Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development differentially sculpts receptive fields across human visual cortex

Receptive fields (RFs) processing information in restricted parts of the visual field are a key property of neurons in the visual system. However, how RFs develop in humans is unknown. Using fMRI and population receptive field (pRF) modeling in children and adults, we determined where and how pRFs develop across the ventral visual stream. We find that pRF properties in visual field maps, V1 through VO1, are adult-like by age 5. However, pRF properties in face- and word-selective regions develop into adulthood, increasing the foveal representation and the visual field coverage for faces in the right hemisphere and words in the left hemisphere. Eye-tracking indicates that pRF changes are related to changing fixation patterns on words and faces across development. These findings suggest a link between viewing behavior of faces and words and the differential development of pRFs across visual cortex, potentially due to competition on foveal coverage.
Assessing wheat spatial variation based on proximal and remote spectral vegetation indices and soil properties

Assessing the spatial variation of soil and crop properties is the basis for site specific management of crop practices in precision agriculture applications. To this aim, proximal and remote spectral vegetation indices are increasingly replacing soil physical-chemical analysis. In this study the spatial variation of soil properties, proximal and remote spectral vegetation indices were compared in a winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) crop grown in a 4.15 ha field in northern Italy. Soil analysis (particle size distribution, pH, carbonates, C, total N, available P, exchangeable cations and electrical conductivity) was geo-referentially carried out; the proximal indices chlorophyll content by N-Tester and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) through GreenSeeker were determined in three dates during stem elongation; the remote indices PurePixel TM Chlorophyll Index and PurePixel TM Vegetation Index were determined through the Landsat 8 satellite in three dates during the same wheat stage. Dry biomass yield (DBY), grain yield (GY) and yield components were determined at harvest. Soil, proximal and remote data were submitted to principal component analysis (PCA), and the retained PCs were clustered to delineate areas at low, intermediate and high yield potential, based on soil parameters (CLU sp ), proximal (CLU pi ), and remote vegetation indices (CLU ri ). DBY and GY were significantly correlated with several soil parameters and vegetation indices. Spatial distribution of soil and crop data consistently depicted a low performing area (GY 8 Mg ha -1 ). CLU sp determined a lower GY difference between low and high performing area (+60%), compared to CLU pi and CLU ri (almost + 100%). In CLU sp and CLU pi the low and high performing area were of similar size (25 and 29% for the two respective areas in CLU sp ; 25 and 33% in CLU pi ), whereas in CLU ri they were quite different (16 and 46%). Lastly, yield potential levels determined by vegetation indices (CLU pi and CLU ri ) exhibited a better degree of agreement with DBY and GY levels, than soil parameters (CLU sp ). In exchange for this, the above referred soil parameters are quite consistent in time, allowing soil data to be used for more years. On concluding, PCA followed by clustering resulted in a robust delineation of field areas at different yield potential. This is the premise for developing research driven strategies of practical use.
Incidence of Aspergillus flavus in roasted and raw groundnuts from supermarkets and other vendors in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa and its management using biological control agents

