The Current Adoption of Dry-Direct Seeding Rice (DDSR) in Thailand and Lessons Learned for Mekong River Delta of Vietnam

The paper documents the joint study trip, organized by CCAFS Southeast Asia for Vietnamese rice researchers, extension workers, as well as local decision makers, to visit Thailand in April 2018. The goal of the study trip was to observe and learn the experience of Thai farmers on the large-scale adoption process of dry-direct seeding rice (DDSR), a viable alternative to address regional scarcity of fresh water in irrigation caused by the drought and salinity intrusion in the Mekong River Delta

RARβ2 is required for vertebrate somitogenesis

During vertebrate somitogenesis, retinoic acid is known to establish the position of the determination wavefront, controlling where new somites are permitted to form along the anteroposterior body axis. Less is understood about how RAR regulates somite patterning, rostral-caudal boundary setting, specialization of myotome subdivisions, or the specific RAR subtype that is required for somite patterning. Characterizing the function of RARβ has been challenging due to the absence of embryonic phenotypes in murine loss-of-function studies. Using the Xenopus system, we show that RARβ2 plays a specific role in somite number and size, restriction of the presomitic mesoderm anterior border, somite chevron morphology and hypaxial myoblast migration. Rarβ2 is the RAR subtype whose expression is most up-regulated in response to ligand and its localization in the trunk somites positions it at the right time and place to respond to embryonic retinoid levels during somitogenesis. RARβ2 positively regulates Tbx3 a marker of hypaxial muscle, and negatively regulates Tbx6 via Ripply2 to restrict the anterior boundaries of the presomitic mesoderm and caudal progenitor pool. These results demonstrate for the first time an early and essential role for RARβ2 in vertebrate somitogenesis

Paying More for the American Dream III: Promoting Responsible Lending to Lower-Income Communities and Communities of Color

This report analyzes 2007 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data and finds that, in low- and moderate-income communities, depositories with CRA obligations originate a far smaller share of higher-cost loans than lenders not subject to CRA. It also finds that lenders covered by CRA are much less likely to make higher-cost loans in communities of color than lenders not covered by CRA

A Bacterial Toxin Inhibits DNA Replication Elongation through a Direct Interaction with the β Sliding Clamp

Toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems are ubiquitous on bacterial chromosomes, yet the mechanisms regulating their activity and the molecular targets of toxins remain incompletely defined. Here, we identify SocAB, an atypical TA system in Caulobacter crescentus. Unlike canonical TA systems, the toxin SocB is unstable and constitutively degraded by the protease ClpXP; this degradation requires the antitoxin, SocA, as a proteolytic adaptor. We find that the toxin, SocB, blocks replication elongation through an interaction with the sliding clamp, driving replication fork collapse. Mutations that suppress SocB toxicity map to either the hydrophobic cleft on the clamp that binds DNA polymerase III or a clamp-binding motif in SocB. Our findings suggest that SocB disrupts replication by outcompeting other clamp-binding proteins. Collectively, our results expand the diversity of mechanisms employed by TA systems to regulate toxin activity and inhibit bacterial growth, and they suggest that inhibiting clamp function may be a generalizable antibacterial strategy.Howard Hughes Medical Institute (Summer Medical Fellowship)National Science Foundation (U.S.). Graduate Research Fellowship ProgramNational Institutes of Health (U.S.) (R01GM082899

Petrographic Characteristics and Depositional Environment Evolution of Middle Miocene Sediments in the Thien Ung - Mang Cau Structure of Nam Con Son Basin

