Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Red Listed medicinal plants of South Africa: Status, trends, and assessment challenges

article i nfo In 2009, South Africa completed the IUCN Red List assessments of 20,456 indigenous vascular plant taxa. During that process, medicinal plant species (especially those sold in informal muthi markets) were identified so that potential extinction risks posed to these species could be assessed. The present study examines and analyses the recently documented threat statuses of South African ethnomedicinal taxa, including the number of species used, revealing family richness and the degree of endemism, and calculates the Red List Index (RLI) of species survival tomeasuretherelativedegreeofthreat to medicinal species.Approximately 2062indigenous plant spe- cies (10% of the total flora) have been recorded as being used for traditional medicine in South Africa, of which it has beendetermined that82 species(0.4% of thetotal national flora)are threatenedwith extinction ata national levelintheshortandmediumtermsandafurther100speciesareofconservationconcern(includingtwospecies alreadyextinctinthewild). Thirty-twopercentofthetaxahavebeenrecordedintraditionalmedicinemarketsin the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and Limpopo. The study also reflects on the challenges associated with Red List evaluations of medicinal species, many of which, based on market reports, are extracted at a seemingly unsustainable rate. In contrast to the majority of species enumerated in the Red List of South African plants, medicinal taxa are often widespread, with large extents of occurrence. Accordingly, the population decline criteria have necessarily been applied to assess threats to their existence, even though accurate figures for numbers of remaining individuals, areas of occupancy, quantities harvested, and regeneration times are often found lacking. Factors leading to susceptibility of plant species to extinction as a result of harvesting pressure are discussed. The current findings reveal a need for greater emphasis on focussed population level research on prioritised medicinal plant species.
Dietary Administration of Animal Diets with Aromatic and Medicinal Plants: Influence on Meat Quality

Aromatic plants are gaining importance in recent years as potential sources of natural food preservatives due to the growing interest in the development of safe and effective natural food preservation. The use of vegetal substances with antimicrobial and antioxi- dant properties to increase the shelf life in meat and meat products is a promising technology. Taking into account that the diet with antioxidant may be absorbed and prevent lipid oxidation and colour deterioration, the possibility of feeding animal diets contains aromatic and medicinal plant (as thyme leaf, rosemary and sage) as natural antioxidants and antimicrobials represent a very interesting opportunity to replace synthetic antioxidants. In this sense, herbs of the Labiatae family, such as rosemary and sage, have been extensively studied for antioxidant and antimicrobial activities in a variety of systems. This review gives an overview of the current knowledge and recent trends in the use of plant-derived compounds from aromatic and medicinal as antimicrobials and antioxidant in animal diet and its effect on meat quality, their potentials and challenges.
Stevioside and Rebaudioside A – Predominant Ent-Kaurene Diterpene Glycosides of Therapeutic Potential: a Review

Gupta E. , Purwar S. , Sundaram S. , Tripathi P., Rai G. (2016): Stevioside and rebaudioside A – predominant ent-kaurene diterpene glycosides of therapeutic potential – a review. Czech J. Food Sci., 34: 281–299. Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) is a Paraguayan perennial herb of the family Asteraceae. The leaves contain a great amount of secondary metabolites with a wide range of important biological activities commonly known as steviol glycosides which differ in their molecular configuration, power of sweetness and their taste profile. Out of various steviol glycosides, the main compounds of interest are diterpenoid glycosides of ent-kaurene type extracted from the leaves of this plant as non-toxic, thermally stable, low-calorie natural sweeteners stevioside and rebaudioside A. These glycosides are a high-quality sugar substitute or dietary supplement with diverse applications in the medicinal world along with the food and beverage industry. This review article is aimed at the chemistry of stevioside and rebaudioside A, possible biosynthetic pathways, their metabolism and acceptable daily intake along with a broad spectrum of pharmacological and therapeutic applications.
Similar community assembly mechanisms underlie similar biogeography of rare and abundant bacteria in lakes on Yungui Plateau, China

