Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chemical Aspects of Chilo partellus Feeding on Certain Sorghum Cultivars

The feeding behaviour of third-instar larvae of Chilo partellus appear to be mediated by a complex profile of chemicals present in the whorls of sorghum. These chemicals were extracted sequentially into hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol. Methanolic extracts showed greater feeding stimulation than ethyl acetate extracts and these in turn showed greater feeding stimulation than hexane extracts. Extracts derived from a more susceptible cultivar IS 18363 showed greater feeding stimulation than extracts from a less susceptible cultivar IS 2205.Phagostimulatory compounds present in ethyl acetate and methanolic extracts include phenolics and sugars, respectively. Combinations of these sets of phagostimulants synergize to give enhanced feeding activity of third-instar larvae. Chromatographic examination of extracts of IS 18363 and IS 2205 showed quantitative rather than qualitative differences: the more susceptible cultivar IS 18363 had higher phenolic and sugar contents than the less susceptible cultivar IS 2205. These results suggest that Chromatographic quantification of the different sets of phagostimulants might constitute a basis for resistance screening of different cultivars of sorghum. RésuméLe comportement alimentaire de la troisième instar de larvae de Chilo partellus parait etre medier par un complexe profil de produits chimiques presents dans les verticilles de sorgho. Ces produits etaients extraits d’abord en hexane, puis en acetate ethylique et finalement en methanol.Les larves ont prefere les extraits methanolique a ceux des acetate ethylique et les derniers étaient preferes a ceux d’hexane. Les extraits derives d’un cultivar plus susceptible IS 18363 etaient preferes au cultivar IS 2205. Les composes phagostimulants presents en acetate ethylique contiennent des phenoliques et des sucres. Les deux combines sont les plus preferes par les larves. Une examination chromatographique des extraits IS 18363 et IS 2205 ont montre une difference quantitative plus que qualitative: le cultivar IS 18363 qui etait le plus susceptible contenait une plus grande quantite de la phenolique et du sucre que le moins susceptible cultivar IS 2205. Ces resultats montrent que la quantification chromatographique des differents groupes de phagostimulants peuvent constituer une base pour l’examen de la resistance des different cultivar de sorgho.
Psychosocial job strain and polypharmacy: a national cohort study

Objectives: Psychosocial job strain has been associated with a range of adverse health outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine the association between psychosocial job strain and prospective risk of polypharmacy (the prescription of ≥5 medications) and to evaluate whether coping strategies can modify this risk. Methods: Cohort study of 9703 working adults [mean age 47.5 (SD 10.8) years; 54% female] who participated in the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH) at baseline in 2006 or 2008. Psychosocial job strain was represented by job demands and control, and measured by the Swedish version of the demand–control questionnaire. The outcome was incidence of polypharmacy over an eight-year follow-up period. Information on dispensed drugs were extracted from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register. Logistic regression was used to estimate the association of job strain status with polypharmacy, adjusted for a range of confounders. Results: During the follow-up, 1409 people developed polypharmacy (incident rate: 20.6/1000 person-years). In comparison to workers with low-strain jobs (high control/low demands), those with high-strain jobs (low control/high demands) had a significantly higher risk of incident polypharmacy (OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.04–1.89). The impact of high-strain jobs on developing polypharmacy remained among those with covert coping strategies (ie, directed inwards or towards others) but not among those with open coping strategies (ie, primarily directed toward the stressor). Conclusions: Workers in high-strain jobs may be at an increased risk of polypharmacy. Open coping strategies may reduce the negative impact of psychosocial job strain on risk of polypharmacy.
Post-diaminobenzidine Treatments for Double Stainings: Extension of Sulfide-Silver-Gold Intensification for Light and Fluorescent Microscopy

