Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Topoisomerase I, IIα and IIβ mRNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with solid tumor: preliminary results

Background The pyrimidine antimetabolite Gemcitabine (G) (2′,2′-difluorodeoxycytidine) is used against several malignancies G exerts its antitumour effect mainly by incorporation of its triphosphate metabolite (dFdCTP) into DNA. Subsequently, DNA polymerase adds one additional deoxynucleotide and DNA synthesis is interrupted. The nuclear enzymes topoisomerase I and II (TPs) are critical for DNA function and cell survival; they control, maintain and modify DNA topology during both replication and translation of genetic materials. These enzymes induce cuts in one or both strands of DNA, allowing strands to pass through the nick and then rejoining the nicked strand of DNA. Anti-topoisomerase (TPs-inhibitors) drugs exist and are largely used in chemotherapy, however, most often blindly of the cancer TPs status. Aim To understand the best association between G and TPs-inhibitors, we studied: (a) Topoisomerases I, IIα and IIβ mRNA expression in Peripheral Mononuclear Blood Cells (PBMCs) of patients with solid tumor, after 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 h after treatment with Gemcitabine (G); b) in vivo expression of TPs genes after administration of Gemcitabine (a topoisomerases up-regulating drug) combined with the TPs inhibitors drugs (TID) Topotecan (T) and Etoposide (E), added to the culture beneath 1 h after TPD treatment. TPs mRNA expression was measured by quantitative real-time RT-PCR in PBMCs. Results The administration of 1-h infused G is followed by a fast rise of TPs expression (P > 0.0001 Student's t test, paired data, each patient control of himself); TPs inhibitors, sequentially given after G, highly reduced the TPs rising (P > 0.0001). Conclusions G induces a TPs increase. A rationale might be available for combination chemotherapy (G plus TPs inhibitors). The study is ongoing to enrol further patients.
Genetic variation for salt tolerance in some bread and pasta wheat genotypes

In order to investigate the influence of genetic makeup on salt tolerance in wheat, seedlings of seven T. aestivum and two T. durum cultivars were subjected to salt stress for two weeks. Leaf osmotic adjustment, total sugars, free amino acids and proline under salt stress were studied. The concentration of total sugars, total free amino acids and free proline were increased by salinity. Salt stress decreased leaf osmotic potential in all cultivars. The difference in osmotic adjustment between the cultivars was correlated with the concentrations of minerals examined such as Na+ and K+. The salt tolerance in the T. aestivum cultivar Gemmeiza 10, and in T. durum cultivars Sohag and Beni Sweif is due to higher ability to maintain osmotic potential of the cells than the other cultivars by increases in osmoticum concentration under salt stress. The cultivars Gemmeiza10, Sohag and Beni Sweif showed higher peroxidase band intensity under salinity stress compared with the other cultivars used. The genetic polymorphism between the cultivars was detected by RAPD and SSR analyses. Eighty-two out of 118 RAPD markers detected were polymorphic (69.5%) and 42 out of 59 SSR alleles were polymorphic (71%) and can be considered as useful markers for the nine wheat cultivars. The genotype specific markers (RAPD and SSR) for each cultivar were determined. Eighteen RAPD markers and thirteen SSR markers generated were found to be genotype-specific. Seven markers distinguished the cultivar Beni Sweif, six markers for the cultivar Sohag and two markers for the cultivar Gemmeiza 10. These markers could be considered as being genetic markers associated with salt tolerance in the three wheat genotypes and help in marker-assisted selection breeding program.
Stress indicators throughout the reproduction of farmed Siberian sturgeon Acipenser baerii (Brandt) females

