Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biosynthesis and Characterization of Exopolysaccharides and Lipids from Antarctic Yeasts

ABSTRACT A laboratory technological scheme for biosynthesis of exopolysaccharides and biomass from Antarctic yeasts and extraction of phospholipids and fatty acids from the biomass was developed. The strains Sporobolomyces salmonicolor AL34, Cryptococcus laurentii AL62, Isolate AL65, Isolate AL66, Cryptococcus laurentii AL100 and Isolate AL102 were selected as active producers of exopolysaccharides, and the biomass was a source of biologically active compounds. The chemical composition of the extracellular polymeric substances was analyzed and it was established that they contained about 80.0 % carbohydrates, 11.4% protein, 6.0 - 9.2% ash, nucleic acids - 4.7 - 6.0% and the biomass contained 10.5 - 13.5 % lipids. The accumulation of polar and non-polar lipids in the biomass produced at submerged and surface cultivation of the strains was studied. The content of phospholipids was found to be 0.1 - 0.4% in the biomas and 6.3 - 50.0% in the lipid fraction. In the submerged and surface cultures of the investigated Antarctic yeasts the long-chain unsaturated fatty acids were predominant (more than 45.0%), mainly oleic acid. High contents of them were found in strain Sp. salmonicolor AL34 (79.0 %) as a result of surface cultivation and Cr. laurentii AL100 (71.3%), and Isolate AL102 (73.4%) at submerged cultivation.
SpCas9- and LbCas12a-Mediated DNA Editing Produce Different Gene Knockout Outcomes in Zebrafish Embryos

CRISPR/Cas (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/CRISPR associated protein) genome editing is a powerful technology widely used in current genetic research. In the most simple and straightforward way it can be applied for a gene knockout resulting from repair errors, induced by dsDNA cleavage by Cas nuclease. For decades, zebrafish (Danio rerio) has been known as a convenient model object of developmental biology. Both commonly used nucleases SpCas9 (Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9) and LbCas12a (Lachnospiraceae bacterium Cas12a) are extensively used in this model. Among them, LbCas12a is featured with higher specificity and efficiency of homology-directed editing in human cells and mouse. But the editing outcomes for these two nucleases in zebrafish are still not compared quantitatively. Therefore, to reveal possible advantages of one nuclease in comparison to the other in the context of gene knockout generation, we compare here the outcomes of repair of the DNA breaks introduced by these two commonly used nucleases in zebrafish embryos. To address this question, we microinjected the ribonucleoprotein complexes of the both nucleases with the corresponding guide RNAs in zebrafish zygotes and sequenced the target gene regions after three days of development. We found that LbCas12a editing resulted in longer deletions and more rare inserts, in comparison to those generated by SpCas9, while the editing efficiencies (percentage of mutated copies of the target gene to all gene copies in the embryo) of both nucleases were the same. On the other hand, overlapping of protospacers resulted in similarities in repair outcome, although they were cut by two different nucleases. Thus, our results indicate that the repair outcome depends both on the nuclease mode of action and on protospacer sequence.
Deep Feature Weighting with A Novel Information Gain for Naive Bayes Text Classiification

Naive Bayes (NB) has been widely used in text classiﬁcation tasks for its simplicity and eﬃciency. However, its feature independence assumption limits its performance and the traditional TFIDF weighting method is not very ideal for its object is the entire corpus and the traditional weighting methods only associate weights with the ﬁnal classiﬁcation formula. For the above problems, we proposed a method named deep weighting with information gain of features category and document for Naive Bayes (IGDC-DWNB), which combines two-dimensional information gain of the features and incorporates the weights into conditional probability for deep feature weighting. The experiments on the Chinese and English corpus show that our IGDC-DWNB obtains a better performance than its competitors.
Mechanical inhibition of isolated Vo from V/A-ATPase for proton conductance

V-ATPase is an energy converting enzyme, coupling ATP hydrolysis/synthesis in the hydrophilic V1 domain, with proton flow through the Vo membrane domain, via rotation of the central rotor complex relative to the surrounding stator apparatus. Upon dissociation from the V1 domain, the Vo domain of the eukaryotic V-ATPase can adopt a physiologically relevant auto-inhibited form in which proton conductance through the Vo domain is prevented, however the molecular mechanism of this inhibition is not fully understood. Using cryo-electron microscopy, we determined the structure of both the holo V/A-ATPase and isolated Vo at near-atomic resolution, respectively. These structures clarify how the isolated Vo domain adopts the auto-inhibited form and how the holo complex prevents formation of the inhibited Vo form.
Prevention of infections associated with peripheral catheters: construction and validation of clinical scenario.

