Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microbial responses to chitin and chitosan in oxic and anoxic agricultural soil slurries

Abstract. Microbial degradation of chitin in soil substantially contributes to carbon cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. Chitin is globally the second most abundant biopolymer after cellulose and can be deacetylated to chitosan or can be hydrolyzed to N,N′-diacetylchitobiose and oligomers of N-acetylglucosamine by aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms. Which pathway of chitin hydrolysis is preferred by soil microbial communities is unknown. Supplementation of chitin stimulated microbial activity under oxic and anoxic conditions in agricultural soil slurries, whereas chitosan had no effect. Thus, the soil microbial community likely was more adapted to chitin as a substrate. In addition, this finding suggested that direct hydrolysis of chitin was preferred to the pathway that starts with deacetylation. Chitin was apparently degraded by aerobic respiration, ammonification, and nitrification to carbon dioxide and nitrate under oxic conditions. When oxygen was absent, fermentation products (acetate, butyrate, propionate, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide) and ammonia were detected, suggesting that butyric and propionic acid fermentation, along with ammonification, were likely responsible for anaerobic chitin degradation. In total, 42 different chiA genotypes were detected of which twenty were novel at an amino acid sequence dissimilarity of less than 50%. Various chiA genotypes responded to chitin supplementation and affiliated with a novel deep-branching bacterial chiA genotype (anoxic conditions), genotypes of Beta- and Gammaproteobacteria (oxic and anoxic conditions), and Planctomycetes (oxic conditions). Thus, this study provides evidence that detected chitinolytic bacteria were catabolically diverse and occupied different ecological niches with regard to oxygen availability enabling chitin degradation under various redox conditions on community level.
Unifying perspectives of some mechanisms basic to desiccation tolerance across life forms

Desiccation-tolerant organisms, or life-cycle stages of particular taxa, occur among animals, higher and lower plants, terrestrial micro-algae, lichens and bacteria. Recent investigations have revealed that a number of mechanisms conferring desiccation tolerance appear to be common to the diversity of life forms able to survive extreme dehydration. In particular, parallel processes involving late embryogenic abundant (LEA) or LEA-like proteins, accumulation of sugars, aspects of active oxygen species (AOS) and non-enzymic and enzymic antioxidants have been the recent focus of attention, some across a diversity of organisms. The present contribution considers advances made from the study of these processes, particularly in enhancing current understanding of the composition of, and protection afforded by, the glassy state in desiccated organisms. Strong evidence that proteins, particularly LEAs, are implicated in glass formation is reviewed, and behaviour of such proteins upon dehydration is discussed in this context. The question of the ability of cells to survive complete water removal is considered in the context that it is unlikely, and that the basis of the deterioration of very dry seeds results from abstraction of water necessary to maintain the integrity of the intracellular glassy state. Finally, the revelation that desiccated seeds deteriorate with time, even under extremely good genebanking conditions, is discussed.
Influences of turbulence on suspension feeding by planktonic protozoa; experiments in laminar shear fields

Laminar shear below the turbulence microscale can create relative motion between protozoan suspension feeders and their prey, potentially influencing encounter and retention. Theory suggests that ingestion rate may rise sigmoidally with increasing turbulence strength, although interference with feeding mechanisms might occur at some turbulence levels. We measured rates of feeding on fluorescently labeled prey at concentrations below feeding saturation in a survey of cultured bacterivorous and herbivorous flagellates, ciliates, and a helioflagellate over a wide range of shear rates produced in rotating Couette flows. Shears of 0.1-10 s-l (corresponding to moderate to extremely strong marine and estuarine turbulence) enhanced clearance rates by the aloricate choanoflagellate, Monosiga sp. , up to 2.7 x the mean rate in still water. Shears of l10 s- l enhanced clearance rates by the helioflagellate, Ciliophrys marina, up to 7.0 x the mean in still water. The data are consistent with a sigmoidal response to increasing shear rate. In contrast, clearance rates of the tintinnid, Helicostomella sp. , were suppressed at 10 s-l to as low as 0.42 x the still-water rate. Several other flagellates and ciliates (Paraphysomonas sp., two unidentified chrysomonads, Diaphanoeca grandis, Favella sp., and an unidentified heterotrich) showed no significant effects. We hypothesize that the protozoa most susceptible to an influence of turbulence are nonmotile (e.g. Heliozoa, Foraminifera, Radiolaria) or are weak swimmers (e.g. some flagellates and ciliates). Current methods for measuring feeding rates in still-water incubations may underestimate grazing by these taxa under strong turbulence in the field. Through speciesspecific influences on feeding rates, spatial and temporal variations in turbulence may have very selective effects on microbial food-web dynamics.
Study and Analysis of a Single Stage Transformer-less Inverter for Grid Connected PV Systems by using CSI

