Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
'I know his needs better than my own' – carers’ support needs when caring for a person with dementia

Background Caring for a person with dementia predisposes informal carers (carers) to mental and physical disability. Carers tend to focus on the needs of the person with dementia and have difficulties expressing their own needs for support. No instrument has yet been developed to directly assess carers’ support needs. The aim of this study is to clarify the main categories of carers’ support needs to inform future development of an instrument to assess carers’ support needs. Methods A qualitative approach combining focus group interviews with carers and professionals and individual interviews were used. Results Carers’ support needs were categorised into four areas: (i) daily life when caring for a person with dementia, (ii) focus on themselves, (iii) maintain own well‐being, and (iv) communicate and interact with surroundings. Discussion Carers have support needs in common regardless of the relation to the person with dementia. Carers tend to focus on the needs of the person with dementia, thus not knowing their own needs. The four main categories clarified in this study may inform the foundation of developing an instrument to facilitate dialogue between carers and professionals with the purpose of assessing carers’ support needs.
Pilots' Visual Scanning Behaviors During an Instrument Landing System Approach.

BACKGROUND: Since eye movement can provide a reliable index of the attention allocation, which can assist in understanding pilots' cognitive state, this study investigated the effect of pilots' experience and the autopilot mode on their attention allocation on the Primary Flight Display (PFD) and Multi-Function Display (MFD) during an approach task.METHODS: There were 16 pilots who were classified into two levels of aviation expertise depending on the flight hours, and required to fly an Instrument Landing System approach. Their visual scanning behaviors were recorded through an eye tracker and analyzed based on fixation number and dwell time.RESULTS: The results revealed that the pilot experience level, instrument panel and autopilot mode all had significant impact on the fixation time ratio and dwell time. The pilots fixated most often on the PFD and had shorter dwell time. Furthermore, they had a lower fixation number and shorter dwell time on the PFD and MFD when the autopilot was off that they should allocate visual resources to the others (e.g., out-of-the-window) and obtain more information to maintain overall situation awareness under higher time pressure. Compared to pilots with more expertise, pilots with less expertise had an increased fixation number and decreased dwell time on the airspeed after turning off the autopilot.DISCUSSION: The present study indicated that the pilots had different visual scanning modes according to the flight mode and their experience. We expect that pilots' visual scanning behaviors during tasks will help the training and the design of the human-machine interaction.Lu Y, Zheng Y, Wang Z, Fu S. Pilots' visual scanning behaviors during an instrument landing system approach. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2020; 91(6):511-517.
PLANT NATRIURETIC PEPTIDE A and Its Putative Receptor PNP-R2 Antagonize Salicylic Acid–Mediated Signaling and Cell Death

Intercellular signaling mediated by PNP-A and its putative receptor protein PNP-R2 counteracts SA-mediated plant stress responses. The plant stress hormone salicylic acid (SA) participates in local and systemic acquired resistance, which eventually leads to whole-plant resistance to bacterial pathogens. However, if SA-mediated signaling is not appropriately controlled, plants incur defense-associated fitness costs such as growth inhibition and cell death. Despite its importance, to date only a few components counteracting the SA-primed stress responses have been identified in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). These include other plant hormones such as jasmonic acid and abscisic acid, and proteins such as LESION SIMULATING DISEASE1, a transcription coregulator. Here, we describe PLANT NATRIURETIC PEPTIDE A (PNP-A), a functional analog to vertebrate atrial natriuretic peptides, that appears to antagonize the SA-mediated plant stress responses. While loss of PNP-A potentiates SA-mediated signaling, exogenous application of synthetic PNP-A or overexpression of PNP-A significantly compromises the SA-primed immune responses. Moreover, we identify a plasma membrane–localized receptor-like protein, PNP-R2, that interacts with PNP-A and is required to initiate the PNP-A–mediated intracellular signaling. In summary, our work identifies a peptide and its putative cognate receptor as counteracting both SA-mediated signaling and SA-primed cell death in Arabidopsis.
Association of self-esteem, personality, stress and gender with performance of a resuscitation team: A simulation-based study

