Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The long-term effect of legumes as forecrops on the productivity of rotation (winter rape-winter wheat-winter wheat) with nitrogen fertilization

A field experiment was carried out in the years 2012–2018 in Poland in a split-plot design. The aim of the study was to determine the long-term effect of legumes as forecrops on the productivity of rotation with nitrogen fertilization. The rotation included: legumes + spring barley (SB), winter rape (WR), winter wheat (WW) and winter wheat. The study was conducted as a two-factorial field experiment with four replications. The present study showed that legumes as forecrops increased the yield of all after-harvest crops in rotation. Yielding of these crops also depended on nitrogen fertilization and position in the rotation. After comparison of the influence of nitrogen fertilization on yield of cereals, it was observed that the effect of this factor was greater for WW cultivated in the fourth year of rotation than for WW cultivated in the third year of rotation. In relation with control, each dose of nitrogen fertilization caused a significant increase of WR and cereals yield, but the dose of 180 kg N/ha did not increase yield significantly in comparison to the dose of 120 kg N/ha. There was also negative agronomic N-efficiency observed between doses of 120–180 kg N/ha, which means that it is not necessary to use 180 kg N/ha, especially if there are legumes in crop rotation.
Estimating internal dose coefficients of short-lived radionuclides in accordance with ICRP 2007 recommendations

ABSTRACT For radiation protection in high-energy accelerator facilities, internal dose coefficients of short-lived radionuclides were estimated using the dosimetric methodology in accordance with the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) 2007 Recommendations. A computational program was developed for estimating the dose coefficients. The program was verified by confirming whether it could reproduce the dose coefficients provided by ICRP for intakes of representative radionuclides. In addition, the estimated dose coefficients of short-lived radionuclides were compared to the values generated by Dose and risk CALculation software (DCAL), which is based on a dosimetric methodology that is in accordance with the ICRP 1990 Recommendations, to discuss the reasons why the dose coefficients were changed by the revision of the dosimetric methodologies. The comparison revealed a decreasing trend of dose coefficients in the case of inhalation upon revision of the dosimetric methodologies. By contrast, in the case of ingestion, the dose coefficients tended to increase.
Distinguishing fuel and lubricating oil combustion products in diesel engine exhaust particles

Abstract The main sources of particulate emissions from engines are fuel and lubricating oil. In this study, particles emitted by a medium speed diesel engine for locomotive use were characterized chemically by using a soot particle aerosol mass spectrometer (SP-AMS). Additionally, positive matrix factorization (PMF) was applied to the SP-AMS data for the separation of fuel from lubricating oil and/or oil additives in diesel engine emissions. The mass spectra of refractory species, i.e., metals and rBC, were included in the PMF input matrix in addition to organics in order to utilize the benefit of the SP-AMS to measure non-refractory and refractory species. In general, particulate matter emitted by the diesel engine was dominated by organics (51%) followed by refractory black carbon (rBC; 48%), trace metals and inorganic species (1%). Regarding the sources of particles, PMF indicated four factors for particle mass of which two were related to lubricating oil-like aerosol (LOA1, 29% and LOA2, 24%) and two others to diesel-like fuel aerosol (DFA1, 35% and DFA2, 12%). The main difference between LOA1 and LOA2 was the presence of soot in LOA1 and metals in LOA2 factors. DFA factors represented burned (DFA1) and unburned fuel (DFA2). The results from the PMF analysis were completed with particle size distributions, volatility measurements and particle morphology analyses. Copyright © 2019 American Association for Aerosol Research
Los hidrogeles poliméricos como potenciales reservorios de agua y su aplicación en la germinación de semillas de tomate en diferentes tipos de suelos

