Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genome Edited Crops Touch the Market: A View on the Global Development and Regulatory Environment

Products of genome editing as the most promising “New Plant Breeding Technology” (NPBT) have made the transition from the lab to the market in a short time. Globally, research activities employing genome editing are constantly expanding and more and more plants with market-oriented traits are being developed, and companies have already released the first genome edited crops to the market. Few countries, most of which are located in the Americas, have adapted legislations to these technologies or released guidelines supporting the use of genome editing. Other countries are debating the path to come either because there is no clarity on the legal classification or due consensus is hampered by a renewed GMO debate. In recent years (2017−2020), eight countries have introduced guidelines clarifying the legal status of genome edited products and many of those are actively committed to international harmonization of their policies. In this publication we give an overview on the current and potentially future international regulatory environment and an update on plants derived by genome editing with market-oriented traits.
A Novel Fibroblast Reporter Cell Line for in vitro Studies of Pulmonary Fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fatal disease of the lower respiratory tract with restricted therapeutic options. Repetitive injury of the bronchoalveolar epithelium leads to activation of pulmonary fibroblasts, differentiation into myofibroblasts and excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition resulting in aberrant wound repair. However, detailed molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying initiation and progression of fibrotic changes are still elusive. Here, we report the generation of a representative fibroblast reporter cell line (10-4ABFP) to study pathophysiological mechanisms of IPF in high throughput or high resolution in vitro live cell assays. To this end, we immortalized primary fibroblasts isolated from the distal lung of Sprague-Dawley rats. Molecular and transcriptomic characterization identified clone 10-4A as a matrix fibroblast subpopulation. Mechanical or chemical stimulation induced a reversible fibrotic state comparable to effects observed in primary isolated fibroblasts. Finally, we generated a reporter cell line (10-4ABFP) to express nuclear blue fluorescent protein (BFP) under the promotor of the myofibroblast marker alpha smooth muscle actin (Acta2) using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. We evaluated the suitability of 10-4ABFP as reporter tool in plate reader assays. In summary, the 10-4ABFP cell line provides a novel tool to study fibrotic processes in vitro to gain new insights into the cellular and molecular processes involved in fibrosis formation and propagation.
Integration of terrestrial laser scanning and UAV-SFM technique to generate a detailed 3D textured model of a heritage building

