Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Synergistic Anti-cancer Activity of MH-30 in a Murine Melanoma Model Treated With Cisplatin and its Alleviated Effects Against Cisplatin-induced Toxicity in Mice

Background/Aim: Although cisplatin is an effective anticancer drug, its toxic effects on normal tissues limit its use. We developed a herbal formula, MH-30, with increased fat-soluble polyphenols by improving the manufacturing method of HemoHIM. In this study, we examined whether the combination of MH-30 with cisplatin exerts synergistic antitumor effect while it reduces cisplatin-induced toxicities. Materials and Methods: MH-30 was produced by adding the ethanol-insoluble fraction to its extract after decocting herbs in 30% ethanol and water. We used a melanoma-bearing mice model to investigate synergistic anticancer effects. The NK cell activity and cytokine levels were measured by Cr51-release assay and ELISA. The AST, ALT, BUN, and creatinine levels were estimated in the serum. Results: MH-30 effectively inhibited melanoma growth in vitro. Furthermore, MH-30 had a synergistic effect in combination with cisplatin on melanoma growth inhibition in vitro and in vivo. In melanoma-bearing mice, cisplatin alone decreased the activity of NK cells and the levels of IL-2 and IFN-γ, which were effectively restored by the combination of MH-30 with cisplatin. Combined treatment with MH-30 and cisplatin significantly inhibited the cisplatin-induced increase in the levels of AST, ALT, BUN, and creatinine. Conclusion: Combination of MH-30 with cisplatin may be a beneficial anticancer treatment with reduced adverse effects.
First report of field resistance by the stem borer, Busseola fusca (Fuller) to Bt-transgenic maize

Reports of severe damage caused by the African stem borer, Busseola fusca (Fuller) to Mon810-transgenic maize (Bt) prompted a study in which the survival of progenies of diapause larvae collected from both a Bt and non-Bt planting were compared when feeding on various Bt and non-Bt hybrids. Field and greenhouse grown plants were artificially infested with neonate larvae. Larval mass was recorded at two-day intervals for three weeks. Data were subjected to simple regression analyses followed by pair wise comparison of the slopes. The two borer populations showed similar larval mass gains on non-Bt hybrids but differed in the response to Bt-hybrids. Appreciable numbers of larvae from the non-Bt derived population survived only to the eighth day. In contrast, substantial numbers of larvae of the Bt-derived population survived over the entire trial period. The mean larval mass of the Bt-derived population at the conclusion of the experiment was less on Bt-hybrids than on their susceptible counterparts. This i.
Integrate Structural Analysis, Isoform Diversity, and Interferon-Inductive Propensity of ACE2 to Refine SARS-CoV2 Susceptibility Prediction in Vertebrates

The current new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has caused globally near 0.4/6 million confirmed deaths/infected cases across more than 200 countries. As the etiological coronavirus (a.k.a. SARS-CoV2) may putatively have a bat origin, our understanding about its intermediate reservoir between bats and humans, especially its tropism in wild and domestic animals, are mostly unknown. This constitutes major concerns in public health for the current pandemics and potential zoonosis. Previous reports using structural analysis of the viral spike protein (S) binding its cell receptor of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), indicate a broad SARS-CoV2 susceptibility in wild and particularly domestic animals. Through integration of key immunogenetic factors, including the existence of S-binding-void ACE2 isoforms and the disparity of ACE2 expression upon early innate immune response, we further refine the SARS-CoV2 susceptibility prediction to fit recent experimental validation. In addition to showing a broad susceptibility potential across mammalian species based on structural analysis, our results also reveal that domestic animals including dogs, pigs, cattle and goats may evolve ACE2-related immunogenetic diversity to restrict SARS-CoV2 infections. Thus, we propose that domestic animals may be unlikely to play a role as amplifying hosts unless the virus has further species-specific adaptation. These findings may relieve relevant public concerns regarding COVID-19-like risk in domestic animals, highlight virus-host coevolution, and evoke disease intervention through targeting ACE2 molecular diversity and interferon optimization.
Effect of oil cakes on management of root-knot nematode, yield and quality of FCV tobacco

