Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Multiple Knockouts in Abscisic Acid Receptor Genes Reduced the Sensitivity to ABA during Soybean Seed Germination

Abscisic acid (ABA) is an important plant hormone that regulates numerous functions in plant growth, development, and stress responses. Several proteins regulate the ABA signal transduction mechanism in response to environmental stress. Among them, the PYR1/PYL/RCAR family act as ABA receptors. This study used the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing system with a single gRNA to knock out three soybean PYL genes: GmPYL17, GmPYL18, and GmPYL19. The gRNA may efficiently cause varying degrees of deletion of GmPYL17, GmPYL18, and GmPYL19 gene target sequences, according to the genotyping results of T0 plants. A subset of induced alleles was successfully transferred to progeny. In the T2 generation, we obtained double and triple mutant genotypes. At the seed germination stage, CRISPR/Cas9-created GmPYL gene knockout mutants, particularly gmpyl17/19 double mutants, are less susceptible to ABA than the wild type. RNA-Seq was used to investigate the differentially expressed genes related to the ABA response from germinated seedlings under diverse treatments using three biological replicates. The gmpyl17/19-1 double mutant was less susceptible to ABA during seed germination, and mutant plant height and branch number were higher than the wild type. Under ABA stress, the GO enrichment analysis showed that certain positive germination regulators were activated, which reduced ABA sensitivity and enhanced seed germination. This research gives a theoretical basis for a better understanding of the ABA signaling pathway and the participation of the key component at their molecular level, which helps enhance soybean abiotic stress tolerance. Furthermore, this research will aid breeders in regulating and improving soybean production and quality under various stress conditions.
Rapid Prototyping Framework for Intelligent Arrays with Heterogeneous Computing

The availability of highly capable RF platforms with integrated heterogeneous compute has necessitated the need for software development frameworks that allow application designers to take advantage of these newly available capabilities. By leveraging open-source libraries and frameworks including GNU Radio, PyTorch, and Vitis AI, we have developed a framework that enables rapid prototyping and development of intelligent array processing applications and other SDR applications. This framework enables researchers and developers to deploy applications that make use of CPU, GPU, and Xilinx DPU resources, without the need to be a GPU or FPGA expert. Our initial kernel performance metrics show that this new ability will allow system designers to efficiently leverage trade-offs in system performance by effectively allocating resources across several processors.
Effect of nitrogen sources on yield and yield components of potato (Solanum tuberosum) cultivars

An experiment was conducted during two consecutive summer seasons to evaluate the effect of nitrogen sources on yield and yield attributing characters of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivars. The experiment was laid out in a factorial randomized block design with four potato cultivars and three different nitrogen sources. The sources of phosphorous (P) and potash (K) were single super phosphate (SSP) and muriate of potash (MOP) respectively where the nitrogen (N) source is urea and di-ammonium-phosphate. In case of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) it served source for both N and P. The pooled analysis showed significant difference between cultivars, nitrogen sources andits interactions on all characters studied. Our results revealed that application of recommended dose of N in the form of urea in both basal as well as top dressing significantly increased the vegetative growth. However, N 75% supplied in the form of DAP as basal and remaining nitrogen 25% in the form of ammonium sulphate as top dressing (T7)along with recommended dose of P and K and N 75% supplied in the form of ammonium sulphate as basal and 25%as top dressing (T2) along with recommended P and K resulted maximum marketable tuber yield in terms of tubernumber as well as weight. Therefore, for maximizing the marketable tuber yield N can be applied in the form of DAPand ammonium sulphate.
Generalized Inf-Sup Conditions for Chebyshev Spectral Approximation of the Stokes Problem

A mixed problem and its approximation in an abstract framework are considered. They are proved to be well posed if and only if several inf-sup conditions are satisfied. These results are applied to the Stokes equations in a square, formulated in Chebyshev weighted Sobolev spaces and their approximations. Two kinds of spectral discretizations are analyzed: a Galerkin method and a collocation method at the Chebyshev nodes.
The Effect of Heterozygous Mutation of Adenylate Kinase 2 Gene on Neutrophil Differentiation

