Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Germination of "Solo" papaya seeds treated with plant hormones

Sementes de mamao tem germinacao lenta e desuniforme o que tem sido atribuido a dormencia pos-colheita. Objetivou-se com o presente trabalho avaliar os efeitos de reguladores de crescimento na germinacao de sementes de mamao grupo "Solo". As sementes foram extraidas de frutos nos estadios de maturacao 3 e 5, que correspondem a 50% e mais que 75% da superficie externa amarela, respectivamente. Em seguida, foram submetidas a tratamentos constituidos por diferentes combinacoes de acido 2-cloroetilfosfonico - CEPA (0; 5 x 10-7 e 5 x 10-4 M), GA3 (0; 10 e 50 mg / L) e KNO3 (0 ou 1 M), avaliando-se a germinacao aos 14 e 30 dias. Verificou-se aumento da germinacao das sementes no estadio 3 de maturacao quando tratadas com os reguladores de crescimento testados. O KNO3 teve efeito negativo na germinacao e no indice de velocidade de germinacao, principalmente nas sementes do estadio 5. Nao houve efeito dos reguladores de crescimento na porcentagem final de plântulas normais. O CEPA (5 x 10-4 M) e as giberelinas empregadas isoladamente promoveram aumento do numero de plântulas normais das sementes no estadio 3, aos 14 dias apos a semeadura.
The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: A Reliability Generalization Meta-Analysis

A reliability generalization meta-analysis was carried out to estimate the average reliability of the seven-item, 5-point Likert-type Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), one of the most widespread scales developed around the COVID-19 pandemic. Different reliability coefficients from classical test theory and the Rasch Measurement Model were meta-analyzed, heterogeneity among the most reported reliability estimates was examined by searching for moderators, and a predictive model to estimate the expected reliability was proposed. At least one reliability estimate was available for a total of 44 independent samples out of 42 studies, being that Cronbach’s alpha was most frequently reported. The coefficients exhibited pooled estimates ranging from . 85 to . 90. The moderator analyses led to a predictive model in which the standard deviation of scores explained 36.7% of the total variability among alpha coefficients. The FCV-19S has been shown to be consistently reliable regardless of the moderator variables examined.
Colorectal Cancer in Lebanon: Incidence, Temporal Trends, and Comparison to Regional and Western Countries

Global trends in the incidence and mortality rates of colorectal cancer show a steady increase with significant predilection to western developed countries, possibly linking it to westernized lifestyles among other risk factors. This study aims to investigate the incidence and trends of colorectal cancer in Lebanon, a country in the Middle East and North Africa region, and to compare these rates to those in regional and western countries. Colorectal cancer incidence data were extracted from the Lebanese National Cancer Registry for the currently available years 2005 to 2016. The calculated age-standardized incidence rates and age-specific rates were expressed as per 100,000 population. The age-standardized incidence rates of colorectal cancer in Lebanon increased from 16.3 and 13.0 per 100,000 in 2005 to 23.2 and 20.2 per 100,000 in 2016, among males and females, respectively. The incidences were higher for males, and they increased with age. The annual percent change was +4.36% and +4.45%, in males and females respectively (p-value < 0.05). There was a non-statistically significant trend of decrease in recent years (since 2012 in males and since 2011 in females). The age-standardized incidence rates in Lebanon were higher than those in the majority of the regional countries, but lower than the rates in developed western countries. There were high age-specific incidence rates at age groups 40-44 and 45-49 years in Lebanon in both males and females (with significant rising temporal trend) compared to other countries, including the ones reported to have the highest colorectal cancer age-standardized incidence rate worldwide. Therefore, the burden of colorectal cancer is significant in Lebanon. This raises the necessity to develop national strategies tailored to reduce colorectal cancer incidence through promoting healthy lifestyles, raising awareness, and early detection as of 40 years of age.
Effector memory CD8 T cell response elicits Hepatitis E Virus genotype 3 pathogenesis in the elderly

