Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Skin follicle development in the Australian cashmere goat

Follicle densities, S/P ratios and follicle number indices (FNI) of fibre-bearing primary (Pf) and secondary (Sf) follicles, and body weights, were taken sequentially on 224 kids at birth and at mean ages of 57, 107 and 301 days. All primary follicles but few secondary follicles were mature (fibre-bearing) at birth and Sf number increased 10 fold in the first 57 days after birth. A decline in Pf number was recorded between 57 and 107 days of age. SFNI’s, but not Sf density increased to weaning (107 days of age) then declined thereafter to 301 days of age. Single kids had higher (P < 0.01) SFNI than twin kids at all ages except birth, though Sf/Pf ratios of singles were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than those of twins at 57 days of age only. At 107 and, 301 days of age, males had higher PFNI than females (24.8 v. 22.0 and 24-7 v. 22.0) and higher SFNI than females (179.0 v. 150.4 and 151.6 v. 131-1). Sex differences were not observed in Sf/Pf ratio. A description of follicle arrangement and accessory structures is given.
Novel antiplatelet targets in the treatment of acute coronary syndromes

Abstract Acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are a global cause of mortality and morbidity that affect millions of lives worldwide. Following atherosclerotic plaque rupture, platelet activation and aggregation are the two major elements that initiate thrombus formation inside a coronary artery, which can obstruct blood flow and cause myocardial ischemia; ergo, antiplatelet therapy forms a major part of the treatment strategy for ACS. Patients with ACS routinely receive dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT), which consists of aspirin and a platelet P2Y12 inhibitor to both treat and prevent atherothrombosis. Use of platelet glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa inhibitors is now limited due to the risk of severe bleeding and thrombocytopenia. Thus, administration of GPIIb/IIIa inhibitors is generally restricted to bail out thrombotic events associated with PCI. Furthermore, current antiplatelet medications mainly rely on thromboxane A2 and P2Y12 inhibition, which have broad-acting effects on platelets and are known to cause bleeding, which especially limits the long-term use of these agents. In addition, not all ACS patients treated with current antiplatelet treatments are protected from recurrence of arterial thrombosis, since many platelet mechanisms and activation pathways remain uninhibited by current antiplatelet therapy. Pharmacological antagonism of novel targets involved in platelet function could shape future antiplatelet therapies that could ultimately lead to more effective or safer therapeutic approaches. In this article, we focus on inhibitors of promising targets that have not yet been introduced into clinical practice, including inhibitors of GPVI, protease-activated receptor (PAR)-4, GPIb, 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor subtype 2A (5-HT2A), protein disulfide isomerase, P-selectin and phosphoinositide 3-kinase β.
Vertical mixing as a determinant of trophic status in deep lakes: a case study from two lakes south of the Alps (Lake Garda and Lake Iseo)

The identification of the factors and mechanisms determining a particular lake’s typology is crucial for the correct interpretation of trophic evolution. Nutrient concentrations are not the only properties which determine the trophic characteristics of lakes; others, such as morphometry, hydrology and climatic conditions, also have a major influence on the development of algal biomass and species composition. Large, deep lakes belong to a well defined typology. Their trophic status depends not only on algal nutrient loads, but also on the extent of the spring vertical mixing and renewal time. These factors are closely interrelated, for the actual renewal time approaches the theoretical renewal time only during the complete overturn. This paper compares the influence of different circulation patterns on the trophic status of two deep subalpine lakes with contrasting mixing characteristics. Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy (S=368 km2, V=49 km3, Zmax=350 m). It is characterised by irregular circulation events (oligomixis); during the 1990s, complete homogenisation of the water column occurred in 1991 and 1999-2000. The years between these episodes showed an increase of hypolimnetic temperatures and a progressive vertical stratification of nutrients. Full overturn episodes were characterised by a sudden decrease of temperature and complete homogenisation of the chemical and physical variables along the water column, with a corresponding increase of nutrients and algal biomasses at the surface. In contrast, the last mixing involving the deepest waters in Lake Iseo (S= 60,9 km2, V=7,6 km3, Zmax=251 m) occurred at the beginning of the 1980s, after which the reduced water renewal and the high trophic level resulted in a marked decrease in oxygen concentrations and in the establishment of conditions of anoxia during the 1990s. At present the lake is meromictic. In 1999 and 2000, when a complete overturn was observed in lakes Maggiore and Como as well as in Lake Garda, Lake Iseo experienced a spring mixing which was still limited, but able to determine an increase in the algal biomass.
IDENTIFICATION OF mRNA ENCODING HOMEOBOX PROTEINS HOX b4 AND HOX b5 IN DEVELOPING CHICKEN GIZZARD TISSUES

