Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Actinorhizal Symbioses : Recent Advances in Plant Molecular and Genetic Transformation Studies

Infection of actinorhizal plants roots by the actinomycete Frankia leads to the formation of a nitrogen-fixing root nodule (actinorhiza) consisting of multiple lobes, each of which is a modified lateral root. Actinorhiza development involves several specific steps, for example, root hair infection, prenodule formation, and initiation of lobe primordia from root pericycle. This article summarizes the latest development in the isolation and characterization of nodule-specific and -enhanced transcripts isolated from actinorhiza. The amino acid sequence derived from the nucleotide sequence of the cDNAs, in combination with localization data, showed that gene products are involved in nitrogen, carbon, and oxygen metabolism. Furthermore, some transcripts represented encoded gene products that might be part of infection and senescence mechanisms in actinorhiza. The article also reviews experiments designed to establish genetic transformation systems for actinorhizal plants. This research has led to the obtainment of transgenic plants of the Casuarinaceae family by using A. rhizogenes and A. tumefaciens . These new findings are discussed in view of future studies on actinorhizal symbiosis. As molecular and cellular studies on Casuarinaceae and Betulaceae are more advanced than on the other six actinorhizal plant families, we concentrate primarily on species within these two families.
Multiscale landscape genomic models to detect signatures of selection in the alpine plant Biscutella laevigata

Abstract Plant species are known to adapt locally to their environment, particularly in mountainous areas where conditions can vary drastically over short distances. The climate of such landscapes being largely influenced by topography, using fine‐scale models to evaluate environmental heterogeneity may help detecting adaptation to micro‐habitats. Here, we applied a multiscale landscape genomic approach to detect evidence of local adaptation in the alpine plant Biscutella laevigata. The two gene pools identified, experiencing limited gene flow along a 1‐km ridge, were different in regard to several habitat features derived from a very high resolution (VHR) digital elevation model (DEM). A correlative approach detected signatures of selection along environmental gradients such as altitude, wind exposure, and solar radiation, indicating adaptive pressures likely driven by fine‐scale topography. Using a large panel of DEM‐derived variables as ecologically relevant proxies, our results highlighted the critical role of spatial resolution. These high‐resolution multiscale variables indeed indicate that the robustness of associations between genetic loci and environmental features depends on spatial parameters that are poorly documented. We argue that the scale issue is critical in landscape genomics and that multiscale ecological variables are key to improve our understanding of local adaptation in highly heterogeneous landscapes.
Crosstalk between Akt signaling and cold shock proteins in mediating invasive cell phenotypes

Cold shock proteins are up-regulated by cellular stress and orchestrate inflammatory responses, cell proliferation, and differentiation. Enhanced cold shock protein expression promotes malignant cell transformation; up-regulation is detected in most cancers and associated with poor prognosis. Akt1, a serine/threonine kinase, is a potent oncogene, which activates pro-proliferative and anti-apoptotic signaling pathways, and phosphorylates the cold shock domain. Unexpectedly, chicken-YB-1 abrogates PI3K-Akt-dependent oncogenic cell transformation in embryonic fibroblasts. Here, we addressed the question whether chicken and human Y-box binding protein-1 (YB-1) act differently on cell transformation, and how a related protein, DNA-binding protein-A (DbpA) behaves in comparison. NIH3T3 cells were transduced with lentiviral vectors encoding for myristoylated (constitutive active) Akt1, YB-1, DbpA, or shRNA targeting YB-1 expression. Colony formation assays showed that human YB-1 acts similar to chicken on Akt-dependent cell transformation. This activity was not titratable. Given the correlation of nuclear YB-1 and upregulated DbpA expression in a series of clear cell renal cell carcinomas (n = 40) the colony formation assay was extended to include ectopic DbpA expression. DbpA alone prominently induced cell transformation, which was enhanced when constitutive active Akt1 or concomitant YB-1 expression was present. Notably, co-expression of DbpA together with YB-1 abrogated the repressive effect on Akt1 signaling observed with YB-1 alone. Macroscopically, some colonies yielded a remarkable “invasive” phenotype. Thus, cold shock proteins may convey profound anti- and pro-oncogenic effects on Akt-dependent cell transformation. DbpA is able to overcome the anti-oncogenic effects seen with combined YB-1 and Akt signaling in an in vitro model of colonial growth.
Quick Performance Assessment of Improved Nyquist Pulses

An explanation is proposed for the improved behavior of the improved Nyquist pulses with an asymptotic decay rate of when sampled with a timing offset. Three figures of merit that indicate the energy distribution into the sidelobes of the time response and allow a quick assessment of their performance in terms of error probability when the impulse response is sampled with a timing error have been proposed and verified on several improved Nyquist pulses reported in the literature. In order to check the validity of the proposed figures of merit a novel family of Nyquist pulses denoted as power sine was introduced. Using the proposed approach the design process was expedited as the volume of necessary calculations was significantly decreased. To explain the difference in close pulse performance a figure of merit based on limited ISI distortion was introduced.
Geographic concentration of institutions, corporate governance, and firm value☆

