Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of rootstock on nutrients and heavy metals in leaves and berries of the vine cultivar ‘Regent’ grown in North-Western Poland

The aim of this study was to evaluate nutrient contents and heavy metals of the leaves and berries of vine cultivar ‘Regent’ grafted on different rootstocks (‘Couderc 161-49’, ‘Sori’, ‘Kober 125AA’, ‘Borner’ and ‘Kober 5BB’) in comparison to control (‘Regent’ root; own-rooted vines). Leaf and berry samples were collected in three consecutive years (2013-2015) at the research station of West Pomeranian University of Technology Szczecin in Poland. In the experiment, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, N, P and Zn were analysed among mineral nutrients, whereas Cd and Pb were analysed among heavy metals. A substantial influence of tested rootstocks on analysed element contents in leaves and berries has been proven. All tested rootstocks enabled a higher concentration of Ca and Mg in leaves in comparison to ‘Regent’ root. The greatest concentrations of Ca, K and N were found in leaves and berries under ‘Sori’ rootstock. As the only rootstock, ‘Couderc 161-49’ was characterised by a higher level of iron in samples in relation to own-rooted vines. The ‘Borner’ rootstock was the most effective in inhibition of heavy metals uptake.
Learning algorithms and statistical software, with applications to bioinformatics

L'apprentissage statistique est le domaine des mathematiques qui aborde le developpement des algorithmes d'analyse de donnees. Cette these est divisee en deux parties : l'introduction de modeles mathematiques et l'implementation d'outils logiciels. Dans la premiere partie, je presente de nouveaux algorithmes pour la segmentation et pour le partitionnement de donnees (clustering). Le partitionnement de donnees et la segmentation sont des methodes d'analyse qui cherche des structures dans les donnees. Je presente les contributions suivantes, en soulignant les applications a la bioinformatique. Dans la deuxieme partie, je presente mes contributions au logiciel libre pour la statistique, qui est utilise pour l'analyse quotidienne du statisticien.
Binary Adsorption of Vapours in Active Carbons Described by the Dubinin Equation

It is shown that the use of the Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherm within the framework of the Myers–Prausnitz theory provides a satisfactory description of the adsorption of mixtures of chlorobenzene + carbon tetrachloride vapours by active carbons. This approach can be extended to other systems and full use can be made of the advantages of Dubinin's theory. The experimental data was obtained by Headspace-GC, a rapid and reliable technique.
Proteomic profiling of the molecular targets of interactions of the mastoparan peptide Protopolybia MP-III at the level of endosomal membranes from rat mast cells.

It is well known that the activation of mast cells due to the binding of mastoparan to the G(α) subunit of trimeric G proteins involves exocytosis regulation. However, experimental evidence in the literature indicates that mastoparan can also activate certain regulatory targets of exocytosis at the level of the mast cell endosomal membranes that have not yet been identified. Therefore, the aim of the present investigation was the proteomic identification of these targets. To achieve these objectives, mast cells were activated by the peptide Protopolybia MP-III, and the proteins of the endosomal membranes were converted to proteoliposomes using sonication. Proteins were separated from one another by affinity chromatography using proteoliposomes as analytes and Protopolybia MP III-immobilized Sepharose 4B resin as the ligand. This experimental approach, which used SDS-PAGE, in-gel trypsin digestion and proteomic analysis, permitted the identification of five endosomal proteins: Rho GTPase Cdc 42 and exocyst complex component 7 as components of the Ca(2+) -independent FceRI-mediated exocytosis pathway, synaptosomal-associated protein 29, and GTP-binding protein Rab3D as components of the Ca(2+) -dependent FceRI-mediated exocytosis pathway and Ras-related protein M-Ras, a protein that is related to the mediation of cell shaping and proliferation following exocytosis. The identification of the five proteins as targets of mastoparans may contribute in the near future to the use of this family of peptides as novel tools for dissecting the mechanism of exocytosis in mast cells.
Financial Development, Government Ownership of Banks and Firm Innovation

