Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ocorrência e diversidade estrutural de metabólitos fúngicos com atividade antibiótica

Several reasons motivated the development of new generations of antibiotics, such as their high ability to develop resistance to virtually all kinds of anti-infective agents and the crescent market demand for new drugs to treat special demanding patients. After penicillin discovery, several antibiotics were developed from fungal metabolites, since antibacterial secondary metabolites consists on a fungal endogenous protective mechanism against natural competitors. The aim of this review is to present the structural diversity of antibacterial and antifungal metabolites produced by fungi, mentioning sources of fungal isolates, cultivation process and details on the scope of their antibiotic activity.
Flowering in six clones of the Andean root crop arracacha (Arracacia xanthorrhiza Bancroft)

Summary The effect of dehydration on arracacha (Arracacia xanthorrhiza Bancroft) cormels was investigated and found to have a positive effect on flowering for some accessions and a negative or negligible effect on others. The clear difference in flowering response between accessions is attributed to genetic variation and suboptimal growth conditions. The unclear results indicate that the treatments used were suboptimal and that factors other than drought stress are involved in flower induction. However, the dehydration treatments had a positive effect on the production of hermaphrodite flowers in all accessions, and dehydration is therefore considered an important factor in the flower-inducing treatment. The high temperatures and low humidity during the current experiment had a negative effect on pollen release and thus seed production, indicating that a moderate temperature is needed during the arracacha growth period. There are clear morphological differences between the accessions, with ABS 5516 as the most vigorous and with the highest measured values in all variables except percentage of hermaphrodite flowers.
Einfluss von Stickstoffmonoxid und Nitrit auf die Aktivität der Zimtsäure 4-Hydroxylase in Zea mays in vitro

Phenolic substances are important for plant stability and defense against various environmental influences, Plants react to stress (e.g. anthropogenic environmental influences) by changing the construction of morphological barriers containing polymeric structures. Atmospheric nitrogen oxide concentration have increased within the last few years. Nitric oxide easily penetrate the plasmalemma of plant cells, hence being able to influence membrane-bounded enzymes. Cinnamic acid hydroxylase (CA4H), a cytochrome P450 dependent monooxygenase, is considered to be a key enzyme in the phenylpropanoid metabolism. The product of CA4H, p-coumaric acid, serves as a precursor for the synthesis of lignins, lignins, tannins, flavonoides and phenolic acids. Nitric oxide and nitrite react with the heme group of the cytochrome P450. Microsomes isolated from shoots of Zea mays were treated with nitric oxide or nitrite to examine their influence on the CA4H. Under the described conditions for CA4H a maximum reaction speed (V max ) of 1100 pmol x mg -1 protein x min -1 and a Michaelis constant of K m 25 μM was determined. Different donor substances were used to examine the influence of nitric oxide. The nitric compounds caused noncompetitive inhibition. Spectral studies showed that nitric oxide binds to Fe 2+ and Fe 3+ heme from microsomal cytochrome P450's. Binding spectra were obtained using NO gas treated microsomes. The addition of sodium nitrite reduced the formation of a carbon monoxide difference spectrum. Based on these results it seems probable that nitric oxide and nitrite interfere with the activity of cytochrome P450 dependent enzymes in vivo, therefore influencing the phenylpropanoid metabolism.
Light-dependent growth rate determines changes in the population of Planktothrix rubescens over the annual cycle in Lake Zürich, Switzerland.

