bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The effect of free proline accumulation on the content of photosynthetic pigments in transgenic wheat plants
Authors: Dubrovna O. V. , Priadkina G. O. 
Published: September 2023

Aim. To analyze the effect of L-proline accumulation on chlorophyll content in transgenic wheat plants with a double-stranded RNA suppressor of the proline dehydrogenase gene under physiological and stress conditions. Methods. Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in planta; biochemical determination of free proline content; spectrophotometric determination of photosynthetic pigments content; of mathematical statistics. Results. It was shown that the content of free proline in the leaves of transgenic plants under physiological conditions was 1.7-1.9 times higher compared to the original genotype. Under conditions of drought, the content of this aminoacid increased in non-transformed plants of the original genotypes by 2.9-3.1 times, and in transgenic plants – by 4.5-4.9 times. The amount of chlorophyll in the flag leaves of plants of the original genotypes and their transgenic lines under physiological conditions did not differ significantly, while under drought conditions in the first of them it was 1.1-1.2 times less than in the second. Drought reduced the total chlorophyll content in plants of the original genotype to 85-90 %, compared to physiological conditions, while no significant changes were found in transgenic plants. Conclusions. It was established that under conditions of soil drought, the increase in proline content in genetically modified wheat plants compared to non-transgenic ones is accompanied by an increase in the amount of total chlorophyll (by 10-15 %), which indicates a better efficiency of their pigment apparatus under stressful conditions.
Jeunes hommes en quête d’un avenir : de quelques musiciens d’Église de passage à Québec sous le Régime français
Authors: Dubois Paul-André 
Published: September 2023

Cet article questionne le parcours diaphane de quelques garçons qualifiés de « musiciens » et chantres dans les sources relatives à la Nouvelle-France. Réunies, les bribes d’informations qui ont pu être recueillies sur ces jeunes hommes sans histoire permettent de cerner quelques-unes des motivations qui les poussent vers les colonies entre 1660 et 1730, à une époque où tout reste à édifier, sinon à consolider sur le plan institutionnel. Au-delà de cet aspect, encore peu connu de la micro-histoire culturelle coloniale, se révèle le rôle catalyseur de l’armée et de l’Église en tant que voie de salut pour ces anciens maîtrisiens en quête d’un avenir au sortir des églises cathédrales ou collégiales de France. Qu’ils aspirent à embrasser l’état ecclésiastique ou qu’ils cherchent à intégrer les rouages de l’administration coloniale en tant qu’écrivains après avoir été émancipés de l’armée, les quelques individus que nous allons croiser à Québec et à Montréal, nous permettent aujourd’hui de lever discrètement le voile sur la fortune de quelques-uns de ces enfants ayant passé leur jeunesse à chanter dans les bas-choeurs et dès lors, de mieux saisir leur apport à la vie culturelle de la colonie française au Canada.
Skill, craft, and poiesis-intensive innovation
Authors: Grasseni Cristina 
Published: September 2023

What is craft practice? The purpose of this paper is to contrast the categorization of craft practice with that of skill and innovation. I argue for the relevance of innovative skilled practice to future-making. Both skill and craft play an important part in collective engagements with futuring. With an ethnographic methodology, typical of anthropological fieldwork, I have explored skill in dairy farming, cheese making, and currently food gardening. In all these three realms, the results of ethnographic observation are that ideational processes immediately connect to intimate acquaintance with materials and ecosystems (including flora and fauna, soil, climate, landscape and humans). My conclusion is that craft practice and its outcomes imply a highly localized cosmology of evaluation. I show how comparative ethnography allows the mapping of these relations between people and places, and their more-than-local connections.
Genome-wide association analysis of type II resistance to Fusarium head blight in common wheat
Authors: Wang Dehua , Zhao Yunzhe , Zhao Xinying , Ji Mengqi , Guo Xin , Tian Jichun , Chen Guangfeng , Deng Zhiying 
Published: September 2023

Background
Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a disease affecting wheat spikes caused by some Fusarium species and leads to cases of severe yield reduction and seed contamination. Identifying resistance genes/QTLs from wheat germplasm may help to improve FHB resistance in wheat production.

Methods
Our study evaluated 205 elite winter wheat cultivars for FHB resistance. A high-density 90K SNP array was used for genotyping the panel. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) from cultivars from three different environments was performed using a mixed linear model (MLM).

