Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Conservation Ecology: Exploring the linkages between climate change and sustainable development: A challenge for transdisciplinary research

In recent years, both sustainable development and climate change have become well known worldwide, and the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has also focused on the nexus of these two key topics. The IPCC third assessment report confirms that global mean temperatures will rise 1.5-6 degrees Celsius during the next century. Furthermore, climate change will significantly affect the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, as well as key issues like poverty and equity. Therefore, the IPCC is seeking answers to important questions: how future development patterns will affect climate change; how climate change impacts, adaptation, and mitigation will affect future sustainable development prospects; and how climate change responses might be better integrated into emerging sustainable development strategies. Some key lessons have emerged from these efforts. The IPCC intellectual community has already proved to be quite cohesive and resilient in the face of determined attacks by powerful and well-financed “anti-climate change” http://www.ecologyandsociety. org/vol5/iss1/art14/ (1 of 8) [2/2/2009 1:13:44 PM] Conservation Ecology: Exploring the linkages between climate change and sustainable development: A challenge for transdisciplinary research lobbies. While addressing sustainable development issues, adaptation and learning within the IPCC have further strengthened the network. First, fresh ideas have been brought in to catalyze change. Transdisciplinary approaches are essential to deal with large-scale, long-term, complex, and interlinked issues like sustainable development and climate change. Second, the disciplinary mix has continued to evolve to meet the challenge. However, crossing disciplinary and cultural boundaries requires sound knowledge of one’s own discipline (especially its limitations), open-mindedness, great patience, and sincere effort on all sides. Third, IPCC internal processes have adjusted to facilitate beneficial changes, while limiting harmful dissension. E-mail has proved to be a powerful, but potentially risky tool. How something is said could be as important as what is said, to ensure effective communication. Despite some difficult moments, fair-mindedness and good will have prevailed. The IPCC has been able to accommodate different ways of thinking about the problem, as well as new modes of communication, while reinforcing desirable codes of conduct and behavioral norms.
Sexually satiated male uses gustatory-to-neuropeptide integrative circuits to reduce time investment for mating

Males rely on a ‘time investment strategy’ to maximize reproductive success. Here we report a novel behavioral plasticity whereby male fruit flies exhibit a shortened mating duration when sexually satiated, which we named ‘Shorter-Mating-Duration (SMD)’. SMD requires the sexually dimorphic Gr5a-positive neurons for detecting female body pheromones. The memory circuitry within the ellipsoid body (EB) and mushroom body (MB) brain regions is crucial for SMD, which depends on the circadian clock genes Clock and cycle, but not timeless or period. SMD also relies on signaling via the neuropeptide sNPF, but not PDF or NPF. Sexual experience modifies the neuronal activity of a subset of sNPF-positive neurons involved in neuropeptide signaling, which modulates SMD. Thus, our study delineates the molecular and cellular basis for SMD – a plastic social behavior that serves as a model system to study how the brain switches the internal states between sexual drive and satiety.
Phylogenetics And Molecular Evolution Of Highly Eusocial Wasps

