Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Study of Bioactivity of Solanum incanum L. Fruit Extracts onMicroorganisms of the Oral Cavity

Tooth decay is an infection due to demineralization and destruction of the hard tissues of the teeth by oral microbes. It is as a result of production of acid by bacterial fermentation of food debris accumulated on the tooth surface. Depending on the extent of tooth destruction, various treatments can be used to restore teeth to normality, but there is no known method to regenerate large amounts of tooth structure. Instead, Dental Health Organizations advocates preventive and prophylactic measures, such as regular oral hygiene and dietary modifications to avoid dental caries. Herbal remedies have a long history of use for gum and tooth problem such as dental caries. Solanum incanum L. fruits are locally used to manage the tooth decay which is caused by mouth microbes. In this study, the effect of Solanum incanum fruit extracts on growth of oral microbes was investigated. When the microbes were treated with Solanum incanum fruit extract at concentration; 10 μl, 20 μl, 30 μl, and 40 μl, 50 μl, 60 μl, 70 μl, 90 μl and 100 μl respectively, the optimum concentration obtained was 70 μl. Similarly, laboratory observations showed that the betadine mouth wash used worked as best as Solanum incanum fruit extract with the optimum concentration attained at 70 μl. There was no significance difference on the inhibitory effects of both betadine mouth wash and Solanum incanum fruit extracts on oral microbes but on close observation of regression analysis models betadine had more inhibitory effects than Solanum incanum fruit extracts.
Phytoextraction of cadmium by species of the Brassicaceae

i Declaration . iii Preface . iv Acknowledgements . v Table of contents . vii List of Tables . ix List of Figures. xi List of Abbreviations . xiii Chapter 1: Introduction . 1 1.1 Environmental pollution and bioremediation. 1 1.2 Research aims and Thesis outline . 2 1.3 Metal-hyperaccumlating and metal-accumulating plants. 3 1.4 Phytoextraction field trials . 10 1.5 Enhancing phytoextraction . 24 1.6 The physiological and genetic characteristics of the mechanisms underlying metalhyperaccumulation. 27 1.7 Cadmium toxicity . 44 1.8 Contaminated soils and aged biosolids at Melbourne Water’s Western Treatment Plant, Werribee. 46 Chapter 2: Materials and Methods . 48 2.1 Plant material and growth condition . 48 2.2 Hydroponics experiments. 48 2.3 Gene Expression Study . 51 2.4 Glasshouse Pot Trial . 54 2.5 Field trial . 55 2.6 Element analysis . 55
Identificación de indicadores de evaluación y seguimiento de la asistencia técnica agropecuaria en Antioquia (Colombia)

According to Colombian legislation, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as well as the Secretariats of Agriculture and Rural Development of each department have to evaluate and monitor the direct rural technical assistance. This service has to be provided by all municipalities throughout the country and must be free of charge for small producers; however, there is no indicator system available for its implementation. For this reason, the aim of this study was to identify through participatory methods, indicators that allow the design of a monitoring and an assessment system to guide the public policy on this issue. In order to identify the indicators, 18 participatory workshops were carried out in the subregions of the department of Antioquia, Colombia. As a result, 39 indicators were identified and later selected to assess the nine criteria established by the legislation; these were also validated and adjusted based on the experiences of the technical assistants who provide the service throughout the municipalities. Hence, the technical assistance performance index (tapi) was built. The construction and selection of indicators through a participatory process led to the design of an assessment and monitoring system that has been proposed as a management tool to improve the direct rural technical assistance service in the department of Antioquia, Colombia.
Desenvolvimento de biopesticida a base de Beauveria bassiana para controle de Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

