Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Engineering bacterial blight-resistant plants through CRISPR/Cas9-targeted editing of the MeSWEET10a promoter in cassava

Cassava starch is a widely used raw materials for industrial production. However, cassava bacterial blight (CBB) caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. manihotis (Xam) results in severe yield losses and is the most destructive bacterial disease in all worldwide cassava planting regions. This study showed that editing of the promoter in the disease-susceptibility gene MeSWEET10a of SC8 cassava confers resistance to CBB. All mutated cassava lines had normal morphological and yield-related traits as the wild type. The results lay a research foundation for breeding cassava resistant to bacterial blight. Highlights MeSWEET10a gene in SC8 cultivar is hijacked by TALE20 from Xam11 strain. Editing of the MeSWEET10a promoter in SC8 cultivar confers resistance to CBB. All the mutated cassava lines had similar yield-related traits compared to wild-type.
Adaptive brain changes to virtual lesions interfering with visual processing

Understanding the causal relationship between a focal lesion and network (re)organization is crucial to accurately predict the resulting large-scale symptoms of a lesion. In this study, we applied short trains of 10 Hz TMS to healthy participants over the early visual areas (EVA) or the medio-temporal area (hMT+/MT) during a motion discrimination task and at rest, while concurrent fMRI was acquired. TMS applied in the early stage of motion processing induced a specific deficit in judging motion direction in both sites, while global motion perception was preserved. This was associated with a common suppression of local brain activity and network activity. In contrast, we report distinct topological network properties depending on the disrupted site. Networks associated with EVA perturbation displayed a more robust and efficient functional reorganization, suggesting that EVA might be more resilient to focal perturbations. While contributing to a better understanding of the impact and potential mechanisms of TMS perturbation, these results provide a model for focal lesions in the visual motion processing system. Highlights TMS-induced perturbation of the early visual areas (EVA) or the mediotemporal area (hMT+/V5) area selectively impairs motion direction discrimination. The TMS perturbation is associated with a local down-scaling of BOLD activity in both areas, potentially specific to task-related neuronal populations during motion discrimination. The two visual areas display distinct topological networks’ adaptations in response to TMS, reflecting different levels of networks resilience to a focal lesion. TMS-fMRI coupling can be used to assess ‘disconnectomics’ and to precisely map how a local perturbation propagates to large-scale behavioural deficits. Graphical abstract
Assessment of binocular fixational eye movements including cyclotorsion with split-field binocular scanning laser ophthalmoscopy

Fixational eye movements are a hallmark of human gaze behavior, yet little is known about how they interact between fellow eyes. Here, we designed, built and validated a split-field binocular scanning laser ophthalmoscope (bSLO) to record high-resolution eye motion traces from both eyes of six observers during fixation at different binocular vergence conditions. In addition to microsaccades and drift, torsional eye motion could be extracted, with a spatial measurement error of less than 1 arcmin. Microsaccades were strongly coupled between fellow eyes under all conditions. No monocular microsaccade occurred and no significant delay between microsaccade onsets across fellow eyes could be detected. Cyclotorsion was also firmly coupled between both eyes, occurring typically in conjugacy, with gradual changes during drift and abrupt changes during saccades.
Alternative 3′ UTRs contributes to post-transcriptional gene expression regulation under high salt stress

High salt stress continually challenges growth and survival of many plants, but the underlying molecular basis is not fully explored. Alternative polyadenylation (APA) produces mRNAs with different 3′UTRs (alternative 3′UTRs) to regulate gene expression at post-transcriptional level. However, the roles of such process in response to salt stress remain elusive. Here, we reported that alternative 3′UTRs responded to high salt stress in the halophyte-Spartina alterniflora, which tolerant to hash salt environment. High salt stress induced the global APA and increased the prevalence of APA events. Strikingly, high salt stress significantly led to 3′ UTR lengthening of 207 transcripts through increasing the usage of distal poly(A) sites. Transcripts with alternative 3′ UTRs were mainly enriched in salt stress related ion transporters. Alternative 3′ UTRs of SaHKT1 increased RNA stability and protein synthesis in vivo. Regulatory AU-rich elements were identified in the alternative 3′ UTRs and alternative 3′ UTRs increased protein level of SaHKT1 in an AU-rich element dependent manner. Finally, 3′ UTR lengthening might result from variations in poly(A) signals and poly(A) factors. Overall, these results suggest that APA is a potential novel high salt stress responsive mechanism by modulating mRNA 3′ UTR length. These results also reveal complex regulator roles of alternative 3′ UTRs coupling alternative polyadenylation and regulatory elements at post-transcriptional level in plants. One sentence summary Alternative 3′ UTRs acts as a potential novel mechanism in gene expression regulation of high salt tolerant genes
A primary patient-derived model for investigating functional heterogeneity within the human Leukemic Stem Cell Compartment

