Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dynamique de répartition et mécanismes de défense des macrophytes de la zone infralittorale rocheuse dominée par l'oursin vert, Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis

In the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence, the green sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis, is the dominant herbivore in the rocky subtidal zone. Its impact on the structure and dynamics of algal communities is, however, poorly known. The objective of my study was to characterize the dynamics in the distribution and abundance of macrophytes in the rocky subtidal zone in the Mingan Islands, and to examine the mechanisms of defense that allow dominant macrophytes to resist urchin grazing. Observations and experiments at eight sites over periods of up to two years indicated that the position of the lower limit of the kelp beds varied markedly through time and among sites and was largely controlled by urchin grazing. Ice souring and the formation of algal barriers that reduced urchin displacement likely affected this variation. In the barrens zone, there was a high temporal stability in the distribution and abundance of the perennial phaeophyte Agarum cribrosum. The aggregation of A. cribrosum into patches resilient to small disturbances enhanced algal recruitment, notably that of the rhodophyte Ptilota serrata. The avoidance of urchin grazing by juveniles of A. cribrosum was related to their association with the annual phaeophyte Desmarestia viridis. For juveniles, the cost of a reduced growth under a D. viridis canopy was clearly outweighed by the benefit of reduced urchin grazing. Laboratory experiments established that the repulsion of urchins by D. viridis was primarily due to the sweeping motion of the alga resulting from the interaction between its delicately‐branched morphology and wave action and, to a lesser extent, by its chemical make‐up. Urchin attacks on D. viridis increased with urchin density, but decreased with increased water motion.
Isolation, Identification and Molecular Characterization of Cadmium Resistant Bacteria Isolated from Polluted Drainage Water

Department of Agricultural Plants, Faculty of Agriculture Saba Basha and Alexandria University Environmental Biotechnology Dept., GEBRI, City for Scientific Research and Technology Applications SRTA City. Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture Saba Basha and Alexandria University * Corresponding author: e-mail: gene_m2014@yahoo.com Received May 27, 2018, Accepted June 28, 2018 ABSTRACT
Complete genome screening of clinical MRSA isolates identifies lineage diversity and provides full resolution of transmission and outbreak events

Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of Staphylococcus aureus is increasingly used as part of infection prevention practices, but most applications are focused on conserved core genomic regions due to limitations of short-read technologies. In this study we established a long-read technology-based WGS screening program of all first-episode MRSA blood infections at a major urban hospital. A survey of 132 MRSA genomes assembled from long reads revealed widespread gain/loss of accessory mobile genetic elements among established hospital- and community-associated lineages impacting >10% of each genome, and frequent megabase-scale inversions between endogenous prophages. We also characterized an outbreak of a CC5/ST105/USA100 clone among 3 adults and 18 infants in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) lasting 7 months. The pattern of changes among complete outbreak genomes provided full spatiotemporal resolution of its origins and progression, which was characterized by multiple sub-transmissions and likely precipitated by equipment sharing. Compared to other hospital strains, the outbreak strain carried distinct mutations and accessory genetic elements that impacted genes with roles in metabolism, resistance and persistence. This included a DNA-recognition domain recombination in the hsdS gene of a Type-I restriction-modification system that altered DNA methylation. RNA-Seq profiling showed that the (epi)genetic changes in the outbreak clone attenuated agr gene expression and upregulated genes involved in stress response and biofilm formation. Overall our findings demonstrate that long-read sequencing substantially improves our ability to characterize accessory genomic elements that impact MRSA virulence and persistence, and provides valuable information for infection control efforts.
Raisin processing: physicochemical, nutritional and microbiological quality characteristics as affected by drying process

ABSTRACT Processing and conservation of grapes by suitable techniques has been a major challenging issue for a long time. Optimization of drying and pretreatment operations of this fruit have been extensively studied. However, in order to achieve the production of high-quality raisins and reach consumers’ acceptance, special attention for quality attributes should be taken into account. Quality characteristics of grapes such as color, texture, vitamins, phytochemicals, aroma profile and microbial stability are of paramount importance since they could vary throughout the dehydration procedure and would directly determine quality perception and consumer choice. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the physicochemical, nutritional and microbiological characteristics of dried grapes as affected by the drying process. In addition, it investigates the changes of different grapes quality attributes (mainly nutritional and aromatic proprieties) during processing, which enables professionals and scientists to better choose and optimize grape processing to deliver the highest raisin quality to consumers.
Ballistic Principle of the Property Balance in Space and Its Application to Modeling of Fluid Dynamics Problems

