Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changes of biodiversity and composition of insect communities during restoration of tropical environments

in English Tropical rainforests are the richest habitats, but most endangered habitats on the world as well. Given the current global trend of deforestation, successful restoration of secondary forests is necessary for maintaining the rich fauna and flora of tropical rainforests. Insects are the most diverse group of animals in the tropics and they have crucial roles in an ecosystem functioning. Restoration interventions in degraded forests are nowadays more common and case studies are involving insect communities, however no review of them has been conducted. The aim of this thesis was to summarize the results of hitherto published studies dealing with the insect responses to the restoration of the tropical rainforests. With the emphasis on logged forests and lands converted for agriculture, the insect species richness, abundance, diversity, and the changes of composition were studied. If ecological conditions are suitable, insect species richness, abundance, diversity, and similarity of composition tend to increase towards primary forests for majority of insect groups. However, we observe some differences across groups of insects, based on the type and severity of disturbance, and on specific conditions on the site.
Rookery contributions, movements and conservation needs of hawksbill turtles at foraging grounds in the eastern Pacific Ocean

Understanding the spatial ecology of wide-ranging marine species is fundamental to advancing ecological research and species management. For marine turtles, genetic studies using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers have proven invaluable to characterize movement, particularly between rookeries (i.e. nesting sites) and foraging grounds. Hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata are a globally threatened species whose conservation status is particularly precarious in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Recent research in the region has identified unique life history characteristics, including highly restricted movements, the use of mangrove estuaries for foraging and nesting, as well as a regional pattern of natal foraging philopatry (NFP). For this study, we used mtDNA sequences and mixed-stock analysis of hawksbills from 8 designated foraging grounds and 5 primary rookeries to evaluate stock composition at each foraging ground, assess how stock contributions are affected by the NFP life history strategy, and search for evidence of unidentified rookeries. Although we found evidence supporting the NFP pattern at most foraging grounds, results indicated important site-specific variability at particular foraging grounds. We also found discrepancies among the haplotype frequencies of several foraging grounds and rookeries, as well as the presence of several orphan haplotypes, suggesting undiscovered hawksbill rookeries likely remain in the eastern Pacific. Our findings contextualize the prevalence and scale of the NFP life history strategy and provide insights that can be directly applied to future ecological research and species management and conservation.
Prevalence of Plasmid-Mediated Quinolone Resistance Genes (qnr) in Clinical Isolates of K. pneumoniae in Najaf

Introduction: The main purpose of this study was to investigating the presence of qnr-genes among clinical isolates of K. pneumoniae recovered from Najaf hospitals.Material and methods: A total of 1590 clinical specimens were obtained from three main hospitals. The Klebsiella spp. were identified by traditional biochemical tests, and confirmed by API 20E system.Theisolates that exhibited reduce susceptibility to quinolones were examined for the presence of PMQR qnr (qnrA, qnrB, and qnrS qnrC, and qunD). Results: The qnr genes were detected in 20 (63.5%) isolates qnrB, qnrA and qnrS were identified in 17 (23%), 2 (2.7%) and 1 (1.4%) respectively.Conclusion: K. pneumoniae isolates harboring PMQR are currently widely distributed in Najaf hospitals.
Genetic Diversity of an Invasive Invertebrate in an Urban Environment, as Exemplified by the Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia Axyridis (Pallas, 1773)

Abstract. Urbanised areas are capable of exerting a strong impact on the distribution of genetic diversity within populations of animals. Urban invertebrate species are currently either relicts from pre-urban ecosystems, or have immigrated during or following urbanisation. We analysed 10 microsatellite loci in 196 specimens of the harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis), an invasive species in Poland sampled in three of the country's cities. Of Asiatic origin, this ladybird has been spreading through other continents, including Europe. Results showed that the Polish cities are being invaded by harlequin ladybirds that are uniform in terms of their genetic pool, with no significant genetic differentiation present between the urban populations investigated. Rapid spread and what are probably the large numbers of individuals colonising new areas allow this species to maintain high genetic diversity and avoid bottleneck effects. However, we suggest that urban populations differ in terms of genetic diversity. The highest genetic diversity characterises the most recently invaded area of Olsztyn in the north of Poland. Genetic data further suggest that this population could be still in an expansion phase. The earliest colonising population in Wrocław exhibits signs of a Wahlund effect, suggesting that gene flow among local groups within this urban area could be disturbed or impaired. We conclude that, in the case of an urban population of the harlequin ladybird, successful colonisation is followed by the onset of a decline in genetic diversity, with isolation between local sampling sites appearing. Further studies are required, however, if this process is to be elucidated.
Development of a molecular marker for self‐compatible S4′ haplotype in sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) using high‐resolution melting

Sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) has stylar gametophytic self-incompatibility, which is controlled by the multi-allelic S-locus and encompasses the highly polymorphic genes for the S-ribonuclease (S-RNase) and S-haplotype-specific F-box (SFB), which are female and male determinants, respectively. The self-compatible mutant SFB4′ corresponds to an allele variant of SFB4 and presents a frameshift mutation. Even though male-determinant molecular markers can discriminate between SFB4 and SFB4′ alleles, the methods required are laborious, time-consuming and expensive, and not suitable for massive analysis and integration into breeding programmes. Our aim was to develop molecular markers for the evaluation of self-compatibility alleles in sweet cherry, that could be used as a high-throughput screening strategy to identify SFB4 and SFB4′ alleles, based on a marker for male determinacy. Our results were consistent using primers flanking the mutation responsible for the SFB4′ allele. We designed a specific molecular marker and confirmed it in sweet cherry commercial varieties. This new molecular marker is feasible for self-compatibility alleles in the male determinant in sweet cherry-assisted breeding programs.
Systematics of aquatic beetles (Coleoptera): current state and future directions

With more than 13 000 described species (Fig. 1, Table 1), water beetles are one of the most globally abundant groups of aquatic insects. Among insect orders, only Diptera has more aquatic taxa (though just as larvae) than Coleoptera, and the two largest water beetle families, Dytiscidae and Hydrophilidae, each have more species than either Ephemeroptera or Plecoptera. This rich diversity is not the result of a single aquatic invasion, but rather of repeated macroecological shifts from terrestrial habitats throughout more than 300 Ma of evolutionary history (Toussaint et al., 2017b). Consequently, water beetles do not form a single clade but are better described as an ecological guild distributed across at least 30 families in three of the four coleopteran suborders. Water beetles have been a popular study group among professional and amateur entomologists alike, even boasting their own international society, the UK-based Balfour-Browne Club. Because of their ecological sympatry, for centuries water beetle specialists have often collected and/or studied multiple families in this guild rather than limiting themselves to one particular lineage. The reasons for the relative popularity of aquatic beetles include: (i) their sheer abundance and broad distribution – they are easy to collect almost anywhere; (ii) their occasionally large size, with some adult species exceeding 5 cm in length, makes some species highly visible and some of these are even kept as pets; (iii) their diversity and often beautiful colour patterns, particularly evident in some diving beetles; and (iv) the breadth of their ecologies and behaviours – from incompressible plastrons in Elmidae to repeated aquatic/terrestrial habitat shifts in Hydrophilidae – ensure water beetles are tractable for a range of biological questions. Here, I attempt to summarize the current state-of-the-art of water beetle systematics, including a synthesis of recent literature on how well water beetle taxa are described, the degree to which we understand their evolutionary relationships, and in what ways they are being used as model systems in systematics. I also provide a ‘horizon scan’ of where water beetle systematics is going, and how its prominence and role in
Effect of oilseed sources and L-carnitine administration on growth, feed intake, feed digestibility, and blood metabolites of Afshari lambs

