Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Patch-clamp analysis establishes a role for an auxin binding protein in the auxin stimulation of plasma membrane current in Zea mays protoplasts

The electrical response of Zea mays protoplasts to different auxins and to antibodies raised against an ER-located auxin binding protein from maize (Zm-ERabp1), was investigated using the patch-clamp technique (whole-cell configuration). Following a lag-phase of 30–40 seconds, indole-3-acetic acid and 1-naphthylacetic acid induced an outwardly directed current of positive charge in a concentration-dependent manner. This current was further increased by the fungal toxin fusicoccin (FC). The current was observed only in the presence of Mg2+-ATP in the patch-pipette and was abolished after addition of erythrosin B, an inhibitor of H+-ATPase, to the protoplasts indicating that the plasma membrane H+-ATPase is activated by auxins and fusicoccin. Addition of antibodies directed against Zm-ERabp1 abolished the current induced by auxins, without affecting the response of protoplasts to fusicoccin. Antibodies directed against a peptide representing part of the putative auxin binding domain of Zm-ERabp1 showed auxin agonist activity, stimulating an outwardly directed membrane current in the absence of auxin. These results suggest that (i) Zm-ERabp1 or antigenically related proteins represent a site for auxin perception through which the plasma membrane H+-ATPase is activated, and (ii) that the activation of the H+-ATPase by such proteins is initiated from outside the plasma membrane.
Effects of island isolation and feral mink removal on bird communities on small islands in the Baltic Sea

Summary 1 Predation has been suggested as a major cause affecting survival, reproductive success and behaviour in vertebrate prey populations. The breeding season is a critical phase because the essential difference between selecting the proper nest site may be a question of breeding success and failure. 2 Islands may serve as refuges for ground-nesting birds against natural mammalian predators. However, many of the bird species breeding on islands are currently threatened by introduced predators because they may lack mechanisms to confront the threats of the new predator. 3 We studied the combined effects of an introduced generalist predator, American mink (Mustela vison Schreb.), and island isolation and size on species richness, abundance and equitability of birds breeding on small islands in the outer archipelago of SW Finland, Baltic Sea. The study comprised two mink removal areas (one during 1993–2001 and the other during 1998–2001) and two comparable control areas (during 1994–2001 and 1998–2001), each covering 72–130 km2, of which between 1·07 and 1·27 km2 were land area. The mean island size in all areas was < 2 ha. 4 In the two control areas, both the species richness and abundance were highest on the most isolated islands, while isolation did not have obvious effects on these variables in mink removal areas. Species equitability was not influenced by mink removal or island isolation. 5 The distribution of a maritime species, the razorbill (Alca torda L.), has changed dramatically: in the 1973–74, before mink invaded the area, the species was found commonly on less isolated islands than in 1994, after mink invasion. 6 We suggest that in the presence of mink birds may have changed their breeding site selection and started to breed on the most isolated islands, which are not visited by mink as frequently as less isolated islands. Therefore, our results indicate that increasing island isolation may increase the number of bird species and their numbers, because island isolation slows down mink dispersal.
Enzyme activities in isolated root plasma membranes from a stand of Norway spruce in relation to nutrient status and ammonium sulphate application

summary The effect of ammonium sulphate application (100 kg N ha −1y −1) on the chemistry of the rhizosphere, fine roots and needles was studied using a Norway spruce stand. Data were also collected on enzyme activities in isolated root plasma membranes as well as on Ca and K uptake in fine roots. Application of ammonium sulphate decreased both pH and Al concentration whereas Ca/Al molar ratio as well as Ca and SO4 concentrations in the soil: water extracts increased. By contrast, no treatment effect was found either for the plasma membrane-bound ATPase activity or the glucan synthase II (GS II) activity, or for the uptake of Ca or K. Independently of treatment, increased activity of the H-+ ATPase in fine roots was correlated with a higher Ca/Al molar ratio of the rhizosphere soil and increased root length density. Increased root length density was also linked to lower Al concentration of both rhizosphere soil and fine roots. The stress-related enzyme GS II in fine roots showed increased activity as the P concentration in the roots decreased and was positively linked to increased K uptake. Thus, plasma membranes could be isolated from forest roots and reliably used in enzyme activity assays. Furthermore, the relations between different parameters could be determined, although data were collected only from selected parts of the intact forest ecosystem.
Novel Biogenic Silver Nanoparticle-Induced Reactive Oxygen Species Inhibit the Biofilm Formation and Virulence Activities of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Strain

