Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vitamin C and the Lens: New Insights into Delaying the Onset of Cataract

Cataracts or clouding of the lens is the leading cause of blindness in the world. Age and diabetes are major risk factors, and with an increasing aging and diabetic population, the burden of cataracts will grow. Cataract surgery is an effective way to restore vision; however, alternatives to cataract surgery are required to reduce the looming cataract epidemic. Since it is well established that oxidative damage plays a major role in the etiology of cataracts, antioxidants have been promoted as therapies to delay and/or prevent cataracts. However, many antioxidant interventions including vitamin C have produced mixed results as anti-cataract therapies. Progress has been made towards our understanding of lens physiology and the mechanisms involved in the delivery and uptake of antioxidants to the lens which may guide future studies aimed at addressing some of the inconsistencies seen in previous animal and human studies. Of interest is the potential for vitamin C based supplements in delaying the onset of cataracts post vitrectomy which occurs in up to 80% of patients within two years. These targeted approaches are required to reduce the burden of cataract on hospitals and improve the quality of life of our aging and diabetic population.
Frequency and Management of Acute Poisoning Among Children Attending an Emergency Department in Saudi Arabia

Background: Acute poisoning is one of the common medical emergencies in children that leads to morbidity and mortality. Medications and chemical agents play a major role in these adverse events resulting in social, economic, and health consequences. Aims of the study: This study aimed to evaluate the frequency and management of acute poisoning among children attending the emergency room at East Jeddah Hospital, Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia. Methods: This study was a retrospective chart review of all acute pediatric poisoning incidences in children (0–16 years of age) from October-21-2016 to March-03-2020 who were attending the emergency department. Data were analyzed via SPSS software. Results: A total of 69 incidences of acute poisoning in children who attended the emergency department at East Jeddah Hospital; males (n = 38, 55.1%). Most children were aged 5 years or younger (n = 41, 59.4%). Unintentional poisoning occurred among 56.5% of observed cases of which 52.2% occurred in children younger than 5 years; 7.20% (n = 5) of patients were 12 to 16 years of age and had deliberate self-poisoning. The association between type of poisoning and age groups was statistically significant (chi-square = 28.5057, p = 0.0001). Most incidences occurred at home (n = 64, 92.8%). Medicines were the most common cause of poisoning (n = 53, 76.8%). An excessive dose of prescribed medicine poisoning accidents was reported in 10.1% cases. Analgesics such as paracetamol were the most documented medication associated with poisoning (39.1%) followed by anticonvulsants and other central nervous system acting medicines (18.8%). The most common route of poisoning was oral ingestion (81.2%). One mortality case was documented. Conclusion: Although not common, accidental and deliberate acute poisoning in children does occur. More can be done to educate parents on safe storage of medicines, household cleaning and other products associated with acute poisoning in children. Likewise, children can be taught more about the risks of poisoning from an early age. As importantly, clinicians need to include more detailed notes in the electronic medical records (EMR) or the system needs to be improved to encourage completeness to more accurately inform the research evidence-base for future service design, health policy and strategy.
Inflammatory bowel disease and Parkinson’s disease: common pathophysiological links

Inflammatory bowel disease and Parkinson’s disease are chronic progressive disorders that mainly affect different organs: the gut and brain, respectively. Accumulating evidence has suggested a bidirectional link between gastrointestinal inflammation and neurodegeneration, in accordance with the concept of the ‘gut–brain axis’. Moreover, recent population-based studies have shown that inflammatory bowel disease might increase the risk of Parkinson's disease. Although the precise mechanisms underlying gut–brain interactions remain elusive, some of the latest findings have begun to explain the link. Several genetic loci are shared between both disorders with a similar direction of effect on the risk of both diseases. The most interesting example is LRRK2 (leucine-rich repeat kinase 2), initially identified as a causal gene in Parkinson's disease, and recently also implicated in Crohn’s disease. In this review, we highlight recent findings on the link between these seemingly unrelated diseases with shared genetic susceptibility. We discuss supporting and conflicting data obtained from epidemiological and genetic studies along with remaining questions and concerns. In addition, we discuss possible biological links including the gut–brain axis, microbiota, autoimmunity, mitochondrial function and autophagy.
IN THE MAGELLANIC PENGUIN

