Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MicroRNA regulation in the Immune Response: Intercellular transfer at the Immune Synapse and posttranscriptional modifications

Los MicroARNs (miARNs) son pequenas moleculas de ARN que regulan la expresion genica en diversos procesos biologicos incluida la respuesta inmunitaria. Se ha descrito que los miARNs pueden transferirse entre celulas a traves de exosomas. La sinapsis inmune (SI) es una estructura muy organizada de comunicacion entre los linfocitos T y las celulas presentadoras de antigeno (CPA) que se forma durante el reconocimiento de antigeno. En esta tesis se ha estudiado en primer lugar la comunicacion intercelular entre los linfocitos T y las CPAs a traves de la SI, mediada por el intercambio de exosomas que contienen miARNs. En los siguientes objetivos se analizaron los patrones de expresion de los miARNs durante la activacion de los linfocitos T incluyendo el estudio de sus dianas de mRNA asi como su regulacion por modificaciones post-transcripcionales. Los datos presentados en esta tesis muestran que los exosomas de las celulas T, B y celulas dendriticas (CDs) contienen miRNAs especificos que difieren de los de la celula productora. Tras la formacion de la SI, encontramos una transferencia unidireccional de miARNs desde la celula T a la CPA mediada por la transmision de exosomas. Los miARNs transferidos durante la SI son capaces de alterar la expresion genica de la celula receptora. En el segundo objetivo, analizamos como cambia el patron de miARNs de la celula T despues de ser activada por distintos tipos de CDs. Tambien estudiamos las dianas de mRNA comunes a los miARNs que se modulan durante la activacion T y validamos la relacion entre uno de los miARN que mas se inducen, miR-132-3p, y el gen pik3r1 que se predijo como diana comun de los miARNs aumentados en activacion. Finalmente, en el tercer objetivo de esta tesis, nos centramos en la regulacion de miARNs durante la activacion de los linfocitos T mediante la adicion de nucleotidos no codificados en 3’ (3’ANC). Detectamos que tras la activacion, la adicion de uracilos disminuye especificamente, acompanada por una disminucion de los niveles de las enzimas uracil transferasas TUT4 y TUT7. La adicion en 3’ de uracilos, ademas, promueve la degradacion de miARNs especificamente durante la activacion del linfocito T. Los resultados presentados en esta tesis apoyan un nuevo mecanismo de comunicacion intercelular que consiste en la transferencia de miRNAs mediante exosomas durante la SI. Ademas se ha analizado el perfil de miARNs durante la activacion T y se ha descrito que la uridilacion modula los niveles de miARNs durante este proceso.
Artificial breeding and culture of the crown-of-thorns starfish Acanthaster planci (Linnaeus, 1758) larvae in China

Abstract Though the breeding and the rearing of Acanthaster planci larvae had been reported before, the descriptions of them are not all-around, and there are no clear and detailed pictures indicating the whole process of embryonic and larval development. Besides, some methods described previously for culturing A. planci larvae are troublesome and even not available. In this study, adult A. planci were artificially induced to spawn and fertilized eggs were incubated and cultured indoor with disinfected seawater. A. planci developed from fertilized eggs to early bipinnaria by 50 h. Once a large number of late brachiolaria occurred, the diets were replaced by mixed benthic diatoms on settlement plates. Five-armed juveniles were reached after 23-day rearing when enough live Chaetoceros mueller and oceanic red yeast were supplied. It is critical to prevent infections by protozoa and pathogenic bacteria. The diets used here are universal in larval rearing and easily obtainable, which guarantees constant supply of diets and thus largely increases the successful rate of the rearing. Artificial breeding and culture of A. planci larvae not only enriched the knowledge on the spawning, larval culture, and developmental process of A. planci but also provided abundant materials to facilitate various studies.
Reproductive biology of Macrobrachium amazonicum (Heller, 1862) (Decapoda: Palaemonidae) in a reservoir situated in Minas Gerais State, southeastern Brazil.

