Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Soybean (Glycine max) Protein Hydrolysates as Sources of Peptide Bitter-Tasting Indicators: An Analysis Based on Hybrid and Fragmentomic Approaches

The aim of this study was to analyze soybean proteins as sources of peptides likely to be bitter using fragmentomic and hybrid approaches involving in silico and in vitro studies. The bitterness of peptides (called parent peptides) was theoretically estimated based on the presence of bitter-tasting motifs, particularly those defined as bitter-tasting indicators. They were selected based on previously published multilinear stepwise regression results. Bioinformatic-assisted analyses covered the hydrolysis of five major soybean-originating protein sequences using bromelain, ficin, papain, and proteinase K. Verification of the results in experimental conditions included soy protein concentrate (SPC) hydrolysis, RP-HPLC (for monitoring the proteolysis), and identification of peptides using RP-HPLC-MS/MS. Discrepancies between in silico and in vitro results were observed when identifying parent peptide SPC hydrolysate samples. However, both analyses revealed that conglycinins were the most abundant sources of parent peptides likely to taste bitter. The compatibility percentage of the in silico and in vitro results was 3%. Nine parent peptides with the following sequences were identified in SPC hydrolysates: LSVISPK, DVLVIPLG, LIVILNG, NPFLFG, ISSTIV, PQMIIV, PFPSIL, DDFFL, and FFEITPEK (indicators are in bold). The fragmentomic idea of research might provide a supportive method for predicting the bitterness of hydrolysates. However, this statement needs to be confirmed experimentally.
Evaluación de 14 variedades de alfalfa con fertirriego en la Mixteca de Oaxaca

Se evaluaron 14 variedades de alfalfa con el sistema de fertirriego por goteo, con la finalidad de determinar la variedad de mayor rendimiento en materia seca, relacion hoja:tallo y altura de planta, y la comparacion de dos variedades de alfalfa mediante el sistema de riego por gravedad para evaluar el consumo de agua y energia electrica. El estudio se establecio en el Campo Experimental Mixteca Oaxaquena, perteneciente al INIFAP, Yanhuitlan, Nochixtlan, Oaxaca. La siembra se realizo con una densidad de 30 kg ha-1 de semilla pura viable con un diseno de bloques completos al azar con cuatro repeticiones. Se utilizo la solucion nutritiva universal de Steiner ajustada a los requerimientos de la alfalfa. Se realizaron 12 cortes con intervalos de 45 dias en promedio. No existio diferencia (P>0.05) entre variedades en la produccion de materia seca corte-1 y la relacion hoja:tallo, solo hubo significancia (P<0.05) en la altura de la planta (Puebla 76). En los meses mas calurosos se obtuvo la mayor produccion de materia seca, la mayor altura de plantas y la menor relacion hoja:tallo (P<0.05). Mediante el sistema de fertirriego por goteo se tuvo un ahorro de agua del 50.2 % y una disminucion de 169 % en horas de trabajo, consumo y costo de energia, respecto al sistema de riego por gravedad.
Modelling species distributions in dynamic landscapes: The importance of the temporal dimension

Temporal variation in environmental conditions merits greater consideration in species distribution models (SDMs), and is especially relevant in dynamic systems, such as arid and semi‐arid environments, where precipitation and resource pulses are unpredictable in space and time. Species responses to this spatio‐temporal variation include tracking resource availability with nomadic life histories or reliance on refugia that provide stable, high‐quality habitat. This study evaluated whether inclusion of temporal variables representing short‐ and long‐term environmental variation improves SDMs.
Evaluación del daño en el ADN en dos poblaciones colombianas de agricultores y floricultores