Societies where workers sacrifice their own reproduction and cooperatively nurture the offspring of a reproductive queen caste have originated repeatedly across the Tree of Life. The attainment of such reproductive division of labor enabled the evolution of remarkable diversity in development, behavior, and social organization in the Hymenoptera (ants, bees, and wasps). Wasps of the family Vespidae exhibit a gamut of social levels, ranging from solitary to highly social behavior. The highly social yellowjackets and hornets (Vespinae) have well developed differences in form and function between queens and workers, large colony sizes, and intricate nest architecture. Moreover, certain socially parasitic species in the Vespinae have secondarily lost the worker caste and rely entirely on the workers of a host species to ensure the survival of parasitic offspring. Understanding the evolution of behavioral traits in the Vespinae over long periods of time would be greatly enhanced by a robust hypothesis of historical relationships. In this study, I analyze targeted genes and transcriptomes to address three goals. First, infer phylogenetic relationships within yellowjackets (Vespula and Dolichovespula) and hornets (Vespa and Provespa). Second, test the hypothesis that social parasites are more closely related to their hosts than to any other species (Emery’s rule). Third, test the protein evolution hypothesis, which states that accelerated evolution of protein coding genes and positive selection operated in the transition to highly eusocial behavior. The findings of this study challenge the predominant understanding of evolutionary relationships in the Vespinae. I show that yellowjacket genera are not sister lineages, instead recovering Dolichovespula as more closely related to the hornets, and placing Vespula as sister to all other vespine genera. This implies that traits such as large colony size and high paternity are mostly restricted to a particular evolutionary trajectory (Vespula) from an early split in the Vespinae. I demonstrate that obligate and facultative social parasites do not share immediate common ancestry with their hosts, indicating that socially parasitic behavior likely evolved independently of host species. Moreover, obligate social parasites share a unique evolutionary history, suggesting that their parasitic behavior might have a genetic component. Lastly, I analyze transcriptomic data to infer a phylogeny of vespid wasps and use this phylogeny to discover lineage-specific signatures of positive selection. I identify more than two hundred genes showing signatures of positive selection on the branch leading to the highly eusocial yellowjackets and hornets. These positively selected genes involve functions related mainly to carbohydrate metabolism and mitochondrial activity, in agreement with insights from studies of bees and ants. Parallels of functional categories for genes under positive selection suggests that at the molecular level the evolution of highly eusocial behavior across the Hymenoptera might have followed similar and narrow paths.
A 45 nm Low Power Two Stage Cmos Operational Amplifier

This paper presents the design and implementation of two-stage operational amplifier (Op-Amp). The circuit was designed in PTM 45 nm CMOS process. The design consists of very less number of transistors, hence the design is area optimized. Achieved open loop gain of the amplifier is 76 dB. The unity gain bandwidth (UGB) is 10 MHz and the phase margin is 50 degree with a 10 pF capacitive and 1000K ohm resistive load. High gain enables this circuit to operate efficiently in a closed loop feedback system, whereas high bandwidth makes it suitable for high speed application. The average power consumption of the amplifier is 0.167 μW and slew rate is 8 μ/us. Keywords-CMOS Op Amp, Low Power, Moderate Speed
Investigating the Shear Performance of Lightweight Concrete Beams Reinforced with Recycled Tyres Steel Fibres

This study investigated the shear performance of lightweight concrete beams reinforced with recycled tyre steel fibres. Two simply-supported beams, subjected to a monotonicallyincreased, concentrated loading were tested to failure. Recycled tyres steel fibres of aspect ratio 80 and content of 0.50% (Viz., 12 kg/m per concrete volume) were incorporated, while palm kernel shells were used in volume content of 25% as partial coarse aggregates replacement in the beam other than the control. The results demonstrated that lightweight concrete beams reinforced with recycled tyres steel fibres using palm kernel shells as partial replacement of coarse aggregates has a better load-carrying capacity, minimum deflection at ultimate load and higher shear capacity than the control beam.
Suitability of charcoal-cement passive evaporative cooler for banana ripening

The common banana ripening methods practiced by fruit sellers are application of calcium carbide or ‘ethrel’. Ethrel is expensive and therefore the ethylene analogue calcium carbide is commonly used although it contains heavy metals as it is readily available. Therefore a passive evaporative cooler made of charcoal, cement and sand was tested as a ripening chamber for banana as the internal relative humidity and temperature were ideal for banana ripening. The evaporative cooler maintained a high relative humidity of around 90-98% with a 3 0 C temperature reduction than room temperature during the test period. In the experiment, banana cultivars were allowed to ripen with 1000ppm ethrel and without ethrel, in two evaporative coolers and in two corrugated fibreboard boxes with the same dimensions of the cooler, under room conditions. Fruits from a single hand were subjected to all treatments and four parameters; TSS, peel colour, firmness and weight were tested. There were no significant differences of TSS, peel colour and firmness among four treatments. However for all cultivars, the weight loss was 16-22% for fruits ripened in the boxes while the weight loss was 3 - 6% . for those ripened in the evaporative cooler.
Identification of the vinculin-binding site in the cytoskeletal protein α-actinin

