Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of coagulase negative Staphylococcus including methicillin resistant strains in buffalo subclinical mastitis in northwest of Iran

Staphylococcal mastitis is a worrisome dairy problem worldwide. The emergence of coagulase negative staphylococcus (CNS) as the predominant agent of subclinical mastitis is reported frequently. The aim of the present research was to evaluate the frequency of individual CNS in buffalo subclinical mastitis and to screen the existence of methicillin resistant gene (mecA) among them. A total of 279 bubaline subclinical mastitis milk samples were analysed for the presence of Staphylococcus spp. phenotypically. The isolates were categorized as coagulase positive or negative. A 23S rRNA-PCR reaction was applied for molecular identification of the isolates. PCR-RFLP patterns generated following the amplification and digestion of a 933 bp fragment of the gap gene with AluI restriction endonuclease was used for the identification of CNS species. Finally, mecA gene was searched in a PCR reaction among all the isolates. The results represented 61.29% staphylococcal subclinical mastitis with the proportion of 66.08% and 33.91% CNS and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. The frequency of CNS were as 30.40% Staphylococcus epidermidis, 26.31% Staphylococcus simulans, and 9.35% Staphylococcus xylosus. mecA gene was detected in 19.29% of the all staphylococcal isolates including 9 S. aureus, 15 S. epidermidis, 7 S. simulans, and 2 S. xylosus with no statistical significance among the isolates. These findings manifested the significant role of CNS in buffalo subclinical mastitis in the northwest of Iran. The reservoir status of CNS for mecA highlights the need for continuous monitoring programs in order to prevent or diminish the spreading risk of mecA-harbouring strains to human.
Physiotherapy protocol during initial postoperative period of arthroscopy in horses

ABSTRACT: This study evaluated the effects of a physiotherapy protocol applied in joints with osteochondritis dissecans submitted to arthroscopy. Twelve horses totaling twenty joints were used and divided into two uniform groups, according to articular lesion grade. Treated Group (TG) received the physiotherapy protocol (cryotherapy, passive rage motion and controlled exercise) that initiate just after anesthetic recovery and extended for five days. Control Group (CG) remained resting in stall during the same period. Physical examination and synovial fluid analysis were used to evaluate the treatment. The synovial fluid examination consisted of physical analysis (color, aspect, and viscosity), mucin clot evaluation, Serum Amyloid A, Prostaglandin E2 and urea concentration. Synovial samples were collected by arthrocentesis at the beginning of the surgical procedure (D1), 48 hours (D3) and 96 hours (D5) after surgery. Before arthroscopy and daily during the postoperative period joints were evaluated by physical exam: superficial temperature (°C), range of motion (degrees) and circumference (centimeters). The joint physical examination showed no significant difference between groups and neither along the days for the same group. The parameters of synovial fluid showed difference over the moments in each group but didn’t have difference between groups. Color and aspect had the same patterns across moments, in CG fluid had significant change when compared D1 with D3 (color and aspect: p<0.001) and D5 (color: p<0.001; aspect: p<0.05) becoming mostly bloody and cloudy in D3 and D5. However in TG the difference was significant just between D1 and D3 (color and aspect: p<0.05), showing an improvement of synovial fluid in D5 (color and aspect: p>0.05). Viscosity and mucin clot evaluation showed significant change in CG between D1 and D3 (viscosity: p<0.01; mucin clot: p<0.05) and between D1 and D5 (viscosity: p<0.01;mucin clot: p<0.01). In TG no significant difference of viscosity and mucin clot was observed over the moments, showing an early improvement of synovial fluid quality. The Serum Amyloid A concentration showed an extremely significant increase in CG (p<0.001) when compared D1 (1217.13±664.47μg/mL) and D3 (42423.80±52309.31μg/mL). The comparison between D1 and D5 in CG, and across moments in TG, had no statistical difference. The PGE2 eicosanoid remained statistically unchanged all over the time. Urea showed significant increase in D3 when compared to D1 (p<0.001) in CG, and had no variation in TG. The physiotherapy protocol minimized the inflammatory mediators and provided minor alterations in synovial fluid after arthroscopy.
Polymorphism of IGF-1 and Its Receptor (IGF-1R) Genes and Their Association with Fertility Problems of Egyptian Buffaloes

