Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Steroid Effects on Glial Cells

Abstract: Repair of damage and recovery of function are fundamental endeavors for recuperation of patients and experimental animals with spinal cord injury. Steroid hormones, such as progesterone (PROG), show regenerative and myelinating properties following injury of the peripheral and central nervous system. In this work, we studied PROG effects on glial cells of the normal and transected (TRX) spinal cord, to complement previous studies in motoneurons. Both neurons and glial cells expressed the classical PROG receptor (PR), suggesting that genomic mechanisms participated in PROG action. In TRX rats, PROG treatment stimulated the number of NADPH‐diaphorase (nitric oxide synthase) active astrocytes, whereas the number of astrocytes expressing the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) was stimulated in control but not in TRX rats. PROG also stimulated the immunocytochemical staining for myelin‐basic protein (MBP) and the number of oligodendrocyte precursor cells expressing the chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan NG2 in TRX rats. In terms of beneficial or detrimental consequences, these PROG effects may be supportive of neuronal recuperation, as shown for several neuronal functional parameters that were normalized by PROG treatment of spinal cord injured animals. Thus, PROG effects on glial cells go in parallel with morphological and biochemical evidence of survival of damaged motoneurons.
Effects of low dose radiation on immune cells subsets and cytokines in mice.

Whole-body exposure to low-dose radiation due to diagnostic imaging procedures, occupational hazards and radiation accidents is a source of concern. In this study, we analyzed the effects of single and long-term low-dose irradiation on the immune system. Male Balb/c mice received a single whole-body dose of irradiation (0.01, 0.05, 0.2, 0.5 or 1 Gy). For long-term irradiation, mice were irradiated 10 times (total dose of 0.2, 0.5 or 1 Gy) over a period of 6 weeks. Two days after single or long-term irradiation, the numbers of splenic macrophages, natural killer cells and dendritic cells were reduced, and the spleen organ coefficient was decreased. At 2 Days after long-term low-dose irradiation, the number of white blood cells in the peripheral blood of the mice decreased. Between 7 and 14 Days after long-term low-dose irradiation, the number of immune cells in the thymus and spleen began to increase and then stabilized. Th1/Th2 cytokines and reactive oxygen species-related proteins first decreased and then increased to a plateau. Our results show a significant difference in the effects of single and long-term low-dose irradiation on the immune system.
Performance Assessment of Photovoltaic Generator(PVG) Power System Using Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) DC to DC Boost Converter and DC to AC Inverter

Output power of Photovoltaic Generator (PVG) in a power system was tracked using duty cycle perturbation pulse applied into Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) DC to DC boost converter. Perturbation pulse was controlled by Perturb and Observe (P&O) algorithm which is written in Arduino Uno microcontroller. Power system consist of PVG connected directly with MPPT DC to DC boost converter and then with DC to AC inverter and selected load is 20 W bulb. PVG efficiency was determined by the ratio between the PVG output electric power and the amount sunshine irradiation power received on the surface of PVG. MPPT efficiency was calculated base on output power of PVG work as an input power of MPPT and both input and output power of MPPT was measured using voltage sensor and ACS 712 current sensor. Voltage and current measurements was carried out in online system using Parallax Data Acquisition (PLX-DAQ) software and then voltage, current and power was tabulated in excell table. The graph of voltage, current and power was plotted as a function of time and shows the occurrence of power tracking of MPPT to extract maximum power from PVG after duty cycle of perturbation was applied. The performance of power system was determined by multiplying efficiency of PVG, MPPT and Inverter which gives the performance value around 93 percent of PVG efficiency.
Screening of Soil Cyanobacteria for Antifungal and Antibacterial Activity