The ability of leukemic stem cells (LSC) to evade therapy and fuel leukemic progression causing relapse impedes therapeutic success in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The LSC pool within a patient sample is not homogenous but comprises distinct LSC subsets that vary in self-renewal and propagation properties. The stemness programs that underlie LSC types are poorly understood since human LSC studies require primary patient samples where LSC numbers are low and isolation methods impure. To overcome these challenges, we developed a patient-derived AML model system (OCI-AML22) displaying a functionally, transcriptionally and epigenetically defined cellular hierarchy driven by functional LSCs that can be immunophenotypically identified and isolated. Through single cell and functional approaches, the OCI-AML22 LSC fraction was found to contain distinct LSCs that vary in proliferative and differentiation properties. OCI-AML22 represents a valuable resource to decipher mechanisms driving stemness and the multiple layers of heterogeneity within LSCs.
User Identification using a Wireless MAC address

Every network interface has a unique pre-assigned identifier called MAC address. The MAC address makes possible to identify the manufacturer of every wireless device. In this paper, I propose a MAC interlocking method that improves substantial attention to the people passing by. According to the experiment, this method improved personal attention to the display device.
Sequence of Volcanic Activity of Sakurajima Volcano, Japan, as Revealed by Non-Eruptive Deflation

Mechanisms that control fluctuation of long-term eruptive activity are not well understood. Since 1955, Sakurajima volcano has experienced repeated Vulcanian eruptions accompanied by deflation. However, ground deflations sometimes occurred even if no eruption took place. Characteristics of the non-eruptive deflation (NED) have not been investigated because of the related ambiguous ground vibration, infrasound and visual phenomena. In this study, we categorize deflation events contained in continuous deformation records covering eruptive activities at the Sakurajima volcano Minamidake crater during the period from November 2017 to December 2020. The deflation events are classified into eruptive and NED types by examining the seismic data, infrasound generations, and visual phenomena. Their event type occurrence characteristics are then further clarified based on their relationships to pressure source volume changes. Comparing the pressure source volume changes with the monthly mass of volcanic ash expelled from the crater, which is estimated from deposition data around the volcano, we found the contribution of NED events to volcanic ash mass eruption amounts to be much smaller than that for Vulcanian events, and visual observations confirm that NED events are phenomena that primarily emit volcanic gas. The NED event changes during the episode are interpreted by the magna transition from bubble-rich to bubble-poor conditions and are supported by the sulfur dioxide (SO2) discharge rate. The activity of NED events is helpful to understand long-term variations in eruptive activity.
The Development of Wire Rope: An Innovation in Marine Technology Reaches the Great Lakes

If necessity is the mother of invention, then innovation is its step-child. In industry, technological innovation is the heart of efficiency, the process through which various tasks are made more productive and equipment is adapted or redesigned to meet new challenges and changing conditions. The commercial shipping industry on the Great Lakes constituted one area in which innovation was constantly applied and new technologies developed or adapted to fit local needs. An example of the latter is the introduction and use of wire rope, an innovation in marine technology that improved the efficiency and reliability of both sail and steam-powered vessels during the last half of the nineteenth century. 1 The wire rope used on the Great Lakes consisted of strands of heavy gauge steel wire twisted around an oiled hemp rope core. Later the hemp core was replaced by a smaller series of steel wire strands. This arrangement had stronger tensile strength per weight than hemp rope.
Perceived Stress, Cortical GABA, and Functional Connectivity Correlates: A Hypothesis-Generating Preliminary Study

