Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Studies on Biology and Antibiosis Resistance in Mango (Mangiferae indica) Varieties Against Mango Mealy Bug, Drosicha mangiferae Green (Hemiptera: Margarodidae)

Mango is known as king of fruits. Among mango pests, mango mealy bug, Drosicha mangiferae (MMB), is considered one of the most destructive pests of mango orchards and other plantations. Whenever it enters in any orchards it is difficult to eradicate it from those orchards. The experiment was conducted at Entomological Research Sub Station, Multan-Punjab, Pakistan, during 2009 and 2010, to evaluate fitness of mango mealy bug on different varieties of mango and biology on ‘Chaunsa’ variety. Mango mealy bug, Drosicha mangiferae Green (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Margarodidae), is matter of concern, as it is widespread pest of woody plants even in urban areas. A study was conducted on cultivar resistance and fecundity of mango mealy bug. The ‘Chaunsa’ cultivar of mango proved highly susceptible to mango mealy bug with maximum number of eggs laid, i.e. 335.90, and maximum weight, i.e. 0.239 g of the female, was recorded on the cultivar ‘Chaunsa’. The maximum length, i.e. 1.63 cm, and width, i.e. 0.80 cm of female, was observed on ‘Chaunsa’, which showed a susceptible response and did not differ significantly with the width of female on ‘Black Chaunsa’. Regarding biology, the 1st instar male and female duration on an average is 56.3 days, whereas the 2nd instar has 26 days. In case of the 3rd instar, female has duration 19.5 days and male has three days. Male has pupal stage, while it is absent in female. On an average two study years, the ranking of susceptibility of mango cultivars was as under: ‘Chaunsa’ > ‘Black Chaunsa’ > ‘Malda’ > ‘Fajri’ > ‘Retaul-12’ > ‘Langra’ > ‘Sensation’ > ‘Sindhri’ > ‘Dusehri’ > ‘Sufaid Chaunsa’ > ‘Anwar Reutul’ and > ‘Tukhmi’.
Identification of Streptococcus spp. isolated from bovine milk and characterization of their antimicrobial susceptibility profiles in Taiwan

Bovine mastitis has had a great impact on the economic losses of the dairy industry. Nowadays, environmental pathogens cause the main types of bovine mastitis, especially the streptococci. The aim of the study was to identify the major Streptococcus species causing bovine mastitis in Taiwan as well as to reveal their antimicrobial susceptibility profiles. By colony morphology identifying, Gram staining, and subculturing on Edwards agar, the preliminary identified streptococci were subjected to biochemical identification, latex agglutination tests and dick diffusion tests for susceptibility tests of 16 antimicrobial agents. Among a total of 157 strains, Streptococcus uberis was the most dominant species found, followed by S. bovis , S. dysgalactiae , S. agalactiae , S. equinus and S. mitis . Most of them were sensitive to all the β-lactams we selected in the study, including amoxicillin, cefuroxime, cefazolin, bacitracin, ceftiofur, cloxacillin, penicillin and ampicicllin. However, high resistant rates were observed to aminoglycosides, tetracyclines and lincomycin. S. uberis was the main environmental mastitis causative pathogens in the present study. Beta-lactams were the effective antimicrobials agents against them.
Astrocytes modulate baroreceptor reflex sensitivity at the level of the nucleus of the solitary tract