The revolution of molecular techniques in the field of microbial ecology not only allows an in‐depth exploration of abundant bacteria, but also confirms the existence of “rare biosphere. ” However, the mechanisms underlying the assembly process of abundant and rare bacteria in plateau lakes are still poorly understood. In the present study, distribution of abundant and rare bacteria in 21 lakes on Yungui Plateau, China and the relative importance of deterministic and neutral factors to their biogeographic patterns were examined. Results surprisingly showed that similar biogeographic patterns of rare and abundant taxa were generally shaped via similar assembly mechanisms. For both bacterial groups, deterministic process strongly influenced the distribution, while neutral process was not at play. In addition, they both exhibited a weak distance–decay relationship. Nevertheless, environmental drivers of rare and abundant taxa and their importance were not exactly the same. Water physicochemical property was the most dominant driver shaping the biogeographic pattern of rare taxa, followed by lake morphology and watershed land‐use, while for abundant taxa, watershed land‐use was the most dominant driver and lake morphology did not play a significant role. This study suggested that rare bacteria in high‐altitude aquatic ecosystems might experience equally low extinction risk and respond to environmental changes in a similar manner to abundant ones, but their ecological niches and functions were not identical. To fully understand the assembly mechanism of bacterial community, it is necessary to differentiate the community by traits of taxa.
Flood hazard mapping for the gonbad chi region, Iran

Flood hazard (FH) can be considered as one of the most serious threats mainly in areas and countries where other natural hazards hardly occur. This paper presents a simple approach to urban FH assessment in regions where the primary data are scarce. The objective of this study is to develop a geographic information system-aided urban FH zoning of the study area (in Iran), by applying multicriteria decision analysis and fuzzy analysis. In this process, the research methodology focused on the analysis of the variables controlling water routing. The model incorporated four parameters: distance to the drainage channels, topography (topographic wetness index), infiltration and cover type. The results demonstrated that most floods occur near the discharge channels and in the lower parts of the study area.
Naturally acquired humoral responses to Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum: identification of antigenic targets to inform rational biomarker and vaccine development

ii Summary . iii Declaration . xi Preface . xii Acknowledgements . xiv List of Figures . xx List of Tables . xxiii Chapter 1: Introduction . 26 Malaria parasites and life cycle . 27 The changing epidemiology of malaria . 30 Malaria elimination: challenges and need for improved surveillance . 33 The impact of new malaria interventions . 37 Humoral immunity and feasibility of a malaria vaccine . 39 Cellular immunity to malaria . 45 Formation of immunological memory . 49 Vaccines in development . 53 Pre-erythocytic vaccines . 56 Blood-stage vaccines . 58 Transmission-blocking vaccines . 60 Whole organism vaccines . 61 Effect of decreasing malaria transmission and the need for surrogate markers of immunity . 64 Need for more screening studies . 67 Hypotheses of this thesis . 70 Aims of this thesis . 70 Chapter 2: Materials and Methods . 71
Probiotic properties of the riboflavin producing Lactobacillus fermentum strain isolated from yoghurt sample

The probiotic properties of the riboflavin producing lactic acid bacterium, Lactobacillus fermentum MTCC 8711 were evaluated. The strain was resistant to the acidic environment with the pH of 3.5 and more than 100% survivability of the cells was observed after 4 h. Similarly, 85% survivability was observed in the presence of 0.3% (w/v) bile salts. The strain exhibited I²- galactosidase activity by blue colored colony formation in the MRS agar plates with X-gal and IPTG. Further, it was found to be a medium acidifier with a D pH value of 0.96 after 5 h of growth. The strain was also able to reduce the cholesterol up to 50% in the presence of cholesterol and bile salts. Since the strain possesses the basic properties of the probiotics and produces riboflavin, it could be considered as a better starter culture in the fermented food industry. Â Probiotic properties of the riboflavin producing Lactobacillus fermentum strain isolated from yoghurt sample S. Jayashree * , K. Jayaraman and G. Kalaichelvan School of Biosciences and Technology, VIT University, Vellore-632 014, Tamil Nadu, India *Corresponding Author, Email: Â sjayashree@vit.ac. in; Phone- 91-416-220- 2901; Fax- 91-416-224-3092 Cite This Article as: S. Jayashree, K. Jayaraman and G. Kalaichelvan. 2010. Probiotic properties of the riboflavin producing Lactobacillus fermentum strain isolated from yoghurt sample. J. Ecobiotechnol. 2(2): 11-16. Â
TNF-aInducesActinCytoskeleton Reorganization inGlomerularEpithelial Cells Involving Tyrosine Phosphorylation ofPaxillin andFocalAdhesionKinase