Emerging antibiotic-resistant bacteria result in increased mortality and have negative economic impacts. It is necessary to discover new strategies to create alternative antibacterial agents that suppress the bacterial resistance mechanism and limit the spread of serious infectious bacterial diseases. Silver nanoparticles may represent a new medicinal agents as alternative antibiotics affect different bacterial mechanisms such as virulence and resistance. In addition to that of silver nitrate (AgNO3) and ampicillin, for the first time, the inhibitory effect of silver nanoparticles synthesized using Desertifilum sp. (D-SNPs) was evaluated against five pathogenic bacteria using the agar well diffusion method. Also, the influence of D-SNPs and AgNO3 on bacterial antioxidant and metabolic activities was studied. The antibacterial activity of D-SNPs and AgNO3 against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains was studied at the morphological and molecular level. D-SNPs and AgNO3 have the ability to inhibit the growth of the five bacterial strains and resulted in an imbalance in the CAT, GSH, GPx and ATPase levels. MRSA treated with D-SNPs and AgNO3 showed different morphological changes such as apoptotic bodies formation and cell wall damage. Moreover, both caused genotoxicity and denaturation of MRSA cellular proteins. Additionally, TEM micrographs showed the distribution of SNPs synthesized by MRSA. This result shows the ability of MRSA to reduce silver nitrate into silver nanoparticles. These data indicate that D-SNPs may be a significant alternative antibacterial agent against different bacteria, especially MDR bacteria, by targeting the virulence mechanism and biofilm formation, leading to bacterial death.
Personalized Graphene Oxide-Protein Corona in the Human Plasma of Pancreatic Cancer Patients

The protein corona (PC) that forms around nanomaterials upon exposure to human biofluids (e.g., serum, plasma, cerebral spinal fluid etc.) is personalized, i.e., it depends on alterations of the human proteome as those occurring in several cancer types. This may relevant for early cancer detection when changes in concentration of typical biomarkers are often too low to be detected by blood tests. Among nanomaterials under development for in vitro diagnostic (IVD) testing, Graphene Oxide (GO) is regarded as one of the most promising ones due to its intrinsic properties and peculiar behavior in biological environments. While recent studies have explored the binding of single proteins to GO nanoflakes, unexplored variables (e.g., GO lateral size and protein concentration) leading to formation of GO-PC in human plasma (HP) have only marginally addressed so far. In this work, we studied the PC that forms around GO nanoflakes of different lateral sizes (100, 300, and 750 nm) upon exposure to HP at several dilution factors which extend over three orders of magnitude from 1 (i.e., undiluted HP) to 103. HP was collected from 20 subjects, half of them being healthy donors and half of them diagnosed with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) a lethal malignancy with poor prognosis and very low 5-year survival rate after diagnosis. By dynamic light scattering (DLS), electrophoretic light scattering (ELS), sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and nano liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (nano-LC MS/MS) experiments we show that the lateral size of GO has a minor impact, if any, on PC composition. On the other side, protein concentration strongly affects PC of GO nanoflakes. In particular, we were able to set dilution factor of HP in a way that maximizes the personalization of PC, i.e., the alteration in the protein profile of GO nanoflakes between cancer vs. non-cancer patients. We believe that this study shall contribute to a deeper understanding of the interactions among GO and HP, thus paving the way for the development of IVD tools to be used at every step of the patient pathway, from prognosis, screening, diagnosis to monitoring the progression of disease.
Selecting thresholds for the prediction of species occurrence with presence‐only data