Abstract Soil cyanobacteria isolated from the paddy fields of seven provinces in Iran was evaluated for antimicrobial activity. Aqueous, petroleum ether, and methanol extracts from 76 microalgae were examined for antimicrobial properties against four bacteria and two fungi. Of total microalgae, 22.4% (17 cyanobacteria) exhibited antimicrobial effects. Selected cyanobacteria with positive antimicrobial activities were members of the families Stigonemataceae, Nostocaceae, Oscillatoriaceae, and Chroococcaceae. Growth of Bacillus subtilis Persian Type Culture Collection (PTCC) 1204 and Staphylococcus epidermidis PTCC 1114 were inhibited by 12 and 14 species of cyanobacteria, respectively. Also, eight cyanobacteria inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli PTCC 1047, and two species inhibited the growth of Salmonella typhi PTCC 1108. Considering fungi, six species inhibited the growth of Candida kefyr ATCC 1140, and one cyanobacterium species inhibited the growth of Candida albicans ATCC 14053. Furthermore, one of the paddy fields (Khozestan) showed no antimicrobial activity.
Origin of the plastid in the anomalously pigmented dinoflagellate Gymnodinium mikimotoi (Gymnodiniales, Dinophyta) as inferred from phylogenetic analysis based on the gene encoding the large subunit of form I‐type RuBisCO

The dinoflagellate Gymnodinium mikimotoi Miyake et Kominami ex Oda possesses an anomalously pigmented plastid which contains 19′‐hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin, 19′‐butanoyloxyfucoxanthin and fucoxanthin instead of peridinin as the major carotenoids. Previously, we have shown that the plastid of G. mikimotoi belongs to the rhodoplast lineage as inferred from phylogenetic analyses based on the amino acid sequences deduced from psbA and psaA and the nucleotide sequence of the plastid small subunit ribosomal RNA. Furthermore, in the present study, we cloned and sequenced an additional representative plastid gene, rbcL, encoding the large subunit of ribulose 1–5 bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO LSU) from G. mikimotoi. The amino acid sequence deduced from the rbcL gene of G. mikimotoi apparently revealed the conventional form I RuBisCO LSU, which is present in most photosynthetic organisms, and not the divergent form II existing in typically pigmented dinofl age Nates with plastids containing peridinin as the main carotenoid. This finding supports the hypothesis that the origins of the plastids in G. mikimotoi and peridinin‐type dinoflagellates are not related to each other. Molecular phylogenetic analysis based on the amino acid sequence deduced from the rbcL gene further showed that the plastid of G. mikimotoi belongs to the rhodoplast lineage. In particular, G. mikimotoi clustered with haptophytes in the phylogenetic tree. From this result, two hypotheses with respect to the origin of the plastid in G. mikimotoi can be proposed: G. mikimotoi may have engulfed a haptophyte‐like cell (tertiary symbiosis) or englulfed a rhodophyte‐like cell that was closely related to the origin of the plastid in the haptophyte (secondary symbiosis).
The influence of Konjac glucomannan on the functional and structural properties of wheat starch

Abstract The aim of this study was to characterize the influence of Konjac glucomannan (KGM) on the functional and structural properties of wheat starch. Results showed that KGM significantly decreased the starch hydrolysis rate, with a lower level of rapidly digestible starch (RDS), and a higher content of slowly digestible starch (SDS). Besides, KGM decreased the content of leached amylose, while enhanced the swelling power, water‐holding capacity, freeze‐thaw stability, and paste clarity of wheat starch, which indicated a good improvement on the functional properties. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X‐ray diffraction patterns (XRD) manifested that the addition of KGM disrupted the original crystalline structures of wheat starch, which may result in the increased hydrolysis rate of starch. Interestingly, this did not consist with the decreased starch hydrolysis rate showed in the study. Moreover, FTIR results showed the existence of the interaction between KGM and starch. The morphological characterization demonstrated that the addition of KGM contributed to a more compact structure of freeze‐dried wheat starch. And KGM inhibited the expansion of starch granules and formed a barrier around the gelatinized starch. Therefore, the barrier around the starch granules and the interaction between KGM and starch were considered to be the important reasons that affected the starch digestibility.
Competitive inhibition of the auxin‐induced elongation by α‐D‐oligogalacturonides in pea stem segments

