Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identification and fine mapping of a novel qGR6.2 locus controlling rice salt tolerance during seed germination

Background Rice growth is frequently affected by salinity. When rice plants are exposed to high salinity, seed germination and seedling establishment are significantly inhibited. In particular, with the promotion of rice direct-seeding in Asia, improving rice salt tolerance during seed germination is of strong importance for rice breeding. Results In this study, we found that the indica rice landrace Wujiaozhan (WJZ) showed a high capability of seed germination under both water (H 2 O) and salt (NaCl) conditions, particularly under high salt stress. The BC 1 F 2 population produced by crossing WJZ with japonica Nipponbare (Nip) was used to evaluate the germination traits under water (H 2 O) and salt (300 mM NaCl) conditions using germination rate (GR) and germination index (GI). A total of 13 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were identified, including eight QTLs of GR, two QTLs of GI under H 2 O conditions, six QTLs of GR, and three QTLs of GI under 300 mM NaCl conditions. Six QTLs ( qGR6.1 , qGR8.1 , qGR8.2 , qGR10.1 , qGR10.2 and qGI10.1 ) contributed to GR under both H 2 O and 300 mM NaCl conditions. Three QTLs ( qGR6.2 , qGR10.1 and qGR10.2 ) under 300 mM NaCl conditions were identified at different time points of seed germination and shared the same region with qGI6 , qGI10.1 and qGI10.2 for GI. These QTLs could be used to improve seed germination ability via marker-assisted selection (MAS). One major effective salt-tolerance-specific QTL, qGR6.2, on chromosome 6 was further confirmed via the BC 2 F 2 population, which explained more than 20% of the phenotypic variation. Fine mapping results showed that qGR6.2 was narrowed to a 65.9-kb region between the Z654 and Z619 molecular markers, with eleven candidate genes being predicted. Based on the microarray database, there were high transcript abundances of six genes ( LOC_Os06g10650 , LOC_Os06g10660 , LOC_Os06g10690 , LOC_Os06g10710 , LOC_Os06g10730 and LOC_Os06g10750 ) at all developmental stages, and only LOC_Os06g10750 was differentially expressed after salt incubation. RT-qPCR showed that two genes ( LOC_Os06g10650 and LOC_Os06g10750 ) were significantly differentially expressed at 300 mM NaCl during seed germination. This result suggested that LOC_Os06g10650 and LOC_Os06g10750 might be the causal candidate genes for the major effective salt-tolerance-specific QTL qGR6.2 identified in WJZ, which may facilitate map-based cloning and help to elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying salt tolerance during seed germination. Conclusions In our study, we identified 13 QTLs from indica landrace WJZ that confer seed germination traits under water and salt conditions. A major salt-tolerance-specific QTL qGR6.2 was confirmed and fine mapped to a 65.9-kb region flanked by the Z654 and Z619 markers. Our results provide information on the genetic basis of improving salt tolerance during seed germination by MAS.
Facteurs associés à la mortalité chez les patients adultes atteints de tétanos en milieu hospitalier de Bamako au Mali

Objectif : déterminer les facteurs associés aux décès chez les patients atteints de tétanos, hospitalisés au service des Maladies Infectieuses du CHU du Point-G. Matériels et méthode : il s'agit d'une étude rétro-prospective chez les malades atteints de tétanos, hospitalisés dans le service de Maladies Infectieuses du CHU du Point G de janvier 2013 à avril 2015. Les dossiers de tous les cas de tétanos âgés de 18 ans et plus répondant aux critères d'inclusion ont été inclus. Les données ont été saisies sur Word et analysées sous le logiciel SPSS. Le test X² a été utilisé pour la comparaison des variables qualitatives avec un seuil de significativité p≤0,05. Résultats : trente-cinq cas de tétanos ont été colligés sur 972 hospitalisations soit une prévalence de 3,6%. La totalité des patients était des hommes. Aucun patient n'avait un calendrier vaccinal à jour. La majorité des portes d'entrée tégumentaires était causée par des accidents de la voie publique (soit 31,7%). Les cultivateurs étaient les plus exposés avec 37,1%. Les comorbidités (15 cas) étaient le paludisme, l'hypertension artérielle et le diabète avec respectivement 53,3% ; 33,3% ; et 13,3%. La létalité du tétanos était de 25,7%. Les facteurs associés de façon significative à la mortalité était l'hypertension artérielle, les complications pulmonaires et les fausses routes.Conclusion : Cette étude montre que les comorbidités et les complications ont majoré la létalité du tétanos. La prise en charge rapide et correcte des complications et des comorbidités pourra avoir un impact positif sur le pronostic des patients atteints de tétanos.
Biopolymer dynamics driven by helical flagella

