Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Molecular Consequences of CK2-mediated Phosphorylation of the TGA2 Transcription Factor within Systemic Acquired Resistance of Arabidopsis thaliana

ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . iv TABLE OF CONTENTS . v LIST OF FIGURES . x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS: . xii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 Outline . 3 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW PLANT DISEASE RESPONSES AND THE PROTEIN KINASE CK2 . 5 2.1 Plant defence mechanisms . 5 2.1.1 Constitutive defences . 5 2.1.1.1 Structural defences . 5 2.1.1.2 Constitutive chemical deterrents . 7 2.1.1.3 Proteinaceous pesticides . 8 2.1.2 Localized responses to pathogen infection . 10 2.1.2.1 Inducible phytoalexins . 10
Expression and regulation of key lysosomal effectors in RPE cells – Implications for Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD)

The retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) is a monolayer of highly specialised polarised post-mitotic cells that help maintain retinal homeostasis. Accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), a phenomenon of the ageing process, in RPE and Bruch’s membrane (BrM) contribute to the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in the western world. AGEs induced oxidative insult which causes proteins to misfold and become dysfunctional. Removal of misfolded dysfunctional proteins by the lysosome is critical for cell survival. Key effectors of lysosomal enzymatic activity are cathepsins. In addition to lysosomal function, cathepsins also exert extracellular functions. Cathepsins activity is regulated by endogenous inhibitors and the balance between proteases and their inhibitors regulate several crucial cellular processes such as autophagy, apoptosis and extracellular remodelling. The most abundantly expressed protease inhibitor from the RPE is cystatin C. In addition, cystatin C, an inhibitor of cathepsins B, L and S, is susceptible to age-related alterations. Furthermore, the polymorphism rs1063049 in the cystatin C gene (CST3) is genetically associated with susceptibility to exudative AMD. The understanding of the effects of ageing on the balance between cathepsins and their inhibitors and how dysregulation could contribute to pathological changes associated with AMD is of crucial importance. Therefore, the overall aim of this present study is: 1) to investigate the endogenous expression and secretion of cathepsins B, L and S in RPE cells; 2) to assess the impact of age-related stresses on expression/processing and activity of cathepsins and 3) to further investigate the genetic association of CST3 with exudative AMD. Immunoblot and immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis confirmed the presence cathepsins B, L and S in RPE cells. In addition, immunoblot analysis of conditioned media detected the presence of cathepsins B, L and S, indicative of their secretion. RPE cells exposed to AGEs exhibited alterations in cathepsin L, which showed decreased protein and activity levels. Finally, the genetic analysis study showed that the rs1063049 was associated with exudative AMD in a recessive manner. The results presented in this thesis showed that cathepsins are susceptible to age-related changes in RPE cells. Alterations of cathepsins may impair important lysosomal processes such as autophagy, which may influence the age-related dysfunction of RPE. In addition, the genetic association of CST3 gene with exudative AMD further supports that proteolytic dysregulation involving cathepsins and cystatin C is a crucial event that contributes to RPE dysfunction and subsequent development of disease states such as AMD.
Genetics of water deficit tolerance for some physiological and yield variables in Triticum aestivum L.

Breeding material consisted of two parental lines NR371 and 8126 bearing contrasting traits for water stress tolerance, their subsequent generations F1, F2 and their backcrosses BC1, BC2. The experiment was sown under rain shelter to control and avoid any excessive water delivery. Stable performance under both moisture regimes was observed for drought tolerant parent (8126) for almost all the physiological traits. The subsequent generations and backcrosses also gave better results as compared to the susceptible parent (NR371). Moreover, the presence of fixable genetic effects and high heritability estimates for proline content, osmotic potential and canopy temperature were 0.76, 0.71 and 0.70 respectively under water stress regime indicated the use of these traits for breeding stress tolerant varieties. The heritability for leaf carotenoids increased under water stress, contrary to it turgor potential decreased under stress regime. Th7e gene action study of leaf carotenoids and turgor potential is a novel piece of work in this study. Physiological traits are mostly overlooked by the plant breeders in breeding programs having major focus on yield and agronomic variables. The study indicates the possibility of yield enhancement for stress prone areas by breeding physiologically stable and efficient genotypes.
Antimicrobial activity of the petrol-ether and ethyl-acetate extracts of melilotus officinalis (l.) Pall, melilotus albus medic. And melitis melissophyllum l.

