Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fighting talk: complex song elicits more aggressive responses in a vocally complex songbird

Song complexity in many songbirds is a trait subject to sexual selection. It is often associated with male territorial defence. Empirical studies testing differential male responses to rival song in vocally complex songbirds have, however, been scarce. We conducted playback experiments of the endemic New Zealand Tui Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae to test the aggressive response of territorial male Tui to rival songs with differing complexity levels. Overall, complex songs evoked significantly stronger responses from territorial males than simple songs. Following playback of complex songs, focal males approached the playback more closely and rapidly, and responded with songs of higher complexity than to playback of simple songs. This suggests males could both distinguish between different levels of complexity within the Tui repertoire, and perceive a more complex song as a greater territorial threat. Our study is one of the first to demonstrate strong aggressive responses to increased levels of song complexity in a songbird species with highly complex vocalisations. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Evaluation of fertile lines derived from the hybridization of Glycine max and G. tomentella

Hybridization with wild relatives of crops has been an important tool for incorporating traits such as disease resistance into many crops, but has not been utilized in soybean (Glycine max), besides a few examples involving its ancestor, G. soja. G. tomentella (2n=78) is a wild, perennial relative in the tertiary gene pool of cultivated soybean G. max (2n=40). G. tomentella has been shown to have high levels of resistance to several diseases, including soybean rust and soybean cyst nematode. We successfully created hybrids of these two species and developed partially fertile amphidiploid plants with 2n=118 with the use of colchicine, hormone treatments, and tissue cultures. After two to five backcrosses with the cultivar Dwight, we obtained genetically stable lines with 2n=40 and 2n=42. Phenotypic evaluation of plant height, maturity, and seed protein and oil concentration, confirm introgression of G. tomentella genes. Genotypic data obtained using a custom single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) GoldenGate array also showed introgression of G. tomentella genes across most G. max chromosomes. From a screening of 543 2n=40 lines, we identified two alleles among 34 lines with resistance to Phytophthora sojae. In tests comparing our resistant lines with known sources of resistance to Phytophthora root rot, one allele performed similarly to the resistance gene, Rps1k. An allelism test confirmed that this allele is allelic or tightly linked to the Rps1 locus. Other G. max x G. tomentella lines, coming from a different BC 2 progenitor, performed similarly to Rps1a. Using greenhouse evaluations of 84 lines, we also identified partial resistance to Fusarium virguliforme, the causal agent of sudden death syndrome. Our best lines performed nearly as well the publicly available commercial cultivars, Cordell and LS94-3207, though not as well as the best check, PI 567374. Both of these traits significantly improved the disease resistance of Dwight, which showed no Phytophthora root rot or sudden death syndrome resistance in our experiments. Our results demonstrate the successful introgression of G. tomentella genes into G. max.
Prescription pattern of antiepileptic drugs in a tertiary care center of India

OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to determine the pattern of prescription of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in a cohort of patients with epilepsy (PWE) attending a tertiary care center of North India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Demographic variables including age, gender, age at onset, type and frequency of seizures, and prescription of all AEDs (dose and duration) were noted. Descriptive analysis of the use of AEDs was done, and their different combinations were studied. RESULTS: A total of 1187 prescriptions were evaluated. Demography showed 65.7% of males; mean age of 21.9 years (range: 2–77 years), generalized seizures (53%), and focal seizures (47%). Only 21.8% of the patients were seizure free with no seizure in 1 year of treatment. The five most frequently prescribed AEDs out of 12 AEDs were sodium valproate (VPA) (49.6%), clobazam (CLB) (39.3%), levetiracetam (LEV) (28.4%), carbamazepine (CBZ) (27.3%), and phenytoin (PHT) (26.5%). Monotherapy was effective in 36.6% of the patients. Sodium VPA (39.4%), PHT (25.6%), and CBZ (20.1%) were commonly used as monotherapy. Polytherapy was required in 63.4% of the patients, and most commonly prescribed combinations were PHT + CLB (n = 53), sodium VPA + CLB (n = 62), CBZ + CLB (n = 45), PHT + sodium VPA + CLB (n = 28), and CBZ + sodium VPA + CLB (n = 31). CONCLUSIONS: Polytherapy is a very common practice in our tertiary care center. Sodium VPA, a highly prescribed AED, results in good control of generalized seizures, whereas focal seizures are well controlled by CBZ alone as well as in combination. The present study highlights the commonly prescribed combinations of AEDs resulting in control of different types of seizures.
La Souris comme modèle d’étude de la morphogenèse du cœur chez les Mammifères : croissance et lignage des myocytes