Using a newly-available World Bank survey of over 28,000 firms from 46 countries, we examine how financial development affects firm innovation around the world. We find that while stock market development significantly enhances firm innovation, banking sector development has mixed effects. We show that the latter result can be explained by different levels of government ownership of banks. Specifically, in countries with lower government ownership of banks, banking sector development significantly enhances firm innovation; while in countries with higher government ownership of banks, banking sector development has no significant or sometimes even significantly negative effects on firm innovation. Such negative effects are significantly stronger for smaller firms. The results are robust to various controls such as firms’ human capital and ownership structure, to estimations using instrumental variable techniques and alternative measures of firm innovation.
Cannabidiol in epilepsy: The indications and beyond

Epilepsy, although common, remains difficult to treat with as much as 30% of patients having treatment-resistant conditions. Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome are childhood-onset epilepsies and among the most difficult to treat. Cannabidiol has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat these conditions in individuals over 2 years of age; however, there is a great deal of interest in off-label use. This article examines 3 cases: 1 of a patient with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, 1 of off-label use of cannabidiol to treat epilepsy, and 1 of nonprescription forms of cannabidiol to treat epilepsy.
Dementia Diagnoses and Treatment in Geriatric Ward Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study in Poland

Purpose The study aimed to determine the prevalence of dementia, its types, and treatment in geriatric ward patients. Patients and Methods A cross-sectional study of 406 patients (77.8% women, median age 82, IQR (77–86) years) who underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment in one of the Polish hospitals between September 2014 and April 2015 was conducted. Results Dementia was diagnosed in 132 (32.5%) patients (46% mixed dementia; 32% Alzheimer’s disease; 10%vascular dementia; 5% dementia in Parkinson’s disease; 4% frontotemporal; 3% atypical parkinsonism). A total of 95 (72%) dementia cases were not detected before, and in the above half of these patients, it was not mentioned in the referral document. Only 33.3% of dementia patients were on cognitive enhancers (donepezil, rivastigmine, or memantine); 36.4% received antipsychotics, 45.5% received anti-depressants, 25.8% received nootropics, and 16.7% received anxiolytics/hypnotics. Discussion The results confirmed the high incidence of underdiagnoses and undertreatment of dementia in patients admitted to the geriatric ward. It is partly due to the lack of systematic cognitive assessment in primary care settings, although other factors can play a role.
Bombus (Pyrobombus) johanseni Sladen, 1919, a valid North American bumble bee species, with a new synonymy and comparisons to other “red-banded” bumble bee species in North America (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Bombini)

Abstract The bumble bee (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Bombini, Bombus Latreille) fauna of the Nearctic and Palearctic regions are considered well known, with a few species occurring in both regions (i.e., with a Holarctic distribution), but much of the Arctic, especially in North America, remains undersampled or unsurveyed. Several bumble bee taxa have been described from northern North America, these considered either valid species or placed into synonymy with other taxa. However, some of these synonymies were made under the assumption of variable hair colour only, without detailed examination of other morphological characters (e.g., male genitalia, hidden sterna), and without the aid of molecular data. Recently, Bombus interacti Martinet, Brasero & Rasmont, 2019 was described from Alaska where it is considered endemic; based on both morphological and molecular data, it was considered a taxon distinct from B. lapponicus (Fabricius, 1793). Bombus interacti was also considered distinct from B. gelidus Cresson, 1878, a taxon from Alaska surmised to be a melanistic form of B. lapponicus sylvicola Kirby, 1837, the North American subspecies (Martinet et al. 2019). Unfortunately, Martinet et al. (2019) did not have DNA barcode sequences (COI) for females of B. interacti, but molecular data for a melanistic female specimen matching the DNA barcode sequence of the holotype of B. interacti have been available in the Barcodes of Life Data System (BOLD) since 2011. Since then, additional specimens have been obtained from across northern North America. Also unfortunate was that B. sylvicola var. johanseni Sladen, 1919, another melanistic taxon described from far northern Canada, was not considered. Bombus johanseni is here recognized as a distinct taxon from B. lapponicus sylvicola Kirby, 1837 (sensuMartinet et al. 2019) in the Nearctic region, showing the closest affinity to B. glacialis Friese, 1902 of the Old World. As the holotype male of B. interacti is genetically identical to material identified here as B. johanseni, it is placed into synonymy. Thus, we consider B. johanseni a widespread species occurring across arctic and subarctic North America in which most females are dark, with rarer pale forms (i.e., “interacti”) occurring in and seemingly restricted to Alaska. In addition to B. johanseni showing molecular affinities to B. glacialis of the Old World, both taxa also inhabit similar habitats in the arctic areas of both Nearctic and Palearctic, respectively. It is also likely that many of the specimens identified as B. lapponicus sylvicola from far northern Canada and Alaska might actually be B. johanseni, so that should be considered for future studies of taxonomy, distribution, and conservation assessment of North American bumble bees.
Periodontitis and rheumatoid arthritis: three messages from published literature to clinical practice

