Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular Cytogenetic Characterization of Novel 1RS.1BL Translocation and Complex Chromosome Translocation Lines with Stripe Rust Resistance

Rye is the most important source for the genetic improvement of wheat. In this study, two stable wheat-rye primary 1RS.1BL translocation lines, RT855-13 and RT855-14, were selected and identified by acid polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (A-PAGE), co-dominant PCR, and multi-color fluorescence in situ hybridization (MC-FISH) from the progeny of the crossing of the wheat cultivar Mianyang11 and a Chinese rye Weining. When more than two independent, simple reciprocal translocations are involved in a carrier, they are defined as complex chromosome translocations (CCT). The MC-FISH results also indicated that CCT occurred in RT855-13; namely that, besides 1RS.1BL translocation chromosomes, there are other two pairs of balanced reciprocal translocations. It was demonstrated that the interchange between a distal segment of 4B and long arm of 3D occurred in the RT855-13. The novel translocation chromosomes in wheat were recorded as 3DS.4BSDS and 3DL-4BSPS.4BL. Reports about CCT as a genetic resource in plant breeding programs are scarce. Both lines expressed high resistance to Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, which are prevalent in China and are virulent on Yr9, and the CCT line RT855-13 retained better resistance as adult plants compared with RT855-14 in the field. Both lines, especially the CCT line RT855-13, exhibited better agronomic traits than their wheat parent, Mianyang11, indicating that both translocation lines could potentially be used for wheat improvement. The results also indicated that the position effects of CCT can lead to beneficial variations in agronomic and resistant traits, making them a valuable genetic resource to wheat breeding programs.
Semi-Automatic Systematic Literature Reviews and Information Extraction of COVID-19 Scientific Evidence: Description and Preliminary Results of the COKE Project

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of validated and updated scientific information to help policy makers, healthcare professionals, and the public. The speed in disseminating reliable information and the subsequent guidelines and policy implementation are also essential to save as many lives as possible. Trustworthy guidelines should be based on a systematic evidence review which uses reproducible analytical methods to collect secondary data and analyse them. However, the guidelines’ drafting process is time consuming and requires a great deal of resources. This paper aims to highlight the importance of accelerating and streamlining the extraction and synthesis of scientific evidence, specifically within the systematic review process. To do so, this paper describes the COKE (COVID-19 Knowledge Extraction framework for next generation discovery science) Project, which involves the use of machine reading and deep learning to design and implement a semi-automated system that supports and enhances the systematic literature review and guideline drafting processes. Specifically, we propose a framework for aiding in the literature selection and navigation process that employs natural language processing and clustering techniques for selecting and organizing the literature for human consultation, according to PICO (Population/Problem, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome) elements. We show some preliminary results of the automatic classification of sentences on a dataset of abstracts related to COVID-19.
DYNAMIC MODELLING OF THE INFLUENCE OF DIASPORA CASH REMITTANCE ON MACROECONOMIC STABILITY IN NIGERIA

Remittance flows into low-income and fragile states represent a lifeline that supports households as well as provides much-needed tax revenue (IMF - Sayeh & Ralp Chami; 2021). Purpose: on the basis of this record, the study sought to examine the dynamic modelling of the influence of diaspora cash remittance as measured by Personal Remittances Received (PRR); Exchange Rate (EXCHR); and Outward Remittances Flows (ORF) on macroeconomic stability in Nigeria as measured by Unemployment Rate (UNEMPR) and Gross Domestic Product per capita growth (GDPpcgr) using quarterly time-series data sourced from World Bank and World Development Indicators for the periods 2010Q1-2020Q4. Technique/Approach: the study was disintegrated to apply Engle-Granger two-step method of error correction model (ECM) together with Granger Causality test to analyse the causal effect of Personal Remittances Received; Exchange Rate; Outward Remittances Flows on Unemployment Rate, as well as, utilize vector autoregressive (VAR) technique to investigate the dynamic influence of Personal Remittances Received; Exchange Rate and Outward Remittances Flows on gross domestic product per capita growth. Findings: the result of Granger Causality test upheld the hypothesis of PRR does not involve Granger causality of UNEMPR and the hypothesis that UNEMPR does not involve Granger causality of PRR. However, unidirectional causality runs from EXCHR to UNEMPR; as well as, from ORF to UNEMPR. The result of the error correction model (ECM) demonstrated that personal remittances received and exchange rate have insignificant and significant short-term and long-term effects on increasing the rate of unemployment. Whereas, outward remittances flow significantly minimized the rate of unemployment. More so, the results of the vector autoregressive (VAR) technique portrayed that the past realization of GDPpcgr was associated with a significant increase of 0.84 percent in GDPpcgr. Whilst, the past realization of Personal Remittances Received and outward remittances flows were related to an insignificant increase in GDPpcgr respectively; also, the past realization of exchange rate retarded the GDPpcgr. Furthermore, variance decomposition forecast of 4-period horizon reported that 100 percent of deviation in GDPpcgr is explicated by GDPpcgr in the short-term, indicating that personal remittances received, exchange rate, and outward remittances flows had no strong exogenous influence on predicting GDPpcgr in the future. Whereas, in the long-term forecasted error in GDPpcgr produced about 97.57 percent; while, Personal Remittances Received, exchange rate and outward remittances flow had a weak influence on predicting GDPpcgr in the future. Concluding Remark: the study concluded that it is an imperative for policy makers to design more policy measures that will encourage, facilitate a smooth and efficient inflow of cash remittance from abroad into the country so as to stabilize the economy. JEL: E01; E20; E24 Article visualizations:
Process Controls on Flood Seasonality in Brazil

