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I'm super ashamed of asking such a question, but there is an abbreviation that often comes in some papers that I have to read, I have no idea what it stands for and I'm just too ashamed to ask my colleagues... so here I am on the internet to try to find an answer (obviously English is not my mother tongue so it doesn't help).

Here is a figure I found in a paper. What does the "DS" stand for?

enter image description here

I've been trying to find out for hours now (using google and everything) but I'm really desperate. So I'm really sorry for the dumb question... but please help me, I feel so stupid. I thought that maybe it could be "day start" but I'm not sure, so any confirmation would be very welcome... Thanks in advance and I'm really really sorry for the completely uninteresting question.

Natad
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    Can you add a link to the paper? Sometimes the context helps to explain it. – Chris Apr 25 '22 at 09:55
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    Sorry, here is the link: https://doi.org/10.1038/emboj.2009.170 It actually appears in many papers and it's always related to time in hours... – Natad Apr 25 '22 at 09:57
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    I never heard this abbreviation, so it may be connected to this field of research. The article mentions "dry siliques", basically dry seeds (if I understand this correctly) which can be abbreviated DS and would be the starting point of the experiment. Does this make sense? – Chris Apr 25 '22 at 10:28
  • Not really, because it also appears in articles where no siliques are involved... maybe "dry seeds", but why using such an abbreviation on an axis that is indicating time? But thank you for your answer, I'm glad I'm not the only one not knowing what it could be... even if we're still not sure of what it means, at least it makes me feel a little bit better about myself :) – Natad Apr 25 '22 at 11:06
  • At least it helped a bit :-) – Chris Apr 25 '22 at 12:32
  • Can you link to some other papers where you see this? – canadianer Apr 25 '22 at 12:37
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    It may be an uninteresting question, but the emperor — or the authors of the paper — are the ones that should be ashamed of their nakedness. Not you. – David Apr 25 '22 at 13:07
  • @canadianer: This one is another example, but the topic is closely related so it probably won't help: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1012896107 ... I guess Chris was right when suggesting "dry siliques" or "dry seeds"... And also thanks David for making me feel even better about myself :) My shame is gone! – Natad Apr 25 '22 at 13:25
  • This paper says it is “dry seeds”. – canadianer Apr 25 '22 at 13:40
  • Thank you so much canadianer! :) I'm happy :) – Natad Apr 25 '22 at 15:30
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    It could also stand for "Dormant Seed". I agree with David; it's the responsibility of the authors to define their terms. – anongoodnurse Apr 25 '22 at 15:43

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