Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of light and temperature on germination of Pyxidanthera brevifolia Wells (Diapensiaceae)1

Abstract Pyxidanthera brevifolia is an evergreen semi-woody cushion plant endemic to the Sandhills of North and South Carolina, with the majority of populations occurring on Fort Bragg Military Reservation in North Carolina. Currently the species is listed as Endangered in North Carolina and is designated as a Species at Risk (SAR) by the US Department of Defense. Previous studies have suggested that seeds may not be viable because they failed to germinate under controlled conditions. Our objectives in this study were to attempt germination of Pyxidanthera brevifolia seeds, determine the best temperature conditions for germination, and understand more about germination requirements to aid in future restoration efforts. Using seeds that had been stored at room temperature for six months, we performed a germination experiment at the NCSU Phytotron with six treatments, all combinations of three temperature regimes (low (18 °C day / 14 °C night), medium (22/18 °C), and high (26/22 °C)) and two light conditions (light and dark). We monitored the experiment for 13 weeks, recording the number of seeds germinating per dish and the number of days to germination for seeds in each treatment. We found that Pxyidanthera brevifolia produces germinable seeds and that there are significant effects of light and temperature on germination. Highest germination occurred under low temperature and high light conditions (78%); the combination of high temperature and no light produced the lowest germination (6%). Seeds exposed to light germinated significantly earlier at the coolest temperature, compared to medium and high temperatures. These results indicate that it is possible to germinate seeds of this rare plant and suggest that germination of Pyxidanthera brevifolia likely occurs in late fall and is dependent on adequate light availability.
Cacao Bean Polyphenols Inhibit Cardiac Hypertrophy and Systolic Dysfunction in Pressure Overload-induced Heart Failure Model Mice

Abstract Pathological stresses such as pressure overload and myocardial infarction induce cardiac hypertrophy, which increases the risk of heart failure. Cacao bean polyphenols have recently gained considerable attention for their beneficial effects on cardiovascular diseases. This study investigated the effect of cacao bean polyphenols on the development of cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. Cardiomyocytes from neonatal rats were pre-treated with cacao bean polyphenols and then stimulated with 30 µM phenylephrine. C57BL/6j male mice were subjected to sham or transverse aortic constriction surgery and then orally administered with vehicle or cacao bean polyphenols. Cardiac hypertrophy and function were examined by echocardiography. In cardiomyocytes, cacao bean polyphenols significantly suppressed phenylephrine-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and hypertrophic gene transcription. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 and GATA binding protein 4 phosphorylation induced by phenylephrine was inhibited by cacao bean polyphenols treatment in the cardiomyocytes. Cacao bean polyphenols treatment at 1200 mg/kg significantly ameliorated left ventricular posterior wall thickness, fractional shortening, hypertrophic gene transcription, cardiac hypertrophy, cardiac fibrosis, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 phosphorylation induced by pressure overload. In conclusion, these findings suggest that cacao bean polyphenols prevent pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy and systolic dysfunction by inhibiting the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2-GATA binding protein 4 pathway in cardiomyocytes. Thus, cacao bean polyphenols may be useful for heart failure therapy in humans.
Betalains and expression of antioxidant enzymes during development andabiotic stress in Rivina humilis L. berries.

This work investigated the betalains profile and associated molecular changes during Rivina humilis L. berry development and 1 month after inducing stress through elicitors such as salicylic acid (SA, 0.05–0.5 mM) and chitosan (CH, 0.1%–1.0%). The results showed that, during berry development, diphenol oxidase activity of tyrosinase increased, which was reflected in an exponential increase in betalains accumulation. Expression levels of a putative Rivina humilis betanidin-5-O-glucosyltransferase 2 (RhBGT2) remained unchanged, while that of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) decreased. Treatment with SA (0.1 mM) and CH (0.5%) enhanced betalains accumulation. The pattern of betalains accumulation during berry development and after elicitor treatment suggested that, probably, both betacyanins and betaxanthins are synthesized from the same pool of betalamic acid. There was no significant change in expression levels of RhBGT2, SOD, and CAT following elicitor stress. However, treatment with CH (1.0%) produced morphological changes (shrinking) in the berries and expression of SOD was significantly suppressed. This is the first report that shows enhancement of betalains accumulation in intact berries through elicitor treatment.
Métodos de inoculação para quantificação de resistência em soja a Fusarium solani f. sp. glycines, em casa-de-vegetação