• Analyses were made to determine which changes in a Lake Zürich population of Planktothrix rubescens were dependent on light- and temperature-dependent growth rates, and when growth was limited by the mixing depth. • Changes in vertical distribution of the cyanobacterium, determined weekly from August 1998 to September 1999, were related to growth increments calculated at 1-h time and 1-m depth intervals from values of irradiance, attenuance, temperature and biomass in the lake, using algorithms based on growth rates in culture. • Population biovolume varied annually from 1.2 to 120 cm3 m-2 . During summer, modelled growth in the metalimnion matched the 50-fold population increase. Modelled growth exceeded the observed increase when Planktothrix was mixed into the nutrient-depleted epilimnion, suggesting nutrient limitation. The measured increase ceased when the mixed depth exceeded the critical depth for growth in autumn (Sverdrup's principle). Light limitation explained the gradual decrease of the population in winter. The steep decline in spring had other causes. • Population changes were largely determined by interactions of light and depth distribution; decreases in nutrient loading have had little impact on Planktothrix growth in Lake Zürich.
Effects of Broomrape Parasitism on Sunflower Plants: Growth, Development, and Mineral Nutrition

ABSTRACT Sunflower broomrape (Orobanche cumana Wallr.) is a parasitic plant that infects sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) plants. In this work, sunflower plants were grown under greenhouse conditions in pots with the substrate infested or non-infested with broomrape seeds. At different numbers of days after sowing, plant height, internode lengths, number of leaves, head diameter, mineral composition of leaves, and potassium (K) concentration in stem were measured. The negative effects of broomrape parasitism were assessed from 57 d after sowing, when broomrape started to emerge. Parasitized plants exhibited lower shoot dry weight, height, and head diameter than control plants. The reduction in internode lengths was associated with a decrease in the gradient of K concentration from basal to apical stem. The mineral composition of leaves was also affected in parasitized plants. The concentrations of calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) in leaves of parasitized plants were lower than those of the control plants, while there were few differences for K, phosphorus (P), iron (Fe), and copper (Cu). The effects of parasitism are discussed in relation to their competition for resources and to perturbations of the host physiology such as hormonal and water balance.
The TACC proteins are coregulators of the Retinoid X Receptor

Summary The major goal of basic cancer research is to develop more effective prognostic indicators, chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agents, by a greater understanding of the mechanisms through which cancer cells escape from normal differentiative and proliferative controls. The Transforming acidic coiled-coil proteins (TACCs) have been implicated in varying roles in the development and progression of several different cancers. TACC2 is one of several proteins, whose loss predicts poor prognosis in breast cancer. However, its exact function is unknown. In this manuscript, we further define the interaction between members of the TACC family and the retinoid-X receptor ! (RXR! ), which is an obligate factor involved in the response to certain tumor inhibitory dietary retinoids, vitamin D3 and polyunsaturated fatty acids. We demonstrate the functional significance of this interaction through expression array analysis, which identified genes whose regulation was altered by overexpression of TACC2 in the estrogen receptor negative cell line MDA-MB-468. Intriguingly, several of these genes are normally targets for type II nuclear hormone receptor-dependent chemotherapeutic drugs. We show that for at least one of these genes, lactotransferrin, TACC2 acts through the RXR response element. This suggests that the TACC proteins are novel tumor suppressors that may exert an antiproliferative/antimetastatic effect by the direct transcriptional modulation of genes normally responsive to type II nuclear hormone receptor activation in breast cancer cells. Thus, the success of antitumor treatment strategies based on these agents may in part be dependent on TACC expression in the target tumors.
The Role of Disturbance in Natural Communities

Two features characterize all natural communities. First, they are dynamic systems. The densities and age-structures of populations change with time, as do the relative abundances of species; local extinctions are commonplace (37). For many communities, a self-reproducing climax state may only exist as an average condition on a relatively large spatial scale, and even that has yet to be rigorously demonstrated (36). The idea that equilibrium is rarely achieved on the local scale was expressed decades ago by a number of forest ecologists (e.g. 10 1, 168). One might even argue that continued application of the concept of climax to natural systems is simply an exercise in metaphysics (41). While this view may seem extreme, major climatic shifts often recur at time intervals shorter than that required for a community to reach competitive equilibrium or alter the geographical distributions of species (6, 21, 43, 76, 92). Climatic variation of this kind influences ecological patterns over large areas, sometimes encompassing entire continents. Other agents of temporal change in natural communities operate over a wide range of smaller spatial scales (47, 242). Second, natural communities are spatially heterogeneous. This statement is true at any scale of resolution (242), but it is especially apparent on what is commonly referred to as the regional scale. (By region I mean an area that potentially encompasses more than one colonizable patch.) Across any land or seascape, one observes a mosaic of patches identified by spatial discontinuities in the distributions of populations (153, 159, 161, 231, 239, 240). Closer examination often reveals a smaller-scale patchwork of same-aged individuals (e.g. 85-87, 101, 146, 199,204,217-220,235,246). Discrete patch boundaries sometimes reflect species-specific responses to
Root competition: beyond resource depletion

