Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Study on the Inhibitory Activity of a Synthetic Defensin Derived from Barley Endosperm against Common Food Spoilage Yeast

In the food industry, food spoilage is a real issue that can lead to a significant amount of waste. Although current preservation techniques are being applied to reduce the occurrence of spoilage microorganisms, the problem persists. Food spoilage yeast are part of this dilemma, with common spoilers such as Zygosaccharomyces, Kluyveromyces, Debaryomyces and Saccharomyces frequently encountered. Antimicrobial peptides derived from plants have risen in popularity due to their ability to reduce spoilage. This study examines the potential application of a synthetic defensin peptide derived from barley endosperm. Its inhibitory effect against common spoilage yeasts, its mechanisms of action (membrane permeabilisation and overproduction of reactive oxygen species), and its stability in different conditions were characterised. The safety of the peptide was evaluated through a haemolysis and cytotoxicity assay, and no adverse effects were found. Both assays were performed to understand the effect of the peptide if it were to be consumed. Its ability to be degraded by a digestive enzyme was also examined for its safety. Finally, the peptide was successfully applied to different beverages and maintained the same inhibitory effects in apple juice as was observed in the antiyeast assays, providing further support for its application in food preservation.
A pr 2 01 6 Modeling phonological similarity effects on the self-organization of vocabularies

This work develops a computational model (by Automata Networks) of phonological similarity effects involved in the f ormation of word-meaning associations on artificial populati ons of speakers. Classical studies show that in recalling exper iments memory performance was impaired for phonologically similar words versus dissimilar ones. Here, the individual s confound phonologically similar words according to a prede fined parameter. The main hypothesis is that there is a critical range of the parameter, and with this, of working-memory mechanisms, which implies drastic changes in the final consensus of the entire population. Theoretical results prese nt proofs of convergence for a particular case of the model with in a worst-case complexity framework. Computer simulations describe the evolution of an energy function that measures t he amount of local agreement between individuals. The main finding is the appearance of sudden changes in the energy func tion at critical parameters.
Hypolipidemic activity of Polygonatum alte-lobatum Hayata extract in hamsters with hyperlipidemia induced by high-fat diet

This study was to evaluate the hypolipidemic activity of Polygonatum alte-lobatum Hayata extract (PAHE) in hamsters fed with high-fat diet (HFD). Experimentally induced hyperlipidemia was produced by feeding hamsters with HFD for 14 days. Hypercholesterolemic hamsters were administered gavagely with PAHE at the dose of 300 and 750 mg/kg bw along with HFD for 28 days in order to estimate their hypolipidemic activity. The lipid profile and histopathological studies were carried out at the end of experiment. Supplementation with PAHE resulted in hypolipidemic effect by lowering the serum lipid parameters such as significant decrease in total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) and very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL), and increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL). Significant decrease of TC and triglyceride (TG) was also found in liver after administration of PAHE for 28 days. Histopathological findings in hamster liver supported the effect of PAHE on reduction of HFD-induced hepatic steatosis. The consumption of P. alte-lobatum may act as a functional food with ameliorating hyperlipidemia. [Ni-Na Chiang, Chi-Ting Horng, Stephen S. Chang, Chiu-Fang Lee, Chen-Ying Su, Hui-Yun Wang, Fu-An Chen. Hypolipidemic activity of Polygonatum alte-lobatum Hayata extract in hamsters with hyperlipidemia induced by high-fat diet. Life Sci J. 2013;10(2):939-942] (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite. com.131
TGFBR3L—An Uncharacterised Pituitary Specific Membrane Protein Detected in the Gonadotroph Cells in Non-Neoplastic and Tumour Tissue

