Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exploration on production of rhamnolipid biosurfactants using native Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains

Biosurfactants are structurally diverse surface-active molecules, produced on living surfaces, mostly microbial cell surfaces or excreted extracellularly. Rhamnolipid biosurfactants have wide spectrum use and are predominantly produced by the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In this study, 75 Pseudomonas strains isolated from distinct native habitats were screened following oil spreading technique, methylene blue agar method, hemolytic blood agar method and surface tension measurement of the cell free culture. Ten selected isolates were tested for their ability to produce rhamnolipid biosurfactants in glycerol mediated broth. The best among them, Pa24, was confirmed as Pseudomonas aeruginosa through 16S rRNA sequence analysis. Experiments carried out on the ability of P. aeruginosa strain Pa24 revealed its potential to utilize range of vegetable oils such as coconut oil, palm oil, jatropha oil, neem oil and mineral glycerol as sole source of carbon and produce rhamnolipid biosurfactant. The extracted biosurfactant was characterized by thin layer chromatography and high performance thin layer chromatography as mixture of di-rhamnolipid and mono-rhamnolipid biosurfactants. The crude extract of rhamnolipid was tested in-vitro for antifungal activity against Phytophthora capsici and Phytophthora infestans and the MIC50 were found to be 815.8 ppm and 373.9 ppm, respectively. Further exploration on different renewable carbon sources including agriculture industrial wastes to produce rhamnolipid biosurfactants can improve the efficiency and reduce the environmental pollution through waste discharge from these industries.
The Humped Relationship Between Species Richness and Biomass -- Testing its Sensitivity to Sample Quadrat Size

Maximum species richness often occurs at intermediate levels of biomass (Grime 1973a,b, 1979; Al-Mufti et al. 1977), generating a humped relationship between species richness and biomass. This has been attributed to low biomass and low diversity co-occurring in harsh environments, and to intense competition at high biomass reducing species richness (Grime 1979; Abrams 1995). Oksanen (1996) asked whether the pattern might simply be a consequence of a humped relationship between biomass and plant number, combined with a monotonic relationship between plant number and species number. In Oksanen's 'no-interaction' model, both low and high biomass plant communities contain few plants (in a given area), and therefore inevitably contain few species. Oksanen's model requires three assumptions. Few would argue with the first two, which state that plants cannot be infinitely small (and therefore low biomass means few plants), and that large plants occupy more space than small ones (and therefore high biomass also means few plants). The third assumption states that 'the number of plants has an increasing monotonic relation to the number of species', and it is this assumption which we examine in this paper.
Validating Immunohistochemistry Assay Specificity in Investigative Studies: Considerations for a Weight of Evidence Approach

Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a fundamental molecular technique that provides information on protein expression in the context of spatial localization and tissue morphology. IHC is used in all facets of pathology from identifying infectious agents or characterizing tumors in diagnostics, to characterizing cellular and molecular processes in investigative and experimental studies. Confidence in an IHC assay is primarily driven by the degree to which it is validated. There are many approaches to validate an IHC assay’s specificity including bioinformatics approaches using published protein sequences, careful design of positive and negative tissue controls, use of cell pellets with known target protein expression, corroboration of IHC findings with western blots and other analytical methods, and replacement of the primary antibody with an appropriate negative control reagent. Each approach has inherent strengths and weaknesses, and the thoughtful use of these approaches provides cumulative evidence, or a weight of evidence, to support the IHC assay’s specificity and build confidence in a study’s conclusions. Although it is difficult to be 100% confident in the specificity of any IHC assay, it is important to consider how validation approaches provide evidence to support or to question the specificity of labeling, and how that evidence affects the overall interpretation of a study’s results. In this review, we discuss different approaches for IHC antibody validation, with an emphasis on the characterization of antibody specificity in investigative studies. While this review is not prescriptive, it is hoped that it will be thought provoking when considering the interpretation of IHC results.
Implicit race attitudes modulate visual information extraction for trustworthiness judgments

