Input: Claim: Some cancers are treated more effectively with therapies tailored to specific genetic mutations. [SEP] Text: Combination therapy versus placebo No deaths were reported in either the lumacaftor‐ivacaftor or tezacaftor‐ivacaftor studies in people with two copies of the F508del mutation and there were improvements in quality of life and lung function. Rates of pulmonary exacerbations (a flare up of symptoms) were also lower. Neither combination therapy was associated with severe side effects, although people on lumacaftor‐ivacaftor regularly experienced shortness of breath for one to two weeks at the start of treatment, which usually resolved without further intervention. Of more concern was that in longer studies some people receiving lumacaftor‐ivacaftor experienced a rise in blood pressure; of these, two people (out of more than 500 who received the combination in these studies) discontinued lumacaftor‐ivacaftor treatment because of high blood pressure. These side effects were not reported for the tezacaftor‐ivacaftor combination. Tezacaftor‐ivacaftor therapy has not yet been assessed in children with CF younger than 12 years of age. Quality of the evidence We judged the overall quality of the evidence for the outcomes measured to vary from low to high. Study design was generally poorly reported, which did not allow us to make clear judgements on any potential bias, but we had fewer concerns with the six larger and more recent studies. We did find that some results were omitted from the analysis or not reported in seven studies. Some findings were based on single studies that were too small to show important effects and for five studies the results may not be applicable to all individuals with CF due to the ages of people recruited into the studies (i. e. adults only, children only) or an unusual design used in which people receive monotherapy and then combination therapy. Visual summary Authors' conclusions Implications for practice Data from the Phase 3 studies of both lumacaftor and tezacaftor combined with ivacaftor suggest that these compounds are influencing the basic defect associated with the F508del mutation; with small but consistent and statistically significant improvements in key clinical outcomes. The size of these studies and the low‐ to moderate‐quality evidence from the studies gives us good confidence in the validity of these results. Overall the drugs appeared well‐tolerated, but there were some important adverse effects, in particular with the lumacaftor‐ivacaftor combination.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate adaptation alone can fully counteract the effects of climate change. [SEP] Text: So climate change models and predictions cannot usually guide well-founded planning and operational decisions although they do help to suggest the boundaries for extreme events. However, policy-makers like the UN High-on Water want to know what impacts global warming will have on water systems and how they will be dealt with. It is suggested that an appropriate response is to continue to build on the great strength of best practice in water resource science and management, which is its ability to characterize and manage climatic variability. This requires that the approaches used move beyond the assumptions of a stationary hydrology and can accommodate a changing climate (Brekke et al. 2009). Yet water managers are already responding to climate change through their management of current climate variability. However, to make this case convincingly, they must demonstrate that current methodologies are adequate for the task. To address this in an African context, this 2022. Even before the drought ended, implementation had begun of infrastructure projects that had earlier been rejected – including water reuse and groundwater development as well as additional surface water. Consideration is also being given to a large desalination installation which could be used during drought periods. The vulnerabilities of the WCWSS are now obvious. The system depends on rainfall over a small (800km2) area of mountain catchments supplying dams whose storage is less than 2 years of “normal” use. Climate change dynamics are also under review. lies at the edge of dominant rain-producing weather systems and has long been identified as an area vulnerable to climate change-driven rainfall reductions (Archer et al. 2019). From an adaptation perspective, the questions are whether the shift of weather system is permanent and the nature of an appropriate adaptation response. The city’s new postcrisis strategy (2019) acknowledges continued dependence on surface water for 75% of its supplies for at least the next decade, while alternative sources such as reuse, groundwater, and desalination are developed to provide a greater proportion of supplies in the future. Climate uncertainty is specifically addressed. The program aims to increase the assurance of supply from the system from 98% to 99. 5% but acknowledges that there might be “a step change in rainfall due to climate change …. If this turns out to be the case, the programme will be both accelerated and expanded.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Chassis organisms like E. coli are commonly used for synthetic gene construction. [SEP] Text: LacI/P T7lac was also quite tightly regulated although it generated the highest background expression for GFP (Figure 4, Panel C). The ratio between the induced and the uninduced expression levels was protein dependent with relatively small induction windows for svFv173-2-5-AP (1. 2-25) and large for luciferase (60–3,000). In strain ER2566, XylS/Pm and LacI/P T7lac displayed the highest induction windows, while LacI/P trc was by far the least inducible system (0. 1-0. 