Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mitigation of adverse effects of salt stress on germination, growth, photosynthetic efficiency and yield in maize (Zea mays L.) through magnetopriming

The efficiency of magnetopriming was evaluated for mitigation of the detrimental effects of salt stress on maize germination, growth, photosynthesis, and yield of maize plants. Maize seeds were pretreated with 200 mT of static magnetic field (SMF) for 1 h to assess the impact of SMF on the germination, seedling vigor, growth of plant, photosynthetic performance, ROS content, and yield under salt stress. The seedling characteristics of maize were negatively influenced by salt stress. However, SMF-pretreated maize seeds showed relatively higher germination percentage and germination stress tolerance index as compared to untreated seeds in saline and nonsaline conditions. The detrimental effect of NaCl induced salt stress was also observed on growth, yield, and different physiological characteristic of maize plants. The results showed that SMF-pretreated seeds enhanced seedling vigor, growth parameters such as plant height, leaf area, and biomass accumulation at different concentrations of NaCl (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 mM) as compared to untreated seeds. Photosynthetic pigments, quantum yield of PSII photochemistry (Fv/Fm), phenomenological fluxes such as electron transport per leaf CS (ETo/CSm) and density of reaction centers (RC/CSm), the performance index (PI) were high in the leaves of plants that emerged from SMF-pretreated seeds as compared to untreated seeds. This stimulatory effect of SMF treatment of seeds was also revealed in the rate of photosynthesis and stomatal conductance, which results in improved yield of maize plants under saline conditions. The leaves from plants of SMF-treated seeds showed decreased hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) when compared with untreated seeds in both conditions. SMF ameliorates the adverse effect of salt stress in maize plants, by reducing H2O2 and increasing growth, photosynthetic performance, and yield under salt stress. For improvement of salt tolerance, magnetopriming with SMF of 200 mT for 1 h to dry seeds of maize can be efficiently used as a presowing treatment.
SORGHUM PRODUCTION PRACTICES IN AN INTEGRATED CROP-LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION SYSTEM IN MAKUENI COUNTY, EASTERN KENYA

Productivity of sorghum has been below potential in arid and semi-arid lands of Kenya, due to poor agronomic practices and soil nutrient deficiency. Sorghum crop is fairly drought tolerant, resistant to waterlogging, and yields are reasonably better in infertile soils compared to other crops. Proper agronomic practices would significantly increase yields as well as nutrient content in grains and crop residues used as livestock feed. The objective of this study was to investigate the existing sorghum production practices and sorghum use as food and feed sources. A survey involving 90 farmers from sorghum producing areas in Makueni County was conducted. The survey focused on the varieties and fertilizers used, trends in yields, constraints to sorghum production and the present strategies used for sorghum as animal feed. Most farmers (84.4%) used uncertified seeds from own saved sources, and the commonly grown variety was Seredo (44.5%) due to resistance to bird damage. The majority (32.1%) of farmers recorded very low yield of sorghum grain, from151 to 250 kg ha-1. Most farmers (68.9%) used farmyard manure in sorghum production, while 30.9% of the farmers did not use any fertilizer. All farmers indicated that their greatest challenge in sorghum production was inadequate rainfall. Bird damage to the crop was a chronic problem to most (73.3%) farmers. The majority (58.9%) of farmers conserved sorghum residue for feed as hay. The findings show the need to provide technical information and guidance on the production practices, such as choosing best-yielding seed varieties, proper methods of pest and disease control and proper use and conservation of sorghum residue as animal feed.
On the Use of Automatic Tools for Large-scale Semantic Analyses of Causal Connectives

In this paper we describe the (annotation) tools underlying two automatic techniques to analyse the meaning and use of backward causal connectives in large Dutch newspaper corpora. With the help of these techniques, Latent Semantic Analysis and Thematic Text Analysis, the contexts of more than 14,000 connectives were studied. We will focus here on the methods of analysis and on the fairly straightforward (annotation) tools needed to perform the semantic analyses, i.e. POS-tagging, lemmatisation and a thesaurus-like thematic dictionary.
Critical predictors of functional, phylogenetic and taxonomic diversity are geographically structured in lichen epiphytic communities

