Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Habitat Use of American Alligators in East Texas

Abstract The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) has made a remarkable recovery throughout its range during the last half-century. In Texas, USA, current inland alligator population and harvest management strategies rely on generalized and often site-specific habitat and population data generated from coastal populations, because it is assumed that habitat and demographic similarities exist between inland and coastal populations. These assumptions have not been verified, however, and no studies have specifically examined inland alligator habitat use in Texas. We quantified alligator habitat use in East Texas during 2003–2004 to address this information gap and to facilitate development of regionally specific management strategies. Although habitat was variable among study areas, alligators used habitats with >50% open water, substantial floating vegetation, and emergent vegetation close (<12 m) to dry ground and cover. Adults used habitats further from dry ground and cover, in open water (75–85%), with less floating vegetation (6–22%) than did subadults, which used habitats that were closer to dry ground and cover, with less open water (52–68%), and more floating vegetation (8–40%). Although habitat use mirrored coastal patterns, we estimated alligator densities to be 3–5 times lower than reported in coastal Texas, likely a result of inland habitat deviations from optimal coastal alligator habitat, particularly in the preponderance of open water and floating vegetation. Our findings that 1) inland habitats varied among sites and did not exactly match assumed optimal coastal habitats, 2) alligators used these inland habitats slightly differently than coastal areas, and 3) inland alligator densities were lower than coastal populations, all highlight the need for regionally specific management approaches. Because alligator populations are influenced by habitat quality and availability, any deviations from assumed optimal habitat may magnify harvest impacts upon inland populations.
Extracellular Lipase Enzyme Production by Seed-Borne Fungi under the Influence of Physical Factors

Present paper deals with the study of impact of physical factors on extracellular lipase activity of some dominant oilseed-borne fungi. In present investigation, seed-borne fungi were isolated from abnormal oilseeds by agar plate method. Of the 11 genera and 17 species of fungi isolated, 10 dominant fungi were selected to study their lipase enzyme activity. Various parameters such as temperature, pH, light and incubation period were studied in order to determine the optimum conditions for lipase production of ten dominant fungi. The lipase present in the broth was assayed by cup-plate method. It is revealed from the result that lipase activity of storage fungi was found to be optimum at temperature 20 0 C, pH 6.5, incubation period of 20 days and in continuous light.
Age-Related Hearing Loss Is Dominated by Damage to Inner Ear Sensory Cells, Not the Cellular Battery That Powers Them

Age-related hearing loss arises from irreversible damage in the inner ear, where sound is transduced into electrical signals. Prior human studies suggested that sensory-cell loss is rarely the cause; correspondingly, animal work has implicated the stria vascularis, the cellular “battery” driving the amplification of sound by hair cell “motors. ” Here, quantitative microscopic analysis of hair cells, auditory nerve fibers, and strial tissues in 120 human inner ears obtained at autopsy, most of whom had recent audiograms in their medical records, shows that the degree of hearing loss is well predicted from the amount of hair cell loss and that inclusion of strial damage does not improve the prediction. Although many aging ears showed significant strial degeneration throughout the cochlea, our statistical models suggest that, by the time strial tissues are lost, hair cell death is so extensive that the loss of battery is no longer important to pure-tone thresholds and that audiogram slope is not diagnostic for strial degeneration. These data comprise the first quantitative survey of hair cell death in normal-aging human cochleas, and reveal unexpectedly severe hair cell loss in low-frequency cochlear regions, and dramatically greater loss in high-frequency regions than seen in any aging animal model. Comparison of normal-aging ears to an age-matched group with acoustic-overexposure history suggests that a lifetime of acoustic overexposure is to blame. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT This report upends dogma about the causes of age-related hearing loss. Our analysis of over 120 autopsy specimens shows that inner-ear sensory cell loss can largely explain the audiometric patterns in aging, with minimal contribution from the stria vascularis, the “battery” that powers the inner ear, previously viewed as the major locus of age-related hearing dysfunction. Predicting inner ear damage from the audiogram is critical, now that clinical trials of therapeutics designed to regrow hair cells are underway. Our data also show that hair cell degeneration in aging humans is dramatically worse than that in aging animals, suggesting that the high-frequency hearing losses that define human presbycusis reflect avoidable contributions of chronic ear abuse to which aging animals are not exposed.
Chromosome studies in flowering plants from Macaronesia

