Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Propiedades bioactivas de algas marinas del nororiente de Venezuela

In the last decades, the chemistry of natural products of marine origin has been object of intense investigations that allowed to discover new substances with pharmacological and medical properties. In Venezuela, the investigations on biological active substances are scarce, it was considered of interest to carry out this investigation with the purpose to prove the bioactive properties (haemagglutinating, haemolisating and antibacterial) in aqueous extracts of 12 species of marine algae belonging to the families Chlorophyceae, Rhodophyceae and Phaeophyceae collected in four localities of the northeastern coast of Venezuela. The haemagglutinating and haemolisating activity was determined using human blood (A, B and O). The antibiotic activity of the extracts was evaluated by means of the appearance of inhibition zones by the technique of the disk-agar against bacterial Gram (+) and Gram (-). Of the 12 species of algae analyzed, four showed haemagglutinating activity corresponding to the species Derbesia vaucheriaeformis, Halimeda opuntia, Ulva fasciata (Chlorophyceae) and Hypnea musciformis (Rhodophyceae), while the antibacterial activity was positive for 5 of the 12 extracts proven against one or more indicative of test organism. Species of Rhodophycea showed the largest activity number. Activity was not evidenced for the species of Phaeophyceae: We conclude that the activity exhibited by the extracts is probably due to the presence of agglutinins type lectins that are proteins of non-immune origin able to agglutinate a variety of cells and bacterias.
Evolutionary implication of mechanotransduction in development

In this thesis, I first focused on the testing of the hypothesis of the mechanotransductive activation of the apical accumulation of Myosin-II (Myo-II) that leads to Drosophila embryos mesoderm invagination, in response to the active cell apex pulsations preceding gastrulation in the mesoderm. This hypothesis was proposed on the basis of previous experiments realized in my host lab, having consisted in the rescue of mesoderm invagination in pulsation and invagination defective mutants, in response to a simple mechanical indent of the mesoderm. Here I demonstrated quantitatively the plausibility of such mechanical trigger of the active apical accumulation of Myo-II leading to subsequent mesoderm invagination, in response to the mechanical strains developed by the endogenous pulsative movements of mesoderm cell apexes, in silico. In a second part, I tested experimentally the role of the mechanical strains developed by the very first morphogenetic movements of zebrafish (Danio rerio) and Drosophila embryos, in the early specification of mesoderm cells identity. Specifically, to test this hypothesis, I developed magnetic biophysical tools to mimic the epiboly morphogenetic movements in epiboly defective zebrafish embryos. We found the beta-catenin (B-cat) Y667 phosphorylation as the common mechano-transductive pathway involved in earliest mesoderm genes expression notail and twist respectively, in response to the very first morphogenetic movements of embryogenesis in both species, epiboly and mesoderm invagination, respectively. This allowed to suggest such mechanotransduction pathway as conserved from the last common ancestor of both species, namely the last common ancestor of bilaterians, therefore possibly involved in the origins of mesoderm emergence in the ancestor, which represents a currently important opened question of evo-devo. In a third part, I developed experiments of mechanical indent of Drosophila embryos germ cells, and demonstrated the production of generational heritable developmental defects induced on at least 3 generations. These experiments suggest accidental mechanical perturbation of germ cells as a putative new motor mode of heritable modulations in the genetic developmental program of embryogenesis, with the molecular mechanism underlying such transmission being currently in progress.
The Role of Raccoons in the Ecology of Bovine Tuberculosis

Bovine tuberculosis is a contagious bacterial disease that has had significant socioeconomic impacts on the region of northern lower Michigan. The role raccoons may play in the ecology and maintenance of the disease on farms in the core disease is unknown. Preliminary results of 61 radio collared raccoons have yielded a better understanding of raccoon movement and habitat use within an agricultural complex. Preliminary analysis of raccoons suggests annual home range sizes of . 824km and . 608km for males and females, respectively. Additionally raccoons and cattle have been documented at resource interfaces, further illustrating the potential for indirect disease transmission among species.
Evaluation of the Importance of Some East Asian Tree Species for Refinement of Air Quality by Estimating Air Pollution Tolerance Index, Anticipated Performance Index, and Air Pollutant Uptake