The palaemonid shrimp Macrobrachium amazonicum is widely distributed in coastal rivers, estuaries and inland waters of South America. Despite this, little is known regarding its biology in the natural environment. Furthermore, this species is economically important because it is the main freshwater shrimp commercially exploited by artisanal fisheries in northern and northeastern Brazil, besides showing great potential for aquaculture. Considering this, the present study aimed to analyze aspects of the reproductive biology of M. amazonicum . A total of 251 females were analyzed, 102 of these being ovigerous. The carapace length ranged from 6.03 to 10.06 mm (average ± standard deviation: 7.52 ± 0.84 mm). Reproduction was continuous with a gradual increase from April to June 2012. No significant relationship between frequency of ovigerous females and environmental variables was observed. The fecundity showed a positive linear relation with the carapace length and the number of eggs varied from 33 to 389 (average ± standard deviation: 203 ± 78.06 eggs/female). A dominance of eggs at an early stage was observed in most months. There was an increase in the size/volume of eggs from early to late embryonic stage. Ovigerous females produced eggs at the same development stage, with the same size and volume regardless of their body size. The results demonstrated higher similarity of this population to other continental M. amazonicum populations than from estuarine ones, showing the environment influence in the life-history of individuals.
Invasive and chronic fungal lung infections

Fungi are increasingly recognized as a cause of respiratory infection, particularly affecting individuals with either immune deficiency or localised lung destruction. The normal human host response effectively controls airborne fungi, but specific polymorphisms are associated with increased risk of developing fungal lung infection. Invasive fungal disease (IFD) is associated with neutropenia and haematological stem cell transplants. They are difficult to diagnose with certainty though the use of cross-sectional imaging and biomarkers has allowed targeted patient treatment. Mortality rates, though improving with antifungal therapy, remain unacceptably high. Chronic pulmonary fungal disease is associated with chronic respiratory disorders and is also difficult to diagnose with certainty. Treatment is chronic and often poorly tolerated, and even when successful unable to reverse existing lung damage. Further research is required to improve both diagnostics and therapy to improve outcomes in these infectious diseases.
Genetic Analysis of Candidate Genes for the Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes

This work investigated genetic susceptibility for type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in several study designs. 31 DNA variants from 7 candidate genes involved in development of these diseases were analyzed for associations with the diseases or related parameters. Single nucleotide polymorphisms were genotyped using MALDI-TOF MS and statistically analyzed. The obtained associations are the basis for further functional studies, which will provide deeper insight in the etiology of these diseases, and eventually new therapy will emerge.
Replacement of fishmeal with soybean meal in Nile tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus ) Diet

The present study deals with the “Replacement of Fishmeal with Soybean Meal in Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Diet”. The fish meal was replaced @ 0 to 100% in experimental diets. As such five diets having 0-100% fish meal replaced with soybean meal i.e., 0% (control), 25 (T1), 50 (T2), 75 (T3) and 100% (T4) were prepared. The experiment was conducted in triplicate in 200 liters plastic tanks for 42 days. These experimental fish were fed @8% of body weight per day. The growth performances of test fish were observed at weekly interval. Similarly, experimental water quality parameters were also monitored at weekly intervals. The results of this study indicated a significant difference in net weight gain, per cent weight gain, specific growth rate, food conversion ratio and gross conversion efficiency of fry fed with different diets. The highest net weight gain, per cent weight gain, SGR, and GCE were 3.18g (T0), 185.64% (T0), 0. 928% (T0) and was 0.343 (T0) respectively. The fish fed with fish meal and soybean meals have also indicated better food utilization with lesser food conservation ratio (FCR) i.e.3.22 in control as compared to other experimental feeds including. Proximate composition of fish fed with fish meal and soybean meal in mixed diet further confirmed that its biochemical configuration was fairly satisfactory. The results of this study indicated that the increasing level of soybean meal in fish diet has a negative impact on growth and growth parameters. As the growth significantly decreased with increasing soybean levels in fish diet. On the basis of this experiment, it is concluded that 25% of fish meal can be replaced with soybean Meal because the growth Meal because the growth difference between a fish meal based diet (100%) and fish meal –soybean meal (75 +25) based diet had no significant growth. However, it is recommended replacing 25% of fish meal with soybean meal.
Soil Solarization and Inoculation with Sulphur Oxidizing Bacteria andTheir Effects on Some Soil Properties

