Biology Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Recognizing the imperiled status of biodiversity and its benefit to human well-being, the world's governments committed in 2010 to take effective and urgent action to halt biodiversity loss through the Convention on Biological... more

Recognizing the imperiled status of biodiversity and its benefit to human well-being, the world's governments committed in 2010 to take effective and urgent action to halt biodiversity loss through the Convention on Biological Diversity's "Aichi Targets". These targets, and many conservation programs, require monitoring to assess progress toward specific goals. However, comprehensive and easily understood information on biodiversity trends at appropriate spatial scales is often not available to the policy makers, managers, and scientists who require it. We surveyed conservation stakeholders in three geographically diverse regions of critical biodiversity concern (the Tropical Andes, the African Great Lakes, and the Greater Mekong) and found high demand for biodiversity indicator information but uneven availability. To begin to address this need, we present a biodiversity "dashboard"--a visualization of biodiversity indicators designed to enable tracking o...

Three interconnected positions are advocated: (1) although serving as a useful model, the immune self does not exist as such; (2) instead of a self/nonself demarcation, the immune system 'sees' itself, i.e., it does not ignore the... more

Three interconnected positions are advocated: (1) although serving as a useful model, the immune self does not exist as such; (2) instead of a self/nonself demarcation, the immune system 'sees' itself, i.e., it does not ignore the 'self' or attack the 'other;' but exhibits a spectrum of responses, which when viewed from outside the system appear as discrimination of 'self' and 'nonself' based on certain criteria of reactivity. When immune reactions are conceived in terms of normal physiology and open exchange with the environment, where borders dividing host and foreign are elusive and changing, host defense is only part of the immune system's functions, which actually comprise two basic tasks: protection, i.e., to preserve host integrity, and maintenance of organismic identity. And thus (3) if the spectrum of immunity is enlarged, differentiating low reactive 'autoimmune' reactions from activated immune responses against the '...

The activation of the G-protein transducin (Gt) by rhodopsin (Rho) has been intensively studied for several decades. It is the best understood example of GPCR activation mechanism and serves as a template for other GPCRs. The structure of... more

The activation of the G-protein transducin (Gt) by rhodopsin (Rho) has been intensively studied for several decades. It is the best understood example of GPCR activation mechanism and serves as a template for other GPCRs. The structure of the Rho/G protein complex, which is transiently formed during the signaling reaction, is of particular interest. It can help understanding the molecular details of how retinal isomerization leads to the G protein activation, as well as shed some light on how GPCR recognizes its cognate G protein. The native Rho/Gt complex isolated from bovine retina suffers from low stability and loss of the retinal ligand. Recently, we reported that constitutively active mutant of rhodopsin E113Q forms a Rho/Gt complex that is stable in detergent solution. Here, we introduce methods for a large scale preparation of the complex formed by the thermo-stabilized and constitutively active rhodopsin mutant N2C/M257Y/D282C(RhoM257Y) and the native Gt purified from bovine...

Mulberry is exclusively used for rearing silkworm due to the presence of unique chemo-factors like morin, β-sitosterol in leaves. Plant is a potential source for curing debilitating diseases. Flavonoids, anthocyanin and alkaloids present... more

Mulberry is exclusively used for rearing silkworm due to the presence of unique chemo-factors like morin, β-sitosterol in leaves. Plant is a potential source for curing debilitating diseases. Flavonoids, anthocyanin and alkaloids present in the leaves, bark, root and fruits of mulberry play a pivotal role in containing free radicals and prooxidants generated in the body due to metabolism and phagocytosis. Though oxygen is much imperative for life processes, metabolism imbalance and generation of free radicals are prime reason for causing different ailments. The review reveals the wide range of important Pharmacological uses of mulberry including phytochemical composition, antioxidant, and medicinal properties. Present paper provides concrete evidence on the role of mulberry for antioxidation therapy and management of human diseases.

