Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
FADS gene variants, diet and atopic phenotypes and lipids in children

Objective: To describe regional differences between eastern and western Germany with regard to food, nutrient and supplement intake in 9–12-year-old children, and analyse its association with parental education and equivalent income. Design: Data were obtained from the 10-year follow-up of the two prospective birth cohort studies – GINIplus and LISAplus. Data on food consumption and supplement intake were collected using an FFQ, which had been designed for the specific study population. Information on parental educational level and equivalent income was derived from questionnaires. Logistic regression modelling was used to analyse the effect of parental education, equivalent income and region on food intake, after adjusting for potential confounders. Setting: Germany. Subjects: A total of 3435 children aged 9–12 years. Results: Substantial regional differences in food intake were observed between eastern and western Germany. Intakes of bread, butter, eggs, pasta, vegetables/salad and fruit showed a significant direct relationship with the level of parental education after adjusting for potential confounders, whereas intakes of margarine, meat products, pizza, desserts and soft drinks were inversely associated with parental education. Equivalent income had a weaker influence on the child’s food intake. Conclusions: Nutritional education programmes for school-age children should therefore account for regional differences and parental education.
Evaluation of Modern Crime Prediction Techniques

Police analysts are required to unravel the complexities in data to assist operational personnel in arresting offenders and directing crime prevention strategies. However, the volume of crime that is being committed and the awareness of modern criminals make this a daunting task. The ability to analyse this amount of data with its inherent complexities without using computational support puts a strain on human resources. This paper examines the current techniques that are used to predict crime and criminality. Over time, these techniques have been refined and have achieved limited success. They are concentrated into three categories: statistical methods, these mainly relate to the journey to crime, age of offending and offending behaviour; techniques using geographical information systems that identify crime hot spots, repeat victimisation, crime attractors and crime generators; a miscellaneous group which includes machine learning techniques to identify patterns in criminal behaviour and studies involving re-offending. The majority of current techniques involve the prediction of either a single offender's criminality or a single crime type's next offence. These results are of only limited use in practical policing. It is our contention that Knowledge Discovery in Databases should be used on all crime types together with offender data, as a whole, to predict crime and criminality within a small geographical area of a police force. Key Words: crime hot spots, repeat victimisation, Crime Pattern Theory, Statistical Methods.
Qualidade da água em pesque-pague da região metropolitana de São Paulo (Brasil): avaliação através de fatores abióticos (período seco e chuvoso) - DOI: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v27i1.1352

The water quality of 30 sports fishing in Sao Paulo (Brazil) metropolitan area was evaluated under abiotic variables during dry and rainy periods of September 2000 and February 2002. Alkalinity varied between 10.5 and 95.0 CaCO3/L; the conductivity varied between 10.2 and 390.0 μS/cm; the pH between 5.80 and 8.10. Dissolved oxygen varied between 5.20 and 12.40 mg/L; turbidity between 11 and 270 NTU; water temperature 18 and 27°C. The STS varied between 12 and 140 mg/L and the water transparency between 0.10 and 0.60. The results were in accordance with National Environmental Council (Conama) Resolution (1986) for class 2. However, high electrical conductivity and oxygen saturation showed high level of organic matter which leads to deterioration of water quality. There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) between the variables and the dry and rainy periods, which suggests a higher influence of the management on the analyzed systems than on the climatic variations
Relationship between triplet repeat polymorphisms and HapMap tagSNPs

2 Acknowledgements . 4 Part A: Background and Significance . 7 Part B: Specific Aims . 12 Part C: Specific Aim 1 . 14 Primer design and amplification strategy for triplet repeat analysis . 15 Incorporation of fluorophore by the fluorescent adaptamer PCR technique . 16 Polymorphic determination of triplet repeats using DNA of varied ethnic origin . 18 Correlation of the experimentally determined polymorphism of the selected triplets with the repeat database Satellog. 19 Verification of the normal meiotic origin of the observed triplet variations . 20 Validation of assayed alleles through sequencing . 21 Analysis of sequencing and genotyping results . 28 Using the technique beyond triplet repeats. 35 Cost considerations . 36
Aggregation behavior and seasonal philopatry in male and female leopard sharks Triakis semifasciata along the open coast of southern California, USA

