Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Variability of Hordeum vulgare L. Cultivars in Yield, Antioxidant Potential, and Cholinesterase Inhibitory Activity

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is an annual plant cultivated in spring or autumn. Currently, over 70% of the cultivated barley grains are utilized for preparing fodder, while the rest is used for the production of malt and cereals in the food industry. The purpose of the present work was to evaluate the content of bioactive compounds, antioxidant potential, and cholinesterase inhibitory effect of the aqueous extracts of juvenile barley leaves. It was found that the barley cultivars differed in their content of the determined phytochemicals as well as their antioxidant potential and cholinesterase-inhibitory activity. The water extracts of young barley leaves contained phenolic acids as well as quercetin, rutin, and kaempferitrin. The extracts showed a higher inhibitory effect on 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) than on 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals. Based on the aqueous extracts analyzed, we found that winter cultivars were characterized by the highest iron-chelating activity. Furthermore, barley extracts showed a stronger inhibitory effect against acetylcholinesterase compared to butyrylcholinesterase. The results of the present work indicated that barley cultivars differed in their germination process. Among the tested samples, the highest cholinesterase inhibitory activity was shown by the Basic variety.
Modelling Climate Change Impact on Irrigation Water Requirement and Yield of Winter Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), and Fodder Maize (Zea mays L.) in the Semi-Arid Qazvin Plateau, Iran

It is very important to determine the irrigation water requirement (IR) of crops for optimal irrigation scheduling under the changing climate. This study aimed to investigate the impact of climate change on the future IR and yield of three strategic crops (winter wheat, barley, fodder maize) in the semi-arid Qazvin Plateau, Iran, for the periods 2016–2040, 2041–2065, and 2066–2090. The Canadian Earth System Model (CanESM2), applying IPCC scenarios rcp2.6, rcp4.5, and rcp8.5, was used to project the monthly maximum and minimum temperatures and monthly precipitation of the region. The results indicated that the maximum and minimum temperatures will increase by 1.7 °C and 1.2 °C, respectively, under scenario rcp8.5 in the period 2066–2090. The precipitation will decrease (1%–13%) under all scenarios in all months of the future periods, except in August, September, and October. The IR of winter wheat and barley will increase by 38%–79% under scenarios rcp2.6 and rcp8.5 in the future periods. The increase in the IR of fodder maize will be very slight (0.7%–4.1%). The yield of winter wheat and barley will decrease by ~50%–100% under scenarios rcp2.6 and rcp8.5 in the future periods. The reduction in the yield of maize will be ~4%. Serious attention has to be paid to the water resources management of the region. The use of drought-tolerant cultivars in the region can be a good strategy to deal with the predicted future climatic conditions.
Protective Effects of GIC and S-PRG Filler Restoratives on Demineralization of Bovine Enamel in Lactic Acid Solution

This study was aimed at investigating the protective effects of glass ionomer cement (GIC) and surface pre-reacted glass ionomer (S-PRG) fillers used as dental restorative materials on demineralization of bovine enamel. GlasIonomer FX ULTRA (FXU), Fuji IX GP Extra (FIXE), CAREDYNE RESTORE (CDR) were used as GICs. PRG Barrier Coat (BC) was used as the S-PRG filler. They were incubated in a lactic acid solution (pH = 4.0) for six days at a temperature of 37 °C. The mineral was etched from the enamel surface, and a large number of Ca and P ions were detected in solution. The Al, F, Na, Sr, and Sr ions were released in GICs and S-RPG fillers. The Zn ion was released only in CDR and the B ion was released only in BC. The presence of apparent enamel prism peripheries was observed after six days of treatment for the group containing only enamel blocks. pH values for the FXU, FIXE, CDR, BC, and enamel block groups after six days were 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, 5.9, and 5.1, respectively. Therefore, the observed pH neutralization effect suppressed progression of caries due to the release of several ions from the restoratives.
The effect of environmental stressors on the immune response to avian infectious bronchitis virus