2 times compared to XylS/Pm). In DH10B, induction ratios for AraC/P BAD were 1. 3-27 times higher than the ratios of XylS/Pm and XylS/Pm ML1-17. These results are consistent with a previous report documenting that the induction ratio in the AraC/P BAD system can reach up to 1,200-fold when functionally compared for the phoA reporter gene [11]. As for XylS/Pm[24, 25], the induction level can also be modulated over a wide concentration range by varying the inducer concentration. In addition, uninduced levels can be even further reduced by the presence of glucose, which represses the expression in this system [47]. The main disadvantage of the AraC/P BAD system is that the inducer can be metabolized in most strains of E. coli. The predicted translational efficiencies of the ribosomal binding sites vary over a wide rangeThe DNA region corresponding to the 5′-UTR plays a central role in regulation of gene expression [48–50]. It covers the untranslated nucleotides at the 5′ end of the mRNA [51, 52], including the ribosome binding site (RBS) that together with the translational start site influence expression [28, 49, 53]. One program frequently used to analyse the expected efficiency of these nucleotide sequences is the RBS calculator [54]. We applied its reverse engineering function on the various 5′-UTR-gene combinations used in the study and determined the translation initiation rate (TIR) values of the respective expression systems.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Some cancers are treated more effectively with therapies tailored to specific genetic mutations. [SEP] Text: II F508del A full length of CFTR is produced, but this is structurally abnormal and destroyed by the cell before it reaches the cell membrane. This is called a defect in the intracellular trafficking pathway. Small amounts of CFTR do reach the cell membrane; however here, they display defective ion transport, demonstrating that the phe508del mutation is more than just a processing defect. Individuals have minimal CFTR function. III G551D CFTR is produced and embedded in the cell membrane, but the chloride channel does not respond ('switch on') to normal stimulation from the cell. This means there is no meaningful ion transport across the protein. Individuals have minimal CFTR function. IV R347P CFTR is transported to the outer cell membrane, and responds to normal stimulation, but functions at a low level because chloride ions do not cross the channel appropriately. Individuals have some residual CFTR function. V A455is produced, but the amount of protein is reduced. Individuals have some residual CFTR function. CFTR: cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator The commonest CF causing mutation, F508del (also known as ΔF508 or phe508del), is found in the majority of pwCF (up to 80% to 90% of some populations, e. g. pwCF from a heritage). For individuals with F508del, a full length of protein is transcribed but recognised as misfolded by the cell and is degraded before reaching the cell membrane, where it needs to be positioned to effect transepithelial salt transport. Hence this is a severe mutation associated with no meaningful CFTR function. This type of mutation is called a class II mutation (or trafficking defect) and much research has explored masking the molecular defect, bypassing the cellular mechanisms and enabling the F508del protein to traffic to the cell membrane, where it may have some normal salt transport capability. Description of the intervention Increasing understanding of how different mutations affect the production, structure, and function of CFTR has led to the concept of mutation‐specific therapies (Table 1). For class II mutations a full length of protein is produced, but recognised as abnormal by the cell and degraded before reaching the cell membrane. This is called a defect in intracellular trafficking. Scientists have recognised that certain laboratory manoeuvres can affect this process, e. g.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate adaptation alone can fully counteract the effects of climate change. [SEP] Text: ”The strategy also acknowledges that water investments must provide regular supplies during periods of low rainfall: “All water schemes provide insurance against periods of low rainfall, which may become more frequent and more severe as a result of climate change. ” It recognizes that expensive supplies from reuse and desalination will not be used all the time but concludes: “…this will not have been wasteful expenditure. The future is uncertain, and the cost of very severe restrictions is much higher than the cost of insuring against this likelihood. ”In this regard, the city’s strategy now explicitly addresses climate change. But rather than placing reliance on forecasting future availability, it seeks to increase reliability (through infrastructure investment originally proposed to address variability) to “buy time” for implementing rapid interventions such as desalination if required. Mombasa, Kenya: Climate-Constrained by Institutions and FinanceGreater Mombasa, Kenya’s second largest city, had a population of approximately three million people in 2018. It is Kenya and the region’s primary port and is also a center for international beach tourism which complements the country’s inland game park complexes. Water supply is deeply deficient. Water requirements are estimated to be in the region 250 Ml/day, but the city is in a permanent state of water crisis, able to provide less than 30% of this potential amount (Foster et al. 2020). Small supplies from local coastal aquifers are at the limit of their available capacity and face problems of salinization. The city’s primary supply comes from two distant groundwater sources, the (200 km away) and Baricho (100 km). Unusually, local surface water sources had not been tapped although the need for a new source had already been identified in the early 1990s. The preferred augmentation project, now in preparation, is a dam on the small, local Mwache River. All five projects in the 2015 infrastructure resilience study (Cervigni et al. 2015) which included Mwache faced considerable uncertainty about future rainfall under climate change. In none was there even a consensus on whether it would be higher or lower than present-day averages, let alone by how much. This was a particular concern for Mombasa whose rainfall derives from a combination of systems since 61% of the 121 climate future scenarios generated for Mwache showed lower safe yields than the present-day design assumptions.