Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nucleo-kinetoplast interactions and variability in the Kinetoplastida

Summary A detailed electron microscope study of epimastigotes of some Trypanosoma cruzi strains and of Leishmania spp. promastigotes has revealed in these not only a close spatial proximity between the nucleus and kinetoplast but also a direct contact between these two compartments and even their occasional tight joining. These contacts are seen to evolve in parallel with trypanosomatid development, even within the limits of one stage of the life cycle, and to become more obvious during the parasitic cell differentiation into invasive form. A possibility of exchange between genetically important molecules at the contact of two different DNAcontaining cell structures is discussed in terms of the role of kinetoplast DNA minicircles as a source of genotypic diversity and transposable genetic elements. Moreover, these events are regarded as being presumably involved in the specific mechanism of variability characteristic of the agamic protozoa of the order Kinetoplastida.
Blood Pressure Target in Acute Stroke to Reduce HemorrhaGe After Endovascular Therapy: The Randomized BP TARGET Study Protocol

Background: High systolic blood pressure (BP) is associated with an increased risk of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) in patients undergoing reperfusion therapy. However, there are no data from randomized trials to guide BP management after reperfusion following endovascular therapy (EVT) for patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) with large vessel occlusion (LVO). The objective is to evaluate if BP control with a target of 100–129 mmHg systolic BP (“tight” SBP control) can reduce ICH as compared to 130–185 mmHg (“usual” SBP control) in AIS participants after reperfusion by EVT. Methods: The BP TARGET trial is a multicenter, prospective, randomized, controlled, open-label, blinded endpoint clinical trial. AIS participants with LVO experiencing successful reperfusion are randomly assigned, in a 1:1 ratio, to have a “tight” SBP control (100–129 mmHg) or a conservative SBP control (130–185 mmHg) during the following 24–36 h. The primary outcome is the rate of ICH (either symptomatic or asymptomatic) on follow-up CT scan at 24–36 h. Secondary outcomes include the rate of the symptomatic ICH, the overall distribution of the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at 90 days, favorable outcome (90–day mRs 0–2), infarct volume at follow-up CT scan at 24–36 h, change in National Institute of Health Stroke Scale at 24 h, and all-cause mortality at 90 days. Conclusion: This is the first randomized trial directly comparing the efficacy of different SBP targets after EVT reperfusion. This prospective trial aims to determine whether a “tight” SBP control after EVT reperfusion can reduce the risk of ICH.
Antagonistas microbianos para el manejo de la pudrición negra del fruto en Theobroma cacao L: Estado actual y perspectivas de uso en Cuba

This work was aimed to demonstrate the perspective use of microbial antagonists in the integrated management of Black pod rot in T. cacao. Some of the main management strategies of Black pod rot are summarized, making emphasis on the use and perspectives of microbial antagonists for the control of Phytophthora spp. Microbial antagonists are suggested as an alternative in cacao pest management since they could mitigate the deleterious effects caused by Phytophthora spp. Microbial antagonists exert their action mainly through parasitism, competence, and production of antifungal metabolites. Native Cuban strains have antagonistic activity in vitro and in vivo against P. palmivora, which suggests their potentialities for the production of efficient bioproducts as one of the alternatives for the integrated management of cacao.
Parthenocarpic Fruit Growth Reduces Yield Fluctuation and Blossom-end Rot in Sweet Pepper

The aim of this work was to investigate whether parthenocarpic fruit growth could avoid flushing, i.e. an irregular yield pattern, in sweet pepper. Plants were grown in a greenhouse compartment from April until August. Half of the plants were grown without a fruit set treatment (control), whereas parthenocarpic fruits were allowed to develop on the other plants by preventing self-pollination and applying auxin to the stigma. For node positions 3 to 17, fruit set per node varied between 21 and 55% for control plants [coefficient of variation (CV) = 11%], whereas auxin-treated plants showed much less variation in fruit set (41–57%; CV = 5%) and average fruit set was higher. In agreement with fruit set, fruit yield was also much more regular in the auxin-treated plants. Fruit fresh yield varied between 0.2 and 1.0 kg m−2for control plants (CV = 20%), and between 0.4 and 0.8 kg m−2for auxin-treated plants (CV = 9%). Results showed that developing seeds in sweet pepper fruits are the main cause of the abortion of new flowers, and irregular fruit set and yield. Parthenocarpic fruit growth resulted in flatter, 30% smaller fruits, because of a reduction in fruit growth rate; the duration of fruit growth was 1 week longer than for fruits from control plants. Parthenocarpic fruits were hardly affected by blossom-end rot (BER) with only 1% of fruits being affected compared to 31% in the control. Total dry mass production was the same for treated and control plants; however, in auxin-treated plants, 50% of the total dry mass was allocated to the fruits, compared to 58% in control plants.
Shear Wave Tensiometry Reveals an Age-Related Deficit in Triceps Surae Work at Slow and Fast Walking Speeds

