Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inactive Methyl Indole-3-Acetic Acid Ester Can Be Hydrolyzed and Activated by Several Esterases Belonging to the AtMES Esterase Family of Arabidopsis thaliana 1

The plant hormone auxin (indole-3-acetic acid, IAA) is found both free and conjugated to a variety of carbohydrates, amino acids and peptides. We have recently shown that IAA could be converted to its methyl ester (MeIAA) by the Arabidopsis thaliana enzyme IAMT1 (IAA carboxyl methyltransferase 1). However, the presence and function of MeIAA in vivo remains unclear. Recently it has been shown that the tobacco protein SABP2 (Salicylic acid binding protein-2) hydrolyzes methyl salicylate to salicylic acid. There are 20 homologs of SABP2 in the genome of Arabidopsis thaliana , which we have named At MES (for methyl esterases). We tested 15 of the proteins encoded by these genes in biochemical assays with various substrates, and identified several candidate MeIAA esterases that could hydrolyze MeIAA. MeIAA, like IAA, exerts inhibitory activity on the growth of wild type roots when applied exogenously. However, the roots of Arabidopsis plants carrying T-DNA insertions in the putative MeIAA esterase gene AtMES17 ( At3g10870 ) displayed significantly decreased sensitivity to MeIAA compared with wild type roots, while remaining as sensitive to free IAA as wild type roots. Incubating seedlings in the presence of [ 14 C]-MeIAA for 30 min revealed that mes17 mutants hydrolyzed only 40% of the [ 14 C]-MeIAA taken up by plants, whereas wildtype plants hydrolyzed 100% of absorbed [ 14 C]-MeIAA. Roots of Arabidopsis plants overexpressing At MES17 showed increased sensitivity to MeIAA, but not to IAA. Additionally, mes17 plants have longer hypocotyls, and display increased expression of the auxin-responsive DR5:GUS reporter gene, suggesting a perturbation in IAA homeostasis and/or transport. mes17-1/axr1-3 double mutant plants have the same phenotype as axr1-3 , suggesting MES17 acts upstream of AXR1. The protein encoded by AtMES17 had a K m value of 13 µ M, and a K cat value of 0.18 sec -1 for MeIAA. AtMES17 was expressed at the highest levels in shoot apex, stem and root of Arabidopsis. Our results demonstrate that MeIAA is an inactive form of IAA, and the manifestations of MeIAA in vivo activity are due to the action of free IAA that is generated from MeIAA upon hydrolysis by one or more plant esterases. exogenously supplied MeIAA at a much lower efficiency than wildtype plants. Wildtype and mes17-1 seedlings were incubated in a 0.5 µM solution of [ 14 C]-MeIAA for 30 min. [ 14 C]-MeIAA absorbed by the plants was extracted and analyzed by radio-TLC. The position of an authentic MeIAA standard is also shown.
Combination of procedure for ultra rapid extraction (PURE) and loop-mediated isothermal amplification 4 (LAMP) for rapid detection of in MILK MYCOPLASMA DETECTION BY PURE–LAMP 7

24 Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is typically used for the early detection of mycoplasma in bovine milk; it 25 requires 3 days to obtain results because of the necessary enrichment process. A more rapid, simple, and 26 accurate detection method is required to directly detect the Mycoplasma bovis ( M. bovis ) gene in milk. In this 27 study, we assess the utility of combining the following two methods to achieve this goal: the loop-mediated 28 isothermal amplification (LAMP), which is more sensitive than PCR, and the procedure for ultra rapid 29 extraction (PURE), which adsorbs and filters components that inhibit DNA amplification/detection. LAMP was 30 examined using DNA extracts obtained by four methods. This showed that PURE had the highest sensitivity 31 and specificity and that the combination of PURE and LAMP was able to detect M. bovis in milk. We then 32 showed that the detection limit of M. bovis was 10 2 colony-forming units per milliliter of milk using the PURE– 33 LAMP. Finally, the respective sensitivities of the PURE–LAMP and PCR were 57% and 86% for bulk tank 34 milk, 89% and 74% for mature milk, 85% and 92% for colostrum/transitional milk, and 97% and 95% for 35 mastitis milk. The specificity was 100% for all milk samples in both LAMP and PCR. We conclude that PCR 36 was suitable for detecting mycoplasma in bulk tank milk and that the PURE–LAMP could detect mycoplasma 37 within 2 hr and was also effective for mature and mastitis milk. 38
Selective Laser Sintering of Nanoparticles Selective Laser Sintering of Nanoparticles

