Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ph-sensitive hydrogels for site-specific drug delivery. I. Swelling behaviour of crosslinked copolymers of acrylic and methacrylic acid

Des copolymeres sensibles au pH, destines a une liberation de principes actifs au niveau d'un site donne, en particulier au niveau du colon, ont ete synthetises en faisant reagir, a un rapport molaire fixe (70/30), des comonomeres non ioniques a caractere hydrophobe comme l'acetate de vinyle, l'acrylate de methyle, le methacrylate de methyle, l'acrylate d'ethyle ou le methacrylate d'ethyle avec l'acide acrylique ou l'acide methacrylique. L'agent de reticulation utilise a ete le dimethacrylate d'ethylene glycol. Des essais de gonflement a l'equilibre et dynamiques ont ete conduits dans des solutions de pH situe entre 1,2 et 7,0. Les resultats les plus prometteurs ont ete obtenus avec le poly(acrylate de methyle-co-acide methacrylique) et le poly(acrylate d'ethyle-co-acide methacrylique), qui ont ensuite ete retenus pour une etude de l'effet du rapport des monomeres (90/10 jusqu'a 30/70) et du degre de reticulation (0,15, 0,30 ou 0,45 mol%). On a note une absence totale de gonflement dans les milieux acides, gonflement qui ne survient qu'a un pH superieur a 6 et qui est modulable par les deux facteurs mentionnes ci-dessus. De maniere interessante, le mecanisme de penetration du milieu aqueux s'est avere controle par la relaxation des macromolecules (transport de cas II).
Application of principal component analysis to yield and yield related traits to identify sweet potato breeding parents 01

During phenotypic evaluation of crop plants many traits are simultaneously evaluated. These traits are often highly interrelated, evaluation of all these traits is costly and may not enhance selection response. The objectives of this study were to use Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to identify representative traits for phenotypic characterization of sweet potato, and thereby to identify superior clones for breeding. Fifty four sweet potato genotypes were field evaluated using 26 phenotypic traits under a 9 x 6 unbalanced alpha lattice design with three replications at the Karama and Rubona Research Stations in Rwanda. The PCA identified seven principal components (PC) that explained 77.83% of total variation present in the genotypes. Nineteen useful traits were identified as the main traits for effective phenotypic characterization of sweet potato, showing high correlations with the seven PCs. Genotypic variance had the greatest contribution to the total sources of variation for flowering rate (65.3%), yield of storage root (52.4%), vine yields (62.8%), total biomass (56.3%), harvest index (61.1%), weight of biggest root (50.6%) and dry matter content (57.5%). Genotypes 8-1038, Kwezikumwe and K513261 were identified as high yielding with the greatest flowering ability, while OTADA 70, 9-486, Purple 297, 2005-146, 8-1039, NASPOT 9, 2005-020, Newkaogo, 440163 and OTADA 24 were all high yielders of both storage roots and vines. The identified principal traits and genotypes may be useful in sweet potato breeding in Rwanda and similar agro-ecologies.
Developments in the SAPHIRA family of HgCdTe APD infrared arrays for low flux sensing: present and future

SAPHIRA (320x256/24μm) is the first of a family of HgCdTe APD infrared sensors for NIR/SWIR sensing in low flux conditions for scientific applications. The paper will present the status of the latest developments of detectors suitable for a range of ground and space applications including wavefront sensing, low flux imaging, Lidar and high speed optical communications. The next generation SAPHIRA (512x512/24μm) array has an architecture specific to pyramid wavefront sensors, supported by a consortium comprising European Southern Observatory, Max Planck Institute, NRC Herzberg Institute and Potsdam University. A 1kx1k/15μm, 3-side buttable sensor called Ike Pono after the Hawaiian for ‘far-vision’ is aimed at extreme, low-flux imaging, supported by NASA through the University of Hawaii, Institute of Astronomy. A large area device suitable for LIDAR and supported by NASA also demonstrates a performance suitable for high speed optical communication applications. Most recently the development of a 2k x 2k/ 15μm device for scientific imaging has started with the support of ESA.
The complete mitochondrial genome of Buccinum pemphigum (Neogastropoda: Buccinidae)

