Interactions Between Resistance Genes In Wheat \u3ci\u3eTriticum aestivum\u3c/i\u3e L. And Wheat Curl Mite Populations \u3ci\u3eAceria tosichella\u3c/i\u3e Keifer (Eriophyidae)

Wheat curl mite (WCM) (Aceria tosichella Keifer) is a major pest of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), being the only known vector of three damaging plant viruses, Wheat streak mosaic virus, Triticum mosaic virus, and High Plains wheat mosaic virus. This wheat-mite-virus complex causes significant yield loss globally. Management has been mostly through cultural practices to reduce mite build up in volunteer wheat, thereby reducing the spread of viruses. Host plant resistance to WCM has also been used as an important management strategy for this wheat-mite-virus complex. However, WCM is a cryptic species complex, resulting in great variability in WCM responses to resistance genes in wheat. Also, the stability of WCM resistance has been questioned because of previous adaptation to one mite resistance gene (Cmc3). Changes in virulence of mite populations were examined after field selection and long-term (i.e., 6-8 months and 12 months) exposure to different mite-resistant wheat varieties TAM 107 (Cmc3), TAM 112 (Cmc3+Cmc4) and Byrd (Cmc4). Mite populations were allowed to go through multiple generations on resistant varieties to estimate their adaptation potential. Mite population counts and leaf curling symptoms were evaluated after short (14 days) and extended (28 days) mite infestation to estimate the stability of antibiosis and tolerance traits. Results indicate that the effectiveness of antibiosis on WCM populations was reduced with long-term mite exposure to TAM 112 but not for Byrd. This adaptation to the resistance in TAM 112 was only evident for the 12-month colony at the extended 28-day test period. In contrast, plant tolerance remained stable and effective throughout the 12-month colony period. The transcriptome-level responses of wheat to continued mite feeding and exposure of subsequent mite generations to plant defenses were examined. Results indicate potential mechanisms of resistance for Byrd containing the Cmc4 gene. Action of phytohormones, combined with lipid signaling and membrane integrity appear to play a role in response to WCM after 10-day-post-infestation (dpi). A higher number of molecular functions are activated at 10 dpi compared to previous work done at 1 dpi for this resistant variety. In addition, the importance of the genes located in the sub-genome D of the wheat in response to mite feeding is identified. Advisors: Gary L. Hein and Joe Loui

Imagined Communities and Identities in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Learning: A Literature Review

Imagined community and identity have been recognized as critical aspects in English language learning. Imagined community refers to the ideal community that learners wish to get engaged in, while imagined identity refers to the ideal self that language learners wish to become in the future. However, there is a scant research on these two notions in relation to English as a foreign language (EFL) learning. To that end, this paper aims to present the literature review of the contemporary theories on imagined communities and identities in EFL learning. It first discusses the imagined communities regarding the functions, community of practice, notions of imagined communities and concepts of imagined EFL classroom communities. It then scrutinizes imagined identities in terms of poststructuralists’ theory, English language learners’ identities, notion of imagined identity and EFL learners’ imagined identity. This paper is hoped to provide a timely and needed conceptual framework for other relevant constructs (e.g., English language learning investment) in English language learning