Se estudio la germinacion de semillas certificadas de tomate en dos tipos de suelos utilizando un hidrogel comercial y un hidrogel sintetizado en el laboratorio a partir de acrilamida(AAm) /acido maleico (AM), N,N'-metilenbisacrilamida y persulfato de amonio. Para la germinacion y crecimiento de las semillas se siguio un diseno experimental considerando dos variables: la primera consistio en el uso de dos tipos de hidrogeles, uno comercial (HG1) y el otro sintetizado en el laboratorio (HG2). La segunda variable fue el uso de suelos diferentes, uno extraido de Guayacan, Peninsula de Araya, Estado Sucre y el otro extraido de las riberas del rio de San Juan, Edo. Sucre. Ademas, se realizaron ensayos patrones con suelos sin hidrogel. Bajo estas condiciones, se sembraron 42 semillas certificadas de tomate y se mantuvo una condicion de riego que fue de cada 3 dias, con 20 mL de agua durante 41 dias. Se ha observado que la presencia del hidrogel favorecio significativamente la germinacion de las plantas en comparacion con el suelo de Araya en su estado natural. Estos resultados permiten concluir que, en principio la presencia de los hidrogeles y su capacidad de absorber y retener agua tienen un efecto positivo sobre la germinacion de las plantulas en este tipo de suelos.
Eco-Efficiency of a Lithium-Ion Battery for Electric Vehicles: Influence of Manufacturing Country and Commodity Prices on GHG Emissions and Costs

Lithium-ion battery packs inside electric vehicles represents a high share of the final price. Nevertheless, with technology advances and the growth of the market, the price of the battery is getting more competitive. The greenhouse gas emissions and the battery cost have been studied previously, but coherent boundaries between environmental and economic assessments are needed to assess the eco-efficiency of batteries. In this research, a detailed study is presented, providing an environmental and economic assessment of the manufacturing of one specific lithium-ion battery chemistry. The relevance of parameters is pointed out, including the manufacturing place, the production volume, the commodity prices, and the energy density. The inventory is obtained by dismantling commercial cells. The correlation between the battery cost and the commodity price is much lower than the correlation between the battery cost and the production volume. The developed life cycle assessment concludes that the electricity mix that is used to power the battery factory is a key parameter for the impact of the battery manufacturing on climate change. To improve the battery manufacturing eco-efficiency, a high production capacity and an electricity mix with low carbon intensity are suggested. Optimizing the process by reducing the electricity consumption during the manufacturing is also suggested, and combined with higher pack energy density, the impact on climate change of the pack manufacturing is as low as 39.5 kg CO2 eq/kWh.
Fungal community analysis in seawater of the Mariana Trench as estimated by Illumina HiSeq

This study assessed the diversity and distribution of fungal communities in thirteen marine seawater samples from four sites (L1, L3, L4 and L7) of the Mariana Trench, with a depth range of 1000–4000 meters, using Illumine Hiseq sequencing with fungal-specific primers targeting the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal rRNA gene. Sedimentary fungal communities showed high diversity with 209 880 reads belonging to 91 operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Of these OTUs, 45 belonged to the Ascomycota, 37 to Basidiomycota, 3 to Chytridiomycota, 1 to Glomeromycota, 1 to Cryptomycota, and 4 to unknown fungi. The major fungal orders included Saccharomycetales and Sporidiobolales. The commonly found fungal genera were Candida, Malassezia and Cryptococcus. These results suggest the existence of diverse fungal communities in the Mariana Trench marine seawater, which can be considered as a useful community model for further ecological and evolutionary study of fungi in the trench.
The complete plastome of real yellow wood (Podocarpus latifolius): gene organization and comparison with related species

