Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tissue and Time Optimization for Real-Time Detection of Apple Mosaic Virus and Apple Necrotic Mosaic Virus Associated with Mosaic Disease of Apple (Malus domestica)

Besides apple mosaic virus (ApMV), apple necrotic mosaic virus (ApNMV) has also been found to be associated with apple mosaic disease. Both viruses are unevenly distributed throughout the plant and their titer decreases variably with high temperatures, hence requiring proper tissue and time for early and real-time detection within plants. The present study was carried out to understand the distribution and titer of ApMV and ApNMV in apple trees from different plant parts (spatial) during different seasons (temporal) for the optimization of tissue and time for their timely detection. The Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) and Reverse Transcription-quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) was carried out to detect and quantify both viruses in the various plant parts of apple trees during different seasons. Depending on the availability of tissue, both ApMV and ApNMV were detected in all the plant parts during the spring season using RT-PCR. During the summer, both viruses were detected only in seeds and fruits, whereas they were detected in leaves and pedicel during the autumn season. The RT-qPCR results showed that during the spring, the ApMV and ApNMV expression was higher in leaves, whereas in the summer and autumn, the titer was mostly detected in seeds and leaves, respectively. The leaves in the spring and autumn seasons and the seeds in the summer season can be used as detection tissues through RT-PCR for early and rapid detection of ApMV and ApNMV. This study was validated on 7 cultivars of apples infected with both viruses. This will help to accurately sample and index the planting material well ahead of time, which will aid in the production of virus-free, quality planting material.
Serum copeptin is associated with major complications of liver cirrhosis and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis

Aim of the study We aimed to investigate the possible association between serum copeptin and complications of liver cirrhosis, including its potential role as a stress biomarker in spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP). Material and methods This cross-sectional study included 89 cirrhotic ascitic patients (37 with SBP and 52 without SBP) admitted to Sohag University Hospitals, Egypt, between June 2021 and February 2022. Serum copeptin was measured in all patients, and its association with SBP and other complications of liver cirrhosis was investigated. Results Serum copeptin was significantly elevated in patients with SBP compared to those without SBP (p = 0.032) and significantly correlated with ascitic fluid study parameters, systemic inflammatory markers, and liver, renal, and circulatory functions. Serum copeptin and C-reactive protein (CRP) were independent risk factors for the presence of SBP. Serum copeptin detects SBP at a cut-off value of 9 pmol/l, with sensitivity and specificity of 73% and 64%, respectively. Serum copeptin was significantly associated with hepatic encephalopathy, gastrointestinal bleeding, hepatorenal syndrome, and larger amounts of ascites. Conclusions Serum copeptin is an independent risk factor for the presence of SBP and significantly increased in patients presented with major complications of liver cirrhosis, demonstrating its ability to reflect circulatory dysfunction and systemic inflammation.
Productivity and economics of mustard (Brassica juncea) varieties as influenced by different fertility levels under late sown condition

A field experiment was carried out at Agricultural Research Farm, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi (UP) during rabi season of 2007 and 2008 to study the fertility levels on performance of Indian mustard under late sown condition. The treatments were comprised of four fertility levels viz; 75% RDF (F1), 100% RDF (F2), 125% RDF (F3), and 150% RDF (F4), where RDF was 80, 40, 30 kg N,P, K and ha−1 in main plot and five varieties viz; 'Kranti' (V1), 'Vardan' (V2), 'Varuna' (V3), 'NRCHB-101' (V4), and 'Ashirwad' (V5), insplit plot design with three replications. Plant height, number of leaves, dry matter, leaf area index and chlorophyll content and branches plant−1 were increased with increasing fertility levels. Treatment with 150% RDF (F4) which was significantly superior but closely followed by 125% RDF (F3), 100% RDF (F2) and 75% RDF (F1). Among the varieties 'NRCHB-101' (V4) performed significantly better growth, yield parameters and yield of mastard which was significantly superior to other varieties except 'Ashirwad' (V5).
Soil moisture estimates at 1 km resolution making a synergistic use of Sentinel data

Very high-resolution ( ∼ 10–100 m) surface soil moisture (SM) observations are important for applications in agriculture, among other purposes. This is the original goal of the S 2 MP (Sentinel-1/Sentinel-2-Derived Soil Moisture Product) algorithm, which was designed to retrieve surface SM at the agricultural plot scale by simultaneously using Sentinel-1 (S1) backscatter coefﬁcients and Sentinel-2 (S2) NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) as inputs to a neural network trained with Water Cloud Model simulations. However, for many applications, including hydrology and climate impact assessment at regional level, large maps with a high resolution (HR) of around 1 km are already a signiﬁcant improvement with respect to most of the publicly available SM datasets, which have resolutions of about
On 2-generator 2-relation soluble groups

