Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
3 Soil-Transmitted Helminthic Zoonoses in Humans and Associated Risk Factors

The soil is an important route for transmission of numerous human pathogens, including the five major soil-transmitted helminths (STHs), also known as geohelminths, namely: roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), whipworm (Trichuris trichiura), hookworms (Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus), and threadworm Strongyloides stercoralis (Brooker et al., 2006). An estimated one billion people are currently infected with STHs worldwide, particularly in resource-poor settings (WHO, 2011). Although overall mortality due to STH infections is low, morbidity may be significant given the pronounced impact on nutrition, growth, physical fitness, cognitive functions among infected infants, schoolchildren and adults from developing countries (Bethony et al., 2006). In Africa, an estimated 89.9 million children harbor STHs, many of whom are co-infected with two or more STH species (WHO, 2011). Zoonotic agents, comprising a wide variety of bacteria, viruses, and parasites, account for almost two thirds of all known human infections. Some helminthoses that commonly infect canids and felids are typically soil-transmitted. This chapter focuses on two major groups of STHs that cause disease in humans: (a) the ascarids Toxocara canis and T. cati, associated with visceral and ocular larva migrans, and (b) the hookworms Ancylostoma braziliense and Anc. caninum, associated with cutaneous larva migrans. We review the current geographic distribution, laboratory diagnosis and clinical spectrum of these infections, examine the relative contribution of some risk factors for infection and disease, and discuss potential control measures for reducing the burden of disease in companion animals and humans. A third soil-transmitted ascarid species that can cause human disease is Baylisascaris procyonis, commonly found in raccoons in North America. Human infections are characterized by severe neurological disease, leading to death or long-lasting sequelae (Watts et al., 2006). Another nematode species, Gnathostoma spinigerum, has occasionally been found in biopsy sample from patients with suspected VLM. More recently species of Toxocara including T. malayensis, a parasite of the domestic cat, and T. lyncus, which infects the caracal, have been identified, but their role in human disease remains unknown (Despommier, 2003). Soil-transmitted larval infection with other common canine and feline hookworms, such as Anc. ceylanicum, Anc. tubaeforme and Uncinaria stenocephala, can also cause occasional dermatological lesions in humans, and Anc. ceylanicum can readily develop in adults causing severe enteritis (Bowman
Determination of relationship between some Turkish local tomato genotypes by using phenotypic characterization

Turkey is the fourth producer country among the other countries in the world and tomato are produced around 11 million tons per year. Over many years, tomato adapted to the geography of Turkey has shown a high biodiversity. In this research, with 76 local tomato genotypes collected from 52 different provience, 4 foreign and 8 wild species, total 88 tomato genotypes were used. Morphological variations among these materials were investigated. Some of the local genotypes were determined to be accessions increasing variations. A cluster diagram obtained from the morphological descriptors produced ten main sub-cluster groups of tomato accessions at a coefficient of 0.15. Accessions were put into cluster groups based on certain qualities unique. It was observed that 86 out of 88 tomato accessions under study were distinct accessions. G80 and G83 were recorded similar (94%) accessions in all accessions. Similarity coefficient values among the 88 accessions ranged from -0.11 to 0.94. Accessions with similar quantitative and qualitative morphological characters appeared well grouped in the same cluster. These accessions are considered as important genetic resources in tomato breeding studies.
AUTECOLOGY OF BLOOD GRASS ( ISACHNE MILIACEA ROTH EX ROEM ET SCHULT.) IN WETLAND RICE ECOSYSTEM

