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The literature provides evidence about the positive impact of shared governance implementation in nursing departments and units, as well as on several aspects of nursing practice, including nurse empowerment, engagement, well-being, job satisfaction, retention, and positive outcomes in direct patient care. Accordingly, many nursing departments of United Arab Emirates (UAE) hospitals have implemented shared governance in their units. However, the success of implementation varies among these hospitals. Therefore, the study aimed to explore the progress of shared governance implementation in hospitals, identify the enablers and inhibitors of implementing the model, and produce a recommendation to help the nursing departments of hospitals to overcome challenges and accelerate the implementation process.

Khaled Saeed Yousef Al Baloushi,1 Annadurai Senthilkumar,1,2 Karthishwaran Kandhan,1 Radhakrishnan Subramanian,1 Jaleel Kizhakkayil,3 Tholkappiyan Ramachandran,4,5 Safa Shehab,6 Shyam Sreedhara Kurup,1 Mohammed Abdul Muhsen Alyafei,1 Ayesha Salem Al Dhaheri,3 Abdul Jaleel1 1Department of Integrative Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates; 2PG and Research Department of Botany, Kandaswami Kandar’s College, Velur, TN, India; 3Department of Nutrition & Health Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates; 4Department of Physics, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 5Department of Physics, Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Science, Saveetha University, Chennai, TN, India; 6Department of Human Anatomy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab EmiratesCorrespondence: Abdul Jaleel, Tel +971-3-713-4576, Email abdul.jaleel@uaeu.ac.aeIntroduction: The synthesis of nanoparticles using naturally occurring reagents such as vitamins, sugars, plant extracts, biodegradable polymers and microorganisms as reductants and capping agents could be considered attractive for nanotechnology. These syntheses have led to the fabrication of limited number of inorganic nanoparticles. Among the reagents mentioned above, plant-based materials seem to be the best candidates, and they are suitable for large-scale biosynthesis of nanoparticles.Methods: The aqueous extract of Moringa peregrina leaves was used to synthesize silver nanoparticles. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by various spectral studies including FT-IR, SEM, HR-TEM and XRD. In addition, the antioxidant activity of the silver nanoparticles was studied viz. DPPH, ABTS, hydroxyl radical scavenging, superoxide radical scavenging, nitric oxide scavenging potential and reducing power with varied concentrations. The anticancer potential of the nanoparticles was also studied against MCF-7 and Caco-2 cancer cell lines.Results: The results showed that silver nanoparticles displayed strong antioxidant activity compared with gallic acid. Furthermore, the anticancer potential of the nanoparticles against MCF-7 and Caco-2 in comparison with the standard Doxorubicin revealed that the silver nanoparticles produced significant toxic effects against the studied cancer cell lines with the IC50 values of 41.59 (Caco-2) and 26.93 (MCF-7) μg/mL.Conclusion: In conclusion, the biosynthesized nanoparticles using M. peregrina leaf aqueous extract as a reducing agent showed good antioxidant and anticancer potential on human cancer cells and can be used in biological applications.Keywords: plant-based nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles, Moringa peregrina, anticancer, antioxidant activity

In this investigation, a pot culture experiment was conducted to estimate the ameliorating effect of drought stress in combination with abscisic acid (ABA) on growth of the economically important vegetable crop lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). Lettuce has high commercial value and is also an important crop in UAE. The research was performed to define the effect of drought stress and amelioration by ABA treatments to reduce the consumption of irrigation water during cultivation of lettuce. The parameters studied included growth and photosynthetic pigments under varied irrigation regimes (48, 72 and 96 h) and plant response to different concentrations of ABA (5 μg L-1, 10 μg L-1, 15 μg L-1) under induced drought stress. In this investigation, drought stress modified the morphological parameters like root and shoot length, total leaf number, fresh and dry weight of lettuce when compared to control. ABA treatments ameliorated drought stress effectively. It can be concluded that ABA applied at a concentration of 10 μg L-1 can be used as a prospective tool to minimize the effects of drought stress during lettuce cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The S allele