A coincidence in the timing of floods and their drivers can be used as a proxy for the causality of flood generation. Here, we investigate the relationship between the seasonality of floods, maximum annual rainfall, and maximum annual soil moisture data of 886 basins in Brazil for 1980–2015 to shed light on process controls of flood generation. Floods tend to occur at the same time of year as soil moisture peaks and lag behind rainfall peaks by 3 weeks. In Amazonia, central and northern Brazil, flood timing is more correlated with the timing of soil moisture peaks than with that of rainfall peaks, which is interpreted as resulting from high subsurface water storage capacities. In southern and southeastern Brazil, on the other hand, flood timing is highly correlated with both soil moisture and rainfall because of low subsurface water storage capacities. These findings can support flood forecasting and climate impact studies.
Mineral and Organic Fertilizers Distinctly Affect Fungal Communities in the Crop Rhizosphere

Fungi represent a diverse group of organisms that play an essential role in maintaining soil health and ecosystem functioning. Plant root exudates form nutrient-rich niches that harbor specific fungal communities, or so-called rhizosphere mycobiomes. The long-term application of fertilizers supplies the soil with nutrients that may override the plant-related effects on rhizosphere fungal communities. Here, we assessed the effect of contrasting fertilization regimes on the composition, diversity, and abundance of bulk soil and rhizosphere mycobiomes of potato, white mustard, and maize under NPK (mineral fertilizers) or fresh cattle manure (organic fertilizers). Mineral and organic fertilizers led to distinct fungal communities in the rhizospheres of all studied crops, and the plant-related effects on the mycobiome were overridden by the effect of fertilization. The abundances of Ascomycota and Olpidiomycota were higher under manure, while the abundances of Basidiomycota and Monoblepharomycota increased under NPK. Manure input strongly increased fungal abundance but decreased fungal diversity and the total number of species. NPK had a slight effect on fungal diversity, but significantly increased the relative abundances of fungal phytopathogens, such as Alternaria and Fusarium. Our study shows that that potential plant species effects on the abundance and diversity of the rhizosphere mycobiomes are governed by long-term fertilization. Fertilization management could therefore be used to manipulate rhizosphere fungal communities and soilborne pathogen suppressiveness.
Satellite Observations Reveal a Large CO Emission Discrepancy From Industrial Point Sources Over China

Irregular industrial Carbon monoxide (CO) emissions not only deteriorate global atmospheric environment but also add a large uncertainty to CO emission inventory. This work demonstrates the potentiality of the Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) data product to derive CO emissions from facility‐level industrial sources. We have demonstrated CO emission estimates of 14 randomly selected facility‐level industrial sources over China with uncertainties of 10%–35% from TROPOMI archive between 2017 and 2020. We found that most of the plumes reveal significantly larger emissions than the registered inventory values. The simplicity of the demonstrated plume quantification method makes it easily applicable everywhere around the globe. This study suggests that future CO satellite constellation can routinely observe point source CO emissions to support environment policy.
Systematic literature review on gamified professional training among employees

ABSTRACT Interest in the practice of gamification has grown rapidly in the field of education and training. Organisations implement gamification in various areas to boost employee motivation, including professional training. The present study comprises a systematic literature review on gamified professional training among employees. It was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) 2020 checklist. The articles reviewed were obtained from three large academic databases – Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed, with Google Scholar as a supporting database. The analysis revealed that most studies did not discuss gamified professional training from theoretical perspectives. Three main strategies for gamifying professional training were identified – gamified professional training platform, blended gamified professional training, and face-to-face gamified professional training. It was found that achievement game elements were common in gamified professional training. The most frequent digital game elements were points/levels, leaderboards, challenges, and badges. Real-world rewards were also highly popular. Practical applications and research directions for researchers, instructional designers, and programme developers were then suggested to implement future gamified professional training.
Musician emotional wellbeing during the pandemic: assessing the impact of external factors, positive life outlook and socio-demographics