Mitochondrial ATP production plays an important role in most cellular activities, including growth and differentiation. Previously we reported that Adenylate kinase 2 (AK2) is the main ADP supplier in the mitochondrial intermembrane space in hematopoietic cells, especially in the bone marrow. AK2 is crucial for the production of neutrophils and T cells, and its deficiency causes reticular dysgenesis. However, the relationship between ADP supply by AK2 and neutrophil differentiation remains unclear. In this study, we used CRISPR/Cas9 technology to establish two heterozygous AK2 knock-out HL-60 clones as models for reticular dysgenesis. Their AK2 activities were about half that in the wild-type (WT). Furthermore, neutrophil differentiation was impaired in one of the clones. In silico analysis predicted that the obtained mutations might cause a structural change in AK2. Time course microarray analysis of the WT and mutants revealed that similar gene clusters responded to all-trans retinoic acid treatment, but their expression was lower in the mutants than in WT. Application of fructose partially restored neutrophil differentiation in the heterozygous knock-out HL-60 clone after all-trans retinoic acid treatment. Collectively, our study suggests that the mutation of N-terminal region in AK2 might play a role in AK2-dependent neutrophil differentiation and fructose could be used to treat AK2 deficiency.
Adsorption of Chromium (VI) Using an Activated Carbon Derived from Petroleum Coke Feedstock

This study aims to determine the main adsorption mechanism by which chromium (VI) is adsorbed onto the surface of a petroleum-coke sourced activated carbon, a feedstock not prevalent in current literature. The study also aims to produce an activated carbon adsorbent that is both cost-effective and efficient for the removal of chromium (VI) in neutral waters. The efficacy of thermally-treated petroleum coke-activated carbon and nitrogenated petroleum coke-activated carbon using ammonium chloride is compared to the efficacy of commercially available activated carbon. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of the activated carbons was obtained both before and after exposure to chromium (VI) for characterization of the materials and confirmation of chromium adsorption. The thermally-treated and nitrogenated activated carbons showed significant enhancement of chromium (VI) removal compared to the non-treated petroleum coke-activated carbon (22.4 mg/g, 21.9 mg/g, and 17.0 mg/g, respectively). However, there was no significant difference observed between the thermally-treated and nitrogenated materials. This indicates that the nitrogenation of the surface does not improve the adsorption capacity of the activated carbon, but rather the thermal treatment itself. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed a significant increase in the alcohol functional groups on the surface of the activated carbon material as a result of the heat-treatment process; from 16.02 atomic percent in the non-treated activated carbon to 26.3 atomic percent in the thermally-treated activated carbon. The alcohol functional groups present on the surface allow for chromium (VI) to undergo reduction to chromium (III) under a similar mechanism to the well-known Jones Oxidation Reaction where the reduced chromium (III) species are then physisorbed to the surface of the activated carbon. XPS results are consistent with this as the chromium species present on the surface of the adsorbent is primarily Cr(OH)3 (85.6% in the standard AC and 82.5% in the thermally-treated AC). Pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic modeling of the adsorbents indicate that they follow a pseudo-second-order reaction where the rate-limiting step is the chemical sorption of the adsorbate itself.
Risk factors for falls among community-dwelling older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background and objective The prevalence of falls among older adults living in the community is ~30% each year. The impacts of falls are not only confined to the individual but also affect families and the community. Injury from a fall also imposes a heavy financial burden on patients and their families. Currently, there are different reports on the risk factors for falls among older adults in the community. A retrospective analysis was used in this study to identify risk factors for falls in community-dwelling older adults. This research aimed to collect published studies to find risk factors for falls in community-dwelling older adults. Methods We searched for literature from the founding of PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, the Web of Science, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), the China Science and Technology Periodicals Database (VIP), and the Wanfang database until September 2022. The studies were selected using inclusion and exclusion criteria. We collected information from relevant studies to compare the impact of potential risk factors such as age, female gender, fear of falling, history of falls, unclear vision, depression, and balance disorder on falls among community-dwelling older adults. Results A total of 31 studies were included with 70,868 community seniors. A significant risk factor for falls in the community of older adults was dementia (2.01, 95% CI: 1.41–2.86), age (1.15, 95% CI: 1.09–1.22), female gender (1.52, 95% CI: 1.27–1.81), fear of falling (2.82, 95% CI: 1.68–4.74), history of falls (3.22, 95% CI: 1.98–5.23), vision unclear (1.56, 95% CI: 1.29–1.89), depression (1.23, 95% CI: 1.10–1.37), and balance disorder (3.00, 95% CI: 2.05–4.39). Conclusion This study provides preliminary evidence that falls among community-dwelling older adults are associated with factors such as age, female gender, fear of falling, history of falls, unclear vision, depression, and balance disorders. The results of this research may help improve clinician awareness, risk stratification, and fall prevention among community-dwelling older adults. Systematic review registration identifier INPLASY2022120080.
Phonon transport mechanism of HfO2 ultrathin film with temperature-correction full-band Monte Carlo simulation

