Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Causal item of Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ) scale: The main categories

The causal item of illness perception from Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ) has no clearly defined response categories. It restricts the comparison of findings across studies on illness perception. Therefore, this study analyzed the causal item responses and proposed a categorization structure. The cohort study measurements were conducted at early cardiac rehabilitation and six months later. Illness perception was assessed using BIPQ scale with qualitative responses of causal item being independently coded by two researchers who assigned the responses to categories using template analysis approach. The study identified seven main causal categories of illness perception: lifestyle, psychological causes, natural causes, working conditions, body changes, environmental factors, and other causes. The perception that acute coronary syndrome is mainly due to lifestyle factors associates with better health-related outcomes compared to other causal perceptions. The proposed categorization of BIPQ causal item could be tested in the future research among different samples accounting only the main cause.
Empirical Models Predicting Ingestion Rates of Black Fly Larvae

Field experiments were performed in a gutter system to examine the effect of body size, water temperature, seston concentration, and particle type on the ingestion rate of Simulium venustum/verecundum larvae. Ingestion rates rose exponentially with increasing temperature between 9 and 19 °C (Q10 = 2.19, 95% CI 2.09–2.29) and rose asymptotically with seston concentration (range 0.7–30 mg∙L−1). Small larvae were more sensitive to variations in seston concentration than older instars. The type of particles offered also influenced the ingestion rate of larvae. Once corrected for body size, water temperature, and seston concentration, the data show that larvae ingested more of the natural seston and of a yeast suspension than of suspensions containing kaolinite. Ingestion rates of other simuliid species generally co-occurring at the outflow of lakes in early summer were of the same magnitude as those of S. venustum/verecundum, although significant differences were detected among species. Specific ingestion rat.
Detection and Isolation of SARS-CoV-2 in Serum, Urine, and Stool Specimens of COVID-19 Patients from the Republic of Korea

Objectives Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) is a respiratory infection characterized by the main symptoms of pneumonia and fever. It is caused by the novel coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is known to spread via respiratory droplets. We aimed to determine the rate and likelihood of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from COVID-19 patients through non-respiratory routes. Methods Serum, urine, and stool samples were collected from 74 hospitalized patients diagnosed with COVID-19 based on the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in respiratory samples. The SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome was extracted from each specimen and real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction performed. CaCo-2 cells were inoculated with the specimens containing the SARS-COV-2 genome, and subcultured for virus isolation. After culturing, viral replication in the cell supernatant was assessed. Results Of the samples collected from 74 COVID-19 patients, SARS-CoV-2 was detected in 15 serum, urine, or stool samples. The virus detection rate in the serum, urine, and stool samples were 2.8% (9/323), 0.8% (2/247), and 10.1% (13/129), and the mean viral load was 1,210 ± 1,861, 79 ± 30, and 3,176 ± 7,208 copy/μL, respectively. However, the SARS-CoV-2 was not isolated by the culture method from the samples that tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 gene. Conclusion While the virus remained detectable in the respiratory samples of COVID-19 patients for several days after hospitalization, its detection in the serum, urine, and stool samples was intermittent. Since the virus could not be isolated from the SARS-COV-2-positive samples, the risk of viral transmission via stool and urine is expected to be low.
Reporting and advising on the effects of fishing

Scientists hold different views about environmental management. These views may drive their interest in the subject and help them to address a wide range of research issues, but they can also affect the ways in which research results are interpreted and reported. Studies that mix science and perspective can compromise public and scientific understanding of fishing effects, as perceived differences in evidence may actually reflect differences in interpretation. To improve the rigour of ‘fishing effects’ science, it would help if the benchmarks used to assess whether fishing effects ‘matter’ were always made explicit. These benchmarks might be the objectives set by the management authorities and/or a series of alternate objectives proposed and stated by the scientist. To demonstrate how the reported significance of fishing effects can depend on objectives, I use a simple model to predict the response of fish populations and communities to fishing. Fishing effects that would be reported as negative in relation to preservation or biodiversity objectives, such as declines in size, abundance and trophic level, occur at lower fishing intensities than those associated with meeting sustainability objectives for target species. When fishing pressure is so high that both conservation and fisheries objectives are not being met, the initial management actions to meet a range of objectives are likely to be compatible (e.g. reduce capacity, support alternate livelihoods).
Advertisement call of Peltophryne florentinoi (Anura: Bufonidae), an endemic toad from Zapata Swamp, Cuba