In this paper, a single-phase, single-stage current source inverter-based photovoltaic system for grid connection is proposed. The system utilizes transformer-less single-stage conversion for tracking the maximum power point and interfacing the photovoltaic array to the grid. The maximum power point is maintained with a fuzzy logic controller. A proportional-resonant controller is used to control the current injected into the grid. To improve the power quality and system efficiency, a double-tuned parallel resonant circuit is proposed to attenuate the secondand fourthorder harmonics at the inverter dc side. A modified carrier based modulation technique for the current source inverter is proposed to magnetize the dc-link inductor by shorting one of the bridge converter legs after every active switching cycle. Simulation and practical results validate and confirm the dynamic performance and power quality of the proposed system.
The Laws of the Virtual Worlds

What if you could check out of your world, and enter a place where the social environment was different, where real world laws didn't apply, and where the political system could be anything you wanted it to be? What if you could socialize there with family and friends, build your own palace, go skiing, and even hold down a job there? And what if there wasn't one alternate world, there were hundreds, and what if millions of people checked out of Earth and went there every day? Virtual worlds - online worlds where millions of people come to interact, play, and socialize - are a new type of social order. In this Article, we examine the implications of virtual worlds for our understanding of law, and demonstrate how law affects the interests of those within the world. After providing an extensive primer on virtual worlds, including their history and function, we examine two fundamental issues in detail. First, we focus on property, and ask whether it is possible to say that virtual world users have real world property interests in virtual objects. Adopting economic accounts that demonstrate the real world value of these objects and the exchange mechanisms for trading these objects, we show that, descriptively, these types of objects are indistinguishable from real world property interests. Further, the normative justifications for property interests in the real world apply - sometimes more strongly - in the virtual worlds. Second, we discuss whether avatars have enforceable legal and moral rights. Avatars, the user-controlled entities that interact with virtual worlds, are a persistent extension of their human users, and users identify with them so closely that the human-avatar being can be thought of as a cyborg. We examine the issue of cyborg rights within virtual worlds and whether they may have real world significance. The issues of virtual property and avatar rights constitute legal challenges for our online future. Though virtual worlds may be games now, they are rapidly becoming as significant as real-world places where people interact, shop, sell, and work. As society and law begin to develop within virtual worlds, we need to have a better understanding of the interaction of the laws of the virtual worlds with the law of this world.
Characterizations of minerogenic particles in support of modeling light scattering in Lake Superior through a two‐component approach

