Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pan-metagenome reveals the abiotic stress resistome of cigar tobacco phyllosphere microbiome

The important role of microbial associations in mediating plant protection and responses to abiotic stresses has been widely recognized. However, there have been limited studies on the functional profile of the phyllosphere microbiota from tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), hindering our understanding of the mechanisms underlying stress resilience in this representative and easy-to-cultivate model species from the solanaceous family. To address this knowledge gap, our study employed shotgun metagenomic sequencing for the first time to analyze the genetic catalog and identify putative plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) candidates that confer abiotic stress resilience throughout the growth period of cigar tobacco in the phyllosphere. We identified abundant genes from specific bacterial lineages, particularly Pseudomonas, within the cigar tobacco phyllospheric microbiome. These genes were found to confer resilience against a wide range of stressors, including osmotic and drought stress, heavy metal toxicity, temperature perturbation, organic pollutants, oxidative stress, and UV light damage. In addition, we conducted a virome mining analysis on the metagenome to explore the potential roles of viruses in driving microbial adaptation to environmental stresses. Our results identified a total of 3,320 scaffolds predicted to be viral from the cigar tobacco phyllosphere metagenome, with various phages infecting Pseudomonas, Burkholderia, Enterobacteria, Ralstonia, and related viruses. Within the virome, we also annotated genes associated with abiotic stress resilience, such as alkaline phosphatase D (phoD) for nutrient solubilization and glutamate-5-semialdehyde dehydrogenase (proA) for osmolyte synthesis. These findings shed light on the unexplored roles of viruses in facilitating and transferring abiotic stress resilience in the phyllospheric microbiome through beneficial interactions with their hosts. The findings from this study have important implications for agricultural practices, as they offer potential strategies for harnessing the capabilities of the phyllosphere microbiome to enhance stress tolerance in crop plants.
The Indonesian Throughﬂow circulation under solar geoengineering

The Indonesia Throughﬂow (ITF) is the only low-latitude channel between the Paciﬁc and Indian oceans, and its variability has important effects on global climate and biogeochemical cycles. Climate models consistently predict a decline in ITF transport under global warming, but it has not yet been examined under solar geoengineering scenarios. We use standard parameterized methods for estimating the ITF – the Amended Island Rule and buoyancy forcing – to investigate the ITF under the SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 greenhouse gas scenarios and the geoengineering experiments G6solar and G6sulfur, which reduce net global mean radiative forcing from SSP5-8.5 levels to SSP2-4.5 levels using solar dimming and sulfate aerosol injection strategies, respectively. Six-model ensemble-mean projections for 2080–2100 show reductions of 19 % under the G6solar scenario and 28 % under the G6sulfur scenario relative to the historical (1980–2014) ITF, which should be compared with reductions of 23 % and 27 % under SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5. Despite standard deviations amounting to 5 %–8 % for each scenario, all scenarios are signiﬁcantly different from each other ( p < 0 . 05) when the whole 2020– 2100 simulation period is considered. Thus, signiﬁcant weakening of the ITF occurs under all scenarios, but G6solar more closely approximates SSP2-4.5 than G6sulfur does. In contrast with the other three scenarios, which show only reductions in forcing due to ocean upwelling, the G6sulfur experiment shows a large reduction in ocean surface wind stress forcing accounting for 47 % (38 %–65 % across the model range) of the decline in wind + upwelling-driven ITF transport. There are also reductions in deep-sea upwelling in extratropical western boundary currents
ScholarWorks@UARK ScholarWorks@UARK

The term “stress” refers to a person’s psychological and physiological response to the demands and pressures of the world around them (Farlex, 2021). Past research has shown that stress can have negative side effects on a person’s well-being (Aneshensel et al., 1991; Wunsch et al., 2017; Michie, 2002). Although people experience stress, some people perceive more stress than others. Perceptions are important because the way one understands certain conditions can elicit distinct emotional and physiological responses (Kemeny, 2003). An important factor that has not received a lot of attention is women’s use of hormonal contraceptives. In the United States, 24.4% of women aged 15-49 are currently using hormonal contraceptives and of those women 14% are using oral contraceptives (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). Past research has begun to link hormonal contraceptive use to changes in women’s physiological processes unrelated to reproductive function. One particular study examined the differences in the salivary cortisol response to psychosocial stress by comparing women who were using hormonal contraceptives to women who were naturally cycling (Roche et al., 2013). One limitation of this prior research is that it considered all oral contraceptive users as a single group. In my research I broke down oral contraceptive users into four distinct groups based on the type of progestin, also known as generation of progestin, the oral contraceptive contains. This led me to my current research question: Is there a difference in perceived stress levels among women taking one of the four generations of contraceptive pills and naturally cycling women? Women were directed to an online study and completed an informed consent. Then they completed a variety of measures. The specific stress index I used is the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) which is a 10-item questionnaire that is widely used to assess stress levels in people 12 years and older (Cohen et al., 1983). To test my hypothesis if there is a difference in stress levels between the
Washington University Open

