Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Shining Light on Human Gut Bacteriophages

The human gut is a complex environment that contains a multitude of microorganisms that are collectively termed the microbiome. Multiple factors have a role to play in driving the composition of human gut bacterial communities either toward homeostasis or the instability that is associated with many disease states. One of the most important forces are likely to be bacteriophages, bacteria-infecting viruses that constitute by far the largest portion of the human gut virome. Despite this, bacteriophages (phages) are the one of the least studied residents of the gut. This is largely due to the challenges associated with studying these difficult to culture entities. Modern high throughput sequencing technologies have played an important role in improving our understanding of the human gut phageome but much of the generated sequencing data remains uncharacterised. Overcoming this requires database-independent bioinformatic pipelines and even those phages that are successfully characterized only provide limited insight into their associated biological properties, and thus most viral sequences have been characterized as “viral dark matter. ” Fundamental to understanding the role of phages in shaping the human gut microbiome, and in turn perhaps influencing human health, is how they interact with their bacterial hosts. An essential aspect is the isolation of novel phage-bacteria host pairs by direct isolation through various screening methods, which can transform in silico phages into a biological reality. However, this is also beset with multiple challenges including culturing difficulties and the use of traditional methods, such as plaquing, which may bias which phage-host pairs that can be successfully isolated. Phage-bacteria interactions may be influenced by many aspects of complex human gut biology which can be difficult to reproduce under laboratory conditions. Here we discuss some of the main findings associated with the human gut phageome to date including composition, our understanding of phage-host interactions, particularly the observed persistence of virulent phages and their hosts, as well as factors that may influence these highly intricate relationships. We also discuss current methodologies and bottlenecks hindering progression in this field and identify potential steps that may be useful in overcoming these hurdles.
Implementation of Estimation and Control Solutions in Quadcopter Platforms

The main objective of this work is the comparative experimental evaluation of different methods of attitude estimation in order to test and evaluate the performance of one of these methods, the TraceBased Filter. To that effect, an implementation of this solution is made in two autopilots: Paparazzi and Pixhawk. First, the concept of a quadcopter is introduced. Two quadcopter platforms used for the purposes of this work are presented: QuaVIST and QuadR-ANT. Then, the two mentioned autopilots are introduced in order to make the process of implementation clear and objective. Finally, the results of the implementation in each autopilot are presented and discussed. For the case of Paparazzi, a comparison is made between the implementation of the proposed estimator and one of the autopilot solutions, the complementary filter. The Trace-Based Filter is also implemented in Matlab based on data provided offline by QuaVIST sensors. Posteriorly, an evaluation of the proposed estimator on Pixhawk is made based on data obtained in real-time flight with QuadR-ANT. As a reference for the validation of the estimator in both autopilots, attitude data provided by Robotics Arena, an infrastructure containing a motion capture system capable of returning true ground attitude values, is considered.
Response of Arctic ecosystems to climate change: results of long-term field experiments in Sweden and Alaska

Long-term field experiments at Abisko, Sweden, and Toolik Lake, Alaska, reveal both similarities and differences in response of contrasting Arctic ecosystems to changes in temperature, light, and nutrient availability. Five different ecosystems were manipulated for 5–15 years by increasing air temperature with greenhouses, by decreasing light with shading, and by increasing available N and P with fertilizers. The ecosystems at Abisko included evergreen-dominated heath and fellfield sites; at Toolik Lake they included wet sedge tundra, moist tussock tundra, and dry heath tundra. In all ecosystems, fertilizer treatment increased plant growth, production, and/or biomass. Plant responses to warming were smaller and occasionally nonsignificant, Responses to shading were generally nonsignificant after 3–6 years, although after 9 years the tussock tundra showed significant decreases in biomass. In general, the ecosystems at Abisko were less responsive to nutrients and more responsive to temperature than the ecosystems at Toolik Lake. Overall, though, the sites were quite similar in their responses to the perturbations, increasing our confidence in predictions of response to climate change over large areas based on small-area studies.
Effect of addition of saccharides on gelation of aqueous poly(vinyl alcohol) solutions