Abstract This study was carried out to investigate the incidence of the aflatoxin-producing fungus, Aspergillus flavus in commercially available roasted and raw groundnuts sold by various vendors. Secondly, the study evaluated the antagonistic activity of Bacillus isolates against A. flavus in vitro and in vivo. All the 42 groundnut samples collected from the various vendors were contaminated with A. flavus. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the incidence of A. flavus contamination in roasted and raw groundnut samples. The results of the in vitro bioassay indicated that the Bacillus isolates inhibited the growth of A. flavus ranging from 61 to 76%. In the in vivo study using groundnut kernels, increase in incubation time and concentration of the Bacillus isolates enhanced control of A. flavus. We showed that Bacillus isolates from the phyllosphere of ryegrass has potential as biocontrol agent for the control of A. flavus in groundnuts.
Waterbird communities and seed biomass in managed and reference‐restored wetlands in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) commenced the Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative (MBHI) in summer 2010 after the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The MBHI enrolled in the program 193,000 ha of private wet‐ and cropland inland from potential oil‐impaired wetlands. We evaluated waterfowl and other waterbird use and potential seed/tuber food resources in NRCS Wetland Reserve Program easement wetlands managed via MBHI funding and associated reference wetlands in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri. In Louisiana and Mississippi, nearly three times more dabbling ducks and all ducks combined were observed on managed than reference wetlands. Shorebirds and waterbirds other than waterfowl were nearly twice as abundant on managed than referenced wetlands. In Arkansas and Missouri, managed wetlands had over twice more dabbling ducks and nearly twice as many duck species than reference wetlands. Wetlands managed via MBHI in Mississippi and Louisiana contained ≥1.3 times more seed and tuber biomass known to be consumed by waterfowl than reference wetlands. Seed and tuber resources did not differ between wetlands in Arkansas and Missouri. While other studies have documented greater waterbird densities on actively than nonmanaged wetlands, our results highlighted the potential for initiatives focused on managing conservation easements to increase waterbird use and energetic carrying capacity of restored wetlands for waterbirds.
Exploring the role of the phosphatidylinositol-3'-kinase (PI3K) pathway in primordial follicle activation and subsequent development

s of oral presentations Spence SC, Anderson RA, Telfer EE. The role of the phosphatidylinositol-3'-kinase (PI3K) pathway in primordial follicle activation and early ovarian follicle growth. Society for the Study of Reproduction 2014 Spence SC, Anderson RA, Telfer EE. The role of the PI3K pathway in bovine primordial follicle activation and the regulation of ovarian follicle growth in vitro
Estudo de prospecção tecnológica da leishmania associada a nanocarreadores e imidazol

Considerando-se a gravidade da leishmaniose enquanto antropozoonose no contexto nacional, este trabalho objetivou realizar um estudo de prospecção tecnológica através da associação de nanocarreadores e imidazol. Utilizaram-se diversos descritores que deveriam compor a seção “título” e ou “resumo” em bancos de patentes e artigos, seguido de triagem dos resultados. Dos bancos consultados, a busca nas 5 bases de dados para artigos e patentes, somou número total de 217.073 e 727.606, respectivamente. Palavras-chave Leishmania. Nanotecnologia. Farmacoterapia. ABSTRACT:
A new species of Eumeces Wiegmann 1834 (Sauria: Scincidae) from Iran

We describe a new species of skink in the genus Eumeces Wiegmann 1834 from Iran. Eumeces persicus sp. nov. is a medium-sized skink, distinguished by two clear, wide, and brown lateral lines extending from the ear opening to the hindlimbs, with scattered light orange spots, and two median rows of dorsal scales broadly enlarged in eight longitudinal rows. The new species ranges from southern Tehran to Kerman Province along the eastern slopes of the Zagros Mountains towards the Iranian plateau. We provide morphological comparisons of the new species with other Eumeces species from the region and molecular analyses of two mitochondrial markers (16S and Cyt b ). We also present taxonomic and phylogenetic accounts, with an updated identification key for the genus Eumeces in Iran and surrounding regions.
Decline in a Tilletia indica Teliospore Population in a Naturally Infested Arizona (USA) Wheat Field

Following a 2004-outbreak of Karnal bunt in an Arizona wheat field where infection had not been detected in recent years, the population and viability of Tilletia indica teliospores in surface and subsurface layers of soil were monitored over a four-year period. The field was seeded with two parallel 1.8 m × 190 m strips of wheat, 11 m apart and the remainder planted in non-host barley. Thirty-eight 1.22 m2 wheat plots were harvested and seed examined for infection. Several times throughout each season soil samples were taken from each of 25 points throughout the field. Teliospores extracted from subsamples of each soil sample were examined to estimate the number of teliospores per gram soil and germination percentage. The average (SD) infection observed for each of the four consecutive seasons was 7.05 (4.6), 2.89 (5.5), 0, and 0.004% (0). The average number of teliospores recovered per gram of soil during the first sampling was 36 and 39 for the 0.5 cm deep (surface) and 5.5 cm deep (subsurface), respectively, with an average teliospore germination of 29%. By the last season, the average numbers of teliospores recovered were 5 and 2.5 per gram of soil, respectively, with an average germination of 1.0%.
Application of the immunoregulatory receptor LILRB1 as a novel crystallisation chaperone for class I peptide-MHC complexes