Sudden death syndrome (SDS) caused by Fusarium solani f. sp. glycines has become one of the most important diseases in soybean due to significant yield losses and limitations for control. Control has been possible by means of genetic resistance. This work aimed to identify efficient methods of inoculation to assess the soybean genotypes genetically resistant to SDS. Two experiments were arranged in a randomized block design (RBD). The former consisted of six treatments and 12 replicates, and the latter of six treatments and 16 replicates. Each plot contained a pot with one plant of the cultivar FT Estrela, highly susceptible to SDS, and another plant of the moderately resistant cultivar Conquista. The plants were assessed in relation to incidence and severity of SDS, every three days, for fifteen days, starting from the fifteenth day of emergence. From the data obtained, the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) was estimated for the treatments. Inoculations with grains of sorghum and corn were the most effective in causing the appearance of the disease in the first experiment. Inoculations with corn kernels were the most effective method in causing the disease in the second experiment. However, only inoculation with corn kernels permitted the separation between genotypes in relation to SDS resistance, according to Tukey test (P<0.05) in both experiments. Thus, inoculation with corn kernels can be recommended for assessing soybean genotype reactions to SDS under greenhouse conditions.
GCPW to SIW Transition for Planar Excitation of Ku-Band Substrate Integrated End-Fire Antennas

In this paper, a Ku-band grounded coplanar waveguide (GCPW) to substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) transition is presented. The proposed transition is suitable for efficient planar excitation of the substrate integrated end-fire antennas, which are generally realized using thick substrates. A Ku-band back-to-back prototype of the proposed transition is designed and simulated using CST microwave studio and parametric studies are performed on the simulated prototype. The lateral via fence width, central strip width and coupling slot width of the GCPW section are optimized, in order to achieve the leaky wave higher order mode suppression in the GCPW section and significant mode matching improvements at the GCPW to SIW interface. The proposed transition is fabricated by using a relatively thick substrate and simulated results are verified experimentally. The measured results of the proposed transition in back-to-back configuration exhibits maximum insertion loss of 0.85 dB with return loss better than 17.5 dB over the entire Ku-band.
Sequence Polymorphism of the 16S rRNA Gene of Vibrio vulnificus Is a Possible Indicator of Strain Virulence

Vibrio vulniﬁcus exhibits considerable strain-to-strain variation in virulence. Attempts to associate phenotypic or genotypic characteristics with strain virulence have been largely unsuccessful. Based on a 17-nucle- otide difference throughout the sequence of the small subunit 16S rRNA gene, there are two major groups of V. vulniﬁcus designated types A and B. In a survey of the 16S rRNA genotype in 67 V. vulniﬁcus human clinical and nonclinical strains, we determined that the majority of nonclinical isolates are type A (31 of 33) and that there is a statistically signiﬁcant association between the type B genotype and human clinical strains (26 of 34).
Testing the High-Risk Behavior Model Among the Students Based on Religious Orientation With the Mediation of Fear of Death

Adolescents are at high-risk for adverse health outcomes associated with high-risk behavior. The present study aimed to test the high-risk behavior model among the students based on religious orientation with the mediation of fear of death. This descriptive correlational study utilized structural equation modeling. The statistical population comprised all senior high school female students in Mashhad. 200 students were selected using cluster random sampling method. Data collection tools included the Iranian Adolescents Risk-taking Scale, Templer Death Anxiety Scale, and Allport and Ross Religious Orientation Scale. The result of a structural equation model suggested that the relationship between religious orientation and high-risk behavior was mediated through fear of death. Furthermore intrinsic religiosity has a negative direct relation with fear of death and high-risk behavior, and extrinsic religious orientation have a positive direct relation with fear of death and high-risk behavior. On this basis, it was concluded that religious orientation influences high-risk behavior indirectly through fear of death.
Superwideband Dual Notched Band Square Monopole MIMO Antenna for UWB/X/Ku Band Wireless Applications