Stress exposures and dysregulated responses to stress are implicated in psychiatric disorders of mood, anxiety, and cognition. Perceived stress, an individual's appraisal of experienced stress and ability for coping, relates to dysregulated functioning in resting state brain networks. Alterations in GABAergic function may underlie perceived stress-related functional dysregulation in resting state networks but this has not yet been explored. Therefore, the current study examined the association of perceived stress, via the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), with prefrontal GABA levels and corresponding resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) alterations. Twelve women and five men, ages 35–61, participated. MR spectroscopy was used to measure brain GABA levels in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC). Resting state functional scans acquired at 3 Tesla were used to measure RSFC within and between the default mode (DMN), salience (SN), and central executive networks (CEN), hippocampus and amygdala. We observed significant negative correlations between total PSS scores and left DLPFC GABA levels (r = −0.62, p = 0.023). However, PSS scores were not significantly correlated with RSFC measures (all p > 0.148). These preliminary results support a relationship between perceived stress and GABAergic functioning in DLPFC, a core node of the CEN, an intrinsic network thought to underlie goal-directed attentional processes. Our findings extend previous work suggesting that functioning in the CEN is related to perceived stress and may inform treatment strategies to improve outcomes in stress-related conditions.
Evaluating Spatial Hearing Using a Dual-Task Approach in a Virtual-Acoustics Environment

Spatial hearing is critical for communication in everyday sound-rich environments. It is important to gain an understanding of how well users of bilateral hearing devices function in these conditions. The purpose of this work was to evaluate a Virtual Acoustics (VA) version of the Spatial Speech in Noise (SSiN) test, the SSiN-VA. This implementation uses relatively inexpensive equipment and can be performed outside the clinic, allowing for regular monitoring of spatial-hearing performance. The SSiN-VA simultaneously assesses speech discrimination and relative localization with changing source locations in the presence of noise. The use of simultaneous tasks increases the cognitive load to better represent the difficulties faced by listeners in noisy real-world environments. Current clinical assessments may require costly equipment which has a large footprint. Consequently, spatial-hearing assessments may not be conducted at all. Additionally, as patients take greater control of their healthcare outcomes and a greater number of clinical appointments are conducted remotely, outcome measures that allow patients to carry out assessments at home are becoming more relevant. The SSiN-VA was implemented using the 3D Tune-In Toolkit, simulating seven loudspeaker locations spaced at 30° intervals with azimuths between −90° and +90°, and rendered for headphone playback using the binaural spatialization technique. Twelve normal-hearing participants were assessed to evaluate if SSiN-VA produced patterns of responses for relative localization and speech discrimination as a function of azimuth similar to those previously obtained using loudspeaker arrays. Additionally, the effect of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the direction of the shift from target to reference, and the target phonetic contrast on performance were investigated. SSiN-VA led to similar patterns of performance as a function of spatial location compared to loudspeaker setups for both relative localization and speech discrimination. Performance for relative localization was significantly better at the highest SNR than at the lowest SNR tested, and a target shift to the right was associated with an increased likelihood of a correct response. For word discrimination, there was an interaction between SNR and word group. Overall, these outcomes support the use of virtual audio for speech discrimination and relative localization testing in noise.
Community Engagement With Proactive Wildfire Management in British Columbia, Canada: Perceptions, Preferences, and Barriers to Action

Wildfires in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) are increasingly threatening lives and livelihoods. These growing impacts have prompted a paradigm shift toward proactive wildfire management that prioritizes prevention and preparedness instead of response. Despite this shift, many communities remain unprepared for wildfires in the WUI due to diverse individual and social-political factors influencing engagement with proactive management approaches. The catastrophic fire seasons of 2017, 2018, and 2021 in British Columbia (BC), Canada, highlighted just how vulnerable communities continue to be and the urgent need to understand the factors limiting engagement to future resilience to wildfire. Our study, conducted prior to the catastrophic fire season in 2017, surveyed 77 community leaders across BC to better understand the factors driving engagement, including risk perception, preferences and support for approaches, and key barriers limiting progress. We demonstrate that wildfire risk is an urgent issue facing communities across BC, but a range of factors drive variable community engagement with proactive wildfire management. First Nations and smaller (≤5,000 residents) communities were less likely to have developed a community wildfire plan, even though First Nations were significantly more concerned than municipalities/regional districts about certain values (such as drinking water and biodiversity) that were at risk from wildfire. In general, proactive approaches that were considered effective were also the most supported. The most highly supported approaches included enforcement of regulations and education, both of which are considered provincial responsibility in BC and are unlikely to alter community values in the WUI. In contrast, approaches involving prescribed burning of the understory had the highest levels of opposition. Despite variability in these individual factors, social-political barriers related to financial and social (time and expertise) capacity primarily limited engagement with proactive wildfire management, including provincial and federal funding programs. However, these barriers are not equally felt across community groups; First Nations identified social capacity (such as expertise on government-sponsored approaches and awareness of funding programs) as significantly more limiting than municipalities/regional districts. Our study illustrates the limitations of implementing a “shared responsibility” of proactive wildfire management in the WUI in BC without targeted supports to address unequal capacity barriers.
Identifying Language Disorder Within a Migration Context: Development and Performance of a Pre-school Screening Tool for Children With German as a Second Language

