Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dispersal of Anoplophora glabripennis (Cerambycidae)

Abstract As a basis for the development of both eradication and management strategies for control of Anoplophora glabripennis Motschulsky (Asian longhorned beetle) investigations of A. glabripennis dispersal were undertaken in Gansu Province, China, in 1999. Data analysis of the first year study of population dispersal, in which >16,000 adult A. glabripennis were marked and released (mass-mark recapture method), has shown that the mean dispersal distance for A. glabripennis was ≈266 m, whereas the 98% A. glabripennis recapture radius was 560 m. More notably, A. glabripennis dispersal potential over a single season was found to be 1,029 m and 1,442 m, for male and gravid female beetles, respectively, which is well over the previously reported distances. There was also a directional bias in dispersal. These results indicate that surveys for adult beetles and infested trees at a minimum of 1,500 m from previously infested trees would assist in preventing continued colonization in the current U.S. infestations in New York and Chicago, and therefore enhance efforts to eradicate A. glabripennis from the United States. Data from the second year of this study (2000) will be used to enhance a predictive model of invasion by A. glabripennis in landscapes at risk in the United States.
G-Protein-Dependent and -Independent Signaling Pathways and their Impact on Cardiac Function Compartmentalization of b-Adrenergic Signals in Cardiomyocytes G-Protein-Coupled Receptor Kinases (GRK) as Therapeutic Targets in Cardiovascular Disease Regulators of G-Protein Signaling in the Heart and The

Drug discovery efforts targeting G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) have been immensely successful in creating new cardiovascular medicines. Currently marketed GPCR drugs are broadly classified as either agonists that activate receptors or antagonists that prevent receptor activation by endogenous stimuli. However, GPCR couple to a multitude of intracellular signaling pathways beyond classical G-protein signals, and these signals can be independently activated by biased ligands to vastly expand the potential for new drugs at these classic targets. By selectively engaging only a subset of a receptor's potential intracellular partners, biased ligands may deliver more precise therapeutic benefit with fewer side effects than current GPCR-targeted drugs. In this review, we discuss the history of biased ligand research, the current understanding of how biased ligands exert their unique pharmacology, and how research into GPCR signaling has uncovered previously unappreci- ated capabilities of receptor pharmacology. We focus on several receptors to illustrate the approaches taken and discoveries made, and how these are steadily illuminating the intricacies of GPCR pharmacology. Discoveries of biased ligands targeting the angiotensin II type 1 receptor and of separable pharmacology suggesting the potential value of biased ligands targeting the -adrenergic receptors and nicotinic acid receptor GPR109a highlight the powerful clinical promise of this new category of potential therapeutics. (Circ Res. 2011;109:205-216.)
Structure-function studies of the peroxisomal multifunctional enzyme type 2 (MFE-2)

Multifunctional enzyme type 2 (MFE-2) catalyses the second and the third reactions in the eukaryotic peroxisomal β-oxidation cycle, which degrades fatty acids by removing a two-carbon unit per each cycle. In addition to the 2-enoyl-CoA hydratase 2 and (3R)-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase activities, mammalian MFE-2 has also a sterol carrier protein type 2-like (SCP-2L) domain. In contrast, yeast MFE-2 has two (3R)-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenases, one 2-enoyl-CoA hydratase 2 and no SCP-2L domain. The physiological roles of yeast (3R)-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenases (A and B) were tested by inactivating them in turn by site-directed mutagenesis and testing the complementation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae fox-2 cells (devoid of endogenous MFE-2) with mutated variants of Sc MFE-2. Growth rates were lower for fox-2 cells expressing only a single functional domain than for those expressing the Sc MFE-2. Kinetic studies with purified Candida tropicalis MFE-2 and its mutated variants show that dehydrogenase A catalyzes the reaction more efficiently with the mediumand long-chain substrates than dehydrogenase B, which in turn is the only one active with the short chain fatty acids. The structural basis of the substrate specificity difference of these two dehydrogenases was solved by X-ray crystallography together with docking studies. Protein engineering was used to produce a stabile, homogenous recombinant protein of C. tropicalis dehydrogenases in one polypeptide. The heterodimeric structure contains the typical fold of the short-chain alcohol dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) family. Docking studies suggest that dehydrogenase A binds medium chain-length substrates as bended, whereas short chain substrates are dislocated, because they do not reach the hydrophobic contacts needed for anchoring the substrate to the active site, but are instead attracted by L44. Dehydrogenase B has a more shallow binding pocket and thus locates the short chain-length substrates correctly for catalysis. Thus the data provide clues for structural basis of the different substrate specificities. The molecular basis of the patient mutations of MFE-2 (DBP deficiency) was studied using the recently solved crystal structures of rat (3R)-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, human 2-enoyl-CoA hydratase and SCP-2L. The predicted effect of the mutations on protein structure could in several cases be explained, and these data supported the conclusion that a genotype-phenotype correlation exists for DBP deficiency.
CASE STUDY: RARE CASE BICLONAL GAMMOPATHY ON ELECTROPHORETOGRAM