Background Gender composition, stress and leadership of a resuscitation team influence CPR performance. Whether psychological variables such as self-esteem, motivation and personality traits are associated with resuscitation performance, stress levels and gender of rescuers during a cardiac arrest scenario remains uncertain. Methods We included 108 medical students in this prospective, observational simulator study. We videotaped the resuscitation performance and assessed self-esteem, perceived stress-overload and personality traits using validated questionnaires. In addition, we analysed leadership utterances and ECG data of all participants during the simulation. The primary endpoint was cardiopulmonary resuscitation performance, defined as hands-on time within the first 180 sec. Secondary outcomes included first meaningful measure of resuscitation, leadership statements of group leaders and physiological stress parameters of rescuers. Results Adjusted for group size and leadership designation, mean self-esteem of students was significantly associated with hands-on time (adjusted regression coefficient 7.94 (95%CI 2.61 to 13.27), p<0.01). The personality trait conscientiousness was positively associated with hands-on time (adjusted regression coefficient 38.4, [95%CI 7.41 to 69.38, p = 0.02]). However, after additional adjustment for self-esteem, this association was no longer significant. Further, agreeableness of team leaders was significantly associated with longer hands-on time (adjusted regression coefficient 20.87 [95%CI 3.81 to 37.94], p = 0.02). Openness to experience was negatively associated with heart rate reactivity (-5.92 (95%CI -10 to -1.85), p<0.01). Male students showed significantly higher (mean, [±SD]) self-esteem levels (24.6 [±3.8] vs. 22.0 [±4.4], p<0.01), expressed significantly more leadership statements (7.9 [±7.8] vs. 4.6 [±3.8], p<0.01) and initiated first resuscitation measures more often (n, [%]) compared to female students (16, [23] vs. 7, [12], p = 0.01). Conclusion This simulator study found that self-esteem of resuscitation teams and agreeableness of team leaders of inexperienced students was associated with cardiopulmonary resuscitation performance. Whether enhancing these factors during resuscitation trainings serve for better performance remains to be studied.
Limitations of Incident Power Density as a Proxy for Induced Electromagnetic Fields

The most recent safety guidelines define basic restrictions for electromagnetic field exposure at frequencies more than 6 GHz in terms of spatial‐ and time‐averaged transmitted power density inside the body. To enable easy‐to‐perform evaluations in situ, the reference levels for the incident power density were derived. In this study, we examined whether compliance with the reference levels always ensures compliance with basic restrictions. This was evaluated at several distances from different antennas (dipole, loop, slot, patch, and helix). Three power density definitions based on integration of the perpendicular real part of the Poynting vector, the real part of its three vector components, and its modulus were compared for averaging areas of λ2/16, 4 cm2 (below 30 GHz) and 1 cm2 (30 GHz). In the reactive near‐field (d < λ/(2π)), the transmitted power density can be underestimated if an antenna operates at the free space exposure limit. This underestimation may exceed 6 dB (4.0 times) and depends on the field source due to different coupling mechanisms. It is frequency‐dependent for fixed‐size averaging areas (4 and 1 cm2). At larger distances, transmission can be larger than the theoretical plane‐wave transmission coefficient due to backscattering between the body and field source. Using the modulus of the incident Poynting vector yields the smallest underestimation. © 2020 Bioelectromagnetics Society.
Evolution in statistics: P values, statistical significance, kayaks, and walking trees.

