Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
LOW TEMPERATURE EVOKES RAPID EXOCYTOSIS OF SYMBIOTIC ALGAE BY A SEA ANEMONE

Darknessevokes expulsion ofzooxanthellae from the sea anemone Aiptasia pu! chella, but brief exposure to low temperature(4Â°C, 4 h) increasesthe expulsion rate four-fold. Ninety-eight percent of the zooxanthellae are expelled within four days. Low temperature incubation had no detectable effect on host animal survival or be havior, but the effect on zooxanthellae was profound. Low temperaturereduced the rateofphotosynthesis, increasedthe rateofrelease offixed carbon, reducedthe num ber of viable cells and decreased the rate of cell division. Electron micrographsre vealed that low temperatureelicited the appearanceofa thickened cell envelope and novel electron-denseinclusions, tentatively identified as crystallizedlipoprotein. Im mediately after low temperature incubation zooxanthellae move towards the apex of the host cells and are releasedto the coelenteron by exocytosis. The mechanisms by which low temperaturemay evoke exocytosis ofzooxanthellae (e.g., disassembly of host cell microtubules; increased concentration of cytosolic calcium ions) are dis cussed.
DNA methylation establishment of CpG islands near maternally imprinted genes on chromosome 7 during mouse oocyte growth

The genome methylation is globally erased in early fetal germ cells, and it is gradually re‐established during gametogenesis. The expression of some imprinted genes is regulated by the methylation status of CpG islands, while the exact time of DNA methylation establishment near maternal imprinted genes during oocyte growth is not well known. Here, growing oocytes were divided into three groups based on follicle diameters including the S‐group (60–100 μm), M‐group (100–140 μm), and L‐group (140–180 μm). The fully grown germinal vesicle (GV)‐stage and metaphase II (M2)‐stage mature oocytes were also collected. These oocytes were used for single‐cell bisulfite sequencing to detect the methylation status of CpG islands near imprinted genes on chromosome 7. The results showed that the CpG islands near Ndn, Magel2, Mkrn3, Peg12, and Igf2 were completely unmethylated, but those of Peg3, Snrpn, and Kcnq1ot1 were hypermethylated in MII‐stage oocytes. The methylation of CpG islands near different maternal imprinted genes occurred asynchronously, being completed in later‐stage growing oocytes, fully grown GV oocytes, and mature MII‐stage oocytes, respectively. These results show that CpG islands near some maternally imprinted genes are not necessarily methylated, and that the establishment of methylation of other maternally imprinted genes is completed at different stages of oocyte growth, providing a novel understanding of the establishment of maternally imprinted genes in oocytes.
The Rajasthan Toad-Headed Lizard, Phrynocephalus laungwalaensis (Reptilia: Agamidae), Represents a New Genus

New material of Phrynocephalus laungwalaensis is described in detail. This species shares many apomorphies with the other species assigned to Phrynocephalus but it lacks several characteristics of that genus: scleral ossicle number is not reduced to eleven or ten; an external ear opening is present; and the tail is not habitually raised and curled. Phrynocephalus laungwalaensis also differs from other Phrynocephalus in possessing a distinctive, very short tail. Because these differences would make the otherwise quite uniform genus Phrynocephalus heterogeneous, Phrynocephalus laungwalaensis is removed from it and given separate generic status
Frações oxidáveis do carbono orgânico de latossolo cultivado com cafeeiro em diferentes espaçamentos de plantio