Double staining protocols using the most popular immunoperoxidase techniques may raise difficulties. The two ordinary detection systems may cross-talk, when the primary antibodies are derived from phylogenetically closely related animals. A color shift of the 3,3′-diaminobenzidine (DAB) polymer may occur during the second development, resulting in poor distinction between the two kinds of deposits. A post-DAB technique, sulfide-silver-gold intensification, was fine tuned to eliminate these difficulties, which may be especially suitable for colocalization of cell nuclei and perikarya of the same cells. The revised method was probed in combination with a subsequent other immunoperoxidase step or fluorochrome-tagged reagents. The nuclear antigens (BrdU, c-Fos, and Prox-1) were first visualized with DAB polymer, which were then treated with SSGI, turning the deposit black. Thereafter, cytoplasmic antigens (doublecortin, neuronal nuclei, and calbindin) were detected with either another immunoperoxidase using DAB again or immunofluorescence labeling. In both approaches, the immunopositive nuclei and cytoplasmic sites could be easily distinguished even at low magnifications. Different shielding or eluting posttreatments were compared for consecutive acetylcholinesterase histochemistry terminated with DAB development and immunohistochemistry in the same sections. In conclusion, we recommend post-DAB treatments that abolish interactions between detection systems and allow clear distinction between the two signals under various conditions:
Walker tumor cells express larger amounts of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl‐2 and presents higher resistance to toxic concentrations of Ca2+ than the tumor cells K 562

Ca2+ homeostasis was studied in two tumor cell lines (Walker 256 and K 562) previously shown to exhibit different mitochondrial Ca2+ accumulation capacity. When intact, both cells present cytosolic Ca2+ concentrations within the range expected for mammalian cells, as determined through fura‐2 fluorescence ratios. In order to study intracellular Ca2+ distribution, digitonin was used to permeabilize the plasma membrane without affecting intracellular organelle structure, as assessed using electron microscopy. Digitonin‐permeabilized Walker 256 cells incubated with Ca2+ presented uptake of the cation exclusively through mitochondrial activity. In addition, very large Ca2+ loads were necessary to promote a disruption of Walker 256 mitochondrial membrane potential. K 562 cells presented active Ca2+ uptake through both nonmitochondrial and mitochondrial compartments and suffered disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential at lower Ca2+ loads than Walker 256 mitochondria. The higher Ca2+ resistance in Walker 256 cells could be attributed to Bcl‐2 overexpression, as evidenced by immunocytochemical staining. Thus, we correlate natural Bcl‐2 overexpression, observed in Walker 256 cells, with higher resistance to mitochondrial Ca2+ overload, as was shown previously in mitochondria from cells transfected with the bcl‐2 gene. Drug Dev. Res. 52:508–514, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
CSC Radioresistance: A Therapeutic Challenge to Improve Radiotherapy Effectiveness in Cancer

Radiotherapy (RT) is a modality of oncologic treatment that can be used to treat approximately 50% of all cancer patients either alone or in combination with other treatment modalities such as surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and therapeutic targeting. Despite the technological advances in RT, which allow a more precise delivery of radiation while progressively minimizing the impact on normal tissues, issues like radioresistance and tumor recurrence remain important challenges. Tumor heterogeneity is responsible for the variation in the radiation response of the different tumor subpopulations. A main factor related to radioresistance is the presence of cancer stem cells (CSC) inside tumors, which are responsible for metastases, relapses, RT failure, and a poor prognosis in cancer patients. The plasticity of CSCs, a process highly dependent on the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and associated to cell dedifferentiation, complicates the identification and eradication of CSCs and it might be involved in disease relapse and progression after irradiation. The tumor microenvironment and the interactions of CSCs with their niches also play an important role in the response to RT. This review provides a deep insight into the characteristics and radioresistance mechanisms of CSCs and into the role of CSCs and tumor microenvironment in both the primary tumor and metastasis in response to radiation, and the radiobiological principles related to the CSC response to RT. Finally, we summarize the major advances and clinical trials on the development of CSC-based therapies combined with RT to overcome radioresistance. A better understanding of the potential therapeutic targets for CSC radiosensitization will provide safer and more efficient combination strategies, which in turn will improve the live expectancy and curability of cancer patients.
A New Theory for the Ascent of Sap—Cohesion Supported by Tissue Pressure