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Chassis organisms like E. coli are commonly used for synthetic gene construction. [SEP] Text: The most striking finding was that the relative differences between the calculated TIRs of the four cognate RBSs were rather similar for all the five genes studied (Figure 5), although there were exceptions (see LacI/P T7lac for HGH and AraC/P BAD for IL-1RA). Generally, the calculator predicted that the TIR values of the LacI/P T7lac and the AraC/were higher than those of XylS/Pm and LacI/P trc RBSs, suggesting a more efficient translation. The relative differences between the TIRs of the LacI/P trc and XylS/Pm RBSs depended on the coding sequence. Figure 5Theoretical analysis of the translational start site by calculating the translation initiation rate (TIR). The complete 5′-UTR sequences in combination with the first 50 nucleotides of the respective genes (luc S (Panel A), scFv173-2-5-phoA (B), gfpmut3 (C), GH1 S (D) and IL1RN S (E)) were used as input sequences for the RBS calculator [54]. Full size imageTo correlate the calculated TIR values with our experimental data is not straight forward because the total protein levels are obviously also dependent on the efficiencies of the promoter sequences, which are not a part of the calculation of the TIR values. However, by comparing both transcript and protein amounts available from the data presented in Figure 3 such effects can at least partly be taken into account. The amounts of accumulated transcripts derived from LacI/P T7lac were generally highest and combined with a predicted more efficient TIR one might expect that this system would come out best at the protein level in all cases. However, this prediction was only in agreement with the luciferase data, and with the ScFv-173-2-5-AP and IL-1RA data to a more limited extent. In contrast, for GFP and HGH the experimental data did not support the prediction. It should also be remembered that efficient translation in itself may contribute to more accumulated transcript due to translation-mediated transcript stabilization [55, 56].

Output: pass


Input: Claim: AI is used in personalized medicine to predict treatment outcomes. [SEP] Text: Abstract MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs that repress or degrade mRNA targets to downregulate genes. In cancer occurrence, the expression of miRNAs is altered. Depending on the involvement of a certain miRNA in the pathogenetic growth of a tumor, It may be up or downregulated. The “oncogenic” action of miRNAs corresponds with upregulation, which leads to tumor proliferation and spread meanwhile the miRNAs that have been downregulated bring tumorsuppressive outcomes. Oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes are among the genes whose expression is under their control, demonstrating that classifying them solely as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes alone is not only hindering but also incorrect. Apart from basic tumors, miRNAs may be found in nearly all human fluids and can be used for cancer diagnosis as well as clinical outcome prognostics and better response to treatment strategies. The overall variance of these tiny noncoding RNAs influences patient-specific pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of anti-cancer medicines, driving a growing demand for personalized medicine. By now, microRNAs from tumor biopsies or blood are being widely investigated as substantial biomarkers for cancer in time diagnosis, prognosis, and, progression. With the rise of COVID-19, this paper also attempts to study recent research on miRNAs involved with deaths in lung cancer COVID patients. With the discovery of single nucleotide polymorphisms, personalized treatment via microRNAs has lately become a reality. The present review 314. [ [PMID: 24079833] [2] Nana-. MicroRNAs in cancer: personalizing diagnosis and therapy. Y 2010; 1210(1): 25-33. [ [PMID: 20973796] [3]. MicroRNAs in personalized cancer therapy. 2014; 86(1): 68-73. [ [PMID: 24635652] [4] Fabbri M. MicroRNAs and cancer: Towards a personalized medicine. Med 2013; 13(5): 751-6. [ [PMID: 23642056] [5] Kong YW, Ferland-. microRNAs in cancer management. 2012; 13(6): e249-58. [ [PMID: 22652233] [6]. microRNAs make the call in cancer personalized medicine. 2017; 5: 86.