Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intestinal Lymph Flow, and Lipid and Drug Transport Scale Allometrically From Pre-clinical Species to Humans

The intestinal lymphatic system transports fluid, immune cells, dietary lipids, and highly lipophilic drugs from the intestine to the systemic circulation. These transport functions are important to health and when dysregulated contribute to pathology. This has generated significant interest in approaches to deliver drugs to the lymphatics. Most of the current understanding of intestinal lymph flow, and lymphatic lipid and drug transport rates, comes from in vitro studies and in vivo animal studies. In contrast, intestinal lymphatic transport studies in human subjects have been limited. Recently, three surgical patients had cannulation of the thoracic lymph duct for collection of lymph before and during a stepwise increase in enteral feed rate. We compared these data to studies where we previously enterally administered controlled quantities of lipid and the lipophilic drug halofantrine to mice, rats and dogs and collected lymph and blood (plasma). The collected lymph was analyzed to compare lymph flow rate, triglyceride (TG) and drug transport rates, and plasma was analyzed for drug concentrations, as a function of enteral lipid dose across species. Lymph flow rate, TG and drug transport increased with lipid administration in all species tested, and scaled allometrically according to the equation A = aME where A is the lymph transport parameter, M is animal body mass, a is constant and E is the allometric exponent. For lymph flow rate and TG transport, the allometric exponents were 0.84–0.94 and 0.80–0.96, respectively. Accordingly, weight normalized lymph flow and TG mass transport were generally lower in larger compared to smaller species. In comparison, mass transport of drug via lymph increased in a greater than proportional manner with species body mass with an exponent of ∼1.3. The supra-proportional increase in lymphatic drug transport with species body mass appeared to be due to increased partitioning of drug into lymph rather than blood following absorption. Overall, this study proposes that intestinal lymphatic flow, and lymphatic lipid and drug transport in humans is most similar to species with higher body mass such as dogs and underestimated by studies in rodents. Notably, lymph flow and lipid transport in humans can be predicted from animal data via allometric scaling suggesting the potential for similar relationships with drug transport.
Isolation and characterization of 15 polymorphic microsatellite markers for the devastating dry rot fungus, Serpula lacrymans

Fifteen polymorphic microsatellite markers were developed from microsatellite-enriched DNA libraries of the devastating dry rot fungus, Serpula lacrymans. The loci exhibited two to four alleles per locus and the expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.13 to 0.47. The codominant markers, described here for this fungus, will permit further studies in population genetics and phylogeography of this economically highly important species.
Fire Effects on the Cheatgrass Seed Bank Pathogen Pyrenophora semeniperda

Abstract The generalist fungal pathogen Pyrenophora semeniperda occurs primarily in cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) seed banks, where it causes high mortality. We investigated the relationship between this pathogen and its cheatgrass host in the context of fire, asking whether burning would facilitate host escape from the pathogen or increase host vulnerability. We used a series of laboratory and field experiments to address the ability of host seeds and pathogen life stages to survive fire. First, we determined the thermal death point (TDP50; temperature causing 50% mortality) of seeds and pathogen propagules at two time intervals using a muffle furnace. We then measured peak fire temperatures in prescribed burns at sites in Utah and Washington and quantified seed and fungal propagule survival using pre- and postburn seed bank sampling and inoculum bioassays. Finally, we investigated the survival of both seeds and pathogen after wildfires. We found that radiant heat generated by both prescribed and wild cheatgrass monoculture fires was generally not sufficient to kill either host seeds or pathogen propagules; most mortality was apparently due to direct consumption by flames. The 5-min mean TDP50 was 164°C for pathogen propagules and 148°C for host seeds, indicating that the pathogen is more likely to survive fire than the seeds. Peak fire temperature at the surface in the prescribed burns averaged 130°C. Fire directly consumed 85–98% of the viable seed bank, but prescribed burns and wildfires generally did not lead to dramatic reductions in pathogen inoculum loads. We conclude that the net effect of fire on this pathosystem is not large. Rapid postburn recovery of both host and associated pathogen populations is the predicted outcome. Postfire management of residual cheatgrass seed banks should be facilitated by the persistent presence of this seed bank pathogen.
Indoor Radio Map Construction Based on Position Adjustment and Equipment Calibration

