Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mitochondrial localization of a NADR-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase isoenzyme by using the green fluorescent protein as a marker

In this work, we describe the isolation of a new cDNA encoding an NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICDH). The nucleotide sequence in its 5′ region gives a deduced amino acid sequence indicative of a targeting peptide. However, even if this cDNA clearly encodes a noncytosolic ICDH, it is not possible to say from the targeting peptide sequence to which subcellular compartment the protein is addressed. To respond to this question, we have transformed tobacco plants with a construct containing the entire targeting signal-encoding sequence in front of a modified green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene. This construct was placed under the control of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter, and transgenic tobacco plants were regenerated. At the same time, and as a control, we also have transformed tobacco plants with the same construct but lacking the nucleotide sequence corresponding to the ICDH-targeting peptide, in which the GFP is retained in the cytoplasm. By optical and confocal microscopy of leaf epiderm and Western blot analyses, we show that the putative-targeting sequence encoded by the cDNA addresses the GFP exclusively into the mitochondria of plant cells. Therefore, we conclude that this cDNA encodes a mitochondrial ICDH.
Supplementary Material for Challenges and opportunities in coding the Commons: problems procedures, and potential solutions in large-N comparative case studies

On-going efforts to understand the dynamics of coupled socialecological systems and common pool resources have led to the generation of numerous datasets based on a large number of case studies. This data has facilitated the identification of important factors and fundamental principles thereby increasing our understanding of such complex systems. However, the data at our disposal are often not easily comparable, have limited scope and scale, and are based on disparate underlying frameworks which inhibit synthesis, metaanalysis, and the validation of findings. Research efforts are further hampered when case inclusion criteria, variable definitions, coding schema, and intercoder reliability testing are not made explicit in the presentation of research and shared among the research community. This paper first outlines challenges experienced by researchers engaged in a large-scale coding project; highlights valuable lessons learned; and finally discusses opportunities for future comparative case study analyses of social-ecological systems and common pool resources.
ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF CASSIA FISTULA L. EXTRACTS AT DIFFERENT PORTIONS (BARK, STEM, ROOT, LEAF) AND AGE CLASSES

Fungi deterioration of wood is the most common damaging problems of timber industries worldwide. Most wood, especially less durable wood is prone to attack by a wide-range of fungi; thereby a broad spectrum of control is undoubtedly necessary. In this study, the antifungal activity of methanolic extracts of bark, stem, leaf and root of Cassia fistula L. under different age classes, namely Class A (2-3 years), Class B (5-10 years), and Class C (10-15 years) against both white-rot and brown-rot fungi were investigated. The fungi used were Pycnoporos sanguineus, Microporus xanthopus, Coniophora puteana, Trametes species and Stereum ostrea. Generally, methanolic extracts of Cassia fistula L. at different portions and age classes exhibited good and selective antifungal activity against most of the fungi tested, except fungi Microporus xanthopus.
Isolation, Molecular Characterization and Antibiotics Susceptibility Pattern of Methylotrophic Bacteria Occuring in the Human Mouth

Methylotrophic bacteria are ubiquitous bacteria that are capable of using one carbon compounds such as methane, methanol, halogenated methane, and methylated amine as sources of carbon and energy for their diverse metabolic activities. Methylotrophic bacteria were isolated from the tongue, and supra- and subgingival plaque in the mouths of volunteers and patients with periodontitis. The isolation, identification, antibiotic susceptibility pattern and molecular characterization of methylotrophic bacteria from 150 volunteers and patients with periodontitis were done using standard method. Nutrient agar fortified with methylamine as a growth factor was used to aid the growth of these bacteria. The result show that a total of twelve (12) bacteria were identified. These are Bacillus licheniformis, Neisseria flava, Neisseria meningitis, Micrococcus flava, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Methylobacteria radiotolerance, Methylotrophic thiocynatum, Methylococcus capsulatum, Methylotrophic rubra and Branhamella catarhalis. The antibiotics susceptibility test showed that B. licheniformis, N. meningitis and P. aeruginosa exhibited the highest resistance against the antibiotics. The 12 bacteria were characterized molecularly with Polymerase chain reaction PCR amplified method using primers for the virulence genes of Methylotroph. The mxaF gene of methanol dehy- drogenase MxaF was detected in 3 bacteria: pilc of pilin gene in 3 bacteria, stx1 of shiga toxin nana of neuraminidase and pila of pilin gene was detected in all the bacteria. The results obtained in this research showed that methylotrophs may be responsible for periodontitis and that healthy people are carriers.
Singular Limits for 4-Dimensional General Stationary Q-Kuramoto-Sivashinsky Equation (Q-Kse) with Exponential Nonlinearity