As Teaching Assistant (TA) programs grow in number and size in introductory CS courses, TAs play a significant role in novice programmers' experience and contribute to their success. However, many TAs are also relative beginners themselves and thus have limited experience in programming and teaching. Thus the effectiveness and consistency of their guidance can vary significantly. To improve interaction quality and assist TAs in providing better support, we examine the difficulties encountered by inexperienced TAs in previous literature and then identify the potential for the high cognitive load as an unaddressed difficulty that may prevent new TAs from initiating effective TA-student interactions. This work aims to build a scaffolding tool to assist with assistant teaching tasks and help them initiate better TA-student interactions. A user study has also been conducted for evaluation purposes. Based on our user study, it appears that our assistive interface achieved significant effects on assisting TAs in evaluating students' debugging skills. When performing this task, 80% of TAs achieved better performance after using the assistive interface, and the accuracy of questions answered using the assistive interface is 22% higher than using the baseline interface. Additionally, the assistive interface is more likely to identify visually minor, student-specific problems to facilitate conversations between TAs and students.
The relationship between test anxiety and pre-service teachers’ performance in quantitative research methods

The mere mention of mathematics and its related courses such as quantitative research methods drive down shivers and create anxiety among most students. However, this phenomenon has not will been addressed among preservice teachers. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between preservice teachers test anxiety and performance in quantitative research methods in education. And to achieve this purpose, a random sample of 313 preservice teachers from a teacher education University in Ghana were administered the test anxiety inventory (TAI) and the data analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results revealed a significant inverse relationship between test anxiety and preservice teachers’ performance. Similarly, factors such as the examiner, the exam format, previous failures, examination time, presence of invigilator, and lack of adequate preparations were identified as determinants of test anxiety. In terms of coping strategies, it was revealed that respondents adopted cognitive, and educational strategies to mitigate the effect of test anxiety.
Risk of Melanoma and Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer in Patients with Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Treated with Targeted Therapies: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Targeted therapies represent major advancements in the treatment of chronic skin conditions such as psoriasis. While previous studies have shown an increased risk of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) in patients receiving TNF-α inhibitors, the risks associated with newer biologics (IL-12/23 inhibitors, IL-23 inhibitors, IL-17 inhibitors) and Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors remain less known. Using a systematic and meta-analytical approach, we aimed to summarize the currently available literature concerning skin cancer risk in patients treated with targeted therapies. The MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were searched to find studies reporting the incidence rates (IR) of melanoma and NMSC in patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis treated with biologics or JAK inhibitors. Nineteen studies were included in the analysis with a total of 13,739 patients. The overall IR of melanoma was 0.08 (95% CI, 0.05–0.15) events per 100 PYs and the overall IR of NMSC was 0.45 (95% CI, 0.33–0.61) events per 100 PYs. The IRs of melanoma were comparable across patients treated with IL-17 inhibitors, IL-23 inhibitors, and JAK inhibitors, while the IRs of NMSC were higher in patients treated with JAK inhibitors than in those treated with biologics. Prospective, long-term cohort studies are required to reliably assess the risks associated with novel targeted therapies.
A Framework for the Design of Secure and Eﬀicient Proofs of Retrievability

Proofs of Retrievability (PoR) protocols ensure that a client can fully retrieve a large outsourced ﬁle from an untrusted server. Good PoRs should have low communication complexity, small storage overhead and clear security guarantees with tight security bounds. The focus of this work is to design good PoR schemes with simple security proofs. To this end, we propose a framework for the design of secure and eﬃcient PoR schemes that is based on Locally Correctable Codes, and whose security is phrased in the Constructive Cryptography model by Maurer. We give a ﬁrst instantiation of our framework using the high rate lifted codes introduced by Guo et al . This yields an inﬁnite family of good PoRs. We assert their security by solving a ﬁnite geometry problem, giving an explicit formula for the probability of an adversary to fool the client. Moreover, we show that the security of a PoR of Lavauzelle and Levy-dit-Vehel was overestimated and propose new secure parameters for it. Finally, using the local correctability properties of Tanner codes, we get another instantiation of our framework and derive an analogous formula for the success probability of the audit.
Mapping the Discipline of Ancient Mediterranean Religion through Primary Text Co-citation Analysis