A newly discovered Ballistic Principle of the Property Balance in the Space (BPPBS) occupied by the gas is introduced to simplify and reduce computations in applications dealing with modeling of fluid dynamics problems. The integro-differential balance equations for mass, momentum, and energy, which were formulated by applying the BPPBS, are derived. The integro-differential balance equations for mass and momentum were further approximated for the collision-dominated flow regime. Then they were reduced to the corresponding vector differential equations by the method of vector differentiation with subsequent elimination of the terms belonging to the original equation. It was shown that in the collision-dominated flow regime, the derived vector differential equations of mass and momentum balance are identical to the corresponding Navier-Stokes equations. This finding validates the BPPBS and suggests that, in the collision-dominated flow regime, the formulated integro-differential forms of the balance are exact implicit solutions for corresponding Navier-Stokes equations. Six additional tests demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed method and validity of the BPPBS are presented here. The BPPBS and the methodology discussed here will be highly useful not only as the basis to solve the fluid dynamics problems, but also to model any dynamic system composed of presumably chaotically moving particles/elements, each carrying a specific amount of property/information.
Experimental demonstration of channel order recognition in wireless communications by laser chaos time series and confidence intervals

: High-bandwidth irregular oscillations caused by optical time-delayed feedback subjected to the laser cavity, known as laser chaos, have been investigated for various engineering applications. Recently, a fast decision-making algorithm for a multi-arm bandit problem by utilizing laser chaos time series has been demonstrated. Furthermore, the arms order recognition of the reward expectation for each arm has been successfully developed by incorporating the notion of the conﬁdence interval regarding the reward estimate. However, in previous studies, the veriﬁcation was limited to numerical experiments; real-world demonstrations were not conducted. This study experimentally demonstrated that the arm-order recognition algo-rithm is successfully operated in channel order recognition in wireless communications while revising the original strategy to take into account the wireless application requirements. Such accurate arm rank recognition involving non-best arms would be useful for various real-world applications such as channel bonding, among others.
Spatial Heterogeneity of Housing Space Consumption in Urban China: Locals vs. Inter-and Intra-Provincial Migrants

The relationships between migration and housing congestion have attracted attention in engaging the public against the COVID-19 pandemic and some other public health crises. In recent years in China, promoting the citizenization (“shimin hua”) of migrants and improving the quality of urbanization have become the focus of attention in the new-type urbanization today. The housing space consumption of migrants is one of the important indices to look into regarding their real living status in the receiving cities: how do the housing consumption behavior and residential quality vary between the local, inter- and intra-provincial migratory patterns? This article uses the micro household data of the 1% population sampling survey conducted in 2015 by the National Bureau of Statistics of China to look into the spatial variance of the aggregate housing space consumption behaviors of the local and non-local population at the prefectural level and above in urban China. This study finds that: (a) the longer migratory pattern indicates a thriftier housing space consumption that implies a higher probability of residential overcrowding among the inter-provincial migrants; at the same time, the locals enjoy the greater living comfort than their migrant peers; (b) the spatial variance in terms of housing space consumption can be attributed to a series of destination city contexts, such as the geological background, city administrative rank, areal location, local-nonlocal demography, municipal economic growth, and the local residential development levels. The results show that the more “targeted” housing policies are needed to solve the housing difficulties with migrant workers for a goal of human-centered urbanization development. Although we lack the more detailed data-sets to examine the correlation between public health risks (like the COVID-19 pandemic) and housing congestion problems (especially with the population on the move), this research is still illuminating in terms of how to cut down the public health risk in a highly mobile and rapidly urbanizing context like China.
Phenotypic diversity and plasticity index of Eurycoma apiculata populations in Eastern Sumatra, Indonesia based on leaves morphology

Abstract. Zulfahmi, Purwanto E, Parjanto, Yunus A. 2020. Phenotypic diversity and plasticity index of Eurycoma apiculata populations in Eastern Sumatra, Indonesia based on leaves morphology. Biodiversitas 21: 2923-2934. Eurycoma apiculata A.W. Benn. is a protected species in Indonesia, but diversity information of this species is limited. The objective of this study was to assess the phenotypic diversity, phenotypic plasticity index, and phenotypic differentiation among populations of E. apiculata in Eastern Sumatra, Indonesia based on leaves morphology. A total of 45 traits were measured on leaves from six populations studied. The result of this found that the phenotypic variation coefficient (CV) of the characters was ranged from 7.41% to 36.97%, revealed the abundant phenotypic variation in the species. The phenotypic CV values of the population varied from 13.95% to 24.10%. The CV values of all populations from the mainland Sumatra (17.75%) were lower than that from the Riau archipelago (23.61%), which revealed that phenotypic traits in mainland Sumatra were more stable compared to populations in the Riau archipelago. The population phenotypic plasticity index value of populations ranged from 0.41 to 0.51, and it was classified as a moderate level. The phenotypic differentiation coefficient among populations in this study was relatively low (VST = 21.06%), indicating a lower phenotypic variation among populations than within populations. The scatter plot of principal component analysis and UPGMA dendrogram divided the six populations studies into two groups. The findings of this study recommend that the in-situ conservation method is an effective protection strategy for E. apiculata while ex-situ conservation method can be implemented as a supplementary method.
Influence of headteachers' communication planning practices on Management performance in public primary schools in Thika West sub-county, Kiambu county, Kenya.

