Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
AFP2 inhibits ABA responses during germination without ABI5 degradation but DWAs reduce desiccation tolerance

Overexpression of ABI5/ABF interacting proteins (AFPs) results in extreme ABA resistance of seeds and failure to acquire desiccation tolerance, at least in part through effects on chromatin modification. This study tests the hypothesis that the AFPs promote germination by also functioning as adapters for E3 ligases that ubiquitinate ABI5, leading to its degradation. Interactions between AFPs and two well-characterized classes of E3 ligases targeting ABI5, DWD HYPERSENSITIVE TO ABA (DWA)s and KEEP ON GOING (KEG), were analyzed by yeast two-hybrid, bimolecular fluorescence complementation, and genetic assays. Although the AFPs and E3 ligases showed weak direct interactions, loss of function for the E3 ligases did not impair ABA-resistance conferred by overexpression of the YFP-AFP2 fusion. Comparison of ABI5 and AFP2 levels in these lines showed that AFP2 accumulation increased during germination, but that ABI5 degradation followed germination, demonstrating that AFP2 controls ABA sensitivity during germination independently of ABI5 degradation. Surprisingly, AFP2 overexpression in the dwa1 dwa2 mutant background produced the unusual combination of extreme ABA resistance and desiccation tolerance, creating an opportunity to separate the underlying biochemical characteristics of ABA sensitivity and desiccation tolerance that we investigated by quantitative proteomics. Our analysis identified at least three-fold more differentially accumulated seed proteins than previous studies. Comparison of dry seed proteomes of the different genotypes allowed us to separate and refine the changes in protein accumulation patterns correlating with desiccation tolerance independently of ABA sensitivity, or vice versa, to a subset of cold-induced and defense stress-responsive proteins and signaling regulators. Summary Sentence Extreme ABA resistance conferred by overexpression of AFP2 is not mediated by interactions with E3 ligases, but the dwa background maintains desiccation tolerance despite ABA resistance.
Personality, Coping Strategy, and Quality of Life of Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Patients with chronic kidney disease are subject to prolonged medical treatment that might affect their quality of life. The purpose of this research was to investigate the correlation between personality, coping strategies, and quality of life in patients with chronic kidney disease. 40 Participants (25-55 years old) were recruited using purposive sampling and presented with three instruments: the Indonesian versions of NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO PI-R), Ways of Copings, and Kidney Disease Quality of Life-36 (KDQOL-36). Results showed a significant correlation between all variables after regression analysis was applied. Further results indicate certain coping strategies were related to an individual’s perceptions of kidney disease. A significant correlation was found between three personality traits: neuroticism, extraversion and conscientiousness, and quality of life. Results also found that female patients have a better quality of life than men. Further research is needed to examine further the crucial role of social support and ethnic differences. Psychological intervention programs to provide psychoeducation on how to recognize stress symptoms and better stress management for patients with chronic kidney disease are also warranted.
Insomnia, Pre-Sleep Arousal, Psychosocial Factors and Changes in Sleep Pattern during the Second Wave Lockdown of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Georgia

Studies performed across the COVID-19 pandemic waves point to the persistent impact of the pandemic on sleep and mental health. We expand these data by examining insomnia, pre-sleep arousal, psychosocial factors, and retrospective changes in sleep pattern during the COVID-19 second wave lockdown period in Georgia. Data were collected through an online survey (n = 1117). The prevalence rate of probable insomnia disorder was 24.2%. Clinically relevant somatic and cognitive pre-sleep arousal was present in 49.8% and 58.0% of participants, and high levels of anxiety, depression and social isolation were found in 47.0%, 37.3%, 47.2% of respondents, respectively. We observed high prevalence rates of worse sleep quality, delayed bedtimes and risetimes, longer sleep latencies, higher awakenings and shorter sleep durations, relative to the pre-pandemic period. COVID-19-infected participants showed more severe sleep and mental problems. Specific predictors differentially affected insomnia, somatic and cognitive pre-sleep arousal. Depression and COVID-19 infection emerged as vulnerability factors for pre-sleep arousal, which, in turn, was associated with a higher predisposition to insomnia disorder. We confirm the strong deteriorating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep and psychosocial well-being during the second wave lockdown period. The specific association between pre-sleep arousal, insomnia, and psychosocial factors is of clinical relevance for the prevention of severity and persistence of sleep and mental problems across the repeated lockdown/reopening waves. Modulation of pre-sleep arousal may prove beneficial to implement targeted interventions.
Update on Management of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome for Dermatologists