The properties of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels containing saccharides (D-xylose, D-fructose, D-glucose, and maltose) were examined. The effect of the addition of saccharides to PVA hydrogels on their melting temperatures was remarkable when the gels were chilled at 0°C with saccharide contents above 40 g/dL. Particularly, the melting temperature was the highest for PVA hydrogels with glucose and above 73°C at the polymer concentrations above 6 g/dL. Namely, the enthalpy of the thermal dissociation of the junctions of the spatial network ΔH was the highest of the four saccharides (glucose > fructose > maltose > xylose) and 150 kJ/mol for the hydrogels with the glucose content of 60 g/dL. The uniform preservation of saccharides and water in their gels were the highest for the gels with fructose during standing for a long time in air after freeze-drying.
Shoot and root initiation in vitro in the apple rootstock M.9 and the promotive effects of phloroglucinol

SummaryThe multiplication rate of shoot cultures varied between 2- and 4.5-fold per month depending on auxin :cytokinin concentrations; 1–2 mg l−1 BAP and 0.1–0.5 mg l−1 IBA were most favourable although the auxin could be omitted without adversely affecting the multiplication rate. Phloroglucinol (PG) at 162 mg 1 had no effect per se on the shoot multiplication rate but shoot cultures grown in the presence of the compound gave higher rooting percentages than cultures grown in its absence. Rooting was not related to shoot length between 1.0 and 3.5 cm, or to the number of leaves per shoot. Phloroglucinol acted as an auxin synergist in root initiation over a range of concentrations from 16.2 to 1620 mg 1—: The most favourable combinations for root development were 3 mg l−1 IBA and 1620 mg l−1 PG. The rooting pattern of two lines of M.9 started at different dates were maintained over several subcultures.
Plant mitochondrial 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex: purification and characterization in potato

The 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (OGDC) in potato (Solanum tuberosum cv. Romano) tuber mitochondria is largely associated with the membrane fraction of osmotically ruptured organelles, whereas most of the other tricarboxylic acid cycle enzymes are found in the soluble matrix fraction. The purification of OGDC from either membrane or soluble matrix fractions resulted in the increasing dependence of its activity on the addition of dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (E3). A 30-fold purification of OGDC to apparent homogeneity and with a specific activity of 4.6 micromol/min per mg of protein in the presence of exogenously added E3 was obtained. SDS/PAGE revealed that the purified complex consisted of three major polypeptides with apparent molecular masses of 48, 50 and 105 kDa. Before the gel-filtration purification step, E3 polypeptides of 57 and 58 kDa were identified by immunoreaction as minor proteins associated with OGDC. The N-terminal sequence of the 57 kDa protein was identical with that previously purified as the E3 component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex from potato. The 105 kDa protein was identified as the 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase subunit of OGDC by N-terminal sequencing. The N-terminal sequences of the 50 and 48 kDa proteins shared 90-95% identity over 20 residues and were identified by sequence similarity as dihydrolipoamide succinyltransferases (OGDC-E2). The incubation of OGDC with [U-(14)C]2-oxoglutarate resulted in the reversible succinylation of both the 48 and the 50 kDa protein bands. Proteins previously reported as subunits of complex I of the respiratory chain from Vicia faba and Solanum tuberosum are proposed to be OGDC-E2 and the possible basis of this association is discussed.
Place navigation in rats guided by a vestibular and kinesthetic orienting gradient