Two greenhouse pot experiments (clayey and sandy soil) were conducted in order to evaluate the effects of solarization (covering the soil with transparent plastic sheets), inoculation with sulfur oxidizing bacteria SOB (isolated Thiobacillus), addition of filter mud cake FMC (one of the sugar industry wastes, Nagaa Hammady Sugar Factory, Egypt) as a source of organic matter and elemental sulfur on some sand and clay soil properties. In both soils, the temperature of solarized soil was always higher than the nonsolarized one with an average of 6°C at 8:00 a.m. and 14°C at 4:00 p.m. which resulted in a reduction in organic matter percentage (OM%). Both FMC and S addition had great effects on increasing soil total soluble salts compared to the increase that resulted from either solarization or SOB inoculation. The effect of elemental sulfur addition on decreasing soil pH was higher than the other treatments in clay soil, while FMC addition was the most effective treatment in sandy soil. The highest increase in available S was always found when soils were treated with elemental sulfur. Each of the treatments increased the available P in both soils; however the most effective treatment was FMC addition. Soluble Ca+2+Mg+2 and K+ were always increased due to each of the treatments. The highest increase in soluble Na+ was due to increasing soil temperature by solarization compared to the other treatments.
Structure of the diameter distribution of an experimental plantation of candeia (Eremanthus erythropappus (DC.) MacLeish)

The present study had as its main objective to characterize the diameter distribution of an experimental plantation of ‘candeia’ trees submitted to different treatments (age, spacing and silvicultural treatments), by adjusting several probability density functions. Subsequently, a prognosis of the selected function parameters in relation to age was conducted. The probability density functions tested were: Gamma, Normal, Log-normal,2-parameter Weibull (2P) and 3-parameter Weibull (3P) for the different study groups. The selection of the best fit was based on the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test with a probability of 95%. The Weibull 3P function present the best fits for the majority of the treatments, especially for pruned trees, being thus chosen for the prognosis of the parameters according to age. It was detected that pruning affected the scale parameters, but not the shape parameters, while spacing did not influence the function parameters in a significant manner. Hence, linear equations were adjusted for the prognosis of the parameters in relation
Impact of ethyl methane sulphonate on M1 attributes of Groundnut with special emphasis of amino acid profiling

The present investigation was undertaken to know the effect of EMS on groundnut cultivar TMV-7 particularly for M1 generation with special reference to amino acids. The healthy and viable seeds of groundnut cultivar TMV-7 were exposed to different concentrations of EMS. The chemical mutagens were screened against groundnut ranged from 10 to 50mM and sown in the field along with control. The various growth, morphological parameters like percentage of seed germination, survival percentage plant height, number of branches, days taken for flower initiation , total height at time of harvest, root length, number of lateral roots, number of pods per plant and 100 seeds weight were decreased with increasing concentrations of EMS. The amino acid analysis also carried out in control, EMS derived M1 plants grown in field. The amino acid contents were recorded in both positive and negative tendency.
Toxoplasma gondii-mediated Host Cell Transcriptional Changes Lead to Metabolic Alterations Akin to the Warburg Effect

