Research Trends and Challenges of Using CRISPR/Cas9 for Improving Rice Productivity

Nowadays, rice production faces significant challenges due to population pressure, global climate change, and outbreak of various pests and diseases. Breeding techniques used to improve rice traits include mutant breeding, cross breeding, heterogeneity, transformation, molecular markers, genome-wide association study (GWAS), and so on. Since the recently developed CRISPR/Cas9 technology can directly target a specific part of a desired gene to induce mutation, it can be used as a powerful means to expand genetic diversity of crops and develop new varieties. So far, CRISPR/Cas9 technology has been used for improving rice characteristics such as high yield, good quality, abundant nutrition, pest and disease resistance, herbicide resistance, and biotic and abiotic stress resistance. This review highlights the mechanisms and optimization of the CRISPR system and its application to rice crop, including resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, and improved rice quality and yield.

A PROPOSAL FOR RECALIBRATION OF A VOCABULARY LEVELS TEST AS DIAGNOSIS OF LATE BILINGUALS’ L2 PROFICIENCY

his study explores the recalibration and adequacy of a measure of vocabulary size – the Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT) – as a predictor of Brazilian Portuguese-English speakers’ ability to access grammatical representations through their non-dominant language. Such endeavor concerns a specific part of the test (composed majorly by cognates) which has been blurring the results when participants are natives in Latin-derived languages, such as Brazilian Portuguese. A new test (nVLT) was designed, with a novel version of this problematic part (level 4) present in the older test that, now, avoids the proliferation of cognates. Both versions were applied to a number of Brazilian participants and the results were correlated with another proficiency measure, taken from an acceptability judgment task designed according to the model reported in Souza et al (2015). When the low-proficiency participants took the VLT, there were a decreasing pattern in their scores from the first level of the exam all the way to level 3 (because each level is harder than the preceding). But, when they got to level 4, which is “harder” than level 3, their scores increased surprisingly, and then decreased again in level 5. When they performed the nVLT, which has a level 4 recalibrated (without latin cognates), the decreasing pattern was maintained evenly through the whole test. These results from nVLT show an internal coherence of the test due to the recalibration.

Stochastic Model For Setpoint of a Rolling Mill: An Application In The Soybean Oil Production

A scientific challenge on industrial production is to mathematically represent a production process, and this challenge increases when describing production processes with stochastic behavior. The present paper will be approaching a specific part of the production process of soybean oil, where the main objective is to maximize the oil extraction by keeping the thicknesses of the soybean flakes within an operating range. We propose a method, based on a mathematical stochastic model, to obtain pressure setpoints that produce flakes as ideal as possible for oil extraction. The results reported are achieved by applying the proposed method in the industry with improvements within the process in terms of time and quality.

Submarine hydrothermal vent systems: the relevance of dynamic systems in chemical evolution and prebiotic chemistry experiments

Since their discovery, submarine hydrothermal vent systems have been pointed out as important places where chemical evolution on Earth could have occurred; and their role in the process has been highlighted. Similarly, some hypotheses have considered these systems in origin of life scenarios. In this way, many experiments have been developed, and the knowledge about these systems has increased. Due to their complexity, many experimental simulations have only included a few of the geochemical variables present in these environments, pressure and temperature. Other main variables have hardly been included, such as mineralogy, thermal and pH gradients, dissolved ions and/or redox reactions. As it has been understood, the dynamism and heterogeneity of these environments are huge, and it comprises different scales, from single vents to full hydrothermal fields. However, the vast majority of experiments focus on a specific part of these systems and do not include salinity, mineralogy and pH gradients. For this reason, in this paper, we pointed out some considerations about how this dynamism can be interpreted, and included in some models, as well their importance in prebiotic chemistry experiments and their extrapolations regarding the hypothesis about the origins of life.

'Naming the Baby':

The article focuses on the local music and dance of Zoupanochoria, a cluster of villages lying on the boundaries of the different geographic areas of the Greek parts of Epirus and Macedonia. Identifying music with either side of the boundary results in contestations over locals’ identity and sparks dispute over symbolic belonging to distinct musical traditions and their geographic origin. The research shows that musicians blend elements (tunes, rhythms, instrumentation) of both music traditions. Based on the repertories performed in two community festivities, the article relates their different structure and organization with alternative expressions of belonging and shows the resolution of dispute and discontent that the local dance Lotzia provides. This border situation resonates metaphorically with the Greek tradition to name the newborn baby after one of the grandparents, thus signifying bonds with the family. However, highlighting bonds with a specific part of the family can engender disputes. This metaphor can be applied to many forms of community solidarity-building in Greece and the wider Balkans, as the one examined here.