The role of suspended minerogenic particles in light scattering in eastern Lake Superior and Keweenaw Bay (11 sites) during July of 2006 was evaluated with an individual particle analysis technique (scanning electron microscopy interfaced with automated image and X‐ray analyses, SAX), along with bulk measurements of particulate scattering and backscattering coefficients (bp and bbp) and chlorophyll a concentration ([Chl]). SAX measurements provided information on light‐scattering attributes of minerogenic particles, including chemical composition and particle size distribution (PSD). The data were used in Mie theory calculations for estimations of minerogenic scattering and backscattering coefficients (bm and bb,m). The bay had higher concentrations of minerogenic particles and higher values of bm, bb,m, bbp, and the backscattering ratio (bbp : bp) than the pelagic sites. Minerogenic scattering was primarily attributable to clay mineral particles in the size range of 1‐10 mm. The PSDs deviated from the (Junge) pattern of monotonic increase of particle numbers with decreasing particle size. The estimates of bm and bb,m combined with those of organic particulate components, as represented by empirical Case 1 bio‐optical models, showed reasonably good closure with bp and bbp, supporting the credibility of the SAX‐Mie approach. Variations in the bbp : bp ratio are strongly related to spatial differences in the relative contributions of phytoplankton vs. minerogenic particles to scattering, with higher values observed where the minerogenic component is more important. SAX can advance the understanding of optical variability by establishing the contributions of well‐defined minerogenic constituents that strongly influence optical properties.
Optimization of Wireless Power Transfer Systems with Multiple Transmitters and Receivers

Optimization of Wireless Power Transfer with Multiple Transmitters and Receivers Hans-Dieter Lang Doctor of Philosophy The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Toronto 2018 Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) has undergone a revolution, being transformed from a somewhat fantastical technology of the future to reality, encompassing a large variety of applications and forming a billion-dollar industry. Wireless charging of devices, ranging from mobile phones to biomedical implants and electric vehicles has been long imagined. Over the past few years, thousands of these products and solutions have been developed and reached a customer base of dozens of million users. Despite the impressive advancements and practical implementations in the field, the physical limitations of WPT have not been rigorously explored, apart from simple systems consisting of a single transmitter-receiver pair. A universal all-encompassing framework from which general WPT systems can be optimized, analyzed and compared remains elusive all the same. Such a framework, from which these fundamental limits could be obtained, would be invaluable to the community, setting an absolute upper bound on performance to which any and all specific implementations could be compared and contrasted. Moreover, the framework could allow a deeper understanding of the underlying physics of such systems, resulting in improved design guidelines and optimal design rules. This work aims to bridge this gap by providing optimization methods for general WPT systems, consisting of an arbitrary number of transmitters and receivers, in order to determine the absolute maximum achievable performance of said systems. The methods are based on convex optimization, which effectively guarantees to find global maxima. Furthermore, implementations of maximally efficient systems are presented and investigated, to gain insight into how these limits may be achieved. Practical examples and related applications, including antenna arrays and magnetically mediated hyperthermia for cancer treatment, illustrate the usefulness and capabilities of these findings.
Carcass characteristics and Sensory Evaluation of Meat from Rabbits fed Cashew-nut residue based diets

A study was conducted for a 42-day period to evaluate the carcass characteristics and sensory quality of meat from 18 weaner rabbits (mixed breeds) fed cashew nut residue (CNR) based diets. The three diets used contained: 0, 10 and 20% CNR as a partial replacement for maize. The CNR based diets significantly (P 0.05) influence the appearance, taste, juiciness, chewness, texture, aroma and overall acceptability. It can be concluded that cashew nut residue could be incorporated up to 20% in rabbit diet without deleterious effect on the meat quality.
Experience with transabdominal fine needle biopsy from chorionic villi in the first trimester: an alternative to amniocentesis