The scientific literature is littered with the adjective significant and the descriptive phrase statistically significant. Established members of the statistical community now recommend that a scientific paper simply report an actual P value divorced from any word or phrase that reflects statistical significance (Hurlbert SH, Levine RA, Utts J. Am Stat 73, Suppl 1: 352– 357, 2019). In this EDITORIAL, I illustrate why this deceptively simple change is important.
Methodological Development of Combination Drug and Radiotherapy in Basic and Clinical Research

Newer technical improvements in radiation oncology have been rapidly implemented in recent decades, allowing an improved therapeutic ratio. The development of strategies using local and systemic treatments concurrently, mainly targeted therapies, has however plateaued. Targeted molecular compounds and immunotherapy are increasingly being incorporated as the new standard of care for a wide array of cancers. A better understanding of possible prior methodology issues is therefore required and should be integrated into upcoming early clinical trials including individualized radiotherapy–drug combinations. The outcome of clinical trials is influenced by the validity of the preclinical proofs of concept, the impact on normal tissue, the robustness of biomarkers and the quality of the delivery of radiation. Herein, key methodological aspects are discussed with the aim of optimizing the design and implementation of future precision drug–radiotherapy trials.
Agronomic evaluation of rice cultivation systems for water and grain productivity

Field experiments were conducted during summer (March–July) and kharif (June–September), 2008 at the wetland farm, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India, to study the performance of different rice cultivation methods on productivity and water usage using the hybrid CORH-3 as a test crop. Treatments consisted of different rice cultivation methods, namely, transplanted rice (conventional), direct sown rice (wet seeded), alternate wetting and drying method (AWD), system of rice intensification (SRI) and aerobic rice cultivation. Results revealed that maximum number of tillers m−2, higher shoot and root length at maturity were recorded under SRI followed by transplanted rice, while aerobic rice produced lower growth parameters in both the seasons. Chlorophyll content at flowering was higher under SRI in two seasons studied (42.74 and 39.48 SPAD value, respectively) and transplanted rice compared to aerobic rice and AWD. In both summer and kharif seasons, SRI produced higher grain yield (6014 and 6682 kg ha−1), followed by transplanted rice (5732 and 6262 kg ha−1), while the lowest grain yield (3582 and 3933 kg ha−1) was recorded under aerobic rice cultivation. Under SRI, 5 and 6.7% increase in grain yield and 12.6 and 14.8% water saving were noticed compared to transplanted rice, respectively, during summer and kharif seasons. In respect to water productivity, the SRI method of rice cultivation registered the highest water productivity (0.43and 0.47 kg m−3), followed by AWD and aerobic rice cultivation. The conventional rice cultivation and direct sown rice produced lower grain yield per unit quantity of water used.
Geographic access to United States SARS-CoV-2 testing sites highlights healthcare disparities and may bias transmission estimates

We paired high-resolution travel-time metrics with a SARS-CoV-2 testing location database in the United States. Median travel time to testing sites is longer in counties with lower population density, and a higher percent of minority and uninsured individuals. Differential geographic accessibility to testing can recapitulate healthcare disparities and bias transmission estimates.
Epidemiological Profile of Health and Behaviors in Middle Childhood

This is the first study in which a comprehensive epidemiological profile of the middle-childhood population in the United States is presented. BrightcoveDefaultPlayer10.1542/6138642840001PEDS-VA_2019-2244 Video Abstract OBJECTIVES: In this study, we present an epidemiological profile of middle childhood (children aged 6–11 years) using the 2016–2017 National Survey of Children’s Health. METHODS: We used data from the 2016 and 2017 National Survey of Children’s Health, a national cross-sectional, address-based survey administered annually. The study sample included 21 539 children aged 6 to 11 years. Survey items chosen to create this profile of middle childhood described sociodemographic and family characteristics, health status, and behaviors. Weighted descriptive and bivariate analyses were applied to examine the population and differences by subgroups. RESULTS: Most children aged 6 to 11 years were in excellent or very good physical health (89%) and oral health (73%). More than 20% were considered to have special health care needs, and 20% had at least 2 health conditions. Allergies and asthma were the most prevalent physical conditions, whereas attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and behavioral or conduct problems were the most prevalent of emotional, behavioral, and/or developmental disorders. More than half of children participated in sports or other activities for at least 60 minutes per day, whereas more than one-third of children had ≥4 hours of parent-reported screen time per day, and nearly two-thirds received ≥9 hours of sleep per night. We found several significant differences in screen time and activity behaviors as children aged and by sex. CONCLUSIONS: The middle-childhood population is generally healthy, yet several patterns observed with respect to age and sex indicate a need to examine the emergence and progression of select health-risk behaviors. In this study, we highlight opportunities to implement targeted interventions at earlier ages and different points along the life course.
Invasive Tracheobronchial Aspergillosis in Critically Ill Patients with Severe Influenza.