We examine the impact of geographic concentration of institutional investors on corporate governance and firm value. We find that firms whose large institutions are closely located to each other experience more shareholder-coordinated activities before Schedule 13D filings, more concerted proxy votes against management proposals, higher forced CEO turnover-performance sensitivity, higher returns around CEO turnover announcements and Schedule 13D filings, and larger increases in Tobin's q. These results are robust to using the introduction of new direct airline routes as an exogenous source of variation in proximity. Our results suggest that geographic concentration of investors increases monitoring effectiveness.
EXAMINING THE LATITUDINAL VARIATION OF PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ LEARNING STYLE PROFILES

The idea of learning styles being an important factor over the achievement of the students has recently gained popularity. However, the results of both domestic and foreign studies that have investigated the learning styles in terms of various variables are quite different from each other, yielding that there is no consistency in the literature. This descriptive study aims to determine the latitudinal variation of the learning styles of the pre-service teachers and examine the learning style profiles with regard to various variables. The data were collected from 366 undergraduate students who are enrolled at the Faculty of Education in a state university in western region of Black sea. In order to collect data, “Kolb Learning Style Inventory” and “Personal Information Form” have been used. Research data were analysed by using frequency, percentage, crosstabs and Chi-square test. In order to measure the magnitude of the effect that is found by chi-square test, Phi Cramer’s V test was applied. The findings revealed that 56.8% of pre-service teachers have dominant learning styles as diverger; 28.1% of them as assimilator; 11.5% of them as accomodator and 3.6% of them as converger. Moreover, it has been found that there is a weak but statistically significant relationship between pre-service teachers’ grade levels and learning styles. The study also indicated that the department, gender, parental schooling, field tendencies and daily study time have no significant effects on the learning style preferences of pre-service teachers. This study adds to the literature in that it questions consistency among the previous results of the studies. It may be suggested that new studies may be conducted using more variables to reveal different relationships and different data collection tools such as qualitative ones to shed light on these relationships. Furthermore, the practitioners may take into consideration the learning styles of the students, especially in different grade levels. Keywords: Learning, learning styles, pre-service teachers, grade level
Air Quality over the Yangtze River Delta during the 2010 Shanghai Expo

An air quality monitoring network consisting of 53 stations at 9 cities over the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) simultaneously measured gaseous and particulate pollutants (SO2, NO2, CO, O3, PM2.5 and PM10) during the six-month Shanghai World Expo in 2010. The regional distribution of air pollutants showed that Shanghai was a low-SO2-PM10 zone over the YRD during the Expo, owing to the effective controls that were applied to power plants, industrial activities and construction works. However, Shanghai also became a high-NOx-CO-O3 zone in the YRD, partly due to the large number of vehicles in Shanghai, and also the expected increase in transportation emissions due to the tremendous number of visitors during the Expo. Monthly variations in the major pollutants generally presented similar patterns, with lower values in the middle of the Expo, i.e., from July to September, and higher values in May, June and October. The magnitudes of pollutant precursor (SO2 and NO2) concentrations and meteorological conditions (e.g., wind speed, directional wind from X vector, and mixing layer height) were investigated, and found to play important roles in the monthly variations. Spatial correlations of air pollutants between Shanghai and the other 8 cities revealed the impact of regional transport on air quality in Shanghai, and vice versa. Intense air pollution episodes in Shanghai were mainly related to the regional/long-range transport from inland polluted regions. The high frequency of marine winds during the Expo had a positive effect on the air quality of coastal cities, while it had a negative effect on some inland cities in the YRD.
Correlations Between Histopathologic Changes and Clinical Features in Pterygia

Purpose: To investigate the correlations between clinical findings and histopathologic changes in eyes with pterygium. Methods: This prospective study included 70 eyes with primary pterygia undergoing surgical excision. Prior to surgery, clinical features of the pterygia including extension over the cornea, redness, fleshiness (based on obscuration of the underlying episcleral vessels), and obliteration of the plica semilunaris were determined. Postoperatively, pterygium specimens were examined by hematoxylin-eosin and trichrome staining to evaluate histopathologic characteristics including vascular density, leukocytic infiltration, stromal elastosis, stromal fibrosis and subepithelial fibrosis. Correlations between clinical findings and histopathologic changes were then investigated. Results: There was a marginally significant correlation between the redness and the fleshiness of pterygium (P = 0.06). Both redness and fleshiness of the pterygium had significant positive correlation with dimensions of the lesion over the cornea. Moreover, larger pterygia were associated with obliteration of the plica semilunaris. Pterygium redness showed a significant correlation with vascular density (P = 0.04), and pterygium fleshiness had a significant correlation with stromal fibrosis (P = 0.04). Pterygium dimensions over the cornea demonstrated a positive correlation with vascular density and a negative correlation with stromal elastosis. Conclusion: Redness and fleshiness of pterygium were only marginally correlated with each other, and each one showed a correlation with different histopathologic features. Larger pterygia were associated with more significant changes at the clinical and histopathologic levels.
Evaluation of Total and IgA-Specific Antibody Targeting Epstein-Barr Virus Glycoprotein 350 and Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Risk