Species distribution models have been widely used to tackle ecological, evolutionary and conservation problems. Most species distribution modelling techniques produce continuous suitability predictions, but many real applications (e.g. reserve design, species invasion and climate change impact assessment) and model evaluations require binary outputs, and thresholds are needed for these transformations. Although there are many threshold selection methods for presence/absence data, it is unclear whether these are suitable for presence‐only data. In this paper, we investigate mathematically and empirically which of the existing threshold selection methods can be used confidently with presence‐only data.
Chromosome numbers in the proteaceae

Chromosome numbers have been determined for 19 genera and 53 species of Proteaceae in Australia. The chromosomes are small in all genera except Persoonia n = 7, Placospermum n = 7 (Johnson and Briggs 1963) and Bellendena n = 5 (Venkata Rao 1957), which have chromosomes comparable in size with those in the Liliaceae and Ranunculaceae. In other Australian genera chromosome numbers range from n = 14 (Cenarrhenes, Macadamia, Xylornelum, Lambertia, Banksia, Dryandra), n = 13 (Isopogon, Petrophile, Stirlingia, Adenanthos), n = 11 (Conospermum, Telopea, Lomatia, Stenocarpus) to n = 10 (Symphionema, Grevillea, Hakea). There are no genera counted so far in Australia with n = 12, a number common to many South African Proteaceae. Only one example of intrageneric polyploidy in the family is reported, for Persoonia toru A. Cunn. n = 14 by Hair and Beuzenberg (1959), while Venkata Rao (1957) discovered one example of intrageneric difference in number in two species of Orites with n = 14, 15, but in all other members of the family investigated, the chromosome numbers are constant for all species of the one genus, indeed for all the genera in certain tribes, e.g. Banksieae. Cytological evolution and distribution of the family have been discussed and a scheme representing possible chromosome number relationships drawn up.
Seed Dispersal by Salvin's Curassow, Mitu salvini (Cracidae), in a Tropical Forest of Colombia: Direct Measurements of Dispersal Distance 1

Seed dispersal by Salvin's curassows (Mitu salvini) was studied in a lowland tropical forest at La Macarena on the border of the Macarena and Tinigua National Parks, the Department of Meta, Colombia. Continuous observations were made on the feeding and ranging behavior of a well‐habituated pair of birds from 0600 to 1800 h for 19 days. Ibtal observation time was 222 h. The daily distance traveled by the birds ranged from 630 to 3750 m, with a mean of 1959 m (± 776 m). The total home range was ca 34.4 ha. Although curassows were observed consuming fruits of 13 species belonging to the families Rubiaceae, Meliaceae, Moraceae, Burseraceae, Leguminosae, and Lecythidaceae, only seeds of Geophila re fens (Rubiaceae) and Picas spbenophylla (Moraceae) were found in their feces. For G. repens, the mean and maximum retention times were 1 h 52 min (± 1 h 20 min) and 6 h 08 min, and the mean and maximum direct dispersal distances were 245 m (± 164 m) and 633 m. More than half the seeds were dispersed in canopy gaps. For F. sphenophylla, the mean and maximum retention times were 3 h 1 5 mm (± .37 min) and 7 h 08 min, and the mean and maximum direct dispersal distances were 329 m (± 46 m) and 451 m. Nearly 60 percent of the estimated seed intake of G. repens and 92‐94 percent of F. sphenophylla were digested or damaged. The retention times and the dispersal distances for Streptogyna americana, which has adhesive burrs, were also measured. The mean and maximum retention times were 1 h 55 min (± 1 h 56 min) and 9 h 11 min, and the mean and maximum direct dispersal distances were 128 m (± 68 m) and 280 m. This is the first study in which direct measurements were made for retention times and dispersal distances of the epizoochory and endozoochory for birds in the field.
Diagnosis and management of Sclerotinia stem rot (white mould) of lentils in Greece