Selective laser sintering of nanoparticles has received much attention recently as it enables rapid fabrication of functional layers including metal conductors and metal‐oxide elec‐ trodes on heat‐sensitive polymer substrate in ambient conditions. Photothermal reactions induced by lasers rapidly increase the local temperature of the target nanoparticle in a highly selective manner, and subsequent sintering steps including melting and coales‐ cence between nanoparticles occur to fabricate interconnected sintered films for various future applications. The mechanism of laser sintering, as well as possible target materials subject to laser sintering, together with experimental schemes developed to improve the process and potential applications, is briefly summarized in this chapter.
Title: Gene copy number variations in adaptive evolution: the genomic distribution of gene CNVs revealed by genetic mapping and their adaptive role in an undomesticated species,

: 28 Gene copy number variation (CNV) has been associated with phenotypic variability in 29 animals and plants but a genome-wide understanding of their impacts on phenotypes is 30 largely restricted to human and agricultural systems. As such, CNVs have rarely been 31 considered in investigations of the genomic architecture of adaptation in wild species. 32 Here, we report on the genetic mapping of gene CNVs in white spruce, which lacks a 33 contiguous assembly of its large genome (~20Gb), and their relationships with adaptive 34 phenotypic variation. 35 We detected 3911 gene CNVs including de novo structural variations by using 36 comparative genome hybridization on arrays (aCGH) in a large progeny set. We inferred 37 the heterozygosity at CNV loci within parents by comparing haploid and diploid tissues 38 and genetically mapped 82 gene CNVs. Our analysis showed that CNVs were distributed 39 over 10 linkage groups and identified four CNV hotspots that we predict to occur in other 40 species of the Pinaceae. Significant relationships were found between 29 of the gene CNVs 41 and adaptive traits based on regression analyses with timings of bud set and bud flush, and 42 height growth, suggesting a role for CNV in climate adaptation. The importance of CNVs 43 in adaptive evolution of white spruce was also indicated by functional gene annotations 44 and the clustering of 40% of the mapped adaptive gene CNVs in CNV hotspots. 45 Taken together, these results illustrate the feasibility of studying CNVs in 46 undomesticated species and represent a major step toward a better understanding of the 47 roles of CNV in adaptive evolution.
Vaccination with an Adenoviral Vector That Encodes and Displays a Retroviral Antigen Induces Improved Neutralizing Antibody and CD4 (cid:1) T-Cell Responses and Confers Enhanced Protection (cid:1)

We present a new type of adenoviral vector that both encodes and displays a vaccine antigen on the capsid, thus combining in itself gene-based and protein vaccination; this vector resulted in an improved vaccination outcome in the Friend virus (FV) model. For presentation of the envelope protein gp70 of Friend murine leukemia virus on the adenoviral capsid, gp70 was fused to the adenovirus capsid protein IX. When compared to vaccination with conventional FV Env- and Gag-encoding adenoviral vectors, vaccination with the adenoviral vector that encodes and displays pIX-gp70 combined with an FV Gag-encoding vector resulted in signiﬁcantly improved protection against systemic FV challenge infection, with highly controlled viral loads in plasma and spleen. This improved protection correlated with improved neutralizing antibody titers and stronger CD4 (cid:1) T-cell responses. Using a vector that displays gp70 without encoding it, we found that while the antigen display on the capsid alone was sufﬁcient to induce high levels of binding antibodies, in vivo expression was necessary for the induction of neutralizing antibodies. This new type
Pulse Width Modulation Based Multilevel Boost Converter for Photovoltaic System

The DC-DC Multilevel Boost Converter (MLBC) is derived from the conventional boost converter by adding 2N-1 capacitors, 2N-1 diodes, with one switch and one inductor to obtain N levels of output voltage. The proposed topology is a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) based converter. The structure of the circuit is a multi-modular to convert low input dc voltage to high output dc voltage. In this research, the solar panel is used as source to the MLBC (3-level). The proposed three level converter consists of an inductor, a switch, five capacitors and five diodes. The solar panel fed multilevel boost converter is designed and simulated using MATLAB / SIMULINK. Perturb & Observe (P&O) MPPT algorithm is used to extract the maximum power from PV panel. This converter gives various level of output voltages. The performance of the converter under different duty cycle, different irradiance and different temperature was studied.
Linearizations for Rosenbrock system polynomials and rational matrix functions

