Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterization of the cultivable bacterial populations associated with field grown Brassica napus L.: an evaluation of sampling and isolation protocols.

Plant-associated bacteria are intensively investigated concerning their characteristics for plant growth promotion, biocontrol mechanisms and enhanced phytoremediation efficiency. To obtain endophytes, different sampling and isolation protocols are used although their representativeness is not always clearly demonstrated. The objective of this study was to acquire representative pictures of the cultivable bacterial root, stem and leaf communities for all Brassica napus L. individuals growing on the same field. For each plant organ, genotypic identifications of the endophytic communities were performed using three replicates. Root replicates were composed of three total root systems, whereas stem and leaf replicates needed to consist of six independent plant parts in order to be representative. Greater variations between replicates were found when considering phenotypic characteristics. Correspondence analysis revealed reliable phenotypic results for roots and even shoots, but less reliable ones for leaves. Additionally, realistic Shannon-Wiener biodiversity indices were calculated for all three organs and showed similar Evenness factors. Furthermore, it was striking that all replicates and thus the whole plant contained Pseudomonas and Bacillus strains although aboveground and belowground plant tissues differed in most dominant bacterial genera and characteristics.
House prices, borrowing constraints and monetary policy in the business cycle

I develop and estimate a monetary business cycle model with nominal loans and collateral constraints tied to housing values. Demand shocks move housing and nominal prices in the same direction, and are amplified and propagated over time. The financial accelerator is not uniform: nominal debt dampens supply shocks, stabilizing the economy under interest rate control. Structural estimation supports two key model features: collateral effects dramatically improve the response of aggregate demand to housing price shocks; and nominal debt improves the sluggish response of output to inflation surprises. Finally, policy evaluation considers the role of house prices and debt indexation in affecting monetary policy trade-offs.
Preventing the Development of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome after Surgery

COMPLEX regional pain syndrome (CRPS), previously known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), is used to describe a syndrome of pain and sudomotor or vasomotor instability. This pain syndrome usually has an initiating noxious event in the periphery, is not limited to the distribution of a single nerve, and is disproportionate to the inciting event. The Consensus Conference of the International Association for the Study of Pain has subclassified CRPS into two forms: CRPS I (formerly RSD) and CRPS II (formerly causalgia). According to the International Association for the Study of Pain, the diagnosis of CRPS I requires (1) continuing pain, allodynia, or hyperalgesia disproportionate to the injury; (2) evidence at some time of edema, changes in skin blood flow, or abnormal sudomotor activity in the region of pain; and (3) no other conditions that would otherwise account for the degree of pain and dysfunction. Motor disturbances and trophic changes, such as altered nail and hair growth, may be observed in some cases. CRPS II is a pain syndrome that starts after a nerve injury and is not necessarily limited to the distribution of the injured nerve. The diagnostic criteria are the same as those of CRPS I. Patients with CRPS I or CRPS II can have sympathetically maintained pain or sympathetically independent pain. Sympathetically maintained pain, a term introduced in 1986 by Roberts, is pathologic pain that is supported by sympathetic efferent activity, circulating catecholamines, and/or increased sensitivity of -adrenergic receptors. Sympathetically maintained pain is identified by the ability to lessen the pain by sympatholytic blocks or interventions. Sympathetically independent pain has components of pain from sources other than sympathetic innervation and is believed to be most commonly observed in advanced cases of CRPS that do not respond to sympathetic blocks. Patients with CRPS may present with components of only sympathetically maintained pain or sympathetically independent pain or, more commonly, a combination of pain from each. Despite increasing research interest, little is known regarding which patients are at increased risk for development of postoperative CRPS and what the optimal perioperative treatment strategy is for those patients undergoing surgery who have a previous history of CRPS. This review outlines the surgical procedures that are believed to increase risk for development of CRPS and describes pharmacologic and regional analgesic techniques that may be of benefit for preventing the development of CRPS after surgery.
Broad-spectrum antibiotic resistance of Planctomycetes organisms determined by Etest.