The role of institutions in entrepreneurship development in Sub-Saharan Africa

In the last twenty-five years, economists have significantly contributed to the development of institutional approach in entrepreneurship research by identifying institutional factors that strengthen entrepreneurship development, which in turn spur economic growth (Urbano, et al., 2018). Despite increasing interest in research on the role of entrepreneurship institutions in developed countries, not much is known about similar approach in developing countries, especially Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Africa is currently the region with the fastest population growth. Every year, the continent adds an extra 20 million people to its population, as it is projected to reach the number of 2.5 billion citizens by the end of 2050, double to the its amount today (United Nations, 2017). Given the demographic change, the study of entrepreneurship institutions in SSA is important because it is key to address the issue of job provision for young generations in SSA. A strong institutional framework for entrepreneurship development would stimulus economic growth by tackling unemployment (Le, 1999), as jobless youth is the root cause of many developmental issues such as poverty, violence and illegal immigration. In terms of job creation, it is important to seek for policies that enhance both the quantity and quality of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), translated to more entrepreneurial activity and better performance of entrepreneurs at the same time. The framework of institutional economics give insights to inclusive institutions (Acemoglu & Robinson, 2013) that ensure sustainability and survivability of SMEs, as both formal institutions consist of rules, laws and constitutions, and informal institutions consist of social norms, conventions and cultures (North, 1990) are crucial in studying entrepreneurs activities (Baumol, 1990; Henrekson, 2007; Freytag & Thurik, 2007; Freytag & Noseleit, 2009; Wyrwich, 2013). The study involves a research stay in Ghana and Kenya in 2016 for data collection. Two hundred and sixty-six local entrepreneurs in Accra and Nairobi were interviewed for the analysis of entrepreneurs background influence on the performance of their businesses. The questionnaire consists of forty quantitative questions and is divided into three main sections: the first section contains questions on demographics, personal information of the entrepreneurs and businesses, e.g. the size of the business and performance in recent years; the second section is about education and training background of the entrepreneurs; and the third section is about the role of clan, family and friend relations of the entrepreneurs.In den letzten 25 Jahren haben Ökonomen wesentlich zur Entwicklung eines institutionellen Ansatzes in der Entrepreneurship-Forschung beigetragen, indem sie institutionelle Faktoren identifiziert haben, die die Entwicklung von Unternehmertum stärken, was wiederum das Wirtschaftswachstum ankurbelt (Urbano, et al., 2018). Trotz des zunehmenden Interesses an der Erforschung der Rolle von Entrepreneurship-Institutionen in den Industrieländern ist nicht viel über einen ähnlichen Ansatz in Entwicklungsländern, insbesondere Subsahara-Afrika (SSA), bekannt. Afrika ist derzeit die Region mit dem schnellsten Bevölkerungswachstum. Jedes Jahr wächst die Bevölkerung des Kontinents um zusätzlich 20 Millionen Einwohner. Bis Ende 2050 werden in Afrika voraussichtlich 2,5 Milliarden Menschen leben, doppelt so viel wie heute (United Nations, 2017). Angesichts des demografischen Wandels ist die Untersuchung von Entrepreneurship-Institutionen in SSA wichtig, da sie eine Schlüsselrolle für die Bereitstellung von Arbeitsplätzen für junge Generationen in SSA spielen. Ein starker institutioneller Rahmen für die Entwicklung des Unternehmertums würde das Wirtschaftswachstum ankurbeln, indem die Arbeitslosigkeit junger Menschen bekämpft wird (Le, 1999), da arbeitslose Jugendliche die Ursache für viele Entwicklungsfragen wie Armut, Gewalt und illegale Einwanderung sind. Im Hinblick auf die Schaffung von Arbeitsplätzen ist es wichtig, nach Maßnahmen zu suchen, die sowohl die Quantität als auch die Qualität von kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen (KMU) steigern und gleichzeitig zu mehr unternehmerischem Handeln und einer besseren Leistung von Unternehmern führen. Der Rahmen der Institutionenökonomie liefert Einblicke in integrative Institutionen (Acemoglu & Robinson, 2013), welche die Nachhaltigkeit und Überlebensfähigkeit von KMU sicherstellen, da sie sowohl aus formalen Institutionen wie Regeln, Gesetzen und Verfassungen als auch aus informalen Institutionen wie sozialen Normen, Konventionen und Kulturen bestehen (North, 1990). Diese sind von entscheidender Bedeutung für die Untersuchung von unternehmerischen Aktivitäten (Baumol, 1990; Henrekson, 2007; Freytag & Thurik, 2007; Freytag & Noseleit, 2009; Wyrwich, 2013). Die vorliegende Studie basiert auf einem Forschungsaufenthalt in Ghana und Kenia im Jahr 2016, der zur Datenerhebung genutzt wurde. Für die Analyse des Einflusses des sozioökonomischen Hintergrunds der dortigen Unternehmer auf die Leistung ihrer Unternehmen wurden 266 lokale Unternehmer in Accra (n) und Nairobi (n) befragt. Der Fragebogen besteht aus vierzig quantitativen Fragen und ist in drei Hauptabschnitte unterteilt: Der erste Abschnitt enthält Fragen zu demografischen Merkmalen, persönlichen Informationen der Unternehmer und zu Informationen über die Unternehmen, z.B. zur Größe des Geschäfts und zur wirtschaftlichen Leistung in den letzten Jahren. Der zweite Teil befasst sich mit dem Bildungs- und Ausbildungshintergrund der Unternehmer. Der dritte Teil behandelt daraufhin die Rolle der Clan-, Familien- und Freundschaftsbeziehungen der Unternehmer

Federated Few-shot Learning for Cough Classification with Edge Devices

Automatically classifying cough sounds is one of the most critical tasks for the diagnosis and treatment of respiratory diseases. However, collecting a huge amount of labeled cough dataset is challenging mainly due to high laborious expenses, data scarcity, and privacy concerns. In this work, our aim is to develop a framework that can effectively perform cough classification even in situations when enormous cough data is not available, while also addressing privacy concerns. Specifically, we formulate a new problem to tackle these challenges and adopt few-shot learning and federated learning to design a novel framework, termed F2LCough, for solving the newly formulated problem. We illustrate the superiority of our method compared with other approaches on COVID-19 Thermal Face & Cough dataset, in which F2LCough achieves an average F1-Score of 86%. Our results show the feasibility of few-shot learning combined with federated learning to build a classification model of cough sounds. This new methodology is able to classify cough sounds in data-scarce situations and maintain privacy properties. The outcomes of this work can be a fundamental framework for building support systems for the detection and diagnosis of cough-related diseases.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figure

Effects of plant essential oils and their constituents on Helicobacter pylori : A Review

Essential oils (EOs) obtained from different medicinal and aromatic plant families by steam distillation have been used in the pharmaceutical, food, and fragrance industries. The plant EOs and their broad diversity of chemical components have attracted researchers worldwide due to their human health benefits and antibacterial properties, especially their treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection. Since H. pylori has been known to be responsible for various gastric and duodenal diseases such as atrophic gastritis, peptic ulcer, gastric adenocarcinoma, and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma, several combination antibiotic therapies have been increasingly used to enhance the eradication rate of the bacterial infection. However, in the last decades, the efficacy of the therapies has decreased significantly due to widespread emergence of multidrug resistant strains of H. pylori. In addition, side-effects from commonly used antibiotics and recurrence of the bacterial infection have drawn public health concern globally.Therefore, this review focuses on in vitro effects of plant EOs and their bioactive constituents on the growth, cell morphology and integrity, biofilm formation, motility, adhesion, and urease activity of H. pylori. Their inhibitory effects on expression of genes necessary for growth and virulence factor productions of the bacterial pathogen are also discussed. Further in vivo and clinical evaluations are required so that plant EOs and their bioactive constituents can be possibly applicable in pharmacy or as adjuvants to the current therapies of H. pylori infection