Mapping fields using co-citation information is a common endeavour in many disciplines but has rarely been performed in the humanities. In this article, I use data from 417 back-of-book source indices to map the field of ancient Mediterranean religion on three levels: sub-discipline, ancient work, and references in ancient works. The method innovatively makes use of primary text references, rather than research articles, to construct the co-citation network. After mapping the overall relationships between sub-disciplines, I show how the data can be used to identify two types of ancient works that bridge these sub-disciplines: works which are central for the whole network, and works which are not central overall but cited more often with specific sub-disciplines. The article provides an understanding of the structure of the field of ancient Mediterranean religions, and more generally of the challenges and advantages of methods to map scholarship in historical disciplines.
Feature Selection in Wireless Intrusion Detection System for Evil Twin Attack Detection

Wireless networks have become an integral part of our daily lives, enabling seamless communication and information exchange. Attackers continuously seek vulnerabilities in these networks to compromise data privacy and integrity. To address the growing threat of evil twin attacks and other wireless network vulnerabilities, Wireless Intrusion Detection Systems (WIDS) play a vital role in detecting suspicious activities. However, implementing WIDS poses challenges due to the large amount of network data generated, which can strain detection mechanisms and lead to delays or false positives. To mitigate this, feature selection techniques are employed to identify relevant features that optimize detection while reducing processing overhead. This article proposes a framework for WIDS using Random Forest classifiers and Gini Index feature selection algorithm. The proposed work was implemented and tested on AWID3 dataset. The experimental results show that the proposed model yields higher accuracy of 99.99% in detecting evil twin attacks.
A Proposal for Verbalization Data Gathering to Support Usability Evaluations with ErgoSV Tool

—This paper aims to present a strategy to support the verbalization data gathering with ErgoSV tool to support usability evaluation. Verbalization is is a widely used and efficient based on the Think Aloud, once it provide resource to gather great amount of data about user interaction/experience. To support verbalization in usability testing, ErgoSV tool was proposed, but it was focused on a real time word recognition, which leaded to difficulties and limitations to conduct an appropriate speech recognition. Aiming to improve the verbalization data gathering, we propose a strategy where the recognition is conducted after data registration, avoiding processing overload and changing speech recognition techniques. The validation This research had used the practical research method, that has an applied nature. The method uses was quantitative analysis, with data obtained through field research based on observations. Through sample data, two types of users behaviors were identified: (1) in which the externalization differs from the questionnaire responses, and (2) in which the opinion coincides.
Thermodynamic and cloud evolution in a cold air outbreak during HALO-(AC) 3 : Quasi-Lagrangian observations compared to the ERA5 and CARRA reanalyses

Intense air mass transformations take place when cold, dry Arctic air masses move southward from the closed sea ice onto the much warmer ice-free Arctic ocean during marine cold air outbreaks (MCAOs). In spite of intensive research on MCAOs during recent years, the temporal rates of diabatic heating and moisture uptake relevant also for cloud formation/dissipation have not been measured along MCAO flows. Instead, reanalyses have typically been used for climatological investigations of MCAOs or to supply higher resolution models with lateral boundary conditions and time-dependent forcings. 5 Meanwhile, the uncertainties connected to those datasets remain unclear. Here, we present height-resolved observations of diabatic heating rates, moisture uptake, and cloud evolution measured in a quasi-Lagrangian manner. The investigated specific MCAO was observed on 01 April 2022 during the HALO-(AC) 3 airborne campaign that was conducted in spring 2022. Shortly after passing the ice edge, maximum diabatic heating rates larger than 6 K h -1 and moisture uptake of more than 0.3 g kg -1 h -1 were measured close above the ocean surface. As the air 10 mass continued its drift southwards, clouds started to form and vertical mixing within the steadily deepening boundary layer was intensified. The quasi-Lagrange observations are compared with reanalysis data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
Loyola eCommons Loyola eCommons

—Sensory afferent inputs play an important role in neuromuscular functions. Subsensory level noise electrical stimulation enhances the sensitivity of peripheral sensory system and improves lower extremity motor function. The current study aimed to investigate the immediate effects of noise electrical stimulation on proprioceptive senses and grip force control, and whether there are associated neural activities in the central nervous system. Fourteen healthy adults participated in 2 experiments on 2 different days. In day 1, participants performed grip force and joint proprioceptive tasks with and without (sham) noise electrical stimulation. In day 2, participants performed grip force steady hold task before and after 30-min noise electrical stimulation. Noise stimulation was applied with surface electrodes secured along the course of the median nerve and proximal to the coronoid fossa EEG power spectrum density of bilateral sensorimotor cortex and coherence between EEG and finger flexor EMG were calculated and compared. Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Tests were used to compare the differences of proprioception, force control, EEG power spectrum
Flexible Depth of Field Photography

