Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distinct effects of single plant-based vs. animal-based meals on satiety and mood revealed by real-world smartphone-embedded studies

Adopting plant-based diets high in fiber may reduce global warming and obesity prevalence. Physiological and psychological determinants of plant-based food decision-making remain unclear, particularly in real-life settings. As fiber has been linked with improved gut-brain signaling, we hypothesized that a single plant-based compared to an animal-based meal, would induce higher satiety, higher mood and less stress. In three smartphone-based studies adults (nall = 16,379) ranked satiety and mood on 5/10-point Likert scales before and after meal intake. Statistical analyses comprised linear mixed models, extended by nutrient composition, taste ratings, gender, social interaction, type of decision and dietary adherence to consider potential confounding. Overall, meal intake induced satiety and higher mood. Against our hypotheses, plant-based meal choice did not explain differences in hunger after the meal. Considering mood, individuals choosing a plant-based meal reported slightly higher mood before the meal and smaller mood increases after the meal compared to those choosing animal-based meals (post-meal*plant-based: b = -0.06 , t = -3.6, model comparison p < .001). Protein content marginally mediated post-meal satiety, while gender and taste ratings had a strong effect on satiety and mood in general. In this series of large-scale online studies, we could not detect profound effects of plant-based vs. animal-based meals on satiety and mood. Instead of meal category, satiety and mood depended on taste and protein content of the meal, as well as dietary habits and gender. Our findings might help to develop strategies to increase acceptability of healthy and sustainable plant-based food choices.
Birth weight, BMI in adulthood and latent autoimmune diabetes in adults: A Mendelian randomization study

Aims: Observational studies have found an increased risk of latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) associated with low birth weight and adult overweight/obesity. We aimed to investigate whether these associations are causal, using a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) design. In addition, we wanted to compare results for LADA and type 2 diabetes. Methods: We identified 129 SNPs as instrumental variables (IVs) for birth weight from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of the Early Growth Genetics Consortium (EGG) and the UK Biobank. We identified 820 SNPs as IVs for adult BMI from a GWAS of the UK Biobank and the Genetic Investigation of ANthropometric Traits consortium (GIANT). Summary statistics for the associations between IVs and LADA were extracted from the only GWAS involving 2,634 cases and 5,947 population controls. We used the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) estimator as our primary analysis, supplemented by a series of sensitivity analyses. Results: Genetically determined birth weight was inversely associated with LADA (OR per SD [~500 g] decrease in birth weight: 2.02, 95% CI: 1.37-2.97). In contrast, genetically predicted BMI in adulthood was positively associated with LADA (OR per SD [~4.8 kg/m2] increase in BMI: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.14-1.71). Results persisted in a range of sensitivity analyses using other MR estimators or excluding some IVs. With respect to type 2 diabetes, the association with birth weight was not stronger than in LADA while the association with adult BMI was stronger than in LADA. Conclusions/ interpretation: This study provides genetic support for a causal link between low birth weight, adult overweight/obesity, and LADA.
The nanodiffraction problem

The results of a systematic rigorous study on the accuracy of lattice parameters computed from X-ray diffraction patterns of ideally perfect nanocrystalline powder and thin-film samples are presented. It is shown that, if the dimensions of such samples are below 20 nm, the lattice parameters obtained from diffraction analysis will deviate from their true values. The relative deviation depends on the relevant size parameter through an inverse power law and, for particular reflections, depends on the angular peak positions. This size-dependent error, Δa/a, is larger than the precision of typical X-ray diffraction measurements for ∼20 nm-thick diffracting domains, and it can be several orders of magnitude larger for particles smaller than 5 nm.
Genetic diversity of Omani barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) germplasm

Abstract Oman has enormous diversity in important crops of global significance like wheat and barley considered as strategic crops. The country has an ancient cultivation history of barley because of its location on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula and is known to have several landraces spread across all the agro-ecological regions. The present study was undertaken to comprehend genetic diversity in 16 indigenous Omani USDA accessions repatriated recently to select parents for hybridization in national crop improvement programs. The trial was conducted consecutively for two cropping seasons (2017–2018 and 2018–2019) from November to March on the layouts of loamy soil sites under sprinkler irrigation system in augmented design under spacing and crop husbandry practices as per national recommendations. The data on eight quantitative characters and presence (score 1) or absence (score 0) of anthocyanin pigmentation on two plant parts were subjected to both hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) to know the contribution of characters toward diversity and form prime diverse clusters. The results indicated not only significant differences between accessions (p < 0.05) with respect to the most of quantitative characters but also two significant correlations involving four characters associated with maturity and inflorescence (p < 0.05). The results of two multivariate analyses led to the formation of four diverse clusters with similar constituents of accessions to the most extent, thus supporting each other in discerning diversity. The parents were selected for hybridization for improving characters of growth for higher yield or productivity with anthocyanin-related characters.
High-rate laser processing with ultrashort laser pulses by combination of diffractive elements with synchronized galvo scanning