The class of non-metacyclic finite soluble groups known to have 2-generator 2-relation presentations is small. Classes of such groups are given in (3), (4), (8) and (9). Some subclasses of the groups discussed in (1) and (2) also provide examples, while a class of finite nilpotent 2-generator 2-relation groups is given by Macdonald in (7).
A Functional Equation and its Application to Resource Allocation and Sequencing Problems

A functional equation, similar to that formulated for the knapsack problem, is applied to the solution of a problem of resource allocation in critical path scheduling, and to a variety of single-machine sequencing problems with deadlines and loss functions. Among these are: minimization of the weighted number of tardy jobs, maximization of weighted earliness, minimization of tardiness with respect to common relative and absolute deadlines, and minimization of weighted tardiness with respect to a common deadline. Extensions to multiple-machine sequencing problems are discussed, and the sequencing of two machines in series is treated in detail.
In Search of Value Added in the Case of Complex School Effects

In traditional studies on value-added indicators of educational effectiveness, students are usually treated as belonging to those schools where they took their final examination. However, in practice, students sometimes attend multiple schools and therefore it is questionable whether this assumption of belonging to the last school they attended can be made. Furthermore, the schools attended earlier by students might have long-term effects on their subsequent performance. Using data from Dutch primary and secondary schools, multiple membership models and cross classification multilevel models were estimated to explore the effects of student mobility and long-term primary school effects on the estimated value added of secondary schools. Long-term effects of primary schools did not change the estimated value added of secondary schools. On the other hand, allowing students to be a member of multiple secondary schools changed the estimated effectiveness of these schools especially for schools in the middle range of effectiveness.
Game theoretic sensor management for target tracking

This paper develops and evaluates a game-theoretic approach to distributed sensor-network management for target tracking via sensor-based negotiation. We present a distributed sensor-based negotiation game model for sensor management for multi-sensor multi-target tacking situations. In our negotiation framework, each negotiation agent represents a sensor and each sensor maximizes their utility using a game approach. The greediness of each sensor is limited by the fact that the sensor-to-target assignment efficiency will decrease if too many sensor resources are assigned to a same target. It is similar to the market concept in real world, such as agreements between buyers and sellers in an auction market. Sensors are willing to switch targets so that they can obtain their highest utility and the most efficient way of applying their resources. Our sub-game perfect equilibrium-based negotiation strategies dynamically and distributedly assign sensors to targets. Numerical simulations are performed to demonstrate our sensor-based negotiation approach for distributed sensor management.
A limit theorem for priority queues in heavy traffic

A single server, two priority queueing system is studied under the heavy traffic condition where the system traffic intensity is either at or near its critical value. An approximation is developed for the transient distribution of the low priority customers' virtual waiting time process. This result is stated formally as a limit theorem involving a sequence of systems whose traffic intensities approach the critical value.
Investigating Compensatory Brain Activity in Older Adults with Subjective Cognitive Decline

Background: Preclinical Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one possible cause of subjective cognitive decline (SCD). Normal task performance despite ongoing neurodegeneration is typically considered as neuronal compensation, which is reflected by greater neuronal activity. Compensatory brain activity has been observed in frontal as well as parietal regions in SCD, but data are scarce, especially outside the memory domain. Objective: To investigate potential compensatory activity in SCD. Such compensatory activity is particularly expected in participants where blood-based biomarkers indicated amyloid positivity as this implies preclinical AD. Methods: 52 participants with SCD (mean age: 71.00±5.70) underwent structural and functional neuroimaging (fMRI), targeting episodic memory and spatial abilities, and a neuropsychological assessment. The estimation of amyloid positivity was based on plasma amyloid-β and phosphorylated tau (pTau181) measures. Results: Our fMRI analyses of the spatial abilities task did not indicate compensation, with only three voxels exceeding an uncorrected threshold at p < 0.001. This finding was not replicated in a subset of 23 biomarker positive individuals. Conclusion: Our results do not provide conclusive evidence for compensatory brain activity in SCD. It is possible that neuronal compensation does not manifest at such an early stage as SCD. Alternatively, it is possible that our sample size was too small or that compensatory activity may be too heterogeneous to be detected by group-level statistics. Interventions based on the individual fMRI signal should therefore be explored.
Two-dimensional Magnetohydrodynamic Models of the Solar Corona: Mass Loss from the Streamer Belt

