Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Visualizing the membrane confinement, trafficking and structure of the GABA transporter, GAT1

Transporter trafficking regulators can play an important role in maintaining the transporter density necessary for effective function. I determine interactions that confine GAT1 at the membrane by investigating GAT1 lateral mobility through fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP). I find that the mobility of GAT1 can be increased by depolymerizing actin or by blocking the GAT1 PDZ interacting domain. I also identify ezrin as the GAT1 adaptor to actin. Through fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), the distance between GAT1-YFP and Ezrin-CFP is calculated as 64--68 A, and it can be significantly increased by disrupting the actin cytoskeleton. Altogether, my data reveals that actin confines GAT1 to the plasma membrane via ezrin, an interaction mediated through the GAT1-PDZ interaction domain. Discoveries in the field of vesicle fusion provide direct ties to translational research. While the study of vesicle fusion classically has been applied to neurotransmitter and neuropeptide containing vesicles; there is evidence that secretory vesicles physiologically differ from vesicles trafficking membrane protein. For instance, GAT1 resides on a vesicle lacking neurotransmitter but containing some v-SNARE proteins. These differences in the vesicle composition suggest inherent differences in trafficking mechanisms, which can only be confirmed through further study of membrane protein trafficking. To this end, I apply total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM) to quantify the number of GAT1 molecules on vesicles and to observe the movement of vesicles containing fluorescently tagged GAT1 into the plasma membrane. I determine that these vesicles contain 3--7 molecules of GAT1 and uncover a population of GAT1 vesicles with ATP-dependent lateral displacement. The protein-protein interactions, trafficking, and oligomerization of mouse GAT1 were studied using fourteen different fusions of mGAT1 with fluorescent protein. We determine that a natural PDZ-interacting motif is minimally required for wild-type GAT1 behavior. Fusions with wild-type function yielded up to 21% FRET efficiency, indicating efficient GAT1 oligomerization. Additionally, 45% FRET was observed between a GAT1 construct and YFP-syntaxin-1A. Inserting XFP between R565 and L566, resulted in 33% FRET but impaired function, which indicated the “RL” motif in the proximal C terminus governs export from the endoplasmic reticulum but not transporter oligomerization.
Correction for Systematic Errors in the Global Dataset of Temperature Profiles from Mechanical Bathythermographs

A homogeneous, consistent, high-quality in situ temperature dataset covering some decades in time is crucial for the detection of climate changes in the ocean. For the period from 1940 to the present, this study investigates the data quality of temperature profiles from mechanical bathythermographs (MBT) by comparing these data with reference data obtained from Nansen bottle casts and conductivity–temperature–depth (CTD) profilers. This comparison reveals significant systematic errors in MBT measurements. The MBT bias is as large as 0.2°C before 1980 on the global average and reduces to less than 0.1°C after 1980. A new empirical correction scheme for MBT data is derived, where the MBT correction is country, depth, and time dependent. Comparison of the new MBT correction scheme with three schemes proposed earlier in the literature suggests a better performance of the new schemes. The reduction of the biases increases the homogeneity of the global ocean database being mostly important for climate change–related studies, such as the improved estimation of the ocean heat content changes.
Rapid Induction of Ageing Character in Brandy Products. Ageing and General Overview

