Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Activation of NF-E2 p45-related factor-2 transcription and inhibition of intestinal tumor development by AHCC, a standardized extract of cultured Lentinula edodes mycelia

It has been reported that activation of NF-E2 p45-related factor-2 (NRF2), a transcription factor, induces a variety of antioxidant enzymes, and plays an important role in preventing carcinogenesis. AHCC is a standardized extract of cultured Lentinula edodes mycelia and it has been demonstrated to improve cancer. However, the effects of AHCC on NRF2 have not been examined, and the effects on intestinal adenoma development are not yet fully understood. We first investigated the effects of AHCC (1–5 mg/ml) on NRF2 activity in human colon cancer cell lines by a luciferase reporter gene assay, and found NRF2 transcriptional activities were increased ~12.6-fold. In addition, AHCC dose-dependently increased HO-1 and NQO-1 mRNA levels, and decreased interleukine-6 mRNA levels. Next, we administered 1,000 ppm AHCC for 8 weeks in the diet of Apc mutant Min mice, and found that AHCC significantly reduced the total number of intestinal polyps to 57.7% and to 67.6% of the control value in male and female Min mice, respectively, with suppression of interleukine-6 in the polyp part. These data suggest that AHCC possesses an ability to suppress cellular oxidative stress through activation of NRF2, thereby lowering intestinal polyp development in Min mice.
EFFECT OF NITROGEN; POTASSIUM FERTILIZER AND PLANT DISTRIBUTION PATTERNS ON YIELD AND QUALITY OF SUGAR BEET (Beta vulgaris l.)

Two field experiments were planted during 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 growing seasons in the experimental farm of Sugar Crops Research Institute at sakha kafrelsheikh governorate, Egypt. Split plot design was used in both seasons, main plots were contained nitrogen and potassium fertilizers levels (75, 90 kg N and 24, 48 kg K2O and combinations between them). Whereas, four plant distribution patterns were distributed in sub-plots (20 x 50 cm, 15 x 66 cm, 25 x 40 cm and 30 x 33 cm). Results obtained indicated that maximum root fresh weight, root and sugar yields were obtained when sugar beet was fertilized with high nitrogen and potassium levels (90 kg N and 48 kg K2O/fed) and gave (2.430, 2.520 kg/plant; 36.41, 37.13 ton/fed and 6.47, 6.63 ton/fed) in both seasons, respectively. Whereas, the highest sucrose and total soluble solids and purity percentages were obtained with the lowest nitrogen level (75 kg N/fed.) and with the highest K levels (48 kg/fed.). On the other direction, all these best results were obtained with plant distribution patterns (20 x 50 cm), the space between hills and between ridges. These were true in both seasons. The highest nitrogen and potassium levels surprised the other levels because nitrogen and potassium encourage vegetative growth and increased sucrose accumulation in cells, whereas, patterns (20 x 50 cm) gave good growth by good leaf area which resulted from giving a good chance to plant to take sufficient sunlight which produced maximum carbohydrates and accumulation sucrose in roots.
OPTIMIZATION OF BIOFLOCCULANT PRODUCTION BY Bacillus spp. FROM SUGARCANE CROP SOIL OR FROM SLUDGE OF THE AGROINDUSTRIAL EFFLUENT

Biological flocculants are advantageous due to their biodegradability and safety to living beings. In this work, four bacterial strains, isolated from sugarcane cropped soil (Bacillus megaterium LBPMA-APFSG3Isox and B. toyonensis LBPMA-ACOPR1.Isox) and sludge of an agroindustrial effluent (B. pumilus LBPMA-BLD07 and B. thuringiensis LBPMA-EFIII), were studied. It was found that all of them secreted bioflocculants, at 37 ± 1 °C, with no pH changes over time and the flocculant activity increased during the time course of incubation. These results stimulated the optimization of the culture conditions to improve flocculation rates, such as the pH, nitrogen sources and carbon. For B. toyonensis LBPMA-ACOPR1.Isox and B. thuringiensis LBPMA-EFIII, the best pH for the bioflocculant production was 5.0. Sucrose and maltose were the best sources of carbon, while urea was the preferred source of nitrogen for two of the tested isolates (B. pumilus LBPMA-BLD07 and B. toyonensis LBPMAACOPR1.Isox), followed by (NH4)2SO4 (B. megaterium LBPMA-APFSG3Isox) and peptone (B. thuringiensis LBPMA-EFIII). The FTIR-ATR spectra of each extracted material responsible for the flocculant activities of the strains displayed carboxyl, hydroxyl and methoxy functional groups characteristic of polysaccharides.
The resilient frugivorous fauna of a degraded forest fragment and its potential role in the enrichment of vegetation