Recent work contradicting both the assumptions of the Cohesion Theory, and the tensions measured in the xylem sap by the pressure-chamber, is reviewed. Measurements with the xylem-pressure probe reveal pressures in vessels around 0 bar absolute, and no detectable gradients of pressure with tree height. Under high water stress, pressures down to -6 bar were found, but then cavitations occurred very readily. Also, measurements of the cavitation thresholds of water show an average threshold of about -2 bar. The uncertain foundations of the Cohesion Theory are recalled from the years before 1965. Soon after that date, Scholander's measurements with the pressure chamber were agreed to have confirmed the theory and the existence of high tensions in the xylem. Before 1965, many experiments over many years pointed to the conclusions now rediscovered, viz., no high tensions, and no gradients of tension. A resolution of these paradoxes is offered in the form of a new theory. This proposes that the driving force and the transmission of the force are the same as in the Cohesion Theory, but the operating pressure of the xylem is raised into a stable range by compensating tissue pressures pressing upon the tracheary elements. The tissue pressure does not propel the transpiration stream, which is still driven by evaporation, but protects the stream from cavitation. Evidence is presented for the existence of positive pressures in roots, wood, and leaves. It is shown that the anatomy of roots, wood, and monocotyledon and cryptogam vascular bundles is organized so that pressure is confined by mechanical barriers, and exerted upon the tracheary elements by the living cells of the phloem and the xylem parenchyma. The Compensating-Pressure Theory also explains, among other things, root pressure, the function of the endodermis, the structure of wood, the constant association of xylem and phloem, the absence of gas spaces in vascular tissue, the absence of a gravitational gradient in the xylem, bleeding from cut palm inflorescences, how insects are able to withdraw sap from the xylem, and the variable that is measured by the pressure chamber. This instrument measures the water potential, but this is the potential not of xylem in tension, but of the compensating pressure applied to the xylem. The requirements of the Theory are explained, and a number of predictions are made which are open to experimental testing.
The occurrence of Eriocheir sinensis H. Milne Edwards, 1853 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Varunidae) from the Caspian Sea region, Iran.

Eriocheir sinensis H. Milne Edwards, 1853 has been introduced and established mainly in North East Europe and San Francisco Bay, United States from native China. This note records the first specimen of the Chinese mitten crab from the River Tazeh Bekandeh, Caspian Sea collected on 26 October 2002.
Ciclo de muda de larvas de Cryphiops caementarius (Crustacea, Palaemonidae)

Palabras Claves: Muda, ecdisis, larvas, Cryphiops, setogenesis Summary Molt cycle of larvae Cryphiops caementarius (Crustacea, Palaemonidae) The aim was to characterize the stages and substages of the moult cycle of freshwater prawn larvae C. caementarius, based on the retraction of the epidermis and setogenesis in the telson. A female ovigerous of 5 cm in length was captured and maintained in an aquarium until hatching of embryos. The larvae were kept in brackish water (20 ‰) with gentle aeration and fed with Artemia nauplii. The stages and subsgates cycle molt zoea 1 and zoea 2 were described per observation the back edge of the telson. The stage 1 zoea hatches in intermoult C and continues substage where there apolysis Do; in D1 is no greater separation of the epidermis and setogenesis; D2-3 in the tubular conduits are observed more defined and D4 new setae shedding the old exoskeleton. In zoea 2 were observed all stages and substages molting cycle, except for those substage divisions D1. Ecdysis (E) was well documented and is a very short (about 30 s) that began with the bending and stretching of the abdomen to occur after the rupture of the anterior and dorsal protocephalon where starts output of the body of the larvae. After a new zoea ecdysis appears and begins a new cycle of molting.
Oxidative stress response in Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1: a functional genomics approach

