Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Photoprotective function of mycosporine-like amino acids in a bipolar diatom (Porosira glacialis): evidence from ultraviolet radiation and stable isotope probing

This study investigated the synthesis of photoprotective compounds by Bacillariophyceae (Porosira glacialis) in real time using a 13C tracer. Our results show a relationship between the net production rates of mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) and photoprotective pigments such as diadinoxanthin (DD). After 24 h, the total carbon uptake rate of P. glacialis was higher when exposed to photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) than when exposed to ultraviolet radiation (UVR). However, with time, the total carbon uptake rate and turnover rate of P. glacialis exposed to UVR increased to the point where the net production rate of MAAs under UVR was higher than that of P. glacialis exposed to PAR. The differences in MAA and DD production rates and carbon uptake indicate the production of MAA and DD as a defense strategy in response to UV-induced damage. The results of this study provide insight into the synthetic pathways of photoprotective compounds and the carbon cycle within P. glacialis cells and reveal contrasting patterns in the production of MAAs and xanthophyll compounds such as DD over time.
Marking hard-shelled gastropods: tag loss, impact on life-history traits, and perspectives in biology

Abstract. Individual marking has long been used in many fields of biology. However, capture–mark–recapture (CMR) studies are not evenly distributed among taxonomic groups, with most studies focusing on vertebrates. For example, a limited number of studies have been conducted in gastropods, in sharp contrast to their important role as biological models or exploited natural resources. The lack of standard, validated marking techniques certainly contributes to the limited use of CMR. In this article, we evaluate two fundamental requirements for a marking technique to be suitable, i.e., tag loss (two experiments) and impact on life-history traits (survival, growth, and fecundity, in three experiments). Five marking techniques for hard-shelled gastropods were tested in the freshwater snail Physa acuta (Pulmonata). The tag-loss rate per month was lower for glued plastic marks (0.01) than for paint marks (0.03–0.07), and the tag-loss rate varied among colors (gouache paint). Under laboratory conditions, the life-history traits were not significantly affected by marking. We thus recommend using glued plastic marks for long-term studies, and paint marks for mass marking, with double marking to account for tag-loss rate. Based on an extensive literature survey, we also review current CMR practices in gastropod studies and suggest general improvements that would prove useful in both this group and invertebrates in general.
In a class of its own — the RNA polymerase sigma factor σ;54 (σN)

Bacteria synthesize a number of different sigma factors which allow the co‐ordinate expression of groups of genes owing to the ability of sigma to confer promoter‐specific transcription initiation on RNA polymerase. In nearly all cases these sigmas belong to a single family of proteins which appear to be related structurally and functionally to the major Escherichia coli sigma factor, σ;70. A clear exception is the Sigma factor σ;54 (σN), encoded by rpoN, which represents a second family of sigmas that is widely distributed in prokaryotes. Studies of σ;54 (σN) have demonstrated that this sigma is quite distinct both structurally and functionally from the σ;70 family and the mode of transcription initiation which it mediates may have more in common with that found in eukaryotes than that which occurs with σ;70 and its relatives.
Usage of Synthetic Nanoparticles in Masking of White Spot Dental Lesion

Aim: This research aimed to estimate the potential impact of CaO nanoparticles at different concentrations on the remineralization of enamel undergoing cariogenic attack. Materials and methods: Eighteen enamel samples were prepared from sound molars to measure its calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) contents by scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) before and after exposure to cariogenic attack and treatment with saturated gum of 100% CaO nanoparticles (Group 1), 50% CaO nanoparticles (Group 2), and artificial saliva (Group 3). The research data were statistically analysed using the one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni tests. Results and discussion: Group 1 of treatment with 100% CaO nanoparticles demonstrated the largest content of Ca (77.8 wt % ± 9.6) followed by Group 2 and 3 (66.6 wt% ± 1.5, 64.4 wt% ± 1.9, respectively). Conversely, Group 1 had the lowest amount of P (18.9 wt% ± 3.9) followed by Group 3 and 2 (29.9 wt% ± 1.4, 31.0 wt% ± 1.1, respectively). The demineralization is a reversible process which starts with Ca loss before P loss, so it is logical to use a recalcifying agent (Ca containing agent) to enhance the recalcification and regrowth of hydroxyapatite (HA) crystals where the P could be driven from the saliva. CaO is rich with bioavailable Ca contents, favouring the remineralization of caries lesions. Furthermore, as the CaO applied in a nano-size particle, it has the ability to diffuse actively through the tiny spaces of the etched enamel. Conclusion: The use of saturated gum with CaO nanoparticles could overcome the cariogenic challenge. The Ca uptake increased with the increased concentration of applied CaO nanoparticles.
Using a theoretical framework to develop postgraduate health professions education research and practice