Glomerular permeability formacromolecules depends partially onproper attachment oftheglomerular epithelial cells (GEC)totheglomerular basement membrane (GBM). Thelatter requires integrity oftheactin cytoskeleton, whichinturn isregulated byspecific actin-associated proteins. Since several glomerulopathies characterized byheavy proteinuria areassociated withincreased glomerular tumornecrosis factor a(TNF-a) expression, westudied theinteraction ofTNF-awiththeactin cytoskeleton ofcultured ratGEC.Incubation ofGECwith 10ng/ml TNF-aforvariable timeperiods ranging from 15minto24hrdemonstrated amarkedaccentuation andredistribution ofactin microfilaments, asshownby direct fluorescence analysis andconfocal laser scanning microscopy. Quantitative biochemical determination of theG/total-actin ratio confirmed theabove observations. Indeed, this ratio wassignificantly reduced, indicating substantial polymerization ofG-actin andformation of F-actin. Concurrently, TNF-arapidly induced tyrosine phosphorylation ofbothpaxfillin andfocal adhesion kinase, without affecting theexpression levels ofthese two proteins. Inaddition, tyrosine phosphorylation ofvinculinbecameevident, indicating involvement ofthis focal adhesion marker intheobserved actin reorganization. Inhibition oftyrosine phosphorylation bygenistein prevented thereorganization oftheactin cytoskeleton by TNF-a. We condude that TNF-ainduces substantial reorganization ofactin cytoskeleton andfocal adhesions. These effects occur simultaneously, withaprompt TNFa-induced tyrosine phosphorylation ofpaxillin andfocal adhesion kinase, indicating that these proteins, known toregulate actin polymerization andformation offocal adhesions, maybedirectly involved inthemechanism controlling theobserved actin redistribution. These findings suggest that theobserved TNF-a-actin cytoskeleton interactions mayrelate tothepathogenesis ofglomerulopathies withheavyproteinuria, inwhichincreased glomerular expression ofTNF-aisassociated withdisturbances intheattachment ofpodocytes totheGBM.
Computational Methods for Comparative Non-coding RNA Analysis: from Secondary Structures to Tertiary Structures

Unlike message RNAs (mRNAs) whose information is encoded in the primary sequences, the cellular roles of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) originate from the structures. Therefore studying the structural conservation in ncRNAs is important to yield an in-depth understanding of their functionalities. In the past years, many computational methods have been proposed to analyze the common structural patterns in ncRNAs using comparative methods. However, the RNA structural comparison is not a trivial task, and the existing approaches still have numerous issues in efficiency and accuracy. In this dissertation, we will introduce a suite of novel computational tools that extend the classic models for ncRNA secondary and tertiary structure comparisons. For RNA secondary structure analysis, we first developed a computational tool, named PhyloRNAalifold, to integrate the phylogenetic information into the consensus structural folding. The underlying idea of this algorithm is that the importance of a co-varying mutation should be determined by its position on the phylogenetic tree. By assigning high scores to the critical covariances, the prediction of RNA secondary structure can be more accurate. Besides structure prediction, we also developed a computational tool, named ProbeAlign, to improve the efficiency of genome-wide ncRNA screening by using high-throughput RNA structural probing data. It treats the chemical reactivities embedded in the probing information as pairing attributes of the searching targets. This approach can avoid the time-consuming
Seasonal dynamics behind the CO2 efflux of adult European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) trees - uncovered by stable C isotopes