The loss of diversity, richness, and biomass of the fauna, mainly of mammals and birds of medium and large size, by anthropic activities can be denominated as “anthropocentric defaunation” This process affects critical ecosystem services performed by these animals as seed dispersal, putting at risk ecosystems and biomes with large amounts of zoochorous flora such as the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest. Although the ecological redundancy present in complex systems such as rainforest can amortize the functional losses caused by defaunation, studies that perform inductions of the redundancy process with the use of fruit-fed feeders as a way of enriching and recovering natural environments are rare. Thus, our objective in the present study was to evaluate the residual fauna with potential for the enrichment of a Semideciduous Seasonal Forest fragment with native plant species. A total of 36 sampling points was selected at Mata Santa Genebra, with two feeders installed at different heights that were monitored by camera-traps. Variable amounts of native fruits of zoochorous species were offered alternately in the feeders. Based on more than 36,000 hours records, Turdus leucomelas, Sapajus nigritus, and Salvator merianae were the species that ingested the highest fruit richness. Didelphis albiventris was the most frequent visitor but depulped most of the fruits, leaving the seeds in the feeders. As expected, May was the month with most significant visitation to the feeders, due to the lowest fruit production of the zoochorous species at the study site. In relation to the frugivorous avifauna, the disposal of a larger quantity of fruits increases the visitation considered "effective," but the inverse relationship was found for mammals. The explanation is related to the behavior expected for each taxon concerning fruit depulp, more prominent in frugivorous mammals than for frugivorous birds. The landscape component "Environment Matrix" affected the pattern of visitation of seed dispersers differently. We showed that an increase in the diversity of frugivores leads to a higher chance of effective visitation, and the explanation is based on the classic relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Finally, with this study we can highlight the decisive and efficient importance of the use of fruit-enriched feeders and their potential to attract resilient frugivores in a defaunated Atlantic Rain Forest fragment, by using their seed dispersal services for local floristic enrichment. However, variations in the patterns of visitation and occupation of space should be taken into account in future management plans. Key-words: defaunation, ecology redundancy, seed dispersal, artificial fruit feeders.
PERSONAL VALUES, PERCEIVED CONSUMER EFFECTIVENESS AND DEMOGRAPHIC EFFECTS ON GREEN PURCHASING BEHAVIOR OF KOREAN CONSUMERS

This study is an examination of personal values, perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE), and demographic factors for their influence on Korean consumers green purchasing behavior. A survey conducted in Seoul, Korea, meaningfully supports the proposed relationships between value orientations, PCE, education level, and green purchasing behavior. Specifically, structural-equation modeling confirms that egoism directly and negatively influences green purchases, and that PCE moderates the indirectly positive effects of altruism and biospherism. Education also drives pro-environmental choices. Practical implications for green marketers are discussed, and suggestions for future research are provided.
Effect Of Ethephon Doses On Vegetative Characters, Sex Expression and Yield Of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus cv. Bhaktapur Local) In Resunga Municipality, Gulmi, Nepal

