Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diversity in root aeration traits associated with waterlogging tolerance in the genus Hordeum.

Growth, root aerenchyma, and profiles of radial O2 loss (ROL) along adventitious roots were evaluated in 35 'wild' Hordeum accessions and cultivated barley (H. vulgare L. ssp. vulgare) when grown in stagnant nutrient solution (deoxygenated and containing 0.1% agar). When grown in stagnant solution, accessions from wetland and 'intermediate' habitats were superior, compared with accessions from non-wetland habitats, in maintaining relative growth rate, tillering, and adventitious root mass. Constitutive aerenchyma formation in adventitious roots was ≥10% in 22 accessions (cf. H. vulgare at 2%). When grown in stagnant solution, aerenchyma was ≥ 20% in the adventitious roots of 14 accessions (cf. H. vulgare at 12%). Variation among the accessions in the volume of aerenchyma formed when grown in aerated or stagnant solution was not determined by the waterlogging regime of the species' natural habitat. However, the genus Hordeum comprises four genomes and when grown in stagnant solution accessions with the X genome formed, on average, 22% aerenchyma in adventitious roots (50 mm behind apex), whereas those with the H genome averaged 19%, and those with the Y or I genomes averaged 16 and 15%, respectively. Sixteen accessions formed a barrier to ROL in the basal region of adventitious roots when grown in stagnant solution. The formation of a barrier to radial O2 loss was predominant in accessions from wet habitats, and absent in accessions from non-wetland habitats. In addition, this trait was only present in accessions with the X or H genomes. The combination of aerenchyma and a barrier to ROL enhances the longitudinal diffusion of O2 within roots towards the apex. The possibility of a link between having a barrier to ROL and the X or H genomes in Hordeum species might, in future studies, enable a genetic analysis of this important trait.
Efficiency of Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill., B. brongniartii (Sacc.) Petch. and granulose virus on Diatraea saccharalis (F., 1794) at different temperatures 1

The efficiency of the fungi Beauveria bassiana and B. brongniartii and granulose virus (GVDs), in combination or not, in third‐instar larvae of Diatraea saccharalis, at 4 temperatures: 22, 26, 30 and 34 °C is presented. B. brongniartii was more efficient than B. bassiana at lower temperatures. Beauveria species are more virulent and the GVDs (individual or combined) are more efficient.
Frequency of Abnormalities Detected by Point-of-Care Lung Ultrasound in Symptomatic COVID-19 Patients: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant morbidity, mortality, and strained healthcare systems worldwide. Thus, a search for modalities that can expedite and improve the diagnosis and management of this entity is underway. Recent data suggested the utility of lung ultrasound (LUS) in the diagnosis of COVID-19 by detecting an interstitial pattern (B-pattern). Hence, we aimed to pool the proportion of various reported lung abnormalities detected by LUS in symptomatic COVID-19 patients. We conducted a systematic review (PubMed, MEDLINE, and EMBASE until April 25, 2020) and a proportion meta-analysis. We included seven studies examining the role of LUS in 122 COVID-19 patients. The pooled proportion (PP) of B-pattern detected by lung ultrasound (US) was 0.97 (95% CI: 0.94–1.00 I2 0%, Q 4.6). The PP of finding pleural line abnormalities was 0.70 (95% CI: 0.13–1.00 I2 96%, Q 103.9), of pleural thickening was 0.54 (95% 0.11–0.95 I2 93%, Q 61.1), of subpleural or pulmonary consolidation was 0.39 (95% CI: 0.21–0.58 I2 72%, Q 17.8), and of pleural effusion was 0.14 (95% CI: 0.00–0.37 I2 93%, Q 27.3). Our meta-analysis revealed that almost all SARS-CoV-2–infected patients have abnormal lung US. The most common abnormality is interstitial involvement depicted as B-pattern. The finding from our review highlights the potential role of this modality in the triage, diagnosis, and follow-up of COVID-19 patients. A sizable diagnostic accuracy study comparing LUS, computed tomography scan, and COVID-19–specific tests is warranted to further test this finding and to delineate the diagnostic and prognostic yield of each of these modalities.
Sex Differences in 11-Oxygenated Androgen Patterns across Adulthood.

