Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pursuit-diving seabird endures regime shift involving a three-decade decline in forage fish mass and abundance

Forage species availability is a key determinant of seabird success, survival, and population change. In the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, capelin Mallotus villosus, a keystone forage species, experienced a stock collapse in the early 1990s that was a pivotal component of a regional regime shift. Since then, capelin have exhibited delayed protracted spawning, younger spawning age, distribution shifts, and smaller size. As capelin specialists, pursuit-diving common murres Uria aalge have had to adjust to these changes. We show that the masses of capelin provisioned to murre chicks at the species’ largest colony declined steadily from 1990−2017. We predicted that the parental provisioning of lower quality prey would reduce offspring condition, lower parental body mass, and increase foraging effort. Offspring condition declined, and while no negative effects were found on adult body mass, parental murres worked substantially harder in 2016, when capelin were dispersed and availability was low and when offspring and parental mass were the lowest in the time-series. These circumstances suggest that the murres neared a behavioral tolerance of parental effort. Despite the multi-decadal order-of-magnitude reduction in the regional capelin stock, parental murres coped by exploiting local prey availability at persistent shallow-water spawning sites and by increasing foraging effort. Even while the keystone forage fish stock remained at extremely low levels, the murre population increased, a likely consequence of enhanced adult survival due to amelioration of anthropogenic risk factors.
Morphological identification of Ilyonectria liriodendri and its interaction with plant growth-promoting bacteria in grapevine rootstocks

Abstract In order to analyze the pathogenicity and antagonism between grapevine rootstocks and soil microorganisms, plant growth-promoting bacteria with antibiotic effect were selected from the phytopathogen Ilyonectria liriodendri, 2T-VSC-101 isolated monosporic, in in vitro antibiosis tests. The bacterial access that produced the largest zone of inhibition was used in the seedling biotization of the grapevine rootstocks P1103, IBBT481 and VR039-16. From the interaction between isolates of plant growth-promoting bacteria and Ilyonectria liriodendri isolate resulted in three bacterial isolates with control of the mycelial growth of the phytopathogen, all of the Burkholderia gender.However, the highest control bacterium, Burkholderia catarinensis sp.nov. isolated POA 89, was found to be detrimental to the in vitro development of rootstocks, causing them to die. The cultivation through culture medium modified with sand was adequate for the in vitro growth of the rootstocks and appropriate for the observation of the black foot disease’s characteristic symptoms. From the ex vitro cultures with the IBBT481 rootstock and the microorganisms, there were results in favorable effects to the plants inoculated with the bacterium in combination with the phytopathogen. It also demonstrated the difficulty of acclimatization and growth of this access in a greenhouse.
Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neuroectodermal epithelial cells mistaken for blood-brain barrier-forming endothelial cells

Brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) possess unique properties underlying the blood-brain-barrier (BBB), that are crucial for homeostatic brain functions and interactions with the immune system. Modulation of BBB function is essential for treatment of neurological diseases and effective tumor targeting. Studies to-date have been hampered by the lack of physiological models using cultivated human BMECs that sustain BBB properties. Recently, differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into cells with BBB-like properties has been reported, providing a robust in vitro model for drug screening and mechanistic understanding of neurological diseases. However, the precise identity of these iBMECs remains unclear. Employing single-cell RNA sequencing, bioinformatic analysis and immunofluorescence for several pathways, transcription factors (TFs), and surface markers, we examined the molecular and functional properties of iBMECs differentiated either in the absence or presence of retinoic acid. We found that iBMECs lack both endothelial-lineage genes and ETS TFs that are essential for the establishment and maintenance of EC identity. Moreover, iBMECs fail to respond to angiogenic stimuli and form lumenized vessels in vivo. We demonstrate that human iBMECs are not barrier-forming ECs but rather EpCAM+ neuroectodermal epithelial cells (NE-EpiCs) that form tight junctions resembling those present in BBB-forming BMECs. Finally, overexpression of ETS TFs (ETV2, FLI1, and ERG) reprograms NE-EpiCs to become more like the BBB-forming ECs. Thus, although directed differentiation of human iBMECs primarily gives rise to epithelial cells, overexpression of several ETS TFs can divert them toward a vascular BBB in vitro.
A signal demodulation-based method for the early detection of Cheyne-Stokes respiration