X-ray crystallographic studies of class I peptide-MHC molecules (pMHC) continue to provide important insights into immune recognition, however their success depends on generation of diffraction-quality crystals, which remains a significant challenge. While protein engineering techniques such as surface-entropy reduction and lysine methylation have proven utility in facilitating and/or improving protein crystallisation, they risk affecting the conformation and biochemistry of the class I MHC antigen binding groove. An attractive alternative is the use of noncovalent crystallisation chaperones, however these have not been developed for pMHC. Here we describe a method for promoting class I pMHC crystallisation, by exploiting its natural ligand interaction with the immunoregulatory receptor LILRB1 as a novel crystallisation chaperone. First, focussing on a model HIV-1-derived HLA-A2-restricted peptide, we determined a 2. 4Å HLA-A2/LILRB1 structure, which validated that co-crystallisation with LILRB1 does not alter conformation of the antigenic peptide. We then demonstrated that addition of LILRB1 enhanced the crystallisation of multiple pMHC complexes, and identified a generic condition for initial co-crystallisation. LILRB1 chaperone-based pMHC crystallisation enabled structure determination for class I pMHC previously intransigent to crystallisation, including both conventional and post-translationally-modified peptides, of diverse lengths. LILRB1 chaperone-mediated crystallisation should expedite molecular insights into the immunobiology of diverse immune-related diseases and immunotherapeutic strategies, particularly involving class I pMHC complexes that are challenging to crystallise. Moreover, since the LILRB1 recognition interface involves predominantly non-polymorphic regions of the MHC molecule, the approach we outline could prove applicable to a diverse range of class I pMHC.
Determination of allelopathic potential in mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King) leaf litter using sandwich method

The sandwich method is a reliable screening bioassay that can be utilized to investigate allelopathic activity of leaf litter leachates. Screening the allelopathic potential of mahogany ( Swietenia macrophylla King) leaf litter in plant–plant interaction using the sandwich bioassay method has not been reported. The research objectives were to determine and categorize allelopathic potential of S. macrophylla leaf litter using the sandwich bioassay method, and to determine specific activity (EC5 50 ). S. macrophylla leaf litter. The results showed that S. macrophylla leaf litter exhibited strong allelopathic activity when compared with 46 leaf litter species and was included in the top ten of allelopathic leaf litter species. Increasing S. macrophylla leaf litter concentration was concomitant with inhibition of radicle lettuce seedling growth compared with the control. According to the linear regression analysis, the effective concentration (EC 50 ) of S. macrophylla was estimated to be 3.25 mg D.W. eq. mL -1 and was considered to have strong growth-inhibitory activity on lettuce radicle elongation. The results suggest the possibility of allelopathic potential of leaf litter in plant–plant interaction under S. macrophylla trees.
Ultraweak photon emission in strawberry fruit during ripening and aging is related to energy level

Abstract Background Ultra-weak photon emission (UPE), or biophoton emission, is a phenomenon observed in various living organisms, including plants. In this study, we analyzed the UPE from ripening strawberry fruits, to elucidate its source and association with cellular energy. Methods Freshly harvested and stored strawberry fruits were measured for levels of UPE and energy molecules adenosine triphosphate (ATP), adenosine monophosphate (AMP) and adenosine diphosphate (ADP). The associations between them were calculated. Results In ripening fruit, a decrease in UPE positively correlated with declining levels of ATP, AMP, and energy charge. In harvested fruits, levels of UPE, ATP, and energy charge declined, but ADP and AMP increased. Conclusion Changes in UPE levels synchronized with changes in ATP and energy charge, which reflect cellular energy levels. Thus, cellular energy may be related to UPE, and may be an energy source for UPE.
Structure-based discovery of natural product-like protein inhibitors

is used to construct a three-dimensional model that can be used for molecular docking or pharmacophore generation [8]. By comparison, ligand-based methods typically aim to identify structural motifs that are important for bioactivity by considering sets of known active and inactive molecules. Our own group has focused on the structurebased docking approach which, while generally considered to be more computationally demanding, can be used with new or orphan targets that have few known ligands. Moreover, molecular docking may be used to study the mode of the ligand-target interaction in order to rationally design analogues of hit compounds with improved potency and selectivity. A few recent examples of the use of structure-based docking methods to identify natural product or natural product-like protein inhibitors are presented below.
Diversity of nitrate, oxalate, vitamin C and carotenoid contents in different spinach accessions and their correlation with various morphological traits