The digital twin is among the Top 10 of the strategic technological trends for the period 2007-2019, and it represents a powerful tool for the conservation and enhancement of cultural heritage. It reproduces with "precision" a physical asset, thus allowing to investigate its structure and to analyze the deformations that occur over the years. Various techniques have been introduced to obtain high-resolution 3D models. Among these, the Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) is widely recognized as the gold standard to generate accurate 3D metric reconstructions. TLS allows acquiring a lot of data (point cloud) in a fast way, being not in physical contact with the objects of investigation. By integrating the point cloud coming from the TLS with the one coming from the photogrammetric processes based on the Structure from Motion (SfM) and Multi View Stereo (MVS) techniques, it is possible to obtain a complete model of the object under investigation. The Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) photogrammetric technique allows to investigate possible elements not detectable by TLS. Both techniques, if well performed, can show comparable accuracies. Data fusion approach, based on multi-sensor and multi-scale integration, was proposed in the present work as the optimal solution to exploit the potential of the various techniques. A high-quality virtual twin from the All Saints' Monastery of Cuti (Puglia) was produced. The resulting detailed 3D textured model was generated by integrating digital photogrammetry with laser scanning data. A discussion on data acquisition procedures, modeling approaches and accuracy of results is provided.
Rationale and Design of the PAIRED Trial: Partnered Dance Aerobic Exercise as a Neuroprotective, Motor, and Cognitive Intervention in Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD), an intractable condition impairing motor and cognitive function, is imperfectly treated by drugs and surgery. Two priority issues for many people with PD are OFF-time and cognitive impairment. Even under best medical management, three-fourths of people with PD experience “OFF-time” related to medication-related motor fluctuations, which severely impacts both quality of life and cognition. Cognitive deficits are found even in newly diagnosed people with PD and are often intractable. Our data suggest that partnered dance aerobic exercise (PDAE) reduces OFF-time on the Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale-IV (MDS-UPDRS-IV) and ameliorates other disease features, which motivate the PAIRED trial. PDAE provides AE during an improvisational, cognitively engaging rehabilitative physical activity. Although exercise benefits motor and cognitive symptoms and may be neuroprotective for PD, studies using robust biomarkers of neuroprotection in humans are rare. We propose to perform a randomized, controlled trial in individuals with diagnosed mild–moderate PD to compare the efficacy of PDAE vs. walking aerobic exercise (WALK) for OFF-time, cognition, and neuroprotection. We will assess neuroprotection with neuromelanin-sensitive MRI (NM-MRI) and iron-sensitive (R2*) MRI sequences to quantify neuromelanin loss and iron accumulation in substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). We will use these biomarkers, neuromelanin loss, and iron accumulation, as tools to chart the course of neurodegeneration in patients with PD who have undergone long-term (16 months) intervention. We will randomly assign 102 individuals with mild–moderate PD to 16 months of PDAE or WALK. The 16-month intervention period will consist of Training (3 months of biweekly sessions) and Maintenance (13 months of weekly sessions) phases. We will assess participants at baseline, 3 months (immediately post-Training), and 16 months (immediately post-Maintenance) for OFF-time and behaviorally and physiologically measured cognition. We will acquire NM-MRI and R2* imaging data at baseline and 16 months to assess neuroprotection. We will (1) examine effects of Training and Maintenance phases of PDAE vs. WALK on OFF-time, (2) compare PDAE vs. WALK at 3 and 16 months on behavioral and functional MRI (fMRI) measures of spatial cognition, and (3) compare PDAE vs. WALK for effects on rates of neurodegeneration.
Male Sterility Caused by Cooling Treatment at the Young Microspore Stage in Rice Plants : XXXI. Four components participating in fertilization

We divided the developmental processes from microspore differentiation to fertilization into 4 phases and defined the component relating to fertilization in each phase. The percentage of fertilization was expressed by the product of the 4 components which are the number of differentiated microspores (X1), the percentage of developed pollen grains (X2), the percentage of shed pollen grains (X3) and the fertilization efficiency of shed pollen grains (X4). There were greate varietal differences in the percentage of fertilization and the contribution degrees of these components to fertilization. The contribution ratio of these components to fertilization was estimated by multiple regression analysis, using 19 rice varieties differing in cooling tolerance. The first 3 components (X1, X2 and X3) explaind 82% of the variation among the varieties in the percentage of fertilization of spikelets cooled at the critical stage. The 4th component, which is the product of the percentage of pollen germination on the stigma and the fertilization efficiency of germinated pollen grains, was not estimated in this paper. Somewake, Akage, Kitaake, Dohokumochi 18, Chubo 42 and Hayayuki are expected as donors with high capacity for X1, Somewake, Hamaasahi, Kitaake, Todorokiwase, Hayayuki and Kochiminori as donors with high capacity for X2, and Sorachi, Chubo 42, Hayayuki and Kitaake as donors with high capacity for X3. The concept of fertilization-components is useful as tools to indentify genetic sources and donors of cooling tolerance, and to analyse physiological mechanisms of cooling tolerance.
Financial development, income inequality and carbon emissions in sub-Saharan African countries: A panel data analysis

This paper examines the dynamic relationship between financial development, income inequality and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in a step-wise fashion, using data from 39 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries during the period 2004–2014. The study uses three income inequality indicators – the Gini coefficient, the Atkinson index and the Palma ratio – to examine these linkages. The study employs the generalised method of moments as the estimation technique. The empirical findings show that financial development unconditionally reduces CO2 emissions in SSA countries. The findings also show that there are threshold levels of income inequality that should not be exceeded in order for the negative impact of financial development on CO2 emissions to be sustained. Specifically, the study finds that the negative impact of financial development on CO2 emissions is likely to change to positive if the following inequality levels are exceeded: 0.591, 0.662 and 5.59, respectively, for the Gini coefficient, the Atkinson index and the Palma ratio. The findings of this study have far-reaching policy implications not only for SSA countries but also for developing countries as a whole. Policy implications are discussed.
The Circulation of Care in Multilingual and Transnational Children