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Healthcare education is complex and multifaceted, requiring study from different angles and with different lenses. We propose that the use of a meta-framework can help those teaching and researching postgraduate health professions education make holistic sense of their practice and findings from different projects. We discuss how we have employed Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory (EST) as an overarching theoretical framework for the scholarship of learning and teaching in the context of postgraduate health professions education. Taking a structured approach to pedagogical thinking and research through the use of a meta-framework opens up useful ways of framing findings and further questions, locating research projects within a bigger picture, and communicating to others the focus of a research programme. We address the problem of the under-theorizing of educational research in postgraduate health professions education, advocating both theoretical frameworks for individual research projects, and an overarching theoretical “meta-framework” to interrogate and draw together multiple studies. In doing so we build on, critique and further develop Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory.
Climate change and human rights

On February 16, 2005, when the Kyoto Protocol finally came into force, a long drawn-out process of consensus and institution building reached a temporary conclusion. International climate policy makers had achieved what they had been struggling over for the last century and a half. Now for the first time, despite setbacks along the way, industrial countries have a legal commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Thirteen years earlier, in May of 1992, governments had signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. At that time it had dawned upon the world that the thin layer of atmosphere enveloping the Earth was being turned into a dumping ground for combustion-generated gases, and that this dumping ground was about to overflow. Twenty years after the bestseller, Limits to Growth, brought the finiteness of natural resources lying deep in the bowels of the Earth in to the limelight, the international community was forced to acknowledge that the finiteness of natural sinks in the air might be more urgent. The limits of the sky, rather than the Earth, turned out to be the more pressing issue. By l997 an international treaty the Kyoto Protocol had been drawn up to define policy obligations for climate protection, and in 2005, after protracted international convulsions, the treaty acquired legal validity. As the 'entry into force' of the Kyoto Protocol is the beginning as much as the end of a historical process, it is advisable to look at some of the deeper implications of international climate policy, in particular at its implications for global fairness and equity.
Host plant genetic control of associated fungal and insect species in a Populus hybrid cross

Abstract Plants employ a diverse set of defense mechanisms to mediate interactions with insects and fungi. These relationships can leave lasting impacts on host plant genome structure such as rapid expansion of gene families through tandem duplication. These genomic signatures provide important clues about the complexities of plant/biotic stress interactions and evolution. We used a pseudo‐backcross hybrid family to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling associations between Populus trees and several common Populus diseases and insects. Using whole‐genome sequences from each parent, we identified candidate genes that may mediate these interactions. Candidates were partially validated using mass spectrometry to identify corresponding QTL for defensive compounds. We detected significant QTL for two interacting fungal pathogens and three insects. The QTL intervals contained candidate genes potentially involved in physical and chemical mechanisms of host–plant resistance and susceptibility. In particular, we identified adjoining QTLs for a phenolic glycoside and Phyllocolpa sawfly abundance. There was also significant enrichment of recent tandem duplications in the genomic intervals of the native parent, but not the exotic parent. Tandem gene duplication may be an important mechanism for rapid response to biotic stressors, enabling trees with long juvenile periods to reach maturity despite many coevolving biotic stressors.
The Application of Well Injection Technology in the Produced Water Management Oil and Gas Industry

Produced water is the largest liquid waste generated from the production of oil and gas. The direct discharge of produced water into the environment can be harmful to human’s life and environmental. Thus, it needs to be managed, one of which is through the technology of well injection. Well injection technology is a technology where the produced water generated in the process of production of oil and gas will be returned to the earth by means of injecting it to injection wells. The purpose in this study was to identify the amount of produced water injected back into the injection wells and identify the constraints of the application of well injection technology in the company. The primary and secondary data were collected through field observations, laboratory analysis, and interviews. Descriptive analysis was conducted to know the constraints and benefits of applying this technology. The results showed that the re-injection technology was able to inject produced water of 37158 barrels per day. However, this technology led the wells to be increasingly saturated and leakage to produced water re-injection pipes
Latitudinal Ranges of Teleost Fish in the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific Oceans