CONTEXT The gonads are the major source of sex steroids during reproductive ages. The gonadal function declines abruptly in women and gradually in men. The adrenals produce 11-oxygenated androgens (11-oxyandrogens), which start rising during adrenarche. Following menopause, 11-oxyandrogens levels remain similar to reproductive ages. OBJECTIVE To compare the circulating 11-oxyandrogen concentrations in men and women across adult ages. METHODS We used mass spectrometry to measure testosterone (T), androstenedione (A4), 11β-hydroxytestosterone (11OHT), 11-ketotestosterone (11KT), 11β-hydroxyandrostenedione (11OHA4), 11-ketoandrostenedione (11KA4), cortisol, and cortisone in morning sera obtained from adults in outpatient setting. We performed double immunofluorescence of 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 and cytochrome b5 in adrenal tissue from 19 men, age 23-78 years. RESULTS We included 590 patients (319 men), age 18-97 years, 84% white. 11KT and 11KA4 were stable across ages in women, but they declined in men (0.21 and 0.06 ng/dL/year, respectively, p<0.05). 11OHA4 and 11OHT increased modestly with age in women (0.6 and 0.09 ng/dL/year, respectively, p<0.01), and both remained stable across ages in men. As BMI increased, 11KA4 decreased in women, and 11KT increased in men, both suggesting higher 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity in obese individuals. A4 and T declined with age and A4 with BMI in both sexes; T declined with BMI in men. Adrenal androgenic enzyme expressions in aging men were similar to those observed in women. CONCLUSIONS In contrast with traditional androgens, the production of 11OHA4 and 11OHT is sustained with aging in both sexes. The bioactive androgen 11KT declines in aging men but not in women.
Food Insecurity and COVID-19: Disparities in Early Effects for US Adults

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically increased food insecurity in the United States (US). The objective of this study was to understand the early effects of the COVID-19 pandemic among low-income adults in the US as social distancing measures began to be implemented. On 19–24 March 2020 we fielded a national, web-based survey (53% response rate) among adults with <250% of the federal poverty line in the US (N = 1478). Measures included household food security status and COVID-19-related basic needs challenges. Overall, 36% of low-income adults in the US were food secure, 20% had marginal food security, and 44% were food insecure. Less than one in five (18.8%) of adults with very low food security reported being able to comply with public health recommendations to purchase two weeks of food at a time. For every basic needs challenge, food-insecure adults were significantly more likely to report facing that challenge, with a clear gradient effect based on severity of food security. The short-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are magnifying existing disparities and disproportionately affecting low-income, food-insecure households that already struggle to meet basic needs. A robust, comprehensive policy response is needed to mitigate food insecurity as the pandemic progresses.
Autophagy in a Mouse Model of Distal Myopathy with Rimmed Vacuoles or Hereditary Inclusion Body Myopathy

In the article Autophagy in a Mouse Model of Distal Myopathy with Rimmed Vacuoles or Hereditary Inclusion Body Myopathy by May Christine V. Malicdan, Satoru Noguchi and Ichizo Nishino (Autophagy 2007; 3:396-8) the authors describe a transgenic mouse that displays the human distal myopathy with rimmed vacuoles (DMRV) phenotype. In this report, the mutation used to generate the mutation was incorrectly written as “V572L” when it should have been “D176V”. Accordingly, the transgenic mice should be named “Gne-/- hGNED176V-Tg”. All of the other data have been verified by repeated experiments. Furthermore, the finding that the mouse phenotype resembles human DMRV, including the presence of autophagy, remains valid. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Fauna reptiliana do norte da grande Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

