of scales in sediment deposited before I 0,000 yrs BP indicates that Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, sunfish, Lepomis sp. , and yellow perch, Perca flavescens, also were early inhabitants of the pond. The timing of the arrival of each of these fishes suggests that they migrated out from Atlantic coastal refugia. A minnow scale, referred to Phoxininae, was also retrieved; it could not be matched to any cyprinid currently found in northeastern North America. The species present historically in this pond are from five families found currently in ponds throughout the Northeast and sugoest that the lentic palaeo-enviromnent was similar to present mid-elevation or high-latitude lentic systems.
Morphometric Determination of Gender in Adult Humboldt Penguins (Spheniscus humboldti  )

Abstract Adult Humboldt Penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) are sexually monomorphic in feather coloration, therefore sexing by direct observation is difficult. To determine if subtle morphometric differences exist, we compared gender as determined by DNA analysis with logistic regression leave-one-out analysis of bill length, bill depth and flipper length measurements collected from free-ranging Humboldt Penguins inhabiting a coastal island in Chile. The final chosen model used bill length and bill depth, with no interactions, and correctly predicted the sex of 87.7% of the 756 individuals. Of the 368 females, 13.5% were misclassified as males, while 11.1% of the 388 males were misclassified as females. Including flipper length improved the predictive value of the model slightly. The analysis was not useful in determining the sex of a captive population of Humboldt Penguins of known sex because of excessive beak growth seen in captive penguins.
Induction of apoptosis by Dioscorea nipponica Makino extracts in human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells via mitochondria-mediated pathway

Dioscorea nipponica, a perennial herb growing in mountainous areas, has been used as a folk medicine for asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, bronchitis, and other disease in Korea, whereas the effect of this plant on cancer cells has not been clearly clarified. Cellular cytotoxicity was examined by cell viability assay and DNA fragmentation by DNA ladder assay. Activation of different protein expression was detected by western blot analyses. We first demonstrated that D. nipponica extract (DNE) reducing the SH-SY5Y cell viability with IC50 of 27.57 µg/ml at 24 h. However, DNE downregulated the expression of antiapoptotic protein includes B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), B-cell lymphoma-extra large (Bcl-xL), and myeloid cell leukemia 1 (Mcl-1) which also activated cleaved caspase-9 and caspase-3 in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Consequently, DNE-induced cytotoxicity was not mediated by the Fas/FasL, phosphatidylinositide-3 kinase/AKT/glycogen synthase kinase-3β (PI3K/AKT/GSK-3β), and mitogen activated protein (MAP) kinases signaling pathway. In addition, DNE-induced cells shown damage morphology which had become cell rounding, neurite retraction, membrane blebbing, is right spell blebbing, and shrunken in a dose- and time-dependent manner that clearly indicate this morphological change might be due to the process of apoptosis which shown fragmented DNA. These results indicate that apoptotic effects of DNE on SH-SY5Y cells are mediated by intrinsic mitochondrial caspases signaling pathway, suggesting that DNE might be effective as an anticancer agent for neuroblastoma malignancies.
Morphometrical comparison of neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques in Alzheimer's disease and the senile dementia of Alzheimer type

The densities of senile plaques (SP) and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) were studied in the cerebral cortex in nine autopsy cases of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and seven cases of senile dementia of Alzheimer type (SDAT). The number of SP and NFT were counted in 14 selected areas of the cerebral cortex using methenamine‐silver and Gallyas‐Braak stains, respectively. The ratio of cortical atrophy in each AD or SDAT case to the mean value in normal age‐matched cases was estimated, and the results were corrected for cortical atrophy using this ratio. The SP density in AD after correction was significantly higher than that in SDAT in the superior and inferior frontal, rectal, anterior cingulate, superior temporal and suprapar‐ietal cortices. The NFT density in AD was also significantly higher in all of these areas and also in the medial temporo‐occipital cortex. The significant difference between AD and SDAT for NFT density after correction was greater than that for SP density in the superior and inferior frontal, anterior cingulate and superior temporal cortices. These results suggest that the higher densities in AD of SP and NFT in these areas are useful in distinguishing AD from SDAT. The NFT density was a more useful indicator than the SP density in differentiating between the two conditions. The greater density in AD of SP and NFT in the cerebral neocortex may reflect the focal clinical symptoms, frequently observed in AD. The quantitative difference between AD and SDAT in the two changes observed in this study was not due only to the difference in the duration of illness, because the SDAT cases with long survival showed significantly lower NFT density than AD cases with similar disease duration and brain weight. It is suggested that degeneration process in AD progresses more rapidly than that in SDAT.
Effect of phospholipid on the formation of volatile heterocyclic compounds in heated aqueous solutions of amino acids and ribose