Background There is a lack of accurate and practicable instruments for identifying language disorders in multilingual children in pre-school settings. Objective To develop a language screening instrument for pre-school children who are growing up with German as their second language. Design After the development and initial validation of a language screening tool, the new instrument (LOGiK-S) was administered to three cohorts of children (2014, 2015, 2017) with a non-German first language attending a variety of public pre-schools in Upper Austria. The screening instrument measures expressive and receptive grammatical skills in German. The final validation study included the results for 270 children for the screening measure and reference tests. A combination of a standardized comprehensive language test of grammatical skills developed for children acquiring German as a second language and a test of expressive vocabulary with the use of specific cutoffs for second language learners was applied as the gold standard for identifying language disorders. Results The LOGiK-S screening of expressive grammar demonstrated excellent accuracy (AUC.953). The screening subscale of receptive grammar did not improve the prediction of language disorders. Using an optimized cutoff yielded a fail rate of 17%, excellent sensitivity (0.940), and specificity (0.936). Time economy and acceptance of the screening by children and screeners were mostly rated as high. Conclusion The LOGiK-S language screening instrument assessing expressive German grammar development using bilingual norms is a valid and feasible instrument for the identification of language disorders in second language learners of German at the pre-school age.
Bird Communities in Coastal Areas. Effects of Anthropogenic Influences and Distance From the Coast

Urbanization effects have been studied all over the world, documenting impact in species richness, abundances and changes in species communities. Birds have been broadly used as study models. In general, urbanization affects birds, reducing species richness, especially in the urban core, and increasing species richness in areas with intermediate levels of disturbance, such as suburbs. Urbanization also changes species assemblages depending on urban characteristics and resources available, creating habitats for different species. Even when more than half of the cities in the world are on the coast, the effects of urbanization on habitat use of terrestrial and marine birds in coastal urban environments has received little attention. We hypothesized that coastal cities would present different bird diversity in modified marine areas and modified inland areas as terrestrial and marine ecosystems coexist. We predict that modified marine areas will have higher species richness than modified inland areas and natural marine areas. For bird assemblages, we expect to find similar species compositions between sites with similar habitat characteristics more than closeness. We compare habitat use of marine and terrestrial avifauna in the human-modified coastal city of Valparaiso, Chile, characterized by a range of urban developments within city boundaries. We specifically compare corrected bird abundance in six different possible habitats for birds, according to distance to the coast, and human influence. Bird counts (50 m fixed radius) were conducted in winter and spring of 2019. Bird species richness and abundances, corrected by the probability of detection, were estimated. Additionally, species composition and occupancy of bird species in those habitats were calculated. Results show that coastal urban cities can provide different habitats for bird species. Modified inland habitats differ from semi-natural inland habitats and from the modified beaches in species richness and species composition. Environmental heterogeneity in coastal cities seems to allow the coexistence of marine and terrestrial bird species, showing differences in species richness and bird assemblages for marine-inland environments and natural- modified habitats. Results highlight the need to consider these factors for urban planning in order to conserve bird diversity in coastal urban areas.
Spent Nuclear Fuel Dry Transfer System Cold Demonstration Project Final Report

The spent nuclear fuel dry transfer system (DTS) provides an interface between large and small casks and between storage-only and transportation casks. It permits decommissioning of reactor pools after shutdown and allows the use of large storage-only casks for temporary onsite storage of spent nuclear fuel irrespective of reactor or fuel handling limitations at a reactor site. A cold demonstration of the DTS prototype was initiated in August 1996 at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). The major components demonstrated included the fuel assembly handling subsystem, the shield plug/lid handling subsystem, the cask interface subsystem, the demonstration control subsystem, a support frame, and a closed circuit television and lighting system. The demonstration included a complete series of DTS operations from source cask receipt and opening through fuel transfer and closure of the receiving cask. The demonstration included both normal operations and recovery from off-normal events. It was designed to challenge the system to determine whether there were any activities that could be made to jeopardize the activities of another function or its safety. All known interlocks were challenged. The equipment ran smoothly and functioned as designed. A few "bugs" were corrected. Prior to completion of the demonstration testing,more » a number of DTS prototype systems were modified to apply lessons learned to date. Additional testing was performed to validate the modifications. In general, all the equipment worked exceptionally well. The demonstration also helped confirm cost estimates that had been made at several points in the development of the system. « less