Potentials of tree species as biofilters depend on appropriate selection based on their tolerance to air pollution, which is usually evaluated by the air pollution tolerance index (APTI) and anticipated performance index (API). Thus, these index values need as a means of scientific understanding to assess the role of urban trees for better greenspace planning/management to mitigate impacts of gaseous air pollution such as ozone (O3) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). O3 exposure to Chionanthus retusus, Pinus densiflora, and Ginkgo biloba showed higher stomatal O3 flux than the others, finally resulting in both favoring stomatal movement and maintaining carbon fixation. In contrast, despite the whole tree enhanced SO2 uptake under excess SO2 exposure, the carbon assimilation capacity was only found in Taxus cuspidata and Zelkova serrata as a consequence of no stomatal sluggishness. On the basis of API, P. densiflora and Prunus × yedoensis were good performers for developing greenspace, while Z. serrata and G. biloba were moderate performers; however, C. retusus and T. cuspidata were estimated to be poor and very poor performers, respectively, for reducing the air quality injury caused by air pollutants. The present study suggests that an integration of both APTI and API based on stomatal absorption flux is needed for selecting sound tree-species in greenspace planning/construction to control gaseous air pollutions.
Bacteria asociada a huevos de zoonematodo como agente potencial para el biocontrol de Meloidogyne spp. en tomate

Antecedentes: El objetivo de este estudio fue caracterizar la bacteria CIGBTb aislada de huevos de Tricostrongylus respecto a sus propiedades biocontroladoras de nematodos y sus posibles mecanismos de accion mediante ensayos en maceta, ensayos in vitro y la deteccion de sus atributos patogenicos. Metodos: Se caracterizo la cepa por metodos moleculares y convencionales. La efectividad contra nematodos y el efecto sobre el crecimiento vegetal se evaluaron en macetas con Solanum lycopersicum plants var UC-8213. A los 40 dias se determino el indice de infestacion, el numero de agallas, la longitud y la masa de las ramas y las raices y el numero de huevos por masa. Se evaluo el efecto sobre la eclosion de huevos de Haemonchus y Meloidogyne spp. in vitro. Se empleo ANOVA y prueba de Duncan para comparar los datos. Resultados: Sphingobacterium CIGBTb inhibio la eclosion de los huevos de Haemonchus spp. en un 100 % y de Meloidogyne spp en un 87 %. Tambien disminuyo significativamente el numero de nodulos radiculares en Solanum lycopersicum en un 58 %, el numero de huevos por masa en un 53 % y promovio el crecimiento de Solanum lycopersicum en 0,59 veces con respecto al control. No se encontraron informes de otras cepas de este genero con actividad nematicida y estimulante del crecimiento vegetal simultaneamente. Conclusiones: CIGBTb podria permitir el control biologico de nematodos al reducir no solo la eclosion de los huevos sino tambien el numero de huevos por masa.
Females as mobile resources: communal roosts promote the adoption of lek breeding in a temperate bat

Free to read on publisher website Males of lek-breeding species defend clustered territories from which they display to visiting females. However, the mechanisms leading to the adoption of clustered male display sites are often unknown. In this study, we examined the possibility of a resource-based lek in New Zealand’s lesser short-tailed bat (Mystacina tuberculata) (Mammalia: Chiroptera), by assessing the placement of “singing roosts” used by males in relation to communal roosting sites used by females. The “resource-based lek” model posits that males settle near resources required by females to increase female encounter rates. For most bat species, where females are highly mobile and widely dispersed across landscapes while foraging, communal daytime roosts dominated by females may represent such a resource. Through use of video footage, spatial analyses of singing-roost locations, and passive-integrated transponder tags we confirmed that M. tuberculata employs a lek mating system. We found that male singing roosts were significantly clustered in space, were defended by resident individuals, and were visited by females (who did not receive resources from males) for mating purposes. Transponder records also indicated that some singing roosts were shared between multiple males. Spatial logistic regression indicated that singing-roost locations were associated with communal roosting sites. Communal roosts are selected based on criteria independent of the locations of singing roosts, suggesting that males responded to the location of communal roosts and not the reverse. Mystacina tuberculata thus provides evidence of a resource-based lek, and is only the second bat species worldwide confirmed to use a lek-mating system.
The biophysics of intracellular transport driven by structurally-defined systems of motor proteins