Some research results prove the potential genotoxic activity of pesticides on human beings, which makes the development of methodologies that allow the determination of capacity of these substances to damage the DNA necessary. The comet assay is an economic, rapid and sensitive method that allows to detect, mainly, single strand breaks and alkaly-labil sites in individual cells. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the DNA damage by means of the comet assay in populations engaged in floriculture and agriculture activities, with variable exposure to pesticides, compared with a control group. Peripheral blood samples from a total of 101 individuals were obtained. The comet assay was performed using total peripheral blood as well as isolated lymphocytes. For this procedure the samples were embedded in agarose and set on a microscope slide, exposed to a lyses solution with detergent and finally to electrophoresis with alkaline buffer. Measuring the length of the comet tail (DNA migration) and the morphology of the comets, the DNA damage was estimated. In the exposed farmers, the comet assay revealed a statistically significant increase in DNA damage (P<0.001) versus floriculturists and the control group, but no difference between these later two groups were observed. The results suggest that the comet assay could be a reliable biomarker for occupational exposure to pesticides and that it could also be useful for similar studies.
Perspectives for X-ray reflectometry with laboratory sources applied to the analysis of thin films at the surface of multicomponent liquids

The authors present a review of the systematic studies of the structure of macroscopically planar thin films at the air-liquid interface (water, alkali solution and silica hydrosol). A common feature of the considered works is the application of a model-independent approach to the analysis of X-ray reflectometry data, which does not require a priori assumptions about the structure of the object under study. It is shown that the experimental results obtained with the laboratory source in some cases are qualitatively on par with the results of those obtained with the use of synchrotron radiation source. The reproducibility of the effect of spontaneous ordering in films of amphiphilic organic molecules (phospholipids) at the surface of the colloidal solution of silica nanoparticles is demonstrated. The possibility of influencing the kinetics of the in situ formation of a phospholipid film by enriching the liquid substrate with alkali metal ions is also discussed.
Management of catchment for the protection of source water in the Densu River basin, Ghana: implications for rural communities

ABSTRACT Since the 1990s, integrated catchment management (ICM) has been promoted as a holistic and integrated approach to water resources management. However, there is evidence to show that the costs and benefits associated with ICM are often inequitably distributed. This study investigates impacts of the implementation of catchment strategies on four rural communities and the coping mechanisms available to residents to cope with concomitant socioeconomic hardships within the Densu River basin, Ghana. The study relies on data collected through reviewing regulatory and policy documents, interviews, observations, and a household survey of 327 respondents. The results show that the implementation of the catchment strategies has negatively impacted the economies of all communities leading to local resistance. Increasing unemployment, decreasing incomes, and decreasing sales are generating increasing crime rates, out migration, and changing gender roles with additional burden on women. What compounds the problem are that socioeconomic interventions and coping mechanisms have failed to make any significant impact. We argue that for effective ICM, proportional representation of local people on catchment committees should be central in order to incorporate a thorough understanding of the local socioeconomic issues and integrating those issues into the implementation process; otherwise catchment strategies risk disproportionately impacting rural communities.
Weaning from Invasive Ventilation in Specialist Centers Following Primary Weaning Failure.

BACKGROUND Ever more patients are being treated with invasive ventilation in the outpatient setting. Most have no access to a structured weaning process in a specialized weaning center. The personal burden on the patients is heavy, and the costs for the health care system are high. METHODS 61 patients who had been considered unfit for weaning were admitted to a weaning center. The primary endpoint was the number of patients who had been successfully weaned from the ventilator at six months. The comparison group consisted of health-insurance datasets derived from patients who were discharged from an acute hospital stay to receive invasive ventilation in the outpatient setting. RESULTS 50 patients (82%; 95% confidence interval [70.5; 89.6]) were successfully weaned off of invasive ventilation in the weaning centers, 21 of them (34% [23.8; 47]) with the aid of non-invasive ventilation. The survival rate at 1 year was higher than in the group without invasive ventilation (45/50, or 90%, versus 6/11,or 55%); non-invasive ventilation was comparable in this respect to no ventilation at all. The identified risk factors for weaning failure included the presence of more than five comorbidities and a longer duration of invasive ventilation before transfer to a weaning center. CONCLUSION If patients with prolonged weaning are cared for in a certified weaning center before being discharged to receive invasive ventilation in the outpatient setting, the number of persons being invasively ventilated outside the hospital will be reduced and the affected persons will enjoy a higher survival rate. This would also spare nursing costs.
Effect of sire genotype on lamb growth and carcass productivity