The cleft lip and palate (CLP) speech intelligibility is distorted due to the deformation in their articulatory system. For addressing the same, a few previous works perform phoneme specific modification in CLP speech. In CLP speech, both... more

The cleft lip and palate (CLP) speech intelligibility is distorted due to the deformation in their articulatory system. For addressing the same, a few previous works perform phoneme specific modification in CLP speech. In CLP speech, both the articulation error and the nasalization distorts the intelligibility of a word. Consequently, modification of a specific phoneme may not always yield in enhanced entire word-level intelligibility. For such cases, it is important to identify and isolate the phoneme specific error based on the knowledge of acoustic events. Accordingly, the phoneme specific error modification algorithms can be exploited for transforming the specified errors and enhance the wordlevel intelligibility. Motivated by that, in this work, we combine some of salient phoneme specific enhancement approaches and demonstrate their effectiveness in improving the word-level intelligibility of CLP speech. The enhanced speech samples are evaluated using subjective and objective e...

Estre corto documento recoge algunas ideas muy interesantes de varios estudiosos como Antonio Cruz, John Lennox, William Lane Craig y otros. Para explicar el concepto de la palabra evolución , su significado en el contexto y como la... more

Estre corto documento recoge algunas ideas muy interesantes de varios estudiosos como Antonio Cruz, John Lennox, William Lane Craig y otros.
Para explicar el concepto de la palabra evolución , su significado en el contexto y como la evolución presenta conflictos con algunas leyes universales.

El objetivo de este trabajo fue estudiar y evaluar las propiedades físico-mecánicas de la madera de corta final de una plantación experimental de 15 años de edad de Prosopis alba a partir de clones resistentes a la salinidad. Se consideró... more

El objetivo de este trabajo fue estudiar y evaluar las propiedades físico-mecánicas de la madera de corta final de una plantación experimental de 15 años de edad de Prosopis alba a partir de clones resistentes a la salinidad. Se consideró procedente, comparar los valores obtenidos con datos de evaluaciones similares sobre árboles de la misma plantación, en oportunidad del primer y segundo raleo; contrastándose estos valores con los obtenidos de árboles adultos provenientes de bosques nativos. La metodología utilizada consistió en muestreo, selección y extracción del material que posteriormente fue acondicionado y trasladado al ITM-FCF-UNSE a los fines del estudio y evaluación de las propiedades físico-mecánicas. Los resultados obtenidos son muy alentadores, ya que esta madera presenta valores que sobrepasan los determinados en árboles maduros de la misma especie extraídos del bosque nativo, siendo muy similares a los encontrados en los provenientes de los raleos de 7 y 12 años de es...

Taking into account the economic importance of Acer species and their frequent use in landscape architecture, both nationally and internationally, it is necessary to develop an in vitro biotechnology research to propagate some of the most... more

Taking into account the economic importance of Acer species and their frequent use in landscape architecture, both nationally and internationally, it is necessary to develop an in vitro biotechnology research to propagate some of the most popular and requested Acer varieties. The study presents data on the partial results of in vitro initiation for two varieties of Acer platanoides: 'Globosum' and 'Crimson King'. During the initiation phase, Acer platanoides 'Globosum' showed the best initiation percentage, using the next nutrient composition: MS macroelements, MS microelements, MS vitamins, auxins/citokinine 0.2:1 mg/l, while Acer platanoides 'Crimson King' variety recorded the best results on the nutrient medium with a different composition: MS macroelements, MS microelements, LF vitamins and auxins/citokinine 0.4:1.2 mg/l. Keywords: Acer platanoides‚Globosum, Acer platanoides ‚Crimson King', maple, in vitro culture, explants Cuvinte cheie: Acer platanoides ‚Globosum', Acer platanoides ‚Crimson King', arţar, cultură in vitro, explante

Ruby N. Gutiérrez 5.1-Medios de Sabouraud y Mycosel-El agar Mycosel contiene cicloheximida y cloranfenicol (antibióticos) que inhiben el crecimiento de casi todas las especies saprofitas de hongos, mientras que el agar Littman contiene... more