7 Introdução . 9 Material e Métodos . 11 Resultados e Discussão . 16 Conclusões . 24 Agradecimentos . 24 Referências Bibliográficas . 25 Desenvolvimento de Biopesticida à Base de Beauveria bassiana para Controle de Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) Miguel Michereff Filho Marcos R. Faria Sharrine O. D. de Oliveira Rafael Eduardo T. Souza Thiago D. Allam Eduardo B. Baron Márcio Wadré M. Oliveira Jorge Anderson Guimarães Ronaldo Setti de Liz Francisco G. V. Schmidt
3D PATH PLANNING FOR MOBILE ROBOTS USING SIMULATED ANNEALING NEURAL NETWORK

This paper presents a highly eﬃcient potential ﬁeld-based 3D path planning technique for mobile robots, moving in a known environment. The path planner is based on a direct description of the obstacles by simulated annealing neural networks. The generated paths are piecewise linear with direction changes at the corners of the obstacles. The proposed planner can be successfully applied to snake robots, ﬂying robots, and con-trol of Gantry cranes. Several simulation results show the eﬀectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Vacuolar processing enzymes, AmVPE1 and AmVPE2, as potential executors of ethylene regulated programmed cell death in the lace plant (Aponogeton madagascariensis)

Perforation formation in Aponogeton madagascariensis (Mirb.) H.Bruggen (lace plant) is an excellent model for studying developmentally regulated programmed cell death (PCD). In this study, we isolated and identified two lace plant vacuolar processing enzymes (VPEs) and investigated their involvement in PCD and throughout leaf development. Lace plant VPE transcript levels were determined during seven different stages of leaf development. PCD and non-PCD cells from “window” stage leaves (in which perforations are forming) were separated through laser-capture microscopy and their transcript levels were also determined. VPE activity was also studied between the cell types, through a VPE activity-based probe JOPD1. Additionally, VPE transcript levels were studied in plants treated with an ethylene biosynthesis inhibitor, aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG). The two isolated VPEs, AmVPE1 and AmVPE2, are vegetative type VPEs. AmVPE1 had higher transcript levels during a pre-perforation developmental stage, immediately.
Status And Population Genetics Of The Alabama Spike (Elliptio Arca) In The Mobile River Basin

Declines in freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionioda) are widely reported but rarely rigorously tested, the population genetics of most species are virtually unknown. In the Mobile River Basin (MRB), many range-restricted taxa have been heavily impacted by riverine alterations, including the Alabama spike (Elliptio arca). I quantified the extent of declines in E. arca range based on naive occupancy. I calculated change in area of occurrence (AOO) between 1987-2002 and 2003-2016 using 12 digit USGS HUCs. Concurrently, I described the population-level genetics of E. arca and identified differentiated lineages. There was no statistically significant change in occupancy over the past 30 y. AOO increased by 5.6% from 1987-2002 to 2003-2016. My data provide no evidence to indicate that E. arca warrants elevated conservation status. Genetic data show conflicting measures of diversity, and low rates of gene flow between drainages. Intraspecific genetic structure in E. arca is related to the geographic separation of the Tombigbee and Tallapoosa River Drainages. My research shows a lack of evidence for population declines or decrease in occupied area, that detection is low for E. arca, and that there are at least two divergent meta-populations. These findings will help inform management decisions for this native taxon.
Fear and lethality in snowshoe hares: the deadly effects of non-consumptive predation risk

Predators play a critical, top–down role in shaping ecosystems, driving prey population and community dynamics. Traditionally, studies of predator-prey interactions have focused on direct effects of predators, namely the killing of prey. More recently, the non-consumptive effects of predation risk are being appreciated; e.g. the ‘ecology of fear’. Prey responses to predation risk can be morphological, behavioural, and physiological, and are assumed to come at a cost to prey fitness. However, few studies have examined the relationship between predation risk and survival in wild animals. We tested the hypothesis that predation risk itself could reduce survival in wild-caught snowshoe hares. We exposed female snowshoe hares to a simulated predator (a trained dog) during gestation only, and measured adult survival and, in surviving females, their ability to successfully wean offspring. We show for the first time in a wild mammal that the risk of predation can itself be lethal. Predation risk reduced adult female survival by 30%, and had trans-generational effects, reducing offspring survival to weaning by over 85% – even though the period of risk ended at birth. As a consequence of these effects the predator-exposed group experienced a decrease in number, while the control group substantially increased. Challenges remain in determining the importance of risk-induced mortality in natural field settings; however, our findings show that non-lethal predator encounters can influence survival of both adults and offspring. Future work is needed to test these effects in free-living animals. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Strong coupling between weakly guided semiconductor nanowire modes and an organic dye