The growth and carcass traits of 774 lambs out of Romney ewes and sired by Suffolk (S), Landcorp Lamb Supreme (LS), Texel (T) and Romney (R) rams were compared when slaughtered on five occasions (groups 1 to 5): November 1995, February, March, May and July 1996. Forty carcasses per slaughter group were dissected into commercial cuts of saleable meat, fat trim and bone. Sand LS-sired lambs had heavier pre-slaughter liveweights than T-sired lambs (38.4 ± 0.27, 38.5 ± 0.26, vs 36.3 ± 0.27 kg respectively; P<0.001), which in turn were heavier than R-sired lambs (35.0 ± 0.29 kg; P<0.001). S-sired lambs had heavier hot carcass weights than both LSand T-sired lambs in slaughter groups 4 and 5 (+0.9 to +1.9 kg; P<0.01); R-sired lambs were significantly lightest in all slaughter groups (-0.7 to -3.9 kg; P<0.05). Sand R-sired lambs had greater adjusted GR tissue depths than LS-sired lambs in later slaughter groups. T-sired lambs were generally intermediate between LSand R-sired lambs. R-sired lambs produced less weight of saleable meat than S-, LSand T-sired lambs (by 1.4 to 1.7 kg; P<0.01). Lambs sired by Landcorp’s terminal sire breeds out-produced those sired by the company’s maternal R sire breed. S-sired lambs exhibited rapid growth early in the season, but increased fat levels later in the season compared with LS-and T-sired lambs.
Mineralogical and Geochemical Study of the Zeolitized Volcaniclastic Rocks of Petrota region, Evros Prefecture, Northeastern Greece

The present work studies the tuffs associated with the volcanic area of the Paleogene Sheinovets caldera, located on the southeastern part of the Rhodope massif, in Bulgaria. Its purpose is to describe the mineralogical and geochemical composition of the zeolitized volcaniclastic deposits in the broader area of Petrota village, in the northwesternmost part of the Greek regional unit of Evros, in northeast Greece. The samples studied in this work were collected from seven (7) different locations, covering an area of almost 4 km in length and 2 km in width. Macroscopically, the samples display a greyish-green hue and they are widespread in the area of study. They often contain fragments of the crystalline metamorphic basement (mica-schists, phyllites, amphibolites, quartzites) and/or rhyolitic clasts. A rhyolitic outcrop of greyish-pink hue is observed in the Mavri Petra region, probably related to the Rupelian acid volcanism that occurred in the Sheinovets caldera. The mineralogy of the tuffs was studied under light polarizing microscope and using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and it was further confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) method. The initial matrix of the tuffs consisted predominantly of glass shards that are now partly or fully altered into zeolites and clay minerals, such as celadonite, displaying characteristic pseudomorphic structures. The dominant zeolite is clinoptilolite, while in some areas the presence of mordenite is also noticed. Feldspar phenocrysts are abundant, and they are represented by plagioclase and sanidine. Although quartz crystals can be observed under light-polarizing microscope solely in metamorphic fragments, the presence of silica polymorphs was also confirmed through SEM and XRPD analysis, with quartz and cristobalite prevailing. The mineralogical assemblage includes phenocrysts of biotite and in some cases amphiboles, while pyroxene, epidote, garnet, titanite, apatite, zircon, ilmenite, magnetite and rutile are additional minerals which have been identified locally in accessory quantities. Chemical analysis was carried out for major and trace elements, using the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) method and 4 Acid digestion ICP-MS analysis, respectively. The samples of Mavri Petra region, exhibit high concentrations in Cu, Pb, Mn, V, P and W. The analyzed concentrations of U in the area of Palaeokklisi are relatively high in comparison to the rest due to its proximity to a fault. Towards the northwestern study area, close to the Greek-Bulgarian border, the concentrations of Sr appear to be particularly high, probably because the area is closer to the volcanic centre.
Local Excitation of a Perfectly Conducting Slab With Finite or Infinite Number of Slits and the Role of Proper Complex Waves