Abstract Let Ω be a bounded domain in with smooth boundary, and let 𝓧1; 𝓧2; · · ·, 𝓧m be points in Ω. We are concerned with the singular stationary non-homogenous q-Kuramoto-Sivashinsky eaquation (q-KSE: where we use some nonlinear domain decomposition method to give a suficient condition to have a positive weak solution u in Ω under the physical Dirichlet-like boundary conditions , which is singular at each 𝓧i as the parameters λ, ϒ and ρ tend to 0 and where q ∈ [1, 4] is a real number.
Financial Policy in a Liquidity Trap

A policy of recapitalizing leverage-constrained capital producers reduces the severity of a liquidity trap or avoids one altogether. Recapitalization policy sharply dominates fiscal stimulus. Both policies allow the savings and investment market to equilibrate with a smaller fall in output and inflation, but fiscal stimulus discourages savings while recapitalization boosts investment. So, recapitalization leads to a faster recovery in
First Spitzer Space Telescope Observations of Magnetic Cataclysmic Variables: Evidence of Excess Emission at 3-8 μm

We present the first observations of magnetic cataclysmic variables using the Spitzer Space Telescope. We used the Infrared Array Camera to obtain photometry of the Polars EF Eri, GG Leo, V347 Pav, and RX J0154.0-5947 at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 μm, respectively. In all of our targets, we detect excess mid-infrared emission over that expected from the component stars alone. We explore the origin of this IR excess by examining bremsstrahlung, cyclotron emission, circumbinary dust, and L/T brown dwarf secondary stars. Bremsstrahlung and cyclotron emission appear unlikely to be significant contributors to the observed fluxes. At present, the most likely candidate for the excess emission is dust that is probably located in a circumbinary disk with an inner temperature near 800 K. However, a simple dust disk plus any reasonable low-mass or brown dwarf-like secondary star is unable to fully explain the observed flux densities in the 3-8 μm region.
Beyond Adoption: Welfare Effects of Farmer Innovation Behavior in Ghana

With numerous challenges hindering smallholders’ adoption of externally developed technologies, it is often argued that farmer innovation can play an essential role in rural livelihoods. Yet a rigorous assessment of the impact of farmer innovation is lacking. We address this issue by analyzing the effect of farmer innovation on household welfare, measured by income, consumption expenditure, and food security. Using household survey data from northern Ghana and applying endogenous switching regression, we find that farmer innovation significantly increases household income and consumption expenditure for innovators. It also contributes significantly to the reduction of food insecurity among innovative households by increasing household food consumption expenditure, decreasing the duration of food shortage, and reducing the severity of hunger. However, we find that the positive productivity and income effects of farmer innovation do not significantly translate into nutritious diet, measured by household dietary diversity. Overall, our results show positive welfare effects of farmer innovation, hence, support increasing arguments on the need to promote farmer innovation (which has been largely undervalued) as a complement to externally promoted technologies in food security and poverty reduction efforts.
A propos du centre ou de la direction fonctionnelle

A central challenge in the development of the Internet of things (IoT) and cyber-physical systems (CPSs) arises from the fact that sensors that are deployed all over the physical system (infrastructure) depend on local energy sources, o en batteries or energy harvesting systems. This battery dependency becomes a critical issue when the systems are deployed in hard-to-reach locations, e.g., remote geographical areas, concrete structures, human bodies, or disaster/war zones. An effective remedy is using energy harvesting technologies. Specifically, energy can be harvested from different ambient sources such as light, vibrations, heat, chemical reactions, physiological processes, or the radio frequency (RF) signals produced by communications systems.
EliScholar – A Digital Platform for Scholarly Publishing at Yale Routine Anal Cytology Screening for Anal Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions in an Ethnically Diverse Urban HIV Clinic

