Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Saikosaponin D on apoptosis genes expression profile of the colon cancer cells HT-29

The present study aims to investigate the change of apoptosis genes expression of HT29 cells induced by Saikosaponin D (SSD), which is the major component of Xiao Chai Hu Tang, the classic Chinese medicine prescriptions. In this study, gene expression profiles of HT29 cells with or without the SSD treatment were obtained by means of using RT ProfilerTMPCR Array Human Apoptosis and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and analyzed to detect differential gene expression. According to results of 3- (4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, a final concentration of 10 mg /L of SSD for 24 h was used in the SSD group and the growth inhibition rate of HT-29 cells was about 5%. In SSD treated cells, expression levels of 14 kinds of apoptosis genes changed significantly. Compared with the control group, some apoptosis genes such as DIVA, CASP10, and TRAILR were expressed at much higher levels, while some anti-apoptosis gene such as HIAPI, NAIP, BCL2 were also expressed at much higher levels. SSD induces the apoptosis of HT29 through the apoptosis pathway of TRAIL, TRAIL-R and caspase10 and/or caspase8. And these data could provide targets for the treatment of colon cancer. Key words: Saikosaponin D, colon carcinoma, apoptosis, gene expression.
Calculating minimum discrepancy to assess the nestedness of species assemblages

Nestedness is a pattern whereby species-poor assemblages are composed of subsets of the species occurring in richer assemblages. One of the most commonly used measures of the degree of nestedness for presence-absence matrices is the ‘discrepancy’ metric. A hitherto neglected property of that metric is that it may take several values for a given site-by-species matrix in the presence of ties in the marginal totals. This complicates the quantification of nestedness for the observed presence-absence matrix, as well as the assessment of statistical significance, which is typically achieved through Monte Carlo simulations. A solution to the problem is to calculate the minimum discrepancy using a modified algorithm involving permutations of columns with tied totals.
Antihyperglycemic, antidyslipidemic and antioxidant activity of Rhus coriaria in STZ-induced type 2 diabetic rats

The potential role of methanolic extract of Rhus coriaria L. on hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia and lipid peroxidation (LPO) was studied in type 2 diabetic rats. Type 2 diabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ, 100 mg/kg) to 2 days old rat pups. R. coriaria (200 and 400 mg/kg) was administered orally once a day for 5 weeks after the animals were confirmed diabetic (that is, 90 days after STZ injection). A group of citrate control rats were also maintained which has received citrate buffer on the 2 nd day of their birth. Administration of R. coriaria extract showed a significant (P < 0.001) decrease in blood glucose and tissue MDA levels as compared to type 2 diabetic control rats. The levels of total cholesterol (TCh), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and very low density lipoproteins cholesterol VLDL-C were also significantly (P < 0.001) decreased by R. coriaria treatment when compared with type 2 diabetic control rats. In contrast the high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels were significantly (P < 0.001) increased after treatment with R. coriaria extract when compared with type 2 diabetic control rats. These results revealed that R. coriaria possesses significant antihyperglycemic and antidyslipidemic activity along with potent antioxidant potential in type 2 diabetic mellitus.
Phenological and geographical patterns of walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) spawning in the western Gulf of Alaska

Over 20 years of egg sampling data were used to reconstruct the geographical and phenological patterns of walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) spawning aggregations in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). The analyzed time series (1972, 1978-1979, 1981-2000) included a documented event of climate change (i.e., 1988-1989) and the rise and fall of the GOA pollock population abundance and harvests. We compared results from two generalized additive model (GAM) formulations: one assuming no change of egg distribution and phenology over the examined time series (stationary) and the other admitting such changes (nonstationary) across an epoch determined from the data. Results from both model formulations corroborate the existence of a high egg concentration in Shelikof Strait, historically the primary spawning area of pollock in the GOA. However, model results also highlight the presence of other secondary, and possibly transitory, centers of egg distribution at various locations along the shelf and slope regions of the GOA. In addition, results from the nonstationary (and statistically superior) formulation indicate that the abundance of the non-Shelikof aggregations has increased over time, along with a tendency for earlier occurrence and displacement toward shallower areas of the high egg density regions.
Metamaterial - Based Mushroom Array Antenna With Complementary Split Ring Resonator