Multiple myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells, normally responsible for producing antibodies. It is a group of B-cell disorders resulting in the secretion of a specific and unique monoclonal immunoglobulin (M-protein). Protein electrophoresis serves as a gold standard for the diagnosis of multiple myeloma. The protein fraction migrates under the influence of electric filed according to the mass of individual fraction. The M-protein usually migrates in the gamma or beta region of the normal protein pattern; very rarely it may appear in the beta region. Here we have given an atypical case presentation where the patient with multiple myeloma presented with two M-spike one each in beta and gamma - globulin region on agarose gel protein electrophoresis with hypoglobulinemia but with reversed A:G ratio.
Developing an open-source serious game for control and education on HPV and Cervical Cancer

- HPV - short for human papillomavirus - is a virus capable of infecting the mucous membranes and skin, being the most prevalent involved on Sexually Transmitted Diseases and the main cause of Cervical Cancer. However, reaching out to and inviting all eligible people for cervical cancer screening and vaccination against HPV is a difficult task. A possible solution is the use of social inducement and gamification through modern means of communication, which may encourage the attendance of unscreened or unvaccinated people on related programs. Therefore, this paper presents the development of a serious game for the Android platform designed for children and preteens with the purpose of foresting HPV and Cervical Cancer awareness, information seeking, and communication, thus possibly increasing the number of vaccinated and screened people.
Open Source Software on the Research of Extractive Adoption of Software Product Lines

Beyond the main purpose of Open Source Software (OSS) to open industrial Provide and personal solutions, pieces of OSS are Also the subject of many research efforts. In this work we focus on OSS usage the case study subjects in the context of extractive adoption of software product lines. This field of research is related to re-engineering the existing system towards more variants systematic reuse for the creation and management of a family of products. By analyzing the catalog of case studies, We provide an overview and a discussion of the current research state-of-the-practice of OSS usage across the different phases of the process re-engineering. We complement this work with the identification of available OSS tools to support this process to show the conclusion, the healthy contribution que OSS communities are directly or Indirectly making to this active research field.
AN ARCHITECTURAL APPROACH TO THE COMPARATIVE ECOLOGY OF PLANT ROOT SYSTEMS

Summary Although plants devote a large proportion of their resources to roots, we have a poor understanding of the constraints under which root systems function. Roots are much less variable morphologically than leaves and it is likely that root systems rather than individual roots are the focus of natural selection. In other words, architecture is more important than morphology. Existing classifications of root systems, based on the developmental model, have failed to provide much insight into their functioning and an alternative, topological model is outlined, in which the link is the basic unit of classification. Other components of the architecture of root systems, including link lengths, branching angles and diameters, are considered and the ecological implications of variation in each is discussed. Simulation models of transport and space exploration are discussed and it is shown that resource cost, transport efficiency and exploration efficiency cannot be simultaneously minimized and that optimum form may vary with the mobility of the resource. In general, a ‘herringbone’ structure seems to be the most efficient at exploration of space but the least transport-efficient and the most expensive.
How the Explanation of LENR can be made Consistent with Observed Behaviour and Natural Laws