Results
Sixty-six significant marker-trait associations (MTAs) were identified (P < 0.001) on fifteen chromosomes that explained the phenotypic variation ranging from 5.4 to 11.2%. Some important new MTAs in genomic regions involving FHB resistance were found on chromosomes 2A, 3B, 5B, 6A, and 7B. Six MTAs at 92 cM on chromosome 7B were found in cultivars from two different environments. Moreover, there were 11 MTAs consistently associated with diseased spikelet rate and diseased rachis rate as pleiotropic effect loci and D_contig74317_533 on chromosome 5D was novel for FHB resistance. Eight new candidate genes of FHB resistance were predicated in wheat in this study. Three candidate genes, TraesCS5D02G006700, TraesCS6A02G013600, and TraesCS7B02G370700 on chromosome 5DS, 6AS, and 7BL, respectively, were perhaps important in defending against FHB by regulating intramolecular transferase activity, GTP binding, or chitinase activity in wheat, but further validation in needed. In addition, a total of five favorable alleles associated with wheat FHB resistance were discovered. These results provide important genes/loci for enhancing FHB resistance in wheat breeding by marker-assisted selection.
Analysis of influencing factors of anxiety and depression in maintenance hemodialysis patients and its correlation with BDNF, NT-3 and 5-HT levels
Authors: Peng Xiaoyan , Feng Sujuan , Zhang Poxuan , Sang Shengmei , Zhang Yi 
Published: September 2023

Objective
The aim of this study is to examine the factors that contribute to anxiety and depression in individuals undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD), as well as their association with serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), and serotonin (5-HT).

Methods
In May 2020 and June 2022, 120 MHD patients who received MDH treatment at our hospital were enrolled. The control group was composed of 60 healthy adults (>18) who completed the physical examination at the same time. The serum levels of BDNF, NT-3, and 5-HT in patients and clinical data of MHD patients with different degrees of anxiety and depression were compared. The Pearson correlation was used to evaluate the correlation between anxiety and depression scores and serum BDNF, NT-3,5-HT levels in patients with MHD. Multivariate analysis was employed to analyze the risk factors of anxiety and depression in MHD patients.

Results
The incidence of anxiety and depression in 120 MHD patients was 34.17% (41/120) and 64.17% (77/120), respectively. The levels of serum NT-3 and 5-HT in the anxiety group were higher than those in the non-anxiety and control group, and the levels of serum NT-3 in the non-anxiety group were higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The levels of serum BDNF, NT-3 and 5-HT in the depressed group were higher than those in the non-depressed group and control group, and the levels of serum NT-3 in the non-depressed group were higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). SAS score was positively correlated with serum NT-3 and 5-HT levels, while the SDS score was negatively correlated with serum BDNF and positively correlated with serum NT-3 and 5-HT levels. Female, rural household registration, and restless leg syndrome were independent risk variables for anxiety in patients with MHD (P < 0.05). Rural household registration, economic deterioration, fatigue, insomnia, and vascular pain were independent variables of depression risk in patients with MHD.

Conclusion
Anxiety and depression in patients with MHD are closely related to the levels of serum BDNF, NT-3, and 5-HT. Female, rural household registration, more than eight dialysis times/month, insomnia, and restless leg syndrome are the risk factors for anxiety in patients with MHD. Rural household registration, economic deterioration, fatigue, insomnia, and vascular pain are the risk factors for depression in patients with MHD. The clinical implication of these findings suggests that these indexes may perhaps serve as biological indicators of anxiety and depression amongst patients undergoing MHD. Such investigation can hence contribute to early detection, monitoring, and potentially enable the depiction of novel therapeutic strategies for managing these adverse states.
Influence of Gibberellic acid and Methionine on growth, flowering quality, leaf anatomical structure and genetic diversity of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat plant
Authors: Othman Eman Zaky , El-Ziat Rasha Ahmed , Farag Hend Mohamed , El-Sayed Iman Mohamed 
Published: September 2023