This paper presents a compact wide band, high gain superstrate loaded meta material mushroom array antenna. It uses a microstrip line aperture coupled feeding structure A complimentary split ring resonator (CSRR) is used as superstate in this proposed antenna. Compact and wide band nature is achieved by loading the meta material mushroom array with shorting walls on either side of radiating edges. High gain is achieved by placing a CSRR superstate array at a height of $\lambda/4$ above the mushroom array. The mushroom array antenna achieves -10dB impedance bandwidth of 5–6 GHz and Peak boresight gain of 7.3 dB. The array antenna achieves a bandwidth of 5.8-6.6 GHz and a gain of 8.3 dB. Good simulation results with respect to impedance matching, gain & radiation pattern characteristics are observed in the mushroom array antenna and later produces more gain in superstate loaded mushroom array antenna.
Neural Topic Model with Attention for Supervised Learning

Topic modeling utilizing neural variational inference has shown promising results recently. Unlike traditional Bayesian topic models, neural topic models use deep neural network to approximate the intractable marginal distribution and thus gain strong generalisation ability. However, neural topic models are unsupervised model. Directly us-ing the document-speciﬁc topic proportions in downstream prediction tasks could lead to sub-optimal performance. This paper presents Topic Attention Model (TAM) 1 , a supervised neural topic model that integrates with a recurrent neural network. We de-sign a novel way to utilize document-speciﬁc topic proportions and global topic vectors learned from neural topic model in the attention mechanism. We also develop backpropagation inference method that allows for joint model optimisation. Experimental results on three public datasets show that TAM not only signiﬁcantly improves supervised learning tasks, including classiﬁcation and regression, but also achieves lower perplexity for the document modeling.
Description of the immature stages and gall morphology, and molecular characterisation of Procontarinia robusta, a gall midge (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) damaging leaves of mango Mangifera indica L. (Anarcadiaceae) in southern Asia

Procontarinia robusta Li, Bu & Zhang (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) induces distinctive brown conical galls on the upper side of mango leaves. Here, we describe the larva and pupa and illustrate the gall of P. robusta collected at type locality in China and use gall morphology to identify galls reported previously from India and Indonesia. Analyses of the cytochrome oxidase unit I mitochondrial gene segment showed significant differ- ences between P. robusta and two other pests of mango, P. mangicola (Shi) and P. pustulata Kolesik, and confirmed the identification of P. robusta specimens from East Timor.Asummary of the biology of P. robusta is provided.
Cyclin A2 Protein Overexpression Is Not Caused by Gene Amplification in Colon Cancer

Increased expression of cyclin A2 protein has been detected in different types of cancers. However, its prognostic importance appears to differ between tumours. The significance and precise mechanisms behind cyclin A2 overexpression remain to be elucidated. We used real-time PCR to examine CCNA2 amplification in tumour cells isolated by laser microdissection and in total tumour tissue in colon cancer patients in which overexpression of cyclin A2 protein had been revealed by immunohistochemistry (𝑛=22 patients). The results were verified by FISH. CCNA2 amplification was not detected in either the isolated tumour cells or the total tumour tissue. We verified our methods by demonstrating amplification of CCNA2 by real-time PCR in three out of eight breast tumours that overexpressed cyclin A2 protein (this frequency is consistent with the findings of others). However, FISH did not reveal any CCNA2 amplification in the breast tumours, but it did reveal polysomy of chromosome 4 or segments of chromosome 4 in three tumour tissue samples, indicating the importance of verifying the real-time PCR results with another method. To conclude, the increased cyclin A2 protein expression in these patients could not be explained by CCNA2 amplification in isolated colonic tumour cells.
Ratio needs of arginine relative to lysine of male broilers from 28 to 42 days of age during a constant, elevated environmental temperature regimen