The phenomenon called 'cold fusion' or low energy nuclear reaction has been a challenge to accept and explain. The problem is compounded because an effec-tive explanation must be consistent with the observed behaviour and natural laws. Hundreds of explanations have been published, but none was able to meet this expectation. Consequently, acceptance of the pheno-menon by conventional science and application of the energy have been handicapped. The present article summarizes an effort to reduce this problem by identi-fying a few critical requirements and proposing a mech-anism that is consistent with these requirements. This model can also predict many behaviours of importance to science and commercial applications.
Effects of forest fragmentation on the recruitment success of the tropical tree Poulsenia armata at Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, Mexico

Abstract: Recruitment success of individual plants is limited by an array of biotic and abiotic factors. Seedling survival may experience high mortality due to negative density dependence or altered microclimatic conditions. This study reports regeneration of Poulsenia armata (Moraceae), in the fragmented landscape of the Los Tuxtlas region in south-eastern Mexico. Density, survival and growth of seedlings (<1 y) and juveniles (<150 cm height) of P. armata were predicted to be significantly lower in forest fragments compared with extensive continuous forest. Contrary to expectation, density did not vary between habitats; however, we found twice the number of seedlings (n = 82) in forest fragments than in the continuous forest (n = 35). Forest fragments were associated with higher seedling densities close to adult trees. Unexpectedly, we found no evidence for negative density dependence in plant survival or growth. Survival and growth of P. armata were negatively impacted in forest fragments, with desiccation by warmer daily temperatures likely the cause of mortality, independent of density. Of the 111 individuals recorded in 2010 in forest fragments, 38% died over 2 y of census (n = 42), while 9% (n = 12) of the 127 individuals from the continuous forest died. Higher rates of mortality suggest that conditions in forest fragments are detrimental to seedling cohorts over time. Low juvenile recruitment jeopardizes persistence of P. armata, in fragmented populations of this rain-forest tree.
Non-Contact HR Monitoring via Smartphone and Webcam During Different Respiratory Maneuvers and Body Movements

As a reliable indicator for individual's healthiness conditions, heart rate (HR) has been widely considered and used. Imaging photoplethysmography (iPPG) is recently highlighted as a promising HR measurement method, due to its non-contact characteristics, by extracting the HR from facial video recordings. In this study, we propose a camera-based HR monitoring technique that estimates HR information from iPPG signals extracted from a video sequence. Videos were recorded using a smartphone or a laptop camera. We adopted the plane-orthogonal-to-skin (POS) method to compute iPPG. The proposed method is evaluated by applying it to extract HR of 9 subjects at rest and during two motion conditions (lateral and frontal) while they were performing several respiratory maneuvers-spontaneous, metronome, and forced. Automatic face detection algorithms were implemented in the proposed method. Our experimental results show that mean values of HR have 0.56% error and 99.4% accuracy when compared to HR calculated from the gold-standard electrocardiography (ECG) reference in diverse conditions of motions and respiratory maneuvers.
Endofíticos em Eucalipto: indução in vitro e mineração de dados moleculares