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic forced the shuttering of music venues and in-person music collaboration around the world. While many musicians have spoken out about the negative financial and emotional consequences, there remains a lack of research on how the pandemic lockdown impacted musician emotional wellbeing. This study contributes to this conversation by assessing how external, internal and socio-demographic factors impacted the emotional wellbeing of musicians in the US. Given that the pandemic exacerbated inequalities, we also look at the wellbeing of historically marginalised groups among musicians. Data were collected through an online survey to musicians from 18 May to 6 June 2020. Our final sample includes the responses of 251 self-identified musicians. Our findings demonstrate that external factors like the cancellation of performances and rehearsals, lack of access to teachers and students, changes to child and elder care and work routines, and revenue loss had a negative impact on the emotional wellbeing of musicians, while positive life outlook increased emotional wellbeing. Women and non-binary individuals, older adults, and those with disabilities reported lower emotional wellbeing. These findings point to the importance of community in sustaining musician wellbeing. We discuss the practical implications of these findings and make suggestions for future research.
Landslide inventory and characteristics, based on LiDAR scanning and optimised field investigations in the Kutina area, Croatia

This paper presents the preliminary results of analyses of landsliding processes derived from detailed LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) scans supported by field prospection on the south-western slopes of Mt. Moslavačka gora, in the wider Kutina area. This area is known for frequent landslides, but dedicated regional landslide research has not been previously undertaken. High resolution LiDAR scanning and orthophoto imaging enabled the production of a reliable landslide inventory, but also enabled research on landslide properties and the morphology of the area. Field mapping and prospection, sampling and borehole coring assisted in the collection of information about the material characteristics and specific features of typical landslides. In the research area, which covers more than 71 km2, more than 1200 very small landslides were detected. The majority of landslides were discovered in just several geological units indicating their high susceptibility: Pleistocene silts and sands with clayey interlayers, followed by M2 silty sands and gravels, and M7 sands. Nearly half of the landslides are estimated to be of recent and younger age, while other landslides may be considered as being historical implying a “long tradition” of landslide events in the research area. Preliminary terrain surface roughness analysis also supported the conclusion that the inventory contains landslides of several historical generations which are still detectable. In addition to slides (1123), this research also discovered numerous earthflow processes (143), which are more frequent in the predominantly sandy units. The landslides in this area are largely located on the banks of the gullies and are directly related to the action of water. Regarding that situation and the engineering properties of the encountered geological units, four types of bank instabilities can be differentiated: slides on top of rock masses; slides in firm soil mixtures; landslides in sands; landslides in predominantly coherent soil complexes.
Emended description of the genus Eremochloris (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta), with Eremochloris kamchatica sp. nov. from Kamchatka, Russia

ABSTRACT Three strains of a coccoid green alga were isolated from soil samples collected at the Shiveluch Volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula. SSU rRNA gene sequence comparisons resolved the strains as members of the genus Eremochloris in the class Trebouxiophyceae. Analyses based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rRNA secondary structure revealed that our isolates were genetically distinct from the type species of this genus. These isolates were characterized by spherical, elliptical or pyriform cells that were solitary with a single excentric nucleus. The cells harboured a single-pyrenoid parietal chloroplast, which was either simple or dissected into clear, curved or undulated lobes. Studies on the life cycle of this alga revealed that asexual reproduction takes place via autospores or biflagellated zoospores. Sexual reproduction is very scarce and is isogamous. All these features suggest a new species, which we name Eremochloris kamchatica. The description of the genus Eremochloris is emended to accommodate the features of the new species.
Inactivation of the Pyrimidine Biosynthesis pyrD Gene Negatively Affects Biofilm Formation and Virulence Determinants in the Crohn’s Disease-Associated Adherent Invasive Escherichia coli LF82 Strain