We compared the profiles of plasma stress indicators (cortisol, lactate and glucose), ions (sodium, calcium, potassium, magnesium and chloride) and the reproductive potential of females' Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii, B.) under two reproduction procedures. The treatment 1 had three steps: ovarian follicle sampling, further hormonal injection, and reproduction. Ovarian follicle sample and hormonal injection were performed simultaneously in treatment 2. To allow blood sample without handling, fish were cannulated. Basic levels of studied plasma components were established. A cortisol peak (~200 ng/ml) was recorded after the hormone injection without handling and was very similar to that observed post-handling. Surges of lactate ( 400 mg/l) were similar whatever the handling, ovarian follicle sampling with or without hormonal injection and reproduction. Glucose profiles were similar whatever the treatment. The return time of glucose content to resting level was longer than those for cortisol and lactate. Glucose profiles together with reproductive potential suggest that, in our experimental conditions, confinement did not have any detrimental consequences. Calcium content did not change. Potassium and magnesium decreased only slightly but significantly, so did sodium and chloride in a higher range. This leads us to suggest that the plasma lost in sodium and chloride might have been transferred to the coelomic fluid. The observed variations in all ion contents simultaneously with those of cortisol, suggest a correlation between cortisol and hydromineral balance. Reproductive potential of females were close to each other for both reproduction treatments (68.8% & 71.3%) but were significantly higher than those recorded in non-cannulated fish (42%).
High Zinc Concentrations in the Growing Medium Contribute to Chlorosis in Blueberry

An experiment arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replications of two cultivars × six pH levels × four Zn levels was conducted to determine if Zn caused leaf chlorosis in rabbiteye ( Vaccinium ashei Reade cv. Climax) and southern highbush (mostly V. corymbosum L. cv. Bladen) blueberry. 'Bladen' accumulated more foliar Mn and Zn than 'Climax', but Fe concentration was similar in the two cultivars. Leaf chlorosis ratings were similar for the two cultivars. Solution pH had no significant effect on Mn, Zn, or Fe leaf concentration or degree of chlorosis. Zinc level in the nutrient solution affected leaf concentration of Mn and Zn but not of Fe. A significant linear increase in chlorosis resulted from increasing Zn solution concentration from 30 to 120 mgL -1 . We conclude that high levels of Zn may induce leaf chlorosis in rabbiteye and southern highbush blueberry. pots of washed sand. All plants were fertilized with STEM (Soluble Trace Element Mix, Grace-Sierra Horticultural Products, Milpitas, Calif.) at 500 mL/pot and Osmocote (14N- 6P-12K) (Grace-Sierra Horticultural Products) at 20 g/pot 1 week before Zn applications were started.
Impact of Nigella sativa and Clove Oils on Cell Wall Genes Expression in Multidrug Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Antimicrobial resistance of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) became on the top list of the serious problems that have a negative impact on public health. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the in vitro antibacterial activities of Nigella sativa (N. sativa) and clove essential oils against multidrug resistant (MDR) methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates recovered from different sources with a special reference to their role on the expression of penicillin binding protein (pbp2) and muscle ring finger (murF) genes. Antibiotic susceptibility testing of 51 staphylococcal isolates comprising 34 Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and 17 coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNs) revealed a highest sensitivity against vancomycin (100%) and marked resistance patterns against β-lactam (beta-lactam) antibiotics. The results revealed that 97.1% of S. aureus isolates demonstrated a high level of MDR pattern, being resistant to more than 3 antibiotics of different classes. The in vitro antibacterial effects of clove and Nigella sativa essential oils against 11 MDR isolates using disc diffusion method indicated that both oils exhibited strong inhibitory efficiencies with inhibition zone diameters up to 45 and 20 mm, respectively. Besides, broth microdilution test of both essential oils revealed maximum activities against the tested strains with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) up to 0.5 and 8 μg/mL for clove and N. sativa oils, respectively. Quantitative RT-PCR (real time polymerase chain reaction) analysis revealed the effective role of N. sativa and clove oils on the down-regulation of S. aureus murF and pbp2 genes. In conclusion, the above findings highlight the promising antibacterial functions of N. sativa and clove essential oils in the treatment of emergent resistant S. aureus infections.
Effect of clean cultivation, mulching and sod culture on mineral nutrition and root growth of apple cv. Red Delicious

