Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How Does Landscape Modification Induce Biological Homogenization in Tropical Stream Metacommunities?

Habitat modification can homogenize biological communities. Beta diversity analyses provide key information for understanding biotic homogenization, especially given recent conceptual and methodological advances. Here, we investigated if landscape modification was associated with taxonomic homogenization in 32 stream insect communities from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We investigated: (1) if the way we defined landscape affected our estimates of beta diversity; (2) to what extent changes in species composition versus relative abundance caused the observed homogenization; and (3) if environmental heterogeneity among modified habitats influenced homogenization. We detected taxonomic homogenization caused by landscape modification only when we used refined landscape categorizations and abundance‐based diversity measures. For forested streams, changes in relative abundance rather than absolute taxonomic composition increased the biological variation. Forested streams were generally more heterogeneous, with a variable set of abundant genera; by contrast, non‐forested streams were more homogeneous, with the same set of genera being more or less abundant. We suggest that landscape modification by agriculture, pasture, and silviculture reduces beta diversity by limiting the colonization of potential species, and, ultimately, causing taxonomic homogenization. Studies investigating biotic homogenization should include multiple dissimilarity measures representing changes in relative species abundance and community composition.
Phytochrome Controlled Changes in Dormancy and Germination of Buried Weed Seeds

Seeds of six weed species were buried in the field at depths of 2.5, 7.6, and 15.2 cm. Seed germination after various light and temperature treatments was determined before burial and after recoveries in darkness at 3-month intervals over 12 and 20-month periods. In one experiment the five species studied were ungerminable before burial. After 6 months burial, most species responded to light but became ungerminable again after this time. These results suggest cycles of dormancy where seeds pass from total dormancy at maturation to a phytochrome-controlled dormancy after burial and then return to total dormancy. During the phytochrome-controlled dormancy period, some species were highly light sensitive. In another experiment the response of yellow rocket (Barbarea vulgaris R. Br.) seeds to thirteen light and temperature treatments was determined before and after burial. Without light treatment, germination of the recovered seeds at various temperatures was low. Germination was usually high after brief exposures to red light, particularly in seeds recovered from 15.2 cm. Very large increases in germination were induced by light exposures of 3 × 10−9 Einsteins cm−2 incident in the 600 to 680-nm region (1 sec). The evidence suggests changes in total phytochrome (Ptot) are responsible for a seasonal change in light sensitivity and a previously undescribed type of dormancy.
Skeletal Muscle Metabolic and Performance Adaptations to High-intensity Sprint Interval Training.

This thesis examined the effect of high-intensity "sprint" interval training (SIT) on aerobic-based exercise performance and metabolic adaptations in human skeletal muscle. It has long been recognized that several weeks of interval-based training increased skeletal muscle oxidative capacity; however, little was known regarding the minimum "dose" of SIT necessary to elicit this adaptive response or the time-course and magnitude of adaptation in other markers of skeletal muscle metabolic control. Our general hypothesis was that low-volume SIT would induce rapid improvements in a wide array of metabolic variables that were comparable to traditional high-volume endurance training (ET). Healthy young men and women were recruited to perform four to six 30second "all out" Wingate Tests, three times per week with one to two days of recovery, for up to six weeks. The weekly dose of SIT corresponded to ~10 minutes of maximal cycling exercise (-225-300 kJ) over a total training time commitment of 60-90 minutes, including recovery. The SIT response was compared against control subjects who performed no training or an ET group who performed up to one hour per day of moderate-intensity cycling exercise, five days per week for six weeks (-2250 kJ per week). Our major findings were that one to two weeks of SIT increased performance during aerobic-based exercise (time-to-fatigue tests and time-trials of varying duration) and the maximal activity or total protein content of mitochondrial enzymes and transport
Characterization, regulation and expression of the myxovirus resistance (Mx) genes in ovine endometrium and immune cells during early pregnancy