Genotype 3 Hepatitis E virus (HEV-3) is an emerging threat for aging population. More than one third of older infected patients develops clinical symptoms with severe liver damage, while others remain asymptomatic. The origin of this discrepancy is still elusive although HEV-3 pathogenesis appears to be immune-mediated. Therefore, we investigated the role of CD8 T cells in the outcome of the infection in immunocompetent elderly subjects. We enrolled twenty two HEV-3-infected patients displaying similar viral determinants and fifteen healthy donors. Among the infected group, sixteen patients experienced clinical symptoms related to liver disease while six remained asymptomatic. Here we report that symptomatic infection is characterized by an expansion of highly activated effector memory CD8 T (EM) cells, regardless of antigen specificity. This robust activation is associated with key features of early T cell exhaustion including a loss in polyfunctional type-1 cytokine production and partial commitment to type-2 cells. In addition, we show that bystander activation of EM cells seems to be dependent on the inflammatory cytokines IL-15 and IL-18, and is supported by an upregulation of the activating receptor NKG2D and an exuberant expression of T-Bet and T-Bet-regulated genes including granzyme B and CXCR3. We also show that the inflammatory chemokines CXCL9-10 are increased in symptomatic patients thereby fostering the recruitment of highly cytotoxic EM cells into the liver in a CXCR3-dependent manner. Finally, we find that the EM-biased immune response returns to homeostasis following viral clearance and disease resolution, further linking the EM cells response to viral burden. Conversely, asymptomatic patients are endowed with low-to-moderate EM cell response. In summary, our findings define immune correlates that contribute to HEV-3 pathogenesis and emphasize the central role of EM cells in governing the outcome of the infection.
Image quality and diagnostic value of diffusion-weighted breast magnetic resonance imaging: Comparison of acquired and computed images

Purpose To compare the image quality of acquired diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and computed DWI and evaluate the lesion detectability and likelihood of malignancy in these datasets. Materials and methods This prospective study was approved by our institutional review board. A total of 29 women (mean age, 43.5 years) underwent DWI between August 2018 and April 2019 for 32 breast cancers and 16 benign breast lesions. Three radiologists independently reviewed the acquired DWI with b-values of 1000 and 2000 s/mm2 (A-b1000 and A-b2000) and the computed DWI with a b-value of 2000 s/mm2 (C-b2000). Image quality was scored and compared between the three DWI datasets. Lesion detectability was recorded, and the lesion’s likelihood for malignancy was scored using a five-point scale. Results The A-b1000 images were superior to the A-b2000 and C-b2000 images in chest distinction, fat suppression, and overall image quality. The A-b2000 and C-b2000 images showed comparable scores for all image quality parameters. C-b2000 showed the highest values for lesion detection among all readers, although there was no statistical difference in sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy between the DWI datasets. The malignancy scores of the DWI images were not significantly different among the three readers. Conclusions A-b1000 DWI is suitable for breast lesion evaluations, considering its better image quality and comparable diagnostic values compared to that of A-b2000 and C-b2000 images. The additional use of computed high b-value DWI may have the potential to increase the detectability of breast masses.
Effect of FN stress and gate-oxide breakdown on high-frequency noise characteristics in deep-submicrometer nMOSFETs

The impact of Fowler-Nordheim (FN) stress and oxide breakdown on high-frequency noise characteristics in 0.18 /spl mu/m nMOSFET has studied. Noise characteristics of the devices at different leakage levels and breakdown hardness are compared. The results have shown a strong dependence of degradation of noise parameter on the gate leakage. The degradation mechanisms are analyzed by extraction of the channel and gate noise using a noise equivalent circuit model. It has been found that gate shot noise, which is commonly ignored in the as-processed nMOSFET, plays a dominant role in determining the high frequency noise in the post-oxide breakdown nMOSFET. The effect of FN stress and oxide breakdown is negligible.
Darunavir/cobicistat is associated with negative outcomes in HIV-negative patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia.