OBJECTIVES to describe the process of construction and content validation of a clinical setting for teaching and learning the recommended practices for preventing bloodstream infection, associated with peripheral venous catheters, for nursing professionals. METHODS methodological study of the construction of the scenario based on the National League Nursing Jeffries Simulation Theory, International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning, and the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency. Twelve experts performed content validation. We used to assess the degree of agreement between them, the Content Validity Index, and a descriptive analysis of the suggestions presented. RESULTS all the requirements of the simulated clinical scenario reached an agreement between judges of more than 80% in terms of clarity and relevance. CONCLUSIONS the steps adopted in the construction and validation of the clinical scenario proved to be adequate and relevant, and the scenario is suitable for training professionals.
Dietary Interventions for Healthy Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review of Tools to Promote a Healthy Antenatal Dietary Intake

Maternal nutrition is essential for the development and lifelong health of the offspring. Antenatal care provides unique opportunities for nutrition communication, and health promotion tools (e.g., guidelines, instruments, packages, or resources) might help to overcome several concurrent barriers. We conducted a systematic literature review to map tools that are available for the promotion of a healthy dietary intake in healthy pregnant women in Western countries, and to identify what makes these tools feasible and effective for these women and their healthcare providers. Seventeen studies were included, evaluating tools with various delivery modes, content, and providers. Nine studies employed multiple, complementary delivery methods and almost all studies (n = 14) tailored the content to varying degrees, based on the individual characteristics and lifestyle behaviors of the participants. We found that the feasibility of a tool was dependent on practical issues, time investment, and providers’ motivation, skills, and knowledge, while the effectiveness was related more to the type of provider and the content. Most effective interventions were provided by dietitians and nutritionists, and were highly tailored. Based on the results of this review, we believe that custom tools that are sensitive to inequalities are needed to support all women in obtaining or maintaining a healthy diet during pregnancy.
The braincase anatomy of Carnotaurus sastrei (Theropoda: Abelisauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Patagonia

ABSTRACT Carnotaurus sastrei is a large abelisaurid dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Patagonia. Its remains include an almost complete skeleton with a well-preserved skull and braincase. Because relatively few abelisaurid braincases are known, the description of the Carnotaurus braincase is important for understanding the variability of this complex structure within the clade. Carnotaurus exhibits traits that characterize the abelisaurid basicranium, such as a well-developed preotic pendant, solid basipterygoid processes, and pneumatic basisphenoid, subsellar, and lateral tympanic recesses. The basipterygoid processes do not project laterally, unlike the divergent processes observed in other abelisaurids. Carnotaurus shares with the Malagasy abelisaurid Majungasaurus crenatissimus caudodorsally oriented paroccipital processes and a maxillomandibular foramen for the trigeminal nerve that in lateral view is aligned with the nuchal crest. The detailed description of the braincase of Carnotaurus presented here provides a better cranial anatomical record of this Patagonian abelisaurid and preliminary insights to the neurocranial morphology within the group.
Evolution of attachment structures in the highly diverse Acercaria (Hexapoda)