Microbial flagellates typically inhabit complex suspensions of polymeric material which can impact the swimming speed of motile microbes, filter-feeding of sessile cells, and the generation of biofilms. There is currently a need to better understand how the fundamental dynamics of polymers near active cells or flagella impacts these various phenomena, in particular the hydrodynamic and steric influence of a rotating helical filament on suspended polymers. Our Stokesian dynamics simulations show that as a stationary rotating helix pumps fluid along its long axis, polymers migrate radially inwards while being elongated. We observe that the actuation of the helix tends to increase the probability of finding polymeric material within its pervaded volume. This accumulation of polymers within the vicinity of the helix is stronger for longer polymers. We further analyse the stochastic work performed by the helix on the polymers and show that this quantity is positive on average and increases with polymer contour length.
Single and Multilayer LSTM Models for Positive COVID-19 Cases Prediction

: COVID-19 is a global pandemic that has been reported first in Wuhan, China in December 2019. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 1 out of every 5 people who get COVID-19 get seriously ill and develop difficulty breathing. The virus is spreading from one person to others causing fear and a big struggle in the world. Building accurate learning models for forecasting positive new cases would help to better manage the crisis situation thereby helping to fight COVID-19 and save lives. For this purpose, we use LSTM (Long Short Time Memory) model in Morocco’s case and evaluate its performance according to six architectures. The results demonstrate that the architecture with three cells outperforms the other models and shows the best fitting.
Evaluation of optimal fermentation conditions for volatile fatty acids production from artisanal fish waste

In this research, operational parameters were assessed to optimise the production of volatile fatty acids (VFA) from artisanal fish waste (FW) using mixed-culture fermentation. The experiments were performed using a randomised block design with pH and Inoculum/Substrate (I/S) ratio as factors with three pH levels (5, 7 and 9) and five I/S ratios levels (0.20, 0.15, 0.10, 0.05, 0.00) with VFA production, total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), biogas and soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD) as response variables. The results indicated that pH and I/S ratio significantly influenced VFA production and the other variables evaluated. The highest VFA concentration (54.5 g/L) was obtained at pH 7 and with an I/S ratio of 0.05. These conditions were also optimal for TAN and sCOD. External pH control was proved as unnecessary as the highest VFA production (70.3 g VFA/L) was obtained without pH control. In these conditions, the fermentation broth was able to maintain its pH between 6.6 and 7.7. The VFA profile had acetic (35%) and butyric (32%) acids as the dominant species and propionic, iso-valeric and iso-butyric were minor species (< 10%). An economic assessment evaluating the establishment of a FW VFA biorefinery in Tumaco, Colombia was performed including capital, operational and labour cost, discounted payback period and cost curves. These results evidenced the potential of artisanal FW as a raw material for producing high concentrations of VFA and smooth the path for the establishment of a VFA and biogas biorefinery from FW.
Empirical Analysis of Generalized Trust in Modern Russia

Today the concept of trust plays an important role in economics, but there is a lack of both works devoted to the determinants of generalized trust in modern Russia and relationships between the crises and trust. The Russian economy has suﬀered several signiﬁcant recessions in recent years, the most serious of which were crises of 2008 and 2014. It would be interesting to check whether there was a trust change after these events in Russia. The current study has two purposes: the ﬁrst one is to identify determinants of trust in modern Russia, the second one is to check whether the economic crises of 2008-2009 and 2014-2015 aﬀected the level of generalized trust with the assumption that only population of working age was aﬀected. The study is based on the RLMS-HSE survey. For the purposes of this paper the random-eﬀects ordered logistic models and diﬀerence-in-diﬀerence ordered logistic models are used. We conclude that the most important determinants of trust are political confidence, age, living in a countryside, higher education; the 2008 crisis did not make influence on trust, where as the 2014 crisis affected on the trust in a positive direction due to the “propaganda effect”.
Ultrasound-assisted osmotic process on quality of microwave vacuum drying sweet potato