The crowdsourcing-based wireless local area network (WLAN) indoor localization system has been widely promoted for the effective reduction of the workload from the offline phase data collection while constructing radio maps. Aiming at the problem of the diverse terminal devices and the inaccurate location annotation of the crowdsourced samples, which will result in the construction of the wrong radio map, an effective indoor radio map construction scheme (RMPAEC) is proposed based on position adjustment and equipment calibration. The RMPAEC consists of three main modules: terminal equipment calibration, pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR) estimated position adjustment, and fingerprint amendment. A position adjustment algorithm based on selective particle filtering is used by RMPAEC to reduce the cumulative error in PDR tracking. Moreover, an inter-device calibration algorithm is put forward based on receiver pattern analysis to obtain a device-independent grid fingerprint. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed solution achieves higher localization accuracy than the peer schemes, and it possesses good effectiveness at the same time.
Why confining to vegetation indices? Exploiting the potential of improved spectral observations using radiative transfer models

Vegetation indices (VI) combine mathematically a few selected spectral bands to minimize undesired effects of soil background, illumination conditions and atmospheric perturbations. In this way, the relation to vegetation biophysical variables is enhanced. Albeit numerous experiments found close relationships between vegetation indices and several important vegetation biophysical variables, well known shortcomings and drawbacks remain. Important limitations of VIs are illustrated and discussed in this paper. As most of the limitations can be overcome using physically-based radiative transfer models (RTM), advantages and limits of RTM are also presented.
Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor Acts on Distinctive Hypothalamic Arcuate Neurons and Promotes Leptin Entry Into and Action on the Mouse Hypothalamus

In humans and experimental animals, the administration of ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) reduces food intake and body weight. To gain further insights into the mechanism(s) underlying its satiety effect, we: (i) evaluated the CNTF-dependent activation of the Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway in mouse models where neuropeptide Y (NPY) and pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons can be identified by green fluorescent protein (GFP); and (ii) assessed whether CNTF promotes leptin signaling in hypothalamic feeding centers. Immunohistochemical experiments enabled us to establish that intraperitoneal injection of mouse recombinant CNTF activated the JAK2-STAT3 pathway in a substantial proportion of arcuate nucleus (ARC) NPY neurons (18.68% ± 0.60 in 24-h fasted mice and 25.50% ± 1.17 in fed mice) but exerted a limited effect on POMC neurons (4.15% ± 0.33 in 24-h fasted mice and 2.84% ± 0.45 in fed mice). CNTF-responsive NPY neurons resided in the ventromedial ARC, facing the median eminence (ME), and were surrounded by albumin immunoreactivity, suggesting that they are located outside the blood-brain barrier (BBB). In both normally fed and high-fat diet (HFD) obese animals, CNTF activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase signaling in ME β1- and β2-tanycytes, an effect that has been linked to the promotion of leptin entry into the brain. Accordingly, compared to the animals treated with leptin, mice treated with leptin/CNTF showed: (i) a significantly greater leptin content in hypothalamic protein extracts; (ii) a significant increase in phospho-STAT3 (P-STAT3)-positive neurons in the ARC and the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus of normally fed mice; and (iii) a significantly increased number of P-STAT3-positive neurons in the ARC and dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus of HFD obese mice. Collectively, these data suggest that exogenously administered CNTF reduces food intake by exerting a leptin-like action on distinctive NPY ARC neurons and by promoting leptin signaling in hypothalamic feeding centers.
Effects of Yoga Respiratory Practice (Bhastrika pranayama) on Anxiety, Affect, and Brain Functional Connectivity and Activity: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Pranayama refers to a set of yoga breathing exercises. Recent evidence suggests that the practice of pranayama has positive effects on measures of clinical stress and anxiety. This study explored the impact of a Bhastrika pranayama training program on emotion processing, anxiety, and affect. We used a randomized controlled trial design with thirty healthy young adults assessed at baseline and after 4 weeks of pranayama practices. Two functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols were used both at baseline and post-intervention: an emotion task as well as a resting-state acquisition. Our results suggest that pranayama significantly decreased states of anxiety and negative affect. The practice of pranayama also modulated the activity of brain regions involved in emotional processing, particularly the amygdala, anterior cingulate, anterior insula, and prefrontal cortex. Resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) showed significantly reduced functional connectivity involving the anterior insula and lateral portions of the prefrontal cortex. Correlation analysis revealed that changes in connectivity between the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and the right anterior insula were associated with changes in anxiety. Although it should be noted that these analyses were preliminary and exploratory, it provides the first evidence that 4 weeks of B. pranayama significantly reduce the levels of anxiety and negative affect, and that these changes are associated with the modulation of activity and connectivity in brain areas involved in emotion processing, attention, and awareness. The study was registered at https://www.ensaiosclinicos. gov.br/rg/RBR-2gv5c2/(RBR-2gv5c2).
Studies on seed transmission of Xanthomonas campestris pv. phaseoli in common beans in Uganda.