We examined the relative contributions of egg size and parental quality to hatching success, fledging success, and chick growth in the Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) be exchanging clutches between nests to reduce the covariation between egg and parental factors. Among control nests, fledging success increased slightly with egg size. However, the effect of egg size independently of parental quality was limited to an influence on chick mass and size for the first 10 days post-hatching. In contrast, attributes of the parents influenced nesting success and chick size at fledging, independently of the egg size actually raised. We suggest that the common occurrence of a positive phenotypic correlation between egg size and fledging success is due to two factors: (1) adults laying large eggs tend to be of higher quality; and (2) to the extent that egg size does influence early survival independently of parental quality, the effect on survival is due to a maternal effect on egg composition rather than an inherent effect of egg size.
Direct plant regeneration from shoot tip cultures of Capsicum annuum L. cv. PLR-1

A method is standardized for the in vitro plant regeneration from shoot tip cultures of Capsicum annuum L. , cultivar PLR-1. Axillary shoots from shoot tip explants of 3 weeks old in vitro cultured seedlings could be stimulated to undergo multiple shoot formation (20.3′0.36) on Murashige & Skoog's medium (1962) supplemented with 6.0mgl - 1 6-benzyladenine and 2.0 mgl - 1 indolyl 3-acetic acid. Elongation of the small leafy shoots obtained in Murashige & Skoog's medium supplemented with 1.5 mgl - 1 6-benzyladenine and 1.0 mgl - 1 gibberellic acid. Direct organogenesis, without callus formation, confirmed through histological studies. Elongated shoots rooted on Murashige & Skoog's basal medium with indolyl 3-acetic acid (1.0 mgl - 1 ). The plants could successfully hardened to green house conditions. The in vitro propagated plants were free from morphological and growth abnormalities subsequently established in pots. These plantlets produced flowers and fruits on maturity-and exhibited apparent morphological similarity with the mother plant.
Can intercropping with the world's three major beverage plants help improve the water use of rubber trees?

Summary The dramatic expansion of rubber plantations in mainland South-East Asia and south-west China has caused many eco-environmental problems, especially negative hydrological consequences. These problems have gradually worsened and pose formidable threats to rubber agriculture, especially in the light of increasingly frequent extreme weather events. Although rubber-based agroforestry systems are regarded as the best solution for improving the sustainability of rubber agriculture and environmental conservation, plant water use and related interactions have rarely been examined in such systems. We primarily used stable isotope (δD, δ18O and δ13C) methods to test whether intercropping could improve the water use and extreme weather tolerance (extreme cold and drought in our study) of rubber trees in three types of promising agroforestry systems (i.e. rubber with tea, coffee and cocoa) in Xishuangbanna, China. We found that the rubber tree is a drought-avoidance plant with strong plasticity with respect to water uptake. This characteristic is reflected by its ability to cope with serious seasonal drought, allowing it to avoid interspecific competition for water. The rubber trees showed wasteful water behaviour unless they were intercropped with tea or coffee. However, these intercropped species exhibited drought-tolerance strategies and maintained lower water use efficiencies to strengthen their competitive capacity for surface soil water. The stable δ13C values of the intercrop leaves indicated that all the agroforestry systems have stable internal microclimatic environments or higher resistance. Synthesis and applications. This study suggests that interspecific competition for water can enhance the water use efficiency of drought-avoidance plants (i.e. rubber trees) and lead to complementarity between the root distributions of plants in rubber agroforestry systems (i.e. rubber with tea, coffee and cocoa). All agroforestry systems have higher resistance, but tea was the most suitable intercrop in terms of water use because the interspecific competition for water was moderate and the agroforestry system retained much more soil water and improved the water use efficiency of the rubber tree. Considering the root characteristics of the tea trees, we suggest that the crops selected for intercropping with rubber trees should have a relatively fixed water use pattern, short lateral roots and a moderate amount of fine roots that overlap with the roots of the rubber trees in the shallow soil layer.
EVALUATING SEED RATE, CUTTING AND NITROGEN LEVEL STUDY OF YIELD AND YIELD COMPONENTS OF TRITICALE

