Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
FREEZING STRESS AND OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION IN FUCUS DISTICHUS (PHAEOPHYTA): EVIDENCE FOR PHYSIOLOGICAL SIMILARITY 1

The effects of osmotic dehydration and freezing on photosynthesis were studied in the brown alga Fucus distichus L. The data indicated that F. distichus exhibits similar physiological responses to both osmotic dehydration and freezing stress and that these responses resemble those in the literature for the effect of desiccation in air. Both stresses inhibited light‐limited (Psubsat) and light‐saturated (Pmax) photosynthesis measured immediately after plants were reimmersed in seawater. The degree of initial inhibition and subsequent recovery of photosynthesis were proportional to the severity of the dehydration or freezing treatment. Psubsat and Pmax recovered completely from osmotic dehydration for 3 h in 200% and 3 hr at – 10°C, but recovery was only partial following 3 h in 300%o or 3 h at – 15°C. In most cases, recovery was complete within 2 h following dehydration, with little further recovery occurring between 2 and 24 h posttreatment. No time‐dependent recovery occurred following severe freezing. Observations using the vital stain fluorescein diacetate suggested that the lack of complete recovery might be due to severe damage or death of a proportion of cells in the thallus. There were no clear effects of either osmotic dehydration or freezing on dark respiration (Rd), although Rd was stimulated in all emersed treatments (frozen plants and 5° C controls) immediately following reimmersion. Measurement of chlorophyll fluorescence induction kinetics indicated that both osmotic dehydration and freezing reduced the ratio of variable to maximum florescence (Fv/Fm), indicating a decrease in the quantum efficiency of photosystem I. Based on these data, we suggest that there are common cellular and physiological components involved in the response of fucoid algae to a range of water stresses. This hypothesis was supported by experiments that showed that osmoacclimation in hyperosmotic seawater (51%o)for 2 weeks increased the ability of F. distichus to recover from freezing at – 15° C. During acclimation, mannitol content increased under hyperosmotic conditions and decreased under hypoosmotic conditions. Changes in plasma membrane integrity, determined by fresh weight: dry weight ratio, and amino acid release following freezing indicated an increasing gradient of freezing tolerance from low to high salinity. However, none of these physiological changes fully explained the marked increase in the freezing tolerance of photosynthesis observed in plants acclimated under hyperosmotic conditions.
Effects of a Selective and a Broad-Spectrum Insecticide on Parasitism Rates of Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) and Species Richness of Its Primary Parasitoids

The direct impact of broad-spectrum insecticides on primary parasitoids is considered a major contributing factor to the high pest status of diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), in many parts of the world. As a result, selective insecticides are often put forward as a solution to the problem of integrating chemical and biological control methods. However, there is paucity of studies that have directly contrasted effects of selective and broad-spectrum insecticides on parasitism rates and parasitoid species richness in the field. We compared effects of weekly and bi-weekly application regimes of a selective insecticide (Dipel®) and a broad-spectrum insecticide (dichlorvos) on parasitism rates of P. xylostella and species richness of its primary parasitoids against unsprayed control for two cropping seasons. Parasitoids were reared from immature P. xylostella in all treatments, and parasitism rates were not significantly different among the treatments. During October–December 2011, four species of primary parasitic Hymenoptera [Cotesia vestalis (Haliday) (Braconidae), Apanteles halfordi (Ullyett) (Braconidae), Oomyzus sokolowskii (Kurdjumov) (Eulophidae), and Diadromus collaris (Gravenhorst) (Ichneumonidae)] were reared from P. xylostella larvae and pupae, whereas three parasitoid species (C. vestalis, O. sokolowskii and D. collaris) were reared during March–May 2012. Cotesia vestalis accounted for >80%of total parasitism rates in all treatments. In both seasons, parasitoid species richness was highest on the control treatment. Although two parasitoid species were recorded on all Dipel® and dichlorvos treatments during October–December 2011, only one parasitoid species was recorded on Dipel® treatments during March–May 2012 compared to two species on dichlorvos treatments. Thus, insecticide application regime had no influence on parasitoid species richness, instead insecticide type did. Since P. xylostella infestations were significantly lower in Dipel® treatments in both seasons, this study suggests that a greater impact of a selective insecticide on the pest population density can affect parasitoid species richness more than the direct impact of a broad-spectruminsecticide with a short crop residual period.
Perdas, características fermentativas e valor nutritivo da silagem de capim-elefante contendo subprodutos agrícolas