Using low-speed sedimentation equilibrium we have established that vinculin binds to alpha-actinin with a Kd of 1.3 x 10(-5) M. Electron microscopy of negatively stained preparations of vinculin revealed spherical particles (diameter 11.2 nm; S.D. 1.7 nm, n = 21), whereas alpha-actinin appeared as a rod-shaped particle (length 33 nm; S.D. 3.3 nm, n = 23). Mixtures of the two proteins contained both 'lollipop'- and 'dumbell'-shaped particles which we interpret as either one or two spherical vinculin molecules associated with the ends of the alpha-actinin rod. We have further defined the vinculin-binding site in alpha-actinin using 125I-vinculin and a gel-blot assay in which proteolytic fragments of alpha-actinin and fragments of alpha-actinin expressed in Escherichia coli were resolved by SDS/PAGE and blotted to nitrocellulose. 125I-vinculin bound to polypeptides derived from the spectrin-like repeat region of alpha-actinin, but did not bind to the actin-binding domain. Binding was inhibited by a 100-fold molar excess of unlabelled vinculin. Using a series of glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins we have mapped the vinculin-binding site to a region toward the C-terminal end of the molecule (alpha-actinin residues 713-749). 125I-vinculin also bound to fusion proteins containing this sequence which had been immobilized on glutathione-agarose beads. The vinculin-binding site is localized in a highly conserved region of the molecule close to the first of two EF-hand calcium-binding motifs.
Genetic identification of Cinnamomum species based on partial internal transcribed spacer 2 of ribosomal DNA

The present study investigates the genetic identification of Cinnamomum species by analyzing the nucleotide sequences of the partial non-coding internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) of ribosomal genes. The genetic diversity of the five Cinnamomum species (Cinnamomum cassia, C. zeylanicum, C. loureiroi, C. osmophloeum and C. burmannii) was studied using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and a DNA sequencing method to molecularly identify the tested specimens. Phylogenetic trees were constructed using several clustering methods, including unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic average (UPGMA), neighbor-joining (NJ) and maximum evolution (ME). The eleven test samples were clustered into three major groups based on partial ITS2 sequences. The phylogenetic results showed that C. osmophloeum and C. burmanii are phylogenetically related to each other and that both are more closely related to C. cassia. Based on our results, there is enough sequence variation within the sequenced ITS2 regions to identify individual specimens among the five tested Cinnamomum species. Therefore, these ITS2 regions could be adopted as a molecular marker for differentiating among C. cassia, C. zeylanicum, C. loureiroi, C. osmophloem and C. burmannii.
Review of Stem Cell Studies

The definition of stem cell is "an unspecialized cell that gives rise to a specific specialized cell, such as a blood cell". Stem Cell is the original of life and all cells come from stem cells. Germline stem cell (GSC) is the cell in the earliest of the cell stage. This article is a review of the stem cell research to introduce the current topics in the stem cell field. (Nature and Science. 2007;5(2):45-65) (ISSN: 1545- 0740).
Influences of hydrozoan colonization on proteomic profiles of the brown alga Saccharina japonica

