Breaking seed dormancy in oil rose (Rosa damascena Mill.) by microbial inoculation

This study was carried out to determine the effects of microbial inoculation in breaking seed dormancy and on the germination of Rosa damascena Mill. Seeds of R. damascena Mill. are the most used scented rose species in rose oil production. The most important production centers around the world are Turkey and Bulgaria. The seeds were subjected to 4 weeks of warm stratification at 25°C, followed by 150 days of cold stratification at 4 ± 1°C. Before stratification, 4 different microbial fertilizers, EM•1®, B:speel™, BioplinTM and Phosfert™ were inoculated to the seeds. In the study, the microbial inoculation treatments significantly (p < 0.01) promoted the premature germination percentage during cold stratification. During the stratification, the highest premature germination percentage was obtained from the EM•1® (69.3%). The highest germination percentage in terms of cumulative germination percentage was determined in EM•1® (100.0%), followed by Phosfert™ (84.0%) and B: seepel™ (84.0%), whereas the lowest germination percentage was found in the control treatment (69.3%). The EM•1® shortened the mean germination time by 1.7 days in comparison to the control. In conclusion, it was observed that with microbial inoculation (particularly EM•1®) to oil rose seeds and a stratification time of 150 days, dormancy was broken and germination highly improved.Key words: Rosa damascena Mill, dormancy, germination, microbial inoculation, stratification

Partitioning a call graph

Splitting a large software system into smaller and more manageable units has become an important problem for many organizations. The basic structure of a software system is given by a directed graph with vertices representing the programs of the system and arcs representing calls from one program to another. Generating a good partitioning into smaller modules becomes a minimization problem for the number of programs being called by external programs. First, we formulate an equivalent integer linear programming problem with 0–1 variables. theoretically, with this approach the problem can be solved to optimality, but this becomes very costly with increasing size of the software system. Second, we formulate the problem as a hypergraph partitioning problem. This is a heuristic method using a multilevel strategy, but it turns out to be very fast and to deliver solutions that are close to optimal

Social media and online digital technology use among Muslim young people and parents: Qualitative focus group study

Background: Digital technology and social media use are common among young people in Australia and worldwide. Research suggests that young people have both positive and negative experiences online, but we know little about the experiences of Muslim communities. Objective: This study aims to explore the positive and negative experiences of digital technology and social media use among young people and parents from Muslim backgrounds in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Methods: This study involved a partnership between researchers and a not-for-profit organization that work with culturally and linguistically diverse communities. We adopted a participatory and qualitative approach and designed the research in consultation with young people from Muslim backgrounds. Data were collected through in-person and online focus groups with 33 young people aged 16-22 years and 15 parents aged 40-57 years. Data were thematically analyzed. Results: We generated 3 themes: (1) maintaining local and global connections, (2) a paradoxical space: identity, belonging and discrimination, and (3) the digital divide between young Muslims and parents. Results highlighted that social media was an important extension of social and cultural connections, particularly during COVID-19, when people were unable to connect through school or places of worship. Young participants perceived social media as a space where they could establish their identity and feel a sense of belonging. However, participants were also at risk of being exposed to discrimination and unrealistic standards of beauty and success. Although parents and young people shared some similar concerns, there was a large digital divide in online experiences. Both groups implemented strategies to reduce social media use, with young people believing that having short technology-free breaks during prayer and quality family time was beneficial for their mental well-being. Conclusions: Programs that address technology-related harms must acknowledge the benefits of social media for young Muslims across identity, belonging, representation, and social connection. Further research is required to understand how parents and young people can create environments that foster technology-free breaks to support mental well-being.2-s2.0-851306018033553661

Can intravenous oxytocin infusion counteract hyperinflammation in COVID-19 infected patients?

Objectives Based on its well-documented anti-inflammatory and restorative properties we propose trials with the natural hormone oxytocin for treatment of hospitalised Covid-19 patients. Methods We searched for, retrieved, and commented on specific literature regarding multiple functions of oxytocin with a special focus on its modulation of inflammatory, immune, and restorative functions. Results Available data gathered in animals and humans support the anti-inflammatory properties of oxytocin. The multiple anti-inflammatory effects of oxytocin have been demonstrated in vitro and in vivo in various animal models and also in humans in response to intravenous infusion of oxytocin. Furthermore, oxytocin has been documented to activate several types of protective and restorative mechanisms and to exert positive effects on the immune system. Conclusions In addition, to being anti-inflammatory, it may be hypothesised, that oxytocin may be less suppressive on adaptive immune systems, as compared with glucocorticoids. Finally, by its restorative effects coupled with its anti-stress and healing properties, oxytocin may shorten the recovery period of the Covid-19 patients

Embodied imitation-enhanced reinforcement learning in multi-agent systems

Imitation is an example of social learning in which an individual observes and copies another's actions. This paper presents a new method for using imitation as a way of enhancing the learning speed of individual agents that employ a well-known reinforcement learning algorithm, namely Q-learning. Compared with other research that uses imitation with reinforcement learning, our method uses imitation of purely observed behaviours to enhance learning, with no internal state access or sharing of experiences between agents. The paper evaluates our imitation-enhanced reinforcement learning approach in both simulation and with real robots in continuous space. Both simulation and real robot experimental results show that the learning speed of the group is improved. © The Author(s) 2013

Overdiagnosis and overtreatment of breast cancer: Is overdiagnosis an issue for radiologists?