The physics and modes of radiation in structures exhibiting extraordinary transmission (ET) can be best studied using Green’s function formalism. In this article, we find the electromagnetic response to local excitation of a canonical structure exhibiting ET, and investigate the role of complex waves. The structure is a perfectly conducting slab having a finite or infinite number of through-slits. The solution breaks up the field into even and odd modes, and solves for the fields of the structure with a finite number of slits, by setting up an integral equation. The solution is then extended to find Greens’ function of the infinitely periodic structure. The dispersion relations of the complex modes are found, and existence of proper complex modes is shown around ET frequencies. It is shown that these proper complex modes play an important role in determining the far-field and emergence of ET.
Variations for Grain Yield and Milling Value of Durum Wheat Landraces and Obsolete Cultivars

The experimental materials consisting of five obsolete cultivars and 26 durum wheat populations were used to investigate the variation, heritability, genetic advance for grain yield (GY), 1000 grain weight (TGW), test weight (TW) and percentage of vitreous grain (VG) in Tekirdag, Turkey during four growing years. Relatively large variation was observed for grain yield, 1000 grain weight and percentage of vitreous grain. The highest coefficient of variation (CV) was observed in grain yield. The phenotype coefficient of variation (PCV) was generally higher than the genotype coefficient of variation (GCV) for all traits. The highest heritability (85%) and expected genetic advance (9.35) were estimated for percentage of vitreous grain. Grain yield and test weight had the lowest heritability estimates (33% and 44%, respectively) with a relatively low value for expected genetic advance (0.92 and 3.82, respectively). Landraces of G3 and G2 groups were the most suitable materials in enriching genetic variability for percentage of vitreous grain and 1000 grain weight in breeding programs and could be worth a direct breeding effort following pure line selection programs that aim to develop cultivars adapted to modern cropping conditions. In addition, they are a reliable and valuable genetic material for use in future breeding studies. Key Words: landrace, variation, yield, 1000 grain weight, test weight, percentage of vitreous grain Abbreviations: GCV - genetic coefficient of variation, GFP - grain filling period, GY - grain yield, PCV - phenotypic coefficient of variation, TGW - thousand grain weight, TW - test weight, VG - vitreous grain
Human Dendritic Cells Discriminate Between Viable and Killed Toxoplasma gondii Tachyzoites: Dendritic Cell Activation After Infection with Viable Parasites Results in CD28 and CD40 Ligand Signaling That Controls IL-12-Dependent and -Independent T Cell Production of IFN-γ1

We studied how the interaction between human dendritic cells (DC) and Toxoplasma gondii influences the generation of cell-mediated immunity against the parasite. We demonstrate that viable, but not killed, tachyzoites of T. gondii altered the phenotype of immature DC. DC infected with viable parasites up-regulated the expression of CD40, CD80, CD86, and HLA-DR and down-regulated expression of CD115. These changes are indicative of DC activation induced by T. gondii. Viable and killed tachyzoites had contrasting effects on cytokine production. DC infected with viable T. gondii rather than DC that phagocytosed killed parasites induced secretion of high amounts of IFN-γ by T cells from T. gondii-seronegative donors. IFN-γ production in response to DC infected with viable parasites required CD28 and CD40 ligand (CD40L) signaling. In addition, this IFN-γ response was dependent in part on IL-12 secretion. Production of IL-12 p70 occurred after interaction between T cells and DC infected with viable T. gondii, but not after incubation of T cells with DC plus killed tachyzoites. IL-12 synthesis was inhibited by blockade of CD40L signaling. IL-12-independent IFN-γ production required CD80/CD86-CD28 interaction and, to a lesser extent, CD40-CD40L signaling. Taken together, T. gondii-induced activation of human DC is associated with T cell production of IFN-γ through CD40-CD40L-dependent release of IL-12 and through CD80/CD86-CD28 and CD40-CD40L signaling that mediate IFN-γ secretion even in the absence of bioactive IL-12.
Studies on migration of sheep flocks in North coastal zone of Andhra Pradesh: identification of traditional migratory tracts.

