Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Endemic Infection of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Costa Rica: Implications for Amphibian Conservation at Regional and Species Level

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been associated with the severe declines and extinctions of amphibians in Costa Rica that primarily occurred during the 1980s and 1990s. However, the current impact of Bd infection on amphibian species in Costa Rica is unknown. We aimed to update the list of amphibian species in Costa Rica and evaluate the prevalence and infection intensity of Bd infection across the country to aid in the development of effective conservation strategies for amphibians. We reviewed taxonomic lists and included new species descriptions and records for a total of 215 amphibian species in Costa Rica. We also sampled for Bd at nine localities from 2015–2018 and combined these data with additional Bd occurrence data from multiple studies conducted in amphibian communities across Costa Rica from 2005–2018. With this combined dataset, we found that Bd was common (overall infection rate of 23%) across regions and elevations, but infection intensity was below theoretical thresholds associated with mortality. Bd was also more prevalent in Caribbean lowlands and in terrestrial amphibians with an aquatic larval stage; meanwhile, infection load was the highest in direct-developing species (forest and stream-dwellers). Our findings can be used to prioritize regions and taxonomic groups for conservation strategies.
Explaining coalition-bargaining outcomes

Most analyses of policy outcomes from coalition-bargaining have hitherto been conducted within a spatial framework that requires the aggregation of coalition policy into a small number of point estimates. Such an approach, however, is limited in terms of the level of specificity at which it can operate. This article therefore draws on the methodology from the pledge fulfilment literature in order to provide a more in-depth examination of coalition-bargaining outcomes. We are thus able to take advantage of the fact that contemporary coalition agreements provide a wealth of detailed information on the government’s prospective course of policy action. Based on a quantitative text analysis of election manifestos, a dataset of over 1,000 election pledges is used to test a number of hypotheses on the adoption of policies in Austrian coalition agreements between 2002 and 2008. The multivariate models yield strong support for the hypotheses and suggest that the methodological approach has the potential to enhance our understanding of coalition-bargaining.
Gallium doping in transparent conductive ZnO thin films prepared by chemical spray pyrolysis

Zinc oxide (ZnO) and ZnO : Ga films have been deposited by the spray pyrolysis method onto preheated glass substrates using zinc acetate and gallium nitrate as precursors for Zn and Ga ions, respectively. The effect of Ga doping on the structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of sprayed ZnO thin films were investigated using x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, optical absorption, photoluminescence (PL) and Hall effect techniques. XRD studies reveal that films are polycrystalline with hexagonal (wurtzite) crystal structure. The thin films were oriented along the (0 0 2) plane. Room temperature PL measurements indicate that the deposited films exhibit proper doping of Ga in ZnO lattice. The average transparency in the visible range was around ∼85–95% for typical thin film deposited using 2 at% gallium doping. The optical band gap increased from 3.31 to 3.34 eV with Ga doping of 2 at%. The addition of gallium induces a decrease in electrical resistivity of the ZnO : Ga films up to 2 at% gallium doping. The highest figure of merit observed in this present study was 3.09 × 10−3 cm2 Ω−1.
Proliposomes for oral delivery of total biflavonoids extract from Selaginella doederleinii: formulation development, optimization, and in vitro–in vivo characterization