of a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy THE EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS ON THE IMMUNE RESPONSE TO AVIAN INFECTIOUS BRONCHITIS VIRUS (IBV) by Juan Carlos Lopez The first aim of this research was to determine the prevalence of IBV in broilers within the Canterbury province, New Zealand, in late winter and to search for associations with management or environmental factors. The second aim was to study how ambient stressors affect the immune system in birds, their adaptive capacity to respond, and the price that they have to pay in order to return to homeostasis. In a case control study, binary logistic regression analyses were used to seek associations between the presence of IBV in broilers and various risk factors that had been linked in other studies to the presence of different avian pathogens: ambient ammonia, oxygen, carbon dioxide, humidity and litter humidity. Pairs of sheds were selected from ten large broiler farms in Canterbury. One shed (case) from each pair contained poultry that had a production or health alteration that suggested the presence of IBV and the other was a control shed. Overall, IBV was detected by RT-PCR in 50% of the farms. In 2 of the 5 positive farms (but none of the control sheds) where IBV was detected there were accompanying clinical signs that suggested infectious bronchitis (IB). Ambient humidity was the only risk factor that showed an association (inverse) with the prevalence of IBV (p = 0.05; OR = 0.92). It was concluded within the constraints of the totally enclosed management systems described, that humidity had an influence on the presence of IBV, but temperature, ammonia, carbon dioxide, oxygen or litter humidity had no effect.
Marrying molecules and morphology: first steps towards a reevaluation of solariellid genera (Gastropoda: Trochoidea) in the light of molecular phylogenetic studies

The assignment of species to the vetigastropod genus Solariella Wood, 1842, and therefore the family Solariellidae Powell, 1951, is complicated by the fact that the type species (Solariella maculata Wood, 1842) is a fossil described from the Upper Pliocene. Assignment of species to genera has proved difficult in the past, and the type genus has sometimes acted as a ‘wastebasket’ for species that cannot easily be referred to another genus. In the light of a new systematic framework provided by two recent publications presenting the first molecular phylogenetic data for the group, we reassess the shell characters that are most useful for delimiting genera. Shell characters were previously thought to be of limited taxonomic value above the species level, but this is far from the case. Although overall shell shape is not a reliable character, our work shows that shell characters, along with radular and anatomical characters, are useful for assigning species to genera. Sculpture of the early teleoconch (the region immediately following the protoconch) and the columella are particularly useful characters that have not been used regularly in the past to distinguish genera. However, even with the combination of all morphological characters used in this study (shell, radular and eye), a few species are still difficult to assign to genera and in such cases molecular systematic data are essential. In the present study, we discuss 13 genera—12 of which were recovered as well-supported clades in recent molecular systematic studies—and provide morphological characters to distinguish them. We describe several new taxa: Chonospeira n. gen. (referred to as ‘clade B’ in previous molecular systematic studies), Phragmomphalina n. gen. (Bathymophila in part in molecular systematic studies) and Phragmomphalina vilvensi n. sp. (type species of Phragmomphalina n. gen.). We synonymize Hazuregyra Shikama, 1962 with Minolia A. Adams, 1860, Minolia subangulata Kuroda & Habe, 1952 with Minolia punctata A. Adams, 1860 and M. gemmulata Kuroda & Habe, 1971 with M. shimajiriensis (MacNeil, 1960). We also present the following new combinations: Bathymophila bairdii (Dall, 1889), B. dawsoni (Marshall, 1979), B. regalis (Marshall, 1999), B. wanganellica (Marshall, 1999), B. ziczac (Kuroda & Habe in Kuroda, Habe & Oyama, 1971), Chonospeira nuda (Dall, 1896), C. iridescens (Habe, 1961), C. ostreion (Vilvens, 2009), C. strobilos (Vilvens, 2009), Elaphriella corona (Lee & Wu, 2001), E. diplax (Marshall, 1999), E. meridiana (Marshall, 1999), E. olivaceostrigata (Schepman, 1908), E. opalina (Shikama & Hayashi, 1977), Ilanga norfolkensis (Marshall, 1999), I. ptykte (Vilvens, 2009), I. zaccaloides (Vilvens, 2009), Minolia shimajiriensis (MacNeil, 1960), M. watanabei (Shikama, 1962), Phragmomphalina alabida (Marshall, 1979), P. diadema (Marshall, 1999), P. tenuiseptum (Marshall, 1999), Spectamen euteium (Vilvens, 2009), S. basilicum (Marshall, 1999), S. exiguum (Marshall, 1999) and S. flavidum (Marshall, 1999).
ISOLASI DAN KARAKTERISASI Ralstonia syzygii = ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF Ralstonia syzygii