Objetivou-se com este estudo avaliar a suscetibilidade a oxidacao pelo permanganato de potassio do carbono presente em Latossolo Vermelho distroferrico tipico, cultivado com cafeeiro (Coffea arabica L.), em diferentes espacamentos de plantio, em experimento localizado na Fazenda Experimental da EPAMIG, em Machado (MG). Os tratamentos avaliados, instalados a campo em 1992, consistiram na combinacao de quatro espacamentos entre linhas (2,0, 2,5, 3,0 e 3,5 m), com tres espacamentos entre plantas (0,5, 0,75 e 1,0 m). Uma area de mata proxima ao experimento foi amostrada e usada como referencia. Para a avaliacao do grau de oxidacao do carbono orgânico (CO), as amostras de solo foram coletadas na entrelinha (EL) e na projecao da copa (PC) do cafeeiro, nas camadas de solo de 0-0,05 e 0-0,1 m. Na camada superficial do solo (0-0,05 m), os teores de C labil na entrelinha sao, em geral, maiores do que os observados nas amostras coletadas na projecao da copa do cafeeiro. A amplitude de variacao dos teores de C nas fracoes orgânicas obedece a seguinte ordem decrescente: C labil> C nao labil > C orgânico, o que indica o maior potencial do C labil em avaliar o impacto de diferentes sistemas de adensamento e manejo do cafeeiro, sobre os compartimentos de materia orgânica. Os teores de C labil e C nao labil nao sao influenciados pelo numero de plantas por area, mas sao dependentes da largura de rua do cafeeiro, da profundidade e do local de coleta das amostras de solo.
The Southern Ocean Benthic Fauna and Climate Change: A Historical Perspective

Environmental change is the norm and it is likely that, particularly on the geological timescale, the temperature regime experienced by marine organisms has never been stable. These temperature changes vary in timescale from daily, through seasonal variations, to long-term environmental change over tens of millions of years. Whereas physiological work can give information on how individual organisms may react phenotypically to short-term change, the way benthic communities react to long-term change can only be studied from the fossil record. The present benthic marine fauna of the Southern Ocean is rich and diverse, consisting of a mixture of taxa with differing evolutionary histories and biogeographical affinities, suggesting that at no time in the Cenozoic did continental ice sheets extend sufficiently to eradicate all shallow-water faunas around Antarctica at the same time. Nevertheless, certain features do suggest the operation of vicariant processes, and climatic cycles affecting distributional ranges and ice-sheet extension may both have enhanced speciation processes. The overall cooling of southern high-latitude seas since the mid-Eocene has been neither smooth nor steady. Intermittent periods of global warming and the influence of Milankovitch cyclicity is likely to have led to regular pulses of migration in and out of Antarctica. The resultant diversity pump may explain in part the high species richness of some marine taxa in the Southern Ocean. It is difficult to suggest how the existing fauna will react to present global warming. Although it is certain the fauna will change, as all faunas have done throughout evolutionary time, we cannot predict with confidence how it will do so.
Genotyping and molecular characterization of clinical Acinetobacter baumannii isolates from a single hospital in Southwestern Iran

ABSTRACT Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) is a pathogen responsible for nosocomial infections among the hospitalized patients. The aim of this study was to investigate genotyping and molecular characterization and to examine the biofilm formation ability of A. baumannii isolates. In total, 70 A. baumannii isolates were collected from patients admitted to Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ahvaz, Southwestern Iran. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) test was performed using Vitek 2 system. The presence of genes encoding metallo-β-lactamases, oxacillinases, and integrase and the biofilm formation ability were then evaluated. Multiple locus variable-number tandem repeat (VNTR) analysis (MLVA) typing and multiplex PCR were performed to determine the genetic relationships. The blaOXA-23-like gene had the highest prevalence. The frequency of genes encoding bla SPM, bla IMP, and bla VIM among MDR A. baumannii isolates were 12 (17.1%), 18 (25.7%), and 22 (31.4%), respectively. Moreover, 46 isolates (75.4%) harbored class I integron and 10 isolates (16.39%) carried class II integron. The number of weak, moderate and strong biofilm-producing isolates were 3 (4.3%), 7 (10%), and 55 (78.5%), respectively. The results showed that 70 A. baumannii isolates were grouped into 12 distinct MLVA types with five clusters and four singleton genotypes. In addition, 25 (35.7%) isolates were assigned to international clone (IC) variants, 37 (52.8%) isolates belonged to group 1 (IC II), and 8 (11.4%) isolates belonged to group 2 (IC I). Our findings revealed that the population structure of the A. baumannii isolates was genetically diverse. More focus on genetic variation and antibiotic resistance of A. baumannii isolates are recommended.
Examining the impact of a play-based middle school physics program