This study presents the longest uninterrupted acoustic monitoring record available to date for the leopard shark Triakis semifasciata, providing novel insight into the fine-scale and long-term movement patterns of this species, and demonstrating that both sexes exhibit site- specific aggregation behavior and seasonal philopatry. Twenty females and 13 males were surgi- cally fitted with coded acoustic transmitters and tracked for over 3 yr by underwater acoustic receivers spanning 120 km of coastline from San Clemente, CA, USA to the USA-Mexico border, with 2 receivers positioned at known aggregation sites in La Jolla and Del Mar, CA. Whereas females appeared to be particularly attracted to the La Jolla site, males exhibited strong site fidelity to Del Mar. Shark abundance at both sites was higher during the day than at night, partic- ularly in late afternoon when water temperature was highest. Female abundance in La Jolla was highest in late June through early December, and was strongly positively correlated with sea sur- face temperature, consistent with the hypothesis that females aggregate in warm water to accel- erate gestation. In addition, seasonal arrival of females to and departure from La Jolla were highly synchronous and coincided with the summer and winter solstices, respectively. In contrast, male abundance in Del Mar was highest in late April through early October and was positively corre- lated with both sea surface temperature and photoperiod. Lastly, both sexes exhibited strong sea- sonal philopatry, with 50.0% of females and 60.0% of males returning every year to their respec- tive aggregation sites during the 3 yr study period.
Phylogenetic patterns among tropical flowering phenologies

1 The ability of phylogenetic, water stress and 'shared-pollinator' hypotheses to explain flowering times was tested for the flora of Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Both quantitative (217 species) and qualitative (1173 species) flowering data were used. 2 Descriptive metrics calculated from quantitative flowering data indicated that mean flowering times fell in the final two months of the dry season and the first two months of the wet season for 56% of species and that flowering was concentrated in a short, predictable part of the year for the great majority of species. 3 The 'shared-pollinator' hypothesis predicted that congeners should have temporally segregated flowering times. This hypothesis was rejected for 57 of 59 genera. 4 The water stress hypothesis predicted that species from drier habitats and life forms with limited access to soil water should flower in the wet season. This hypothesis was also rejected. 5 There were, however, strong phylogenetic patterns. Both the mean and the variance of flowering times were similar among congeners. The variance of flowering times was also similar among confamilials, and mean flowering times were concentrated in the wet season for monocotyledons.
A Review of Effect of Light on Microalgae Growth

Algae-organisms are unicellular or simple multicellular body plant that is able to manufacture their own food material by photosynthesis. Algae can be cultivated under certain conditions of temperature, light and sufficient nutrients to produce biodiesel. Many researchers worked to increase the efficiency of the production rate in both indoor and outdoor cultivating systems and by designing special photobioreactors (PBRs) to increase the rate of photosynthesis. Light conditions affect directly the growing and photosynthesis of microalgae. (Duration and intensity). Microalgae needs a light/dark regime for productive photosynthesis, it needs light for a photochemical phase to produce (ATP, NADPH) and also needs dark for biochemical phase synthesize essential molecules for growth. This article critically reviews research under taken to date to study the effect of light on the microalgae growth.
Dynamic changes in the abundance and chemical speciation of dissolved and particulate phosphorus across the river‐lake interface in southwest Lake Michigan

