Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inversion of pheromone preference optimizes foraging in C. elegans

Foraging animals have to locate food sources that are usually patchily distributed and subject to competition. Deciding when to leave a food patch is challenging and requires the animal to integrate information about food availability with cues signaling the presence of other individuals (e.g. pheromones). To study how social information transmitted via pheromones can aid foraging decisions, we investigated the behavioral responses of the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to food depletion and pheromone accumulation in food patches. We experimentally show that animals consuming a food patch leave it at different times and that the leaving time affects the animal preference for its pheromones. In particular, worms leaving early are attracted to their pheromones, while worms leaving later are repelled by them. We further demonstrate that the inversion from attraction to repulsion depends on associative learning and, by implementing a simple model, we highlight that it is an adaptive solution to optimize food intake during foraging.
Agreement between Type 2 Diabetes Risk Scales in a Caucasian Population: A Systematic Review and Report

Early detection of people with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes (T2D) is an important public health concern. Several predictive equations for T2D have been proposed but most of them have not been externally validated and their performance could be compromised when clinical data is used. Clinical practice guidelines increasingly incorporate T2D risk prediction models as they support clinical decision making. The aims of this study were to systematically review prediction scores for T2D and to analyze the agreement between these risk scores in a large cross-sectional study of white western European workers. A systematic review of the PubMed, CINAHL, and EMBASE databases and a cross-sectional study in 59,042 Spanish workers was performed. Agreement between scores classifying participants as high risk was evaluated using the kappa statistic. The systematic review of 26 predictive models highlights a great heterogeneity in the risk predictors; there is a poor level of reporting, and most of them have not been externally validated. Regarding the agreement between risk scores, the DETECT-2 risk score scale classified 14.1% of subjects as high-risk, FINDRISC score 20.8%, Cambridge score 19.8%, the AUSDRISK score 26.4%, the EGAD study 30.3%, the Hisayama study 30.9%, the ARIC score 6.3%, and the ITD score 3.1%. The lowest agreement was observed between the ITD and the NUDS study derived score (κ = 0.067). Differences in diabetes incidence, prevalence, and weight of risk factors seem to account for the agreement differences between scores. A better agreement between the multi-ethnic derivate score (DETECT-2) and European derivate scores was observed. Risk models should be designed using more easily identifiable and reproducible health data in clinical practice.
Planktonic Bacterial Population Dynamics with Environmental Changes in Coastal Areas of Suruga Bay

We studied planktonic bacterial population dynamics in response to the changing environment in a coastal system during an observation period of over 5 years using fluorescence in situ hybridization. To estimate the environmental constraint on the bacterial community, we focused on temperature, salinity, abundance of photoplankton (chlorophyll a), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). The total number of bacteria (TDC) amounted to 3.0×105 to 5.0×106 cells mL-1, with 1.0×105 to 1.0×106 cells mL-1 for Bacteria, accounting for 11.8 to 74.8% of TDC, and 1.0×104 to 1.0×105 cells mL-1 for Gammaproteobacteria, 1.0 to 20.8% of TDC. The abundance of Archaea, which contributed from 0.1 to 12% to TDC, ranged from 2.0×103 to 3.0×104 cells mL-1. We found a positive relationship between environmental parameters such as temperature, salinity, chlorophyll a, and DOC and the abundance of total bacteria and Bacteria. The number of Gammaproteobacteria correlated with temperature, salinity, and chlorophyll a, but not with DOC. We suggest that increasing the temperature under eutrophic conditions will lead to high bacterial abundance and probably a change in the bacterial community.
The effect of prebreeding diet on reproductive output in zebra finches

Environmental conditions at the time of laying can influence clutch size in birds. Here we show that the quality of diet a female bird receives before the start of the breeding season also has a profound effect on reproductive output and on body condition after laying the clutch. Female zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata given a brief exposure to a high quality diet before pairing produced larger eggs, larger clutches, had higher hatching success and fledged more young, yet did not lose as much muscle condition as control birds. The emphasis on energetic limitations in avian life history studies may have disguised the importance of nutritional factors in clutch determination and female fitness.
ELEVATED NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE ACTIVITY CONCURRENT WITH ANTIGEN-INDUCED AIRWAY HYPERRESPONSIVENESS IN RATS