Branca, C, De Lorenzo, G. and Cervone, F. 1988. Competitive inhibition of the auxin-induced elongation by α-D-oligogalacturonides in pea stem segments. - Physiol. Plant. 72: 499–504. α-D-galacturonide oligomers (OG) were prepared by partial hydrolysis of sodium polypectate with an homogeneous Aspergillus niger endopolygalacturonase (EC 3.2.1.15). OG, obtained after digestion for 10, 20, 30, 60, 120 min and 24 h, were assayed for their ability to interfere with the IAA-induced elongation of pea (Pisum sativum L. cv. Alaska) stems. Maximum inhibiting activity was exhibited by oligomers with an approximate degree of polymerization higher than 8. Inhibition by longer OG was much lower, and the products of the 24 h digestion and the unhydrolysed polypectate were ineffective. The addition of OG to pea stems caused a parallel shift to the right of the IAA dose-effect curve. The shift depended on the amount of OG used, showing that oligogalacturonides behave as competitive antagonists of IAA. The presence of OG caused the disappearance of the second maximum of the elongation rate and reduced the first maximum. OG were also tested for their ability to inhibit IAA-induced ethylene evolution of pea stem segments. Maximal inhibition was obtained with OG of the same size as those that interfered with IAA-induced elongation. Inhibition of the auxin action seemed to be specific as OG did not interfere with the activity of gibberellic acid (GA3) or kinetin. It was concluded that oligogalacturonides strongly interfere with the activity of IAA, although they are by themselves incapable to influence the elongation of pea stem segments directly.
Automatic FPGA-based Hardware Accelerator Design: A Case Study with Image Processing Applications

We present a case study of automatic FPGA-based hardware accelerator design using our proposed framework with the image processing domain. With the framework, the ultimate systems are optimized in both performance and energy consumption. Moreover, using the framework, designers can implement FPGA platforms without manually describing any hardware cores or the interconnect. The systems offer accelerations in execution time compared to traditional general purpose processors and accelerator systems designed manually. We use two applications in the image processing domain as experiments to report our work. Those are Canny edge detection and jpeg converter. The experiments are conducted in both embedded and high-performance computing platforms. Results show that we achieve overall speed-ups by up to 3.15 ́ and 2.87 ́ when compared to baseline systems in embedded and high-performance platforms, respectively. Our systems consume less energy than other FPGA-based systems by up to 66.5%.
Private-equity commercial real estate, timberland, and farmland: market integration and information transition dynamics

Using data from the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF), we examine market integration of commercial real estate and timberland–farmland assets via the Fama–MacBeth two-step approach under the intertemporal capital asset pricing framework. In addition, we study the information transition dynamics between those markets via the vector error correction model (VECM). We find evidence of market segregation and one-way information flow from the timberland–farmland market to the commercial real estate market. We conclude that commercial real estate and timberland–farmland assets are driven by different market fundamentals and that lagged timberland–farmland returns can help predict current commercial real estate returns. The only exception is during market downturns when commercial real estate and timberland–farmland markets are somewhat integrated and driven by some factors that are not specified in this study.
New polymorphic microsatellite markers in the Korean mi-iuy croaker, Miichthys miiuy, and their application to the genetic characterization of wild and farmed populations

Eighteen new polymorphic microsatellite markers were developed for the Korean mi-iuy croaker (Miichthys miiuy, Perciformes, Sciaenidae), and allelic variability was compared between a wild population in Mokpo, Korea, and a hatchery population in Tongyeong, Korea. All loci were amplified readily and demonstrated allelic variability, with the number of alleles ranging from 5 to 37 in the wild population, and from 4 to 12 in the farmed population. The average observed and expected heterozygosities were estimated, respectively, to be 0.74 and 0.78 in the hatchery population samples, and 0.79 and 0.86 in the wild samples. These results indicate lower genetic variability in the hatchery population compared with the wild population, and significant genetic differentiation between the wild population and the hatchery samples (F ST=0.058, P < 0.001). These microsatellite loci may be valuable for future population genetic studies, monitoring changes in the genetic variation within stocks in a commercial breeding program, conservation genetics, and molecular assisted selective breeding of the mi-iuy croaker in the future.
The ALPINE-ALMA [C II] survey