Our aim in this paper is two-fold: First, for computing zeros of a linear time-invariant (LTI) system $\Sigma$ in {\em state-space form}, we introduce a "trimmed structured linearization", which we refer to as {\em Rosenbrock linearization}, of the Rosenbrock system polynomial $\mathcal{S}(\lam)$ associated with $\Sigma. $ We also introduce Fiedler-like matrices for $\mathcal{S}(\lam)$ and describe constructions of Fiedler-like pencils for $\mathcal{S}(\lam). $ We show that the Fiedler-like pencils of $\mathcal{S}(\lam)$ are Rosenbrock linearizations of the system polynomial $\mathcal{S}(\lam). $ Second, with a view to developing a direct method for solving rational eigenproblems, we introduce "linearization" of a rational matrix function. We describe a state-space framework for converting a rational matrix function $G(\lam)$ to an "equivalent" matrix pencil $\mathbb{L}(\lam)$ of smallest dimension such that $G(\lam)$ and $\mathbb{L}(\lam)$ have the same "eigenstructure" and we refer to such a pencil $\mathbb{L}(\lam)$ as a "linearization" of $G(\lam). $ Indeed, by treating $G(\lam)$ as the transfer function of an LTI system $\Sigma_G$ in state-space form via state-space realization, we show that the Fiedler-like pencils of the Rosenbrock system polynomial associated with $\Sigma_G$ are "linearizations" of $G(\lam)$ when the system $\Sigma_G$ is both controllable and observable.
Event related potentials at initial exposure in third language acquisition: Implications from an artificial mini-grammar study Journal of Neurolinguistics

The present article examines the proposal that typology is a major factor guiding transfer selectivity in L3/L n acquisition. We tested first exposure in L3/L n using two artificial languages (ALs) lexically based in English and Spanish, focusing on gender agreement between determiners and nouns, and between nouns and adjectives. 50 L1 Spanish-L2 English speakers took part in the experiment. After receiving implicit training in one of the ALs (Mini-Spanish, N = 26; Mini- English, N = 24), gender violations elicited a fronto-lateral negativity in Mini-English in the earliest time window (200 – 500 ms), although this was not followed by any other differences in subsequent periods. This effect was highly localized, surfacing only in electrodes of the right-anterior region. In contrast, gender violations in Mini-Spanish elicited a broadly distributed positivity in the 300 – 600 ms time window. While we do not find typical indices of grammatical processing such as the P600 component, we believe that the between-groups differential appearance of the positivity for gender violations in the 300 – 600 ms time window reflects differential allocation of attentional resources as a function of the ALs ’ lexical similarity to English or Spanish. We take these differences in attention to be precursors of the processes involved in transfer source selection in L3/L n .
Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha Inhibitors and Cardiovascular Risk in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that, if untreated or poorly controlled, can cause significant morbidity in terms of loss of physical function and higher mortality due to higher cardiovascular risk. The standard of care for this disease is the use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). However, patients unable to reach low disease activity or remission and patients unable to tolerate conventional DMARDs will be switched to biologic therapy, a subset of which includes anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors. Since tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors (TNFi) inhibit the inflammatory cascade, they also play an essential role in dampening the progression of atherosclerosis and altering the risk of cardiovascular outcomes in RA. In this study, we assessed the risk of cardiovascular diseases, namely, congestive heart failure, nonfatal myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular disease, and coronary artery disease. We carried out the analysis by following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and conducted a literature search utilizing the following databases: PubMed, Science Direct, and Cochrane Library. Using the search strategy, we found a total of 19 articles that fit the inclusion and exclusion criteria, in addition to passing the risk of bias assessment. This is composed of three systematic reviews with meta-analyses, three randomized control studies, four narrative reviews, and nine cohort studies. In this systematic review, it was found that treatment with TNFi causes a corresponding reduction in the risk of cardiovascular events. This review encourages further dissection into the inner workings of TNFi in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease among patients with RA.
Four isoforms of Arabidopsis thaliana 4-coumarate: CoA ligase (4CL) have 34 overlapping yet distinct roles in phenylpropanoid metabolism