Ruby N. Gutiérrez 5.1-Medios de Sabouraud y Mycosel-El agar Mycosel contiene cicloheximida y cloranfenicol (antibióticos) que inhiben el crecimiento de casi todas las especies saprofitas de hongos, mientras que el agar Littman contiene estreptomicina y que impide que se rieguen las colonias de las especies saprófitas.-Dematiáceos: se pueden obtener abriendo los platos de medios de cultivo, la semana anterior a la práctica por 15 minutos, exponiéndolos al ambiente y luego incubándolos a temperatura ambiente.-Colonias = contaminantes que pudieran esperarse de un exudado, o cualquier lesión que estuviera en contacto con el aire.-Algunas colonias son de color gris o negro-verdoso. Estas representan la familia Dermatiaceae y suelen constituir alrededor del 50%, o más de los hongos transmitidos por el aire. Las colonias de levaduras que son blandas y pastosas no deben ser numerosas.-Colonias con tinte color verde = Aspergillus o Penicillium.-Características: o Carencia de clorofila. Se alimentan de materia orgánica = Quimioorganótrofos (Heterótrofos) o Eucariotas o Pared celular rígida de polisacáridos, polipéptidos y quitina o Absorben nutrientes mediante enzimas extracelulares o Levaduras  estructuras unicelulares que se reproducen por gemación o Presentan talo o micelio, constituidos por hifas (unidad básica) o Talo o micelio  Vegetativo (desarrollo, nutrición y fijación)  Reproductor (se forman los órganos de reproducción)  hifas, levaduras y pseudohifas o Levaduras: talo disociado produce colonias de crec rápido, suave, aspecto similar a bacterias. o Mohos: talo filamentoso aéreo entremezclado más o menos largo o agrupado de manera compacta, de crecimiento lento salvo en los hongos oportunistas. o Dimórficos: hongos que tienen una fase parasitaria levaduriforme (37ºC) y una saprofítica micelial (20-25ºC)-Espora: forma de reproducción asexual en los hongos-Hifas: filamento que forma el tallo o cuerpo de un hongo-Micelio: conjunto de hifas entrelazadas y ramificadas-Conidias: estructura de reproducción asexual en fase micelial de los hongos. Son esporas producidas por hifas especializadas (llamadas conidióforos) mediante "estrangulamientos" sucesivos en el punto de unión.-Conidióforo: estructura en los extremos de las hifas vegetativas. Dan origen a las conidias. Rhizopus Colonia de rápido crecimiento, de aspecto típicamente algodonoso, de color blanco o blanco ceniza o negruzco dado por los órganos reproductores (hifas). Micelio vegetativo formado por hifas sin septos (cenocíticas) hialinas o ligeramente coloreadas a partir de las cuales se diferencian los conidióforos (esporangioforos) sobre un rizoide típico que le da una apariencia al hongo de los tallos estoloníferos de la "fresa". Estos esporangioforos terminan en vesículas (esporangiosporas) variadas en forma; coloreadas o hialinas. Especies de amplia distribución, en todos los ambientes; saprófitas en su mayoría. * Mucor es igual a Rhizopus, sólo que el primero no tiene raicillas*

Carcharhinus sorrah (Mülle and Henle, 1839) is a coastal pelagic shark of the tropical and subtropical Indo–West Pacific, reaching 1.6 m total length. The species is widely harvested in line, net, and trawl fisheries over tropical... more

Carcharhinus sorrah (Mülle and Henle, 1839) is a coastal pelagic shark of the tropical and subtropical Indo–West Pacific, reaching 1.6 m total length. The species is widely harvested in line, net, and trawl fisheries over tropical continental shelves. We investigated mtDNA genetic differentiation in C. sorrah across the majority of the species' range, and examined the importance of six major historical and contemporary biogeographic features in shaping population genetic structure in this species. The present study includes dense sampling for a shark species across the Indo–West Pacific, with 349 specimens sampled from 21 collection locations from the northwestern Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, New Caledonia, and to southerly distribution limits in Australia. Based on 469 base pairs of the control region, we found extensive genetic population structure, with allopatric lineages confined to Australia, New Caledonia, and the remaining surveyed area. Significant genetic subdivisions...