The objectives of our study were to detect genetic polymorphisms in insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and insulin-like growth factor1- receptor (IGF-1R) genes by using SSCP and direct sequence methods and to investigate their possible associations with reproductive traits in Egyptian buffaloes. A total number of 100 buffalo heifers at Mahallet Mousa farm in Kafr El-sheikh province, Egypt were investigated. Animals were assigned into two main groups: normal fertile (50 animals) and infertile due to anestrous (50 animals). Blood samples were collected and the genomic DNA was extracted then PCR were performed with annealing temperatures at 58oC and 55oC for IGF1 and IGF1-R respectively. SSCP was performed for all amplified samples and loaded into a non-denaturing 12% polyacrylamide gel. Four amplicon from both of IGF-1 and IGF-1R genes for the two investigated groups were sequenced using the same primers. 265-bp from 5-untranslated region (5-UTR) of IGF-1 gene and 311-bp from IGF-1R (part of intron 12 and part of exon 13) were amplified. In all investigated samples there was one SCCP pattern for IGF-1 and for IGF-1R genes in anestrus and normal fertile buffaloes groups Moreover there were no polymorphisms neither in IGF-1 nor IGF-1R after sequencing four samples from each buffaloes group for both of IGF-1 and IGF-1R genes. It seems that IGF-1 and IGF-1R are highly conserved in the investigated buffalos population.
Bioprinted pluripotent stem cell-derived kidney organoids provide opportunities for high content screening

Recent advances in the directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells to kidney brings with it the prospect of drug screening and disease modelling using patient-derived stem cell lines. Development of such an approach for high content screening will require substantial quality control and improvements in throughput. Here we demonstrate the use of the NovoGen MMX 3D bioprinter for the generation of highly reproducible kidney organoids from as few as 4,000 cells. Histological and immunohistochemical analyses confirmed the presence of renal epithelium, glomeruli, stroma and endothelium, while single cell RNAseq revealed equivalence to the cell clusters present within previously described organoids. The process is highly reproducible, rapid and transferable between cell lines, including genetically engineered reporter lines. We also demonstrate the capacity to bioprint organoids in a 96-well format and screen for response to doxorubicin toxicity as a proof of concept for high content compound screening.
Generation and characterization of dendritic cells in vitro

Dendritic cells (DC) are the primary antigen presenting cells (APC) in an immune response. They are distinguishable by their potent capacity to stimulate naive or unprimed T cells. As potent APC, they play an important role in the primary immune response to foreign antigens. Very few of these cells exist in vivo, which makes analysis of their development and function a difficult study. A long term culture (L TC) system has been developed supporting the continuous proliferation of cells in vitro which exhibit many of the characteristics of DC. The culture system depends on the presence of a stromal cell layer which sheds cells with phenotypic, morphological and functional characteristics resembling DC. This culture system has many advantages over other methods of DC isolation, in that a ready supply of cells is available for analysis. LTC have been developed in the highest numbers from spleen, but have also been derived from bone marrow (BM), lymph node and thymus. Investigations into the nature of the stroma have indicated that DC are only produced in cultures which maintain a mixed cell stroma comprising endothelial cells, macrophages and fibroblasts. Some adherent DC are also evident. Non-adherent cells produced in LTC are dependent on a stromal monolayer for survival and replication and this cannot be replaced with conditioned medium from L TC. Conditioned medium does, however, support limited replication of dendritic-like cells but not B cells or granulocytes from BM. It has been shown to contain interleukin (IL)-3 and IL-6 activity but not granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor and some other common cytokines, including IL-1, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5 and tumour necrosis factor. Several L TC have been maintained for a few years and continue to produce cells with characteristic capacity to stimulate allogeneic, syngeneic and antigen-specific immune responses in low numbers. For example, the LTC X 1 and X3 produce cells which can stimulate both allogeneic, syngeneic and antigen-specific responses, while LTC C 1
Specialization and Modularity of a Bat Fly Antagonistic Ecological Network in a Dry Tropical Forest in Northern Colombia

Ecological networks represent the energy flow and interactions among the species of an ecological community. Streblidae is a family of bloodsucking flies specialized in parasitizing bats, thus forming an ecological network. The purpose of this study was to investigate the specialization and modularity of a bat fly antagonist ecological network in a tropical dry forest in northern Colombia. Bat hosts were sampled by using mist nets, while bat flies were collected directly from the hosts by using entomological forceps. The network was built with the Bipartite package from R software. The sampling effort resulted in 270 bat flies recorded on 45 host individuals. The network showed a high specialization ( = 0.67) and a low connectance (C = 0.30). Paradyschiria parvuloides was the most specialized fly (d = 0.95). The interactions exhibited a high modularity (Q = 0.57), with five modules. This study confirms the high specialization between bats and Streblidae flies, which is influenced by factors such as fidelity to the refuge and habitat, and host abundance.
Critical-Period Visual Deprivation Disrupts Binocular Integration but Spares Spatial Acuity in the Geniculocortical Pathway