Combining reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT- PCR) and molecular cloning technologies, we have investigated the expression of homeodomain proteins in chicken gizzard tissues undergoing differentiation. We demonstrate that homeodomain encoding transcripts are found in developing chicken gizzard. An RT-PCR generated 117 bp homeodomain DNA probe was used to screen a gizzard library and resulted in the identification of ~60 potential homeodomain encoding cDNAs. Sequence analysis of the two longest clones identified them as Hox b4 and Hox b5, paralogues of Drosophila Deformed (Dfd) and Sex combs reduced (Scr), respectively. Northern blotting analysis demonstrated an increase in the Hox b4 and Hox b5 mRNAs just prior to the onset of smooth muscle cell differentiation as judged by the expression of the smooth muscle γ-actin gene. Thus, Hox b4 and Hox b5 display the appropriate temporal expression pattern to be involved in the development/differentiation of the chicken gizzard.
Estimating maintenance amino acids requirements of fish through a nonlinear mixed modelling approach

Accurate estimates of maintenance requirement of amino acids are important for feed formulation. However, very little is known about maintenance requirements of essential amino acids in fish. A nonlinear mixed modelling approach was employed in this study to estimate maintenance requirements of essential amino acids of fish from published studies. The maintenance requirements of arginine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine were estimated to be 7.7 (+/- 6.6), 9.8 (+/- 2.4), 6.4 (+/- 24.8), 9.1 (+/- 13.7), 15.6 (+/- 8.2), 18.4 (+/- 1.9), 14.6 (+/- 3.2), 5.4 (+/- 4.4), 0.5 (+/- 1.3) and 9.3 (+/- 26.6)mg/kgBW0.75/day respectively, whereas the maintenance requirements of these amino acids as a proportion of their total requirements for protein deposition were estimated to be 4.8%, 31.0%, 8.9%, 12.7%, 5.2%, 11.9%, 19.2%, 2.5%, 2.2%, 10.8% respectively. For most of the essential amino acids, the maintenance requirements represent a small proportion of total requirement (below 10%) with notable exceptions for histidine and phenylalanine. Results from this study suggest that maintenance requirements of fish cannot be assumed equal for all amino acids. The results can be used in developing factorial or mechanistic models of amino acid requirement and utilization.
Early embryogenesis in discoglossoid frogs: a study of heterochrony at different taxonomic levels

We studied the timing of the early development of the cranial neural crest, neural tube differentiation, somite formation and body elongation in the closely related frog species Discoglossus montalenti, Discoglossus galganoi, Discoglossus pictus, Bombina orientalis, Bombina variegata and Bombina maxima. Despite their different egg and embryo sizes, event pairing shows that there are only very few heterochronies among the three Bombina species and the three Discoglossus species in early developmental events. Instead, differences become apparent at the genus level (interpreted as phylogenetic signal). For example, the separation into a mandibular and a hyoid portion of cranial neural crest could be seen earlier in the Discoglossus than in the Bombina species when compared with the development of the neural tube. The development of the cranial neural crest streams also shifts (relatively) forward in time when compared with body elongation and somite formation in the Discoglossus species in contrast to the Bombina species. Comparisons with other species show that attempts to correlate heterochronies in early development with life history changes should take into account the possibility of a rather high evolvability, i.e. a high probability of convergence in the timing of these early events. Zusammenfassung In der vorliegenden Studie wurden die Fruhentwicklung der cranialen Neuralleistenstrome, die Differenzierung des Neuralrohres, die Somitenbildung und die Korperstreckung der nahe verwandten Froscharten Discoglossus montalenti, D. galganoi, D. pictus, Bombina orientalis, B. variegata und B. maxima untersucht. Trotz der Grosenunterschiede der Eier und Embryonen zeigen die Vertreter von Bombina bzw. Discoglossus nur wenige intragenerische Heterochronien. Zwischen beiden Gattungen sind jedoch eine Reihe von Unterschieden auffallig. Die Trennung der mandibularen und der hyoidaren Portion der cranialen Neuralleiste erfolgt beispielsweise im Vergleich mit der Neuralrohrentwicklung bei Discoglossus-Vertretern relativ fruher als bei Bombina-Arten. Auch im Vergleich zu Korperstreckung und Bildung der Somitenreihe erscheint die Entwicklung der cranialen Neuralleistenstrome der Discoglossus-Arten zeitlich relativ fruh. Vergleiche mit weiteren Arten zeigen, dass bei Versuchen, Heterochronien der fruhen Embryogenese mit Veranderungen der life history zu verknupfen, die moglicherweise hohe Konvergenzwahrscheinlichkeit solcher Ereignisse bedacht werden muss.
Recent advances in cat genetics.

