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The nuclear lamina can bind and sequester transcription factors (TFs), a function lost if the lamina is abnormal, with missing or mutant lamin proteins. We now show that TF sequestration is not all-or-nothing, but a dynamic physiological response to external signals. We show that the binding of the ubiquitous TF, Oct-1, to lamin B1 was reversed under conditions of cellular stress caused, inter alia, by the chemical methylating agent methylmethanesulfonate (MMS). A search for lamin B1 post-translational modifications that might mediate changes in Oct-1 binding using kinase inhibitors uncovered a role for c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Phosphoproteomic and site-directed mutagenesis analyses of lamin B1 isolated from control and MMS-treated nuclei identified T575 as a JNK site phosphorylated after stress. A new phospho-T575 specific anti-peptide antibody confirmed increased interphase cellular T575 phosphorylation after cell exposure to certain stress conditions, enabling us to conclude that lamin B1 acts as an interphase kinase target, releasing Oct-1 to execute a protective response to stress.

Abscisic acid ((+)-ABA) is a phytohormone involved in the modulation of developmental processes and stress responses in plants. A chemical proteomics approach using an ABA mimetic probe was combined with in vitro assays, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), x-ray crystallography and in silico modelling to identify putative (+)-ABA binding-proteins in crude extracts of Arabidopsis thaliana. Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) was identified as a putative ABA-binding protein. Radiolabelled-binding assays yielded a Kd of 47 nM for (+)-ABA binding to spinach Rubisco, which was validated by ITC, and found to be similar to reported and experimentally derived values for the native ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP) substrate. Functionally, (+)-ABA caused only weak inhibition of Rubisco catalytic activity (Ki of 2.1 mM), but more potent inhibition of Rubisco activation (Ki of ~ 130 μM). Comparative structural analysis of Rubisco in the presence of (+)-ABA with RuBP in the active site revealed only a putative low occupancy (+)-ABA binding site on the surface of the large subunit at a location distal from the active site. However, subtle distortions in electron density in the binding pocket and in silico docking support the possibility of a higher affinity (+)-ABA binding site in the RuBP binding pocket. Overall we conclude that (+)-ABA interacts with Rubisco. While the low occupancy (+)-ABA binding site and weak non-competitive inhibition of catalysis may not be relevant, the high affinity site may allow ABA to act as a negative effector of Rubisco activation.

Recent genome wide association studies have linked tribbles pseudokinase 1 (TRIB1) to the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). Based on the observations that increased expression of TRIB1 reduces secretion of VLDL and is associated with lower plasma levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, higher plasma levels of HDL cholesterol and reduced risk for myocardial infarction, we carried out a high throughput phenotypic screen based on quantitative RT-PCR assay to identify compounds that induce TRIB1 expression in human HepG2 hepatoma cells. In a screen of a collection of diversity-oriented synthesis (DOS)-derived compounds, we identified a series of benzofuran-based compounds that upregulate TRIB1 expression and phenocopy the effects of TRIB1 cDNA overexpression, as they inhibit triglyceride synthesis and apoB secretion in cells. In addition, the compounds downregulate expression of MTTP and APOC3, key components of the lipoprotein assembly pathway. However, CRISPR-Cas9 induced chromosomal disruption of the TRIB1 locus in HepG2 cells, while confirming its regulatory role in lipoprotein metabolism, demonstrated that the effects of benzofurans persist in TRIB1-null cells indicating that TRIB1 is sufficient but not necessary to transmit the effects of the drug. Remarkably, active benzofurans, as well as natural products capable of TRIB1 upregulation, also modulate hepatic cell cholesterol metabolism by elevating the expression of LDLR transcript and LDL receptor protein, while reducing the levels of PCSK9 transcript and secreted PCSK9 protein and stimulating LDL uptake. The effects of benzofurans are not masked by cholesterol depletion and are independent of the SREBP-2 regulatory circuit, indicating that these compounds represent a novel class of chemically tractable small-molecule modulators that shift cellular lipoprotein metabolism in HepG2 cells from lipogenesis to scavenging.

The honey bee, Apis mellifera L., is one of the main pollinators worldwide. In a temperate climate, seasonality affects the life span, behavior, physiology, and immunity of honey bees. In consequence, it impacts their interaction with pathogens and parasites. In this study, we used Bayesian statistics and modeling to examine the immune response dynamics of summer and winter honey bee workers after injection with the heat-killed bacteria Serratia marcescens, an opportunistic honey bee pathogen. We investigated the humoral and cellular immune response at the transcriptional and functional levels using qPCR of selected immune genes, antimicrobial activity assay, and flow cytometric analysis of hemocyte concentration. Our data demonstrate increased antimicrobial activity at transcriptional and functional levels in summer and winter workers after injection, with a stronger immune response in winter bees. On the other hand, an increase in hemocyte concentration was observed only in the summer bee population. Our results indicate that the summer population mounts a cellular response when challenged with heat-killed S. marcescens, while winter honey bees predominantly rely on humoral immune reactions. We created a model describing the honey bee immune response dynamics to bacteria-derived components by applying Bayesian statistics to our data. This model can be employed in further research and facilitate the investigating of the honey bee immune system and its response to pathogens., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright: © 2024 Hurychová et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Research on a health-related event at the stage of labour and the occurrence of adverse outcomes at the school age has provided inconclusive results. Thus far, no systematic reviews have been conducted. Thus, the objective of this study is to investigate the association between hypoxia during pregnancy or delivery and the subsequent occurrence of a developmental dyslexia in school-age children., Methods: We used a standard search strategy of electronic databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library) and handsearching. We included observational studies (cohort studies, case-control studies) that consider as an exposure the presence of hypoxia during pregnancy or delivery, and as an outcome, developmental dyslexia in school-age children. Two reviewers independently conducted the search and determined eligibility, which was not restricted by language or year of publication., Results: The search took place until 1 April 2023. Of the 1,336 abstracts screened, 6 were assessed for eligibility. Of the six eligible studies, no studies met the pre-specified eligibly criteria., Conclusions: We were unable to assess the association between hypoxia and developmental dyslexia, as no eligible studies were found. Thus, the association between hypoxia during pregnancy or delivery and dyslexia in school-age children remains unknown., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Radtke et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Polyamide 12 (PA12) is vastly utilized in many additive manufacturing methods, such as Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), and a better understanding of its mechanical behaviors promotes available knowledge on the behaviors of 3D-printed parts made from this polymer. In this paper, SLS-produced standard tensile specimens are studied under monotonic and cyclic tension tests, as well as stress relaxation experiments, and the obtained force-displacement responses are shown to be consistent with a hyper-viscoelastic material model. This finding is also observed in typical pantographic structures produced by the same manufacturing parameters. To propose a constitutive model for predicting these behaviors, the convolution integral of a strain-dependent function and a time-dependent function is developed where the material parameters are determined with the use of both short-term and long-term responses of the specimens. Numerical results of the presented model for standard test specimens are shown to be in good agreements with the experimental ones under various loading conditions. To prove the capabilities of the proposed model in studying any SLS-produced part, finite element implementation of the constitutive equations is shown to provide numerical results in agreement with the empirical findings for tensile loading of the 3D-printed pantographic structure., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Kadkhodaei et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Using a cutting-edge net-shape manufacturing technique called Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM), highly complex components that are not achievable with conventional wrought and cast methods can be produced. As a result, the aerospace sector is paying closer attention to using this technology to fabricate superalloys based on nickel to develop the holistic gas turbine. Because of this, there is an increasing need for the mechanical characterisation of such material. Conventional mechanical testing is hampered by the limited availability of material that has been processed, especially given the large number of process factors that need to be assessed. Thus, the present study focuses on manufacturing CM247LC Ni-based superalloy with exceptional mechanical characteristics by laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF). This study evaluates the effect of input process variables such as laser power, scan speed, hatch distance and volumetric energy density on the mechanical performance of the LPBF CM247LC superalloy. The maximum value of as-built tensile strength obtained in the study is 997.81 MPa. Plotting Pearson's heatmap and the Feature importance (F-test) was used in the data analysis to examine the impact of input parameters on tensile strength. The accuracy of the tensile strength data classification by machine learning algorithms, such as k-nearest neighbours, Naïve Baiyes, Support vector machine, XGBoost, AdaBoost, Decision tree, Random forest, and logistic regression algorithms, was 92.5%, 83.75%, 83%, 85%, 87.5%, 90%, 91.25%, and 77.5%, respectively., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Jatti