: The role of the slope of terrain in orientation was examined in rats trained to find, among 4 equidistant feeders, the 1 located in the upper left quadrant of a 10% tilted arena (1-m radius). Rats started from the center in light and with randomly changing slope direction reached the correct goal in 90% of 1st choices after 29 sessions. The same rats maintained 83% correct choices when the experiment was conducted in darkness. On a horizontal arena, their performance became random. After training, successful navigation was also observed (71% correct 1st choices) when the rats were started from different points at about 30 cm from the wall. This finding suggests that the slope of terrain may be used to establish a cognitive map based primarily on kinesthetic and vestibular signals. The flexibility of such a map seems to be rather limited, however, because changing the goal position with respect to inclination requires prolonged retraining.
Characterization of four mammalian numb protein isoforms. Identification of cytoplasmic and membrane-associated variants of the phosphotyrosine binding domain.

Next Section Abstract Numb is a membrane-associated, phosphotyrosine binding (PTB) domain-containing protein that functions as an intrinsic determinant of cell fate during Drosophila development. We have identified four isoforms of mammalian Numb with predicted molecular masses of 65, 66, 71, and 72 kDa that are generated by alternative splicing of the Numb mRNA. The different isoforms result from the presence of two sequence inserts within the PTB domain and the central region of the protein. The endogenous expression pattern of these isoforms, examined using specific antisera, varied in different tissues and cell lines. In addition, differentiation of P19 cells with retinoic acid leads to the specific loss of expression of the 71- and 72-kDa Numb proteins, suggesting that the expression of certain forms of Numb protein is regulated in a cell type-specific manner. Expression of Numb proteins fused to green fluorescent protein revealed that the form of the PTB domain with the alternatively spliced insert constitutively associated with the plasma membrane in polarized Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. In contrast, the isoform without the insert was cytoplasmic, suggesting that different PTB domain isoforms may regulate the subcellular localization of Numb proteins. The membrane localization may be due, in part, to differential affinity for acidic phospholipids. The distinct expression and localization patterns of the different mammalian Numb isoforms suggest that they have distinct functional properties.
Age and Schooling Effects on Emergent Literacy and Early Reading Skills

This study examined the effects of age and schooling on emergent literacy and early reading skills of 337 children from low-income backgrounds. Children were followed longitudinally from the end of Head Start to the end of 1st grade. A subset of the sample (n = 183) was followed through the end of 2nd grade. The oldest children in preschool and kindergarten had significantly stronger emergent literacy skills than classmates who were younger by 10 months. These differences did not translate to differences in reading skill at the end of 1st or 2nd grade. Children who began school a year earlier than same-age peers outperformed these peers on measures of both emergent literacy skills and early reading skills. The impact of a year of schooling on emergent literacy skills was 1.7 times greater than the impact of other processes associated with age. The impact of a year of schooling on early reading was 4.3 times stronger than the effect of age.
Hepatoprotective Effects and Antioxidant Role of Caesalpinia bonducella on Paracetamol-induced Hepatic Damage in Rats

The hepatoprotective effect of methanol extract of leaves of Caesalpinia bonducella was studied by means of paracetamol induced liver damage in rats. The degree of protection was measrued by using biochemical parameters such as serum transaminase (SGPT and SGOT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bilirubin, and total protein. Futher, the effects of the extract on lipid peroxidatin (LPO), glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) were estimated. The methanol extract of C. bonducella (MECB) (50,100 and 200mg/kg) produced significant (P<0.01) hepatoprotective effect by decreasing the activity of serum enzymes, bilirubin, and lipid peroxidation, while it significantly increased the levels of GSH, SOD, CAT, and protein in a dose dependent manner. The effects of MECB were comparable to that of standard drug Silymarin. However, at a lower dose (25mg/kg) it could not restore the deleterious effect produced by paracetamol. The results indicate that Caesalpinia bonducella had antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects.
Incidence of venous thromboembolism in users of combined oral contraceptives