Ageing is one of the most important and most costly factors determining the quality of distilled beverages. As part of a broader study that investigated techniques for the rapid induction of a desirable ageing character in brandy products, the effect of maturation for eight months at room temperature and below 0°C in glass bottles, and the relationship/correlation between treatment, chemical composition or wood-derived congener concentrations and pot-still brandy sensory quality, are reported on. Extracts representing different oak types (American or French), levels of toasting, suppliers (i.e. cooper or commercial), types of medium (ethanol or water), concentration types (open or reduced pressure) and concentration levels (by 45, 65 or 85%) were added to pot-still spirit and stored for eight months in glass containers. Matured and unmatured (control) pot-still brandy samples were analysed for wood-derived compounds by means of HPLC and GC. The different treatments brought about chemical changes with a noticeable impact on the acceptability of oak extracts and the overall quality of pot-still brandies. Through application and selection of the correct oak type and treatment combinations, it therefore was possible to rapidly produce good quality brandies without the use of expensive oak barrels. Maturation in glass bottles had a lesser impact on further improvement of the final product, not the same as the reported improvement from ageing in wooden barrels. The production of good quality brandies and the rapid induction of the ageing character through certain treatment combinations, with little need for further maturation, therefore was achieved in glass. The complexity of brandies aged in glass rather than wooden barrels might be different, since ageing in wooden barrels brings about all the characteristics, complexities and flavours that characteristically evolve over time under the more oxidative conditions in wooden barrels. Future research should focus on a combination of both technologies, using certain oak treatment combinations together with traditional barrel maturation for the improvement and rapid induction of the ageing character in brandy products.
Discolouration of water and its effect on fisheries along the Goa coast

During February-April 1987 an intense bloom of Noctiluca miliaris Suriray was observed in the lower reaches of the Mandovi and Zuari estuaries and the coastal waters of Goa. The bloom also extended from Mangalore to Malvan. During the bloom period chlorophyll a concentration was as high as 16.70 mg m-3 and N. miliaris contributed to 91.3% of the total phytoplankton (51,360 counts 1-1). The bloom imparted green colouration due to the presence of a flagellate Pedinomonas noctilucae (Subr.) Sweeney in large numbers. Midwater trawl catch during the period showed substantial fall in fish catch. The prevailing environmental conditions and possible impact on local fisheries during such blooms are discussed
EXPLICIT TEACHING OF SCIENTIFIC ARGUMENTATION AS AN APPROACH IN DEVELOPING ARGUMENTATION SKILLS, SCIENCE PROCESS SKILLS AND BIOLOGY UNDERSTANDING

Science educational standards are increasingly emphasising on argumentation skills. However, students’ argumentation skills are often not developed well as their experience of science knowledge in schools is often in the form of uncontested facts. This research asserts that argumentation skills should be developed through explicit teaching of argumentation while engaged in practical work that draws on students’ science process skills. In turn, developing argumentation skills also improves their science process skills. Thus, this research sought to examine the effect of the Modified Argument-Driven Inquiry approach (MADI), Inquiry without Argument approach (IWA), and the conventional practical work approach (CON) on the development of argumentation and science process skills of Grade 10 students in practical biology. This research employed the quasi-experimental methodology involving Pre-test Post-test Non-equivalent Control Group design. The data were collected through tests on argumentation skills, science process skills and diffusion and osmosis concepts’ understanding. The MANOVA results showed that there was a significant improvement in the argumentation skills, science process skills and biology understanding among the students who experienced the MADI approach in practical biology. In contrast, students who experienced the IWA approach in practical biology showed significant improvement only in biology understanding. Keywords: argumentation skills, practical work, modified argument driven inquiry, science process skills
Digestive enzyme activity of the red porgy (Pagrus pagrus, L.) during larval development under culture conditions

The ontogenic development of the main digestive enzymes (proteases, amylase and lipase) in the red porgy, Pagrus pagrus, larvae was assayed during the larval development. The green water technique was carried out for larval rearing and whole-body homogenates were used for enzymatic assays in triplicate. Significant alterations in specific activities of all digestive enzymes measured during the period of this study were mostly related to metamorphosis and weaning. Trypsin- and chymotrypsin-specific activities were first detected on day 3, together with opening of the mouth, and slightly increased until 25 days after hatching (DAH). After this period, the specific activities of these enzymes slightly decreased. Pepsin was first detected on day 28, concurrent with stomach formation, and a sharp increase was observed until 30 DAH. A slight decrease was measured from this date until the end of the experiment. Both amylase and lipase were measured for the first time on days 2 and 4 respectively, and the specific activities of these enzymes showed similar patterns during the first week of the study. Then, slight variations were observed until 30 DAH and while lipase-specific activity declined, an increase in the specific activity of amylase was found until the end of the experiment. It is concluded that the variations observed in the specific activity of digestive enzymes were related to either metamorphosis, such as the formation of the stomach (28 DAH), or to changes in food composition. The profile of the developmental pattern of the main digestive enzymes detected in P. pagrus is similar to that described for other Sparid species.
Stacked Bayesian Matching Pursuit for One-Bit Compressed Sensing

