Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The production and evaluation of monohaploid potatoes (2n=x=12) for breeding research on cell and plant level

The use of monohaploid potato clones in research in theory has many potential advantages in comparison with the use of heterozygous di- and tetraploids. Because in monohaploids each chromosome is single, recessive as well as dominant alleles are detectable and can be selected for. In addition, monohaploids offer a unique opportunity to produce homozygous clones. The aim of the study presented in this thesis was to determine which are the pros and cons of using monohaploids in practical breeding and fundamental research, and which are the consequences of monoploidy and homozygosity in a normally highly heterozygous crop such as potato. Large-scale production of monohaploids appeared to be possible by prickle pollination, but turned out to be genotype-specific. It was shown that the ability for monohaploid production can be transferred to the progeny by crossing. During the investigation reported herein more than 500 monohaploids have been produced that could be used for further research. In order to combine different selected monohaploid genotypes that will warrant high-level heterozygosity, methods for protoplast isolation, culture and fusion have been adjusted to the material used. Several monohaploid genotypes could be regenerated from protoplasts to plants but always the ploidy level raised to 2x or even 4x. After protoplast fusion, hybrid fusion products could readily be selected because of a differential regeneration capacity. By using isozyme markers for detection of hybridity the first regenerants after protoplast fusion were shown to be hybrids. A difference of at least four weeks in regeneration time was found between the first heterozygous (hybrids) and the first homozygous (parental) genotypes. Some regenerants were triploid. This indicates that at least one monohaploid protoplast was involved in fusion. The majority however was tetraploid and this was probably the result of somatically doubling x+x fusion products. Only in some genotype combinations also increased callus growth rates were found. The plant vigour in homo- and heterozygotes suggests that dominance effects are stronger than additive gene effects. Owing to sterility problems and a relatively bad plant performance, homozygous and there fore also indirectly monohaploid potato clones are of little importance for practical breeding. However, for fundamental research, monohaploids are very useful: (i) they can be produced on a large scale from specific diploid lines, (ii) they can be maintained in vitro on the monohaploid level for at least 2-3 years via shoot tip propagation, and (iii) protoplast isolation and fusion, and plant regeneration from protoplast derived calli has proven to be possible.
The beetles of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador : evolution, ecology, and diversity (Insecta:Coleoptera)

This book is a synthesis of both previously published information and abundant new data derived from extensive recent field studies on Galapagos beetles, and is a companion to a previous book on 18 other orders of Galapagos insects. The dynamics and patterns of evolution, ecology, and distribution of the entire beetle fauna are presented in general. The core of the book is an account of the 486 species of beetles now known from the archipelago, with details on their distribution and bionomics. This work will serve entomologists, island ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and conservation scientists as a framework to further the study and protection of the beetles, the fauna and flora in general, and the islands themselves. It is a contribution to a comparative global understanding of the origin, evolution, and ecological structuring of oceanic island beetle faunas.
PUBLIC NON-CONSULTATION RELATED DELAYS IN DELIVERY OF MEGA PROJECTS

Since 1994 the post-Apartheid new dispensation introduced policies that sought to affect equity in all spheres of life, Mega Projects have become indispensable as their sheer size could have an immediate impact on the intended beneficiaries. However the widespread public protestations and rolling juristic disputations are the objective of this study to assess their impact on the projects' implementation. The two biggest Mega projects in the energy sector, Medupi power station and Kusile power stations are used as case studies to assess the delays caused by the endemic protests in the country. Interviews were held with, local communities, top government officials and professionals involved in the implementation of these projects. It was observed that most of these projects are hastily implemented with abnormally heavy pressure from the authorities in order to avoid political embarrassment. The rushed implementation leads to superficial public consultation which results in a lack of psychological contract with the local communities. Some of these protests could be attributed to downtime, picketing, intimidation of workers, sabotage and general disruptions in order to demonstrate disaffection with the implementation of the projects. If consultation could be all-encompassing, meaningful and target critical stakeholders much better improved project delivery could be achieved.
The Distribution of Caveolin-1 in Human Term Placenta and the Derivation of the Endothelial Cells Lining its Basal Plate