OBJECTIVES The in vitro susceptibility of Planctomycetes organisms to antibiotics has seldom been studied and when it has, a variety of methods have been used. The objective of the study was to expand the knowledge of Planctomycetes antibiotic susceptibility patterns. METHODS Planctomyces maris, Planctomyces brasiliensis, Blastopirellula marina, Planctomyces limnophilus, Gemmata obscuriglobus and Rhodopirellula baltica reference strains were tested for in vitro susceptibility to 18 antibiotics, representing 11 antibiotic families, using the Etest method. RESULTS All Planctomycetes organisms were found to be resistant to β-lactams, with MICs of > 32 mg/L for penicillin G and imipenem, and MICs of > 256 mg/L for ampicillin, cefalotin and ceftriaxone. The organisms were resistant to nalidixic acid and vancomycin (MIC > 256 mg/L), but susceptible to tetracycline (MICs < 0.016-0.5 mg/L) and doxycycline (MICs < 0.016-1 mg/L). The MIC of gentamicin ranged from 1 mg/L (P. limnophilus) to > 256 mg/L (B. marina and P. brasiliensis); the MIC of erythromycin ranged from 0.032 mg/L (P. limnophilus) to 2 mg/L (P. brasiliensis); the MIC for ciprofloxacin ranged from 0.008 mg/L (R. baltica) to > 32 mg/L (P. brasiliensis); and the MIC for colistin ranged from 0.125 mg/L (P. limnophilus) to 96 mg/L (B. marina). CONCLUSIONS In addition to shedding new light on the biology of Planctomycetes organisms, these data could be used for the further phenotypic characterization of Planctomycetes organisms, and for the optimization of culture media for the primary isolation and growth of Planctomycetes organisms from contaminated specimens.
Type-IIA orientifolds on general supersymmetric ℤN orbifolds

We construct type-IIA orientifolds for general supersymmetric N orbifolds. In particular, we provide the methods to deal with the non-factorisable six-dimensional tori for the cases 7, 8, '8, 12 and '12. As an application of these methods we explicitly construct many new orientifold models.
Bottom-Up Activation of the Vocal Motor Forebrain by the Respiratory Brainstem

Brainstem motor structures send output commands to the periphery and are dynamically modulated by telencephalic inputs. Little is known, however, about ascending brainstem control of forebrain motor structures. Here, we provide the first evidence for bottom-up activation of forebrain motor centers by the respiratory brainstem. We show that, in the avian vocal control system, activation of the brainstem inspiratory nucleus paraambigualus (PAm), a likely homolog of the mammalian rostral ventral respiratory group, can drive neural activity bilaterally in the forebrain vocal control nuclei HVC (used as a proper name) and the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA). Furthermore, this activation is abolished by lesions of nucleus uvaeformis (Uva), a thalamic nucleus necessary for song production. We identify a type of bursting neuron within PAm whose activity is correlated, in an Uva dependent manner, to bursting activity in RA, rather than to the respiratory rhythm, and is robustly active during the production of stimulus evoked vocalizations. Because this ascending input results in cross-hemisphere activation, our results suggest a crucial role for the respiratory brainstem in coordinating forebrain motor centers during vocal production.
Arabidopsis PHL2 and PHR1 Act Redundantly as the Key Components of the Central Regulatory System Controlling Transcriptional Responses to Phosphate Starvation1

Two transcription factors act redundantly to regulate the transcriptional responses to phosphate starvation at genomic level. When confronted with inorganic phosphate (Pi) starvation, plants activate an array of adaptive responses to sustain their growth. These responses, in a large extent, are controlled at the transcriptional level. Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) PHOSPHATE RESPONSE1 (PHR1) and its close homolog PHR1-like 1 (PHL1) belong to a 15-member family of MYB-CC transcription factors and are regarded as the key components of the central regulatory system controlling plant transcriptional responses to Pi starvation. The knockout of PHR1 and PHL1, however, causes only a partial loss of the transcription of Pi starvation-induced genes, suggesting the existence of other key components in this regulatory system. In this work, we used the transcription of a Pi starvation-induced acid phosphatase, AtPAP10, to study the molecular mechanism underlying plant transcriptional responses to Pi starvation. We first identified a DNA sequence on the AtPAP10 promoter that is critical for the transcription of AtPAP10. We then demonstrated that PHL2 and PHL3, two other members of the MYB-CC family, specifically bind to this DNA sequence and activate the transcription of AtPAP10. Unlike PHR1 and PHL1, the transcription and protein accumulation of PHL2 and PHL3 are upregulated by Pi starvation. RNA-sequencing analyses indicated that the transcription of most Pi starvation-induced genes is impaired in the phl2 mutant, indicating that PHL2 is also a key component of the central regulatory system. Finally, we showed that PHL2, and perhaps also PHL3, acts redundantly with PHR1 to regulate plant transcriptional response to Pi starvation.
Disruption of Abscisic Acid Signaling Constitutively Activates Arabidopsis Resistance to the Necrotrophic Fungus Plectosphaerella cucumerina1[W]

