Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of dilution on methanogenesis, hydrogen turnover and interspecies hydrogen transfer in anoxic paddy soil

Dilution of anoxic slurries of paddy soil resulted in a proportional decrease of the rates of total methanogenesis and the rate constants of H2 turnover per gram soil. Dilution did not affect the fraction of H2/CO2-dependent methanogenesis which made up 22% of total CH4 production. However, dilution resulted in a ten fold decrease of the H2 steady state partial pressure from approximately 4 to 0.4 Pa indicating that H2/CO2-dependent methanogenesis was more or less independent of the H2 pool. The rates of H2 production calculated from the H2 turnover rate constants and the H2 steady state partial pressures accounted for only < 5% of H2/CO2-dependent methanogenesis in undiluted soil slurries and for even less after dilution. Upon dilution, the Gibbs free energy available for H2/CO2-dependent methanogenesis decreased from −28.4 to only −5.6 kJ per mol. The results indicate that methane was mainly produced from interspecies H2 transfer within syntrophic bacterial associations and was not significantly affected by the outside H2 pool.
Colloid transport through soil and other porous media under transient flow conditions—A review

Understanding colloid transport in porous media under transient‐flow conditions is crucial in understanding contaminant transport in soil or the vadose zone where flow conditions vary constantly. In this article, we provide a review of experimental studies, numerical approaches, and new technologies available to determine the transport of colloids in transient flow. Experiments indicate that soil structure and preferential flow are primary factors. In undisturbed soils with preferential flow pathways, macropores serve as main conduits for colloid transport. In homogeneously packed soil, the soil matrix often serves as filter. At the macroscale, transient flow facilitates colloid transport by frequently disturbing the force balance that retains colloids in the soil as indicated by the offset between colloid breakthrough peaks and discharge peaks. At the pore‐scale and under saturated condition, straining, and attachment at solid–water interfaces are the main mechanisms for colloid retention. Variably saturated conditions add more complexity, such as immobile water zones, film straining, attachment to air–water interfaces, and air–water–solid contact lines. Filter ripening, size exclusion, ionic strength, and hydrophobicity are identified as the most influential factors. Our review indicates that microscale and continuum‐scale models for colloid transport under transient‐flow conditions are rare, compared to the numerous steady‐state models. The few transient flow models that do exist are highly parameterized and suffer from a lack of a priori information of required pore‐scale parameters. However, new techniques are becoming available to measure colloid transport in real‐time and in a nondestructive way that might help to better understand transient flow colloid transport.
Overview and Comparative Assessment of Single-Phase Power Converter Topologies of Inductive Wireless Charging Systems

The acquisition of inductive power transfer (IPT) technology in commercial electric vehicles (EVs) alleviates the inherent burdens of high cost, limited driving range, and long charging time. In EV wireless charging systems using IPT, power electronic converters play a vital role to reduce the size and cost, as well as to maximize the efficiency of the overall system. Over the past years, significant research studies have been conducted by researchers to improve the performance of power conversion systems including the power converter topologies and control schemes. This paper aims to provide an overview of the existing state-of-the-art of power converter topologies for IPT systems in EV charging applications. In this paper, the widely adopted power conversion topologies for IPT systems are selected and their performance is compared in terms of input power factor, input current distortion, current stress, voltage stress, power losses on the converter, and cost. The single-stage matrix converter based IPT systems advantageously adopt the sinusoidal ripple current (SRC) charging technique to remove the intermediate DC-link capacitors, which improves system efficiency, power density and reduces cost. Finally, technical considerations and future opportunities of power converters in EV wireless charging applications are discussed.
BRCA1, BRCA2 and primary ovarian insufficiency

BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes belong to the family of ataxia-telangiectasia-mutated (ATM)-mediated DNA DSB repair genes that play a critical role in the DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair. Mutations in BRCA genes significantly increase the lifetime risk of breast, ovarian, fallopian tube and primary peritoneal cancers. In addition to the increased risk for multiple malignancies, recent literature suggest that mutations in BRCA genes could lead to decreased ovarian reserve and subsequent ovarian aging. In this review, we will focus on role of BRCA1 and BRCA2 in ovarian function, particularly ovarian aging and primary ovarian insufficiency. Serum AMH values are generally lower in BRCA1 mutation carriers but not in BRCA2 mutation carriers. BRCA2 carriers were more likely to have chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea DNA not stable, linking with ovarian aging. The mechanism by which BRCAs mutation in the pathogenesis of POI is the inpaired function of repairing DNA breaks. Future studies investigating the knockout models to elucidate the role of the BRCAs genes in ovarian development and oocyte maturation will be interesting.
Breeding populations of northern pintails have similar mitochondrial DNA

Northern pintails (Anas acuta) are highly nomadic, which may result in high levels of gene flow among nesting areas. To assess the extent of genetic differentiation among nesting areas, we analyzed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation in northern pintail females from three regions: Alaska, California, and midcontinent prairies and parklands. Abundant mtDNA variation was evident (20 genotypes among 289 birds), but there was no significant genetic differentiation of nesting areas within or among regions. Results indicate that pintails have had historically large breeding population sizes and a high rate of gene flow among North American nesting areas. Specific nesting areas are not independent units, but part of a larger continental population. High rates of gene flow suggest that over time, localized reductions in recruitment or survival may be compensated for by immigration.
Adenocarcinoma with Neuroendocrine Differentiation of the Colon Accompanying Osteoclast-Like Giant Cells

Introduction. Neuroendocrine differentiation in colorectal cancer is reportedly associated with poorer grade of tumor differentiation, nodal and distant metastasis, and other unfavorable features, contributing to a worse clinical outcome. Colorectal cancer with osteoclast-like giant cells (OGCs) is extremely rare. Case Presentation. An 86-year-old woman was diagnosed as double cancer of the transverse and sigmoid colon. Both tumors were simultaneously removed. The transverse colon cancer directly invaded the area of the right gastroepiploic vessels and spread to the nodes and histologically consisted of both the tubuloglandular and solid components. CD8/granzyme B-positive tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and CD163/CD68-positive macrophages, frequently forming OGCs, were observed particularly at the invasion front. The carcinoma cells were labeled focally for synaptophysin and diffusely for the DR locus of the human leukocyte antigen and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1). Deficient expression of DNA mismatch repair (dMMR) proteins was immunohistochemically confirmed. The patient died 16 months after surgery. Conclusion. This is the first report of colonic adenocarcinoma with neuroendocrine differentiation accompanying OGCs. Histopathologic factors of the poor prognosis in the present case included (a) the presence of more than 2% cells with neuroendocrine differentiation, (b) infiltration of CD163/CD68-positive OGCs at the invasion front, (c) deficiency of dMMR proteins, and (d) PD-L1 expression.
Changes in the biochemical status of plant cells induced by the environmental pollutant ozone

Tropospheric ozone will increase during the next decades and will reach the critical threshold concentration of 40 nl 1 -1 more often in rural regions than in urban areas. Damage inflicted on plants by ozone can be divided into chronic and acute damage, reflecting different defence strategies of the plants. Chronic damage, somewhat similar to a premature senescence, follows disturbances in sugar metabolism, inhibition of photosynthesis, disbalances in the redox-status and ROS-production in the chloroplast stroma. The acute damage resembles the hypersensitive response which occurs after a pathogen attack. Either the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) or the efficiency of scavenging systems in the apoplast may govern the spread of cell death. Probably, different signalling pathways mediate the plant responses, such as ethylene, salicylate and ROS. ROS production and lipid peroxidation take place either on the plasma membrane or in the chloroplastic membrane and lipid hydroperoxides and derivatives, such as jasmonate, can act as signals for subsequent plant reactions. Both kinds of plant responses, i.e., acute as well as chronic damage, can affect the plants' abilities to respond to further stress attacks.
Operational Forecast and Daily Assessment of the Air Quality in Italy: A Copernicus-CAMS Downstream Service