Employing a multisited ethnographic stance, this study examined second-generation Korean immigrant children who sustain linkages with their parental homelands to better understand how transnationalism shapes their language and literacy practices by documenting their experiences in and across multiple spaces in North Carolina, the United States, and Seoul, South Korea. Findings suggest that the circulation of care, or the multidirectional and reciprocal exchange of support and care, functioned at the center of the children’s multilingual and transnational lives. The children actively engaged in language and literacy interactions through which they forged and extended meaningful ties with their parental homelands and strengthened intergenerational relationships. This study challenges the binary and fixed notions of home/host countries and highlights the need for longitudinal, multisited research on immigrant children’s transnational journeys with careful attention to the mobility of their language and literacy across generations and countries.
Fast and Slow Literacies: Digital and Compositional Conundrums in a Post-Truth Era

The purpose of this article is to isolate and detail various literacies deployed by youth when they composed multimodal texts that culminated in the production of student films. In particular, we focus on manifestations of young people’s thinking in the forms of fast and slow literacies. Using data from a series of research studies in which we observed Grades 3–12 students create short films in course-embedded field experiences and summer movie camps, we examined how the composition of student-made films allowed us to interrogate and elaborate literacies, both fast and slow, and the fast and slow thinking that supported the creation of those literate manifestations. We suggest fast and slow literacies, broadly construed, alter theories of literacy learning.
Reproductive Timing, Nest Construction and Tadpole Guidance in the African Pig-Nosed Frog, Hemisus marmoratus

The African pig-nosed frog, Hemisus marmoratus, provides parental care in terrestrial breeding chambers. While in amplexus, the female digs into the ground where she forms an underground breeding chamber and lays the eggs in a compact mass. The male leaves the chamber after fertilizing the eggs, and the female attends the eggs and developing tadpoles. Wager (1929) excavated two empty chambers and suggested that the female later digs a tunnel towards the water for the tadpoles. The tadpoles would presumably wriggle down this tunnel to reach the water where they would undergo further development and metamorphosis (Wager, 1952, 1965). The tunnel building scenario proposed by Wager (1929) is reiterated throughout the literature (i.e., Lambiris, 1989; Duellman and Trueb, 1994; Crump, 1995), even though it apparently was never observed. Van Dijk (1985, 1997) rejected Wager's scenario as speculative because he encountered tadpoles in flooded depressions without raised banks where the mode of tunnel building suggested by Wager was impossible. The presence of tadpoles in rock pools, artificial ponds, and nests up to 100 m away from the nearest water body in the Comoe National Park, West Africa (R6del et al., 1995) also required that alternative strategies of tadpole guidance be considered. Alternative strategies include flooding of the nest chamber (Van Dijk, 1985), the transport of eggs and tadpoles by the female (Bourquin, 1985; Van Dijk, 1985; Duellman, 1993b; Van Dijk, 1997), and the construction of a surface slide (Rodel, 1996; Spieler, 1997). In order to make sense out of this controversy, we report our observations of reproductive timing and nest construction in H. marmoratus, and, in particular, how tadpoles of this species reach open water from underground nests. Hemisus marmoratus is one of eight species within the single genus in the family Hemisotidae (Duellman, 1993a), endemic to tropical and subtropical sub-Saharan Africa (Savage, 1973; Duellman, 1993b). Three to five subspecies of H. marmoratus (Frost, 1985) are recorded from savannas throughout the geographic range of this family (i.e., Stewart, 1967; Schiotz, 1969; Lambiris, 1989; Passmore and Carruthers, 1995; Rodel, 1996). Hemisus marmoratus sudanensis is found in the Comoe National Park, West Africa (Rodel et al., 1995). This 11.5 km2 park is located in the north-eastern part of the Ivory Coast between 8? 5' and 9? 6' N and 3? 1' and 4'4' W at an altitude of about 250 m (Poilecot, 1991). The southern end of the park, where we conducted our research, is dominated by shrub-tree savannas with scattered island forests and is character-
Rapid Identification of Vibrio Species of the Harveyi Clade Using MALDI-TOF MS Profiling With Main Spectral Profile Database Implemented With an In-House Database: Luvibase