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the commonest endocrine disorder in women having wide range of clinical manifestation. These women may present with reproductive, dermatological, metabolic, psychological, or neoplastic implications from adolescence to menopause. The common dermatological manifestations include hirsutism, acne, alopecia, or acanthosis nigricans. Women presenting with these dermatological manifestations must be evaluated for PCOS. A multidisciplinary team approach involving a reproductive endocrinologist, dermatologist, psychologist/psychiatrist, dietician, and sometimes a bariatric surgeon should be undertaken for long-term management of these patients. Unless metabolic and underlying endocrinal disturbances arecorrected and simultaneous life-style modification is adopted, cosmetic treatment would give only temporary relief.
Examining the Factors Impact People’s Intention to Adoption of E-Banking in Mogadishu-Somalia

E-banking last few years has become one of the most common popular banking systems. Most banks are improved by adopting this new technology, allowing access to a series of banking services anytime and anywhere. This research attempts to build the knowledge or understand on examining the factors that affect people’s intention to use e-banking in Mogadishu-Somalia contextual. This paper used the survey questionnaires to conduct online interviews to solve the research questions of the quantitative and qualitative design, primary sample data from 452 e-banking users on residence in Mogadishu. A study model was proposed by combining the conceptual framework (TAM) to construct perceived credibility, risk, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to analyze the collected data. The outcome reveals that perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived risk, perceived credibility all have a positive impact intention to the adoption of e-banking. The study indicates the enhancing credibility and satisfaction with e-banking users in Somalia.
Customer Behavior Relative to Gap Between Platform and Train

Managing gap safety at the train platform interface has been an on-going concern for passenger rail systems. The major questions this research seeks to answer are what customer behaviors are associated with the risk of gap injury incidents and what are potential ways to reduce these behavioral risks. To answer these questions, the research approach is two pronged. The first prong analyzes and reviews the NJ TRANSIT Rail accident data and reports to gain a clear picture of the accidents in relation to demographic, seasonal, and temporal characteristics. The second prong involves observational studies of passengers boarding trains to identify behavioral patterns that are associated with risk of gap accidents. An analysis of gap injuries on NJ TRANSIT Rail found that for 2005 to 2008, gap injuries accounted for 25 percent of passenger injuries on NJ TRANSIT Rail. The majority of gap injuries occur during the AM and PM peak periods. For gap injuries the percent of injuries peaks for the very young, under 10 years old. For both gap and non-gap injuries, the majority of the injured were women. Sixty-six percent of gap injuries occurred while passengers were boarding. The study indicates that young children were particularly vulnerable to gap injuries while detraining. Seventy-eight percent of detraining passengers and 88 percent of boarding passengers were observed to look down while detraining or boarding. Based on the analysis of the data, recommendations on strategies for reducing gap accidents include additional Passenger Information, Platform and Train Treatments, Training and Public Awareness Campaign.
SHIP-MR and Radiology: 12 Years of Whole-Body Magnetic Resonance Imaging in a Single Center

The Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP), a population-based study from a rural state in northeastern Germany with a relatively poor life expectancy, supplemented its comprehensive examination program in 2008 with whole-body MR imaging at 1.5 T (SHIP-MR). We reviewed more than 100 publications that used the SHIP-MR data and analyzed which sequences already produced fruitful scientific outputs and which manuscripts have been referenced frequently. Upon reviewing the publications about imaging sequences, those that used T1-weighted structured imaging of the brain and a gradient-echo sequence for R2* mapping obtained the highest scientific output; regarding specific body parts examined, most scientific publications focused on MR sequences involving the brain and the (upper) abdomen. We conclude that population-based MR imaging in cohort studies should define more precise goals when allocating imaging time. In addition, quality control measures might include recording the number and impact of published work, preferably on a bi-annual basis and starting 2 years after initiation of the study. Structured teaching courses may enhance the desired output in areas that appear underrepresented.
Hormonal Influences on Pod–Seed Intercommunication during Pea Fruit Development

Angiosperms (from the Greek “angeion”—vessel, and “sperma”—seed) are defined by the presence of specialised tissue surrounding their developing seeds. This tissue is known as the ovary and once a flower has been fertilised, it gives rise to the fruit. Fruits serve various functions in relation to the seeds they contain: they often form tough physical barriers to prevent mechanical damage, they may form specialised structures that aid in dispersal, and they act as a site of nutrient and signal exchange between the parent plant and its offspring. The close coordination of fruit growth and seed development is essential to successful reproduction. Firstly, fertilisation of the ovules is required in most angiosperm species to initiate fruit growth. Secondly, it is crucial that seed dispersal facilitated by, e.g., fruit opening or ripening occurs only once the seeds have matured. These highly coordinated events suggest that seeds and fruits are in close communication throughout development and represent a classical problem of interorgan signalling and organismic resource allocation. Here, we review the contribution of studies on the edible, unicarpellate legume Pisum sativum to our understanding of seed and fruit growth coregulation, and propose areas of new research in this species which may yield important advances for both pulse agronomy and natural science.
Improvement of Nanostructured Polythiophene Film Uniformity Using a Cruciform Electrode and Substrate Rotation in Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Polymerization

In atmospheric pressure (AP) plasma polymerization, increasing the effective volume of the plasma medium by expanding the plasma-generating region within the plasma reactor is considered a simple method to create regular and uniform polymer films. Here, we propose a newly designed AP plasma reactor with a cruciform wire electrode that can expand the discharge volume. Based on the plasma vessel configuration, which consists of a wide tube and a substrate stand, two tungsten wires crossed at 90 degrees are used as a common powered electrode in consideration of two-dimensional spatial expansion. In the wire electrode, which is partially covered by a glass capillary, discharge occurs at the boundary where the capillary terminates, so that the discharge region is divided into fourths along the cruciform electrode and the discharge volume can successfully expand. It is confirmed that although a discharge imbalance in the four regions of the AP plasma reactor can adversely affect the uniformity of the polymerized, nanostructured polymer film, rotating the substrate using a turntable can significantly improve the film uniformity. With this AP plasma reactor, nanostructured polythiophene (PTh) films are synthesized and the morphology and chemical properties of the PTh nanostructure, as well as the PTh-film uniformity and electrical properties, are investigated in detail.
The Frequency of EGFR and KRAS Mutations in the Turkish Population with Non-small Cell Lung Cancer and their Response to Erlotinib Therapy

Abstract In this study, profiles of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and Kirsten ras sarcoma (KRAS) mutations and response to erlotinib therapy have been investigated in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). DNA from 300 patients with NSCLC was extracted from paraf-fin-embedded tissues. After the extracted DNA was sequenced by pyrosequencing method, a total of 97 (32.0%) patients out of 300 were detected to carry an EGFR mutation and 75 (25.0%) patients out of 300 carried a KRAS mutation; 20 (6.6%) patients were detected to carry both of EGFR and KRAS mutations. The EGFR mutations were found to be statistically significant in female patients (48.0 women vs. 28.0% men, non smokers (49.0 vs. 26.0%) and adenocarcinoma (37.8 vs. squamous 26.8%). The overall rate of survival in patients receiving erlotinib therapy than in patients who did not. In patients without the KRAS mutation, the median overall survival rate was 161 ± 30 weeks with erlotinib therapy and 90 ± 13 weeks in patients without erlotinib therapy. In patients having KRAS mutation, the median overall survival was 98 ± 16 weeks with erlotinib therapy and 34 ± 16 weeks with no erlotinib therapy. In our study, we once again demonstrated that the presence of these mutations affected response to erlotinib therapy. The KRAS mutations negatively affected survival rate with and without erlotinib therapy.
Synergy Factorized Bilinear Network with a Dual Suppression Strategy for Brain Tumor Classification in MRI