Purpose Amentoflavone, robustaflavone, 2’’,3’’-dihydro-3’,3’’’-biapigenin, 3’,3’’’-binaringenin and delicaflavone are five major active ingredients in the total biflavonoids extract from Selaginella doederleinii (TBESD) with favorable anticancer properties. However, the natural-derived potent antitumor agent of TBESD is undesirable due to its poor solubility. The present study was to develop and optimize a proliposomal formulation of TBESD (P-TBESD) to improve its solubility, oral bioavailability and efficacy. Materials and methods P-TBESD containing a bile salt, a protective hydrophilic isomalto-oligosaccharides (IMOs) coating, were successfully prepared by thin film dispersion-sonication method. The physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties of P-TBESD were characterized, and the antitumor effect was evaluated using the HT-29 xenograft-bearing mice models in rats. Results Compared with TBESD, the relative bioavailability of amentoflavone, robustaflavone, 2’’,3’’-dihydro-3’,3’’’-biapigenin, 3’,3’’’-binaringenin and delicaflavone from P-TBESD were 669%, 523%, 761%, 955% and 191%, respectively. The results of pharmacodynamics demonstrated that both TBESD and P-TBESD groups afforded antitumor effect without systemic toxicity, and the antitumor effect of P-TBESD was significantly superior to that of raw TBESD, based on the tumor growth inhibition and histopathological examination. Conclusion Hence, IMOs-modified proliposomes have promising potential for TBESD solving the problem of its poor solubility and oral bioavailability, which can serve as a practical oral preparation for TBESD in the future cancer therapy.
HISTOLOGICAL AND INITIAL MOLECULAR ANALYSIS OF UG99, THE SR31-BREAKING RACE OF THE WHEAT STEM RUST FUNGUS

The Sr31-virulent stem rust race Ug99 probably evolved from race UVPgt55 (Sr31-avirulent). To find differences between Ug99 and UVPgt55, both races were grown on two pairs of near-isogenic wheat lines with (Federation*4/Kavkaz and Thatcher-Sr31) and without the Sr31 gene for resistance (cvs Federation and Thatcher). Five days post inoculation, a difference in growth of Ug99 and UVPgt55 became obvious on Federation* 4/Kavkaz: while growth of UVPgt55 was inhibited, Ug99 grew well. In contrast, Thatcher-Sr31 inhibited the growth of both races, hinting at an additional resistance gene in this line not broken by Ug99. Furthermore, mycelia of both races were successfully grown in axenic culture to isolate genomic DNA of high purity. Inverse sequence-tagged repeat and random amplified polymorphic DNA analyses showed almost identical patterns in both races which clearly differed from the patterns of the Canadian stem rust race 32. Two SSHdifferential cDNA libraries were constructed, one representing mainly genes of Ug99 active in planta, the other genes of UVPgt55. Reciprocal hybridisations of cDNA macro-arrays corroborated the strong similarity between the two races, but some differentially expressed genes were found. Sixty-five clones of Ug99 and 91 clones of UVPgt55 were sequenced. Among these, five genes of UVPgt55 with a secretory signal peptide coding for proteins of unknown function were identified as potential avirulence genes.
Monitoring and molecular characterization of multidrug resistant enteropathogenic E. coli in dairy calves and their environment

ARTICLE INFO This study was performed to investigate the frequency and the distribution of antimicrobial resistance and resistant genes in enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) isolated from both calves and their environment. Fecal samples (n=136) were collected from calves, besides 270 environmental samples for isolation and identification of EPEC. 50 E. coli isolates comprising 6 serogroupgs were recovered and tested against 12 antimicrobials comprising 4 different groups and 3 disinfectants with characterization of resistance genes. Results revealed that E. coli was isolated in the highest percentage from diarrheic calves (68.3%) followed by apparently healthy and environment (56.7 and 56.6 %, respectively). Six serogroups of E. coli were identified from diarrheic calves with the highest percentage of O26 (27.8 %) followed by O159 and O55 (16.7 and 16.6 %, respectively). The tested isolates showed high rates of resistance to tetracycline, ampicillin, and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim whereas the highest rates of susceptibility were found to enrofloxacin and neomycin. Meanwhile the highest bactericidal effect against E. coli isolates from calves and environment was exhibited by Virkon® S (80 % and 70 %, respectively) compared to 80 % and 50%, respectively for TH and 60 and 70 %, respectively for iodine. E. coli isolates were found to include the following genes blaTEM, qacED1, dƒrA, tetA, and sul1. In conclusion, the high prevalence of multidrug resistant E. coli provided insights about the possibility of dairy calves to act as source of resistance genes in the environment that pose health risk for humans and animals. Article history:
Implications of Return Predictability Across Horizons for Asset Pricing Models