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite, that is able to infect any nucleated cell. An important global pathogen, T. gondii can cycle between primary and secondary hosts, thus enabling widespread penetrance. Within its intracellular niche – a membrane-bound parasitophorous vacuole – T. gondii is nevertheless able to subvert a variety of host cell processes to allow its continued survival and replication. This includes modulation of host signalling processes as well as the scavenging of nutrient macromolecules. In recent years, microRNAs have emerged as important regulators of cellular processes including inflammation, tumorigenesis and metabolism, as well as development. It has become increasingly clear that this species of noncoding RNA is of great importance in ‘fine tuning’ many cellular responses. I hypothesise in this work that host cell miRNAs may be yet another means by which T. gondii manipulates its host upon infection. Using high-throughput-sequencing, I examine host cell transcriptional responses to infection both at the mRNA and microRNA level, using two strains of T. gondii at a variety of Multiplicities of Infection over a time course of 43 hours. Through these transcriptional analyses I identify a number of dysregulated pathways common in tumorigenesis, and contemplate the hypothesis that T. gondii may be behaving as an ‘intracellular tumour’, subverting host cell metabolic processes to mimic a long-known feature of cancer metabolism – that of aerobic glycolysis (the Warburg effect) – in order to satisfy its own energetic and metabolic needs.
Epidemiological characterization and risk factors associated with leptospirosis and brucellosis in small ruminants sold at animal fair in the Sertão Region of Pernambuco State, a semiarid Region of Northeastern Brazil

The transit of infected animals may be a route for the introduction and dispersal of diseases, which necessitates protocols for the controlled entry of infected animals into herds. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of anti-Leptospira and anti-Brucella ovis antibodies in small ruminants sold at an animal fair in the Sertao region of the Pernambuco State, Northeastern Brazil, and to identify the possible risk factors associated with seropositivity. Serum samples were collected from 233 goats and 119 sheep, belonging to twelve different owners from November 2014 to June 2015. Diagnosis of Leptospira spp. infection was established using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT); for B. ovis infection, the agar gel immuno-diffusion (AGID) test was conducted. A total of 16/233 (6.87%; 95% CI = 4.27% – 10.83%) goats and 16/119 (13.45%; 95% CI = 8.67% – 21.24%) sheep were identified as seropositive for Leptospira spp. The most frequent serotype was Icterohaemorrhagiae. In goats, intensive management system (odds ratio = 15.8; p < 0.001) and consorted rearing of equines and goats (odds ratio = 7.3; p = 0.005) were identified as risk factors. There were no risk factors identified for sheep. Seven (5.88%; 95% CI = 2.88% – 11.65%) sheep were seropositive for B. ovis, and the intensive management system was identified as the risk factor (odds ratio = 11.5; p = 0.005). This suggests that Leptospira spp. and B. ovis infections occur in small ruminants commercialized in the Sertao region of the Pernambuco State. Thus, improvements to the sanitary conditions of the facilities and the control of synanthropic rodents are recommended.
Development of jelly from mulberry ('Morus alba' L.) and its quality evaluation during storage

Mulberry (Morus alba L.) is one of the underutilized fruit which is a rich source of antioxidants like phenols, besides its appealing taste and strong aroma. Investigations were conducted to develop jelly and its quality evaluation during storage is reported here. Different combinations of juice (40, 45, 50 and 55%) and sugar (45 and 50%) were tried to standardize proper combination for jelly. The jelly prepared by following the best selected recipe was packed in glass and PET jars and stored for six months under ambient and refrigerated temperature conditions. Jelly could be safely stored for a period of six months under both the conditions without much change in various quality characteristics. Different quality characteristics like TSS (°B), reducing sugars (%), total sugars (%) and pH of jelly increased from 66.00 to 66.56, 48.21 to 51.42, 63.08 to 63.46, 3.56 to 3.62 while other chemical characteristics like titratable acidity (%), ascorbic acid (mg/100 g), anthocyanins (mg/100 g), total phenols (mg/100 g), pectin (%) decreased from 0.75 to 0.67, 5.83 to 4.11, 9.00 to 6.71, 72.18 to 69.13, 1.06 to 0.88 and sensory characteristics scores of colour, texture, taste, aroma, overall acceptability score from 7.50 to 7.02, 7.83 to 7.27, 8.19 to 7.92, 8.00 to 7.55, 7.90 to 7.40, respectively during refrigerated storage. However the changes in the quality characteristics of jelly were slower in refrigerated storage conditions as compared to ambient conditions during six months of storage period the quality of the product was retained better in glass jars than PET jars under refrigerated storage condition.
Shifting from acquisitive to conservative: the effects of Phoradendron affine (Santalaceae) infection in leaf morpho-physiological traits of a Neotropical tree species.

