Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microbial Decomposition of Organic Matter Derived from Phytoplankton Cellular Components in Seawater

To test the hypothesis that different phytoplankton cellular components undergo distinct decomposition processes, we examined bacterial decomposition of extracted dissolved organic matter (EX-DOM) and cell debris from the diatom (Skeletonema costatum) using long-term incubation experiments. The decay rates indicated that EX-DOM is extremely bioreactive (1.2-1.7 d-1), and that particulate organic carbon (POC) from cell debris is resistant to rapid microbial degradation (0.047-0.055 d-1). In the experiment with grazers, the percentage of accumulated dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the EX-DOM and cell debris experiments was 5% and 64%, respectively, of the initial DOC concentrations derived from phytoplankton cells. The initial C/N ratio of DOM in the cell debris experiments was 19.2-19.7, higher than those in the EX-DOM experiments (5.5-6.0). The percentage of accumulated DOC in the cell debris experiment with grazers was 35% at day 13. Thereafter DOC accumulated until it reached 64%. Our data indicate that these two distinct phytoplankton-derived organic materials (EX-DOM and cell debris) decay and accumulate differently. These results suggest that structural components of phytoplankton cells may persist as semi-labile POC, and that DOC produced by solubilization of structural components of cell and phytoplankton-derived DOM with high C/N ratios may accumulate as semi-labile DOC in seawater.
Characterization and Modulation of Systemic Inflammatory Response to Exhaustive Exercise in Relation to Oxidative Stress

Exhaustive exercise induces systemic inflammatory responses, which are associated with exercise-induced tissue/organ damage, but the sources and triggers are not fully understood. Herein, the basics of inflammatory mediator cytokines and research findings on the effects of exercise on systemic inflammation are introduced. Subsequently, the association between inflammatory responses and tissue damage is examined in exercised and overloaded skeletal muscle and other internal organs. Furthermore, an overview of the interactions between oxidative stress and inflammatory mediator cytokines is provided. Particularly, the transcriptional regulation of redox signaling and pro-inflammatory cytokines is described, as the activation of the master regulatory factor nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) is involved directly or indirectly in controlling pro-inflammatory genes and antioxidant enzymes expression, whilst nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) regulates the pro-inflammatory gene expression. Additionally, preventive countermeasures against the pathogenesis along with the possibility of interventions such as direct and indirect antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents are described. The aim of this review is to give an overview of studies on the systematic inflammatory responses to exercise, including our own group as well as others. Moreover, the challenges and future directions in understanding the role of exercise and functional foods in relation to inflammation and oxidative stress are discussed.
The effect of exercise interventions on resting metabolic rate: A systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT The systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the effect of aerobic, resistance and combined exercise on RMR (kCal·day-1) and performed a methodological assessment of indirect calorimetry protocols within the included studies. Subgroup analyses included energy/diet restriction and body composition changes. Randomized control trials (RCTs), quasi – RCTs and cohort trials featuring a physical activity intervention of any form and duration excluding single exercise bouts were included. Participant exclusions included medical conditions impacting upon RMR, the elderly (≥65 years of age) or pregnant, lactating or post-menopausal women. The review was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD 42,017,058,503). 1669 articles were identified; 22 were included in the qualitative analysis and 18 were meta-analysed. Exercise interventions (aerobic and resistance exercise combined) did not increase resting metabolic rate (mean difference (MD): 74.6 kCal·day-1[95% CI: −13.01, 161.33], P = 0.10). While there was no effect of aerobic exercise on RMR (MD: 81.65 kCal·day-1[95% CI: −57.81, 221.10], P = 0.25), resistance exercise increased RMR compared to controls (MD: 96.17 kCal·day-1[95% CI: 45.17, 147.16], P = 0.0002). This systematic review effectively synthesises the effect of exercise interventions on RMR in comparison to controls; despite heterogenous methodologies and high risk of bias within included studies.
Indigenous community members' views on silver diamine fluoride to manage early childhood caries.