of the S gene has been cloned from Papaver rhoeas cv. Shirley. The sequence predicts a hydrophilic protein of 14.0 kDa, showing 55.8% identity with the previously cloned S allele, preceded by an 18 amino acid signal sequence. Expression of the S coding region in Escherichia coli produced a form of the protein, denoted Se, which specifically inhibited S pollen in an in vitro bioassay. The recombinant protein was ca. 0.8 kDa larger than the native stigmatic form, indicating post-translational modifications in planta, as was previously suggested for the S protein. In contrast to other S proteins identified to date, S protein does not appear to be glycosylated. Of particular significance is the finding that despite exhibiting a high degree of sequence polymorphism, secondary structure predictions indicate that the S and S proteins may adopt a virtually identical conformation. Sequence analysis also indicates that the P. rhoeas S alleles share some limited homology with the SLG and SRK genes from Brassica oleracea. Previously, cross-classification of different populations of P. rhoeas had revealed a number of functionally identical alleles. Probing of western blots of stigma proteins from plants derived from a wild Spanish population which contained an allele functionally identical to the Shirley S allele with antiserum raised to Se, revealed a protein ( S s) which was indistinguishable in pI and M from that in the Shirley population. A cDNA encoding S s was isolated, nucleotide sequencing revealing a coding region with 99.4% homology with the Shirley-derived clone at the DNA level, and 100% homology at the amino acid level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ahmad M Mansour,1 Jong Wook Lee,2 Seung Ah Yahng,2 Kyu Seop Kim,3 Maha Shahin,4 Nelson Hamerschlak,5 Rubens N Belfort,6 Shree K Kurup71Department of Ophthalmology, American University of Beirut, Rafic Hariri University Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon; 2Division of Hematology, Seoul St Mary’s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 3Department of Ophthalmology, Seoul St Mary’s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 4Department of Ophthalmology, Mansoura University, Mansoura City, Egypt; 5Oncology and Hematology Program, Instituto Israelita de Ensino e Pesquisa Albert Einstein, São Paulo, Brazil; 6Vision Institute, Hospital São Paulo, Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil; 7Department of Ophthalmology, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC, USAAbstract: Aplastic anemia (AA) is a rare disease with few reports on its ophthalmic ­manifestations. The ocular findings are described in a retrospective consecutive series of 719 AA Korean patients followed at the Hematology Clinic of The Catholic University of Korea. Out of a total of 719 patients, 269 patients had eye examinations, 156 patients had retinal evaluation, and 37 (23.7%) had retinal findings. These 37 patients had unilateral retinal ­hemorrhage in seven and bilateral retinal hemorrhage in 30 with mean hemoglobin of 6.6 g/dL (range 2.7–12.6 g/dL) and platelet counts of 18.8×109/L (range 4–157×109/L); central retinal vein occlusion-like picture occurred in nine patients and these had similar rheology to the rest of the subjects; optic disc edema, cotton-wool spots, macular edema, and dry eyes occurred in two, three, five, and three patients, respectively. In this Korean series of 141 subjects with AA, systemic bleeding occurred in 24.8% of subjects, retinal hemorrhage in 37% of subjects, and any bleeding site (eye or elsewhere) occurred in 47.5% of subjects with AA. A literature review (1958–2010) of 200 AA cases revealed retinal hemorrhages in 56%, subhyaloid or vitreous hemorrhage in 9%, peripheral retinal vasculopathy in 5.5%, and cotton-wool spots, Sjögren’s syndrome, or optic disc edema in 4% each. The prevalence of retinopathy among series of AA patients varied from 20% to 28.3%, which is consistent with the Korean series of 24.8%. Management of AA patients needs to involve multiple specialties, including hematologists, ophthalmologists, and infectious disease specialists. Keywords: aplastic anemia, eye, retinopathy, retinal hemorrhage, retinal vasculopathy, thrombocytopenia