The paper describes the field-level symptoms, the identification and management of Sclerotinia stem rot of lentil caused by the soilborne plant pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum in Greece. Regarding symptoms at a field level, initially plants before flowering turn yellow with roots and the base of the plants become brown; then rotten plants exhibit a dry stem and die. On the diseased tissue, at the base of the stem, the typical white mycelium and the resting bodies (sclerotia) were observed. According to our pathogenicity studies in vitro, on the infected plant tissues the fungus first develop a characteristic fluffy white mycelium which will give rise to large black sclerotia, the most obvious evidence of plants infected with S. sclerotiorum. Finally, concerning evaluation of fungicides, isolates of S. sclerotiorum were sensitive to thiophanate-methyl and to triazole fungicides. Thiophanate-methyl and triazole fungicides proved to be most effective in controlling the disease emerged from mycelium or sclerotia.
The Life Cycle of the Green Crab Carcinus Maenas at the Northern End of Its Range

Along the central coast of Maine most female Carcinus maenas extruded their eggs in spring. The smallest ovigerous female was 34 mm in carapace width. Mating occurred from July to October, and in all mating pairs the male was larger than the female. Megalopae and Stage 1 crabs did not settle until late August, growing only to a mean of 5.5 mm carapace width (Stage 5) before winter. Renewed growth began the following June, and juveniles grew to 13-25 mm carapace width by their second winter. Most mature males molted by the end of July, whereas mature females molted from July to October, while guarded by males waiting to mate with them. On the central coast of Maine, therefore, C. maenas matures when 2-3 years old, breeds 2-3 times, and generation time is a minimum of 3 years. Compared with warmer water populations in southern Britain and Holland, the Maine coast population of C. maenas has later settlement of megalopae, slower growth, delayed maturity, longer generation time, and a longer life span. Such differences may account for the inability of populations to establish themselves in waters much colder than those of the central coast of Maine. The northern limits of the range of the green shore crab Carcinus maenas in the Gulf of Maine have reflected the periodic warming of the surface waters that occurred in the Gulf during the 1930's, 1950's and 1970's. During the warmer years the numbers of C. maenas increased in the northeastern part of the Gulf, but during the intervening colder years their numbers declined again and they then became uncommon north of the coast of central Maine (Welch, 1968, 1979). Do colder than average temperatures slow growth and delay larval recruitment to an extent sufficient to restrict the species from permanent or extensive colonization of the northern Gulf? The life cycle of C. maenas on the North American coast has not been examined in detail. Most accounts of its life cycle have described populations on the coasts of Britain and Holland (Broekhuysen, 1936; Crothers, 1967, 1968, 1970; Klein-Breteler, 1975a, b, c, 1976a, b) where water temperatures average 4-5? C warmer than on the coast of central Maine. The purpose of the present study is to compare the life cycle of C. maenas on the coast of central Maine with that of the populations from warmer waters as a way of assessing the ability of the species to penetrate cold-temperate regions.
Familial Adenomatous Polyposis in Dogs: Hereditary Gastrointestinal Polyposis in Jack Russell Terriers with Germline APC Mutations.

