Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Panama disease: an old nemesis rears its ugly head: Part 1. The beginnings of the banana export trades.

This review summarizes how and where the banana export trades began, the early history of Panama disease, and the important effect that the disease had on the development of this industry. This is a story of political and social upheaval, and of the first large agriculture ventures in the tropics. It focuses on the trades in the Americas before they converted to the resistant Cavendish cultivars.
Aspects of the reproductive biology of Physalaemus cuvieri (Anura: Leptodactylidae) in northeastern Brazil

Observations were made on the reproductive biology of Physalaemus cuvieri from open area habitat in Sao Luis, MA, Brazil, from August 1988 to August 1989. The reproductive tactics are compared to those of the same species in southeastern Brazil. Vocalization and reproductive activity were restricted the rainy season (January to June), with peaks of activity during late March and early April. Nocturnal calling activity turn was prolonged, with little variation in the number of individual calling during the night. The presence of communal foam nests suggests non-territorial behaviour in this species. However, males called from the same sites all night long. They showed differentiated vocalizations or antiphony, and aggressive physical interactions, which suggests that there may be some territorial behaviours in males. The remainder of the territorial behaviour is related to persistence of the invading male. Satellite behaviour, females mate choice, and a stereotyped behaviour (e.g. quick circular movement of both male and female) prior to amplexus, were also associated with territoriality.
Better Education Opportunities for Students with Autism and Intellectual Disabilities through Digital Technology.

: The provision of new opportunities to maximize learning is a fundamental right for all students. This paper explores the role of digital technology in the provision of educational opportunities for secondary age students who have been diagnosed with an intellectual disability and/or autism spectrum disorder. We describe a learning environment in which a range of technologies have been introduced to enable students’ access to the national curriculum, and acquire skills that improve their ability to navigate the world outside the classroom. Through a qualitative study, we describe promising experiences of emerging technologies used to assist learning at the Inclusive Education Centre of a public secondary school located in regional South Australia. Our results suggest that emerging technologies can provide guidance to groups of students, encourage them to express their ideas, motivate physical activity, and improve general social interaction skills. In particular, we explore the impact, limitations and future opportunities of immersive virtual reality and social robots.
Biomass of Ruppia cirrhosa and Potamogeton pectinatus in a Mediterranean brackish lagoon, Lake Ichkeul, Tunisia

The biomass of the macrophytes Potamogeton pectinatus L. and Ruppia cirrhosa (Petagna) Grande and their energy input that is at the basis of the functioning of the Ichkeul wetland, northern Tunisia, which harbours a conspicuous population of wintering waterfowl, were investigated. The mean (above- and belowground) biomass of P. pectinatus from July 1993 - April 1994 was at a maximum in September and ranged between 340.9 +/- 38.4 and 480.6 +/- 91.8 g dry mass (DM)/m(2) depending on the area. Tubers represented 10-30 % of this biomass. In R. cirrhosa maximum biomass of 368.7 +/- 68.1 g DM/mn(2) was recorded in October. In both species about 40 % of the total biomass was allocated to the roots and rhizomes. The production estimates in the Ichkeul lagoon are within the same range as estimates for other Mediterranean lagoons. Other energy sources in the Ichkeul lagoon were litter (60.1 g DM/m(2)), the overwintered roots and rhizomes (61.4 g DM/m(2)) and the suspended particulate organic matter (7.64 g DM/m(2)). Total mean energy income from the macrophytes in the Ichkeul ecosystem during the study period is estimated at 5306 kJ/m(2).
The Morphology and Evolution of Male Reproductive Structures of Gnetales

Male reproductive structures among extant Gnetales display a high level of morphological correspondence. The two primary architectural elements in the male reproductive structures are cones and flowers. Cones consist of an axis with bracts at each of the nodes and flowers that are positioned in the axils of the bracts or on an annular mound located above the bracts at each of the nodes. Flowers of the extant genera have both a perianth and androecium. The perianth of all three genera has bracts in anterior and posterior positions, but Welwitschia has an additional pair of lateral bracts. The androecium of all three extant genera appears to be structurally homologous with a pair of highly synorganized microsporophylls. Diversity is present among the extant genera at both the cone and flower levels of organization. Some aspects of diversification, such as the introduction of sterile ovules into male reproductive structures, have affected both the cone and flower levels of organization. Extant Gnetales appear to have radiated into most of the basic "morphological spaces" available to them for the placement of ovules. This may reflect enhancements for reproductive ecology, especially the attraction of insect pollinators, that are available when sterile ovules are present. Diversity among the extant Gnetales is strongly biased in two aspects of development: phyllotaxy and synorganization. All male reproductive structures appear to have the phyllotactic constraint of forming more than one appendage per node (or forming a concrescent unit derived from the unification of structures that were more or less separate in an ancestor), and those of most species have a decussate arrangement of appendages along the reproductive axes. Appendages at nearly all nodes of male reproductive structures are synorganized, but within this bias they display various degrees of connation. The complete unification of nodal appendages has created distinctive forms in Gnetum relative to Ephedra and Welwitschia. The arguments presented for recognizing structural homologies among the features of male reproductive structures of Gnetales should provide a stronger framework for coding characters and their states for phylogenetic analyses and for the discussion of morphological diversity among seed plants.
QTL Analysis for Resistance to Ralstonia solanacearum in Capsicum Accession 'LS2341'