Ornamental plants are grown all over the world. In most countries, Chrysanthemum is considered one of the most popular cuts and potted flowers. Plants were sprayed with gibberellic acid (GA3) at concentrations (100, 200, and 300 ppm) and methionine (ME) at levels (200, 400, and 600 ppm), as bio-growth stimulants in the pre-blooming stage. The morphological and flowering parameters significantly increased by increasing the concentration of GA3. The highest values of K%, P%, total carbohydrates content, total phenols, total chlorophylls, and carotenoids in the leaf were obtained from gibberellic acid treatment at the rate of 300 ppm, while methionine at 600 ppm gave the highest value of protein in flowers. Also, various levels of gibberellic acid application significantly showed variation for days to initiation of Chrysanthemum flowers. The results of leaf anatomy showed an increase in most characteristics such as (thickness of the main vein, lamina, and spongy tissue) under study when spraying with gibberellic acid, especially at the concentration of 300 and methionine 600 ppm; respectively compared with control. Furthermore, inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) analysis has provided a powerful molecular marker for identifying variation with control and the best treatments. Therefore, the utilization of 300 ppm GA3 a plant growth regulator and 600 ppm ME an amino acid, these treatments are recommended to enhance Chrysanthemum parameters which lead to increasing its economic value as cut flowers and flowering potted plants as well as pharmaceuticals industries and multi-chemical uses.
Keywords: Cut flowers; bio-growth stimulants; ISSR; leaf anatomy, growth regulators.
Using Smartphone Exophthalmometry to Measure Eyeball Protrusion
Authors: Popov Todor , Fierz Fabienne C. , Bockisch Christopher J. , Weber Konrad P. 
Published: September 2023

ImportanceThe current clinical criterion standard for measuring abnormal eyeball protrusion is still the historic Hertel exophthalmometer, which is prone to reading errors. Therefore, a smartphone application has been developed to measure exophthalmos.ObjectiveTo evaluate a relatively simple noninvasive measurement method for exophthalmos using a smartphone.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis cross-sectional study compared smartphone exophthalmometry with the existing reference standard, the Hertel exophthalmometer, or a professional high-resolution 3-dimensional scanner. Participants were patients with exophthalmos due to Graves orbitopathy and other intraorbital conditions and healthy volunteers who were recruited between June 2019 and January 2022 from the Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Zurich.InterventionsAll participants were examined twice by 3 different operators using 3 different methods (smartphone, high-resolution scanner, or Hertel exophthalmometer) at an interval of a minimum of 2 weeks or after exophthalmos-changing treatment.Main Outcome MeasuresAccuracy and precision, test-retest reliability, and interoperator reliability of eyeball protrusion measurements obtained with the smartphone compared to the Hertel exophthalmometer and the high-resolution face scanner.ResultsOf 39 participants, 23 patients (median [IQR] age, 54 [44-59] years; 15 [65%] female and 8 [35%] male) showed a mean difference in eyeball protrusion of 3.3 mm and 16 healthy volunteers (median [IQR] age, 32 [30-37] years; 11 [69%] female and 5 [31%] male) of 0.8 mm without any significant difference between the 3 methods. Accuracy and precision agreement between exophthalmos measures with the smartphone and the Hertel exophthalmometer showed an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.89 (95% CI, 0.80-0.94) and 0.93 (95% CI, 0.83-0.97) for the high-resolution scanner. Interoperator agreement was highest for the high-resolution scanner (ICC, 0.99 [95% CI, 0.98-0.99]), followed by the smartphone (ICC, 0.95 [95% CI, 0.92-0.97]) and the Hertel exophthalmometer (ICC, 0.91 [95% CI, 0.85-0.95]). Test retest reliability was similarly high for the smartphone (ICC, 0.93 [95% CI, 0.82-0.95]), the Hertel exophthalmometer (ICC, 0.92 [95% CI, 0.83-0.96]), and the high-resolution scanner (ICC, 0.95 [95% CI, 0.89-0.97]).Conclusions and RelevanceThe findings of this study demonstrate relatively high accuracy and precision, interoperator reliability, and test-retest reliability for smartphone exophthalmometry. These data support the use of a smartphone in place of a Hertel exophthalmometer for measuring exophthalmos in the future.
Efficacy of Gabapentin For Post–COVID-19 Olfactory Dysfunction
Authors: Mahadev Ashna , Hentati Firas , Miller Brevin , Bao James , Perrin Amber , Kallogjeri Dorina , Piccirillo Jay F. 
Published: September 2023