A study on 698 migratory sheep flocks in the North costal zone revealed existence of 16 traditional migratory routes. The traditional migratory tracts originated from native villages of sheep flocks moving across river beds, forest areas, foot of the Eastern Ghats and touched the Orissa state border. The mean duration and distance of migration of flocks were 181.25±0.63 days and 75.87±0.78 km, respectively. The migration mostly started in the mid-December and extended up to mid-July. The major reasons for migration were lack of feed resources (92.70%), income from penning (92.39), traditional practice (87.50%), successive droughts (84.37%) and lack of water resources (83.33%). The major problems during migration included disease outbreaks (85.95%) and lack of veterinary facilities (83.81%).
Survey of Patient Satisfaction with Radiological Services in Public and Private Health Facilities in Kano

Background: Patient satisfaction is the extent to which the patients feel that their needs and expectations are being met by the service provider. The survey of patient satisfaction with health care services is a growing concept in Nigeria, where study on this subject is just beginning to develop. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the patients’ satisfaction level with radiological services and to identify the factors that may account for the differences in their satisfaction between a public and a private health facility in Kano state Nigeria. Method: The study was a cross-sectional prospective survey that targeted patients who visited radiology departments. Data was collected using a 43 item self-completion questionnaire designed in line with the objectives of the study. The data were categorized into groups and analysed using a statistical package for social sciences version 20.0, where descriptive statistics such as the percentages and frequencies were generated and tabulated. A chi-square test was used to test for the differences in the patients’ satisfactory level at (p<0.05). Results: The results showed that 60.7% (n=85) were female while 39.3% (n=55) were male, 52.2% (n=47) of the respondents from the public hospital were dissatisfied, while 47.8% (n=43) were satisfied. At the private hospital, only 20% (n=10) were dissatisfied, while 80% (n=40) were satisfied with the radiological services received. The type of health facility and patients’ satisfaction was found to be statistically significant at (p<0.05). Conclusion: The patients in the private health facility of the study were more satisfied than those at the public health facility because of prompt attention given to them immediately after arrival, immediate collection of their radiological reports, and high ergonometric environment provided by the hospital staff.
Substrate Application of 5-Aminolevulinic Acid Enhanced Low-temperature and Weak-light Stress Tolerance in Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is a type of nonprotein amino acid that promotes plant stress tolerance. However, the underlying physiological and biochemical mechanisms are not fully understood. We investigated the role of ALA in low-temperature and weak-light stress tolerance in cucumber seedlings. Seedlings grown in different ALA treatments (0, 10, 20, or 30 mg ALA·kg−1 added to substrate) were exposed to low temperature (16/8 ˚C light/dark) and weak light (180 μmol·m−2·s−1 photosynthetically active radiation) for two weeks. Treatment with ALA significantly alleviated the inhibition of plant growth, and enhanced leaf area, and fresh and dry weight of the seedlings under low-temperature and weak-light stress. Moreover, ALA increased chlorophyll (Chl) a, Chl b, and Chl a+b contents. Net photosynthesis rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, photochemical quenching, non-photochemical quenching, actual photochemical efficiency of photosystem II, and electron transport rate were significantly increased in ALA-treated seedlings. In addition, ALA increased root activity and antioxidant enzyme (superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase) activities, and reduced reactive oxygen species (hydrogen peroxide and superoxide radical) and malondialdehyde accumulation in the root and leaf of cucumber seedlings. These findings suggested that ALA incorporation in the substrate alleviated the adverse effects of low-temperature and weak-light stress, and improved Chl contents, photosynthetic capacity, and antioxidant enzyme activities, and thus enhanced cucumber seedling growth.