Se presentan 85 numeros cromosomaticos de 65 especies de fanerogamas de las islas Canarias. Los cuatro recuentos siguientes son nuevos o difieren de los hallados anteriormente: Calendula tripterocarpa (2n = 54), Rumex bipinnata (2n = 20), Oligomeris linifolia (2n = 30) y Lophochloa pumila (2n = 12). Los recuentos de otras 22 especies son los primeros que se realizan sobre material de Macaronesia o difieren de los hallados anteriormente. Para muchas de las especies se anaden comentarios sobre su taxonomia, distribucion y morfologia de los cromosomas.
The influence of an acute bout of moderate‐intensity cycling exercise on sensorimotor integration

Acute cycling exercise can modulate motor cortical circuitry in the non‐exercised upper‐limb. Within the primary motor cortex, measures of intracortical inhibition are reduced and intracortical facilitation is enhanced following acute exercise. Further, acute cycling exercise decreases interhemispheric inhibition between the motor cortices and lowers cerebellar‐to‐motor cortex inhibition. Yet, investigations into the effects of acute exercise on sensorimotor integration, referring to the transfer of incoming afferent information from the primary somatosensory cortex to motor cortex, are lacking. The current work addresses this gap in knowledge with two experimental sessions. In the first session, we tested the exercise‐induced changes in somatosensory and motor excitability by assessing somatosensory (SEP) and motor evoked potentials (MEPs). In the second session, we explored the effects of acute cycling exercise on short‐ (SAI) and long‐latency afferent inhibition (LAI), and afferent facilitation. In both experimental sessions, neurophysiological measures were obtained from the non‐exercised upper‐limb muscle, tested at two time points pre‐exercise separated by a 25‐min period of rest. Next, a 25‐min bout of moderate‐intensity lower‐limb cycling was performed with measures assessed at two time points post‐exercise. Acute lower‐limb cycling increased LAI, without modulation of SAI or afferent facilitation. Further, there were no exercise‐induced changes to SEP or MEP amplitudes. Together, these results suggest that acute exercise has unique effects on sensorimotor integration, which are not accompanied by concurrent changes in somatosensory or motor cortical excitability.
Genetic Diversity and Structure of the Ryujin-Jidori, a Critically Endangered Native Japanese Chicken Breed, Based on Microsatellite DNA Analysis

One of the breeds of native Japanese chickens is the Ryujin-Jidori (RJ) from Tanabe City (formerly Ryujin Village), Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. To estimate the genetic diversity of RJ, 29 microsatellite loci were analyzed with 68 RJ adult birds (all possible sires and dams) reared by five breeders (four and one breeders in Wakayama and Nara Prefectures, respectively) in April, 2012. Among the 29 loci, 14 to 20 loci were monomorphic depending on populations (breeders). Genetic diversity indices in RJ were also low in mean number of alleles (1.34 to 1.55) and expected heterozygosity (0.140 to 0.174). There was no reduction of genetic diversity in the RJ breed reared in Wakayama and Nara Prefectures in 2012, as compared with the RJ population in 2007 reported elsewhere. In the phylogenetic tree analysis, the birds from the Wakayama populations and the Nara population were separated. The pairwise FST values and genetic structure analysis also supported the genetic uniqueness of the Nara population. Also, significant and positive FIS value was estimated in the Nara population. The low genetic diversity and inbred condition observed in the RJ breed in 2012 indicated the necessity to promote the conservation of this breed immediately. For the conservation of the RJ breed, it might be better to maintain the Nara population and four Wakayama populations separately because of the significant FST value observed between them. However, integration of the Nara population to the Wakayama populations might become necessary in the near future because of the possibility that the Nara population can become extinct through inbred deficiency. The primary and immediate concern should be increasing the number of RJ individuals and avoiding inbreeding as far as possible with the cooperation of public institutions and private breeders.
Perioperative Cardiovascular Risk Assessment and Management for Noncardiac Surgery: A Review.