ImportanceThe COVID-19 pandemic affected millions of people and has become a dominant etiology of olfactory dysfunction (OD). No interventions with definitive clinical utility exist. Gabapentin represents a potential therapy for COVID-19–induced OD.ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy of oral gabapentin on olfactory function and olfaction-related quality of life in patients with COVID-19–induced OD.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis pilot double-blinded, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial (RCT) was conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis from January 7, 2022, to February 3, 2023. Adults with at least 3 months of OD after COVID-19 infection were eligible for inclusion. Participants with a history of other causes of OD or contraindications to gabapentin were excluded.InterventionPatients were randomized 1:1 to oral gabapentin or placebo. All patients underwent titration to a maximum tolerable dose, which was maintained during an 8-week fixed-dose (FD) phase then tapered off. Participants were monitored for 4 weeks following cessation of study medication.Main Outcomes and MeasuresOutcomes were assessed following the 8-week FD phase and 4 weeks after taper completion. The primary outcome measure was the response rate determined by subjective improvement in OD on the Clinical Global Impression of Improvement (CGI-I) after the FD phase. Other subjective and objective measures of olfactory function were also assessed as secondary outcome measures.ResultsSixty-eight participants were enrolled (34 randomized to each arm), a total of 44 participants completed the FD period and 20 (45.4%) reported response to treatment with at least slight improvement in olfaction from baseline. Of those randomized, 51 (75%) were women and 56 were White (82%) with a mean (SD) age of 43 (13.5) years. Baseline demographic features including age, sex, and race and ethnicity were not significantly different between the groups. Of the 18 participants in the gabapentin group, 8 (44%) were responders and of the 26 participants in the placebo group, 12 (46%) reported response to treatment (percent difference, 1.7%; 95% CI, −31.6% to 28.2%). Mixed-model analysis of all secondary outcome measures demonstrated no clinically meaningful or statistically significant difference between the gabapentin and placebo groups throughout the trial. There were no serious adverse events.Conclusions and RelevanceIn this randomized clinical trial, gabapentin was not associated with statistically significant or clinically meaningful benefit over placebo and likely is not an efficacious therapy for COVID-19–induced OD.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05184192
A scintillation dosimeter with real‐time positional tracking information for in vivo dosimetry error detection in HDR brachytherapy
Authors: Tho Daline , Lavallée Marie‐Claude , Beaulieu Luc 
Published: September 2023

AbstractPurposeTo evaluate the performance of an electromagnetic (EM)‐tracked scintillation dosimeter in detecting source positional errors of IVD in HDR brachytherapy treatment.Materials and MethodsTwo different scintillator dosimeter prototypes were coupled to 5 degrees‐of‐freedom (DOF) EM sensors read by an Aurora V3 system. The scintillators used were a 0.3 × 0.4 × 0.4 mm3 ZnSe:O and a BCF‐60 plastic scintillator of 0.5 mm diameter and 2.0 mm in length (Saint‐Gobain Crystals). The sensors were placed at the dosimeter's tip at 20.0 mm from the scintillator. The EM sampling rate was 40/s while the scintillator signal was sampled at 100 000/s using two photomultiplier tubes from Hamamatsu (series H10722) connected to a data acquisition board. A high‐pass filter and a low‐pass filter were used to separate the light signal into two different channels. All measurements were performed with an afterloader unit (Flexitron‐Elekta AB, Sweden) in full‐scattered (TG43) conditions. EM tracking was further used to provide distance/angle‐dependent energy correction for the ZnSe:O inorganic scintillator. For the error detection part, lateral shifts of 0.5 to 3 mm were induced by moving the source away from its planned position. Indexer length (longitudinal) errors between 0.5 to 10 mm were also introduced. The measured dose rate difference was converted to a shift distance, with and without using the positional information from the EM sensor.ResultsThe inorganic scintillator had both a signal‐to‐noise‐ratio (SNR) and signal‐to‐background‐ratio (SBR) close to 70 times higher than those of the plastic scintillator. The mean absolute difference from the dose measurement to the dose calculated with TG‐43U1 was 1.5% ±0.7%. The mean absolute error for BCF‐60 detector was 1.7% when compared to TG‐43 calculations formalism. With the inorganic scintillator and EM tracking, a maximum area under the curve (AUC) gain of 24.0% was obtained for a 0.5‐mm lateral shift when using the EMT data with the ZnSe:O. Lower AUC gains were obtained for a 3‐mm lateral shifts with both scintillators. For the plastic scintillator, the highest gain from using EM tracking information occurred for a 0.5‐mm lateral shift at 20 mm from the source. The maximal gain (17.4%) for longitudinal errors was found at the smallest shifts (0.5 mm).ConclusionsThis work demonstrates that integrating EM tracking to in vivo scintillation dosimeters enables the detection of smaller shifts, by decreasing the dosimeter positioning uncertainty. It also serves to perform position‐dependent energy correction for the inorganic scintillator,providing better SNR and SBR, allowing detection of errors at greater distances from the source.
Synergistic Advancement of Molecular Design and Dual Encapsulation Technology for High‐Performance Room‐Temperature Barocaloric Refrigeration Materials
Authors: Dai Zhaofeng , Shao Bohan , Chen Qicheng , Ding Yulong , Li Yongliang , Zhang Muxing , Yin Ershuai , She Xiaohui , Zhang Xiaosong , Zhao Dongliang 
Published: September 2023