A Malaysian pepper accession, ‘LS2341’ (Capsicum annuum L.) is highly resistant to bacterial wilt (BW) caused by Ralstonia solanacearum E. F. Smith (species complex). Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis was performed using a double haploid (DH) population derived from a cross between the susceptible cultivar ‘California Wonder’ and ‘LS2341’. A linkage map was constructed using simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). The map spans 974 cM, and consists of 15 linkage groups (LGs). Growth chamber evaluations of BW resistance detected a QTL on LG 11. This LG corresponds to pepper chromosome 1 (P1). The QTL explained 33% of the resistance derived from ‘LS2341’, and was named Bw1. An SSR marker, CAMS451 was mapped in the centre of the QTL. Although BW-resistance is thought to be polygenically controlled, use of this linkage marker may improve the efficiency of breeding BW-resistant cultivars.
Atmospheric deposition of pesticides in a small southern saskatchewan watershed

Weekly atmospheric deposition samples were collected from early May to early September during 1984 to 1987 in a small agricultural watershed near Regina, Saskatchewan, an area in the midst of extensive agricultural pesticide use in the Canadian prairies. “Bulk” deposition samples were collected weekly in duplicate and analyzed for six herbicides (bromoxynil, 2,4–D, dicamba, diclofop, triallate, and trifluralin) and five insecticides (carbaryl, carbofuran, chlorpyrifos, deltamethrin, and dimethoate). In general, no significant differences were found among the duplicate samples. Over the 4-year period, the frequency of weekly detection of herbicides during the growing seasons was 0, 32, 39, 53, 58, and 67% for trifluralin, bromoxynil, triallate, diclofop, dicamba, and 2,4–D, respectively. For insecticides, only carbaryl and carbofuran were detected in one to two samples in the years for which the insecticides were analyzed. This infrequent detection reflected the relatively high detection limits set for the insecticides as compared to those for the herbicides. The seasonal herbicide atmospheric deposits during the growing period over the 4-year period (mg ha−1) ranged from 90 to 234 (bromoxynil), 386 to 1,374 (2,4-D), 20 to 219 (dicamba), 43 to 338 (diclofop), and 9 to 260 (triallate). Highest deposition rates were measured during and immediately following the spraying periods, with lesser, but significant, amounts also being detected during the harvest operations in August.
cDNA-AFLP analysis of differential gene expression during the interaction between sugarcane and Puccinia melanocephala

Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) display of complementary DNA (cDNA) was used to identify genes from sugarcane somaclones expressed during the interaction with Puccinia melanocephala. The isolated transcript-derived fragments (TDFs) correspond to genes involved in the resistance process. Genes related with recognition, signalling and general response were identified through BLAST search. This work constitutes the first report of genes activated during the P. melanocephala-sugarcane interaction.
Local and Regional Richness of Cynipine Gall Wasps on California Oaks

Regional herbivore richness is defined as the total number of herbivore species associated with a host plant in any part of its range. Local richness is the number of species associated with a host population or clump at a single site. These are roughly equivalent to @a and @c diversity. Understanding the mechanisms operating on local richness required a knowledge of the relationship between these two variables, and, specifically, an answer to the question of whether the same processed determine both regional and local richness. When local ecological interactions are weak and herbivore species are widespread, the correlation between richness at these two spatial scales should be strong. If local interactions are strong and herbivore species have restricted ranges due to habitat specialization, then the correlation should be weak. The relationship between local and regional richness was studied in California in the cynipid gall—forming wasps, which are highly specialized on the oak genus, Quercus. Regressions of presence—absence data suggested that geographic range and host taxonomic isolation explain the majority of regional richness variation in this group. Moreover, the very strong correlation between local and regional richness indicated that there is no upper limit to local richness independent of the regional pool. In terms of @a, @b, and @c diversity,@b (between—habitat) diversity does not increase with @b diversity. Instead, there is an unabated increase in @a diversity as @c diversity increases, suggesting that excess niche space is available on host oaks for additional cynipine species, and that limits to similarity of coexisting cynipines have not been reached. This indicates that sufficient information on the causes responsible for local herbivore richness cannot be gained by studying the local host population in isolation. The spatial dynamics of the system are such that measures of the regional pool from which the local assemblage is drawn must also be taken. Finally, cynipine habitat specialization and local interactions are not predictable from regional richness, but may influence local richness on certain oak species independently of regional richness.
Hydroxychloroquine in patients with mainly mild to moderate coronavirus disease 2019: open label, randomised controlled trial