SUMMARY The digestible Arg (dArg)-to-digestible Lys (dLys) ratio of broilers exposed to a constant, elevated ambient temperature was evaluated in commercial high-yielding male broilers. Common starter and grower diets were fed to all broilers from 0 to 28 d of age. Experimental diets were provided from 28 to 42 d of age. The experimental test diets were formulated with corn, soybean meal, corn distillers dried grains with solubles, and an animal by-product blend. The diets were formulated to satisfy all nutrient recommendations, with the exception of dArg. To create the experimental finisher diets, 2 experimental diets were formulated to contain 0.95 and 1.24% dArg and a common dLys level of 0.95%. These 2 diets were then blended to create 5 intermediate dArg:dLys levels (7 treatment diets in total), which were fed from 28 to 42 d of age. A diet made exclusively with conventional ingredients, with a dArg:dLys ratio of 107%, served as a positive control. Body weight gain was unaffected by the 7 experimental diets. Feed efficiency was improved in the experimental diets when the dArg:dLys ratio was 110%. However, no difference was observed for this parameter when compared with the FE of the control diet (dArg:dLys = 107%). Carcass traits were unaffected by the experimental treatments. Therefore, an adequate dArg:dLys ratio during a period of constant, elevated temperature was satisfied at a minimum of 110%.
Direct Interactions between the Heterotrimeric G Protein Subunit Gβ5 and the G Protein γ Subunit-Like Domain-Containing Regulator of G Protein Signaling 11: Gain of Function of Cyan Fluorescent Protein-Tagged Gγ3

We used fluorescence resonance energy transfer imaging of enhanced cyan fluorescent protein (CFP)-tagged and enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (YFP)-tagged protein pairs to examine the hypothesis that G protein γ subunit-like (GGL) domain-containing regulators of G protein signaling (RGS) can directly bind to the Gβ5 subunit of heterotrimeric G proteins in vivo. We observed that Gβ5 could interact with Gγ2 and Gγ13, after their expression in human embryonic kidney 293 cells. Interestingly, although untagged Gγ3 did not interact with Gβ5, CFP-tagged Gγ3 strongly interacted with YFP-tagged Gβ5 in FRET studies. Moreover, CFP-Gγ3 supported Ca2+ channel inhibition when paired with Gβ5 or YFP-Gβ5, indicating a “gain of function” for CFP-Gγ3. Gβ5 could also interact with RGS11 and its N-terminal, but not its C-terminal domain. On the other hand, RGS11 did not interact with Gβ1. These studies demonstrate that the GGL domain-containing N terminus of RGS 11 can directly interact with Gβ5 in vivo and supports the hypothesis that this interaction may contribute to the specificity of Gβ5 interactions with cellular effector molecules.
Effects of dietary l‐carnitine supplements on growth and body composition in beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) juveniles

Summary The effects of dietary l-carnitine on growth performance, whole body composition and feed utilization were studied in beluga, Huso huso. Fish were randomly allocated in 15 tanks (30 fish per tank) and triplicate groups were fed to satiety during 84 days one of five isonitrogenous (41% CP) and isoenergetic (20 MJ kg−1) diets, each differing in l-carnitine content [0 (control), 300, 600, 900 and 1200 mg kg−1 diet]. At the end of the trial, fish grew from 19- to 23-fold in weight, from 8.4 g to a maximum of 191 g. Fish fed 300–600 mg l-carnitine had the highest specific growth rate (SGR, 3.69 and 3.72% day−1) and protein efficiency ratio (PER, 0.95 and 0.99), and the lowest feed conversion ratio (FCR, 1.4 and 1.3) than the other groups (P < 0.0001). SGR, PER and FCR were the poorest for fish fed 1200 mg l-carnitine, while fish fed the unsupplemented and 900 mg l-carnitine supplemented diet showed intermediate performance. Body lipid concentration decreased significantly from 5.8 to 5.1% (P < 0.0001) with dietary l-carnitine supplementation increasing from 0 to 300 mg. Energy content was significantly lower in fish fed the 900 and 1200 mg l-carnitine diet (5.8 MJ kg−1), when compared with the other treatment groups (6.4–6.6 MJ kg−1). The results indicated that feeding sturgeon on diets supplemented with 300 mg l-carnitine kg−1 diet improved growth performance, and stimulated protein-sparing effects from lipids.
On the need to incorporate sensitivity to CO2 transfer conductance into the Farquhar–von Caemmerer–Berry leaf photosynthesis model