The initial aim of this research was to establish the distribution of the protein caveolin-1 in the human term placenta, using an indirect immunofluorescence technique. The findings of this survey showed that caveolin-1 was expressed in all the predicted places (vascular endothelium, smooth muscle and fibroblasts), but also by cells lining the basal plate. These cells were investigated further, firstly by transmission and scanning electron microscopy, then by immuno-gold electron microscopy. The findings of the immuno-gold study suggested a vectorial nature of caveolae trafficking in both foetal endothelial cells and in the endothelial-like cells lining the basal plate. This study also showed that some leucocytes express caveolin-1. The cells lining the maternal blood space above the basal plate of the placenta had been thought to be trophoblastic (foetal) but the initial results obtained using immunofluorescence indicated that the lining consisted rather of a mosaic of two types of cells. Some of these were trophoblastic but others were seen to be more similar to endothelial cells. To determine whether these latter cells were of maternal derivation, placentae from neonates of known gender were used in a cytogenetic analysis, to establish their provenance unequivocally. The probe used in these in situ hybridisation experiments was complementary to a portion of the human Y-chromosome (only found in males). Cells to which this probe hybridised must therefore be male; a failure to hybridise meant that they must be maternal. Some cells resident in the basal plate were shown to have more than one Y-chromosome in a single interphase nucleus and were taken to be polyploid trophoblast ‘giant’ cells. Further collaborative experiments showed that the area fraction occupied by the lining endothelial cells was greater in pre-eclamptic placentae than in placentae from normotensive births; the significance of this in the aetiopathology of this disease is discussed. Cells that play a key role at the maternal-foetal interface have been carefully characterised in this study and have been shown to form a continuous endothelial/epithelial layer of both maternal and foetal origin.
Effect of Picrasma quassioides Plant extract, yeast culture and monensin on in vitro mixed ruminal microorganism fermentation of wheat starch

The objective of this study was to compare the plant extract from Picrasma quassioides (EPQ), yeast culture and monensin on in vitro rumen fermentation characteristics of wheat starch. Compared with the control (no additive), EPQ decreased the dry matter digestibility and the total VFA production (P<0.05), and increased the ratio of acetate and propionate. Both EPQ and yeast culture increased the fi nal rumen pH (P<0.05), but monensin had a negative effect on decline of rumen pH. In conclusion, the addition of EPQ can effi ciently retard rumen fermentation rate of wheat starch in vitro, and increase the fi nal pH of ruminal fl uid.
Agricultural lands as ecological traps for grizzly bears

Human–carnivore conflicts on agricultural lands are a global conservation issue affecting carnivore population viability, and human safety and livelihoods. Locations of conflicts are influenced by both human presence and carnivore habitat selection, although these two aspects of conflict rarely have been examined concurrently. Advances in animal tracking have facilitated examination of carnivore habitat selection and movements affording new opportunities to understand spatial patterns of conflict. We reviewed 10 years of data on conflicts between grizzly bears and humans in southwestern Alberta, Canada. We used logistic regression models in a geographic information system to map the probability of bear–human conflict from these data, and the relative probability of grizzly bear habitat selection based on global positioning system radiotelemetry data. We overlaid these maps to identify ecological traps, as well as areas of secure habitat. The majority of the landscape was seldom selected by bears, followed by ecological traps where most conflicts occurred. Only a small portion of the landscape was identified as secure habitat. Such mapping methods can be used to identify areas where conflict reduction strategies have the greatest potential to be effective. Our results highlight the need for comprehensive management to reduce conflicts and to identify areas where those conflicts are most problematic. These methods will be particularly useful for carnivores known to be in conflict with agriculture, such as large carnivores that prey on livestock, or pose a threat to human safety.
Hepatitis C virus entry and cell-cell transmission : implication for viral life cycle and antiviral treatment