Abstract Objective To assess the efficacy and safety of hydroxychloroquine plus standard of care compared with standard of care alone in adults with coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19). Design Multicentre, open label, randomised controlled trial. Setting 16 government designated covid-19 treatment centres in China, 11 to 29 February 2020. Participants 150 patients admitted to hospital with laboratory confirmed covid-19 were included in the intention to treat analysis (75 patients assigned to hydroxychloroquine plus standard of care, 75 to standard of care alone). Interventions Hydroxychloroquine administrated at a loading dose of 1200 mg daily for three days followed by a maintenance dose of 800 mg daily (total treatment duration: two or three weeks for patients with mild to moderate or severe disease, respectively). Main outcome measure Negative conversion of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 by 28 days, analysed according to the intention to treat principle. Adverse events were analysed in the safety population in which hydroxychloroquine recipients were participants who received at least one dose of hydroxychloroquine and hydroxychloroquine non-recipients were those managed with standard of care alone. Results Of 150 patients, 148 had mild to moderate disease and two had severe disease. The mean duration from symptom onset to randomisation was 16.6 (SD 10.5; range 3-41) days. A total of 109 (73%) patients (56 standard of care; 53 standard of care plus hydroxychloroquine) had negative conversion well before 28 days, and the remaining 41 (27%) patients (19 standard of care; 22 standard of care plus hydroxychloroquine) were censored as they did not reach negative conversion of virus. The probability of negative conversion by 28 days in the standard of care plus hydroxychloroquine group was 85.4% (95% confidence interval 73.8% to 93.8%), similar to that in the standard of care group (81.3%, 71.2% to 89.6%). The difference between groups was 4.1% (95% confidence interval –10.3% to 18.5%). In the safety population, adverse events were recorded in 7/80 (9%) hydroxychloroquine non-recipients and in 21/70 (30%) hydroxychloroquine recipients. The most common adverse event in the hydroxychloroquine recipients was diarrhoea, reported in 7/70 (10%) patients. Two hydroxychloroquine recipients reported serious adverse events. Conclusions Administration of hydroxychloroquine did not result in a significantly higher probability of negative conversion than standard of care alone in patients admitted to hospital with mainly persistent mild to moderate covid-19. Adverse events were higher in hydroxychloroquine recipients than in non-recipients. Trial registration ChiCTR2000029868.
Mutational Analysis of β′260–309, a ς70 Binding Site Located on Escherichia coliCore RNA Polymerase*

In eubacteria, the ς subunit binds to the core RNA polymerase and directs transcription initiation from any of its cognate set of promoters. Previously, our laboratory defined a region of the β′ subunit that interacts with ς70 in vitro. This region of β′ contained heptad repeat motifs indicative of coiled coils. In this work, we used 10 single point mutations of the predicted coiled coils, located within residues 260–309 of β′, to look at disruption of the ς70-core interaction. Several of the mutants were defective for binding ς70 in vitro. Of these mutants, three (R275Q, E295K, and A302D) caused cells to be inviable in an in vivoassay in which the mutant β′ is the sole source of β′ subunit for the cell. All of the mutants were able to assemble into the core enzyme; however, R275Q, E295K, A302D were defective for Eς70 holoenzyme formation. Several of the mutants were also defective for holoenzyme assembly with various minor ς factors. In the recently published crystal structure of Thermus aquaticus core RNA polymerase (Zhang, G., Campbell, E. A., Minakhin, L., Richter, C., Severinov, K., and Darst, S. A. (1999)Cell 98, 811–824), the region homologous to β′260–309 of Escherichia coli forms a coiled coil. Modeling of our mutations onto that coiled coil places the most defective mutations on one face of the coiled coil.
The Role of Heritability in Adjusting Phenotypic Variability