Summary 42 Four isoforms of 4-coumaryl CoA ligase have different roles in the biosynthesis of soluble plant metabolites and cell wall polymers. ABSTRACT The biosynthesis of lignin, flavonoids and hydroxycinnamoyl esters share the first three enzymatic steps of the phenylpropanoid pathway. The last shared step is catalyzed by 4- 69 coumarate: CoA ligase (4CL), which generates p -coumaroyl CoA and caffeoyl CoA from their 70 respective acids. Four isoforms of 4CL have been identified in Arabidopsis thaliana . 71 Phylogenetic analysis reveals that 4CL1, 4CL2 and 4CL4 are more closely related to each other 72 than to 4CL3, suggesting that the two groups may serve different biological functions. Promoter- 73 GUS analysis shows that 4CL1 and 4CL2 are expressed in lignifying cells. In contrast, 4CL3 is 74 expressed in a broad range of cell types and 4CL3 has acquired a distinct role in flavonoid 75 metabolism. Sinapoylmalate, the major hydroxycinnamoyl ester found in Arabidopsis, is greatly 76 reduced in a 4cl1 4cl3 mutant, showing that 4CL1 and 4CL3 function redundantly in its 77 biosynthesis. 4CL1 accounts for the majority of the total 4CL activity and loss of 4CL1 leads to 78 reduction in lignin content but no growth defect. The 4cl1 4cl2 and the 4cl1 4cl2 4cl3 mutants 79 are both dwarf but do not have further reduced lignin than the 4cl1 mutant, indicating that one of 80 4CL1 or 4CL2 is required for normal plant growth. Although 4CL4 has a limited expression 81 profile, it does make a modest contribution to lignin biosynthesis. Together, these data show 82 that the four isoforms of 4CL in Arabidopsis have overlapping yet distinct roles in 83 phenylpropanoid metabolism. 84 85 86 In this manuscript, we provide experimental evidence that describes the biological functions of the Arabidopsis 4CL isoforms. We report that 4CL3 is the predominant 4CL involved in flavonoid biosynthesis, 4CL1 and 4CL3 are both important in sinapoylmalate biosynthesis, 4CL1 contributes the most to lignin biosynthesis, and for normal plant growth, one of 4CL1 or 4CL2 is required. Lastly, 4CL4 contributes modestly to lignin deposition, at least in the absence of 4CL1. These findings together show that although the four isoforms of 4CL have similar catalytic efficiencies towards their substrate(s), their biological functions in phenylpropanoid metabolism are distinct but overlapping.
Salmonella typhimurium Against Critical Role of CD28 in Protective Immunity

Efﬁcient T cell activation requires both TCR signals and costimulatory signals. CD28 is one of the molecules that provide costimulatory signals for T cells. We used mice deﬁcient in CD28 expression (CD28 2 / 2 mice) to analyze the role of CD28 in the immune response against the intracellular bacterium Salmonella typhimurium , the causative agent of murine typhoid fever. CD28 2 / 2 mice were highly susceptible to infection with wild-type S. typhimurium and even failed to control infection with attenuated aro A 2 S. typhimurium. More detailed analysis revealed that CD28 2 / 2 animals did not mount a T-dependent Ab response and were highly impaired in the production of IFN- g . Thus, CD28 cosignaling is crucial for immunity against S. typhimurium . To our knowledge, this is the ﬁrst report describing an essential role for CD28 in protective immunity against an intracellular microbial pathogen. The Journal of Immunology, 1999, 163: 6769–6776.
Adenoviral gene transfer into osteoarthritis synovial cells using the endogenous inhibitor I j B a reveals that most, but not all, inﬂammatory and destructive mediators are NF j B dependent