Phosphorus (P) concentrations and primary production in the Great Lakes have declined since the 1980s, but changes in biogeochemical cycling pathways of different P species remain poorly understood. Water samples were collected for the measurements of different P species to examine the dynamics of P in the water column across the river‐lake interface from the Milwaukee River to open Lake Michigan. Dissolved inorganic P (DIP) concentrations were as high as 3049 nM in river waters, but decreased dramatically to as low as 11 ± 7 nM in open lake waters. Total dissolved P was mostly measured in the form of DIP in river waters (73% ± 18%), whereas dissolved organic P (DOP) became the predominant species (85% ± 18%) in lake waters. Colloidal P (>1 kDa) comprised 58% ± 16% of the bulk DOP in river waters, but decreased to 23% ± 5% in ologotrophic lake waters, showing again contrasting biogeochemical regimes between river and lake waters. Biological processes and coagulation/sedimentation were largely responsible for the removal of river‐derived P species and active transformation between inorganic and organic P occurred in both dissolved and particulate phases across the river‐lake interface. Increased water column P inventory over the winter of 2013–2014 likely resulted from an accumulative effect of both atmospheric and riverine inputs in the upper water column, and benthic nepheloid layer processes coupled with quagga mussels excretion for the lower water column, respectively. High partition coefficient values (logKd of 4.33–7.01) and a “particle concentration effect” on the partitioning of P between dissolved and particulate phases attested the particle‐reactive nature of P in lake waters.
Hypolipidemic Effect of Exo-Polymer Produced in Submerged Mycelial Culture of Five Different Mushrooms

The hypolipidemic effect of exo-polymer produced in submerged mycelial culture of Hericium erinaceus (HE), Auricularia auricula-judae (AA), Flammulina velutipes (FV), Phellinus pini (PP), and Grifola frondosa (GF) was investigated in dietary-induced hyperlipidemic rats. The animals were administered with exo-polymers at the level of 100 mg/kg body weight daily for four weeks. Hypolipidemic effect was achieved in all the experimental groups, however, HE exo- polymer proved to be the most potent one, which significantly reduced the plasma triglyceride (28.9%), total cholesterol (29.7%), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (39.6%), phospholipid (16.0%), and liver total cholesterol (28.9%) level, when compared to the saline administered (control) group. The results of the present investigation strongly demonstrate the potential of HE exo-polymer in combating hyperlipidemia in the experimental animals.
Two new species of Indopinnixa Manning & Morton, 1987 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Pinnotheridae) from Lombok, Indonesia

Two new species of pinnotherid crabs of the genus Indopinnixa Manning & Morton, 1987, are described from the island of Lombok, Indonesia. Indopinnixa kasijani n. sp. and I. moosai n. sp. differ from the two known congeners, I. sipunculana Manning & Morton, 1987, and I. mortoni Davie, 1992, by their proportionately wider and smoother carapaces, and the morphology of the third maxillipeds, pereiopods, abdomen and gonopods. The two new species differ from each other in the morphologies of their male first gonopods and female abdomens.
Signaling at the neuromuscular synapse

The vertebrate neuromuscular synapse arises as a result of inductive interactions between muscle and nerve. Accumulation of acetylcholine receptors (AChR) in the postsynaptic membrane is a hallmark of postsynaptic specialization. Motor neuron induces this specialization through three independent pathways. The first pathway is mediated by agrin, a basal lamina protein secreted by nerve, which triggers redistribution of AChRs to synaptic region of the muscle fiber. In the second pathway, motor nerve releases a signal that stimulates transcription of AChR genes by the synaptic muscle nuclei. Finally, motor neuron-evoked electrical activity suppresses the transcription and synthesis of AChRs by all the myofiber nuclei. Studies described in this thesis provide strong evidence that neuregulin, a protein originally isolated as the ligand for erbB2 receptor, is the signal from motor neuron that activates synapse-specific transcription. We demonstrate by immnofluorescence that neuregulin is present in the neuromuscular synapse, and that, like the signal that activates synapse-specific transcription, neuregulin remains at the original synaptic sites following muscle and nerve degeneration. In addition, we show that neuregulin stimulates AChR 8 subunit gene transcription in C2 myotubes. Furthermore, we show that potential receptors for neuregulin, erbB3 and erbB4, are concentrated in the synaptic sites. Therefore, neuregulin is a potential signal that mediates synapse-specific transcription, and erbB3 and erbB4 are likely the receptors in muscle to transduce the signal to the nucleus. To further understand how nerve-evoked activity regulates neuromuscular development, I used a subtractive-hybridization cloning strategy to isolate new muscle genes whose expression is regulated by motor neuron innervation. A few genes, including the recently discovered acute myeloid leukemia (AML1) gene, were found to increase in expression following denervation, whereas the level of expression of one gene, INN1, declines after denervation. AML1 expression rises with a time course similar to that of AChR 8 subunit gene, and in cultured muscle cells, is absolutely confined to the nuclei, suggesting that it plays a role in regulating the expression of other muscle genes following denervation. Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Steven J. Burden Title: Senior Investigator (CBR, Harvard Medical School)
An illustrated diagnostics of lac insect Kerria lacca (Kerr) as exemplified. through advanced staining and microscopy techniques