RATIONALE Invasive tracheobronchial aspergillosis (ITBA) is an uncommon, but severe clinical form of Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis (IPA) in which the fungal infection is entirely or predominantly confined to the tracheobronchial tree. OBJECTIVES To analyze diagnostic and prognostic differences between tracheobronchial aspergillosis and pulmonary aspergillosis without tracheobronchial lesions among patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with severe influenza. METHODS This retrospective, observational study included critically ill patients with influenza associated with pulmonary aspergillosis from 3 hospital ICUs between 2010 and 2019. Patient characteristics, clinical and mycological data at admission and during ICU stay were collected in a database to evaluate variables in the two groups. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Thirty-five patients admitted to the ICU with severe influenza and pulmonary aspergillosis were included. Ten patients were included in the ITBA group (n=10/35; 28.6%) and 25 patients in the No ITBA group. The ITBA group comprised more patients with active smoking, diabetes mellitus and higher severity scores (SAPSII). Ninety-day mortality in the ITBA and No ITBA groups was 90% and 44% respectively (p=0.02). Moreover, significantly higher serum beta-D glucan and galactomannan, and broncho-alveolar lavage fluid (BALF) galactomannan levels were observed in the ITBA group compared to the No ITBA group (p<0.0001, p=0.003 and p=0.008, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Invasive tracheobronchial aspergillosis was associated with higher severity scores, mortality, serum and BALF Galactomannan and Beta-D Glucan levels than IPA patients without tracheobronchial lesions. ITBA should be systematically researched by bronchoscopic examination in ICU patients with concomitant pulmonary aspergillosis and influenza.
Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southern Africa

Christopher DK Cook (2004) Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands ISBN 90-5782-142-7 Info@backhuys.com, www.backhuys.com Hard cover, viii + 282 pages, €86.00 African Journal of Aquatic Science 2004, 29(2): 283–284
Complete Genome Sequences of SARS-CoV-2 Strains Detected in Malaysia

We sequenced four severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genomes from Malaysia during the second wave of infection and found unique mutations which suggest local evolution. Circulating Malaysian strains represent introductions from different countries, particularly during the first wave of infection. Genome sequencing is important for understanding local epidemiology. ABSTRACT We sequenced four severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genomes from Malaysia during the second wave of infection and found unique mutations which suggest local evolution. Circulating Malaysian strains represent introductions from different countries, particularly during the first wave of infection. Genome sequencing is important for understanding local epidemiology.
The role of 217-Hz ELF magnetic fields emitted from GSM mobile phones on electrochemotherapy mechanisms

ABSTRACT Electrochemotherapy (ECT), the combination of electric pulses (EPs) and an anticancer drug, is a type of cancer treatment method. We investigated the effect of 217-Hz magnetic fields (MFs) similar to that generated by GSM900 mobile phones, as intervening factors, on proposed mechanisms of ECT including permeability, tumor hypoxia and immune system response. The 4T1 cells were exposed to extremely low-frequency (ELF)-MFs at 93, 120 or 159 µT intensities, generated by Helmholtz coils 10 min, and then put in individual groups, comprising no treatment, chemotherapy, EPs or ECT. The cell viability was evaluated. Then, two treatment protocols were selected for in vivo experiments. The mice with 4T1 tumor cells were exposed to ELF-MFs 10 min/day until the day their tumors reached 8 mm in diameter. Then, the tumors were treated to ECT. Tumor hypoxia and immune system response were analyzed through immunohistochemistry assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique, respectively. The results in vitro indicated a significant decreased ECT efficacy of 60 V/cm, 5 kHz at the flux density of 93 µT. The results in vivo showed that pre-exposure to ELF-MFs could increase tumor hypoxia induced by ECT. In addition, exposure to ELF-MFs before ECT caused a significant increase in interferon-γ/interleukin-4 in comparison with ECT alone. More studies, including studies on the effect of ELF-MFs emitted from mobile phones on tumor volume changes induced by ECT, are needed to elucidate how the process of ECT is influenced by the MFs.
Functional Properties of Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Romanian Fermented Vegetables