The domestic cat has indirectly benefited from the human genome sequencing project, which has fostered new technologies and research designs that benefit all domesticated animals and breeds. Consequently, the genome project of the domestic cat has taken a significant leap forward, pouncing into the limelight. A variety of genetic tests for inherited cat diseases and phenotypic traits are now available, making genetic technologies and DNA testing common tools for cat breed husbandry and health management. Cat breeders and veterinarians can now use genetics to more efficiently breed cats, resulting in cats that also have lower risks of health concerns. As in humans, designer medicine, which is predictive, preventative, personalized and participatory, is a growing reality for the cat. The cat’s own genome sequencing project is about to mature from its ‘kittenhood’, which will allow studies of complex diseases feasible in the near future. Common cat diseases, such as asthma, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, urinary tract syndromes and susceptibilities to infectious diseases, including feline infectious peritonitis, have some heritable component, whether found in fancy cat breeds or in the random bred house cat. Genetic resources developed from the cat genome project will assist the genetic evaluation of these traits, traits that are commonplace in the private practice clinicians’ patient load. This review presents the current state of cat genetic testing, the current abilities of the feline geneticist, the expected resources, and outcomes of the cat genome sequencing project, and the role of veterinary specialists and private practice clinicians in feline genetics.
Further studies on the modifier gene system regulating activities of X-linked enzymes in Drosophila melanogaster

In a previous study, we reported the presence in Drosophila melanogaster of a modifier gene system which has influence on activities of three X-linked enzymes, G6PD, 6PGD and HAD. However, possibilities exist that the system may be primarily responsible for other traits which have influence on the enzyme activities. In order to examine these possibilities, the high- and low- activity lines established from a strain which is homozygous for an X chromosome were compared with respect to the following parameters: average size and total number of wing cells, protein, DNA and ribosomal RNA contents, total G6PD activity, distribution of G6PD, 6PGD and HAD activities, and synthetic and degradation rates of 6PGD. Effects of juvenile hormone and ecdysone on G6PD and 6PGD activities were also studied. The results obtained were all consistent with our assumption that the modifier gene system may be primarily responsible for the control of the X-linked enzyme genes.
A review of trends in wheat yield responses to conservation cropping in Australia