We consider a compressed sensing problem to recover a sparse signal vector from a small number of one-bit quantized and noisy measurements. In this system, a probabilistic greedy algorithm, called bayesian matching pursuit (BMP), has been recently proposed in which a new support index is identified for each iteration, via a local optimal strategy based on a Gaussian-approximated maximum a posteriori estimation. Although BMP can outperform the other existing methods as Quantized Compressive Sampling Matched Pursuit (QCoSaMP) and Quantized Iterative Shrinkage-Thresholding Algorithm (QISTA), its accuracy is still far from the optimal, yielding a locally optimal solution. Motivated by this, we propose an advanced greedy algorithm by leveraging the idea of a stack algorithm, which is referred to as stacked BMP (StBMP). The key idea of the proposed algorithm is to store a number of candidate partial paths (i.e., the candidate support sets) in an ordered stack and tries to find the global optimal solution by searching along the best path in the stack. The proposed method can efficiently remove unnecessary paths having lower path metrics, which can provide a lower complexity. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed StBMP can significantly improve the BMP by keeping a low computational complexity.
Middle School Students Perceptions about Twenty-First-Century Learning Practices in Science Classes: A Multidimensional Approach

Basım Tarihi: 31.01. 2021 Bu çalışmanın amacı ortaokul öğrencilerinin fen bilimleri dersinde deneyimledikleri 21. Yüzyıl becerilerini belirlemektir. Bu amaç doğrultusunda ilk olarak Fen Öğreniminde 21.yy. Becerileri ölçeğinin ortaokul öğrencileri için geçerlik çalışması yapılmıştır. Sonrasında öğrencilerin deneyimledikleri 21. Yüzyıl becerileri; öğrenme becerileri (öz yönelimli öğrenme, bilgi ve iletişim teknolojilerini kullanarak anlamlı öğrenme, iş birlikçi öğrenme), düşünme becerileri (kritik düşünme, yaratıcı düşünme, problem çözme) ve netice olarak (bilgi üretme yeterliliği) açılarından incelenmiştir. Yapılan analizlerin sonucunda, kullanılan ölçeğin Türkçe formunun öğrencilerin deneyimledikleri 21. Yüzyıl becerilerini ölçmekte kullanılmak için geçerli ve güvenilir olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca, bu çalışmadan elde edilen veriler, 21. Yüzyıl becerilerinin fen bilimleri derslerindeki entegrasyonunun orta düzeyde olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Anahtar Sözcükler: 21. Yüzyıl becerileri, fen bilimleri eğitimi, ölçek uyarlaması
A synopsis of the nutritional ecology of larvae and adults of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera (LeConte) in the new and old world - nouvelle cuisine for the invasive maize pest Diabrotica virgifera virgifera in Europe?