Hafnium dioxide (HfO2) has been widely used in microelectronics nowadays and commonly withstands extremely high temperatures, so the investigation of its thermodynamic properties is particularly essential. This paper develops a temperature-correction full-band Monte Carlo (TFMC) method to investigate the HfO2 ultrathin film. The phonon dynamics parameters of HfO2 are calculated based on the first-principles method. TFMC can better describe the phonon cumulative distribution function in different temperatures by modifying the phonon relaxation time and heat capacity. The thermal conductivity of HfO2 ultrathin film is calculated based on the above method and is in good agreement with the literature. It is observed that the optical phonons in HfO2 ultrathin film are prominent in the phonon heat transport, which is quite different from the mechanism in common semiconductor materials. Combined with the full-band diffuse mismatch model, the Si-based HfO2 ultrathin film is studied. It is found that the existence of the interface with substrates improves the thermodynamic properties of the ultrathin film, which provides a reference for the selection of substrate materials.
How To Convince People To Get A COVID-19 Vaccine: An Opinion Dynamics Model for REUNS 2022

When COVID-19 Vaccines became first available, there were a lot of questions and uncertainty related to them [1]. In this paper, we aim to model the evolution of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy through an opinion dynamics model. We extend the model in [5] to general polygons and explore the parameter space. We compare our model with the real data available for Floyd County, Texas. Our findings imply that our model is good in predicting evolution of Vaccine Hesitancy in other counties. We also think that our model can be used to model and predict evolution of opinions on other topics.
Driver Expectations of a Partial Driving Automation System in Relation to Branding and Training

Objective The current study examined whether differences in the branding and description or mode of training materials influence drivers’ understanding and expectations of a partial driving automation system. Background How technology is described might influence consumers’ understanding and expectations, even if all information is accurate. Method Ninety drivers received training about a real partial driving automation system with a fictitious name. Participants were randomly assigned to a branding condition (system named AutonoDrive, training emphasized capabilities; or system named DriveAssist, training emphasized limitations) and training mode (quick-start brochure; video; or in-person demonstration). No safety-critical information was withheld nor deliberately misleading information provided. After training, participants drove a vehicle equipped with the system. Associations of drivers’ expectations with branding condition and training mode were assessed using between-subjects comparisons of questionnaire responses obtained pre- and post-drive. Results Immediately after training, those who received information emphasizing the system’s capabilities had greater expectations of the system’s function and crash avoidance capability in a variety of driving scenarios, including many in which the system would not work, as well as greater willingness to utilize the system’s workload reduction benefits to take more risks. Most but not all differences persisted after driving the vehicle. Expectations about collision avoidance differed by training mode pre-drive but not post-drive. Conclusion Training that emphasizes a partial driving automation system’s capabilities and downplays its limitations can foster overconfidence. Application Accuracy of technical information does not guarantee understanding; training should provide a balanced view of a system’s limitations as well as capabilities.
A preliminary study of the rare earth element-enriched Twyfelskupje carbonatite complex, southern Namibia

