Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evapotranspiration model comparison and an estimate of field scale Miscanthus canopy precipitation interception

The bioenergy crop Miscanthus × giganteus has a high water demand to quickly increase biomass with rapid canopy closure and effective rainfall interception, traits that are likely to impact on hydrology in land use change. Evapotranspiration (ET, the combination of plant and ground surface transpiration and evaporation) forms an important part of the water balance, and few ET models have been tested with Miscanthus. Therefore, this study uses field measurements to determine the most accurate ET model and to establish the interception of precipitation by the canopy (Ci). Daily ET estimates from 2012 to 2016 using the Hargreaves–Samani, Priestley–Taylor, Granger–Gray, and Penman–Monteith (short grass) models were calculated using data from a weather station situated in a 6 ha Miscanthus crop. Results from these models were compared to data from on‐site eddy covariance (EC) instrumentation to determine accuracy and calculate the crop coefficient (Kc) model parameter. Ci was measured from June 2016 to March 2017 using stem‐flow and through‐flow gauges within the crop and rain gauges outside the crop. The closest estimated ET to the EC data was the Penman‐Monteith (short grass) model. The Kc values proposed are 0.63 for the early season (March and April), 0.85 for the main growing season (May to September), 1.57 for the late growing season (October and November), and 1.12 over the winter (December to February). These more accurate Kc values will enable better ET estimates with the use of the Penman‐Monteith (short grass) model improving estimates of potential yields and hydrological impacts of land use change. Ci was 24% and remained high during the autumn and winter thereby sustaining significant levels of canopy evaporation and suggesting benefits for winter flood mitigation.
Generation and analysis of FUS and TMEM106B mouse models

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD) are two devastating adult onset neurodegenerative disorders. In ALS patients FUS mutations were found as a primary cause. For FTLD-TDP, TMEM106B was identified to be a risk factor. To gain more insight into the pathomechanisms, mouse models for FUS and TMEM106B should be generated and analyzed. Regarding FUS, mice should express different ALS associated mutations and be compared with Fus deficient mice, as it is unclear if FUS causes ALS via a loss or a gain of function model. Since TMEM106B was reported to be elevated in patients, a mouse model should be generated, overexpressing Tmem106b. Summarizing the results, FUS mouse lines were partly inhomogenous and there is no clear evidence for a loss of function model. Taken together, FUS and TMEM106B mouse models could not mimic ALS or FTLD. However, results provided evidence, that mitochondria and mitophagy play an important role in both diseases.
Virtual Designer Metals for Enhancement of Plasmonic Nanoparticles Which Improve the Light Absorption in Silicon

Although it has been established that plasmonic nanostructures can enhance the optical absorption in thin‐film solar cells, despite Ohmic losses, more improvements are required to become interesting for applications. Here, virtual metals are improved by adjusting the refractive index with the particle swarm method to obtain virtual metal nanoparticles, which are optimized for optical absorption enhancement in silicon layers. The properties of these optimized virtual metals are investigated to determine the mechanism behind the plasmonic enhancement. Besides the plasmon resonance position and strength, the ability to position different orders of the plasmon resonance in the same wavelength range contributes to considerable improvements. The here obtained virtual metals can be a guide for developing new nanoscale alloys for solar cell plasmonics.
A Note On Effect Of Protease Supplementation In Nutritionally Marginal Low Protein Diet On Turkey Poult Performance

Immediately post hatch, birds have low endogenous enzyme production (Noy and Sklan, 1995). Enzymatic digestion is initiated by pepsin and further aided by pancreatic proteases, peptidases, lipase and amylase (Troche, 2005). In fed birds, pancreatic and biliary outputs were nearly complete by 7 days of age (Noy and Sklan, 1997). This is due to the fact that increased feed intake and decreased transit times, allowed for more efficient digestion of sugars and lipids. However, nitrogen digestion ABSTRACT A biological trial was conducted to study the effect of protease supplementation exogenously in low protein diet (@ 40 lakhs hemoglobin unit on a tyrosine basis / tonne), utilizing 36 day old Beltsville small white turkey poults, between 0-8 weeks of age. Out of them 18 poults were given diet without protease and the other 18 with protease supplementation (2 replications of 9 poults each). The diet, formulated with maize, soyabean meal and fish meal to contain 22% crude protein and 2600 KCal/Kg metabolizable energy, was given upto 8 weeks of age. The performance of poults upto 8 weeks of age was assessed by bi-weekly body weight, feed efficiency and livability. Although there was numerical improvement in body weight and feed efficiency in protease supplemented group, it was statistically not significant. It is concluded that in nutritionally marginal low protein diet, supplementation of protease was not effective in improving the brooder performance of the turkey poults.
Vascular protection by the new formation of omega-3 : role of endothelial NO synthase