Anal cancer, like cervical cancer, is associated with Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection. HIV+ patients have 38-60 fold increased risk of anal cancer compared to HIV- patients prompting many to suggest routine screening given the success of cervical Pap screening. Our goal is to describe our experience with routine anal Pap screening, determine which patients are most likely to have abnormal results, if anal disease on physical exam is predictive of cytology, and correlate cytology with histology findings. Charts of all patients with an anal Pap followed at the Hospital of Saint Raphael HIV Clinic were reviewed. Demographics, immune status, sexually transmitted disease history, cytology and histology data was extracted from medical charts. Patients with an anal Pap between November 1, 2002-November 30, 2004 were included. Those with an insufficient sample were excluded. Analysis was done using χ 2 for comparison of proportions and student t-test for continuous variables. Overall, 265/560 HIV+ patients had at least one anal Pap. Seventy-four of these 265 patients had an abnormal anal Pap. Mean age was 44 yrs, and 68% were men. Fifty-nine percent were African American, 34% White, and 17% Hispanic. Those with an abnormal Pap were more likely to be White (p=.03), and be gay or bisexual men (p=.02). They were also more likely to have lower CD4 + nadir (142 vs 223, p=.005) and CD4 + at time of anal Pap (353 vs 497, p<.001). Those with an abnormal anal Pap also had more anal disease (30% vs 9%, p<.001), history of warts (23% vs 12%, p=.02) and herpes (35% vs 22%, p=.02). Anal disease on physical exam had a sensitivity of 56% and specificity of 77% for abnormal cytology
Synthesis and characterization of magnetic nanoparticles for cancer therapy *

Magnetic nanoparticles are widely used in biomedical applications such as in magnetic resonance imaging, targeted drug delivery and cancer therapy. These particles have been actively investigated as the next generation of purpose-specific drug delivery for more than thirty years. In this context, magnetite nanoparticles, being bio compatible, have also been investigated owing to their immense potential for use in cancer therapy. In this project, sol-gel based chemical synthesis route have been employed to prepare single phase nano-sized magnetite particles. The crystal structure of the samples was investigated by X-ray diffraction. The structural morphology was determined using a scanning electron microscope. Electrical characteristics have been analyzed using a four probe technique. These nanoparticles are then functionalized by polymers to achieve better bio-compatibility and then inserted into cancer cell. It has been observed that the cancer cell decayed due to heat produced by magnetic nanoparticles upon the application of AC magnetic field.
Feeding Response of Tree Fodder Bhimal (Grewia optiva) on Growth Performance of Castrated Male Goats

Bhimal ( Grewia optiva ) is a fodder tree mostly found in mid hills of mid and far western region of Nepal. Bhimal could constitutes one of the main livestock green fodders, especially for goats when fresh green fodder become limited during the winter dry season. However, the feeding value of Bhimal leaves on growth performance of castrated goats probably has not been evaluated so far. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of Bhimal leaves feeding on growth performance of castrated male goats for 90 days. Altogether 16 growing castrated male goats of same breed, age and body weight were selected and equally divided into four treatments T1, T2, T3 and T4 with four replications by using Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Four types of experimental diets were prepared having various levels (0 to 100%) of Bhimal leaves as fodder. Experimental animals of Treatment 1 were fed with seasonal fodder + 100 g concentrate mixture, Treatment 2 with 100% Bhimal fodder + 100 g concentrate mixture, Treatment 3with 75% Bhimal fodder + 25% seasonal fodder + 100 g concentrate mixture, while Treatment 4 with 50% Bhimal fodder + 50% season fodder + 100 g concentrate mixture. All diets were fed ad-lib and experimental animals had free access to drinking water. The diets offered and refusal was measured daily and weight change was observed fortnightly. The result showed that fodder intake (g/d/animal) and total dry matter intake (TDMI g/kg live weight) of goats differed significantly (P<0.01), but concentrate intake was not differed significantly (P<0.01) among treatments. The highest dry matter intake per animal /day was in Treatment 2 (52.75 g/kg live weight) followed by Treatment 4, Treatment 3 and Treatment 1 (51.7, 48.56 and 32.69 g/kg live weight, respectively). The average daily gain in body weight was observed highest in Treatment 2 (66.66 g/d) followed by Treatment 3 (31.66 g/d) and Treatment 4 (30.83 g). The growth rate was significantly (P<0.01) different among diet groups (P<0.05, P<0.01 and P<0.01 for 60, 75 and 90 days, respectively). In case of the feed conversion ratio, Treatment 2 had best ratio (8.79:1) than Treatment 1 (14.21:1), T3 (17.03:1) and Treatment 4 (18.59:1). The present response study showed that body weight in castrated male goats can be increased significantly (P<0.05) implying that in winter season when other green forages are poorly available goat farming can be supported by Bhimal fodder tree. Journal of Nepal Agricultural Research Council Vol.3 2017: 1-11
Impact of preferential treatment of elite cows on accuracy of genomic predictions in a simulated dairy cattle population