Vibrio bacteria, and particularly members of the Harveyi clade, are the causative agents of vibriosis. This disease is responsible for mass mortality events and important economic losses on aquaculture farms. Improvements in surveillance and diagnosis are needed to successfully manage vibriosis outbreaks. 16S rRNA gene sequencing is generally considered to be the gold standard for bacterial identification but the cost and long processing time make it difficult to apply for routine identification. In contrast, MALDI-TOF MS offers rapid diagnosis and is commonly used in veterinary laboratories today. The major limiting factor for using this technique is the low environmental bacterial diversity in the commonly available databases. Here, we demonstrate that the sole use of the commercially available Bruker BioTyper database is not fully adequate for identifying Vibrio bacteria isolated from aquaculture farms. We therefore developed a new in-house database named Luvibase, composed of 23 reference MALDI-TOF mass spectra profiles obtained from Vibrio collection strains, mostly belonging to the Harveyi clade. The comparison of the accuracy of MALDI-TOF MS profiling and 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed a lack of resolution for 16S rRNA gene sequencing. In contrast, MALDI-TOF MS profiling proved to be a more reliable tool for resolving species-level variations within the Harveyi clade. Finally, combining the Luvibase with the Bruker ver.9. 0.0. 0 database, led to successful identification of 47 Vibrio isolates obtained from moribund abalone, seabass and oysters. Thus, the use of Luvibase allow for increased confidence in identifying Vibrio species belonging to the Harveyi clade.
Variance and Scale-Free Properties of Resting-State Blood Oxygenation Level-Dependent Signal After Fear Memory Acquisition and Extinction

Recently, the dynamic properties of brain activity rather than its stationary values have attracted more interest in clinical applications. It has been shown that brain signals exhibit scale-free dynamics or long-range temporal correlations (LRTC) that differ between rest and cognitive tasks in healthy controls and clinical groups. Little is known about how fear-inducing tasks may influence dispersion and the LRTC of subsequent resting-state brain activity. In this study, we aimed to explore the changes in the variance and scale-free properties of the brain’s blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal during the resting-state sessions before and after fear learning and fear memory extinction. During a 1-h break between magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning, 23 healthy, right-handed volunteers experienced a fear extinction procedure, followed by Pavlovian fear conditioning that included partial reinforcement using mild electrical stimulation. We extracted the average time course of the BOLD signal from 245 regions of interest (ROIs) taken from the resting-state functional atlas. The variance of the BOLD signal and the Hurst exponent (H), which reflects the scale-free dynamic, were compared in the resting states before and after fear learning and fear memory extinction. After fear extinction, six ROIs showed a difference in H at the uncorrected level of significance, including areas associated with fear processing. H decreased during fear extinction but then became higher than before fear learning, specifically in areas related to the fear extinction network (FEN). However, activity in the other ROIs restored the H to its initial level. The variance of the BOLD signal in six ROIs demonstrated a significant increase from initial rest to the post-task rest. A limited number of ROIs showed changes in both H and variance. Our results imply that the variability and scale-free properties of the BOLD signal might serve as additional indicators of changes in spontaneous brain activity related to recent experience.
A Pilot Study to Explore Patient Satisfaction With a Virtual Rehabilitation Program in Multiple Sclerosis: The RehabVR Study Protocol