The aim of the present work was to evaluate both the potency of omega-3 formulations to induce the endothelial function and the effect of omega-3 on the platelet-induced coronary artery contraction.The endothelium-dependent relaxations induced by EPA:DHA formulations is dependent on both the ratio and the purity of the formulation, with the maximal effect obtained with a highly purified EPA:DHA 6:1 ratio through a redox-sensitive activation of PI3-kinase/Akt and/or MAPKs pathways and subsequent activation of eNOS. The EPA:DHA 6:1 formulation inhibits the platelet-induced serotonin-mediated contraction of porcine coronary rings and the 5HT-induced contraction in both porcine coronary artery and human internal mammary artery rings, mainly due to an increased endothelial formation of NO. Taken together, the present findings indicate that the optimized EPA:DHA 6:1 formulation is able to exert potent beneficial cardiovascular effects through the activation of the endothelial function.
Bioinformatics Approaches to Biomarker and Drug Discovery in Aging and Disease

Over the past two decades, high-throughput (HTP) technologies such as microarrays and mass spectrometry have fundamentally changed the landscape of aging and disease biology. They have revealed novel molecular markers of aging, disease state, and drug response. Some have been translated into the clinic as tools for early disease diagnosis, prognosis, and individualized treatment and response monitoring. Despite these successes, many challenges remain: HTP platforms are often noisy and suffer from false positives and false negatives; optimal analysis and successful validation require complex workflows; and the underlying biology of aging and disease is heterogeneous and complex. Methods from integrative computational biology can help diminish these challenges by creating new analytical methods and software tools that leverage the large and diverse quantity of publicly available HTP data. In this thesis I report on four projects that develop and apply strategies from integrative computational biology to identify improved biomarkers and therapeutics for aging and disease. In Chapter 2, I proposed a new network analysis method to identify gene expression biomarkers of aging, and applied it to study the pathway-level effects of aging and infer the functions of poorly-characterized longevity genes. In Chapter 4, I adapted gene-level HTP chemogenomic
Functional Changes Associated with SHROOM3 Deficiency and Mutation: Implications in Renal Pathophysiology and Disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a substantial global health burden that has recently been linked to the genetic locus SHROOM3 by several genome-wide association studies. Shroom3 is an actin-binding protein that is necessary for inducing apical constriction in epithelial cells. Our lab has previously shown that Shroom3 is critical for proper kidney development and loss of Shroom3 produces symptoms associated with CKD. As hypertension is both a leading cause and comorbidity of CKD, I hypothesized that loss of Shroom3 confers increased susceptibility to hypertension. Using a high-salt induced model of hypertension, I show that Shroom3 deficient mice do not become hypertensive but exhibit an increased salt-sensitive blood pressure response. Additionally, I show that human SHROOM3 variants currently identified within our population have attenuated apical constriction activity. Collectively, the findings from our in vivo and in vitro work implicate the consequences of reduced Shroom3 function in the pathophysiology of human disease.
Control of rhythmic output from the circadian clock in Neurospora crassa

Control of Rhythmic Output by the Circadian Clock in Neurospora crassa. (December 2004) Zachary A. Lewis, B.S. University of Georgia Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Deborah Bell-Pedersen Circadian rhythms are visible as daily oscillations in biochemical, physiological, or behavioral processes. These rhythms are produced by an endogenous clock that maintains synchrony with the external environment through responses to external stimuli such as light or temperature. The clock, in turn, coordinates internal processes in a time-dependent fashion. Genetic and molecular analysis of the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa has demonstrated that the products of the frequency (frq) and white-collar (wc-1 and wc-2) genes interact to form an interlocked feedback loop that lies at the heart of the clock in this fungus. This feedback loop, termed the FRQ/WC oscillator, produces a ~24h oscillation in frq mRNA, FRQ protein, and WC-1 protein. In turn, the FRQ/WC oscillator regulates rhythmic behavior and gene expression. The goal of this dissertation is to understand how rhythmic outputs are regulated by the FRQ/WC oscillator in Neurospora. To this end, we have taken a microarray approach to first determine the extent of clock-controlled gene expression in Neurospora. Here, we show that
Homeostasis and non‐linear shift in the stoichiometry of P‐limited planktonic communities