ABSTRACT The effects of pretreatment before microwave vacuum drying (MVD) on texture, color, expansion, rehydration, drying rate, microstructure, sensory evaluation, and other properties of sweet potato were investigated in this study. The pretreatment consisted in five processing conditions, using blanching; osmotic dehydration at 35°Brix of sucrose (OD); ultrasound in distilled water (US); ultrasound in distilled water before osmotic dehydration (US + OD), and ultrasound-assisted osmotic dehydration (USOD). Pretreatments of sweet potato before MVD have shown success in reducing drying time with US treatment relatively more effective regarding drying time than other treatments. Compared with other treatments, US showed the highest rehydration ratio values. The osmotic group pretreatment exhibited a pronounced effect on water loss and solid gain, improved the color, aroma, and taste of dried sweet potato, whereas sucrose impregnation resulted in a hard texture observed with OD sample. USOD samples had a higher expansion ratio, lower hardness and color difference values, appeared less cell damaged, and recorded better overall quality than the other samples. There was a slight difference between USOD and US + OD samples. Combining osmotic dehydration with ultrasound as a pretreatment can significantly accelerate the heat transfer rate, reducing the dried time accordingly and increasing energy efficiency.
Characterization of novel pin-hole based plasma source for generation of discharge in liquids supplied by DC non-pulsing voltage

A recently presented novel plasma source generating discharge in liquids based on the pin-hole discharge configuration is characterized in detail. The system is supplied by DC non-pulsing high voltage of both polarities in NaCl water solutions at a conductivity range of 100–15 000 μS/cm. The discharge itself shows self-pulsing operation. The discharge ignition is observed in micro bubbles by transient discharge followed by a glow discharge in positive polarity at lower conductivities propagating inside the bubbles. At high conductivities, the glow regime is particularly replaced by a more energetic sequence of transient discharges followed by a shorter glow mode operation. The transient regime probability and its intensity are higher in the negative discharge polarity. The transient discharge produces acoustic waves and shock waves, which are observed at the moment of the bubble cavitation. The average gas temperature of 700–1500 K was calculated from the lowest OH (A-X) 0-0 band transitions. The average electron concentrations of 1020–1023 m−3 were calculated from Hα and Hβ line profiles. Finally, the production of a chemically active species is determined by hydrogen peroxide energy yields related to the energy consumption of the whole interelectrode system. All these quantities are dependent on the solution conductivity, the discharge polarity, and the applied power.
The characterization of Taklamakan dust properties using a multiwavelength Raman polarization lidar in Kashi, China

Abstract. The Taklamakan desert is an important dust source for the global atmospheric dust budget and a cause of the dust weather in East Asia. The characterization of Taklamakan dust in the source region is still very limited. To fill this gap, the DAO (dust aerosol observation) was conducted in April 2019 in Kashi, China. The Kashi site is about 150 km from the western rim of the Taklamakan desert and is strongly impacted by desert dust aerosols, especially in spring time, i.e., April and May. According to sun–sky photometer measurements, the aerosol optical depth (at 500 nm) varied in the range of 0.07–4.70, and the Ångström exponent (between 440 and 870 nm) in the range of 0.0–0.8 in April 2019. In this study, we provide the first profiling of the 2α+3β+3δ parameters of Taklamakan dust based on a multiwavelength Mie–Raman polarization lidar. For Taklamakan dust, the Ångström exponent related to the extinction coefficient (EAE, between 355 and 532 nm) is about 0.01 ± 0.30, and the lidar ratio is found to be 45 ± 7 sr (51 ± 8–56 ± 8 sr) at 532 (355) nm. The particle linear depolarization ratios (PLDRs) are about 0.28–0.32 ± 0.07 at 355 nm, 0.36 ± 0.05 at 532 nm and 0.31 ± 0.05 at 1064 nm. Both lidar ratios and depolarization ratios are higher than the typical values of Central Asian dust in the literature. The difference is probably linked to the fact that observations in the DAO campaign were collected close to the dust source; therefore, there is a large fraction of coarse-mode and giant particles (radius >20 µm) in the Taklamakan dust. Apart from dust, fine particles coming from local anthropogenic emissions and long-range transported aerosols are also non-negligible aerosol components. The signatures of pollution emerge when dust concentration decreases. The polluted dust (defined by PLDR532≤0.30 and EAE355-532≥0.20) is featured with reduced PLDRs and enhanced EAE355−532 compared to Taklamakan dust. The mean PLDRs of polluted dust generally distributed in the range of 0.20–0.30. Due to the complexity of the nature of the involved pollutants and their mixing state with dust, the lidar ratios exhibit larger variabilities compared to those of dust. The study provides the first reference of novel characteristics of Taklamakan dust measured by Mie–Raman polarization lidar. The data could contribute to complementing the dust model and improving the accuracy of climate modeling.
Characterizing the Water Wire in the Gramicidin Channel Found by Monte Carlo Sampling Using Continuum Electrostatics and in Molecular Dynamics Trajectories with Conventional or Polarizable Force Fields