Assessing the response of biological communities to contrasting environmental conditions is crucial to predict the effects of global change drivers. The influence of multiple environmental factors may differ depending on the diversity facet considered, which emphasizes the need to simultaneously evaluate the functional (FD), phylogenetic (PD) and taxonomic (TD) diversity. To examine how these facets of biodiversity respond to environmental changes, we studied lichen epiphytic communities across 47 beech forest fragments from two biogeographic regions. We applied structural equation modelling to relate habitat fragmentation, climate and habitat quality with FD, PD and TD. We compared the community response to contrasting climatic conditions by analysing independently Atlantic and Mediterranean communities. We found different major drivers of biodiversity patterns across biogeographic regions. Habitat fragmentation performed the highest effect on lichen communities, with a reduction of FD, PD and TD at both regions. However, the influence of climate was stronger in the Atlantic region than in the Mediterranean region, where the effect of habitat quality was superior. The effect of the environmental predictors over PD and TD was both direct and indirect through the different components of FD, and their intensity and sign differed across regions. Changes in PD were not related to changes in TD. Synthesis. Our results evidenced that the major environmental drivers affecting epiphytic communities were geographically structured. These drivers modified the diversity of the epiphytic community directly but also indirectly through changes in FD, which emerged as a causal but not unique determinant of PD and TD. Our findings also showed the difficulty for inferring TD through PD. These results emphasize the essential role of FD predicting part of the response of lichen communities to global change drivers but also highlight the importance of considering multiple biodiversity facets to understand the effects of environmental change on community structure.
Photoisomerization spectrum of urocanic acid in human skin and in vitro: effects of simulated solar and artificial ultraviolet radiation

Summary Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation of trans‐urocanic acid (UCA), a major UV absorbing component of the epidermis, leads to the formation of cis‐UCA, which mediates immunosuppressive effects. In this study, the net yield of cis‐UCA was measured after the photoisomerization of urocanic acid by narrow UV wavebands (spectral range 295–405 nm), with the irradiation doses related to solar irradiance at sea level. The formation of cis‐UCA in Caucasian skin (in vivo), as well as in aqueous solution (in vitro), was determined by HPLC analysis. The same irradiation conditions were met in both components of the study. The in vivo experiments showed high efficiency of cis‐UCA formation in the spectral region of 305–341 nm, whereas high efficiency in vitro was found at 305 and 326 nm. At 350 and 363 nm, cis‐UCA was formed in vivo, but not in vitro. At longer test wavelengths up to 405 nm. no significant formation of cis‐UCA was detectable. The established partition between UVB and UVA at 320 nm is not relevant for the isomerization pattern of UCA. Additional studies revealed substantial cis‐UCA formation in human skin by UVA phototherapy lamps. Furthermore, raised levels of 295 nm irradiation doses, a possible effect of stratospheric ozone depletion, were found to increase the cis‐UCA yield. Our results demonstrate that the formation of cis‐UCA in the skin with common exposures takes place over a broad spectrum range of UVB and UVA, up to at least 363 nm. These findings emphasize the potency of UVA to isomerize UCA, and they may contribute to further elucidation of the effects of phototherapy and sunbathing.
Fabrication of microfluidic neural probes with in-channel electrodes