Planktonic communities are naturally subjected to episodic nutrient enrichments that may stress or redress the imbalances in limiting nutrients. Human-enhanced atmospheric nitrogen deposition has caused profound N:P imbalance in many remote oligotrophic lakes in which phosphorus has largely become limiting. These lakes offer an opportunity to investigate the relationship between the changes in plankton stoichiometry, productivity, and community structure occurring during nutrient ﬂ uctuations in P-limited conditions. We performed P (PO 3 (cid:1) 4 ) and N (NH þ 4 or NO (cid:1) 3 ) pulse additions to the summer epilim-netic community of an ultraoligotrophic lake using self- ﬁ lling ~ 100-L enclosures and analyzed the response to varying P availability, N:P imbalance, and N source. Seston C:N:P proportions remained fairly unchanged to P additions that were within the range of values seasonally found in the lake. However, the seston N:P ratio abruptly shifted and approached Red ﬁ eld ’ s proportions at P additions typical of mesotrophic conditions that provided non-limiting conditions. N surplus did not affect seston C:N:P proportions. The patterns of seston N:P stability and shift were similar for both N sources. In contrast, productivity was highly sensitive to low and medium P additions and decelerated at high P additions. Phytoplankton biomass dominated particulate organic matter. The autotrophic community differentiated almost linearly across the P gradient. Chrysophytes ’ dominance decreased, and diatoms and cryptophytes relative abundance increased. Nonetheless, the stoichiometry stability and non-linear shift involved large biomass proportions of the same species, which indicates that the bulk stoichiometry was related to similar physiological behavior of phylogenetically diverse organisms according to the biogeochemical context. The C:N:P seston stability in P-limited conditions — with loose coupling with productivity, nutrient supply ratios, and species dominance — and the sudden shift to Red ﬁ eld proportions in P-repleted conditions suggest a complex regulation of P scarcity in planktonic communities that goes beyond immediate acclimation growth responses and might include alternative physiological and biogeochemical states.
Genomic Landscapes of Cardiac Arrhythmia and Heart Regeneration

Use of high-throughput sequencing technology has revolutionized our ability to study heart development and regeneration. However, extracting crucial information from large-scale datasets is challenging. Here we demonstrated using bioinformatic analysis to identify genetic features causing human cardiac arrhythmias, as well as key components of heart regeneration. Pitx2 is the homeobox gene located in proximity to the human 4q25 familial atrial fibrillation locus. Previous work focused onPitx2 developmental functions that predispose to atrial fibrillation. It is unknown whether Pitx2 has distinct postnatal functions. Furthermore, it is unclear whether the 4q25 locus directly controls the expression of Pitx2 via physical interaction that forms three-dimensional chromatin structure. Inactivating Pitx2 in the postnatal atrium, unstressed adult Pitx2 homozygous mutant mice display sinus node dysfunction, an atrial fibrillation risk factor in human patients. An integrated genomics approach revealed Pitx2 target genes encoding cell junction proteins, ion channels, and critical transcriptional regulators. Importantly, many Pitx2 target genes have been implicated in human atrial fibrillation by genome wide association studies. Moreover, chromatin conformation capture sequencing (4C-Seq) demonstrated a direct interaction of Pitx2 promoters and atrial-fibrillation-associated region. The mammalian heart regenerates poorly, and damage commonly leads to heart failure. Hippo signaling is kinase cascade that regulates organ size during development and prevents adult mammalian cardiomyocyte regeneration by inhibiting the transcription factor Yap. To identify Yap target genes that are activated during cardiomyocyte renewal and regeneration, we performedYap chromatin immunoprecipita-
Tectal stem cells display diverse regenerative capacities

How diverse adult stem and progenitor populations regenerate tissue following damage to the CNS remains unknown across most neurogenic domains. To understand the role of quiescent radial-glial (qRG) stem cells during regeneration, we tested the hypothesis that qRG could be induced to proliferate and produce newborn neurons. We designed a stab lesion assay in the midbrain tectum of the adult zebrafish to target an isolated population of qRG, and investigated their proliferative behaviour, differentiation potential, and requirement of Wnt/β-catenin signalling for the regenerative response. EdU-labelling showed that a small proportion of qRG transit to a proliferative state (pRG), but that progeny of pRG are restricted to a radial-glial fate. Lesion promoted upregulation of proliferation and neurogenesis from neuro-epithelial-like amplifying progenitors (NE-Ap) of the tectal marginal zone (TMZ). Homeostatic levels of Wnt/β-catenin signalling persisted under lesioned conditions in the qRG/pRG population, whereby increased β-catenin staining and axin2 expression was present in the NE-Ap progenitor zone. Attenuation of Wnt signalling using Dickkopf-1, demonstrated that proliferative responses post-injury appeared to be Wnt-independent. Our results align with the emerging view that adult stem/progenitor phenotypes are characterized by discrete, rather than mutual, regenerative programs and that different stem cell domains employ different modes of regeneration.
Principales promotores utilizados en la transformación genética de plantas

Full knowledge of promoters determines success in obtaining new plant cultivars through biotechnology techniques. This DNA sequence regulates the transcription of adjacent or nearby regions, which are mainly constitutive, tissue-specific or stage-specific, inducible and synthetic. This review summarizes the precise concepts, advantages and limitations of different types of promoters, including clear examples of them. Key words: Promoter; plant biotechnology; gene transcription.
Advanced experimental approaches to marine water-column biogeochemical processes