In this paper, an operational forecasting and daily assessment system of air quality is presented. This new system is thought of as a Copernicus-CAMS downstream national service, able to develop and implement a service for air quality forecasting and monitoring in the Italian domain, running every day on the National territory. The system is being developed on behalf of a cooperation between Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) and Sistema Nazionale Protezione Ambiente (SNPA). SNPA is the network between Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA) and the Regional Environmental Agencies (ARPAs). The objective of the cooperation is to provide full operation service in terms of continuity, sustainability, and availability of the air quality forecast and evaluation services at the national level. The system forecasts and analyzes air quality throughout Italy, with a focus on Italian regions, for the principal pollutants: Particulate matter with diameter smaller than 10 μm (PM10), ozone (O3), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). It includes a Chemical Transport Model (CTM) nested with the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) global model and data from the air quality monitoring stations in Italy. The system, under public control and based on open software, is now under testing. To date, it is able to deliver free open data, which is available to environmental agencies and citizens. The data are delivered both as maps and graphs, and as numerical data, useful for providing boundary conditions to local–high resolution-air quality models or for developing customized services. In this work, a downscaling application to a regional nested domain highlights how the new air quality forecasting system gains better results than the Copernicus-CAMS system.
Effects of weather on foraging‐flights of bumblebees (Hymenoptera, Apidae) in a subalpine/alpine area

The foraging activity of bumblebees in a subalpine/alpine area in northern Sweden was related to weather factors (temperature, light, wind and rain) by counting the number of specimens visiting a square (5 × 5 m) with a high density of forage plants. The combined effect of light and temperature was the most important factor regulating the flight activity. The condition of the arctic light-climate allows bumblebees to fly even at the less light hours of the day. No clear differences according to flight activity were observed between the subalpine/alpine species Bombus balteatus Dahlbom, B. lapponicus (Fabricius) and the species B. jonellus (Kirby), B. pascuorum (Scopoli), B. pratorum (L.), observed in the subalpine habitats. A comparison between the flight activity of queens, workers and males shows that queens are able to fly at the lowest temperatures followed by males and workers at slightly higher temperatures. The relevance of the overlap of the body sizes between the casts is discussed.
Synthesis and biological evaluation of some triazole integrated Schiff Base as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents

A series of some 2-{(Z)-[(3-Methyl-5-sulfanyl-4H-1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)imino]methyl}-4H-chromen-4-ones were synthesized by reaction of substituted 4-oxo-4H-1-benzopyran-3-carbaldehyde with 4-amino-5-methyl-4H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thiol in acidic medium. The synthesized compounds were characterized by proton NMR, 13C NMR, IR and mass spectroscopy techniques. The products were screened for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Compound MP 2 and MP 6 demonstrate excellent antioxidant activity while remaining compounds show moderate activity. Compounds MP 2 and MP 3 demonstrate excellent anti-inflammatory activity while compounds MP 4, MP 6 and MP 8 show moderate activity.
Capturing ecological processes in dynamic forest models: why there is no silver bullet to cope with complexity