Rapoport's rule (i.e., a decrease in latitudinal ranges of species toward the equator, as formulated by Stevens [1989]), has been shown not to apply to nonmigratory marine teleost fish from surface waters (Rohde et al. 1993). However, fish from the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific Oceans were pooled for the analysis, and Roy et al. (1994) have pointed out that these two regions are very disparate in climatic history and biogeographical structure and that Rapoport's rule is best tested within a single biogeographical context. Because of the strongly nonnormal distributions ofspecies' latitudinal ranges for any given latitudinal band, these authors also calculated median and modal ranges, in addition to mean ranges, to test for latitudinal gradients. We reanalyze data, used in our 1993 article, separately for fishes from the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific Oceans, using Stevens's (1989) original method (means of latitudinal ranges of all species occurring in the same latitudinal band), our "midpoint" method (means of ranges of all species with a midpoint in the same latitudinal band), and medians and modes for both methods as well. Figure IA and C shows that, with the midpoint method, tropical teleost fish in the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic have distinctly greater latitudinal ranges than fish from higher latitudes, contrary to the predictions of Rapoport's rule. The few data points in figure IA showing wide ranges at high northern latitudes hould be ignored because of very small (four) species numbers. Figure lB shows that, with Stevens's method, latitudinal ranges in the Indo-Pacific are more or less the same at most latitudes, excluding extreme southern and northern high latitudes, which have very few data points and may therefore be ignored. In the Atlantic there seems to be a gradual decrease in latitudinal ranges from high southern to high northern latitudes (fig. 1D). A comparison with figure 1C shows that great latitudinal ranges in the south are due to small species numbers and the wide ranges of some low-latitude species extending into higher latitudes. There is no "trough" of small latitudinal ranges at low latitudes, as predicted by Rapoport's rule. Median latitudinal ranges are not consistently narrower at low latitudes for Indo-Pacific (tables 1, 2) and Atlantic fish (tables 3, 4) when either the midpoint or Stevens's method is used, contrary to the predictions of Rapoport's rule. The few exceptions at high latitudes (table 4) should be ignored because of small species numbers, and the slight rise at intermediate southern latitudes (table 4, Stevens's method) can be explained by relatively small species numbers and wide latitudinal ranges of a few species with midpoints at low latitudes.
Management of Product Configuration Conflicts to Increase the Sustainability of Mass Customization

An important role in product variety management is finding an accurate variety extent to which the product matches the consumer’s expectations. In principle, customers prefer to have more rather than less versions of a product from which to choose. This motivates producers to offer a richer variety of goods. As a consequence, it brings a large amount of manufacturing complexity, and configuration conflicts may frequently occur. In order to avoid a situation in which a customer will select mutually incompatible components, product configurators usually recommend corrective actions for generating valid configurations. Nevertheless, the presence of infeasible configurations in customer options are negatively perceived by customers, and therefore it has an unfavorable impact on the sustainability of mass customization. One way to solve this problem is to eliminate, or at least reduce, mutually incompatible components. When considering the fact that eliminating all incompatible components may cause a rapid decrease in product variety, then the reduction of incompatible components can help to solve the product configuration problem. The proposed method aims to find a trade-off solution between minimizing configuration conflicts and maintaining a sufficient level of mass customization. Moreover, two supplementary methods for the determination of infeasible product configurations are proposed in this paper. The applicability and effectiveness of the proposed methods are demonstrated by two practical examples.
A combination of plant oils promotes adequate growth of the freshwater catfish Rhamdia quelen (Quoy & Gaimard 1824)

Essential fatty acids should be included in the diet to ensure adequate fish growth. Despite the great number of studies on fatty acid nutrition of fish, there are still several unknowns. The aim of the present study was to investigate fatty acid nutrition of jundia, a Latin American freshwater catfish. Four diets were formulated containing (i) coconut oil (−C, negative control), (ii) coconut oil + high-docosahexaenoic-acid-fish oil (+C, positive control) and coconut + sunflower + linseed oils at different ratios, producing either (iii) a diet rich in linoleic acid (LA) (HighLA) or 4) a diet low in LA (LowLA). All diets contained significant amounts of saturated fatty acids (at least 57.5% total fatty acids in HighLA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (at least 19.1% total fatty acids in −C). Diets were fed to jundia fingerlings (1.5 g) for 70 days; growth, body composition and liver histology were evaluated. The −C diet, without essential fatty acids, promoted significantly lower fish growth, body fat accumulation and hepatic lipidosis. Fish fed HighLA and LowLA diets presented similar growth as fish fed +C diet. These findings suggest that diet formulations for jundia catfish fingerlings can include only plant oils without negative effect on growth, survival, body composition, fish health or parameters of feed utilization (ingestion rate and protein utilization).
Bioconcentration of 2,2′,4,4′-Tetrachlorobiphenyl in Rainbow Trout as Measured by an Accelerated Test