This article criticized the report of Lawrenson et al. which estimated the incidence of venous thromboembolism to be at 38 per 100000 women who used combined oral contraceptives. The report failed to describe how the authors derived their estimate. In addition they did not provide any details on the validity and specificity of venous thromboembolism diagnosis the presence of medical risk factors and information on the person time at risk for current oral contraceptive users. This article highlights two aspects of the report: 1) substantially lower estimate of venous thromboembolism than the true incidence; 2) inclusion of both outpatients and inpatients from one of the 5 computer-recorded diagnoses of venous thromboembolism without documentation from clinical records. Moreover the General Practice Research Database (information source of the report) is said to be uninterpretable for the following reasons: unclear basis of reported incidence and invalidated clinical records of venous thromboembolism diagnosis. Finally this article emphasizes the necessity of detailed identification of relevant cases and estimating person time at risk to illustrate an accurate estimate of venous thromboembolism prevalence among oral contraceptive users.
List of plants with galls induced by insects from the UNILAVRAS/Boqueirão Biological Reserve, Ingaí, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Tumors caused on vegetal tissues, named galls or cecidiens, may occur due to the action of several organisms such as bacteria, viruses, nematodes, fungi and insects. The main inductors are insects and this is a highly complex kind of herbivory. Most of the insects that induce the formation of galls are specific to their host plant, i.e., they do it only in a species or in a closed relation of a group of host species. From August 2007 to July 2009 a survey on galls was carried out in the UNILAVRAS/Boqueirao Biological Reserve, located in the municipality of Ingai/MG, in the environments Cerrado, rocky field and riparian forest. Fifth-seven galls morphotypes were registered in plant organs, distributed on 18 families. The vegetal families that presented the highest amount of galls were Myrtaceae, Asteraceae e Melastomataceae. Galls were observed on the following parts of the plant: leaves, stem, fruit and petiole and the leaves represented the most attacked organ by cecidogens.
Presidential cabinets, electoral cycles, and coalition discipline in Brazil

All presidential cabinets formed in Brazil between 1985 and 1998 included politicians from more than one party and could, in principle, be defined as coalition cabinets. The article evaluates to what extent this is a valid statement as far as the legislative behavior of the cabinet parties is concerned. An indicator is proposed for measuring the rate of cabinet coalescence, based on the ratio between the percentage of ministerial posts held by each party represented in the cabinet and the percentage of legislative seats held by each of these parties. Regression analysis is used to ascertain what impact the rate of cabinet coalescence has on the legislative discipline of cabinet parties. In addition to this coalescence index, the study also tests the effect of electoral cycles and the ideological range of cabinets on legislative discipline. Results indicate that the legislative discipline of cabinet parties is only consistent with what would be expected of coalition governments in parliamentary regimes when the cabinet displays a relatively high rate of coalescence. Findings also show that the party support to president tends to decrease over the course of the presidents term and that the greater the ideological distance between the president and a given party, the lower the support rate this party will display for the head of government.
Respiratory Properties of the Neonatal Blood of the Common Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula)

The respiratory properties of the blood of a newborn marsupial, the common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula of the family Phalangeridae), have been examined. The O₂ equilibrium curves (OECs) under standard conditions (36° C and partial pressure of CO₂ [Pco₂] = 42 mmHg) were right shifted, being to the right of the maternal curves. The partial pressure of O₂ (Po₂) at which blood is 50% saturated with oxygen (P50) under these conditions was 42 mmHg in the neonatal blood. All the neonatal OECs had a Hill plot bent at about 50% saturation, and the mean value of the Hill coefficient (nH) was 5.96 for the upper part of the curve, indicating aggregation of Hb tetramers or interaction between adjacent tetramers. Apart from previous findings in another marsupial (Macropus eugenii), the first of these properties had not been shown before in any species, the second had not been shown before in any normal mammalian blood. At higher and lower Pco₂ (72 and 21 mmHg) the neonatal OECs were of the same shape and were also to the right of the maternal OECs under equivalent conditions. The Bohr effect of the neonatal blood was lower than that of adult blood; the neonatal red blood cells were nearly all nucleated and contained four Hb types, each different from adult Hbs. In these respects it was characteristic of embryonic blood and similar to the blood of the prenatal and neonatal tammar wallaby of the family Macropodidae
The Prediction of Vo2max: A Comparison of 7 Indirect Tests of Aerobic Power

