Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Inoculum Additions in the Presence of a Preestablished Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Community

ABSTRACT Communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are crucial for promoting plant productivity in most terrestrial systems, including anthropogenically managed ecosystems. Application of AMF inocula has therefore become a widespread practice. It is, however, pertinent to understand the mechanisms that govern AMF community composition and their performance in order to design successful manipulations. Here we assess whether the composition and plant growth-promotional effects of a synthetic AMF community can be altered by inoculum additions of the isolates forming the community. This was determined by following the effects of three AMF isolates, each inoculated in two propagule densities into a preestablished AMF community. Fungal abundance in roots and plant growth were evaluated in three sequential harvests. We found a transient positive response in AMF abundance to the intraspecific inoculation only in the competitively weakest isolate. The other two isolates responded negatively to intra- and interspecific inoculations, and in some cases plant growth was also reduced. Our results suggest that increasing the AMF density may lead to increased competition among fungi and a trade-off with their ability to promote plant productivity. This is a key ecological aspect to consider when introducing AMF into soils.
The Ability of Lyzenga’s Algorithm for Seagrass Mapping using Sentinel-2A Imagery on Small Island, Spermonde Archipelago, Indonesia

The existence of the value of depth variation in the study area is also a requirement in the application of this algorithm. The purpose of this study is to determine the ability of the use of algorithms in the mapping of seagrass by comparing the results of classification between imagery using the Lyzenga’s algorithm with imagery without using the Lyzenga’s algorithm. The result of imagery classification applying the Lyzenga’s algorithm shows the visibility of baseline water objects that are more easily recognizable using Depth Invariant Index (DII) value format as evidenced by the increase of 2 classes of seagrass cover. In this study there are five seagrass cover classes of shallow water in Pajenekang Island, Spermonde-Indonesia Islands using Lyzenga’s algorithm, namely class are 1) Very good: > 75%; 2) Good: 50,575,4%; 3) Rather Good: 25,5-50,4%; 4) Bad: 5,5-25,4%; and 5) Very Bad: <5.5%.
Sedentary Behavior and Physical Activity in Youth With Recent Onset of Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE: With the rise of type 2 diabetes in youth, it is critical to investigate factors such as physical activity (PA) and time spent sedentary that may be contributing to this public health problem. This article describes PA and sedentary time in a large cohort of youth with type 2 diabetes and compares these levels with other large-scale investigations. METHODS: The Treatment Options for Type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth (TODAY) trial is a study in 699 youth, recruited from 15 US clinical centers, aged 10 to 17 years with <2 years of type 2 diabetes and a BMI ≥85th percentile. RESULTS: In comparison with the subset of the NHANES cohort who were obese (BMI ≥95th percentile), TODAY youth spent significantly more time being sedentary (difference averaging 56 minutes per day; P < .001) as assessed by accelerometry. Although moderate to vigorous activity levels in both obese cohorts for all age groups were exceptionally low, younger TODAY boys were still significantly less active than similarly aged NHANES youth. Comparisons between the TODAY girls and other investigations suggest that the TODAY girls also had relatively lower PA and fitness levels. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents with type 2 diabetes from the large TODAY cohort appear to be less physically active and tend to spend more time being sedentary than similarly aged youth without diabetes identified from other large national investigations. Treatment efforts in adolescents with type 2 diabetes should include decreasing sitting along with efforts to increase PA levels.
Hormonal and Reproductive Risk Factors for Epithelial Ovarian Cancer by Tumor Aggressiveness