Control of activity and functionality of microbial starter and probiotic cultures under industrial fermentation conditions is essential in order to provide a tasty, appealing, healthy, and safe product. Oxidative stress is one of the harsh conditions that fermentative microbes have managed to endure during their use in industrial fermentation processes. A widely-used lactic acid bacterium in food fermentations is Lactobacillus plantarum. Hence, understanding oxidative stress response in this micro-organism can be used for engineering robustness towards oxidative stress. There are two systems known to be involved in oxidative stress response and redox homeostasis in bacteria: the thioredoxin and glutaredoxin systems. In this study, we constructed a set of L. plantarum WCFS1 strains with alterations in these systems. Using the constructed strains under different oxidative stress conditions (hydrogen peroxide, diamide (thiol-stress), aerobic growth, and respiratory growth), global transcriptome analysis was performed. Subsequently, the functional role of the thioredoxin- and glutaredoxin system was analyzed and validated using a number of different techniques including comparative genomics, enzyme assays, and q-PCR. The main results obtained in this study include the role of the thioredoxin system in oxidative stress response in L. plantarum as well as in adaptation to aerobic cultivation; characterization and overlap of the thioredoxin and glutaredoxin system in this bacterium; insight into transcriptome regulation of oxidative stress response, and unravelling of stress-response networks present in L. plantarum WCFS1. The comparative genomics and global transcriptome analysis of the oxidative stress response of L. plantarum WCFS1 presented in this thesis can be used for optimization of the performance of lactic acid bacteria in industrial fermentations.
The effect of chronic low-dose environmental radiation on organ mass of bank voles in the Chernobyl exclusion zone

Abstract Purpose Animals are exposed to environmental ionizing radiation (IR) externally through proximity to contaminated soil and internally through ingestion and inhalation of radionuclides. Internal organs can respond to radioactive contamination through physiological stress. Chronic stress can compromise the size of physiologically active organs, but studies on wild mammal populations are scarce. The effects of environmental IR contamination on organ masses were studied by using a wild rodent inhabiting the Chernobyl exclusion zone (CEZ). Material and methods The masses of brain, heart, kidney, spleen, liver and lung were assessed from bank voles (Myodes glareolus) captured from areas across radioactive contamination gradient within the CEZ. Relative organ masses were used to correct for the body mass of an individual. Results Results showed a significant negative correlation between IR level in the environment and relative brain and kidney mass. A significant positive correlation between IR and relative heart mass was also found. Principal component analysis (PCA) also suggested positive relationship between IR and relative spleen mass; however, this relationship was not significant when spleen was analyzed separately. There was no apparent relationship between IR and relative liver or lung mass. Conclusions Results suggest that in the wild populations even low but chronic doses of IR can lead to changes in relative organ mass. The novelty of these result is showing that exposure to low doses can affect the organ masses in similar fashion as previously shown on high, acute, radiation doses. These data support the hypothesis that wildlife might be more sensitive to IR than animals used in laboratory studies. However, more research is needed to rule out the other indirect effects such as radiosensitivity of the food sources or possible combined stress effects from e.g. infections.
Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α and Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-2α Are Expressed in Kaposi Sarcoma and Modulated by Insulin-like Growth Factor-I

Purpose: Neoangiogenesis is essential for tumor development. Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), a transcriptional factor composed of two subunits (α and β), plays a key role in this process, activating proangiogenic factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The HIF α subunits are critically regulated by oxygen and are also modulated by growth factors. Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is a highly vascular tumor that releases large amounts of VEGF and for which we have recently described an essential role for the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system. We therefore investigated the expression of HIF α subunits in biopsies from KS tumors and their modulation by IGF-I in KSIMM, a KS cell line. Results: Both HIF-1α and HIF-2α were expressed in KS biopsies in all tumoral stages. HIF-1α immunopositivity increased through the tumor development with highest expression in the late nodular stages. In KSIMM cells, IGF-I induced accumulation of both HIF α subunits. The induction suggests a translation mechanism as documented by cycloheximide chase experiment coupled with constant RNA levels as evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR. IGF-I–induced HIF α accumulation was followed by an increase in HIF function as assessed both by reporter gene assay and by induction of endogenous target gene expression (VEGF-A). Specific blockade of IGF-I receptor with αIR3 antibody or with picropodophyllin, a specific IGF-IR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, diminishes the basal and IGF-I–dependent induction of both HIF α congeners. Conclusion: These novel findings show the coupling between the IGF and HIF signaling in KS and suggest a coordinated contribution by these pathways to the characteristic vascular phenotype of this tumor.
Bacterial Quorum Sensing During Infection.