Trends in wheat yield responses to conservation cropping in Australia were analysed using data from 33 medium-term (3-5 year) and long-term (>5 year) agronomic experiments. The overall effect of tillage (direct drilled v. cultivated) was small in all regions (-0.18 to +0.06 t/ha), while stubble retention (stubble retained v. stubble burnt) reduced yield in all regions (-0.31 to -0.02 t/ha). There was large year-to-year variation in the yield response to both tillage and stubble retention at all sites, but no consistent relationship between yield variation and amount or pattern of seasonal rainfall based on monthly totals. There was also little evidence that the yield of direct-drilled and stubble-retained treatments increased relative to cultivated or stubble-burnt treatments with the duration of the experiments, despite the improvement in soil conditions reported at many sites. The factors thought responsible for the year-toyear variation in yield response varied within and between regions, although some consistent effects emerged. Reduced early seedling growth of directdrilled crops was considered a major factor underlying the yield response at most sites, and this was rarely associated with the availability of water or nitrogen. High soil strength and increased severity of rhizoctonia root rot were responsible for these effects at some sites, but at others the cause remains unclear. Stubble retention influenced yield in many ways but the significance of the allelopathic effects of stubble, suspected by many authors to influence crop growth, is poorly understood. Adoption of direct drilling and stubble retention is likely to remain low in areas where no long-term yield benefit can be demonstrated and where greater management flexibility is offered by systems of reduced cultivation and late stubble burning-incorporation. Further research should identify and develop strategies to overcome the constraints to yield in conservation farming systems, particularly stubble retention, and assess the sustainability of recent innovations incorporating minimum disturbance and partial stubble retention. The more rapid adoption of such intermediate strategies will hasten the move of the grains industry toward sustainable production.
Control of Soybean Sprout Rot Caused by Pythium deliense in Recirculated Production System

A soybean-sprout rot epidemic occurred in a mass production soybean sprout factory in 2000 and 2001 in Korea, which caused up to 20% production loss. Among the causal pathogenic bacteria and fungi, Pythium deliense was found to be the dominant pathogen of severe root and hypocotyls rot, particularly in recirculating water system. An average of 90% of the isolated fungi from the rotted sprout on potato dextrose agar were Pythium sp. The fungal density of Pythium in the sampled water was monitored in the recycled water system for 1 year using a selective medium (com meal agar with Pimaricin, 10 mg； Rifampicin, 10 mg； and Ampicillin, 100 mg per 1 liter). The drained water from the soybean-sprout cultivation always had a certain amount of fungus in it. The removal of Pythium from the recycling water system must be thorough, safe, and environment friendly. However, the pathogen in the water was easily found even after ozone and chlorine treatments, which were devised on the recycling system for the removal of microorganisms. 5- pore size filter was applied and was able to successfully control the disease. As the sprout industry increasingly shifts into mass production, the demand for water will increase continuously. Recycling water for sprout production is eco-friendly. However, a process must be devised to be able to first decompose organic matters before Pythium zoospores are filtered.
A semiselective medium for detecting epiphytic and systemic populations of Pseudomonas savastanoi from oleander.

A new medium, oleander knot agar (OKA), was developed for isolation of Pseudomonas savastanoi from oleander plants. OKA contained (in grams per liter) agar (14.0), L-serine (2.0), yeast extract (1.0), NH 4 H 2 PO 4 (0.5), K 2 HPO 4 . 3H 2 O (0.5), NaCI (5.0), MgSO 4 . 7H 2 O (0.2), boric acid (1.0), vancomycin (0.15), cephalexin (0.05), bacitracin (0.05), ampicillin (0.015), novobiocin (0.02), and cycloheximide (100). All 39 strains of P. savastanoi from different geographical areas grew on OKA, and the quantitative recovery ranged from 5.7 to 93.6% (mean = 43.6%). OKA was more selective than other media tested, including BCBRVB, M-71, KBBC, MSP, proline agar, and PVF-1, and inhibited 89 to 96.7% of saprophytic bacterial strains recovered from oleander tissues. Forty-four percent of other plant-pathogenic bacteria tested did not grow on OKA, and 13% grew sparingly. OKA was used to detect epiphytic populations of P. savastanoi from galls, leaves, stems, and flowers and to detect systemic movement of the bacterium in oleander stems. The pathogen was present in wash water from 26 of 34 apparently healthy oleander plants. Thirty-one of these plants subsequently developed galls within 1 year. The bacterium was also capable of systemic movement up to 25 cm above and 20 cm below the site of inoculation.
Factors Affecting the Vulnerability of Juvenile Coho (Oncothynchus kisutch) and Chinook Salmon (O. tshawytscha) in a Saltwater Sport Fishery