Importance Perioperative cardiovascular complications occur in 3% of hospitalizations for noncardiac surgery in the US. This review summarizes evidence regarding cardiovascular risk assessment prior to noncardiac surgery. Observations Preoperative cardiovascular risk assessment requires a focused history and physical examination to identify signs and symptoms of ischemic heart disease, heart failure, and severe valvular disease. Risk calculators, such as the Revised Cardiac Risk Index, identify individuals with low risk (<1%) and higher risk (≥1%) for perioperative major adverse cardiovascular events during the surgical hospital admission or within 30 days of surgery. Cardiovascular testing is rarely indicated in patients at low risk for major adverse cardiovascular events. Stress testing may be considered in patients at higher risk (determined by the inability to climb ≥2 flights of stairs, which is <4 metabolic equivalent tasks) if the results from the testing would change the perioperative medical, anesthesia, or surgical approaches. Routine coronary revascularization does not reduce perioperative risk and should not be performed without specific indications independent of planned surgery. Routine perioperative use of low-dose aspirin (100 mg/d) does not decrease cardiovascular events but does increase surgical bleeding. Statins are associated with fewer postoperative cardiovascular complications and lower mortality (1.8% vs 2.3% without statin use; P < .001) in observational studies, and should be considered preoperatively in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease undergoing vascular surgery. High-dose β-blockers (eg, 100 mg of metoprolol succinate) administered 2 to 4 hours prior to surgery are associated with a higher risk of stroke (1.0% vs 0.5% without β-blocker use; P = .005) and mortality (3.1% vs 2.3% without β-blocker use; P = .03) and should not be routinely used. There is a greater risk of perioperative myocardial infarction and major adverse cardiovascular events in adults aged 75 years or older (9.5% vs 4.8% for younger adults; P < .001) and in patients with coronary stents (8.9% vs 1.5% for those without stents; P < .001) and these patients warrant careful preoperative consideration. Conclusions and Relevance Comprehensive history, physical examination, and assessment of functional capacity during daily life should be performed prior to noncardiac surgery to assess cardiovascular risk. Cardiovascular testing is rarely indicated in patients with a low risk of major adverse cardiovascular events, but may be useful in patients with poor functional capacity (<4 metabolic equivalent tasks) undergoing high-risk surgery if test results would change therapy independent of the planned surgery. Perioperative medical therapy should be prescribed based on patient-specific risk.
Nanoparticles presenting clusters of CD4 expose a universal vulnerability of HIV-1 by mimicking target cells