Virtually all current estimates of the maximum carboxylation rate ( V cmax ) of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/ oxygenase (Rubisco) and the maximum electron transport rate ( J max ) for C 3 species implicitly assume an infinite CO 2 transfer conductance ( g i ). And yet, most measurements in perennial plant species or in ageing or stressed leaves show that g i imposes a significant limitation on photosynthesis. Herein, we demonstrate that many current parameterizations of the photosynthesis model of Farquhar, von Caemmerer & Berry ( Planta 149, 78‐90, 1980) based on the leaf intercellular CO 2 concentration ( C i ) are incorrect for leaves where g i limits photosynthesis. We show how conventional A‐C i curve (net CO 2 assimilation rate of a leaf ‐ A n ‐ as a function of C i ) fitting methods which rely on a rectangular hyperbola model under the assumption of infinite g i can significantly underestimate V cmax for such leaves. Alternative parameterizations of the conventional method based on a single, apparent Michaelis‐Menten constant for CO 2 evaluated at C i [ K m (CO 2 ) i ] used for all C 3 plants are also not acceptable since the relationship between V cmax and g i is not conserved among species. We present an alternative A‐C i curve fitting method that accounts for g i through a non-rectangular hyperbola version of the model of Farquhar et al . (1980). Simulated and real examples are used to demonstrate how this new approach eliminates the errors of the conventional A‐C i curve fitting method and provides V cmax estimates that are virtually insensitive to g i . Finally, we show how the new A‐C i curve fitting method can be used to estimate the value of the kinetic constants of Rubisco in vivo is presented
Monoclonal antibodies in clinical diagnosis: A brief review application

Monoclonal antibodies (mAb) have been an invaluable tool that has added to our biological knowledge for over a decade. mAb are important diagnostic reagents used in biomedical research, microbiological research in diagnosis of Hepatitis, AIDs, influenza, herpes simplex, Chlamydia infections and in treatment of such diseases as infections and cancer. The worldwide clinical diagnostics industry is valued at approximately $19 billion, with a growth rate of nearly 5% per year. Kohler and Milstein have first developed the means for the production of monoclonal antibodies. The first mAb production, a whole new era in the study of biotechnology has been opened. Further this hybridoma technology has been improved over the years, particular by pre-selection of antigen-binding B cells and by screening with antigen-coating filters. The modern popularity of the immunoassay is almost directly related to the development of recombinant mAb technology advancement. Hybridoma-derived or bacterially cloned monoclonal antibody technology has enabled the mass production of highly specific probes for antigenic sites, whether on enzymes, receptors, hormones, or microbial products. The great utility of such antibody assays is in their ability to be easily automated and standardized, primarily through an adaptation of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Monoclonal antibody diagnostic kits being increasingly used to identify communicable diseases including transfusion transmissible infections. More than 100 different monoclonal antibody diagnostic products are currently available. These monoclonal antibodies are produced by in vitro and in vivo method but have advantages and some disadvantages. The aim of present mini review articles is to demonstrate the monoclonal antibodies for the diagnosis of viral disease, their application and current market in clinical sciences.
Chewing lice (Phthiraptera) from typical antbirds and ground ant- birds (Passeriformes: Thamnophilidae, Formicariidae) from Costa Rica, with descriptions of three new species of the genera Formicaphagus and Myrsidea

Descriptions and illustrations are given for one new species of Formicaphagus Carriker, 1957 and two new species of Myrsidea Waterston, 1915 from typical antbirds and ground antbirds from Costa Rica. They and their type hosts are: Formicaphagus tyrannina ex Cercomacra tyrannina (Thamnophilidae), Myrsidea mcleannani ex Phaenostictus mcleannani (Thamnophilidae) and Myrsidea klimesi ex Formicarius analis (Formicariidae). These are the first records of Myrsidea from members of the passerine families Thamnophilidae and Formicariidae. Records of two other known louse species, one of Formicaphagus and one of Machaerilaemus Harrison, 1915, both from thamnophilid hosts, are also discussed.
Ultrastructural Study of the Development of Vairimorpha necatrix (Kramer, 1965) (Protozoa, Microsporida) in Larvae of the Corn Earworm, Heliothis zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) with Emphasis on Sporogony