Water molecules play a key role in all biochemical processes. They help define the shape of proteins, and they are reactant or product in many reactions and are released as ligands are bound. They facilitate the transfer of protons through transmembrane proton channel, pump and transporter proteins. Continuum electrostatics (CE) force fields used by program Multiconformation CE (MCCE) capture electrostatic interactions in biomolecules with an implicit solvent, which captures the averaged solvent water equilibrium properties. Hybrid CE methods can use explicit water molecules within the protein surrounded by implicit solvent. These hybrid methods permit the study of explicit hydrogen bond networks within the protein and allow analysis of processes such as proton transfer reactions. Yet hybrid CE methods have not been rigorously tested. Here, we present an explicit treatment of water molecules in the Gramicidin A (gA) channel using MCCE and compare the resulting distributions of water molecules and key hydration features against those obtained with explicit solvent Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations with the nonpolarizable CHARMM36 and polarizable Drude force fields. CHARMM36 leads to an aligned water wire in the channel characterized by a large absolute net water dipole moment; the MCCE and Drude analysis lead to a small net dipole moment as the water molecules change orientation within the channel. The correct orientation is not as yet known, so these calculations identify an open question.
Profil clinique et biologique des personnes vivant avec le VIH/SIDA suivies dans le Service des Maladies Infectieuses des Cliniques Universitaires de Kinshasa (République Démocratique du Congo)

ObjectifCette étude avait pour objectif de décrire le profil clinique et biologique des personnes vivant avec le VIH (PVVIH). MéthodesIl s'est agi d'une étude rétrospective menée aux Cliniques universitaires de Kinshasa (CUK) du 1 Janvier 2008 au 31 Décembre 2014 portant sur le profil clinique et biochimique. Les données ont été analysées par SPSS 22. Les statistiques appropriées ont été appliquées au cours de l'analyse des données. Les principes d'Helsinki ont été respectés. RésultatsAu total, 270 patients étaient inclus à l'étude. L'âge moyenne (écart-type) était de 45,7±11,1 ans (Extrêmes : 22 et 65 ans) et le sex-ratio (M/F) de 0,58. Quarante pour cent des patients étaient au stade 4 de l'OMS. La diarrhée (88,9 %), les vomissements (87 %) et la toux étaient les plaintes les plus rencontrées. Au stade 4 de l'OMS, la toux (80,3 %), l'amaigrissement (87 %) et les céphalées (24,4 %) étaient plus fréquemment rencontrées (p<0,05) et la tuberculose (35,4 %), la candidose orale (24,4 %) et la cryptococcose méningée étaient les infections opportunistes les plus fréquemment retrouvées. L'anémie était une comorbidité fréquemment associée au VIH. Les moyennes de cholestérol total et de LDL-C étaient élevées au stade 4.ConclusionLes patients étaient d'âge moyen sans prédominance d'un sexe. Le tableau clinique était essentiellement fait de diarrhée et d'amaigrissement. Au Stade 4 SIDA de l'OMS, la tuberculose, l'anémie, l'augmentation des moyennes de cholestérol total et de LDL-C étaient les comorbidités les plus fréquentes.
Indonesian Ulema Council Fatwa On Religious Practices During Covid-19 Pandemic: An Investigation Of Muslim Compliance