Prior studies have observed an age-related decline in net ankle power and work at faster walking speeds. However, the underlying changes in muscle-tendon behavior are not well-understood, and are challenging to infer from joint level analyses. This study used shear wave tensiometry to investigate the modulation of force and work done by the triceps surae across walking speeds. Fourteen healthy young (7F/7M, 26 ± 5 years) and older (7F/7M, 67 ± 5 years) adults were tested. Subjects walked on an instrumented treadmill at four walking speeds (0.75, 1.00, 1.25, and 1.50 m/s) while lower extremity kinematics and Achilles tendon shear wave speeds were collected. Subject-specific calibrations were used to compute Achilles tendon force from wave speed. Excursions of the soleus and gastrocnemius muscle-tendon units were computed from the kinematic data and subject-specific measures of the Achilles tendon moment arm. Work loop plots were then used to assess effective muscle-tendon stiffness during lengthening, and positive, negative, and net work production during stance. Two-way mixed ANOVAs were used to evaluate the effects of age group and walking speed on each outcome measure. Tendon loading during muscle-tendon lengthening (effective stiffness) did not differ between age groups, but did vary with speed. The soleus became effectively stiffer with increasing speed while the gastrocnemius became effectively more compliant. There was a marked age-related deficit in net soleus (−66% on average) and gastrocnemius (−36%) work across all walking speeds. We did not observe an age-speed interaction effect on net work production. These results suggest the age-related deficit in triceps surae output in walking is pervasive across speed, and hence seemingly not linked to absolute mechanical demands of the task.
Effect of sink on carbohydrate metabolism in stems and roots of the phasey bean (Macroptilium Lathyroides (L.) Urb.) during regrowth

The objectives of this study were to investigate the changes in the effect of sink on storage carbohydrate content and the relationship between amylase activity and storage carbohydrate content in stems and roots of the phasey bean (Macroptilium lathyroides (L.) Urb. ) following defoliation. Plants were grown for 53 days after sowing in pots and then cut at a height of 10 cm. One lateral bud remaining by selective trimming at the cotyledonary node (N0), the second leaf node (N2), or the fourth leaf node (N4) was regrown under dark conditions at 22°C, and new shoot production, carbohydrate content and amylase activity in the stems and roots were measured 0, 1, 3, 6 and 10 days after defoliation. Plants having upper buds produced higher new shoots on day 10 post-defoliation, indicating that the growth of buds correlated with sink demand and affected dry weight production. Fructose, glucose and sucrose contents decreased in the stems and roots after defoliation and correlated negatively with sink demand especially in the stems. Starch content decreased more than sugar contents in stems and roots, and more considerably in the plants having upper buds (higher sink tissues) especially in stems. Total amylase and α-amylase activities changed slightly, and α-glucosidase activity decreased in stems and roots after defoliation. The lack of increase in α-amylase with the decrease in starch under sink demand indicates that starch content could fluctuate without changes in α-amylase activity during phasey bean regrowth.
Reflexive account-giving through ‘practice notations’:: plural dimensions and dynamics of infrastructuring

This paper takes contemporary infrastructuring discourses further to explore ways to notice, articulate, and learn from dynamic shifts that characterize contingent contexts of participatory designing. We explore the knowledge(s) that can emerge from generating understandings of movements in relation to changing conditions through the use of ‘practice notation’ in a long-term collaboration with an organization working to end the prison industrial complex in the US. Informed by dance notation, the project experimented through practices of inquiry that enabled understandings across multiple scales, from the local to the systemic, with a focus on how collectivity was imagined, built, challenged, and sustained. We consider how practice notations can complement dynamic accounts of infrastructuring by layering participants’ movement, ideas, and contexts to create new understandings of practice. In so doing, we commit to the ethics of providing richer and more grounded articulations of participatory practices-in-motion.
Variation in the Diet of the Mexican Black-bellied Gartersnake Thamnophis melanogaster: Importance of Prey Availability and Snake Body Size