A study on the effect of ethephon doses on vegetative characters, sex expression and yield of cucumber (Cucumis sativus cv. Bhaktapur Local) was conducted in Gulmi, Nepal during 21st April to 24th August 2017. The experiment was laid in single factor Randomized complete Block Design (RCBD) with 4 replication and 5 treatments. Four different doses of ethephon 100, 200, 300 & 400 ppm with control were applied. Two sprays of ethephon was made one at two true leaf stage and other at four true leaf stage. Ethephon was found to reduce the plant height compared to control, minimum (238.8 cm) with 400 ppm and maximum (310.4 cm) with the control. The number of nodes and branches per plant were found to be highest with 300 ppm. Ethephon was found to shift first male flowers and female flowers towards upper and lower nodes respectively. The plot treated with 300 ppm ethephon, bearing 20.31 female flowers per plant was found superior to other doses for increasing total female flowers. Maximum and minimum number of male flowers per plant was recorded with control(107 per plant) and 400 ppm (46.90 per plant) respectively. Similarly, 300 ppm of ethephon was found superior for reducing (male: female) sex ratio. Maximum yield 27.51 t/ha was recorded with 300 ppm and minimum yield of 17.48 t/ha with the control. 57% increment in the yield was observed with 300 ppm ethephon as compared to the control. Thus, proper use of ethephon is found to be beneficial to farmers. Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 7(3): 370-377
Harmonization of large multi-site imaging datasets: Application to 10,232 MRIs for the analysis of imaging patterns of structural brain change throughout the lifespan

As medical imaging enters its information era and presents rapidly increasing needs for big data analytics, robust pooling and harmonization of imaging data across diverse cohorts with varying acquisition protocols have become critical. We describe a comprehensive effort that merges and harmonizes a large-scale dataset of 10,232 structural brain MRI scans from participants without known neuropsychiatric disorder from 18 different studies that represent geographic diversity. We use this dataset and multi-atlas-based image processing methods to obtain a hierarchical partition of the brain from larger anatomical regions to individual cortical and deep structures and derive normative age trends of brain structure through the lifespan (3 to 96 years old). Critically, we present and validate a methodology for harmonizing this pooled dataset in the presence of nonlinear age trends. We provide a web-based visualization interface to generate and present the resulting age trends, enabling future studies of brain structure to compare their data with this normative reference of brain development and aging, and to examine deviations from normative ranges, potentially related to disease.
Irrigation Interval and Nitrogen Level Effects on Growth and Yield of Canola (Brassica napus L.)

A field experiment was carried out to determine the effect of irrigation intervals and nitrogen levels on canola "cv. Fido" on a sandy loam soil during 2000/2001 and 2001/2002 seasons. Irrigation intervals had significant effects on growth characters as well as seed and oil yields/ha, but it did not induce maked effect on seed oil percentage. The highest values of plant height, stem diameter, number of pods/plant, number of seeds/pod, seed weight/plant as well as seed and oil yields/ha were produced with irrigation every 7 or 14 days. Nitrogen rates had significant effects on all estimated characters, except the harvest index and seed oil percentage. The highest nitrogen rates (120-180 kg N/ha) were associated with an increase in all estimated characters, except seed oil percentage, which took the reverse trend. The interaction between irrigation intervals and nitrogen rates had significant effects on seed and oil yields/ha. Irrigation canola every 7 or 14 days and fertilizing with 120-180 kg N/ha produced the highest seed and oil yields/ha. The optimum water use efficiency was obtained with the irrigation every 14 days, particularly with the addition of 180 kg N ha-1. In general, it can be concluded that irrigation canola plants at the regular interval of 14 days with 650 m3 water/irrigation/ha and adding nitrogen fertilizer with the rate of 120-180 kg N ha-1 produced the highest seed and oil yield/ha and increase the water use efficiency under the environmental condition of Al-Hassa region.
Parametric study on the production of biodiesel from waste sunflower oil using Zeolitic tuff based catalyst

ABSTRACT This study aims to investigate the potential of zeolitic based catalysts for biodiesel production from waste sunflower vegetable oil. The zeolite-based catalyst was prepared by two impregnation steps. The obtained catalyst was examined for the transesterification reaction. The effect of operating variables and the synergetic effects between those variables were investigated. Other parameters such as catalyst impregnation time, stirring speed and catalyst particle size were also studied. Furthermore, the physical and chemical properties of the oil and the produced biodiesel were measured. Nearly complete 100% conversion and 96.7% yield were achieved using 11.5 MeOH/oil molar ratio, 6.4% catalyst dosage, at 50°C reaction temperature and reaction time of 2 hours. The properties of the obtained biodiesel are in agreement with the values specified by US and EU standards.
A PUF hub drives self-renewal in C. elegans germline stem cells

