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This experiment was carried out to provide a comprehensive insight into the protein activities involved in dormancy establishment in seeds of common cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium), an annual plant with two dimorphic seeds contained in one casing known as a burr. These consist of a smaller dormant seed and a larger non‐dormant seed. The proteome profile was compared between developing dormant and non‐dormant seeds of Xanthium strumarium at five consecutive stages including three, 10, 20, 30, and 45 days after burr emergence (stages 1 to 5). We identified 6524 proteins in total, and approximately 3.6% of these were differentially abundant proteins (DAPs) between the two seed types. Both seed types showed fundamental changes in developmental programs during the examined stages. More than 38% of all DAPs were observed at the first stage, supporting the importance of the early developmental stage in seed fate determination. The detected DAPs at stage 1 were mainly associated with the cell division phase, which showed a delay in the dormant seeds. Over‐representation of proteins responsible for cell wall biosynthesis, cytokinesis, and seed development were detected for non‐dormant seeds at the first stage, while dormancy‐associated proteins showed less abundance. Stage 3 was the critical stage for switching processes toward seed maturation and abscisic acid (ABA) signaling. Interestingly, higher abundance proteins in the mature non‐dormant seed were mainly involved in the facilitation of seed germination. Taken together, the temporal pattern of the accumulated proteins in developing dormant seeds demonstrated a delay in the initiation of active cell division, enriched response to ABA, and defects in seed maturation. Moreover, stored proteins in the mature dormant seed delay germination but not dormancy induction. Finally, our results suggest that dormancy may be established at a stage of seed development earlier than previously thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The risk minimization measures (RMM) for systemic use of thiocolchicoside (TCC) was implemented across Europe during 2014–2016. RMM included restriction of use in age <16 years, maximum dose and duration, chronic conditions, contraindication in pregnancy, lactation or in women of childbearing potential [WOCBP] without appropriate contraception. The current Drug Utilization Study was aimed to describe the prescribing practices of TCC in France and Italy. Method: The study analyzed data (demographic, prescription, diagnosis, and concomitant treatment) from electronic medical record databases. It compares drug utilization during pre‐implementation (baseline: year 2013) and post‐implementation (years 1, 2, and 3) of RMM. This study included panels of general practitioners (FGP) and rheumatologists (FRH) in France and Italy (IGP). Results: TCC was largely prescribed as adjuvant therapy in both pre‐implementation (FGP: 93.5%, FRH: 88.8%, IGP: 86.6%) and post‐implementation (FGP: 92.3%, FRH: 89.5%, IGP: 89.0%) periods. Prescribing patterns were different in France and Italy, with FGP and FRH mainly prescribing oral formulation (>95% and >80%, respectively), while IGP prescribing intramuscular formulation (>70%). Prescriptions to patients aged ≥16 years were >99% in all panels during both periods. An improvement was observed in compliance with treatment duration for oral formulation in the FGP panel post‐implementation versus pre‐implementation (66.2% vs. 46.7%; p < 0.001). There was no change in prescription rate post RMM implementation in pregnant (FGP: 0.5%, IGP: 4.7%) and in WOCBP without appropriate contraception (FGP: 89.3%, IGP: 93.4%). Conclusion: These results highlighted changes in prescribing practices of TCC after RMM implementation, which varied across panels and measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personnel selection determines the input quality of personnel, therefore, plays a decisive role in human resource management. Personnel selection problem has been studied extensively. Selecting the best personnel among many alternatives is a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) problem. The necessity of dealing with uncertainty in real world problems has been a long-term research challenge that has originated different methodologies and theories. Fuzzy decision making along with their extensions have provided a wide range of tools that are able to deal with uncertainty in different types of problems. Fuzzy decision making methods have become increasingly popular in decision making for personnel selection. Various decision making approaches have been proposed to solve the problem. This paper presents a comprehensive literature review of the applying Fuzzy decision making techniques in personnel selection problem.