This paper reports the preliminary results of two years of herpetogeographic studies in the region called «Grande Porto Alegre» at its northern portion. The physiognomy shows, at North, slopes of the Brazilian Southern Plateau, more or less forested in a general view; these elevations graaually decrease to the South until the levei of the sea to Atlantic littoral by the eastern border, and to Rio Grande do Sul savanah, which extends to Uruguay and Argentina. The biota is transitional from the highland prairies and forests of the plateau to lowland prairies of the pampas. Three faunistic Provinces are included: Guarani, Pampean, and Tupi. The most conspicuous dispersion is shown by the taxa proceeding from the plateau to savanah (Dispersion Centre Guarani); the pampean species occur in low percentage (Dispersion Centre Uruguay), and an inappreciable account of Tupi fauna (Dispersion Centre of «Serra do Mar»). The new records are: presence of Chironius pyrrhopogon, Hydrodynastes gigas, Bothrops neuwiedi para-naensis, Micrurus corallinus; intergradation zone of Guarani and Pampean geographic roces; and new taxa of snakes, which will be described brieflly. The systematic composition presents: Chelonia, 4 (3 Chelidae, 1 Testudinidae); Sauria, 10 (1 Gekkonidae, 2 Iguanidae, 1 Anguidae, 3 Teiidae, 3 Amphisbaenidae); Serpentes, 45 (35 Colubridae, 4 Elapidae, 6 Viperidae); Crocodylia (1 Crocodylidae).
Transgenic Rabbit Models in Proarrhythmia Research

Drug-induced proarrhythmia constitutes a potentially lethal side effect of various drugs. Most often, this proarrhythmia is mechanistically linked to the drug's potential to interact with repolarizing cardiac ion channels causing a prolongation of the QT interval in the ECG. Despite sophisticated screening approaches during drug development, reliable prediction of proarrhythmia remains very challenging. Although drug-induced long-QT-related proarrhythmia is often favored by conditions or diseases that impair the individual's repolarization reserve, most cellular, tissue, and whole animal model systems used for drug safety screening are based on normal, healthy models. In recent years, several transgenic rabbit models for different types of long QT syndromes (LQTS) with differences in the extent of impairment in repolarization reserve have been generated. These might be useful for screening/prediction of a drug's potential for long-QT-related proarrhythmia, particularly as different repolarizing cardiac ion channels are impaired in the different models. In this review, we summarize the electrophysiological characteristics of the available transgenic LQTS rabbit models, and the pharmacological proof-of-principle studies that have been performed with these models—highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of LQTS models for proarrhythmia research. In the end, we give an outlook on potential future directions and novel models.
The occurrence of the toxic diatom genus Pseudo-nitzschia (Bacillariophyceae) on the West Coast of the USA, 1920–1996: a review

Abstract The known history of the genus Pseudo-nitzschia [mostly reported in error as Nitzschia seriata (PT. Cleve) H. Peragallo] on the West Coast of the USA is traced in three time periods: the early observations of 1920–1943, later publications in 1960–1990, and recent publications after known domoic acid events in 1991–1996. The genus has been widespread in these coastal waters, and more than a dozen species have been identified, with the number still increasing. Dominance shifts among species on time scales of weeks, months, and years. There is direct evidence of increases of cell numbers with even small amounts of upwelling, whereas some blooms have coincided with times of low expectation of upwelling. Original data from W.E. Allen’s notes provided by W.H. Thomas, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, suggest a possible explanation, borne out by recent culturing work. Viable cells can sink from the surface waters and rise in a different growth stage. Geographically, species in this genus have been st.
Core Terrestrial Habitat Around Wetlands: Contributions from the Spatial Ecology of the Redbelly Watersnake (Nerodia erythrogaster erythrogaster)

Abstract Terrestrial habitats around wetlands are important in wetland conservation because many vertebrate animals use them during part of their life cycle. There is relatively little information concerning terrestrial habitat use by aquatic snakes adjacent to wetlands. Radiotelemetry was used to study the spatial ecology and terrestrial habitat use of Nerodia e. erythrogaster in the upper coastal plain of northern South Carolina. Snakes used terrestrial habitats extensively during the summer and fall. Use of both wetlands and southern mixed hardwood forest were significantly greater than predicted by habitat availability within the snakes' home ranges. Agricultural fields were used significantly less than predicted. A distance of 344 m from wetlands is necessary to encompass 95% of the terrestrial localities documented in this study. Home range estimates based on 95% fixed kernels were significantly larger than those calculated using the 95% minimum convex polygon methods. Home range estimates for this species are comparable to those of large terrestrial colubrids and are greater than home range estimates reported for congeners. Snakes spent an average of about ten days out of wetlands during terrestrial movements with a maximum of 23 consecutive days spent out of a wetland. These results suggest that in excess of 300 m of forest habitat buffering wetlands may be necessary to sustain populations of N. erythrogaster.
Text mining of online job advertisements to identify direct discrimination during job hunting process: A case study in Indonesia