Ralstonia syzygii is one of important pathogens of cloves . This study was aimed at obtaining pure culture of R. syzygi from diseased plant tissue samples. The bacterium was isolated from infected clove plantations in Ungaran, Central Java. It had the ability to make clove seedlings show symptoms and then die 41 days after inoculation. The reisolated bacterium also showed its ability to kill clove seedlings after 17 days . The bacterium is gram negative, able to ultilize glucose, sucrose, maltose, mannitol, sorbitol, dulcitol, and glycerol, able to hydrolyze starch, grow well at 27 o C, able to catalyze and release water and oxygen from hydrogen peroxyde (H 2O2) and aerobically .
Bi-Level Programming for Optimal Operation of an Active Distribution Network With Multiple Virtual Power Plants

Virtual power plants (VPPs) have become an effective technique to manage a growing number of flexible resources, which have posed great technical challenges to distribution system operators (DSOs). This article proposes a bi-level programming approach for the collaborative management of an active distribution network (ADN) with multiple VPPs by designing comprehensive prices for active and reactive power. The upper layer aims to minimize the overall operation cost of the ADN considering the system security and economic operation and the interactions among the power market, ADN and VPPs. The lower layer aims to maximize the benefits of each VPP agent considering various flexible resources. Then, the bi-level model is transformed into a tractable single-level problem by using a linearization method, the Karush–Kuhn–Tucker (KKT) optimality conditions, the Fortuny-Amat transformation and the strong duality theorem. Case analyses indicate that the proposed strategy can effectively enhance the system security and improve the system economic performance by introducing reactive power pricing. The implementation effect and superiority of the proposed strategy are profoundly analyzed under different scenarios and conditions, which indicates its promising application value in the industrial field.
Engineering Lipid Vesicles for Cellular Reconstitution

The reductionist approach to modern cell biology aims to identify the individual molecules and interactions that give rise to complex biological activity. A complementary constructionist approach, known as reconstitution, aims to recapitulate biological structures and functions from basic building blocks in order to show which components are essential and how biophysical constraints, such as membrane boundaries, influence organization and activity. My dissertation research has applied and extended this `bottom-up' approach to study the role of membrane mechanics in the formation of cellular filopodia and to develop new tools for reconstituting processes encapsulated within membranes and for engineering cell-like devices.We investigated the mechanics of actin-membrane interactions by studying dendritic actin networks grown on the surface of giant unilamellar vesicles. In this minimal system, we observed the formation of parallel filament protrusions arising from the highly branched dendritic actin network, notably in the absence of bundling proteins. We confirmed through a simple theoretical model that a lipid bilayer can drive the emergence of bundled actin filament protrusions from branched actin filament networks, thus playing a role normally attributed to actin-binding proteins. This revealed a critical role for the membrane in organizing actin filaments at the plasma membrane.This work motivated the development of a technique for encapsulating protein contents in the lumen of lipid vesicles in order to emulate the biophysical boundary conditions of real cells. We demonstrated the use of a microfluidic jet to form lipid vesicles with controlled contents by deforming a planar bilayer. These vesicles mimic an essential organizational feature of cells - encapsulation within a lipid membrane - and provide a platform for more complex cellular reconstitution. Subsequently, we adapted this technique to a pulsed inkjet-based device, enabling greater control of vesicle size and improved throughput. Using this inkjet-based device for vesicle formation, we were able to control membrane properties such as asymmetric lipid composition and insertion of membrane proteins, which are essential for numerous cellular processes. We demonstrated the applicability of this technique by reconstituting SNARE-mediated membrane fusion in a geometry that mimics exocytosis.In summary, this work has provided new insight into the role of lipid bilayer mechanics on the reconstitution of cellular protrusions and developed a novel technique that enables formation of lipid vesicles with controlled contents and membrane properties. Further development of this technique will enable advanced reconstitution experiments and construction of functional cell-like devices for medical and biomaterials applications.
Association and Colocalization of the Kvβ1 and Kvβ2 β-Subunits with Kv1 α-Subunits in Mammalian Brain K+Channel Complexes

