Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stromal and epithelial changes in breast cancer following endocrine treatment

Anti-oestrogens and aromatase inhibitors are currently used as endocrine therapies in breast cancer. Despite the significant role that these treatments play in reducing breast cancer mortality, some patients may display intrinsic and acquired therapeutic resistance. Different mechanisms are thought to contribute to endocrine resistance in patients treated with anti-oestrogens such as tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors such as letrozole.The importance of epithelial-stromal interactions in progression of breast tumour and the potential contribution of these interactions in resistance to tamoxifen have been suggested using data from different studies. Stromal compartment has also been shown to exhibit possible prognostic and therapeutic significance in breast cancer. Therefore it is essential to acquire better understanding of the changes in stromal and epithelial cells that occur during successful and unsuccessful endocrine treatment.In this study an important trial in which patients received tamoxifen for short windows was under investigation. Biopsies were taken from these patients before and after treatment. These biopsies were available as formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue blocks. Responding and non-responding patients were identified according to the Ki67 scores. Laser Capture Microdissection (LCM) was utilised to microdissect epithelial and stromal cells from the biopsies taken after treatment. The samples obtained following microdissection underwent RNA extraction and were subsequently used for gene expression profiling.Several differentially expressed genes in the epithelial and stromal compartments of tamoxifen responding and non-responding cases were identified. To assess the significance of the differentially expressed genes between the non-responding and responding cases, bioinformatics approaches were employed to incorporate the acquired data into functional enrichment analysis, pathway analysis and network construction. To examine the presence of possible predictive markers for therapeutic response and potential targets for therapy in breast cancer within the differentially expressed genes, data was compared to several published gene sets and publicly available datasets. Several significant genes involved in recognised pathways and networks were identified within the list of differentially expressed genes. The presence of previously proposed possible markers within the differentially expressed genes was also confirmed. These findings can be further explored for the future management of breast cancer.
Resident’s Awareness Towards Sustainable Tourism for Ecotourism Destination in Sundarban Forest, Bangladesh

Nature-based tourism is increasing throughout the world. Most are based in national parks and restricted areas. UNESCO has declared 28% of the world‟s largest contiguous mangrove forest, the Sundarban, as a world heritage site in 1987. Sundarban is the largest mangrove forest in the world, which is facing various kinds of threats. More than millions of people depends on cutting the tree, hunting animal other sources that are related with Sundarban. Negative natural and anthropogenic impacts and over-exploitation of natural resources have caused severe harm to the ecosystem. A growing human population with few different support opportunities poses a significant threat to the mangrove forest. There is an illegal increase in the reduction of trees and woods in the Sundarban. Deforestation is taking an increase in most of the areas of Sundarban which will ultimately lead to the loss of diversity. The problem of overfishing has placed the surroundings below great pressure. The stock of the fish is decreasing due to the combination of overexploitation and environmental condition changes. The density of the fish in shallow waters reduced enormously. Because of the excessive demand for the prawn product, the native people dropped the normal fishing practices and adopted the prawn seed culture. Earlier traditional agricultural strategies were practiced. But today, people are adopting the techniques of using pesticides and chemicals that are affecting the flora and fauna of the region. The dumping of various industrial and domestic wastes into the river systems also possesses a threat to the environment. This forest ecosystem conjointly has become at risk of pollution, which can have modified the ecosystem. This paper suggests that nature-oriented tourism destination Sundarban can achieve sustainability through public awareness. Well-planned sustainable tourism and residence awareness could provide economic and long-term incentives for conservation and could bring additional benefits to local communities and regional economies. The paper focuses on how to increase residence awareness.
Evaluating the taxonomic status of Solanum nigrum L. using flow cytometry and DNA barcoding technique