Background We previously reported that higher levels of antibody targeting Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) glycoprotein350 (gp350), an EBV vaccine candidate, were protective against nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in genetically high-risk families from Taiwan. The current study attempted to extend this association to a general population cohort. Methods We compared total and IgA-specific gp350 antibody levels in 35 incident NPC cases and 81 disease-free controls from the Cancer Screening Program in Taiwan (23943 individuals recruited 1991-1992). Luciferase immunoprecipitation assays quantified gp350 antibody. Results Total EBVgp350 antibody levels were not higher in individuals who remained disease free compared to those who developed NPC (P = .11). This lack of a protective gp350 association persisted for cases diagnosed ≥5 years (odds ratio [OR] = 1.05; P = .91) and <5 years (OR = 1.85; P = .40) after blood draw. IgA-specific gp350 antibody levels were higher in cases than controls (OR = 7.03; P = .001). This increased risk was most pronounced for cases diagnosed <5 years after blood draw (OR = 11.7; P = .004). Conclusion Unlike our prior findings in those with a strong family history of NPC, total gp350 antibody levels were not protective against NPC development in this general population setting.
DOOM Level Generation Using Generative Adversarial Networks

We applied Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) to learn a model of DOOM levels from human-designed content. Initially, we analyzed the levels and extracted several topological features. Then, for each level, we extracted a set of images identifying the occupied area, the height map, the walls, and the position of game objects. We trained two GANs: one using plain level images, one using both the images and some of the features extracted during the preliminary analysis. We used the two networks to generate new levels and compared the results to assess whether the network trained using also the topological features could generate levels more similar to human-designed ones. Our results show that GANs can capture intrinsic structure of DOOM levels and appears to be a promising approach to level generation in first person shooter games.
Innovating not Only in Cities: Evidence from SMEs

This article discusses the role played by location of small and medium-sized firms on their propensity to innovate. The research adopts a broad definition of innovation and sets the hypothesis that SMEs' propensity to innovate is not higher in large urban areas than in rural ones. Moreover, reducing SMEs' location to their head office tends to overestimate urban areas' innovativeness. Following the administration of an original regional survey, econometric tests are run on a representative sample of 1,253 SMEs in the French Brittany region, completed by location data proposed by the French National Institute of Statistics (Insee). The results confirm that firms located in the largest urban areas of the region are not more innovative that those located in the most isolated areas. They also partially validate the hypothesis that measuring the firms' location using the location of the head offices leads to overestimate the innovativeness of largest urban areas compared to less urbanized one.
Achievement goals and improvement following failure: moderating roles of self-compassion and contingency of self-worth

Abstract We examined whether mastery goals promote greater score improvement on a cognitive test than performance goals and whether self-compassion and contingency of self-worth moderated the effect. Participants received either mastery or performance goals manipulation, failed on a difficult test, and took the test again after receiving the correct answers. Those with mastery goals showed a greater score improvement than those with performance goals, although post-failure state self-esteem did not differ between the two conditions. Moreover, the goals had a greater effect among (a) those with low rather than high self-compassion and (b) those with high rather than low competition contingency of self-worth. The findings suggest that by framing the task as a challenge rather than a threat, mastery goals encourage people to learn from failure more so than performance goals, especially when under high ego-threat.
Ethno Medicinal Knowledge of Plants Used By Irula Tribes of Nellithurai Beat , Karamadai Range , Western Ghats And Phytochemical Screening of Selected Lamiaceae Species