The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of oilseed sources and L-carnitine supplementation on growth, feed digestibility, and blood metabolites in Afshari lambs. Twenty male lambs of 2-month old and weighing 22.5 ± 2.58 kg were used in a completely randomized design with a 2×2 factorial arrangement (n=5) of oilseed sources with and without supplemental carnitine in an 84-day feeding period. Diets were isoenergetic and isonitrogenous. Soybean or canola seeds were included at 15% of the dry matter (DM) of the diet, each with or without 0.11 g/day L-carnitine applied to each lamb. Initial weight was stratified across dietary treatments. At the end of the experiment, serum glucose, ammonia, total protein, triglyceride, total cholesterol, HDL, and LDL were determined. There was no interaction between oilseed sources and L-carnitine level on feed intake, digestibility, or blood metabolites. Replacing soybean seed with canola seed and carnitine administration had no effects on feed intake, body weight gain, or feed conversion ratio. L-carnitine administration decreased (P≤0.05) NDF digestibility from 63.0 to 41.5% and tended to decrease (P=0.13) organic matter digestibility. Oilseed sources had no effects (P>0.05) on blood profile, but triglycerides and cholesterol tended (P=0.13) to be increased when soybean seeds were replaced with canola seeds. Although L-carnitine administration increased blood ammonia and tended to increase HDL (P=0.13), other blood metabolites were not affected. The results indicate that soybean seed could be substituted by canola seed in the diets of growing lambs. Supplementing with L-carnitine had no effect on responses of lambs fed diets of soybean seed and canola seed. Keywords: L-carnitine, canola seed, soybean seed, Afshari lamb, digestion, growth
Theoretical and computational modeling of the dynamics of multicellular and lipid membrane systems

This dissertation presents two research projects that apply theoretical and computational modeling to (1) describe and predict the formation and shape evolution of three-dimensional (3D) bioprinted tissue constructs, and (2) investigate the effect of a silica substrate on the structural and dynamic properties of a single fully hydrated lipid bilayer. (1) Bioprinting, a novel tissue engineering technique, has the ultimate goal of using 3D printers with bioink made from a person’s own cells to create tissues in the laboratory for transplantation or drug testing. The outcome of the post-bioprinting process, where the bioink particles fuse to form the desired 3D tissue construct, is difficult to predict and experimental techniques have generally been optimized through trial and error. To address this shortcoming, by employing theoretical modeling and computer simulations, we have developed and implemented an effective procedure that is capable of describing and predicting the shape dynamics during post-printing structure formation in 3D bioprinting. In particular, we have explained and demonstrated that the post-printing fusion process is considerably faster when using cylindrical instead of spheroidal bioink particles, a result that has considerable practical implication for extrusion bioprinting. (2) The study of lipid bilayers using neutron scattering experiments requires samples that contain a large stack of membranes. The analysis and computer simulation of such systems is challenging mainly due to the unknown amount of water separating the membranes. To overcome this difficulty, more recent experiments place single lipid membranes onto a support and stack about a hundred of them together.
Entomophagous Spiders As Agents For Biological Control Of Pests Of Cole Crops In Jamaica

Fifteen species of spider belonging to eight different families have been found feeding voraciously on larvae of diamondback moths (DBM), Plutella xylostella; cabbage looper (CL), Trichoplusia nr, army-worms (AW's), Spodoptera latifascia: a pyralid (P), Pilemia periusalis and an unidentified noctuid (N). The population of spiders remained constant in unsprayed fields, ranging from 2/nr of L. atlantica, 4/m2 of L. fusca to 0.08/m2 of others. The spiders were generally most susceptible to diazinon > diaphenthiuron > prophenophos sprays. The spiders showed no preference for the host larvae in multiple-host species diet. Feeding activity that was generally cyclic-intense feeding for a couple days was followed by a similar period of little feeding. The spiders could consume daily about 0.8 to 18.3,0.1 to 1.7 or 0.1 to 1.7 mature larvae of DBM, CLor AW, respectively. Spraying with prophenophos, diazinon and diaphenthiuron reduced the field population of spiders by 43 to 82%, 80 to 100% and 55 to 97%, respectively.
A Novel Approach for Discovering Consecutive Patterns from Medical Datasets