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate adaptation alone can fully counteract the effects of climate change. [SEP] Text: Bank study took a measured response to this systemic uncertainty. It distinguished between project sensitivity to climate change and project vulnerability; sensitivity refers to the possible reduction in physical “output,” while vulnerability considers the impact on economic return. In this view, even if a project’s performance is potentially sensitive to climate change, “the project’s economic worthiness is not necessarily in question. ” This would include cases where the project was robust to a high degree of climate variability “and in the bargain, to climate change” so that its benefits and revenues would meet the required criteria. “It is thus important to distinguish between climate sensitivity and vulnerability” emphasized the report, noting that both sensitivity and vulnerability would depend on the metrics used to assess performance and that factors other than climate change, such as price and demand, could be equally important. For Mwache, although limited hydrological information was available, the design chosen was considered to have low climate risk since the river flow is considerably in excess of supply requirements and there is a low risk that the dam will not meet its target yield (2018b). Funding has not yet been approved, not due to climate change risks but because the financial and institutional arrangements for the dam’s management must still be resolved. Kenya’s 2010 Constitution makes water supply the responsibility of local counties. But Mombasa’s current supplies come from other counties, and the itself will be built in a neighboring county. Current proposals are to establish a regional institution that would manage all the different sources into a single system, providing bulk supplies to the major centers of four counties. This would help to address climate risks since linking different sources into a single system would increase its resilience to climate variability, maintaining supplies even if one source in the system fails. But achieving financial agreement between four counties and national government is proving to be more difficult than finding a climate-resilient dam design. Windhoek, Namibia: as StorageNamibia’s capital Windhoek, high in the center of the arid and sparsely populated country, was established in 1892 by German colonists, attracted by the secure source of water from local springs. This groundwater resource served the growing settlement well until the 1960s when, after a series of dry years, it became obvious that additional supplies were needed.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Chassis organisms like E. coli are commonly used for synthetic gene construction. [SEP] Text: For XylS/Pm ML1-17 there appeared to be more protein per transcript compared to LacI/P T7lac and the total amounts of protein were at least equally good for this system, presumably indicating a better balance between the capacities of the transcriptional and translational systems. For LacI/P trc the calculator correctly predicted a very poor expression of HGH. In general, it is possible to some extent to use the RBS calculator to predict which regulator/promoter system would produce most protein. However, RBS function is just one among several parameters that affect the final protein production level. We have analyzed the previously reported very efficient UTR variants obtained by screening [28]. Despite the great stimulatory effect of these screened UTRs on protein expression (up to 20-fold), the calculator only predicted minor improvements relative to the wild-type sequence (between 1. 5 and 3. 6 times for the best variants). Flow cytometry analysis of GFP expression in individual cells revealed significant differences among the various regulator/promoter systemsAnalyses of recombinant protein expression are mostly carried out at the level of cell populations, potentially masking significant differences in the level of expressed proteins between individual cells, which are known to occur [57, 58]. If such heterogeneity exists it may represent another possibility for system improvement, e. g. by finding ways to reduce the fraction of cells with low expression level. This is also relevant in metabolic engineering projects involving metabolite flux control in biochemical pathways [59]. To analyze the level of homogeneity we used flow cytometry to quantitate GFP as it can be easily detected and because it was shown to be produced at high levels from the regulator/promoter systems used in this work, thus representing a relevant example in recombinant protein production. The fluorescence level, which reflects the number of GFP molecules, among the majority of cells harvested at a given time point typically varied in a 5–10 fold range (Figure 6). In most cases, the fluorescence values fell within a signal peak, which moved to higher intensities with extended time after induction, as expected. The highest production levels were found in cells expressing GFP from XylS/Pm ML1-17, LacI/ P T7lac and AraC/P BAD (where a different host strain was used), also consistent with what was observed at the population level. However, the analysis also revealed several new observations.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: AI is used in personalized medicine to predict treatment outcomes. [SEP] Text: [ [PMID: 29682211] [53]. Colorectal neoplasia differentially expressed: a long noncoding RNA with an imperative role in cancer. Onco2018; 11: 3755-63. [ [PMID: 29988699] [54] Aberrant expression of oncogenic and tumor-suppressive microRNAs in cervical cancer is required for cancer cell growth. PLoS One 2008; 3(7): e2557. [ [PMID: 18596939] [55]. In vivo delivery of miRNAs for cancer therapy: Challenges and strategies. 