Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stem Cells of Epidermis: A Critical Introduction

Stem cells are the cells having some distinguishing characteristics like longevity, high capacity of self-renewal and differentiation, quiescence and highly error-free proliferation. Almost all stem cells have the potential of lineage reprogramming, i.e. inter-conversion of cell lineages. They also have the potential to differentiate into almost all kinds of cells. These cells have been found in almost every organs of human body. Pool of stem cells found in epidermis is termed as Epidermal Stem Cells. Many researchers around the world have reported different kinds of stem cells in skin, based on their cell surface makers, while they have not categorized these cells chronically. It is worth mentioning here that all kinds of stem cells reported in skin, i.e. keratinocyte stem cells, limbal stem cells, hair follicle and bulge stem cells, SG (sebaceous gland) stem cells, and spinous keratinocytes express specific types of cytokeratin protein (e.g. K1, K3, K5, K10, K12, K14, K15, K19 etc.) on their surfaces. Biologists have defined that almost all of these stem cells share single origin, i.e. Basal Layer of Embryonic Skin. As the embryonic skin passes the developmental stages, the basal layer produces two mother stem cells of skin, keratinocyte stem cells, and so called Limbal Stem Cells (in cornea). Keratinocyte stem cells give rise to the cells expressing Cytokeratin proteins on their surfaces. So, all the cells expressing cytokeratin are tracked back to these stem cells in origin , while undergone natural lineage reprogramming or differentiation. The stem cells in the basal-layer give rise to keratinocyte stem cells which can be found in the basal layer of the adult skin. During the developmental stages, this basal layer, containing keratinocyte stem cells, gives rise to limbal invagination of corneal region, a linage conversion mechanism happens, and the keratinocyte stem cells are naturally reprogramed into the limbal stem cells. In basal layer of the epidermis, the keratinocyte stem cells give rise to bulge, hair follicle, and SG stem cells when placode formation takes place. In future, we need studies to find out which kind of cytokeratin protein is expressed early in these cells. In another word it would be helpful to define the order of cytokeratin expression regarding these lineage developmental processes from embryonic to mature skin and from embryonic basal layer to the formation of cornified epithelial cells.
Cross-Kingdom Pathogenicity across Plants and Human Beings

Plants normally harbour microorganisms beneficial to the plants. However, many of these microbes may cause diseases to human beings in form of food-borne infections. Moreover, plant pathogens may also infect human beings, resulting in cross-kingdom pathogenicity. For instance, many members of Enterobacteriaceae which are pathogens to human beings are also known to cause rots and blights in plants. Many microbes found in rhizospheres of plants are also known to cause diseases (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia marsescens, etc.). Therefore, many inhabitants of plants (both rhizosphere and phylosphere) residing in or on plant tissues can be opportunistic pathogens of humans [1]. Despite of the morphological and physiological changes of hosts, microbes have evolved surprisingly to inhabit diverse hosts, thus leading to cross kingdom pathogenicity [2-5]. There are a number of microbial pathogens capable of infecting both plants and humans. This pathogenesis can be taken place by direct or indirect methods. It has been suggested that human pathogens are indirectly transferred to plants through environment or with the aid of any carrier. Plant pathogens can be shifted to humans by direct contact or indirectly through environment [1,2,5].
Phylogenetic relationships among Elymus and related diploid genera (Triticeae: Poaceae) based on nuclear rDNA ITS sequences

Abstract To investigate the phylogenetic relationships among Elymus and related diploid genera, the genome donor of Elymus, and the evolutionary history of polyploid Elymus species, nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences were analyzed for 10 Elymus species, together with 17 diploid taxa from 5 monogenomic genera. The phylogenetic analyses (Neighbor-Joining) supported two major clades (St and H). Sequence diversity and genealogical analysis suggested that (1) Elymus species were unambiguously closely related to Pseudoroegeria; (2) Pse. stipifolia might be serve as the St genome donor of polyploid Elymus species; (3) the Y genome might be originated from ancestral lineage of Pseudoroegneria (St); (4) the ITS sequences of Elymus were evolutionarily distinct and may clarify parental lineages and phylogenetic relationships in Elymus.
Biologia reprodutiva do camarão sete-barbas no litoral centro sul e sul do Espírito Santo, Brasil