A total of 139 lactic acid bacterium (LAB) strains isolated from Romanian traditionally fermented vegetables were screened for the ability to produce exopolysaccharides and for their antagonistic activity against a set of nine LAB strains, three Bacillus strains, and four Gram-negative bacteria. Eighty-five of the tested strains showed a variable antimicrobial activity against Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 1911, 35 of the strains showed a limited inhibition zone against Escherichia coli ATCC25922, and 26 strains against Salmonella enterica ATCC 14024, while 19 strains showed inhibition against one or all three Bacillus strains used as indicators. None of the tested strains showed an antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923. Several strains showed antibacterial activity against more than one indicator strain. For instance, Lactobacillus plantarum 307, Lactobacillus brevis 308, and Lactobacillus plantarum/pentosus 358 were active against five of the indicator strains used, while other 23 LAB were active against three indicator strains. In the case of two strains, namely Leuconostoc citreum 344 and Lactobacillus brevis 183, the activity was maintained after neutralizing the pH of the cell-free supernatant likely due to the production of bacteriocins. The gel permeation chromatography-based screening revealed seven EPS-producing LAB strains. Two of the positive strains, namely Leuconostoc citreum 177 and Leuconostoc citreum 52, have been shown to produce large amounts of EPS, of about 20 g/L. All isolated EPS have a high molecular mass, of above 1400 KDa, and a monomer composition dominated by the presence of glucose.
Needle dark respiration in relation to within-crown position in Scots pine trees grown in long-term elevation of CO2 concentration and temperature

The spatial distribution of leaf respiration in relation to specific needle area (SLA) and nitrogen concentration was studied in Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris) grown in environment-controlled chambers for 4 yr under ambient conditions (CON), elevated CO2 concentration (ambient + 350 mumol; EC), elevated temperature (ambient + 2-3degreesC; ET) or a combination of EC and ET (EC + ET). Dark respiration rates within the crown were measured on attached needles using a portable photosynthesis analyzer. Respiration rates decreased with increasing within-crown depth and were linearly related to within-crown positions, regardless of the treatments. The needles in the different depths in the crown had relatively similar responses of respiration to EC, ET and EC + ET. Respiration rates were reduced by EC relative to CON at any given within-crown position, but were increased by ET and EC + ET. Respiration positively correlated with N concentration and negatively with SLA on an area basis. It is assumed that respiratory acclimation to a change in light environment can occur irrespective of treatment. We suggested that SLA is a key determinant of respiration.
Understanding Energetic Origins of Product Specificity of SET8 from QM/MM Free Energy Simulations: What Causes the Stop of Methyl Addition during Histone Lysine Methylation?

Biological consequences of histone lysine methylation depend on the methylation states of the lysine residues on the tails of histone proteins that are methylated by protein lysine methyltransferases (PKMTs). Therefore, the ability of PKMTs to direct specific degrees of methylation (i.e., product specificity) is an important property for regulation of chromatin structure and gene expression. Here, the free energy simulations based on quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) potentials are performed for the first, second, and third methyl transfers from S-adenosyl-l-methionine to the e-amino group of the target lysine/methyl lysine in SET8, one of the important PKMTs. The key questions addressed in this paper include the energetic origin of the product specificity and the reasons for the change of the product specificity as a result of the replacement of Tyr334 by Phe. The free energy barriers for the three methyl transfers in SET8 as well as in the mutant obtained from the simulations are found to .