Black people are still considered to be one of the most stigmatized groups and have to face multiple prejudices that undermine their well-being. Assumptions and beliefs about other racial groups are quite pervasive and have been shown to impact basic social tasks such as face processing. For example, individuals with high racial prejudice conceptualize other-race faces as less trustworthy and more criminal. However, it is unknown if implicit racial bias could modulate even low-level perceptual mechanisms such as spatial frequency (SF) extraction when judging the level of trustworthiness of other-race faces. The present study showed that although similar facial features are used to judge the trustworthiness of White and Black faces, own-race faces are processed in lower SF (i.e. coarse information such as the contour of the face and blurred shapes as opposed to high SF representing fine-grained information such as eyelashes or fine wrinkles). This pattern was modulated by implicit race biases: higher implicit biases are associated with a significantly higher reliance on low SF with White than with Black faces.
BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF LACTIC ACID BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM FISH AND PRAWN

Summary Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were isolated from various samples of fresh and frozen fish and prawn. Thirteen species of Lactobacillus were identified among the 64% isolates. Among them, L. plantarum was the dominant species. The remaining 36% isolates of Lactobacillus could not be assigned to any species with the available taxonomic schemes.
The Growth Dynamics of Sphagnum Based on Field Measurements in a Temperate Bog and on Laboratory Cultures

1 Linear elongation and dry-matter production of three Sphagnum species (S. capillifolium, S. magellanicum and S. fallax) were measured during three consecutive growing seasons at a nutrient-poor mire in the southern Alps of Italy. The growth data were subjected to path analysis, in which climatic parameters, distance to water table and photoperiod were employed as independent variables in the regressions. 2 Individuals of all three species were also cultured in the laboratory under different combinations of photoperiod x photon flux density x night temperature. The resulting growth data were compared by two-way ANOVA. 3 Long-day photoperiod promoted growth of all species. Induction of dormancy required both short-day photoperiod and low night temperature. 4 Mean temperature had a positive effect on growth of both S. capillifolium and S. magellanicum. Growth of S. fallax, a species which is more prone to desiccation in dry periods, was more affected by water-table depth. 5 The periodic pattern of dry-matter accumulation in Sphagnum is controlled partly by an as yet unknown internal rhythm based on photoperiod, and partly by external factors related to climate. However, the response of Sphagnum to environment differs between species and is reflected in the competitive equilibria between species that are adapted to different microhabitats. Hollow species are usually more productive than hummock species in wet periods but this ratio often reverses in dry periods.
Long-term outcome of adult-onset minimal-change nephropathy

Background. Adult-onset minimal-change nephropathy has been associated with a slower response to corticosteroids and a less benign prognosis when compared to children. However, there are few long-term outcome data reported. Methods. We have reviewed retrospectively 51 idiopathic adult-onset minimal-change nephropathy patients investigated and treated at a single centre. Results. Male to female ratio was 1:1.4, mean age at diagnosis was 37 years, and average length of followup was 14.1 years. Significant comorbidity was identified in 33%. A raised serum creatinine was found in 55% but returned to normal almost invariably upon remission. At presentation, hypertension was found in 47% of patients, microscopic haematuria in 33%, hypercholesterolaemia and hypertriglyceridaemia in 96%, and hyperuricaemia in 42%. Remission (complete or partial) was achieved by 46, 70 and 92% within 4, 8 and 21 weeks respectively, in patients treated with steroids; steroid resistance was encountered in 8%. The time to remission was positively correlated with age (P=0.002) and initial albumin level (P=0.005), and negatively correlated to the number of subsequent relapses {P=0.029); 33% of patients had a spontaneous remission at some time during the disease course. Patients with multiple relapses were treated with cyclophosphamide and 63% of them had remained in remission after 5 years. Hypertension was present in 25% of patients after an average interval of 11 years. At the time of the final follow-up, only three patients had a raised creatinine and all but three patients were in complete remission. Conclusions. Adult-onset minimal-change nephropathy shares the same good long-term outcome as the childhood counterpart, with sustained remission and preserved renal function.
Distribution of pathotypes of Escherichia coli in seafood from retail markets of Kerala, India