The distribution of phenotypes within a population can be an important factor in population fitness (for measurements of individual fitness as a function of phenotype, see Barnes [1968] and Kearsey and Barnes [1970]). One mechanism for changing a distribution is to change the heritability of a trait by changing the genetic basis for variation in the trait. I will try to show that heritability can be an important aspect of adaptation. The distribution of continuously varying characters in a population is largely determined by three factors. Two of these factors, the reduction in variance due to mating and the increase in variance due to meiotic segregation of alleles in the production of gametes, have recently been analyzed by Roughgarden (1972) in his study on the evolution of niche width. A similar treatment of the distribution of continuously varying characters is given in Slatkin's (1970) paper on selection and polygenic characters. The point is made by both authors that the distribution of a character is a result of dynamic equilibrium between the collapsing effects of nonassortative mating and the spreading effects due to the variety of offspring phenotypes produced by individual pairs of parents. Indeed, they calculate that the variance of values for the population is about twice the variance within families. The third factor controlling the form of the distribution of offspring phenotypes is the heritability. For a given trait, the mean phenotype of the offspring produced by a given mating can be predicted to fall between the mean of the parents and the mean of the population. The extent to which the mean offspring phenotype resembles the midparent phenotype is the heritability (see Lerner 1958). Traits in which the variability arises from alleles which act independently of the rest of the genotype and the environment have a high heritability. Roughgarden's and Slatkin's models are based on 100% heritability, the mean of the offspring being the midparent phenotypes. If, however, the variability for the trait arises from alleles whose effects depend heavily on which other alleles are present, or on the environment, or allow what Milkman (1970) calls "stochastic variation," the heritability will be low. The extent to which the heritability is less than 100%o is, like mating, a factor collapsing the distribution toward the mean. The relationship between niche width and phenotypic distribution for a continuously varying character is the subject of Roughgarden's (1972) paper. In brief, he considers resources which can be ordered along an axis
Genetic Diversity of the Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) Between Big and Small Populations

Abstract Fang, S.G. , Wan, Q.H. and Fujihara, N. 2002. Genetic diversity of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) between big and small populations. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 21: 65–74. Genetic diversity of the giant panda was examined by DNA fingerprinting method in order to determine genetic distances between two groups, big and small populations. Results obtained suggest that small population may induce the reduction of genetic diversity of the giant panda and result in extinction of the species. These results suggest the need for reintroduction of individuals into small population for preventing the reduction of genetic diversity in giant panda population.
Predicting and preventing hospital readmission for exacerbations of COPD

More than a third of patients hospitalised for acute exacerbation of COPD are readmitted to hospital within 90 days. Healthcare professionals and service providers are expected to collaboratively drive efforts to improve hospital readmission rates, which can be challenging due to the lack of clear consensus and guidelines on how best to predict and prevent readmissions. This review identifies these risk factors, highlighting the contribution of multimorbidity, frailty and poor socioeconomic status. Predictive models of readmission that address the multifactorial nature of readmissions and heterogeneity of the disease are reviewed, recognising that in an era of precision medicine, in-depth understanding of the intricate biological mechanisms that heighten the risk of COPD exacerbation and re-exacerbation is needed to derive modifiable biomarkers that can stratify accurately the highest risk groups for targeted treatment. We evaluate conventional and emerging strategies to reduce these potentially preventable readmissions. Here, early recognition of exacerbation symptoms and the delivery of prompt treatment can reduce risk of hospital admissions, while patient education can improve treatment adherence as a key component of self-management strategies. Care bundles are recommended to ensure high-quality care is provided consistently, but evidence for their benefit is limited to date. The search continues for interventions which are effective, sustainable and applicable to a diverse population of patients with COPD exacerbations. Further research into mechanisms that drive exacerbation and affect recovery is crucial to improve our understanding of this complex, highly prevalent disease and to advance the development of more effective treatments. The high prevalence of COPD hospital readmissions remains a clinical challenge worldwide. In an era of precision medicine, improved strategies including personalised interventions are required to predict and reduce these potentially preventable admissions. http://bit.ly/2w6pV2I
Effect of Electroacupuncture in Mice with Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colitis and the Influence of Gut Microbiota

Background The relationship between inflammatory bowel disease and gut microbiota is inextricable. Electroacupuncture (EA) can alleviate acute experimental colitis, but the performance of intestinal microorganisms and the mechanism are still not fully understood. We investigated the relationship between the EA and gut microbes and clarified the role of tight junction and adiponectin in the anti-inflammatory effect of EA. Methods Male C57BL/6 mice were randomized into three groups: normal control, dextran sulfate sodium- (DSS-) induced ulcerative colitis (DSS), and DSS with EA ST36 (DSS + EA). Mice body weight, DAI score, colon length, and histological score were evaluated for colitis severity. Colonic inflammation and tight junctions were demonstrated by the immunohistochemical (IHC) method. Systemic responses were confirmed by plasma cytokines and adiponectin with multiplex immunoassays. Gut microbiome profiling was conducted by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Results EA had benefit in relieving both macroscopic and microscopic colonic inflammation. It can reduce disease activity, maintain colon length, and ameliorate histological inflammatory reaction. In IHC stain, EA decreased CD11b, F4/80, TLR4, and MyD88 and preserved claudin-1 and ZO-1 expression. Compared with the control group, the DSS group showed elevated levels of CRP, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-6, but decreased adiponectin. These changes were reversed by EA, accompanied by modulation of the overall structure of gut microbiota. Conclusion Our findings suggest that EA exerts its therapeutic effect by TLR4 signaling via the MyD88-dependent pathway. EA could increase adiponectin, maintain mucosal tight junctions, and modulate gut microbiota.