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate both positive outcomes, including reduction of respiratory support aid and duration of hospital stay, and negative ones, including mortality and a composite of invasive mechanical ventilation or death, in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia treated with or without oral darunavir/cobicistat (DRV/c, 800/150 mg/day) used in different treatment duration. Secondary objective was to evaluate the percentage of patients treated with DRV/c who were exposed to potentially severe drug-drug interactions (DDI) and died during hospitalization. Methods This observational retrospective study was conducted in consecutive patients with COVID-19 pneumonia admitted to a tertiary care hospital in Modena, Italy. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to compare patients receiving standard of care with or without DRV/c. Adjustment for key confounders was applied. Results 273 patients (115 on DRV/c) were included, 75.8% males, mean age was 64.6 (±13.2) years. Clinical improvement was similar between the groups, depicted by respiratory aid switch (p>0.05). The same was observed for duration of hospital stay [13.2 (±8.9) for DRV/c vs. 13.4 (±7.2) days, p=0.9]. Patients on DRV/c had higher rates of mortality (25.2% vs. 10.1%, p<0.0001), more pronounced in patients undergoing DRV/c for less than 5 days. The rate of composite outcome of mechanical ventilation and death was higher in the DRV/c group (37.4% vs. 25.3%, p=0.03). Multiple serious DDI associated with DRV/c were observed in the 19 patients who died. Conclusion DRV/c should not be recommended as a treatment option for COVID-19 pneumonia outside clinical trials.
Elongation behavior of a main-chain smectic liquid crystalline elastomer

We have prepared a polydomain smectic liquid crystalline (LC) elastomer by introducing 2 mol % 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid as a cross-linker into a main-chain BB-5 polyester. The elastomer designated as BB-5/E2 forms isotropic and smectic CA (SmCA) LC phases in order of decreasing temperature similarly to the un-cross-linked BB-5 polyester. BB-5/E2 in the isotropic liquid phase shows a typical rubberlike elasticity, whereas that in the SmCA phase shows a characteristic elongation behavior accompanying a polydomain−monodomain transition: the initial strain up to 100% orients the smectic layer with its normal parallel to the elongation direction, and the further elongation does not change the layer orientation and results in permanent deformation. The corresponding stress−strain curve shows a quasi-plateau, which is a so-called “soft stress plateau”, over a wide strain region from 100% to 450%. These indicate that the polymer chains folded in the oriented smectic LC elastomer at a strain of 100% are str.
Influence of plant growth on denitrification in relation to soil moisture and potassium nutrition

The effect of soil moisture content and K nutrition on denitrification measured by the acetylene inhibition method in short-term assays was studied in pot experiments with wheat on a low-nutrient sandy soil. Increasing the soil moisture from 60 to 80 or 100% water holding capacity (whc) increased denitrification which was further increased when the soil moisture was raised to 100% whc 24 h before the assay. This effect was not observed with unplanted pots. Denitrification increased with progressing plant age, provided sufficient nitrate was present. N2O production was particularly high after removal of the shoots as decaying root matter improved conditions for denitrification. Optimal plant growth reduced denitrification through more rapid nitrate uptake and lower soil moisture, whereas poor plant growth, induced by K deficiency, restricted NO3 uptake and sustained high soil moisture causing higher N2O production. In a separate experiment it was demonstrated that denitrification occurs mainly in the immediate vicinity of the roots.
Parasympathetic-Sympathetic Causal Interactions Assessed by Time-Varying Multivariate Autoregressive Modeling of Electrodermal Activity and Heart-Rate-Variability

Objective: Most of the bodily functions are regulated by multiple interactions between the parasympathetic (PNS) and sympathetic (SNS) nervous system. In this study, we propose a novel framework to quantify the causal flow of information between PNS and SNS through the analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) and electrodermal activity (EDA) signals. Methods: Our method is based on a time-varying (TV) multivariate autoregressive model of EDA and HRV time-series and incorporates physiologically inspired assumptions by estimating the Directed Coherence in a specific frequency range. The statistical significance of the observed interactions is assessed by a bootstrap procedure purposely developed to infer causalities in the presence of both TV model coefficients and TV model residuals (i.e., heteroskedasticity). We tested our method on two different experiments designed to trigger a sympathetic response, i.e., a hand-grip task (HG) and a mental-computation task (MC). Results: Our results show a parasympathetic driven interaction in the resting state, which is consistent across different studies. The onset of the stressful stimulation triggers a cascade of events characterized by the presence or absence of the PNS-SNS interaction and changes in the directionality. Despite similarities between the results related to the two tasks, we reveal differences in the dynamics of the PNS-SNS interaction, which might reflect different regulatory mechanisms associated with different stressors. Conclusion: We estimate causal coupling between PNS and SNS through MVAR modeling of EDA and HRV time-series. Significance: Our results suggest promising future applicability to investigate more complex contexts such as affective and pathological scenarios.
Factors Influencing Health Care Workers’ Willingness to Respond to Duty during Infectious Disease Outbreaks and Bioterrorist Events: An Integrative Review