The fork length, origin (hatchery or wild), and sex and age composition of sport- and seine-caught juvenile (no sea winter annulus) coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) were compared in Saanich Inlet, British Columbia. Sport-caught coho and chinook were larger and had a higher proportion of males than seine-caught fish. The sport fishery was strongly size- selective for both species, resulting in the overrepresentation of jack coho and freshwater age 1 juvenile chinook in the sport catch. Marked coho and chinook were overrepresented in the sport catch, indicating that hatchery fish were more vulnerable to the sport fishery than wild fish. For both species, the higher vulnerability of hatchery fish to the sport fishery could not be fully explained on the basis of size, sex, or freshwater age. Relative to older fish, juvenile coho and chinook were more vulnerable to fishing methods that used light gear at shallow depths (<30 m), such as trolling and casting. Assumptions by manager.
Merged Local Neighborhood Difference Pattern for Facial Expression Recognition

Facial expression based emotion recognition is one of the popular research domains in the computer vision field. Many machine vision-based feature extraction methods are available to increase the accuracy of the Facial Expression Recognition (FER). In feature extraction, neighboring pixel values are manipulated in different ways to encode the texture information of muscle movements. However, defining the robust feature descriptor is still a challenging task to handle the external factors. This paper introduces the Merged Local Neighborhood Difference Pattern (MLNDP) to encode and merge the two-level of representation. At the first level, each pixel is encoded with respect to center pixel, and at the second level, encoding is carried out based on the relationship with the closest neighboring pixel. Finally, two levels of encodings are logically merged to retain only the texture that is positively encoded from the two levels. Further, the feature dimension is reduced using chi-square statistical test, and the final classification is carried out using multiclass SVM on two datasets namely, CK+ and MMI. The proposed descriptor compared against other local descriptors such as LDP, LTP, LDN, and LGP. Experimental results show that our proposed feature descriptor is outperformed other descriptors with 97.86% on CK+ dataset and 95.29% on MMI dataset. The classifier comparison confirms the results that the combination of MLNDP with multiclass SVM performs better than other combinations in terms of local descriptor and classifier.
Performance Evaluation of Total Variation based Compressed Sensing MRI for Different Sampling Patterns

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has been utilized broadly for clinical purposes to portray human anatomy due to its non-intrusive nature. The information acquisition method in MRI naturally picks up encoded signals (Fourier transformed) instead of pixel values and is called k-space information. Sparse reconstruction techniques can be executed in MRI for producing an image from fewer measurements. Compressive sensing (CS) technique samples the signals at a rate lower than traditional Nyquist’s rate and thereby reduces the data acquisition time in MRI. This paper investigates a new proposed sampling scheme along with radial sampling and 1D Cartesian variable density sampling. For various sampling percentages, subjective and quantitative analyses are carried out on the reconstructed Magnetic Resonance image. Experimental results depicts that the high sampling density near the center of k-space gives a better reconstruction of compressing sensing MRI.
“A Novel Method to Get Proper Tongue Image Acquisition and Thresholding for Getting Area of Interest”

A need of reliable Automated tongue analysis system which may help the user to get an idea about his/her health. As per Ayurveda, Chinese medicine and homeopathy tongue appearance gives lot of information about one’s health. As tongue analysis come under non- invasive method one can easily go for it without any fear for expensive invasive methods. In noninvasive method like tongue analysis Experts opinion play very important role which also, hinders proper analysis. A reliable automated tongue analysis system may overcome this problem. This paper focuses on two major problem faced while using automated tongue analysis system i.e. proper position of tongue for maximum area coverage and better thresholding method to get area of interest
Cloning and expression profiles of yak lipoprotein lipase gene

The objective of this study was to reveal the sequence characteristic and expression pattern of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) gene in high altitude yaks (Bos grunniens). A full-length cDNA of LPL was cloned from yak liver by RT-PCR. The cDNA obtained was 1591 nucleotide (nt) long with a 1437 nt open reading frame encoding 478 amino acids. Yak LPL shares 99.5% nucleotide sequence similarity and 100% amino acid sequence similarity with cattle. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that yak heart and adipose tissue contained significantly higher LPL mRNA level than other tissues assayed. Yak calves contained lower level of LPL mRNA in longissimus dorsi than adult yaks (p < 0.01). Besides, LPL mRNA level in longissimus dorsi was markedly lower in adult yaks that in adult cattle living at low altitude region.