This field experiment was conducted at New Development Farm, The University of Agriculture Peshawar to evaluate the seed rate, cutting and nitrogen level study of yield and yield components of triticale. Randomized complete block (RCB) design with split plot arrangement having four replications of each treatment was used. A control treatment was also included for comparison. The size of the sub plot was 1.5 m × 3 m. The row-row distance was 30 cm with five rows. Phosphorous was also applied at the rate of 90 kg ha at the time of sowing. Irrigation was done as per required by the crop. All of the phosphorus and sulphur were applied at sowing time. Finding of the experiment illustrated that maximum emergence m (118), fresh fodder yield (136 g m), days to heading (117 days), plant height (98.6 cm) and delayed maturity (151 days) with seed rate of 140 kg ha, while higher number of productive tillers (233 m), grains spike (44) was recorded at seed rate of 100 kg ha. Higher unproductive tillers (17 m) was obtained at the seed rate 120 and 140 kg ha. Application of N at the highest level in (150 kg ha) delayed day to heading (117 days), days maturity (150 days), produced taller plants (210 m), higher fresh and dry weight (129 and 75 g m), more number of grains spike (42) as compared with other levels of N. Higher productive tillers (222 m), CGR (14 g m day) were recorded at 120 kg N ha. It can be concluded from the study that increase in seed rate at140 kg ha and increase in nitrogen levels enhances the emergence m, fodder yield, days to heading, plant height, and delayed maturity.
Studies on osmotic-air drying characteristics of papaya cubes

A study was conducted to investigate the effect of solute concentration (50, 60 and 70° Brix) and temperature (32, 50 and 60°C) on osmotic dehydration of papaya. The dehydration rate of papaya cubes (6.58 kg water/kg dry matter) were reduced from 2.12 to 0.3, 2.38 to 0.31 and 2.92 to 0.54 kg water/h/kg dry matter during osmosis in first half an hour to fourth hour with the sugar syrup concentration of 50, 60 and 70° Brix, respectively at 32°C temperatures. The dehydration rates of papaya cubes were reduced from 2.38 to 0.31, 3.16 to 0.29 and 4.17 to 0.44 kg water/h/kg dry matter during osmosis in first half an hour to fourth hour at 32, 50 and 60°C temperatures, respectively at 60° Brix sugar syrup concentration. The overall drying rate of papaya by convective drying followed by osmotic dehydration was more (0.528 kg water/h/kg dry matter) than the one dried by convective method (0.318 kg water/h/kg dry matter). The osmotic (60° Brix, 60°C) - air (60°C) drying method saved 8 h in drying papaya from 6.58 to 0.24 kg water/kg dry matter as compared to the one dried by air drying (60°C) method. Cette etude evalue l'effet de la concentration en solute et de la temperature sur la deshydratation osmotique de papaye. La vitesse de deshydratation augmente avec la temperature du sirop. La vitesse de deshydratation des papayes dans un sechage par convection suivi d'une deshydratation osmotique (0,528 kg eau/h/kg matieres seches) est superieure a celle des fruits seches par convection (0,318 kg eau/h/kg matiere seche).
Dispersal and connectivity in populations of the common lizard Lacerta vivipara : an experimental approach

Les etudes theoriques et empiriques portant sur les consequences de la fragmentation de l'habitat et de l'isolement suggerent que le comportement de dispersion favorise la persistance des populations locales et que les caracteristiques de la dispersion influencent la structure spatiale et la dynamique des metapopulations. Une meilleure comprehension des couts et des benefices de la dispersion peut permettre de predire comment les populations repondraient en presence de ces perturbations. Dans cet article, les effets d'une privation de la possibilite de dispersion sont etudies experimentalement sur le comportement a court terme du lezard vivipare (Lacerta vivipara). Le cas ou deux populations experimentales sont connectees est compare a celui ou deux populations experimentales ne le sont pas. On montre que le fait d'empecher la dispersion a un effet destabilisant puisqu'il provoque un comportement dispersif chez des individus qui sinon n'auraient pas emigre. Les effets d'une cassure de connexion entre populations sur la persistance de celles-ci pourraient donc s'averer plus importants que ceux predits par les modeles demographiques qui ne tiennent pas compte des interactions entre individus et de la fragmentation de l'habitat.
Identification of genetic interactions in a S. pombe yeast model for juvenile CLN3 disease