et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Nowadays many patients are choosing EDOF or multifocal lenses for replacement of natural lens in cataract surgery. This can result in issues such as presence of dysphotopsias, namely halo and glare. In this work, we propose a new perimetry method to describe dysphotopsias in far-field region in a presence of bright, point-like light source. We constructed a custom device and designed measurement procedure for quantitative measurement of dysphotopias in the center of visual field and used it to examine patients with mild cataracts or implanted IOLs. Our approach may help in establishing an objective method to study and compare dysphotopsias., Competing Interests: Authors KP, JB, KK and AK filled patent No. PL440849 to Warsaw University of Technology. This did not alter the authors’ adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials., (Copyright: © 2024 Petelczyc et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Objectives: The article aims to compare payment schemes for cataract, glaucoma, vitrectomy, cornea transplantations, DME, and AMD across Hungary, Poland, and Ukraine, and to identify implementable practices in Ukraine within the context of ongoing healthcare reforms., Methods: Researchers used mixed-method research-with legal documents and data analysis on utilisation of ophthalmology services between 2010 and 2019 and in-depth semi structured interviews with fifteen health experts from Hungary, Poland, and Ukraine. Interviewees, five from each country, were representatives from healthcare providers and payers with at least 10 years' experience in ophthalmology care and knowledge about financing schemes in each country of residence., Results: We identified significant differences in healthcare delivery and financing of ophthalmology services between Hungary and Poland, despite both countries rely on Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG) based systems for hospital care. Good practices for financing specific eye treatments like cataract, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic macular edema (DME), cornea transplantations, and vitrectomy are identified. The financing scheme, including financial products and incentives, can influence the volume of treatments. Access to ophthalmic care is a key concern, with differences in treatment schemes between Hungary (ambulatory care) and Poland (hospital care), leading to higher costs and the need for centralization of complex procedures like cornea transplantations., Conclusions: The article highlights the importance of incentivizing quality improvements and removing financial barriers in Poland, while Hungary should focus on continuous monitoring of treatment methods and flexibility in reimbursement. For Ukraine, the research findings are significant due to ongoing healthcare reform, and the country seeks optimal practices while considering the experiences of other countries., Competing Interests: All authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright: © 2024 Więckowska et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Introduction: Quality of life (QoL) is an important health indicator among children and adolescents. Evidence on the effect of physical activity (PA)-related behaviors on QoL among youth remains inconsistent. Conventional accelerometer-derived PA metrics and guidelines with a focus on whole weeks may not adequately characterize QoL relevant PA behavior., Objective: This study aims to a) identify clusters of accelerometer-derived PA profiles during weekend days among children and adolescents living in Switzerland, b) assess their cross-sectional and predictive association with overall QoL and its dimensions, and c) investigate whether the associations of QoL with the newly identified clusters persist upon adjustment for the commonly used PA metrics moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and time spent in sedentary behavior (SB)., Methods: The population-based Swiss children's Objectively measured PHYsical Activity (SOPHYA) cohort among children and adolescents aged 6 to 16 years was initiated at baseline in 2013. PA and QoL information was obtained twice over a five-year follow-up period. The primary endpoint is the overall QoL score and its six dimension scores obtained by KINDL® questionnaire. The primary predictor is the cluster membership of accelerometer-derived weekend PA profile. Clusters were obtained by applying the k-medoid algorithm to the distance matrix of profiles obtained by pairwise alignments of PA time series using the Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) algorithm. Secondary predictors are accelerometer-derived conventional PA metrics MVPA and SB from two combined weekend days. Linear regression models were applied to assess a) the cross-sectional association between PA cluster membership and QoL at baseline and b) the predictive association between PA cluster membership at baseline and QoL at follow-up, adjusting for baseline QoL., Results: The study sample for deriving PA profile clusters consisted of 51.4% girls and had an average age of 10.9 [SD 2.5] years). The elbow and silhouette methods indicated that weekend PA profiles are best classified in two or four clusters. The most differentiating characteristic for the two-clusters classification ("lower activity" and "high activity"), and the four-clusters classification ("inactive", "low activity", "medium activity", and "high activity"), respectively was the participant's mean counts per 15-seconds epoch. Participants assigned to high activity clusters were younger and more often male. Neither the clustered PA profiles nor MVPA or SB were cross-sectionally or predictively associated with overall QoL. The only association of a conventional PA metrics with QoL while adjusting for cluster membership was observed between MVPA during the weekend days and social well-being with a mean score difference of 2.4 (95%CI: 0.3 to 4.5; p = 0.025)., Conclusion: The absence of strong associations of PA metrics for the weekend with QoL, except for the positive association between MVPA during the weekend days and social well-being, is in line with results from two randomized studies not showing efficacy of PA interventions on youth QoL. But because PA decreases with age, its promotion and relevance to QoL remain important research topics. Larger longitudinal study samples with more than two follow-up time points of children and adolescents are needed to derive new novel accelerometer-derived PA profiles and to associate them with QoL dimensions., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Darkhawaja et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: In 2012, Botswana introduced 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-13) to its childhood immunization program in a 3+0 schedule, achieving coverage rates of above 90% by 2014. In other settings, PCV introduction has been followed by an increase in carriage or disease caused by non-vaccine serotypes, including some serotypes with a high prevalence of antibiotic resistance., Methods: We characterized the serotype epidemiology and antibiotic resistance of pneumococcal isolates cultured from nasopharyngeal samples collected from infants (≤12 months) in southeastern Botswana between 2016 and 2019. Capsular serotyping was performed using the Quellung reaction. E-tests were used to determine minimum inhibitory concentrations for common antibiotics., Results: We cultured 264 pneumococcal isolates from samples collected from 150 infants. At the time of sample collection, 81% of infants had received at least one dose of PCV-13 and 53% had completed the three-dose series. PCV-13 serotypes accounted for 27% of isolates, with the most prevalent vaccine serotypes being 19F (n = 20, 8%), 19A (n = 16, 6%), and 6A (n = 10, 4%). The most frequently identified non-vaccine serotypes were 23B (n = 29, 11%), 21 (n = 12, 5%), and 16F (n = 11, 4%). Only three (1%) pneumococcal isolates were resistant to amoxicillin; however, we observed an increasing prevalence of penicillin resistance using the meningitis breakpoint (2016: 41%, 2019: 71%; Cochran-Armitage test for trend, p = 0.0003) and non-susceptibility to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (2016: 55%, 2019: 79%; p = 0.04). Three (1%) isolates were multi-drug resistant., Conclusions: PCV-13 serotypes accounted for a substantial proportion of isolates colonizing infants in Botswana during a four-year period starting four years after vaccine introduction. A low prevalence of amoxicillin resistance supports its continued use as the first-line agent for non-meningeal pneumococcal infections. The observed increase in penicillin resistance at the meningitis breakpoint and the low prevalence of resistance to ceftriaxone supports use of third-generation cephalosporins for empirical treatment of suspected bacterial meningitis., Competing Interests: MSK is a consultant for Merck & Co, Inc. and Invivyd, and has research funding from Merck & Co., Inc. through Duke University. SIP has received honoraria from Pfizer, Inc., Merck Vaccines, GSK, and Sanofi for advisory board participation, data safety monitoring board membership, and consulting related to pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. SIP additionally receives research funding from Merck & Co., Inc. and Pfizer through Boston Medical Center. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. The other authors report no relevant conflicts of interest”., (Copyright: © 2024 Hurst et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