Communication is very critical in primary school management by ensuring that there is improved efficiency. However, in many primary schools in Thika West Sub-county encounter challenges which border on school management such as unhealthy staff relations, imprudent use of financial resources, poor maintenance of facilities, imprudent time management and under-utilization of instructional materials are on the rise. Thus, this study sought to assess the influence of headteachers’ communication planning practices on management performance in public primary schools in Thika West Sub-county, Kiambu County, Kenya. The study was guided by the communication theory and school management theory. The study adopted mixed methodology and concurrent triangulation research design. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically along the objectives and presented in narrative forms. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively using frequencies and percentages and inferentially using ANOVA Test Analysis using Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS Version 23) and presented using tables. The study established that headteachers’ communication planning practices influence on management performance in primary schools. The study recommends that headteachers should ensure that they design the content of message to be relayed and also identify the specific recipients of their information to be communicated. Headteachers should adopt layers of communication which are efficient and provide immediate and objective feedback. Headteachers should adopt forms of communication to suit every occasion to avoid interruptions. Headteachers should adopt a feedback mechanism which guarantees efficiency and prudence in school management.
Temperature, wind, vegetation, and roads influence incubation patterns of Greater Prairie-Chickens (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) in the Nebraska Sandhills, USA

Avian incubation involves behavioral decisions that must balance trade-offs between the incubating bird’s survival and current and future reproductive success. We evaluated variation in incubation off-bout duration and frequency among Greater Prairie-Chickens (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus (Brewster, 1885)) in the Nebraska Sandhills, USA. Greater Prairie-Chicken life history favors incubation behaviors that prioritize success of the current breeding attempt over adult survival. Previous observations suggest incubating females make these behavioral decisions based on ambient temperature conditions, their own body condition, and predation risk. We monitored nest attendance by females at 30 Greater Prairie-Chicken nests to identify proximate cues used to make behavioral decisions regarding incubation. We recorded 930 incubation off-bouts. Females took 1.9 ± 0.7 off-bouts/day (mean ± SD), each with a mean (±SD) duration of 43.3 ± 24.1 min. Off-bouts were shorter in duration at higher wind speeds, at lower ambient temperatures, at nests with less cover, and at nests closer to roads. Females were most likely to leave the nest during mid-morning and evening, as are most gallinaceous birds, and incubation off-bouts became less frequent later in the season. We did not observe differences in incubation behavior between nests that failed and those that successfully hatched one or more chicks.
The complete chloroplast genome of Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb. isolated in Korea (Rosaceae): investigation of intraspecific variations on its chloroplast genomes

Abstract The complete chloroplast genome of Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb. isolated in Korea is 155,125 bp long (GC ratio is 36.9%) and has four subregions: 84,458 bp of large single copy (34.9%) and 18,737 bp of small single copy (30.4%) regions are separated by 25,965 bp of inverted repeat (42.6%) regions including 129 genes (84 protein-coding genes, eight rRNAs, and 37 tRNAs). 258 SNPs and 542 INDELs were identified as intraspecific variations against the partial genome (KY419942). Phylogenetic trees show that our chloroplast genome was clustered with the previous A. pilosa chloroplast genome.
Clinical Manifestation Differences of Schizophrenia Patients Based on Gender

Background: Schizophrenia is yet to be deeply understood, despite being one of the most common mental illnesses in the world. Male and female schizophrenic patients may show different clinical presentations. The differences have been studied extensively globally, but there has yet many reports in regards of this in Indonesia.Aims: Knowing the differences of clinical manifestation on schizophrenia patients based on gender.Method: This research is analytic study in retrospective design. The data is taken from medical records of male and female schizophrenic inpatients of Psychiatric Ward of Dr. Soetomo General Hospital Surabaya on January 1st to December 31st, 2018, in total of 75 samples included. Data is processed with ANOVA statistic method.Result: The prevalence of male schizophrenic inpatients is 65,3% and 34,7% for female inpatients, with the ratio of 1,88:1. The differences of clinical presentations are not significant for the following clinical manifestations; abnormal motor behaviour (P=0,281), delusion (P=0,240), disorganized thinking (P=0,306), diminished emotional expression (P=0,295), and avolition (P=0,633) clinical manifestations. There is a significant difference in hallucination clinical manifestation between male and female inpatients (P=0,037). Conclusion: There is a significant difference in schizophrenia’s clinical manifestation of hallucination between male and female inpatients.
Fungal Contaminants of Smoke-Dried Fish Sold in Open Markets in Makurdi, Benue State, North-Central Nigeria

