Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antagonistic effects of laminin and fibronectin on the expression of the myogenic phenotype

Abstract Skeletal myoblasts from fetal muscle respond adversely to fibronectin and laminin substrata: When primary mouse skeletal myoblasts are plated onto laminin, more myosin and desmin-positive myoblasts (myo + cells) develop than on plates coated with fibronectin or collagen. In clonal cultures virtually all cells differentiate into postmitotic, fusion-capable myo+myoblasts on laminin after 3 days. In contrast, on fibronectin, the majority of the cells becomes myosin- and desmin-negative, partially due to proliferation of undifferentiated myoblast precursor cells, partially due to dedifferentiation or modulation of myoblasts into fibroblast-like myo - cells. Loss of the myogenic phenotype on fibronectin was also observed in cloned mouse myoblasts and in cultures of a differentiating mouse satellite cell line, MM14Dy, confirming that the appearance of desmin-negative cells is a result of myoblast modulation and not due simply to overgrowth by muscle fibroblasts. In the light of other effects of laminin on myoblasts, such as the stimulation of migration, differentiation and proliferation, our findings are consistent with the notion that laminin and fibronectin may be counteracting factors in the control of muscle differentiation.
Release of dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen by the zooxanthellate coral Galaxea fascicularis

Corals are known to release large amounts of particulate and dissolved organlc carbon (POC and DOC) and nitrogen (PON and DON). Product~on of POC and PON in the form of mucus has been relatively well studled, but very few data are available on the release of DOC and DON by corals. In order to investigate several aspects of carbon and nutnent cycling in corals, release of DOC and DON by fed and unfed colonies of the zooxanthellate coral Galaxea fascicularis (Linnaeus 1767) was measured in the laboratory under controlled conditions. Colonies were either fed with artemia or supplied with nitrogenand phosphorus-enriched seawater. We measured DOC and DON fluxes from corals using the high temperature catalytic oxidation method and DOC release as 'v-photosynthate using a radioisotope technique. Corals released significant amounts of dissolved organic matter (DOM). Two large release peaks were observed in mid-morning and mid-afternoon. DOC concentrations increased from ca 100 p M (background level) to 300-1700 pM, depending on the size of the colony and the trophic status. DON concentrations also increased from 15 to 120 pM. Release rates varied from 2-3 pm01 DOC and 0.5-0 6 pm01 DON (mg protein)-' d-l for the unfed colonies to 13-25 pm01 DOC and 1-3 pm01 DON (mg protein)-' d-l for the artemia-fed colonies to 4-6 pm01 DOC and 0 . 2 1 . 3 pm01 DON (mg protein)-' d-' for the nutrient-enriched colonies Fed corals therefore released more DOC than unfed colonies, but tended to conserve organic n~trogen, suggesting that heterotrophic nutrition may serve corals as a source of new nutrients. Calculations of the carbon balance for the unfed colonies showed that DOC release represents ca 14 % of the net daily photosynthetically fixed carbon Following each peak in release, concentrations of DOM fell back to routine background levels. The role of free-living, epibiotic and/or intracellular bacteria in the uptake of DOM was therefore investigated. Colonies were labelled with "C-bicarbonate and the subsequent release of "C-DOM was followed in filtered seawater treated with and without prokaryotic inhibitors. No subsequent uptake of I4C-DOM was observed in the presence of inhibitors, suggesting that bacteria may play an important role in DOM uptake. This process may lead to tight nutrient recycling within coral colonies and may enable corals to thrive in oligotrophic waters.
Securinine protects vascular dysfunction targeting atherosclerosis in vascular endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and apolipoprotein E deficient mice

Atherosclerosis is a chronic vascular disease and characterized by accumulation within the intima of inflammatory cells, smooth muscle cells, lipid, and connective tissue. Here, we suggest securinine as an anti‐atherosclerotic agent to attenuate vascular dysfunction and lesion. To identify natural agents that commonly reverse advanced atherosclerotic plaque to early atherosclerotic plaque, significantly regulated genes were analyzed in silico. The differentially expressed genes from 9 intimal thickening and 8 fibrous cap atheroma tissue which were collected from GEO data were assessed by the connectivity map. Natural candidate securinine, a main compound from Securinega suffruticosa, was selected and administrated 1, 5 mg/kg/day in apolipoprotein‐E‐deficient (ApoE KO) mice for 18 weeks. Securinine significantly showed lowered blood pressure and improvement of metabolic parameters with hyperlipidemia. The impairment in vasorelaxation was remarkably decreased by treatment with securinine. H&E staining revealed that treatment with securinine reduced atherosclerotic lesions. Securinine suppressed the expression of adhesion molecules and matrix metalloproteinase‐2/‐9 in both ApoE KO and vascular endothelial cells (HUVEC). In HUVEC pretreatment with securinine significantly inhibited ROS generation and NF‐κB activation. Growth curve assays using the real‐time cell analyzer showed that securinine significantly decreased TNF‐α‐induced aortic smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration in a dose‐dependent manner. Thus securinine may be a potential natural candidate for the treatment of atherosclerosis because it attenuates vascular inflammation and dysfunction as well as vascular lesion.
Newborn differential DNA methylation and subcortical brain volumes as early signs of severe neurodevelopmental delay in a South African Birth Cohort Study