An investigation was carried out during the first and second crop seasons of 2010 at College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala (India) to examine the growth and developmental pattern of blood grass (Isachne miliacea Roth ex Roem et Schult.) as influenced by nutrient management and spacing of associated rice with an approach to assess the possibility for managing the weed through agronomic manipulations. The treatments included NPK @ 90:45:45 kg ha -1 (100% NPK) and 112.5:56.25:56.25 kg ha -1 (125% NPK) at two levels (100% N as chemical fertilizer and 75% N as chemical fertilizer + 25% N as organic) under three spacings (15 × 15, 20 × 15, 20 × 20cm). The results of the present study revealed that both vegetative and reproductive characteristics of Isachne miliacea were significantly influenced by the management practices for the associated rice crop. During the first crop season, the weed plants growing in rice fields treated with 125 percent recommended NPK with 25 per cent organic substitution recorded the maximum shoot length while during the second season the value was significantly higher when the same dose was applied as chemical fertilizers only. During both the seasons the root length and plant spread were the highest when full dose of NPK was given as chemical fertilizer. Thus higher dose of NPK applied as chemical fertilizers only, along with wider spacing increased all the vegetative parameters of the weed throughout the study. During both the seasons Isachne miliacea growing in rice fields treated with 100 per cent NPK with 25 per cent organic substitution and plants in rice crop planted at wider spacing recorded delayed flowering, but produced more seeds per panicle. Thus, it could be elucidated that application of enhanced nutrients exclusively as chemical fertilizers in combination with wider spacing stimulated growth and vigour of the weed. Hence, an integrated approach in nutrient management shall be suggested for efficient and economic management of the weed. By altering nutrient management and adjusting the plant population, the competitive ability and productivity of rice crop can be improved and weed management can be made more efficient and economic.
Overcooling in the upper thermosphere during the recovery phase of the 2003 October storms

[1] Infrared radiative emissions by carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitric oxide (NO) are the major cooling mechanisms of the lower thermosphere. During geomagnetically active periods, the NO density and cooling rate in the auroral regions increase significantly as a result of particle precipitation and Joule heating. Previous studies have shown that the time for NO density to recover to quiet time levels is longer than that of the thermosphere temperature or density recovery. This study explores the implications of these different recovery rates for the post-storm thermosphere. Thermosphere densities retrieved from the CHAMP and GRACE accelerometer measurements and NO cooling rates measured by TIMED/SABER are used to examine their variations during the post-storm period of the October 2003 geomagnetic storms. It was found that thermosphere densities at both CHAMP and GRACE altitudes recovered rapidly and continuously decreased below the quiet time densities during the post-storm period, especially at middle latitudes. Compared with the quiet time values, the maximum depletion in the CHAMP and GRACE densities after the storm is about 23–36%, and the estimated decrease of thermospheric temperature is as large as 70–110 K. Our analysis suggests that the elevated NO cooling rate, resulting from the slower recovery of NO densities in the post-storm period, is a plausible cause for this apparent post-storm overcooling of the thermosphere.
Roles Of Euchromatin And Heterochromatin In Hepatocyte Maturation And Liver Fibrosis

Liver transplantation is the main treatment for acute liver failure patients; however, there is an insufficient supply of donor livers. Since transplanting hepatocytes, the main liver cell type, provides therapeutic effect and can be a bridge to transplant or recovery, scientists are working on generating replacement hepatocytes from stem cells and other cell types through reprogramming protocols. Currently, replacement hepatocytes recapitulate a subset of natural hepatocyte features, yet are still in an immature state, as they have not silenced all immature hepatocyte genes and activated all mature hepatocyte genes. Consequently, replacement hepatocytes do not perform as well as natural hepatocytes in transplant experiments. Despite these shortcomings, relatively little is known about how natural hepatic maturation is regulated, particularly at the chromatin level. We discovered extensive chromatin dynamics during hepatic postnatal maturation, including changes in H3K9me3-marked and H3K27me3-marked heterochromatin, and transcription. Heterochromatin is of particular interest, as we found that it guards cell identity by repressing lineage-inappropriate or temporallyinappropriate genes. We further classified H3K9me3and H3K27me3-marked chromatin by compaction state with a novel assay, termed srHC-seq. In postnatal hepatocyte maturation H3K27me3-marked heterochromatin represses early maturation genes, late maturation genes, and alternative lineage genes to both regulate timing of hepatic maturation and repress alternate fates. Significantly, we identify a euchromatic H3K27me3+ promoter signature that predicts which H3K27me3-marked genes will derepress in response ablation of the enzymes that deposit H3K27me3. Disruption of either H3K9me3or H3K27me3-marked chromatin leads to liver damage, and in the case of H3K27me3 this is likely due to the aberrant derepression of genes associated with fibrosis that normally have a euchromatic H3K27me3+ promoter signature. Our results emphasize the role of heterochromatin in regulating liver development, maturation, and fibrosis, and highlight the need to identify factors controlling heterochromatin formation and breakdown, both for the purposes of enhancing in vitro hepatic maturation and for understanding factors which predispose humans to disease. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Cell & Molecular Biology First Advisor Kenneth S. Zaret This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn. edu/edissertations/3258
The Energy Harvesting Eel: a small subsurface ocean/river power generator