Abstract The combination of diffractive optical elements or spatial light modulators with fully synchronized galvo scanners offers a possibility to scale up machining processes with ultra-short pulses to several 100 W of average power with minimal thermal impact. This will be demonstrated with the high-rate applications multi-pulse drilling on the fly and material removal with special intensity distributions up to an average power of 162 W and a removal rate of 16.5 mm3/min. Based on the experimental results strategies to achieve drilling rates of several 10,000 holes/s or removal rates of multiple 10 mm3/min will be discussed.
Building Personalized Trust: Discovering What Makes One Trust and Act on Facebook Posts

What makes one trust or distrust a post on Facebook? What makes one willing to take an action on the post, such as sharing it with friends, following its advice, or even making a donation for its cause? We hypothesize that personal factors in addition to the characteristics of a post would be associated with one's trust and willingness to take actions on the post. To test our hypothesis, we have examined the relationships between a wide variety of personal factors and how users perceived the credibility of a post on Facebook and their associated behavior—willingness to act on the post with the acceptance of potential risks. Our results from a study involving 400 participants reveal several new findings. Notably, beyond message properties, we have discovered that personal factors are significantly associated with how users perceived the credibility of Facebook posts. Not only do our findings extend prior work on studying the relationships between information properties and users' trust in Facebook posts, but they also indicate the potential of tailoring intended messages to an audience based on their personal factors for establishing desired trust. Moreover, we have found that a combination of personal factors is associated more with users' willingness to act on a post than their perceptions of credibility alone. This finding deepens the understanding of users' behavior on Facebook beyond learning their subjective perceptions. It also informs how to potentially tailor intended messages to an audience based on the audience's personal factors so that the audience can act on the messages beyond just perceiving the credibility of the messages. We also discuss the implications of our findings for building personalized trust between message authors and readers on Facebook and beyond.
Motor processivity and speed determine structure and dynamics of microtubule-motor assemblies

Active matter systems can generate highly ordered structures, avoiding equilibrium through the consumption of energy by individual constituents. How the microscopic parameters that characterize the active agents are translated to the observed mesoscopic properties of the assembly has remained an open question. These active systems are prevalent in living matter; for example, in cells, the cytoskeleton is organized into structures such as the mitotic spindle through the coordinated activity of many motor proteins walking along microtubules. Here, we investigate how the microscopic motor-microtubule interactions affect the coherent structures formed in a reconstituted motor-microtubule system. This question is of deeper evolutionary significance as we suspect motor and microtubule type contribute to the shape and size of resulting structures. We explore key parameters experimentally and theoretically, using a variety of motors with different speeds, proces-sivities, and directionalities. We demonstrate that aster size depends on the motor used to create the aster, and develop a model for the distribution of motors and microtubules in steady-state asters that depends on parameters related to motor speed and processivity. Further, we show that network contraction rates scale linearly with the single-motor speed in quasi one-dimensional contraction experiments. In all, this theoretical and experimental work helps elucidate how microscopic motor properties are translated to the much larger scale of collective motor-microtubule assemblies.
Hybridisation and chloroplast capture between ancient Themeda triandra ecotypes in Australia

Ecotypes are distinct populations within a species which are adapted to specific environmental conditions. Understanding how these ecotypes become established, and how they interact when reunited, is fundamental to elucidating how ecological adaptations are maintained. This study focuses on Themeda triandra, a dominant grassland species across Asia, Africa and Australia. It is the most widespread plant in Australia, where it has distinct ecotypes that are usually restricted to either wetter and cooler coastal regions or the drier and hotter interior. We use whole genome sequencing for over 80 Themeda accessions to reconstruct the evolutionary history of T. triandra and related taxa. A chloroplast phylogeny confirms that Australia was colonised by T. triandra twice, with the division between ecotypes predating their arrival in Australia. The nuclear genome provides evidence of gene-flow among the ecotypes, largely restricted to two geographic areas. In northern Queensland there appears to be a hybrid zone with admixed nuclear genomes and shared plastid haplotypes. Conversely, in the cracking claypans of Western Australia, there is cytonuclear discordance with individuals possessing the coastal plastid and interior clade nuclear genomes. This chloroplast capture is potentially a result of adaptive introgression, with selection detected in the rpoC2 gene which is associated with water use efficiency. A stable hybrid zone in the east, and the displacement of one ecotype in the west, highlights the unpredictable nature of hybrid zones, with repeated contacts between the same ecotypes producing different outcomes.
Within-generation and transgenerational social plasticity interact during rapid adaptive evolution