Advanced experimental approaches to marine water-column biogeochemical processes Louis Legendre,* Richard B. Rivkin, and Nianzhi Jiao Laboratoire d’océanographie de Villefranche (LOV), Observatoire océanologique, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 06, CNRS, 181 Chemin du Lazaret, Villefranche-sur-Mer 06230, France Department of Ocean Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador A1C 5S7, Canada State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, P.R. China Institute of Marine Science and Technology, Shandong University, Joint Lab of Microbial Oceanography at QNLMST, Qingdao 266237, P.R. China
Role of the External Auditor in Reducing Tax Evasion (Field Study- Tax Chamber of Sudan)

The study investigated role of external auditor in reducing tax evasion. The problem of the study represented in there is fraud and fraud in tax payments. We find that the tax administration in countries face difficulties that reduce tax revenues and this affects the achievement of the desired goals. Sudan is one of the countries experiencing tax evasion. The study aimed to shed light on the previous studies that dealt with the subject of external auditor and findings to be the starting point for this research, to highlight the importance of external auditor and the role of the external auditor in reducing tax evasion. The importance of the study lies in external auditor and the role played by and contributes to the verification of detection and control tax evasion. The study adopted inductive approach, descriptive analytical approach, and historical approach. The questionnaire used to collect data from taxation chamber of Sudan. To achieve the goals of the study, the following hypotheses were tested: First hypothesis: external auditor contributes to discovering tax evasion, Second hypothesis: external auditor helps in reducing the effects of profit's volume in income statements. The study found that; the external auditor contributes to the disclosure of misleading information intended to be provided by the taxpayer, External auditor helps to detect unjustified expenses and expenses used by the taxpayer. The study recommended several recommendations, among which is that; Dependence on the audited financial statements by a legal auditor in the tax report, Encouraging companies to provide services in return for payment of tax.
Modelling of Distributed Resource Aggregation for the Provision of Ancillary Services

Nowadays, ancillary services (ASs) are usually provided by large power generating units located in transmission networks, while smaller assets connected to distribution systems remain passive. It is expected that active distribution systems will start to play an important role due to numerous issues related to power system operation caused mainly by developing renewable generation and restrictions imposed on conventional power generating units by climate policies. The future development of the power system management will also lead to the establishment of new market agents such as distributed resource aggregators (DRAs). The article presents the concept of the DRA as part of an active distribution system enabling small resources to participate in wholesale markets, provide ASs and indicates the functions of the DRA coordinator in the modern power system. The proposed method of the DRA structure modelling with the use of the mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) is aimed at evaluating the optimal operation pattern of participating resources, the desired shape of the load profile at the point of common coupling (PCC) and the AS provision. The performed simulations of the DRA’s operation show that various types of aggregated resources located in distribution networks are able to provide different services effectively to support the power system in terms of load–generation balancing and allow for further development of renewables.
The effect of economic workplace stressors on health outcomes

There are many stressors in the workplace. Physical ailments are more associated with manual labor and repetitive motion. Wages and hours worked are specific economic stressors that come along with all employment. The reason why wages are considered to be an economic stressor is relatively straightforward. If your wages are low, then you have less money. Hours worked is also considered to be an economic stressor because you have less time to dedicate to your personal responsibilities as the number of hours you work increase. Historically, prior to the 1970’s, there was a linear association between wages and people’s productivity in the workplace. However, after around 1973, a discrepancy arose between the two. Productivity after 1973 continued to rise as it always did. However, wages began to stagnate. Economic workplace stressors decrease financial security of the workforce and cause preventable emotional stress. This emotional stress can increase the likelihood of anxiety-depression spectrum disorders, psychiatric illness, cardiovascular disease, impaired immune response and thyroid function. This review wishes to name the aforementioned economic workplace stressors, state the historical context behind those stressors, contextualize those stressors in 2020, elaborate on the physiological response to acute/chronic stressors and cite interventions to alleviate those stressors.
Futures, imagined cities and emerging markets: the semiotic production of professional selves

ABSTRACT This article focuses on the emergence of “speculative architecture” as a distinctive strand within the professional field of urban studies, one that is future-oriented and claims to “create narratives about how new technologies and networks influence space, culture, and community [with the aim of] imagining where new forms of agency exist within the cities changed by these new processes”. In so doing, speculative architecture is conceived of as a discursive space for social performance and capital accumulation under conditions of late capitalism. I examine how a set of semiotic and discursive features that become emblematic of “doing speculative architecture” get “enregistered” or “stylised” in ways that regulate access to socio-institutional networks and associated material/symbolic resources. This approach is intended to shed light on the semiotic production of new professional selves while at the same time identifying the embedded forms of inequality that these may enable.