Abstract In this study, the complete mitogenome of Buccinum pemphigum has been determined. The complete mitochondrial genome is 15 265 bp in length, including 13 protein-coding genes, two rRNA genes and 22 tRNA genes. The total base composition is 30.1% A, 15.8% G, 15.1% C and 39.0%T, with a high AT content of 69.1%. Tree constructed using maximum-likelihood (ML) phylogenetic method, demonstrated that B. pemphigum has a close relationship to Volutharpa perryi clustered in Buccinoidea. First, this complete mitogenome of Buccinum will facilitate the development of new DNA markers for species identification.
Identifying gray wolf packs and dispersers using noninvasive genetic samples

Many animals, including gray wolves (Canis lupus), live in social groups. Genetic techniques can help reveal the structure and composition of social groups, providing valuable information about group and population dynamics. We evaluated the effectiveness of using noninvasive genetic sampling (NGS) of fecal and hair samples at wolf rendezvous sites combined with spatial and genetic assignment criteria for assigning individuals to packs, detecting dispersers and lone wolves, determining the number of packs in an area, and obtaining group metrics. We applied this approach in 4 study areas covering 13,182 km2 in Idaho, USA while concurrently monitoring wolves using telemetry techniques. We assigned pack affiliation to 78–97% of individuals across study areas and identified 12 potential dispersers. We detected a successful gene flow event by reconstructing a breeding male's genotype and tracing it back to a pack of origin using genetic assignment techniques. Average pack size was consistent between our NGS- and telemetry-based counts (x¯ = 10 for both), and both methods detected similar age composition within groups (31% pups and 69% adults for NGS and 33% pups and 67% adults for telemetry). Our NGS approach has the advantage of providing pack metrics including sex ratio, inferred breeders, and intra-pack relatedness that telemetry and observational techniques alone cannot. This NGS field sampling strategy combined with our pack assignment method was successful and provides an approach for characterizing functional social groups in the absence of previously acquired NGS, telemetry, or other observational data that may not be available when sampling new areas. © 2016 The Wildlife Society.
Characterisation of Sardinian germplasm of the perennial pasture grass Phalaris aquatica

Abstract. Germplasm of the perennial pasture grass Phalaris aquatica L. , from Sardinia, Italy, is a potentially valuable source for grass breeders owing to climatic similarities to regions where P. aquatica is used, a relatively high incidence of acidic soils, and exposure to prolonged grazing pressure. At field sites in south-eastern Australia, Sardinian accessions were compared as spaced plants and drill-rows with accessions from southern Europe and north-western Africa and with commercial cultivars. They were also evaluated in grazed swards at three sites over 4 years under conditions that challenge persistence, including heavy grazing pressure, acid soils and drought. Morphologically, the accessions were comparatively dense, fine and short, with similarities to southern European accessions and cultivars of the cv. Australian type. However, they were earlier heading and more summer-dormant, particularly those from southern Sardinia. In drill-rows, Sardinian accessions were later heading and less productive in winter than accessions from Morocco. In swards, Sardinian accessions had lower seedling vigour and winter growth potential than modern winter-active cultivars. However, they were dense and persistent under high grazing pressure, and some accessions survived better than all cultivars on an acid, low-fertility soil. Developing cultivars that are superior to the cv. Australian type with acceptable seed production and alkaloid levels presents a challenge to breeders. However Sardinian germplasm offers a range of maturity times combined with higher levels of summer dormancy and a grazing-tolerant morphology, attributes that may expand the area of adaptation of the species into the hotter and more drought-prone margin.
Purification and Structural Analysis of QS-inhibiting Compounds from Staphylococcus delphini