The role of within-generation phenotypic plasticity (WGP) versus transgenerational plasticity (TGP) during evolutionary adaptation are not well understood, particularly for socially-cued TGP. We tested how genetics, WGP, and TGP jointly influence expression of fitness traits facilitating adaptive evolution in the field cricket Teleogryllus oceanicus. A male-silencing mutation (“flatwing”) spread to fixation in ca. 50 generations in a Hawaiian cricket population attacked by acoustically-orienting parasitoids. This rapid loss of song caused the social environment to dramatically change. Juveniles carrying the flatwing (fw) genotype exhibited greater locomotive activity than those carrying the normal-wing (nw) allele, consistent with genetic coupling of increased locomotion with fw. Consistent with adaptive WGP, homozygous fw females developing in the absence of song showed reduced body condition and reproductive investment at adulthood. Adult but not juvenile offspring exhibited TGP in response to maternal social environment for structural size, somatic condition, and reproductive investment, whereas adult locomotion and flight was only influenced by WGP. WGP and TGP interacted to shape multiple traits at adulthood, though effect sizes were modest. Interactions between genetic effects and social plasticity within and across generations are likely to have influenced the evolutionary spread of flatwing crickets. However, interactions among these effects can be complex, and it is notable that TGP manifested most strongly later in development. Our findings stress the importance of evaluating trait plasticity at different developmental stages and across generations when studying phenotypic plasticity’s role in evolution.
A CRISPR-Cas9-based system for the dose-dependent study of DNA double strand breaks sensing and repair

The integrity of DNA is put at risk by different lesions, among which double strand breaks (DSBs) occur at low frequency, yet remain one of the most life-threatening harms. The study of DSB repair requests tools provoking their accumulation, and include the use of chemical genotoxins, ionizing radiations or the expression of sequence-specific nucleases. While genotoxins and irradiation allow for dose-dependent studies, nucleases expression permits assessments at precise locations. In this work, we have exploited the repetitiveness of the Ty transposon elements in the genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the cutting activity of the RNA-guided Cas9 nuclease to create a tool that combines sequence specificity and dose-dependency. In particular, we can achieve the controlled creation of 0, 1, 15 or 59 cuts in cells with an otherwise identical genetic background. We make the first application of this tool to better understand the behavior of the apical kinase of the DNA damage response Tel1. By comparing different strategies to create DNA breaks, we find that Tel1 is capable of forming multiple foci, in striking contrast with other DSB-related proteins. Tel1 foci are in tight contact with the nuclear periphery, therefore suggesting a role for the nuclear membrane in their congregation.
Variations in cell-surface ACE2 levels alter direct binding of SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein and viral infectivity: Implications for measuring Spike protein interactions with animal ACE2 orthologs

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of COVID-19, the most severe pandemic in a century. The virus gains access to host cells when the viral Spike protein (S-protein) binds to the host cell-surface receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Studies have attempted to understand SARS-CoV-2 S-protein interaction with vertebrate orthologs of ACE2 by expressing ACE2 orthologs in mammalian cells and measuring viral infection or S-protein binding. Often these cells only transiently express ACE2 proteins and levels of ACE2 at the cell surface are not quantified. Here, we describe a cell-based assay that uses stably transfected cells expressing ACE2 proteins in a bi-cistronic vector with an easy to quantify reporter protein to normalize ACE2 expression. We found that both binding of the S-protein receptor-binding domain (RBD) and infection with a SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus is proportional to the amount of human ACE2 expressed at the cell surface, which can be inferred by quantifying the level of reporter protein, Thy1.1. We also compared different ACE2 orthologs which were expressed in stably transfected cells expressing equivalent levels of Thy1.1. When ranked for either viral infectivity or RBD binding, mouse ACE2 had a weak to undetectable affinity for S-protein while human ACE2 was the highest level detected and feline ACE2 had an intermediate phenotype. The generation of stably transfected cells whose ACE2 level can be normalized for cross-ortholog comparisons allows us to create a reusable cellular library useful for measuring emerging SARS-CoV-2 variant’s ability to potentially infect different animals. Importance SARS-CoV-2 is a zoonotic virus responsible for the worst global pandemic in a century. An understanding of how the virus can infect other vertebrate species is important for controlling viral spread and understanding the natural history of the virus. Here we describe a method to generate cells stably expressing equivalent levels of different ACE2 orthologs, the receptor for SARS-CoV-2, on the surface of a human cell line. We find that both binding of the viral Spike protein receptor binding domain (RBD) and infection of cells with a SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus are proportional to ACE2 levels at the cell surface. Adaptation of this method will allow for the creation of a library of stable transfected cells expressing equivalent levels of different vertebrate ACE2 orthologs which can be repeatedly used for identifying vertebrate species which may be susceptible to infection with SARS-CoV-2 and its many variants.
Plant Nutrient Contents Rather Than Physical Traits Are Coordinated Between Leaves and Roots in a Desert Shrubland