1 Isfahan University of Technology, College of Agriculture, Department of Animal Science, P.O. Box 84156-83111, Isfahan, Iran e.dehnavi@ag.iut. ac.ir mailto:Riberc@univit.com mailto:edehnavi@uoguelph.ca(Corresponding Author) University of Guelph, Department of Animal Biosciences, Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, ON N1G 2W1, Guelph, Canada 3 Semex Alliance, Guelph, ON N1H 6J2, Canada msargol@uoguelph.ca mailto:edehnavi@uoguelph.ca(Corresponding Author)
National and State-Specific Unit Sales and Prices for Electronic Cigarettes, United States, 2012–2016

Introduction Few studies have explored patterns of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) sales and prices by product type over time. We used US retail scanner data to assess national and state-specific trends in e-cigarette unit sales and prices for 4 product types sold from 2012 through 2016. Methods Using retail scanner data from the 48 contiguous states and Washington, DC, for convenience stores; supermarkets; mass merchandisers; drug, dollar, and club stores; and military commissaries, we assessed data on monthly unit sales and inflation-adjusted prices by 4 products (rechargeables, disposables, prefilled cartridges, and e-liquids) sold during the 5-year study period. We evaluated national and state trends by using Joinpoint regression (P < .05). Results From 2012 through 2016, average national monthly unit sales significantly increased for all products, while average monthly prices of rechargeables, disposables, and prefilled cartridges significantly decreased. In 2016, prefilled cartridges had the highest average sales (766 units per 100,000 people) and the lowest average price ($14.36 per unit). By state, average monthly sales significantly increased for at least 1 of 4 e-cigarette products in all 48 states and Washington, DC. However, during the same period, average monthly prices significantly decreased in 39 states for rechargeables, in 31 states for disposables, in 20 states for prefilled cartridges, and in 8 states for e-liquids. Conclusion Overall, US e-cigarette unit sales generally increased as product prices decreased. These findings demonstrate the rapidly evolving landscape of US e-cigarette retail marketplace. Ongoing surveillance of e-cigarette unit sales and price is critical for informing and evaluating evidence-based tobacco control strategies.
Chemotherapy in Pancreatic Cancer: A Systematic Review

Background and Aim: Pancreatic cancer is one of the most fatal cancers. Cytotoxic chemotherapy remains the mainstream treatment for unresectable pancreatic cancer. This systematic review evaluated and compared the overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) outcomes obtained from recent phase 2 and 3 clinical trials of pancreatic cancer chemotherapy. Materials and methods: Thirty-two studies were included and compared based on chemotherapy agents or combinations used. Additionally, outcomes of first-line versus second-line chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer were compared. Results: In studies that investigated the treatments in adjuvant settings, the highest OS reported was for S-1 in patients, who received prior surgical resection (46.5 months). In neoadjuvant settings, the combination of gemcitabine, docetaxel, and capecitabine prior to the surgical resection had promising outcomes (OS of 32.5 months). In non-adjuvant settings, the highest OS reported was for the combination of temsirolimus plus bevacizumab (34.0 months). Amongst studies that investigated second-line treatment, the highest OS reported was for the combination of gemcitabine plus cisplatin (35.5 months), then temsirolimus plus bevacizumab (34.0 months). Conclusions: There is a need to develop further strategies besides chemotherapy to improve the outcomes in pancreatic cancer treatment. Future studies should consider surgical interventions, combination chemotherapy, and individualized second-line treatment based on the prior chemotherapy.
Isolation of stigmast-5,24-dien-3-ol from marine brown algae Sargassum tenerrimum and its antipredatory activity