Astrocytes play an important role in cardiovascular reflex integration at the level of the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS). Existing reports from brainstem slice preparations suggest that astrocytes here respond to input from the solitary tract by increasing intracellular calcium. However, the physiological significance of this neuron-astrocyte signaling in vivo remains unknown. Here, we report that stimulation of the vagus nerve in an anesthetized rat induced rapid [Ca2+]i increases in astrocytes transduced to express calcium sensor GCaMP6. The receptors involved were determined using brainstem-derived astroglial cell cultures were loaded with [Ca2+] indicator Fura-2. 5-HT (10 µM) caused robust increases in [Ca2+]i, and pharmacological interrogation revealed the expression of functional 5-HT2A receptors. This observation was confirmed in vivo: intravenous administration of ketanserin decreased the magnitude of [Ca2+]i responses, induced by vagal afferent simulation, by ∼50%. However, the response was completely blocked by topical application of the AMPA receptor antagonist CNQX alone. To investigate the role of astrocyte-neuron communication, the vesicular release in the NTS astrocytes was blocked by virally driven expression of a dominant-negative SNARE protein in vivo. This increased baroreflex sensitivity in awake animals, which was also observed in anesthetized animals after topical application of the P2Y1 receptor antagonist MDS-2500 to the NTS. We hypothesize that NTS astrocytes respond to incoming afferent release of glutamate and this response is modulated by 5-HT originating from vagal afferents or other sources. ATP is then released, which acts on inhibitory interneurons via P2Y1 receptors and thus modulates the expression of cardiovascular reflexes. Significance statement Cardiorespiratory nuclei in the brainstem integrate cardiovascular sensory information to optimise tissue perfusion and blood gas concentrations. We describe experimental evidence that NTS astrocytes participate in setting the baroreflex sensitivity by release of ATP acting on P2Y1 receptors on inhibitory interneurons. Activation of astrocytes is partly under control of 5-HT co-released with glutamate from vagal afferents, which allows modulation of autonomic response to high frequency/duration of afferent stimulation by monitoring extra-synaptic 5-HT acting on glial 5-HT2A receptors. This could represent a signaling pathway that is activated under pathological conditions and is responsible for baroreflex impairment in conditions that result in astrogliosis, for example from systemic inflammatory response or chronic hypoxia/hypercapnia.
In vitro evaluation of safer fungicides in management of Penicillium digitaum causing green mould of Kinnow

Green mould, caused by Penicillium digitatum, is one of most destructive post-harvest disease of citrus worldwide. In vitro study, we examined the antifungal activity of commercially available fungicides viz. difenoconazole 25 % EC, hexaconazole 5 % EC, tebuconazole 25 % EC, propiconazole 25 % EC, kresoxim-methyl 50 % EC, azoxystrobin 25 % EC against Penicillium digitatum. Among these six fungicides, difenoconazole was found to be most effective as well as significantly superior to all other treatments with 99.2 per cent average inhibition in mycelial growth followed by hexaconazole with 97.2 per cent inhibition at 100 ppm concentration.
Five Newly Collected Turnip Mosaic Virus (TuMV) Isolates from Jeju Island, Korea are Closely Related to Previously Reported Korean TuMV Isolates but Show Distinctive Symptom Development

For several years, temperatures in the Korean peninsula have gradually increased due to climate change, resulting in a changing environment for growth of crops and vegetables. An associated consequence is that emerging species of insect vector have caused increased viral transmission. In Jeju Island, Korea, occurrences of viral disease have increased. Here, we report characterization of five newly collected turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) isolates named KBJ1, KBJ2, KBJ3, KBJ4 and KBJ5 from a survey on Jeju Island in 2017. Full-length cDNAs of each isolate were cloned into the pJY vector downstream of cauliflower mosaic virus 35S and bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase promoters. Their fulllength sequences share 98.9–99.9% nucleotide sequence identity and were most closely related to previously reported Korean TuMV isolates. All isolates belonged to the BR group and infected both Chinese cabbage and radish. Four isolates induced very mild symptoms in Nicotiana benthamiana but KBJ5 induced a hypersensitive response. Symptom differences may result from three amino acid differences uniquely present in KBJ5; Gly(382)Asp, Ile(891)Val, and Lys(2522)Glu in P1, P3, and NIb, respectively.
Lowering of SPS settings to international standards offers big gains all round: The case of Vietnamese pork trade: Powerpoint