The experiment was carried out at the chemical and microbiological laboratories of the Faculty of Agronomy and at Health Institute in Cacak. As a test organisms for examination of antimicrobial activity of herb extracts from Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall (yellow melilot), Melilotus albus Medic. (white melilot) and Melitis melissophyllum L. (honey balm) the following species were used: Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Salmonella enteritidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus haemoliticus A, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. Sterile and clean paper filters 11 mm in diameter were placed over the surface of the nutritional agar, and petrol ether and ethyl acetate extracts of Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall (yellow melilot), Melilotus albus Medic. (white melilot) and Melitis melissophyllum L. (honey balm) as well as the extragents themselves were applied over these filters by means of Paster's pipette. Antimicrobial activity of the petrol ether extracts from the examined herbs was not noticed, whereas ethyl acetate extracts of the yellow melilot and honey balm was. The ethyl acetate extracts of the yellow melilot affected all the pathogenic microorganisms, with the exception of Escherichia coli, whereas those of honey balm affected only Salmonela enteritidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus.
Insights into fighting against blackleg disease of Brassica napus in Canada

Abstract. Blackleg disease, caused by the ascomycete fungal pathogen Leptosphaeria maculans, is a devastating disease of canola (Brassica napus) in Australia, Canada and Europe. Although cultural strategies such as crop rotation, fungicide application, and tillage are adopted to control the disease, the most promising disease control strategy is the utilisation of resistant canola varieties. However, field populations of L. maculans display a high evolutionary potential and are able to overcome major resistance genes within a few years, making disease control relying on resistant varieties challenging. In the early 1990s, blackleg resistance gene Rlm3 was introduced into Canadian canola varieties and provided good resistance against the fungal populations until the early 2000s, when moderate to severe blackleg outbreaks were observed in some areas across western Canada. However, the breakdown of Rlm3 resistance was not reported until recently, based on studies on R genes present in Canadian canola varieties and the avirulence allele frequency in L. maculans populations in western Canada. The fact that Rlm3 was overcome by the evolution of fungal populations demands canola breeding programs in Canada to be prepared to develop canola varieties with diversified and efficient R genes. In addition, frequent monitoring of fungal populations can provide up-to-date guidance for proper resistance genes deployment. This literature review provides insights into the outbreaks and management of blackleg disease in Canada.
Aktuális ismeretek a központi idegrendszer fejlődése, illetve a velőcső-záródási rendellenességek genetikai háttere vonatkozásában Recent perspectives on the development of the central nervous system and the genetic of neural

malformatiók genetikai genetikai (planar cell polarity rendszer, sonic hedgehog alapvető szerepet idegrendszeri folyamataiban, velőlemez-képződés vagy velőcsőzáródás. tésre érdemes célterülete számos közzétett neurulatio különböző fázisait reguláló gének működésének, esetleges mutatióinak vizsgálata. velőcső-záródási rendellenességek kóreredetében Neural tube defects are rare and mostly lethal malformations. The pattern of inheritance of these malformations is multifactorial, rendering the identiﬁ cation of the underlying causes. Numerous studies have been conducted to elucidate the genetic basis of the development of the central nervous system. Essential signaling pathways of the development of the central nervous system include the planar cell polarity pathway, which is important for the initiation of neural tube closure as well as well as sonic hedhehog path- way, which regulates the neural plate bending. Genes and their mutations inﬂ uencing the different stages of neurulation have been investigated for their eventual role in the development of these malformations. Among the environmental factors, folic acid seems to be the most important modiﬁ er of the risk of human neural tube defects. Genes of the folate metabolism pathways have also been investigated to identify mutations resulting in increased risk of NTDs. In this review the author has attempted to summarize the knowledge on neural tube defects, with special regard to genetic factors of the etiology.
Development of Better Treatments for Retinal Disease Using Stem Cell Therapies