Long term effect of seven orchard soil management practices, viz., mulching with black polythene, sod culture with red clover, white clover, lucerne and lolium, mulching with hay and clean cultivation on mineral nutrition and root growth of apple cv. Red Delicious was studied. The highest per cent leaf N and P were observed with red clover and leaf K was observed with white clover. The lowest per cent leaf N was observed with lolium and P and K were observed with clean cultivation. The highest available soil N was observed with white clover. The lowest available NPK contents of soil were observed with clean cultivation. At 15 and 45 cm depth, the highest root length was observed with black alkathene and at 30 cm, it was with lolium grass. However, lolium grass had the lowest root length at 15 and 45 cm depth. Root length at 1, 1.5 and 2.0 m horizontal distance from tree trunk was the highest with black alkathene and the lowest with lucerne.
Effects of type of packaging material on physicochemical and sensory characteristics of deep-fat-fried banana chips

A storage study of deep-fat-fried banana chips was carried out for 8 weeks at ambient temperature (27 °C), using four types of packaging material: laminated aluminium foil (LAF), oriented polypropylene (OPP), polypropylene (PP) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE). The physicochemical and sensory characteristics of the stored banana chips were analysed at weeks 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8. The quality parameters determined were moisture content, water activity (aw), thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), texture (breaking force), colour and sensory attributes. The moisture content, aw, TBARS and breaking force values of all samples increased during storage. The colour also changed during storage, showing higher L and lower a and b values. Samples packed in LAF had the lowest moisture content, aw, TBARS and breaking force values. The most notable sensory change that occurred during storage was a decrease in crispness. Samples packed in LAF had higher scores than the other three samples, whilst LDPE gave the lowest scores for crispness as well as product colour. There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in rancid odour among samples packed in OPP, PP and LDPE. However, there were significant differences (P < 0.05) between samples packed in LAF and the other three samples, with LAF giving the lowest rancid odour. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry
Genetic variation in Miscanthus × giganteus and the importance of estimating genetic distance thresholds for differentiating clones

Miscanthus × giganteus (Mxg) is an important bioenergy feedstock crop, however, genetic diversity among legacy cultivars may be severely constrained. Only one introduction from Japan to Denmark of this sterile, triploid, vegetatively propagated crop was recorded in the 1930s. We sought to determine if the Mxg cultivars in North America were all synonyms, and if they were derived from the European introduction. We used 64 nuclear and five chloroplast simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers to estimate genetic similarity for 27 Mxg accessions from North America, and compared them with six accessions from Europe, including the species’ type‐specimen. A subset of accessions was also evaluated by restriction‐site associated DNA sequencing (RAD‐seq). In addition, we assessed the potential of new crosses to increase Mxg genetic diversity by comparing eight new triploid Mxg progeny grown from seed, along with samples of the parental species M. sacchariflorus and M. sinensis. Estimates of genotyping error rates were essential for distinguishing between experimental error and true genotypic differences among accessions. Given differences in estimated error rates and costs per marker for SSRs and RAD‐seq, the former is currently more cost‐effective for determining if two accessions are genetically identical. We concluded that all of the Mxg legacy cultivars were derived via vegetative propagation from a single genet. In contrast with the Mxg legacy cultivars, genetic similarity to the type‐specimen of eight new triploid Mxg progeny ranged from 0.46 to 0.56. Though genetic diversity among the Mxg legacy cultivars is critically low, new crosses can provide much‐needed variation to growers.
Diversity of The Endophytic Fungi Isolated from Ocimum Basilicum Linn. - A Promising Medicinal Plant

Altogether 105 segments from 15 plants of Ocimum basilicum Linn.were collected from Karnatak University Botanical Garden; Dharwad. And they were screened for the presence of endophytic fungi. A total of 7 fungal species viz, Aspergillus sydowi (Bainier & sartory) Thom & Church. Mycelia sterilia. , Alternaria burnsii Uppal, petel. , Geotrichum candidum Link. , Torula alli (Harz) Saccardo. , Fusarium poae (peck) Wr. , and Aspergillus clavatus Desm. isolated and identified based on the morphology of the fungal culture and spores with the help of manuals. The present investigation was the diversity of endophytes and colonization frequency was more dominated in host leaves had been determined. Importance of endophytes in medicinal plant has been discussed.
Real-Time Semantic Segmentation With Fast Attention