In recent years many sterols with potent biological activity have been identified from marine sources. Here we report the isolation of stigmast-5,24-dien-3-ol (fucosterol) as a major metabolite from the bioactive hexane-fraction of Sargassum tenerrimum using different chromatographic techniques. Moreover, the chemical defense of brown algae Sargassum tenerrimum was investigated using feeding assay performed in an aquarium and in the field.
Response of Elite Kenyan Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana, L. Gaertn) Genotypes to Ethrel Application

Finger millet is a staple food crop of many communities in Africa. The crop is highly nutritious and has incredible grain storage quality. Limited research investment in finger millet in the past has resulted in poor yields and there are currently no commercial hybrids. We investigated the response of different finger millet genotypes (Okhale-1, Gulu-E, KACCIMMI-72, IE 2872, IE 4115 and U-15) to the application of a plant growth regulator hormone (Ethrel). Six elite Kenyan finger millet varieties with contrasting agronomic traits were crossed in a 6 x 6 diallel pattern. To enhance male sterility across female parents, we subjected the plants to Ethrel at concentrations of 1,500ppm, 1,750ppm and 2,000ppm against a 0ppm check. Dwarfing of sprayed plants that resulted in less lodging and ultimately higher yields were observed among plants sprayed with Ethrel at different concentrations. Ethrel application at 2,000ppm had the most dwarfing effect on plants while spraying plants with 1,500ppm of Ethrel resulted in increased grain weight. Although our results demonstrate overall positive effect of Ethrel on finger millet production, the optimum concentrations for more efficient hybridization will still need to be determined.
Geostatistical prediction of flow–duration curves in an index-flow framework

Abstract. An empirical period-of-record flow–duration curve (FDC) describes the percentage of time (duration) in which a given streamflow was equaled or exceeded over an historical period of time. In many practical applications one has to construct FDCs in basins that are ungauged or where very few observations are available. We present an application strategy of top-kriging, which makes the geostatistical procedure capable of predicting FDCs in ungauged catchments. Previous applications of top-kriging mainly focused on the prediction of point streamflow indices (e.g. flood quantiles, low-flow indices, etc.); here the procedure is used to predict the entire curve in ungauged sites as a weighted average of standardised empirical FDCs through the traditional linear-weighting scheme of kriging methods. In particular, we propose to standardise empirical FDCs by a reference index-flow value (i.e. mean annual flow, or mean annual precipitation × the drainage area) and to compute the overall negative deviation of the curves from this reference value. We then propose to use these values, which we term total negative deviation (TND), for expressing the hydrological similarity between catchments and for deriving the geostatistical weights. We focus on the prediction of FDCs for 18 unregulated catchments located in central Italy, and we quantify the accuracy of the proposed technique under various operational conditions through an extensive cross-validation and sensitivity analysis. The cross-validation points out that top-kriging is a reliable approach for predicting FDCs with Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency measures ranging from 0.85 to 0.96 (depending on the model settings) very low biases over the entire duration range, and an enhanced representation of the low-flow regime relative to other regionalisation models that were recently developed for the same study region.
QUARTERLY OF APPLIED MATHEMATICS

Abstract. The attractor associated with a system of nonlinear differential-delay equations, arising from the Wu-Liu metal cutting model, is shown to have a noninteger pointwise dimension and positive metric entropy. Projections of the attractor onto a two-dimensional plane substantiate the existence of complex dynamics. The result suggests that certain regenerative chatter states may be chaotic.