The size at first maturity, reproductive cycle, sex ratio and recruitment of the sea-bob shrimp Xiphopenaeus kroyeri were studied from monthly samples in two coastal areas of the Espirito Santo state between 2003 and 2004 in order to support sustainable management of this species. The samples were obtained with bottom trawls in small artisanal fishing boats from 4 to 8 m deep. A total of 6,006 specimens were captured being 2,766 females, 3,182 males and 58 of undetermined sex. Females were significantly bigger than males. The average length of first maturation of females was 9.026 cm. Adult females predominated over males between December and February, coinciding with the spawning peak, while males predominated in the subsequent quarter. This alternation of proportions was associated with bathymetric migrations of reproductive females. The annual gonadal maturation cycle, seasonal abundance and sizes and recruits suggest the existence of continuous spawning and recruitment in December-February and in July and August. The difficulties of establishing a closed season in proper condition indicated that the management of the resource should receive more attention because of the issues involved, whether social, biological or environmental.
The Upgraded GMRT:Opening New Windows on the Radio Universe

The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) is today a frontline international facility for lowfrequency radio astronomy, that has produced several exciting and important new results in the 15 years that it has been operational. To keep the GMRT competitive in the global arena in the future, a major upgrade of the observatory is nearing completion that will increase its sensitivity by up to three times and make it a more powerful and versatile facility. We describe the main goals of this upgrade, highlight the technical features and challenges, outline the science potential and update the current status of this venture.
Molecular research on the systematically challenging smoothhound shark genus Mustelus: a synthesis of the past 30 years

The species-rich genus Mustelus (smoothhounds) of the shark family Triakidae is one of the most bio-economically important groups of elasmobranchs in the world’s oceans. Despite the commercial value of Mustelus, the systematics of the group remains largely unresolved and there is no global review or synthesis of knowledge about the conservation status and conservation genetics of smoothhounds across all oceanic regions. Here, we analysed published studies as well as grey literature to gain insight into the biogeographic, ecological and behavioural factors that shape genetic diversity in smoothhounds, and we identify critical knowledge gaps. From a series of molecular phylogenetic studies it can be inferred that the genus Mustelus is paraphyletic and that the aplacental species evolved secondarily from the placental species of the genus. The increasing availability of genetic data aids in disentangling systematic issues, such that more meaningful morphological characters can be chosen for use in practical field-identification keys for co-occurring smoothhounds. An integrative taxonomic approach to the genus Mustelus may offer the best chance of recording and protecting the biodiversity of these sharks. Furthermore, it is evident that different smoothhound species exhibit unique gene-flow patterns, suggesting varying rates within species and hence that species-level conservation approaches would be most appropriate. Molecular studies have advanced our understanding of smoothhound biology (including reproductive traits), ecology and evolution. While many knowledge gaps remain, a crucial lesson from this review is that, when doing assessments on a molecular level, it is important to place genetic results in a broader context, by assimilating biological and ecological data, if definitive conclusions are to be drawn.
The Regulation of TiPARP by the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor, the Platelet-derived Growth Factor Receptor, and the Estrogen Receptor Alpha

TiPARP is a PARP-likeα mART that is induced by and negatively regulates AHR transactivation. Despite these insights, not much is known about TiPARP. This study aimed to characterize the regulation of TiPARP by AHR, PDGFR, and ER, and investigate potential receptor interplay. Gene expression studies revealed that coactivation of AHR and PDGFR can enhance TiPARP expression after 3 h relative to activation of either receptor pathway alone. Gene expression and ChIP studies demonstrated that while co-activation of AHR and ER enhanced AHR, ARNT, and ER recruitment to the regulatory region of TiPARP, TiPARP mRNA levels were not potentiated by co-activation relative to activation of either pathway. Dissection of the 5’ regulatory region of TiPARP using reporter gene assays revealed that a putative AHRE cluster and an ERE half-site were functional. Lastly, overexpression of TiPARP with an estrogen-responsive reporter revealed that TiPARP can repress ER signalling and requires its catalytic activity.
Chronic silencing of corticothalamic layer 6 pyramidal cells affects cortical excitability and tactile behavior