This mycological study was embarked upon to provide more detailed reports on the presence and different types of fungal agents associated with the contamination of smoke-dried fish sold in open markets in Makurdi, Benue State. A total of 100 randomly selected smoke-dried fish samples from the 3 major fish markets in the study area were used for the study. The samples were aseptically processed and cultured for fungal isolation using Sabouraud Dextrose Agar. Isolates were identified using macroscopic and microscopic characteristics, and comparison with species in fungal atlas. Fungi were detected in 74 of the 100 smoke-dried fish samples from the 3 markets surveyed with isolation rates ranging from 67.6% to 84.8%. A total of 77 fungal isolates were recorded from the 74 positive samples. Aspergillus (28.6%), Mucor (20.8%), Penicillum (18.2%) and Rhizopus (15.6%) were the dominant fungi detected, while Absidia (9.1%) and Candida (7.8%) occurred less frequently. In view of the high fungal contamination of smoke-dried fish, fishermen and marketers should adapt better methods of fish handling and preservation. More awareness on the health implications of fungal contamination of fish products should be created among fish handlers and consumers.
In vitro anticancer and antioxidant potential of Amaranthus cruentus protein and its hydrolysates

Dixit & Ali (2010) reported the contribution of previous studies in the widely accepted figure that 80-90% of human cancer is caused by environmental factors. Cancer has become a severe health concern across the world with the World Health Drganization (WHD) estimating 13.1 million cancer-related deaths in 2030 (Senthilkumar et al., 2014). Current epidemiological studies have shown consistent consumption of selected nutrients to be associated with a reduced prevalence of cancer and chronic diseases. This has resulted in functional foods and nutraceuticals becoming popular alternatives or adjuvants to chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Effect of probiotics mix supplementation on haemato-biochemical parameters and bacterial faecal shedding in Corriedale lambs fed paddy straw based complete feed

Growth trial of 90 days was conducted on 12 male Corriedale lambs, divided in two groups of six lambs each, to study the effect of feeding of paddy straw based complete feed supplemented of probiotic mix (Saccharomyces cerevisiae 2×1010cfu/g + Lactobacillus acidophilus 6×109cfu/g) in equal ratio @ 3 % of DM, as per the in vitro studies, while complete feed without probiotics served as control. There was significantly (P less than 0.01) higher haemoglobin concentration, RBC, WBC and monocyte count in animals fed probiotic mix than control, with no significant effect on PCV, lymphocyte, eosinophill and neutrophill count. Blood glucose, total serum protein, albumin, globulin, BUN and serum creatinine values were statistically higher in probiotic mix supplemented animals. Lambs fed with probiotics show significant (P less than 0.01) decrease in serum cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides with increment of HDL-cholesterol than animals fed unsupplemented diet, with no effect on enzyme activities of liver enzymes. The lambs fed on probiotic mix shows significant reduction in faecal shedding of E. coli and total coliform with firm pellets faecal consistency. Probiotic mix has great potential to beneficially affect the haemato-biochemical parameters and gut micro-flora and hence improve physiological health status of animals.
The effects of grazing by the golden grey mullet Liza aurata on microphytobenthos in intertidal mudflats: evidences from mesocosm experiments

Grey mullets are one of the most abundant fish in coastal areas that periodically inspect the intertidal flats at high tide. Although they are one of the few fish to exploit directly microphytobenthos (MPB), very little is known about their effects on MPB assemblages. In this study, we experimentally tested hypotheses on the effects of grazing by juveniles of Liza aurata on either the mean and the variance of MPB biomass in an intertidal mudflat in the Northeast Atlantic, using laboratory mesocosms filled with natural sediments. The experiment was repeated twice (on April and on June 2009) to test for consistency on different dates of the year. Grazing by L. aurata did not influence the mean MPB biomass at any of the two dates . In contrast, it increased the spatial variance in MPB biomass in June, at the scale of few centimeters. Video analyses showed that the grazing velocity was higher in June in comparison to April suggesting a relationship between the intensity of grazing and its ability to generate spatial variability in MPB biomass. We hypothesize that grazing by juveniles of grey mullets might generate variability in the spatial distribution of MPB biomass in natural systems, in a way consistent with that observed under our mesocosm conditions, with important implications for the ecology of mudflats. (F 1,6 =0.11, P>0.7), Plots (F 1,6 =1.29, P>0.3) or Cores (F 1,6 =4.49, P>0.05). These results suggests that the lack of significant effects on spatial variability in MPB biomass in April were not due to a larger background variability in biomass at the scale of few centimeters (i.e of Cores), in comparison to that present in June.