To characterize the a irway n itric oxide syn thase (NOS) activ ities con cu rren t with airway hyperrespon siv en ess (AHR), a common fea tu re of a llergic asthma, the NOS activ ities of a irway tissu e homogen a tes from the an tigen -in du ced AHR rats were determin ed by the ability of tissu e homogen a tes to con v ert L-argin in e to L-citru llin e (Cit). A sign i can tly higher lev el of tota l NOS activ ities was fou n d in homogen a tes from the AHR rats (19.9 1.3 pmol Cit/min /mg protein ) compared to those from sen sitized con trol an d n ormal con trol grou ps (9.8 1.2 an d 8.8 1.2 pmol Cit/min /mg protein , respectiv ely; P 01). The n itrite con cen tra tion in bron choa lv eolar lav age  u ids, which in d ica tes the in v iv o gen eration of NO in airways, from the AHR rats 7.40 0.71 m M was sign i can tly g rea ter than tha t from n on sen sitized n ormal an imals 1.45 1.12 m M, P 01 . Althou gh the protein lev els of en dothelia l (eNOS) an d n eu ron al type NOS (nNOS) determin ed by immu n oblottin g were with in n ormal lev els, the amou n t of in du cible NOS (iNOS) protein was marked ly an d sign i can tly elev a ted in a irway tissu e homog en ates from the AHR rats. Immu n oh istochemica l sta in in g of airway tissu es with speci c an tibody aga in st iNOS demon stra ted a distin ct loca liza tion of iNOS on epithelia l cells an d in  ltrated in  ammatory cells in the bron ch i of th e hyperrespon siv e ra ts, bu t on ly n eglig ible sta in in g of epithelia was observ ed in the n on sen sitized n ormal grou p. No differen ce in con stitu tiv e NOS (eNOS an d n NOS) loca liza tion was observ ed between g rou ps. The presen t  n d in gs in dica te that the NOS activ ities in airway tissu es are elev a ted in an tig en -in du ced AHR rats, which is main ly deriv ed from the in du ction of iNOS in the a irways. Down regu la tion of con stitu tiv e eNOS an d n NOS is n ot fou n d in this an imal model of AHR.
Physiologic RNA targets and refined sequence specificity of coronavirus EndoU

Coronavirus EndoU inhibits dsRNA-activated antiviral responses; however, the physiologic RNA substrates of EndoU are unknown. In this study, we used mouse hepatitis virus (MHV)-infected bone-marrow-derived macrophage (BMM) and cyclic phosphate cDNA sequencing to identify the RNA targets of EndoU. EndoU targeted viral RNA, cleaving the 3′ side of pyrimidines with a strong preference for U⬇A and C⬇A sequences (endoY⬇A). EndoU-dependent cleavage was detected in every region of MHV RNA, from the 5′ NTR to the 3′ NTR, including transcriptional regulatory sequences (TRS). Cleavage at two CA dinucleotides immediately adjacent to the MHV poly(A) tail suggest a mechanism to suppress negative-strand RNA synthesis and the accumulation of viral dsRNA. MHV with EndoU (EndoUmut) or 2′-5′ phosphodiesterase (PDEmut) mutations provoked the activation of RNase L in BMM, with corresponding cleavage of RNAs by RNase L. The physiologic targets of EndoU are viral RNA templates required for negative-strand RNA synthesis and dsRNA accumulation. Impact Coronavirus EndoU cleaves U⬇A and C⬇A sequences (endoY⬇A) within viral (+) strand RNA to evade dsRNA-activated host responses.
Intraspecific size variation in planktonic foraminifera cannot be consistently predicted by the environment