By Abdullah M. Assiri, Ph.D. Washington State University August 2006 Chair: Jerry J. Reeves In early pregnant sheep, conceptus-derived interferon-tau (IFN) acts locally on the endometrium to activate Mx genes expression. We hypothesize that sheep Mx proteins have different regulation during early pregnancy and are important for establishment of pregnancy. The expression Mx genes (oMx1 and oMx2) in the sheep endometrium, peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) and corpus luteum (CL) during early pregnancy were studied. A second Mx gene (oMx2) was cloned from day 15 pregnant ewe endometrium that resembles human MxB protein. The oMx2 mRNA appeared to be highly expressed by immune cells at the fetal-maternal interface, whereas oMx1 mRNA was expressed throughout endometrium. The oMx1 and oMx2 expression were similar in the endometrium and PBL but different in the CL. The oMx1 appeared to be constitutively expressed in the CL in cyclic and pregnant ewes, whereas oMx2 expression increased in the CL in pregnant ewes only. The cellular localization of the two proteins was different in ovine glandular epithelial cells (oGE). The oMx1 protein was localized in the cytoplasm whereas oMx2 was localized in the cytoplasm and the nucleus. The apparent difference in the expression and localization of the oMx1 and oMx2 suggests that they may have different functions in establishment of pregnancy in sheep.
Analyzing vertical impact and extension gap of integrated disease management module against Fusarium wilt in chickpea through field demonstrations in Madhya Pradesh.

Study was carried out in Harda district falls under Central Narmada Valley agro climatic region of state Madhya Pradesh in central India. The district is situated 302 m higher from the sea level with geographic position between 210 53’ & 220 36’ Longitude and between 760 47’& 770 20’ Latitude. The district feels maximum temperature up to 480C and minimum up to 60C and covers dominantly medium to heavy black soils and 1267.7 mm average annual rainfall. Chickpea is a very important pulse crop in district but due to improper adoption of improved disease management technology its productivity is far below the average productivity of the state. The 36 Front Line Demonstration (FLD) at farmers’ field in the villages of Harda district during 2014-15 to 20116-17. Total 36 farmers were selected randomly from three blocks namely Harda, Timarani and Khirkiya in each year. The study was conducted to observe the vertical impact (yield enhancement) and extension gap in chickpea against the existing disease management practices by farmers. During 1st year (2014-15) the integrated disease management module against fusarium wilt disease in Chickpea performed well with an average yields of 14.60 q/ha over the farmers yield (12.20 q/ha) means an average 19.67 per cent yield was reaped from demonstrated plot. On the basis of 1st year result the demonstration was continued during 2015-16 and 2016-17. The three year average data reveals that grain yield of chickpea was increased by 2.40 q/ha (2014-15), 3.40 q/ha (2015-16) and 2.60 q/ha (2016-17) over the yield obtained by farmers’ practice. The average yield of chickpea was increased over farmers practice 2.80 q/ha of worth Rs. 12320/ha (calculated as per MSP of chickpea for year 2017-18 Rs 4400/q) as additional return from demonstration fields over farmers’ practice. This increase was with an average additional cost of Rs. 2400 per ha which is very less and even small and marginal farmers could also afford. An extension gap ranging from 2.40-3.40 kg per hectare was found between demonstration plots and farmers practices during the different years of trials.
Intestinal Symbionts in Immune Regulation and Autoimmune Disease