Abstract The stoloniferous hydrozoan Obelia geniculata frequently colonizes late-harvested blades of the aquacultured Saccharina japonica. To understand the corresponding changes at protein level, we compared the proteomic profiles in hydrozoan-colonized and healthy tissues. Our results showed that 107 and 75 protein spots were detected in colonized and healthy tissues, respectively. Among them, 7 and 16 identified proteins were significantly up- and down-regulated, respectively. Up-regulated proteins of cell-division cycle 46/minichromosome maintenance protein 5 and glutamyl-tRNA reductase were found mostly in hydrozoan-colonized tissues but were rare in healthy tissues. Microcompartments protein, carboxysome shell peptide, biotin synthetase, serine/arginine-rich splicing factor and a two-component response regulator were up-regulated in hydrozoan-colonized tissues. However, downregulated proteins of phosphoglycerate kinase, expansin 6, translation initiation factor 3, calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II inhibitor 2 and 50S ribosomal protein L1P were found mostly in healthy tissues but rare in hydrozoan-colonized tissues. Transmembrane protein, protoporphyrinogen oxidase, dual oxidase 2, PIH1 domain-containing protein 2, GTPase-activating protein alpha, threonyl-tRNA synthetase, flavanone 3-hydroxylase, uncoupling protein 3, bromoperoxidase 7, peptide release factor 1, and interaptin were down-regulated in hydrozoan-colonized tissues. Most of the up- and down-regulated proteins are known to be related to stress control, signal transduction and photosynthesis.
UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO RIO GRANDE DO SUL FACULDADE DE AGRONOMIA PROGRAMA DE PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO EM CIÊNCIA DO SOLO INOCULAÇÃO DE AZOSPIRILLUM SPP. EM SEMENTES DE GENÓTIPOS DE MILHO CULTIVADOS NO RIO GRANDE DO SUL

Diazotrophic bacteria are able to fix nitrogen and produce auxins which are substances which increase plant growth reducing the use of nitrogen fertilizers. To test this hypothesis, this work was carry out aiming to evaluate the inoculation of Azospirillum species in maize cultivars cropped in Rio Grande do Sul / Brazil. The experimental activity was conducted in three steps, being the first step the selection in pots of maize cultivars, effective in association with one Azospirillum specie, which resulted in the selection of two cultivars whose performance was evaluated with the inoculation of a mixture of three species of Azospirillum (second step – in pots). The third step was conducted in an Argissolo Vermelho Distrofico, where three hybrids were tested in treatments with and without inoculation and nitrogen fertilizer. This last step had the objective to evaluate in field conditions the agronomic performance of corn hybrid inoculated with diazotrophic bacteria. The genotype of plant development influenced the association between the bacteria and plants. The inoculation increased the total volume of roots. The bacterial population was higher in roots in relation to the stem. On the third step, it was observed with the inoculation an increase in dry matter yield of the AS 1575 and the SH 5050 cultivars. 2 M. Sc.Dissertation in Agriculture (Soils). Faculdade de Agronomia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre (63 p.) – February, 2009.
Western Flower Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) and Insecticide Resistance: An Overview and Strategies to Mitigate Insecticide Resistance Development

Abstract Western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), are one of the most-destructive insect pests of greenhouse-grown horticultural crops worldwide due to the direct and indirect damage they cause to plants. Western flower thrips induce direct damage by feeding on leaves and flowers and also cause indirect damage by vectoring certain tospoviruses including Impatiens necrotic spot and Tomato spotted wilt viruses. As a result, the threshold for this insect pest is near zero. Consequently, the primary means of suppressing populations of western flower thrips in greenhouse production systems is the application of insecticides. In general, insecticides are inexpensive, easy to apply, and relatively effective. However, the selection pressure placed on western flower thrips populations due to intensive applications of insecticides has resulted in severe problems associated with the development of resistance. Therefore, in order to avoid the prospect of insecticide resistance developing in western flower thrip populations, greenhouse producers must implement a multitude of plant protection strategies including scouting, insecticide rotations, insecticide mixtures, and the use of alternative insecticides (e.g., entomopathogenic fungi and insect growth regulators) with broad-spectrum modes of action.
Clinical Significance and Species Identification of Rapidly Growing Mycobacteria Isolated from Routine Blood Cultures

Background : Rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) are ubiquitous in the environment such as water and soil. Recently, infections by RGM are described in increasing frequency, but isolation from blood cultures has been rarely reported in Korea. The aim of this study was to identify blood culture isolates by 16S rDNA sequencing and to determine their clinical significance. Methods : Blood cultures were performed using an automated blood culture instrument (BacT/Alert 3D, Organon Teknika, Durham, USA), and the isolates were identified by nucleotide sequencing for the 16S rDNA after PCR amplification. The clinical significance was determined by patient's symptoms, laboratory findings, radiologic findings, underlying diseases, clinical course, and response to therapy etc. Results : Rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) are ubiquitous in the environment such as water and soil. Recently, infections by RGM are described in increasing frequency, but isolation from blood cultures has been rarely reported in Korea. The aim of this study was to identify blood culture isolates by 16S rDNA sequencing and to determine their clinical significance. Conclusion : RGM can be detected in routine blood cultures; therefore, they should not be confused with other gram-positive bacilli such as Corynebacteria, and the possibility of RGM in blood stream infections must be considered. It is necessary to identify RGM up to the species level for proper diagnosis and treatment. The clinical significance of RGM from blood cultures must be carefully assessed with the consideration of contamination.
Agilent xCELLigence Real-Time Cell Analysis