Abstract Podocarpus latifolius [(Thunb.) R.Br. ex Mirb. ], also known as real yellow wood, is a large evergreen tree with exceptionally high-quality wood. It is a member of the Podocarpaceae family, which includes many species widely grown for wood pulp as well as timber for construction. Despite its importance, studies focusing on its genetic characterization and molecular biology are limited. Therefore, this study reports the complete plastome of P. latifolius, which is a circular molecule of 134 020 base pairs (bp) in length, lacking a quadripartite structure. The P. latifolius plastome encodes 117 unique genes, consisting of 82 protein-coding genes, 31 transfer RNA genes and four ribosomal RNA genes. The analysis showed that the Podocarpaceae plastomes have experienced some intron and gene losses, inversions, and inverted repeat (IR) loss resulting in a diverse plastome organization at the species and genus levels. Therefore, to understand the extent of these genomic rearrangements, more sampling of the Podocarpaceae plastomes is necessary. A total of 149 editing sites were predicted in 28 genes, all of which were C to U conversions. Moreover, a total of 164 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified in the P. latifolius plastome, the majority being mononucleotide repeat motifs with A/T sequence predominance. Overall, the data obtained in this study will be useful for population genetics, evolutionary history and phylogenetic studies of the species in this genus.
Preliminary Studies on the Use of Sawdust and Peanut Shell Powder as Adsorbents for Phosphorus Removal from Water

Phosphorus is one of the key nutrients that contribute to eutrophication and excess algal growth in rivers and lakes and other surface water bodies. Such algal blooms affect the life of aquatic organisms, especially fishes, and block sunlight from reaching bottom dwelling plants thus inhibiting photosynthesis and stunting growth. In this study, sawdust and peanut shell powder were explored as adsorbents for the removal of phosphorus from aqueous solutions. A series of batch experiments were conducted to determine the effects of adsorbent dosage, initial phosphorus concentration and contact time on the rate of phosphorus removal. The results showed that 78% and 39% of phosphorus was removed by sawdust and peanut shell powder respectively at adsorbate concentrations of 10 mg/l (total P) for a period of 180 min at an adsorbent dosage of 0.4 g. It was also found that the highest phosphorus removal occurred at adsorbent mass of 0.4 g of sawdust and 0.6 for peanut shell powder. Adsorption data were fitted to the linearised forms of the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models to determine the water - adsorbent partitioning coefficient. Sawdust proved to be a better adsorbent than peanut shell powder.
Measurement of Neutron Flux and Gamma Dose Rate Distribution Inside a Water Phantom for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy Study at Dalat Research Reactor

Exposure dose rate to the tumor and surrounding cells during neutron beam irradiation in Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) comes not only from heavy charged particles produced from the 10B(n,α)7Li nuclear reaction, but also from neutron-induced reactions with other biological elements in living tissue, as well as from gamma rays leaked from the reactor core. At Dalat Research Reactor, Vietnam, the neutron and gamma dose rate distribution inside a water phantom were measured by using activation method and Thermoluminescent Dosimeter (TLD) detector, respectively. The results showed that effective thermal neutron dose rate along the center line of the water phantom had a maximum value of 479 mSv h-1 at 1 cm in phantom and then decreases rapidly to 4.87 mSv h-1 at 10 cm. The gamma dose rate along the center line of the water phantom also reach its maximum of 4.31 mSv h-1 at 1 cm depth and decreases to 1.16 mSv h-1 at 10 cm position. The maximum biological tumor dose rate was 1.74 Gy-eq h-1, not high enough to satisfy the treatment requirement of brain tumors. However, the results of this work are important in supporting of BNCT study in the upcoming stages at Dalat Research Reactor.
The emergence of French phonology

The emergence of French phonology presents a computational framework for modeling the acquisition of sound patterns. It argues that in order to model this acquisition, not just phonological but also extra-phonological levels are necessary. To build on previous literature of phonological acquisition, especially in Optimality Theory, the framework is constraint-based. The thesis then presents a number of studies that utilize one such multi-level constraint based framework, Bidirectional Phonetics and Phonology, to simulate a number of scenarios in both first and second language acquisition. In this way, it demonstrates the viability of a multi-level and data-driven approach to phonology.
LEVELS AND CONGENER PROFILES OF DIOXINS, FURANS AND DIOXIN-LIKE PCBS IN CERTAIN EGYPTIAN COW’S MILK FARMS