Escherichia coli is an indicator species of bacteria to determine faecal/sewage contamination in food and water. Some strains of E. coli have the potential to be pathogenic to humans. The food and its environment should regularly be monitored for the prevalence of pathogenic E. coli. A study was conducted to determine the prevalence of pathogenic E. coli from different fish markets and landing centres in three districts of Kerala, India. Isolated E. coli were pathotyped as enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) and Shiga toxin producing E. coli (STEC) by PCR, targeting the genes viz., bfpA, eaeA, stx1 stx2, Lt1, Lt2, ST, phoA and rfbeO157 . Pathogenic E. coli was found in 23.4% of the 123 seafood samples screened and ETEC, EPEC, and STEC were prevalent in 18.6, 4.0 and 0.8% of the samples respectively.
Aangeboren immuniteit van aviaire macrofagen geïnduceerd door Chlamydia psittaci

Chlamydia psittaci is a gram-negative, obligate, intracellular bacterium, which mainly infects birds and mammals. Not much is known about innate immunity initiated by C. psittaci. The focus of the present study is on chicken macrophage activation and expression of cytokine, chemokine, caspase-1, iNOS and TLR genes during the early phase and mid-cycle period of the developmental cycle of the highly virulent C. psittaci strain 92/1293. C. psittaci significantly augmented the transcript levels for all genes investigated, especially during the mid-cycle period. These results demonstrate a robust innate immune response of chicken macrophages initiated by a C. psittaci infection.
PREVALÊNCIA E DISTRIBUIÇÃO DE LESÕES DIGITAIS EM VACAS LEITEIRAS NAS REGIÕES DE BELO HORIZONTE E PEDRO LEOPOLDO

With the purpose of evaluate the prevalence, clinically classify of digital lesions and estabilish score to lameness, 323 cows were examined in 63 proprieties located in the dairy basin of Belo Horizonte and Pedro Leopoldo, which 57 were semi-intensive system and 6 were intensive system. The prevalence of animal did not vary between the systems and multiple lesions predominated. The most prevalent lesions were bulb of the hoof erosion (59.8%), digital dermatitis (30.3%) and scissors hoof (24.1%). Digital dermatitis, bulb of the hoof erosion, hemorrhagic sole and scissors hoof were most frequent in pelvic members, while interdigital dermatitis and wall hemorrhage were frequent in thoracic members. No differences were found in the lesions distribution between the lateral and medial nails of each member. Score of lameness to animals with simple lesions was in average of 1.216 and to animals with multiple lesions of 1.828. Key-words: Bovine, digital lesions, frequency.
CHANGES IN CHLORIDE CELL ABUNDANCE, NA+, K+-ATPASE IMMUNOLOCALIZATION AND ACTIVITY IN THE GILLS OF GOLDEN GREY MULLET, LIZA AURATA, FRY DURING ADAPTATION TO DIFFEREND SALINITIES