The light-matter coupling between electromagnetic modes guided by a semiconductor nanowire and excitonic states of molecules localized in its surrounding media is studied from both classical and quantum perspectives, with the aim of describing the strong-coupling regime. Weakly guided modes (bare photonic modes) are found through a classical analysis, identifying those lowest-order modes presenting large electromagnetic fields spreading outside the nanowire while preserving their robust guided behavior. Experimental fits of the dielectric permittivity of an organic dye that exhibits excitonic states are used for realistic scenarios. A quantum model properly confirms through an avoided mode crossing that the strong-coupling regime can be achieved for this configuration, leading to Rabi splitting values above 100 meV. In addition, it is shown that the coupling strength depends on the fraction of energy spread outside the nanowire, rather than on the mode field localization. These results open up a new avenue towards strong-coupling phenomenology involving propagating modes in nonabsorbing media.
Detecting Multispecific Patterns in the Catch Composition of a Fisheries-Independent Longline Survey

AbstractUnderstanding the main factors that regulate species composition in fisheries is of utmost importance for developing efficient management strategies, particularly under the scope of ecosystem-based conservation approaches. This study used multivariate statistics to analyze catch data collected during a ~10-year, fishery-independent, standardized longline survey conducted in coastal waters (<20-m isobaths) off Recife, northeastern Brazil. A redundancy analysis (RDA) was performed to assess the influence of spatiotemporal, environmental, and bioecological variables on the variability in longline catch composition and to identify similarly distributed groups of species. Additionally, an analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) was conducted to investigate the likeness among the multispecific groups and identify the most influential variables. A total of 1,295 specimens representing 29 species of teleosts, elasmobranchs, and sea turtles were caught, but most species (62.0%) were little represented (<1%) in t.
Insecticide resistance of corn weevil populations from semi-arid regions.

Corn weevil (Sitophilus zeamais) is a key insect pest of stored corn in Brazil. Corn weevil infestations are traditionally controlled using insecticides. The intensive use of insecticidal compounds, however, may result in the development of insecticide-resistant populations and ultimately cause insecticide-based control measures to fail. The objective of the present work is to define the permethrin and pirimiphos–methyl resistance of S. zeamais populations collected from the semi-arid region of Pernambuco, Brazil. Insects were placed in glass bottles impregnated with dry insecticide residues at different concentrations. Deceased insects were counted 24 h after exposure. Concentration–response curves were generated by subjecting mortality results to Probit analysis. The Sete Lagoas population exhibited the lowest 50% mortality (LC50) to permethrin, whereas the Lajedo population exhibited the lowest LC50 to pirimiphos–methyl. These populations were used the reference peremthrinand pirimiphos–methyl-susceptible populations. The order of the LC50-based susceptibility of the populations to the two insecticides differed from that of the LC95based susceptibility. Six and eight populations showed a significant resistance ratio (RR50) against permethrin and pirimiphos– methyl, respectively. The Brejão population presented the maximum resistance to pirimiphos–methyl (RR50 = 26.7 and RR95 = 57.4). All populations exhibited low but greatly varied pyrethroid resistance levels. This result, however, does not imply that the problem of pyrethroid resistance is minimized when resistance is substantial in the Brejão population.
In vitro antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of the various extracts of Coccinia cordifolia leaves found in Bangladesh