Discrimination in the workplace is illegal, yet discriminatory practices remain a persistent global problem. To identify discriminatory practices in the workplace, job advertisement analysis was used by previous studies. However, most of those studies adopted content analysis by manually coding the text from a limited number of samples since working with a large scale of job advertisements consisting of unstructured text data is very challenging. Encountering those limitations, the present study involves text mining techniques to identify multiple types of direct discrimination on a large scale of online job advertisements by designing a method called Direct Discrimination Detection (DDD). The DDD is constructed using a combination of N-grams and regular expressions (regex) with the exact match principle of a Boolean retrieval model. A total of 8,969 online job advertisements in English and Bahasa Indonesia, published from May 2005 to December 2017 were collected from bursakerja-jateng.com as the data. The results reveal that the practices of direct discrimination still exist during the job-hunting process including gender, marital status, physical appearances, and religion. The most recurrent type of discrimination which occurs in job advertisements is based on age (66.27%), followed by gender (38.76%), and physical appearances (18.42%). Additionally, female job seekers are found as the most vulnerable party to experience direct discrimination during recruitment. The results exhibit female job seekers face complex jeopardy in particular job positions comparing to their male counterparts. Not only excluded because of their gender, but female job seekers also had to fulfil more requirements for getting an opportunity to apply for the jobs such as being single, still at a young age, complying specific physical appearances and particular religious preferences. This study illustrates the power and potential of optimizing computational methods on a large scale of unstructured text data to analyze phenomena in the social field.
Improved Biocontrol of Botrytis cinerea on Detached Strawberry Leaves by Adding Nutritional Supplements to a Mixture of Pichia guilermondii and Bacillus mycoides

Nutrient availability is one of the factors that govern the efficacy of biocontrol. The contribution of 14 different vitamins, amino acids and nutritional supplement combinations to suppression of Botrytis cinerea by Bacillus mycoides and Pichia guilermondii , alone or in a mixture, was tested on detached strawberry leaflets. Some of the nutritional supplements reduced B. cinerea development and improved biocontrol efficacy. Addition of nutritional supplements to a mixture of the biocontrol agents further improved control efficacy.
Formulation of Chitosan Polymeric Vesicles of Ciprofloxacin for Ocular Delivery: Box-Behnken Optimization, In Vitro Characterization, HET-CAM Irritation, and Antimicrobial Assessment

Ciprofloxacin is a commonly used antibiotic for treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis. The conventional eye drop dosage form is the widely used mode of treatment, but it has low corneal residence time. This drawback can be overcome by developing a bioadhesive noisome system (chitosan-coated) for enhanced corneal residence time. The niosomes were prepared by thin-film hydration technique and optimized by using Box-Behnken statistical design software. Cholesterol (A), Span 60 (B), and sonication time (C) were selected as independent variables, whereas vesicle size (Y1 in nm), entrapment efficiency (Y2 in %), and drug release (Y3 in %) were chosen as dependent variables. The vesicle size, entrapment efficiency, and drug release of optimized CIP niosomes (CIP-NSMopt) were found to be 180.34 ± 5.13 nm, 78.32 ± 4.49%, and 82.87 ± 4.01% (in 12 h), respectively. Further CIP-NSMopt was coated with different chitosan concentrations (0.1 to 0.3%) to enhance mucoadhesion. Finally, optimized chitosan-coated niosomes (chitosomes; CIP-CHTopt) showed a vesicle size of 210.65 ± 2.76 nm, zeta potential of − 35.17 ± 2.25Mv, and PDI of 0.221. CIP-CHTopt exhibited sustained release profile (75.31% in 12 h) with the Korsmeyer-Peppas kinetic model (R2 = 0.980). The permeation study showed 1.79-fold enhancements in corneal permeation compared with marketed CIP eye drop. The hen’s egg chorioallantoic membrane (HET-CAM) study showed 0 scores (no irritation), and it was further confirmed by corneal hydration and histopathology study. The antimicrobial study exhibited a significant high zone (P < 0.05) of inhibition against tested organism. Our findings demonstrated that chitosan-coated niosomes are a promising drug carrier to enhance corneal contact time and treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis.
Clinical validation of the self-reported Glasgow Antipsychotic Side-effect Scale using the clinician-rated UKU side-effect scale as gold standard reference