Abstract Background: Infectious disease emergencies are increasingly becoming part of the health care delivery landscape, having implications to not only individuals and the public, but also on those expected to respond to these emergencies. Health care workers (HCWs) are perhaps the most important asset in an infectious disease emergency, yet these individuals have their own barriers and facilitators to them being willing or able to respond. Aim: The purpose of this review was to identify factors affecting HCW willingness to respond (WTR) to duty during infectious disease outbreaks and/or bioterrorist events. Methods: An integrative literature review methodology was utilized to conduct a structured search of the literature including CINAHL, Medline, Embase, and PubMed databases using key terms and phrases. PRISMA guidelines were used to report the search outcomes and all eligible literature was screened with those included in the final review collated and appraised using a quality assessment tool. Results: A total of 149 papers were identified from the database search. Forty papers were relevant following screening, which highlighted facilitators of WTR to include: availability of personal protective equipment (PPE)/vaccine, level of training, professional ethics, family and personal safety, and worker support systems. A number of barriers were reported to prevent WTR for HCWs, such as: concern and perceived risk, interpersonal factors, job-level factors, and outbreak characteristics. Conclusions: By comprehensively identifying the facilitators and barriers to HCWs’ WTR during infectious disease outbreaks and/or bioterrorist events, strategies can be identified and implemented to improve WTR and thus improve HCW and public safety.
Three-dimensional reconstruction of a whole insect reveals its phloem sap-sucking mechanism at nano-resolution

Using serial block-face scanning electron microscopy, we report on the internal 3D structures of the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) at nanometer resolution for the first time. Within the reconstructed organs and tissues, we found many novel and fascinating internal structures in the planthopper such as naturally occurring three four-way rings connecting adjacent spiracles to facilitate efficient gas exchange, and fungal endosymbionts in a single huge insect cell occupying 22% of the abdomen volume to enable the insect to live on plant sap. To understand the muscle and stylet movement during phloem sap-sucking, the cephalic skeleton and muscles were reconstructed in feeding nymphs. The results revealed an unexpected contraction of the protractors of the stylets and suggested a novel feeding model for the phloem sap-sucking.
Bevacizumab and neurodevelopmental outcomes of preterm infants with retinopathy of prematurity: should we still worry?

Abstract Aim Bevacizumab may affect preterm infants’ ongoing organogenesis with its antiangiogenic effects. We aimed to compare neurodevelopmental outcomes (NDO) of preterm infants treated for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) with laser photocoagulation (LP), intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) or both treatments, and to find out the effects of IVB on NDO. Methods Medical records of preterm infants with ROP treatment and evaluation for NDO were retrospectively collected between 1 January 2017 and 31 June 2019. Primary outcome was Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development 3rd Edition (Bayley-III) scores including cognitive, language, and motor scores. Secondary outcomes were neurodevelopmental impairments (NDIs) classified as the presence of any of cerebral palsy (CP), sensorineural/mixed hearing loss, visual impairment, and developmental delay with any Bayley-III score <85. Severe NDI (sNDI) was defined as presence of any of CP with a Gross Motor Function Classification Scale of 3, 4, or 5, requirement for hearing aids or cochlear implants, bilateral visual impairment or severe developmental delay with any Bayley-III score <70. Results LP, IVB, and IVB + LP groups included 32, 12, and 10 patients, respectively. Patent ductus arteriosus treatment rates were as 68.7, 75, and 90% in groups, respectively (p<.05 between LP and IVB + LP groups). Grades 3 and 4 intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) was lower in LP group than IVB group (9.4% vs. 33.4%, p<.05) while IVB + LP group had no grades 3 and 4 IVH. Other neonatal characteristics were similar (p > .05). CP was in 50%, 28%, and 0% of LP, IVB, and IVB + LP groups (p<.05). There was no difference in median Bayley-III cognitive, language, and motor scores between groups (p > .05). Moderate and severe developmental delays were similar between groups (p > .05) whereas IVB group had more moderate cognitive delay; and more severe cognitive, language, and motor delay. NDI rate was not different (59.3%, 50%, and 40% in groups, p > .05). sNDI was highest in IVB group but not statistically significant (31.2, 41.7, and 10% in groups, p > .05). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that ROP treatment type and grades 3 and 4 IVH did not have any significant effect on NDO (p > .05). Odds of NDI was not effected by ROP treatment type (p > .05). Conclusions Patients treated with bevacizumab should be carefully monitored for neurodevelopmental problems, although the frequency of grades 3 and 4 IVH in the bevacizumab group is thought to contribute to higher rates of sNDI and Bayley-III score <70.
An evaluation of occupant dynamics during moderate-to-high speed side impacts