C l i n M e d International Library Citation: Gater R, Nguyen D, Haj AJE, Yang Y (2016) Development of Better Treatments for Retinal Disease Using Stem Cell Therapies. Int J Stem Cell Res Ther 3:032. doi.org/10.23937/2469570X/1410032 Received: April 24, 2016: Accepted: May 24, 2016: Published: May 28, 2016 Copyright: © 2016 Gater R,et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Gater et al. Int J Stem Cell Res Ther 2016, 3:032
Organisation, variabilité et contrôle épigénétique des gènes d'ARNr 5S chez Arabidopsis thaliana

L'ARNr 5S est une partie integrante du ribosome indispensable pour la synthese des proteines. Cette fonction essentielle necessite une regulation fine de l'expression des ARNr 5S en fonction des exigences cellulaires. L'ARNr 5S est code par des genes organises en repetitions en tandem principalement situes dans les regions pericentromeriques des chromosomes 3, 4 et 5 dans le genome Col-0 d'Arabidopsis thaliana. L’etude approfondie de l’organisation, la dynamique et la regulation epigenetique des genes d’ARNr 5S reste cependant difficile du fait de l’absence d’assemblage de ces regions hautement repetees dans la sequence du genome d’Arabidopsis disponible dans TAIR10.Dans cette these, nous apportons de nouvelles informations sur les genes d'ARNr 5S chez Arabidopsis. Nous avons confirme les signatures d'ADN specifiques par sequencage haut debit, identifie des polymorphismes specifiques des regions chromosomiques portant des ADNr 5S et ainsi defini de nouvelles sequences de reference. Nous avons egalement etudie le statut epigenetique des genes ARNr 5S, montrant que ces genes sont globalement enrichis en marques repressives. Les loci situes sur les chromosomes 4 et 5 presentent egalement des modifications post-traductionnelles d’histones et des variants d’histone particuliers et caracteristiques d’une activite de transcription. Nous avons aussi montre que les loci d'ADNr 5S sont tres dynamiques au sein de l'espece Arabidopsis avec des variations entre different ecotypes du nombre de copies de genes d’ARNr 5S et de l’importance relative de chaque cluster. En utilisant l'ecotype Ler et des mutants specifiques, nous montrons que le locus du chromosome 5 est une source majeure de rearrangements chromosomiques qui affectent l'organisation de la chromatine dans le noyau. Enfin, nous suggerons que des variations de l’etat chromatinien des genes d'ARNr 5S peuvent conduire a une difference de transcription dans les differents ecotypes.Cette etude permet d’etablir un role de l'organisation de la chromatine dans la regulation transcriptionnelle et l'organisation des genes d'ARNr 5S.
Molecular spectroscopic insight into the binding of batatasin V isomers to human serum albumin

ABSTRACT Fluorescence, ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy, circular dichroism spectrum, and molecular docking methods were employed to study the interaction mechanisms of batatasin V and its isomer with human serum albumin. The two isomers both bond reactively to the hydrophobic activity in subdomain IIA, with an approximate binding affinity. Thermodynamic parameters and molecular modeling results manifested that hydrogen bonds and van der Waals force were the main contributors to the interaction. The secondary structure of human serum albumin was altered with the obvious decreased amount of α-helix. The results overall suggested similar binding mechanisms of batatasin V isomers with human serum albumin. This work will promote the further study of batatasins for pharmacological function. It could also help to provide some useful information for further drug design based on batatasins.
Fuzzy species limits in Mediterranean gorgonians (Cnidaria, Octocorallia): inferences on speciation processes