Abstract The Twyfelskupje carbonatite complex, Southern Namibia, exhibits the typical igneous emplacement structures of carbonatites, including plugs, cone sheets and dyke stockworks. The excellent exposure allows for detailed studies of the high-level geochemical and structural evolution of the carbonatite, and the nature of the concomitant rare earth element mineralization. Radiogenic isotope analyses (Sr, Nd, Pb) reveal that, in common with many other carbonatites, the Twyfelskupje carbonatite complex appears to be predominantly derived from mixing between HIMU and EM1 mantle end-members. Following partial melting of these mantle sources, the geochemical and structural evolution of the Twyfelskupje carbonatite complex proceeded by a staged process involving separate magma pulses, a series of emplacement structures, sub-solidus crystallization, fractionation and low-temperature hydrothermal alteration. The dominant rare earth element minerals in the Twyfelskupje carbonatite complex are fluorcarbonates and monazite, and are characterized by variable Ca, high F and light rare earth elements in the order Ce>La>Nd. Comparison between the rare earth element concentrations of the whole rocks, dominant rare earth element minerals and carbonates suggests that ∼95 % of the total rare earth element abundance of the Twyfelskupje carbonatite complex is contained within fluorcarbonates and monazite. Overall, the early calcio-carbonatite plugs are rare earth element enriched (mean 4.47 wt % rare earth oxides) relative to the magnesio-carbonatite cone sheets (mean 2.51 wt % rare earth oxides).
Glacial meltwater determines the balance between autotrophic and heterotrophic processes in a Greenland fjord

Significance As the Arctic continues to warm, increased precipitation and melting of glaciers result in more freshwater runoff to the coastal ocean. This intensifies the coupling between land and ocean with consequences for marine ecosystems along the expansive Arctic coastline. We show that in parts of a Greenland fjord most impacted by meltwater, the rates of bacterial degradation exceed that of new production by phytoplankton, resulting in a net heterotrophic ecosystem. With increasing distance from the Greenland Ice Sheet, we find a gradual transition to an autotrophic system in the outer fjord where production exceeds degradation. Our finding is an example of how meltwater influences key ecosystem processes and strongly suggests that increasing runoff to Greenland fjords has consequences for coastal productivity.
High-temperature solar cell for concentrated solar-power hybrid systems

A high-temperature solar cell is proposed that harvests solar energy at elevated temperatures. Carrier separation is achieved by selective contacts that preferentially extract electrons or holes. The theoretical conversion efficiency of the proposed device is 38.6% at 600 K and an incident solar radiation concentration of 1000. The waste heat of this cell could be used by a secondary thermal converter boosting the total efficiency of the hybrid system above 55%.
Impact of Defect Instances for Successful Deep Learning-based Automatic Program Repair

Deep learning-based automatic program repair (DL-APR) returns a patch code when given a defect code. Recent studies on DL-APR techniques have focused on the training phase to generate more accurate patches; however, a trained model cannot always generate an accurate patch for every new defect code, as the training dataset does not completely represent the new defects to be input in the future. DL-APR researchers should study a method to elicit the best performance on new inputs from the trained and deployed model. A new defect instance (i.e., defect codes and their context codes) is one of the crucial input data that determine the accuracy of the DL-APR, which can be changed and improved. We improve the quality of new input defect instances by focusing on the presence of noise tokens which compromise the defect instances’ quality, thus impairing the accuracy of generated patches. This paper shows that 1) there are noise tokens which prevent correct patch generation (inference) in a new defect instance, and 2) it is necessary to mask these noise tokens to avoid their usage in inferencing patch codes. In order to validate these two assertions, we use a state-of-the-art DL-APR technique and a genetic algorithm to generate near-optimal defect instances which maximize the patch generation accuracy (i.e., the BLEU score) of 4,573 defect instances. Based on optimization results, we found that 1) noise tokens impair patch generation accuracy in approximately 49% of instances, and 2) if these tokens are precluded from inference by masking them, we can improve patch generation accuracy by 88%. The results suggest that future work is required to automatically remove noise tokens from new defect instances so that the trained patch generator generates better patches.
Cytotoxicity and maternal toxicity attributed to exposure to Momordica charantia L. (Cucurbitaceae) dry leaf extract