Many hereditary disorders in dogs have equivalents in humans and thus attract attention as natural animal models. Breed predisposition to certain diseases often provides promising clues to explore novel hereditary disorders in dogs. Recently, cases of gastrointestinal (GI) polyps in Jack Russell Terriers (JRTs) have increased in Japan. In 21 affected JRTs, polyps were found in either or both the stomach and colorectum, with a predilection for the gastric antrum and rectum. Multiple polyps were found in 13 of 21 examined dogs, including 5 dogs with both gastric and colorectal polyps. Some dogs were found to have GI polyps at an early age, with the youngest case being 2.3 years old. Histopathologically, 43 of 46 GI polyps (93.5%) were diagnosed as adenomas or adenocarcinomas. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed cytoplasmic and nuclear accumulation of β-catenin in the tumor cells. As in the case of human patients with familial adenomatous polyposis, all examined JRTs with GI polyps (n=21) harbored the identical heterozygous germline APC mutations, represented by a two-base pair substitution (c.[462A>T; 463A>T]). The latter substitution was a nonsense mutation (p.K155X) resulting in a truncated APC protein, thus suggesting a strong association with this cancer-prone disorder. Somatic mutation and loss of the wild-type APC allele were detected in the GI tumors of JRTs, suggesting that biallelic APC inactivation was involved in tumor development. This study demonstrated that despite differences in the disease conditions between human and dog diseases, germline APC mutation confers a predisposition to GI neoplastic polyps in both dogs and humans.
Rendimento e composição químico-bromatológica de fenos triturados de gramíneas tropicais

The research was carried out to evaluate yield, chemical composition and losses of chopped tropical grass hays with the following forages: pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum), sudangrass (Sorghum sudanense), elephantgrass (Pennisetum purpureum) and two cultivars of forage sorghum (SF-25 and IPA-467-4-2) (Sorghum bicolor). The materials were harvested at 30% flowering, except for elephantgrass (60 days). The experiment was conducted according to a complete randomized block design, with five treatments and four replications. There were significant differences among hay productions with sorghum cultivars IPA-467-4-2 and SF-25 reaching the highest yields (10.85 and 10.65 t/ha/cut). Production of elephantgrass, sudangrass and pearl millet hays were respectively of 6.94, 6.69, and 4.93 t/ha/cut. Percentage of hay losses were not different among all treatments and varied from 17.33 to 20.17%. Pearl millet and sudangrass hays had the highest CP concentrations (10.56 and 8.80%), which were superior to elephantgrass (6.76%) and sorghum cultivars (5.62 and 5.50%). Most of the NDF values were superior to 70.0%. Sorghum cultivars exhibited the lowest NDIN concentration (0.42 and 0.40% of DM). The ADIN concentration ranged from 0.06 to 0.30% of DM. The highest lignin (%DM) concentration was observed for pearl millet (6.52%) and sorghum IPA-467-4-2 (6.17%) hays. Estimated TDN of the hays showed significant differences and sudangrass reached the highest value (53.35%). Production of chopped tropical grass hays showed high yields and chemical composition according to the minimum standards for ruminant nutrition.
Chronic polypharmacy impairs explorative behavior and reduces synaptic functions in young adult mice

A major challenge in the health care system is the lack of knowledge about the possible harmful effects of multiple drug treatments in old age. The present study aims to characterize a mouse model of polypharmacy, in order to investigate whether long-term exposure to multiple drugs could lead to adverse outcomes. To this purpose we selected five drugs from the ten most commonly used by older adults in Sweden (metoprolol, paracetamol, aspirin, simvastatin and citalopram). Five-month-old wild type male mice were fed for eight weeks with control or polypharmacy diet. We report for the first time that young adult polypharmacy-treated mice showed a significant decrease in exploration and spatial working memory compared to the control group. This memory impairment was further supported by a significant reduction of synaptic proteins in the hippocampus of treated mice. These novel results suggest that already at young adult age, use of polypharmacy affects explorative behavior and synaptic functions. This study underlines the importance of investigating the potentially negative outcomes from concomitant administration of different drugs, which have been poorly explored until now. The mouse model proposed here has translatable findings and can be applied as a useful tool for future studies on polypharmacy.
Biological investigations of essential oils extracted from three Juniperus species and evaluation of their antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities

To conduct biological investigations and to evaluate the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the essential oils (EOs) extracted from Juniperus communis, J. scopulorum and J. horizontalis; to screen their mechanisms of action by conducting the cell membrane permeability assay (CMP); and to determine the possible cytotoxicity of the three EOs against human neuroblastoma cells (SH‐SY5Y).