+ , K + -ATPase localization was performed through immun- ofluorescence light microscopy using a mouse monoclonal antibody IgGα 5 . Quantitive analysis of Na + , K + -ATPase intensity was analyzed using Optima's version 6.51 image analysis software (Media Cybernetics, Silver Spring, MD, USA). Results: In FW, the fluorescent cells (chloride cells) were observed on the epithelia of filaments (mainly in inter-lamellar regions) and on the lamellae. Following transfer to 12‰ salinity, the abundance of Na + , K +
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Dear Editors: The recent article by Banche et al. is focused on bacterial adherence of Staphylococcus epidermidis on vitamin E blended UHMWPE and states that such modification leads to a decrease in bacterial adherence to this material. The study was performed on 3 strains of Staphylococcus epidermidis, 2 of them being laboratory strains, and the other 1 is a clinical strain. We agree that the results apparently support the conclusion, but the study has some methodological weaknesses that we would like to discuss. Although this species is most frequent in chronic orthopedic infection, Staphylococcus aureus is also frequently isolated in prosthetic joint infections, especially in acute cases, and both species are considered to cause approximately 70% of all the prosthetic joint infections. Therefore, a study without S. aureus does not address the majority of prosthetic joint infection cases, purely from an etiological point of view. Also, the strain selection is a key aspect to determine if a particular species is more or less adherent to a certain material. Both chosen laboratory strains are well-characterized regarding biofilm development, this aspect not being itself the aim of the study. Furthermore, it has been clearly demonstrated that laboratory strains are usually adapted to laboratory life, where they can lose a high amount of their genetic load through passages on different culture media. This fact has even been used in the past to select strains with low virulence that can be used as vaccines (like BCG strain of Mycobacterium bovis), exactly the opposite of what should be the aim of testing an infection-resistant material. Moreover, we previously confirmed that significant differences exist in the adherence and biofilm development among various clinical strains of several species. Recently, we performed a study on vitamin E UHMWPE with different clinical strains both of S. aureus and S. epidermidis. Our results agree with those of other studies in that the use of laboratory strains cannot be properly interpreted, and testing of several clinical strains (the higher the number, the better) is mandatory to obtain results closer to ‘‘real life. ’’ If we only consider the results obtained with laboratory strains (even if supplemented with only one clinical strain), our results may not be reproduced when testing other strains, and therefore cannot be transferred into clinical practice because the clinical results could differ markedly from those experimentally obtained with laboratory adapted bacteria. Jaime Esteban Diana Molina-Manso Enrique Gómez-Barrena
Leaf Hairs of Olive (Olea europaea) Prevent Stomatal Closure by Ultraviolet-B Radiation

In olive (Olea europaea L.), hair removal had no effect on the photosynthetic rate and the apparent leaf resistance to water vapour diffusion in leaves illuminated with white light (900 μmol m-2 s-1 photosynthetically active radiation) devoid of ultraviolet-B radiation. In addition, intact and dehaired leaves showed no significant differences in absorptance in the visible spectral region, while leaf temper- ature was independent of hair removal. These results indicate that leaf hairs of O. europaea may play only a marginal role in leaf energy balance and transpiration. When the white light was supplemented with ultraviolet-B radiation (5.89 W m-2), however, there was a considerable decrease in the photo- synthetic rate, and a simultaneous increase in leaf resistance to water vapour in dehaired leaves. Photochemical efficiency of photosystem II, evaluated from chlorophyll fluorescence emitted from the illuminated side, was reduced in all cases, but the reduction in dehaired, ultraviolet-B treated leaves was more pronounced and irreversible, indicating that the reduction of the photosynthetic rate may result from both stomatal limitation and electron flow inhibition. Photosynthetic capacity of dehaired leaves, measured at 5% CO2, however, was not influenced by ultraviolet-B radiation. We suggest, therefore, that ultraviolet-B radiation reduces photosynthetic rates by closing the stomata, while the observed reduction in photosystem II photochemical efficiency may concern only a superficial chloroplast population, contributing negligibly to whole leaf photosynthesis. Under the conditions of our experi- ments, the protective function of the indumentum against ultraviolet-B radiation predominates over the water conservation function.
Genetic Variation Within and Among Populations of Ferns