Cortical projections originating in layer 6 (L6) in mouse primary somatosensory cortex have an important function controlling both cortical and sub-cortical activity. To study cortical plasticity and communication between somatosensory and motor cortex, L6-Ntsr1 cells were chronically silenced using tetanus toxin and the effect this had on cortical activity and behavior was investigated. A 2 Hz stimulation protocol was used to potentiate whisker evoked local field potentials (LFP) in a layer-dependent manner in both cortices. Silencing L6 pyramidal cells, the LFP potentiation in both cortices was affected without a change in the spontaneous multi-unit activity. Animals with L6 chronically silenced used more low-amplitude whisks, which presumably compensates for a reduction in cortical excitability. These results suggest that L6 is not only an important cortical output layer that modulates sub-cortical circuits, but also that it controls cortical dynamics.
Intersubject brain network organization during dynamic anxious anticipation

How do large-scale brain networks reorganize during the waxing and waning of anxious anticipation? Here, threat was dynamically modulated during functional MRI as two circles slowly meandered on the screen; if they touched, an unpleasant shock was delivered. We employed intersubject network analysis, which allows the investigation of network-level properties “across brains,” and sought to determine how network properties changed during periods of approach (circles moving closer) and periods of retreat (circles moving apart). Dynamic threat altered network cohesion across the salience, executive, and task-negative networks, as well as subcortical regions. Functional connections between subcortical regions and the salience network also increased during approach vs. retreat, including the putative periaqueductal gray, habenula, and amygdala, showing that the latter is involved under conditions of relatively prolonged and uncertain threat (the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis was observed during both approach and retreat). Together, our findings unraveled dynamic properties of large-scale networks across participants while threat levels varied continuously, and demonstrate the potential of characterizing emotional processing at the level of distributed networks. Significance Statement Understanding the brain basis of anxious anticipation is important not only from a basic research perspective, but because aberrant responding to uncertain future negative events is believed to be central to anxiety disorders. Although previous studies have investigated how brain responses are sensitive to threat proximity, little is known about how patterns of response co-activation change during dynamic manipulations of threat. To address these important gaps in the literature, we studied the dynamics of emotional processing at the level of large-scale brain networks by devising a manipulation in which threat was dynamically modulated during functional MRI scanning.
In Silico Analysis of Type III Signal Anchor Protein in Citrus sinensis

Single-pass transmembrane protein having a membrane-spanning domain which helps in movement of protein towards the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane. Different types of trans-membrane protein (type I, II, III, and IV) is responsible for different function where both type II and III membrane proteins contain a special single membrane-spanning domain. In both proteins due to the presence of single membrane-spanning domain it acts as a signal to initiate insertion and as a membrane anchor. Further, this signal anchor may help in membrane insertion with either an Ncyt/Cexo orientation or Nexo/Ccyt orientation. Our study focused only on type III proteins. As this protein only possess single-anchor sequence and there is no N-terminal signal peptide. Usually, Type III proteins are positively charged due to the presence of positive cluster residues on the C-terminal side of the signal anchor. The dispersal of charged flanking the hydrophobic core of the signal sequences plays important role in coordination of signal anchor proteins in membrane. Although, the mechanism by which a signal-anchor sequence implements a specific orientation is still unidentified. Here, we performed genome wide screening to identify number of signal anchor proteins in Citrus sinesis genome, which will help to understand the general mechanism of protein orientation in type III membrane proteins.
Clinical Trials and Applications of Galectin Antagonists