We read with great interest the article entitled “The re la­ tionship between periodontal status and rheumatoid ar­ thritis – systematic review”, recently published in Reuma­ tologia [1]. This relationship, suggested for more than 20 years [2], has increasingly been reported in the last years, and two recent meta­analyses confirmed a statistically significant association between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and perio­ dontitis (PD) compared to healthy controls [3, 4]. Among the bacteria present in the periodontal bio­ film, Porphyromonas gingivalis can induce the modifi­ cation of peptidyl­arginine to peptidyl­citrulline, a pre­ requisite for production of anti­citrullinated peptides antibodies (ACPA). Moreover, P. gingivalis can activate different mechanisms leading to systemic inflammation and bone damage [5]. More recently, an independent statistical correlation between anti­P. gingivalis anti­ bodies and anti­ACPA second generation (anti­ACPA2) concentrations was found [6]. To date, ACPA have the best specificity as a biomarker for RA diagnosis and progno­ sis; and it is common knowledge that serum ACPA can be found several years before clinical development of RA. In clinical practice, three messages can be useful to keep in mind: 1) the consequences of PD for the RA acti­ vity indices, 2) the interference in PD from disease­modi­ fying anti­rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), both conventio nal (cDMARDs) and biologic (bDMARDs), 3) the prognostic value of PD in naïve arthralgia patients. In relation to the first point, a significant association between severe PD and RA disease activity by means of three indices (DAS28, DAS28–CRP, SDAI) was recently confirmed [7]. First message: PD – especially if severe – should al­ ways be treated before evaluating RA disease activity, so as to avoid unnecessary therapeutic modifications. In relation to the second point, c­DMARDs can have a beneficial clinical effect on PD following its non­surgi­ cal treatment [8]. Instead, the impact of the b­DMARDs on PD is not uniform. Indeed, published literature highlighted that gingival inflammation improved with B­cell or interleukin 6 receptors and worsened with TNF blockers, whereas beneficial clinical effects on gingival bone destruction followed therapy with every type of bDMARD [6]. Second message: in a patient with RA, severe PD is not a contraindication for DMARDs. On the contrary, DMARDs can be useful in preventing dental loss. This message should be more and more shared with the dentist. Finally, with respect to the third point, in a prospec­ tive study of 72 consecutive naïve arthralgia patients, patients with PD had higher risk for future methotrexate (MTX) treatment during 2­year follow­ups than patients without PD [9]. This risk has to be confirmed in other, multicenter studies. Third message: in the preclinical stage of arthritis pa­ tients, the presence of PD could be evaluated as a warn­ ing for early use of MTX. In conclusion, when a patient with RA enters our clinic. let’s not forget the mouth and the dentist.
Risk Perception Towards COVID-19 and Its Associated Factors Among Waiters in Selected Towns of Southwest Ethiopia