2015; 81: 128-41. [ [PMID: 24859533] & :: 12 Issue: 2 Author(s): Saeid Hatam* Affiliation: Department of Innovation and Industry, Science and of Fars, ExirBitanic Co. , Shiraz, of Health and of : MicroRNAs, biomarkers, drug response, COVID-19, cancer treatment, oncogenes. Abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs that repress or degrade mRNA targets to downregulate genes. In cancer occurrence, the expression of miRNAs is altered. Depending on the involvement of a certain miRNA in the pathogenetic growth of a tumor, It may be up or downregulated. The “oncogenic” action of miRNAs corresponds with upregulation, which leads to tumor proliferation and spread meanwhile the miRNAs that have been downregulated bring tumorsuppressive outcomes. Oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes are among the genes whose expression is under their control, demonstrating that classifying them solely as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes alone is not only hindering but also incorrect. Apart from basic tumors, miRNAs may be found in nearly all human fluids and can be used for cancer diagnosis as well as clinical outcome prognostics and better response to treatment strategies. The overall variance of these tiny noncoding RNAs influences patient-specific pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of anti-cancer medicines, driving a growing demand for personalized medicine. By now, microRNAs from tumor biopsies or blood are being widely investigated as substantial biomarkers for cancer in time diagnosis, prognosis, and, progression.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate adaptation alone can fully counteract the effects of climate change. [SEP] Text: In 1968, a “direct potable reuse” plant was built that treats wastewater for reinjection into the city’s main supply. Subsequently expanded, it can now provide 20% of the city’s potable supply. An ambitious longer-term plan envisaged a phased regional scheme, the (ENWC), drawing from Southern Africa’s third largest river, the Okavango, on Namibia’s border with Angola, 700 km from Windhoek. The full project has not yet been completed, but growing demand has been met by intermediate interventions, including the development of new groundwater sources on the ENWC route. Throughout this period, the city’s local groundwater complemented other sources. The use of these multiple sources varies in response to the extremely variable climate, with surface water predominating in wet seasons and greater use of groundwater and reuse in dry periods. Local aquifer recharge has recently been introduced to store surplus water in wet periods, reducing evaporative losses from the surface reservoirs and increasing system yield (Murray et al. 2018). However, while diversification of sources provides some additional resilience to inter-seasonal climate variability, the assured yield still depends on local natural recharge supplemented by surface water imports. Drought in 2015/2016 showed that despite tightly managed demand, additional supply was needed and attention turned once again to imports through the ENWC. Although capital and operating costs appear to be prohibitive, this would substantially reduce climate risk by diversifying to an unconstrained source. In this difficult environment, available hydrological tools have consistently provided good estimates of the volumes of water available at different levels of assurance to guide system management. The technical analysis of the recharge and storage potential of the Windhoek aquifers has also provided the basis for implementation. Although the impacts of climate change on regional precipitation and flows are uncertain (Hughes et al. 2011), Namibia’s requirement is only around 2% of the total flow, suggesting that the objections of environmentalists in Botswana, the downstream riparian, are ill-founded. The other long-term policy option is to break the “path dependence” since Windhoek was made the country’s capital 130 years ago and promote economic development in Namibia’s more humid northern region rather than increase the city’s water supply.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Chassis organisms like E. coli are commonly used for synthetic gene construction. [SEP] Text: For the two XylS/Pm-based systems the distributions were broader for the wild-type system (Figure 6, Panel A) than for XylS/Pm ML1-17 (Figure 6, Panel B), meaning that the promoter mutations improved culture homogeneity. The reasons for this are not clear but they might be related to differences in the efficiency of transcription initiation. Fluorescence distributions of cells expressing GFP from LacI/P T7lac (Figure 6, Panel C) were quite unique compared to those from the other systems. The expression profile at the time of induction is surprisingly broad in this system compared to the profiles of the remaining systems, possibly indicating low and varying (between individual cells) levels of T7 RNA polymerase production. Secondly, from two hours post induction onwards, two peaks became visible, one at rather low and one at rather high fluorescence values. The peak heights were also strongly reduced at the end. Most probably, the peak around lower fluorescence values late after induction reflects the formation of two subpopulations of cells as described by Zhao et al. [60], one being soluble GFP bearing and the other being dominated by inclusion bodies. Our findings also support those of a previous report where GFP expression was studied from a pET vector context [4]. Figure 6Analysis of the distribution of expression using flow cytometry. Strains were grown under standard conditions. At the time point of induction (t= 0 min) and at several points afterwards (t= 20–300 min), samples were collected, snap-frozen, and collectively analyzed with a flow cytometer. The spread is represented by the coefficient of variation (CV). Panels A-D: ER2566, Panel E: DH10B. Full size imageThe LacI/P trc system (Figure 6, Panel D) is characterized by a very even signal distribution throughout the entire induction period. Interestingly, the mean fluorescence remained constant already two hours after induction, possibly a consequence of a very fast activation of transcription after inducer addition in this system. The AraC/P BAD system, displayed a similar behaviour as XylS/Pm meaning that it takes an extended time until all cells are induced as reflected by a tail of the distribution towards low fluorescence values (Figure 6, Panel E).