Data mining has deals with many problems, retrieving data that is in a particular sequence is also a major problem. There are many applications that support this mining issue like DNA sequencing, signal processing, speech analysis where the sequence data is required. The main objective is to find the relation between them. An event can be a non-empty disordered collection of items. The most inevitable area id medical data. Medical data deals with historic information of the patient including the diseases. This information is stored in the sequence of the visits made by the patient. This paper will propose a method for extracting sequential patterns from the available medical data. The main objective is to find the relationship between the symptoms and the diseases. In a patient. The efficacy of the method is proved with experimental results.
Mortality, hematology, and histopathology of common snook Centropomus undecimalis (Perciformes: Centropomidae) exposed to acute toxicity of ammonia

ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate the tolerance of common snook Centropomus undecimalis larvae and juveniles exposed to acute concentrations of un-ionized ammonia for 96 h at 35g L−1 salinity, after 24 h starvation. For that, 10 larvae (20.85 ± 1.46 mm) of 47 days post hatch (DPH) per experimental unit (1.5 L) were exposed to 0.00 ± 0.00, 0.65 ± 0.04, 1.29 ± 0.09, 2.59 ± 0.18, 3.88 ± 0.27, 5.17 ± 0.34, and 6.47 ± 0.43 mg L−1 NH3, in triplicates, at 26.72 ± 0.08°C, dissolved oxygen at 5.72 ± 0.10 mg L−1 and pH 8.45 ± 0.06. During this period, no mortalities were observed. Another trial was performed with five juveniles (20.35 ± 6.10 g, 13.90 ± 1.75 cm) per experimental unit (60 L) exposed to 0.00 ± 0.00, 2.26 ± 0.07, 2.68 ± 0.11, 3.20 ± 0.13, 3.68 ± 0.17, and 4.27 ± 0.16 mg L−1 NH3, in triplicates, at 21.90 ± 0.76°C, dissolved oxygen at 6.27 ± 0.21 mg L−1 and pH at 8.38 ± 0.04. Fish mortality increased as ammonia concentrations increased at each day, and LC50 96 h was 3.52 mg L−1 NH3. Larvae were less sensitive than juveniles, demonstrating that the environmental toxicity of ammonia to common snook is influenced by age. Sublethal exposition to ammonia caused histological damages in gills of common snook juveniles and variation on glucose levels, hematocrit, and red blood cells number, showing negative effects on fish homeostasis. Moreover, compared to other species, the common snook has great resistance to ammonia.
Maintaining tiger connectivity and minimizing extinction into the next century: Insights from landscape genetics and spatially-explicit simulations

Habitat loss is the greatest threat to large carnivores around the world. Maintenance of functional connectivity in fragmented landscapes will be important for long-term species persistence. Here, we merge landscape genetics analyses and spatially-explicit simulations to understand future persistence and extinction of tigers (Panthera tigris) in Central India. Tigers in this landscape are restricted to Protected Areas (PAs) and forest fragments embedded within a mosaic of agricultural fields and human settlements. We examined current population connectivity of tigers across nine reserves (using 116 non-invasively sampled individuals and 12 microsatellites). Genetic data was used to infer resistance-to-movement. Our results suggest that dense human settlements and roads with high traffic are detrimental to tiger movement. We used landscape genetic simulations to model 86 different scenarios that incorporated impacts of future land-use change on inferred population connectivity and extinction. Our results confirm that genetic variability (heterozygosity) will decrease in the future and small and/or isolated PAs will have a high risk of local extinction. The average extinction risk of small PAs reduced by 23-70% on adding a 5 km buffer around exiting boundaries. Unplanned development results in 35% lower heterozygosity and 56% higher average extinction probability for tigers even within protected areas. Increasing tiger numbers in such a scenario decreases extinction probability just by 12 % (from 56% to 44%). Scenarios where habitat connectivity was enhanced and maintained, stepping-stone populations were introduced/maintained, and tiger numbers were increased, led to low overall extinction probability (between 3-21%). Our simulations provide a means to quantitatively evaluate the effects of different land-use change scenarios on connectivity and extinction, linking basic science to land-use change policy and planned infrastructure development.
The Methylation Analysis of Mir-210 in NSCLC Patients