Abstract Objectives Early detection of neurodevelopmental delay is crucial for intervention and treatment strategies. We analysed associations between newborn DNA methylation (DNAm), neonatal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) neuroimaging data, and neurodevelopment. Methods Neurodevelopment was assessed in 161 children from the South African Drakenstein Child Health Study at 2 years of age using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development III. We performed an epigenome-wide association study of neurodevelopmental delay using DNAm from cord blood. Subsequently, we analysed if associations between DNAm and neurodevelopmental delay were mediated by altered neonatal brain volumes (subset of 51 children). Results Differential DNAm at SPTBN4 (cg26971411, Δbeta = −0.024, p-value = 3.28 × 10−08), and two intergenic regions (chromosome 11: cg00490349, Δbeta = −0.036, p-value = 3.02 × 10−08; chromosome 17: cg15660740, Δbeta = −0.078, p-value = 6.49 × 10−08) were significantly associated with severe neurodevelopmental delay. While these associations were not mediated by neonatal brain volume, neonatal caudate volumes were independently associated with neurodevelopmental delay, particularly in language (Δcaudate volume = 165.30 mm3, p = 0.0443) and motor (Δcaudate volume = 365.36 mm3, p-value = 0.0082) domains. Conclusions Differential DNAm from cord blood and increased neonatal caudate volumes were independently associated with severe neurodevelopmental delay at 2 years of age. These findings suggest that neurobiological signals for severe developmental delay may be detectable in very early life.
Botulinum Neurotoxin-A therapy in patients with refractory overactive bladder

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of intravesical botulinum neurotoxin-A injection in patients with refractory overactive bladder to conservative treatment and anti-muscarinic drugs. Material and Methods: The data of 62 patients, who received botulinum neurotoxin-A (BonTA) injection (100 U) for overactive bladder (OAB) between 2015 and 2019, were reviewed retrospectively. For 55 patients included into the study, the urinary frequency and urgency, the number of incontinence and nocturia episodes, the maximum flow rate (Qmax), the post-void residual volume (PVR), and the Urinary Incontinence Quality of Life (I-QoL) scores were evaluated before the treatment and at the third month after the treatment. Results: The comparison of the pre-treatment and posttreatment 3rd-month follow-up data revealed a statistically significant decrease in the urinary frequency and urgency, and the number of incontinence and nocturia episodes (p <0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in Qmax and PVR in the posttreatment 3rd month (p> 0.05). The mean I-QoL score increased significantly in the posttreatment 3rd month compared to the pre-treatment scores (43.62 ± 11.2 and 75.2 ± 12.6, p = 0.001, respectively). After the treatment, hematuria developed in 3 female and 2 male patients and urinary tract infections developed in 4 females and 2 male patients. Conclusion: BonTA injection significantly improves the daily urinary frequency, incontinence, and quality of life scores in patients with OAB.
Oviposition of a leaf-miner on Erythroxylum tortuosum (Erythroxylaceae) leaves: hierarchical variation of physical leaf traits

Plants do not offer homogeneous supplies of the resources required by herbivorous insects as many resource traits show considerable variation both within and between plants. The distribution of variation among host-plant attributes determines the optimal spatial resolution level for insect females to select the best resource patches for oviposition. In this study, we examine whether variation in fluctuating asymmetry and size of Erythroxylum tortuosum Mart. (Erythroxylaceae) leaves influence oviposition of the specialist leaf-miner Agnippe Chambers (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). By partitioning the variance across five hierarchical levels, the oviposition pattern was investigated at the spatial resolution level where these leaf traits varied the most. We confirm that the largest variation in both these leaf attributes occurs at the leaf level. We hypothesise that leaf-miner females will respond to this variation by selecting the best leaves (resources) on which to lay their eggs. We find that the probability of oviposition is not significantly related to fluctuating asymmetry or to leaf size (oviposition preference test), suggesting that these two physical traits are not relevant to leaf-miners as indicators of resource patch quality. Therefore, although we show that females laid significantly more eggs on larger leaves, this behaviour appears not to be a result of active selection of leaves. Our results suggest that Agnippe females probably adjust their oviposition proportionally to leaf area because the relationship between egg density and leaf area was not statistically significant.
Studies on the exposition and temperature of nests of Thaumetopoea pityocampa (Den. & Schiff.) (Lep., Thaumetopoeidae) in Greece