In the presented manuscript, a compact antenna designed on Rogers RTDuroid 5880 substrate is presented which covers superwide bandwidth of 3.21GHz-19.43GHz. On one face of substrate, square monopole patches are printed and common ground on other side. Designed antenna is converted to dual notched band characteristics which mitigates Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN: 5.150GHz-5.825GHz) and Downlink Satellite System (DSS: 7.25GHz-7.75GHz) interference. These two notched bands are obtained by using inverted T-shaped stub and rotated C-shaped slot on radiating patch. Designed antenna has maximum gain of 5.33dbi and radiation efficiency of 86%. Far Field Radiation pattern shows omnidirectional and dipole like pattern in H- and E-plane. Diversity performance of MIMO antenna is also studied in terms of ECC (Envelope Correlation Coefficient), DG (Directive Gain) and TARC (Total Active Reflection Coefficient).
Short-Term Load Forecasting of Integrated Energy Systems Based on Deep Learning

Load forecasting is of great significance for the safety and economic operation of integrated energy systems. In this paper, a combined short-term load forecasting method of electric, thermal and gas systems based on deep learning is presented. Firstly, the deep learning architecture, which consists of a deep belief network(DBN) at the bottom and a back-propagation(BP) network at the top, is introduced. As an unsupervised learning method, the deep belief network extracts abstract high-level features, and the multitask regression layer is used for supervised prediction. Then, a two-stage load forecasting system with offline training and online prediction is established, and the indexes to verify the prediction accuracy of the model are presented. Finally, the effectiveness of the multi-load forecasting method is verified by the actual data of an integrated energy system. The results show that the proposed deep learning algorithm has excellent performances in both computational efficiency and prediction accuracy.
Caractérisation de bactéries lactiques thermophiles isolées de yaourts artisanaux grecs. I. Souches de Streptococcus salivarius subsp thermophilus

Resume, Vingt souches de Streptococcus salivarius subsp thermophilus isolees de yaourts artisanaux grecs ont ete comparees sur la base des caracteres suivants : acidite titrable, viscosite et quantite d'acetaldehyde produites au cours de la croissance dans le lait; vitesse maximale d'acidification, pH et temps auxquels la vitesse d'acidification maximale est observee; activite ureasique. Toutes les souches etudiees ont une activite ureasique et presentent deux valeurs maximales de la vitesse d'acidification. Les deux derniers parametres ne sont pas etroitement correles. Cependant,. une bonne correlation est observee entre chacun de ceux-ci, et le temps pendant lequel les valeurs de la vitesse d'acidification sont superieures a la moitie de la vitesse d'acidification maximale. Les souches etudiees ne produisent pas de viscosite notable dans le lait. La quantite d'acetaldehyde produite varie entre 2,5 et 6,5 ppm. Apres conservation a 4 oC pendant 21 jours, la quantite d'acetaldehyde est significativement reduite. L'analyse en composantes principales a ete utilisee pour grouper les souches. La comparaison de leurs proprietes a ete facilitee par la realisation de graphiques sous forme d'etoiles, representant simultanement tous les caracteres etudies. Ainsi, une grande diversite des proprietes parmi les souches examinees a ete mise en evidence.
Descriptive Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) in adults with imported severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria: A 10 year-study in a Portuguese tertiary care hospital