Significance The ability of HIV-1 to rapidly develop resistance against various therapeutics remains a roadblock to finding a cure. Here we propose that nanoparticle-based therapeutics that mimic HIV-1 target cells by presenting clusters of CD4, the HIV-1 receptor, could prevent effective viral escape. We show that CD4 multimerization on the nanoparticle dramatically enhanced the neutralization potency and breadth compared with conventional CD4-based reagents that present only one or two copies of CD4. The CD4 nanoparticles neutralized a range of diverse HIV-1 strains, including patient isolates resistant to multiple broadly neutralizing antibodies. This work describes a new therapeutic direction that exploits the need of HIV-1 to bind CD4 on target cells, thus warranting further investigation for the potential development of a cure. CD4-based decoy approaches against HIV-1 are attractive options for long-term viral control, but initial designs, including soluble CD4 (sCD4) and CD4-Ig, were ineffective. To evaluate a therapeutic that more accurately mimics HIV-1 target cells compared with monomeric sCD4 and dimeric CD4-Ig, we generated virus-like nanoparticles that present clusters of membrane-associated CD4 (CD4-VLPs) to permit high-avidity binding of trimeric HIV-1 envelope spikes. In neutralization assays, CD4-VLPs were >12,000-fold more potent than sCD4 and CD4-Ig and >100-fold more potent than the broadly neutralizing antibody (bNAb) 3BNC117, with >12,000-fold improvements against strains poorly neutralized by 3BNC117. CD4-VLPs also neutralized patient-derived viral isolates that were resistant to 3BNC117 and other bNAbs. Intraperitoneal injections of CD4-CCR5-VLP produced only subneutralizing plasma concentrations in HIV-1–infected humanized mice but elicited CD4-binding site mutations that reduced viral fitness. All mutant viruses showed reduced sensitivity to sCD4 and CD4-Ig but remained sensitive to neutralization by CD4-VLPs in vitro. In vitro evolution studies demonstrated that CD4-VLPs effectively controlled HIV-1 replication at neutralizing concentrations, and viral escape was not observed. Moreover, CD4-VLPs potently neutralized viral swarms that were completely resistant to CD4-Ig, suggesting that escape pathways that confer resistance against conventional CD4-based inhibitors are ineffective against CD4-VLPs. These findings suggest that therapeutics that mimic HIV-1 target cells could prevent viral escape by exposing a universal vulnerability of HIV-1: the requirement to bind CD4 on a target cell. We propose that therapeutic and delivery strategies that ensure durable bioavailability need to be developed to translate this concept into a clinically feasible functional cure therapy.
Variation in seed and seedling characters of Jatropha curcas L. with varying zones and provenances

This study describes the variation in seed and seedling characters of Jatropha curcas L. Seeds of J. curcas were collected from 6 zones (geographical regions) within India and 4 - 6 provenances within each zone. Significant variation was found among zones and among different provenances within zones, for all traits of seed and seedlings of J. curcas. Among six zones, sub- humid to humid eastern, south eastern uplands, semi arid lava plateaus and central highlands showed maximum seed length, seed weight, oil content and plant height. All seed and seedling characters were lowest for humid western Himalayan zone. Among 32 provenances, Danikundi, Pendra road, Nainpur and Indore-1 provenances showed better seed and seedling characters. This study has implications for identifying potential seed sources of J. curcas for exploiting for higher oil content.
Application of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the production of cut flower roses under commercial-like conditions

The objective of this work was to study the influence of two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) —Glomus mosseae (Nicol. & Gerd.) Gerd. & Trappe, and G. intraradices (Schenck & Smith)— on cut flower yield of rose ( Rosa hybrida L. cv. Grand Gala) under commercial-like greenhouse conditions. Flower production was positively influenced by G. mosseae inoculation. Both inocula tested caused low levels of mycorrhizal root colonization, with higher percentages in Rosa associated with G. mosseae. Significant improvement of plant biomass, leaf nutritional status or flower quality was not detected in inoculated plants probably due to the low symbiosis establishment. However, G. mosseae reduced by one month the time needed for 80% of the plants to flower and slightly increased number of cut flowers relative to non-mycorrhizal controls on the fourth, sixth and eighth months after transplanting. It is suggested that an altered carbohydrate metabolism could contribute to this positive effect. Low colonization of rose roots supports the idea that more effort is required to ensure successful application of AMF in ornamental production systems. Additional key words: Floriculture; Glomus intraradices; Glomus mosseae; phosphorus; Rosa hybrida. Resumen
First Report of Candidemia Clonal Outbreak Caused by Emerging Fluconazole-Resistant Candida parapsilosis Isolates Harboring Y132F and/or Y132F+K143R in Turkey