Abstract Background Epigenetic marks superimposed on the DNA sequence of eukaryote chromosomes provide agility and plasticity in terms of modulating gene expression, ontology, and response to the environment. Modulating the methylation status of cytosine can generate epialleles, which have been detected and characterised at specific loci in several plant systems, and have the potential to generate novel and relatively stable phenotypes. There have been no systematic attempts to explore and utilise epiallelic variation, and so extend the range of phenotypes available for selection in crop improvement. We developed an approach for generating novel epialleles by perturbation of the DNA methylation status. 5- Azacytidine (5-AzaC) provides selective targeting of 5mCG, which in plants is associated with exonic DNA. Targeted chemical intervention using 5-AzaC has advantages over transgenic or mutant modulation of methyltransferases, allowing stochastic generation of epialleles across the genome. Results We demonstrate the potential of stochastic chemically-induced hypomethylation to generate novel and valuable variation for crop improvement. Systematic analysis of dose–response to 5-AzaC in B. rapa guided generation of a selfed stochastically hypomethylated population, used for forward screening of several agronomic traits. Dose–response was sigmoidal for several traits, similar to that observed for chemical mutagens such as EMS. We demonstrated transgenerational inheritance of some phenotypes. BraRoAZ is a unique hypomethylated population of 1000 E2 sib lines. When compared to untreated controls, 5-Aza C-treated lines exhibited reduced immuno-staining of 5mC on pachytene chromosomes, and Methylation Sensitive Amplified Polymorphism (MSAP) profiles that were both divergent and more variable. There was coincident phenotypic variation among these lines for a range of seed yield and composition traits, including increased seed protein content and decreased oil content, as well as decreased erucic acid and corresponding increases in linoleic and/or palmitic acid. Each 5-AzaC-treated line represents a unique combination of hypomethylated epialleles. Conclusions The approach and populations developed are available for forward and reverse screening of epiallelic variation and subsequent functional and inheritance studies. The generation of stochastically hypomethylated populations has utility in epiallele discovery for a wide range of crop plants, and has considerable potential as an intervention strategy for crop improvement.

Abstract Background Targeted Induced Loci Lesions IN Genomes (TILLING) is increasingly being used to generate and identify mutations in target genes of crop genomes. TILLING populations of several thousand lines have been generated in a number of crop species including Brassica rapa. Genetic analysis of mutants identified by TILLING requires an efficient, high-throughput and cost effective genotyping method to track the mutations through numerous generations. High resolution melt (HRM) analysis has been used in a number of systems to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and insertion/deletions (IN/DELs) enabling the genotyping of different types of samples. HRM is ideally suited to high-throughput genotyping of multiple TILLING mutants in complex crop genomes. To date it has been used to identify mutants and genotype single mutations. The aim of this study was to determine if HRM can facilitate downstream analysis of multiple mutant lines identified by TILLING in order to characterise allelic series of EMS induced mutations in target genes across a number of generations in complex crop genomes. Results We demonstrate that HRM can be used to genotype allelic series of mutations in two genes, BraA.CAX1a and BraA.MET1.a in Brassica rapa. We analysed 12 mutations in BraA.CAX1.a and five in BraA.MET1.a over two generations including a back-cross to the wild-type. Using a commercially available HRM kit and the Lightscanner™ system we were able to detect mutations in heterozygous and homozygous states for both genes. Conclusions Using HRM genotyping on TILLING derived mutants, it is possible to generate an allelic series of mutations within multiple target genes rapidly. Lines suitable for phenotypic analysis can be isolated approximately 8-9 months (3 generations) from receiving M3 seed of Brassica rapa from the RevGenUK TILLING service.

Abstract Accurate analysis of DNA methylation by bisulphite sequencing depends on the complete conversion of all cytosines into uracil. Until now there has been no standard or universal gene identified as an endogenous control to monitor the conversion frequency in plants. Here, we report the development of PCR based assays for one nuclear gene IND (INDEHISCENT) and two mitochondrial genes, NAD (NICOTINAMIDE ADENINE DINUCLEOTIDE) and ATP1 (ATPase SUBUNIT 1). We demonstrated their efficacy as bisulphite conversion controls in Brassica and other plant taxa. The target regions amplified by four primer pairs were found to be consistently free from DNA methylation. Primer pairs for IND.a and NAD were effective within Brassica species, whereas two primer pairs for ATP1 provided reliable controls across a representative range of dicot and monocot angiosperm species. These primer sets may therefore be adopted as controls in plant methylation analysis for a wide range of studies.