One of the most important procedures in virology is the measurement of viral cytopathic effects (CPE). Providing a direct readout of the number/concentration of infectious viral particles in a sample, the plaque assay has long been the gold standard for quantifying CPEs. In this technique, a confluent monolayer of host cells is infected with varying dilutions of the virus and is then overlaid with a semisolid material such as dilute agarose gel. When an infected cell lyses, the overlay material prevents the released virions from diffusing through the medium and infecting distal sites. Progeny virions can, however, gain access to neighboring cells in the immediate vicinity. In this manner, subsequent rounds of infection and lysis spread laterally in two dimensions, producing a clear cell-free plaque in the middle of an otherwise confluent lawn of cells. Depending on the host cell type and the virus, accurate recognition and counting of plaques may require staining cells with a dye such as crystal violet.
Comparative studies on the morphometry and percent organ weights of digestive tract in commercial broiler and layer chicken

The weight of different components of digestive tract relative to the body weight of birds were studied in broiler and layer chicken of the same age group. The morphometric studies of the digestive tract were also carried out. The average weight of digestive tract found was 127.7±25.05 grams and 37.42±6.9 grams and the mean percent weight of digestive tract in the broiler chicken and layer chicken were 6.04±0.74 and 14.7±2.71 respectively. The present study revealed that the mean percent weight of digestive tract of the broiler chicken and layer chicken were significantly different and it was significantly higher in layer chicken than in broiler chicken of the same age group. The broiler chickens are sustained with improved dietary supplementation for the expanded bulk; in making the benefit to overall meat generation. While the layers are fed with a lowered dietary supplementation as compared to broilers, which is required to meet the metabolic activities and production of egg.
ECO: Using AI for Everyday Armed Conﬂict Analysis

Conﬂict resolution practitioners consistently struggle with access to structured armed conﬂict data, a dataset already rife with uncertainty, inconsistency, and politicization. Due to the lack of a standardized approach to collating conﬂict data, publicly available armed conﬂict datasets often require manipulation depending upon the needs of end users. Transformation of armed conﬂict data tends to be a manual, time consuming task that nonproﬁts with limited budgets struggle to keep up with. In this paper, we explore the use of a deep natural language processing (NLP) model to aid the transformation of armed conﬂict data for conﬂict analysis. Our model drastically reduces the time spent on manual data transformations and improves armed con-ﬂict event classiﬁcation by identifying multiple incidence types. This minimizes the human supervision cost and allows nonproﬁts to access a broader range of conﬂict data sources to reduce reporting bias. Thus our model contributes to the incorporation of technology in the peace building and conﬂict resolution sector.
Plant and finch responses on Isla Genovesa to the EI Niño event of 1982-83

The unusually heavy and extensive rains produced by the recent EI Nifio event of 1983 had a substantial effect upon the vegetation on Genovesa and, as a consequence, on the breeding of the Large Cactus Finch Geospiza conirostris. The amount of rain that fell and the length of the rainy season in the Galapagos archipelago in 1983 exceeded all previous records for these islands (Grant 1984). On Genovesa the first heavy rains probably fell about November 15-20, 1982 (D. Day, pers. comm.), and lasted for 8 months. 2408mm of rain were recorded on the island; this was 14 times greater than the amount in any of the previous 5 years. Heavy rains occurred every month from December 1982 to July 1983, with the minimum monthly total being 70.lmm (February) and the maximum being 517.9mm (July) (See Grant 1984).