Acercaria display an unusually broad array of adhesive devices occurring on different parts of the legs. Attachment structures of all major subgroups are described and illustrated. Nineteen characters of the distal leg region were combined with a data matrix containing 99 additional morphological characters of different body parts. The results of the cladistic analysis are largely congruent with current hypotheses. Zoraptera are not retrieved as close relatives of Acercaria. The monophyly of the entire lineage and of the major subgroups Psocodea, Phthiraptera, and Hemiptera is confirmed. Our data also support the monophyly of Auchenorrhycha and a sister‐group relationship between Thysanoptera and Hemiptera (Condylognatha). In contrast to other lineages of insects, the hairy type of adhesive device is present only in one group within the Acercaria (Heteroptera, Cimicomorpha). The arolium is present in the groundplan but missing in several groups (e.g. Psocodea, Cicadoidea, Aphidoidea). Pretarsal pulvilli evolved several times independently. Tarsal euplantulae and different specialized clasping devices have evolved within Phthiraptera, whereas pretarsal attachment devices are missing in this ectoparasitic group. The potential to modify pretarsal attachment devices in their structural details has probably contributed to the very successful diversification of the predominantly phytophagous Hemiptera.
Exploitation of Concatenated Olive Plastome DNA Markers for Reliable Varietal Identification for On-Farm Genetic Resource Conservation

Rapid and reliable identification of olive plants using DNA markers has been attempted in the past but the selection of polymorphic regions for discrimination at varietal level remained obscure. Recent sequencing of plastid genome of the olive flaunts high resolution Cp markers for olive DNA fingerprinting. Using this information, we designed a combination of chloroplast markers to amplify genes recruited in photosynthesis, ribosomal and NADH energy metabolism for varietal identification of olive plants. Concatenated DNA sequences of more than 100 unknown and 10 reference plants samples were analyzed using various bioinformatics and phylogenetic tools. Conserved blocks of nucleotide sequences were detected in multiple alignments. Phylogenetic reconstruction differentiated the unknown plants into various clusters with known varieties. Further narrowing down of the samples through UPGMA tree clearly separated the plants into Arbosana, Frantoio and Koroneiki as the major varieties. Multiple alignments of these clusters revealed important variety specific SNPs including G and T nucleotides at specific positions. Sequence identifying at intra cultivar level was more than 98.79% while it dropped to 97%, and even to 96% at inter varietal level. Furthermore, a neighbor net network analysis separated these three clusters, thus validating the results of UPGMA tree. Over all, out of 100 plants samples, 49 plants were identified that fall into 10 varieties including Arbosana, Carolea, Chetoui, Coratina, Domat, Frantoio, Gemlik, Koroneiki,Leccino and Moraiolo. The maximum number of known plants belongs to Frantoio and Gemlik (8 each). The least number of samples was identified from Carolea, Domat and Moraiolo with 2 samples each. However, 51 plants could not be identified, as plants were not clustered with any of reference control. Our results have implications in on-farm conservation of olive germplasm and provision of genuine material for multiplication of authentic varieties. This strategy can be extended to varietal identification of other plant species.
Pollination Ecology of Cypripedium reginae Walter (Orchidaceae): Size Matters

As in most pollinator-limited orchids lacking edible rewards, a population of C. reginae in southern Missouri showed a low conversion ratio of flowers into fruits (0.046–0.23) over two seasons. There was no relationship between the length of the secondary flowering stem, the number of foliage leaves on the same stem and the number of flowers (one or two) produced at the terminus of the stem. However, the size mattered based on the physical dimensions of pollinia-carrying insects vs. parameters of floral architecture. While a diverse range of floral visitors (Coleoptera, Diptera and Hymenoptera) to C. reginae were observed over three seasons, only six medium-sized bees (Anthophora, Apis and Megachile spp.) carried segments of massulate pollinia after three seasons of observation and collection. Pollinia were always deposited dorsally on the thorax. These bees had a mean width of 4.44 mm and depth of 3.41 mm whereas the rear exit length and width of the orchid measured 6.53 mm and 3.41 mm. respectively. In contrast, the more numerous but smaller bees (2.66 mm width and 2.16 mm depth) in the genera Augochlorella, Augochlora, Ceratina, Lasioglossum spp. etc., exited the flower via the same rear orifices without pressing against the dehiscent anthers. Larger bees (gynes of Bombus spp.) measuring 9.06 mm in width and 6.25 mm in depth, were too large to escape via the rear exits so they left the flower via the large, dorsal entrance (through which they first entered the labellum) never contacting either anther. As in the small-flowered C. plectrochilum, the larger flowered C. reginae receives many floral visitors but selects for pollinia-vectors of a discrete body size.
Non-Seasonal SSTs of the Western Tropical North Pacific