Monocular deprivation (MD) during the juvenile critical period leads to long-lasting impairments in binocular function and visual acuity. The site of these changes has been widely considered to be cortical. However, recent evidence indicates that binocular integration may first occur in the dorsolateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus (dLGN), raising the question of whether MD during the critical period may produce long-lasting deficits in dLGN binocular integration. Using in vivo two-photon Ca2+ imaging of dLGN afferents and excitatory neurons in superficial layers of primary visual cortex (V1), we demonstrate that critical-period MD leads to a persistent and selective loss of binocular dLGN inputs, while leaving spatial acuity in the thalamocortical pathway intact. Despite being few in number, binocular dLGN boutons display remarkably robust visual responses, on average twice stronger than monocular boutons, and their responses are exquisitely well-matched between the eyes. To our surprise, we found that MD leads to a profound binocular mismatch of response amplitude, spatial frequency and orientation tuning detected at the level of single thalamocortical synapses. In comparison, V1 neurons display deficits in both binocular integration and spatial acuity following MD. Our data provide the most compelling evidence to date demonstrating that following critical-period MD, binocular deficits observed at the level of V1 may at least in part originate from dLGN binocular dysfunction, while spatial acuity deficits arise from cortical circuits. These findings highlight a hitherto unknown role of the thalamus as a site for developmental refinement of binocular vision.
Inoculation of diazotrophic bacteria in chicory

ABSTRACT Inoculating crops with diazotrophic bacteria constitutes a feasible biotechnological tool to reduce or even avoid the use of nitrogen fertilizers and to improve the nutritional status of crops. However, the potential use of such technology is limited due to the lack of studies in diverse vegetable crops. We evaluated the production of chicory (Cichorium intybus) in response to inoculation with diazotrophic bacteria in two soil classes. The experiments were performed under greenhouse conditions and under a completely randomized design. The treatments were constituted by strains UFRB FA34C2-2, UFLA 03-84 and INPA 0311B, and two control treatments (devoid of bacterial inoculation and with and without nitrogen fertilization). Two experiments were carried out, one using a soil classified as a dystrophic yellow Latosol (Oxisoil) and one using a Quartsandy Neosol (Typic Quartzipsamment). Chlorophylls a, b and total; plant height; number of leaves; dry mass of the aerial portion; dry mass of roots; total dry mass; effectiveness; efficiency in addition to N and P gathering in the aerial portion, were evaluated 60 days after seeding. The inoculation with diazotrophic bacteria resulted in adequate production when compared to the control treatment without nitrogen fertilization and without inoculation. Diazotrophic bacteria showed potential supplying nitrogen to chicory plants and spare the use of nitrogen fertilization in both soil classes. The strain INPA 0311B, recommended for cowpea, promoted vegetal growth and increased the dry weight of the aerial portion in chicory, under both dystrophic yellow Latosol (Oxisoil) and Neossolo Quartzarênico (Typic Quartzipsamment), when cultivated under greenhouse conditions.
Carotid artery stenosis and inflammatory biomarkers: the role of inflammation-induced immunological responses affecting the vascular systems

The death, disability and economic cost of stroke are enormous. Indeed, among the 16 million people worldwide who suffer a stroke’ annually, nearly six million die, and another five million are left permanently disabled making prevention of stroke one of the most important priorities in healthcare. Currently carotid artery stenosis (CS) or narrowing of the common carotid artery (CCA) or internal carotid artery (ICA) due to atherosclerotic plaque, accounts for 20–30% of all ischemic strokes. Atherosclerosis is now regarded as a chronic inflammatory disease in response to vascular compromise especially from hypertension. This has long been known to lead to inflammation and atherosclerotic plaque formation in the blood vessels. This mini-review aims to highlight the role of inflammation and neuro-immunological processes in carotid artery disease. Various cellular elements of inflammation and advanced imaging techniques have been identified as potential markers of plaque progression. Therapies related to decreasing and modulating immune-responsive inflammation in the carotid vessels have been shown to translate into decreased occurrence of acute neurologic events and improvement of clinical outcomes.
Effect of Chemical Vapor Deposition WS2 on Viability and Differentiation of SH-SY5Y Cells

In recent years, transition metal dichalcogenides have been attracting an increasing interest in the biomedical field, thus implying the need of a deeper understanding of their impact on cell behavior. In this study we investigate tungsten disulfide (WS2) grown via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on a transparent substrate (sapphire) as a platform for neural-like cell culture. We culture SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells on WS2, using graphene, sapphire and standard culture well as controls. The quality, thickness and homogeneity of the materials is analyzed using atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The cytocompatibility of CVD WS2 is investigated for the first time by cell viability and differentiation assessment on SH-SY5Y cells. We find that cells differentiated on WS2, displaying a viability and neurite length comparable with the controls. These findings shine light on the possibility of using WS2 as a cytocompatible material for interfacing neural cells.
A Review on: Floating Microsphere