Galectins comprise a relatively large family of carbohydrate-binding proteins that recognize and bind to β-D-galactoside residues expressed on a variety of different molecules. Advances in the study of their biological activities demonstrate potential functions in cancer progression, inflammatory, immune, and fibrotic responses which have recently translated to target the galectins as novel therapeutic strategies to address unmet medical needs. This review will summarize the therapeutic applications of galectin antagonists to treat human diseases currently in clinical trials. A. Introduction The β-galactoside-binding lectins are widely expressed in many different species including primitive organisms such as the slime mold, Dictyostelium discoidin, described in 1975 as discoidin (1). The search for the presence of similar β-galactoside-binding proteins in vertebrates led to the discovery of “electrolectin” extracted from the electric eel (2) and galectins from mammalian tissues of calf heart (3) and chicken organs (4). Studies to characterize the binding epitopes of electrolectin led to the early discovery of thiodigalactoside (TDG) as a strong commercially available antagonist. TDG has since been used as a lead structure for the rational design of potent small molecule glycomimetic antagonists of the galectins now in clinical trials (5). Currently, 15 different galectins have been described in mammals and 11 of them are found in humans. All of these galectins share a common sequence motif of about 130 amino acids known as the carbohydrate-recognition domain (CRD). While the binding motifs share similarities, slight differences of precise epitopes among the galectins have been identified and can be used to design antagonists with increased specificity for particular galectins in this family (6, 7). The galectin family can be divided into 3 subgroups depending on their macromolecular structures as shown in Fig. 1. The first subgroup contains the prototypic galectins containing one CRD per monomer (galectin-1, 2, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14 and 15) which can combine to form homodimers. The second subgroup is divalent with 2 CRD domains forming a tandem repeat with a covalent linker (galectin-4, 6, 8, 9 and 12). Galectin-3 comprises the last subgroup and is unique in that it is a multivalent macromolecule MINIREVIEW doi: 10.4052/tigg.1744. 1SE Fig. 1. Intramolecular interactions among the galectin family can promote multivalent lattice formation. (Article for special issue on Galectins)
Distribution and gene-flow in a hybridising population of Pterodroma petrels

Albatrosses and petrels (Order Procellariiformes) are renowned for the huge distances they can cover at sea, and since the advent of tracking technology their pelagic lifestyles are generally well studied. However, tropical species are under-represented in the literature, and may be particularly flexible in their behaviour since tropical oceans are oligotrophic and prey availability is often patchily distributed. Round Island petrels breed in such an environment off the coast of Mauritius in the south-western Indian Ocean. Whilst originally identified as Trindade petrels (Pteromdroma arminjoniana), it has recently been revealed that this population is in fact a mixed, hybridizing population with at least two additional species, namely the Kermadec and Herald petrels (P. neglecta and P. heraldica). However, to date no research has been conducted on the colony-based at-sea distribution of these petrels, or how their mixed ancestry may influence their distribution at sea. In this thesis I firstly explore the possibility that Round Island may not be the only point of contact between these species and find that migration and introgression between wide-ranging Pterodroma may be more common than previously thought. I go on to develop a novel data cleaning method to enable the analysis of geolocation data from Round Island petrels, and use that data to describe for the first time their at-sea distribution and the extensive within-population variation in these patterns. Finally, I use a combination of tracking and microsatellite genotype data to ultimately weigh the influence of individual genetic background and the wider seasonal environment on distribution variability around the breeding colony. The Round Island petrel population is a stronghold where seabird populations globally are in decline. This thesis adds to the limited literature on ecology of tropical petrel species, and highlights the importance of considering behavioural and genetic diversity in future conservation plans.
Loss of Resistance to Nilaparvata lugens May Be Due to the Low-Level Expression of BPH32 in Rice Panicles at the Heading Stage

The brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Stal), is the most important insect pest of rice in Asia. Host plant resistance is one of the strategies currently used to control BPH. The resistant rice cultivar Rathu Heenati (RH) carrying the BPH3 gene (recently renamed as “BPH32”) remains effective despite more than 30 years of deployment. RH has been determined to be resistant against BPH at all growth stages. However, we observed that BPH could feed on panicles but not on the leaf sheaths of RH. The resistance gene BPH32 was introduced into KDML105 through marker-assisted selection, and the introgression line UBN03078 was developed. This rice line was used to observe the patterns of target gene’s regulation. A low-level expression of BPH32 on panicles has been hypothesized to cause susceptibility in UBN03078 at the heading stage. Findings from our gene expression analysis support the hypothesis that the resistance gene was down regulated in the uppermost internodes compared with the leaf sheaths of the heading rice plant. This phenomenon may allow BPH to feed on the panicles of the resistant plants, but this requires further investigation.
Racial Conflict and Split Labor Markets

Recently, scholars have devoted significant attention to race relations in the history of the U.S. labor movement. This research has explored the militancy of African American workers, examined how racism divided particular organizing drives, and documented white workers’ efforts to preserve racial privilege. Much of this work has also emphasized workers’ agency but has obscured the racial implications of labor market characteristics (for exceptions see Maloney 1995; Sugrue 1996). This article argues that racial conflict during the 1919 steel organizing drive resulted from the development of split labor markets, which constrained workers’ opportunities to exercise agency based on class position but encouraged workers to exercise agency in terms of their racial interests. In 1919, the sources of workers’ empowerment diverged along racial lines.
Histomorphometric analysis of the small intestine of broiler chick embryos injected in ovo with methionine

The present study evaluated the histomorphometric effect on the small intestine of the chicken embryo after in ovo methionine injection. On Day 4 of incubation, 50 fertile eggs were allocated into one of the following five groups: control (no treatment) and four treatment groups that received either 20, 30, 40 or 50 mg methionine via their yolk sac. All eggs were incubated until Day 19, at which point the embryos were terminated and 1-cm samples of the duodenum, jejunum and ileum were taken for histology. Sections were stained by haematoxylin and eosin, Alcian blue and periodic acid Schiff methods separately. Morphometric analysis was performed to assess goblet cell number, enterocyte height, muscle-layer thickness as well as villus height, width, area and shape. The ratio of embryo bodyweight to egg weight in methionine treatment groups was more than in controls and this difference was greatest in the 40-mg methionine group. The results showed that villous height, width and area increased in treatment groups, as did enterocyte height, goblet cell number and muscle-layer thickness. The ratio and sequence of the villi was also changed in some treatments. Our results indicated that injecting methionine into the yolk sac can improve intestinal histomorphometrical parameters and that 40-mg methionine injection showed the greatest changes.
Health risk assessment of atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons over the Central Himalayas

ABSTRACT Carcinogenic risk assessments of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in four sites from the Central Himalayas (Bode, Lumbini, Pokhara, and Dhunche) were performed. Lifetime Average Daily Dose (LADD), Lifetime lung cancer risk (LLCR) and Incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) were calculated in order to evaluate the cancer risk. PAHs levels were converted to BaP equivalent concentrations (B[a]Peq), and models of health risk assessment were applied. B[a]Peq concentrations exceeded the standard limited value (1 ng/m3) in all the four sites. The human health risk assessment (HHRA) demonstrated high carcinogenic risk on residents of Bode and Lumbini. Further, LLCR in all sites were over the acceptable range (1.15E-03, 7.90E-04, 1.40E-04 and 9.96E-05, respectively); however, ILCR ranking exhibited acceptable range in Lumbini, Pokhara, and Dhunche (7.10E-06, 1.26E-06, and 8.95E-07). The risk variation among the sites is due to the difference in pollution status. The study shows health risk due to atmospheric PAHs via inhalation prevails all the seasons throughout, differing only seasonally; nevertheless, the concentration and carcinogenic risk decreased remarkably from south-north transect of the central Himalaya. Keeping some uncertainties aside, this study provides noble insights and helps to formulate new advance assessment on the carcinogenic risk of atmospheric PAHs over the Central Himalayas.