Background Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a severe complication of malaria that remains largely unstudied. We aim to describe the development of ARDS associated with severe P. falciparum malaria, its management and impact on clinical outcome. Methods Retrospective observational study of adult patients admitted with severe P. falciparum malaria in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a tertiary care hospital from Portugal from 2008 to 2018. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with the development of ARDS, defined according to Berlin Criteria. Prognosis was assessed by case-fatality ratio, nosocomial infection and length of stay. Results 98 patients were enrolled, of which 32 (33%) developed ARDS, a median of 2 days after starting antimalarial medication (IQR 0–4, range 0–6). Length of stay in ICU and in hospital were significantly longer in patients who developed ARDS: 13 days (IQR 10–18) vs 3 days (IQR 2–5) and 21 days (IQR 15–30.5) vs 7 days (IQR 6–10), respectively. Overall case-fatality ratio in ICU was 4.1% and did not differ between groups. The risk of ARDS development is difficult to establish. Conclusion ARDS is a hard to predict late complication of severe malaria. A low threshold for ICU admission and monitoring should be used. Ideally patients should be managed in a centre with experience and access to advanced techniques.
Harness Connection and Immediate Environment Impact on RF Automotive Receivers Antenna BW

Numerical simulations are used more and more to investigate the behavior of RF antennas and wireless systems in automotive industry and to assure their optimum functionality on the early stages of the vehicle development. This paper shows how 3D simulations help evaluate the impact of the immediate environment of the RF access receiver and its harness connections on the antenna performance, reflection coefficient and bandwidth.
ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF Staphylococcus aureus USING CLASSICAL AND MOLECULAR METHODS

A total number of 224 samples were collected from Azadi General Hospital/ Duhok city. Specimens represented different sources of infections; patients, health care staff and the hospital environment. Using enrichment, selective media, and biochemical tests, only 52 specimens, characterized and identified as Staphylococcus aureus. The Susceptibility to antibiotics (13 antibiotics) pattern of these isolates revealed that 96.15% were resistant to more than one antibiotic, and only 3.85% of isolates were resistant to one antibiotic, while none found to be sensitive to all antibiotics. Using API Staph system, 34 isolates divided into three biotypes according to their ability to ferment different types of sugars and other physiological characters. The isolates belonged to types 1, 2 and 3 in percentages of 50, 32.35 and 17.65 respectively. In a separate experiment, and to test genetic identity, six isolates belonging to these three biotypes were subjected to a PCR analysis using five different random Operon primers (OPA20, OPB08, OPC20, OPG-08, and OPG17). The results of these experiments revealed the existence of genetic differences (DNA Polymorphism) among these isolates in addition to the presence of DNA polymorphisms even within strains belonging to the same biotype.
Gene Switches for Deliberate Regulation of Transgene Expression: Recent Advances in System Development and Uses

It will be desirable in genetic therapies to exert temporal and/or spatial control over the expression of therapeutic genes. Temporal regulation may be achieved by placing the gene of interest under the control of one of several wellknown gene switches. These gene switches comprise at least two elements, i.e., a ligand-dependent transactivator (or transinhibitor) and a transactivator responsive promoter that is functionally linked to the gene of interest. The systems respond to doxycycline, insect steroid hormones, steroid hormone antagonists, rapalogs, or various nonnatural ligands. Deliberate spatial regulation may be attained by the use of promoters that are activated by physical forces which can be directed to an area in need of therapy. Best known are heat shock promoters and radiationinduced promoters. More complex gene switches are capable of both spatially and temporally regulating genes of interest. The present article reviews improvements and further refinements of the latter gene switches as well as exemplifies uses of these gene switches in research and experimental therapy. It further reports on more recently developed gene switches, including complex systems involving multiple transactivators (or transinhibitors) and/or regulating gene product functionality at the transcriptional, posttranscriptional and/or activity level.
Bioanalytical Performance of a New Particle-Enhanced Method for Measuring Procalcitonin