Overdiagnosis is diagnosis of cancers that would not present within the life of the patient and is one of the downsides of screening. This applies to low-grade ductal carcinoma in situ and some small grade 1 invasive cancers. Radiologists are responsible for cancer diagnosis, but at the time of diagnosis they cannot determine whether a particular low-grade diagnosis is one to which the definition of overdiagnosis applies. Overdiagnosis is likely to be driven by technological developments, including digital mammography, computer-aided detection and improved biopsy techniques. It is also driven by the patient's fear that cancer will be missed and the doctor's fear of litigation. It is therefore an issue of importance for radiologists, presenting them with difficult fine-tuned decisions in every assessment clinic that are ultimately counted later by those who evaluate their screening

Modulation of oestrone sulphate formation and hydrolysis in breast cancer cells by breast cyst fluid from British and Hungarian women

Women with gross cystic breast disease may have an increased risk of breast cancer. In this study the ability of breast cyst fluid (BCF), obtained from British or Hungarian women, to modulate oestrone sulphate (E1S) formation or hydrolysis, has been examined. For this, oestrogen receptor-positive (ER+) MCF-7 or MDA-MB-231 (ER–) breast cancer cells were employed. The formation and hydrolysis of E1S was measured using radiometric techniques. BCF from British and Hungarian women mainly inhibited E1S hydrolysis in MCF-7 cells while stimulating hydrolysis in MDA-MB-231 cells. The extent of inhibition or stimulation of E1S hydrolysis in these cells was related to the Na+/K+ratio of the BCF. There was a significant inverse relationship between the extent to which BCF samples inhibited hydrolysis in MCF-7 cells and stimulated it in MDA-MB-231 cells. BCF stimulated E1S formation in MCF-7 cells while inhibiting formation in MDA-MB-231 cells. No difference in the ability of BCF from British or Hungarian women to inhibit or stimulate E1S hydrolysis was detected in ER+ or ER– breast cancer cells. In contrast, BCF from British women stimulated E1S formation in ER+ cells (median 82%) to a significantly greater extent (P< 0.01) than BCF from Hungarian women (median 33%). The role that E1S has in breast cancer development remains unclear. The greater stimulation of E1S formation by BCF from British women, who have a higher risk of breast cancer than Hungarian women, suggests that it may act as a storage form of oestrogen within cells that can be activated by oestrone sulphatase. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig

Energy consumption in chemical fuel-driven self-assembly

Nature extensively exploits high-energy transient self-assembly structures that are able to perform work through a dissipative process. Often, self-assembly relies on the use of molecules as fuel that is consumed to drive thermodynamically unfavourable reactions away from equilibrium. Implementing this kind of non-equilibrium self-assembly process in synthetic systems is bound to profoundly impact the fields of chemistry, materials science and synthetic biology, leading to innovative dissipative structures able to convert and store chemical energy. Yet, despite increasing efforts, the basic principles underlying chemical fuel-driven dissipative self-assembly are often overlooked, generating confusion around the meaning and definition of scientific terms, which does not favour progress in the field. The scope of this Perspective is to bring closer together current experimental approaches and conceptual frameworks. From our analysis it also emerges that chemically fuelled dissipative processes may have played a crucial role in evolutionary processes

Prostate-specific antigen and hormone receptor expression in male and female breast carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Prostate carcinoma is among the most common solid tumors to secondarily involve the male breast. Prostate specific antigen (PSA) and prostate-specific acid phosphatase (PSAP) are expressed in benign and malignant prostatic tissue, and immunohistochemical staining for these markers is often used to confirm the prostatic origin of metastatic carcinoma. PSA expression has been reported in male and female breast carcinoma and in gynecomastia, raising concerns about the utility of PSA for differentiating prostate carcinoma metastasis to the male breast from primary breast carcinoma. This study examined the frequency of PSA, PSAP, and hormone receptor expression in male breast carcinoma (MBC), female breast carcinoma (FBC), and gynecomastia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Immunohistochemical staining for PSA, PSAP, AR, ER, and PR was performed on tissue microarrays representing six cases of gynecomastia, thirty MBC, and fifty-six FBC.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>PSA was positive in two of fifty-six FBC (3.7%), focally positive in one of thirty MBC (3.3%), and negative in the five examined cases of gynecomastia. PSAP expression was absent in MBC, FBC, and gynecomastia. Hormone receptor expression was similar in males and females (AR 74.1% in MBC vs. 67.9% in FBC, p = 0.62; ER 85.2% vs. 68.5%, p = 0.18; and PR 51.9% vs. 48.2%, p = 0.82).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>PSA and PSAP are useful markers to distinguish primary breast carcinoma from prostate carcinoma metastatic to the male breast. Although PSA expression appeared to correlate with hormone receptor expression, the incidence of PSA expression in our population was too low to draw significant conclusions about an association between PSA expression and hormone receptor status in breast lesions.</p