Solanum nigrum L. is a widely distributed species whose taxonomic status remains controversial. The ploidy determination of all the accessions were done based on stomatal, pollen and some morphological characters but morphometry could not provide solution to distinguish these species. In this study, ploidy status of all the accessions were done using flow cytometry and DNA barcoding technique was also applied to identify and distinguish 13 distinct germplasm collections. DNA of all 13 accessions was isolated and sequenced. The sequence was aligned using DNASTAR offline Software. The DNA sequence was subjected to BLAST for identifying at species level. The intra specific variation between the species was calculated using MEGA 5.0. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that among the 13 accessions, six were identified as S. americanum Mill, three were identified as S. nigrum Linn. and four were identified as S. villosum Mill.
Master Narratives, Ethics, and Morality

In this chapter we explore how master narratives have ethical and moral implications, and how master narratives can provide a way for researchers to look at the intersections of culture, ethics, morality, and individual development. We make this case by advancing three propositions about the relation among master narratives, ethics, and morality: 1) Master narratives are fundamentally about ethics in that they outline and convey culturally held ideas about the nature of a good life; 2) While all master narratives are grounded in ethics, not all master narratives are moral; and 3) Despite proposition 2, master narratives can come to exert moral force. We first describe the master narrative framework, and then follow with a detailed discussion of the three propositions. Our intent is that this integration of master narratives with moral development will help researchers in both areas to think about their work in new ways.
Endogenous productivity and unobserved prices

We discuss ways to apply the model for endogenous productivity when there are no firm-level output price indices available, a limitation of many data bases. Including the demand of the firm in the estimation allows us to obtain a "composite" of productivity, demand elasticity, and demand heterogeneity. This unobservable, often called "revenue productivity", is the estimate of productivity used by most scholarly studies. We find that this composite does not behave as productivity and, in particular, neither is greater for firms that perform R&D nor its distribution shows stochastic dominance. Its persistence and returns also give different results. Our findings highlight that results based on revenue productivity can be highly misleading about the returns of firm investments.
3D bioprinting a PCL/13-93B3 glass composite and its potential use as a bio-ink

A major limitation of using synthetic scaffolds in tissue engineering is little growth of incorporated cells in the interior of the scaffold, resulting in insufficient angiogenesis in the scaffold interior. Recently, cells have been 3D bioprinted concurrently with biomaterials to produce a cellularized, bioactive, angiogenic 3D environment. This thesis describes a novel solvent-extrusion method for printing polycaprolactone (PCL)/bioactive borate glass composite as a biomaterial for a cell-laden
Atlas of marine-fouling bryozoa of New Zealand ports and harbours

Forty species of native and exotic marine bryozoans are currently recognised as foulers of vessels and submerged artificial surfaces in New Zealand ports and harbours. Some 42% of species mentioned in a 1965 OECD catalogue of main marine-fouling organisms of European waters now occur in New Zealand and more may yet come to be recorded, based on past trends — exotic bryozoans have been coming into New Zealand at least since the 1890s, including nine species not recorded in the OECD catalogue. The most ubiquitous fouling bryozoans in New Zealand, occurring at a significant number of the ports and smaller harbours, are seven well-known subcosmopolitan species — in order of their chronological introductions these are Cryptosula pallasiana, Bugula neritina, Bugula flabellata, Tricellaria occidentalis, Bugula stolonifera, Conopeum seurati, and Watersipora subtorquata. Most have been recorded for the first time only since the late 1940s. Only 11 endemic species have been encountered as foulers in ports and harbours and these are minor components of little nuisance value. Keywords; Marine Bryozoa, New Zealand, ports, harbours, larvae, introduced species, Cryptosula, Bugula, Tricellaria, Conopeum, Watersipora, settlement season, key to species, control 1 N.Z. Oceanographic Institute, DSIR Marine and Freshwater, P.O. Box 14-901, Kilbirnie, Wellington, NEW ZEALAND 2 Zoological Institute, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060, JAPAN New records of marine-fouling species for New Zealand include (after adjustment for synonymies) Aeverrillia armata, Buskia socialis, Electra tenella, Bugula simplex, and Schizoporella errata. The report discusses the biology of bryozoan larvae at the time of settlement and metamorphosis, the most critical and susceptible phase in marine fouling, as well as the invasive strategies of marine-fouling species. Descriptions and illustrations are provided for each of the 40 species as well as a key to identification and information on reproduction and settlement season where these are known. Suggestions are aiso given on ameliorating the problem of marinebryozoan fouling.
Studies on Biological Diversity of Firefly in Japan