The experiment was conducted to determine losses by gases and effluent, fermentation characteristics and nutritional value of elephant grass silage containing cassava meal, coffee hulls and cocoa meal. It was used a completely randomized experimental design in a 3 x 4 factorial scheme, with three additives evaluated in four levels (0, 10, 20 and 30% of natural matter), each one with five repetitions. The material was ensiled in PVC silos for 60 days. After opening of the silos, weightings were carried out for determination of losses through the quantification of effluent production and also by losses by gases. Samples were collected for subsequent analyses of ammonia nitrogen content and pH values, as well as the chemical-bromatological composition. The additive addition caused an increase in the dry matter contents and cocoa meal was the most efficient additive to control effluent and gas losses. The addition of cassava meal, coffee hulls and cocoa meal assured high recovery rates of dry matter, while cassava meal and cocoa meal favored the reduction of pH values and ammonia nitrogen contents, respectively, resulting in silages fermentation profile improvement. The silages containing cassava meal presented greater total digestible nutrients contents and they assured lower neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, cellulose and lignin contents. Addition of cocoa meal to elephant grass at the moment of the ensilage contributed to increase total nitrogen content, however it increases insoluble nitrogen contents in neutral detergent and acid detergent.
Current situation of COVID-19 in northern Cyprus.

Background The public health burden of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is expected to increase and urgent strict measures by decision-makers is critical for the containment of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak worldwide. Aims This study aimed to give a real-time analysis of COVID-19 presence in northern Cyprus. Methods All official SARS-CoV-2 positive cases were tracked and reported in terms of the origin, nationality, and transmission routes. Preventive measures taken after the first reported case were analyzed for their effectiveness as control strategies. Results The index case of SARS-CoV-2 in northern Cyprus was identified as a female German tourist. First local case had travel history from the United Kingdom after which local transmission occurred. Rapid and strict containment measures have currently delayed a peak in observed cases. Conclusions Rapid implementation of social-distancing measures, good hygiene measures and travel/gathering bans in northern Cyprus has been effective in controlling the outbreak.
In situ grazing activity of planktonic copepods in the Gironde estuary.

Gut contents ofAcnrrin bifilosa and Euqtenrora qffinis, temperature, salinity, chlorophyll pigments and suspended particulate matter concentration (SPM), have been measured during tidal cycles, in different season, in a highly turbid estuary, (Gironde, SW France). SPM concentration and chlorophyll pigments varied as a fonction of tide. There was a good correlation between chlorophyll pigments and SPM concentration. Phytoplankton ingestion, estimated between 165 and 569 ng C. cop-'. d~' for E nflinis and 133-545 ng C. cop^'. d~' for A. bifilosn did not seem sufficient to sustain copepods metabolism. An exception was found for A. bifilosa during a phytoplankton bloom period, with a daily ingestion from 1 256 to 1 654 ng C. cop^'. d~'. In this case Acarrirr's nutntianal requirements were probably completely covered by phytoplankton inpstion. Acania's gut contents were related to chl a/SPM ratio, and were seriously affected by high SPM concentration. RhsumC : Le cantenu intestinal de Acnrria b(filosa et Euvremora '@/inis, la temp6mture, salinite, pigments chloro- phylliens et concentration de matitre en suspension (MES), ont 616 mesuris pendant des cycles de made, en diffe-
IAA production and other plant growth promoting traits of endophytic bacteria from apple tree

All plants in nature harbor a diverse community of endophytic bacteria. They can produce a wide range of various compounds, which can positively affect the host plant growth. Endophytes can participate in providing plant with nutrients, competing with plants pathogens or directly effecting the plant growth by synthesis of phytohormones. In this study, endophytic bacteria associated with apple tree buds were isolated, characterized and tested for their ability to produce the plant hormone IAA (indole 3 acetic acid). Nine isolates were shown to produce IAA. Amounts of IAA produced in culture varied between 0.12–0.24 micrograms per milligram of protein. Several bacterial endophytes were shown to produce siderophores and substances which inhibited the growth of the test strain. We also screened the isolates for other PGP traits, as abilities to solubilize phosphate and fix nitrogen. Our results suggest that IAA production and other PGB traits are common among apple tree endophytic bacteria. Keywords: Bacterial endophytes, plant growth promoting bacteria, indole-3 acetic acid production, Malus domestica
Modeling the Performance of 2.5D Blocking of 3D Stencil Code on GPUs

—The performance of stencil computations can be improved signiﬁcantly by using GPUs. In particular, 3D stencils are known to beneﬁt from the 2.5D blocking optimization, which reduces the required global memory bandwidth of the stencils and is critical to attaining high performance on GPU. Using four different GPU implementations of a 3D stencil, this paper studies the performance implications of combining 2.5D blocking with different memory placement strategies, including using global memory only, shared memory only, register ﬁles only, and a hybrid strategy that uses all layers of the memories. Based on static analysis of the stencil data access patterns, we additionally develop heuristics to reduce tuning time of thread conﬁgurations of the various implementations to attain the highest performance.
Marginal College Wage Premiums Under Selection into Employment