Simple Summary Pituitary neuroendocrine tumours originate from the endocrine cells of the anterior pituitary gland and may develop from any of the cell lineages responsible for producing the different pituitary hormones. The details related to tumour differentiation and hormone production in these tumours are not fully understood. The aim of our study was to investigate an uncharacterised pituitary enriched protein, transforming growth factor beta-receptor 3 like (TGFBR3L). The TGFBR3L protein is highly expressed in the pituitary compared to other organs. We found the protein to be gonadotroph-specific, i.e., detected in the cells that express follicle-stimulating and luteinizing hormones (FSH/LH). The gonadotroph-specific nature of TGFBR3L, a correlation to both FSH and LH as well as an inverse correlation to membranous E-cadherin and oestrogen receptor β suggests a role in gonadotroph cell development and function and, possibly, tumour progression. Abstract Here, we report the investigation of transforming growth factor beta-receptor 3 like (TGFBR3L), an uncharacterised pituitary specific membrane protein, in non-neoplastic anterior pituitary gland and pituitary neuroendocrine tumours. A polyclonal antibody produced within the Human Protein Atlas project (HPA074356) was used for TGFBR3L staining and combined with SF1 and FSH for a 3-plex fluorescent protocol, providing more details about the cell lineage specificity of TGFBR3L expression. A cohort of 230 pituitary neuroendocrine tumours were analysed. In a subgroup of previously characterised gonadotroph tumours, correlation with expression of FSH/LH, E-cadherin, oestrogen (ER) and somatostatin receptors (SSTR) was explored. TGFBR3L showed membranous immunolabeling and was found to be gonadotroph cell lineage-specific, verified by co-expression with SF1 and FSH/LH staining in both tumour and non-neoplastic anterior pituitary tissues. TGFBR3L immunoreactivity was observed in gonadotroph tumours only and demonstrated intra-tumour heterogeneity with a perivascular location. TGFBR3L immunostaining correlated positively to both FSH (R = 0.290) and LH (R = 0.390) immunostaining, and SSTR3 (R = 0.315). TGFBR3L correlated inversely to membranous E-cadherin staining (R = −0.351) and oestrogen receptor β mRNA (R = −0.274). In conclusion, TGFBR3L is a novel pituitary gland specific protein, located in the membrane of gonadotroph cells in non-neoplastic anterior pituitary gland and in a subset of gonadotroph pituitary tumours.
Research Note: Digital Divide Across Borders—A Cross-National Study of Adolescents’ Use of Digital Technologies

In this study, we analyse digital divides in terms of social inequality in digital access and use patterns from a hierarchical perspective. Using data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2003 in 30 nations, we focus on social cleavages in mid-adolescents’ access and use of digital technologies, taking into account both individual-level and country-level influences. Our study shows that adolescents from higher socio-economic and two-parent family households are more likely to have Internet access at home. Additionally, adolescents from higher-status families use the Internet more often for informational purposes than children from lower-status families. Adolescents from single-parent are less likely to have home Internet access. Nevertheless, they use the Internet more frequently for information and communication and play computer games more often than their peers living in two-parent families. Testing simultaneously individual and country characteristics shows that a country's level of modernization can be separated into compositional and contextual effects. Overall, a country's level of modernization only affects whether digital applications are available at the family home, but not how they are used. These findings suggest that once a family has access to the Internet, the digital use patterns of their adolescent children do not differ across nations.
Seroprevalence and risk factors associated with exposure to Leishmania infantum in dogs, in an endemic Mediterranean region