Par analyse clonale retrospective basee sur le traceur genetique nlaacZ, nous avons obtenu des clones aleatoires, observes a differents stades de developpement du myocarde murin. La distribution de ces clones en amas suggere pour la premiere fois, que les cellules destinees a former le myocarde suivent deux phases de croissance. La premiere phase est disper- sive et polarisee parallelement a l’axe du tube cardiaque. La deuxieme phase est coherente et polarisee de facon specifique dans differentes regions du cœur. Ces proprietes de croissance sont correlees a la naissance de formes geometriques. Ceci souligne que la morphogenese du cœur est liee a des mecanismes de proliferation cellulaire controlee. D’autre part, la distribution des clones dans les ventricules met en evidence une segregation precoce des lignages des cellules des ventricules droit et gauche. Ce resultat est en accord avec l’existence de deux populations de precurseurs cardiaques, ou champs cardiaques primaire (ou posterieur) et secondaire (ou anterieur).
Manipulating photosynthesis for energy conversion in an electrochemical cell

With the constant strain on the environment by fossil fuels, finding an alternate source of renewable energy is vital. Among a myriad of renewable energy sources, solar stands out. As of today, solar energy panels operate at ~15 % conversion efficiency. Alternate means of harvesting energy from sunlight is critical for maximum utilization of this ‘free’ energy source. In plant photosynthesis, the quantum efficiency of light conversion is nearly 100 %. Photosynthetic membranes inside plant cells use light energy to generate charge separation. The process can be manipulated to generate electrical power in an electrochemical cell. The process uses light and water to produce electricity. In this study, thylakoids extracted from spinach leaves were explored as photobiological catalysts for light induced water oxidation reaction on an electrode surface. The extracted thylakoids were immobilized onto multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) modified gold electrode using a molecular tethering agent. The resulting thylakoid-MWNT composite electrodes were used as anode in a photo-electrochemical cell to study light driven electricity generation. The steady state current density generated by the system was 22 μA cm. This is the first attempt to demonstrate a direct light to electricity conversion in a photosynthetic electrochemical cell using plant thylakoids as photo-biological catalysts. INDEX WORDS: photo-electrochemical cell, artificial photosynthesis, thylakoids, photosystem II, biological fuel cell. MANIPULATING PHOTOSYNTHESIS FOR ENERGY CONVERSION IN AN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL
Home‐field advantages of litter decomposition increase with increasing N deposition rates: a litter and soil perspective

1.Differences in litter quality and in soil microbial community composition can influence the litter decomposition and “home-field advantage” (HFA). However, our knowledge about the relative role of litter and soil characteristics on litter decomposition and HFA effects is still limited, especially under long-term N deposition. 2.We collected soil and two types of litter (monospecific and mixed species litter) from five replicate plots from a long-term N-deposition field experiment with seven N-addition treatments (0, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, 50 g N m−2 yr−1). We examined the effects of N-addition on litter quality and soil characteristics. We then carried out a three-pronged microcosm decomposition experiment with (i) litter from different N-addition treatments decomposed on a standard field soil; (ii) standard litter decomposed on soils from the different N-addition treatments; and (iii) litter decomposed on soil from the same N-addition treatment plot. 3.Decomposition of litter on standard soil was influenced strongly by the N-addition treatment, but did not consistently decrease or increase with increasing N-addition rates. Instead, decomposition of standard litter on soils collected from different N-addition treatments decreased with increasing rates of N-addition. Decomposition of litter on soil collected from the same plot increased with increasing N-addition rates. Soil characteristics explained more of the variation in litter decomposition than litter characteristics. 4.There was a clear HFA effect for litter decomposition; both from a litter and from a soil perspective. HFA effects increased when the dissimilarity in litter quality (N content and C: N ratio) increase among the different N-addition treatments and the soil effect was strongest at high N-addition rates. 5.N-addition influenced litter decomposition by changing both litter and soil characteristics. Importantly, N-addition decreased the capability of soils to decompose litter and it increased the home-field advantage effect indicating that soils decomposed local litter better than other litter, due to specialization in soil communities. Nitrogen deposition is an important threat to ecosystems worldwide and our study emphasizes that ecosystem functions such as decomposition can be greatly influenced by these global changes.
Sex‐dependent thermal history influences cold tolerance, longevity and fecundity in false codling moth Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