Analysis of trade-constraining costs and any counter-balancing domestic-benefits of stricter SPS-settings than global WTO-standards have generally been undertaken partially. An example is the analysis of the more obvious exporter costs from prospective importers’ settings constraining market access. An example from the other side of the trade is the costs to a prospective importer from imposing stricter SPS-settings against exporters. But as with all trade constraints, there are costs on both the imposing country and prospective importers which offer the opportunity for trade liberalisation, unilaterally or more generally in the likely situation of the prospective trading partners also applying SPS-constraints, to deliver large net gains to all countries involved in the resultant trade. To fully measure these gains requires a CGE-approach to capture the significant gains from restructuring and the more efficient allocation of resources, ignored in a partial approach. Vietnam has strict SPS-settings applied to many of its internationally-competitive commodities (e.g. aquaculture and livestock) by some countries wanting to protect their inefficient commodities, and applies some of its own. Vietnam, along with its major trading-partners, is used in a case-study of the issue in respect of Maximum Residue Limits for pork, and development of options off the evidence-based policy analysis such as CGE-modelling and Cost-Benefit.
"Syllable-timing in Brazilian Portuguese": uma crtica a Roy Major

This paper reintroduces the discussion about stress-timing in Brazilian Portuguese (BP). It begins by surveying some phonetic and phonological issues raised by the syllable- vs stress-timed dichotomy which culminated with the emergence of the p-center notion. Strict considerations of timing of V-V units and stress groups are taken into account to analyze the long term coupling of two basic oscillators (vowel and stress flow). This coupling allows a two-parameter characterization of language rhythms (coupling strength and speech rate) revealing that BP utterances present a high-degree of syllable-timing. A comparison with other languages, including European Portuguese, is also presented. The results analyzed indicate that Major's arguments for considering Portuguese (sic) as stress-timing are misleading.
Overtone focusing in biphonic tuvan throat singing

Khoomei is a unique singing style originating from the Central Asian republic of Tuva. Singers produce two pitches simultaneously: a booming low-frequency rumble alongside a hovering high-pitched whistle-like tone. The biomechanics of this biphonation are not well-understood. Here, we use sound analysis, dynamic magnetic resonance imaging, and vocal tract modeling to demonstrate how biphonation is achieved by modulating vocal tract morphology. Tuvan singers show remarkable control in shaping their vocal tract to narrowly focus the harmonics (or overtones) emanating from their vocal cords. The biphonic sound is a combination of the fundamental pitch and a focused filter state, which is at the higher pitch (1-2 kHz) and formed by merging two formants, thereby greatly enhancing sound-production in a very narrow frequency range. Most importantly, we demonstrate that this biphonation is a phenomenon arising from linear filtering rather than a nonlinear source.
Effect of Prarasitism by Bracon Hebetor Wasp (Hymenoptera-Braconidae) On Cellular Immune Response of Polidia Interpunctella and Ephestia Kuehniella Larvae

Citation: Egypt. Acad. J. Biolog. Sci. (A. Entomology) Vol. 11(6) pp: 95901 (2018) Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological Sciences is the official English language journal of the Egyptian Society for Biological Sciences, Department of Entomology, Faculty of Sciences Ain Shams University. Entomology Journal publishes original research papers and reviews from any entomological discipline or from directly allied fields in ecology, behavioral biology, physiology, biochemistry, development, genetics, systematics, morphology, evolution, control of insects, arachnids, and general entomology. www.eajbs. eg.net Provided for non-commercial research and education use. Not for reproduction, distribution or commercial use.
Nitrogen Deposition and Responses of Forest Structure to Nitrogen Deposition in a Cool-Temperate Deciduous Forest