Background: Antipsychotics are key for the treatment of psychotic and several non-psychotic disorders. Unfortunately, antipsychotic medications are associated with side effects, which may reduce quality of life and treatment adherence. Therefore, regular screening of antipsychotic side effects is essential. The Glasgow Antipsychotic Side-effect Scale is a patient self-report scale developed for this purpose. However, the Glasgow Antipsychotic Side-effect Scale has only been validated against another self-report side effect measure, which is suboptimal. Objective: We aimed to validate the Glasgow Antipsychotic Side-effect Scale using the clinician-rated Udvalg for Kliniske Undersøgelser side-effect rating scale as the gold standard reference. Results: 81 antipsychotic-treated outpatients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (age = 42±13 years; males = 43%, schizophrenia = 77%, illness duration: median = 11 years) completed the Glasgow Antipsychotic Side-effect Scale and were subsequently scored on the Udvalg for Kliniske Undersøgelser by trained raters. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were calculated for paired Glasgow Antipsychotic Side-effect Scale and Udvalg for Kliniske Undersøgelser items. Sensitivity of Glasgow Antipsychotic Side-effect Scale items ranged from 33–96%, with 19 (86%) having >75% sensitivity. Lowest sensitivity emerged for “nocturnal enuresis” (33%), “galactorrhea” (50%) and “hyperkinesia” 14–99%, with 14 items (64%) having >75% specificity, being lowest for “asthenia” (14%), “polyuria/polydipsia” (35%), “sedation” (41%), “akathisia” (53%), “dystonia” (65%), “hyperkinesia” (68%), “hypokinesia” (70%) and “accommodation” (70%). Positive predictive value ranged from 7–85%, with six items (27%) having a positive predictive value >75%. Negative predictive value ranged from 40–98%, with 21 items (95%) having a negative predictive value >75%. The mean time to complete the Glasgow Antipsychotic Side-effect Scale was 4±2 minutes. Conclusion: The Glasgow Antipsychotic Side-effect Scale demonstrated satisfactory validity as a self-rated tool for antipsychotic side effects and may aid measurement-based care and decision-making.
Competitive Ability in Mixtures of Small Grain Cereals

Morphological and physiological differences in competitive ability among species and genotypes can affect the growth, development, and subsequent composition and value of feedstuffs produced from small grain cereal mixtures. Our objective was determine the final grain yields of the components of mixtures and compare these yields with those expected based on the yields of the monocrops. Three field studies were conducted to evaluate the productivity of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), oat (Avena sativa L.), triticale (× Triticosecale rimpaui Wittm.), and rye (Secale cereale L.) grown as monocrops and mixtures. Seeding rates ranging from 250 seeds m -2 to 750 seeds m -2 were evaluated to determine their effect on competitive ability of genotypes and species of small grains. Differences in competitive ability were found. The semi-dwarf barley 'Kasota' was less competitive than the standard-height 'AC Lacombe' and 'Seebe'. 'Noble' barley was more competitive than 'AC Mustang' oat or 'Wapiti' triticale. Prima' winter rye was more competitive than Pika' winter triticale. Relative grain yields were generally not different than 1.0 g g -1 , but when significantly different they were usually higher than one, indicating that the yields of those mixtures were better than expected based on yields when the cultivars were grown as pure stands. Seeding rates had little effect on competitive ability. The specific factors that lead to better than expected grain yields of mixtures and to good competitive ability of cultivars and species are difficult to predict and must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.