The intestinal microbiota regulates many aspects of host immunity, among other fundamental physiological processes. Imbalances in the gut flora have been linked to a variety of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders. We examined the role of intestinal symbionts in calibrating immune responses via two approaches, by 1) assessing the impact of individual bacterial species or their gene products on immune cell populations, and 2) defining elements of the gut microbiota that associate with disease status in type-1 diabetes (T1D). In the first approach, we systematically characterized the immunomodulatory capacity of individual human symbionts. Our screen revealed that a majority of microbes had phylogeny-independent, specialized, complementary and redundant effects on host transcriptional and immune parameters. Most immune cells were not drastically altered by individual bacteria, with the exception of Rorγ-expressing Foxp3 regulatory T (Treg) cells. To identify microbial factors capable of modulating Rorγ Tregs, we explored the association between bacterial gene expression and extent of Rorγ Treg induction, which yielded candidate genes for future validation. In the second approach, we examined the role of the microbiota in the non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse model of T1D. One avenue of investigation explored the basis of heightened T1D susceptibility in female NOD mice compared to males. Hypothesizing that male mice harbored protective symbionts, we identified endogenous bacteria that were overrepresented in males versus females and that tracked with resistance to T1D in both genders. To test the prophylactic capacity of single microbes, we isolated these symbionts from male cecal material. We then assessed their impact on T1D development by orally inoculating them into NOD mice, but observed no substantial modification of disease. Secondly, the major histocompatibility class iv II (MHC-II) locus represents a significant genetic determinant of T1D, which may nevertheless be influenced by the microbiota. In a collaborative study, we observed subtle disparities in the microbiota of NOD mice that inherited, or not, the dominantly protective Eα16 MHC-II allele. We further investigated its impact on microbiota-specific immunoglobulin A responses. Our findings underscore the complex individual and synergistic effects exerted by intestinal symbionts on the immune system and in the setting of autoimmunity.
EFFECT OF PARTIAL POLY(ADP-RIBOSE) GLYCOHYDROLASE GENE DELETION ON CELLULAR RESPONSES TO GENOTOXIC STRESS

Polymers of ADP-ribose (PAR) are rapidly synthesized by poly(ADPribose) polymerases (PARPs) and rapidly degraded by poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase (PARG) following genotoxic stress. Since PAR metabolism plays an important role in cell fate determination following genotoxic stress, enzymes involved in PAR metabolism potentially represent promising therapeutic targets for modulating diseases of inappropriate cell proliferation or death. PARP-1 has been well validated and several PARP-1 inhibitors are currently being evaluated in clinical trials for cancer and ischemia treatment. In contrast, the biological function of PARG is still poorly understood. Due to low abundance of protein levels in mammalian cells and its unique substrate, PARG potentially represents another attractive target for pathological conditions mentioned above. PARG-∆2,3 cells derived from homozygous PARG-∆2,3 mice with targeted disruption of exons 2 and 3 of the PARG gene are used in this dissertation. The nuclear isoform PARG60 in PARG-∆2,3 cells lacks the putative regulatory domain A compared to the nuclear isoform PARG110 in wild type cells. We report in this dissertation that PARG-∆2,3 cells accumulate less PAR in spite of more rapid depletion of NAD following treatment with N-methylN’Nitro-N-Nitrosoguanidine (MNNG). The estimation of PARP and PARG activity in intact cells shows increased activity of both enzymes in PARG-∆2,3 cells following MNNG treatment, indicating the important role of domain A in the regulation of PARG and PARP activity under these conditions. Following
Reconstruction and analysis of gene family evolution in mammals

Gene duplication and loss is a dynamic and ongoing process during evolution and both play a significant role in the rise of variable size gene families originating from a single ancestral gene. Re-creating the evolutionary history of these gene families is an important goal of contemporary comparative genomics as understanding gene family histories can reveal many of the evolutionary forces acting on the lineage in question. In order to accurately unravel gene family histories, the precise relationship between genes in the gene family must be determined. Relationship can be described in two terms: orthologous and paralagous. Orthologous genes are corresponding copies of an ancestral gene in two descendent genomes. Paralagous genes are multiple copy genes in a given genome related by gene duplication events. Many methods have been proposed for the determination and identification of these relationships between members of large gene families. To date the vast majority of these methods rely upon protein sequence information to determine orthology. However, as the protein sequence is under strong selective constraints for function the relationship between the protein sequences of two members of a gene family would be a reflection of both the function of those genes and the ancestral relationship between them. In an attempt to separate these two confounding factors this thesis proposes several methods for utilizing non-coding sequence information to determine ancestral relationship between members of a gene family. This approach has several advantages including independence from selective influences on the protein coding region, freedom from computationally intensive multiple alignment methods, and the ability to incorporate pseudogenes as explicit markers of gene loss in gene family histories.
Driving backwards: methodological and clinical insights from a retrospective clinical and claims data analysis