The Energy Harvesting Eel (Eel) is a new device that uses piezoelectric polymers to convert the mechanical flow energy, available in oceans and rivers, to electrical power. Eel generators make use of the regular trail of traveling vortices behind a bluff body to strain the piezoelectric elements; the resulting undulating motion resembles that of a natural eel swimming. Internal batteries are used to store the surplus energy generated by the Eel for later use by a small, unattended sensor or robot. Because of the properties of commercially available piezoelectric polymers, Eels will be relatively inexpensive and are easily scaleable in size and have the capacity to generate from milli-watts to many watts depending on system size and flow velocity of the local environment. A practical Eel structure has been developed that uses the commercially available piezoelectric polymer, PVDF. Future Eels may use more efficient electrostrictive polymer. Every aspect of the system from the interactions between the hydrodynamics of the water flow and structural elements of the Eel, through the mechanical energy input to the piezoelectric material, and finally the electric power output delivered through an optimized resonant circuit has been modeled and tested. The complete Eel system, complete with a generation and storage system, has been demonstrated in a wave tank. Future work on the Eel will focus on developing and then deploying a small, lightweight, one-watt power generation unit, initially in an estuary and then subsequently in the ocean. Such Eels will have the ability to recharge batteries or capacitors of a distributed robotic group, or remote sensor array, thus extending the mission life indefinitely in regions containing flowing water.
A potential cortical precursor of visual word form recognition in untrained monkeys

Skilled human readers can readily recognize written letters and letter strings. This domain of visual recognition, known as orthographic processing, is foundational to human reading, but it is unclear how it is supported by neural populations in the human brain. Behavioral research has shown that non-human primates (baboons) can learn to distinguish written English words from pseudo-words (lexical decision), successfully generalize that behavior to novel strings, and exhibit behavioral error patterns that are consistent with humans. Thus, non-human primate models, while not capturing the entirety of human reading abilities, may provide a unique opportunity to investigate the neuronal mechanisms underlying orthographic processing. Here, we investigated the neuronal representation of letters and letter strings in the ventral visual stream of naive macaque monkeys, and asked to what extent these representations could support visual word recognition. We recorded the activity of hundreds of neurons at the top two levels of the ventral visual form processing pathway (V4 and IT) while monkeys passively viewed images of letters, English words, and non-word letter strings. Linear decoders were used to probe whether those neural responses could support a battery of orthographic processing tasks such as invariant letter identification and lexical decision. We found that IT-based decoders achieved baboon-level performance on these tasks, with a pattern of errors highly correlated to the previously reported primate behavior. This capacity to support orthographic processing tasks was also present in the high-layer units of state-of-the-art artificial neural network models of the ventral stream, but not in the low-layer representations of those models. Taken together, these results show that the IT cortex of untrained monkeys contains a reservoir of precursor features from which downstream brain regions could, with some supervised instruction, learn to support the visual recognition of written words. This suggests that the acquisition of reading in humans did not require a full rebuild of visual processing, but rather the recycling of a brain network evolved for other visual functions.
Number of services per conseption and its relationship with dairy cow productive and reproductive traits