OBJECTIVES Early childhood caries (ECC) continues to be the leading reason for pediatric dental surgery in Canada and is particularly prevalent among Indigenous children. Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) offers an alternative method to manage non-restoratively caries. It is important to determine Indigenous communities' views on and receptivity toward SDF. AIM To understand Indigenous community members' views on pediatric dental surgery to treat ECC under general anesthesia (GA) and receptivity to SDF as an alternative to restorative surgery. METHODS Focus groups and sharing circles congruent with an Indigenous ways of gathering information were conducted. Three interviewers engaged eight groups of First Nation and Metis communities in three rural Indigenous communities and ne metropolitan urban setting in Manitoba, Canada. Overall, 59 individuals participated. Open coding was guided by grounded theory and further analysis using Nvivo 12 software™. RESULTS Participants mean age was 35.6 years, 88 percent (52 individuals) had a least one child, and 32 percent (19 individuals) were employed. Eight themes emerged, including respondents' fear of dental surgery under GA, fear of pain after dental surgery, parents' need for more information before accepting SDF treatment, and concern about the black staining of treated lesions. CONCLUSIONS Indigenous parents' acceptance of SDF as a treatment option is contingent on having more information and assurance that treatment under GA can be avoided. Understanding Indigenous parents' views may ensure better acceptance of SDF as a minimally invasive treatment option to manage ECC. A cautious and informative approach to SDF implementation in Indigenous communities is recommended.
Conformational Regulation of the Fibronectin Binding and α3β1 Integrin-mediated Adhesive Activities of Thrombospondin-1*

The recognition of extracellular matrix components can be regulated by conformational changes that alter the activity of cell surface integrins. We now demonstrate that conformational regulation of the matrix glycoprotein thrombospondin-1 (TSP1) can also modulate its binding to an integrin receptor. F18 1G8 is a conformation-sensitive TSP1 antibody that binds weakly to soluble TSP1 in the presence of divalent cations. However, binding of the antibody to melanoma cells was strongly stimulated by adding exogenous TSP1 in the presence of calcium, suggesting that TSP1 undergoes a conformational change following its binding to the cell surface. This conformation was not induced by known cell surface TSP1 receptors, whereas binding of F18 was stimulated when TSP1 bound to fibronectin but not to heparin or fibrinogen. Conversely, binding of F18 to TSP1 enhanced TSP1 binding to fibronectin. Exogenous fibronectin also stimulated TSP1-dependent binding of F18 to melanoma cells. Binding of the fibronectin-TSP1 complex to melanoma cells was mediated by α4β1 and α5β1 integrins. Furthermore, binding to F18 or fibronectin strongly enhanced the adhesive activity of immobilized TSP1 for some cell types. This enhancement of adhesion was mediated by α3β1 integrin and required that the α3β1 integrin be in an active state. Fibronectin also enhanced TSP1 binding to purified α3β1 integrin. Therefore, both fibronectin and the F18 antibody induce conformational changes in TSP1 that enhance the ability of TSP1 to be recognized by α3β1 integrin. The conformational and functional regulation of TSP1 activity by fibronectin represents a novel mechanism for extracellular signal transduction.
Development of Personal Protective Clothing for Reducing Exposure to Insecticides in Pesticide Applicators

Wearing appropriate personal protective equipment during the application of pesticides is one method of reducing dermal exposure to pesticides. Thus, the aim of this research is to develop personal protective clothing (PPC) coated with gum rosin and investigate the efficiency of its level of protection against chlorpyrifos and cypermethrin. Comparison of the protection efficiency of each PPC with Tychem® C coveralls was also investigated. Five commercially available cotton fabrics were chosen for tailoring the PPC, and then, the PPC was coated with a gum rosin finish to provide water repellence. The efficiency of the level of protection of the gum rosin-coated PPC against insecticides was tested in a laboratory (closed chamber). The remarkable findings were that the % protection efficiencies for all the PPC, with the exception of one, were not significantly different to those for Tychem® C coveralls. The protection efficiencies ranged from 99.85% to 99.97% against chlorpyrifos and 99.11% to 99.89% against cypermethrin. Therefore, our results suggest that gum rosin-coated clothing provided satisfactory levels of protection against insecticides and could be considered as suitable protective clothing for pesticide applicators. Choice of an appropriate fabric for coating with gum rosin also needs to be considered. A further study in field conditions is warranted to confirm the protection efficiency in a working environment.
Soil pH is a major determinant of the numbers of naturally occurring Rhizobium meliloti in non-cultivated soils in central New South Wales