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) poses a threat to global health with infecting about 170 million people. Current therapies cannot cure all the patients infected with HCV and have obvious side effects. In the first part of my thesis, we uncovered combinations of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) and entry inhibitors caracterized by a synergistic effect in prevention and treatment of HCV infection using HCV cell culture models and human liver chimeric uPA-SCID mice, thereby providing a new strategy to control HCV infection. In the second part of my thesis, we demonstrated that HCV cell-cell transmission is the dominant transmission route in cell culture models and that DAA-resistant HCV spread efficiently through cell-cell transmission to develop viral resistance. Blocking cell-cell transmission using entry inhibitors allows to prevent the emergence of DAA-resistant virus and potentiates the antiviral efficacy of DAAs to clear HCV infection. In summary, we provide novel strategies to enhance antiviral efficacy by combining entry inhibitors and DAAs and to prevent viral resistance by blocking viral cell-cell transmission.
Influence of body weight on reproductive activity in Sarda female lambs

Riassunto Influenza del peso corporeo sull’attività riproduttiva delle agnelle di razza Sarda. Per la presente ricerca sono state utilizzate 300 agnelle di razza Sarda, nate tra Novembre e Dicembre, allo scopo di studiare l’effetto del peso corporeo sull’attività riproduttiva. Gli animali, allevati a fotoperiodo naturale, durante il giorno venivano tenuti al pascolo e la notte nell’ovile, dove ricevevano 300 g/capo di concentrato. Le agnelle sono state pesate il 30 Giugno, il 1° Agosto (introduzione degli arieti), e il 10 Ottobre. Dal 1° Gennaio al 15 Marzo sono stati registrati i parti, il numero e il sesso degli agnelli nati. L’attività riproduttiva ha mostrato l’apice in corrispondenza del 10 Settembre. Il peso corporeo degli animali che hanno partorito è risultato, in tutti i rilievi effettuati, superiore (P<0,01) rispetto agli animali che non hanno partorito; mentre non ha influenzato la loro prolificità. I risultati hanno evidenziato che l’inizio dell’attività riproduttiva nelle agnelle di razza Sarda è condizionato principalmente dallo sviluppo corporeo degli animali.
Identification de modifications post-traductionnelles de Staufen1 et étude de leur fonction régulatrice

Post-transcriptional regulation plays a major role in the fine tuning of gene expression by allowing a modulation of protein synthesis in space and time, according to cellular requirements. For instance, proteins recognizing RNA elements on transcripts can influence all the steps of their existence, such as their splicing, nuclear export, subcellular localization, translation and degradation. Staufen1 (Stau1) is a member of the doublestranded RNA-binding protein family that contributes to the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression by its involvement in mechanisms that promote alternative splicing, transport, de-repression of translation and decay of specific messenger RNAs (mRNAs). The identity of potential Stau1 targets is now known as genome-wide analyses have shown that the protein is associated with about 7% of the HEK293T cell transcriptome. Although these mRNAs are classified in a broad range of functional categories, a large proportion of them code for proteins related to cellular metabolism and regulation of cellular processes. Considering all this information, we hypothesized that the different activities of Stau1 may be modulated in order to control appropriately the expression of Stau1-bound mRNAs. Since some of the mRNAs that are part of Stau1-containing complexes encode key regulators of cell proliferation, we wanted to examine whether Stau1 expression fluctuates during the cell division cycle. We showed that Stau1 abundance peaks at the onset of mitosis and then decreases as cells complete division. We then found that Stau1 downregulation in mitosis exit is mediated by the anaphase promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C). To support the idea that Stau1 is a target of this E3-ubiquitin ligase, we further demonstrated that Stau1 is ubiquitinated and degraded by the proteasome. The importance of controlling Stau1 levels during the cell cycle is underscored by the observation that its overexpression delays mitotic exit and impairs cell proliferation. Furthermore, we speculated that Stau1 different functions may also be regulated. In the view that the activities of numerous RNA-binding proteins can be controlled by post-
<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K$</tex-math></inline-formula>-Terminal Reliability of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$d$</tex-math></inline-formula>-Trapezoid Graphs