Background: As the use of claim databases has been progressively shifting from administrative needs to inferential purposes, methodological concern has arisen pertaining to the accuracy of findings obtained from administrative databases and its use in retrospective analyses. Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study is to show that adopting a looking back approach (retrospective analysis) may introduce bias due to lost information relevant to the clinical process as well as to the financial analysis. Materials and Methods: The sample includes 389 patients who underwent a primary elective or urgentcoronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and had relevant cost data – these patients were included in the looking forward analysis. At discharge, of these 389 patients, 369 received a CABG DRG and were included in the looking back analysis (20 patients were discharged as non-CABG DRG and were excluded from the analysis). Statistics: Chi-square and t tests were conducted to assess differences between patients discharged as CABG and non-CABG DRGs at both baseline and 6 month follow up. Results: Patients discharged with a nonCABG DRGcompared to patients discharged with a CABG DRG, while presenting similar sociodemographic and clinical characteristics at admission, reported worse clinical outcome (greater rates of complications and death) and greater costs and length of stay (LOS) at post intervention and 6 month follow up. Conclusion: A looking back approach, excluding specific patients, may neglect information relevant both to the clinical process and to the financial analysis, leading to misleading conclusions.
Stock Market Returns before and after Brokerage Firms' Fiscal Year-End: The Case of Tehran Stock Exchange

Market efficiency paradigm and time patterns concerned, as "calendar anomalies" is a contradictory issue for researches. TSE's market participants have a negative understanding of the 6th and 12th month of the fiscal year and this issue is rooted in the obliged credit settlement of the brokerage industry at the year-end. The purpose of this study is to investigate the TSE's total return before and after brokerage firms' year-end. Using GARCH-PQ, and data of market index in periods between 1390 and 1396, we concluded that periods of1st to 22ndof 6thand 12th months,and 22nd to the end of 6th and 12th months, have respectivelynegative and positive effectson TSE's stock index.
Interrogating Child Rights Teaching in Bindura Schools – Zimbabwe

ABSTRACT This paper assessed the extent to which child rights have been incorporated into the school curriculum as a way of curbing child abuse in Mashonaland Central Province. It sought to assess pupils’ awareness of their rights at school, home and the community, examine the views of teachers on children’s rights and also determine the extent of integration of children’s rights in the school, home and community. A survey research design was employed where data was gathered using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The study discovered that despite the teaching of children’s rights in Social Studies, AIDS education lessons and guidance and counselling sessions, children’s rights are not properly mainstreamed into the school curricula. The study also discovered that children’s rights are grossly violated in the community and in homes; hence there is need for a comprehensive rights education of children by teachers and the community at large to curb all forms of abuse.
Energy consumption-economic growth Nexus: An empirical study of China / Ha Junsheng