Objectives . Despite recent major advances in the understanding of the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis, with tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF a ) established as a major therapeutic target, comparatively little is known about the mediators involved in the destructive and inﬂammatory pathways in osteoarthritis (OA). Recently, it has become appreciated that an inﬂammatory synovitis contributes not only to the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis, but also to disease progression. Here, we use high-efﬁciency adenoviral gene transfer to investigate the role of the transcription factor nuclear factor- j B (NF j B) in regulating inﬂammatory and destructive mediators in the late stage OA synovium. Methods . Infection with reporter adenoviruses transferring the b -galactosidase or green ﬂuorescent protein genes veriﬁed that OA synovial cells could be infected (>95%). Adenovirus transferring the inhibitory subunit I j B a inhibited NF j B. The production of a whole array of pro- and anti-inﬂammatory cytokines and mediators, and several matrix metalloproteinases and their main inhibitor, was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results . The spontaneous production of macrophage-produced pro-inﬂammatory cytokines varied: TNF a was modestly inhibited by I j B a overexpression, but interleukin (IL)-1 was unaffected. Both IL-6 and IL-8 were potently inhibited, as were granulocyte–macrophage colony stimulating factor and oncostatin M. Anti-inﬂammatory mediators like IL-10, the IL-1 receptor antagonist and the p55 soluble TNF receptor were unaffected. Matrix metalloproteinases 1, 3, 9 and 13 were potently inhibited by I j B a overexpression, but not their main inhibitor tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1. Conclusions . The OA synovium is a highly inﬂammatory environment, with spontaneous production of many cytokines and matrix metalloproteinases. Inhibition of NF j B may have a beneﬁcial effect on the balance between pro-inﬂammatory cytokines and anti-inﬂammatory mediators, and between destructive metalloproteinases and their main inhibitor. as a positive control. This is a representative of three independent experiments. does not cause increased annexin V positivity, or speciﬁc macrophage apoptosis. Two million OA synovial cells were plated on 6-well plates and either left uninfected or infected with 30:1 of Adv0 or AdvI (cid:2) B (cid:1) . After 48 h, cells were stained with propidium iodide and annexin V-FITC, and annexin V positivity was analysed using ﬂow cytometry (A). Other aliquots of the cells were stained with an anti-CD14-PE antibody to detect the presence of macrophages, and a gate was established that contained less than 0.5% of unstained cells in either of the three populations. Using this gate, this experiment showed 5.3, 6.2 and 7.2% macrophages in the uninfected, Adv0-infected and AdvI (cid:2) B (cid:1) -infected cells, respectively. A representative of three independent experiments.
Btk in the Control of Antibody Levels Genetic Interaction between Lyn, Ets1, and

Tight control of B cell differentiation into plasma cells (PCs) is critical for proper immune responses and the prevention of autoimmunity. The Ets1 transcription factor acts in B cells to prevent PC differentiation. Ets1 2 / 2 mice accumulate PCs and produce autoantibodies. Ets1 expression is downregulated upon B cell activation through the BCR and TLRs and is maintained by the inhibitory signaling pathway mediated by Lyn, CD22 and SiglecG, and SHP-1. In the absence of these inhibitory components, Ets1 levels are reduced in B cells in a Btk-dependent manner. This leads to increased PCs, autoantibodies, and an autoimmune phenotype similar to that of Ets1 2 / 2 mice. Defects in inhibitory signaling molecules, including Lyn and Ets1, are associated with human lupus, although the effects are more subtle than the complete deﬁciency that occurs in knockout mice. In this study, we explore the effect of partial disruption of the Lyn/Ets1 pathway on B cell tolerance and ﬁnd that Lyn +/ 2 Ets1 +/ 2 mice demonstrate greater and earlier production of IgM, but not IgG, autoantibodies compared with Lyn +/ 2 or Ets1 +/ 2 mice. We also show that Btk-dependent downregulation of Ets1 is important for normal PC homeostasis when inhibitory signaling is intact. Ets1 deﬁciency restores the decrease in steady state PCs and Ab levels observed in Btk 2 / 2 mice. Thus, depending on the balance of activating and inhibitory signals to Ets1, there is a continuum of effects on autoantibody production and PC maintenance. This ranges from full-blown autoimmunity with complete loss of Ets1-maintaining signals to reduced PC and
Impact of climate change implies the northward shift in distribution of the Irano-Turanian subalpine species complex Acanthophyllum squarrosum Journal of Asia-Paci ﬁ c Biodiversity

In this study, we used maximum entropy modeling to predict the climate change effects on the distri- bution range of a subalpine steppe ﬂ ora species complex, Acanthophyllum squarrosum (Caryophyllaceae). We used data from four different models, with two representative concentration pathways of climate scenarios in modern time, 2030, 2070 and 2080. Our results showed that A. squarrosum has a suitable habitat in ca. 1 million km 2 (33% of our study area) and will likely experience a northward shift, gaining new habitat in Azerbaijan, Armenia and North of Afghanistan in the near decades. Maxent model predicts A. squarrosum complex populations from southern Iran to be under treat of extinction, especially at lower altitudes regions and this prediction may concern other subalpine species found in the same region. Among the climatic variables investigated, annual mean temperature, and precipitation of warmest and coldest quarter were those that mostly affected A. squarrosum complex distribution. (KNA), Publishing an