The study of the interplay between speciation and hybridization is of primary importance in evolutionary biology. Octocorals are ecologically important species whose shallow phylogenetic relationships often remain to be studied. In the Mediterranean Sea, three congeneric octocorals can be observed in sympatry: Eunicella verrucosa, Eunicella cavolini and Eunicella singularis. They display morphological differences and E. singularis hosts photosynthetic Symbiodinium, contrary to the two other species. Two nuclear sequence markers were used to study speciation and gene flow between these species, through network analysis and Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC). Shared sequences indicated the possibility of hybridization or incomplete lineage sorting. According to ABC, a scenario of gene flow through secondary contact was the best model to explain these results. At the intraspecific level, neither geographical nor ecological isolation corresponded to distinct genetic lineages in E. cavolini. These results are discussed in the light of the potential role of ecology and genetic incompatibilities in the persistence of species limits.
Almond Oil Quality as Related to the Type of Pollen Source in Iranian Self Incompatible Cultivars

ABSTRACT The effects of different pollen sources including five cultivated almond cultivars (Genco, Tuono, 15–5, Filip Ceo, and Supernova) on quantity and quality of chemical composition of two Iranian self-incompatible cultivars (Shahrood 12 and Shahrood 21) as well as self-pollination of these cultivars were investigated. Results showed a variation in oil content and fatty acid composition between two studied cultivars. The oil content was not affected by pollination treatments but the fatty acid composition of almond oil significantly was influenced by type of the pollen source. The most common unsaturated fatty acids found in the kernels of all treatments were oleic acid (68.72–88.26%) and linoleic acid (10.57–22.36%). The type of pollen source with modified oleic/linoleic acid ratio affected the oil quality. The highest oleic/linoleic acid ratio was obtained in Shahrood 12 (8.35%) and Sharood 21 (4.78%) cultivars, which pollinated with Filip Ceo and Supernova pollens, respectively.
Importance of bees in pollination of Solanum lycopersicum L. (Solanaceae) in open-field of the Southeast of Minas Gerais State, Brazil

(Importance of bees in pollination of Solanum lycopersicum L. (Solanaceae) in open-field of the Southeast of Minas Gerais State, Brazil). Pollinators are extremely important in agricultural crops because their deficit can affect food production in the world. Consequently, a lot of studies have been emphasizing the importance of the knowledge about the biology of these agents. The tomato stands out among the economically most important crops. Therefore, the objectives of this work were: to identify the pollinators of Solanum lycopersicum in a conventional area of cultivation in the southeast of Minas Gerais State and detect which of these are more representative; to assess the importance of the pollinators’ action for the quality of the fruits produced; and discuss practices for conservation to these agents. Fifteen floral visitors were found, with Exomalopsis analis being the most representative. Apis mellifera and Trigona spinipes, although not vibrating bees, also acted as pollinators of Solanum lycopersicum.
Infection process of Ceramium rubrum (Rhodophyta, Ceramiales) on the agarophyte Gracilaria chilensis (Rhodophyta, Gracilariales)

Abstract Epiphytism is a major problem world-wide for the Gracilaria mariculture industry that reduces the productivity of commercial farms. Most of the epiphytes associated with Gracilaria chilensis belong to the order Ceramiales. Under laboratory conditions we studied the infection process of Ceramium rubrum rhizoids on G. chilensis collected from a northern Chilean farm. The rhizoid penetration was intercellular. The host cell wall and cortical cells adjacent to the epiphyte appeared compressed and disorganized. The rhizoids presented an extensive dynamic complex endomembrane system, mainly represented by a plentiful endoplasmic reticulum (ER) network, dictyosomes, electron dense material surrounded by ER membranes, membrane bodies and vacuolar sacs with fibrillar material. Two types of cell wall deposition can be suggested: i) one characterized by the direct contact of ER vesicles with the plasmalemma and ii) another represented by the ER contributing material to the cell wall indirectly through vacuolar sacs. This study provides the basis for a better understanding of the infection process involved in the epiphyte-host interaction.
Effect of Paclobutrazol and Salinity on Vegetative and Sexual Growth and Fruit Quality of Strawberry (Fragaria Ã Ananassa Duch. cv. Selva)