Root-knot nematode is a major threat for successful cultivation of flue cured virginia tobacco in the light soils of Karnataka. Yield reduction due to this menace is 59.4% in nursery and 52.9% in the main field. A study was conducted in sick plot for three years to evaluate the efficacy of neem and pongamia cake in different dosages (10,20 and 30 @plant), applied directly to the base. Pongamia cake at 30 glplant recorded maximum green leaf and cured leaf yield. However, neem cake at 20gplant recorded least root-knot nematode index followed by pongamia cake at 10 @plant.
PESTICIDES: A REVIEW OF THE MALE REPRODUCTIVE TOXICITY

Several studies have shown a decline in human semen quality and increased risks of male subfertility. Pesticides have been in use since the early days of modern agriculture and, as a class of chemicals, are well studied and subject to much regulation. There is growing concern about the safety of pesticides and how exposure (occupational/ via food residues/contamination of air and water) may affect human health in general and reproductive outcome in particular . This review is based primarily on the recent epidemiological studies conducted in occupational settings in order to explore the relationship between exposures to pesticides agents and the possible effects on male reproductive function. Pesticides may directly damage spermatozoa, alter Sertoli cell or Leydig cell function, or disrupt the endocrine function in any stage of hormonal regulation (hormone synthesis, release, storage, transport, and clearance; receptor recognition and binding; thyroid function; and the central nervous system). These mechanisms are described with respect to the effects of pesticide exposure in vitro and in vivo. Clear effects on male fertility have been demonstrated for some pesticides (eg, Atrazine, Benomyl, Carbaryl, Endosulfan, Malathion, and Pyrethroid). But results from more recent studies are inconsistent, and no uniform conclusion can be drawn about the effects of pesticides on male reproduction.
Epigenetic Regulation of Differentially Expressed Drug-Metabolizing Enzymes in Cancer

Drug metabolism is a biotransformation process of drugs, catalyzed by drug-metabolizing enzymes (DMEs), including phase I DMEs and phase II DMEs. The aberrant expression of DMEs occurs in the different stages of cancer. It can contribute to the development of cancer and lead to individual variations in drug response by affecting the metabolic process of carcinogen and anticancer drugs. Apart from genetic polymorphisms, which we know the most about, current evidence indicates that epigenetic regulation is also central to the expression of DMEs. This review summarizes differentially expressed DMEs in cancer and related epigenetic changes, including DNA methylation, histone modification, and noncoding RNAs. Exploring the epigenetic regulation of differentially expressed DMEs can provide a basis for implementing individualized and rationalized medication. Meanwhile, it can promote the development of new biomarkers and targets for the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of cancer. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT This review summarizes the aberrant expression of DMEs in cancer and the related epigenetic regulation of differentially expressed DMEs. Exploring the epigenetic regulatory mechanism of DMEs in cancer can help us to understand the role of DMEs in cancer progression and chemoresistance. Also, it provides a basis for developing new biomarkers and targets for the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of cancer.
Mechanisms underlying homeostatic plasticity in the Drosophila mushroom body in vivo