Abstract The Playground Physics program combines informal, play-based, embodied learning experiences to support middle school students’ engagement with and motivation to learn about complex and abstract physics concepts. This experimental design study examines the impact of Playground Physics on students’ science motivation, classroom engagement, and physics knowledge. The study involved 24 treatment teachers using Playground Physics with 1,928 students, and 21 control teachers teaching their regular physics curriculum to 1,478 students. Results indicate that students of treatment teachers showed significantly greater physics knowledge at posttest than students of control teachers. No differences were noted for positive student engagement and motivation in science class. Further research is needed to understand the relationship between student engagement, motivation, and learning while using Playground Physics.
Hyperspectral characterization of re‐epithelialization in an in vitro wound model

In vitro wound models are useful for research on wound re‐epithelialization. Hyperspectral imaging represents a non‐destructive alternative to histology analysis for detection of re‐epithelialization. This study aims to characterize the main optical behavior of a wound model in order to enable development of detection algorithms. K‐Means clustering and agglomerative analysis were used to group spatial regions based on the spectral behavior, and an inverse photon transport model was used to explain differences in optical properties. Six samples of the wound model were prepared from human tissue and followed over 22 days. Re‐epithelialization occurred at a mean rate of 0.24 mm2/day after day 8 to 10. Suppression of wound spectral features was the main feature characterizing re‐epithelialized and intact tissue. Modeling the photon transport through a diffuse layer placed on top of wound tissue properties reproduced the spectral behavior. The missing top layer represented by wounds is thus optically detectable using hyperspectral imaging.
Ecology of two species of echimyid rodents (Hoplomys gymnurus and Proechimys semispinosus) in central Panamá

The family Echimyidae is one of the most widely distributed rodent families in the Neotropics. Virtually every tropical lowland forest contains at least one echimyid species, and many areas contain half a dozen or more species. The commonest terrestrial representatives of the family are within the genus Proechimys, and several species such as Proechimys semispinosus (Central American spiny rat) have been the subject of intensive ecological studies (e.g. Adler 1994, 1996; Adler & Beatty 1997, Alberico & Gonzalez 1993, Fleming 1971, Gliwicz 1984, Gonzalez-M. & Alberico 1993). P. semispinosus is often the most abundant rodent throughout its geographic range in Central America and northwestern South America, and its ecology is now fairly well-known.
A new record of Fulvifomes fastuosus from Sri Lanka

The fungus Fulvifomes fastuosus has not been described from Sri Lanka to date. Morphological studies and DNA analysis were carried out to characterize the fungus. Accordingly, F. fastuosus produces perennial, pileate, solitary and hard basidiomes with a concentrically sulcate pileal surface and homogenous context . It consists of a dimitic hyphal system and yellowish brown acyanophilous basidiospores but lacks hymenial setae. Eventhough the same species has been recorded in China with similar characters, the size of spores and hyphae are comparatively less in the specimen described in the present study. The identity was confirmed by sequencing the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region in the nuclear ribosomal repeat unit, using the primers ITS1F and ITS4B. The resultant DNA sequence showed the highest similarity with Fulvifomes fastuosus strain CBS 213.36, reported from South Korea. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.4038/jnsfsr.v42i4. 7737 J.Natn. Sci.Foundation Sri Lanka 2014 42 (4): 369-371
Anti‐tumour effects of PIM kinase inhibition on progression and chemoresistance of hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a biologically aggressive cancer. Targeted therapy is in need to tackle challenges in the treatment perspective. A growing body of evidence suggests a promising role of pharmacological inhibition of PIM (proviral integration site for Moloney murine leukaemia virus) kinase in some human haematological and solid cancers. Yet to date, the potential application of PIM inhibitors in HCC is still largely unexplored. In the present study we investigated the pre‐clinical efficacy of PIM inhibition as a therapeutic approach in HCC. Effects of PIM inhibitors on cell proliferation, migration, invasion, chemosensitivity, and self‐renewal were examined in vitro. The effects of PIM inhibitors on tumour growth and chemoresistance in vivo were studied using xenograft mouse models. Potential downstream molecular mechanisms were elucidated by RNA sequencing (RNA‐seq) of tumour tissues harvested from animal models. Our findings demonstrate that PIM inhibitors SGI‐1776 and PIM447 reduced HCC proliferation, metastatic potential, and self‐renewal in vitro. Results from in vivo experiments supported the role of PIM inhibition in suppressing of tumour growth and increasing chemosensitivity of HCC toward cisplatin and doxorubicin, the two commonly used chemotherapeutic agents in trans‐arterial chemoembolisation (TACE) for HCC. RNA‐seq analysis revealed downregulation of the MAPK/ERK pathway upon PIM inhibition in HCC cells. In addition, LOXL2 and ICAM1 were identified as potential downstream effectors. Taken together, PIM inhibitors demonstrated remarkable anti‐tumourigenic effects in HCC in vitro and in vivo. PIM kinase inhibition is a potential approach to be exploited in formulating adjuvant therapy for HCC patients of different disease stages. © 2020 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Application of an adapted relationship scale for assessing the occurrence of six different relationships as perceived by seven health care professions in Northern Italy