Canine leishmaniasis (CanL) is a zoonotic parasitic disease caused by Leishmania infantum in the Mediterranean area and transmitted by phlebotomine sand fly vectors. The domestic dog is the main reservoir host. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of different individual, environmental and spatial risk factors on the dog exposure to L. infantum and to estimate the seroprevalence among owned and kennel dogs, in the Lazio region (central Italy), where canine leishmaniasis is endemic. In the period 2010–2014, 13,292 sera from kennel and owned dogs were collected by official and private veterinarians. The presence of anti-Leishmania IgG was analysed by indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT), using a 1:80 titre cut-off. At the univariable analysis, CanL seropositivity was associated with sex, size, breed, coat length, living with other dogs and forest/semi-natural land cover. At the multivariable analysis, age, ownership and attitude were confirmed as risk factors, being more than 2 years old, owned, and hunting dogs at higher risk. Being a Maremma sheepdog was a protective factor. A true overall seroprevalence of 6.7% (95% CI: 6.2–7.2) was estimated in the whole population while 7.3% (95% CI: 6.8–7.8) was estimated in kennel dogs and 74.3% (95% CI: 70.8–77.6) in owned dogs. The role of kennels as a key component for CanL active and passive surveillance was also highlighted. This study confirmed the endemicity of CanL in the Lazio region and focused some factors that can influence the seropositivity of dogs in a Mediterranean region.
Lackof invitro bio¢lmformationdoesnotattenuatethevirulenceof Streptococcusgordonii in experimental endocarditis

The ability to induce experimental endocarditis of biofilm-deficient mutants of Streptococcus gordonii was studied in an isogenic background. Strains were inactivated in either comD, fruK or pbp2b genes, which are involved in biofilm formation. These strains were clearly impaired (475% reduction) in biofilm production in vitro. However, this did not result in a decreased severity of infection in vivo.
Glacial cycles simulation of the Antarctic Ice Sheet
with PISM – Part 1: Boundary conditions and climatic
forcing

Abstract. Simulations of the glacial-interglacial history of the Antarctic Ice Sheet provide insights into dynamic threshold behavior and estimates of the ice sheet’s contributions to global sea-level changes, for both the past, present and future. However, boundary conditions are weakly constrained, in particular, at the interface of the ice-sheet and the bedrock. Also climatic forcing covering the last glacial cycles is uncertain as it is based on sparse proxy data. We use the Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM) to investigate the dynamic effects of different choices of input data, e.g. for modern basal heat flux or reconstructions of past changes of sea-level and surface temperature. As computational resources are limited, glacial-cycle simulations are performed using a comparably coarse model grid of 16 km and various parameterizations, e.g. for basal sliding, iceberg calving or for past variations of precipitation and ocean temperatures. In this study we evaluate the model's transient sensitivity to corresponding parameter choices and to different boundary conditions over the last two glacial cycles. It hence serves as a cookbook for the growing community of PISM users. We identify relevant model parameters and motivate plausible parameter ranges for a Large Ensemble analysis, which is described in a companion paper.
Computing Economic-Optimal and Stable Equilibria for Droop-Controlled Microgrids

We consider the problem of computing equilibria (steady-states) for droop-controlled, islanded, AC microgrids that are both economic-optimal and dynamically stable. This work is motivated by the observation that classical optimal power flow (OPF) formulations used for economic optimization might provide equilibria that are not reachable by low-level controllers (i.e., closed-loop unstable). This arises because OPF problems only enforce steady-state conditions and do not capture the dynamics. We explain this behavior by using a port-Hamiltonian microgrid representation. To overcome the limitations of OPF, the port-Hamiltonian representation can be exploited to derive a bilevel OPF formulation that seeks to optimize economics while enforcing stability. Unfortunately, bilevel optimization with a nonconvex inner problem is difficult to solve in general. As such, we propose an alternative approach (that we call probing OPF), which identifies an economic-optimal and stable equilibrium by probing a neighborhood of equilibria using random perturbations. The probing OPF is advantageous in that it is formulated as a standard nonlinear program, in that it is compatible with existing OPF frameworks, and in that it is applicable to diverse microgrid models. Experiments with the IEEE 118-bus system reveal that few probing points are required to enforce stability.
Improving the AVHRR Long Term Data Record BRDF Correction