Significance When a neuron fires, it excites or inhibits other neurons. These two opposing forces—excitation and inhibition—need to be carefully balanced in the brain for neural networks to function properly. Maintaining this balance requires homeostatic plasticity to compensate for perturbations in neural activity levels. Relatively little is known about how such homeostatic compensation works in the intact central brain in vivo. To address this problem, we developed a model for studying homeostatic plasticity in vivo: the Drosophila mushroom body (the fly’s olfactory memory center). We found that this brain structure compensates for prolonged excess inhibition through a combination of increased excitation and decreased inhibition, with these two mechanisms contributing differently for different types of neurons. Neural network function requires an appropriate balance of excitation and inhibition to be maintained by homeostatic plasticity. However, little is known about homeostatic mechanisms in the intact central brain in vivo. Here, we study homeostatic plasticity in the Drosophila mushroom body, where Kenyon cells receive feedforward excitation from olfactory projection neurons and feedback inhibition from the anterior paired lateral neuron (APL). We show that prolonged (4-d) artificial activation of the inhibitory APL causes increased Kenyon cell odor responses after the artificial inhibition is removed, suggesting that the mushroom body compensates for excess inhibition. In contrast, there is little compensation for lack of inhibition (blockade of APL). The compensation occurs through a combination of increased excitation of Kenyon cells and decreased activation of APL, with differing relative contributions for different Kenyon cell subtypes. Our findings establish the fly mushroom body as a model for homeostatic plasticity in vivo.
To Correct or Not Correct? Actual Evidence, Controversy and the Questions That Remain Open

Clinical studies and basic research have attempted to establish a relationship between myopia progression and single vision spectacle wear, albeit with unclear results. Single vision spectacle lenses are continuously used as the control group in myopia control trials. Hence, it is a matter of high relevance to investigate further whether they yield any shift on the refractive state, which could have been masked by being used as a control. In this review, eye development in relation to eyes fully corrected versus those under-corrected is discussed, and new guidelines are provided for the analysis of structural eye changes due to optical treatments. These guidelines are tested and optimised, while ethical implications are revisited. This newly described methodology can be translated to larger clinical trials, finally exerting the real effect of full correction via single vision spectacle lens wear on eye growth and myopia progression.
Biofuels for Road Transport: A Seed to Wheel Perspective

This book provides a review of the history, the current status and the impact of biofuels used in road transport, across the full ‘seed-to-wheel’ life cycle of these fuels. Successive chapters cover many issues relevant to the current debate on biofuels, such as cost, competition with food production, contribution to energy security, use of natural resources, and environmental impact. The final chapter addresses common concerns about biofuels, including questions on sustainability and government policy.
Vertical distribution of adult mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in southern and central Sweden

The vertical distribution of adult mosquitoes was studied in southern (Norra Angstrom sum) and central Sweden (Tarnsjo) during August 1995, with an emphasis on the ornithophilic species Culiseta morsitans (Theobald), Culex pipiens L. , and Culex torrentium
The first 10 years of the international coordination network for standards in systems and synthetic biology (COMBINE)

Abstract This paper presents a report on outcomes of the 10th Computational Modeling in Biology Network (COMBINE) meeting that was held in Heidelberg, Germany, in July of 2019. The annual event brings together researchers, biocurators and software engineers to present recent results and discuss future work in the area of standards for systems and synthetic biology. The COMBINE initiative coordinates the development of various community standards and formats for computational models in the life sciences. Over the past 10 years, COMBINE has brought together standard communities that have further developed and harmonized their standards for better interoperability of models and data. COMBINE 2019 was co-located with a stakeholder workshop of the European EU-STANDS4PM initiative that aims at harmonized data and model standardization for in silico models in the field of personalized medicine, as well as with the FAIRDOM PALs meeting to discuss findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR) data sharing. This report briefly describes the work discussed in invited and contributed talks as well as during breakout sessions. It also highlights recent advancements in data, model, and annotation standardization efforts. Finally, this report concludes with some challenges and opportunities that this community will face during the next 10 years.
Molecular and Biochemical Characterization of α-Glucosidase and α-Mannosidase and Their Clustered Genes from the Thermoacidophilic Archaeon Picrophilus torridus