The [C II] 158μm line is one of the strongest IR emission lines, which has been shown to trace the star formation rate (SFR) of galaxies in the nearby Universe, and up toz ∼ 2. Whether this is also the case at higher redshift and in the early Universe remains debated. The ALPINE survey, which targeted 118 star-forming galaxies at 4.4 < z < 5.9, provides a new opportunity to examine this question with the first statistical dataset. Using the ALPINE data and earlier measurements from the literature, we examine the relation between the [C II] luminosity and the SFR over the entire redshift range fromz ∼ 4 − 8. ALPINE galaxies, which are both detected in [C II] and in dust continuum, show good agreement with the localL([CII])–SFR relation. Galaxies undetected in the continuum by ALMA are found to be over-luminous in [C II] when the UV SFR is used. After accounting for dust-obscured star formation, by an amount of SFR(IR) ≈ SFR(UV) on average, which results from two different stacking methods and SED fitting, the ALPINE galaxies show anL([CII])–SFR relation comparable to the local one. When [C II] non-detections are taken into account, the slope may be marginally steeper at high-z, although this is still somewhat uncertain. When compared homogeneously, thez > 6 [C II] measurements (detections and upper limits) do not behave very differently to thez ∼ 4 − 6 data. We find a weak dependence ofL([CII])/SFR on the Lyαequivalent width. Finally, we find that the ratioL([CII])/LIR∼ (1 − 3) × 10−3for the ALPINE sources, comparable to that of “normal” galaxies at lower redshift. Our analysis, which includes the largest sample (∼150 galaxies) of [C II] measurements atz > 4 available so far, suggests no or little evolution of the [C II]–SFR relation over the last 13 Gyr of cosmic time.
Base excision repair of DNA in γ-irradiated human cells

Escherichia coli endonuclease IV was used to incise cellular DNA specifically at apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) sites prior to alkaline elution to measure the resulting DNA strand breaks. gamma-Irradiated HeLa cells initially contained DNA strand breaks and no AP sites. Upon incubation at 37 degrees C the strand breaks were rapidly repaired and AP sites were generated and subsequently repaired. The transient nature of the AP sites indicates the in vivo operation of a base excision repair pathway whereby damaged bases are removed from DNA by DNA glycosylases to produce AP intermediates that are then substrates for AP endonucleases.
Seasonal changes in phytoplankton biomass on the western Agulhas Bank, South Africa

Data on temporal and spatial changes in phytoplankton biomass and distribution on the western Agulhas Bank during the main spawning season of pelagic fish were obtained from monthly cruises conducted between August and March in 1993/94 and September and March in 1994/95. The period was divided into three oceanographic seasons based on different levels of upwelling activity: late winter (August and September), spring (October–December) and summer (January–March). Cross-shelf and vertical distribution patterns of chlorophyll changed markedly during these seasonal periods, reflecting changes in hydrographic structure and in nutrient availability. During late winter, chlorophyll was evenly distributed in the deep, upper-mixed layer (>40 m) across the shelf. A clump-forming Thalassiosira sp. contributed to the moderately high mean chlorophyll concentration (1.9 mg·m−3) in the upper 30 m. In October and/or September, warming of surface waters inshore gave rise to a modest (2–5 mg·m−3) spring bloom, typical of t.
The natural diet of the Notonectidae: field trials using electrophoresis

ABSTRACT. 1 Field trials were conducted on populations of two sympatic species of the waterbug Notonecta (Hemiptera: Heteroptera), to examine their natural diet using the electrophoretic method of gut contents analysis. 2 Fingerprint esterase bands were identified from thirty‐three potential aquatic prey types; gut contents of different instars of both species of Notonecta from the field were analysed. 3 The level of prey identification possible ranged from 73% in fifth instar N.glauca L. to 100% in third instar N.viridis Delcourt. 4 Type A errors, where no prey remains were detected from a full gut, were found in only 3% of the specimens analysed. 5 Data on gut states, the number of prey types per gut and details of aquatic prey found in the diet of different instars of field‐collected Notonecta are presented. 6 These results are compared with previous data on notonectid diets, and the relative merits of different methods of diet analysis are discussed.
Introduction of plasmid DNA into Streptomyces lividans by electroporation