The advertisement call of Peltophryne florentinoi, an endemic toad from Zapata Swamp, Matanzas, Cuba, is described in terms of temporal properties and dominant frequency. A comparison with the advertisement calls produced by the other three species of large toads in Cuba (P. peltocephala, P. fustiger and P. taladai) is also provided. Like other large toads from Cuba, P. florentinoi produces advertisement calls with long duration (> 10 s), low dominant frequency (< 1 kHz), and a series of complex pulses that are composed of two to five sub-pulses. All temporal features of the P. florentinoi call are significantly different from P. fustiger calls: number of pulses, pulse duration, and pulse rate separates it from P. peltocephala. P. florentinoi differs from P. taladai in call duration, number of pulses, and pulse rate. The occurrence of different types of complex pulses differed in all species studied. Typically, P. florentinoi pulses contain three sub-pulses, P. taladai four, and P. fustiger and P. peltocephala contain two sub-pulses. The dominant frequency of the advertisement call of P. florentinoi did not differ from the other species' calls. Call duration and pulse rate are the most useful acoustic properties to distinguish P. florentinoi advertisement calls from those of the other three large Cuban toads.
Temporal and Spatial Trends in the Abundance of Coho Salmon Smolts from Western North America

Abstract Coast-wide trends in the catch of adult Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) are often attributed to large-scale variation in marine survival caused by changing ocean conditions; however, the roles of the freshwater stages have not usually been assessed. I used a compilation of published coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch data to determine whether the spatial scale of common variation in smolt abundance is sufficient for the freshwater segment of the life cycle to contribute to regional trends in adult coho salmon abundance. I found positive covariation in annual smolt estimates for streams that were less than 20–30 km apart, but smolt abundances were, on average, uncorrelated for streams that were more separated by a greater distance. The proportion of variation of interannual fluctuations in coho salmon smolt abundance that was common to neighboring streams was small. Thus, it appears that large-scale influences on smolt production are likely diluted by the effects of watershed-specific landscape a.
Affective Touch: The Enigmatic Spinal Pathway of the C-Tactile Afferent

C-tactile afferents are hypothesized to form a distinct peripheral channel that encodes the affective nature of touch. Prevailing views indicate they project, as with other unmyelinated afferents, in lamina I-spinothalamic pathways that relay homeostatically relevant information from the body toward cortical regions involved in interoceptive processing. However, in a recent study, we found that spinothalamic ablation in humans, while profoundly impairing the canonical spinothalamic modalities of pain, temperature, and itch, had no effect on benchmark psychophysical affective touch metrics. These novel findings appear to indicate that perceptual judgments about the affective nature of touch pleasantness do not depend on the integrity of the lamina I-spinothalamic tract. In this commentary, we further discuss the implications of these unexpected findings. Intuitively, they suggest that signaling of emotionally relevant C-tactile mediated touch occurs in an alternative ascending pathway. However, we also argue that the deficits seen following interruption of a putative C-tactile lamina I-spinothalamic relay might be barely perceptible—a feature that would underline the importance of the C-tactile afferent in neurodevelopment.
Variations of iridoid oleuropein in Italian olive varieties during growth and maturation

This research paper reports on the concentrations of oleuropein in fruits of seven Italian olive cultivars. These oleuropein levels, during fruit growth and maturation, were monitored by taking olive samples from the same olive trees grown in Middle Italy. A novel high-resolution gas chromatography (HRGC) oleuropein quantification method and a new high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method were developed. The olive fruits showed high contents of oleuropein, which were greatly influenced by the olive cultivar (genetic store) factor. The stage of fruit growth and maturation was another factor strongly affecting the contents of iridoid oleuropein in olive drupes, whatever the olive cultivar considered. Green olives had much higher concentrations of this biofunctional glucoside, which decreased regularly during fruit growth and ripeness. No differences were observed between the two developed oleuropein quantification methods, which gave, for all the olive cultivars, average values of fruit oleuropein contents that were not statistically different. These two reliable repetitive methods, noticeably the HPLC one (which also showed a lower running time), could be used for routine determination of oleuropein in olive drupes. We observed that, in general, olive cultivars having high oleuropein concentrations in the fruits were also characterized by marked oleuropein contents in the leaves.
Epistasis in cassava adapted to midaltitude valley environments

Little is known about the inheritance of agronomic traits in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz). The vegetative multiplication of cassava allows cloning of individual genotypes, and separates environmental from genetic variation in the within-family variation. Knowing the magnitude of between- and within-family variation is important for defining breeding strategies and for measuring different components of genetic variances, particularly the seldom-estimated epistasis. A group of nine genotypes, adapted to midaltitude environments, was used for a diallel study. Thirty clones were obtained from every F 1 cross (each clone was represented by six plants), and planted in three replications at two locations. Statistical differences among crosses were found for fresh-root yield, harvest index, root dry-matter content, and reaction to mites (Mononychellus tanajoa Bondar) and to whiteflies (Aleurotrachelus socialis Bondar). General combining ability (GCA) was significant for all traits except fresh-root yield and dry-matter content, and specific combining ability (SCA) was significant for all traits except whitefly damage score. Fresh-root yield was the only trait with significant epistatic effects, which, combined with a large dominance variance, suggested a prevalence of nonadditive effects. The introduction of inbreeding would be one approach for the efficient exploitation of these nonadditive effects found for fresh-root yield. For the remaining traits, epistasis was negligible and current schemes exploiting additive effects may suffice.
Technophobia as emerging risk factor in aging: Investigation on computer anxiety dimension