Cheyne-Stokes respiration (CSR) is a sleep-disordered breathing characterized by recurrent central apneas alternating with hyperventilation exhibiting a crescendo-decrescendo pattern of tidal volume. This respiration is reported in patients with heart failure, stroke or damage in respiratory centers. It increases mortality for patients with severe heart failure as it has adverse impacts on the cardiac function. Early stage of CSR, also called periodic breathing, is often undiagnosed as it only provokes hypopneas instead of apneas, which are much more difficult to detect. This paper demonstrates the proof of concept of a new method devoted to the early detection of CSR. The proposed approach relies on a signal demodulation technique applied to ventilation signals measured on 15 patients with chronic heart failure whose respiration goes from normal to severe CSR. Based on a modulation index and its instantaneous frequency, oscillation zones are detected and classified into three categories: CSR, periodic breathing and no abnormal pattern. The modulation index is used as an efficient biomarker to quantify the severity of the pathology for each patient. Results show high correlation with experts’ annotations with sensitivity and specificity values of 87.1% and 89.8% respectively. A final decision leads to a classification which is confirmed by the experts’ conclusions.
Corticosterone in Lizard Egg Yolk Is Reduced by Maternal Diet Restriction but Unaltered by Maternal Exercise

When females face adverse environmental conditions, physiological changes, such as elevated corticosterone levels, to cope with the stressors may also impact their offspring. Such maternal effects are often considered adaptive and may “prime” the offspring for the same adverse environment, but maternal corticosterone levels do not always match that of the eggs produced. We examined how diet restriction and increased locomotor activity, via exercise training, affected steroid hormone levels of female green anole lizards, as well as the hormone levels in the yolk of their eggs. Diet restriction did not affect female hormone levels, but training increased corticosterone levels. Despite this, training did not affect yolk steroid levels, but eggs from females with diet restriction had lower corticosterone levels in yolk. This suggests that two common stressors, food shortage and increased locomotor activity, impact female physiology in a way that is not translated to her offspring.
Extraordinary diversity of HLA class I gene expression in single cells contribute to the plasticity and adaptability of human immune system

HLA, the coding genes of human major histocompatibility (MHC) proteins, play a crucial role in the human adaptive immune system by presenting antigenic peptides to T cell receptors on T cells. HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-C, these 3 Class I HLA genes are one of the most polymorphic loci in the human genome. For decades, HLA typing has been performed prior to tissue and stem cell transplantation. However, beyond the role in tissue matching, HLA has also been implicated in a wide array of autoimmune diseases and HLA genotypes and expression levels are closely associated with cancer patients prognosis as recent studies have revealed. Recently methods have been developed to perform HLA typing and HLA expression quantification together by using RNA-seq techniques. However, these bulk RNA-seq experiments are measuring an averaged signal of cell populations. Single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) has regained its popularity due to its power to reliably resolve single RNA transcriptomes at large scales. In our present study, we did HLA typing using three independent scRNA-seq datasets. Interestingly, we found that single cells from the same donor could be classified into different groups where each group has a distinct expressed HLA genotype (e.g., HLA-A, heterozygous or homozygous); in other words, HLA class I genes show abundant allele specific expression in single cells. This phenomenon has been repeatedly observed in a total of 14 donors from 3 independent datasets (one is breast epithelium, another two are multiple myeloma). Our systematic analysis of HLA class I gene expression using multiple scRNA-seq datasets has uncovered a putative mechanism, where by fine tuning HLA class I expressions both at the quantity and allele levels, our immune system is able to handle various internal challenges through single cells equipped with extraordinary diverse HLA expression patterns.
Development, Preliminary Validation, and Refinement of the Composite Oral and Maxillofacial Pain Scale-Canine/Feline (COPS-C/F)

Objectives: Oral pain is underrecognized and undertreated in small animal practice. This study aimed to develop and perform a preliminary validation of an instrument to evaluate oral and maxillofacial pain in dogs and cats. Methods: Indicators potentially associated with oral pain in dogs and cats were identified and selected. The Composite Oral Pain Scale-Canine/Feline (COPS-C/F) in the Italian language was developed using a two-part questionnaire (owner and veterinary specific questionnaires). The instrument was used to score the intensity of oral and maxillofacial pain in patients with oral disease. Content validity was performed and the COPS-C/F was applied to 20 dogs and 16 cats with oral disease at baseline and 15 days after dental treatment for construct validity. Criterion validity was assessed by comparing the COPS-C/F with a visual analog scale (VAS), a numeric rating scale (NRS), and a simple descriptive scale (SDS). Construct validity/responsiveness and criterion validity were assessed with Wilcoxon and Spearman Pearson tests, respectively (p ≤ 0.05). The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to calculate internal consistency. Thereafter, the instrument was refined and translated to English and back-translated for semantic equivalence. Results: Construct validity was confirmed with a significant reduction of pain scores after treatment (p < 0.05) for most items. Criterion validity was confirmed by a significant correlation among the COPS-C/F total pain scores and those from VAS, NRS, and SDS (p < 0.05). Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.876 and 0.860 for the owner and the veterinary specific questionnaires, respectively, indicating good internal consistency. The items that did not present significant differences between time-points and the VAS, NRS, and SDS were removed prior to translation to English (COPS-C/F ENG). Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: The study described the development and preliminary validation of the COPS-C/F as an instrument for pain assessment in dogs and cats. Refinement and back-translation of COPS-C/F with semantic equivalency resulted in the COPS-C/F ENG consisting of six and four items for the owner and veterinary specific questionnaires, respectively. The English version requires further validation and testing using a larger number of patients in the clinical setting.
Huntingtin fibrils with different toxicity, structure, and seeding potential can be reversibly interconverted