Seasonal changes in SSTs are very small in the western tropical North Pacific, in spite of the fact that significantly more solar radiation per unit time and per unit area is absorbed by the surface layer in summer than in winter and mainly at lower latitudes. Therefore, an efficient heat transport mechanism must be operating to keep up with the solar input. Sea surface temperatures from a world atlas are analyzed where it is found that the areas between the 80 and 82.5 F contours and the equator have marked seasonal variations: increasing in spring and summer as the contours move north, then decreasing in fall and winter as the contours return south. Between winter and summer, the area under the 80 F contour doubles in size. The increase of surface areas is likely due to the increase of absorption of solar radiation. When the areas decrease with time, the inferred heat in the surface layer must go somewhere. Arguments consistent with the available data suggest that the accumulated heat in spring and summer is advected north out of the tropics. The surface temperature gradient, related to the driving force for the flow, computed between the contours and the Aleutian Islands, increases slowly from January to June but then increases much faster till September, after which it rapidly decreases again. It is conjectured that cold surface water from the subarctic surges south beginning in June causing a warm tropical water pulse simultaneously to go north. The large volume of high temperature water of the surface layer in the western tropical North Pacific is thought to be the source of the permanent northward wide warm current off California as well as the additional northward warm surge in summer, both of which have been established previously on the basis of very many observations.
EXPRESSION OF PORCINE INTESTINAL NUTRIENT TRANSPORTERS ALONG CRYPT-VILLUS AXIS AND DURING POSTNATAL DEVELOPMENT

EXPRESSION OF PORCINE INTESTINAL NUTRIENT TRANSPORTERS ALONG CRYPT-VILLUS AXIS AND DURING POSTNATAL DEVELOPMENT Chengbo Yang Advisor: University of Guelph, 2011 Professor Ming Z. Fan This research was conducted to investigate the expression of porcine intestinal nutrient transporters along the neonatal crypt-villus axis and during the postnatal development. First, we examined the transport kinetics of Na-glucose co-tranporter 1 (SGLT1) and Na-dependent neutral amino acid (AA) transporter BAT1 and then the protein and mRNA abundances of SGLT1, BAT1 and Na-dependent neutral AA exchanger ASCT2 along the jejunal crypt-villus axis in the neonatal pig and the potential mechanisms associated with their regulations. Our results suggested that: 1) high levels of apical maximal SGLT1 and BAT1 uptake activities were shown to exist along the entire jejunal crypt-villus axis in the neonatal pig; 2) there were no significant differences in the SGLT1, BAT1 and ASCT2 protein abundances in spite of their different mRNA abundances among the crypt-villus axis, suggesting unique posttranscriptional regulatory mechanisms; and 3) global protein translational efficiency, as assessed by examining some of the key protein translational initiation and elongation factors, was higher in the crypt cells than in the upper villus cells, likely playing a regulatory role for maintaining apical nutrient transporter abundances in crypt cells of the neonate. Second, we further examined the protein and mRNA abundances of jejunal neutral AA transporters BAT1 and ASCT2 and acidic AA transporter EAAC1 during the postnatal development in pigs at the ages of d 1, 4, 6, 12, 20, 28 (1-wk post-weaning), and 70 (mature gut at grower phase), respectively. Our results showed that the jejunal apical BAT1, ASCT2 and EAAC1 protein abundances were dramatically decreased during the postnatal development and were likely regulated at both the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. These substantial decreases in the small intestinal apical Na-dependent AA transporter abundances may contribute to increased intestinal microbial catabolism of AA, which may be partially responsible for the reduced whole body efficiency of nitrogen utilization during the postnatal growth in pigs. Collectively, our results suggest that apical nutrient transporters SGLT1, BAT1 and ASCT2 are abundantly expressed along the entire jejunal crypt-villus axis in the neonatal pig, whereas abundances of jejunal apical AA transporters EAAC1, BAT1 and ASCT2 declined substantially during the postnatal growth in pigs.
Effect of Behavioral Weight Management Interventions Using Lifestyle mHealth Self-Monitoring on Weight Loss: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Alongside an increase in obesity, society is experiencing the development of substantial technological advances. Interventions that are easily scalable, such as lifestyle (including diet and physical activity) mobile health (mHealth) self-monitoring, may be highly valuable in the prevention and treatment of excess weight. Thus, the aims of this systematic review and meta-analysis were to estimate the following: (i) the effect of behavioral weight management interventions using lifestyle mHealth self-monitoring on weight loss and (ii) the adherence to behavioral weight management interventions using lifestyle mHealth self-monitoring. MEDLINE via PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and the Web of Science databases were systematically searched. The DerSimonian and Laird method was used to estimate the effect of and adherence to behavioral weight management interventions using lifestyle mHealth self-monitoring on weight loss. Twenty studies were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis, yielding a moderate decrease in weight and higher adherence to intervention of behavioral weight management interventions using lifestyle mHealth self-monitoring, which was greater than other interventions. Subgroup analyses showed that smartphones were the most effective mHealth approach to achieve weight management and the effect of behavioral weight management interventions using lifestyle mHealth self-monitoring was more pronounced when compared to usual care and in the short-term (less than six months). Furthermore, behavioral weight management interventions using lifestyle mHealth self-monitoring showed a higher adherence than: (i) recording on paper at any time and (ii) any other intervention at six and twelve months.
Umbrella species: critique and lessons from East Africa