A retrospective observational study was conducted among healthcare workers (HCWs) in a tertiary paediatric hospital. The study covered the period before and after implementation of the vaccination programme and evaluated the incidence of new SARS-CoV-2 infections in both periods. Risk factors of the new SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness was also assessed in a real-world setting. The overall incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections among HCWs in the study period was 19.4% with a high proportion of asymptomatic individuals (45.1%). The incidence before vaccination was 16.6% and nurses had a higher risk of infection, while physicians had a reduced risk (OR 1.80, 95% CI 1.29-2.52; and OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.30-0.68). Within two months of implementation, the programme achieved a high (88.9%) vaccination coverage in our cohort, although some disparities in vaccination rates were observed. In particular, older individuals, physicians, those working in clinical settings, and those previously uninfected were more likely to be vaccinated. The overall incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection after vaccination deployment was 6.4% (40.0% in unvaccinated individuals and 3.2% in individuals vaccinated with at least one dose). The estimated vaccine efficacy was high (95.0%) in fully vaccinated HCWs and similar to those observed previously in clinical trials and real-world settings., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Kasztelewicz et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The role of endemic species in global biodiversity is pivotal, and understanding their biology and ecology is imperative for their fitness and long-term survival, particularly in the face of ongoing climatic oscillations. Our primary goal was to investigate the sexual reproduction level of the endangered Western Carpathian endemic Daphne arbuscula (Thymelaeaceae), which inhabits extreme rocky habitats, and to comprehend the influence of specific factors on its reproductive success. We conducted the research across four populations, varying in size and environmental conditions. Over two years, we monitored flower and fruit production, analyzed genetic variability within and among populations, and studied pollination mechanisms. Daphne arbuscula proved to be strictly self-incompatible, with significant variations in flower and fruit production among populations and seasons. The average fruit production percentage consistently remained below 50% across populations, indicating challenges in sexual reproduction. Cold and harsh weather during the reproductive phase had a substantial negative impact on sexual reproduction efficacy, leading to decreased fruit production. Nevertheless, several individuals in sheltered microhabitats displayed significantly higher fruit production, ranging from 60% to 83%, emphasizing the critical role of microhabitat heterogeneity in sustaining sexual reproduction in this species. We found no pronounced differences in genetic diversity within or among populations, suggesting that genetic factors may not critically influence the reproductive success of this endemic species. The implications of our findings might be of paramount importance for the long-term survival of D. arbuscula and offer valuable insights for the development of effective conservation strategies for this species., Competing Interests: He authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Gajdošová et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Postural adjustments (PA) occur to counteract predictable perturbations and can be impaired as a result of musculoskeletal and neurological dysfunctions. The most common way to detect PA is through electromyography measurements or center of pressure (COP) position measurements, where analysis in time domain and frequency domain are the most common. Aim of the research was to determine whether a new method of analyzing stabilographic measurements-the COP trend change analysis (TCI) of temporary posture corrections- can expand understanding of changes in balance strategy connected with PA. The study group involved 38 individuals (27women, 11men) aged 23±2.6 years. Measurements were performed using a stabilographic platform placed on a perturbation platform. The tests involved three measurements with forward and backward momentary movements of the platform. Participants were tested in three conditions-knowing the nature, time and direction of perturbation (Tr3), knowing only the nature of perturbation (Tr2) and without any information about the perturbation (Tr1). Statistically significant differences were revealed in the last second of Tr3 for the mean velocity of COP (p<0.05) and for two TCI parameters-TCI&#95;dV (p<0.05) and TCI&#95;dS (p<0.01). The increase in TCI&#95;dV was related to the increase in the mean distance between trend changes (TCI&#95;dS) and constant value of the mean time between trend changes (TCI&#95;dT). The increase of the mean value of TCI&#95;dS was the result of smaller number of posture corrections with the distance 0-2 mm and lager number with the distance 4-6 mm. Obtained results proved that the TCI analysis is a method enabling an extended analysis of PA, indicating the nature of changes occurring in posture corrections-longer momentary jumps of COP-related to a change in the strategy of maintaining balance before a known disorder, which has not been analyzed in this type of research so far., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Wodarski et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The article examines financial hardship (FH) that appears as one of the essential socio-economic-financial categories reflecting a financial burden on society and therefore having a significant impact on the social and economic development of the country. The purpose of this article is to propose and approve a methodology for the complex quantitative assessment of financial difficulty, which allows comparing countries one another. The novelty of the conducted research is manifested by the formed financial hardship adequately exposing a system of indicators and suggesting the transformation of incomparable indicators into the comparable ones. The paper proposes a methodology for the integrated assessment of financial hardship based on multi-criteria methods, which contributes to solving the problems of the social sustainability and economic development of the countries employing different research methods. The proposed methodology provides a possibility of moving to a higher level of research comparing the countries as a whole, in line to the current status of FH. The actual benefits of the carried out research arise from the opportunity to envisage targeted measures for increasing social sustainability subject to the specific situation of the financial hardship of the countries thus removing the burdens of further economic development., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Ginevičius et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

In 2015, 193 UN members adopted the resolution "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development", which set out 17 Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved by 2030. The aim of the study is to assess progress towards meeting SDG 7 "Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all" by individual EU countries in 2010-2021 and to determine their distance in relation to the target set for 2030. Eurostat monitors and assesses progress towards SDG 7 using seven indicators. These indicators were used to create an aggregate index. In order to limit the impact of the compensation effect on the ranking of EU countries, we applied dynamic relative taxonomy with the geometric mean to create an aggregate measure that takes into account target values for the indicators with adjusted data. The study reveals systematic progress towards reaching the EU's SDG 7 in the period 2010-2021, with differences between individual EU countries clearly decreasing. The smallest distance in relation to the target set for SDG 7 can be observed for Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, and Austria. By far the greatest progress in period 2010-2021 has been achieved by Malta, and significant for Cyprus, Latvia, Belgium, Ireland, and Poland., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Walesiak, Dehnel. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Comprehensive crash analysis includes calculating impact speed, which requires the determination of kinetic energy expended on the deformation of the vehicle's structural elements at the point of contact during a collision. The accuracy of the input data affects the resulting analysis of the crash. Therefore, this article aims to analyse selected factors influencing the determination of Energy Equivalent Speed (EES) determination using the CRASH3 algorithm: the extent of damage using defined measurement points, deformation width, and also limit speed b0. The variables were varied depending on selected factors such as the extent of damage, the type of collision (overlap), and also vehicle type (vehicle category classification). The presented study concluded that using 2 equally spaced measurement points to define the deformation profile should not be recommended in forensic practice when using CRASH3 algorithm. Using 7 measurement points seems more appropriate in case of equal spacing, even though the differences in calculated EES are not high when using 5 or 6 measurement points, especially with respect to the inaccuracy/technically acceptable tolerance of the EES value determination. The resulting EES is significantly influenced by variation of the deformation width. The used b0 range had a significant effect on the resulting EES value only in the case of SUVs. These vehicles show higher stiffness, which supposes the use of lower b0 values should not be recommended., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Moravcová et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Introduction: Increased plasma trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) is observed in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, originating from the gut microbiota product, trimethylamine (TMA), via flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMOs)-dependent oxidation. Numerous studies have investigated the association between plasma TMAO and various pathologies, yet limited knowledge exists regarding tissue concentrations of TMAO, TMAO precursors, and interspecies variability., Methods: Chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry was employed to evaluate tissue concentrations of TMAO and its precursors in adult male mice, rats, and guinea pigs. FMO mRNA and protein levels were assessed through PCR and Western blot, respectively., Results: Plasma TMAO levels were similar among the studied species. However, significant differences in tissue concentrations of TMAO were observed between mice, rats, and guinea pigs. The rat renal medulla exhibited the highest TMAO concentration, while the lowest was found in the mouse liver. Mice demonstrated significantly higher plasma TMA concentrations compared to rats and guinea pigs, with the highest TMA concentration found in the mouse renal medulla and the lowest in the rat lungs. FMO5 exhibited the highest expression in mouse liver, while FMO3 was highly expressed in rats. Guinea pigs displayed low expression of FMOs in this tissue., Conclusion: Despite similar plasma TMAO levels, mice, rats, and guinea pigs exhibited significant differences in tissue concentrations of TMA, TMAO, and FMO expression. These interspecies variations should be considered in the design and interpretation of experimental studies. Furthermore, these findings may suggest a diverse importance of the TMAO pathway in the physiology of the evaluated species., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Maksymiuk et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The present study aimed to identify declared patterns of ideal appearance among students at selected higher education institutions in Poland. In the present study, we set out to identify the body image and the propensity to change it. In order to achieve the goal of the study, a nationwide survey was carried out using a voluntary