The first exon of the huntingtin protein (HTTex1) important in Huntington’s Disease (HD) can form cross-β fibrils of varying toxicity. We find that the difference between these fibrils is the degree of entanglement and dynamics of the C-terminal proline-rich domain (PRD) in a mechanism analogous to polyproline film formation. In contrast to fibril strains found for other cross-β fibrils, these HTTex1 fibril types can be reversibly interconverted. This is because the structure of their polyQ fibril core remains unchanged. Further, we find that more toxic fibrils of low entanglement have higher affinities for protein interactors and are more effective seeds for recombinant HTTex1 and HTTex1 in cells. Together these data show how the structure of a framing sequence at the surface of a fibril can modulate seeding, protein-protein interactions, and thereby toxicity in neurodegenerative disease.
Gene Action for Yield and Yield Component Traits in Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum l.) Under late Sown Conditions

The present work was conducted during the two wheat growing seasons of 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 respectively, at the Experimental Farm of South Valley University to study the gene action under normal sowing date (30 November) and late sowing dates (10 January). Five parents were crossed in ahalf diallel cross mating design. The F1 ́s hybrids and their parents were raised under normal and late sowing dates. The analysis of the F1 generations and their parents revealed that additive gene effects was manifested for all traits studies in the first sowing date, but the reverse was true in the second sowing date. However, over-dominance type of gene action was recorded for grain yield in the first sowing date and partial dominance in the second sowing date. As to the number of kernels/spike partial dominance was displayed in the first sowing date and over dominance in the second sowing date. Narrow sense heritability estimates ranged from 0.49 in the first sowing date to 0.69 in the second sowing date for grain yield. Meanwhile, narrow sense heritability was 0.58 for 1000-grain weight and 0.69 for grain yield in the second sowing date.
The effect of tamoxifen on IGF signaling pathway in mouse ovary

Tamoxifen (TAM) is one of selective estrogen receptor modulators used in breast cancer treatment and prevention. The objective of this study was to determine whether or not insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-1) and its receptor (IGF-1R), has any role in the effect mechanism of TAM on the ovary. Experimentally, animals were divided into three groups as control group (n= 20), low dose TAM treatment group (0.5 mg/mouse/day, n= 20) and high dose TAM treatment group (1.5 mg/mouse/day, n= 20). TAM was injected 0.5 and 1.5 mg/mouse/day for 5 days. Ovarian sections were used to examine the general structure by trichrome staining method and to determine IGF-1 and IGF-1R expressions by immunohistochemical staining method. After the experiment, the presence of atretic follicles and small cystic structures in the TAM-treated animals was determined. Also, antral follicles and the corpus luteum were much less in the high dose TAM group than in the control. TAM did not change the expression of IGF-1 in granulosa cells, but increased the expression of IGF-1R. In TAM groups, IGF-1 and IGF-1R expression were increased in oocytes of follicles and in interstitial cells depending on TAM doses. However, while IGF-1 expression was unchanged in the corpus luteum, decreased in treatment group. TAM generally stimulated IGF-1 and IGF-1R expression in a dose-dependent manner. The results suggest that IGF-1 signaling pathway is involved in the mechanism of action of TAM on the ovary. We may assert that it may be useful to use IGF-1 signaling pathway regulators to adjust the effects of TAM on the ovary.
Effect of algae Ecklonia maxima extract (Kelpak SL) on yields of common wheat, durum wheat and spelt wheat