We identify female long-term wage returns to college education using the educational expansion between 1960–1990 in West Germany as exogenous variation for college enrolment. We estimate marginal treatment effects and propose a simple partial identification technique accounting for women selecting into employment due to having a college education. College-educated women are, on average, more than 18 percentage points more likely to be employed due to having a college education than those without college education. Taking this into account, we bound wage returns to 5.7–13.9% per year of education completed (average treatment effects on the treated).
WHO EMRO | Prevalence of refractive error and visual impairment among school-age children of Hargesia, Somaliland

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 1204 students (aged 6–15 years) in 8 randomly selected primary schools in Hargeisa from November 2017 to January 2018. We used the modified Refractive Error Study in Children to determine prevalence of RE and VI, including the following investigations: distance visual acuity, assessed by Snellen Tumbling E-chart; refraction, assessed by retinoscope binocular vision assessment; and examination of anterior and posterior segments.
PATTERNS IN NUTRIENT AVAILABILITY AND PLANT DIVERSITY OF TEMPERATE NORTH AMERICAN WETLANDS

Few wetland studies from temperate North America have related either species richness or plant community composition to any direct measure of nutrient availability, or examined changes in species composition following experimental nutrient additions. Studies of wetlands in western Europe and of other terrestrial ecosystems in North America frequently show that nutrient enrichment leads to changes in species composition, declines in overall plant species diversity, and loss of rare and uncommon species. We therefore used an extensive literature survey and analysis of data on plant species composition, species richness, productivity or standing crop, and C:N:P stoichiometry in plant tissues and surface soils to draw conclusions about the nature of nutrient limitation in temperate North American bogs, fens, marshes, and swamps, and to infer their potential response to nutrient enrichment. We searched all major bibliographic data bases for studies containing such data (through March 1998) and added relevant d.
Antibiotic resistance pattern of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter sakazakii isolates from powdered infant formula

isolates were obtained from 8 samples (26.7%), the isolates were evaluated for antibiotics susceptibility by disk diffusion technique as recommended by the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). Susceptibility results showed that each isolate had different levels of resistance to -lactam antibiotics, while sensitive to fluoroquinolones and aminoglycosides. One
Plant volatiles cause direct, induced and associational resistance in common bean to the fungal pathogen Colletotrichum lindemuthianum

Plants that express resistance to herbivores emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can trigger resistance responses in undamaged neighbours. Recent reports indicate that VOCs can also trigger the resistance to pathogens, an effect that might be due to different mechanisms: the priming of an induced expression of resistance genes in the receiver or direct inhibitory effects on microbial pathogens that cause a passive ‘associational’ resistance in the VOC‐exposed plant. We investigated whether VOCs emitted from a resistant common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) cultivar enhance the resistance to the fungus Colletotrichum lindemuthianum in a susceptible cultivar and analysed whether specific VOCs are likely to directly affect the pathogen. We found that susceptible plants exposed to the headspace of resistance‐expressing plants over 6 h became phenotypically as resistant as the resistant cultivar. Several resistance marker genes (PATHOGENESIS‐RELATED [PR] 1, 2 and 4) were primed in VOC‐exposed susceptible plants. After challenging, these genes reached expression levels at least as high as in the resistant cultivar. Additionally, individual VOCs such as limonene, linalool, nonanal, methyl salicylate and methyl jasmonate at natural concentrations directly inhibited the germination of conidia as did also the headspace of a resistance‐expressing plant. This inhibition of conidial germination was dosage‐dependent and irreversible. Synthesis. We conclude that VOCs are involved in the resistance of bean to fungal pathogens. They can contribute to the direct resistance in the emitter itself, and resistance phenotypes of neighbouring receiver plants can result from induced as well as associational resistance. Plant VOCs play multiple roles in the resistance of plants to microbial pathogens.
Effect of Melia azedarach L. Extract on Bemisia argentifolii (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) and Its Biocontrol Agent Eretmocerus rui (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae)