The study examined seasonal pattern in the CO2 efflux from non-leafy branches, trunks and coarse roots of ca. 60-year-old European beech (F. sylvatica) and Norway spruce (P. abies) trees. To this end, the natural δ13C of the CO2 efflux was measured on the monthly scale, covering the course of a whole year. In addition, seasonal changes in C allocation of recent photosynthates to respiratory C pools were examined by stable C isotope labeling of whole-tree canopies (isoFACE infrastructure). Pronounced seasonal dynamics were observed in each species and results were related to tree phenology, i.e. lignin synthesis during summer and CO2 refixation during winter. The study highlighted the dependency of beech on seasonal build-up and consumption of storage C and the abundance of two respiratory C pools. Both aspects were less pronounced in evergreen spruce.The study examined seasonal pattern in the CO2 efflux from non-leafy branches, trunks and coarse roots of ca. 60-year-old European beech (F. sylvatica) and Norway spruce (P. abies) trees. To this end, the natural δ13C of the CO2 efflux was measured on the monthly scale, covering the course of a whole year. In addition, seasonal changes in C allocation of recent photosynthates to respiratory C pools were examined by stable C isotope labeling of whole-tree canopies (isoFACE infrastructure). Pronounced seasonal dynamics were observed in each species and results were related to tree phenology, i.e. lignin synthesis during summer and CO2 refixation during winter. The study highlighted the dependency of beech on seasonal build-up and consumption of storage C and the abundance of two respiratory C pools. Both aspects were less pronounced in evergreen spruce.
Characterization of quince (Cydonia) cultivars using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

An investigation of available Cydonia (Cydonia oblonga Mill., quince, membrillo) germplasm by isozyme staining of anionic polyacrylamide gradient electrophoresis gels is described. The isozymes of acid phosphatase, esterase, peroxidase and phenol oxidase showed most diversity and usefulness for this purpose. Eleven groups of quince and two groups of x Pyronia (quince-pear crosses) were distinguished by their isozyme patterns. These patterns distinguish between groups of clonal accessions, and the patterns were constant for each accession during the test period (December, 1986 to August, 1987). Thus, these patterns were considered to represent genetic characteristics suitable for identification purposes. The diversity of isozyme patterns was much less than in Corylus and Pyrus populations previously sampled; and less than that of a restricted pool of apple cultivars previously examined.
The Effect of Tsukamurella inchonensis Bacterin on the Immune Response Against Influenza and Newcastle Disease Vaccines in Broiler Chickens

Abstract Background: In poultry production, improving immunity is very important to prevent infectious diseases. One solution to improve the immunity of animals and to decrease their susceptibility to infectious disease is administration of immunostimulants. Surveys have indicated that some bacteria can work as immunomodulators such as Mycobacterium vaccae and can promote Th1-mediated mechanisms, and switch off pre-existing Th2 preponderance (1). Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of Tsukamurella inchonensis bacterin on the immune response against Influenza and Newcastle disease vaccine in broiler chickens . Materials and Methods: A total of 170 day-old broiler chicks were purchased and divided randomly into 5 equal groups. Chickens of group A received 106 bacterin subcutaneously on two days before vaccination against Newcastle disease and avian influenza. Chickens of group B received 106 bacterin subcutaneously on six days after the first injection of bacterin. Chickens of group C received 106bacterin subcutaneously on six days after the second injection of bacterin. Chickens of group D, vaccinated against Newcastle disease and avian influenza but did not receive bacterin. Chickens of group E, did not vaccinate against Newcastle disease and avian influenza and did not receive bacterin. All groups except group E, were vaccinated with live Newcastle vaccine and AI-ND killed vaccine (subtype H9N2). Blood samples were collected and antibody titer against Newcastle disease vaccine and avian influenza vaccine was determined by HI test. Results: The results of present study showed that receiving of Tsukamurella inchonensis bacterin for 3 times, significantly increased the specific antibody response to avian influenza subtype H9N2 vaccine. Also about Newcastle vaccine, significantly increased the specific antibody response to Newcastle vaccine at 21 and 28 days after vaccination. Conclusions: Receiving of Tsukamurella inchonensis bacterin can enhance immune response against NDV and AIV.
Accidente ponzoñoso por arañas del género loxosceles spp en bovinos del departamento de Córdoba