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the antioxidant and cytotoxic activity of different fractions of Coccinia cordifolia available in Bangladesh. Antioxidant activity of the extracts was studied using DPPH radical scavenging assay, determination of total phenolic content and total flavonoid content. Cytotoxic activity was evaluated brine shrimp lethality bioassay. Results reflected that the methanol extract had highest antioxidant activity (IC50 value for DPPH was 33.25 μg/ml, total phenolic content was 64.38 in mg/g, Ascorbic acid equivalents and total flavanoid content was 212.35 in mg/g, Ascorbic acid equivalents) compared to the carbon tetra chloride and ethyl acetate extract. In brine shrimp lethality bioassay, the LC50 values for carbon tetra chloride, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts were 45.51 μg/ml, 28.86 μg/ml and 25.6 μg/ml respectively which revealed mild cytotoxic potential of the extracts.
On the Estimation and Use of Statistical Modelling in Information Retrieval

Several tasks in information retrieval (IR) rely on assumptions regarding the distribution of some property (such as term frequency) in the data being processed. This thesis argues that such distributional assumptions can lead to incorrect conclusions and proposes a statistically principled method for determining the "true" distribution. This thesis further applies this method to derive a new family of ranking models that adapt their computations to the statistics of the data being processed. Experimental evaluation shows results on par or better than multiple strong baselines on several TREC collections. Overall, this thesis concludes that distributional assumptions can be replaced with an effective, efficient and principled method for determining the "true" distribution and that using the "true" distribution can lead to improved retrieval performance.
Spatial birth-and-death processes with a finite number of particles

The aim of this work is to establish essential properties of spatial birth-and-death processes with general birth and death rates on ${\mathbb{R}^{\mathrm{d}}}$. Spatial birth-and-death processes with time dependent rates are obtained as solutions to certain stochastic equations. The existence, uniqueness, uniqueness in law and the strong Markov property of unique solutions are proven when the integral of the birth rate over ${\mathbb{R}^{\mathrm{d}}}$ grows not faster than linearly with the number of particles of the system. Martingale properties of the constructed process provide a rigorous connection to the heuristic generator. The pathwise behavior of an aggregation model is also studied. The probability of extinction and the growth rate of the number of particles under condition of nonextinction are estimated.
Sex- and age-biased mortality of three shearwater species in longline fisheries of the Mediterranean

: Hundreds of thousands of seabirds die annually as a result of being bycaught in long-line fisheries, and these rates are unsustainable for many seabird populations worldwide. To understand effects at the population level, it is essential to assess sex- and age-biased mortalities, since uneven mortalities may exacerbate bycatch impacts. In the Mediterranean, bycatch is the main cause of population declines for the 3 endemic shearwater species (Scopoli’s Calonectris diomedea , Balearic Puffinus mauretanicus and Mediterranean shearwater P. yelkouan ), but little is known about population biases of the birds caught in longliners. From 2003 to 2015, we collected 639 shearwater carcasses from Spanish longliners operating in the north-western Mediterranean, determined their age and sex and examined their spatial and temporal patterns and the origin of ringed birds. Most shearwaters caught in longliners were adults, but the proportion of immatures and subadults increased in the late breeding period. Adult Scopoli’s shearwaters were mostly caught around the breeding colonies. In contrast, all Puffinus birds were caught on the Iberian shelf. Catches of Scopoli’s shearwaters were male-biased, particularly during the pre-laying period and close to the breeding colonies. Catches of Puffinus shearwaters were also male-biased during the pre-laying period, but adult catches were female-biased during chick-rearing. Ring recoveries revealed that most birds were ringed in the nearby Balearic Islands, but some Scopoli’s shearwaters ringed in France and Italy were also caught during their migration, indicating that the impacts of the Spanish longliners extend well beyond the Spanish colonies. The adult-biased and sex-biased mortality found in this study may aggravate bycatch impacts on populations and highlights the urgent need for conservation action.
Isolation and Characterization of Bioactive Molecules from Endophytic Fungi