This paper reports on the design and fabrication of a neural probe for simultaneous recording of neural activity and localized drug delivery. In comparison to common microfluidic probes, additional electrodes facing the fluidic channel are integrated in the polyimide-based membrane covering the microchannels. The novel fabrication process applies two-sided deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) of silicon and the wafer-level transfer of the thin membrane cover onto patterned silicon substrates. The process to transfer the membrane uses low-temperature adhesive bonding. It allows integrated electrodes to be exposed either to the surrounding neural tissue or the fluidic channels. The electrical functionality of the probes was verified using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy of both electrode types. The fluidic function was demonstrated by injecting a dyed fluid through the integrated microchannels.
Iduronic acid-containing glycosaminoglycans on target cells are required for efficient respiratory syncytial virus infection.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is an important human respiratory pathogen, particularly in infants. Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) have been implicated in the initiation of RSV infection of cultured cells, but it is not clear what type of GAGs and GAG components are involved, whether the important GAGs are on the virus or the cell, or what the magnitude is of their contribution to infection. We constructed and rescued a recombinant green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing RSV (rgRSV) and used this virus to develop a sensitive system to assess and quantify infection by flow cytometry. Evaluation of a panel of mutant Chinese hamster ovary cell lines that are genetically deficient in various aspects of GAG synthesis showed that infection was reduced up to 80% depending on the type of GAG deficiency. Enzymatic removal of heparan sulfate and/or chondroitin sulfate from the surface of HEp-2 cells also reduced infection, and the removal of both reduced infection even further. Blocking experiments in which RSV was preincubated with various soluble GAGs revealed the relative blocking order of: heparin > heparan sulfate > chondroitin sulfate B. Iduronic acid is a component common to these GAGs. GAGs that do not contain iduronic acid, namely, chondroitin sulfate A and C and hyaluronic acid, did not inhibit infection. A role for iduronic acid-containing GAGs in RSV infection was confirmed by the ability of basic fibroblast growth factor to block infection, because basic fibroblast growth factor binds to GAGs containing iduronic acid. Pretreatment of cells with protamine sulfate, which binds and blocks GAGs, also reduced infection. In these examples, infection was reduced by pretreatment of the virus with soluble GAGs, pretreatment of the cells with GAG-binding molecules, pretreatment of the cells with GAG-destroying enzymes or in cells genetically deficient in GAGs. These results establish that the GAGs involved in RSV infection are present on the cell rather than on the virus particle. Thus, the presence of cell surface GAGs containing iduronic acid, like heparan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate B, is required for efficient RSV infection in cell culture.
Information retrieval on the web

La complexite et la richesse de l'environnement du Web requierent des techniques de recherche d'information (RI) specifiques qui prolongent les methodes traditionnelles. De nombreuses etudes ont tente de caracteriser le Web soit par son contenu soit par le comportement des utilisateurs. Les principales strategies de recherche utilisent l'information des liens hypertextes, mais aussi la fouille des donnees d'utilisation. Le TREC (Text REtrieval Conference) constitue un terrain d'experimentation tres fertile pour la RI. La RI s'appuie egalement sur les approches d'organisation des connaissances et de classification des documents. L'utilisation de la richesse des sources et des temoignages sur le Web est un theme constant.
Dynamics of Escherichia coli infection and meningitis in infant rats

Escherichia coli strains isolated from newborn infants were injected intraperitoneally into infant rats. Strains possessing the K1 capsular polysaccharide antigen were significantly more virulent than strains lacking this antigen. When 5-day-old animals were injected with 1.2 X 10(1) colony forming units of a K1 E. coli strain (serotype O18ac:K1:H7), about 80% had bacteria isolated from their blood. Forty-eight percent of bacteremic animals had positive cerebrospinal fluid cultures. The development of bacteremia with greater than 10(4) colony-forming units per ml of blood correlated with positive cultures of cerebrospinal fluid. Some animals, studied with serial blood cultures, were able to clear bacteria spontaneously from their blood, whereas others succumbed to infection within 48 h of challenge. The susceptibility of infant rats to E. coli infection was age dependent and appeared related to the K1 antigen.
Identifying Pathways for Improving Household Food Self-Sufficiency Outcomes in the Hills of Nepal

