Inheritance of resistance to Kabatielle eyespot of maize

Des études génétiques portant sur la résistance du maïs-grain (Zea mays) aux attaques de la kabatiellose causée par le Kabatiella zeae ont consisté en des essais de croisements diallèles 8x8. Chez les huit lignées utilisées, l'action additive des gènes semble avoir été déterminante quant à la résistance aux attaques du feuillage. Il y a eu un certain degré de dominance chez quatre groupes de gènes. L'hérédité au sens strict a été évaluée à 75%. La lignée V312 a été la plus résistante à la maladie tandis que les lignées F522, WF9 et L2039 sont apparues sensibles.Genetic studies of resistance to Kabatiella zeae causing eyespot in grain maize (Zea mays) were conducted using an 8 x 8 complete diallel cross. In the eight inbreds used, the additive component appeared to be the most important in determining resistance to eyespot. There appeared to be at least four genes showing some degree of dominance. Narrow-sense heritability was estimated at 75%. Inbred V312 was the most resistant line among the eight lines in this diallel set, whereas F522, WF9 and L2039 appeared to be susceptible

Three questionnaires to assess the perception of fixed orthodontic therapy before, during and after treatment:validity and reliability

Background/objective: To assess the validity and reliability of a series of three questionnaires for the quantification of patient perception of fixed appliance orthodontic treatment. Subjects and methods: The study was carried out at the University of Dundee with content and face validity being assessed using proformas. Initially ten experts (Orthodontic Specialists) assessed content validity with 11 professionals (seven Orthodontic Specialists and four ostgraduates) and 20 patients assessing face validity. Content validity was determined according to the values of item-level content validity index (I-CVI) and scale-level CVI (S-CVI/Ave), while specially designed feedback forms were used for face validation. Internal consistency determined the reliability of the questionnaires according to the value of Cronbach alpha correlation coefficient test. The three questionnaires were then modified according to the recommendations of professionals and patients with seven experts reassessing content validity and ten newly selected patients assessing face validity.Results: The first round of content validity revealed that around half of the items in the questionnaires were not valid. Therefore, the questionnaires were not valid as a whole (S-CVI/Ave = 0.60). After modifying the questionnaires and removing the non-valid items, the new versions of the Pretreatment, Orthodontic Experience, and Post-treatment Questionnaires showed high levels of face validity, content validity (S-CVI/Ave: 0.99, 0.97, and 0.99, respectively) and good levels of internal consistency (α = 0.86, 0.78, and 0.88, respectively).Limitation: The patient sample was collected from a single university clinic and from one city within the UK and this could affect the generalizability of the results. Conclusion: Three content valid and reliable questionnaires have been developed and validated for the evaluation of patient perception of fixed appliance orthodontic treatment. Implications: Unlike other tools that assess oral health quality of life, this series of three questionnaires assess the perception of fixed appliance orthodontic treatment before, during and after treatment

Wake up, wake up! It's me! It's my life! patient narratives on person-centeredness in the integrated care context: a qualitative study

Person-centered care emphasizes a holistic, humanistic approach that puts patients first, at the center of medical care. Person-centeredness is also considered a core element of integrated care. Yet typologies of integrated care mainly describe how patients fit within integrated services, rather than how services fit into the patient's world. Patient-centeredness has been commonly defined through physician's behaviors aimed at delivering patient-centered care. Yet, it is unclear how 'person-centeredness' is realized in integrated care through the patient voice. We aimed to explore patient narratives of person-centeredness in the integrated care context

Fostering clinical reasoning in physiotherapy: Comparing the effects of concept map study and concept map completion after example study in novice and advanced learners

Background: Health profession learners can foster clinical reasoning by studying worked examples presenting fully worked out solutions to a clinical problem. It is possible to improve the learning effect of these worked examples by combining them with other learning activities based on con

Modeling Wetland Plant Community Response to Assess Water-Level Regulation Scenarios in the Lake Ontario – St. Lawrence River Basin

The International Joint Commission has recently completed a five-year study (2000– 2005) to review the operation of structures controlling the flows and levels of the Lake Ontario – St. Lawrence River system. In addition to addressing the multitude of stakeholder interests, the regulation plan review also considers environmental sustainability and integrity of wetlands and various ecosystem components. The present paper outlines the general approach, scientific methodology and applied management considerations of studies quantifying the relationships between hydrology and wetland plant assemblages (% occurrence, surface area) in Lake Ontario and the Upper and Lower St. Lawrence River. Although similar study designs were used across the study region, different methodologies were required that were specifically adapted to suit the important regional differences between the lake and river systems, range in water-level variations, and confounding factors (geomorphic types, exposure, sediment characteristics, downstream gradient of water quality, origin of water masses in the Lower River). Performance indicators (metrics), such as total area of wetland in meadow marsh vegetation type, that link wetland response to water levels will be used to assess the effects of different regulation plans under current and future (climate change) water-supply scenarios

The modified patient enablement instrument: a Portuguese cross-cultural adaptation, validity and reliability study