ABSTRACT Momordica charantia L. (Cucurbitaceae), popularly known as “bitter melon” or “bitter gourd,” is a climbing plant well-adapted to tropical countries. This plant is used traditionally to treat several conditions including diabetes mellitus, inflammation, liver dysfunctions, and cancer. Given the widespread ethnopharmacological use, this study aimed to examine the cytogenetic, maternal, and developmental toxicity attributed to exposure to dry extract of M. charantia leaves using Allium cepa and Wistar rats as test models. First, phytochemical characterization of the dry extract by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses was performed. Then, Allium cepa roots were exposed to three different concentrations of the dry extract (0.25, 0.5, or 1 mg/ml) to determine the mitotic index, frequency of chromosomal aberrations, and nuclear abnormalities. In addition, pregnant Wistar rats were administered either 500; 1,000 or 2,000 mg/kg dry extract during the gestational period (GD) days 6–15, and subsequently possible toxic effect on the dams and fetuses were recorded. HPLC analyses confirmed rutin as the main secondary metabolite present in the dry extract. In the Allium cepa test, the dry extract was cytotoxic. In Wistar rats, dry extract administration reduced water and feed intake and mean body mass gain, indicating maternal toxicity during the organogenesis period. However, the dry extract did not markedly affect reproductive outcome parameters evaluated. Regarding developmental toxicity assessment, the dry extract treatment did not significantly alter number of skeletal malformations in the offspring. Data demonstrated that the dry extract of M. charantia leaves presents cytotoxicity and low maternal toxicity, indicating indiscriminate use needs to be avoided.
On the Estimation of Functions of Several Variables from Aggregated Data.

This work was motivated by the problem of obtaining a smooth density function over a geographical region from data aggregated over irregular subregions. Minimization of a family of roughness criteria given “volume” data leads to smooth multivariate functions—Laplacian histosplines, having a certain order of the iterated Laplacian of constant value in each of the subregions and satisfying natural boundary conditions on the boundary of the region. For inexact data, e.g., in case of estimating an underlying density given counts of events by subregions, Laplacian smoothing histosplines are constructed, analogous to smoothing splines in the univariate case, and a method for choosing the smoothing parameter is presented.For both cases of exact and inexact data, modified roughness criteria, independent of the region, are discussed, and results known for point-evaluation data are extended to the case of aggregated data.
Polarization imaging of biological samples with spatial filtering

Polarization measurement technology can detect the microscopic structure information from biological samples. However, for biological samples with weak scattering effect, the optical signal obtained by the detector will contain a large amount of zero-frequency light without scattering, which makes it difficult to effectively extract the polarization information of the samples with weak scattering effect. Therefore, in this study, we introduce spatial filtering technique into polarization measurement. In the experimental setup, a spatial filter is placed in the rear focal plane of the objective lens to block the zero-frequency light, so as to realize the selection of scattered photons. A red LED with the wavelength of 633nm was used as the lighting source. The measurement of polarization information is based on the dual-rotating quarter-wave plate method. Considering the widespread presence of spherical and columnar scatterers in biological systems, Hacat cells and biological fibers were selected for the experiment. By comparing with the polarization data without spatial filtering, we found that the polarization parameter obtained after the high pass filtering measurement can better characterize the samples.