ABSTRACT The genes encoding a putative α-glucosidase (aglA) and an α-mannosidase (manA) appear to be physically clustered in the genome of the extreme acidophile Picrophilus torridus, a situation not found previously in any other organism possessing aglA or manA homologs. While archaeal α-glucosidases have been described, no α-mannosidase enzymes from the archaeal kingdom have been reported previously. Transcription start site mapping and Northern blot analysis revealed that despite their colinear orientation and the small intergenic space, the genes are independently transcribed, both producing leaderless mRNA. aglA and manA were cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli, and the purified recombinant enzymes were characterized with respect to their physicochemical and biochemical properties. AglA displayed strict substrate specificity and hydrolyzed maltose, as well as longer α-1,4-linked maltooligosaccharides. ManA, on the other hand, hydrolyzed all possible linkage types of α-glycosidically linked mannose disaccharides and was able to hydrolyze α3,α6-mannopentaose, which represents the core structure of many triantennary N-linked carbohydrates in glycoproteins. The probable physiological role of the two enzymes in the utilization of exogenous glycoproteins and/or in the turnover of the organism's own glycoproteins is discussed.
Developments in biochemical aspects and biotechnological applications of microbial phytases

Phytases belong to the class of phosphatases, which catalyze the hydrolysis of phytic acid to inorganic phosphate and myo-inositol phosphate derivatives. The enzyme has potential applications in food and feed industries for ameliorating digestibility and assimilation of nutrients of foods and feeds by mitigating the anti-nutritional effects of phytic acid. Phytases have been shown to be useful in improving growth of poultry, pigs and fishes, and they play a role in promoting growth of plants, as well as improve the nutritional quality of bread, soymilk and oil seed cakes by dephytinization. The crystal structures of some phytases have been analyzed for understanding the reaction mechanism. The phytases with desirable properties have been generated through protein engineering approaches, since native phytases do not possess all the properties of an ideal additive feed/food. Recent developments on the characteristics of an ideal phytase, crystal structure, protein engineering, and the potential biotechnological applications of microbial phytases with special reference to their utility in improving growth performance of monogastrics, dephytinization of foods and feeds, plant growth promotion, and combating environmental phosphorus pollution will be discussed in this review.
Le syndrome d’Ehlers-Danlos : l’architecture matricielle en question

Le syndrome d’Ehlers-Danlos constitue un groupe heterogene de maladies genetiques du tissu conjonctif. Il est caracterise par une peau hyper-extensible, des articulations anormalement mobiles et des vaisseaux fragiles. Les anomalies moleculaires responsables de cette maladie portent souvent sur les collagenes et les enzymes assurant leur maturation. La forme classique du syndrome, qui sera principalement discutee dans cet article, est majoritairement due a des mutations du collagene V, un collagene fibrillaire present en petite quantite dans les tissus affectes. Cependant, des anomalies moleculaires du collagene I ou de la tenascine peuvent aussi etre responsables de ce syndrome. De plus, chez la souris, l’invalidation de genes codant pour d’autres molecules matricielles (SPARC, thrombospondine, petits proteoglycanes riches en leucine) conduit a des phenotypes mimant ce syndrome et suggere que ces molecules pourraient donc etre impliquees. Comme les anomalies du collagene V restent a ce jour principalement responsables de cette affection, nous discuterons son role physiologique a la lumiere des observations cliniques et fondamentales. Nous tenterons de comprendre comment le collagene V interagit avec les autres molecules pour determiner les caracteristiques tissulaires.
IN VITRO ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY AND PHYTOCHEMICAL PROFILES OF THREE ANTITUMOR MEDICINAL PLANTS GROWN IN SUDAN

Oxidative stress has become widely viewed as an underlying condition of most prevalent human aliments including cancer. The present study aims to evaluate the antioxidant potential of three medicinal plants, grown in Sudan, namely, Ambrosia maritima L. , Aristolochia bracteolata L. and Lawsonia inermis L. , widely held in traditional practice and reputed to cure tumor. Extraction of the active morphological plants' parts was commenced with dichloromethane then 80 % methanol. The antioxidant activity and phytochemical profile were conducted via 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay and preliminary phytochemical screening, respectively. Lawsonia inermis MeOH extract ranked the top DPPH active extract (% RSA= 86 ± 0.07%). Other methanolic plants' extracts, except A. bracteolata branches, reported a good antioxidant activity (% RSA > 50 %). Preliminary phytochemical screening of the candidate extracts revealed the presence of coumarins, flavonoids, sterols and tannins. Thus, A. maritima, A. bracteolata and L. inermis by virtue of their antioxidant potential may support their ethnomedicinal uses as antitumor agents.
Referring to Species (or: Metaphysics of Species for those Wary of Commitment)