Environmental temperature plays a critical role in the field performance of mass‐reared insects. For sterile insect technique programmes, the influence of larval (developmental) temperature variation on subsequent adult field performance is generally poorly understood but may be a significant avenue for increasing efficacy. In the present study, we investigated the influence of larval thermal acclimation on several traits of adult performance in the false codling moth Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick). After larvae were reared at 15, 20 or 25 °C for their full larval developmental period, we determined the effect of different acute (2 h) temperature treatments (10, 15 or 20 °C) during the adult stage on traits of (i) cold tolerance; (ii) fecundity; and (iii) longevity. Cold tolerance of adults was not influenced by larval acclimation temperature but was affected by sex and adult treatment temperature. Adult fecundity and longevity were affected by larval acclimation temperature, adult treatment temperature and the interaction of these factors with sex. These results suggest a complex, sex‐dependent interplay of short‐ and longer‐ term temperature history across developmental stages for these traits. Exploring the field impacts of this trait variation is essential, coupled with information on how these traits might respond to artificial manipulation.
Pollinator Diversity: Distribution, Ecological Function, and Conservation

By facilitating plant reproduction, pollinators perform a crucial ecological function that supports the majority of the world's plant diversity, and associated organisms, and a significant fraction of global agriculture. Thus, pollinators are simultaneously vital to supporting both natural ecosystems and human food security, which is a unique position for such a diverse group of organisms. The past two decades have seen unprecedented interest in pollinators and pollination ecology, stimulated in part by concerns about the decline of pollinator abundance and diversity in some parts of the world. This review synthesizes what is currently understood about the taxonomic diversity of organisms that are known to act as pollinators; their distribution in both deep time and present space; the importance of their diversity for ecological function (including agro-ecology); changes to diversity and abundance over more recent timescales, including introduction of non-native species; and a discussion of arguments for .
An Integrated Computational and Experimental Binding Study Identifies the DNA Binding Domain as the Putative Binding Site of Novel Pyrimidinetrione Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) Inhibitors

Objective: Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is as a potential drug target for cancer and inflammation. Strategies to block STAT3 dimerization have dominated STAT3 inhibitor discovery, while inhibition of direct STAT3-DNA binding has not been much explored. This study was to identify novel STAT3 inhibitors that may be developed into probes or therapeutics, and to investigate their putative binding site. Methods: A library of in-house compounds was screened against STAT3-DNA binding using an electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). Inhibition of DNA and STAT3:STAT3 or STAT3:STAT1 interaction and antiproliferative activity in STAT3 expressing or STAT3 knockout cells were tested. Pharmacophore modeling and 3D-QSAR; and docking with molecular mechanics generalized born surface area (MM-GBSA) refinement were also undertaken at the STAT3 SH2 and STAT3 DNA binding domains. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analysis was done to determine STAT3 domain interactions. Organic synthesis was also undertaken. Results: Pyrimidinetriones derivatives were identified as novel STAT3 inhibitors, with activity in low micromolar concentrations. Application of 3D-QSAR and docking analysis with MM-GBSA refinement suggested that the compounds bind at the STAT3-DNA binding interface, and not at the SH2 domain where most current STAT3 inhibitors are thought to bind. The results were confirmed with SPR analysis, pointing to the DNA binding domain (DBD) as the putative binding site of this novel class of STAT3 inhibitors. The analysis guided the synthesis of active novel compounds. Conclusion: Pyrimidinetrione were identified as new STAT3 inhibitors that putatively bind at the STAT3 DBD. This study is an excellent example of the use of QSAR and structure-based design to aid the identification of putative ligand binding sites on proteins. The compounds will provide new tools for studying STAT3 biology; and also serve as potential leads for the development of new therapeutics against STAT3 to fight or study diseases such as cancer and inflammation.
THE REACTION OF CABBAGE ( Brassica oleracea L.) BREEDING LINES AGAINST TURNIP MOSAIC VIRUS

Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) is the most important and widespread virus infecting brassicas worldwide. In 2013, 2014, and 2015, twenty-three cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.) breeding lines from Black Sea Agricultural Research Institute (BSARI, Samsun, Turkey) were screened for their reaction to TuMV-BA isolate by mechanical inoculation under controlled conditions. On the basis of 0–5 disease rating scale and ELISA, of the lines tested, nine (39.1%) were categorized as highly resistant (Grade 1), one (4.3%) as resistant (Grade 2), seven (30.4%) as moderately resistant (Grade 3), however, two cabbage lines and four lines were found moderately susceptible and susceptible, respectively to TuMV-BA isolate under controlled conditions. The results suggested that Brassica oleracea L. from the BSARI contain valuable breeding lines resistant to TuMV, and the screened breeding lines in the current study could provide promising resistance sources for cabbage breeding.
Cryptic speciation in the Merodon luteomaculatus complex (Diptera: Syrphidae) from the eastern Mediterranean

The Merodon aureus group is characterized by high endemism and the presence of morphologically cryptic species. Within one of its subgroups, M. bessarabicus, seven species and four more species complexes have been described to date. One of these complexes, the M. luteomaculatus, comprises new taxa that are the subject of the present study. Its members have allopatric ranges restricted to the Balkan Peninsula and Aegean islands. This complex exhibits morphological variability that could not be characterized using a traditional morphological approach. Thus, we used integrative taxonomy with independent character sets (molecular, geometric morphometric, distributional) to delimit species boundaries. Data on three molecular markers (COI, 28S rRNA, and ISSR) and geometric morphometry of the wing and male genitalia, together with distributional data, enabled recognition of six cryptic species within the complex: M. andriotes sp. n. , M. euri sp. n. , M. erymanthius sp. n. , M. luteomaculatus sp. n. , M. naxius sp. n. , and M. peloponnesius sp. n. We discuss the possible influence of Aegean paleogeographical history on the speciation of this complex.
The Y‐chromosomal Heritage of the Azores Islands Population

The Azores, a Portuguese archipelago located in the north Atlantic Ocean, had no native population when the Portuguese first arrived in the 15th century. The islands were populated mainly by the Portuguese, but Jews, Moorish prisoners, African slaves, Flemish, French and Spaniards also contributed to the initial settlement. To understand the paternal origins and diversity of the extant Azorean population, we typed genomic DNA samples from 172 individuals using a combination of 10 Y‐biallelic markers (YAP, SRY‐1532, SRY‐2627, 92R7, M9, sY81, Tat, SRY‐8299, 12f2 and LLY22g) and the following Y‐chromosomal STR systems: DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393 and DYS385. We identified nine different haplogroups, most of which are frequent in Europe. Haplogroup J* is the second most frequent in the Azores (13.4%), but it is modestly represented in mainland Portugal (6.8%). The other non‐European haplogroups, N3 and E3a, which are prevalent in Asia and sub‐Saharan Africa, respectively, have been found in the Azores (0.6% and 1.2%, respectively) but not in mainland Portugal. Microsatellite data indicate that the mean gene diversity (D) value for all the loci analysed in our sample set is 0.590, while haplotype diversity is 0.9994. Taken together, our analysis suggests that the current paternal pool of the Azorean population is, to a great extent, of Portuguese descent with significant contributions from people with other genetic backgrounds.
EphrinB2/EphB4 Interaction Promotes Myeloid Leukemia Cell Invasion through RhoA-Mediated Mechanism