We use the evidence on predictability of returns at diff erent horizons to discriminate among competing asset pricing models. Specifically, we employ predictors-based variance bounds, i.e. bounds on the variance of the Stochastic Discount Factors (SDFs) that price a given set of returns conditional on the information contained in a vector of return predictors. We show that return predictability delivers variance bounds that are much tighter than the classical, unconditional Hansen and Jagannathan (1991) bounds. We use the predictors-based bounds to discriminate among three leading classes of asset pricing models: rare disasters, long-run risks and external habit. We find that the rare disasters model of Nakamura, Steinsson, Barro, and Ursua (2013) is the best performer since it satisfies rather comfortably the predictors-based bounds at all horizons. As for long-run risks, while the classical version of Bansal and Yaron (2004) is the model most challenged by the introduction of conditioning information since it struggles to meet the bounds at all horizons, the more general version of Schorfheide, Song, and Yaron (2016), which accounts for multiple volatility components, satisfies the 1- and 5-year bounds as long as the set of test assets includes only equities and T-Bills. The Campbell and Cochrane (1999) habit model lies somehow in the middle: it performs quite well at our longest 5-year horizon while it struggles at the 1-year horizon. Finally, when the set of test assets is augmented with Treasury Bonds, the only model that is able to satisfy the predictors-based bounds is the rare disasters model
GENETIC DIVERSITY OF ECHINOCOCCUS MULTILOCULARIS CESTODES IN EUROPE AS DETERMINED BY MITOCHONDRIAL AND NUCLEAR SEQUENCES

Alveolar echinococcosis caused by metacestode stage of the tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis is considered as one of the most pathogenic zoonoses in temperate and arctic regions. To more thoroughly ascertain genetic diversity in E. multilocularis tapeworms from Europe and to indicate transmission patterns of parasite, 25 isolates from a contiguous territory of eight European countries were subjected to sequencing of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. A total of 2 715 nucleotide sequences in nad1, cox1, rrnS, atp6 and actII genes were screened in the current study. Whereas in 24 isolates profiles belonging to a previously described European clade were identified, the interesting feature was related to the detection of the form being close to North American strain N1 (that appeared to have lower zoonotic potential) in Austrian patient. The known occurrence of this variant has thus extended from the St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea and Russian isolates in Yakutia to central Europe. The finding indicates that N1 genotype has not only circumpolar trans-Beringian distribution, but during glacial events in Pleistocene a more southerly fox dispersal has likely transmitted N1 into central Europe. Further distinguished genotype was confined to four isolates from southern Germany (mountain range of Swabian Jura) and had five substitutions compared to the main European form. One Latvian isolate had two mutations in cox1, one of which was identical to German isolates from Feldstetten. Single nucleotide polymorphisms were detected in single isolates from Slovakia, Hungary and France in cox1 and actIIgenes. Lower genetic diversity detected in the examined isolates in more peripheral zones of its European distribution has supported Knapp ́s model (2009) suggesting that parasite focus in Europe is governed by “mainland-island” transmission where ancestral foci supply hitherto non-endemic areas by dispersal generated by fox mobility and migration.
ontrol of a wide range of storage rots in naturally infected apples by hot-water ipping and rinsing

Hot-water rinsing (3 or 4 min) and dipping (15, 20 or 25 s) at a range of incubation temperatures was applied to apples (cv. ‘Ingrid Marie’ and ‘Pinova’) naturally infected with a range of North West European storage-rot fungi. Significant reductions in the incidence of fruit rot were achieved by incubation periods of 3 min at 50–54 ◦C (dipping) and 20 or 25 s at 55 ◦C (rinsing), followed by up to 100 d cold-storage at 2 ◦C and 14 d at 18 ◦C. Pathogens controlled in this way were Neofabraea alba, N. perennans, Monilinia fructigena, Colletotrichum acutatum, Phacidiopycnis washingtonensis and Cladosporium spp. Neonectria galligena was reliably controlled by dipping but not rinsing. No effects of either heat treatment on Gibberella avenacea ◦ atent infection ostharvest disease and Botrytis cinerea were apparent. Following rinsing at 65 C for 20 s, the incidence of P. washingtonensis, Penicillium expansum, Mucor spp. and Phoma exigua was higher than in untreated control fruit or in apples rinsed at lower temperatures, and was associated with heat damage. The relative contributions of heat effects on inoculum viability and activation of defence responses of apple fruit are discussed. Hot-water rinsing has several advantages over hot-water dipping related to the efficient processing of fruit either fter l directly after harvest or a
Deeply Embedded Protostellar Population in the Central Molecular Zone Suggested by H2O Masers and Dense Cores