Abstract We studied the effects of Melia azedarach L. fruit extracts on survival of Bemisia argentifolii Bellows and Perring nymphs and the parasitoid Eretmocerus rui Zolnerowich and Rose and on whitefly oviposition under laboratory conditions. In an experiment to determine toxicity to second-instar nymphs of aqueous extracts of three different sources of M. azedarch, survival of treated nymphs was significantly lower than survival of untreated control nymphs. In a second experiment to determine the effect of combined treatments involving extract application and exposure to parasitoids, the number of emerged whiteflies was significantly higher from control plants than from any of the combined treatments. Successful parasitism was the lowest when adult parasitoids were introduced after dipping second instars in the extract and when whitefly nymphs were dipped in extract 2 d after parasitism. However, the level of parasitism in parasitized nymphs dipped in extracts 4 and 8 d after parasitism was comparable with that of the control. The number of dead whitefly nymphs in combined treatments declined as the age of whitefly nymphs at application increased, with a concomitant increase in successful parasitism. Combined application of plant extract and parasitoids had an additive effect on whitefly nymphal mortality. In a test of whitefly oviposition, there was no significant difference in number of eggs laid on plants treated with extracts and on control plants. However, significantly fewer whiteflies emerged from eggs laid on treated plants than on control plants, indicating that M. azedarach extracts had affected egg development. Thus, M. azedarach fruit extract and the parasitoid E. rui are compatible and may contribute to lower whitefly populations in an integrated pest management program.
Genotype by environment interaction for grain yield and carbon isotope discrimination of barley in Mediterranean Spain

Carbon isotope discrimination (n) has been found to be either positively or negatively related to grain yield of small grain cereals when grown in contrasting environments. In order to clarify a possible association between grain yield of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and n of mature kernels, five 6-rowed and five 2-rowed barley cultivars were evaluated in 22 rainfed environments of northern Mediterranean Spain. Analyses of variance sug- gested that the genotypic n values were more consistent across environments than the genotypic yields. Genotype◊environment (G◊E) interaction for grain yield was further explored by fitting an AMMI (additive main effects and multiplicative interaction) model. The first 2 multiplicative axes were found significant. The AMMI2 model provided more accurate estimates of genotypic yields within environments than the conventional unadjusted means across replicates. AMMI2 estimates were used for input into cluster analysis, grouping environments that ranked genotypic yields similarly. Three major groups were obtained, with average yields of 2.42 t/ha (cluster I), 3.06 t/ha (cluster II), and 5.16 t/ha (cluster III). The genotypic ranking for n did not vary substantially across clus- ters, but it changed for grain yield. The average genotypic yields in the low-yielding cluster I ranked opposite to those in the high-yielding cluster III, suggesting the existence of a crossover point at an intermediate yield level. The association between grain yield and n for genotypic means within clusters was variable. In cluster I, yield and n tended to be negatively related, whereas they were positively related in clusters II and III. Genotypes with lower n, i.e. with higher transpiration efficiency, performed better in low-yielding environments (mostly those grouped in cluster I). On the contrary, a high genotypic n was of advantage in medium (cluster II) and high-yielding envi- ronments (cluster III). This observation supports the assumption that drought tolerance and high yield potential under non-limiting growing conditions may be antagonistic concepts in barley. Genotypic means for kernel number per m 2 and n were consistently and positively related within clusters, suggesting that a constitutively high n may have been driven by a large genotypic reproductive sink. The convenience of using n as a selection criterion in areas exhibiting a considerable G◊E interaction for grain yield is discussed.
Circular RNA Hsa_circ_0066755 as an Oncogene via sponging miR-651 and as a Promising Diagnostic Biomarker for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Background: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) represent a class of broad and diversified endogenous RNAs that regulate gene expressions in eukaryotes. Hsa_circ_006675 has been proven as an important circRNA molecule in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), however, its function still remains elusive. This study aims to discuss the biofunctions of hsa_circ_0066755 in NPC. Methods: We detected the expression levels of hsa_circ_0066755 in NPC patients by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and the corresponding ROC curves were plotted. Functional experiments including CCK-8, colony formation, Transwell assay and Xenograft experiment were conducted. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to seek miRNAs which might have binding sites with hsa_circ_0066755. Luciferase reporter assays were finally carried out to verify the binding sites. Results: We found significant increases of hsa_circ_0066755 in the plasma and tissues of the patients. Moreover, its levels were positively correlated with clinical staging (P=0.019). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that the area under the curves (AUCs) of tissue and plasma hsa_circ_0066755 for distinguishing NPC from non-cancerous controls were 0.8537 and 0.9044, respectively. Both tissue and plasma hsa_circ_0066755 testing presented a comparable diagnostic accuracy to the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Our in-vitro experiment showed that the overexpression of hsa_circ_0066755 facilitated the growth, proliferation, clone formation, invasion and migration of CNE-1 NPC cells, while its down-regulation showed completely opposite effects. The xenograft experiment showed that exogenous hsa_circ_0066755 could significantly enhance the in-vivo tumorigenic ability of CNE-1 cells. Rescue assay further confirmed hsa_circ_0066755 as a tumor facilitator by sponging miR-651. Conclusions: Collectively, this study reported for the first time that hsa_circ_0066755 played a role of oncogene in NPC and could be used as an effective diagnostic marker for NPC, and that hsa_circ_0066755 / miR-651 axis also involved in the progression of NPC.