Research on the nexus between energy consumption and economic growth provide important insights that the government needs to design proper policies for the country. However, the existing literature present mixed findings. Therefore, more research that is able to produce more reliable and consistent results are still needed. This study aims to examine the energy consumption and economic growth in China by focusing on the aspects that are usually neglected in the literature such as multiscale causality relationship, nonlinear causality relationship and Asymmetric causality relationship. In order to achieve these objectives, different new research methods will be adopted. The newly proposed linear causality test, nonlinear causality test and asymmetric causality test are applied on the national data. The first two methods fail to capture causality in any direction while the third method identifies causality between positive and/or negative energy and growth shocks. Then the wavelet decomposition technique is combined with these three tests respectively. The result shows that the wavelet decomposition does help reveal the dynamics of the time series in different time horizon, i.e. short, medium and long run. Furthermore, the combination of wavelet decomposition and the asymmetric causality test proves to be able to provide more accurate information on the energy-growth nexus than the other two methods. The newly proposed causality test that uses the bootstrapping method to tackle the small sample issues is applied on the individual regions in China. The test helps identify the characteristics of the energy-growth nexus for individual regions with robust results. Since the development of renewable energy is a growing trend not only in China but also all over the world, the causal relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth is examined lastly. Other than contributing in terms of methodology improvement, with all of the empirical results derived from the tests conducted above, this study manages to provide policy recommendations for the Chinese central government in different time horizons and the local governments. In addition, it also sheds light on the renewable energy policy in China.
EFFECT OF ELEVATED CO2 ON INFECTION OF THREE FOLIAR DISEASES IN OILSEED BRASSICA JUNCEA

The present investigation was carried out in a free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) facility to assess the effect of elevated CO2 on the incidence and severity of three foliar diseases of Brassica juncea cv. Pusa Tarak. Exposure of plants to elevated concentration of CO2 (550 ppm) revealed lower incidence and severity of Alternaria blight caused by Alternaria brassicae and downy mildew caused by Hyaloperonospora brassicae, while white rust infection caused by Albugo candida increased. Leaves of mustard plants grown under elevated CO2 had a higher amount of epicuticular wax which, together with higher concentration of total phenols and phenylalanine ammonia lyase activity, may have increased the ability of mustard plants to resist infection by A. brassicae and H. brassicae. Mustard plants grown under elevated CO2 showed a decrease in stomatal density and pore size, and consequently also in stomatal conductance. This might explain the decrease in disease index of downy mildew caused by the stomata-invading pathogen H. brassicae. There was no change in leaf protein concentration, whereas sugars were three times as concentrated in plants grown under high vs. ambient CO2. There was an increase in the concentration of total glucosinolates (GSs) under FACE in plants grown under elevated CO2, but a decrease in their diversity. Namely, the aliphatic GS gluconapin was more abundant in plants grown under high CO2, while three out of eight different GSs found in the leaves of plants grown under ambient CO2 could not be detected. Higher sugar availability and lower GSs diversity may account for the higher incidence and severity of white rust caused by the obligate biotroph A. candida.
EFFECTS OF CYANOBACTERIAL TOXINS, MICROCYSTINS ON FRESHWATER INVERTEBRATES

Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, are prokaryotic, phototrophic microorganisms that may form massive blooms in eutrophic water reservoirs. Some cyanobacterial strains are able to produce secondary metabolites – cyanotoxins that may be hazardous to aquatic and terrestial animals. These compunds can be grouped into: hepatotoxins, neurotoxins, cytotoxins dermatotoxins and irritant toxins. Microcystins are well-known cyclic heptapeptides acting as inhibitors of protein phosphatases type 1 and 2A. These cyanotoxins induce various adverse effects in freshwater invertebrates including biochemical, physiological and behavioral changes. Moreover, accumulation of microcystins in different tissues occurs, therefore transfer of these cyanotoxins through the food chain to animals being at higher trophic levels may be possible. The purpose of this paper is to review the knowledge on the effects of microcystins on three main groups of freshwater invertebrates: zooplankton, higher crustaceans, mollusks and to indicate possible ecotoxicological consequences of this impact on aquatic environment and invertebrate aquacultures.
European Corn Borers: A Diminished Insect Threat from Now On?

There is the possibility that future corn hybrids will express two or more genes with different modes of action that target Lepidoptera. Such pyramided hybrids might require less refuge, which could lead to even lower populations of Europan corn borer. At some point, a grower may want to consider whether the cost of Bt technology is justified.