The range of scene depths that appear focused in an image is known as the depth of field (DOF). Conventional cameras are limited by a fundamental trade-off between depth of field and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). For a dark scene, the aperture of the lens must be opened up to maintain SNR, which causes the DOF to reduce. Also, today’s cameras have DOFs that correspond to a single slab that is perpendicular to the optical axis. In this paper, we present an imaging system that enables one to control the DOF in new and powerful ways. Our approach is to vary the position and/or orientation of the image detector, during the integration time of a single photograph. Even when the detector motion is very small (tens of microns), a large range of scene depths (several meters) is captured both in and out of focus. Our prototype camera uses a micro-actuator to translate the detector along the optical axis during image integration. Using this device, we demonstrate four applications of flexible DOF. First, we describe extended DOF, where a large depth range is captured with a very wide aperture (low noise) but with nearly depth-independent defocus blur. Deconvolving a captured image with a single blur kernel gives an image with extended DOF and high SNR. Next, we show the capture of images with discontinuous DOFs. For instance, near and far objects can be imaged with sharpness while objects in between are severely blurred. Third, we show that our camera can capture images with tilted DOFs (Scheimpflug imaging) without tilting the image detector. Finally, we demonstrate how our camera can be used to realize non-planar DOFs. We believe flexible DOF imaging can open a new creative dimension in photography and lead to new capabilities in scientific imaging, vision, and graphics.
MapGL: Interactive Application Mapping and Profiling on a Grid of Processing Cells

—The Grid of Processing Cells (GPC) has been proposed as a scalable many-core architecture, modeled using SystemC TLM-2.0 methodology. This work introduces a graphical CAD software called Map Grid-based Layouts (MapGL) to facilitate the design process of GPC-based applications, automatically generate their SystemC models, and perform analyses on memory usage and speed. Using MapGL, we map a GoogLeNet Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) to a suitable GPC and improve it with a new modular Memory Access Resources and Interfaces (MARI) library for better communication between processing cells and lower resource usage.
Coupling between ice flow and subglacial hydrology enhances marine ice-sheet retreat

Ice-sheet models used to predict sea-level rise often neglect subglacial hydrology. However, theory and observations suggest that ice flow and subglacial water flow are bidirectionally coupled: ice flow and geometry affects hydraulic potential, hydraulic potential modulates basal shear stress via the basal water pressure, and ice flow advects the subglacial drainage system. This coupling could impact rates of ice mass change, but remains poorly understood. We combine a channelized subglacial hydrology model with a depth-integrated marine-ice-sheet model, incorporating each component of the coupling 5 listed above, which yields a set of differential equations that we solve using a finite-difference, implicit time-stepping approach. We conduct a series of experiments with this model, using either bidirectional or unidirectional coupling. These experiments generate steady-state profiles of channel cross-sectional area, channel flow rate, channel effective pressure, ice thickness, and ice velocity. We discuss how the steady-state profiles shape one another, resulting in the effective pressure reaching a local maximum in a region near the grounding line. We also describe the impact of bidirectional coupling on the transient retreat of 10 ice sheets through a comparison of our coupled model with ice-flow models that have imposed static basal conditions. We find that including coupled subglacial hydrology leads to grounding-line retreat that is virtually absent when static basal conditions are assumed. This work highlights the role time-evolving subglacial drainage may have in ice-sheet change and informs efforts to include it in ice-sheet models.
CRDT-based Collaborative Editing in OppNets: a Practical Experiment

—Developing distributed applications for opportunistic networks (OppNets) has mainly relied on the message passing paradigm so far. Yet the sharing of distributed data is an alternative worth considering, and Conflict-Free Replicated Datatypes (CRDTs) are interesting candidates for this purpose. A CRDT is a distributed data type that supports optimistic replication, and whose global consistency can be maintained based solely on occasional synchronizations of replicas. In an OppNet, these synchronizations can be driven by the contacts between mobile devices, without any need for network-wide routing. CRDTs can thus serve as interesting software building blocks to develop distributed applications for OppNets. In this paper, we demonstrate the feasibility of using CRDTs in OppNets by presenting an experiment conducted in real conditions, involving a collaborative editing application in which communication relies exclusively on opportunistic contacts between laptops. The software elements used in the experiment consist mainly of a CRDT-based text editor, and a communication module that supports the synchronization between laptops, so as to ensure the eventual consistency of the shared document. Experimentation results are detailed, that confirm the viability and usability of this approach.