diagnostic survey. A total of 810 respondents took part in the survey. The study was conducted using a custom-made self-designed survey questionnaire with an indirect interview technique via a web-based platform (CAWI). The study results indicate that women were far more eager to maintain an attractive appearance through dieting than men. Importantly, the respondents, both women and men, did not identify influencers as role models of attractive appearance. Results of the present survey reveal that attitudes towards one's physical appearance are diverse and influenced by the considered factors. The attributes that determined the perception of oneself as an attractive person included height, weight, and body build. Normal body weight is a key feature of an attractive appearance, according to the respondents; nevertheless, students show a higher tolerance for being overweight than for being underweight. Furthermore, preferences in this respect are largely conditioned by individual personal characteristics. According to young people, a person with an attractive appearance is one who eats and exercises regularly, and who does not fall into extremes in terms of their appearance. On the other hand, the fear of growing fat and losing one's attractive appearance was frequently indicated among the concerns over personal appearance. Only one in five respondents expressed complete satisfaction with how they looked, with men and those with a normal BMI significantly more likely to do so. Respondents expressed readiness to undertake a range of activities related to increased exercise regime, changes in their eating habits, or seeking assistance (e.g., of a personal trainer) to achieve the desired body shape. Our findings can be used as a basis for discussion and consideration in developing educational activities on nutrition, as well as on overweight- and obesity-related health issues., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright: © 2023 Platta et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

In recent years precise and up-to-date information regarding seabed depth has become more and more important for companies and institutions that operate on coastlines. While direct, in-situ measurements are performed regularly, they are expensive, time-consuming and impractical to be performed in short time intervals. At the same time, an ever-increasing amount of satellite imaging data becomes available. With these images, it became possible to develop bathymetry estimation algorithms that can predict seabed depth and utilize them systematically. Since there are a number of theoretical approaches, physical models, and empirical techniques to use satellite observations in order to estimate depth in the coastal zone, the presented article compares the performance and precision of the most common one to modern machine learning algorithms. More specifically, the models based on shallow neural networks, decision trees and Random Forest algorithms have been proposed, investigated and confronted with the performance of pure analytical models. The particular proposed machine learning models differ also in a set of satellite data bands used as an input as well as in applying or not geographical weighting in the learning process. The obtained results point towards the best performance of the regression tree algorithm that incorporated as inputs information about data localization, raw reflectance data from four satellite data bands and a quotient of logarithms of B2 and B3 bands. The study for the paper was performed in relatively optically difficult and spatially variant conditions of the south Baltic coastline starting at Szczecin, Poland on the west (53°26'17'' N, 14°32'32'' E) to Hel peninsula (54°43'04,3774'' N 18°37'56,9175'' E). The reference bathymetry data was acquired from Polish Marine Administration. It was obtained through profile probing with single-beam sonar or direct in-situ probing., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Chybicki et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The research was based on a field experiment carried out in the Agricultural Experimental Station in the climatic and soil conditions of north-eastern Poland. The factors of the experiment were: I-morphotypes of winter oilseed rape: population, restored hybrid with a traditional type of growth, restored hybrid with a semi-dwarf type of growth. II-methods of using preparations: variant (1)-control-without using preparations; variant (2)-an organic preparation containing microorganisms as well as micro and macro elements (Ugmax); variant (3)-a biostimulant containing 13.0% of P₂0₅ and 5.0% of potassium oxide (K₂O); variant (4)-a biostimulant containing silicon. The objectives of study was to determine the effect of preparations containing microorganisms as this well as micro and macro-elements, phosphorus and potassium and silicon on the morphometric features of plants, such as: the height of the first fruit-bearing lateral branching on the main shoot, the thickness of the stem at the base, number of productive branches and siliques on the plant, the length of the pods, plant height before harvesting. The organic preparation containing microorganisms as well as micro and macro-elements, applied in the autumn before sowing seeds and in the spring after the start of vegetation, had the most beneficial effect on the biometric characteristics of plants before harvesting., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Sikorska et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Pathogens transmitted between wildlife and domestic animals can pose a threat to endangered species, undermine conservation efforts in wildlife, and affect productivity and parasite control in domestic animals. There are several examples of pathogen transmission between European bison and other animals. The present study surveyed breeders from the vicinity of four large wisent populations in eastern Poland about observed contacts between wisent and cattle. Such contacts were noted by 37% of breeders, indicating a significant risk of contact between European bison and cattle in the study areas, even in the areas where the European bison live mainly in a forest complex, i.e., in the Borecka Forest. A higher potential risk of contacts between European bison and cattle was noted in the Białowieska Forest and the Bieszczady Mountains than in the Borecka and Knyszyńska Forests. In the Białowieska Forest, the risk of viral pathogen transmission resulting from contacts is higher (more direct contacts), and in the case of the Bieszczady Mountains, the probability of parasitic diseases is higher. The chance of contacts between European bison and cattle depended on the distance of cattle pastures from human settlements. Moreover, such contact was possible throughout the year, not only in spring and fall. It appears possible to minimize the risk of contacts between wisent and cattle by changing management practices for both species, such as keeping grazing areas as close as possible to settlements, and reducing the time cattle graze on pastures. However, the risk of contact is much greater if European bison populations are large and are dispersed beyond forest complexes., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Klich et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The activities of alpha-amylase, beta-amylase, sucrose synthase, and invertase enzymes are under the influence of storage conditions and can affect the structure of starch, as well as the sugar content of potatoes, hence altering their quality. Storage in a warehouse is one of the most common and effective methods of storage to maintain the quality of potatoes after their harvest, while preserving their freshness and sweetness. Smart monitoring and evaluation of the quality of potatoes during the storage period could be an effective approach to improve their freshness. This study is aimed at assessing the changes in the potato quality by an electronic nose (e-nose) in terms of the sugar and carbohydrate contents. Three potato cultivars (Agria, Santé, and Sprite) were analyzed and their quality variations were separately assessed. Quality parameters (i.e. sugar and carbohydrate contents) were evaluated in six 15-day periods. The e-nose data were analyzed by means of chemometric methods, including principal component analysis (PCA), linear data analysis (LDA), support vector machine (SVM), and artificial neural network (ANN). Quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA) and multivariate discrimination analysis (MDA) offer the highest accuracy and sensitivity in the classification of data. The accuracy of all methods was higher than 90%. These results could be applied to present a new approach for the assessment of the quality of stored potatoes., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Khorramifar et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Long-duration space exploratory missions to the Earth's moon and the planet Mars are actively being planned. Such missions will require humans to live for prolonged periods beyond low earth orbit where astronauts will be continuously exposed to high energy galactic cosmic rays (GCRs). A major unknown is the potential impact of GCRs on the risks of developing degenerative cardiovascular disease, which is a concern to NASA. A ground-based rat model has been used to provide a detailed characterization of the risk of long-term cardiovascular disease from components of GCRs at radiation doses relevant to future human missions beyond low earth orbit. Six month old male WAG/RijCmcr rats were irradiated at a ground-based charged particle accelerator facility with high energy ion beams broadly representative of GCRs: protons, silicon and iron. Irradiation was given either as a single ion beam or as a combination of three ion beams. For the doses used, the single ion beam studies did not show any significant changes in the known cardiac risk factors and no evidence of cardiovascular disease could be demonstrated. In the three ion beam study, the total cholesterol levels in the circulation increased modestly over the 270 day follow up period, and inflammatory cytokines were also increased, transiently, 30 days after irradiation. Perivascular cardiac collagen content, systolic blood pressure and the number of macrophages found in the kidney and in the heart were each increased 270 days after irradiation with 1.5 Gy of the three ion beam grouping. These findings provide evidence for a cardiac vascular pathology and indicate a possible threshold dose for perivascular cardiac fibrosis and increased systemic systolic blood pressure for complex radiation fields during the 9 month follow up period. The development of perivascular cardiac fibrosis and increased systemic systolic blood pressure occurred at a physical dose of the three ion beam grouping (1.5 Gy) that was much lower than that required to show similar outcomes in earlier studies with the same rat