Studies on nests of the pine processionary caterpillar were carried out in different parts of Greece in the years 1985 to 1988. Most of the nests could be found at the southeast, south and southwest of pine trees. Deviations in the distribution could be due to the slope of forests and a high population pressure. Registering of temperature data verified that the inner temperature of the caterpillar nests could rise quite high. Such a warming is clearly dependent on the intensity of the insolation and the thickness of the nest webs. The biogenic heat production has not a significant role.
Multi‐rate sampled‐data control of switched affine systems

This study considers the practical stabilisation of switched affine systems under the multi-rate sampled-data switching control. In order to depict the sampled value of all state components, a sensing block composed of several sensors with asynchronous uncertain non-uniform sampling intervals is applied. On the basis of the sampled-data value, a new class of functionals is developed, which is composed of a Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional and a looped function. Practical stabilisation conditions are presented for the switched affine system by means of a switching law. Two examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed results.
Stress‐related RNase PR‐10c is post‐translationally modified by glutathione in birch

The PR-10c (previously termed as Bet v 1-Sc3) protein of birch belongs to the family of intracellular pathogenesis-related proteins. The high-performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization ion trap mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS) analysis of PR-10c-His fusion protein, produced in Escherichia coli, revealed three major peaks and masses. Enzymatic digestions and HPLC-ESI-MS and matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization - time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) analyses of each fraction indicated that PR-10c-His protein is post-translationally modified by carbamylation and S-glutathiolation. Carbamylation was localized into the N-terminal end of PR-10c-His and does not represent a biologically significant modification. The possible nuclease activity of PR-10c was analysed with S-glutathiolated and reduced fractions of PR-10c-His fusion protein. Both forms of PR-10c-His as well as the dimeric form of the protein possess RNase activity which is capable of digesting different RNA substrates. None of the fractions showed activity against single- or double-stranded DNA. The MALDI-TOF-MS analysis of PR-10c polypeptide extracted from zinc-exposed birch roots showed that the protein is post-translationally modified by glutathione (gamma-Glu-Cys-Gly) also in vivo. The S-glutathiolated cysteine residue of PR-10c is not conserved among Bet v 1 homologous proteins and is also unique in the PR-10 family. As far as we know this is the first observation of S-glutathiolation in plants, or any post-translational modification in the PR-10 family of proteins.
Effects of Liming on the Growth and Nutritional Status of Crambe (Crambe abyssinica Hochst)

Crambe cultivation has expanded in Brazil. The species is a promising alternative for biodiesel production since its seed contain great amounts of oil. Nevertheless, only few studies have focused on the growth and nutritional requirements of crambe cultivated in acidic soils. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of liming on the growth and nutrient accumulation of crambe cultivated in a Yellow Latosol of medium texture. The experiment was carried out using a randomized complete block design. The treatments consisted of different soil base saturation levels (0%, 20%, 40%, 60% and 80%) with five replications. Plant height, leaf length, leaf width and the number of seeds were evaluated 90 days after planting. The plant material was separated into leaves, stem, seeds and roots, which were oven dried at 70 ÂoC until constant weight. Analysis of variance was performed, followed by data regression when significant at 5% probability level by the F test. Crambe responded positively to liming in the soil under study at a base saturation of 56.95% as a function of the biometric variables. The increase in the base saturation of the soil to up to 60% promoted a drastic reduction in plant growth and, therefore, in the final grain yield. The decreasing order of the leaf nutritional content at 56.95% base saturation was- N>Ca>K>Mg>S>P>Fe>B>Mn>Zn> Cu.
Parent-Offspring Feeding Relationship of Coots (Fulica Atra) in a Varying Environment

Predictions derived from parental investment theory indicate that when the reproductive value of offspring decreases, parental investment should also decrease. If so, it should be expected that in adverse years, parental investment should be lower, given the lower survival prospects of chicks, than in more favourable years. I tested this by recording the frequency with which coots (Fulica atra) fed their chicks during a ten years period in a set of lakes that experienced considerable interannual variations in water levels. Contrary to the prediction, I found that during drier years, chicks were fed more frequently than during wetter years, in which self-feeding by chicks was more frequent. The reason for this could be that for coots the crucial factor for improving reproductive success is the quality rather than the quantity of chicks, and by increasing parental effort during more adverse years, the lower survival prospects of chicks could be attenuated. However, late in the breeding season, when fledging success is lower, chicks were fed by their parents less frequently than in the early breeding season. This could be related to a change in the cost/benefit ratio, itself independent of offspring quality, that parents experience when rearing chicks late in the season due to the start of plumage moult.
Forest Management and Regeneration Success in Protection Forests near the Timberline in Finnish Lapland