We report the analytical performances of two particle-enhanced (PETIA) methods for measuring procalcitonin (PCT), the Diazyme PCT and the new DiaSys PCT assay, and their concordance of values with BRAHMS PCT Kryptor©. The total imprecisions onto two control levels and one serum pool were for DiaSys 5.42%, 3.3% and 7.53% and for Diazyme 10.7%, 2.9% and 13.23%, respectively. The limit of blank, limit of detection and limit of quantification were under the 0.25 cut-off for the two methods. The linearity in the lower range was acceptable for both methods. No significant effect on PCT determination was observed for DiaSys’ assay upon addition of interfering substances. With the Diazyme assay, significant effects were seen with rheumatoid factor (RF), lipid and hemoglobin. Correlation studies on 136 sera showed a good correlation between PCT measurements using DiaSys assay against the Kryptor system, while only a poor correlation was observed between the Diazyme assay, especially for low values. The novel PETIA PCT assay from DiaSys shows analytical performances acceptable for clinical use and the concordance with Kryptor method was fine at all clinical cut-offs. In contrast, despite comparable analytical performances, the Diazyme PETIA method exhibited a poor concordance with the Kryptor method.
Transmembrane protein western blotting: Impact of sample preparation on detection of SLC11A2 (DMT1) and SLC40A1 (ferroportin)

Western blotting has been widely used for investigation of protein expression, posttranslational modifications, and interactions. Because western blotting usually involves heat-denaturation of samples prior to gel loading, clarification of detailed procedures for sample preparation have been omitted or neglected in many publications. We show here the case that even excellent primary antibodies failed to detect a specific protein of interest due to a routine heating practice of protein samples. We performed western blotting for transmembrane iron transporter proteins; SLC11A2 (divalent metal transporter 1, DMT1), SLC40A1 (ferroportin 1, Fpn1), and transferrin receptor-1 (TfR1), along with cytoplasmic iron storage protein ferritin H. Our results in 12 human culture cell lysates indicated that only unheated samples prior to gel loading gave rise to clear resolution of DMT1 protein, while heated samples (95°C, 5min) caused the loss of resolution due to DMT1 protein aggregates. Unheated samples also resulted in better resolution for Fpn1 and TfR1 western blots. Conversely, only heated samples allowed to detect ferritin H, otherwise ferritin polymers failed to get into the gel. Neither different lysis/sample loading buffers nor sonication improved the resolution of DMT1 and Fpn1 western blots. Thus, heating samples most critically affected the outcome of western blotting, suggesting the similar cases for thousands of other transmembrane and heat-sensitive proteins.
Ecogeographic Variation in the Morphology of Two Asian Wild Rice Species, Oryza nivara and Oryza rufipogon

To search for variation patterns and diagnostic features between Asian wild rice species, several numerical methods were applied to phenotypic data obtained from 116 accessions representing sympatric populations of Oryza nivara and Oryza rufipogon from tropical continental Asia and O. rufipogon populations from insular Southeast Asia and Australasia. Ordination and cluster analyses separate O. rufipogon from O. nivara, indicating the presence of two sympatric morphological species occupying different ecological niches. Oryza nivara and O. rufipogon are morphologically more differentiated in South Asia than in mainland Southeast Asia, implying more recent divergence and/or more interspecific gene flow among sympatric populations in the latter region. Oryza nivara exhibits South and Southeast Asian phenotypes while the Australasian populations of O. rufipogon appear as distinct from the rest of the species. Seedling height, culm number, and diameter; leaf length and width; and anther length were significantly correlated to certain geoclimatic factors and displayed contrasting correlation directions for O. nivara and O. rufipogon, implying that the two species respond differently to geographic and climatic gradients. Diagnostic characters are provided to delineate the species morphologically. The results suggest the strong influence of ecology on species morphology, existence of geographic races within species and morphological divergence between O. nivara and O. rufipogon.
Streptococcus thermophilus bacteriocin , from production to their application : An overview

Streptococcus thermophilus have potent antimicrobial activities toward closely related bacteria and undesirable harmful microorganisms. Certain S. thermophilus strains are able to produce substances that compete and prevent pathogenic bacteria from adhering to the receptors on epithelial cells of intestinal surfaces. The potential probiotic effects of S. thermophilus are well known in the human ecosystem and their production of antimicrobial peptides can contribute to elucidate the precise mechanisms by which S. thermophilus can dominate the intestinal microbiota and achieve their probiotic function. This paper presents a review of the antimicrobial proteinaceous compounds produced by various streptococcus strains, the attempts made to purify them, their characterization and useful applications.