strain exposed to photons. Further studies with longer follow up periods may help determine whether humans exposed to lower, mission-relevant doses of GCRs will develop radiation-induced heart disease., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Lenarczyk et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Objectives: For the proper diagnosis of toxoplasmosis it is essential to determine the stage of the infection, for which the most preferred method is IgG avidity test. The avidity index (AI) should initially be low (AI≤0.3) in the acute phase and increase during the infection. However, persistent low avidity can occur in patients with latent toxoplasmosis, which can complicate the interpretation of the results. The aim of the study is to explain the causes of this phenomenon., Methodology: A retrospective study was carried out with 717 serum samples collected from 442 patients from the categories of pregnant and non-pregnant women, men, and newborns + infants (age < 0.5 year). The trends of AI kinetics were evaluated in repeatedly examined patients. The frequency of cases with low avidity was compared in individual categories of patients and in groups of people with acute and non-acute toxoplasmosis., Results: The proportion of patients with initially low avidity was 42.1% in the acute toxoplasmosis group while it was 13.0% in the non-acute groups. In uninfected newborns with anti-Toxoplasma antibodies transmitted from the mother, a decrease in IgG avidity levels over time was observed, resulting in 29.2% of samples showing low (improper) avidity. While the dynamics of IgG avidity and the frequency of cases of improperly low avidity were similar in men and pregnant and non-pregnant women, the category of newborns and infants differed substantially for these indicators., Conclusions: Due to acceptable specificity and negative predictive value, high avidity can rule out acute toxoplasmosis, but moderate sensitivity complicates the possibility of its confirmation. The results of the avidity test must be interpreted in the context of the results of other methods., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Kodym et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Research confirms the negative relationship between early marriage and mothers' and children's health outcomes. This is why studies of the changes in age at marriage are an important task from the point of view of the health status and well-being of a mother and her offspring, especially in groups represented by extremely disadvantaged social strata in India. The results of such studies may influence the future family planning policy in the country., Objectives: This study aims to investigate the trend of age at marriage among the Scheduled Castes (SCs) women from two Indian states: Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh relative to the level of education and also to socioeconomic changes in the states. These states manifest the highest proportion of girls getting married below the age of 18 years-far above the proportion observed in entire India., Methods: Women from Scheduled Caste, N = 1,612, aged 25-65, born in 1950-1990 were investigated. A modern semiparametric regression approach was used. To capture the relationship between age at marriage and year of birth, categories of women's level of education (illiterate; primary: 1st-5th standards; middle school: 6th-8th standards; high school: 9th-10th standards; higher secondary: 11th-12th standards), and categories of the profession (women working in the agricultural sector or the non-agricultural sector), flexible framework of the Generalized Additive Model (GAM) was applied., Results: A significant impact of the cohort defined by the year of birth (<0.001), and women's education (<0.001) on age at marriage was noted, while the influence of women's occupation was not significant (p = 0.642). Mean age at marriage differed significantly with different education level. Women who graduated from primary school married 0.631 years later on average than illiterate ones, while those who graduated from middle schools, high schools (9th-10th standards) and higher secondary schools married significantly later than illiterate ones by 1.454 years and 2.463 years, respectively. Age at marriage increased over time: from slightly above 15 years in the cohort of illiterate women born in 1950 to almost 19 years in quite well-educated women born in 1990. The average age at marriage estimated for four education levels in 1990 ranged between 16.39 years (95%CI: 15.29-17.50) in the group of illiterate women and 18.86 years (95%CI: 17.76-19.95) in women graduated from high and higher secondary schools., Conclusion: The rise of age at marriage can be partly explained by the increase of females enrolled in schools, the alleviation of poverty, and the implementation of social programs for women., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Liczbińska et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Loss of physiological nocturnal blood pressure (BP) decline is an independent predictor of cardiovascular risk and mortality. The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of body composition and fat distribution on 24-hour BP pattern and nocturnal dipping of mean arterial pressure (MAP) in patients with obesity. The study comprised 436 patients, 18 to 65 years old (306 women), with BMI ≥30 kg/m2. Body composition was assessed with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and blood pressure was assessed by 24-hour BP monitoring. The prevalence of hypertension was 64.5% in patients with BMI <40 kg/m2 and increased to 78.7% in individuals with BMI ≥50 kg/m2 (p = 0.034). The whole-body DXA scans showed that the hypertensive patients were characterized by a greater lean body mass (LBM) and a higher abdominal-fat-to-total-fat-mass ratio (AbdF/FM), while the normotensive participants had greater fat mass, higher body fat percentage and more peripheral fat. Loss of physiological nocturnal MAP decline was diagnosed in 50.2% of the patients. The percentage of non-dippers increased significantly: from 38.2% in patients with BMI <40 kg/m2 to 50.3% in those with BMI 40.0-44.9 kg/m2, 59.0% in patients with BMI 45.0-49.9 kg/m2, 71.4% in those with BMI 50.0-54.9 kg/m2 and 83.3% in patients with BMI ≥55 kg/m2 (p = 0.032, p = 0.003, p<0.001, and p = 0.002 vs. BMI <40 kg/m2, respectively). The multivariable regression analysis showed that patients at the highest quartiles of body weight, BMI, LBM and AbdF/FM had significantly reduced nocturnal MAP dipping compared with patients at the lowest quartiles, respectively., Competing Interests: The authors have decleared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Tałałaj et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The study aimed to determine whether the reaction time (RT) to the starting signal has an impact on the points scored by elite male motorcycle speedway riders, or whether it depends on the starting position (gate). Differences among junior and senior riders, and how it changes during a single match (15 heats) and in the subsequent phases of the competitive season (the main and knockout phases) were investigated. The database of reaction times to the starting signal obtained by motorcycle speedway riders was collected from a mobile application called PGE Ekstraliga ver. 1.0.66 (PGE Ekstraliga, Warsaw, Poland). The database included 1.261 results obtained by 65 male riders (age 25.9 ±7.6 years), competing in the highest league in Poland (PGE Speedway Ekstraliga) in the 2021 competitive season. Reaction time was measured using the Pegasus Speedway © telemetry system (Black Burst, Warsaw, PL). Riders scoring 3 points during a heat had the fastest reaction time (F(3,1257) = 8.90, p<0.001, η2 = 0.02), but RT did not influence the final result of the match (p<0.130). The times differ depending on the occupied starting position (F(3,1257) = 6.89, p<0.001, η2 = 0.02), with the fastest RT in the inner position-A compared to the B (p<0.05) and C (p <0.001) positions. Senior riders showed significantly faster RT (0.246s) compared to junior ones (0.258s) (p<0.001). The width of the starting line affects the reaction time (F(3,1257) = 7.94, p<0.001, η2 = 0.02). In the last (15th) heat of the match, RT was the fastest. The fast reaction time during the start affects the scoring of more points in a heat but depends on riders' experience, the starting position and the straight width of the motorcycle speedway stadium. Coaches should pay attention to these factors when programming training measures., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Markowski et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

In recent years, numerous prognostic models have been developed to predict VO2max. Nevertheless, their accuracy in endurance athletes (EA) stays mostly unvalidated. This study aimed to compare predicted VO2max (pVO2max) with directly measured VO2max by assessing the transferability of the currently available prediction models based on their R2, calibration-in-the-large, and calibration slope. 5,260 healthy adult EA underwent a maximal exertion cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) (84.76% male; age 34.6±9.5 yrs.; VO2max 52.97±7.39 mL·min-1·kg-1, BMI 23.59±2.73 kg·m-2). 13 models have been selected to establish pVO2max. Participants were classified into four endurance subgroups (high-, recreational-, low- trained, and "transition") and four age subgroups (18-30, 31-45, 46-60, and ≥61 yrs.). Validation was performed according to TRIPOD guidelines. pVO2max was low-to-moderately associated with direct CPET measurements (p>0.05). Models with the highest accuracy were for males on a cycle ergometer (CE) (Kokkinos R2 = 0.64), females on CE (Kokkinos R2 = 0.65), males on a treadmill (TE) (Wasserman R2 = 0.26), females on TE (Wasserman R2 = 0.30). However, selected models underestimated pVO2max for younger and higher trained EA and overestimated for older and lower trained EA. All equations demonstrated merely moderate accuracy and should only be used as a supplemental method for physicians to estimate CRF in EA. It is necessary to derive new models on EA populations to include routinely in clinical practice and sports diagnostic., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Wiecha et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