The biophysics of intracellular transport driven by structurally-defined systems of motor proteins. by D. Kenneth Jamison The number of motor proteins attached to cellular cargos is widely believed to influence intracellular transport processes and may playa role in transport regulation. However, to date, investigating the biophysics of multiple-motor dynamics has been challenging since the number of motors responsible for cargo motion is not easily characterized. This work examines the transport properties of structurally-defined motor complexes containing two kinesin-l motors, from both an experimental and theoretical perspective. Motor complexes were synthesized using DNA as a molecular scaffold and engineered DNA-conjugated protein polymers as linkers to couple motors to scaffolds. After anchoring the motor complexes to a bead their dynamic properties were measured using an automated optical trapping instrument that could be used to perform both static (increasing load) and force-feedback (constant load) optical trapping experiments. Data from these experiments is compared to predictions from a microscopic transition rate model of multiple kinesin dynamics. Together, these studies uncovered that multiple kinesins typically cannot cooperate since the microtubulebound configuration of a motor complex often prevents both kinesins from sharing cargo loads. Furthermore, multiple-motor behaviors are influenced by the fact that motor complexes display hysteretic force-velocity behaviors when applied loads change rapidly in time. Overall, such behaviors suggest the number of kinesins on a cargo will not be a key determinant of intracellular transport processes, and in turn, will not contribute appreciably to mechanisms that regulate cargo motion. However, this work also provides evidence that processive microtubule motors that are less efficient than kinesin (e.g., dynein) will cooperate productively, produce greater responses to motor number, and may therefore act as a regulator of cargo transport.
Strengths and Limits of Multiple Sequence Alignment and Filtering Methods

Multiple sequence alignment (MSA) is a prerequisite for most phylogenetic analyses. Aligning sequences to unravel residue homology is a challenging task that has been the focus of much attention in recent decades. Research in this field has been extremely active from both theoretical and practical standpoints. Numerous tools have been developed to align sequences and, more recently, to post-process those alignments and filter out their most dubious parts. Whether or not the inclusion of alignment filtering in a phylogenetic pipeline improves the quality of the inferred phylogenies is still debatable. The goal of this chapter is not to provide an exhaustive list of all tools available to produce or filter an MSA, but rather to cover the limitations of current alignment methods and their causes, to highlight key differences among MSA filtering methods and provide some practical MSA filtering guidelines. We consider that filtering methods can be subdivided into two main categories. The first one includes methods that filter MSA by entirely removing some sites or sequences from the MSA. The second category contains MSA filtering methods that mask residues and are able to extract some pieces of information from a site or sequence, while disregarding the remaining information-we called these picky-filtering methods. In our benchmark, the filtering methods that perform best are, as expected, in the picky category. When inferring phylogenies, MSA filtering impacts the inferred tree topology but it also seems to significantly improve branch length estimations, especially when a picky-filtering method is used.
Characterization of teeth fluorescence properties due to coffee pigmentation: towards optimization of quantitative light-induced fluorescence for tooth color assessment