The Long Term Data Record (LTDR) project has the goal of developing a quality and consistent surface reflectance product from coarse resolution optical sensors. This paper focuses on the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) part of the record, using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) instrument as a reference. When a surface reflectance time series is acquired from satellites with variable observation geometry, the directional variation generates an apparent noise which can be corrected by modeling the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF). The VJB (Vermote, Justice and Bréon, 2009) method estimates a target’s BRDF shape using 5 years of observation and corrects for directional effects maintaining the high temporal resolution of the measurement using the instantaneous Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The method was originally established on MODIS data but its viability and optimization for AVHRR data have not been fully explored. In this study we analyze different approaches to find the most robust way of applying the VJB correction to AVHRR data, considering that high noise in the red band (B1) caused by atmospheric effect makes the VJB method unstable. Firstly, our results show that for coarse spatial resolution, where the vegetation dynamics of the target don’t change significantly, deriving BRDF parameters from 15+ years of observations reduces the average noise by up to 7% in the Near Infrared (NIR) band and 6% in the NDVI, in comparison to using 3-year windows. Secondly, we find that the VJB method can be modified for AVHRR data to improve the robustness of the correction parameters and decrease the noise by an extra 8% and 9% in the red and NIR bands with respect to using the classical VJB inversion. We do this by using the Stable method, which obtains the volumetric BRDF parameter (V) based on its NDVI dependency, and then obtains the geometric BRDF parameter (R) through the inversion of just one parameter.
Influence of pressing parameters on mechanical and physical properties of self-bonded laminated beech boards

Abstract Five-ply self-bonded boards were obtained by pressing beech veneers parallel to the grain without additional adhesives, steam or pre-treatment. Fifteen different combinations of pressing parameters were tested, including temperature (200°C, 225°C and 250°C), pressure (4, 5 and 6 MPa) and pressing time (240, 300 and 360 seconds). Due to severe pressing conditions, the new product showed a higher density and different properties compared to a conventionally glued laminated wooden board. The self-bonding quality was assessed through dry shear strength tests, through a three-point bending test and a water-soaking test at 20°C. The dimensions in the cross section of the boards were measured after soaking in water. Results show that the choice of pressing parameters affects all the mechanical and physical properties tested. A statistical analysis revealed that the pressing temperature is the most influential parameter. Boards pressed at 200°C delaminated rapidly in water, whereas boards pressed at 225°C delaminated only at core-positioned layers after 48 hours and boards pressed at 250°C did not delaminate at all in water. Compared to panels pressed at lower temperatures, boards pressed at 250°C had the highest density, a higher shear and bending strength and a lower water absorption.
The Effects of Calcium Supplementation on Blood Lead Levels and Short-term Memory of Chronically Exposed Children: A Clinical Trial Study

AIM: The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of calcium supplementation to decrease blood lead levels (BLLs) of children at high risk for chronic lead poisoning and to determine its effects on short-term memory. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Children aged 8–12 years lived in the highest traffic density in Medan randomly included in this quasi-experimental study, divided into two groups (control and supplementation group received tablet contain four hundred milligrams oral calcium twice daily for 3 months). Samples for BLLs were collected before and after 3 months of supplementation, and short-term memory measurements are carried out by picture and forward digital span test. Descriptive statistics were calculated at baseline and 3 months; comparison between before and after treatment was assessed with t-tests, p < 0.05 considered statistically significant. RESULTS: BLLs samples, who are exposed to lead for >6 months were ranging between 0.4–12 μg/dL. Median BLLs in supplementation group before treatment was 2.1 μg/dL and after treatment was 0.01 μg/dL (p < 0.01); difference between median in BLLs after treatment in supplementation group was 2.090 μg/dL (p = 0.004). Score memory picture in the supplementation group before treatment was 61.4 ± 24.83 and after treatment was 76.21 ± 15.97 (p<0.01). Score memory digital span in the supplementation group before treatment was 5 (3–7) and after treatment was 7 (5–7) (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Three months of oral calcium supplementation 400 mg twice daily for high-risk chronic lead poisoning children reduced BLLs significantly and improved their short-term memory.
Decadal Variability in Land Carbon Sink Efficiency Reveals Apparent Trend Reversal After 2009