The equations of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) are used to study an axially symmetric model of the large-scale solar corona, extending from the coronal base to 15 solar radii. We use a uniform heating of the inner corona to investigate the energy output when the magnetic field is given as a dipole at the coronal base. The heat input produces a large-scale magnetic field structure similar to that found by Pneuman and Kopp, with coronal holes in the polar regions and a helmet streamer around the equator. We pay special attention to the energy balance in the system, and find that the role of heat conduction is important in determining the thermal structure in magnetically closed regions. Insufficient energy loss to the transition region leads to a high temperature inside the closed region. In the coronal holes a solar wind is accelerated into interplanetary space, and the temperature is lower. As the difference in pressure scale height along open and closed flux tubes is large, the helmet streamer does not relax to a steady state; it opens periodically to eject mass into interplanetary space. These mass ejections may contribute significantly to the mass and energy flux in the solar wind.
Understanding the Trajectories of Women who use Violence Through an Intersectional Feminist Analysis

This article discusses the results of a collaborative research project aimed at understanding the life trajectories of women who have self-identified as having used violence in a context other than self-defense, which is an understudied topic. Based on semi-structured interviews and aided by an intersectional feminist framework applied to life course theory, we present a qualitative analysis of 26 women's experiences of violence, precarity, and services. The three groups of trajectories are distinguished by level of precarity as determined by the experience of violence in childhood, socioeconomic and family contexts, criminalization, intensity of violence, and whether the women received adequate support. This shows (1) the need for interventions to prevent the reproduction or aggravation of violence suffered and perpetrated; (2) the importance of considering the inter-related factors (gender, class race, etc.) that contribute to the women's precarity; and (3) that these factors must be considered to understand the contexts in which women have come to use violence, without trivializing or excusing it, but rather properly situating it with a view to better preventing and intervening in these situations. Our recommendations are aimed at ensuring that social work practices do not contribute to the enforcement of punitive measures, but support women in pursuing their path.
Culturally-Motivated Bullying and Bystander Intervention: The Role of Witness Situational Awareness, Intervention History, and Victim Race

Research indicates that individuals who are not part of mainstream cultures may be disproportionately vulnerable to bully victimization. In response to culturally-motivated bullying vignettes, we explored bystander intervention/upstanding behavioral intentions in an experimental design involving 294 college student participants. Participants were randomly assigned to conditions that presented vignettes involving race-, gender-, and sexual orientation-based bullying. Race of victim was significantly related to upstanding behaviors. Perceived emergency of the situation and previous experience with upstanding interventions were also predictive of upstanding behavior. Empathy for the victims and intentions to comfort them were the primary rationales cited for preferring specific upstanding behaviors. Findings have implications for designing culturally-motivated bullying prevention programs in school and campus settings.
Local Whittle estimation of the memory parameter in presence of deterministic components

We discuss the estimation of the order of integration of a fractional process that may be contaminated by a time‐varying deterministic trend or by a break in the mean. We show that in some cases the estimate may still be consistent and asymptotically normally distributed even when the order of magnitude of the spectral density of the fractional process does not dominate the one of the periodogram of the contaminating term. If trimming is introduced, stronger deterministic components may be neglected. The performance of the estimate in small samples is studied in a Monte Carlo experiment.
On Condition Numbers for the Weighted Moore-Penrose Inverse and the Weighted Least Squares Problem involving Kronecker Products

We establish some explicit expressions for norm-wise, mixed and component- wise condition numbers for the weighted Moore-Penrose inverse of a matrix A⊗ B and more general matrix function compositions involving Kronecker products. The con- dition number for the weighted least squares problem (WLS) involving a Kronecker product is also discussed. AMS subject classifications: 65F10
Emerging roles of interferon-stimulated gene-15 in age-related telomere attrition, the DNA damage response, and cardiovascular disease

Population aging and age-related cardiovascular disease (CVD) are becoming increasingly prevalent worldwide, generating a huge medical and socioeconomic burden. The complex regulation of aging and CVD and the interaction between these processes are crucially dependent on cellular stress responses. Interferon-stimulated gene-15 (ISG15) encodes a ubiquitin-like protein expressed in many vertebrate cell types that can be found both free and conjugated to lysine residues of target proteins via a post-translational process termed ISGylation. Deconjugation of ISG15 (deISGylation) is catalyzed by the ubiquitin-specific peptidase 18 (USP18). The ISG15 pathway has mostly been studied in the context of viral and bacterial infections and in cancer. This minireview summarizes current knowledge on the role of ISG15 in age-related telomere shortening, genomic instability, and DNA damage accumulation, as well as in hypertension, diabetes, and obesity, major CVD risk factors prevalent in the elderly population.
Subcellular Epithelial HMGB1 Expression Is Associated with Colorectal Neoplastic Progression, Male Sex, Mismatch Repair Protein Expression, Lymph Node Positivity, and an ‘Immune Cold’ Phenotype Associated with Poor Survival