A range of analytical methods (GC-MS, LC-MS, voltammetry, microbiological and microscopic techniques, PCR) was used to assay a range of potential chemical and biological contaminants in soil and dandelion samples. The results provide the first comprehensive safety analysis of dandelion as a herbal product. Samples were collected from three different sites in Poland where the local population collects dandelion plants for their own consumption: Rudenka (a mountain meadow in the European Ecological Network of Natura 2000 protection area, free of agrotechnical treatments for over 30 years), Warszawa 1 (dense single-family housing with heavy traffic), and Warszawa 2 (recreation area with heavy traffic near a coal-fired heat and power plant). The assays of heavy metals and other chemical pollutants (PAHs, PCBs, dioxins, pesticides, mycotoxins) confirm that all collected soil and dandelion samples were chemically pure; however, 95 species of pathogenic bacteria were detected, including "carnivorous" Vibrio vulnificus, zoonotic Pasteurella pneumotropica, Pasteurella canis, Staphylococcus pseudintermedius, Staphylococcus lentus and Francisella tularensis as well as 14 species of pathogenic fungi and one protozoan parasite (Giardia intestinalis). The discovery of septicemia agents V. vulnificus, Fusobacterium mortiferum and Rahnella aquatilis in the soil surrounding dandelion roots and in the flowers, G. intestinalis in dandelion leaves and roots samples, all collected in Warsaw, is highly disturbing. This finding underlines the need for increased caution when collecting dandelion in densely populated areas with a large population of pets. Thorough washing of the harvested plants is necessary before using them for consumption, especially in the case of making salads from fresh dandelion leaves, which is becoming increasingly popular among people leading healthy and an environmentally friendly lifestyle., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Boguś et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Despite the potential detrimental consequences for individuals' health and discrimination from covid-19 symptoms, the outcomes have received little attention. This study examines the relationships between having personally experienced discrimination based on the symptoms of covid-19 (during the first wave of the pandemic), mental health, and emotional responses (anger and sadness). It was predicted that covid-19 discrimination would be positively related to poor mental health and that this relationship would be mediated by the emotions of anger and sadness., Methods: The study was conducted using an online questionnaire from January to June 2020 (the Covistress network; including 44 countries). Participants were extracted from the COVISTRESS database (Ntotal = 280) with about a half declaring having been discriminated due to covid-19 symptoms (N = 135). Discriminated participants were compared to non-discriminated participants using ANOVA. A mediation analysis was conducted to examine the indirect effect of emotional responses and the relationships between perceived discrimination and self-reported mental health., Results: The results indicated that individuals who experienced discrimination based on the symptoms of covid-19 had poorer mental health and experienced more anger and sadness. The relationship between covid-19 personal discrimination and mental health disappeared when the emotions of anger and sadness were statistically controlled for. The indirect effects for both anger and sadness were statistically significant., Discussion: This study suggests that the covid-19 pandemic may have generated discriminatory behaviors toward those suspected of having symptoms and that this is related to poorer mental health via anger and sadness., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Dambrun et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Coronary artery bypass revascularization is still the optimal treatment for complex coronary artery disease with good long-term results. The relation between inflammatory activation in the post-operative period and the long-term prognosis was already postulated. The possible predictive role of preoperative inflammatory indexes after the off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting technique on long term survival was the aim of the study. Study population included 171 patients with a median age of 64 years (59-64) operated on using off-pump technique between January and December 2014. Patients enrolled in the current study were followed-up for 8 years. We conducted a multivariable analysis of pre-operative and post-operative inflammatory markers based on analysis of the whole blood count. The overall survival rate was 80% for the total follow-up period, while 34 deaths were reported (30-days mortality rate of 1%). In the multivariable analysis, a pre-operative value of systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI) >1.27 (HR = 6.16, 95% CI 2.17-17.48, p = 0.012) revealed a prognostic value for long-term mortality assessment after off-pump surgery. Preoperative inflammatory activation evaluated by systemic inflammatory reaction index (SIRI) possess a prognostic value for patients with complex coronary artery disease. The SIRI value above 1.27 indicates a worse late prognosis after off-pump coronary artery bypass (AUC = 0.682, p<0.001)., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2022 Urbanowicz et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

This study aimed to assess the capacity for repeated maximal effort (RME) of soccer players in the thermo-natural conditions (NC) and in simulated conditions for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar (QSC). Twenty-four semi-professional soccer players participated in the study. The exercise test consisted of ten 6-second maximal efforts on a cycloergometer. A 90-second passive rest interval was used. The test was performed in a Weiss Technik WK-26 climate test chamber in two different conditions: 1) thermo-neutral conditions (NC-20.5°C; 58.7% humidity); and 2) simulated conditions for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar (QSC-28.5 ± 1.92°C; 58.7 ± 8.64% humidity). Power-related, physiological, psychomotor, blood, and electrolyte variables were recorded. Results showed that (1) players achieved higher peak power (max 1607,46 ± 192,70 [W] - 3rd rep), needed less time to peak power (min 0,95 ± 0,27 [s] - 3rd rep), and had a higher fatigue slope (max 218,67 ± 59,64 [W/sek] - 7th rep) in QSC than in NC (in each repetition of study protocol); (2) between the 1st repetition and subsequent repetitions a number of significants in among physiological, blood-related, and electrolyte variables were noted, but their direction was similar in both simulated conditions (e.g. V'O2/kg 37,59 ± 3,96 vs 37,95 ± 3,17 [ml/min/kg] - 3rd rep, LAC 13,16 ± 2,61 vs 14,18 ± 3,13 [mg/dl] - 10th rep or K 4,54 ± 0,29 vs 4,79 ± 0,36 [mmol/l] - 2nd rep when compare QCS and NC respectively); (3) an 8°C of temperature difference between the climatic conditions did not significantly affect the soccer players' physical and physiological responses in RME. The study results can be used in the design of training programs aimed to increase players' physiological adaptations by simulating soccer-specific conditions of play in terms of anaerobic capacity, in particular, repetitive maximal efforts. These findings will be useful during the upcoming 2022 World Cup in Qatar and in locations where high ambient temperatures are customary., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2022 Chmura et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCLs) are the most common lymphoproliferative diseases in dogs. DLBCL diagnosis to date has relied on histopathological analysis; however liquid biopsies have gained attention in recent years as a source of diagnostic and prognostic information. Liquid biopsies can be a source of circulating DNA, miRNA, circulating tumour cells or extracellular vesicles (EVs). In this study EVs were isolated from the plasma of healthy dogs, and dogs with lymphoma, and adenocarcinoma by iodixanol density gradient centrifugation. These EVs were positive for the EV markers CD63 and TSG101 and the pan-B cell markers CD79a, CD21, CD45, CD20. NTA analysis revealed that the DLBCL and adenocarcinoma dogs had elevated plasma EVs relative to the healthy dogs. Furthermore, the modal size of lymphoma EVs had decreased relative to healthy dogs while adenocarcinoma EVs were unchanged. This study demonstrates that the plasma EV population is altered in canine lymphoma patients in a manner similar to previous studies on human lymphomas. The similar changes to the EV population in dogs, together with the similar pathological features and treatment protocols in canine and human non-Hodgkin lymphomas would make dogs a good comparative model for studying the role of EVs in DLBCL development and progression., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The immune response and specific antibody production in COVID-19 are among the key factors that determine both prognostics for individual patients and the global perspective for controlling the pandemics. So called "dark figure", that is, a part of population that has been infected but not registered by the health care system, make it difficult to estimate herd immunity and to predict pandemic trajectories. Here we present a follow up study of population screening for hidden herd immunity to SARS-CoV-2 in individuals who had never been positively diagnosed against SARS-CoV-2; the first screening was in May 2021, and the follow up in December 2021. We found that specific antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2 detected in May as the "dark figure" cannot be considered important 7 months later due to their significant drop. On the other hand, among participants who at the first screening were negative for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG, and who have never been diagnosed for SARS-CoV-2 infection nor vaccinated, 26% were found positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG. This can be attributed to of the "dark figure" of the recent, fourth wave of the pandemic that occurred in Poland shortly before the study in December. Participants who were vaccinated between May and December demonstrated however higher levels of antibodies, than those who undergone mild or asymptomatic (thus unregistered) infection. Only 7% of these vaccinated participants demonstrated antibodies that resulted from infection (anti-NCP). The highest levels of protection were observed in the group that had been infected with SARS-CoV-2 before May 2021 and also fully vaccinated between May and December. These observations demonstrate that the hidden fraction of herd immunity is considerable, however its potential to suppress the pandemics is limited, highlighting the key role of vaccinations., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Wavelet transform (WT) is a commonly used method for noise suppression and feature extraction from biomedical images. The selection of WT system settings significantly affects the efficiency of denoising procedure. This comparative study analyzed the efficacy of the proposed WT system on real 292 ultrasound images from several areas of interest. The study investigates the performance of the system for different scaling functions of two basic wavelet bases, Daubechies and Symlets, and their efficiency on images artificially corrupted by three kinds of noise. To evaluate our extensive analysis, we used