The aim of our study was to determine up to what extent the number of services per calving (NSPC) affects dairy cow productive and reproductive performance. The study contains data from the Latvian Agricultural Data center about 26888 Latvian Brown (LB) and Holstein Black and White (HBW) breed cows that were born from year 2005 – 2010, closed at least 5 full lactations and were culled from herds. In data set we have included data about cow milk productivity (calculated in ECM), longevity traits and reproduction traits. The reproduction traits included the number of services per conception (NSPC), calving interval (CI) and calving to conception interval (CCI) in the first five lactations. The average lifespan of LB and HBW dairy cows was 3149.5 days and in this period 39570.6 kg ECM were obtained. LB breed cows were characterized by 23.5 days longer lifespan and by 6035.4 kg ECM lower lifetime milk productivity than HBW breed cows, but they showed higher reproduction trait scores than LB breed group. HBW cows had a significantly (p < 0.05) higher NSPC, CCI, number of milking days (MD) and CI than LB breed cows in all five analyzed lactations. The NSPC in the first lactation increased the calving age at the fifth lactation – cows with NSPC in the first lactation > 4, fifth time calved 170.7 days in LB breed group and 190.8 days in HBW breed group later than cows with one NSPC in the first lactation.
Effect of Ascorbic Acid on the Gravitropic Response of Primary Roots in Maize

M AA at the root tip increased the gravitropic response and inhibited root growth. Differences in indole-3- acetic acid (IAA) activity between the upper and lower hemispheres of the root resulted in differential elongation along the horizontal root. Roots are extremely sensitive to IAA, and increasing the amount of IAA in the lower hemisphere of the root inhibited elongation. Therefore, we examined the effect of IAA in the presence of AA. The inhibitory effect of AA on the gravitropic response was greater in combination with IAA. To understand the role of AA in the regulation of root growth and the gravi-tropic response, we measured ethylene production in the presence of AA in the primary roots of maize. AA stimulated ethylene production via the activation of the 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) oxidase gene, which regulates the conversion of ACC to ethylene. These results suggest that AA alters the gravitropic response of maize roots through modification of the action of ethylene.
Antianxiety and Antidepressant Activity Guided Isolation and Characterization of Gossypetin from Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn. Calyces

Abstract The present study was designed to evaluate the antianxiety and antidepressant potential of Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn. (Malvaceae) calyces, which have been used traditionally as a sedative and for treating other nervous disorders. The study focussed on isolating active principle(s) using bioactivity guided approach. The bioactive ethanol extract of H. sabdariffa calyces was partitioned with ethyl acetate to obtain ethyl acetate soluble and insoluble fractions. The two fractions were evaluated for antianxiety and antidepressant activity. The bioactive ethyl acetate soluble fraction was subjected to successive column chromatography to obtain six fractions (F1-F6). Among the six fractions, only F4 exhibited significant antianxiety and antidepressant activity on Elevated Plus Maze Model and Forced Swim test, respectively. Column chromatography of F4 yielded three sub-fractions (F4.1-F4.3). Bioactive F4.3 was further subjected to column chromatography which yielded three subfractions – F4.3. 1-F4.3. 3, and a yellow crystalline compound (HS-1) was isolated from F4.3. 2. Based on UV, IR, NMR and MS studies the isolated compound was characterized as gossypetin. Antianxiety and antidepressant activity of HS-1 was evaluated on EPM and FST, respectively. The study showed that gosypetin exhibits significant antianxiety and antidepressant activity at the dose of 5 and 20 mg/kg po, respectively. Present study validates the traditional use of H. sabdariffa calyces in nervous disorders. Gossypetin is the anxiolytic and antidepressant constituents of H. sabdariffa calyces.
Stress response in cyanobacteria