AbstractPlastic crystal neopentyl glycol (NPG) displays a colossal barocaloric effect akin to conventional refrigerants, rendering it as a highly promising solid‐state refrigerant. However, its practical application is restricted by its elevated phase transition temperature, inferior thermal conductivity, and weak mechanical response. Herein, a molecular design strategy is employed, wherein NPG molecules are substituted with trimethylolpropane (TMP) molecules, resulting in the successful synthesis of novel plastic crystals, designated as NPG0.75TMP0.25, with a phase change temperature of 283.7 K. To enhance the thermal conductivity, a dual encapsulation strategy is utilized to fabricate a highly oriented thermally conductive hybrid network composed of NPG0.75TMP0.25 and expanded graphite (EG) by using melt adsorption and pressure induction. The hybrid networks also significantly augment the mechanical properties of NPG0.75TMP0.25. The resulting composite barocaloric material exhibits a maximum entropy change of 223.8 J K−1 kg−1 achieved under pressure changes below 40 MPa and a thermal conductivity of 18.31 W m−1 K−1. Moreover, the composite exhibits high mechanical response and fatigue resistance. This study not only demonstrates the potential of composite barocaloric materials for practical applications but also significantly advances the engineering of barocaloric refrigeration.
Facilitating Electrochemical Ozone Production and Chlorine Evolution Reaction by Synergistic Effect of Multicomponent Metal Oxides
Authors: Xue Mingzhe , Zhao Jinyan , Yu Xuan , Ding Lei , Wang Xiaosa , Liu Jia , Shi Huaijie , Xue Yufeng , Yao Zihao , Zhong Xing , Wang Jianguo 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe concomitant degradation of organic contaminants using green oxidants, NaClO and O3, exhibits great potential to mitigate the deleterious impact of organic pollutants. In this work, the electrochemical ozone production (EOP) and chlorine evolution reaction (CER) performed by highly active electrocatalysts composed of Ce‐Ni‐Sb‐SnO2 and Ru‐Ir‐Ce‐Ni‐Sb‐SnO2, respectively, are presented. Ce‐Ni‐Sb‐SnO2 exhibits high selectivity with a 43.9% Faraday efficiency in EOP. Incorporating Ru and Ir in Ru‐Ir‐Ce‐Ni‐Sb‐SnO2 improves CER performance, achieving outstanding Faraday efficiency of up to 98.3%. Additionally, it achieves a low overpotential of ≈80 mV at 10 mA cm−2 with 0.3 m NaCl (pH = 6). Theoretical calculations reveal the significant impact of multicomponent oxides on reaction intermediate adsorption. Ce, Ni, Sb doping on SnO2 enhances O2 and O3 adsorption for optimal EOP performance, while Ru and Ir doping on Ce‐Ni‐Sb‐SnO2 enhances Cl adsorption, boosting CER performance. Further investigations into the decomposition of pesticides and antibiotics demonstrate that the collaborative impact of O3 and NaClO elicits a significantly more robust kinetic degradation rate in comparison to their individual influences. This work aims to shed light on the synthesis of multicomponent metal oxides as potential precursors for the cost‐effective preparation of O3 and NaClO for electrochemical advanced oxidation processes.