The assessment of tooth color is typically performed by subjective comparison with a visual shade guide or by using objective optical techniques such as quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF). QLF measurements rely on the precise wavelength calibration of fluorescence excitation and emission for enhancing the contrast between the white sound tooth and stained areas. These areas may change the fluorescence emission differently depending on the color that is most absorbed by the stain on the tooth surface. Although previous studies have monitored the staining contrast generated by the consumption of beverages on teeth, the information provided is based on total intensity. However, this intensity varies from each QLF device configuration and comparison across studies may not be possible. Few studies report the wavelength-dependent characterization of the staining process, which allow the comparison on the light attenuation on specific wavelengths and can be used to design fluorescence equipment with improved contrast for the tooth color assessment. In this study, we quantified the fluorescence spectral features (fluorescence intensity, wavelength shift of the maximum intensity, full width at half maximum, and wavelength-dependent intensity attenuation) of teeth in several degrees of coffee pigmentation by using 445 nm excitation. Most of the pigmentation effect was observed on the fluorescence intensity and a linear behavior was observed for the full width at half maximum (around 11.8% increase for each pigmentation level). We characterized the fluorescence properties of each degree of pigmentation level. Both spectral features and fluorescence properties can be used to design novel fluorescence equipment capable of increasing the contrast between white and stained teeth.
Timber quality of teak from managed tropical plantations with special reference to Indian plantations.

QUALITE DES BOIS DE TECK ISSUS DE PLANTATIONS TROPICALES AMENAGEES: Avec une mention particuliere aux plantations indiennes. Depuis le developpement recent des plantations commerciales dans la plupart des pays tropicaux, la qualite des bois de teck a croissance rapide suscite un interet grandissant. Du fait du peu de donnees disponibles, des criteres de la qualite de ces bois ont ete choisis afin de faciliter le controle de leurs proprietes. Contrairement a l'opinion generale, les arbres dominants (phenotypiquement superieurs) a croissance rapide comportent une proportion plus elevee de bois de coeur pendant la phase juvenile de croissance, jusqu'a la 21 e annee, les differences ne sont plus significatives pour des arbres adultes âges de 55 et de 65 ans. La rapidite de la croissance a eu tres peu d'effet sur la resistance des bois de teck issus de plantations de 13, 21, 55 et 65 ans. Le teck a l'avantage de produire du bois de tres grande resistance dans des conditions de rotation relativement courtes de 21 ans, dans les plantations favorables a sa croissance. Les donnees sur des plantations de tecks juveniles sous une exploitation intensive montrent que: (a) les provenances a croissance rapide peuvent etre selectionnees pour l'exploitation du teck sans une reduction de la densite du bois ; (b) la selection d'arbres individuels au sein d'une meme provenance offre de meilleures possibilites d'ameliorer la densite du bois que la selection de provenances relevant de programmes d'amelioration ; (c) la densite du bois n'est pas toujours, par elle-meme, le meilleur indicateur d'une amelioration genetique globale de la qualite du bois ; (d) une croissance plus rapide dans des plantations forestieres relativement jeunes, favorisee par l'utilisation judicieuse de materiel genetique et d'intrants, peut etre avantageuse sur le plan du volume de bois de coeur produit par arbre et de la resistance du bois ; (e) il est probable que le bois juvenile issu de plantations d'exploitation intensive differera du bois de teck classique par le grain et la texture, ce qui modifiera la valeur marchande du bois ; (f) la recherche sur la durabilite du bois, le traitement preventif de l'aubier, les proprietes de resistance et les normes de qualite ainsi que les regles de classement du teck a croissance rapide doit etre approfondie dans des conditions d'exploitation intensive.
A Probabilistic Model to Quantify the Quality of Open Water Bodies