Abstract The Central Molecular Zone (CMZ), usually referring to the inner 500 pc of the Galaxy, contains a dozen of massive (~105 M ⊙) molecular clouds. Are these clouds going to actively form stars like Sgr B2? How are they affected by the extreme physical conditions in the CMZ, such as strong turbulence? Here we present a first step towards answering these questions. Using high-sensitivity, high angular resolution radio and (sub)millimeter observations, we studied deeply embedded star formation in six massive clouds in the CMZ, including the 20 and 50 km s−1 clouds, Sgr B1 off (as known as dust ridge clouds e/f), Sgr C, Sgr D, and G0.253 – 0.016. The VLA water maser observations suggest a population of deeply embedded protostellar candidates, many of which are new detections. The SMA 1.3 mm continuum observations reveal peaks in dust emission associated with the masers, suggesting the existence of dense cores. While our findings confirm that clouds such as G0.253 – 0.016 lack internal compact substructures and are quiescent in terms of star formation, two clouds (the 20 km s−1 cloud and Sgr C) stand out with clusters of water masers with associated dense cores which may suggest a population of deeply embedded protostars at early evolutionary phases. Follow-up observations with VLA and ALMA are necessary to confirm their protostellar nature.
Recognition of Elicitors in Grapevine: From MAMP and DAMP Perception to Induced Resistance

In a context of a sustainable viticulture, the implementation of innovative eco-friendly strategies, such as elicitor-triggered immunity, requires a deep knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underlying grapevine defense activation, from pathogen perception to resistance induction. During plant-pathogen interaction, the first step of plant defense activation is ensured by the recognition of microbe-associated molecular patterns, which are elicitors directly derived from pathogenic or beneficial microbes. Vitis vinifera, like other plants, can perceive elicitors of different nature, including proteins, amphiphilic glycolipid, and lipopeptide molecules as well as polysaccharides, thanks to their cognate pattern recognition receptors, the discovery of which recently began in this plant species. Furthermore, damage-associated molecular patterns are another class of elicitors perceived by V. vinifera as an invader’s hallmark. They are mainly polysaccharides derived from the plant cell wall and are generally released through the activity of cell wall–degrading enzymes secreted by microbes. Elicitor perception and subsequent activation of grapevine immunity end in some cases in efficient grapevine resistance against pathogens. Using complementary approaches, several molecular markers have been identified as hallmarks of this induced resistance stage. This review thus focuses on the recognition of elicitors by Vitis vinifera describing the molecular mechanisms triggered from the elicitor perception to the activation of immune responses. Finally, we discuss the fact that the link between elicitation and induced resistance is not so obvious and that the formulation of resistance inducers remains a key step before their application in vineyards.
Tissue Engineering of Bone: Critical Evaluation of Scaffold Selection

Itzhak Binderman1, Avinoam Yaffe2, Yuval Samuni3, Hila Bahar1, Joseph Choukroun4 and Philippe Russe5 1Department of Oral Biology, Maurice and Gabriela Goldschleger, School of Dental Medicine, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 2Department of Prosthodontics, Haddasah School of Dental Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 3Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Barzilai Medical Center, Ashkelon, 4Syfac, Nice, 5Private Practice, Reims, 1,2,3Israel 4,5France
Relationships between yield and quality related traits of annual medics species using multivariate statistical techniques under different sowing methods