ABSTRACT Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) accumulates high amounts of carotenoids, vitamin C, nitrate and oxalate. Breeding to reduce nitrate and oxalate levels and increase vitamin C and carotenoid levels is a major target in spinach nutritional quality improvement. Here we investigate natural variations in the levels of nitrate, oxalate, vitamin C, and total carotenoid in 98 spinach accessions, and correlations among these four nutritional components and 12 important morphological traits. Our results showed that the concentrations of nitrate, oxalate, vitamin C, and total carotenoid ranged from 0.21–3.83, 2.38–34.72, 0.51–1.30, and 0.18–0.58 mg g−1 fresh weight (FW), respectively. Moderate positive correlations were observed between the levels of oxalate and vitamin C, and between vitamin C and total carotenoid, whereas the levels of nitrate were correlated weakly and negatively with those of vitamin C and total carotenoid. The nitrate contents of crinkle-leaf accessions were significant higher than those of smooth-leaf accessions, and the smooth-leaf accessions had significantly higher concentrations of oxalate and vitamin C than crinkle-leaf accessions. Furthermore, hierarchical clustering analysis identified eight spinach accessions that could be served as starting materials for breeding new spinach cultivars with increased levels of vitamin C and carotenoids and simultaneously decreased accumulation of nitrate and oxalate.
Ewes giving birth to female lambs produce more milk than ewes giving birth to male lambs

Abstract A total number of 23,271 parturitions were studied from two sheep farms of the Churra (CH) and Lacaune (LA) breeds. CH lambs were kept with their mothers during the first 30 days of age; from that moment onwards, ewes were machine-milked. LA lambs were not allowed to suckle their mothers, and ewes were machine-milked from parturition. Milking length (ML), total milk yield (TMY) and daily milk yield (DMY) (TMY/ML) were calculated. For the CH breed, there was an effect (p < .001) of prolificacy on ML, TMY and DMY and of offspring gender on TMY and DMY. For the LA breed, prolificacy and offspring gender had an effect (p < .001) on ML, TMY and DMY. Ewes giving birth to twin lambs produced more milk (CH: +0.15 l/d and +27.5 l/ewe; LA: +0.15 l/d and +11 l/ewe), than ewes giving birth to single lambs. For single parturitions in the CH breed, ewes giving birth to females produced more milk (+0.04 l/d and +5.2 l/ewe) (p < .0001) than ewes giving birth to males. In this breed, this effect of female offspring on milk production was similar for those ewes giving birth to twin lambs. In conclusion, ewes presenting twin parturitions produced more milk than single parturitions and the presence of female lambs had a positive effect on milk yield. These results open new possibilities to increase profitability of dairy sheep farms through a selection of the offspring gender.
Handbook of the Mammals of the World, Vol. 2: Hoofed Mammals

This second volume in the Handbook of the Mammals of the World series covers 17 families in six orders; although united here, their grouping as "hoofed mammals" is more practical than phylogenetic. Families detailed include aardvarks, hyraxes, elephants, pangolins, horses and relatives, rhinoceroses, tapirs, camels, pigs, peccaries, hippopotamuses, chevrotains, musk-deer, deer, hollow-horned ruminants, pronghorn, and giraffe and okapi. Family accounts cover the following: systematics, morphological aspects, habitat, general habits, communication, food and feeding, breeding, movement, home range and social organisation, relationship with humans, and status and conservation. Species accounts include chapters on taxonomy, descriptive notes, habitat, food and feeding, activity patterns, movements, home range and social organization, breeding, and a bibliography.
Uncoupling Intraflagellar Transport and Primary Cilia Formation Demonstrates Deep Integration of IFT in Hedgehog Signaling