Abstract We describe the diet of Thamnophis melanogaster on the Mexican plateau, including geographic variation between populations in the Lerma and Tula drainages (represented by 39 localities), annual and seasonal variation in an isolated population in the Nazas drainage, and sexual and size-related variation in all three drainages. The Mexican Black-bellied Gartersnake inhabits banks of streams, rivers, canals, ponds, and lakes, where it captures fishes, leeches, crayfishes, tadpoles, earthworms, and frogs by foraging underwater. There was no geographic variation between the Lerma and Tula populations in proportions of prey taxa consumed, but whereas primary and secondary tadpole stages were consumed by snakes in Lerma, only secondary stages were consumed by snakes in Tula. Crayfishes, novel prey for this genus, were consumed over a restricted zone in the contiguous headwaters of the Lerma and Tula drainages. Interannual and seasonal variation in proportions of annelids and anurans ingested was documented in the Nazas population, and attributed to temporal change in relative abundance of prey taxa and snake size classes. Snake size was a major determinant of diet in all three drainages, affecting proportions of different prey taxa consumed and the upper limits on the mass of ingested prey. In the three drainages, sexes were similar in body size and consumed the same prey taxa in similar proportions and masses. We discuss proximate and functional determinants of diet and suggest that the observed interannual and seasonal variation observed in Mexican Black-bellied Snakes is due mostly to temporal variation in prey availability and proportions of snake size classes.
LAND TENURE AND OCCUPATION OF VACANT HOME RANGES BY BOBCATS (LYNX RUFUS)

Abstract Bobcat (Lynx rufus) social organization has been studied extensively, and a land tenure system based on prior residence appears to influence home range selection and maintenance. However, few studies have presented information about home range vacancies and the pattern of replacement by other bobcats. We documented 10 cases in which home ranges of deceased male and female resident bobcats were filled by transient or neighboring bobcats, and quantified the extent to which home ranges of new bobcats were similar to those of prior residents. For males (n = 5) and females (n = 5), respectively, an average of 85% and 79% of each replacement's home range and 89% and 74% of their point locations overlapped with the former resident's home range. This extensive overlap suggests that a land tenure system exists for bobcats and that home range vacancies are filled by transients or neighboring residents of the same sex. Although our results generally support the land tenure concept, we suggest that bobcat social organization may be more complex than previously reported.
I. Note on the electrical phenomena which accompany irritation of the leaf of Dionæa muscipula

1. When the opposite ends of a living leaf of Dionæa are placed on non-polarizable electrodes in metallic connexion with each other, and a Thomson’s reflecting galvanometer of high resistance is introduced into the circuit thus formed, a deflection is observed which indicates the existence of a current from the proximal to the distal end of the leaf. This current I call the normal leaf-current. If, instead of the leaf, the leaf-stalk is placed on the electrodes (the leaf remaining united to it) in such a way that the extreme end of the stalk rests on one electrode and a part of the stalk at a certain distance from the leaf on the other, a current is indicated which is opposed to that in the leaf. This I call the stalk-current.
Associations between polymorphism of some candidate genes and growth rates, feed intake and utilisation, slaughter indicators and meet quality in cattle

that the leucine/valine substitution at amino acid position 127 of the bovine growth hormone (GH) affects growth rate, feed intake/feed conversion as well as carcass traits in dairy and beef cattle. This indicates the GH gene as a potential locus of quantitative traits (QTL) in cattle. Moreover, associations were studied between the polymorphism at GH receptor (GHR), leptin (LEP), STAT5A, and PIT-1 loci and traits related to meat production in the growing Polish Friesian and beef bulls. Statistically significant differences were found between various genotypes at the loci studied and feed consumption, meat production, and carcass quality traits. Analysis of beef bulls revealed differences in meat quality between calpain (CAPN1) genotypes; the animals of the GC genotype had highest cooking loss and darker color of meat; a difference was also observed between genotypes in the total content of hem pigment of meat.
An Overview of Trade Volume and Its Composition: Comparative Analysis of EU, ASEAN with India

India’s foreign trade policy is mainly focused on increasing volume of bilateral trade with several economic cooperation arrangements with different countries. The bilateral trade agreements are considered as important strategies for development among the countries. They are instrumental in promoting economic growth and development of the economy, particularly, through FTA’s (free trade agreements). Though the patterns of bilateral integration differ across regions, reducing barriers to trade between member countries remains the primary objective. Many go beyond removing intra-regional tariffs on trade in goods to removing non-tariff barriers, and even include investment. Thus the trade volume and its composition has played an increasingly important role in India’s economic growth in the last two decades wherein a lot of bilateral trade agreements have been formed; India-ASEAN agreement and the on-going negotiations between India and EU representatives during the last few years have given rise to substantial curiosity among researchers across the world. The kind of trade agreements India has with the two trading blocs are significant to explain the direction and composition of India’s trade volume. India trades more with ASEAN countries rather than with countries in the EU. The research analyses the performance of India’s exports, imports and its trade volume with EU and ASEAN for the period between 1996 to 2014. The paper also looks at trade patterns in respect of selected industries where the trade volume has been significantly going up.
Structure and composition of unmanaged riparian forests in the coastal mountains of Oregon, U.S.A.