Background Waiters working in hotels, pensions, restaurants, and cafeteria are more susceptible to COVID-19 and easily transmit the virus to others because they interact with almost all individuals who enter those establishments. However, information regarding their risk perception is scarce; hence, this study aimed to assess risk perception regarding COVID-19 and its associated factors among waiters working in the selected towns of southwest Ethiopia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from June 1 to 15, 2020. The interview-administered structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were entered into Epi data manager version 4.0. 2 and exported to SPSS version 24 for analysis. Multiple linear regression analysis was done to identify factors associated with risk perception. A p-value of less than 0.05 was used as a level of significance. Results A total of 416 waiters were interviewed, with a 98.6% response rate. The mean age of respondents was 27.26 (SD=8.35) years. More than half (53.4%) agreed that COVID-19 causes more deaths than other respiratory diseases. Regarding overall risk perception, two hundred twenty-two (53.4%) participants had high-risk perceptions concerning COVID-19. Risk perception was associated with age (β= 0.10; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.18), knowledge of COVID-19 (β=0.50, 95% CI: 0.23, 0.76) and preventive behaviors (β=0.62; 95% CI: 0.33, 0.90). Conclusion A higher level of risk perception was found regarding the COVID-19. Proper risk communication to promote protective behaviors is very essential since waiters are more at risk to be infected with COVID-19 and their infection with the virus has important public health implications.
Investigation of anti-inflammatory effects of bee venom in experimentally induced adjuvant arthritis

Objectives Rheumatoid arthritis is a multisystemic inflammatory disease characterized by destruction of the joints. An effective treatment method of the disease has not been developed yet. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effects of bee (Apis mellifera anatoliaca) venom (BV) on serum inflammatory parameters, serum antioxidant load and clinical parameters of experimentally induced adjuvant arthritis in rats. Material and methods A total of 35 Wistar albino male rats were used. The animals were divided into 5 groups. First group animals served as negative controls. The second, third, fourth and fifth groups were used for experimental arthritis induction. Following clinical development of arthritis, the first group was subcutaneously administered 0.2 ml of physiological saline, and the second, third and fourth groups were treated subcutaneously with 2 µg/kg, 4 µg/kg and 20 µg/kg once a week three times. Physiological saline injected fifth group animals were used as a sham-treatment group. Clinical observations and evaluation of arthritis were made at the 15th day, and at the end of the experiment. The levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase, paraoxonase, serum aryl esterase, high-sensitivity C reactive protein, interleukin 1β (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) were determined in cardiac blood samples taken at the end of the 29th day. Results From the data, total oxidant level (TOL) and oxidative stress index (OSI) were calculated. Significant improvements were observed in the clinical signs of arthritis and inflammatory markers such as in IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6 and TOL and OSI in the 20.0 µg/kg BV-administered group. Bee venom administration did not cause any significant increase in ALT and AST values or signs of liver toxicity. Conclusions Bee venom treatment was effective in alleviation of symptoms of the experimental rat adjuvant arthritis by means of clinical observation and serum inflammatory markers.
Adsorption of Hg(II) in an Aqueous Solution by Activated Carbon Prepared from Rice Husk Using KOH Activation

With the development of industry, the discharge of wastewater containing mercury ions posed a serious threat to human health. Using biomass waste as an adsorbent to treat wastewater containing mercury ions was a better way due to its positive impacts on the environment and resource saving. In this research, activated carbon (AC) was prepared from rice husk (RH) by the KOH chemical activation method. The characterization results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed that rice husk-activated carbon (RHAC) had good pore structure and oxygen-containing functional groups. The influences of contact time, initial concentration of Hg(II), adsorbent dosage, pH, and ionic strength on mercury ion removal were investigated. The Langmuir model was most suitable for the adsorption isotherm of RHAC, and its maximum adsorption capacity for Hg(II) was 55.87 mg/g. RHAC still had a high removal capacity for Hg(II) after five regeneration cycles. RHAC had excellent removal efficiency for mercury ion wastewater. At the same time, RH could be used as a nonpolluting and outstanding characteristic adsorbent material.
Analysis of the Risk Factors for Nosocomial Bacterial Infection in Patients with COVID-19 in a Tertiary Hospital