Given a probabilistic graph, with reliable edges and unreliable vertices, K-terminal reliability problem is to find the probability that a given subset K of vertices remains connected. The problem is #P-complete for general graphs, even so for some special graphs such as chordal graphs, and comparability graphs. However, polynomial time algorithms to solve the problem have been designed for some special graphs such as interval graphs, permutation graphs, and d-trapezoid graphs. Existing time complexity of the polynomial time algorithm for the d-trapezoid graph is O(n2d+1), which is a very high degree polynomial. This makes it impractical to solve large problem instances using the existing algorithm. Here, we propose a novel technique and use it to design a simple linear-time algorithm to solve the problem on d-trapezoid graphs. As the complexity of our algorithm is linear, it is no more a difficulty to solve large problem instances in small amount of time.
Light climate in the water column of a shallow eutrophic lake (Lake Veluwe) in The Netherlands.

In situ irradiance measurements were performed during 1986 and 1987, to obtain information on the nature of the light climate and on factors governing the absorption (a), scattering (b) and beam attenuation coefficient (c) in the water column of a shallow eutrophic lake (Lake Veluwe). Phytoplankton chlorophyll-a concentration ranged from 2 to 85 mg cntdot m-3, the seston concentration from 8 to 148 mg dry weight cntdot l-1 and gilvin concentration from 0.79 to 1.11 m-1 (g-440). The vertical attenuation coefficient (K-d) varied between 1.56 and 6.76 m-1. The relative effects of water itself, gilvin, phytoplankton, and tripton on a, b and c showed relatively small seasonal variation. The relative effects of water and gilvin on c were of minor importance (less than 10%). Phytoplankton contributed 6 to 20% to a, 3 to 33% (with a peak value of 55%) to b and less than 30% to c. Tripton was the dominant factor determining the diminution of irradiance penetrating the water column in Lake Veluwe. Irradiance was strongly scattered which was mainly due to tripton. The spectral distribution of the photosynthetically active radiation was progressively compressed with depth into a region between 550 and 700 nm. Water absorbed strongly in the red regions of the spectrum, and gilvin and seston in the blue regions. The seston concentration was positively correlated with wind-induced resuspension of bottom material. It was concluded that an improvement of the underwater light climate requires a reduction of resuspension of bottom particles.
Some observations on biology and feeding behavior in two southern California pycnogonids

During the years 1980 to 1982, two common southern California pycnogonids, Anoplodactylus californicus Hall, 1912 and Ammothea hilgendorfi (Bohm, 1879) were routinely collected and kept in aquaria. Observations were made both in the field and in the laboratory on feeding behavior and other aspects of the behavior and biology of the two species. It was concluded that, of the two species, Anoplodactylus californicus would be a good candidate to raise in the laboratory for further studies on the biology of these organisms.
Avidin-biotin interactions : methods and applications