The evolutionary potential of a species depends in part on the levels of genetic variation maintained within the species and also on the distribution of that variation both within and among its populations. Analyses of electrophoretic data for seed plants have resulted in several generalizations regarding levels and distribution of genetic variation: (1) High levels of genetic variation are maintained in populations of species with outcrossing mating systems, wide (regional) geographic distributions, habitats of late successional stages, and wind-pollination (Hamrick et al., 1979), (2) Inbreeding populations often exhibit genetic structure (i.e. a nonrandom distribution of genotypes in space), whereas genotypes are typically randomly distributed in highly outcrossing populations (Loveless & Hamrick, 1984), and (3) Outcrossing species maintain genetic variation within single populations, whereas inbreeding species distribute relatively more of their genetic variation among rather than within populations (Brown, 1979). Because ferns differ from seed plants in several life-history characteristics, especially in their life cycle and potential for large amounts of interpopulational gene flow via spore dispersal, it is unclear whether species of ferns follow these generalizations. Therefore, we address the following topics in homosporous ferns: (1) levels of genetic variation within populations of ferns, (2) the genetic structure of populations of ferns, and (3) the genetic structure of species of ferns. For all three topics we review the patterns of genetic variation that have been observed in ferns and then discuss factors that may contribute to these patterns. Electrophoretic data from the literature will be used to provide estimates of genetic variation. Data from the literature will be supplemented by our published and previously unpublished data for North American species of Polystichum. LEVELS OF GENETIC VARIATION WITHIN POPULATIONS OF FERNS Typical measures used to quantify the amount of genetic variation present in natural populations are P, the proportion of loci that are polymorphic in the population, A, the mean number of alleles per locus in a population, H, mean heterozygosity in a population (that is, heterozygosity expected at HardyWeinberg equilibrium), and Hobs, observed heterozygosity in the population. Measures of genetic variation for most of the diploid fern species that have been analyzed are presented in Table 1. Mean values for each measure of genetic variation cover a broad range. P ranges from 0.067 in Polystichum lonchitis to 0.635 in Pellaea andromedifolia. A ranges from 1.08 in P. lonchitis to 2.62 in Bommeria hispida. Hobs ranges from 1.08 in P. lonchitis to 0.221 in P. andromedifolia.
Nest-Records of the Eastern Yellow Robin Eopsaltria Australis

Seven hundred and seventy nest-record cards of the Eastern Yellow Robin Eopsaltria australis were available at the end of the 1980-1 breeding season, about one-quarter being from the Moruya district of New South Wales. They provided details but little new information on habitat, nests and nest sites, except that the birds probably nest high in forest trees more often than was supposed. Laying was at intervals of about 27 hours. Clutch size averaged 2.33 without any detectable differences between years, places or altitudes but increasing from 2.16 before to about 2.5 after October. The incubation period was just under 16 days and the nestling period 10-14 days. Breeding success was about 30%, apparently decreasing from 33% before October to about 20% in November and December; the most frequent clutch size (2) was most frequently successful but clutches of three raised more young per nest than did clutches of two. The breeding season started at the end of July or in early August and stopped quite abruptly at the end of December, with the main peak of laying from mid-September to mid-October. More nests were started before 31 August in Victoria than at Moruya. The analysis was dominated and distorted by the quantity and quality of records from Moruya and few useful comparisons could be made between the results from there and from elsewhere.
Survival and Growth of Foodborne Pathogens on Commercial Dishsponges/cloths and Inhibitory Effects of Sanitizers

This study was investigated the survival and growth of pathogens on commercial dish sponges and cloths when contaminated with organic materials and the effects of chemical sanitizers and organic acids on inhibiting pathogens contaminating the dish sponges and cloths. When pathogens were inoculated with TSB, none of the four pathogens grew in the cellulose sponge until 12 h of storage; however levels of pathogens on the other samples were significantly increased after 24 h of storage. When chemical sanitizers and organic acids were added to the dish sponges and cloths, treatments with hydrogen peroxidebased sanitizer, lactic and propionic acids were the most effective at reducing levels of E. coli O157:H7 and S. aureus, whereas treatment with a chlorine sanitizer did not significantly reduce pathogen levels.