Background: Approximately half of epithelial ovarian cancers are fatal within 3 years; however, roughly 35% of women survive for at least 10 years. In the Nurses' Health Study, New England Case-Control Study, Australian Ovarian Cancer Study, and NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, we investigated potential differences in the associations with ovarian cancer risk factors by tumor aggressiveness, defined on the basis of time from diagnosis until death. Methods: We calculated relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for associations of known or suspected ovarian cancer risk factors with rapidly fatal (death within 3 years of diagnosis) and less aggressive tumors (all others) using Cox proportional hazards competing risks analysis (NHS and AARP) or polytomous logistic regression (NECC, AOCS). Results were combined using random effects meta-analysis. Results: Increasing age was associated with greater risk of rapidly fatal versus less aggressive disease (RR, 5-year increase: 1.39; 95% CI, 1.29–1.49 vs. RR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.03–1.16, respectively; Pdiff < 0.0001). Oral contraceptive use was associated with a greater decreased risk of rapidly fatal (RR, 5-year increase: 0.69; 95% CI, 0.58–0.82) versus less aggressive disease (RR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.74–0.89; Pdiff, 0.002). Conversely, increasing parity was associated only with less aggressive disease (RR per child, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.81–0.93). Conclusion: In this analysis of 4,342 cases, there were clear differences in risk factors for rapidly fatal versus less aggressive ovarian tumors. Impact: Differences in risk factor associations by tumor aggressiveness suggests the developmental pathways through which the tumors develop and may be important for developing primary preventive strategies for the most aggressive cancers. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 22(3); 429–36. ©2013 AACR.
Receptive Field Plasticity Profoundly Alters the Cutaneous Parallel Fiber Synaptic Input to Cerebellar Interneurons In Vivo

The cutaneous parallel fiber (PF) receptive fields of cerebellar stellate and basket cells in the cerebellar C3 zone in vivo are normally very small but can be dramatically enlarged by climbing fiber (CF)-dependent plasticity. To analyze the effects of this receptive field plasticity, we present for the first time whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from these interneurons during natural and electrical activation of cutaneously driven synaptic input. In “naive” interneurons, peripheral input nearly exclusively activated a few (two to eight) large PF EPSPs from a specific small skin area that overlapped the receptive field of the local CF input. After conjunctive PF and CF stimulation, numerous small and large EPSPs and ramp-like depolarizations could be activated from the entire forelimb skin. These findings therefore confirm previous suggestions that conjunctive PF and CF activation leads to a long-lasting potentiation of PF synaptic input to interneurons. The CF response, which is crucial for the induction of the PF synaptic potentiation, was strong but variable and very different from the conventional EPSPs evoked by PFs.
Dual Phase Engineered Tissue for Enhanced Bone Formation.

Large bone defects are a significant clinical problem in the United States and worldwide. “Non-unions” are fractures that fail to heal due to a lack of blood supply to the defect site. In our approach to bone regeneration, we create modular engineered tissues (“microbeads”) designed to form bone, and combine them with a surrounding vascularizing tissue to generate a dual-phase injectable matrix for enhanced bone formation. In the first Aim, human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (bmMSC) or human adipose stem cells (AdSC) were embedded in collagen/fibrin (COL/FIB) or collagen/fibrin/hydroxyapatite (COL/FIB/HA) microbeads. Both cell types mineralized microbeads, indicating differentiation towards the osteogenic lineage. The second Aim used a co-culture model of bmMSC and human umbilical vein endothelial cells in COL/FIB composite hydrogels to create a vasculogenic matrix. Cell ratio and matrix composition were varied in a systematic manner. Vascular network formation increased in vitro with increasing fibrin content in composite materials, although the 40/60 COL/FIB and pure fibrin materials exhibited similar responses. Hydroxyapatite (HA) was found to recover endothelial network formation in unconstrained hydrogels. Over 7 days of dorsal subcutaneous implantation in nude mice, these matrices exhibited increasing neovascularization, though there was no significant effect of HA. The final Aim combined osteogenic microbeads with a surrounding vasculogenic matrix to evaluate the effect of this dual-phase tissue in vivo. Both vasculogenesis and osteogenesis were examined in a subcutaneous bone formation model in the mouse at 4 and 8 weeks. Blood flow measured by Doppler imaging was not significantly different between any conditions at any time point, except at 8 weeks where the vasculogenic matrix alone was lower than all other groups. Micro-computed tomography of ectopic bone demonstrated significantly higher bone volume in the osteogenic microbead condition at 4 weeks and both the blank and osteogenic microbead conditions at 8 weeks, compared to the dual osteogenic/vasculogenic condition. These data suggest an inhibitory effect of the vasculogenic component on bone formation in the non-ischemic model. Dual-phase implants may be more effective in ischemic orthotopic bone regeneration models, and these results demonstrate that such constructs can be designed, fabricated, and delivered for therapeutic use.
Translation of High-Density Lipoprotein Function Into Clinical Practice: Current Prospects and Future Challenges