Sustainable forestry is practised in Finnish Lapland north of latitude 69°, i.e. farther north than anywhere else in the world. The Protection Forests Act was passed in 1922 to guarantee the stability of timberline forests in this climatically extreme, unique area. This review, based on earlier studies, covers forest and climate statistics, and legislation, regulations and recommendations of forest management, and the effects of management practices and climatic trends on the results of natural and artificial regeneration of conifer forests, as well as on shifts in the timberline. The review is mainly based on Finnish research, but references from the other Fennoscandian countries have also been used. Temperature plays the main role in forest regeneration success, and the effective temperature sum has been found to express well the location of the Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) timberline. Natural regeneration of pine has been satisfactory, especially when combined with soil preparation. In many cases the pine forests regenerate in the form of advance growth without any silvicultural action. The success of artificial regeneration seems to be associated with favourable, warm periods lasting for at least 20 yrs. The effects of cutting, forest fires, reindeer herding, biotic damage and air pollution on forest regeneration and the conifer timberlines are discussed.
Wavelet-based local mesh refinement for rainfall–runoff simulations

A wavelet-based local mesh refinement (wLMR) strategy is designed to generate multiresolution and unstructured triangular meshes from real digital elevation model (DEM) data for efficient hydrological simulations at the catchment scale. The wLMR strategy is studied considering slope- and curvature-based refinement criteria to analyze DEM inputs: the slope-based criterion uses bed elevation data as input to the wLMR strategy, whereas the curvature-based criterion feeds the bed slope data into it. The performance of the wLMR meshes generated by these two criteria is compared for hydrological simulations; first, using three analytical tests with the systematic variation in topography types and then by reproducing laboratory- and real-scale case studies. The bed elevation on the wLMR meshes and their simulation results are compared relative to those achieved on the finest uniform mesh. Analytical tests show that the slope- and curvature-based criteria are equally effective with the wLMR strategy, and that it is easier to decide which criterion to take in relation to the (regular) shape of the topography. For the realistic case studies: (i) slope analysis provides a better metric to assess the correlation of a wLMR mesh to the fine uniform mesh and (ii) both criteria predict outlet hydrographs with a close predictive accuracy to that on the uniform mesh, but the curvature-based criterion is found to slightly better capture the channeling patterns of real DEM data.
Efficacy of Bacillus thuringiensis against lesser grain borer, Rhyzopertha dominica (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae).

Toxins from 36 isolates, representative of all available subspecies of Bacillus thuringiensis, were tested against larvae and adults of the lesser grain borer, Rhyzopertha dominica. beta -Exotoxin was effective against both larvae and adults. Spore-crystal complexes of subspecies darmstadiensis isolates from Germany were effective against larvae. Isolates of subspecies darmstadiensis from the US and Japan were not effective. The degree of control achieved by even the best isolate was not economically satisfactory.
Analyzing the Role of Resource Factors in Citizens’ Intention to Pay for and Participate in Disaster Management

This study aimed to analyze how resource variables (health status, economic affordability, social network, social capital, and neighborhood environment) influence citizens’ intention to pay for and participate in disaster management and safety activities. We compared four psychometric paradigm variables with five resource variables and analyzed how the latter moderate the relationships of the perception variables with intention to pay and to participate. A regression analysis revealed that willingness to pay was mainly explained by trust, followed by social capital, economic affordability, perceived risk, and experience, respectively. Participation was explained by knowledge, social capital, age, trust, and social network, respectively. Gender, trust, and social capital had an influence both on willingness to pay and to participate. Perceived risk, knowledge, and trust had a moderating effect on willingness to pay, but this effect depended on the quality of the neighborhood environment. Trust, knowledge, and stigma had a moderating effect on participation intention, but this effect depended on social capital and the neighborhood environment.
Determining the relative efficacy of a number of PID and PD models that relate insulin secretion to bolus induced glucose excursions

Abstract Endogenous insulin secretion ( U N ) plays the leading role in glucose homeostasis. Understanding pathological changes in U N may enable greater insight into the etiology of metabolic disorders particularly those related to hyperglycemia. The dynamic insulin sensitivity and secretion test (DISST) is a dynamic test that is able to quantify patient-specific insulin sensitivity ( SI ) values and U N profiles. The DISST uses measured glucose, insulin and C-peptide assays with pharmaco-kinetic/dynamic glucose, insulin and C-peptide models to identify SI and U N profiles. This study proposes a range of proportional-integral-derivative (PID) and proportional-derivative (PD) models to define U N as a function of glucose concentration. With relatively low percentage of residual error between measured C-peptide and fitted C-peptide response from the PID and PD models, it elucidates a more direct physiological link between insulin secretion to glucose concentration level.