Juvenile CLN3 disease is a rare lysosomal storage disease, and the most common cause of neurodegeneration in children. Since the identification of the disease gene (CLN3) in 1995, efforts in various cellular and animal models have led to CLN3 being associated with several cellular pathologies. However, its precise molecular function remains unknown. Furthermore, with only a limited knowledge of disease pathogenesis, there remains a considerable need to identify therapeutic targets in order to accelerate the development of therapies for this prematurely fatal disease. Schizosaccharomyces pombe has proved to be a powerful and accurate model to help elucidate the function of CLN3 by virtue of its evolutionary conserved orthologue, btn1+. To date it has revealed both a new cellular localisation and potential functions for btn1+. The primary aim of this project was therefore to further exploit this fission yeast (btn1∆) model, and use synthetic genetic array analysis (SGAs) to identify genome- wide, genetic interactions of btn1+. It was hypothesised that defining the genetic relationships of btn1+ would provide insight into its molecular role, which in turn could be used to infer CLN3 gene function. It was also hoped that such information could be used to identify therapeutic targets and help refine the focus of future work in higher eukaryotic models. Using such an approach, this thesis provides a considerable step in our understand- ing of the function of btn1+, and by extrapolation CLN3, by suggesting that their function likely converges with various stress response pathways. A comprehensive characterization of the btn1∆ strain revealed numerous phenotypes co-incident with known stress response mutants, suggesting that this strain indeed displays compromised stress signalling which may contribute to disease pathogenesis. This thesis also details a number of therapeutic targets as the genetic manipulation of two highly conserved mitogen activated protein kinase pathways (the cell wall integrity (CWI) pathway and stress associated protein kinase (SAPK) pathway) and the interconnected TOR kinase complexes, are shown to rescue aspects, if not all, of the btn1∆ phenotypes investigated. This is the most successful rescue of disease phenotypes in any model for juvenile CLN3 disease to date.
CARBON METABOLISM AND COMPARTMENTATION IN NITROGEN-FIXING LEGUME NODULES

Les voies du metabolisme carbone dans les nodules fixateurs d'azote de Legumineuses sont decrites et discutees dans le contexte de la compartimentation du nodule, en utilisant comme modele la symbiose Bradyrhizobium japonicum-Soja. Les preuves que les acides organiques, notamment les dicarboxylates, sont la source principale du carbone fourni aux bacterioides sont resumees, et le metabolisme des acides organiques dans des conditions ou l'oxygene est facteur limitant est decrit en detail. Les voies de production d'acides organiques, a partir du saccharose provenant des parties aeriennes, dans les tissus nodulaires de la plante-hote sont alors decrites et leur eventuelle compartimentation discutee
Genetic and morphological characterization of the Physidae of South Carolina (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Basommatophora), with description of a new species

Recent experimental studies of reproductive isolation have distinguished three physid species in South Carolina: the cosmopolitan Physa acuta, bearing a one-part penial sheath, and two more restricted species bearing subdivided penial sheaths: Physa pomilia and Physa “Species A. ” Here we describe “Species A” as Physa carolinae, an inhabitant of floodplain swamps and ditches of a vernal or intermittent character, ranging through coastal plain and lower piedmont regions from Virginia to Florida. Physa carolinae may be distinguished from P. pomilia by its larger adult size, more slender and elongate shell, and uniformly dark pigmentation. A sample of 11 P. carolinae from five South Carolina populations averaged greater than 10% sequence divergence from standard populations of P. acuta and P. pomilia for both CO1 and 16S mitochondrial genes. The circumstances under which a widespread and seasonally abundant freshwater gastropod such as P. carolinae might escape scientific notice for almost 200 years are reviewed. Additional keywords: Taxonomy, Phylogeny, Gastropoda, Physella, Physa acuta, Physa pomilia, mtDNA sequence, CO1, 16S.
Determination of lemon and carbonate effects on caffeine content of various teas and investigation of daily caffeine intakes / Çeşitli çayların içerdikleri kafein miktarlarına limon ve karbonatın etkisi ve günlük alım miktarlarının incelenmesi