espanolSe desarrollo un modelo para cuantificar la calidad de los cuerpos de agua abiertos sobre la base de la logica probabilistica multivariada. El modelo se basa en parametros de calidad del agua que ya habian sido reportados en la literatura, tales como: turbidez, clorofila-a, indice de vegetacion y usos de la temperatura superficial derivadas de la distribucion de valores de pixeles de los parametros. Dichas funciones se combinaron mediante la logica probabilistica multivariada que produjo un mapa de niveles de calidad del agua. Posteriormente, el modelo se aplico a los humedales Centla, ubicados en el sureste de Mexico. En ellos pueden observarse numerosos cuerpos de agua en niveles de eutrofizacion variables. Para probar el modelo propuesto, se desarrollaron ejemplos usando una imagen Terra/Aster. Ademas, se propuso una escala cualitativa de grados de calidad del agua. EnglishA model to quantify the quality of open water bodies was developed on the grounds of multivariate probabilistic logic. The model is based on water quality parameters reported in the scientific literature such as: turbidity, chlorophyll-a, vegetation index and superficial temperature and uses probabilistic functions derived from the distribution of Pixel values of such parameters. Such functions were combined by means of the multivariate probabilistic logic that produced a map of water quality levels. The model was then applied to the Centla Wetlands in South East Mexico. In these wetlands, numerous water bodies can be observed in varying levels of eutrophication. To test the proposed model, examples were developed using a Terra/Aster image. A qualitative scale of water quality degrees was proposed.
Target Parameter Estimation via One-Bit PMCW Radar

We consider the problem of phase modulated continuous wave (PMCW) radar signal processing when the receiver utilizes one-bit sampling with known time-varying thresholds. We formulate the target parameter estimation problem as a sparse signal recovery problem and use the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) to solve it efficiently. Specifically, the log-norm approximation is used to replace the `0-norm to make the optimization problem more tractable. We then judiciously design the detailed updating steps of ADMM for the log-norm approximation, so that all updating steps involve computationally efficient closed-form solutions. Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm.
Ka-Band Passive Phased-Array Antenna With Substrate Integrated Waveguide Tunable Phase Shifter

A low-cost and low-profile <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$Ka$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-band passive phased-array antenna (PAA) using continuously tunable substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW) phase shifter is presented in this article. The phase shifting mechanism is based on perturbing the electric field of the slotted SIW (SSIW) line by putting a high dielectric constant slab over the slot of SIW. A systematic approach based on a simple transmission line (TL) circuit model which can support different modes is developed as a fast method for design optimization. It provides insightful physical understanding of the operating mechanism of the proposed phase shifter. In addition, a fully verified TL model of the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1\times 4$ </tex-math></inline-formula> SIW PAA is presented and used to predict and optimize the overall reflection coefficients and radiation patterns at different scanning angles. The TL circuit model is verified by full-wave simulations. As a design example, a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1\times 4$ </tex-math></inline-formula> SIW-based phased-array is designed, fabricated, and measured to validate phase shifter performance and capabilities. The prototype exhibits a continuous beam scanning range from −20° to +20° covering the whole operating band of 29–31 GHz.
Optimization of Random Forests Algorithm Based on ReliefF-SA

As a widely used classification integration algorithm, the random forests based on decision tree combination is mostly used for classification and regression problems, but its deficiencies still need to be improved. In this paper, we propose simulated annealing algorithm, and its parameters is combined with the global search optimal solution and local optimal solution to optimize search. Then, we propose a random forests hybrid algorithm by combining the Relief algorithm and annealing algorithm, briefly introduce its thoughts and algorithm flow, and also carry out simulation experiments. According to the experimental results, the classification effect of the hybrid algorithm is generally the best, which greatly improves the overall generalization performance of the random forests.
A review on role of essential trace elements in health and disease

Elements are present in different forms in the nature, and these elements are very essential for the body to perform different functions. Trace elements are very important for cell functions at biological, chemical and molecular levels. These elements mediate vital biochemical reactions by acting as cofactors for many enzymes, as well as act as centers for stabilizing structures of enzymes and proteins. Some of the trace elements control important biological processes by binding to molecules on the receptor site of cell membrane or by alternating the structure of membrane to prevent entry of specific molecules into the cell. The functions of trace elements have a dual role. In normal levels, they are important for stabilization of the cellular structures, but in deficiency states may stimulate alternate pathways and cause diseases. These trace elements have clinical significance and these can be estimated using different analytical method.