Background: The climate mitigation target of limiting the temperature increase below 2 °C above the pre-industrial levels requires the efforts from all countries. Tracking the trajectory of the land carbon sink efficiency is thus crucial to evaluate the nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Here, we define the instantaneous land sink efficiency as the ratio of natural land carbon sinks to emissions from fossil fuel and land-use and land-cover change with a value of 1 indicating carbon neutrality to track its temporal dynamics in the past decades.Results: Land sink efficiency has been decreasing during 1957-1990 because of the increased emissions from fossil fuel. After the effect of the Pinatubo eruption diminished (after 1994), the land sink efficiency firstly increased before 2009 and then began to decrease again after 2009. This reversal around 2009 is mostly attributed to changes in land sinks in Latin America in response to climate variations.Conclusions: The decreasing trend of land sink efficiency in the recent years reveals greater challenges in climate change mitigation, and impacts of climate on land carbon sinks need to be accurately quantified to assess the implementation of climate mitigation policies.
STUDY OF SOME ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ROLE IN HEMOLYSIN GENE EXPRESSION IN SERRATIA MARCESCENS LOCAL ISOLATES

This study aims to selection of highest production of hemolysin isolates and studying the role of some environmental factors in hemolysin gene expression, Serratia marcescens (28 isolates), were isolated from clinical and environmental sources in Baghdad city, which produced hemolysin it was indicated by clear zone around colonies grown on blood agar plates. Four isolates which gave highest absorbability at 405 nm for hemolysin producing isolate (1.09A) in standardized conditions (pH 7,37 Co, 24 hours), while highest absorbability for hemolysin producing isolate which gave (0.95A) in conditions pH 4, (0.47A) in pH 10, (1.85A) in 30 Co, (0.68A) in 45 Co, (1.92A) in 48 hours and (1.04A) in 72 hours. the results found that the highest values of gene expression fold for the gene shlA in pH 4 (2.30) and pH 10 (0.51) while the highest values of fold for shlA gene at 30 Co was (6.93) and at 45 Co was (0.65) and the highest value of fold for shlA gene at 48 hours was (7.32) and at 72 hours was (2.64). It was apparent there was a direct proportion between absorbability for hemolysin values and folds of gene expression, therefore the change conditions growth of bacteria S. marcescens leads to change of gene expression. 16S rRNA gene expression results, which was used as reference gene, confirmed that this gene was well suited as housekeeping gene.
Earnings management: the effects of national audit environment, audit quality and international capital markets

This paper studies earnings management in an international context. More specifically, the effects of three factors on earnings management are studied: national audit environment, audit firm quality and reliance on international capital markets. National audit environments vary strongly in terms of independence rules, auditor education and auditor liability. Hence, it can be expected that the restrictions imposed by national audit environments on earnings management vary. However, there are two factors that can mitigate the national audit environment effect. First, there is strong evidence that audit firm quality, as indicated by the Big 5 and non-Big 5 dichotomy, affects earnings management opportunities for clients. In the context of this study an important issue is to what extent this quality effect overrides national differences. In other words, to what extent do the international audit firms provide a standardized high quality audit across different jurisdictions? Second, the reliance on international capital markets might reduce companiesâ€™ earnings management, irrespective of the opportunities provided by the national environment. The study uses data for the period 1991 - 1999 from listed firms in four jurisdictions: France, UK, the Netherlands and Germany. The total number of firm year observations is 17,838. The results of the study suggest that national differences in audit environments are strongly affecting earnings management. While earnings management is also affected by the audit quality of the audit firm and the reliance on international capital markets, the effect is rather small. The evidence provided in this study is relevant for the current worldwide integration of capital markets and the acceptance of international accounting standards. For the international comparability of earnings, not only the standardization of financial reporting is important but also the standardization of enforcement across jurisdictions. The results of this study suggest that the enforcement of financial reporting still varies strongly across countries.