Maintaining and improving household food self-sufficiency (FSS) in mountain regions is an ongoing challenge. There are many facets to the issue, including comparatively high levels of land fragmentation, challenging terrain and transportation bottlenecks, declining labor availability due to out-migration, and low technical knowledge, among others. Using a nonparametric multivariate approach, we quantified primary associations underlying current levels of FSS in the mid-hills of Nepal. A needs assessment survey was administered to 77 households in Lungaun (Baglung District), Pang (Parbat District), and Pathlekhet (Myagdi District), with a total of 80 variables covering five performance areas; resulting data were analyzed using Classification and Regression Trees. The most parsimonious statistical model for household FSS highlighted associations with agronomic management, including yields of maize and fingermillet within a relay cropping system and adoption of improved crop cultivars. Secondary analyses of the variables retained in the first model again focused primarily on crop and livestock management. It thus appears that continued emphasis on technical agricultural improvements is warranted, independent of factors such as land holding size that, in any case, are very difficult to change through development interventions. Initiatives to increase household FSS in the mid-hills of Nepal will benefit from placing a primary focus on methods of agricultural intensification to improve crop yields and effective technology transfer to increase adoption of these methods.
Correlation of C1q/TNF-Related Protein-3 with Cardiac Autonomic Tone and Metabolic Parameters in Obesity

Objectives The current study aimed at investigating the correlation of circulating levels of serum C1q/TNF-related protein-3 (CTRP3) with cardiac autonomic functions and metabolic parameters in obesity. Methods Thirty drug naïve subjects newly diagnosed with obesity and body mass index (BMI) 25 - 35 kg/m2 of both genders aged 19 - 40 years, with no associated comorbidity were recruited as cases. Same number of age, gender and socioeconomic status matched subjects with BMI 19 - 23 kg/m2 were taken as controls. Autonomic function test results including heart rate variability (HRV) were recorded in both groups. Serum metabolic parameters -CTRP3, leptin, adiponectin, insulin, blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, and triglycerides were also determined and compared between the groups. Results Significantly lower circulating levels of CTRP3 (P ≤ 0.001) and adiponectin (P = 0.025), and significantly higher mean of BMI (P < 0.001), fasting blood glucose (P < 0.001), LDL-cholesterol (P < 0.05), serum triglycerides (P < 0.001), insulin (P = 0.003), HOMA-IR (homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance) (P < 0.001), and leptin (P = 0.043) were observed in the group with obesity compared to the controls. CTRP3 levels inversely correlated with serum triglyceride (r = -0.09, P < 0.001), atherogenic index (r = -0.37, P = 0.04), leptin (r = -0.39, P = 0.02), and positively with adiponectin (r = 0.42, P = 0.02) in the group with obesity. Significant reduction in the results of parasympathetic autonomic function tests (pNN50, RMSSD, excitation: inhibition (E:I) ratio, 30:15 ratio, and Valsalva ratio) and an increase in sympathovagal balance (low frequency to high frequency (LF:HF) ratio) was also observed (P < 0.05). CTRP3 levels were also positively correlated with parasympathetic indices (pNN50: r = 0.17, P < 0.05); 30:15 ratio: (r = 0.62, P < 0.01), and inversely correlated with LF: HF ratio (r = -0.35, P < 0.01) in the group with obesity. Conclusions Higher circulating levels of CTRP3 promoted a favorable autonomic and metabolic profile in obesity. Hence, CTRP3 may be considered as a potential novel biomarker to facilitate the prognosis of obesity and its comorbidities.
Full-potential multiple scattering theory with space-filling cells for bound and continuum states

We present a rigorous derivation of a real-space full-potential multiple scattering theory (FP-MST) that is free from the drawbacks that up to now have impaired its development (in particular the need to expand cell shape functions in spherical harmonics and rectangular matrices), valid both for continuum and bound states, under conditions for space partitioning that are not excessively restrictive and easily implemented. In this connection we give a new scheme to generate local basis functions for the truncated potential cells that is simple, fast, efficient, valid for any shape of the cell and reduces to the minimum the number of spherical harmonics in the expansion of the scattering wavefunction. The method also avoids the need for saturating ‘internal sums’ due to the re-expansion of the spherical Hankel functions around another point in space (usually another cell center). Thus this approach provides a straightforward extension of MST in the muffin-tin (MT) approximation, with only one truncation parameter given by the classical relation lmax = kRb, where k is the electron wavevector (either in the excited or ground state of the system under consideration) and Rb is the radius of the bounding sphere of the scattering cell. Moreover, the scattering path operator of the theory can be found in terms of an absolutely convergent procedure in the limit. Consequently, this feature provides a firm ground for the use of FP-MST as a viable method for electronic structure calculations and makes possible the computation of x-ray spectroscopies, notably photo-electron diffraction, absorption and anomalous scattering among others, with the ease and versatility of the corresponding MT theory. Some numerical applications of the theory are presented, both for continuum and bound states.
Longitudinal associations between body mass index and serum carotenoids: the CARDIA study