Abstract The size structure of plankton communities is an important determinant of their functions in marine ecosystems. However, few studies have quantified how organism size varies within species across biogeographical scales. Here, we investigate how planktonic foraminifera, a ubiquitous zooplankton group, vary in size across the tropical and subtropical oceans of the world. Using a recently digitized museum collection, we measured shell area of 3,799 individuals of nine extant species in 53 seafloor sediments. We first analyzed potential size biases in the collection. Then, for each site, we obtained corresponding local values of mean annual sea‐surface temperature (SST), net primary productivity (NPP), and relative abundance of each species. Given former studies, we expected species to reach largest shell sizes under optimal environmental conditions. In contrast, we observe that species differ in how much their size variation is explained by SST, NPP, and/or relative abundance. While some species have predictable size variation given these variables (Trilobatus sacculifer, Globigerinoides conglobatus, Globigerinella siphonifera, Pulleniatina obliquiloculata, Globorotalia truncatulinoides), other species show no relationships between size and the studied covariates (Globigerinoides ruber, Neogloboquadrina dutertrei, Globorotalia menardii, Globoconella inflata). By incorporating intraspecific variation and sampling broader geographical ranges compared to previous studies, we conclude that shell size variation in planktonic foraminifera species cannot be consistently predicted by the environment. Our results caution against the general use of size as a proxy for planktonic foraminifera environmental optima. More generally, our work highlights the utility of natural history collections and the importance of studying intraspecific variation when interpreting macroecological patterns.
Biomechanics of isolated plant cuticles

: The mechanical properties of isolated cuticles of leaves (Yucca aloifolia, Clusia fluminensis, Nerium oleander, Hedera helix) and one fruit (Lycopersicon esculentum) were investigated by means of a tensile test. Samples of the leaves and the fruit were cut to identical size (12.5 × 50 mm) and the cuticles were enzymatically isolated, cleaned, and air dried. The morphology of the isolated cuticular membranes (CM) was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and showed considerable differences. The thickness of the CM was determined by a digital image analysis system and ranged between 2.4 and 13.4 μm. The CM were subjected to a tensile test and the results are presented as stress-strain diagrams. From the latter, Young's moduli were calculated, a measure for the stiffness which allows the direct comparison of different materials. The obtained values ranged between 0.1 and 1.3 CPa. Hydration of CM caused a decrease of Young's moduli of about 35–50%. A possible role of the cuticle as a factor for the stabilization of plant organs is discussed.
MICRO‐ORGANISMS OF THE PLEUROPNEUMONIA GROUP

The organisms of the pleuropneumonia group, PPO, AGO and PPLO, constitute a uniform class of microbes. They all grow in small colonies, which can easily be overlooked unless inspected microscopically. Their colony form, a dark central portion embedded in the agar medium and lighter peripheral zone, is characteristic. Their morphology is fundamentally simple. Small granular forms, of the size of vaccinia virus, called minimal reproductive units, can initiate the growth of the larger forms. The organisms lack rigid cell walls, but have a flexible outer boundary (‘plasmalemma’). The shape and size of the organisms vary and depend on environmental conditions. Filamentous forms, small globules, disks and, on solid media, large flat forms are observed. Eventually, all these forms produce the minimal reproductive units.
Evaluating Nutrient-Based Indices against Food- and Diet-Based Indices to Assess the Health Potential of Foods: How Does the Australian Health Star Rating System Perform after Five Years?

Nutrient-based indices are commonly used to assess the health potential of individual foods for nutrition policy actions. This study aimed to evaluate the nutrient profile-informed Australian Health Star Rating (HSR), against NOVA and an index informed by the Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADGs), to determine the extent of alignment. All products displaying an HSR label in the Australian marketplace between June 2014 and June 2019 were extracted from the Mintel Global New Product Database, and classified into one of four NOVA categories, and either as an ADG five food group (FFG) food or discretionary food. Of 4451 products analysed, 76.5% were ultra-processed (UP) and 43% were discretionary. The median HSR of non-UP foods (4) was significantly higher than UP foods (3.5) (p < 0.01), and the median HSR of FFG foods (4) was significantly higher than discretionary foods (2.5) (p < 0.01). However, 73% of UP foods, and 52.8% of discretionary foods displayed an HSR ≥ 2.5. Results indicate the currently implemented HSR system is inadvertently providing a ‘health halo’ for almost ¾ of UP foods and ½ of discretionary foods displaying an HSR. Future research should investigate whether the HSR scheme can be reformed to avoid misalignment with food-and diet-based indices.
In vitro antibacterial time kill studies of leaves extracts of Helichrysum longifolium.