The present study examined trends in occupant dynamics during side impact testing in vehicle models over the past decade. “Moderate-to-high” speed side impacts (delta-V ≥15 km/h) were analyzed. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) side impact crash data was examined (N = 126). The test procedure involved a moving deformable barrier (MDB) impacting the sides of stationary vehicles at 50.0 km/h. Instrumented 5th-percentile female SID IIs dummies were positioned in the driver and left rear passenger seats. Occupant head, neck, shoulder, torso, spine, and pelvis/femur responses (times histories, peaks, and time-to-peak values) were evaluated and compared to injury assessment reference values (IARVs). The effects of delta-V, vehicle model year, vehicle body type, and occupant seating position on dynamic responses were examined. The vehicle lateral delta-Vs ranged from 15.9 to 34.5 km/h. The MY2018-2020 demonstrated lower peak dynamics than MY2010-2013, for the driver head acceleration (53.7 ± 11.3g vs 46.4 ± 11.6g), shoulder lateral forces (1.7 ± 0.7 kN vs 1.5 ± 0.2 kN), average rib deflection (29.8 ± 8.3 mm vs 28.4 ± 6.2 mm), spine accelerations at T4 (51.4 ± 23.4g vs 39.6 ± 5.9g) and T12 (56.3 ± 18.5g vs 45.2 ± 9.6g), iliac forces (1.9 ± 1.0 kN vs 1.2 ± 0.9 kN), and acetabular forces (1.9 ± 0.8 kN vs 1.3 ± 0.5 kN). The driver indicated statistically higher dynamic responses than the left rear passenger. Higher wheelbase vehicles generally showed lower occupant loading than the smaller vehicles. In conclusion, a reduction in occupant loading and risks for injury was observed in vehicle models over the past decade. This provides further insight into injury mechanisms, occupant dynamics simulations, and seat/restraint design.
‘Blue toes’ following vaccination with the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine

Highlights: COVID toes can be encountered in young individuals during acute COVID-19 infection while it results from the direct action of Spike protein on vessels. We report the case of COVID toes during the French campaign of vaccination that occurred 4 days after the vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine against COVID-19.
Efficient Style-Corpus Constrained Learning for Photorealistic Style Transfer

Photorealistic style transfer is a challenging task, which demands the stylized image remains real. Existing methods are still suffering from unrealistic artifacts and heavy computational cost. In this paper, we propose a novel Style-Corpus Constrained Learning (SCCL) scheme to address these issues. The style-corpus with the style-specific and style-agnostic characteristics simultaneously is proposed to constrain the stylized image with the style consistency among different samples, which improves photorealism of stylization output. By using adversarial distillation learning strategy, a simple fast-to-execute network is trained to substitute previous complex feature transforms models, which reduces the computational cost significantly. Experiments demonstrate that our method produces rich-detailed photorealistic images, with 13 ~ 50 times faster than the state-of-the-art method (WCT2).