Background and Objective: Several studies have reported the up-regulation of EphB receptor-tyrosine kinases and ephrinB ligands in a variety of tumors, suggesting a functional relation between EphB/ephrinB signaling and tumor progression. However, how they regulate the invasiveness of myeloid leukemia cells were still unknown. Our previously study suggested that EphB4 were highly expressed in patients with extramedullary leukemia compared with patients without extramedullary leukemia, which indicated that the expression of EphB4 was related with myeloid leukemia cell invasion. To address the molecular mechanism, we aimed to characterize the role of EphB4 and ephrinB2 ligands in the interaction of myeloid leukemia cells. Methods: To clarify the question, myeloid leukemia cell lines (K562 cells and THP-1 cells) treated with clustered ephrinA1–Fc proteins, ephrinB2–Fc proteins and Fc proteins were cultured in vitro, then migration and invasion were determined by transwell assay according to different time. Pulldown western immunoblot analysis were used to detect the level of GTP-RhoA and total RhoA; the phosphorylation of EphB4 and MMP9 expression were also determined by immunoblot analysis before and after the treatment of different clustered Fc proteins. Results: The results showed that after ephrinB2–Fc stimulation, the numbers of K562 cells migrating through transwell chamber were signiﬁcantly enhanced compared to Fc proteins stimulation (1.85-fold, P =0.033), meanwhile, the numbers of K562 cells invading the matrigel also enhanced (1.46 -fold, P =0.025). However, the numbers of K562 cells migrating through transwell chamber after ephrinA1–Fc stimulation didn’t signiﬁcantly increase compared to Fc proteins stimulation ( P =0.411), and the numbers of K562 cells invading the matrigel also didn’t enhanced ( P =0.072) after ephrinA1–Fc stimulation. Moreover, after ephrinB2–Fc stimulation, the numbers of THP-1 cells migrating through transwell chamber were signiﬁcantly enhanced compared to Fc proteins stimulation (2.25-fold, P P P> 0.05, P> 0.05) after ephrinA1–Fc stimulation. Furthermore, EphB4 immunoprecipitation followed by immunoblotting with anti-phosphotyrosine antibody revealed that EphB4 is phosphorylated on tyrosine in K562 cells after ephrinB2–Fc stimulation. Additionally, the level of active RhoA (GTP-RhoA) and MMP9 in K562 cells were both significantly increased in response to EphB4 receptor activation with its ligand ephrin-B2-Fc ( P Conclusions: These findings suggested that EphB4/EprinB2 signaling played an important role in myeloid leukemia cells progression by promoting their migratory ability, activating RhoA activity and increasing MMP9 expression. Our findings reveal a novel regulation of this intriguing receptor/ligand family that contributes to the cell invasiveness of myeloid leukemia cells. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
The complete mitochondrial genome of the Agrocybe aegerita, an edible mushroom

Abstract Agrocybe aegerita is a medicinally and nutritionally important edible basidiomycete. Despite previous phylogenetic studies, the taxonomy of A. aegerita complex remains unclear due to lacking of resolutive data. Herein, the complete mitochondrial genome of A. aegerita is reported and analyzed. The mitogenome length was 116,329 bp, with a GC content of 27.6%, include 17 typical protein-coding genes, two ribosomal protein genes (rps3), two ribosomal RNA genes and a set of 32 transfer RNA genes. A phylogenetic analyses using complete mitogenome in Agaricales showed that A. aegerita is closely related to the genus Pleurotus and represents a clade clearly independent from other Agaricales species.
Phytate degradation in broilers

M.M. van Krimpen, R.A. van Emous, J.W. Spek, and C. Kwakernaak Together with our clients, we integrate scientific know-how and practical experience to develop livestock concepts for the 21st century. With our expertise on innovative livestock systems, nutrition, welfare, genetics and environmental impact of livestock farming and our state-of-the art research facilities, such as Dairy Campus and Swine Innovation Centre Sterksel, we support our customers to find solutions for current and future challenges.