"Article number: 16087"Enabling patients with asthma to obtain the knowledge, confidence and skills they need in order to assume a major role in the management of their disease is cost effective. It should be an integral part of any plan for long-term control of asthma. The modified Patient Enablement Instrument (mPEI) is an easily administered questionnaire that was adapted in the United Kingdom to measure patient enablement in asthma, but its applicability in Portugal is not known. Validity and reliability of questionnaires should be tested before use in settings different from those of the original version. The purpose of this study was to test the applicability of the mPEI to Portuguese asthma patients after translation and cross-cultural adaptation, and to verify the structural validity, internal consistency and reproducibility of the instrument. The mPEI was translated to Portuguese and back translated to English. Its content validity was assessed by a debriefing interview with 10 asthma patients. The translated instrument was then administered to a random sample of 142 patients with persistent asthma. Structural validity and internal consistency were assessed. For reproducibility analysis, 86 patients completed the instrument again 7 days later. Item-scale correlations and exploratory factor analysis were used to assess structural validity. Cronbach's alpha was used to test internal consistency, and the intra-class correlation coefficient was used for the analysis of reproducibility. All items of the Portuguese version of the mPEI were found to be equivalent to the original English version. There were strong item-scale correlations that confirmed construct validity, with a one component structure and good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha >0.8) as well as high test-retest reliability (ICC=0.85). The mPEI showed sound psychometric properties for the evaluation of enablement in patients with asthma making it a reliable instrument for use in research and clinical practice in Portugal. Further studies are needed to confirm its responsiveness.Financial support for this work was provided by FEDER funds through the Operational Programme Competitiveness Factors-COMPETE and National Funds through FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology under the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007038, and by the project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000013, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Folliculin interacts with p0071 (plakophilin-4) and deficiency is associated with disordered rhoa signalling, epithelial polarization and cytokinesis

Inherited mutations in the folliculin (FLCN) gene cause the Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome of familial hair follicle tumours (fibrofolliculomas), lung cysts and kidney tumours. Though folliculin has features of a tumour suppressor, the precise function of the FLCN gene product is not well characterized. We identified plakophilin-4 (p0071) as a potential novel folliculin interacting protein by yeast two-hybrid analysis. We confirmed the interaction of folliculin with p0071 by co-immunoprecipitation studies and, in view of previous studies linking p0071 to the regulation of rho-signalling, cytokinesis and intercellular junction formation, we investigated the effect of cell folliculin status on p0071-related functions. Folliculin and p0071 partially co-localized at cell junctions and in mitotic cells, at the midbody during cytokinesis. Previously, p0071 has been reported to regulate RhoA signalling during cytokinesis and we found that folliculin deficiency was associated with increased expression and activity of RhoA and evidence of disordered cytokinesis. Treatment of folliculin-deficient cells with a downstream inhibitor of RhoA signalling (the ROCK inhibitor Y-27632) reversed the increased cell migration phenotype observed in folliculin-deficient cells. Deficiency of folliculin and of p0071 resulted in tight junction defects and mislocalization of E-cadherin in mouse inner medullary collecting duct-3 renal tubular cells. These findings suggest that aspects of folliculin tumour suppressor function are linked to interaction with p0071 and the regulation of RhoA signalling

Genomic Data Analysis of SARS-Cov-2 Variants and Trends

The objective of this study was to analyze SARS-Cov-2 sequence variants and trends during the pandemic. This study was done using SARS-Cov-2 positive patient samples from Boise State University and the surrounding community. For variant analysis, Next Generation Sequencing was performed and the sequences were analyzed using the DRAGEN COVID Lineage (version 3s) pipeline on Illumina’s BaceSpace software. Any sequences with low-quality control were removed from the data. Some of the factors that were analyzed included symptoms by clade, campus positivity rates and the amount of campus and community tests run each semester. Individuals from the Boise State campus were identified as off-campus students, on-campus students, or faculty/staff members. The COVID sequencing data was also analyzed against key demographics such as an individual’s gender, age, race, ethnicity, and location. Sequences were also organized by the phylogeny of clades found from 2020-2024

Registered Replication Report : Strack, Martin, & Stepper (1988)

According to the facial feedback hypothesis, people’s affective responses can be influenced by their own facial expression (e.g., smiling, pouting), even when their expression did not result from their emotional experiences. For example, Strack, Martin, and Stepper (1988) instructed participants to rate the funniness of cartoons using a pen that they held in their mouth. In line with the facial feedback hypothesis, when participants held the pen with their teeth (inducing a “smile”), they rated the cartoons as funnier than when they held the pen with their lips (inducing a “pout”). This seminal study of the facial feedback hypothesis has not been replicated directly. This Registered Replication Report describes the results of 17 independent direct replications of Study 1 from Strack et al. (1988), all of which followed the same vetted protocol. A meta-analysis of these studies examined the difference in funniness ratings between the “smile” and “pout” conditions. The original Strack et al. (1988) study reported a rating difference of 0.82 units on a 10-point Likert scale. Our meta-analysis revealed a rating difference of 0.03 units with a 95% confidence interval ranging from −0.11 to 0.16

Conservation of Sagebrush Ecosystems Through Diet Analysis of an Obligate Species

Sage Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is an obligate species that depends on sagebrush to survive and serves as an indicator species and umbrella species for the sagebrush ecosystem. The sagebrush ecosystem has been declining rapidly therefore understanding the impacts on Sage Grouse could aid researchers and land managers in best practices to protect the long-term viability of the species, the ecosystem, and 350 other species that depend on it, including humans. One way to understand these impacts is through dietary indicators, such as the availability of preferred forage plants. In the past, this has been done by direct observation, which requires many hours in the field, and crop dissection, which involves collecting carcasses. These are both time-consuming and costly. Recent advances have shown that diet can be more easily and accurately determined through the sequencing of plant DNA in fecal samples targeting the ITS2 gene of plants. My project involves extracting plant DNA from fecal samples, optimizing a primer set for PCR of the ITS2 gene, performing DNA barcoding using next-generation sequencing, and comparing the results with reference genomes of plants