The aims of the present study were to assess the concentrations of the BM proteins in normal human second trimester amniotic fluid, to characterize these antigens and to elucidate the effects of chromosomal aberrations and other fetal disorders on these proteins. The material consisted of 21 normal and 41 pathological pregnancies, the latter being defined by an increased a-fetoprotein concentration in amniotic fluid or chromosomal aberrations in the fetus or both of these. The radioimmunoassays for the 7-S collagen domain of human type IV collagen (Risteli et al. 1980) and the fragment P1 of human laminin (Risteli & Timpl 1981) followed established procedures. The average concentrations of laminin PI and 7-S collagen in normal amniotic fluid were in the range 10-77 pg/l (average 36 pg/l) and 7-152 pg/l (average 46 pg/l), respectively. The size of the BM proteins was estimated with gel filtration on a Sephacryl 5-300 column; both amniotic fluid antigens eluted in the void volume, indicating that they are probably the intact biosynthetic forms of these BM proteins. In pathological pregnancies, when amniotic fluid a-fetoprotein concentration was increased, high concentrations of the two BM proteins were also often found. In the whole series there was a significant correlation (p < 0.01) between the amniotic fluid contents of 7-S collagen and a-fetoprotein. However, the congenital nephrotic syndrome of the Finnish type, a possible hereditary defect of the basement membrane, formed an exception, as in this condition the elevated afetoprotein concentration was accompanied by normal levels of the BM proteins in amniotic fluid.
Low-phosphorus conditions affect the nitrogen nutrition and associated carbon costs of two legume tree species from a Mediterranean-type ecosystem

The role of phosphorus nutrition in two-legume tree species from the Mediterranean-type ecosystem of the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) in South Africa was investigated. There is very little information about the functional adaptations of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) nutrition in these legume trees growing in nutrient-poor soils. Nodulated Virgilia divaricata and V. oroboides tree saplings were grown in sterilised sand and supplied with Long Ashton nutrient solution, which was modified to contain either sufficient-phosphate (500 mM) or low-phosphate (5 mM) nutrient solution for 90 days. During low-P conditions, the growth of V. divaricata was not affected, whereas V. oroboides showed a decreaseingrowth.ThedecreaseinV. oroboidesunderlow-PconditionswasrelatedtothelowerPuptake,whichresultedin an alteration in belowground biomass allocation, which consequently affected on the N nutrition and carbon (C) cost of growth. In this regard, V. oroboides plants allocated less biomass to roots and nodules, as a proportion of whole plant growth. The impact of this was a decline in N nutrition, growth respiration and photosynthetic costs in V. oroboides. In contrast, V. divaricata maintained its P concentrations, photosynthetic costs and increased its nodule allocation under low-P conditions, to the benefit of N nutrition. The two CFR tree legumes appear to have different adaptations to low-P conditions, which may influence their N and P acquisition in their naturally low-P environment. Additional keywords: acidic soils, biological nitrogen, fynbos, nutrient deficiencies fixation, Virgilia.
Temporal variability in taxonomic completeness of stream macroinvertebrate assemblages

Abstract. Natural temporal variation in biological assemblages is generally acknowledged, but rarely controlled for in existing bioassessment approaches. Many bioassessment methods ignore the variation of assemblage structure through time and, thus, lack a process to evaluate the effects of natural temporal variation on their outcomes. We used an 11-y data set from 24 near-pristine reference streams (validation sites) and a 5-y data set from 10 streams exposed to human disturbance (test sites) in northern Finland to examine: 1) the amount of interannual variation in macroinvertebrate communities in both types of streams measured as variation in taxonomic completeness (i.e., ratio of observed/expected taxa; O/E ratio), and 2) how temporal variability affects bioassessment outcomes. Most of the variation in O/E values was explained by stream type (validation or test). Interannual variation in O/E was low at both validation and test sites, a result supporting the assumption of high constancy of biological assemblages through time. Temporal variation in O/E at validation sites was related to climatic factors (regional precipitation) and to some local environmental variables, e.g., substratum heterogeneity. Communities in validation and test sites responded differentially to climatic variation. The low interannual variation in O/E suggests that 1-y data from reference sites can be extrapolated across years relatively safely, but climatically extreme years may be problematic. Temporal variability in O/E was low at both types of sites, but it was still high enough to result in variable ecological status assessments across years, mainly at test sites with lower O/E ratios. Thus, at test sites, use of only 1-y data may cause erroneous management decisions, and accurate assessment of the biological quality of test sites might require repeated sampling over several years.
Understanding the value of social media metrics for research evaluation