objective metrics, namely structural similarity index (SSIM), correlation coefficient, mean squared error (MSE), peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and universal image quality index (Q-index). Moreover, this study includes clinical insights on selected filtration outcomes provided by clinical experts. The results show that the efficiency of the filtration strongly depends on the specific wavelet system setting, type of ultrasound data, and the noise present. The findings presented may provide a useful guideline for researchers, software developers, and clinical professionals to obtain high quality images., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Antibiotics released into agricultural fields through the manure of grazing animals could exert harmful impacts on soil microbes and plants. Antibiotics exert high impacts on environment than other pharmaceuticals due to their higher biological activity. However, little is known about their impacts on plants, despite indications that antibiotics exert negative effects on soil microorganisms, which ultimately harm the plants. It has been demonstrated that beneficial microorganisms promote plant growth and development under various stresses. This study evaluated the toxicity of four newly derived sulfonamides (SAs), i.e., 2-(phenylsulfonyl) hydrazine carbothioamide (TSBS-1), N, 2-bis phenyl hydrazine carbothioamide (TSBS-2), aminocarbonyl benzene sulfonamide (UBS-1), and N, N'-carbonyl dibenzene sulfonamide (UBS-2) on bacterial growth and soil microbial respiration. Each SA was tested at four different concentrations (i.e., 2.25, 2.5, 3, 4 mg/ml) against five rhizospheric bacterial strains, including AC (Actinobacteria sp.), RS-3a (Bacillus sp.), RS-7a (Bacillus subtilis), RS-4a (Enterobacter sp.), and RS-5a (Enterobacter sp.). Antimicrobial activity was checked by disc diffusion method, which showed that inhibition zone increased with increasing concentration of SAs. The UBS-1 resulted in the highest inhibition zone (11.47 ± 0.90 mm) against RS-4a with the highest concentration (4 mg/ml). Except TSBS-1, all sulfonamide derivatives reduced CO2 respiration rates in soil. Soil respiration values significantly increased till 6th day; however, exposure of sulfonamide derivatives suppressed microbial respiration after 6th day. On the 20th day, poor respiration activity was noted at 0.23, 0.2, and 0.4 (CO2 mg/g dry soil) for TSBS-1, UBS-1, and UBS-2, respectively. Our results demonstrate that sulfonamides, even in small concentrations, significantly affect soil microbial population and respiration. Soil microbial respiration changes mediated by sulfonamides were dependent on length of exposure and concentration. It is recommended that antibiotics should be carefully watched and their impact on plant growth should be tested in the future studies., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Contribution of UCP1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to susceptibility for cardiometabolic pathologies (CMP) and their involvement in specific risk factors for these conditions varies across populations. We tested whether UCP1 SNPs A-3826G, A-1766G, Ala64Thr and A-112C are associated with common CMP and their risk factors across Armenia, Greece, Poland, Russia and United Kingdom. This case-control study included genotyping of these SNPs, from 2,283 Caucasians. Results were extended via systematic review and meta-analysis. In Armenia, GA genotype and A allele of Ala64Thr displayed ~2-fold higher risk for CMP compared to GG genotype and G allele, respectively (p<0.05). In Greece, A allele of Ala64Thr decreased risk of CMP by 39%. Healthy individuals with A-3826G GG genotype and carriers of mutant allele of A-112C and Ala64Thr had higher body mass index compared to those carrying other alleles. In healthy Polish, higher waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) was observed in heterozygotes A-3826G compared to AA homozygotes. Heterozygosity of A-112C and Ala64Thr SNPs was related to lower WHR in CMP individuals compared to wild type homozygotes (p<0.05). Meta-analysis showed no statistically significant odds-ratios across our SNPs (p>0.05). Concluding, the studied SNPs could be associated with the most common CMP and their risk factors in some populations., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Injection drug use poses a public health challenge. Clinical experience indicates that people who inject drugs (PWID) are hospitalized frequently for infectious diseases, but little is known about outcomes when admitted. Charts were identified from local hospitals between 2013-2018 using consultation lists and hospital record searches. Included individuals injected drugs in the past six months and presented with infection. Charts were accessed using the hospital information system, undergoing primary and secondary reviews using Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap). The Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for comparisons between outcome categories. Categorical data were summarized as count and frequency, and compared using Fisher's exact test. Of 240 individuals, 33% were admitted to the intensive care unit, 36% underwent surgery, 12% left against medical advice (AMA), and 9% died. Infectious diagnoses included bacteremia (31%), abscess (29%), endocarditis (29%), cellulitis (20%), sepsis (10%), osteomyelitis (9%), septic arthritis (8%), pneumonia (7%), discitis (2%), meningitis/encephalitis (2%), or other (7%). Sixty-six percent had stable housing and 60% had a family physician. Fifty-four percent of patient-initiated discharges were seen in the emergency department within 30 days and 29% were readmitted. PWID are at risk for infections. Understanding their healthcare trajectory is essential to improve their care., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Acoustic monitoring has been tested as an alternative to the traditional, human-based approach of surveying birds, however studies examining the effectiveness of different acoustic methods sometimes yield inconsistent results. In this study we examined whether bird biodiversity estimated by traditional surveys of birds differs to that obtained through soundscape surveys in meadow habitats that are of special agricultural importance, and whether acoustic monitoring can deliver reliable indicators of meadows and farmland bird biodiversity. We recorded soundscape and simultaneously surveyed birds by highly skilled human-observers within a fixed (50 m and 100 m) and unlimited radius using the point-count method twice in the breeding season at 74 recording sites located in meadows, in order to compare differences in (1) bird biodiversity estimation of meadow, farmland, songbird, and all bird species and (2) the detection rate of single bird species by these two methods. We found that recorders detected more species in comparison to the human-observers who surveyed birds within a fixed radius (50 and 100 m) and fewer when detection distance for human-observers was unlimited. We did not find significant differences in the number of meadow and farmland bird species detected by recorders and observers within a 100 m radius-the most often used fixed radius in traditional human based point-counts. We also showed how detection rate of 48 the most common bird species in our study differ between these two methods. Our study showed that an acoustic survey is equally effective as human observers surveying birds within a 100 m radius in estimation of farmland and meadow bird biodiversity. These groups of species are important for agricultural landscape and commonly used as indicators of habitat quality and its changes. Even though recorders rarely detect species that remain mostly silent during the observation periods, or species that are further distant than 100 m away, we recommend using acoustic soundscape recording methods as an equally effective and more easily standardised alternative for monitoring of farmland and meadow bird biodiversity. We propose adaptation of acoustic approach to long-term, large-scale monitoring by collecting acoustic data by non-specialists, including landowners and volunteers, and analysing them in a standardised way by units supervising monitoring of agriculture landscape., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The progress in translational cancer research relies on access to well-characterized samples from a representative number of patients and controls. The rationale behind our biobanking are explorations of post-zygotic pathogenic gene variants, especially in non-tumoral tissue, which might predispose to cancers. The targeted diagnoses are carcinomas of the breast (via mastectomy or breast conserving surgery), colon and rectum, prostate, and urinary bladder (via cystectomy or transurethral resection), exocrine pancreatic carcinoma as well as metastases of colorectal cancer to the liver. The choice was based on the high incidence of these cancers and/or frequent fatal outcome. We also collect age-matched normal controls. Our still ongoing collection originates from five clinical centers and after nearly 2-year cooperation reached 1711 patients and controls, yielding a total of 23226 independent samples, with an average of 74 donors and 1010 samples collected per month. The predominant diagnosis is breast carcinoma, with 933 donors, followed by colorectal carcinoma (383 donors), prostate carcinoma (221 donors), bladder carcinoma (81 donors), exocrine pancreatic carcinoma (15 donors) and metachronous colorectal cancer metastases to liver (14 donors). Forty percent of the total sample count originates from macroscopically healthy cancer-neighboring tissue, while contribution from tumors is 12%, which adds to the uniqueness of our collection for cancer predisposition studies. Moreover, we developed two program packages, enabling registration of patients, clinical data and samples at the participating hospitals as well as the central system of sample/data management at coordinating center. The approach used by us may serve as a model for dispersed biobanking from multiple satellite hospitals. Our biobanking resource ought to stimulate research into genetic mechanisms underlying the development of common cancers. It will allow all available "-omics" approaches on DNA-, RNA-, protein- and tissue levels to be applied. The collected samples can be made available to other research groups., Competing Interests: J.P.D. is cofounder and shareholder in Cray Innovation AB. The remaining authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Wheat is an important crop, used as staple food in numerous countries around the world. However, wheat productivity is low in the developing world due to several biotic and abiotic stresses, particularly drought stress. Non-availability of drought-tolerant wheat genotypes at different growth stages is the major constraint in improving wheat productivity in the developing world. Therefore, screening/developing