In vitro antibacterial time kill studies of extracts of Helichrysum longifolium was assessed using twenty-three bacteria species made up of eleven Gram positive and twelve Gram negative strains. All test bacteria were susceptible to the methanol extract, while none was susceptible to the aqueous extract. Two of the test bacteria were susceptible to the ethyl acetate extract, while ten and seven were susceptible to the acetone and chloroform extracts respectively at the test concentration of 5 mg/ml. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranged between 0.5 and 5.0 mg/ml, for acetone and methanol extracts; 0.1-5.0 mg/ml for chloroform extract and 5.0 mg/ml for the ethyl acetate extract; while minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) ranged between 1.0 and >5 mg/ml for all the extracts. Average log reductions in viable cell counts for all the extracts ranged between 0.1 Log10 and 7.5 Log10 cfu/ml after 12 h interaction at 1 × MIC and 2 × MIC. Most of the extracts were rapidly bactericidal at 2 × MIC achieving a complete elimination of most of the test organisms within 12 h exposure time. Key words: Helichrysum longifolium, crude extract, MIC, time-kill.
Prebiotic, probiotic and symbiotic as alternative to Antibiotics on the Performance and Immune Response of Broiler Chickens

This study aimed to evaluate diets supplemented with prebiotic, probiotic and symbiotic as an alternative to antibiotics on the performance and immune response against the virus of Newcastle disease in broiler chickens. 1,400 one-day old male Cobb 500 chicks were raised until 42 days old in a completely randomized design with 2x2+1 factorial scheme with seven replications. The treatments were: diet without supplementation (base diet - BD), BD + prebiotic, BD + probiotic, BD + symbiotic (prebiotic + probiotic), and BD + antibiotic. The parameters evaluated were performance and antibody serum titers against Newcastle disease. No antibiotic effect was observed on performance. The symbiotic provided better results for weight gain and feed:gain ratio until 21 days old than isolated additives. At 28 days old, the broilers fed diets with prebiotic presented better feed: gain ratio. In the same period (28 d-old), there was an antibody production increase against the Newcastle disease virus in the group supplemented with prebiotic. It can be concluded that the utilization of symbiotic in broiler chickens' diets can substitute performance enhancing antibiotics. The inclusion of prebiotic in the diet improves feed: gain ratio at 1-28 days old. The chickens' immune response increases at 28 days against the Newcastle disease virus in the group supplemented with prebiotic.
Effects of the Positive Allosteric Modulator of Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5, VU-29, on Maintenance Association between Environmental Cues and Rewarding Properties of Ethanol in Rats

Metabotropic glutamate subtype 5 (mGlu5) receptors are implicated in various forms of synaptic plasticity, including drugs of abuse. In drug-addicted individuals, associative memories can drive relapse to drug use. The present study investigated the potential of the mGlu5 receptor positive allosteric modulator (PAM), VU-29 (30 mg/kg, i.p.), to inhibit the maintenance of a learned association between ethanol and environmental context by using conditioned place preference (CPP) in rats. The ethanol-CPP was established by the administration of ethanol (1.0 g/kg, i.p. ×10 days) using an unbiased procedure. Following ethanol conditioning, VU-29 was administered at various post-conditioning times (ethanol free state at the home cage) to ascertain if there was a temporal window during which VU-29 would be effective. Our experiments indicated that VU-29 did not affect the expression of ethanol-induced CPP when it was given over two post-conditioning days. However, the expression of ethanol-CPP was inhibited by 10-day home cage administration of VU-29, but not by first 2-day or last 2-day injection of VU-29 during the 10-day period. These findings reveal that VU-29 can inhibit the maintenance of ethanol-induced CPP, and that treatment duration contributes to this effect of VU-29. Furthermore, VU-29 effect was reversed by pretreatment with either MTEP (the mGlu5 receptor antagonist), or MK-801 (the N-methyl-D-aspartate-NMDA receptor antagonist). Thus, the inhibitory effect of VU-29 is dependent on the functional interaction between mGlu5 and NMDA receptors. Because a reduction in ethanol-associated cues can reduce relapse, mGlu5 receptor PAM would be useful for therapy of alcoholism. Future research is required to confirm the current findings.
RESPONSE OF JUVENILE METAPENAEUS BENNETTAE RACEK & DALL, 1965 (DECAPODA, PENAEIDAE) TO SEDIMENTS OF DIFFERING PARTICLE SIZE