The availability of indicators based on social media has opened the possibility to track the online interactions between social media users and scholarly entities. Indicators derived from these online interactions reflect aspects such as how often, by whom, and when are scholarly publications mentioned and discussed on social media platforms. These new indicators, popularly known as altmetrics and more technically referred as social media metrics are usually proposed as potential alternatives to citation-based indicators to inform research evaluation. The research presented in this book provides the state of the art in the possibilities of social media metrics for informing research evaluation. The main ambition is to increase the knowledge and understanding of the limitations, challenges, and actual possibilities of social media metrics for research evaluation. This thesis describes the presence and distribution of different social media metrics across scientific publications and their relationship with traditional impact indicators. It further describes the main characteristics of publications mentioned in Mendeley as one of the main social media metrics platforms. Moreover, critical challenges regarding data quality issues of social media data are thoroughly described and discussed. Finally, some possibilities and applications of social media metrics for informing research evaluation are presented.
Isolation and characterization of a denitrifying Acinetobacter baumannii H1 using NO2--N as nitrogen source from shrimp farming ponds

Recent studies have revealed that the use of denitrifying bacteria is an alternative to eliminate nitrite accumulation in the wastewaters. However, no information is available about Acinetobacter species as a denitrifying agent for reducing nitrite in aquaculture. In the present study, a potential denitrifying strain H1 was isolated from shrimp farming ponds using nitrite as nitrogen source, which displayed almost complete nitrite removal. It was initially identified as Acinetobacter baumannii using API identification kits, and confirmed to be A. baumannii strain (GenBank accession no. JF751054) by phylogenetic analysis. Three key denitrification genes nirS, norB and nirK were detected from strain H1 by PCR amplification. In addition, it was demonstrated to be safe for mammals and giant freshwater prawns, and showed in vitro high nitrite removal activities at a wide range of initial pH 5-9 and 15 to 35°C with a final cell density of 105-107 cfu/ml. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on a promising denitrifying A. baumannii strain from shrimp farming ponds. Key words: Characterization, nitrite removal, Acinetobacter baumannii, shrimp farming.
Abrogation of G2/M-Phase Block Enhances the Cytotoxicity of Daunorubicin, Melphalan and Cisplatin in TP53 Mutant Human Tumor Cells

Abstract Binder, A. , Serafin, A. and Bohm, L. Abrogation of G2/M-Phase Block Enhances the Cytotoxicity of Daunorubicin, Melphalan and Cisplatin in TP53 Mutant Human Tumor Cells. Irradiation of human melanoma (MeWo, Be11) and squamous cell carcinoma (4451, 4197) cells induces cell cycle blocks from which the cells recover to re-enter mitosis after 40–60 h. In the TP53 mutant cell lines, MeWo and 4451, irradiation induces a G2-phase block, where the fraction of cells in G2 phase reaches a maximum after 18–20 h. In the TP53 wild-type cell lines, 4197 and Be11, a G1- and G2-phase block is reached 12 and 16 h postirradiation, respectively. Addition of pentoxifylline after irradiation at the time when the number of cells in G2 phase has reached a maximum shortens the normal recovery from G2-phase block to approximately 7 h. Addition of daunorubicin, melphalan and cisplatin under these conditions markedly enhanced drug toxicity. In the TP53-mutated cell lines MeWo and 4451, the survival ratio at 7 Gy measured by colony formation was 2.3–2.8, 8.6–85 and 52–74 for daunorubicin, melphalan and cisplatin, respectively. In the TP53 wild-type cell lines, the corresponding survival ratios were found to be 1.3–1.4, 2.3–3.0 and 1.2–2.6, respectively. The survival ratios are for clonogenic survival after 7 Gy and 2 mM pentoxifylline and measure the influence of drug doses that ensure 95% survival in nonirradiated controls. The results indicate that the G2-phase block is a crucial event in the damage response that can be manipulated to achieve a significant enhancement of drug toxicity. These effects are particularly pronounced in TP53 mutant cells and are observed at drug doses well below the clinical range.