Umbrella species are ‘species with large area requirements, which if given sufficient protected habitat area, will bring many other species under protection’. Historically, umbrella species were employed to delineate specific reserve boundaries but are now used in two senses: (1) as aids to identifying areas of species richness at a large geographic scale; (2) as a means of encompassing populations of co‐occuring species at a local scale. In the second sense, there is a dilemma as to whether to maximize the number or viability of background populations; the umbrella population itself needs to be viable as well. Determining population viability is sufficiently onerous that it could damage the use of umbrella species as a conservation shortcut. The effectiveness of using the umbrella‐species concept at a local scale was investigated in the real world by examining reserves in East Africa that were gazetted some 50 years ago using large mammals as umbrella species. Populations of these species are still numerous in most protected areas although a few have declined. Populations of other, background species have in general been well protected inside reserves; for those populations that have declined, the causes are unlikely to have been averted if reserves had been set up using other conservation tools. Outside one reserve, Katavi National Park in Tanzania, background populations of edible ungulates and small carnivores are lower than inside the reserve but small rodent and insectivore abundance is higher. While we cannot compare East African reserves to others not gazetted using umbrella species, the historical record in this region suggests that umbrella species have been an effective conservation shortcut perhaps because most reserves were initially large and could encompass substantial populations of background species. It is therefore premature to discard the local‐scale umbrella‐species concept despite its conceptual difficulties.
Elective Neck Dissection or Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Early Stage Oral Cavity Cancer Patients: The Dutch Experience

Background: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has been introduced as a diagnostic staging modality for detection of occult metastases in patients with early stage oral cancer. Comparisons regarding accuracy to the routinely used elective neck dissection (END) are lacking in literature. Methods: A retrospective, multicenter cohort study included 390 patients staged by END and 488 by SLNB. Results: The overall sensitivity (84% vs. 81%, p = 0.612) and negative predictive value (NPV) (93%, p = 1.000) were comparable between END and SLNB patients. The END cohort contained more pT2 tumours (51%) compared to the SLNB cohort (23%) (p < 0.001). No differences were found for sensitivity and NPV between SLNB and END divided by pT stage. In floor-of-mouth (FOM) tumours, SLNB had a lower sensitivity (63% vs. 92%, p = 0.006) and NPV (90% vs. 97%, p = 0.057) compared to END. Higher disease-specific survival (DSS) rates were found for pT1 SLNB patients compared to pT1 END patients (96% vs. 90%, p = 0.048). Conclusion: In the absence of randomized clinical trials, this study provides the highest available evidence that, in oral cancer, SLNB is as accurate as END in detecting occult lymph node metastases, except for floor-of-mouth tumours.