Endofiticos sao fungos ou bacterias que vivem inseridos nos tecidos vegetais de praticamente todos as plantas e que exercem varias funcoes nesta condicao alem de garantir sua sobrevivencia. Estes microrganismos sao de grande importância tambem para as plantas e aspectos quanto a nutricao ou mesmo conferindo defesa. Em algumas situacoes menos frequentes podem ser patogenicos. Neste trabalho, procurou-se abordar a tematica dos endofiticos com dois objetivos basicos em plantas de eucalipto. O primeiro objetivo foi criar as condicoes para induzir in vitro o crescimento desses organismos em laboratorio e o segundo consistiu na busca de artigos cientificos que permitissem a mineracao de dados moleculares sobres as principais especies existentes. A metodologia do trabalho consistiu entao em descontaminar discos de folhas de especies de eucalipto cultivadas no experimento TECHS (Tolerância de Eucalyptus Clonais aos Estresses Hidrico, Termico e Biotico) da EAJ-Escola Agricola de Jundiai/UFRN, e induzir seu crescimento em meios de cultura in vitro. A mineracao de dados moleculares foi feita atraves da busca de artigos na base de dados PUBMED seguida da identificacao de sequencias nucleotidicas para cada tipo de organismo citado nos artigos. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que foi possivel a inducao dos microrganismos in vitro definindo o protocolo de desinfestacao da superficie das folhas. O levantamento de referencias e de sequencias de DNA resultou em 27 artigos cientificos sobre endofiticos em eucalipto. A partir destas referencias e consultados bancos de dados publicos foram identificados 306 genomas, 4.182. 587 nucleotideos sequenciados e 618.716 genes em organismos endofiticos relacionados com a planta do eucalipto.
Discriminating disturbance from natural variation with LiDAR in semi-arid forests in the southwestern USA

Discriminating amongst spatial configurations and climax size of trees in forests along varying physical gradients from time since last disturbance is a significant component of applied forest management. Understanding what has led to the existing vegetation's structure has important implications for monitoring succession and eco-hydrological interactions within the critical zone: the near-surface environment where rock, soil, air, and biota interact and regulate ecosystem services. This research demonstrates the utilities of local indicators of spatial association (LISA) to (1) quantify natural variation in forest structure as derived from aerial Light Detection and Range (LiDAR) across topographically complex landscapes at ecologically relevant scale, i.e., individual trees; (2) map previously recorded but poorly defined forest disturbances; and (3) link scalable topographic indices to observed tree size distributions. We first selected a priori undisturbed and disturbed stands scanned by aerial LiDAR t.
Aberrant DNA Methylation in Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Department of Dermatology, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong 266003 China, West China School of Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichan 610041 China, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Skin Diseases and STIs, Hospital for Skin Diseases (Institute of Dermatology), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210042, China.
D-RNAi-BASED THERAPEUTICS Chapter XIII

The role of messenger RNA (mRNA), an intermediate between genomic DNA and its coding protein, is thought to be merely a biological bridge for connecting a genetic code to its cellular function. Nevertheless, numerous recent studies of small mRNA fragments reveal a novel RNA-mediated gene regulation system, which involves several distinctive RNA structures including short interfering RNAs (siRNA), small hairpin RNAs (shRNA), microRNAs (miRNA) and shape-shifting RNAs (ssRNA). These small RNA molecules usually function as a gene silencer, interfering with intracellular expression of genes either complementary or homologous to the small RNAs. In principle, siRNAs are double-stranded RNAs capable of degrading target gene transcripts with almost perfect complementarity (Parrish et al, 2000; Holen et al., 2002). Unlike the stringent complementarity of siRNAs to their RNA targets, shRNAs and miRNAs are single-stranded and pair with target RNAs that have partial complementarity to the small RNAs (Hutvagner et al., 2002; Zeng et al., 2003). Both shRNAs and miRNAs can trigger either translation repression or RNA degradation depending on the degree of complementarity with their targets. Many native miRNA structures are identical to shRNAs and have been demonstrated in diverse eukaryotes from yeast {Schizosaccharomyces pombe), plant (Arabidopsis spp.), nematode (Caenorhabditis elegans), fly {Drosophila melanogaster), mouse to human, mostly involved in defense against viral infections and regulation of certain gene expression during development (Volpe et al., 2002; Hall et al., 2002; Llave et al., 2002; Rhoades et al., 2002; Lee et al., 1993; Reinhart et al., 2000; Lau et al., 2001; Brennecke et al., 2003; Xu et al., 2003; Lagos-Quintana et al., 2002 & 2003; Mourelatos et al., 2002; Zeng et al., 2002). In contrast, native siRNAs and ssRNAs have mainly been discovered in plants and low-
Studies on enzymes Superoxide dismutase and Catalase in midgut of Samia ricini under thermal stress condition