A new procedure for introducing plasmid DNA into Streptomyces lividans protoplasts by electroporation is described. Transformation of S. lividans by plasmid DNA was observed under various conditions by altering the electric pulse voltage, number of pulses per cycle, cycle time, and number of cycles. The maximum number of transformants was obtained under conditions in which some lysis of the protoplasts was observed. The maximum transformation frequency obtained using electroporation was 104/μg of plasmid pVE28.
PREDATORY BEHAVIOR OF A PIT-MAKING ANTLION, MYRMELEON MOBILIS (NEUROPTERA : MYRMELEONTIDAE)

HETRICK, L. A. 1970. Biology of the "love-bug", Plecia nearctica (Diptera: Bibionidae) Florida Entomol. 53: 23-26. LADD, T. L. , AND J. E. TEW. 1983. Attraction of honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) to traps baited with lures for Japanese beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) J. Econ. Entomol. 76: 769-770. LEHMAN, R.S. 1932. Experiments to determine the attractiveness of various aromatic compounds to adults of the wireworms. J. Econ. Entomol. 25: 949-958. LEPPLA, N.c. , J. L SHARP. W. K. TURNER, E. W. HAMILTON, AND D. R. BENNETT. 1974. Rhythmic activity of Plecia nearctica. Environ. Entomol. 3: 323-326. MORRISON, R. T. , AND R. N. BOYD. 1973. Organic chemistry, Allyn and Bacon Inc. Boston. SAS INSTITUTE. 1996. SAS Systems for Windows. Version 6.12 SAS Institute, Cary, N.C. SHARPE, H. 1974. Love bugs are drawn to heat. Sunshine State Agric. Res. Rep. Vol. 19, No. 3-4. Pages 3-4. THORNHILL, R. 1976. Dispersal of Plecia nearctica (Diptera: Bibionidae). Florida Entomol. 59: 45-53. WHITESELL, J. J. 1974. Heat, sound, and engine exhaust as "lovebug" attractants (Diptera: Bibionidae: Plecia nearctica) Environ. Entomol. 3: 1038-1039.
The Optimization of Life-History Patterns Under Density Dependence

In a paper published in this journal, I determined relationships of life-history patterns of birds among themselves and to certain characteristics of the environment when the parameters were adjusted to maximize evolutionary fitness (Ricklefs 1977). The parameters were constrained by trade-offs dictating, for example, that an increase in reproductive output would result in an increase in the risk of death to the parent. The principal result of the model was an expression of the relationship among the life-history parameters and the rate of population growth, itself a function of the life-history parameters, for which the rate of population growth was maximized. Formally, I determined the expression
The effect of audit committee characteristics on earnings management: the case of Indonesia

We investigate the effectiveness of audit committee in mitigating earnings management in the context of Indonesia. Audit committee is expected to reduce earnings management. This study examines the effect of several audit committee characteristics: independence of audit committee members, number of audit committee members, number of meetings, expertise in finance and gender on earnings management. We study 393 Indonesian listed firms during the 2006–2010 period. Results show that female member(s) of audit committee mitigate earnings management. However, financial expertise and number of meetings have positive effect on earnings management. This result shows that both variables might not be effective to constraint earnings management. On the other hand, number of audit committee members and independence of audit committee member do not have any significant influence on earnings management. Further, this study shows that audit firms and leverage have negative effect on earnings management. However, institutional investors tend to push earnings management higher and growth has no significant effect on earnings management.
Ensuring Stability, Accuracy and Meaningfulness in Synthetic Control Methods: The Regularized SHAP-Distance Method

The synthetic control method (SCM) has been increasingly adopted to evaluate causal effects under quasi-experimental designs. However, SCM suffers from sound weaknesses that compromise its accuracy, stability and meaningfulness. The Regularized SHAP-distance synthetic control method (RSD-SCM) is proposed as solution. We evaluate the economic effect of the government formation deadlock in Spain, 2016. The deadlock did not negatively affect economic growth, as the economy grew 1.58% more without full government; standard SCM method overestimates the effect by 0.23 pp. We show that RSD-SCM offers higher accuracy and stability, while ensuring the economic meaningfulness of covariates used in building the counterfactual.