Taxonomic and phylogenetic studies of firefly in Japan have been reviewed. Fourty-six lampyrid species and one rhagophthalmid are distributed in the Japanese Islands including the Ryukyus. Recently, molecular phylogenetic approaches have been employed in the systematic study of firefly using mitochondrial and luciferase genes. Based on the molecular phylogenetic trees, evolutionary process of flashing patterns related strictly to mating behavior was estimated. Furthermore, genetic diversity studies revealed geographic differentiation patterns within species, and conservation measures of firefly were proposed to protect genetic resources endemic to the localities.
Do not disturb the family: roles of colony size and human disturbance in the genetic structure of lesser kestrel

Dispersal and philopatry are fundamental processes influencing the genetic structure and persistence of populations, and might be affected by isolation and habitat perturbation. Habitat degradation induced by human activities could have detrimental consequences on the genetic structure of populations. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the role of human impact in promoting or disrupting the genetic structure. Here, we conducted a genetic analysis using 12 polymorphic microsatellite markers of 70 lesser kestrels Falco naumanni from 10 breeding colonies of two subpopulations in Sicily (southern Italy). Genetic differentiation between the two subpopulations was negligible, and linear distances played no role in the level of genetic relatedness recorded in the two sites. Linear distances between nests also resulted in no effects on the relatedness recorded within and between colonies in the largest subpopulation. Clusters of more-versus less-related individuals resulted when the two-dimensional positions of colonies (i.e., latitude and longitude) were tested as predictors of genetic proximity instead of linear distances. Specifically, analyses of colony features showed colony size and human disturbance as factors negatively affecting the relatedness among chicks from different nests. Regardless of colony size, less-related individuals were born in colonies located in the core of the agricultural plain, where we quantified a higher level of human disturbance. In contrast, more related individuals were in colonies located in the marginal, less disturbed, agricultural area. Given the high philopatry of this species, our results are consistent with disruption of colony fidelity related to intensification of agricultural practices. We discuss the possible implications of long-term effects of genetic variability in small and disturbed colonies on fitness and population viability.
Field Evaluation of a Deployable RT-PCR Assay System for Real-Time Identification of Dengue Virus

Abstract : Dengue fever and the more severe form of the disease, dengue hemorrhagic fever, occurs in tropical and subtropical regions globally through infection by one or more of four viral serotypes, DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4. Viral transmission to humans is through mosquito vectors, primarily Aedes aegypti. Dengue universal and DEN 1-4 serotype specific fluorogenic, real-time RT-PCR assays and positive control nucleic acid were field-formatted by lyophilization and adapted for use on a field-durable, real-time, fluorimetric thermocycler. Nucleic acid extract isolated from DEN1-4 inoculated Aedes aegypti, field-captured Aedes aegypti and Culex spp, and field-captured Aedes aegypti and Culex spp spiked with total nucleic acid from DEN1-4 inoculated Aedes aegypti were used to construct a test panel (n = 64). In blind testing each of the five assays were 100% concordant in in vitro sensitivity and 100% concordant in specificity with dengue virus inoculated and spiked field-captured mosquitoes. A field-captured Aedes aegypti pool consisting of five females and two males was identified as dengue virus positive by the dengue universal assay; however, serotype identification was inconclusive. This study demonstrates the operational utility of a deployable assay system for rapid, sensitive, and specific screening and serotype identification of dengue virus in mosquito vectors.
Synbiotic properties of functional food additive from Jerusalem Artichoke tubers in regard to lactic acid bacteria starter cultures for fermented foods.