Digital innovation changed the daily living impacting Quality of Life of individuals. Our study was focused on adult and elder behavioural approach to the technology. Out study aimed to investigate the impact of technology use in not digital native in order to investigate the behavioural degree of adaptation. An observational study was conducted on adult and old subjects (age range 50–67 years) measuring computer anxiety and technology use ability variables identifying the indexes for technophobia risk in digital living. Not digital native subjects and more older ones appeared being influenced by technophobia features because of feeling themselves as inadequate in the management of technology. Oneway ANOVA and then Bonferroni’s post-hoc analysis showed that non-autonomous (p<0.01), low-frequency (p<0.01), and feelingneed- for-help users (p<0.01) had higher levels of computer anxiety. No significant effect was in gender distribution. Finally, social networking seems related better use of technology and lower anxiety for digital solutions. Our findings highlight technophobia as a possible new risk factor for not digital native because it can affect their daily life through lower adherence to digital solutions; rather than aging successfully, they could develop fragile ageing. More, they seemed inadequate to use the digital solutions for better living in aging.
Genetic analyses of Rhizoctonia solani isolates from Phaseolus vulgaris grown in the Atlantic Rainforest Region of São Paulo, Brazil

Rhizoctonia solani isolates obtained from common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) grown in the mountainous Atlantic Rainforest (Mata Atlântica) region of Sao Paulo, Brazil, were analyzed to determine their genetic diversity using internal transcribed spacer (ITS), microsatellite and telomere sequence-based PCR primers. Restriction digestion of the ITS1/5.8S/ITS2 ribosomal regions yielded unique banding patterns specific for AG4 and its subgroups. The ITS restriction digestion (ITS/RFLP), telomere and microsatellite primers identified five to 11 genotypes within the isolates of R. solani. While all isolates were pathogenic on beans, there was no correlation found between genotypic differences and pathogenicity. The different PCR primers revealed a number of isolates that were genetically similar. Some of these genetic groups were supported by more than one of the primers utilized in this study, thus confirming their relationship.
Relationship Between Balance, Gait, and Activities of Daily Living in Older Adults With Dementia

Introduction: Gait characteristics are closely associated with executive functions including basic and high-level cognitive processes such as attention, working memory, decision-making, and problem-solving. Impaired cognitive function resulting from dementia is associated with loss of balance and poor activities of daily living (ADLs). If associations between gait parameters, balance, and ADLs are observed, then quantitative gait analysis may be optimal for reinforcing balance and ADL assessments in people with dementia. This study aimed to determine the association between balance, gait, and ADLs in older adults with dementia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 46 older adults who have been diagnosed with dementia. Measurements including the Mini-Mental Statement Examination-Korean version (MMSE-K), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), 10-meter walk test (10MWT), Modified Barthel index (MBI), and GAITRite were used to assess cognitive function, balance, walking speed, ADLs, and gait parameters, respectively. The Pearson product correlation coefficient (r) was used for correlation analysis. Results and Discussion: Among the gait parameters, velocity was positively associated with the BBS, 10MWT, and MBI (r = 0.341-0.516, P > .05). Step length (r = 0.301-0.586, P > .05), stride length (r = 0.329-0.580, P > .05), and walk ratio (r = 0.324-0.556, P > .05) were positively associated with the MMSE-K, BBS, 10MWT, and MBI. A moderate positive association between single support time and MBI was observed (r = 0.308, P = .039). Additionally, a moderate negative association between double support time and the MBI was observed (r = −0.349, P = .019). This study presents the first empirical evidence on the association between balance, gait, and ADLs in older adults with dementia. Conclusions: This study identified important associations between balance, gait, and ADL assessments in people with dementia. Further studies involving targeted interventions addressing gait parameters and improving balance and functional performance in people with dementia are required in the future.
Overview and present status of the toxic Pfiesteria complex (Dinophyceae)