High-density lipoproteins (HDLs) represent a spectrum of particles that vary in their physicochemical and functional properties.1 It has been shown in many population studies that the concentration of HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) is inversely related to the risk of having a cardiovascular disease (CVD) event. In this paradigm, HDL-C has been considered to be a marker of the potentially cardioprotective functions of HDL. However, recent studies have suggested that the simple concentration of HDL-C may not always reflect HDL function, with growing evidence that under some circumstances HDL function may be compromised despite high concentrations of HDL-C. The best known of the potentially antiatherogenic functions of HDLs is their ability to promote cholesterol efflux from cells, including that from macrophages in the arterial wall.2 Cellular cholesterol efflux is achieved by several mechanisms. One involves the interaction of phospholipid-depleted and cholesterol-deficient apolipoprotein (apo) A-I complexes (discoidal, pre–β-migrating particles [very small HDL] with the ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) in a process that results in the formation of a heterogeneous population of nascent HDL particles that are discoidal in shape and contain apoA-I, phospholipids, and free cholesterol. A proportion of the free cholesterol is subsequently esterified by lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT); this enzyme generates a core of cholesteryl esters in a process that converts HDL particles from discoidal, very small, pre-β1-migrating particles into spherical, α-migrating particles (small HDL]). 1 The interaction of spherical HDL particles with other active cellular transporters such as ABCG1 and passive diffusion of cellular cholesterol further increase the cholesterol load of HDL. However, it is often unappreciated that peripheral cholesterol efflux contributes <5% of the cholesterol content of HDL.2 Thus, HDL-C is an inadequate surrogate measure for the most heralded of HDL functions. Various HDL subpopulations differ in other antiatherogenic functions that extend beyond macrophage …
An analysis of clear sky and contextual biases using an operational over ocean MODIS aerosol product

Clear sky and other cloud‐related contextual biases are critical yet unsolved mysteries for aerosol related climatological studies using satellite observations. For the first time, we simulated contextual biases over ocean using 2‐years of Navy Aerosol Analysis and Prediction System (NAAPS) products that include the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aerosol optical depth (AOD) assimilation. We compared model‐derived AOD in regions with and without observations, and found that sampling results in negligible seasonal globally averaged AOD bias (<5%). Biases are more pronounced in regions with frequent overcast skies and high aerosol loadings, such as Southeast Asia, and mid‐latitude South America. This suggests that contextual biases may develop from transport covariance and other observing biases. Lastly, we found that over remote oceans, under cloud decks, a slight increase aerosol optical depth values could exist, comparing with cloud free regions. But this is still small relative to cloud artifacts in the retrieval.
EVOLUTIONARY INFERENCES FROM RESTRICTION MAPS OF MITOCHONDRIAL DNA FROM NINE TAXA OF XENOPUS FROGS

Restriction endonuclease cleavage maps were prepared by the double digestion method for mitochondrial DNAs (mtDNAs) purified from Xenopus borealis, X. clivii, X. fraseri, X. muelleri, X. ruwenzoriensis, X. vestitus, X. laevis victorianus, X. l. laevis, and a variant of X. laevis designated X. laevis “davis. ” An average of 21 cleavage sites per genome were mapped with 11 restriction endonucleases. Among the four invariant sites found are three conserved not only among the Xenopus mtDNAs tested but also among nearly all vertebrate mtDNAs examined to date. Two of these are Sac II sites in the 12S and 16S ribosomal RNA genes, and one is a Hpa I site in the gene for asparagine transfer RNA. These three sites permit the alignment and comparison of mtDNAs from different vertebrate classes. Although most of the differences observed among the Xenopus maps are attributable to point mutations causing gain or loss of restriction sites, the maps also differ by three large length mutations in or near the displacement loop.
Isolation and identification of Mycobacterium bovis in milk from cows in northeastern Brazil