Les preferences dans la taille des particules du sediment ont ete testees dans des experiences de libre-choix. Les sables dont les grains mesuraient de 62,5 a 250 μm ont ete les plus favorables. Cette preference, qui peut etre due a une plus grande facilite dans le creusement du substrat, n'etait pas attribuable a l'experience anterieure des crevettes. De tels constatations sont discutees, en relation avec un travail similaire precedemment publie. Elles appuient l'hypothese selon laquelle les caracteres du sediment sont d'une grande importance dans la determination de la distribution spatiale des diverses especes de crevettes peneides dans la nature, et pour realiser les meilleures conditions de culture.
Utilisation de critères fonctionnels (présence de spermatophore, maturation des ovaires) pour la détermination de la taille et de l'âge à maturité sexuelle des Nephrops norvegicus femelles de la région sud-Bretagne

The average length at which female Nephrops norvegicus attain their first maturity was determined during 1977 and 1978 by following the presence of spermatophores and development of the ovaries. During 1978, females were sexually mature at the age of 2 but in 1977 they did not mature before the age of 3. The cumulative maturity curves are sigmoid, due to an overlapping of Gaussian curves. A logistic equation was developed to calculate the percentage of mature females at each length. There is no evidence that the present fishing levels reduce the chances of a female with developing ovaries to be fertilized, since 90 to 100 % of such females bear spermatophores.
Long-term effect of cropping system and nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer on production and nitrogen economy of grain crops in a Brown Chernozem

Assessment of the long-term impact of fertilizers and other management factors on crop production and environmental sustainability of cropping systems in the semi-arid Canadian prairies is needed. This paper discusses the long-term influence of N and P fertilizers on crop production, N uptake and water use of hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and the effect of the preceding crop type [flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) and fall rye (Secale cereale L.)] on wheat grown on a medium-textured, Orthic Brown Chernozem at Swift Current, Saskatchewan. We analysed 36 yr of results (1967–2002) from eight crop rotation-fertility treatments: viz., fallow-wheat receiving N and P (F-W, N + P), three F-W-W treatments fertilized with (i) N + P, (ii) P only, and (iii) N only; two other 3-yr mixed rotations with N + P (i) F-flax-W (F-Flx-W) and (ii) F-fall rye-W (F-Rye-W); and two continuous wheat rotations (Cont W), one receiving N + P and the other only P. Growing season weather conditions during the 36-yr period w.
Effect of spring nitrogen application on barley forage yields and silage fermentation

Field experiments were conducted between 1983 and 1985 to determine the effects of rate and time of spring N application on yields and composition of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) forage and fermentation characteristics for silage. Treatments consisted of 12 combinations of rate and timing of spring N. Rates were 0, 40, 80 and 120 lb N/acre. Nitrogen was applied at Zadoks growth stage (GS) 25, 30, and 45 (tillering, pre-jointing, and heading, respectively) in either single or split applications (.)
Local RNA translation controls cell migration and Rab GTPase function

Numerous RNAs exhibit specific distribution patterns in mammalian cells. However, the functional and mechanistic consequences are relatively unknown. We investigate here the functional role of RNA localization at cellular protrusions of mesenchymal migrating cells, using as a model the RAB13 RNA, which encodes a GTPase important for vesicle-mediated membrane trafficking. While RAB13 RNA is enriched at peripheral protrusions, the expressed protein is concentrated perinuclearly. By specifically preventing RAB13 RNA localization, we show that peripheral RAB13 translation is not important for the overall distribution of the RAB13 protein, or its ability to associate with membranes, but is required for full activation of the GTPase and for efficient cell migration. This effect is mediated by a co-translational association of RAB13 with the exchange factor RABIF. Our results indicate that RAB13-RABIF association at the periphery is required for directing RAB13 GTPase activity to promote cell migration. Thus, translation of RAB13 in specific subcellular environments imparts the protein with distinct properties and highlights a means of controlling protein function through local RNA translation.