Abstract This paper reviews the Pfiesteria issue and Pfiesteria science and presents new information on variation in toxicity among Pfiesteria strains, culture effects on their toxicity, the trophic interactions of Pfiesteria spp . , and impacts on fish and mammals. We also assess Pfiesteria spp. impacts on fish in comparison to certain other estuarine dinoflagellates of similar appearance. Species of the toxic Pfiesteria complex (TPC) thus far include P. piscicida and P. shumwayae. These species share morphological and genetic similarities, and both have toxic strains that (1) show strong attraction to live fish;(2) exhibit toxicity that is triggered by live fish or their fresh tissues and excreta; and (3) produce toxin(s) that cause fish stress, disease and death under ecologically relevant conditions (the standardized fish bioassay process involves testing live Pfiesteria cells at similar densities to those encountered during Pfiesteria-related fish kill/disease events). Both Pfiesteria species also have a complex life cycle with multiple amoeboid, flagellated and cyst stages, several of which are ichthyotoxic. TPC species are eurythermal and euryhaline, with prey spanning the estuarine food web, from bacteria to mammalian tissues. They can be stimulated directly or indirectly by nitrogen and phosphorus enrichment. Toxic strains can be either actively or potentially toxic (the TOX-A and TOX-B functional types, respectively); in addition, c.40% of randomly isolated clones have been found to be benign [the noninducible or NON-IND functional type, which apparently lacks the ability to produce bioactive substances (toxins) that cause fish disease or death]. These functional types differ significantly in response to algal prey, predators, nutrients and fish. Moreover, as an apparent artifact of culture conditions, toxic strains generally lose their ability to cause fish death and disease and become NON-IND within weeks to months. At low cell densities, toxic strains can be causative agents of acute and/or chronic diffuse and focal lesions and of other fish diseases, as demonstrated in fish bioassays. A partially purified, water-soluble Pjiesteria toxin disrupts calcium metabolism in rat pituitary cells and mimics an adenosine triphosphate neurotransmitter that targets P2X7 purinoreceptors found predominantly on immune cells. Respiratory, visual, and neurological impacts have been sustained by people exposed to aerosols from fish-killing Pfiesteria cultures or to water and aerosols during estuarine fish kills associated with toxic Pfiesteria. Neurocognitive impacts from exposure to toxic Pfiesteria have been replicated experimentally in small mammals. Toxic strains of Pfiesteria species have been confirmed from mid-Atlantic and Gulf Coast estuaries in the United States and from northern Europe and New Zealand, indicating that these toxic dinoflagellates are cosmopolitan in distribution.
Adriamycin induced genetic toxicity as demonstrated by the Allium test.

The present investigation was carried out to study the cytological effects of adriamycin on root tip cells of Allium cepa. The roots of selected onion bulbs were placed in 3 different concentrations 0.1%, 1% and 10% of adriamycin solution for different durations, ranging from 3 hours to 24 hours. The treatments were so timed as to study the effects of the drug at specific stages in the mitotic cycle.The most important effect of the drug was the drastic lowering of the mitotic index. Interphasic cell death, nuclear lesions, nuclear dissolution, nuclear polymorphism and somatic reduction of chromosomes were also observed. Important abnormalities encountered at metaphase were C-metaphase, clumping, abnormal equatorial plate and delayed metakinesis. Chromatid bridges, sticky bridges, chromosome fragments, unequal distribution of chromosomes with paired chromatids, acute fragmentation leading to chromatin globules etc. were frequent in treated cells. Failure of cytokinesis resulting in multinucleate cells was also noticed.The present results suggest that adriamycin inhibits not only DNA synthesis but also protein synthesis, either directly or indirectly by its binding with DNA resulting in the prevention of its unwinding for transcription of spindle protein messengers. To arrest cell division, the best time of application appears to be the G1, just before the onset of DNA synthesis.
Woodland structure, rather than tree identity, determines the breeding habitat of Willow Warblers Phylloscopus trochilus in the northwest of England

Capsule Woodland structure, rather than tree species, is the most important determinant of breeding habitat selection by Willow Warblers in North West England. Aims To examine how habitat characteristics predict the occurrence of male Willow Warbler territories. Methods Woodland structure (trunk density, trunk diameter, canopy cover and understory cover), tree species and food abundance were compared between woodland areas within and outside of male territories at a site in the UK. Results Territories contained higher trunk numbers, had a narrow range of trunk diameters, and intermediate canopy cover. Food abundance did not differ with occupancy. Willow and alder were the most common trees within territories, in contrast to birch which has been found in previous studies. The habitat structure matches young woodlands, where birches often grow. However, at the study site the birches were large and mature, and therefore unsuitable. Moreover, woodland structure variables were better predictors of occupancy than any particular tree genera. Conclusion The results indicate that vegetation structure, but not tree species or food availability, influence breeding habitat selection by Willow Warblers. The preferred structure is similar to coppice woodlands; therefore, the Willow Warbler decline may be linked to the loss of this traditional management across south England.