Background Infection surveillance and risk factor analysis are among the most important prerequisites for the prevention and treatment of nosocomial bacteria infections, which are the demands for both infected and non-infected patients. Purpose To explore the risk factors for nosocomial bacterial infection of patients with COVID-19, and further to provide a theoretical basis for scientific prevention and control of nosocomial bacterial infection. Methods Between 10 January 2020 and 9 March 2020, we collected data of 212 patients with COVID-19 and then explored the influence of age, gender, length of stay, use of ventilator, urinary catheterization, central venous catheterization, white blood cell (WBC) count and procalcitonin on the nosocomial bacterial infection of patients with COVID-19 by a retrospective study. Results There were 212 confirmed cases of COVID-19, of which 31 cases had nosocomial bacterial infections, with an incidence of 14.62%. The most common types of nosocomial bacterial infections were lower respiratory tract (12 cases, 38.71%), which was the most frequent site, followed by urinary tract (10 cases, 32.26%), blood stream (7 cases, 22.58%), upper respiratory tract (1 case, 3.23%) and gastrointestinal tract infection (1 case, 3.23%). The incidence of nosocomial bacterial infection was significantly correlated with age, arteriovenous catheterization, urinary catheterization, WBC count and procalcitonin. Moreover, multivariate analysis confirmed that WBC (OR 8.38, 95% CI 1.07 to 65.55), procalcitonin (OR 4.92, 95% CI 1.39 to 17.33) and urinary catheterization (OR 25.38, 95% CI 5.09 to 126.53) were independent risk factors for the nosocomial bacterial infection of patients with COVID-19. Conclusion Understanding the risk factors for nosocomial bacterial infection of patients with COVID-19 and strengthening the monitoring of various susceptible factors are helpful to control the occurrence of nosocomial bacterial infection in the COVID-19 isolation wards.
Cutaneous temperature and pressure pain threshold in individuals with knee osteoarthritis

Introduction Osteoarthritis is a common disease in which skin temperature may be included among the pathophysiological factors. Thermography allows the mapping of cutaneous temperature and may be employed in the investigation of osteoarthritis. Objectives To evaluate cutaneous temperature of the lower limbs, as well as to verify its association with pressure pain thresholds in individuals with knee osteoarthritis. Material and methods This case series study was conducted with individuals of both genders aged 48–77 years with unilateral knee osteoarthritis. Volunteers underwent thermographic evaluation by an infrared sensor (FLIR T650SC). The anterior region of the thigh and leg and the knee area were evaluated. Pressure pain thresholds (PPT) were evaluated by algometry (Pain Diagnostics, Great Neck, USA) at the vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, rectus femoris, and patellar tendon. Data analysis was conducted with the statistical package SPSS v.24 for Windows. Comparisons between affected and unaffected sides were made by paired Student’s t-test or the Mann-Whitney U test, and associations between variables were assessed by Pearson or Spearman’s correlation coefficient. In all cases, the significance level was set at p ≤ 0.05. Results Eleven volunteers (63.1 ±9.5 years) participated in this study. When comparing cutaneous temperature, only the region of the knee showed a significant difference between sides (p = 0.02). There were no differences between affected and unaffected knees regarding pain tolerance (PPT) at all sites evaluated. There were also no significant associations between the study variables. Conclusions Individuals with knee osteoarthritis presented a higher temperature of the affected knee, but this was not associated with pressure pain thresholds.
Description of a new Megophrys Kuhl & Van Hasselt, 1822 (Anura, Megophryidae) from Guizhou Province, China

Abstract A new species of the genus Megophrys is described from Guizhou Province, China. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial DNA indicated the new species as a clade clustered into the Megophrys clade. The new species can be distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following characters: body size moderate (SVL 40.0–45.5 mm in males and 48.9–51.2 mm in females); vomerine teeth absent; tongue not notched behind; tympanum distinctly visible, oval; a small horn-like tubercle at the edge of each upper eyelid; two metacarpal tubercles in hand; toes with rudimentary webbing; heels overlapping when thighs are positioned at right angles to the body; tibiotarsal articulation reaching the level of mid-eye when leg stretched forward; in breeding males, an internal single subgular vocal sac present and brownish nuptial pads, made up of black nuptial spines, present on the dorsal base of the first two fingers.