ABSTRACT Interprofessional working relationships can influence the quality of collaborative practices, with consequences for patient safety outcomes. This article reports findings of an adapted relationship scale comprising six different relationship types, ranging from hostile to collegial, between seven health-care professions: physicians, nurses, dieticians, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech therapists, and psychologists. Survey data were gathered within amixed-method study aiming to explore the current status quo of interprofessional collaboration in aHealth Trust, located in Northern Italy. An online questionnaire was completed by 2,238 health professionals achieving aresponse rate of 44%. The working relationship element was answered by 1,897 respondents. The results of the survey are used as abasis for recommending strategies for advancing interprofessional collaboration in the Trust. Descriptive statistics were used to examine relationship-types, with frequency of occurrence considered. The non-parametric Mann Whitney and Kruskal Wallis tests were used to explore relationship differences among groups defined by sociodemographic variables. Participants reported overall positive relationships with other health professions. We noted variability in the occurrence of different relationship-types amongst the health professions. In particular, the six professions viewed their relationships with doctors more negatively than physicians who reported amore positive perception of their relationships with the six professions.
Estimating the Impacts of EDA Public Works Program Investments on County Employment

Evaluating the effectiveness of government programs is an important topic for economic developers. One popular example is the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) Public Works Program, initially established in 1965. Haughwout (1999) found a significant positive impact of EDA public works projects completed in 1990 on county-level employment over the period 1990 to 1994. The authors reexamine whether this effect continues to hold 20 years later by replicating Haughwout’s specification using data from 2010 to 2014. The results are consistent with those originally reported by Haughwout. The authors then extend the analysis by incorporating a spatial econometric approach to examine the existence of potential spillover effects. The results indicate that EDA investments have a significant positive effect on both targeted and neighboring counties’ employment. The findings suggest that public infrastructure investments can be important tools for economic development by positively influencing employment in both the recipient county and neighboring counties.
Overexpression of a B-type cytokinin response regulator (OsORR2) reduces plant height in rice

ABSTRACT Cytokinin plays crucial roles in regulating plant growth and development, with the signal transduction mediated by type-A and type-B response regulators (RRs). While much genetic knowledge about RRs on regulating plant height remains unclear. Here, we found that overexpressing an OsORR2 gene (a type-B RR) could reduce plant height in rice compared with the wild type (WT). Using quantitative real time (RT-qPCR) assay, OsORR2was expressed widely in most tissues such as root, culm, sheath, leaf, and panicle. Strong signals were detected in leaf mesophyll cells and anther by in situ hybridization assays (ISH). The subcellular localization of OsORR2 was in cell nucleus. In addition, we found that the transcriptional expression levels of type-A RR genes such as OsRR9, OsRR10, OsRR12, and OsRR13 were significantly up-regulated in the overexpression transgenic plants (OE) plants. Taken together, our data suggested that OsORR2was involved in the development of plant height in rice and provided a foundation for future deep molecular research of the type-B RRs.
Effects of the Immobilization of the Upper Extremities on Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters during Walking in Stroke Patients: A Preliminary Study