We characterized the structure and composition of unmanaged riparian forests in three river basins in Oregon's coastal mountains. Our objective was to evaluate stand attributes at three spatial scales: streamside (site), drainage network (stream order), and basin (subregion). Data on basal area, species composition, snag density, canopy cover, and tree regeneration were collected along transects at 124 sites. Conifer basal area increased with distance from stream, a trend similar among subregions, and was highest at sites along first-order streams. Hardwood basal area was relatively constant with distance from stream and was proportionally higher at sites along second- and third-order streams than at sites along first-order streams. Conifer and hardwood tree regeneration occurred infrequently and varied by topographic position, stream order, and subregion. Conifer regeneration was associated with basal area of shade-tolerant conifers and appeared to be limited by shrub competition. The unmanaged forests w.
The In Planta-Produced Extracellular Proteins ECP1 and ECP2 of Cladosporium fulvum Are Virulence Factors

The two extracellular proteins ECP1 and ECP2 are abundantly secreted by the plant-pathogenic fungus Cladosporium fulvum during colonization of the intercellular space of tomato leaves. We examined the involvement of both proteins in pathogenicity and virulence of this fungus. ECP1-deficient, ECP2-deficient, and ECP1/ECP2- deficient isogenic C. fulvum strains were created by targeted gene replacement. Upon inoculation onto susceptible 6-week-old tomato plants, all three mutants showed reduced virulence. Deficiency in ECP2 resulted in a strain that poorly colonized the leaf tissue and secreted lower amounts of the in planta-produced ECP3, AVR4, and AVR9 proteins than the wild-type strain. The ECP2-deficient strain produced little emerging mycelium and few conidia. Deficiency in ECP1 did not significantly modify colonization of the leaf tissue, but reduced secretion of in planta-produced proteins. The ECP1-deficient strain emerged from stomata of the lower epidermis, but failed to sporulate as abundantly as .
Analysis of growth during geotropic curvature in seedling hypocotyls

Abstract. The patterns of growth in organs curving under the influence of gravity were analysed by time-lapse photography of cress and cucumber hypocotyls which were delimited into 1 mm zones by ion-exchange beads. Geotropic curvature resulted from changes in growth rate on both sides of the organ. Growth inhibition of varying degrees of intensity occurred in all the previously growing zones of the upper (concave) side. An absolute reduction in length due to compression frequently occurred in some zones. Also, in both species growth stimulation was observed on the lower (convex) side. The disparity in growth rate between the upper and lower surfaces varied with time, being more apparent in the subapical region in the first hour of curvature. A later promotion of growth rate on the lower surface subsequently increased the curvature of the more basal zones. Autotropic straightening occurred as a consequence of growth changes, both inhibitory and stimulatory, in the apical zones. These events indicate a polarity of response in which apical zones have precedence over basal zones.
Plant‐herbivore coevolution in a changing world

Current anthropogenic environmental change causes rapid loss of biodiversity. Although the effects of the main causes of this loss (habitat fragmentation, climate change, and invasive species) on single species have been widely studied, the effects on species interactions are poorly understood. In particular, we do not yet understand how these phenomena affect the evolutionary processes that impact species interactions. Coevolution is a dominant process that organizes the web of life: most species are involved in at least one coevolved interaction. Due to rapid human modification of landscapes it is important to understand how subsequent changes in biotic and abiotic environment and in the level and distribution of genetic variation, as well as changes in population structures, influence the elements of the coevolutionary process. In this review, we synthesize recent development of theoretical work on the coevolution of interacting species with conservation genetics and the impact of anthropogenic environmental changes on single species to address the potential effects of habitat fragmentation, climate change, and invasive species on plant‐herbivore coevolution.
The Negative Elongation Factor Complex – a poorly understood multifaceted transcript-processing complex

With the advent of whole genome screens, promoter-proximal pausing of RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) has been shown to play a much more significant role in eukaryotic systems than previously thought. This type of transcription inhibition is dependent on the binding of the Negative Elongation Factor (NELF) complex which is composed of four sub-units, presenting unique domains and consequently fulfilling different functions. Numerous questions still surround the mechanism by which NELF is recruited, stabilised and dissociated from the RNAPII complex. Furthermore, not much is known about which other transcription stages the NELF complex is involved in and through which sub-units it carries out such functions. Based on the current knowledge of the role of NELF in transcription pausing, it is hypothesised that different interaction partners are required to direct context-specific functions of the NELF complex. This review covers some of the known roles and contexts in which NELF acts in an attempt to identify key questions for future NELF-dependent transcriptional research.