Table of Contents Preface.Robert J. McMahon Preparation of avidin conjugates. Rosaria Haugland and Mahesh Bhalgat Coupling of antibodies with biotin.Rosaria Haugland and Wendy You Optimization of detection and quantification of proteins on membranes in very high and very low abundance using avidin and streptavidin.Sara R. Zwart and Brandon J. Lewis Use of the Avidin (Imino)biotin System as a general approach to affinity precipitation.Ruth Freitag and Frank Hilbrig Capturing biotinylated proteins and peptides by avidin functional affinity electrophoresis.Bao-Shiang Lee, Sangeeth Krishnanchettiar, Syed Salman Lateef, and Shalini Gupta Functionality Screening of Streptavidin Mutants by Non-Denaturing SDS-PAGE Using Biotin-4-Fluorescein.Nicolas Humbert and Thomas R. Ward Application of biotin-4-fluorescein in homogeneous fluorescence assays for avidin, streptavidin, and biotin or biotin derivatives.Andreas Ebner, Markus Marek, Karl Kaiser, Gerald Kada, Christoph D. Hahn, Bernd Lackner, and Hermann J. Gruber Quantitative recovery of biotinylated proteins from streptavidin-based affinity chromatography resins.Christoph Rosli, Jascha-N. Rybak, Dario Neri, and Giuliano Elia High yield production and purification of recombinant T7-tag-mature-streptavidin in glucose stressed E. coli.Nicolas Humbert, Peter Schurmann, Andrea Zocchi, Jean-Marc Neuhaus and Thomas R. Ward Endogenous biotin in rat brain: implications for false-positive resultswith avidin- and streptavidin-biotin techniques.Bruce E. McKay, Michael L. Molineux, and Ray W. Turner Pseudo-Immunolabelling with the Avidin-Biotin-Peroxidase Complex (ABC) due to the presence of Endogenous Biotin in the Retina.Willem Kamphuis and Jan Klooster Use of synthetic peptides for identifying biotinylation sites in human histones.Gabriela Camporeale, Yap Ching Chew, Alice Keuh, Gautam Sarath and Janos Zempleni Detection and quantitation of DNA methylation using a biotin/avidin microplate assay.Kirsten Liebert and Albert Jeltsch Anti-biotin antibodies offer superior organelle-specific labeling of mitochondria over avidin or streptavidin.Elisabeth D. Coene, Michael K. Shaw, and David J. Vaux Mammalian lectin as a tool in glycol- and histochemistry with relevance for diagnostic procedure.Karel Smetana, Jr. and Sabine Andre A multiplex approach to isotyping antigen-specific antibodies using biotinylated antigen/streptavidin-phycoerythrin. Anna Bogusiewicz
Are there fine‐scale spatial patterns in community similarity among temporary freshwater pools?

One expects greater similarity between communities that are close together in space than between communities that are widely separated. This may be due to similarity in environmental conditions, short-range dispersal, or both processes together. We examined whether these mechanisms were important in determining the invertebrate communities in a set of temporary freshwater rockpools within an area of 800 m 2 . Adjacent pools tended to share similar environmental characteristics (conductivity, pH, presence of predatory Salamandra salamandra L. larvae and amount of shade). Community dissimilarity was not strongly related to interpool distance. Environmental variables did not explain a significant amount of variation in community dissimilarity, although differences in pH and depth were the best predictors of community dissimilarity. We conclude that dispersal is not limiting in our study system.
Slaughterhouse Blood: An Emerging Source of Bioactive Compounds

Slaughterhouse blood is an inevitable part of the meat production food chain and represents a rich source of protein. The physicochemical characteristics and utilization of animal blood in various food and industrial applications has been well explored. However, in recent years much attention has been paid to the generation of peptides with biological activities from food by-products including blood. This review examines the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and other bioactive peptides derived from various slaughterhouse animal blood sources. Furthermore, the effect of enzyme choice, degree of hydrolysis, and peptide sequence or size on the potency of these bioactivity is discussed.
Simulations of buoyancy-generated horizontal roll vortices over multiple heating lines

A two-dimensional nonhydrostatic atmospheric model is used to simulate the boundary-layer circulations that develop from multiple lines of extremely high surface temperatures. Numerical simulations are carried out to investigate the role of buoyancy and ambient crossflow effects in generating horizontal roll vortices in the vicinity of adjacent wildland fire perimeters. Numerical results suggest that the downdraft segments of buoyancy-generated horizontal roll vortices can be reinforced when multiple heating lines are present, with the degree of reinforcement dependent on the heating-line spacing. Significant low-level horizontal flow directly over the bounding heating lines is observed in some simulations, suggesting a mechanism for low-level flame migration in actual wildland fires. Multiple heating lines also affect the development and behavior of buoyancy-generated horizontal roll vortices when ambient crossflows are present. Simulations indicate that vortices are more likely to persist for multiple heating lines than for a single heating line when light ambient crossflows are introduced. Although simulation results should be viewed qualitatively, they suggest the potential importance of adjacent fire perimeters in actual wildland fire episodes for the development and behavior of buoyancy-generated horizontal roll vortices.