Since health benefits of lactic acid bacteria and b ifidobacteria consumption have been recognized exte nsiv studies on specific health effects and technology a spects have been reported. Fructans are generally p roved prebiotics and potent supplements for synbiotic foo ds, nevertheless the interaction of innovative preb iotic substances, starter cultures and involved probiotic strains, as well as food matrices should be evalua ted for each one combination under consideration. A technology f or production of fructan-containing Jerusalem Artic hoke (Helianthus tuberosus ) Concentrate (JAC) has been developed. The predomi nance of fructooligosaccharides (DP 3–8) as well as various macroand micronutrients i the composition of JAC makes them different from a number of commercial fructan sources and provides g ood prebiotic properties, being generally suggested for this range of fructans. Supplementation of milk and oathydrolysate medium with JAC and subsequent ferment ation with different probiotic dairy starters resulted in substantial stimulation of bacterial growth (probi otics B. lactis and L. acidophilus as well as L. bulgaricus) and acidification rate. The strain-specific respo nses of two general yogurt cultures L. bulgaricus and S. thermophilus , as well as probiotic strains by addition of JAC sho uld have been considered during design of prebiotic starters and conditions of fermentations process. JAC is su ggested to be perspective prebiotic fructan-containing additiv e for fermented synbiotic milks or oat-hydrolysate based products.
Regulation of Connexin40 Gap Junctions

Gap junctions provide direct electrical and biochemical communication between cardiomyocytes in the heart. Connexin40 (Cx40) is the major connexin in the atria of the heart and little is known regarding its regulation. Thus, the goal was to investigate the regulation of Cx40 in both physiological and pathophysiological conditions. The first objective of this thesis was to determine whether Cx40 gap junctions were regulated by β-adrenergic receptor activation. Cx40 has previously been shown to be acutely activated by cAMP, this cAMP-induced increase in Cx40-mediated cell-to-cell dye transfer has been shown to be effected through the β-adrenergic receptor-adenylyl cyclaseProtein Kinase A (PKA) pathway in Cx40-transfected HeLa cells. The second objective of this thesis was to determine whether Cx40 gap junctions were regulated by intracellular Ca concentration ([Ca]i ). [Ca]i was increased by addition of the ionophore ionomycin and elevating extracellular calcium [Ca]o from 1.8 mM to 21.8 mM. This resulted in an elevation of [Ca]i and effected an inhibition of Cx40-mediated cell-to-cell dye transfer (IC50 of 500 ± 0.72 nM) which was Calmodulin-dependent. The third objective of this thesis was to determine whether Cx40 gap junctions were regulated by ischemia. Inducing ischemia chemically by inhibiting the electron transport chain with sodium cyanide and glycolysis with iodoacetate and 2-deoxyglucose effected an inhibition of Cx40-mediated cell-to-cell dye transfer that was shown to be Calmodulin dependent. The main conclusions of this thesis were: (1) β-adrenergic receptor activation increases Cx40-mediated cell-to-cell dye transfer which requires the activation of PKA; (2) A sustained elevation in [Ca]i causes a partial inhibition of Cx40 gap junction-mediated cell-to-cell dye transfer which was Ca-and Calmodulin dependent; (3) Chemical ischemia causes a partial inhibition of Cx40 gap junction-mediated cell-to-cell dye transfer which was shown to be Calmodulin-dependent. Index words: Connexin40, Atria, β-adrenergic receptor, Intracellular calcium, Chemical ischemia. REGULATION OF CONNEXIN40 GAP JUNCTIONS by
Adaptation de Staphylococcus xylosus à la matrice carnée, impact des composés nitrosés et utilisation des sources de fer