The purpose of this study was to compare the results of 7 commonly used indirect VO2max tests to those of a direct VO2max test in a constant subject group. Thirty subjects (15 men, 15 women) that were 18 to 35 years old participated in the study. All subjects performed the following tests in ran- dom order: direct VO2max treadmill test; max Bruce and 85% Bruce treadmill tests; Astrand-Ryhming and heart rate ex- trapolation cycle ergometer (CE) tests; Leger shuttle run; 1.5- m run; and the Canadian Aerobic Fitness Test (CAFT) step test. Within subjects, there were no significant differences between the predicted VO2max values and the direct VO2max values obtained (p # 0.05). For the women studied, all pre- dictive tests except for the CAFT had a validity coefficient of 0.80 or greater to the direct VO2max test. For this reason, the present study found 6 of the 7 predictive tests to be valid for women 18 to 35 years old. Despite errors of ,10% in all predictive tests except for the CAFT, validity coefficients were low for the data from the men's group, rendering it inconclusive. Overall, for testing women, the maximal Bruce treadmill test and the Astrand-Ryhming CE test were found to produce the least amount of error with the highest validity coefficient.
Reverberation in gymnasia

Gymnasia for public use are constructed and renovated on a regular basis, but the acoustical results are not always satisfactory or consistent. This paper examines this situation by presenting and discussing two case studies. In the first study, measurements of reverberation inside five public school gymnasia were carried out in the Mississauga area. The gymnasia were all geometrically alike, and had been constructed from typical building materials. Four of the gymnasia had been acoustically treated and were considered by the teaching staff of each to provide an adequate acoustical environment for typical activities. The remaining gymnasium was acoustically untreated, and its acoustic environment was considered by the staff to seriously impede its use. A brief literature review conducted to determine criteria specific to gymnasia revealed a notable lack of published information, both in terms of the traditional descriptor, the reverberation time (RT60), and in terms of more recently developed descriptors based on early/late arrival ratios. The measurement results and the subjective opinions expressed by each school's staff were used to determine reverberation criteria for a gymnasium, and to investigate the effectiveness of typical control measures. A second similar case study is presented. The results are discussed in terms of the relevance of various descriptors and potential building code implications
Epidemiology of African swine fever.

Summary: The epidemiology of African swine fever virus infection in Africa is reviewed. The virus is maintained by a cycle of infection between ticks of the Ornithodoros moubata complex and newborn wart-hogs, and by trans-stadial , trans-ovarian and horizontal transmission in the tick population. The mechanisms of virus spread from ticks and wart-hogs to domestic pigs are discussed. The establishment of African swine fever as an endemic infection in southern Europe was associated with a decrease in virus virulence. The resultant lower mortality and virus persistence in recovered pigs can lead to further spread of the disease following virus reactivation when the animals are subjected to stress.
Sudden gains and critical sessions in cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression

In this study of cognitive—behavioral therapy for depression, many patients experienced large symptom improvements in a single between-sessions interval. These sudden gains' average magnitude was 11 Beck Depression Inventory points, accounting for 50% of these patients' total improvement. Patients who experienced sudden gains were less depressed than the other patients at posttreatment, and they remained so 18 months later. Substantial cognitive changes were observed in the therapy sessions preceding sudden gains, but few cognitive changes were observed in control sessions, suggesting that cognitive change in the pregain sessions triggered the sudden gains. Improved therapeutic alliances were also observed in the therapy sessions immediately after the sudden gains, as were additional cognitive changes, suggesting a threestage model for these patients' recovery: preparation -> critical session/sudden gain -> upward spiral.