Aim: The main objectives behind this study was to recor d the plants used for medicinal purposes in Nellithurai Beat and phytochemical screening of aerial parts of Anisomeles indica, Anisomeles malabarica, Leonotis nepataefolia and Scutellaria violacea. Methods: An ethnomedicinal survey was conducted from Januar y 2016 to March – 2016. The information on ethnomedicinal uses of plants was ob tained through direct field interviews and designed questionnaire. Their vernacular name, parts used, m o e of preparation and medicinal uses were recorded by interviewing the locals of different age groups. The qualitative phytochemical screening was carrie d out by standard biochemical assays. Result: A total of 49 medicinal plant species distributed in 30 families are documented. Euphorbiaceae and Fabaceae are dominant over other families. Leav es nd roots are the most widely used plant part of the reported medicinal plants and decoctions are th e most commenly used mode of preparation. Qualitative phytochemical analysis confirms the pre sence of various phytochemicals like flavonoids, saponins, steroids, phenolic compounds and terpenoi ds in the extracts (aqueous, ethanol, acetone and petroleum ether) of all the species. The results su ggest that the ethanolic extract shows the presence of maximum phytochemical compounds than other extracts during screening. Amino acids were not detected in the present investigation. Conclusion: The study depicts that local people prefer folk med icine due to their socio economical status, lack of modern healthcare facilities and inadequate tr nsportation. The plants screened for phytochemi cal constituents seemed to have the potential to act as a source of useful drugs. Key-words: Ethnomedicine, Phytochemical, Secondary metabolites , Solvent extraction. Corresponding author Dr.K. Kalaichelvi, Associate Professor Department of Botany, Vellalar College for Women, E rode
Corrosion Inhibition of Steel in Acidic Medium by Eugenol Derivatives: Insight from Density Functional Calculation

Corrosion inhibition properties of eugenol derivatives have been elucidated by means of density functional theory at B3LYP/ 6-31G(d) level of theory. The quantum chemical parameters including the highest occupied molecular orbital (EHOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (ELUMO), gap energy (∆Egab), ionization potential (I), electron affinity (A), the absolute electronegativity (χ), hardness (η), softness (σ), and the fraction of electron transferred (ΔN) are studied for investigating the corrosion inhibition performance of acetyleugenol derivatives. Effect of electron donating and withdrawing groups has been studied on the corrosion inhibition performance of acetyleugenol derivatives. The NH2 (electron donating substituent) exhibits the highest inhibition efficiency, whereas the NO2 (electron withdrawing substituent) exhibits the lowest inhibition efficiency. This study would have a significant contribution in designing highly potential eugenol based corrosion inhibitors.
LFA-1 in T Cell Migration and Differentiation

Maintenance of homeostatic immune surveillance and development of effective adaptive immune responses require precise regulation of spatial and temporal lymphocyte trafficking throughout the body to ensure pathogen clearance and memory generation. Dysregulation of lymphocyte activation and migration can lead to impaired adaptive immunity, recurrent infections, and an array of autoimmune diseases and chronic inflammation. Central to the recruitment of T cells, integrins are cell surface receptors that regulate adhesion, signal transduction, and migration. With 24 integrin pairs having been discovered to date, integrins are defined not only by the composition of the heterodimeric pair but by cell-type specific expression and their ligands. Furthermore, integrins not only facilitate adhesion but also induce intracellular signaling and have recently been uncovered as mechanosensors providing additional complexity to the signaling pathways. Among several leukocyte-specific integrins, lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1 or αLβ2; CD11a/CD18) is a key T cell integrin, which plays a major role in regulating T cell activation and migration. Adhesion to LFA-1’s ligand, intracellular adhesion receptor 1 (ICAM-1) facilitates firm endothelium adhesion, prolonged contact with antigen-presenting cells, and binding to target cells for killing. While the downstream signaling pathways utilized by LFA-1 are vastly conserved they allow for highly disparate responses. Here, we summarize the roles of LFA-1 and ongoing studies to better understand its functions and regulation.
Biosocial Determinants of Persistent Schistosomiasis among Schoolchildren in Tanzania despite Repeated Treatment

Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease endemic to Tanzania and other countries of the global south, which is currently being addressed through preventive chemotherapy campaigns. However, there is growing recognition that chemotherapy strategies will need to be supplemented to sustainably control and eventually eliminate the disease. There remains a need to understand the factors contributing to continued transmission in order to ensure the effective configuration and implementation of supplemented programs. We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire, to evaluate the biosocial determinants facilitating the persistence of schistosomiasis, among 1704 Tanzanian schoolchildren residing in two districts undergoing a preventive chemotherapeutic program: Rufiji and Mkuranga. A meta-analysis was carried out to select the diagnostic questions that provided a likelihood for predicting infection status. We found that self-reported schistosomiasis continues to persist among the schoolchildren, despite multiple rounds of drug administration.Using mixed effects logistic regression modeling, we found biosocial factors, including gender, socio-economic status, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)-related variables, were associated with this continued schistosomiasis presence. These findings highlight the significant role that social factors may play in the persistence of disease transmission despite multiple treatments, and support the need not only for including integrated technical measures, such as WASH, but also addressing issues of poverty and gender when designing effective and sustainable schistosomiasis control programs.