Measurements were made of soil pH, frequency of occurrence of annual species of Medicago (medics) and populations of Rhizobium meliloti at 84 sites on 7 dominant soil groups of the Macquarie region of central-western New South Wales. Over all sites, soil pH (0-10 cm; 1:5 soil: water) ranged from 5.26 to 8.07, medic frequency from 0 to 100% and most probable numbers of R. meliloti from undetectable to 675 000/g soil. There was a highly significant (P<0.001) relationship between soil pH and number of R. meliloti. Above pH 7.0, the mean soil population of R. meliloti was 89000/g; below pH 6.0, it was 37/g. Medics occurred most frequently on the more alkaline soils and with least frequency on the more acid soils, but the relationship between soil pH and medic frequency was weaker than between pH and R. meliloti number. Medics were more tolerant of low soil pH than their rhizobia were; at 2 sites, of pH 5.49 and 5.35, medics occurred at 100% frequency but R. meliloti was undetected. There was an indication of some acidification in these soils over a period of 35 years but this remains to be confirmed.
Substrain specific behavioral responses in male C57BL/6N and C57BL/6J mice to a shortened 21-hour day and high-fat diet

ABSTRACT Altered circadian rhythms have negative consequences on health and behavior. Emerging evidence suggests genetics influences the physiological and behavioral responses to circadian disruption. We investigated the effects of a 21 h day (T = 21 cycle), with high-fat diet consumption, on locomotor activity, explorative behaviors, and health in male C57BL/6J and C57BL/6N mice. Mice were exposed to either a T = 24 or T = 21 cycle and given standard rodent chow (RC) or a 60% high-fat diet (HFD) followed by behavioral assays and physiological measures. We uncovered numerous strain differences within the behavioral and physiological assays, mainly that C57BL/6J mice exhibit reduced susceptibility to the obesogenic effects of (HFD) and anxiety-like behavior as well as increased circadian and novelty-induced locomotor activity compared to C57BL/6N mice. There were also substrain-specific differences in behavioral responses to the T = 21 cycle, including exploratory behaviors and circadian locomotor activity. Under the 21-h day, mice consuming RC displayed entrainment, while mice exposed to HFD exhibited a lengthening of activity rhythms. In the open-field and light-dark box, mice exposed to the T = 21 cycle had increased novelty-induced locomotor activity with no further effects of diet, suggesting daylength may affect mood-related behaviors. These results indicate that different circadian cycles impact metabolic and behavioral responses depending on genetic background, and despite circadian entrainment.
Narrative review regarding the applicability, accuracy, and clinical outcome of flapless implant surgery with or without computer guidance