drought-tolerant genotypes at different growth stages could improve the productivity of wheat. This study assessed seed germination and seedling growth of eight wheat genotypes under polyethylene glycol (PEG)-induced stress. Two PEG-induced osmotic potentials (i.e., -0.6 and -1.2 MPa) were included in the study along with control (0 MPa). Wheat genotypes included in the study were 'KLR-16', 'B6', 'J10', '716', 'A12', 'Seher', 'KTDH-16', and 'J4'. Data relating to seed germination percentage, root and shoot length, fresh and dry weight of roots and shoot, root/shoot length ratio and chlorophyll content were recorded. The studied parameters were significantly altered by individual and interactive effects of genotypes and PEG-induced osmotic potentials. Seed germination and growth parameters were reduced by osmotic potentials; however, huge differences were noted among genotypes. A reduction of 32.83 to 53.50% was recorded in seed germination, 24.611 to 47.75% in root length, 37.83 to 53.72% in shoot length, and 53.35 to 65.16% in root fresh weight. The genotypes, 'J4', 'KLR-16' and 'KTDH-16', particularly 'J4' better tolerated increasing osmotic potentials compared to the rest of the genotypes included in the study. Principal component analysis segregated these genotypes from the rest of the genotypes included in the study indicated that these can be used in the future studies to improve the drought tolerance of wheat crop. The genotype 'J4' can be used as a breeding material to develop drought resistant wheat genotypes., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Population immunity (herd immunity) to SARS-CoV-2 derives from two sources: vaccinations or cases of infection with the virus. Infections can be diagnosed as COVID-19 and registered, or they can be asymptomatic, oligosymptomatic, or even full-blown but undiagnosed and unregistered when patients recovered at home. Estimation of population immunity to SARS-CoV-2 is difficult and remains a subject of speculations. Here we present a population screening for SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG and IgA antibodies in Polish citizens (N = 501) who had never been positively diagnosed with or vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2. Serum samples were collected in Wrocław (Lower Silesia) on 15th and 22nd May 2021. Sera from hospitalized COVID-19 patients (N = 22) or from vaccinated citizens (N = 14) served as positive controls. Sera were tested with Microblot-Array COVID-19 IgG and IgA (quantitative) that contain specific SARS-CoV-2 antigens: NCP, RBD, Spike S2, E, ACE2, PLPro protein, and antigens for exclusion cross-reactivity with other coronaviruses: MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, HCoV 229E Np, HCoV NL63 Np. Within the investigated population of healthy individuals who had never been positively diagnosed with or vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, we found that 35.5% (178 out of 501) were positive for SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG and 52.3% (262 out of 501) were positive for SARS-CoV-2-specific IgA; 21.2% of the investigated population developed virus-specific IgG or IgA while being asymptomatic. Anti-RBD IgG, which represents virus-neutralizing potential, was found in 25.6% of individuals (128 out of 501). These patients, though positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, cannot be identified in the public health system as convalescents due to undiagnosed infections, and they are considered unaffected by SARS-CoV-2. Their contribution to population immunity against COVID-19 should however be considered in predictions and modeling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of note, the majority of the investigated population still lacked anti-RBD IgG protection (74.4%); thus vaccination against COVID-19 is still of the most importance for controlling the pandemic., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Active Queue Management (AQM) is recommended by Internet Engineering Task Force to mitigate the bufferbloat phenomenon in the Internet. In this paper, we show the results of comprehensive measurements carried out in our university network, in which a device with an AQM algorithm, designed and programmed for this purpose, was running. The implemented AQM algorithm was based on the dropping function, i.e. arriving packets were dropped randomly, with the probability being a function of the queue length. Several different dropping function forms, proposed in the networking literature, were used, in addition to the classic FIFO queue (no AQM). The experiment lasted over a month, during which the state of the network was measured and recorded several thousand times. This made the results independent of the natural fluctuations of the users' behavior and the network load. Conclusions on the general performance improvement offered by the implemented AQM, as well as the differences in the performance between particular forms of the dropping function, were reached. Some of these conclusions differ from those drawn previously from simulations. This underlines the need for carrying measurements of new AQMs in real, operating networks, with complex, natural traffic., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of cultivation conditions in the context of light on the retention of selected vitamins, minerals and polyphenols in the stem and cap of the oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus L.). Additionally, the effect of the retention of bioactive components on the antioxidant activity of mushroom extracts was evaluated, taking into account the morphological part. Oyster mushrooms grown in the light of 200 lux had higher riboflavin content compared to mushrooms exposed to the light of lower intensity. The thiamine content of the mushrooms dropped with decreasing light intensity during cultivation. The content of biologically active compounds was found to be equal in the stem and the cap. In the case of riboflavin, it was shown that its contents in cap fractions, irrespective of the cultivation method, was statistically significantly higher than in stems. The mineral composition of caps and stems differed from each other. No differences in Zn and Cu content between the morphological parts of the mushroom studied were found. However, it was shown that the stems, regardless of the type of light, contained less iron, magnesium and sodium. Thus, it was observed that limited light exposure caused an increase in the content of total polyphenolic compounds, which did not correlate with antioxidant activity. There was no effect of the light on the antioxidant activity of mushrooms. It was also shown that stem extracts had higher antioxidant activity compared to the extracts obtained from the caps. This findings point to the possibility and potentail of use both fraction of mushrooms in the new food products development., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability, particularly amongst young people. Current intensive care management of TBI patients is targeted at maintaining normal brain physiology and preventing secondary injury. Microdialysis is an invasive monitor that permits real-time assessment of derangements in cerebral metabolism and responses to treatment. We examined the prognostic value of microdialysis parameters, and the inter-relationships with other neuromonitoring modalities to identify interventions that improve metabolism. This was an analysis of prospective data in 619 adult TBI patients requiring intensive care treatment and invasive neuromonitoring at a tertiary UK neurosciences unit. Patients had continuous measurement of intracranial pressure (ICP), arterial blood pressure (ABP), brain tissue oxygenation (PbtO2), and cerebral metabolism and were managed according to a standardized therapeutic protocol. Microdialysate was assayed hourly for metabolites including glucose, pyruvate, and lactate. Cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) and cerebral autoregulation (PRx) were derived from the ICP and ABP. Outcome was assessed with the Glasgow Outcome Score (GOS) at 6 months. Relationships between monitoring variables was examined with generalized additive mixed models (GAMM). Lactate/Pyruvate Ratio (LPR) over the first 3 to 7 days following injury was elevated amongst patients with poor outcome and was an independent predictor of ordinal GOS (p<0.05). Significant non-linear associations were observed between LPR and cerebral glucose, CPP, and PRx (p<0.001 to p<0.05). GAMM models suggested improved cerebral metabolism (i.e. reduced LPR with CPP >70mmHg, PRx <0.1, PbtO2 >18mmHg, and brain glucose >1mM. Deranged cerebral metabolism is an important determinant of patient outcome following TBI. Variations in cerebral perfusion, oxygenation and glucose supply are associated with changes in cerebral LPR and suggest therapeutic interventions to improve cerebral metabolism. Future prospective studies are required to determine the efficacy of these strategies., Competing Interests: I have read the journal’s policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: PJAH is a director of Technicam (Newton Abbot, UK), the manufacturer of the cranial access device used in this study. MC and PS have financial interest in a part of licensing fee for ICM+ software (Cambridge Enterprise Ltd., UK). This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Climate change is causing soil salinization, resulting in huge crop losses throughout the world. Multiple physiological and biochemical pathways determine the ability of plants to tolerate salt stress. Chili (Capsicum annum L.) is a salt-susceptible crop; therefore, its growth and yield is negatively impacted by salinity. Irreversible damage at cell level and photo inhibition due to high production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and less CO2 availability caused by water stress is directly linked with salinity. A pot experiment was conducted to determine the impact of five NaCl salinity levels, i.e., 0,1.5, 3.0, 5.0 and 7.0 dS m-1 on growth, biochemical attributes and yield of two chili genotypes ('Plahi' and 'A-120'). Salinity stress significantly reduced fresh and dry weight, relative water contents, water use efficiency, leaf osmotic potential, glycine betaine (GB) contents, photosynthetic rate (A), transpiration rate (E), stomatal conductance (Ci), and chlorophyll contents of tested genotypes. Salinity stress significantly enhanced malondialdehyde (MDA) contents and activities of the enzymatic antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD). In addition, increasing salinity levels significantly reduced the tissue phosphorus and potassium concentrations, while enhanced the tissue sodium and chloride concentrations. Genotype 'Plahi' had better growth and biochemical attributes compared to 'A-120'. Therefore, 'Plahi' is recommended for saline areas to improve chili production., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.