Abstract Some hydrophobic chemicals may reach plateau levels in fish only after several months of continuous exposure. Therefore, an accelerated test procedure, based on kinetics, was developed using an isomer of PCB's (polychlorinated biphenyls): 2,2′,4,4′-tetrachlorobiphenyl. The rates of uptake and clearance of 2,2′,4,4′-tetrachlorobiphenyl were determined by analysis of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri Richardson). These trout were exposed to 1.6 and 9.0 μg/liter for five days and then transferred to fresh water. A nonlinear regression analysis was used to estimate the rate constants for uptake and clearance, and the bioconcentration factor at steady-state was calculated from the rate constants. For 2,2′,4,4′-tetrachlorobiphenyl, the bioconcentration factor at steady-state was 9550 ± 1610 in trout muscle. The accuracy of the bioconcentration factor determined by this accelerated test procedure was compared with experimental observations in a 42-day test. The concentration of 2,2′,4,4′-tetrachlorobipheny.
Pattern of essential amino acid requirement for growing rats fed on a low amino acid diet.

Requirement pattern of essential amino acids for growing rats was investigated at low dietary level of nitrogen (0.62% of nitrogen) for the basic knowledge of amino acid supplementation to low protein diets. The basal diet contained 3% of essential amino acid mixture and 2% of non-essential amino acid mixture with appropriate amount of the other nutrients. The present pattern indicated relatively lower requirement for lysine and rather higher requirement for phenylalanine, valine and arginine as compared with those of several workers obtained for maximum growth of rats with diet containing sufficient amount of nitrogen. Application of dose response curves of each amino acid for the estimation of the order of the limiting amino acids was suggested.
Genotype × Environment Interaction Patterns in Rangeland Variety Trials of Cool-Season Grasses in the Western United States

Rangeland revegetation is necessary to stabilize disturbed sites and increase forage production, but frequently fails due to a variety of environmental and biotic factors. Plant breeding efforts in perennial cool-season grasses result in the development of potential cultivars that must be evaluated in multi-environment trials to determine their level of adaptation. This study evaluated 49 cultivars for stand frequency and dry matter yield over five years at five environments in the Intermountain and High Plains regions of the United States. The results were significant differences among the included cultivars for both traits across and within environments. Yet, there was also crossover genotype × environment interaction. Thus, highest performing cultivars were to some extent dependent on the environment. Hycrest II crested wheatgrass and Vavilov II Siberian wheatgrass possessed high stand frequency (>80 %) and dry matter yield (>800 kg·ha−1) across environments and within environments except at the Eureka, UT environment where they possessed low stand frequency. These cultivars, and species, also possessed high productivity and stability for both traits. Thus, breeding efforts in the species resulted in widely adapted cultivars that may lack specific adaptation to some environments.
Rotation Sensor Based on the Cross-Polarized Excitation of Split Ring Resonators (SRRs)

This paper presents a novel rotation sensor based on the concept of cross-polarized excitation of split ring resonators (SRRs). The structure of the proposed sensor which is quite simple and as a result is low cost, involves a slotline loaded with a rotatable SRR. In this configuration, when the symmetry plane of the loading SRR is orthogonal to the orientation of the slotline, the reflection coefficients from the two ports of the slotline are in phase. However, if the symmetry of the structure is broken by the rotation of the loading SRR, a phase difference between the two reflection coefficients is observed. Therefore, a rotation angle up to 180° can be sensed by measuring the phase difference between the reflection coefficients. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that introducing a flag resonator with the same principle of operation can extend the dynamic range of the proposed sensor to full 360°. A prototype of the proposed sensor is designed and fabricated and its principle of operation and wide dynamic range are validated numerically and experimentally.
Photosynthetic and Dark Fixation of 14CO2 in Detached Soybean Cotyledons

Detached soybean cotyledons fixed CO2 both in the light and dark. Carbon dioxide fixed by the light and dark reactions replaced only a small portion of CO2 lost by respiration up to the 10th day. In the dark most of the 14C label was found in the acidic fraction, while in the light 65 per cent of the activity was found in the neutral and basic fractions.
Mainstream avenues for boosting graphitic carbon nitride efficiency: towards enhanced solar light-driven photocatalytic hydrogen production and environmental remediation

Photocatalysts comprising 2D carbon nitride-based systems have emerged as a fervently researched topic for addressing the problems of fuel depletion and the environment. However, the photocatalytic activities of pristine g-C3N4 are still mediocre and suffer from issues pertaining to the restrictions in light absorption, charge separation, and carrier-induced surface reactions; however, efforts have been made in the past decades to boost the efficiencies. This review endeavors to present a roadmap to prepare high-performance g-C3N4 photocatalysts by expounding the cutting-edge research on g-C3N4 materials either as a single component or g-C3N4-based composites including current challenges and perspectives on this topical theme. We believe that this review will provide a broader picture and recommendations for the preparation of superior g-C3N4 photocatalysts towards a greener, cleaner, and resilient future.