"The expression “mental illness” arises historically in the course of conversations about our human relational living, in an attempt to visualize some regularities that occurred in it, thinking that if we could grasp them we would be able... more

"The expression “mental illness” arises historically in the course of conversations about our human relational living, in an attempt to visualize some regularities that occurred in it, thinking that if we could grasp them we would be able to solve some difficulties that we were encountering in our living together, thinking that we could do so through formalizing them with some adequate theory that we would invent. However, to do that, we have to abstract those regularities in our living together first; we must respect ourselves accepting that naming is not a trivial aspect of what we do in our living: names have arisen in our history of living together as operational elements of coordination of our doings, and reveal regularities in that living."

Medical ethics is an interdisciplinary knowledge which deals with the ethical and value aspects of medical profession and medical sciences. Although medical ethics has a history of 2500 years, it has been formally included in medical... more

Medical ethics is an interdisciplinary knowledge which deals with the ethical and value aspects of medical profession and medical sciences. Although medical ethics has a history of 2500 years, it has been formally included in medical training courses in most of medical sciences universities of the world since 30 years ago and quickly became a common part of curriculum for medical students. In fact, extensive advances in medical care and medical knowledge and also recent social changes have caused ethics to be raised as an essential part of today’s medical education. Despite extensive research on the curriculum of medical ethics and several useful reviews and revisions, still many questions about the nature, objectives, and results of these courses have remained unanswered. This has led to the negligence of many of the qualities, skills, and abilities that should be included in the curriculum of medical ethics. Studies have shown that some of the courses offered as medical ethics in the curriculum have not managed to help physicians to improve their ethical skills.

Καθόλη τη διάρκεια της ανθρώπινης ιστορίας, αναρίθμητες επιδημίες και πανδημίες έχουν αφανίσει τον ανθρώπινο πληθυσμό. Αν και στο παρελθόν τεχνολογικοί και επιστημονικοί περιορισμοί μειονεκτούσαν τον άνθρωπο, πρέπει να επισημανθεί πως... more

Καθόλη τη διάρκεια της ανθρώπινης ιστορίας, αναρίθμητες επιδημίες και πανδημίες έχουν αφανίσει τον ανθρώπινο πληθυσμό. Αν και στο παρελθόν τεχνολογικοί και επιστημονικοί περιορισμοί μειονεκτούσαν τον άνθρωπο, πρέπει να επισημανθεί πως πολλές από τις εξάρσεις διάφορων ασθενειών ήταν και είναι αποφευκτές. Το συγκεκριμένο άρθρο θα επιχειρήσει μια ιστορική ανάλυση κάποιων χαρακτηριστικών πανδημιών και θα προτείνει συστάσεις για τον καλύτερο και αποτελεσματικότερο έλεγχο και περιορισμό μελλοντικών πανδημιών.

Since the 1980s, morphological and molecular research has resulted in significant advances in understanding the relationships and origins of the recent terrestrial vertebrate fauna in the New Zealand biogeographic region. This research... more

Since the 1980s, morphological and molecular research has resulted in significant advances in understanding the relationships and origins of the recent terrestrial vertebrate fauna in the New Zealand biogeographic region. This research has led to many taxonomic changes, with a significant increase in the number of bird and reptile species recognised. It has also resulted in the recognition of several more Holocene (<10 000 years ago) bird species extinctions. The conclusion that Holocene extinctions were primarily caused by human- hunting and predation by other introduced mammals (particularly rats and cats) has been supported by new data. Despite many local eradications of introduced pests, the number of introduced species has increased, with the establishment of five more foreign birds and (on Norfolk Island) the house gecko ( Hemidactylus frenatus). Many new, significant New Zealand vertebrate fossils have been reported, including more dinosaurs from the Cretaceous, and the fi...

Behavioural observations in the field of male Mediterranean damselfish Chromis chromis were combined with molecular analyses, using bi-parentally and maternally inherited markers, to investigate reproductive success patterns of... more

Behavioural observations in the field of male Mediterranean damselfish Chromis chromis were combined with molecular analyses, using bi-parentally and maternally inherited markers, to investigate reproductive success patterns of alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs) in terms of number of eggs sired and number of females contributing to each nest. Cuckoldry was observed in every nest sampled, with at least two and up to seven sneaker males per nest. The nesting male, however, always significantly fertilized the greater number of eggs (on average 49%) in each clutch, whereas each sneaker fertilized around 7% of the clutch. The average number of females whose eggs were fertilized by nesting males was 6·76 (range 2-13), while each sneaker on average fertilized the eggs of 1·74 (range 1-8) females. Using this sibship reconstruction, some of the factors involved in the regulation of the dynamic equilibrium of reproductive success were investigated between the two ARTs shown by C. chromis...