[Abstract] The knowledge that many pathogens rely on cell-to-cell communication mechanisms known as quorum sensing, opens a new disease control strategy: quorum quenching. Here we present a purification protocol for molecules excreted by a group of Gram-positive zoonotic pathogen bacteria, the ‘Staphylococcus intermedius group’, that suppress the quorum sensing signaling and inhibit the growth of a broad spectrum of Gram-negative betaand gammaproteobacteria. These compounds were isolated from Staphylococcus delphini (S. delphini). They represent a new class of quorum quenchers with the chemical formula N-[2-(1H-indol-3-yl)ethyl]urea and N-(2-phenethyl)-urea, which we named yayurea A and B, respectively. These substances can be isolated and purified from the culture supernatant using this upscalable purification method.
Organochlorine Contaminants, Immunocompetence and Vitellogenin in Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) and Great Black-Backed Gulls (Larus marinus) Nesting on Lake Ontario in 2001–2002

Abstract. In 2001–2002, Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) eggs from Lake Ontario had significantly higher concentrations of organochlorine contaminants than Herring Gull (L. argentatus) eggs. This study investigated whether higher contaminants in Great Black-backed Gulls affected immunocompetence, packed cell volume (PCV) and body condition in chicks, endocrine disruption and body condition in adults, and reproductive success. Variables were compared between species at two Lake Ontario sites (one in Ontario, Canada, and one in New York, USA), and with a control site in the Bay of Fundy, Canada. For Herring Gull chicks, body condition and total antibody titers to sheep red blood cells were greater at one contaminated site; PCV, phytohemagglutinin-P stimulation and reproductive output did not differ among sites. For Great Black-backed Gull chicks, PCV was significantly lower at one contaminated site; there were no other significant differences among sites. Between species, Herring Gull chicks had significantly higher antibody responses to sheep red blood cells at two sites and higher PCV at one site. Vitellogenin was not detected in the plasma of any adult males. Body condition of adult male Herring Gulls was significantly greater on Lake Ontario than in the Bay of Fundy control site. High contaminant concentrations in Great Black-backed Gull eggs from Lake Ontario were not associated with differences in phytohemagglutinin-P stimulation or body condition in chicks, nor with differences in reproductive output, compared with Herring Gulls, or with Great Black-backed Gulls at a control site.
PHYSIOLOGY OF INSECT DIAPAUSE. X. AN ENDOCRINE MECHANISM FOR THE INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE ON THE DIAPAUSING PUPA OF THE CECROPIA SILKWORM

1. The termination of the pupal diapause of the Cecropia silkworm is potentiated by preliminary exposure to low temperature and, especially, to temperatures in the range 6 to 15° C.2. This effect is mediated by an endocrine mechanism which centers in the brain, and is specifically concerned with restoring the competency of the brain's neurosecretory cells to synthesize and secrete the brain hormone.3. The time required for the initiation of adult development at 25° C. is thereby reduced from 27 weeks to as little as one day.4. As soon as the brain has recovered its endocrine function, the catalytic effects of low temperature are at an end; the actual secretion of the hormone and the developmental response that follows are then favored by high temperature. In this manner the low temperatures of winter potentiate the initiation of adult development the following spring.5. The effects of low temperature on the inactive, diapausing brain are considered in detail. The action is apparently a direct one on tempe.
Satellite observations in support of the Copernicus Climate Change Service

The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), operated by ECMWF on behalf of the European Commission, provides climate services built around a comprehensive suite of data products. These products include multidecadal estimates of the atmospheric state, based on atmospheric reanalysis, and a range of observational datasets on Essential Climate Variables (ECVs). Atmospheric reanalyses are now regarded as valuable sources of information for monitoring trends in the global atmospheric state and employ highly optimised methods for combining observations of meteorological variables, both in-situ and satellite. The most recent C3S global atmospheric reanalysis, ERA5, covering the period 1979-2019 (to be extended to 1950) is now available and since its release in early 2019 has a rapidly growing user base, currently numbering more than 30,000. It uses a recent version of the ECMWF Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) system to assimilate observations (87 billion for the period 1979 - 2018) in order to analyse the atmospheric state. Satellite observations are a key input to reanalyses and the range of observations assimilated are reviewed. ECVs derived from satellite and in-situ observations, spanning land, atmosphere, ocean and biosphere domains, produced as part of international collaborations, are available via the C3S Climate Data Store (CDS). The aspiration of C3S is to further develop the CDS to include a wider range of (∼ 35) ECVs in the next phase of the Copernicus programme (2021-2027).
STUDIES ON THE BREEDING OF RICE VARIETIES RESISTANT TO STRIPE DISEASE : I. Varietal Difference in Resistance to Stripe Disease