1 Root competition is defined as a reduction in the availability of a soil resource to roots that is caused by other roots. Resource availability to competitors can be affected through resource depletion (scramble competition) and by mechanisms that inhibit access of other roots to resources (contest competition, such as allelopathy). 2 It has been proposed that soil heterogeneity can cause size‐asymmetric root competition. Support for this hypothesis is limited and contradictory, possibly because resource uptake is affected more by the amount and spatial distribution of resource‐acquiring organs, relative to the spatial distribution of resources, than by root system size per se. 3 Root competition intensity between individual plants generally decreases as resource availability (but not necessarily habitat productivity) increases, but the importance of root competition relative to other factors that structure communities may increase with resource availability. 4 Soil organisms play important, and often species‐specific, roles in root interactions. 5 The findings that some roots can detect other roots, or inert objects, before they are contacted and can distinguish between self and non‐self roots create experimental challenges for those attempting to untangle the effects of self/non‐self root recognition, self‐inhibition and root segregation or proliferation in response to competition. Recent studies suggesting that root competition may represent a ‘tragedy‐of‐the‐commons’ may have failed to account for this complexity. 6 Theories about potential effects of root competition on plant diversity (and vice versa) appear to be ahead of the experimental evidence, with only one study documenting different effects of root competition on plant diversity under different levels of resource availability. 7 Roots can interact with their biotic and abiotic environments using a large variety of often species‐specific mechanisms, far beyond the traditional view that plants interact mainly through resource depletion. Research on root interactions between exotic invasives and native species holds great promise for a better understanding of the way in which root competition may affect community structure and plant diversity, and may create new insights into coevolution of plants, their competitors and the soil community.
Parasitic Weeds: A World Challenge

Abstract While witchweed is nearing eradication in the United States, it continues to thrive in other parts of the world, especially in Africa, together with other witchweed species. The continuing problems from witchweeds and other parasitic weeds, the broomrapes, dodders and mistletoes, are outlined, including their extent, the degrees of damage caused, and the difficulties in their control. While a small minority are being successfully controlled by the use of immune varieties, most are currently controlled by existing techniques only partially, or on a local basis, and they may even be spreading or intensifying. The challenges they present are emphasised. Nomenclature: witchweed, Striga asiatica (L.) Kuntze; dodders, Cuscuta spp. ; broomrapes, Orobanche spp. ; mistletoes, Viscaceae, Loranthaceae.
Gadd45 Proteins as Critical Signal Transducers Linking NF-κB to MAPK Cascades

The growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible 45 (Gadd45) proteins are a group of critical signal transducers that are involved in regulations of many cellular functions. Accumulated data indicate that all three Gadd45 proteins (i.e., Gadd45alpha, Gadd45beta, and Gadd45gamma) play essential roles in connecting an upstream sensor module, the transcription Nuclear Factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), to a transcriptional regulating module, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). This NF-kappaB-Gadd45(s)-MAPK pathway responds to various kinds of extracellular stimuli and regulates such cell activities as growth arrest, differentiation, cell survival, and apoptosis. Defects in this pathway can also be related to oncogenesis. In the first part of this review, the functions of Gadd45 proteins, and briefly NF-kappaB and MAPK, are summarized. In the second part, the mechanisms by which Gadd45 proteins are regulated by NF-kappaB, and how they affect MAPK activation, are reviewed.
Review Paper: Day/Night Image Haze removal using modified Dark Channel Prior Technique