Automatic brain tumor classification is a practicable means of accelerating clinical diagnosis. Recently, deep convolutional neural network (CNN) training with MRI datasets has succeeded in computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) systems. To further improve the classification performance of CNNs, there is still a difficult path forward with regards to subtle discriminative details among brain tumors. We note that the existing methods heavily rely on data-driven convolutional models while overlooking what makes a class different from the others. Our study proposes to guide the network to find exact differences among similar tumor classes. We first present a “dual suppression encoding” block tailored to brain tumor MRIs, which diverges two paths from our network to refine global orderless information and local spatial representations. The aim is to use more valuable clues for correct classes by reducing the impact of negative global features and extending the attention of salient local parts. Then we introduce a “factorized bilinear encoding” layer for feature fusion. The aim is to generate compact and discriminative representations. Finally, the synergy between these two components forms a pipeline that learns in an end-to-end way. Extensive experiments exhibited superior classification performance in qualitative and quantitative evaluation on three datasets.
Prevalence and Predictive Factors of Hypertension Among People Living With HIV in Kebbi State, Nigeria: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract The estimated number of people living with HIV (PLWH) globally in 2018 was 38 million, with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for 70%. Antiretroviral therapy has reduced morbidity among PLWH and has resulted in HIV now being considered a manageable chronic disease rather than a fatal one. The increase in the survival rate of PLWH has led to the emergence of chronic diseases, especially hypertension. The study aimed to assess the prevalence and predictive factors associated with hypertension among PLWH in Kebbi State, Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional study was adopted. The blood pressure of 301 PLWH was measured with an automated sphygmomanometer device. The median age of the respondents was 37 years. Females accounted for 61% of the respondents, and the majority were married (55.1%). The prevalence of hypertension was 17%. Older age, lack of exercise, and increasing weight were identified as the predictive factors of hypertension.
Recent Laboratory Advances in Diagnostics and Monitoring Response to Treatment in Leprosy

The present review briefly summarizes the highlights of the recent advances in Mycobacterium leprae-specific tests for early diagnosis of leprosy. In addition to establishing the diagnosis of clinical cases of leprosy, these tests have also been used to detect subclinical infections in endemic population. Several attempts have been made from 1980 onward for standardization of specific diagnostic assays for early detection of leprosy. Brief account about the development and use of these assays has been described in this review article.
All-cause community acquired pneumonia cost by age and risk in real-world conditions of care in Spain

ABSTRACT Background Economic burden of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is recognized. Few studies have documented such burden in adults stratified by age, risk status, and by care setting. Spanish data available is scarce. Method A retrospective, multicenter study in seven regions of Spain (2017–2019) was conducted. Patients ≥18 years with a primary all-cause CAP episode diagnosis were identified. Episode-level variables included risk-stratum based on presence of an immunocompromising/chronic condition, age, number and length of hospitalized and outpatient episodes, and CAP-related healthcare costs/sick leaves were included. Results 7,108 episodes [mean age (SD): 59.2 (19.6), 50.42% male, 31.0% hospitalized] were analyzed. Low-risk group accounted for 47.7% of all CAP episodes, 31.5% moderate-risk and 20.8% high-risk. Pneumococcus was identified in 42.2% of cases. Mean CAP episode length was 22.9 days for hospitalized and 13.7 days for outpatient episode. Total healthcare cost for episode was higher in inpatient vs. outpatient: €3,955 vs. €511, p < 0.001, with higher sick leave cost (€3,281 vs. €2,632, p < 0.001), respectively. Conclusion CAP required hospitalization cost is high regardless of age or comorbidities for the Spanish NHS. Given that almost half of the patients in this study did not have traditional risk factors for CAP, better preventative strategies should seriously be considered.
Prevalence of Avian Influenza H5, H7 and H9 Viruses in Commercial Broilers at Karachi, Pakistan

| Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) are highly contagious and pathogenic viruses that caused severe disease in poultry and are potentially zoonotic. Since last decade the outbreaks of AIVs have been increased globally including Pakistan. Therefore this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of avian influenza H5, H7 and H9 viruses in broilers at Karachi, Pakistan. A total of 1920 samples, including each of 960 blood samples and tracheal swabs were collected from broilers and tested through hemagglutination inhibition (HI), AIV-ELISA and RT-PCR. The HI test revealed a significant ( P <0.01) difference in the seroprevalence of H9 virus (40.11%), H5 virus (16.88%) and H7 virus (6.25%) respectively. The mean antibody titer against H5, H7 and H9 virus was 4.87, 3.72, and 5.31 log 2 respectively. AIV-ELISA revealed that overall prevalence of AIV viruses was 8.44% which was subtyped through RT-PCR that revealed the higher occurrence of H9 virus (5.33%) as compared to H7 (1.16%) and H5 (0.31%). However, the coinfections of H7/H9 (0.73%) was higher than H5/H9 (0.21%) and H5/H7/H9 (0.21%). In conclusion, the H5, H7, and H9 avian influenza viruses are circulating in broilers of Karachi, Pakistan; moreover, the prevalence of H9 virus and the H7/H9 coinfections are common than other subtypes of AIV.
Examining the Influence of Cyberbullying Perpetration and Victimization among High School Adolescents—Associations with Gender and Grade Level

Background/purpose – The present study examined adolescent students' cyberbullying behavior and being a victim of cyberbullying specifically exploring potential differences by gender and grade level. Materials/methods – Based on a cross-sectional survey on 311 adolescent students continuing their high school education in secondary education institutions in Turkey, the study reported their findings as with differences between gender and grade level in cyberbullying and cyber victimization. The research data was obtained by using the Likert-type “Cyberbully/Cyber-victim Scale. ” Together with statistics, t-test, ANOVA and Tukey’s b test were applied the analysis of the collected data. Results – The study’s results suggest a significant difference in the level of students displaying cyberbullying behaviors and being exposed to them within virtual platforms with regards to the gender variable. Male students display cyberbullying behaviors and are also exposed to them in virtual platforms more than female students. In addition, the study’s results reveal that female students tend to rumor (gossip) more than male students on virtual platforms. There was also a significant difference in the level of participants performing and being exposed to cyberbullying behaviors on virtual platforms with regards to the grade level variable. According to the analyzed data, students from higher grade levels both perform cyberbullying behaviors more and are more frequently exposed to cyberbullying than students from lower grade levels. In other words, in higher grade levels, students’ performance of, and exposure levels to, cyberbullying was found to increase. Conclusion – This study’s findings emphasize the importance of developing prevention and intervention strategies must be developed in order to fight cyberbullying in schools when investigating the level of high school adolescents’ bullying of their peers, and the level of those exposed
Digital simulation for solution of oscillatory overvoltage problems in AC railroad electrification

The University of Birmingham, UK, and the University of Pisa, Italy worked together to look at continuous over-voltages in the AC Dorsale Sarda railway system. Different simulation approaches are applied to the same study, the first based on a complex general purpose program and the second on a simpler program developed for such an application. Good agreement on simulation results encourages a comparison between the two methods taking into account difficulty in modelling approach, output capabilities, need of computer memory and computation times.