Cross-sectional studies report an inverse association between BMI and serum carotenoid concentration. The present study examined the prospective association between BMI and the serum concentration of five carotenoids in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study. Serum carotenoids (α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin/lutein, lycopene), BMI, dietary intake, physical activity and dietary supplement use were measured at years 0 and 7 in 3071 black and white male and female participants, who were either persistent smokers or non-smokers. Among non-smokers, year 0 BMI predicted year 7 serum carotenoid levels: obese subjects (BMI ≥30kg/m2) had an average concentration of the sum of four carotenoids (α-carotene +β-carotene + zeaxanthin/lutein +β-cryptoxanthin)that was 22% lower than the concentration among subjects with a BMI of less than 22kg/m2. In contrast, the sum of carotenoids among smokers was only 6% lower. Relationships between BMI and serum lycopene were weak. The change from year 0 to year 7 in serum carotenoids, except for lycopene, was inversely associated with the change in BMI among non-smokers but not among smokers. Parallel findings were observed for BMI and serum γ-glutamyl transferase level. In summary, the observation that BMI predicted the evolution of serum carotenoids during a 7-year follow-up among young non-smoking adults is consistent with the hypothesis that carotenoids are decreased in protecting against oxidative stress generated by adipose tissue, while smokers maintain a minimal level of serum carotenoids independent of adiposity. The results for lycopene were, however, discordant from those of the other carotenoids.
Methane and Trichloroethylene Oxidation by an Estuarine Methanotroph, Methylobacter sp. Strain BB5.1

An estuarine methanotroph was isolated from sediment enrichments and designated Methylobacter sp. strain BB5.1. In cells grown on medium with added copper, oxidation of methane and trichloroethylene occurred with similar Ks values, but the Vmax for trichloroethylene oxidation was only 0.1% of the methane oxidation Vmax. Cells grown on low-copper medium did not oxidize trichloroethylene and showed a variable rate of methane oxidation.
Cloud‐resolving simulation of TOGA‐COARE using parameterized large‐scale dynamics

Variations in deep convective activity during the 4 month Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere‐Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA‐COARE) field campaign are simulated using a cloud‐resolving model (CRM). Convection in the model is coupled to large‐scale vertical velocities that are parameterized using one of two different methods: the damped gravity wave (Damped‐wave) method and the weak temperature gradient (WTG) method. The reference temperature profiles against which temperature anomalies are computed are taken either from observations or from a model integration with no large‐scale vertical motion (but other forcings taken from observations); the parameterized large‐scale vertical velocities are coupled to those temperature (or virtual temperature) anomalies. Sea surface temperature, radiative fluxes, and relaxation of the horizontal mean horizontal wind field are also imposed. Simulations with large‐scale vertical velocity imposed from the observations are performed for reference. The primary finding is that the CRM with parameterized large‐scale vertical motion can capture the intraseasonal variations in rainfall to some degree. Experiments in which one of several observation‐derived forcings is set to its time‐mean value suggest that those which influence direct forcings on the moist static energy budget—surface wind speed and sea surface temperature (which together influence surface evaporation) and radiative cooling—play the most important roles in controlling convection, particularly when the Damped‐wave method is used. The parameterized large‐scale vertical velocity has a vertical profile that is too bottom‐heavy compared to observations when the Damped‐wave method is used with vertically uniform Rayleigh damping on horizontal wind, but is too top‐heavy when the WTG method is used.