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 1139 Muslims in Indonesia. Attitudes and practices were assessed using a questionnaire developed by researchers referring to the main points of the MUI fatwa. Of the 1139 participants, 73.5% were academics, and 63.8% held bachelor's degrees and higher, while gender and age-group comparisons were balanced. The average score of attitudes and practices about was 60.57 out of 70 and 5.35 out of 7. In general, the results of this study indicate that Indonesian Muslims have positive perceptions and submissive attitudes towards the MUI fatwa.
A Mechanistical Study on the Formation of Dimethyl Ether (CH3OCH3) and Ethanol (CH3CH2OH) in Methanol-containing Ices and Implications for the Chemistry of Star-forming Regions

The underlying formation mechanisms of complex organic molecules (COMs)—in particular, structural isomers—in the interstellar medium (ISM) are largely elusive. Here, we report new experimental findings on the role of methanol (CH3OH) and methane (CH4) ices in the synthesis of two C2H6O isomers upon interaction with ionizing radiation: ethanol (CH3CH2OH) and dimethyl ether (CH3OCH3). The present study reproduces the interstellar abundance ratios of both species with ethanol to dimethyl ether branching ratios of (2.33 ± 0.14):1 suggesting that methanol and methane represents the key precursor to both isomers within interstellar ices. Exploiting isotopic labeling combined with reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry (Re-TOF-MS) after isomer selective vacuum ultra-violet (VUV) photoionization of the neutral molecules, we also determine the formation mechanisms of both isomers via radical–radical recombination versus carbene (CH2) insertion with the former pathway being predominant. Formation routes to higher molecular weight reaction products such as ethylene glycol (HOCH2CH2OH), dimethyl peroxide (CH3OOCH3), and methoxymethanol (CH3OCH2OH) are discussed briefly as well.
Crystalline microstructure of boehmites studied by multi-peak analysis of powder X-ray diffraction patterns

Nanocrystalline boehmite (gamma-aluminium-oxyhydroxide) is a material of industrial importance, the functionality of which follows from its crystalline microstructure. A procedure for preparing boehmite nanoparticles, comprising the formation of a precipitate by the alkalization of an aqueous solution of aluminium nitrate and subsequent hydrothermal aging, was previously elaborated. The application of an additive (maltitol or tartaric acid) to control the sizes and shapes of crystallites in the produced polycrystalline powder of boehmite was developed. The aim of this work is a study of the effect of the hydrothermal treatment time on nanocrystalline characteristics of boehmite, both in absence and in presence of the additive. The obtained materials were investigated by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) as principal technique and additionally by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The multi-peak analysis of powder XRD patterns was applied to determine the prevalent crystallite shape, volume-weighted crystallite size distribution, and second-order crystalline lattice strain distribution being principal quantitative characteristics of the crystalline microstructure. Based on these characteristics, three types of the microstructure correlated with the production procedures were observed and discussed in detail. The nanoparticles of boehmites were found to be monocrystalline grains with characteristic habits and sizes of order of ten nanometers weakly dependent on the hydrothermal treatment time.
ANALISIS PENERAPAN STANDAR AKUNTANSI PEMERINTAHAN BERBASIS AKRUAL PADA DINAS KEHUTANAN PROVINSI JAWA TIMUR

Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk memahami dan menganalisis penerapan Standar Akuntansi Pemerintahan berbasis akrual dalam aspek Laporan Keuangan, Sumber Daya Manusia, dan Teknologi Informasi. Teknik pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan wawancara dan studi dokumenter dengan pimpinan dan karyawan sub-bagian keuangan Dinas Kehutanan Provinsi Jawa Timur. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa Dinas Kehutanan Provinsi Jawa Timur mulai menerapkan Standar Akuntansi Berbasis Akrual untuk tahun fiskal 2015. Kendala yang dihadapi adalah kurangnya persiapan waktu, kesalahan aplikasi yang sering, beberapa staf mengalami kesulitan. Pada periode 2016-2017 pengembangan dan pengembangan Standar Akuntansi Pemerintahan terkait SDM Akrual telah dilakukan secara intens.