Few studies have reported the estimation of nitrogen (N) deposition, including dissolved organic N (DON) fluxes, through water flows and the contribution of snowfall in Asia. In this study, the concentrations and fluxes of DON and dissolved inorganic N (DIN) in bulk precipitation (BP), the throughfall (TF) of trees and understory dwarf bamboo, and stemflow (SF) were evaluated in a cool-temperate forest over three years to clarify N fluxes via precipitation and responses of trees and understory canopies to N deposition. The input of N to the study site in BP was 11.1 ± 1.71 kg N ha−1 year−1, with a significant contribution from DON (78%). Snowfall fluxes contributed up to 46% of the total N input, with variations related to the amount of snowfall (2.08–5.52 kg N ha−1 year−1). The forest canopy enriched DON (2.11 ± 0.42 kg N ha−1 year−1) but consumed NO3 + NO2–N (−0.73 ± 0.19 kg N ha−1 year−1). In contrast, through the understory bamboo canopy, DON (−1.02 ± 0.55 kg N ha−1 year−1) decreased while DIN (0.35 ± 0.44 kg N ha−1 year−1) increased. This study indicates that DON and snowfall should not be neglected when evaluating total N deposition into forest ecosystems, especially in remote regions. The canopy processes related to the dissolved N in the presence of understory plants might have significant implications for the internal N cycle in forest ecosystems.
Differential Tick Salivary Protein Profiles and Human Immune Responses to Lone Star Ticks (Amblyomma americanum) From the Wild vs. a Laboratory Colony

Ticks are a growing concern to human and animal health worldwide and they are leading vectors of arthropod-borne pathogens in the United States. Ticks are pool blood feeders that can attach to the host skin for days to weeks using their saliva to counteract the host defenses. Tick saliva, as in other hematophagous arthropods, contains pharmacological and immunological active compounds, which modulate local and systemic immune responses and induce antibody production. In the present study, we explore differences in the salivary gland extract (SGE) protein content of Amblyomma americanum ticks raised in a laboratory colony (CT) vs. those collected in the field (FT). First, we measured the IgG antibody levels against SGE in healthy volunteers residing in Kansas. ELISA test showed higher IgG antibody levels when using the SGE from CT as antigen. Interestingly, antibody levels against both, CT-SGE and FT-SGE, were high in the warm months (May–June) and decreased in the cold months (September–November). Immunoblot testing revealed a set of different immunogenic bands for each group of ticks and mass spectrometry data revealed differences in at 19 proteins specifically identified in the CT-SGE group and 20 from the FT-SGE group. Our results suggest that differences in the salivary proteins between CT-SGE and FT-SGE may explain the differential immune responses observed in this study.
Staining Invariant Features for Improving Generalization of Deep Convolutional Neural Networks in Computational Pathology

One of the main obstacles for the implementation of deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) in the clinical pathology workflow is their low capability to overcome variability in slide preparation and scanner configuration, that leads to changes in tissue appearance. Some of these variations may not be not included in the training data, which means that the models have a risk to not generalize well. Addressing such variations and evaluating them in reproducible scenarios allows understanding of when the models generalize better, which is crucial for performance improvements and better DCNN models. Staining normalization techniques (often based on color deconvolution and deep learning) and color augmentation approaches have shown improvements in the generalization of the classification tasks for several tissue types. Domain-invariant training of DCNN's is also a promising technique to address the problem of training a single model for different domains, since it includes the source domain information to guide the training toward domain-invariant features, achieving state-of-the-art results in classification tasks. In this article, deep domain adaptation in convolutional networks (DANN) is applied to computational pathology and compared with widely used staining normalization and color augmentation methods in two challenging classification tasks. The classification tasks rely on two openly accessible datasets, targeting Gleason grading in prostate cancer, and mitosis classification in breast tissue. The benchmark of the different techniques and their combination in two DCNN architectures allows us to assess the generalization abilities and advantages of each method in the considered classification tasks. The code for reproducing our experiments and preprocessing the data is publicly available1. Quantitative and qualitative results show that the use of DANN helps model generalization to external datasets. The combination of several techniques to manage color heterogeneity suggests that several methods together, such as color augmentation methods with DANN training, can generalize even further. The results do not show a single best technique among the considered methods, even when combining them. However, color augmentation and DANN training obtain most often the best results (alone or combined with color normalization and color augmentation). The statistical significance of the results and the embeddings visualizations provide useful insights to design DCNN that generalizes to unseen staining appearances. Furthermore, in this work, we release for the first time code for DANN evaluation in open access datasets for computational pathology. This work opens the possibility for further research on using DANN models together with techniques that can overcome the tissue preparation differences across datasets to tackle limited generalization.
A neurophysiological study of noun-adjective agreement in Arabic: The impact of animacy and diglossia on the dynamics of language processing