Dynamic forest models are a key tool to better understand, assess, and project decadal- to cen-tennial-scale forest dynamics. Despite their success, many questions regarding appropriate model formulations remain unresolved, and few models have found widespread application, for example, across a whole continent. We aimed to scrutinize the representation of ecological processes in dynamic forest models so as to rigorously test core assumptions underlying forest dynamics and the consistency of their interplay, taking the ForClim model as a case study. We developed a set of alternative representations for the main ecological processes, that is, tree establishment, growth, and mortality, and light extinction through the canopy, based on diverse sources of empirical data. We applied a pattern-oriented modeling (POM) approach to test all combinations of the standard and alternative formulations (>500 model versions) against a comprehensive set of patterns for diverse model applications across a wide range of site conditions. We found that adapting one process in isolation can improve model performance for one speci ﬁ c application. However, the best model versions typically included more than one alternative formulation. Importantly, the best version for an individual application was generally not the best across multiple applications, emphasizing the varying in ﬂ uences of ecological processes. We conclude that the behavior and performance of complex models should not be analyzed for a few speci ﬁ c applications only. Rather, multiple applications, system states, and dynamics of interest should be scrutinized across a wide range of site conditions. This allows for avoiding over ﬁ tting and detecting and eliminating structural shortcomings and parameterization problems. We thus propose to make use of the ever-increasing data availability and the POM framework to challenge the core processes of dynamic models in a holistic manner. For model applications, we propose that a set of alternative formulations (ensemble simulations) should be used to quan-tify the impacts of structural uncertainty, rather than to rely on the projections from one single model version.
The Off-Label Use of Hydroxychloroquine in Prophylaxis and Treatment of COVID-19

Coronavirus pandemic has covered the entire globe only in a few months and has been declared as a public health emergency due to a very high morbidity as well as mortality rate. Till date no curative measure is available for this fatal disease and only social distancing has been of some help in prevention. However, anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine is being tried for prophylaxis and treatment at early stages of the disease although it is not an approved indication for this drug which has given some hope to health care professionals and the affected population.
Early nitrogen fixation and utilization in Albizia lebbeck, Leucaena leucocephala, and Gliricidia sepium using nitrogen (15N) labelling.

Abstract High nitrogen (N2)‐fixing potential is a desirable characteristic for any candidate hedgerow tree. Thus a study was conducted to evaluate Albizia lebbeck as a N2‐fixing tree in comparison to Gliricidia sepium and Leucaena leucocephala currently used in alley cropping. Nitrogen fixation and utilization were assessed in a screenhouse at four months after planting by the 15N dilution technique using Senna siamea as the non N2‐fixing reference. A. lebbeck accumulated significantly more N than L. leucocephala, but G. sepium was intermediate. This superiority in N yield was mainly due to its abundant nodule dry weight production which accounted for up to 10.8% of its total N. This was equivalent to 2.5 and 6 fold that of Gliricidia and Leucaena nodules, respectively. A. lebbeck had bigger but significantly (P<0.05) lower number of nodules per plant than G. sepium, but it did not differ from Leucaena. Albizia was the best N2 fixer with 44% Ndfa equivalent to 533 mg N per plant. G. sepium followed with 2.
The effect of drying treatment to metabolite profile and cytotoxic potential of Rhizophora apiculata leaves

Abstract. Sibero MT, Siswanto AP, Pribadi R, Sabdono A, Radjasa OK, Trianto A, Frederick EH, Wijaya AP, Haryanti D, Triningsih DW, Hayuningrat SJ, Igarashi Y. 2020. The effect of drying treatment to metabolite profile and cytotoxic potential of Rhizophora apiculata leaves. Biodiversitas 21: 2180-2187. Coastal communities in Indonesia have utilized Rhizophora spp. leaves as a traditional medicine for many years. The previous studies have succeeded in extracting bioactive compounds from this mangrove after drying treatment, but there is a possibility of the compound decomposition or breakdown. This study aimed to determine the effect of drying treatment on the metabolite profile of R. apiculata leaves which were taken from mangrove forests in Rembang, Central Java. The effect of pre-drying treatment was examined by comparing the metabolites profiles of fresh, oven-dried, and sun-dried leaves crude extracts. Extraction was carried out using maceration method with agitation (110 r.p.m.) for 24 hours in methanol. The metabolite profile was analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode array detector (DAD) and thin layer chromatography (TLC), while secondary metabolites were studied by phytochemical test. The phytochemical results showed that there were no differences in metabolites in dried and fresh R. apiculata leaves. Crude extract of fresh and oven-dried gave 10 spots on the TLC, while sun-dried crude extract had 9 spots. The one missing spot (Rf value of 0.79) in the sun-dried crude extract might have unstable compounds that are easily degraded or damaged by the sunlight. Moreover, HPLC chromatogram indicated the pre-drying treatment gave alteration to the R. apiculata metabolites that only detected at 400 nm. Cytotoxic assay against P388 murine leukemia cell indicated that oven-dried treatment gave the best anticancer activity with IC50 value of 0.0323 mg/mL.
The Intrusion of Clonal Growth Patterns on Plant Breeding Systems