Microspheres are free flowing particles ranging from 1-1000u. Microspheres are having wide applications in drug delivery system. They are mainly used for targeted drug delivery of anti-cancer agents, ophthalmic agent and can be used for diagnosis purpose. In this article detail discussion was made on the polymers, preparation methods and applications of microspheres in pharmaceutical dosage form development. General methods of preparation are emulsion techniques, phase separation coacervation techniques, spray drying and spray congealing and solvent extraction, insitu polymerization etc. Advantages of microspheres use are targeted drug delivery, optimal therapeutic effects and minimum side effects. Recent trends are floating microspheres, radio immobilization using microspheres. Gastro-retentive floating microspheres are low-density systems that have sufficient buoyancy to float over gastric contents and remain in stomach for prolonged period. The drug is released slowly at desired rate resulting in increased gastric retention with reduced fluctuations in plasma drug concentration.
Region-specific regulation of stem cell-driven regeneration in tapeworms

Tapeworms grow at rates that rival all metazoan tissues, including during embryonic and neoplastic growth. For example, the rat intestinal tapeworm, Hymenolepis diminuta, produces up to 2,200 proglottids (segments), increasing in length up to 3,400 fold, and weight up to 1.8 million fold within the first 15 days of infection1. Tapeworms also regenerate: they shed large parts of their body, releasing their embryos to continue their life cycle, yet are able to continuously replenish proglottids and maintain an equilibrium length. Such remarkable growth and regeneration are fueled by adult somatic stem cells, which have yet to be characterized molecularly. Using H. diminuta as a laboratory model, we find that regeneration is limited to the tapeworm neck, making this tissue a prime source to identify stem cell genes. Using transcriptomic analyses and RNA interference (RNAi), we characterize and functionally validate the first molecular regulators of tapeworm growth and regeneration. However, we find no evidence that stem cells are restricted to the regeneration-competent neck. Instead, we find that lethally irradiated tapeworms can be rescued from death when cells from both regeneration-competent and regeneration-incompetent regions are transplanted into the neck. Furthermore, the persistence of regenerative ability over time requires signal(s) from the head, even though the head itself cannot regenerate and the head is not necessary for initial regeneration. Together, the head and neck tissue provide a microenvironment that regulates stem cells to enable region-specific regeneration in this tapeworm.
Impacts of benzovindiflupyr on the embryonic development of zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Abstract Benzovindiflupyr is a broad spectrum succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor fungicide, and information about its risk to aquatic organisms is limited. The present study examined the developmental effects of benzovindiflupyr exposure to zebrafish under static conditions through fish embryo toxicity test. First, zebrafish hatchability and survivability were decreased. Edema, body deformation, and microcephaly were abnormalities observed in embryos. Secondly, in vivo fluorescence analysis showed that benzovindiflupyr induced the reactive oxygen species. Moreover, stress-related oxidative enzyme experiments showed that malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, glutathione S-transferase, peroxidase and glutathione level were affected, and gene experiments showed that catalase, glutathione peroxidase 1a, superoxide dismutase 1 and superoxide dismutase 2 gene transcription levels were upregulated. Fourth, succinate dehydrogenase activity and the associated gene transcription level were decreased. Taken together, this study suggested that benzovindiflupyr could induce oxidative stress and decrease succinate dehydrogenase activity of zebrafish and has the potential to affect embryonic development.
Distinct responses of niche and fitness differences to water availability underlie variable coexistence outcomes in semi‐arid annual plant communities

Climate change is predicted to have profound consequences for multispecies coexistence, and thus, patterns of biological diversity. These consequences will be mediated by direct and indirect impacts of environmental change on species’ vital rates and interactions. While the impacts of environmental change on individual species has received much attention to date, the consequences for coexistence mediated by changes in the strength and direction of multispecies interactions are not as well understood. To investigate how coexistence dynamics may be sensitive to environmental change, we conducted a field experiment in a diverse semi‐arid annual plant system. We imposed a water manipulation treatment in two sites that vary in aridity and associated rainfall. Focusing on four common annual plant species in these sites, we quantified the fecundity (seed production) of individuals in response to a gradient of intra‐ and interspecific competitor densities and aridity. We then used these fecundities to parameterize an annual plant population model and examine the influence of aridity and species identity on resultant coexistence dynamics (as a function of stabilizing niche differences and fitness inequalities). While the responses of some vital rates and competitive impacts to watering varied somewhat predictably across sites, coexistence metrics encapsulating changes in these vital rates and interaction strengths did not. Fitness inequalities among our focal species were driven largely by differences in sensitivity to competition, which were almost always much greater than the magnitude of stabilizing niche differences. These findings were surprising given observational evidence suggesting that these species do coexist at local scales in these natural communities. Synthesis. Our study is one of the first to explicitly consider the influence of environmental variation on the individual components of coexistence outcomes. We show that environmental change has the ability to influence coexistence not only through direct pathways (i.e., vital rates), but also indirect pathways (i.e., species interactions). Despite the consistency of many of the responses of these individual components to environmental variation, their combined influence on predictions of both current and future coexistence remains unclear.