Clonal outbreaks of fluconazole-resistant (FLZR) Candida parapsilosis isolates have been reported in several countries. Despite its being the second leading cause of candidemia, the azole resistance mechanisms and the clonal expansion of FLZR C. parapsilosis blood isolates have not been reported in Turkey. In this study, we consecutively collected C. parapsilosis blood isolates (n = 225) from the fifth largest hospital in Turkey (2007 to 2019), assessed their azole susceptibility pattern using CLSI M27-A3/S4, and sequenced ERG11 for all and MRR1, TAC1, and UPC2 for a selected number of C. parapsilosis isolates. ABSTRACT Clonal outbreaks of fluconazole-resistant (FLZR) Candida parapsilosis isolates have been reported in several countries. Despite its being the second leading cause of candidemia, the azole resistance mechanisms and the clonal expansion of FLZR C. parapsilosis blood isolates have not been reported in Turkey. In this study, we consecutively collected C. parapsilosis blood isolates (n = 225) from the fifth largest hospital in Turkey (2007 to 2019), assessed their azole susceptibility pattern using CLSI M27-A3/S4, and sequenced ERG11 for all and MRR1, TAC1, and UPC2 for a selected number of C. parapsilosis isolates. The typing resolution of two widely used techniques, amplified fragment length polymorphism typing (AFLP) and microsatellite typing (MST), and the biofilm production of FLZR isolates with and without Y132F were compared. Approximately 27% of isolates were FLZR (60/225), among which 90% (54/60) harbored known mutations in Erg11, including Y132F (24/60) and Y132F+K143R (19/60). Several mutations specific to FLZR isolates were found in MRR1, TAC1, and UPC2. AFLP grouped isolates into two clusters, while MST revealed several clusters. The majority of Y132F/Y132F+K143R isolates grouped in clonal clusters, which significantly expanded throughout 2007 to 2019 in neonatal wards. Candida parapsilosis isolates carrying Y132F were associated with significantly higher mortality and less biofilm production than other FLZR isolates. Collectively, we documented the first outbreak of FLZR C. parapsilosis blood isolates in Turkey. The MRR1, TAC1, and UPC2 mutations exclusively found in FLZR isolates establishes a basis for future studies, which will potentially broaden our knowledge of FLZR mechanisms in C. parapsilosis. MST should be a preferred method for clonal analysis of C. parapsilosis isolates in outbreak scenarios.
Co-created Internet-based Stepped Care for Individuals with Cancer and Concurrent Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression: Results from the U-CARE AdultCan Randomized Controlled Trial.

The aim was to evaluate the effects of co-created internet-based stepped care (iCAN-DO) on anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in individuals with cancer and self-reported anxiety and/or depression symptoms, compared with standard care. Clinically recruited individuals with breast, colorectal, or prostate cancer underwent online screening with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Those with anxiety and/or depression symptoms (> 7 on any of the HADS subscales) were randomized to iCAN-DO or standard care. iCAN-DO comprised psychoeducation and self-care strategies (step 1) and internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT, step 2). Data were collected before randomization and at 1, 4, 7, and 10 months and analyzed with ITT regression analysis and randomization tests. Online screening identified 245 (27%) of 909 individuals who reported anxiety and/or depression symptoms. They were randomized to iCAN-DO (n=124) or standard care (n=121). Of them 49% completed the 10-month assessment, and in the iCAN-DO group 85% accessed step 1 and 13% underwent iCBT. iCAN-DO decreased the levels of symptoms of depression (-0.54, 95% CI: (-1.08)- (-0.01), p<. 05) and the proportion of individuals with symptoms of depression (p<.01) at 10 months, compared with standard care, according to HADS. There were no significant effects on anxiety, posttraumatic stress, or HRQoL. Internet-based stepped care improves symptoms of depression in individuals with cancer. Further studies are needed to gain knowledge on how to optimize and implement internet-based support in oncology care. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.