In order to identify the relationships between yield and quality related traits of three annual medics species (Medicago rigidula, Medicago polymorpha and Medicago scutellata), a 2-years field study was conducted in 2010 and 2011 growing season. The experiment was conducted as split plot experiments based on randomized complete block (RCB) design with three replications. Two sowing methods containing broadcast planting (BP) and row planting (RP) were taken as main plot and the medics species as sub plot, with their related traits, Four statistical techniques consisted of canonical correlation (CC), principal component analysis (PC), cluster analysis, and stepwise regression were undertaken for exploring the relationships. Principal component analysis and canonical correlation showed that OM, CP, EE, NFE, and ME have the positive effect in contributing of digestible energy, and SDW and SFW most important traits toward total fresh weight of annual medics species. Dendrogran of cluster analysis showed that OM and ME are the most important factors affecting digestible energy, while SDW and SFW had closest the distance with total shoot weight. On the other hand, it can be concluded that ordinal regression analysis is not a very effective method for detecting relationships among medics traits and multivariate statistical methods are more reliable.
Genome-wide analysis of GATA factors in moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) unveils that PeGATAs regulate shoot rapid-growth and rhizome development

Background Moso bamboo is well-known for its rapid-growth shoots and widespread rhizomes. However, the regulatory genes of these two processes are largely unexplored. GATA factors regulate many developmental processes, but its role in plant height control and rhizome development remains unclear. Results Here, we found that bamboo GATA factors (PeGATAs) are involved in the growth regulation of bamboo shoots and rhizomes. Bioinformatics and evolutionary analysis showed that there are 31 PeGATA factors in bamboo, which can be divided into three subfamilies. Light, hormone, and stress-related cis-elements were found in the promoter region of the PeGATA genes. Gene expression of 12 PeGATA genes was regulated by phytohormone-GA but there was no correlation between auxin and PeGATA gene expression. More than 27 PeGATA genes were differentially expressed in different tissues of rhizomes, and almost all PeGATAs have dynamic gene expression level during the rapid-growth of bamboo shoots. These results indicate that PeGATAs regulate rhizome development and bamboo shoot growth partially via GA signaling pathway. In addition, PeGATA26, a rapid-growth negative regulatory candidate gene modulated by GA treatment, was overexpressed in Arabidopsis, and over-expression of PeGATA26 significantly repressed Arabidopsis primary root length and plant height. The PeGATA26 overexpressing lines were also resistant to exogenous GA treatment, further emphasizing that PeGATA26 inhibits plant height from Arabidopsis to moso bamboo via GA signaling pathway. Conclusions Our results provide an insight into the function of GATA transcription factors in regulating shoot rapid-growth and rhizome development, and provide genetic resources for engineering plant height.
Title Associations between self-perception of weight , food choice intentions , and consumer response to calorie information : A retrospective investigation of public health center clients in Los Angeles County before the implementation of menu-labeling regul

Background: Although obesity continues to rise and remains a great public health concern in the U.S., a number of important levers such as self-perception of weight and calorie postings at point-of-purchase in restaurants are still not well-characterized in the literature, especially for low-income and minority groups in Los Angeles County (LAC). To study this gap, we examined the associations of self-perception of weight (as measured by body weight discrepancy) with food choice intentions and consumer response to calorie information among low-income adults residing in LAC during the pre-menu labeling regulation era. Methods: Descriptive and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the aforementioned associations utilizing data from the 2007–2008 Calorie and Nutrition Information Survey (CNIS). The CNIS was a local health department study of 639 low-income adults recruited from five large, multi-purpose public health centers in LAC. Results: Survey participants who reported that their desired weight was less than their current weight (versus desired weight the same as current weight) had (i) higher odds of intending to select lower-calorie foods under the scenario that calorie information was available at point-of-purchase (aOR = 2.0; 95 % CI: 1.0–3.9); and (ii) had higher odds of reporting that it is “very important” to have these calorie postings on food items in grocery stores (aOR = 3.1; 95 % CI: 0.90–10.7) and in fast-food restaurants (aOR = 3.4; 95 % CI: 1.0–11.4). Conclusions: Self-perception of weight was found to be associated with the intention to select lower-calorie foods under the scenario that calorie information was available at point-of-purchase. Future public health efforts to support menu labeling implementation should consider these and other findings to inform consumer education and communications strategies that can be tailored to assist restaurant patrons with this forthcoming federal law.