The differential expression and association of cytoplasmic β-subunits with pore-forming α-subunits may contribute significantly to the complexity and heterogeneity of voltage-gated K+ channels in excitable cells. Here we examined the association and colocalization of two mammalian β-subunits, Kvβ1 and Kvβ2, with the K+ channel α-subunits Kv1.1, Kv1.2, Kv1.4, Kv1.6, and Kv2.1 in adult rat brain. Reciprocal coimmunoprecipitation experiments using subunit-specific antibodies indicated that Kvβ1 and Kvβ2 associate with all the Kv1 α-subunits examined, and with each other, but not with Kv2.1. A much larger portion of the total brain pool of Kv1-containing channel complexes was found associated with Kvβ2 than with Kvβ1. Single- and multiple-label immunohistochemical staining indicated that Kvβ1 codistributes extensively with Kv1.1 and Kv1.4 in cortical interneurons, in the hippocampal perforant path and mossy fiber pathways, and in the globus pallidus and substantia nigra. Kvβ2 codistributes extensively with Kv1.1 and Kv1.2 in all brain regions examined and was strikingly colocalized with these α-subunits in the juxtaparanodal region of nodes of Ranvier as well as in the axons and terminals of cerebellar basket cells. Taken together, these data provide a direct demonstration that Kvβ1 and Kvβ2 associate and colocalize with Kv1 α-subunits in native tissues and provide a biochemical and neuroanatomical basis for the differential contribution of Kv1 α- and β-subunits to electrophysiologically diverse neuronal K+ currents.
Synthesis of Chitosan Nanoparticles for Controlled Release of Amiodarone

This work is based on a natural polymer chitosan used in a nanoparticulate drug delivery system for the controlled release of amiodarone along with β-cyclodextrin. Amiodarone-loaded chitosan nanoparticles were prepared using the ionic gelation method aided by sonication. Amiodarone loading on chitosan nanoparticles was done under optimum conditions. For particle characterization; zeta-sizer, UV/Vis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, differential scanning calorimeter and scanning electron microscope techniques were used. In vitro drug release studies of amiodaroneloaded chitosan nanoparticles were performed using the dialysis diffusion technique. Drug loading and release values were determined using UV/Vis spectroscopy. Amiodarone encapsulated in nanoparticles was completely released at the end of 14 days. About 38 % was released at the end of day 1, 44% released at the end of day 3, 50 % released at the end of day 5 followed slow release. Amiodarone-loaded chitosan nanoparticles could serve as a model for controlled delivery of many antiarrhythmic drugs.
The Concept of Developmental Stage: Hall, Freud, and Piaget

Influential theorists of pre-adult phases of the development of the individual person (infancy, childhood, and adolescence) have articulated myriad versions of stage theories, varying in specificity, rigidity, and many other parameters. Some stage theories are concerned with capacities defined somewhat narrowly and operationally defined by behavior. Elsewhere on the spectrum, some of the most influential stage theories have purported to indicate capacities or modes of considerable generality, by positing deep, structural changes either in intellectual capacity or in terms of some other aspect of human functioning treated as fundamental to the affective and the rational life. Jean Piaget’s stage theory of intellectual (cognitive) development is the paradigm of a theory of structural changes in the capacity for logical thought. Bluntly put, Piaget’s theory takes for granted the key characteristics of the thinking of the emotionally balanced, rational adult and attempts to define the necessary steps by which that state is to be attained from the time one starts life as a baby. Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychosexual stages, especially as articulated by Karl Abraham, is the paradigm of a stage theory in which significant aspects of adult functioning are redefined, rather than taken for granted. The steps intervening from babyhood, as thereafter articulated, thereby take on an innovative character. In both cases the substantial internal consistency of the stage model, notwithstanding numerous empirical shortcomings, has generated a kind of validity. But even such qualified praise cannot now be offered to Stanley Hall’s stage theory of individual development, which seems with hindsight little more than a derivative popularization of the recapitulationary evolutionism of the latter part of the 19th century. From an historical perspective, Hall’s, Freud’s, and Piaget’s stage theories of development are all artefacts, products of the sociocultural and scientific environments of their times.
Grammatical distractors in CLIL-oriented tests on international legal english