Water scarcity and labor shortage pose significant challenges in rice farming. Direct-seeded rice (DSR) is an efficient method that conserves water, reduces labor costs, and allows for full mechanization of cultivation. However, variable planting depth in undulated field leading to deep/shallow sowing of rice seeds during mechanical sowing presents a major hurdle, as existing varieties lack tolerance to deep sowing. To address this, a mapping population comprising 150 F 4 lines, derived from MTU 1010 and AUS295, was developed and phenotyped for emergence from deep soil depth-related traits, including days of emergence (DE), percent germination (PG), mesocotyl length (ML), and coleoptile length (CL). The correlation revealed that DE has a significant negative correlation with PG, ML, and CL, whereas PG, ML, and CL are all positively correlated with each other. The mapping population was genotyped with mid-density SNP assay (1k-RiCA), and a linkage map was established with 414 polymorphic SNP markers. A total of 16 QTLs were identified for four traits, with phenotypic variance explained (PVE) ranging from 6.63% to 19.6% in the WS22. These included 5 QTLs for DE, 3 QTLs for PG, 4 QTLs for ML, and 4 QTLs for CL. Out of 16 QTLs identified, 12 were major effect QTLs ( qDE 1.2 , qDE 1.3 , qDE 1.4 , qDE 2.1 , qDE 12 , qPG 2.1 , qPG 2.2 , qML 2.1 , qML 2.2 , qCL 1 , qCL 2.2 , qCL 2.3 ) and 4 were minor effect QTLs ( qPG 1 , qML 1.2 , qCL 2.1 ). During DS23 season, QTL analysis for DE and PG traits identified seven and three QTLs, respectively. Out of the ten QTLs identified in DS23 season, eight were stable across the season. This study reported 11 novel QTLs, while 7 had been previously reported. The study pinpointed three QTL hotspot regions: one on chromosome 1 ( qPG 1 , qCL 1 ) and two on chromosome 2 ( qPG 2.1 , qML 2.2 , qCL 2.1 ) and ( qPG 2.2 , qCL 2.2 ). Candidate gene analysis in the identified QTL regions found two genes associated with hormonal pathways: OsSLR1 for gibberellin signaling and OsSAUR11 for abscisic acid signaling. Additionally, one gene ( OsMT3a ) associated with early seedling vigor and another ( OsABA8ox1 ) regulates germination through coleoptile growth. The identified QTLs, genes, and breeding lines from this study provide valuable resources for developing rice varieties with enhanced tolerance to deep soil emergence, making them well-suited for mechanized DSR systems., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2025 Mishra, Dixit, Tyagi, Venkateswarlu, Paul, Gurjar, Dixit, Sandhu, Kurup, Kumar, Sinha, Singh and Singh.)

Purpose: This systematic review aimed to assess the updated literature for the prevention of salivary gland hypofunction and xerostomia induced by non-surgical cancer therapies., Methods: Electronic databases of MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCT) that investigated interventions to prevent salivary gland hypofunction and/or xerostomia. Literature search began from the 2010 systematic review publications from the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer/International Society of Oral Oncology (MASCC/ISOO) up to February 2024. Two independent reviewers extracted information regarding study design, study population, cancer treatment modality, interventions, outcome measures, methods, results, risk of bias (RoB version 2), and conclusions for each article., Results: A total of 51 publications addressing preventive interventions were included. Eight RCTs on tissue-sparing radiation modalities were included showing significant lower prevalence of xerostomia, with unclear effect on salivary gland hypofunction. Three RCTs on preventive acupuncture showed reduced prevalence of xerostomia but not of salivary gland hypofunction. Two RCTs on muscarinic agonist stimulation with bethanechol suggested a preventive effect on saliva flow rate and xerostomia in patients undergoing head and neck radiation or radioactive iodine therapy. Two studies on submandibular gland transfer showed higher salivary flow rates compared to pilocarpine and lower prevalence of xerostomia compared to no active intervention. There is insufficient evidence on the effectiveness of vitamin E, amifostine, photobiomodulation, and miscellaneous preventive interventions., Conclusion: This systematic review continues to support the potential of tissue-sparing tecniques and intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) to preserve salivary gland function in patients with head and neck cancer, with limited evidence on other preventive strategies, including acupuncture and bethanecol. Preventive focus should be on optimized and new approaches developed to further reduce radiation dose to the parotid, the submandibular, and minor salivary glands. As these glands are major contributors to moistening of the oral cavity, limiting the radiation dose to the salivary glands through various modalities has demonstrated reduction in prevalence and severity of salivary gland hypofunction and xerostomia. There remains no evidence on preventive approaches for checkpoint inhibitors and other biologicals due to the lack of RCTs., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