The objective of this study was to analyze and describe the clinical characteristics of Poisonous dermatitis compatible with cutaneous loxoscelism (Loxosceles sp) in two cattle (a Romosinuano male, 9 years old and 450 kilos and a Brahaman female of 5 years old and 400 kilos), coming from the municipality of Monteria, Department of Cordoba, (Colombia). The clinical examination and anatomopathological characterization of the lesions were performed, with similar manifestations in both animals, which consisted of the presence of edema and a focal erythematous area, when detailing the injured area, a central necrotic point and two halos were observed, a medial white halo and a more external violet halo; As well as absence of neurological and systemic signs. The diagnosis was made based on the clinical characteristics in the animal and anatomopathological analysis of the lesions, which are characteristic in this type of poisonous accident by spiders of the genus Loxosceles. Although it is known that spiders of this genus share habitats with domestic species, this is the first report of this type of accidents in cattle of the department of Cordoba and Colombia.
GENETIC AND ENDOCRINOLOGICAL STUDIES OF FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE DYSFUNCTION

 Liaqat, I. , Jahan, N. , Loneb, K. P., Pakstis, A. , and Taylor, H. S. (2014). Genetic Polymorphisms Associated with Endometriosis in Pakistani Women. Reproductive Sciences. 21(3):318A-318A.  Liaqat, I. , Jahan, N. , Lone, K.P., Pakstis, A. and Taylor, H.S. (2014). Genetic polymorphisms in adiponectin and insulin receptor genes in Pakistani women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Abstracts of 34th Pakistan Congress of Zoology (International). Feb. 25-27, 2014. CBGP-46
Phytochemical analysis on Caryota urens (fishtail palm) fruit from VIT university campus for pharmaceutical use

Caryota urens is a species which is known as flowering plant. Caryota urens is belonging to the palm family mainly from Singapore, Eastern Burma and some other places in India also . It grows mainly in open fields of hot areas and some rainforest areas also. The Caryota urens are commonly called toddy palm and wine palm because it is used to prepare wine . And is also known as jaggery palm which is named because of the use of preparation of jaggery. The distribution of the main active principles in the ethyl acetate extracts of Caryota urens dry fruits were screened by using various different solvents system. The phytochemical property of Caryota urens species shows the presence of carbohydrate, alkaloids, flavanoids and phenols, organic and inorganic nature. The main scope is to study the qualitative analysis of Caryota urens dry fruits for pharmacological benefits.
Spliceosome profiling visualizes the operations of a dynamic RNP in vivo at nucleotide resolution

Tools to understand how the spliceosome functions in vivo have lagged behind advances in its structural biology. We describe methods to globally profile spliceosome-bound precursor, intermediates and products at nucleotide resolution. We apply these tools to three divergent yeast species that span 600 million years of evolution. The sensitivity of the approach enables detection of novel cases of non-canonical catalysis including interrupted, recursive and nested splicing. Employing statistical modeling to understand the quantitative relationships between RNA features and the data, we uncover independent roles for intron size, position and number in substrate progression through the two catalytic stages. These include species-specific inputs suggestive of spliceosome-transcriptome coevolution. Further investigations reveal ATP-dependent discard of numerous endogenous substrates at both the precursor and lariat-intermediate stages and connect discard to intron retention, a form of splicing regulation. Spliceosome profiling is a quantitative, generalizable global technology to investigate an RNP central to eukaryotic gene expression. Highlights Measurement of spliceosome-bound precursor and intermediate in three species Non-canonical splicing events revealed Statistical modeling uncovers substrate features that predict catalytic efficiency Discard of suboptimal substrates occurs in vivo and predicts intron-retained mRNAs
Estimation of glycogen and protein contents of certain tissues of fresh water fish, Clarias batrachus (Linn) after exposure of Zinc Sulphate.

The present study deals with the effect of Zinc as (ZnSO4), as a component of industrial waste and its effect on tissue glycogen and protein level at 24, 48, 72 & 96 hrs respectively. The estimated glycogen concentration in the tissuesgills, liver, kidney, ovary and testis were found to be reduced during the exposure periods. The estimated protein concentration in the tissues-gills, liver, kidney, ovary and testis were found to be reduced during the exposure periods. Maximum reduction in protein level in the tissues was found at 96h.