Neuromuscular Fatigue in Unimanual Handgrip Does Not Completely Affect Simultaneous Bimanual Handgrip

Simultaneous bimanual movements are not merely the sum of two unimanual movements. Here, we considered the unimanual/bimanual motor system as comprising three components: unimanual-specific, bimanual-specific, and overlapping (mobilized during both unimanual and bimanual movements). If the force-generating system controlling the same limb differs between unimanual and bimanual movements, unimanual exercise would be expected to fatigue the unimanual-specific and overlapping parts in the force-generating system but not the bimanual-specific part. Therefore, we predicted that the decrease in bimanual force generation induced by unimanual neuromuscular fatigue would be smaller than the decrease in unimanual force generation. Sixteen healthy right-handed adults performed unimanual and bimanual maximal handgrip measurements before and after a submaximal fatiguing handgrip task. In the fatigue task, participants were instructed to maintain unimanual handgrip force at 50% of their maximal handgrip force until the time to task failure. Each participant performed this task in a left-hand fatigue (LF) condition and a right-hand fatigue (RF) condition, in a random order. Although the degree of neuromuscular fatigue was comparable in both conditions, as expected, the decrease in bimanual right handgrip force was significantly smaller than those during unimanual right performance in the RF condition, but not in the LF condition. These results indicate that for the right-hand, neuromuscular fatigue in unimanual handgrip does not completely affect simultaneous bimanual handgrip. Regarding the underlying mechanisms, we propose that although neuromuscular fatigue caused by unimanual handgrip reduces the motor output of unimanual-specific and overlapping parts in the force-generating system, when simultaneous bimanual handgrip is performed, the overlapping part (which is partially fatigued) and the bimanual-specific part (which is not yet fatigued) generate motor output, thus decreasing the force reduction.

APPLICATION OF WC GRAINS BY DEPOSITION BRAZING

The article describes problems of hard depositional brazing of wolfram-carbide grains in various matrixes. Especially iron and nickel base matrix on base material from constructional carbon steel. The experimental part was brazed by oxyacetylene flame (method 912 according to EN ISO 4063). The major goals of the experiment were to describe the technological procedure of hard depositional brazing of this specific part. Consequently, were proved wolfram-carbide deposit on two test coupons. These test coupons were metallographically and qualitatively evaluated. The advantage of wolfram-carbide depositional brazing is a service life of deposit, that could be multiple higher, than standard weld deposit with carbon, chromium and vanadium filler material. The advantage is also costly because this kind of braze is cheaper than hard surfacing filler material. This specific application of the wolfram-carbide layer is one of the hardest coatings that could be by flame brazing technology performed. Usage of this application is for example in the mining, woodcutting industry, where it is necessary to improve abrasion and resistance, service life, and guaranteed durability or hardness for cutting tools.

Humanizar usuários de crack na pesquisa. Considerações sobre a Cracolândia

This article is based on ethnographic research that has developed in the São Paulo region known as Cracolândia. Ethnographic accounts are added to the portion of academic literature on the subject, some news in the media and excerpts from conversations with visitors from that specific part of the neighborhood of Luz. Through them, we seek to make sense of a more human picture of the place and the people who have found a way of life there. We have come to know that people who use crack in that context cannot be scaled solely by their drug use; and that even Cracolândia can be perceived and experienced as a place full of joy and humanity, despite the moral panic surrounding crack.

Customer preferences for wood-based houses in Slovakia

Housing is one of the basic needs of every person. Most people usually encounter the problems of the availability of financial resources and real construction costs. The objective of this paper is to present customer preferences for the construction of family houses in Slovakia with the assessment of possible perception disproportions regarding economic characteristics in the context of interest and reality. A specific part of this paper includes the presentation of interest in the construction of wood-based houses. The questionnaire survey show that, in the target group (respondents aged 26 to 50 years), significant dependencies were found between the monitored traits and the amount of planned investment. For each dependence, possible disproportions were also revealed, which could lead to an overall threat of the plans for the construction of a family house. The disproportions, which were associated with 25 to 30% of respondents, depended on the amount of investment and net household income as well the outlay and usable floor area. This is an original survey in the field, the benefit of which should be its use for a comparison of similar research.

For the Decoding of a Proverb in a Speech Act

As is known a proverb (both formally and semantically) is the micro-model of the life and mentality of the world where it was created and where it operates. Its basic function is grasping the wisdom seen from the viewpoint of the given ethnos – the general regularities. It is figuratively constructed of the specific material which is recorded in “the sensory material of perception” of the given ethnos, i.e. in its experience linked with this specific part of the universe. Therefore, it is difficult to understand fundamentally proverbs of a foreign language and to identify the relevant frames (sphere of use) of the respective general semantic domain. Its study implies (along with that of the language) the study of the ethnic “metaphorical thinking”, practically ethnopsychology of the people that created it.