Species are deeply embedded in both scientific investigation and everyday enthusiasm. Our species goes to considerable effort and expense to watch, document, count, breed, cultivate, hunt, and conserve other species. Scientists often report discovering new species, estimating that there are ten million distinct species presently on earth (and many more that have disappeared). As such, reference to particular biological species is commonplace. Not only do we use species names as predicates (as in ‘Gao Gao is a panda’), but we also use them as singular terms (as in ‘The panda eats bamboo’). To what do such terms refer? Two main contenders have dominated the debate: that species are sets and that species are individuals. Unfortunately, neither has the resources to accommodate all of the uses to which we put species names. I shall have to be rather quick with the reasons for their failures — as they have to do with intricacies of metaphysics and biological practice whose scope considerably exceeds this paper. My main purpose in this paper is to make some headway in describing an alternative view of how reference to species works. I shall argue that species names are best understood as non-rigid plural referring expressions. The organisms to which a species name refers may yet be a natural kind in the sense of possessing the properties and relations that suit them for inferential and explanatory use in biological science and beyond. 1
Nest and egg description of threatened Herpsilochmus spp. from coastal forest habitats in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (Aves: Thamnophilidae)

We provide description of eggs and nest structure for two Brazilian antwrens, including the IUCN "vulnerable" species, H. pectoralis Sclater, 1857, and the BirdLife International "near-threatened", H. sellowi Whitney & Pacheco, 2000. Our observations derive from a larger study on Herpsilochmus Cabanis, 1847 distribution in coastal forest fragments in the northern range limit of the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest. Both species nested in relatively open forest. The nest of H. sellowi was built with fungal hyphae, a trait common among some birds. Both eggs were moderately beige with brown spots. Most of the information on Brazilian antwren nesting comes from species that do not occur in the Atlantic rainforest. This is the first account for nest behavior for Atlantic rainforest antwrens.
A REVIEW ON GENETIC STATUS OF ELD'S DEER RUCERVUS ELDII: WITH NOTES ON DISTRIBUTION, POPULATION STATUS AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

The Eld's deer Rucervus eldii once distributed throughout Southeast Asia extending from northeast India to Indochina and southern China is now confined to small fragmented areas. Four subspecies were identified; R. e. eldii in Manipur, India, R. e. thamin in central plains of Myanmar and western Thailand R. e. siamensis in Lao PDR and in the northern and eastern Cambodia and a fourth subspecies R. e. hainanus in Hainan's Island China. The review revealed few molecular investigations have been conducted on the genetics of Eld's deer based on karyotype analysis, mtDNA and microsatellites. Studies based on mtDNA control region have shown that population of R. e. eldii showed closest relationship with R. e. thamin than to R. e. siamensis. Microsatellites studies are limited to R. e. hainanus; the genetic variability was low suggesting that founder effects and genetic drift have affected the population. There still remain many knowledge gaps in the systematic and genetic status of this species. The population of Eld's deer suggested ≈2165 individuals by 2003 spreading over nine reserves. Population sizes of most subspecies of Eld's deer are small and threatened due to effects of inbreeding depression, loss of genetic variability and drift. Environmental fluctuations due to variation in predation, competition, disease, poaching, habitat deterioration and natural catastrophes are some of the other reasons affecting the population. In future, more research is required to determine the genetic population structure on the basis of markers, variable enough to detect differences between the subspecies. An extensive study is required to assess the relatedness and kinships among captive and wild population so that changes in genetic variability could be identified and appropriate conservation measures are taken. Genetic monitoring of both the source and reintroduced populations should be done prior to reintroduction in order to assess effectiveness of conservation program.