Plant resistance to necrotrophic fungi is regulated by a complex set of signaling pathways that includes those mediated by the hormones salicylic acid (SA), ethylene (ET), jasmonic acid (JA), and abscisic acid (ABA). The role of ABA in plant resistance remains controversial, as positive and negative regulatory functions have been described depending on the plant-pathogen interaction analyzed. Here, we show that ABA signaling negatively regulates Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) resistance to the necrotrophic fungus Plectosphaerella cucumerina. Arabidopsis plants impaired in ABA biosynthesis, such as the aba1-6 mutant, or in ABA signaling, like the quadruple pyr/pyl mutant (pyr1pyl1pyl2pyl4), were more resistant to P. cucumerina than wild-type plants. In contrast, the hab1-1abi1-2abi2-2 mutant impaired in three phosphatases that negatively regulate ABA signaling displayed an enhanced susceptibility phenotype to this fungus. Comparative transcriptomic analyses of aba1-6 and wild-type plants revealed that the ABA pathway negatively regulates defense genes, many of which are controlled by the SA, JA, or ET pathway. In line with these data, we found that aba1-6 resistance to P. cucumerina was partially compromised when the SA, JA, or ET pathway was disrupted in this mutant. Additionally, in the aba1-6 plants, some genes encoding cell wall-related proteins were misregulated. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and biochemical analyses of cell walls from aba1-6 and wild-type plants revealed significant differences in their Fourier transform infrared spectratypes and uronic acid and cellulose contents. All these data suggest that ABA signaling has a complex function in Arabidopsis basal resistance, negatively regulating SA/JA/ET-mediated resistance to necrotrophic fungi.
Evasion of Complement-Mediated Lysis and Complement C3 Deposition Are Regulated by Francisella tularensis Lipopolysaccharide O Antigen1

The bacterium Francisella tularensis (Ft) is a potential weapon of bioterrorism when aerosolized. Macrophage infection is necessary for disease progression and efficient phagocytosis by human macrophages requires serum opsonization by complement. Microbial complement activation leads to surface deposition of a highly regulated protein complex resulting in opsonization or membrane lysis. The nature of complement component C3 deposition, i.e., C3b (opsonization and lysis) or C3bi (opsonization only) fragment deposition, is central to the outcome of activation. In this study, we examine the mechanisms of Ft resistance to complement-mediated lysis, C3 component deposition on the Ft surface, and complement activation. Upon incubation in fresh nonimmune human serum, Schu S4 (Ft subsp. tularensis), Fn (Ft subsp. novicida), and LVS (Ft subsp. holarctica live vaccine strain) were resistant to complement-mediated lysis, but LVSG and LVSR (LVS strains altered in surface carbohydrate structures) were susceptible. C3 deposition, however, occurred on all strains. Complement-susceptible strains had markedly increased C3 fragment deposition, including the persistent presence of C3b compared with C3bi, which indicates that C3b inactivation results in survival of complement-resistant strains. C1q, an essential component of the classical activation pathway, was necessary for lysis of complement-susceptible strains and optimal C3 deposition on all strains. Finally, use of Francisella LPS mutants confirmed O Ag as a major regulator of complement resistance. These data provide evidence that pathogenic Francisella activate complement, but are resistant to complement-mediated lysis in part due to limited C3 deposition, rapid conversion of surface-bound C3b to C3bi, and the presence of LPS O Ag.
The latitudinal species richness gradient in New World woody angiosperms is consistent with the tropical conservatism hypothesis

Significance The diversity of living things generally peaks in the tropics and declines toward the poles. This “latitudinal gradient” is Earth’s most prevalent biogeographic pattern, but biologists do not agree about its cause. Here, we use geographic and evolutionary data for over 12,500 species of woody flowering plants to test the “tropical conservatism hypothesis,” which attributes the phenomenal diversity of tropical environments to their large extent over the past 55 million years (My) and the evolutionary conservatism of environmental tolerances. As predicted, we find that transitions between tropical and temperate environments are quite rare over the evolutionary history and that most temperate lineages originated as Earth cooled over the past 34 My. Thus, the correlation between diversity and climate reflects plants’ evolutionary history. Plant diversity, like that of most other taxonomic groups, peaks in the tropics, where climatic conditions are warm and wet, and it declines toward the temperate and polar zones as conditions become colder and drier, with more seasonally variable temperatures. Climate and evolutionary history are often considered competing explanations for the latitudinal gradient, but they are linked by the evolutionarily conserved environmental adaptations of species and the history of Earth’s climate system. The tropical conservatism hypothesis (TCH) invokes niche conservatism, climatic limitations on establishment and survival, and paleoclimatic history to explain the latitudinal diversity gradient. Here, we use latitudinal distributions for over 12,500 woody angiosperm species, a fossil-calibrated supertree, and null modeling to test predictions of the TCH. Regional assemblages in the northern and southern temperate zones are less phylogenetically diverse than expected based on their species richness, because temperate taxa are clustered into relatively few clades. Moreover, lineages with temperate affinities are generally younger and nested within older, more tropical lineages. As predicted by the TCH, the vast majority of temperate lineages have arisen since global cooling began at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary (34 Mya). By linking physiological tolerances of species to evolutionary and biogeographic processes, phylogenetic niche conservatism may provide a theoretical framework for a generalized explanation for Earth’s predominant pattern of biodiversity.
Review on dashboard application from managerial perspective