Three hundred and thirty-nine rice varieties and strains from various origins were tested for resistance to stripe disease by the "seedling test method. " All the Japanese paddy varieties tested were susceptible, while the Japanese upland varieties were highly resistant with a few exceptions. Among foreign varieties, all of the Japonica type were susceptible, and most of the Indica type were resistant. Some Japanese upland strains, which were derived from the hybrids between Japanese paddy and upland rice varieties, were recognized as suitable parents for transferring stripe resistance to the Japanese paddy rice.
Relationship between ultraviolet (UV) radiation and mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAS) in marine organisms.

Although only about 5-7% of solar radiation reaching the earth's surface is composed of UV-A (320-400 nm) and UV-B (286-320 nm), the biological significance of these wavelengths is disproportionate due to the higher energy content of quanta in the UV compared to the visible portion of the spectrum (Moseley, 1988). Exposure of shallow-water benthic organisms to high fluxes of solar irradiance requires a trade-off between maintaining high rates of photosynthesis while preventing damage from UV radiation. Biochemical defenses against the effects of UV may include the presence ofmycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) (Dunlap and Shick, 1998 and refs therein). These compounds have been found in a variety of marine organisms spanning from cyanobacteria (Shibata, 1969) to teleosts (Dunlap et al., 1989) and from tropical (Dunlap et al., 1986) to Antarctic waters (Karentz et al., 1991). Some tropical and temperate open ocean waters have low attenuation coefficients of UV and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, 400-700 nm) due to the low levels of particulates and humic substances which absorb or scatter these wavelengths (Kirk, 1994). In other waters, such as around mangroves and estuaries, dissolved organic matter or gilvin and particulates decrease the transparency of the water column resulting in reduced penetration of PAR and even greater reduction of UV with increasing depth (Kirk, 1994). The purpose of this study was to survey for the presence of MAAs in macrophytes and invertebrates from habitats differing in water quality to determine the relationship between the concentration of these compounds and incident UV radiation.
The infrared Fourier transform spectrometer and the infrared imager instrument concepts for the FORUM mission, ESA's 9th Earth Explorer

The Far-infrared Outgoing Radiation Understanding and Monitoring (FORUM) mission has been selected in September 2019 as the 9th Earth Explorer mission of the European Space Agency. The mission aims to measure the Earth’s Top-Of- Atmosphere (TOA) emission spectrum in the spectral region from 100 to 1600 cm-¹ (i.e. 6.25 to 100 μm). This will fill the current observational gap from space in the far-infrared region (FIR) from 100 to 667 cm-¹ (i.e. from 15 to 100 μm). FORUM measurements will improve the understanding of the climate system by providing, for the first time with high resolution, the spectral features of the far-infrared emission of the Earth with a focus on the contribution to the radiation budget of the continuum absorption of the water vapour rotational bands, on cirrus cloud properties, and on ice/snow surface emissivity. The FORUM mission requires a payload able to spectrally-resolve the Earth's outgoing longwave radiation across the Far-InfraRed (FIR) spectral range with high absolute radiometric accuracy. Characterisation of the surface, atmospheric and cloud/surface heterogeneity in the observed field-of-view is also required to help interpret the measured spectral radiance. These needs dictate the use of two instruments: a spectrometer and an infrared imager. The concepts of both instruments, thoroughly studied in phase A preparatory activities by two independent industrial consortia, are presented in this paper.
Antifungal Activity of Actinomycetes isolated from Garhwal Region