Mistletoes are parasitic plants that penetrate the host branches through a modified root and connect to their xylem to acquire nutrients and water. Under mistletoe infection, resources that would otherwise be used by the host are stolen by the parasite. Our aim was to compare leaf morpho-physiological traits between healthy uninfected branches and mistletoe-infected branches of a Neotropical tree species (Handroanthus chrysotrichus (Mart. ex DC.) Mattos – Bignoniaceae). We also investigated differences between mistletoe and host leaf traits. Morphological (petiole length and thickness, leaf area and thickness, and specific leaf area) and physiological leaf traits (pre-dawn and midday water potential) were measured in 10 individuals infected with the mistletoe Phoradendron affine (Pohl ex DC.) Engl. & K.Krause (Santalaceae). Mistletoes showed smaller and thicker leaves with lower pre-dawn and midday water potential, suggesting that mistletoes are more profligate water users than the host. Host leaves from infected branches were scleromorphic and showed stronger water-use control (less negative water potential) than host leaves from uninfected branches. Our results indicated that leaves from infected branches shifted to a more conservative resource-use strategy as a response to a water and nutrient imbalance caused by mistletoe infection.
Zebrafish yolk syncytial nuclei migrate along a dynamic microtubule network

In teleosts, the yolk syncytial layer is a multinucleate syncytium that functions as an extraembryonic signaling center to pattern the mesendoderm, coordinate morphogenesis and supply nutrients to the embryo. The zebrafish is an excellent system for studying this morphogenetically active tissue. The external yolk syncytial nuclei (e-YSN) undergo microtubule dependent epiboly movements that distribute the nuclei over the yolk. How e-YSN epiboly proceeds, and what role the yolk microtubule network plays is not understood but currently it is proposed that e-YSN are pulled vegetally as the microtubule network shortens from the vegetal pole. Data from our live imaging studies suggest that the yolk microtubule network is dismantled from the animal and vegetal regions and show that a region of stabilized microtubules forms before nuclear migration begins. e-YSN do not appear to be pulled vegetally but rather move along a dynamic microtubule network. We also show that overexpression of the KASH domain of Syne2a impairs e-YSN movement, implicating the LINC complex in e-YSN migration. This work provides new insights into the role of microtubules in morphogenesis of an extraembryonic tissue. Summary Statement Analysis of yolk syncytial nuclear migration during zebrafish epiboly reveals that nuclei migrate along and largely beneath a dynamically yolk microtubule network.
Parasitism of Aganaspis daci against Ceratitis capitata under Mediterranean climate conditions

The effect of environmental factors is essential to the success of parasitoids as biological control agents, as it determines their foraging activity, development, and survival. The larval‐pupal parasitoid wasp Aganaspis daci (Weld) (Hymenoptera: Figitidae) is known to have a very low fertility (i.e., offspring production) in the field in certain Mediterranean areas, probably due to its inability to efficiently oviposit under such climatic conditions. In this study, the percentage of parasitism and induced mortality (mortality of host pupae attributed to parasitoids, from which adults do not emerge) caused by this wasp to the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), was assessed under field conditions across 1 year, using medfly‐infested apples and parasitoid‐confined release in a lemon orchard of southeastern Spain. As A. daci is known to have very few emergences in the field, fertility was assessed in the laboratory from parasitized pupae recovered from the field. We found average parasitism rates of 27% and high induced mortality rates of 66% under field conditions. Consequently, medfly population reduction (total mortality of C. capitata caused by A. daci, i.e., induced mortality + % parasitism) was, on average, 87%. Parasitism and induced mortality varied throughout the year, depending on the average temperature and relative humidity. The interaction of these factors resulted in the highest parasitism rates at low mean temperature and humidity values; likewise, the highest percentages of induced mortality were obtained with a combination of high mean temperature and low mean humidity values. In conclusion, A. daci may exert a strong impact on medfly populations, being a good candidate for inundative field releases for the management of C. capitata in the Mediterranean Basin.