We used event-related brain potentials to identify the neurophysiological responses of Arabic speakers to processing full and deflected agreement in plural noun-adjective constructions in Standard Arabic. Under full agreement, an adjective fully agrees in number and gender with a preceding plural noun, but only when this noun is human, while it is systematically marked feminine singular when the noun is non-human under deflected agreement. We recorded grammaticality judgment and ERP responses from 32 speakers of Arabic to sentences violating full and deflected agreement and their well-formed counterparts. The participants were relatively fast and accurate in judging all the sentences, although violations, especially deflected agreement violations, were not always deemed ungrammatical. However, the ERP responses show a differential processing of human versus non-human violations. Violations of full agreement involving human nouns elicited larger N400 and P600 components than violations of deflected agreement involving non-human nouns, whose ERP signatures were hardly distinguishable from those of their acceptable counterparts. Our results present evidence for animacy (more specifically, humanness) and inter-dialect effects on language processing. We argue that violations of Standard Arabic deflected agreement are not treated as outright violations because non-human referents permit both full and deflected agreement in Spoken Arabic. We discuss these results in light of the ERP literature on agreement processing and the role of animacy/humanness in grammar, and highlight the potential effect of diglossia on the architecture of the mental grammar of Arabic speakers.
Effects of Preharvest and Postharvest Applications of 1-Methylcyclopropene on Fruit Quality and Physiological Disorders of ‘Fuji’ Apples during Storage at Warm and Cold Temperatures

The effects of preharvest and postharvest treatments of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) in combination or alone on fruit quality and the incidence of physiological disorders during storage of ‘Fuji’ apples [Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill var. domestica (Borkh.) Mansf. ] at 20 and 0.5 °C were investigated. Preharvest 1-MCP (Harvista) treatments were applied 4 or 10 days before harvest (DBH), and then fruit were either untreated or treated with 1-MCP (SmartFresh) postharvest. Fruit were stored at 20 °C for up to 4 weeks or at 0.5 °C for up to 36 weeks. At harvest, starch pattern indices and watercore incidence and severity were lower in fruit with preharvest 1-MCP treatment applied 10 DBH than in untreated fruit and in fruit treated 4 DBH. At 20 °C, the combination of preharvest and postharvest 1-MCP treatments reduced the internal ethylene concentration (IEC) more than preharvest 1-MCP treatment alone, but not to a greater extent than postharvest 1-MCP treatment alone. Greasiness and watercore were reduced more by the combination of preharvest and postharvest 1-MCP treatments than by either treatment alone. However, preharvest and postharvest 1-MCP treatments, in combination or alone, did not consistently affect flesh firmness, titratable acidity (TA), soluble solids concentration, color a* values, or incidences of flesh browning, core browning, and stem-end flesh browning. At 0.5 °C, the combination of preharvest and postharvest 1-MCP treatments inhibited IECs and maintained firmness and TA more than no treatment or preharvest 1-MCP treatment alone. However, there was a lesser extent of differences than there was with postharvest 1-MCP treatment alone. Incidences of physiological disorders were not consistently affected by the preharvest and postharvest 1-MCP treatments. Overall, the results suggested that the preharvest 1-MCP treatment positively affected fruit quality attributes compared with no treatment during shelf life and long-term cold storage, but not as effectively as a combination of preharvest and postharvest 1-MCP treatments.