In the present study, 5th instar larvae on Samia ricini were subjected into temperature stress (31.2 ± 1°C) every day for 5 hrs till mature stage to assess the enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in midgut tissue of different eco-races of eri silkworm viz., Borduar, Titabar and Mendipathar. Over generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) can cause midgut cellular damage as a result it might affect the growth and production of eri silkworm. The temperature stress resulted significant increase in the enzyme SOD and CAT which indicated a defence mechanism to protect cellular damage against ROS. The results also showed that ROS level increased significantly under temperature stressed condition, compared with control. The study confirmed that thermal stress can be responsible for cellular damage and to overcome such stress, SOD and CAT play a key role in protecting oxidative damage in midgut tissue of eri silkworm.
Minireview Unusual Glucuronides

Glucuronidation reaction is catalyzed by mammalian uridine diphosphoglucuronosyl transferases by using uridine diphosphoglucuronic acid as a cosubstrate. Conjugation of glucuronic acid to nucleophilic functional groups in chemical entities results in formation of glucuronides. As anticipated, a number of nucleophilic functional groups such as hydroxyl, phenolic, acyl, primary secondary and tertiary amino, etc. in a diverse set of chemical compounds are known to form the corresponding glucuronides. Glucuronides have been reported to be formed at carbon atoms, selenium atoms, and upon N-carbamoylation of primary and secondary amino groups. Glucuronides are also believed to be the end products of metabolism. However, there are examples where glucuronidation results in further oxidative or conjugative biotransformation reactions. The objective of this review is to highlight unusual glucuronide conjugates. Diglucuronide conjugates reported in the literature fall under two distinct categories. Use of prefixes such as “bis” versus “di” has been previously proposed for separating the two types of diglucuronides. In spite of this, literature reports for diconjugative glucuronide metabolites reflect interchangeable use of “bisglucuronides” and “diglucuronides. ” Furthermore, the application of such prefixes does not adhere to recommendations of International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry nomenclature for substituent groups. Therefore, an effort is made in this review to document the historic reports for diglucuronides into two distinct types for sake of clarity and to allow differentiation between the two types of diconjugative metabolites. Overall, this commentary centers on unusual glucuronide metabolites that result from conjugation at uncommon functional groups, glucuronides undergoing ensuing oxidative or conjugative metabolic transformations. Structural and mechanistic aspects are also discussed.
Variability among maize hybrids differing in canopy architecture for above-ground dry matter and grain yield

Dry matter and grain yields are among the traits most commonly used to evaluate maize (Zea mays L.) hybrid performance. Production of both dry matter and grain yield is often influenced by hybrid size. The efficiency with which a hybrid allocates accumulated dry matter into economic grain yield has a large influence on potential grain production. The objective of this work was to quantify dry matter, grain yield and harvest index of 17 hybrids representing a range of canopy architectures. A field experiment was conducted on clay loam soil at the E. A. Lods Agronomy Research Center. Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec in 1997 and 1998. Hybrids were arranged in a randomised complete block design and included 11 newly developed leafy reduced-stature (LRS). four non-leafy reduced-stature (NLRS), one conventional (Pioneer Brand 3979). and one late-maturing big leaf (LMBL) hybrids. In both years, generally above-ground dry matter was greater for the taller LMBL and Pioneer Brand 3979 than for the shorter hybrids, but greater grain yields were measured for both the taller and five of the 11 LRS hybrids. Moreover grain yields averaged over canopy groups were not different. The shorter hybrids had greater assimilate allocation to the grain than the taller (especially LMBL) hybrids, and this was evident in their harvest index values. However, within the LRS group, hybrids differed for both dry matter and grain yield with some being similar to the NLRS hybrids while others were similar to the taller Pioneer Brand 3979 hybrid. The hypothesis that the changes in dry matter allocation seen in two LRS hybrids evaluated in previous studies (BEGNA et al., 1997a,b) is a condition of all LRS hybrids was rejected. While these hybrids show considerable potential in this regard some careful selection for the production of commercial hybrids is required.