Paclobutrazol (PBZ) and sodium chloride (NaCl) were sprayed on strawberry (Fragaria × Ananassa Duch. cv. Selva). The experiment was carried out in a factorial randomized complete block design with three replications in greenhouse conditions. Plants were treated with two levels of NaCl (0 and 20 mg L-1) and four levels of PBZ (0, 30, 60 and 90 mg L-1). Results showed that PBZ is an important factor for increasing the generative traits and fruit quality, but not on vegetative traits. The highest leaf number, leaf area, petiole length, and total soluble solid (T.S.S.) percent were observed in control plants, while highest fruit number, fruit weight, fruit set, flower number and yield of strawberry were obtained in plants treated with 90 mg L-1 PBZ. Foliar application of PBZ prior to flowering is recommended to increase the yield of strawberry.
Change of serum mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) levels and daily rhythm of rectal and cutaneous temperatures in Equus caballus and Capra hyrcus

Abstract The aim of the present study was to monitor the daily rhythm of rectal and cutaneous temperatures together with the changes in the serum levels of mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) in equine and goat species. On five gelding horses and five female goat rectal and cutaneous temperatures were recorded at 4 h intervals for a 48 h period. At the same time points blood samples were collected from each animal. Daily rhythms of rectal and cutaneous temperatures were observed in both species, in both day of monitoring. Mesor value of rectal temperature was statistically higher of about 4 °C than cutaneous temperature, and acrophase was postponed of about 2 h in both day of monitoring and in both species. UCP1 did not show daily rhythmicity in horses and goats. We can speculate that the thermogenesis due to thermal system is auxiliary to keeping the body temperature daily rhythm.
Towards Understanding the Effect of Voice on Human-Agent Negotiation

Virtual agents are increasingly being used for communication training such as public speaking-, job interviews-, as well as negotiation training. In these use-cases the agent is generally taking on the role of interviewer and its behaviour is altered according to the nonverbal cues of its human interlocutor. However, understanding how the agent's non-verbal cues influence human behaviour, perception or interactions outcomes is equally important. This contributes to appropriate behaviour generation in agents, but also to our understanding of the intricate interplay of non-verbal behaviours on human perception and interaction outcomes. This study focuses specifically on the perception of vocal dominance in human-agent negotiation. Earlier research showed that the perception of dominance influences decision making in the course of negotiations, as do concessions tactics. However, the effect of voice as well as the effect of the negotiator type in this regard have been so far under-explored. To close this gap, an online experiment was conducted, in which a total number of 121 participants negotiated with conversational agents displaying either low or high vocal dominance, and an individualistic or neutral concession tactic. The results showed that when taking into account the self-reported type of negotiator, significant differences caused by vocal dominance were evident in regard to the number of negotiation rounds and perceived fairness. The number of rounds was significantly higher for the competitive participant type negotiating with the low vocal dominance agent, and the perceived fairness was significantly lower with the collaborative participant type negotiating with the high vocal dominance agent.
How Does Climate Change Affect the Transition of Power Systems: The Case of Germany

The effects of extreme weather events, such as heat waves and droughts are taken into account in both global and European policies. Accordingly, the protection of critical infrastructures and in particular, the resilience of the energy sector was the subject of intense research. There are regional differences in the degree of exposure to extreme events. In Northern Europe, their intensity has increased dramatically within a decade. In our analysis we identify emerging risks of extreme weather events, in particular, droughts and high temperatures, for the German power sector. Furthermore, we consider how European policy addressed these severe risks. Our analysis is based on extensive datasets covering temperature and drought data for the last 40 years. We find evidence of a higher frequency of power plants outages as a consequence of droughts and high temperatures. We investigate increases in the wholesale electricity price and price volatility and develop a capacity-adjusted drought index. The results are used to assess the monetary loss of power plant outages due to heatwaves and droughts. We stress that increasing frequencies of such extreme weather events will aggravate the observed problem, especially with respect to the transition of the power sector.