As clonal plants get larger, individual flowers become more surrounded by other flowers borne on the same clone. With very restricted movement of pollen reported for both animal- and wind-pollinated species, the breeding system may change as a consequence of a clonal plant covering greater amounts of space. In Carex platyphylla, a wind-pollinated, self-compatible sedge, the absolute and relative amount of endogenous pollen per flowering culm increases sharply as a plant grows from one to about 10 culms, then increases at a slower rate, given a constant rain of exogenous pollen. In Trifolium repens, a bee-pollinated, self-incompatible, stoloniferous clover, a model based on known patterns of flower placement and stolon growth patterns, coupled with estimates of pollen-deposition and floret-visitation patterns by bees, suggests that the number and length of stolon internodes affect successful pollination. Also, the distribution of seeds among inflorescences is affected by clonal growth patterns and bee behavior at each floret. The dynamics of internode initiation and growth also change the rate of interdigitation of clones, which will subsequently affect the pollination ecology. An additional, field test with the viny herb Cucumis sativus demonstrated that as plants increase in size and in number of flowers, the pollinator pool, the success of flowers in setting seed, and gene flow distance all change. Shifts in breeding systems as a function of plant growth and flower placement may be widespread among clonal and nonclonal plants. This relationship is very sensitive to short distance dispersal of pollen, the behavior and diversity of pollinators, and the community structure around the population. Internal controls on fruit set within the clone and evolutionary responses of the plant (altered phenology, genetic changes in the breeding system) may interact with the geometry of clonal spread in determining gene flow patterns. Change in mating patterns may be common, and species and populations cannot be characterized without consideration of their current population structure and ecology.
Effects of several establishment modes of Miscanthus × giganteus and Miscanthus sinensis on yields and yield trends

Miscanthus is a C4 perennial grass originating from East Asia, the yields of which progressively increase in the first years of growth. Several species for bioenergy have been studied since the mid‐1980s in Europe, in particular (Miscanthus × giganteus [M. × giganteus]), due to its high yields. M. × giganteus is mainly cultivated in France and established from rhizomes. Our study aimed to assess, in field conditions, alternative establishment methods combined with an alternative species, Miscanthus sinensis (M. sinensis). We set up a multi‐environment experimental network. On each trial, we tested two treatments with M. × giganteus, established from rhizomes (G_r‐sd) and from plantlets obtained from rhizomes (G_p‐sd), and two treatments with M. sinensis seedlings transplanted in single (S_p‐sd) and double density (S_p‐dd). ANOVA was performed to compare establishment and regrowth rates across treatments, as well as yields across treatments and site‐years. A logistic model was used to describe yield trends and to compare the maximum yield reached and the rate of yield increase of both species. Results showed that miscanthus establishment from plantlets resulted in higher establishment (between 87% and 92%) and regrowth (between 91% and 94%) rates compared to establishment from rhizomes. Treatments with M. × giganteus obtained higher average yields across site‐years than those with M. sinensis, but more variable yields across site‐years. We showed a strong species effect on yields, yield components (shoot weight, shoot density and shoot number per plant) and light interception (through leaf area index). Lastly, to use M. sinensis established from transplanted plantlets as an alternative to M. × giganteus, research would be required on the breeding of M. sinensis sterile seeds to avoid risks of invasiveness.