Abstract Background The advent of computer‐guided surgery removed the need for complex surgical interventions such as extensive flap elevations, second stage implant exposure, and complications usually associated with conventional protocols. Purpose (a) Analyze available literature reporting on applicability, accuracy, clinical outcome of flapless surgery with or without computer guidance. (b) Evaluate quality of studies, in terms of scientific level of evidence and ethical committee approval. Materials and methods A PUBMED search was performed in July 2018. A first search was based on a general search string limited to “Dental Implants” and “flapless surgery. ” A second search focused on accuracy of computer‐guided surgery using search string “Surgery, Computer‐Assisted” or “guided surgery,” and “Dental implants. ” The following inclusion criteria were applied: (a) studies in English; (b) human studies (excluding cadaver); (c) systematic reviews; (d) systematic reviews with meta‐analysis. Reviews not mentioning accuracy were excluded in search 2. Results Nine reviews included in total. Implant survival ranged between 89% and 100%. Early surgical and prosthetic complications reported in 9.1% to 36.4% of reviewed papers. Tooth‐supported guides show more accuracy than bone or mucosa‐supported guides. Fully guided surgery yields higher accuracy, with lower values for horizontal coronal, horizontal apical and angular deviation (1.00, 1.23, and 3.13°mm, respectively) than those placed with half guided surgery (1.44, 1.91, and 4.30 mm, respectively). Thirty‐four of 71 human studies included in nine reviews, mentioned ethical committee approval or compliance with Declaration of Helsinki. Conclusions Guided flapless surgery is comparable to free‐hand surgery in terms of implant survival, marginal bone remodeling, and peri‐implant variables. Clinicians advised to take care in all steps of the protocol, and include safety margins around virtually planned implants. Regarding compliance with research ethics, we should question whether scientific reports of clinical trials performed without an ethical umbrella are trustworthy. Compliance of ethics standards is imperative for submitted research papers.
Purification and characterization of the tyrosinase of Streptomyces michiganensis DSM 40015

Tyrosinase of Streptomyces michiganensis DSM 40015 was purified 61‐fold from the culture broth: After a fractionated ammonium sulfate precipitation the enzyme was separated by hydrophobic interaction chromatography with Phenyl‐Sepharose and ionic interaction chromatography with CM‐Cellulose; finally a gel filtration with Sephadex G‐75 yielded 1.7% of the originally existent enzyme. SDS gel‐electrophoresis of the purified enzyme showed two bands representing a size of 34500 and 32000 dalton, respectively. However, by isoelectric focussing only one band could be found exhibiting an isoelectric point of approximately 9.0. Temperature and pH‐optimum of the enzyme activity were 33°C and pH 7.0, respectively. Whereas the enzyme is specific in regard to the aromatic part of its substrate variations of the aliphatic rest are tolerated.
Chemical Compositions, Mosquito Larvicidal and Antimicrobial Activities of Leaf Essential Oils of Eleven Species of Lauraceae from Vietnam

The Lauraceae is a family rich in aromatic and medicinal plants. Likewise, essential oils derived from members of this family have demonstrated a myriad of biological activities. It is hypothesized that members of the Lauraceae from Vietnam will yield essential oils that may be useful in controlling mosquito populations and treating microbial infections. In this work, the leaf essential oils of eleven species of Lauraceae (Beilschmiedia erythrophloia, B. robusta, B. yunnanensis, Cryptocarya concinna, C. impressa, C. infectoria, Litsea viridis, Machilus balansa, M. grandifolia, Neolitsea ellipsoidea, and Phoebe angustifolia) have been obtained by hydrodistillation and the chemical compositions analyzed by gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID). The essential oils were screened for larvicidal activity against Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus, and Culex quinquefasciatus, and for antimicrobial activity against Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica, and Candida albicans. The leaf essential oil of N. ellipsoidea, rich in (E)-β-ocimene (87.6%), showed excellent larvicidal activity against Ae. aegypti with a 24 h LC50 of 6.59 μg/mL. The leaf essential oil of C. infectoria, dominated by germacrene D (55.5%) and bicyclogermacrene (11.4%), exhibited remarkable larvicidal activity against Cx. quinquefasciatus (48 h LC50 = 0.40 μg/mL). N. ellipsoidea leaf essential oil also demonstrated notable antibacterial activity against E. faecalis and B. cereus with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 16 μg/mL, while the leaf essential oil of C. impressa showed excellent anticandidal with an MIC of 16 μg/mL. Leaf essential oils from the Lauraceae should be considered for utilization as alternative agents for controlling mosquito populations and as antimicrobial agents.
Intercropped wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and bean (Vicia faba L.) as a whole-crop forage: effect of harvest time on forage yield and quality