Basic biological facts set the frame for the management options of pest species. To manage a pest insect it is vital to understand its basic biology. Perhaps the most fundamental and also most crucial part is the nutritional ecology of an insect, because that is what makes it a pest species from the human point of view in the first place. The necessity for this particular kind of knowledge is even more urgent when pest species are invading new areas threatening human production systems, especially when eradication is no longer feasible (Simberloff, 2003). Are their feeding habits similar to those in their area of origin? Does the new environment facilitate or impede the proliferation of the pest by supplying more or less suitable food? In the case of the invasion of Europe by Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte (western corn rootworm), one could argue that by invading Europe it is merely catching up with the distribution of its main host plant, maize. While this is true to a certain extent, questions remain on what limits or promotes this invasion, which is taking place with an alarming speed (EPPO, 2003). This chapter will focus on the knowledge of D. v. virgifera nutritional ecology gained in its area of first appearance as a major maize pest (USA)
Exploring Social Stigma toward Opioid and Heroin Users among Students Enrolled in Criminology, Nursing, and EMT/Paramedic Courses

Abstract The goal of the current study was to empirically assess social stigma toward opioid and heroin using persons with a sample of 743 students majoring in programs (i.e., criminology, nursing, and EMT/Paramedic) related to careers associated with first responders and healthcare providers. Consistent with the theoretical underpinnings of prior works, results from factor analyses revealed that there are four unique components of social stigma toward opioid and heroin users—dangerousness, blame, social distance, and fatalism. Additionally, findings from a series of multivariate regression models show that beliefs about addiction and exposure to heroin/opioid users are significant predictors of stigma toward opioid and heroin using persons. Results also suggest that students who associate drug use with minorities and unemployment tend to place greater social stigma on opioid and heroin users. Study limitations and implications regarding college coursework on substance use and addiction are discussed.
Prevalence of Sub Clinical Mastitis in an Organized Buffalo Dairy Farm along with Antibiogram

Mastitis is defined as the infection of the udder tissue having inflammatory responses. It has been reported in different animal species but is major concern in cattle and buffalo which are common dairy animals. Mastitis can be classified into two types namely clinical and subclinical. Clinical mastitis is characterized by acute onset, altered milk composition and appearance, decreased milk production and also the presence of the cardinal signs of inflammation in mammary glands. Whereas the subclinical International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 9 Number 1 (2020) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas. com
New or interesting records of Palearctic Orthoptera (Insecta)

The author reports some interesting Orthoptera from Palearctic region, namely: Pezodrymadusa subinermis Karabag, 1961, Phytodrymadusa viridipennis (Shchekanovtsev, 1915), Paranocarodes sulcatus (I. Bolivar, 1912) from Armenia, Scintharista notabilis notabilis (Walker, 1870) from Azores, Brachycrotaphus tryxalicerus (Fischer, 1853) from Egypt, and Euchorthippus declivus (Brisout, 1848) from Sardinia (Italy) . Additionally, he establishes the synonymies Eupholidoptera peneri Kaltenbach, 1969 = Uvarovistia rammei Katbeh Bader et Massa, 2001 from Jordan; Stenobothrus ursulae Nadig, 1986 = S. nadigi La Greca, 1986 from Piedmont and Aosta Valley (Italy); Pterolepis pedata A. Costa, 1882 = Rhacocleis berberica dubronyi Baccetti, Massa et Canestrelli, 1995 from Lampedusa Is. (Sicily). He also describes the unknown male of Ocnerosthenus verrucosus (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1882) and the unknown female of Orchamus kaltenbachi Massa, 2009. Finally, he records a female of Anadrymadusa ornatipennis (Ramme, 1926) from Patmos Is. (Greece), and a female of Eupholidoptera uvarovi (Karabag, 1952) from Kassos Is. (Greece).
An Assessment of Dentistâ€™s Attitudes to the Shortened Dental Arch Concept