Bacteria are highly interactive and possess an extraordinary repertoire of intercellular communication and social behaviors, including quorum sensing (QS). QS has been studied in detail at the molecular level, so mechanistic details are well understood in many species and are often involved in virulence. The use of different animal host models has demonstrated QS-dependent control of virulence determinants and virulence in several human pathogenic bacteria. QS also controls virulence in several plant pathogenic species. Despite the role QS plays in virulence during animal and plant laboratory-engineered infections, QS mutants are frequently isolated from natural infections, demonstrating that the function of QS during infection and its role in pathogenesis remain poorly understood and are fruitful areas for future research. We discuss the role of QS during infection in various organisms and highlight approaches to better understand QS during human infection. This is an important consideration in an era of growing antimicrobial resistance, when we are looking for new ways to target bacterial infections. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Microbiology, Volume 74 is September 8, 2020. Please see http://www.annualreviews. org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
Physiological mechanisms of seasonal and rapid cold‐hardening in insects

Insects have evolved a number of physiological mechanisms for coping with the detrimental effects of low temperature. As autumn progresses, insects use environmental signals such as shortening day lengths and gradually decreasing temperatures to trigger seasonal cold‐hardening adaptations. These mechanisms include dramatic changes in biochemistry, cell function and gene expression that permit improved cell function and viability at low temperature. Insects are also capable of enhancing cold tolerance on a much shorter time scale, in a process called rapid cold‐hardening (RCH). Rapid cold‐hardening allows insects to improve cold tolerance almost instantaneously (i.e. within minutes to hours) to cope with sudden cold snaps and regularly‐occurring diurnal drops in temperature. Initially, it was assumed that RCH would share many of the same basic mechanisms as seasonal cold‐hardening, albeit on a shorter time scale. Although there is some evidence supporting this, recent work has called into question some of the original hypotheses concerning the mechanisms of RCH. Also, some mechanisms important for seasonal cold‐hardening, such as up‐regulation of stress proteins, are unlikely to function at the temperatures and time scales at which RCH occurs. In the present review, the current understanding of the physiological mechanisms governing both seasonal cold‐hardening and RCH are summarized. A synthesis of the current literature suggests that these two forms of cold‐hardening may be more mechanistically distinct than originally anticipated.
Les Monogènes parasites du genre Diplodus dans l\'Est du littoral algérien

This work is based on the study of the Monogenean parasite community of three species of the Teleostean fish Diplodus Rafinesque, 1810 (Sparidae): Diplodus sargus sargus (Linnaeus, 1758), D. annularis (Linnaeus, 1758) and D. vulgaris (E. Geoffroy St.- Hilaire, 1817) from various localities of the eastern Algerian coastline: the Gulfs of Skikda and Annaba, the coastline of El Kala, and the El Mellah lagoon. Observation of morphological and anatomical criteria of collected Monogeneans from all host species reveals the presence of 11 species, two thirds of which are related to the subclass Monopisthocotylea Odhner, 1912. The results of the distribution of parasitic indices at studied host species show that the prevalence and parasitic load vary from one host species to another and from one site to another. In the lagoon, where the parasite species richness is the lowest, the values of the intensity of infestation and abundance are however the highest. The highest parasitic loads are noted in Diplodus sargus sargus (Linnaeus, 1758) in all localities.
Persistence of chironomids in metal polluted environments

Chironomid community composition of sites in the Dommel differing in metal contamination was compared and linked to the cadmium concentration in individual larvae. Chironomid community composition was determined using mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I sequencing. We demonstrated that metal contamination resulted in shifts in community composition: the reference and polluted site shared only one taxon and the polluted site was inhabited by taxa which were better capable of handling cadmium.