Climate-Smart Agriculture in Rwanda

The climate-smart agriculture (CSA) concept reflects an ambition to improve the integration of agriculture development and climate responsiveness. It aims to achieve food security and broader development goals under a changing climate and increasing food demand. CSA initiatives sustainably increase productivity, enhance resilience, and reduce/remove greenhouse gases (GHGs), and require planning to address tradeoffs and synergies between these three pillars: productivity, adaptation, and mitigation [1]. The priorities of different countries and stakeholders are reflected to achieve more efficient, effective, and equitable food systems that address challenges in environmental, social, and economic dimensions across productive landscapes. While the concept is new, and still evolving, many of the practices that make up CSA already exist worldwide and are used by farmers to cope with various production risks [2]. Mainstreaming CSA requires critical stocktaking of ongoing and promising practices for the future, and of institutional and financial enablers for CSA adoption. This country profile provides a snapshot of a developing baseline created to initiate discussion, both within countries and globally, about entry points for investing in CSA at scale

Wet-Driven Bionic Actuators from Wool Artificial Yarn Muscles

Nature-similar muscle is one of the ultimate goals of advanced artificial muscle materials. Currently, a variety of chemical and natural materials have been gradually developed for the preparation of artificial muscles. However, due to the scarcity, biological exclusion, and poor flexibility of the abovementioned materials, it is still a challenging process to maximize the imitation of behaviors shown by real muscles and commercial development. Here, this article presents multidimensional wool yarn artificial muscles, and the wet response behavior of fibers is induced in yarn muscles successfully by virtue of weakening the water-repellent effect of wool scales. Wool artificial muscles are cost-effective and widely available and have good biocompatibility. In addition, wool fiber assemblies are structurally stable, soft, and flexible to be processed into artificial muscles with torsional, contractile, and even multilayered structures, enabling various wet-driven behaviors. On the basis of the theoretical model and numerical simulation, we explained and verified the working mechanism employed in wool artificial yarn muscles. Finally, the yarn muscle was integrated into a wool muscle group through the textile technology, followed by the application to robot bionic arms, displaying the great potential of wool artificial yarn muscles in bionic drivers and the intelligent textile industry

Wet-Driven Bionic Actuators from Wool Artificial Yarn Muscles

Nature-similar muscle is one of the ultimate goals of advanced artificial muscle materials. Currently, a variety of chemical and natural materials have been gradually developed for the preparation of artificial muscles. However, due to the scarcity, biological exclusion, and poor flexibility of the abovementioned materials, it is still a challenging process to maximize the imitation of behaviors shown by real muscles and commercial development. Here, this article presents multidimensional wool yarn artificial muscles, and the wet response behavior of fibers is induced in yarn muscles successfully by virtue of weakening the water-repellent effect of wool scales. Wool artificial muscles are cost-effective and widely available and have good biocompatibility. In addition, wool fiber assemblies are structurally stable, soft, and flexible to be processed into artificial muscles with torsional, contractile, and even multilayered structures, enabling various wet-driven behaviors. On the basis of the theoretical model and numerical simulation, we explained and verified the working mechanism employed in wool artificial yarn muscles. Finally, the yarn muscle was integrated into a wool muscle group through the textile technology, followed by the application to robot bionic arms, displaying the great potential of wool artificial yarn muscles in bionic drivers and the intelligent textile industry

Wet-Driven Bionic Actuators from Wool Artificial Yarn Muscles

Nature-similar muscle is one of the ultimate goals of advanced artificial muscle materials. Currently, a variety of chemical and natural materials have been gradually developed for the preparation of artificial muscles. However, due to the scarcity, biological exclusion, and poor flexibility of the abovementioned materials, it is still a challenging process to maximize the imitation of behaviors shown by real muscles and commercial development. Here, this article presents multidimensional wool yarn artificial muscles, and the wet response behavior of fibers is induced in yarn muscles successfully by virtue of weakening the water-repellent effect of wool scales. Wool artificial muscles are cost-effective and widely available and have good biocompatibility. In addition, wool fiber assemblies are structurally stable, soft, and flexible to be processed into artificial muscles with torsional, contractile, and even multilayered structures, enabling various wet-driven behaviors. On the basis of the theoretical model and numerical simulation, we explained and verified the working mechanism employed in wool artificial yarn muscles. Finally, the yarn muscle was integrated into a wool muscle group through the textile technology, followed by the application to robot bionic arms, displaying the great potential of wool artificial yarn muscles in bionic drivers and the intelligent textile industry