DZIF-10c (BI 767551) is a recombinant human monoclonal antibody of the IgG1 kappa isotype. It acts as a SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody. DZIF-10c has been developed for both systemic exposure by intravenous infusion as well as for specific exposure to the respiratory tract by application as an inhaled aerosol generated by a nebulizer. An integrated preclinical/clinical semi-mechanistic population pharmacokinetic model was developed to characterize the exposure profile of DZIF-10c in the systemic circulation and lungs. To inform and reduce uncertainty around exposure in the lungs following different methods of dosing, preclinical cynomolgus monkey data was combined with human data using allometric scaling principles. Human serum concentrations of DZIF-10c from two clinical trials were combined with serum/plasma and lung epithelial lining fluid (ELF) concentrations from three preclinical studies to characterize the relationship between dosing, serum/plasma, and lung exposure. The final model was used to predict exposure in the lungs following different routes of administration. Simulations showed that inhalation provides immediate and relevant exposure in the lung ELF at a much lower dose compared with an infusion. Combining inhalation with intravenous therapy results in high and sustained DZIF-10c exposure in the lungs and systemic circulation, thereby combining the benefits of both routes of administration. By combining preclinical data with clinical data (via allometric scaling principles), the developed population pharmacokinetic model reduced uncertainty around exposure in the lungs allowing evaluation of alternative dosing strategies to achieve the desired concentrations of DZIF-10c in human lungs., Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interest: SK, EB, DDS, US and JK were all full-time employees of Boehringer Ingelheim when the study analysis was conducted. NVDM was an employee of Metrum Research Group at the time of this analysis. HG, FK, and SB are inventors on patent applications on neutralizing antibodies and have received payments from the University of Cologne and the Philipps University of Marburg for licensed antibodies. NVM is an employee of Gilead and former employee of Metrum Research Group. Consent to participate: All patients enrolled in the clinical trials provided written informed consent to participate. No identifying information for individual patients is included in this article., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: The study aimed to determine the associations between several important and potentially modifiable health variables and TMD signs and symptoms., Methods: A total of 209 adult dental patients from two clinics completed surveys on demographics, self-reported awake and sleep bruxism, TMD signs and symptoms, stress, depression, chronic pain, and sleep quality. Correlations and regression analyses were used to identify associations between these health variables and TMD symptoms., Results: Awake bruxism was significantly associated with chronic pain intensity, jaw pain, clenching pain, and headaches. Stress and depression correlated with chronic pain intensity and clenching pain. No correlation was found between BMI and TMD symptoms. In multivariate analysis, both awake and sleep bruxism were associated with TMD symptoms, while sleep quality was related to pain on chewing and depression was associated with chronic pain intensity., Conclusions: Identifying these associations can guide clinicians in assessing, educating and managing TMD-related issues by addressing bruxism, sleep quality, and depressive symptoms.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to describe the novel surgical technique utilizing laser photocoagulation for the management of Candida chorioretinal lesions that are refractory to medical therapy., Methods: This report presents the use of laser photocoagulation applied to a Candida chorioretinal lesion that was refractory to extensive systemic and intravitreal antifungal medications. The presenting lesion was in an immunosuppressed patient. Argon laser photocoagulation was applied onto and surrounding the Candida chorioretinal lesion., Results: Following laser photocoagulation, the Candida chorioretinal lesion has remained resolved for over one year with no further reactivation, extensions, or satellites., Conclusion: Candida chorioretinitis can be extremely therapeutically resistant. Current treatment involves systemic and intravitreal antifungals. There are currently limited options for chorioretinal lesions refractory to standard medical therapy. The authors report the novel application of laser photocoagulation as a potential treatment option in refractory cases of Candida chorioretinitis., Competing Interests: The authors have no proprietary interests or financial/conflicts of interests to disclose.