Seed dormancy ensures plant survival but many mechanisms remain unclear. A high-throughput RNA-seq analysis investigated the mechanisms involved in the establishment of dormancy in dimorphic seeds of Xanthium strumarium (L.) developing in one single burr. Results showed that DOG1, the main dormancy gene in Arabidopsis thaliana L., was over-represented in the dormant seed leading to the formation of two seeds with different cell wall properties. Less expression of DME/EMB1649, UBP26, EMF2, MOM, SNL2, and AGO4 in the non-dormant seed was observed, which function in the chromatin remodelling of dormancy-associated genes through DNA methylation. However, higher levels of ATXR7/SDG25, ELF6, and JMJ16/PKDM7D in the nondormant seed that act at the level of histone demethylation and activate germination were found. Dramatically lower expression in the splicing factors SUA, PWI, and FY in non-dormant seed may indicate that variation in RNA splicing for ABA sensitivity and transcriptional elongation control of DOG1 is of importance for inducing seed dormancy. Seed size and germination may be influenced by respiratory factors, and alterations in ABA content and auxin distribution and responses. TOR (a serine/threonine-protein kinase) is likely at the centre of a regulatory hub controlling seed metabolism, maturation, and germination. Over-representation of the respirationassociated genes (ACO3, PEPC3, and D2HGDH) was detected in non-dormant seed, suggesting differential energy supplies in the two seeds. Degradation of ABA biosynthesis and/or proper auxin signalling in the large seed may control germinability, and suppression of endoreduplication in the small seed may be a mechanism for cell differentiation and cell size determination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal contamination of soil is primarily attributed to human activities and there is an increasing need to conduct risk assessments to characterize the nature and magnitude of risks to humans and ecological receptors from these contaminants. Trace metals (As, Sb, Cd, Cr, Pb, Co, Ni, V, Se, Zn, Fe) in soils from the Chelpu region of North East Iran were analyzed by ICP-OES to assess pollution using the geo-accumulation index (Igeo) and the enrichment factor (EF). The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) model was applied to calculate human health risk (HHR). Physicochemical and textural properties of the soil including pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic matter (OM), calcium carbonate equivalent (CCE) were examined in 26 surface and subsurface soils and related to metal levels. Metal concentrations varied considerably [As (7.1–1448.8 mg/kg), Sb (7.7–74.4 mg/kg), Pb (0.6–26.5 mg/kg), Cd (1–2.6 mg/kg), Cr (67.5–527 mg/kg), Co (18.4–42.6 mg/kg), Ni (85.9–548.6 mg/kg), Sr (180.3–670.6 mg/kg), V (85.3–158.4 mg/kg), Se (0.4–3.10 mg/kg), Zn (44.6–104.9 mg/kg), and Fe (29,400–51,800 mg/kg)]. The Igeo indicated that soils were moderately polluted with As, Se, Ni, and Co but heavily to extremely contaminated with Sb and Cd compared with natural soils (USEPA). The enrichment factor (EF) values demonstrated that levels of As, Ni, and Co were moderately enriched but levels of Se, Cd, and Sb were substantially enriched. In contrast, Pb, Cr, Sr, V, and Zn levels were low. Using a human health risk assessment approach, non-carcinogen effects (HI >1) through ingestion of 13.04% of soil samples were determined. Carcinogenic effects through the ingestion pathway were observed for As and Cr in 13% and 3.9% of the soil samples, respectively. Organic matter (OM) content was significantly correlated with As (0.461, α = 0.05), Sb (0.605, α = 0.01), and Se (0.552, α = 0.01). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Islam and Democracy. By John L. Esposito and John O. Voll. New York: Oxford University Press, $45.00 cloth; $17.95 paper. This book consists of eight chapters, plus an introduction and [...]

Byline: Shafagh. Nikpour, Mohammad. Yazdanpanah, Reza. Afshari, Masoud. Maleki, Majid. Ghayour-Mobarhan, Mohammad. Shakeri, Zahra. Maghami, Mohsen. Sadrneshin, Zohre. Seidi Sir, In Iran, the annual incidence of pemphigus vulgaris is 10 [...]