AIM: The rehabilitation of a complete dental arch is a traditional concept to maintain proper functional occlusion, but it is neither compulsory nor always attainable in many patients. Nevertheless, it is always important to provide a minimum number of teeth for efficient function. This study aimed to assess the dentistâ€™s attitude to a shortened dental arch (SDA) concept and to assess their perception and application of it in their clinical practice in the Aseer region, Saudi Arabia. DESIGN OF STUDY: A questionnaire with 17 questions was used to reveal the views of 204 dentists from the area of study about SDA. The questionnaire set basically consists of two parts. The first part included the dentistsâ€™ demographic data, and the second one consisted of the questions regarding the SDA concept. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Descriptive analysis and associations with the factors were tested for significance using Chi-square tests, and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Among the respondents, 43.7% were aware of the SDA concept. Thus, the expected awareness about the SDA concept among the dentists was in the range of 36. 31â€“51.05 with 95% confidence. A highly significant difference in awareness of SDA was observed between graduates and postgraduates. Among the respondents having more than 10 years of experience, the awareness level of SDA was 66.0%. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of participants alleged that the SDA concept is useful in clinical practice and is a useful treatment modality for older adults with limitations preventing complex restorative care. However, the application of the SDA varied significantly among dentists.
Sub‐seasonal to seasonal prediction of rainfall extremes in Australia

Seasonal climate prediction to date has largely focussed on probabilistic forecasts for above‐ and below‐average conditions in climate means. Here, we examine the possibility of making sub‐seasonal to seasonal outlooks for daily‐scale precipitation extremes in Australia. We first use observational data to show that significant relationships exist between climate modes, such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, and indices representing rainfall extremes across much of Australia. The strong observed teleconnections between climate modes and daily rainfall extremes suggest the potential for predictability on seasonal scales. The current Australian Bureau of Meteorology seasonal prediction system (ACCESS‐S1) is examined for performance in predicting rainfall extreme indices using a range of measures. Ensemble hindcasts, consisting of 11 members initialised every month during 1990–2012, perform well for some extreme rainfall indices on short lead‐times (up to 1 month). We note that at short lead‐times, forecasts are aided by skilful weather prediction, so forecast performance drops at lead‐times of a week or more. Forecast performance is lower in austral summer than other seasons and greater in the north and interior of the continent, particularly in the dry season, than elsewhere. The ACCESS‐S1 ensemble is overconfident but exhibits some reliability in probabilistic forecasts of above‐ or below‐average number of wet days and intensity of the highest daily maximum precipitation, especially in northern Australia. ACCESS‐S1 captures the broad pattern of relationships between climate modes and rainfall extremes that are observed. For two case‐studies of unusually extreme precipitation, ACCESS‐S exhibits contrasting performance for forecasts of extreme rainfall anomalies beyond the first month. These results suggest that ACCESS‐S1 may be used to produce outlooks for some rainfall indices, such as the number of wet days and the intensity of the wettest day, for the month ahead.
Risk exposure trade-offs in the ontogeny of sexual segregation in Antarctic fur seal pups

Abstract Sexual segregation has important ecological implications, but its initial development in early life stages is poorly understood. We investigated the roles of size dimorphism, social behavior, and predation risk on the ontogeny of sexual segregation in Antarctic fur seal, Arctocephalus gazella, pups at South Georgia. Beaches and water provide opportunities for pup social interaction and learning (through play and swimming) but increased risk of injury and death (from other seals, predatory birds, and harsh weather), whereas tussock grass provides shelter from these risks but less developmental opportunities. One hundred pups were sexed and weighed, 50 on the beach and 50 in tussock grass, in January, February, and March annually from 1989 to 2018. Additionally, 19 male and 16 female pups were GPS-tracked during lactation from December 2012. Analysis of pup counts and habitat use of GPS-tracked pups suggested that females had a slightly higher association with tussock grass habitats and males with beach habitats. GPS-tracked pups traveled progressively further at sea as they developed, and males traveled further than females toward the end of lactation. These sex differences may reflect contrasting drivers of pup behavior: males being more risk prone to gain social skills and lean muscle mass and females being more risk averse to improve chances of survival, ultimately driven by their different reproductive roles. We conclude that sex differences in habitat use can develop in a highly polygynous species prior to the onset of major sexual size dimorphism, which hints that these sex differences will increasingly diverge in later life.