The 3-year experiment was concerned with the response of spring forms of common wheat (Triticum aestivum L. subsp. aestivum), durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) and spelt wheat (Triticum aestivum subsp. spelta L. em. Thell.) to the foliar application of a plant growth stimulant (extract from marine algae Ecklonia maxima), with the commercial name of Kelpak SL (GS), as compared to control treatment (C). The following parameters were analysed: yield of grain, yield components (number of ears, weight of 1000 kernels, number and weight of kernels per ear) and physical indicators of grain quality (test weight, uniformity and vitreosity of grain). The study showed that the level of yielding and the yield components were related primarily with the wheat genotype, but they depended also on the agro-climatic conditions and on the algae extract and control experimental treatments. The application of algae extract, compared to the control, caused a significant increase in the yields of the spring wheat species under study, on average by 7.0%. Canopy spraying with algae extract had a favourable effect on the number of ears, on he number and weight of kernels per ear, but it had no effect on the weight of 1000 kernels. The grain quality of durum wheat, spelt wheat and common wheat was affected more strongly by the weather conditions in the successive years of the study and by the genotype than by the foliar application of algae extract. The spelt genotypes were characterised by lower yields and lower grain quality than common wheat and the durum wheat genotypes.
SPATIO-TEMPORAL CHANGES IN WHEAT CROP CULTIVATION IN INDIA

Abstract. This study was conducted to understand the changes in spatiotemporal characteristics of wheat crop production including the changes in area and yield. We employed the emerging hot and cold spot analysis along with space time cube and space-time cluster density analysis to study the spatial changes in wheat crop production, area and yield, and understand the changes in spatiotemporal features. We made a comprehensive analysis of the changes in wheat crop production, area and yield on pan India basis for the period from 1999 to 2015. The major findings were: (a) During the study period significant increase in wheat yield occurred within the North Indian states of Punjab and Haryana and intensifying hot spots appeared within the Indo-Gangetic plains. (b) The Analysis of the area under wheat cultivation showed a persistent hot spot in the Northern states of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, with new hot spots observed in the regions of Central India during the years 2014 and 2015. (d) The analysis of the wheat crop production showed significant new cold spots in Rajasthan and Gujarat, with intensifying hotspots emanating into the lower delta regions of Ganges. Present study also revealed the potential of GIS based data models when related with additional background information, to segregate the most significant clusters of changes (increase / decrease) happening over active wheat crop cultivation. We expect the results from this study to help in increasing the wheat crop yield and production in the future.
Anion radicals of pheophytin and chlorophyll A: their role in the primary charge separations of plant photosynthesis

Redox, optical, and paramagnetic characteristics of the anion radicals of chlorophyll(Chl./sup -/) and pheophytin(pheo./sup -/) were measured. Solutions of Chl. /sup -/ and Pheo. /sup -/ in dimethylformamide(DMF) were prepared by controlled electrolysis of oxygen free solutions in which the solvent had been pretreated with activated molecular sieves followed by activated neutral alumina. The electrolysis reactions were reversible as one-electron oxidation of the radicals regenerated better than 90% of the original chlorins. ESR and ENDOR spectra showed no differences in samples prepared in deuterated DMF (99.5% d/sub 7/), even after prolonged standing--indicating that no significant reactions occurred with solvent protons at sites of high spin densities. A comparison of the optical changes induced by light in a Chl protein complex of photosystem II poised at -0.49 V (vs, NHE) as reported in the literature and the difference spectra obtained on reduction of Pheo and Chl in DMF is drawn. The authors conclude that the first reduced chemical products of green plant photosynthesis are the anions of pheophytin in the photosystem which oxidizes water (photosystem II), and the anions of chlorophyll in the photosystem which reduces carbon dioxide (photosystem I). 4 figures, 1 table, 39 references.
Fingerprint Liveness Detection

The use of fingerprint sensors become common and it is accepted all over world. However, fingerprint sensors are susceptible to spoofing using artificial materials or in worst case to the dismembered fingers. Fake fingerprints have shown to fool most commercial fingerprint systems. In this work, static software based programming approach is proposed in which only one single image features are required. The combination of low-level gradient features from Speeded-up Robust Features (SURF), pyramid extension of the Histograms of Oriented Gradient (PHOG) and surface features from Gabor Wavelet is used by adding all features. The features gained from these algorithms of a single image equally perform well on different fingerprint sensors. We remove these components from a solitary fingerprint image to beat the problems faced in dynamic software based programming approaches which requires user co-operation with hardware and longer computational time. Test examination done on LivDet 2011 data gives a normal Equal Error Rate (EER) of 0.1 which is good as compared to LivDet 2011 competition winner.