Background : Because of the importance of lung cancer worldwide, as well as the deaths from it. So far, various studies have been conducted on this cancer. Epigenetic changes are one of the factors contributing to lung cancer that the most important of these changes are DNA methylation. Various biomarkers such as microRNAs can be used to detect cancer. In addition, many studies have been performed on the relationship between cancer and microRNAs. In this study, the methylation status of mir-210 was investigated in NSCLC tissues. Method: The methylation status of mir-210 was checked in 30 patients with NSCLC and 30 adjacent normal tissues using the MS-PCR method. Results: This paper reported that there was no significant difference between methylation level of tumor samples and adjacent normal samples. so that all of the normal samples were in methylated state and only 4 (13.33%) cases of tumor samples were in a unmethylated state (P>0.05). The results obtained from our study confirmed that hypomethylation and therefore overexpression of mir-210 didn’t occur in early stages of non-small cell lung cancer.
Building Gene Networks by Analyzing Gene Expression Profiles

The possible applications of modeling and simulation in the field of bioinformatics are very extensive, ranging from understanding basic metabolic paths to exploring genetic variability. Experimental results carried out with DNA microarrays allow researchers to measure expression levels for thousands of genes simultaneously, across different conditions and over time. A key step in the analysis of gene expression data is the detection of groups of genes that manifest similar expression patterns. In this chapter, the authors examine various methods for analyzing gene expression data, addressing the important topics of (1) selecting the most differentially expressed genes, (2) grouping them by means of their relationships, and (3) classifying samples based on gene expressions.
Ep2 receptor agonists

Formula (iv) or formula (iii) selected from the compounds: (iv) (1R, 2S) -2- [4- (1- (S) - hydroxyhexyl) phenyl] -5-oxo - cyclopentane heptanoic acid methyl ester [RSS] or (iii) (1R, 2S) -2- [4- (1- (R) - hydroxyhexyl) phenyl] -5-oxo - cyclopentane heptanoic acid methyl ester [RSR]; or a salt thereof , its use in disease that is alleviated solvate, chemically protected form or prodrug thereof, and by agonism of EP
High affinity vascular endothelial growth factor (vegf) receptor nucleic acid ligands and inhibitors

(57) Abstract: describes a method of identification and production of high-affinity nucleic acid ligand to VEGF receptor. Included in the present invention is identified by the SELEX method, a specific RNA ligands to VEGF receptor. Also included are RNA ligands to inhibit the interaction of VEGF and VEGF receptors.
Fossil Canids from the Mehrten Formation, Late Cenozoic of Northern California

ABSTRACT The Hemphillian-age Mehrten Formation has yielded several fossil dogs (family Canidae). Initial study had identified all larger canids as Borophagus secundus ( = Osteoborus cyonoides), a bone-crushing borophagine (a diverse subfamily of extinct canids), and all smaller canids as Canis cf. C. davisi, a canine (a subfamily including all living canids). Later analysis split B. secundus into two taxa and reassigned Canis cf. C. davisi to Eucyon davisi, yet omitted fragmentary remains of possible vulpines. Despite this wealth of Mehrten canid materials, a detailed systematic treatment is lacking. More recently, additional specimens have become available, further necessitating a systematic examination of the canids at this site. The present study finds four canid species: two borophagines (Borophagus parvus and B. secundus) and two canines (E. davisi and Vulpes stenognathus, newly identified). We support the division of ‘B. secundus’ into the smaller B. parvus and the larger, more hypercarnivorous B. secundus and find two morphotypes within B. parvus. A specimen from the Coyote Hill fauna, earliest in the Mehrten sequence, is reassigned to B. secundus, extending the temporal range of the species in California into the early Hemphillian. Borophagus parvus co-occurs with B. secundus only in the lower Modesto Reservoir Member; higher in the sequence, B. parvus co-occurs only with canines. Despite the apparent turnover in its co-inhabitants, B. parvus exhibits no size change. Given that the characteristics of B. parvus and B. secundus are intermediate among other Borophagus, the Mehrten canids may represent a rapid transition early in the evolution of the Borophagus lineage.