Existence of aerosols in the atmosphere results in reduced visibility of images taken under fog or haze conditions. Effect of haze can be removed by image dehazing methods. The method we have used is for both day and night time captured images. This is obtained by using subsequent histogram equalization, Denoising and contrast enhancement for day time images. Further we used preprocessing step of fixing color bias by changing color statistics to the required image after this, modified dark color channel prior is used to dehaze the image. The results obtained on the day/night images show the effectiveness of this method.
The leucocytozoids of the avian families Anatidae and Emberizidae s.l., with descriptions of three new Leucocytozoon species

Leucocytozoon simondi from the Anatidae is redescribed for the first time since its original description by Mathis and Leger in 1910. The leucocytozoids of four of the five subfamilies of the Emberizidae are reviewed and Leucocytozoon cambournaci of the Emberizinae is resurrected from synonymy and redescribed. Leucocytozoon icteris n.sp. , Leucocytozoon parulis n.sp. , and Leucocytozoon thraupis n.sp. are described from the Icterinae, Parulinae, and Thraupinae, respectively.
A new species of Rhinatrema Duméril & Bibron (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Rhinatrematidae) from Amazonas, Brazil

A new species of rhinatrematid caecilian, Rhinatrema ron sp. nov., is described based on a single specimen from the state of Amazonas in Brazil. The new species differs from other Rhinatrema in several features, including its larger size, different colouration, and distinctively plicate oral mucosa.
Formation of functionally active chloroplasts is determined at a limited stage of leaf development in virescent mutants of rice

The ability to form functionally active chloroplasts is determined at a certain early stage of leaf development in three non-allelic temperature-sensitive virescent mutants of rice. Temperature-shift analysis, together with anatomical observations, indicates that the intrinsic developmental signals of the virescent genes are expressed at the stage immediately following the formation of basic leaf structure, but just before the onset of leaf elongation. These signals control the expression of chloroplast-encoded genes but do not affect the subsequent morphological development of the leaf or the photo-regulation of the expression of nuclear genes encoding chloroplast proteins.
Book Review: Wodak R, De Cillia R, Reisigl M, et al. The Discursive Construction of National Identity Jonathan Charteris-Black, Metaphors for Brexit: No Cherries on the Cake?

innovation of his research ultimately lies in the insightful application of the concept of transnationalism to both the theory and analysis of the data, as well as in the thorough examination of the impact that political engagement and transnational grassroots perspectives have on the development and (re)imagination of Europeanness and European identity. This contribution renders his research a useful addition to the growing body of studies that deals with the (trans)formation of Europeanness. I would most certainly recommend this book to anyone interested in adopting CDA methods (and more specifically DHA) for investigating the discursive (de/re)construction of (European) identities through a transnational/cosmopolitan lens.
Impact of changed cropping practices on weed occurrence in spring cereals in Finland – a comparison of surveys in 1997–1999 and 2007–2009

Salonen J, Hyvonen T, Kaseva J & Jalli H (2012). Impact of changed cropping practices on weed occurrence in spring cereals in Finland – a comparison of surveys in 1997–1999 and 2007–2009. Weed Research. Summary During recent decades, arable cropping has been intensified to increase production, but has also been constrained by agri-environment schemes. Weed populations respond to such changes, thus indicating trends in cropping practices. In Finland, repeated monitoring of the weed flora aims to record and understand the response of weed populations to changing cultural conditions. Two recent surveys of the weed flora in Finnish spring cereal fields, conducted in 1997–1999 and 2007–2009, were evaluated to assess the effect of known changes in tillage practices and herbicide use on weed occurrence. The same 382 fields were assessed during both decades. In conventional cropping, the total abundance of weeds has remained at about the same level as recorded in the late 1990s. Overwintering weed species like Galium spurium, Lamium spp. , Lapsana communis and Poa annua have become more frequent, indicating a trend towards reduced primary tillage. Increased use of glyphosate has in turn led to a decline in Elymus repens, particularly in non-ploughed fields. Substantially increased total biomass of weeds was associated with organic cropping, due to lack of direct weed control methods and inadequate crop competition. The opposite trend was apparent in the fields, which had returned from organic farming back to conventional cropping. The results suggest that more decisive IPM strategies are required, both in organic cropping to stop the increasing weed biomass and in conventional cropping to reduce current reliance on herbicides.
The Contribution of Amphipoda to the Diet of Certain Inshore Fish Species in Kames Bay, Millport