An endophytic fungus (strain T6) isolated from Taxus baccata was studied for its effect on the growth of human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7), human cervical cancer cell line (HeLa) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) as well as for its antioxidant activity. Based on morphological characters and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analysis, this fungus (strain T6) was identified as Fusarium tricinctum. This fungus has shown inhibition in the growth of the MCF-7 and HeLa cancer cell lines. IC50 values of the fungal extract were 225 ± 26 and 220 ± 18 lg ml for MCF-7 and HeLa cell lines, respectively. Further, F. tricinctum showed inhibition in the proliferation of concanavalin A stimulated PBMCs indicating its immunosuppressive potential (IC50 value 110 ± 44 lg ml). Tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-a production in concanavalin A stimulated PBMCs and MCF-7 were found to be inhibited which indicates that the antiproliferative effect may be associated with TNF-a. Free radical scavenging results revealed that this fungus also exhibited antioxidant activity (IC50 value 482 ± 9 lg ml). Present study results suggested that F. tricinctum has the potential to be used for therapeutic purposes because of its antiproliferative and antioxidant potential.
The relationship between the level of antibiotic use and resistance among enteric bacteria in a multi-site integrated human and swine population

The Relationship between the Level of Antibiotic Use and Resistance among Enteric Bacteria in a Multi-site Integrated Human and Swine Population. (May 2008) Kristi Lynn Christian, B.S., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. H.M. Scott The objective of this longitudinal study was to study the relationship between changes in prevalence of resistant enteric bacteria associated with mean monthly doses (MMD) of various antibiotics used in each of two host species. From January 2004 – January 2007, monthly composite swine fecal samples and human wastewater samples representing various production and occupational cohorts, respectively, were collected from 19 geographically unique locations in eastand south-central Texas. Bacterial isolates cultivated on CHROMagar-E.coli and Difco mEnterococcus (ME) were tested for susceptibility to multiple antibiotics by microbroth dilution using the Sensititre system. The relationship between the prevalence of resistant bacteria, sampling period, and antibiotic use within each host species was assessed in a generalized linear model adjusted for the dependence of responses within location using a binomial distribution and logit link function in STATA ver. 9.2. For the swine E. coli isolates, the relationship between tetracycline resistance and level of chlortetracycline (CTC) use in swine illustrated a dose-response relationship,
Infantilizing Companion Animals through Attachment Theory: Why Shift to Behavioral Ecology-Based Paradigms for Welfare

Attachment theory, proposed in the 1950s to understand the development of parent-child relationships, is often applied to human-pet relationships. I argue the application of this paradigm to test non-human animals’ social bonds with humans infantilizes mature animals and has a detrimental impact on animal welfare. The premise is that ‘Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Test’ is not appropriate to investigate the emotional ties between domestic animals and humans. Instead, I propose an alternative theory, that dogs form mature social bonds with their owners, and that the phenomenon known as ‘separation anxiety’ is the result either of the frustration of mature adult group behaviors, or an over dependency fostered by the owner. Rather than view mature dogs as comparable to human infants in their social relationships, we should perceive them as socially and emotionally mature on reaching adulthood and shift the focus from attachment-based paradigms, to the behavioural ecology and cognition of companion animal species.
Enrichment of Poultry Diets with Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA) for Human Consumption

In recent years, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) have received considerable attention in both human and animal nutrition, particularly those of the n-3 family. These are PUFA in which the first double bond is situated on the third carbon atom from the methyl end of the fatty acid molecule. Consumption of n-3 PUFA are low, particularly the long chain (>18 carbon atoms) ones that are most commonly found in fish oils. As a mean of increasing the low consumption of the long chain n-3 PUFA by humans consuming western diets, there has been some interest in the enrichment of poultry meat with these fatty acids for people seeking healthy lifestyles.