Sole crops and intercrops of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and bean (Vicia faba L.), at three harvest dates, representing successive growth stages, were evaluated for biomass production of whole-crop forage and quality characteristics of crude protein (CP), neutral-detergent fibre (NDF), acid-detergent fibre (ADF), water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) concentrations and ash content. These tests were carried out for two field experiments, respectively, drilled during the spring of 1997 and autumn of 1997 on Imperial College Farm, Wye, UK. Results indicated that optimum forage yield and quality were obtained from the second to third harvest dates for the spring-drilled experiment and the second harvest for the autumn-drilled experiment. Wheat and bean intercrops were higher in total forage dry matter (DM) yield than either wheat or bean grown as sole crops. Field bean intercropped with wheat led to increased forage quality (CP and NDF concentrations) compared with sole wheat, and higher WSC concentrations compared with sole bean. Intercrops also enhanced weed suppression compared with sole bean. It is suggested that winter wheat–bean intercrops may have considerable potential as a moderate-yielding, relatively high-quality, low-input and environmentally benign forage crop with considerable potential with regard to yield and quality and warrant further study.
Ca2+ Channels on the Move

The versatility of Ca2+ as an intracellular messenger derives largely from the spatial organization of cytosolic Ca2+ signals, most of which are generated by regulated openings of Ca2+-permeable channels. Most Ca2+ channels are expressed in the plasma membrane (PM). Others, including the almost ubiquitous inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (IP3R) and their relatives, the ryanodine receptors (RyR), are predominantly expressed in membranes of the sarcoplasmic or endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Targeting of these channels to appropriate destinations underpins their ability to generate spatially organized Ca2+ signals. All Ca2+ channels begin life in the cytosol, and the vast majority are then functionally assembled in the ER, where they may either remain or be dispatched to other membranes. Here, by means of selective examples, we review two issues related to this trafficking of Ca2+ channels via the ER. How do cells avoid wayward activity of Ca2+ channels in transit as they pass from the ER via other membra.
LPS Fever in Pigeons a

It is well known that injections of bacterial endotoxin (LPS: lipopolysaccharide) induce fever in mammals. However, little is known about the febrile response of birds. Furthermore, conflicting results have been reported questioning the ability of birds to respond to LPS with fever. *-4 In this study, the ability to develop fever following intravenous (iv) and intracerebroventricular (icv) injections of LPS during the day and at night was investigated in pigeons.
How avian incubation behaviour influences egg surface temperatures: relationships with egg position, development and clutch size

While understanding heat exchange between incubating adults and their eggs is central to the study of avian incubation energetics, current theory based on thermal measurements from dummy eggs reveals little about the mechanisms of this heat exchange or behavioural implications for the incubating bird. For example, we know little about how birds distribute their eggs based on temperature differences among egg positions within the nest cup. We studied the great tit Parus major, a species with a large clutch size, to investigate surface cooling rates of individual eggs within the nest cup across a range of ambient temperatures in a field situation. Using state-of-the-art portable infrared imaging and digital photography we tested for associations between egg surface temperature (and rate of cooling) and a combination of egg specific (mass, shape, laying order, position within clutch) and incubation specific (clutch size, ambient temperature, day of incubation) variables. Egg surface temperature and cooling rates were related to the position of the eggs within the nest cup, with outer eggs being initially colder and cooling quicker than central eggs. Between foraging bouts, females moved outer eggs significantly more than centrally positioned eggs. Our results demonstrate that females are capable of responding to individual egg temperature by moving eggs around the nest cup, and that the energy cost to the female may increase as incubation proceeds. In addition, our results showing that smaller clutches experience lower initial incubation temperatures and cool quicker than larger clutches warrant further attention for optimal clutch size theory and studies of energetic constraints during incubation. Finally, researchers using dummy eggs to record egg temperature have ignored important elements of contact-incubation, namely the complexity of how eggs cool and how females respond to these changes.