Staphylococcus xylosus est couramment utilise comme ferment dans les produits carnes pour son role dans le developpement de la flaveur et de la couleur. Beaucoup de proprietes technologiques ont ete caracterisees in vitro. Cependant, les mecanismes moleculaires mis en place par cette bacterie pour s’adapter a une matrice carnee et aux composes nitroses, frequemment ajoutes dans ces produits, etaient meconnus. Pour identifier ces mecanismes, des approches de transcriptomique globale ont ete mises en œuvre. S. xylosus survit dans un modele viande en modulant l’expression de 55 % de ses genes. Il surexprime des genes codant des proteines impliques dans le catabolisme du glucose et du gluconate et des genes codant des peptidases. En parallele, il sous exprime de nombreux genes impliques dans la synthese des acides amines probablement en raison de leur disponibilite dans le modele viande. Le modele viande est un milieu riche en divers substrats et la bacterie pourrait adapter sa physiologie via les regulateurs transcriptionnels CcpA et CodY. S. xylosus repond au sel ajoute au modele viande en surexprimant des genes impliques dans des mecanismes d’osmoprotection, d’extrusion de Na + et de protons. S. xylosus repond aux composes nitroses dans le modele viande en modulant 24 % de son genome. Ces composes nitroses generent un stress nitrosant et S. xylosus repond a ce stress par la surexpression de genes impliques dans l’homeostasie du fer via la derepression du regulateur Fur. S. xylosus surexprime aussi des genes codant des enzymes antioxydants via la derepression du regulateur PerR. De plus, il surexprime des genes impliques dans la reparation de l’ADN et des proteines. La viande est un aliment riche en fer hemique et non hemique. Ainsi, S. xylosus est capable d’acquerir du fer a partir de ferritine, de transferrine et potentiellement des hemoproteines. La ferritine est une source preferentielle de fer pour S. xylosus. Un operon codant potentiellement un complexe membranaire implique dans des reactions d’oxydo-reduction a ete identifie. Un mutant de deletion/insertion dans le premier gene de l’operon confirme que ce systeme pourrait jouer un role dans l’acquisition du fer de la ferritine chez S. xylosus. Cette etude revele un changement global dans l’expression des genes de S. xylosus dans un modele viande, elle souligne la capacite de S. xylosus a s’adapter a un stress osmotique ou nitrosant et elle caracterise pour la premiere fois la capacite d’un staphylocoque a utiliser du fer de la ferritine.
The nest architecture of stingless bees with special reference to those of Costa Rica

Apparatus operative to selectively discharge substantially all or only a predetermined portion of the water within the flush tank of a toilet. The apparatus includes an open ended float having selectively regulatable venting ports for controlling float weight and buoyancy by the water-air ratio therein. The float is constructed in a size adaptable to most existing commode flush tanks and is assembled therein by attachment directly to the flush valve thereof. The float water-air ratio is then set into the desired flush mode by selective venting of the ports whereby an unweighted float will permit a full flush and a water filled float will drive the flush valve into a premature closure for discharging only a portion of the water within the flush tank.
Flower anatomy and morphology of Exodeconus maritimus (Solanaceae, Solaneae) and Nicandra physalodes (Solanaceae, Nicandreae): importance for their systematic relationships

Une analyse comparative de l'anatomie et la morphologie florales dans Exodeconus maritimus (Benth.) D'Arcy (Solanaceae, Solaneae) et Nicandra physalodes (L.) Gaertn. (Solanaceae, Nicandreae) a ete realisee L'histologie de la zone de dehiscence, le degre de fertilite et la pilosite des antheres different beaucoup entre ces deux especes. La forme du stigmate, la cytologie de la surface receptive, les caracteres epidermiques du style, le nombre de carpelles de l'ovaire, le degre de developpement du nectaire, la forme, le nombre et la distribution des stomates sur le tissu secreteur distinguent de plus E. maritimus de N. physalodes. Ces caracteres contribuent a confirmer la position supragenerique de Exodeconus, independant de Nicandra.