Abstract Objective: Tea (Camellia sinensis), has been used for health field in thousands of years. Caffeine is one of the key component in tea and investigation of caffeine is a popular working subject among the researches. The novelty of this study is not only the determination of the caffeine contents of the teas, but also how addition of lemon and carbonate effects the caffeine contents. Another aim of the study is the investigation of the daily caffeine intakes from teas. Methods: Tea infusions were prepared and caffeine contents were extracted by using chloroform and determined by UV-Vis Spectrophotometer. For lemon and carbonate addition experiments, lemon was added before the caffeine analysis and carbonate was added at the beginning. Results: Maximum caffeine contents from highest to lowest were seen in black, earl grey and green in classic teas; fennel, mint and sage in herbal teas; lemon, apple and rosehip in fruit teas. With lemon addition caffeine contents were increased except green tea and with carbonate addition caffeine contents were decreased except black and fennel tea. Daily caffeine intakes are found between 32.10% (green tea with carbonate) - 77.20% (black tea with lemon), 1.85% (sage tea with carbonate) - 4.05% (fennel tea with lemon) and 2.10% (rosehip with carbonate) - 4.00% (lemon tea with lemon) in classic, herbal and fruit teas, respectively. Conclusion: The significance of this study indicates that herbal and fruit teas contain caffeine, which is assumed zero in literature. The caffeine amount of herbal teas (20.79±0.36-30.68±0.63 ppm) were found barely higher than the fruit teas (22.87±0.54-28.54±0.75 ppm) but daily maximum caffeine intakes were found less than 5%. The daily maximum caffeine intakes were found in the teas as 525.36±2.84-20.79±0.36 ppm, where lemon addition increased to 617.90±3.54-22.97±0.58 ppm and carbonate addition decreased to 488.54±2.05-16.84±0.28 ppm.
Recruitment of the dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus) in the North-Western Mediterranean sea

Depuis 1986 le long des cotes francaises de Mediterranee, le nombre de signalisations de merou brun (Epinephelus marginatus) a regulierement augmente. De plus, les differentes signalisations rassemblees dans cette etude montrent qu'un recrutement regulier semble avoir lieu chaque annee depuis 1996. Ce recrutement se produit dans la zone peu profonde, mais des merous de petite taille (LT ≤ 40 cm) ont ete observes a de plus grandes profondeurs. Ces multiples observations permettent egalement de proposer une relation âge-taille: 1 mois - 2/3 cm; 10 mois - 5/7 cm; 1 an - 10 cm. Les conclusions tirees de cette etude sont en accord avec des etudes de parasitologie et de genetique precedemment realisees et confirment ainsi la double origine des merous des cotes francaises: tunisienne a l'Est et marocaine a l'Ouest. Plusieurs facteurs seraient responsables de l'actuelle reproduction et du recrutement observe: une modification du sex-ratio favorisant desormais les femelles, une protection partielle de l'espece contre la chasse sous-marine, grâce au moratoire signe depuis 1993 (il y a donc juste 10 ans) et enfin un recent rechauffement des eaux de la Mediterranee. Mais la duree de vie importante de l'espece E. marginatus (plus de 30 ans) et l'âge du changement de sexe (entre 10 et 15 ans) ne permettent pas encore d'apprecier un changement notable au niveau population. Le maintien du moratoire semble donc indispensable pour maintenir dans l'avenir une population equilibree de merous.
Isozyme Uniformity and Virulence Variation in Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici and P. recondita f. sp. tritici in Australia

During a routine survey of pathotypes of Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (the wheat stem rust pathogen) and P. recondita f. sp. tritici (the wheat leaf rust pathogen) present in Australia during the 1981-82 growing season, 16 pathotypes of P. graminis tritici and 12 pathotypes of P. recondita tritici were detected in total samples of 193 and 180 isolates of the two pathogens respectively. For both pathogens the distribution of isolates amongst the different pathotypes was highly uneven. The commonest pathotype of P. graminis tritici (pathotype 343-1,2,3,5,6) comprised 50% of isolates while the commonest pathotype of P. recondita tritici (pathotype 104-2,3,6) made up 69 % of isolates. Many pathotypes of both species were represented by single isolates only.