Milk samples from 16 cows that tested positive on the tuberculin test in the state of Paraiba, northeastern Brazil, were used for mycobacteria isolation and identification. Mycobacteria were isolated from five (31.25%) of the 16 milk samples; three samples were classified as M. bovis, and two as belonging to the Mycobacterium genus. This is probably the first study of isolation and identification of M. bovis in milk from cows in Northeastern Brazil, which suggests that humans are at risk of contamination by ingestion.
Survival and endocrine outome after testicular relapse in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Survival and endocrine status in a cohort of boys with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) who started treatment between 1972 and 1987 and subsequently developed a testicular relapse were analysed. During this period there was a significant improvement in the overall event free survival for boys, but no significant decrease in the testicular relapse rate. Thirty three boys had an apparently isolated testicular relapse, whereas 21 boys had a combined relapse. The event free survival for boys with an isolated testicular relapse was 59% at six years (95% confidence interval (CI) 42 to 74%). The event free survival for the 16 patients with a combined relapse who received a second course of treatment was 32% (95% CI 17 to 60%). Those patients receiving adequate second line treatment for an isolated testicular relapse whose first remission was longer than or equal to two years had an event free survival of 82% (95% CI 63 to 93%) at six years. No boy relapsing within two years from diagnosis has survived. Endocrine late effects are significant, with 82% of the boys requiring hormonal treatment at some stage for induction of puberty or continuing pubertal maturation, or both. It is concluded that, despite the increasing intensity of initial treatment for ALL, isolated testicular relapse is treatable by conventional means in most patients. Careful endocrine follow up of these patients is essential as most will require hormone replacement treatment. Key messages Testicular relapse remains an important cause of the failure to cure boys with ALL Isolated testicular relapse after treatment carries an 82% six year survival with adequate retrieval treatment Patients developing a testicular relapse during treatment fare badly Endocrine sequelae in this group of patients are significant, but treatable; long term follow up is essential
Sex Steroids Do Not Modulate TRPM2-Mediated Injury in Females following Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion1,2,3

TRPM2 is an ion channel that is activated by ischemia in stroke and contributes to neuronal injury only in males. We tested whether the lack of TRPM2 activation following stroke in females is caused by differences in sex steroids. Abstract Calcium-permeable transient receptor potential M2 (TRPM2) ion channel activation contributes to cerebral ischemic injury specifically in males. In male mice, circulating androgens are required for TRPM2 inhibition with clotrimazole (CTZ) to provide protection following experimental stroke. Sufficient levels of circulating androgens are necessary to support ischemia-induced activation of poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) and consequent activation of TRPM2 channels. In this study, we tested whether differences in sex steroids contribute to the lack of CTZ neuroprotection in females. Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was performed using adult female mice that were hormonally intact, ovariectomized (OVX) or dihydrotestosterone (DHT) treated. CTZ or vehicle was administered at the time of reperfusion, animals were euthanized 24 h later and brains and serum were collected. Infarct analysis revealed no effect of CTZ in intact females or females lacking endogenous sex steroids (OVX). Interestingly, treatment of female mice with the potent androgen receptor agonist DHT had no effect on ischemic injury and did not permit CTZ neuroprotection. Similarly, DHT-treated females did not exhibit increased levels of ADPribose, the TRPM2 ligand generated by PARP, following ischemia. No differences in TRPM2 or androgen receptor expression were observed between males and females. These data suggest that the lack of TRPM2 activation in females following experimental stroke is not due to the presence of estrogen or the absence of androgens. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that while circulating androgens are necessary for PARP-mediated TRPM2 injury in males, they are not sufficient to produce TRPM2 activation in females.
Safety and Efficacy Profile of Echinacea purpurea to Prevent Common Cold Episodes: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Objective. To investigate the safety (risk) and efficacy (benefit) of Echinacea purpurea extract in the prevention of common cold episodes in a large population over a 4-month period. Methods. 755 healthy subjects were allocated to receive either an alcohol extract from freshly harvested E. purpurea (95% herba and 5% root) or placebo. Participants were required to record adverse events and to rate cold-related issues in a diary throughout the investigation period. Nasal secretions were sampled at acute colds and screened for viruses. Results. A total of 293 adverse events occurred with Echinacea and 306 with placebo treatment. Nine and 10% of participants experienced adverse events, which were at least possibly related to the study drug (adverse drug reactions). Thus, the safety of Echinacea was noninferior to placebo. Echinacea reduced the total number of cold episodes, cumulated episode days within the group, and pain-killer medicated episodes. Echinacea inhibited virally confirmed colds and especially prevented enveloped virus infections (P < 0.05). Echinacea showed maximal effects on recurrent infections, and preventive effects increased with therapy compliance and adherence to the protocol. Conclusions. Compliant prophylactic intake of E. purpurea over a 4-month period appeared to provide a positive risk to benefit ratio.
Indicators for assessing good governance of protected areas: Insights from park managers in Western Australia