A new and improved differential staining technique has been explored for the permanent mount preparation of the females of lac insect Kerria lacca (Kerr). The salient taxonomic characters had been illustrated using this technique, supplemented with the Scanning Electron Microcopy (SEM) studies. These have revealed a definite pattern of the dorsal duct cluster, stigmatic spinose setae on the brachial plate, pre-anal plate, sclerotized collar of the nuclear ducts of marginal duct cluster and six sectored anal ring not recorded earlier. Post-oral lobes, rudimentary legs and traces of segmentation observed on the ventral aspect adds to the knowledge on its morphology. All these are likely to have implications on its classification in subgenera and species.
Widespread occurence of the proteobacteria Wolbachia and partial cytoplasmic incompatibility in Drosophila melanogaster

La plupart des populations de Drosophia melanogaster sont polymorphes pour l'infection par la Proteobacterie Wolbachia pipientis (le taux moyen d'infection etant de 34%), qui est responsable d'une incompatibilite cytoplasmique partielle (le pourcentage d'œufs non eclos peut atteindre 77%, avec une moyenne de 46,7%). Des sequences partielles d'ARN ribosomique 16S de la bacterie, etablies a partir de mouches provenant de localites eloignees, n'ont pas montre de differences entre elles et se sont averees identiques a celle de la bacterie qui infecte le type R d'incompatibilite dans l'espece voisine D. simulans
Antidermatophytic Activites Of Azadirachta Indica : An In Vitro And In Vivo Study

The leaf and seed extracts of Azadirachta indicia were tested for antifungl activity against dermatophytes by in vitro and vivo tests. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of neem seed extract was found to be lower than that neem leaf when tested against different species of Trichophyton and Epidermophyton floccosum. Experimental lesion in guinea pigs healed better after treatment with neem seed extract when compared to untreated control animals.
Ecological clustering within a diverse minnow assemblage according to morphological, dietary and isotopic data

1. The ecological role of an organism is a complex interaction between many factors, such as morphology, behaviour and physiology, which can act as functional constraints upon how an organism engages with the environment. 2. We examined the ecological roles, guild structure and ecological convergence among 15 sympatric minnow species (Cyprinidae) in the New River (North Carolina, U.S.A.). Minnows often dominate fish species diversity and biomass in North American streams. 3. We evaluated the ecological relationships among minnows using popular methods that correspond to different aspects of minnow biology: geometric morphometrics (landmark-based PCA), gut content analysis and stable isotopes (C, N, H). We then tested for clustering (i.e. guilds) and convergence among minnows using these traits. 4. Important shape variation among species was primarily associated with mouth orientation and caudal peduncle morphology, implicating the importance of trophic and activity patterns. Minnows clustered into five guilds based on body shape. Gut contents revealed three discrete guilds: pelagicand benthic-oriented invertivory and benthic herbivory. Stable isotopes revealed only two discrete guilds: algivory and invertivory; however, all minnows preferentially assimilated invertebrates. 5. Minnows thus exhibit dynamic ecologies based largely on utilisation of the benthic–pelagic resource axis.
Effect of zinc on yield and quality of tomato