Wet-Driven Bionic Actuators from Wool Artificial Yarn Muscles

Nature-similar muscle is one of the ultimate goals of advanced artificial muscle materials. Currently, a variety of chemical and natural materials have been gradually developed for the preparation of artificial muscles. However, due to the scarcity, biological exclusion, and poor flexibility of the abovementioned materials, it is still a challenging process to maximize the imitation of behaviors shown by real muscles and commercial development. Here, this article presents multidimensional wool yarn artificial muscles, and the wet response behavior of fibers is induced in yarn muscles successfully by virtue of weakening the water-repellent effect of wool scales. Wool artificial muscles are cost-effective and widely available and have good biocompatibility. In addition, wool fiber assemblies are structurally stable, soft, and flexible to be processed into artificial muscles with torsional, contractile, and even multilayered structures, enabling various wet-driven behaviors. On the basis of the theoretical model and numerical simulation, we explained and verified the working mechanism employed in wool artificial yarn muscles. Finally, the yarn muscle was integrated into a wool muscle group through the textile technology, followed by the application to robot bionic arms, displaying the great potential of wool artificial yarn muscles in bionic drivers and the intelligent textile industry

Wet-Driven Bionic Actuators from Wool Artificial Yarn Muscles

Nature-similar muscle is one of the ultimate goals of advanced artificial muscle materials. Currently, a variety of chemical and natural materials have been gradually developed for the preparation of artificial muscles. However, due to the scarcity, biological exclusion, and poor flexibility of the abovementioned materials, it is still a challenging process to maximize the imitation of behaviors shown by real muscles and commercial development. Here, this article presents multidimensional wool yarn artificial muscles, and the wet response behavior of fibers is induced in yarn muscles successfully by virtue of weakening the water-repellent effect of wool scales. Wool artificial muscles are cost-effective and widely available and have good biocompatibility. In addition, wool fiber assemblies are structurally stable, soft, and flexible to be processed into artificial muscles with torsional, contractile, and even multilayered structures, enabling various wet-driven behaviors. On the basis of the theoretical model and numerical simulation, we explained and verified the working mechanism employed in wool artificial yarn muscles. Finally, the yarn muscle was integrated into a wool muscle group through the textile technology, followed by the application to robot bionic arms, displaying the great potential of wool artificial yarn muscles in bionic drivers and the intelligent textile industry

Additional file 1 of CYP19A1 promotes gastric cancer as part of a lipid metabolism-related gene signature related to the response of immunotherapy and prognosis

Additional file 1: Figure S1. Original western blots

Aged splenic DCs and APCs exhibit a similar ability to prime allogeneic T cell responses both in vitro and in vivo.

<p>A: Splenic APCs and CD11c⁺ DCs, purified from aged or young CBA mice, were cultured with C57BL/6 T cells and cellular proliferation and IFN-γ measured. Similar results were noted in two independent experiments and with an alternate donor (C57BL/6) and recipient T cell (BALB/C) combination. B: Aged or young splenic CBA DCs were injected into C57BL/6 mice. 10 days later spleens were harvested from the groups and cultured with irradiated CBA spleen cells, and cellular proliferation and IFN-γ measured. The change from T cells from mice that were not immunized is shown. There were no significant differences noted between mice injected with either young or aged allogeneic DCs. Representative data from one experiment, which was repeated with consistent results.</p

Virulence of vaccine strains for SCID mice.

<p>SCID mice were challenged ID or IN with SCHUS4<i>ΔclpB</i> (circle), FSC200Δ<i>clpB</i> (square), or LVS (triangle) and monitored for survival. *, significantly increased survival versus FSC200<i>ΔclpB</i>; **, significantly increased survival versus other strains.</p

Transplant specific CD8⁺ T cells produced similar cytokine profiles but impaired activation in aged transplant recipients as compared to young recipients.

<p>A: Representative flow cytometric plots on day +7 post transplantation are shown along with isotype controls (IgG2b for IFNγ, IgG1 for IL-2 and TNFα). Young antigen specific CD8⁺ T cells produced similar amounts of TNFα, IL-2 and IFN-γ during <i>ex vivo</i> culture with OVA peptide regardless of the age of the recipient environment (cytokines were not produced if peptide was not added, data not shown). Proportions are shown in right upper quadrant. Note, that cytokines were not detected in either aged or young mice that were adoptively transferred but did not receive an OVA expressing skin transplant (data not shown). Similar results were noted at day +14 post transplantation (data not shown). Flow cytometric plots are gated on CD45.1⁺ cells. N = 3/group, representative data from three independent experiments with consistent results. B: Representative flow cytometric plots of adoptively transferred CD45.1⁺, OTI young T cells on day +7 post transplantation. Young antigen specific CD8⁺ T cells upregulated CD27 and downregulated CD62L to a greater degree in young transplant recipients compared to antigen specific CD8⁺ T cells in aged transplant recipients.</p