Simple Summary New treatment targets are urgently needed for colorectal cancer. Here, we investigate the role of HMGB1—a multifunctional immune protein—in colorectal cancer. We demonstrate dynamic subcellular (nuclear and cytoplasmic) HMGB1 expression in lesions seen throughout different stages of colorectal cancer development. In cancer, HMGB1 is linked, for the first time, to tumour progression, lymph node metastases, male sex, and key biological parameters of mismatch repair protein expression and stromal immune cell phenotype. Strong cytoplasmic HMGB1 expression is also associated with an ‘immune cold’ tumour microenvironment, which is associated with poor survival. HMGB1 may therefore represent a novel treatment target for colorectal cancer. Abstract New treatment targets are needed for colorectal cancer (CRC). We define expression of High Mobility Group Box 1 (HMGB1) protein throughout colorectal neoplastic progression and examine the biological consequences of aberrant expression. HMGB1 is a ubiquitously expressed nuclear protein that shuttles to the cytoplasm under cellular stress. HMGB1 impacts cellular responses, acting as a cytokine when secreted. A total of 846 human tissue samples were retrieved; 6242 immunohistochemically stained sections were reviewed. Subcellular epithelial HMGB1 expression was assessed in a CRC Tissue Microarray (n = 650), normal colonic epithelium (n = 75), adenomatous polyps (n = 52), and CRC polyps (CaP, n = 69). Stromal lymphocyte phenotype was assessed in the CRC microarray and a subgroup of CaP. Normal colonic epithelium has strong nuclear and absent cytoplasmic HMGB1. With progression to CRC, there is an emergence of strong cytoplasmic HMGB1 (p < 0.001), pronounced at the leading cancer edge within CaP (p < 0.001), and reduction in nuclear HMGB1 (p < 0.001). In CRC, absent nuclear HMGB1 is associated with mismatch repair proteins (p = 0.001). Stronger cytoplasmic HMGB1 is associated with lymph node positivity (p < 0.001) and male sex (p = 0.009). Stronger nuclear (p = 0.011) and cytoplasmic (p = 0.002) HMGB1 is associated with greater CD4+ T-cell density, stronger nuclear HMGB1 is associated with greater FOXP3+ (p < 0.001) and ICOS+ (p = 0.018) lymphocyte density, and stronger nuclear HMGB1 is associated with reduced CD8+ T-cell density (p = 0.022). HMGB1 does not directly impact survival but is associated with an ‘immune cold’ tumour microenvironment which is associated with poor survival (p < 0.001). HMGB1 may represent a new treatment target for CRC.
Lung ultrasound compared to fiber-optic bronchoscopy in detecting proper endotracheal tube position in intubated patients in the intensive care unit

ABSTRACT Background Accidental endobronchial intubation can lead to serious complications in critically ill patients, which can be avoided through early detection and proper positioning of the endotracheal tube. This cross-sectional study estimates lung ultrasound’s sensitivity in detecting the proper position of the endotracheal tube compared to auscultation and fiberoptic bronchoscopy. Methods Sixty intubated adult ICU patients were examined by auscultation, ultrasound, and fiberoptic bronchoscope by three different blinded physicians to detect the position of the ETT (endotracheal, right, and left endobronchial). An ultrasound examination was done by evaluating the lung sliding sign. Statistical analysis included sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV. Results Auscultation showed 64% sensitivity, 100% specificity, 100% positive predictive value, 90.2% negative predictive value, and 91.7% accuracy. Compared to fiberoptic bronchoscopy, lung ultrasound showed 85.7% sensitivity, 100% specificity, 100% positive predictive value, 95.8% negative predictive value, with of 96.7% accuracy. Conclusion Compared to fiberoptic bronchoscopy and auscultation, lung ultrasound has a very high sensitivity for detecting the proper endotracheal tube position.
Electrical Reconfigurability in Modern 4G, 4G/5G and 5G Antennas: A Critical Review of Polarization and Frequency Reconfigurable Designs

This paper presents a critical review of modern 4G, 4G/5G, and 5G antennas, which employ PIN diodes and Varactors for polarization or frequency reconfiguration. For the reviewed 4G and 5G polarization reconfigurable antennas, a new parameter named spectrum utilization “AR/ $S_{11}$ B.W. ” is defined for the first time to predict the shared spectrum between the impedance bandwidth and the axial ratio bandwidth for circularly polarized antennas. The calculated spectrum utilization for many designs revealed that the majority of implementations failed to achieve full utilization of the available bandwidth. Besides, employing multiple PIN diodes is shown useful in improving the spectrum utilization and in supporting multiple polarization states. For the reviewed 4G, 4G/5G and 5G frequency reconfigurable antennas, the focus is mainly on comparing the available tuning range, fractional bandwidth and the Fractional Bandwidth Change (FBWC) upon tuning. The latter parameter, is defined and calculated in this work to measure the change in the FBW upon tuning. Utilizing multiple Varactors is shown promising in improving a 4G antenna’s fractional bandwidth, while combining Multiple PINs and Varactors in one design is found efficient in improving the FBWC and the tuning range in the 5G spectrum.