Studies on the seed transmission of Xanthomonas campestris PV phaseoli (XCP) that cause common and fuscous blight of beans were conducted in Uganda. Bean seed was the main source of primary inoculum. The population of XCP in farmers', commercial and research seeds averaged 105 – 109 colony forming units (cfu) per 100 seeds; the levels of seed infection were 0.3-16.1%. There was a positive correlation between seed symptoms and population of XCP per seed. However, where seed was either slightly diseased or symptomless, XCP did not decrease bean germination irrespective of population density. The minimum population of XCP required to initiate infection in the field was 102 cfu per seed while 0.2% seed infection level resulted in serious disease incidence.
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Position Statement of the Fatty Liver Research Group of the Korean Diabetes Association

This clinical practice position statement, a product of the Fatty Liver Research Group of the Korean Diabetes Association, proposes recommendations for the diagnosis, progression and/or severity assessment, management, and follow-up of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Patients with both T2DM and NAFLD have an increased risk of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and fibrosis and a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases and diabetic complications compared to those without NAFLD. With regards to the evaluation of patients with T2DM and NAFLD, ultrasonography-based stepwise approaches using noninvasive biomarker models such as fibrosis-4 or the NAFLD fibrosis score as well as imaging studies such as vibration-controlled transient elastography with controlled attenuation parameter or magnetic resonance imaging-proton density fat fraction are recommended. After the diagnosis of NAFLD, the stage of fibrosis needs to be assessed appropriately. For management, weight reduction achieved by lifestyle modification has proven beneficial and is recommended in combination with antidiabetic agent(s). Evidence that some antidiabetic agents improve NAFLD/NASH with fibrosis in patients with T2DM is emerging. However, there are currently no definite pharmacologic treatments for NAFLD in patients with T2DM. For specific cases, bariatric surgery may be an option if indicated.
The Effects of High Molecular Weight Hyaluronic Acid Eye Drop Application in Environmental Dry Eye Stress Model Mice