The vertebrate hedgehog pathway is organized in primary cilia and hedgehog components relocate into or out of cilia during signaling. Defects in intraflagellar transport (IFT) typically disrupt ciliary assembly and attenuate hedgehog signaling. Determining if IFT drives the movement of hedgehog components is difficult due to the requirement of IFT for building cilia. Unlike most IFT proteins, IFT27 is dispensable for cilia formation but affects hedgehog signaling similar to other IFTs allowing us to examine its role in the dynamics of signaling. Activating signaling at points along the pathway in Ift27 mutant cells showed that IFT is extensively involved in the pathway. Similar analysis of Bbs mutant cells showed that BBS proteins participate at many levels of signaling but are not needed to concentrate Gli transcription factors at the ciliary tip. Our analysis showed that smoothened delivery to cilia does not require IFT27, but the role of other IFTs is not known. Using a rapamycin-induced dimerization system to stop IFT after ciliary assembly was complete we show that smoothened delivery to cilia is IFT independent. Abbreviations MEFs mouse embryonic fibroblasts SAG smoothen agonist IFT intraflagellar transport FKBP FK506 Binding Protein 12 FRB FKBP12-rapamycin binding
Bibliometric Analysis of Ghana Publications in the Science Citation Index Expanded

Ghana is a West African country for which apparently there are limited scientometric studies. The objective of this study was to analyze the Ghanaian contribution to knowledge captured in the Thomson Reuters Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED) database from 1936 - 2016. The following data were analyzed: document type, the language of publication, publication trend, Web of Science Subject Categories, Journals, international collaboration, institutions, authors, and highly cited articles. Indicators such as the total number of articles, first author articles, and corresponding author articles were applied to compare publication performance for collaborative countries and institutions. Also, number of single institute articles: number of nationally collaborative articles: number of internationally collaborative articles (S : N : I) were also used to compare publication characteristics of institutions in Ghana. Results showed that publication trend increased from 1998 to 2015, with researches focusing on health and medicine. PLo S One was the top productive journal, and the most collaborative country for Ghana articles was the USA. Contributions from the University of Ghana were ranked the top one institution for Ghana articles, and higher citation papers were found in international collaborations. In conclusion, the contribution to knowledge of Ghanaian authors is massive in the areas of public, environmental and occupational health and tropical medicine but the impact factor is higher for immunology, infectious diseases, and microbiology articles. Therefore, Ghanaian authors are encouraged to publish more articles in high impact factor journals with Thomson Reuters Scientific indexing in order to have their researches recognized by the existing international databases.
Antigen targeting to plasmacytoid dendritic cells - induction of tolerance or immunity

To investigate the influence of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) on adaptive immune responses, recombinant antibodies to Siglec-H and BST2 were generated that enable the delivery of antigen to murine pDCs in vivo. Delivery of autoantigen (myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein) to pDCs via Siglec-H resulted in an attenuation of antigen specific effector T cell responses and a diminished disease severity in an antigen specific murine model of multiple sclerosis. In contrast to that, antigen delivery to pDCs with α-BST2 was able to successfully induce CD4+ and CD8+ effector T cell responses when α-BST2-antigen fusion protein was co-administered with adjuvant. These effector T cell responses were able to mediate protection in a viral infection model as well as in an antigen specific tumor model. This study shows that antigen delivery to murine pDCs is a powerful tool to modulate antigen specific T cell responses.
Novel insights into animal sociality from multilayer networks

Network analysis has driven key developments in animal behavior research by providing quantitative methods to study the social structure of animal groups and populations. A recent advancement in network science, \emph{multilayer network analysis}, the study of network structures of multiple interconnected `layers', offers a novel way to represent and analyze the structure of animal behavior, and help strengthen links to broader ecological and evolutionary contexts. We outline the potential uses of these new methods at individual-, group-, population-, and evolutionary-levels, and we highlight their potential to advance behavioral ecology research. This novel quantitative approach makes it possible to address classic research questions from a new perspective and opens a diversity of new questions that previously have been out of reach.