The usage of dashboards in organizations along with the development of dashboard applications has continued to proliferate nowadays. This is as a result of the rapid replication of information and communication technology (ICT) brought on by the advent of Big Data. There is the need for people, businesses, governmental and non-governmental organizations to be able to view their performance and activities on a single computer screen. Despite this growing need for dashboard applications, there are many design-related issues which call for extensive measures to be taken in terms of the kind of information displayed on the dashboard. The aim of this paper is to identify and highlight the purpose of dashboard usage based on the three managerial levels of the dashboards: strategic, tactical, and operational levels. This paper also aims at identifying the dashboard features based on the purpose it serves. This study was conducted by investigating 23 published papers related to dashboards. The study showed that the dashboard is used for planning, monitoring, communication, consistency, and analysis. The dashboard's purposes can also be categorized on the basis of their common features. These findings can serve as a guide for developers in designing a better dashboard.
Molecular Structures of Yeast Kinetochore Subcomplexes and Their Roles in Chromosome Segregation.

Kinetochore molecular architecture exemplifies "form follows function. " The simplifications that generated the one-chromosome:one-microtubule linkage in point-centromere yeast have enabled strategies for systematic structural analysis and high-resolution visualization of many kinetochore components, leading to specific proposals for molecular mechanisms. We describe here some structural features that allow a kinetochore to remain attached to the end of a depolymerizing microtubule (MT) and some characteristics of the connections between substructures that permit very sensitive regulation by differential kinase activities. We emphasize in particular the importance of flexible connections between rod-like structural members and the integration of these members into a compliant cage-like assembly anchored on the MT by a sliding molecular ring.
Uncoupling of Gating Charge Movement and Closure of the Ion Pore During Recovery from Inactivation in the Kv1.5 Channel

Both wild-type (WT) and nonconducting W472F mutant (NCM) Kv1.5 channels are able to conduct Na+ in their inactivated states when K+ is absent. Replacement of K+ with Na+ or NMG+ allows rapid and complete inactivation in both WT and W472F mutant channels upon depolarization, and on return to negative potentials, transition of inactivated channels to closed-inactivated states is the first step in the recovery of the channels from inactivation. The time constant for immobilized gating charge recovery at −100 mV was 11.1 ± 0.4 ms (n = 10) and increased to 19.0 ± 1.6 ms (n = 3) when NMG+ o was replaced by Na+ o. However, the decay of the Na+ tail currents through inactivated channels at −100 mV had a time constant of 129 ± 26 ms (n = 18), much slower than the time required for gating charge recovery. Further experiments revealed that the voltage-dependence of gating charge recovery and of the decay of Na+ tail currents did not match over a 60 mV range of repolarization potentials. A faster recovery of gating charge than pore closure was also observed in WT Kv1.5 channels. These results provide evidence that the recovery of the gating elements is uncoupled from that of the pore in Na+-conducting inactivated channels. The dissociation of the gating charge movements and the pore closure could also be observed in the presence of symmetrical Na+ but not symmetrical Cs+. This difference probably stems from the difference in the respective abilities of the two ions to limit inactivation to the P-type state or prevent it altogether.
Diversity of Fungi, Bacteria, and Actinomycetes on Leaves Decomposing in a Stream

ABSTRACT Although fungi, bacteria, and specific bacterial taxa, such as the actinomycetes, have been studied extensively in various habitats, few studies have examined them simultaneously, especially on decomposing leaves in streams. In this study, sugar maple and white oak leaves were incubated in a stream in northeastern Ohio for 181 days during which samples were collected at regular intervals. Following DNA extraction, PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) was performed using fungus-, bacterium-, and actinomycete-specific primers. In addition, fungal and bacterial biomass was estimated. Fungal biomass differed on different days but not between leaves of the two species and was always greater than bacterial biomass. There were significant differences in bacterial biomass through time and between leaf types on some days. Generally, on the basis of DGGE, few differences in community structure were found for different leaf types. However, the ribotype richness of fungi was significantly greater than those of the bacteria and actinomycetes, which were similar to each other. Ribotype richness decreased toward the end of the study for each group except bacteria. Lack of differences between the two leaf types suggests that the microorganisms colonizing the leaf biofilm were primarily generalists that could exploit the resources of the leaves of either species equally well. Thus, we conclude that factors, such as the ecological role of the taxa (generalists versus specialists), stage of decay, and time of exposure, appeared to be more important determinants of microbial community structure than leaf quality.
Group counseling in adult patients with advanced cancer

The effect of a structured, interdisciplinary group counseling program was studied in 30 newly diagnosed adult patients with advanced cancer. These were compared to 30 patients who did not undergo group counseling. Group counseling resulted in a significant improvement in patient perception and self‐concept. This structured educational and psychological support program provided a mutual support experience for newly diagnosed patients with advanced cancer. Cancer 43:760–766, 1979.