Stem cell regulation relies on extrinsic signaling from a niche plus intrinsic factors that respond and drive self-renewal within stem cells. A priori, loss of niche signaling and loss of the intrinsic self-renewal factors might be expected to have equivalent stem cell defects. Yet this simple prediction has not been borne out for most stem cells, including C. elegans germline stem cells (GSCs). The central regulators of C. elegans GSCs include extrinsically-acting GLP-1/Notch signaling from the niche, intrinsically-acting RNA binding proteins in the PUF family, termed FBF-1 and FBF-2 (collectively FBF), and intrinsically-acting PUF partner proteins that are direct Notch targets. Abrogation of either GLP-1/Notch signaling or its targets yields an earlier and more severe GSC defect than loss of FBF-1 and FBF-2, suggesting that additional intrinsic regulators must exist. Here, we report that those missing regulators are two additional PUF proteins, PUF-3 and PUF-11. Remarkably, an fbf-1 fbf-2; puf-3 puf-11 quadruple null mutant has a GSC defect virtually identical to that of a glp-1/Notch null mutant. PUF-3 and PUF-11 both affect GSC maintenance; both are expressed in GSCs; and epistasis experiments place them at the same position as FBF within the network. Therefore, action of PUF-3 and PUF-11 explains the milder GSC defect in fbf-1 fbf-2 mutants. We conclude that a “PUF hub”, comprising four PUF proteins and two PUF partners, constitutes the intrinsic self-renewal node of the C. elegans GSC RNA regulatory network. Discovery of this hub underscores the significance of PUF RNA-binding proteins as key regulators of stem cell maintenance.
EFFECT OF Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans-CYSTEINE INTERACTIONS ON PYRITE BIOOXIDATION BY Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans IN THE PRESENCE OF COAL COMPOUNDS

This study evaluated the biooxidation of pyrite contained in a Colombian coal (2.38 mm < particle size < 0.50 mm). The variables were cysteine concentration (0-600 mg/L) and culture type (pure Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (ATCC 23270) and a consortium of Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans (ATCC 15494) and Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans). Pyrite oxidation for the assays without cysteine was 31.14% after 12 days. In the presence of pure A. ferrooxidans, oxidation increased by 8.18% in the assays containing 60 mg Cys/L. In contrast, the counterpart using the consortium exhibited a significant increase in redox potential, which improved oxidation by 28.44%. Since all the assays had a similar kaolinite removal (around 31.45%), and the experiments without cysteine did not show differences in behaviour, the A. thiooxidans-cysteine interactions might have been responsible for increasing Fe3+ regeneration, alleviating the toxic effect of Al3+ ion dissolution, thus improving pyrite oxidation. The consortium-cysteine-coal interactions contrasted with those proposed by other authors for A. ferrooxidans-cysteine-pure pyrite and A. thiooxidans-cysteine, indicating different metabolic pathways in the presence of inorganic and organic coal matrices. On the other hand, the biooxidation rate decreased for both cultures in the presence of 600 mg Cys/L, showing similar inhibition to that reported in the literature.
Development and application of a sustainability assessment model for dairy production systems.

In the present study, we aimed to develop and apply a model to evaluate the social, economic, and environmental sustainability of dairy production systems (DPS). In addition, we sought to analyze structural and production characteristics of DPS of different sustainability levels. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect structural and production data as well as information on sustainability actions taken by rural producers in 152 DPS located in Parana, Brazil. The proposed model was applied to analyze the data. Each DPS received a score to represent its level of social, environmental, and economic sustainability, and DPS with similar sustainability levels were grouped according to these indicators using hierarchical cluster analysis. Three groups were formed: G1, comprising the largest proportion of DPS (63.8%); G2 comprising 20.4% of DPS; and G3, comprising 15.8% of DPS. The mean values of the sustainability indicators of each group were compared to those of other groups using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey’s test. Subsequently, groups were analyzed in terms of structural and production characteristics. G2 was characterized by the highest levels of environmental, social, and economic sustainability. G1 had intermediate sustainability levels, and G3 achieved the worst results in the three sustainability indicators. The best sustainability performance of the three DPS groups was in the environmental dimension, followed by the economic dimension and lastly the social dimension. DPS with large-scale production and high productivity showed the highest sustainability indicators. The sustainability assessment model was suitable for DPS, having the advantages of being easy to apply, easy to interpret, and low cost.
Anticancer Activity of Acetogenins from Annona Muricata Fruit