The article addresses the use of grammatical distractors in planning, preparation and a conducting process of tests in legal English, and the analysis of their results. It also considers their potential for consolidating the most important skills of professional communication of future specialists. The formative nature of distractors finds its application in a number of specific tasks that contribute to the achievement of these important aims. Such aims include: maintaining of a positive attitude towards learning a foreign language, the ability to self-control during the act of speaking, increasing the level of motivation and educational autonomy. They also undermine the development of teamwork skills and its organization with minimal assistance, as well as the correct understanding of the role of the grammatical aspect in learning and the high value of grammatical correctness of speech, regardless of the degree of an individual’s fluency. Attempts have been made to classify grammatical distractors for learning convenience in the study room.
Three Unconventional Kinesins Exhibit Novel Microtubule Interactions:The Characterization of Kar3Cik1, Kar3Vik1, and Nod

My dissertation work was focused to characterize three members of the Kinesin superfamily in vitro. Kinesins are required in the cell for the correct localization and directed transport of proteins, DNA, RNA and cellular organelles. The three molecular motors of the kinesin superfamily studied here are Kar3Cik1, Kar3Vik1 and Nod. These three kinesins are unconventional in that they do not motor to the microtubule plus end transporting cargo over long distances, like Kinesin-1. Kar3Cik1 and Kar3Vik1 are Saccharomyces cerevisiae Kinesin-14s, exhibiting minus end directionality characteristic of Kinesin-14s. Kar3Cik1 is essential for meiosis and for karyogamy, or mating in yeast. Kar3Cik1 also has non-essential roles in mitosis. Kar3Vik1 plays an important role at the spindle pole body during yeast mitosis. My work has shown that the two heterodimers interact with the microtubule in very different ways. Cik1 targets Kar3 to microtubule plus ends and enhances the Kar3-instrinsic depolymerizing ability. In contrast Vik1 binds the microtubule in addition to the Kar3 motor domain and depresses the Kar3 depolymerizing ability. Both of these functions correlate with the in vivo phenotypes and suggest different mechanisms of action for the two heterodimers. Nod is a Drosophila melanogaster orphan kinesin proposed to provide a "polar ejection force" to stabilize chromosomes at the metaphase plate in meiosis. Our work characterized Nod as a kinesin that regulates microtubule dynamics by binding to the microtubule plus end and promoting microtubule polymerization. These results provide a mechanistic explanation for the polar ejection force observed in vivo. My dissertation work has provided knowledge about the many ways in which different kinesins can interface with and regulate microtubule dynamics.
Changes in GDNF protein content of skeletal muscle following involuntary exercise are long lived

Glial‐cell line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a neurotrophic factor produced by skeletal muscle. GDNF has been shown to be potent survival factor for motor neurons. We have previously shown that GDNF content in skeletal muscle is altered following exercise and GDNF levels 24 hours after the last bout of exercise are significantly different than those measured immediately after exercise. We sought to determine how long after exercise do GDNF protein levels remain altered. We removed extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and Soleus (SOL), 24 hr, 72 hr and 1 week following the last bout of involuntary exercise. Muscles were processed for GDNF protein content using enzyme linked immunosorbant assay. Contralateral EDL and SOL were removed at the same time points for immunohistochemical analysis. The results showed that 72 hr following exercise there was a significant increase of GDNF protein content in SOL and a significant decrease in EDL. The results suggest exercise causes a relatively long‐lived effect on GDNF protein content and that expression of GDNF protein in type I skeletal muscle maybe regulated differently that that in type II skeletal muscle.