Tomato cv. Pusa Ruby was raised in a pot experiment with alluvial soils, after fertilizing it with proper doses of essential macro and micronutrients omitting Zn. Zinc as zinc sulphate was added separately at 0, 1, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/kg of soil. Addition of 5 mg Zn/kg soil to tomato plants not only increased the biomass but also increased the fruit yield and improved its quality. The parameters most affected were fruit yield, total pulp weight, acidity, concentration of lycopene, ascorbic acid, total carotenes and water content. Except for Zn concentration, contents of P, Fe, Mn and Cu decreased in tomato leaves with an increase in Zn amendment to the soil.
Tissue-specific codon usage in mouse

Codon usage bias is due to a combination of biased mutation and selection effects. Isochore-related GC mutational bias has been shown to be the dominant cause of tissue-specific codon bias in adult human tissues and limited evidence for translational selection has been shown. This thesis is a comprehensive evaluation of the relative contribution of selection and mutation to variation in codon usage among different mouse embryonic tissues. Through a detailed analysis of tissue-specific codon usage in relation to gene expression and gene location of mouse embryonic tissue-specific genes, I found that translational selection is partially responsible for some differences in codon usage among tissue-specific genes. This observation indicates profound impact of selection favouring codon-anticodon adaptation. The characteristic GC biases of tissue-specific gene sets are shown not to be caused by their clustering on the same isochore. Tissuespecific genes are no more clustered on the genome than randomly selected genes. In mouse, the usage of some G-ending codons decreases with increasing GC bias, while all other G and C-ending codons increase. To understand this counterintuitive observation, we generate a continuous-time Markov chain model of GC-biased synonymous substitution which explains qualitative usage patterns of all codons, including non-linear and sometimes non-monotone codon usage in isoleucine, arginine and leucine. This effect is universal, extending to mouse and human genes as well as plant and prokaryotic genomes. This work enriched our understanding of the codon-anticodon adaptation theory and extended it to the level of tissue-specific genes. The result suggests the possibility
Variations chétotaxiques des cercaires d'une souche humaine de Schistosoma mansoni par passages successifs sur Souris

L'indice chétotaxique cercarien d’une souche humaine de Schistosoma mansoni d’Afrique Occidentale ne se modifie nettement qu’au troisième passage par Biomphalaria pfeifferi, souris blanche. Cela pourrait expliquer pourquoi les Planorbes récoltées en Guadeloupe émettent des cercaires peu différentes, qu’elles proviennent de gîtes où l’infestation est à prédominance humaine ou de gîtes où l’infestation est à prédominance murine. La station de « Grand Etang », au contraire, s’oppose significativement à toutes les autres et paraît à transmission exclusive­ ment murine.
Sequence Divergence of Recently Duplicate Genes in Soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.)

Sequence divergence of duplicate genes was investigated in soybean, a diploidized paleopolyploid. To examine gene duplication, a total of seven primers designed from expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were selected for this study because they produced (1) a single band but showed poor sequencing quality and (2) double bands on an agarose gel. After PCR amplification with genomic DNA, duplicate genes were identified by cloning and subsequent sequencing of twenty randomly-selected clones. Based on their alignment, two or three classes were identified in each amplicon. Linkage analysis confirmed that two duplicate loci were located on different chromosomes. The exon/intron structure was conserved between duplicate gene pairs. A detailed examination of the variation between duplicate pairs showed that the coding regions are highly conserved while many substitutions and insertion/deletions (indels) were identified in non-coding regions. In particular, non-homologs fragments were numerous and, on average, 82 bp in length within the non-coding region. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) for some major agronomic characters, such as seed protein and oil, seed yield, plant height, and corn earworm resistance, were positioned across duplicate loci of TC225246 and TC224550, suggesting that the gene families appear to have retained similar functions throughout genome duplication and evolution events.