Although leaf economics spectrum (LES) has been extensively tested with regional and global datasets, the correlation among functional traits of desert plants remains largely unclear. Moreover, examinations on whether and how leaf and root traits are coordinated have yielded mixed results. We investigated variations in leaf and fine-root traits across 48 species in a desert community of northern China to test the hypotheses that (1) the leaf-trait syndrome of plant species in desert shrublands follows the predictions of the global LES, and is paralleled by a similar root-trait syndrome, (2) functional traits related to nutrient contents and resource uptake are tightly coordinated between leaves and fine roots in desert ecosystems where plant growth is limited primarily by dry and nutrient-poor conditions, and (3) traits as well as their relationships vary among functional groups. Our results partially supported the LES theory. Specific leaf area (SLA) was correlated with leaf tissue density, phosphorus content, and carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, but not with leaf nitrogen content. Specific root length (SRL) was not correlated with other fine-root traits, and fine-root traits were largely independent of each other. Therefore, fine-root traits did not mirror the leaf-trait syndrome. Fine-root nitrogen and phosphorus contents, nitrogen-to-phosphorous ratio, and carbon-to-nitrogen ratio all increased with analogous leaf traits, whereas SRL was not correlated with SLA. After phylogenetic effects were considered, nutrient contents and their ratios still displayed stronger coordination between leaves and fine roots than did SRL and SLA. The overall pattern of trait variations and relationships suggested differentiation among functional groups. Our results suggest that despite the absence of a root-trait syndrome, fine-root functions in the studied desert community were probably coordinated with leaf functions with respect to nutrient allocation and use.
Spatiotemporal Variability of the Nitrous Oxide Concentrations and Fluxes From a Cascaded Dammed River

Rivers have been largely considered as the source of nitrous oxide (N2O) to the atmosphere. N2O emissions from rivers could be seriously influenced by damming and exhibit unique spatiotemporal patterns in river-reservoir systems. Multiple research studies report N2O emissions from rivers with single reservoirs, but the spatiotemporal patterns and controls of N2O emissions from cascaded river-reservoir system remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the spatiotemporal variations of N2O concentrations and fluxes along a cascade damming river (Wubu River) in Southwest China. Our results showed that N2O concentrations in the Wubu River ranged from 2.5 to 283.2 nmol L−1 with a mean of 50.7 ± 52.3 nmol L−1 and were generally supersaturated with gas fluxes ranging from 11.8 to 805.6 μmol m−2 d−1. N2O concentrations and fluxes showed a significant longitudinal variation with increasing fluxes from upstream to downstream. Meanwhile, for each river-reservoir-released water continuum, local variation of N2O concentrations was also prominent. Reservoir sections and released water sections had 2.7 (1.2–7.9) and 3.4 (1.3–12.2) times higher N2O concentrations than the corresponding upstream river reaches and acted as hotpots for N2O emission. The N2O concentrations had significant correlations with organic carbon, phosphorus, and Chl-a in surface water. Furthermore, the N2O concentrations and fluxes in reservoirs had a significant correlation with hydraulic residence time and hydraulic load, suggesting that fragmentation of hydrologic conditions was an important driver for the spatial variations of N2O concentrations in the Wubu River cascade reservoirs. Our results suggested that hydraulic residence time could predict the variation pattern of N2O fluxes in this small river basin. Seasonal variations of N2O concentrations and fluxes were the highest in autumn and lowest in winter and were mainly attributed to temperature and rainfall. N2O fluxes were much higher in the Wubu River than the average levels of China’s reservoirs and global reservoirs, acting as enhanced N2O emitter. Our study highlighted that the cascade reservoirs not only act as exciters for N2O production and emissions but also form cumulative effects and local hotpots along the longitudinal dimension, which could significantly increase the complexity of the spatiotemporal variability in riverine N2O emissions. Given the increasing construction of new river dams due to growing energy demand, more research should be done to quantify the contribution of cascaded damming to riverine N2O budgets.