In Crohn’s disease (CD) patients, the adherent-invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) pathovar contributes to the chronic inflammation typical of the disease via its ability to invade gut epithelial cells and to survive in macrophages. We show that, in the AIEC strain LF82, inactivation of the pyrD gene, encoding dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHOD), an enzyme of the de novo pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway, completely abolished its ability of to grow in a macrophage environment-mimicking culture medium. In addition, pyrD inactivation reduced flagellar motility and strongly affected biofilm formation by downregulating transcription of both type 1 fimbriae and curli subunit genes. Thus, the pyrD gene appears to be essential for several cellular processes involved in AIEC virulence. Interestingly, vidofludimus (VF), a DHOD inhibitor, has been proposed as an effective drug in CD treatment. Despite displaying a potentially similar binding mode for both human and E. coli DHOD in computational molecular docking experiments, VF showed no activity on either growth or virulence-related processes in LF82. Altogether, our results suggest that the crucial role played by the pyrD gene in AIEC virulence, and the presence of structural differences between E. coli and human DHOD allowing for the design of specific inhibitors, make E. coli DHOD a promising target for therapeutical strategies aiming at counteracting chronic inflammation in CD by acting selectively on its bacterial triggers.
Empirical Factors Influencing Food Security in Nigeria. Do Local Farmer Investors In Farming Activities Mitigate Food Shortages? Evidence in the Short and Long Run.

Purpose: What are the significant factors influencing food security in Nigeria? What is the food security status of rural farmers? Do local farmer investors positively influence agricultural output productivity and mitigate food shortages in the long run and short run? What is the alternative source of mitigating food shortages? Through these questions, the objective of this research was to identify factors that affect food security as well as identifying empirical sources of improving food security and putting good policies in place to actualise it. Methodology: The study has a research design covering a sample size of 145 farmers using a structured questionnaire with random sampling technique to investigate the empirical factors influencing food security in Nigeria and method of data analysis used was logistic regression analysis. Time series data from Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin (2019) was used to investigate the role of local farmer investors in agricultural productivity/mitigation of food shortages using Johansen co-integration (long run) and Granger causality (short run) techniques. Findings: The logistic regression result computed from the survey data from the respondent farmers revealed that age, total cost of production, farm income and health expenditure are significant factors that influence food security. Result further showed that food security status of rural farmers is not secured. Through the short run and long run investigation, the empirical results covering the period of 1980-2018 in Nigeria revealed that local farmer investors positively influence agricultural productivity and mitigate food shortages by 2.99 percent. The findings further revealed that foreign farmer investors contribute to agricultural output productivity and mitigate food shortages by 4.90 percent, thus an alternative source of mitigating food shortages in Nigeria. Unique contribution to practice and policy: Its unique contribution to practice and policy is that policy makers will shift in line with the findings. Policy makers should ensure that policies that encourage local farmer investors as well as foreign farmer investors are put in place and adhered to help mitigate food shortages in Nigeria.
Antimicrobial Properties of a Peptide Derived from the Male Fertility Factor kl2 Protein of Drosophila melanogaster

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are important components of innate immunity. Here, we report the antimicrobial properties of a peptide derived from the Male fertility factor kl2 (MFF-kl2) protein of Drosophila melanogaster, which was identified as a functional analog of the mammalian antibacterial chemerin-p4 peptide. The antimicrobial activity of multifunctional chemerin is mainly associated with a domain localized in the middle of the chemerin sequence, Val66-Pro85 peptide (chemerin-p4). Using bioinformatic tools, we found homologs of the chemerin-p4 peptide in the proteome of D. melanogaster. One of them is MFF-p1, which is a part of the MFF kl2 protein, encoded by the gene male fertility factor kl2 (kl-2) located on the long arm of the Y chromosome. The second detected peptide (Z-p1) is a part of the Zizimin protein belonging to DOCK family, which is involved in cellular signaling processes. After testing the antimicrobial properties of both peptides, we found that only MFF-p1 possesses these properties. Here, we demonstrate its antimicrobial potential both in vitro and in vivo after infecting D. melanogaster with bacteria. MFF-p1 strongly inhibits the viable counts of E. coli and B. subtilis after 2 h of treatment and disrupts bacterial cells. The expression of kl-2 is regulated by exposure to bacteria and by the circadian clock.
Bus ridership and the minimum wage: Evidence from bus stops near fast-food restaurants

ABSTRACT This paper examines the impact of Minneapolis’ local minimum wage ordinance on bus ridership. We use a difference-in-differences (DD) strategy to compare changes in ridership at bus stops in Minneapolis near fast-food restaurants to similarly situated stops around the metro area where the minimum wage was unchanged. We find that the minimum wage increase caused bus ridership to increase by 1,828 rides per day or 3.5% of post-treatment daily boardings in Minneapolis. We show that the treatment effect is highly concentrated at bus stops near fast-food restaurants. An increase in the intensive margin of labour, or weekly hours, is consistent with our results and available labour market indicators.