The ultrastructure of the life cycle of Vairimorpha necatrix (Kramer) was studied in Heliothis (Helicoverpa) zea larvae raised at temperatures ranging from 15° C to 30° C. In contrast to the description of the type species, both patterns of development (Nosema‐like and Thelohania‐like) that characterize the genus Vairimorpha were present at all temperatures examined. No temperature‐related differences in the ultrastructure of Vairimorpha necatrix were observed; however, the effects of temperature variation were apparent in 1) the time between inoculation with V. necatrix and the initiation of the parasite life cycle and 2) the duration (or length) of the parasite life cycle. An additional form of the parasite, that of a diplokaryon in a sporophorous vesicle, was present during early sporogony. The nuclei of the diplokaryon separated followed by cytokinesis, forming two monokaryotic parasites, and eventually two plasmodia, within the sporophorous vesicle. This pattern of development is characteristic neither of Nosema nor Thelohania, nor has it been described for Vairimorpha.
Preliminary bacterial study on subclinical mastitis and teat condition in dairy herds around Shiraz

Mastitis is a widely occurring and costly disease in the dairy industry. Th e aim of this study was to isolate bacterial causes of subclinical mastitis and investigate the relationship between subclinical mastitis and teat condition in dairy herds located around Shiraz, Fars province, Iran. From 7 commercial dairy herds around Shiraz 354 lactating cows were selected randomly. Subclinical mastitis was evaluated by the California Mastitis Test (CMT), electrical conductivity (EC), and somatic cell count (SCC). Teat condition was evaluated by measuring teat width and length. In the 68 samples of bacterial cultures identifi ed, 14 diff erent bacterial species were found. Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus agalactiae were the most common isolates with 19 (27.94%) and 14 (20.59%), respectively. Th ere were no signifi cant diff erences between the width and length of the 4 teats in diff erent CMT reactions. Th ere was, however, signifi cant correlation between CMT reaction and teat width (r = 0.14 to 0.20). In addition, there was signifi cant correlation between SCC and teat injuries (r = 0.13). Th e diff erence between number of SCC in CMT positive and negative cows, as well as EC positive and negative cows, was signifi cant. It is concluded that some anatomical characteristics of the teat can aff ect the udder's susceptibility to mastitis. Th erefore, bull selection programs may be targeted to improve mastitis control in dairy cow farms.
Analysis of a Cultural Trait Across an Avian Hybrid Zone: Geographic Variation in Plumage Morphology and Vocal Traits in the Australian Ringneck Parrot (Platycercus Zonarius)

Abstract Two morphologically distinct subspecies of the Australian Ringneck Parrot (Platycercus zonarius) meet in a zone of hybridization in southwestern Western Australia. Individuals produce a flight call, a learned vocal signal used by a mated pair to maintain contact and coordinate their movements. I asked how the learned vocal signal covaried geographically with morphology. Across the distributions of the parental taxa and within the hybrid zone, I tape-recorded 398 birds in 38 locations and scored plumage traits. I found that the parental taxa exhibit a discrete difference in their flight calls, but within each of the parental taxa there also were local dialects. There were dialects in the hybrid zone as well, where individuals at a site shared the same type of flight call whether they displayed plumage phenotypes of parental taxa or of hybrids. In the hybrid zone, populations tended to have a form of the flight call intermediate between parental taxa, though the form of the call was more strongly influenced by introgression of call characteristics of one of the parental taxa. These results support both a cultural-dominance model and a blending model of cultural interchange. The parental taxa are hypothesized to have resulted from Pleistocene isolation in refugia during a severe arid period about 25,000–15,000 years ago, with subsequent expansion to create the observed overlap zone. My data suggest that the phylogenetic trace, evident in the culturally transmitted vocal differences of the contemporary parental taxa, originated in the remote past and has been retained for many generations.