Thirteen species of Amphipoda have been recorded from the stomachs of plaice and 11 species from dabs, with Perioculodes longimanus the most notable prey oedicerotid in both flatfish species sampled from the shallow sublittoral zone (<-6 m depth) at Kames Bay, Millport. Plaice took mostly bivalve siphon tips (Angulus sp.). Polychaetes were more numerous in larger plaice. Sand gobies specialized on small crustaceans, taking 13 amphipod species inter alia (with P. longimanus again the most notable oedicerotid). Amphipod numbers in sand goby stomachs increased with the length of the fish. Neither dabs nor sand gobies consumed bivalve siphon tips and only rarely consumed polychaetes. Although amphipods formed only a minor part of the diet of plaice, at the population density known for this species in this bay, its depredations would still constitute an important selective agency governing patterns of activity in epibenthic oedicerotids.
SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and serological analysis of pili from Escherichia coli of different pathogenic origin

The presence of non-flagellar filamentous appendages of bacteria is known since about 30 years [1-4] and different types of such structures termed fimbriae [5] or pili [6] have been recognized. The commonest one called the common type 1 pilus has recently been characterized [7,8]. During the last 7-10 years a number of bacterial pili have been described in more detail and their role in host-parasite interactions has been discussed. This has especially been the case with the CFA/ I [9] and CFA/ I I antigens [10], the pilus from Escherichia coli 018ac [11] as well as with the pilus-like antigens K88 and K99 [12-14]. Another pilus preparation, termed F7 []5] has recently been reported to be a mixture of 3 components [16]. The presence of pili on certain bacteria may also be correlated with their capacity to agglutinate erythrocytes from different animal species [17] or yeast cells [18,19]. In these pili-mediated agglutinations distinct patterns can be obtained which may be used in the characterization of pilated bacteria and their pili [17]. It has further been shown that pili mediate the adhesion to uroepithelial cells of E. coli which cause acute pyelonephritis [20,21]. The adhesion of E. coli to intestinal epithelium causing diarrhea has also been demonstrated [22]. In view of the potential importance of pili in bacterial infections we have now studied the pili of a number of E. coli strains from pathogenic origin in SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and compared the results with the serological properties of the respective pili.
Changes in Thermostability of Photosystem II and Leaf Lipid Composition of Rice Mutant with Deficiency of Light‐harvesting Chlorophyll a/b Protein Complexes

We studied the difference in thermostability of photosystem II (PSII) and leaf lipid composition between a T-DNA insertion mutant rice (Oryza sativa L.) VG28 and its wild type Zhonghua 11. Native green gel and SDS-PAGE electro-phoreses revealed that the mutant VG28 lacked all light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein complexes. Both the mutant and wild type were sensitive to high temperatures, and the maximal efficiency of PSII photochemistry (Fv/ Fm) and oxygen-evolving activity of PSII in leaves significantly decreased with increasing temperature. However, the PSII activity of the mutant was markedly more sensitive to high temperatures than that of the wild type. Lipid composition analysis showed that the mutant had less phosphatidylglycerol and sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol compared with the wild type. Fatty acid analysis revealed that the mutant had an obvious decrease in the content of 16:1t and a marked increase in the content of 18:3 compared with the wild type. The effects of lipid composition and unsaturation of membrane lipids on the thermostability of PSII are discussed.