Background: Virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a promising treatment approach in rehabilitation for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) due to its potential to increase patient motivation and rehabilitation adherence. One of the key features for rehabilitation adherence is patient satisfaction with the VR rehabilitation (VRR) program, and information on user satisfaction and not only effectiveness is required to systematically include VRR in routine clinical practice. Given that information on patient satisfaction with VRR is scarce, the primary objective of this study is to assess long-term patient satisfaction with a novel VRR program. This program has been specifically designed for MS patients by a multidisciplinary team of specialists, based on an effective conventional rehabilitation (CR) program. Secondarily, discomfort with VRR will be evaluated, and therapy adherence and changes in a variety of domains typically affected by MS will be compared between patients receiving VRR and patients receiving CR. Methods: In this prospective single-center 6-months follow-up study, 32 and 16 MS patients will receive VRR or CR, respectively. Patients will attend twice weekly rehabilitation sessions on site during 4 weeks, and they will continue with rehabilitation at home for five additional months. Satisfaction, assessed by the User Satisfaction Evaluation Questionnaire (USEQ), at 6 months of the VRR program initiation will be the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes include adherence, disability, spasms and spasticity, balance, fatigue, activities of daily living (ADLs), depression, anxiety, work status, cognition, demographic, and clinical characteristics (in the VRR and CR groups), and discomfort (in the VRR group). Outcome measures will be assessed at baseline, and at 1 and 6 months of rehabilitation initiation. Discussion: The study is intended to provide a better understanding of long-term patient satisfaction with a VRR program specifically designed for MS patients. Additionally, the study will provide information on long-term adherence, changes in motor symptoms, cognitive functions and patient-reported outcomes after the rehabilitation program. The results from this study will help to gather valuable knowledge on the use of rehabilitation with a new VR tool in MS patients.
Strength-Endurance: Interaction Between Force-Velocity Condition and Power Output

Context Strength-endurance mainly depends on the power output, which is often expressed relative to the individual’s maximal power capability (Pmax). However, an individual can develop the same power, but in different combinations of force and velocity (force-velocity condition). Also, at matched power output, changing the force-velocity condition results in a change of the velocity-specific relative power (Pmaxv), associated with a change in the power reserve. So far, the effect of these changing conditions on strength-endurance remains unclear. Purpose We aimed to test the effects of force-velocity condition and power output on strength-endurance. Methods Fourteen sportsmen performed (i) force- and power-velocity relationships evaluation in squat jumps and (ii) strength-endurance evaluations during repeated squat jump tests in 10 different force-velocity-power conditions, individualized based on the force- and power-velocity relationships. Each condition was characterized by different (i) relative power (%Pmax), (ii) velocity-specific relative power (%Pmaxv), and (iii) ratio between force and velocity (RFv). Strength-endurance was assessed by the maximum repetitions (SJRep), and the cumulated mechanical work (Wtot) performed until exhaustion during repeated squat jump tests. Intra and inter-day reliability of SJRep were tested in one of the 10 conditions. The effects of %Pmax, %Pmaxv, and RFv on SJRep and Wtot were tested via stepwise multiple linear regressions and two-way ANOVAs. Results SJRep exhibited almost perfect intra- and inter-day reliability (ICC=0.94 and 0.92, respectively). SJRep and Wtot were influenced by %Pmaxv and RFv (R2 = 0.975 and 0.971; RSME=0.243 and 0.234, respectively; both p < 0.001), with the effect of RFv increasing with decreasing %Pmaxv (interaction effect, p = 0.03). %Pmax was not considered as a significant predictor of strength-endurance by the multiple regressions analysis. SJRep and Wtot were higher at lower %Pmaxv and in low force-high velocity conditions (i.e., lower RFv). Conclusion Strength-endurance was almost fully dependent on the position of the exercise conditions relative to the individual force-velocity and power-velocity relationships (characterized by %Pmaxv and RFv). Thus, the standardization of the force-velocity condition and the velocity-specific relative power should not be overlooked for strength-endurance testing and training, but also when setting fatiguing protocols.