Effective management of protected areas relies on good governance. An assessment was undertaken using the standards provided by the United Nations Development Programme’s characteristics of good governance for sustainable development as a starting point. Being able to assess governance based on indicators is essential for ongoing effective management through improving practice. Although indicators and evaluation frameworks are available, they do not offer protected area managers a quick, comprehensive measure of governance. We used a three-round Delphi method with a cohort of 33 managers and researchers from government and non-government organizations, and universities. This participatory research process established a set of 20 indicators addressing public participation, consensus orientation, strategic vision, responsiveness, effectiveness, efficiency, accountability, transparency, equity, and rule of law. Accompanying output measures were provided by management plans, annual reports, audits, and stakeholder engagement. The findings emphasize the contributions of management plans and annual reports in establishing evaluation requirements and providing a place where results are publicly available. Further participatory research to refine these indicators and apply them in a diversity of contexts is advocated.
Disinfection by-product formation from biofilm chlorination in drinking water pipes

Biofilms in drinking water distribution networks (DWDNs) are recognized as potential pathogen reservoirs. Recent experiments have found that biofilm can also act as precursors for the formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs). This project aimed to better understand the impact of the presence of biofilms and improve prediction of DBPs in DWDNs. To study the microbial significance of biofilms in water pipes, bacterial communities in biofilm and bulk water were identified in a DWDN in a tropical climate country. Drinking water and biofilms were characterised by physico-chemical parameters. Relationships between biotic, physico-chemical parameters and engineered factors (i.e., pipe age, material and diameter; and water age) were explored by the application of statistical tests. Additionally, improvement of DBP prediction in DWDNs was approached by modelling the role of biofilms as DBP precursors. Two models for predicting DBP formation potentials were developed from chlorination of cells and extracellular polymeric substances. The first model corresponded to stagnant conditions and a second more complex model was produced for transitional and turbulent flow. The models were implemented in the software COMSOL Multiphysics 5.2a and sensitivity analysis was carried out to screen the parameters influence on the response variables. Field-work assessment allowed determining that biofilms are richer habitats than bulk water. Pipe age, pipe material, water age, free chlorine, pH and temperature can be key to the composition of bacterial communities. Model simulations suggested that the important DBP exposure is related to dichloroacetronitrile, stagnant bulk, and slow flow. The microbial and chemical significance of biofilms is important in the context of climate change and developing countries because water managers can face multiple challenges under these conditions. Alterations of raw water properties, increasing occurrence of extreme weather events and poor capacity to mitigate such events may rise the chemical and microbiological risk associated to biofilms in DWDNs in tropical countries.