A total of 316 actinomycetes were isolated from 69 soil samples from different localities of Garhwal region, Uttarakhand, India. The growth pattern, mycelial colouration were documented. Among 316 isolates, 98 (31.01%) isolates exhibited antifungal activity against one or more pathogens. Out of 98 active isolates, 19, 67, 42, 37, 18 and 25 isolates showed activity against C. albicans, T. rubrum, M. canis, M. gyseum, A. flavus, A. fumigatus respectively, while 7 isolates showed activity against all the fungal pathogens. The antagonistic potential of Streptomyces was found dominant as compare to other genera. These results have increased the scope of finding industrially important antifungal antibiotics from actinomycetes isolated from unexplored Garhwal region.
Phylogeny and systematics of Lithodora (Boraginaceae-Lithospermeae) and its affinities to the monotypic genera Mairetis, Halacsya and Paramoltkia based on ITS1 and trnLUAA-sequence data and morphology

Lithodora (Boraginaceae tribe Lithospermeae) comprises nine species of often narrowly endemic dwarf shrubs and shrubs. The genus shows a Mediterranean distribution with the centre of diversity in the western Mediterranean region. Lithodora is distinguished from its allies in Lithospermeae by a shrubby habit, the absence of both faucal scales and an annulus, and a very unusual mericarpid morphology, and it has therefore been regarded as a natural group in the past. Phylogenetic relationships of Lithodora were investigated with nuclear ribosomal ITS1 and chloroplast trnL UAA intron sequences using parsimony and likelihood analyses. The results strongly indicate a polyphyly of Lithodora, which falls into two clades: The majority of species forms a monophyletic group ("Lithodora II") in a well supported clade together with a Lithospermum s.1. clade (including the New World genera Onosmodium and Macromeria) and our sample of Buglossoides species. A smaller number of species ("Lithodora I") falls into a second well supported clade including the monotypic genera Mairetis, Paramoltkia and Halacsya. A critical reevaluation of carpological characters traditionally used to delimit Lithodora corroborates the results of the molecular analysis and indicates that the cupulate areole and the mericarpid appendage found in the genus are homoplasious. The polyphyly of Lithodora is formally recognised by removing "Lithodora II" as a newly established genus, Glandora. The seven newly required combinations in the genus are provided.
A Novel Method for Detection of Fish Iridovirus in Groupers using Nano-Magnetic Particles

Iridovirus is a serious aquatic virus infecting variable species of fish and frog. Development of a rapid, reliable detection method is an important issue for commercial and scientific purposes. With specific anti-body-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles, viruses can be bound immunologicaly and quantitatively detected by measuring the related magnetic signals. Immunomagnetic reduction (IMR) is a technique to measure the magnetic signals change in this work. Using this assay, the low-detection limit of iridovirus was found 10 TCID50/mL. There was no significant interference from the other grouper viruses including nervous necrosis virus (NNV). The iridovirus concentration in grouper detected with IMR was 91% related to real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR). These results demonstrated the feasibility of IMR on iridovirus screening in grouper.
The genera Chiastocaulon, Cryptoplagiochila and Pedinophyllum (Plagiochilaceae) in Australia

Abstract. Molecular and morphological data support the recognition of seven species of Chiastocaulon in Australia, of which four, namely C. braunianum and C. geminifolium comb. nov. from tropical north-eastern Queensland and C. proliferum and C. flamabilis sp. nov. from Tasmania (and New Zealand), represent new records. The other three species accepted for Australia are C. biserialis, C. dendroides and C. oppositum. Chiastocaulon conjugatum is excluded from the Australian flora, because previous Australian records are based on misidentifications of C. braunianum and Plagiochila retrospectans. Pedinophyllum monoicum, reported for Australia from a single locality in Victoria, is excluded from the Australian flora because all credible records are based on misidentifications of Syzygiella tasmanica. The Papua New Guinean Chiastocaulon takakii comb. nov. is reinstated from synonymy under C. dendroides on the basis of morphological evidence. Descriptions and illustrations of all Australian species, and dichotomous keys to species of the Chiastocaulon lineage in Australia and New Zealand, are provided.