Hyaluronic acid (HA) ophthalmic solution is widely used in dry eye treatment worldwide. However, there are no reports comparing the dry eye treatment effects of high molecular weight HA with low molecular weight HA. Sixty eight-week-old C57BL/6 mice were assigned to the following 6 groups and exposed to environmental dry eye stress (EDES) that mimics office work environment: (1) 0.1% low molecular weight HA (LMWHA) eye drops, (2) 0.3% LMWHA eye drops, (3) 3% diquafosol sodium (DQ) eye drops, (4) 0.15% high molecular weight HA (HMWHA) eye drops, (5) no treatment with exposure to EDES (EDES+/Treatment−), and (6) no treatment without exposure to EDES (EDES−/Treatment−). After EDES, the HMWHA group had significantly longer break-up time (BUT) than the 0.1%, 0.3% LMWHA groups and the DQ group. After EDES, the HMWHA group had significantly lower lissamine green staining scores than the LMWHA and DQ groups. Subepithelial presumed dendritic cell density in the HMWHA group was significantly lower than the EDES+/Treatment− group. After EDES exposure, Conjunctival Muc5AC mRNA expression in the HMWHA group was significantly higher than the 0.1 and 0.3% LMWHA groups. Ophthalmic HMWHA solution may have a better dry eye treatment effect than LMWHA or DQ solution, owing to its anti-inflammatory effect.
Rapid, sensitive, and specific thiobarbituric acid method for measuring lipid peroxidation in animal tissue, food, and feedstuff samples

A rapid aqueous acid extraction thiobarbituric acid method for measuring malondialdehyde as a marker of lipid peroxidation in animal tissue, food, and feedstuff samples has been developed. Sample is homogenized with aqueous trichloroacetic acid in the presence of hexane and butylated hydroxytoluene, and the homogenate is centrifuged. Following reaction with thiobarbituric acid reagent, malondialdehyde is directly quantified on the basis of the third-derivative absorption spectrum of the pink complex formed. Further purification is not required because the derivative transformation of the conventional analytical band at around 532 nm virtually eliminates spectral interferences arising from other compounds. The effect of antioxidants and the optimum conditions for the reaction have been established, and the analytical performance of the new method has been evaluated. The applicability of the method on various animal tissue, food, and feedstuff samples has been also tested. Owing to its simplicity and increased sensitivity and specificity, the method may be preferred over other methods for estimating the extent of lipid peroxidation.
'Ponkan' mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) immature fruits storage

Objetivou-se com este trabalho avaliar o efeito do armazenamento de frutos e concentracoes de sacarose no cultivo in vitro de embrioes imaturos de tangerineira 'Ponkan' (Citrus reticulata Blanco) x laranjeira 'Pera' [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osb. ]. Frutos com 3 a 4 cm de diâmetro foram coletados e colocados em sacos pretos de polietileno perfurados e armazenados a 5±1oC por um periodo de 135 dias. A cada 15 dias, uma amostra foi retirada, seus embrioes foram excisados e inoculados individualmente em tubos de ensaio contendo 15 mL de meio MS acrescido de sacarose (0; 1,5; 3; 6; 12; 18 e 24 g L-1), 0,3 mg L-1 GA3 e 1 g L-1 de carvao ativado. Os tratamentos permaneceram 48 horas no escuro e em seguida foram transferidos para sala de crescimento a 27±1oC com fotoperiodo de 16 horas e 32 µmol m-2 s-1 de intensidade luminosa. Frutos imaturos podem ser armazenados e posteriormente utilizados na excisao e cultura de embrioes. Frutos com 120 dias apos a polinizacao podem ser armazenados por mais de 135 dias sem afetar a viabilidade dos embrioes. Observou-se melhor desenvolvimento da parte aerea e sistema radicular de plântulas oriundas de embrioes de tangerineira 'Ponkan' x laranjeira 'Pera' em meio MS com 12-18 g L-1 de sacarose.
Brain Activation for Audiovisual Information in People With One Eye Compared to Binocular and Eye-Patched Viewing Controls