Cyanobacteria are an important source of natural products. In this article, we briefly review the responses of cyanobacteria to different stresses. Abiotic stresses (temperature, salt, heavy metals, metalloid and ultraviolet (UV) influence cell growth and metabolism in cyanobacteria. Salt stress is a major abiotic factor that decreases the growth of cyanobacteria and affects the different processes including photosynthesis, respiration, and metabolism. The basic mechanisms for salinity adaptation include the active extrusion of inorganic ions and the accumulation of compatible solutes such as sucrose, trehalose, glucosyl glycerol, and glycine betaine. Cyanobacteria have a complex antioxidative system including enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants for mitigation of oxidative damage under salt stress. Cyanobacteria have some defense mechanisms for the decline of the direct and indirect destructive effects of UV. These mechanisms include avoidance, scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS), synthesis of UV-absorbing/screening compounds such as mycosporine-like amino acids and scytonemin, repair of UV-induced damage in DNA, and resynthesis of proteins. Metals are involved in key metabolic pathways as redox cofactors in proteins. High concentration of metals causes the generation of ROS and oxidative damage. Thus, the major role of metal homeostasis in maintaining the intracellular concentration of metal within a range compatible with cell viability becomes evident. The biosynthesis of metabolites can be triggered by a number of abiotic stresses because they affect metabolic pathways.
Targeting IL-17A Improves the Dysmotility of the Small Intestine and Alleviates the Injury of the Interstitial Cells of Cajal during Sepsis

Intestinal dysmotility is a frequent complication during sepsis and plays an important role in the development of secondary infections and multiple organ failure. However, the central mechanisms underlying this process have not been well elucidated. Currently, effective therapies are still lacking for the treatment of sepsis-induced intestinal dysmotility. In this study, we found that the activation of IL-17 signaling within the muscularis propria might be associated with dysmotility of the small intestine during polymicrobial sepsis. Furthermore, we demonstrated that targeting IL-17A partially rescued the motility of the small intestine and alleviated interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) injury during sepsis. The blockade of IL-17A suppressed the dominant sepsis-induced infiltration of M1-polarized macrophages into the muscularis. Additionally, impaired ICC survival may be associated with the oxidative stress injury induced by dominant infiltration of M1-polarized macrophages. Our findings reveal the important role of the IL-17 signaling pathway in the small intestine during sepsis and provide clues for developing a novel therapeutic strategy for treating gastrointestinal dysmotility during sepsis.
Reproduction and maternal care increase oxidative stress in a mouthbrooding cichlid fish

Investment in reproduction and postzygotic parental care is an energetically costly yet fundamental aspect of the life-history strategies in many species. Recently, oxidative stress has received attention as a potential mediator in the trade-off between reproduction, growth, and survival. During activities that increase metabolic activity, such as providing offspring care, an overproduction of reactive oxygen species can occur that cannot be counteracted by antioxidants, leading to oxidative stress and tissue damage. Here, we investigated the oxidative costs of reproduction and maternal care over the course of the reproductive cycle in a mouthbrooding cichlid fish within socially stable and unstable environments. We manipulated social stability by disrupting the habitat in socially unstable tanks. We expected to see an increase in the burden of maternal care within unstable environments due to increased male harassment of females as a byproduct of increased male–male aggression. We found that brooding females have higher levels of oxidative stress than nonbrooding females and oxidative stress fluctuates throughout the reproductive cycle. These fluctuations were driven by a spike in reactive oxygen metabolites at the beginning of brood care followed by an increase in antioxidant defense. Surprisingly, the link between reproduction and oxidative stress was not different between females from stable or unstable environments. Our study illustrates a more complete picture of the physiological costs of reproduction and parental care throughout different stages of care rather than a simplistic end-point observation of how reproduction and parental care affect an individual.