The concentrations of 68 heterocyclic compounds produced by heating a series of amino acid—ribose and lecithin—amino acid—ribose reaction mixtures at 140°Cfor 1 h were measured, after headspace collection on Tenax GC, by capillary gas chromatography—mass spectrometry. The amino acids studied were glycine, lysine and cysteine, and the classes of heterocyclic compounds quantified were pyrazines (14), pyridines (7), furans (14), thiophenes (26) and thiazoles (7). The studies showed that the addition of lecithin to the simple Maillard reaction mixtures led to a reduction in the concentrations of many of the heterocyclic compounds formed in these reactions. These findings support an earlier observation that phospholipids in foodstuffs, such as meat products, could exert a quenching effect on the amount of heterocyclic compounds formed in Maillard reactions during the cooking of food. A number of volatile compounds formed by the reaction of lipid degradation products with Maillard reaction intermediates were also identified.
Sustaining Atlantic Sturgeon: Stitching a Stronger Scientific and Governance Net

This research was supported by the Ocean Tracking Network (OTN) through a network project grant (NETGP #375118-08) from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) with additional support from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI, Project #13011), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC #871-2009-0001). The authors thank Andrew McMaster, Senior Policy Analyst, International Affairs Directorate, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, for his assistance and valuable comments. Any errors remain the authors’ responsibility. ∗ Professor, Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. ∗∗ Professor, Department of Biology, Acadia University, Wolfville, Canada. ∗∗∗ Doctoral Student, Marine & Environmental Law Institute, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. †Professor, Department of Biology, Mount Allison University, Sackville, Canada. ††M.Sc. Student, Department of Biology, Acadia University, Wolfville, Canada. †††Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair in Ecology of Coastal Environments, Department of Biology, Acadia University, Wolfville, Canada. #M.Sc. Student, Department of Biology, Mount Allison University, Sackville, Canada. ##Professor and Canada Research Chair in Ocean Law and Governance, Marine & Environmental Law Institute, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada.
Identification of polypeptides specific to rachis abscission zone cells of Sambucus nigra

Specific polypeptides and antigenic determinants in abscission zone cells of the leaf rachis of Sambucus nigra L. (elderberry) were identified. Extracts from abscission zone tissue (OZ) and from ethylene-treated abscission zone tissue after separation (Zone) were probed, using sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and immunological techniques, for unique peptide components absent from neighbouring non-zone mid-rachis tissue (MR). Ouchterlony immuno-diffusion revealed differences in the spectrum of antigenic determinants possessed by each tissue type when challenged with antiserum raised against OZ. Immuno-electrophoresis showed a basic polypeptide which is expressed preferentially in the abscission zone. Immune-competition of OZ, MR and Zone extracts using immuno-affinity column chromatography has identified polypeptides of ca 34, ca 32, and ca 28 kDa which are (up to the limits of detection) abscission-cell specific. An antibody raised against the ca 34 kDa polypeptide recognises a peptide of ca 34 kDa present in OZ and Zone. This peptide is absent from MR. These results suggest that the specific positional differentiation of ethylene-responsive target cells which constitute the leaf rachis abscission zone in S. nigra is accompanied by the expression of zone-cell-specific antigenic determinants which are not expressed by non-target neighbouring tissue.