Background The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of upper extremity immobilization and consequent walking speed on spatiotemporal gait parameters in stroke patients with hemiparesis. Methods The following variables were assessed or measured in 29 stroke patients: age, height, weight, disease duration, Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE-K), Berg balance scale (BBS-K), functional gait assessment (FGA-K), cause of the disease (type of lesion), and hemiparetic side. The measurement of gait was performed using two pressure plates of 1.5 m to create a 3 m walking distance and leaving 1.5 m of extension at both start and end, to ultimately create a 6 m walking distance that the patient could walk through. The following gait patterns were randomly selected based on card draws: self-selected walk speed (SW), self-selected walk speed with immobilized upper extremities (SWI), fast walking (FW), and fast walking with immobilized upper extremities (FWI). Each patient was assessed for four different gait patterns, with three measurements per pattern (12 gait measurements in total). Results While there were significant differences in the stride length, step width, velocity, and step length of the paretic side between self-selected walk speed (SW) and SWI, FWI did not show significant changes in any of the tested parameters. Conclusions Immobilization of the upper extremities may affect walking at self-selected walk speeds. A comprehensive training program including upper extremity movement should be established for gait rehabilitation. Clinical Trial Registration. This trial is registered at http://cris.nih. go.kr/cris.
Motion Intensity Extraction Scheme for Simultaneous Recognition of Wrist/Hand Motions

Surface electromyography contains muscular information representing gestures and corresponding forces. However, conventional sEMG-based motion recognition methods, such as pattern classification and regression, have intrinsic limitations due to the complex characteristics of sEMG signals. In this paper, motion intensity, a highly selective sEMG feature proportional to the level of muscle contraction, is proposed. The motion intensity feature allows proportional and simultaneous recognition of multiple degrees of freedom. The proposed method was demonstrated in terms of simultaneous recognition of wrist/hand motions. The result shows that the proposed method can successfully decompose sEMG signals into highly selective signals to target motions. In future works, the proposed method will be adapted for more subjects and to sEMG applications for practical evaluation considering various grasping motions.
Photosynthetic adaptation to light availability shapes the ecological success of bloom‐forming cyanobacterium Pseudanabaena to iron limitation

The poorly understood filamentous cyanobacterium Pseudanabaena is commonly epiphytic on Microcystis colonies and their abundances are often highly correlated during blooms. The response and adaptation of Microcystis to iron limitation have been extensively studied, but the strategies Pseudanabaena uses to respond to iron limitation are largely unknown. Here, physiological responses to iron limitation were compared between one Pseudanabaena and two Microcystis strains grown under different light intensities. The results showed that low‐intensity light exacerbated, but high‐intensity light alleviated, the negative effect of iron limitation on Pseudanabaena growth relative to two Microcystis strains. It was found that robust light‐harvesting and photosynthetic efficiency allowed adaptation of Pseudanabaena to low light availability relative to two Microcystis strains only during iron sufficiency. The results also indicated that a larger investment in the photosynthetic antenna probably contributed to light/iron co‐limitation of Pseudanabaena relative to two Microcystis strains under both light and iron limitation. Furthermore, the lower antenna pigments/chlorophyll a ratio and photosynthetic efficiency, and higher nonphotochemical quenching and saturation irradiance provided Pseudanabaena photoadaptation and photoprotection advantages over the two Microcystis strains under the high‐light condition. The lower investment in antenna pigments of Pseudanabaena than the two Microcystis strains under high‐light intensity is likely an efficient strategy for both saving iron quotas and decreasing photosensitivity. Therefore, when compared with Microcystis, the high plasticity of antenna pigments, along with the excellent photoadaptation and photoprotection ability of Pseudanabaena, probably ensures its ecological success under iron limitation when light is sufficient.