This paper introduces the petrographic characteristics and depositional environment of Middle Miocene rocks of the Thien Ung - Mang Cau structure in the central area of Nam Con Son Basin based on the results of analyzing thin sections and structural characteristics of core samples. Middle Miocene sedimentary rocks in the studied area can be divided into three groups: (1) Group of terrigenous rocks comprising greywacke sandstone, arkosic sandstone, lithic-quartz sandstone, greywacke-lithic sandstone, oligomictic siltstone, and bitumenous claystone; (2) Group of carbonate rocks comprising dolomitic limestone and bituminous limestone; (3) Mixed group comprising calcareous sandstone, calcarinate sandstone, arenaceous limestone, calcareous claystone, calcareous silty claystone, dolomitic limestone containing silt, and bitumen. The depositional environment is expressed through petrographic characteristics and structure of the sedimentary rocks in core samples. The greywacke and arkosic sandstones are of medium grain size, poor sorting and roundness, and siliceous cement characterizing the alluvial and estuarine fan environment expressed by massive structure of core samples. The mixed calcareous limestone, arenaceous dolomitic limestone, and calcareous and bituminous clayey siltstone in the core samples are of turbulent flow structure characterizing shallow bay environment with the action of bottom currents. The dolomitic limestones are of relatively homogeneous, of microgranular and fine-granular texture, precipitated in a weakly reducing, semi-closed, and relatively calm bay environment

Метод диагностики диабетической ретинопатии на основе анализа изображений глазного дна

Introduction. Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes mellitus caused by high blood sugar levels damaging the retina. Diabetic retinopathy leads to changes in ocular blood vessels and the appearance of solid exudates and microaneurysms. When diagnosed and treated in the late stages, this disease can cause blindness. The most common diagnostic method for diabetic retinopathy is based on ocular fundus imaging. However, the background interference and low contrast of such images significantly hinders the timely detection of vascular lesions. Therefore, the development of a method for detecting signs of diabetic retinopathy, particularly in its early stages, presents a relevant research task.Aim. Development of a method for diagnosing diabetic retinopathy based on an analysis of ocular fundus images using the decision-tree approach.Materials and methods. Methods based on image segmentation with identifying characteristic features and their binary classification were used. A verified database was used to access the accuracy of the proposed method for detecting diabetic retinopathy.Results. A method for detecting signs of diabetic retinopathy was developed, which includes the segmentation of vessels, exudates and microaneurysms based on digital processing of ocular vascular images using binary classification. The developed method showed a high level of diagnostic accuracy. Thus, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of diabetic retinopathy detection comprised 87.14, 88.50 and 87.81 %, respectively.Conclusion. The developed method allows diabetic retinopathy to be diagnosed with sufficiently high accuracy. The method can also be used for supporting decision making when managing patients with diabetic retinopathy.Введение. Диабетическая ретинопатия – это повреждение сетчатки глаза при сахарном диабете вследствие высокого уровня сахара в крови. Это заболевание может привести к слепоте, если болезнь диагностируется и лечится на поздних стадиях развития патологии. Оно вызывает изменения кровеносных сосудов и появление некоторых повреждений, таких, как твердые экссудаты и микроаневризмы. Для диагностики диабетической ретинопатии часто используется метод оценки сосудистых структур на основе изображений глазного дна. Однако даже врачи-офтальмологи не могут обнаружить эти повреждения из-за фоновых помех и их низкого контраста, вследствие чего разработка метода для обнаружения признаков диабетической ретинопатии, в особенности на ранних стадиях, является актуальной.Цель работы. Разработка метода диагностики диабетической ретинопатии с использованием дерева решений на основе изображений глазного дна. Материалы и методы. Применены методы на основе сегментации изображений с выделением характерных признаков и бинарной классификации. Используется верифицированная база данных для оценки точности метода выявления диабетической ретинопатии.Результаты. Разработан алгоритм, включающий методы сегментации сосудов, экссудатов и микроаневризм для выявления диабетической ретинопатии на основе цифровой обработки изображений структуры стенок кровеносных сосудов с использованием бинарной классификации. Получены результаты с применением разработанных методов с высокой точностью обнаружения диабетической ретинопатии с использованием верифицированной базы изображений глазного дна. Чувствительность, специфичность и точность обнаружения диабетической ретинопатии составили соответственно 87.14, 88.50 и 87.81 %.Заключение. Разработанный метод позволяет обнаруживать диабетическую ретинопатию у пациентов на ранних стадиях заболевания с достаточно высокой точностью. Метод также может быть применен в системе поддержки врача для принятия решений при диабетической ретинопатии