The techniques used for the capture, marking and habituation of African wild cats (Felis silvestris cafra) in the Kalahari are described and evaluated in this paper. African wild cats were captured, with either baited cage traps or... more

The techniques used for the capture, marking and habituation of African wild cats (Felis silvestris cafra) in the Kalahari are described and evaluated in this paper. African wild cats were captured, with either baited cage traps or chemical immobilisation through darting. Darting proved to be a more efficient and less stressful way of capturing cats. Very high frequency (VHF) radio collars fitted with activity monitors were especially effective in the open habitat of the Kalahari for locating and maintaining contact with cats; they also aided in determining if the cats were active or resting in dense vegetation. The habituation of individual cats to a 4×4 vehicle proved to be time consuming, but it provided a unique opportunity to investigate the feeding ecology and spatial organisation of cats through direct visual observations.

Designed to be used with all majors-level general biology textbooks, the included labs are investigative, using both discovery- and hypothesis-based science methods. Students experimentally investigate topics, observe structure, use... more

Designed to be used with all majors-level general biology textbooks, the included labs are investigative, using both discovery- and hypothesis-based science methods. Students experimentally investigate topics, observe structure, use critical thinking skills to predict and test ideas, and engage in hands-on learning. By emphasizing investigative, quantitative, and comparative approaches to the topics, the authors continually emphasize how the biological sciences are integrative, yet unique.

Minkowski famously introduced the concept of a space-time continuum in 1908, merging the three dimensions of space with an imaginary time dimension $ i c t ,withtheunitimaginaryproducingthecorrectspacetimedistance, with the unit imaginary producing the correct spacetime distance ,withtheunitimaginaryproducingthecorrectspacetimedistance x^2 - c^2... more

Minkowski famously introduced the concept of a space-time continuum in 1908, merging the three dimensions of space with an imaginary time dimension $ i c t ,withtheunitimaginaryproducingthecorrectspacetimedistance, with the unit imaginary producing the correct spacetime distance ,withtheunitimaginaryproducingthecorrectspacetimedistance x^2 - c^2 t^2 ,andtheresultsofEinstein′sthenrecentlydevelopedtheoryofspecialrelativity,thusprovidinganexplanationforEinstein′stheoryintermsofthestructureofspaceandtime.AsanalternativetoaplanarMinkowskispace−timeoftwospacedimensionsandonetimedimension,wereplacetheunitimaginary, and the results of Einstein's then recently developed theory of special relativity, thus providing an explanation for Einstein's theory in terms of the structure of space and time. As an alternative to a planar Minkowski space-time of two space dimensions and one time dimension, we replace the unit imaginary ,andtheresultsofEinstein′sthenrecentlydevelopedtheoryofspecialrelativity,thusprovidinganexplanationforEinstein′stheoryintermsofthestructureofspaceandtime.AsanalternativetoaplanarMinkowskispace−timeoftwospacedimensionsandonetimedimension,wereplacetheunitimaginary i = \sqrt{-1} ,withtheCliffordbivector, with the Clifford bivector ,withtheCliffordbivector \iota = e_1 e_2 $ for the plane that also squares to minus one, but which can be included without the addition of an extra dimension, as it is an integral part of the real Cartesian plane with the orthonormal basis $ e_1 $ and $ e_2 $. We find that with this model of planar spacetime, using a two-dimensional Clifford multivector, the spacetime metric and the Lorentz transformations follow immediately as properties of the algebra. This also leads to momentum and energy being represented as components of a multivector and we give a new efficient derivation of Compton's scattering formula, and a simple formulation of Dirac's and Maxwell's equations. Based on the mathematical structure of the multivector, we produce a semi-classical model of massive particles, which can then be viewed as the origin of the Minkowski spacetime structure and thus a deeper explanation for relativistic effects. We also find a new perspective on the nature of time, which is now given a precise mathematical definition as the bivector of the plane.