Blindness caused by early vision loss results in complete visual deprivation and subsequent changes in the use of the remaining intact senses. We have also observed adaptive plasticity in the case of partial visual deprivation. The removal of one eye, through unilateral eye enucleation, results in partial visual deprivation and is a unique model for examining the consequences of the loss of binocularity. Partial deprivation of the visual system from the loss of one eye early in life results in behavioral and structural changes in the remaining senses, namely auditory and audiovisual systems. In the current study we use functional neuroimaging data to relate function and behavior of the audiovisual system in this rare patient group compared to controls viewing binocularly or with one eye patched. In Experiment 1, a whole brain analysis compared common regions of cortical activation between groups, for auditory, visual and audiovisual stimuli. People with one eye demonstrated a trend for increased activation for low-level audiovisual stimuli compared to patched viewing controls but did not differ from binocular viewing controls. In Experiment 2, a region of interest (ROI) analysis for auditory, visual, audiovisual and illusory McGurk stimuli revealed that people with one eye had an increased trend for left hemisphere audiovisual activation for McGurk stimuli compared to binocular viewing controls. This aligns with current behavioral analysis and previous research showing reduced McGurk Effect in people with one eye. Furthermore, there is no evidence of a correlation between behavioral performance on the McGurk Effect task and functional activation. Together with previous behavioral work, these functional data contribute to the broader understanding of cross-sensory effects of early sensory deprivation from eye enucleation. Overall, these results contribute to a better understanding of the sensory deficits experienced by people with one eye, as well as, the relationship between behavior, structure and function in order to better predict the outcome of early partial visual deafferentation.
Isozymes of Eleusine (Gramineae) and the Origin of Finger Millet

The predominantly African grass genus Eleusine comprises nine species, including diploids and tetraploids based on n = 8, 9, and 10. Among the polyploids are the important crop finger millet, Eleusine coracana subsp. coracana, and its putative wild ancestor, E. coracana subsp. africana. Eleusine coracana is believed to be an allotetraploid derived by hybridization between E. indica and an unknown diploid. To evaluate this hypothesis, 16 isozyme loci coding nine enzymes were compared among seven of the nine Eleusine species (E. intermedia and E. semisterilis were unavailable). Genetic variability differed substantially among diploid species, ranging from P = 0.563, A = 1.6, H = 0.208 in E. indica to P = 0.188, A = 1.2, H = 0.042 in E. jaegeri. The diploids tended to be genetically distinct, with values of Rogers' Similarity ranging from S = 0.294 (E. jaegeri/floccifolia) to S = 0.794 (E. indica/tristachya). Both subspecies of the;tetraploid E. coracana exhibited fixed heterozygosity at several loci, verifying their hypothesized allotetraploid status. Both tetraploids also possessed E. indica marker alleles at all loci, corroborating ancestry by this taxon. Genotypes of the non-indica ancestor, inferred separately for each tetraploid, differed substantially from all candidate diploids and also from each other. These data indicate that 1) none of the candidate diploids investigated is likely to have been the non-indica ancestor of E. coracana, and 2) the non-indica ancestor of the wild tetraploid may differ from that of the crop. The latter conclusion is inconsistent with the complete chromosomal homology exhibited between the two tetraploid subspecies, indicating the need for additional evidence bearing on their relationships. Eleusine (L.) Gaertn. (Poaceae) is a small genus (nine species) closely allied to Acrachne Chiov. and Dactyloctenium Willd. in subtribe Eleusininae Dumort. of subfamily Chloridoideae (Phillips, 1972; Clayton and Renvoze, 1986). The genus is characterized by secund spikes of overlapping spikelets and an ornate grain enclosed by a free pericarp. The center of diversity for Eleusine is East Africa where eight of its species are found in the wild: diploid annuals E. indica (L.) Gaertn. (n = 9), E. multiflora Hochst. ex A. Rich. (n = 8); diploid perennials E. floccifolia (Forssk.) Spreng. (n = 9), E. intermedia (Chiov.) S. M. Phillips (n = 9), E. jaegeri Pilger (n = 10), E. semisterilis S. M. Phillips (chromosome number unknown); tetraploid perennial E. kigeziensis S. M. Phillips (n = 19); and tetraploid annual E. coracana (L.) Gaertn. subsp. africana (Kennedy-O'Byrne) Hilu and De Wet (n = 18). The remaining species, diploid annual E. tristachya (Lam.) Lam. (n = 8 or 9), is indigenous to the New World, extending from South America to southwestern North America (Hilu, 1980). Eleusine tristachya also occurs in Africa as an occasional weed of limited distribution, but