Levels of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin like-PCBs (dl-PCBs) were determined in thirty five pooled raw cow milk and fifty nine animal feedstuffs samples including silage, hay, cereals and other farinaceous feed, premixes and mixed feeds were consequently collected from different regions of Egypt farms [Qaliubiya, Banha, Sharkia, Monoufia, Damietta, Kafr El-Sheikh, Gharbiya, Ismailia, Port Said, Noubaria (Beheira), Fayoum and Beni Suef]. The method performance used was assessed through successfully participation in specific interlaboratory studies (food and feed) organized by European Union Reference Laboratory for Dioxins and PCBs in Food and Feed. The obtained results showed that PCDD/Fs concentrations in cow milk ranged between 1.19 and 12.48 pg WHO TEQ g-1 fat weight (FW) and in animal feed ranged between 0.08 and 1.43 pg WHO TEQ g-1 dry matter (DM), however dl-PCBs concentrations in cow milk ranged between 0.14 and 3.7 pg WHO TEQ g-1 (FW) and animal feed ranged between 0.01 and 0.38 pg WHO-TEQ g-1 (DM). The mean concentration of PCDDs/PCDFs was 0.32 pg TEQ g-1 dry matter (DM) for animal feed, this level proved to be below the maximum (EU) limits (0.75 pg WHO TEQ g-1 DM). While the level of 3.9 pg TEQ g-1 (FW) for cow milk proved to be higher than the acceptable European (EU) standards limits for milk (3 pg WHO TEQ g-1 FW). However the mean concentration of dl-PCBs was 0.05 pg TEQ g-1 (DM) for animal feed which was below the maximum (EU) limits for feed (0.5 pg WHO TEQ g-1 DM). The obtained dl-PCBs level of 0.98 pg TEQ g-1 (FW) for cow milk was below the acceptable EU standards limits for milk (3 pg WHO TEQ g-1 FW). These finding showed that animal feed have often been reported as the major source to the PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs intake into the cow milk chain, which characterized in parallel by the total TEQ (dioxin and dl-PCBs). Data revealed that the sum of furan (TEQ) was the predominant group with contribution by 49.96 and 42.51%; followed by the sum of dioxin (TEQ) with contribution by 29.66 and 44.46%; followed by the sum of non-ortho PCBs (TEQ) with contribution by 18.1 and 11.48% and then the sum of mono-ortho PCBs (TEQ) with contribution by 2.27 and 1.54% in cow milk and animal feed, respectively. Finally, the present results indicated that the general exposure of the population in Egypt to the main highest persistent organic pollutants was carried through cow milk and animal feedstuffs intake.
Evaluation of Prophage Gene Revealed Population Variation of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter Asiaticus’: Bacterial Pathogen of Citrus Huanglongbing (HLB) in Northern Thailand

‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ is a non-culturable bacterial pathogen, the causal agent of Huanglongbing (HLB, yellow shoot disease, also known as citrus greening disease), a highly destructive disease of citrus (Rutaceae). The pathogen is transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid: Diaphorina citri Kuwayama. Recent studies, have shown that the HLB pathogen has two prophages, SC1 that has a lytic cycle and SC2 associated with bacterial virulence. This study aimed to search for SC1 and SC2 prophages of HLB in mandarin orange, sweet orange, bitter orange, kumquat, key lime, citron, caviar lime, kaffir lime, pomelo and orange jasmine from five provinces in Northern Thailand. A total of 216 samples collected from Northern Thailand during 2019 and 2020 were studied. The results revealed that 62.04% (134/216) citrus samples were infected with the ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ the bacterial pathogen associated with citrus HLB. The prophage particles are important genetic elements of bacterial genomes that are involved in lateral gene transfer, pathogenicity, environmental adaptation and interstrain genetic variability. Prophage particles were evaluated in the terminase gene of SC1 and SC2-type prophages. The results of the analysis of the prophage terminase genes of SC1 and SC2 revealed four groups of samples in Northern Thailand.The first group was the population of ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ which was non-prophage; the frequency was 7.46% (10/134) from the total infected citrus samples. The second and third groups contained one prophage sequence with 1.49% (2/134) containing SC1-type prophage and 64.93% (87/134) containing SC2-type prophage. The fourth group contained both prophage sequence with 26.12% (35/134) containing SC1 and SC2-type prophages.Samples of leaves showing various HLB symptoms were collected from infected citrus trees which correlated with the prophages. In the first group (non-prophage) the symptoms were much less severe than other groups which had prophages. On the other hand, the third group containing the SC2-type prophage and fourth group containing SC1 and SC2-type prophages showed the most severe symptoms. The evaluation of the prophage effect on HLB-induced leaf symptoms showed that isolates with the SC2-type prophage particles produced the most severe symptoms.
Glucose-6 Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency in terms of hemolysis indicators and management