In deep CNN based models for semantic segmentation, high accuracy relies on rich spatial context (large receptive fields) and fine spatial details (high resolution), both of which incur high computational costs. In this letter, we propose a novel architecture that addresses both challenges and achieves state-of-the-art performance for semantic segmentation of high-resolution images and videos in real-time. The proposed architecture relies on our fast spatial attention, which is a simple yet efficient modification of the popular self-attention mechanism and captures the same rich spatial context at a small fraction of the computational cost, by changing the order of operations. Moreover, to efficiently process high-resolution input, we apply an additional spatial reduction to intermediate feature stages of the network with minimal loss in accuracy thanks to the use of the fast attention module to fuse features. We validate our method with a series of experiments, and show that results on multiple datasets demonstrate superior performance with better accuracy and speed compared to existing approaches for real-time semantic segmentation. On Cityscapes, our network achieves 74.4<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\%$</tex-math></inline-formula> mIoU at 72 FPS and 75.5<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\%$</tex-math></inline-formula> mIoU at 58 FPS on a single Titan X GPU, which is <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sim\! 50\%$</tex-math></inline-formula> faster than the state-of-the-art while retaining the same accuracy.
Characterization of lactococcal bacteriophages isolated from Slovenian dairies

Summary This is the first study on lactic acid bacteria bacteriophages isolated from dairy plants in Slovenia. Over a period of 2 years, thirteen lactococcal phages were isolated from the whey samples taken in three dairy plants. Phages were characterized by morphological properties, host range, restriction patterns, genome size and similarity of phage protein genes. All phages belonged to the Siphoviridae family. Five phages had prolate heads (52–61 · 40–52 nm) and 85–120 nm long non-contractile tails (morphotype B2). Eight phages had small isometric heads (46–63 nm in diameter) and long non-contractile tails (morphotype B1). The phages with the prolate heads showed a broader host range than the small isometric-headed phages. The genome sizes of prolate phages were estimated between 15.9 and 16.3 kb while the genome sizes of small isometric-headed phages were between 20.0 and 39.9 kb. Based on DNA restriction patterns, genome sizes and multiplex PCR analysis prolate phages were classified into the c2 group and were similar to the phage type c6A while all of the phages with small isometric heads were found to be related to the phage species 936.
A Comparison of the Stellar, CO, and Dust-continuum Emission from Three Star-forming HUDF Galaxies at z ∼ 2

We compare the extent of the dust, molecular gas, and stars in three star-forming galaxies, at z = 1.4, 1.6, and 2.7, selected from the Hubble Ultra Deep Field based on their bright carbon monoxide (CO) and dust-continuum emission as well as their large rest-frame optical sizes. The galaxies have high stellar masses, , and reside on, or slightly below, the main sequence of star-forming galaxies at their respective redshifts. We probe the dust and molecular gas using subarcsecond Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations of the 1.3 mm continuum and CO line emission, respectively, and probe the stellar distribution using Hubble Space Telescope observations at 1.6 μm. We find that for all three galaxies the CO emission appears ≳30% more compact than the stellar emission. For the z = 1.4 and 2.7 galaxies, the dust emission is also more compact, by ≳50%, than the stellar emission, whereas for the z = 1.6 galaxy, the dust and stellar emission have similar spatial extents. This similar spatial extent is consistent with observations of local disk galaxies. However, most high-redshift observations show more compact dust emission, likely because of the ubiquity of central starbursts at high redshift and the limited sensitivity of many of these observations. Using the CO emission line, we also investigate the kinematics of the cold interstellar medium in the galaxies, and find that all three have kinematics consistent with a rotation-dominated disk.
Genetic diversity of isolates of the Leptosphaeria maculans species complex from Australia, Europe and North America using amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis

Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) analysis has been used to analyse 100 Australian, European and North American isolates of Leptosphaeria maculans. All isolates had distinct AFLP profiles. They could be classified into five types, which had very few AFLP bands in common and corresponded to classifications made previously on the basis of ability to cause stem cankers on Brassica napus (A group), or inability to do so (B group), and on host range. Four isolates had AFLP profiles completely dissimilar to these groups and to each other. Genetic diversity and geographic differentiation were analysed separately within AFLP types 1 and 2. UPGMA analysis of the 66 AFLP type 1 (A group) isolates using 50 polymorphic bands did not provide evidence for clustering according to geographic origin. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis suggested that the Australian and European populations were separate adjacent clusters, while the North American population partially overlapped both the others. This geographic differentiation was supported by Wright's fixation index (Fst) analysis. Three measures of genetic variability between isolates within regions (effective number of alleles, gene diversity, and Shannon index) showed that the North American A group isolates were less diverse than those from Australia and Europe. The 21 AFLP type 2 (B group; NA1 sub-group) isolates did not cluster based on geographic region, which was confirmed by NMDS and Fst analysis. There was a similar degree of genetic diversity within A group and the NA1 sub-group of B group isolates. Unlike other techniques, AFLP analysis can readily discriminate between group B isolates of the L. maculans complex that were previously difficult to classify and also provides individual fingerprints for isolates. Isolates of the A group and of the NA1 sub-group of B group could be also distinguished readily by electrophoretic karyotyping, as the latter isolates had more bands smaller than 1.4 Mb than the A group isolates.
Difference-in-Differences Estimators of Intertemporal Treatment Effects

We consider the estimation of the effect of a treatment, using panel data where groups of units are exposed to different doses of the treatment at different times. We consider two sets of parameters of interest. The first are the average effects of having changed treatment for the first time $\ell$ periods ago. Those parameters generalize the average effect of having started receiving the treatment $\ell$ periods ago that has often been estimated in applications with a binary treatment and staggered adoption. We also consider cost-benefit ratios a planner may use to compare the treatments actually assigned to a counterfactual \textit{status quo} scenario where groups receive their period-one treatment throughout the panel. We show that under common trends conditions, all these parameters are unbiasedly estimated by weighted sums of differences-in-differences. Our estimators are valid if the treatment effect is heterogeneous, contrary to the commonly-used dynamic two-way fixed effects regressions. We also propose estimators of a dynamic linear model, with group-specific but time-invariant effects of the current and lagged treatments, which may be used to evaluate ex-ante the effect of future policies. In an application, we find that our estimators differ substantially from those obtained with dynamic two-way fixed effects regressions.
Quark Stars in 4D Einstein–Gauss–Bonnet Gravity with an Interacting Quark Equation of State

The detection of gravitational waves (GWs) from a binary neutron star (BNS) has opened a new window on gravitational wave astronomy. With current sensitivities, detectable signals coming from compact objects like neutron stars turn out to be a crucial ingredient for probing their structure, composition, and evolution. Moreover, astronomical observations on pulsars and their mass–radius relations place important constraints on the dense matter equation of state. In this paper, we consider a homogeneous and unpaired charge-neutral three-flavor interacting quark matter with corrections that account for the moderately heavy strange quark instead of the naive MIT bag model. We perform a detailed analysis of strange quark stars in the context of the recently proposed 4D Einstein–Gauss–Bonnet (EGB) theory of gravity. However, this theory does not have standard 4D equations. Thus, we show that the equivalence of the actions in the regularized 4D EGB theory and in the original one is satisfied for a spherically symmetric spacetime. We pay particular attention to the possible existence of neutron stars of mass compatible with . Our findings suggest that the fourth-order correction parameter (a4) of the quantum chromodynamic perturbation and coupling constant α of the GB term play an important role in the mass–radius relation as well as the stability of the quark star. Finally, we compare the results with the well-measured limits of pulsars and their mass and radius extracted from the spectra of several X-ray compact sources.