Medicinal plants become very important in our days for their therapeutic benefits to humankind. It sustains human health, and it is commonly known as herbal medicines since ancient times. Annona muricata is a heart-shaped fruit that is consumed raw or as the fruit juice in the tropical area. A. muricata is used in traditional and alternative medicine to treat different ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, respiratory and skin illness, inflammation and cancer. A. muricata contains essential anticancer agents named acetogenins that play the significant role in various cancer types. Acetogenins are strong nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide oxidase inhibitors of the cancer cell's mitochondrial membrane but showed neurotoxic effects in rats. Therefore, acetogenins need to be further investigated to determine the exact mechanisms of action, long-term safety, optimal dosage, and potential side effects. Given the extensive studies on A. muricata, this review focuses on the phytochemistry, medicinal uses, biological activities and the mechanisms of action for the fruit extracts and acetogenins, to stimulate further studies on the fruit pulp used for human consumption.
INTERACTION EFFECT OF BOTH SOIL AND FOLIAR APPLICATION OF NPK ON RESPONSE OF CORN VARIETIES IN EGYPT AND MOROCCO

Two field experiments were carried out at Gemiza (ARS), during 2012, 2013. The aim of the study was to evaluate the performance of S.C. 167 and T.W. C. 253 maize under the use of different rates of NPK. Fertilizer were tested cross (Cs) , soil application (SA) and foliar one (FA). All the agriculture treatments were used as usual. A split split plot design was used. five traits were studied. Such traits were distributed at ear length, ear diameter, ear height, cob. Weight, and shilling percentage . The obtained results could be summarized as follows : Crosses, soil application and foliar application of NPK signifcantly affected most studied traites except ear height, cob. weight, and shilling percentage . Significancey was completely absent as respect to first and second order interaction with all studied trait but the superior vlues were produced from combination (T.W.C. 253 × 80% NPK (S.A.)), (T.W.C. 253 × 80% NPK (F.A.)) and (80% NPK (S.A.) × 40% NPK (F.A.))
Decoding age-related changes in the spatiotemporal neural processing of speech using machine learning

Speech comprehension in noisy environments depends on complex interactions between sensory and cognitive systems. In older adults, such interactions may be affected, especially in those individuals who have more severe age-related hearing loss. Using a data-driven approach, we assessed the temporal (when in time) and spatial (where in the brain) characteristics of the cortex’s speech-evoked response that distinguish older adults with or without mild hearing loss. We used source montage to model scalp-recorded during a phoneme discrimination task conducted under clear and noise-degraded conditions. We applied machine learning analyses (stability selection and control) to choose features of the speech-evoked response that are consistent over a range of model parameters and support vector machine (SVM) classification to investigate the time course and brain regions that segregate groups and speech clarity. Whole-brain data analysis revealed a classification accuracy of 82.03% [area under the curve (AUC)=81.18%; F1-score 82.00%], distinguishing groups within ∼50 ms after speech onset (i.e., as early as the P1 wave). We observed lower accuracy of 78.39% [AUC=78.74%; F1-score=79.00%] and delayed classification performance when the speech token were embedded in noise, with group segregation at 60 ms. Separate analysis using left (LH) and right hemisphere (RH) regions showed that LH speech activity was better at distinguishing hearing groups than activity measured over the RH. Moreover, stability selection analysis identified 13 brain regions (among 1428 total spatiotemporal features from 68 regions) where source activity segregated groups with >80% accuracy (clear speech); whereas 15 regions were critical for noise-degraded speech to achieve a comparable level of group segregation (76% accuracy). Our results identify two core neural networks associated with complex speech perception in older adults and confirm a larger number of neural regions, particularly in RH and frontal lobe, are active when processing degraded speech information.