Background: Glucose-6 Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) Deficiency is one of the commonest inherited enzyme abnormalities in humans, caused by many mutations that reduce the stability of the enzyme and its level as red cells progress in age.Objectives: To determine the useful hematologic indicators of hemolysis, observe an early detection of G6PD enzyme deficiency (if any), and the available therapeutic measures.Patients and Methods: 123 patients with G6PD deficiency and hemolysis after exposure to fava beans whom visited AL-Elwiya Pediatric Teaching Hospital from the 1st of February 2016 till 31st of May 2016 were entered this study retrospectively. Hemolysis laboratory indicators were observed. Management supportive measures were put in consideration also.Results: We found that 10-20% levels of hematocrit and normochromic normocytic anemia were the most frequent on presentation, while a range of 15.1-20% of reticulocyte counts was the most common with lower rates in females group. Hyperbilirubinemia was seen with nil patients had abnormal renal function tests. About three quarters (76.4%) of the total number of involved cases had glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency.Only 4 patients required no blood transfusion, 102 patients (82.9%) needed transfusion once, and the rest 17 (13.8%) had more than one blood transfusion. Most of cases (91.1%) recovered within the first 3 days. However; all cases were recovered by the fourth day of admission.Conclusion: Hemoglobin and blood morphology with hyperbilirubinemia were useful hematologic indicators of hemolytic process, while blood transfusion was the most used therapeutic measure, and recovery was expected within 2-3 days.
The H3K4-specific Methyltransferase MLL3 Regulates Cell Proliferation and Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is the 4th leading cause of cancer-related death in Canada. A major reason for the disease’s extremely high overall mortality-to-incidence ratio (0.98) is that most (60%) pancreatic cancer patients present with aggressive metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis, yet mechanistic understanding of tumourigenesis process is incomplete. Intrigued by the relatively high frequency of MLL3 somatic cancer mutations in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, I undertook a series of experiments to understand the molecular and phenotypic impact of MLL3 knockdown in pancreatic cancer cell lines. My results showed that MLL3 regulates cell proliferation in a bi-directional fashion. I also demonstrated that MLL3 knockdown resulted in precocious epithelial-tomesenchymal transition in cell culture. Analysis of gene expression profiles indicates that MLL3 knockdown likely acts through up-regulation of TGF-b2 and BMP4 signalling pathways, which converge on transcription factors ZEB1 and SNAI2, two master
Phenolic acids and flavonoids profiles of commercial honey from different floral sources and geographic sources

ABSTRACT Honey is a natural sweetener produced by honey bees from the secretions of plants. Honey is well-known for its nutritional and medicinal values since prehistoric times. In the present study, 40 honey samples were collected from supermarkets in China. These samples were produced in China and also imported from other countries. These samples were explored for the detection of 16 phenolic acids and 14 flavonoids by employing high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Among the phenolic compounds explored, gallic acid (phenolic acid) and chrysin (flavonoid) were found to be the most dominant phenolic compounds. The phenolic profile of honey samples was greatly influenced by geographical location and floral sources. The classification of honey samples collected from various regions and floral sources (unifloral and multi-floral) were carried out using linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and it was observed that certain phenolic compounds significantly contributed towards the classification of honey samples collected from various geographical origin and floral source. Thus, this systematic study provides a fundamental knowledge of honey quality for therapeutic product development.