Output: pass


Input: Claim: AI is used in personalized medicine to predict treatment outcomes. [SEP] Text: AbstractIntroduction: Obesity impacts the global population. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and cardiopulmonary exercise test [CPET]) may help modify the treatment. Objectives: We aimed to compare BIA and CPET results in obese and lean indivisuals, assess changes in BIA and CPET during obesity treatment, and indentify parameters predicting treatment outcome. Patients and methods: We enrolled 200 obese patients, of whom 45 underwent a lifestyle modification treatment, and 32 lean individuals (controls). Lifestyle modifications included diet, rehabilitation, education, and behavioral therapy. The diet was based on body composition assessed by BIA and fat metabolism assessed by CPET. The intensity of exercise in the rehabilitation program was based on CPET, mainly peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak), fat metabolism (FAT), and fat heart rate (FAT HR). The protocol duration was 12 weeks. Results: Obese patients differed from lean controls with regard to VO2peak (P <0. 0001), oxygen uptake at anaerobic threshold (P <0. 0002), respiratory exchange ratio (P <0. 014), oxygen uptake to work rate slope (P <0. 0004), FAT (P <0. 001), FAT HR (P <0. 0008), anaerobic threshold heart rate (P <0. 0003), as well as fat mass (P = 0. 01), fat-free mass (P = 0. 007), resting metabolic rate (RMR) (P = 0. 007), total body water (P = 0. 01), and extracellular water (P = 0. 004). The treatment resulted in increased RMR (P <0. 02) and VO2peak (P <0. 002), as well as reduced fat tissue (P <0. 006) and resting heart rate (P <0. 017). The prediction model based on FAT HR, resting heart rate, and FAT enabled the prediction of treatment outcomes in 92% of patients. Conclusions: Obese patients had pathological FAT and impaired exercise tolerance. Changes in BIA and CPET prove the metabolic impact of lifestyle modification treatment. IntroductionThe number of patients with obesity is increasing worldwide. 1,2 It had tripled between 1975 and 2016, affecting more than 650 million adults (13%) in 2016, and 41 million children under the age of 5 years were overweight or obese.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate adaptation alone can fully counteract the effects of climate change. [SEP] Text: Absent such a radical policy shift, the incremental completion of the ENWC is a rational approach to making Windhoek’s water supply more resilient since the scope for further savings through demand-side interventions is limited. The city’s century-long hydrological history and the acute nature of the water challenges that it faces have produced a good understanding of the options available to build systems that are resilient to the risks posed by long periods of multi-season drought. As a result, if adequate financial resources are available, the strategies already adopted to manage current climate variability will enable the city to meet its needs, even under conditions of climate change. Beira, Mozambique: the of Beira faces many climate-related challenges given its location which is regularly hit by tropical storms. Established in 1890 as a port and regional railway hub on low-lying land at the mouth of the Pungwe River, urban water supply is difficult because fresh groundwater is very limited and the river’s estuary is saline. While river flow is adequate to meet the city’s needs, extensive saline intrusion, exacerbated by growing upstream water use, required its intake 80 km from the city to be moved further 20 km upstream. However, water quality problems continued for a nearby irrigation scheme whose intake the city had shared. While the intake could have been protected by building a weir downstream to obstruct tidal influx or storage dams upstream to maintain minimum dry season flows, these options were rejected on environmental grounds (1997). While climate change impacts are obvious, hydrological analysis has characterized the salinity dynamics and helped to identify appropriate responses to the impact of increased water utilization and sea level rise. The immediate water management challenges have been well-characterized, and the priority is to coordinate responses to protect economic activity. However, in the longer term, the city’s vulnerable location may require radical relocation rather than water management solutions. and the River System: Sustaining a “Problemshed”In economic terms, the (IVRS) is the most important water resource development in Southern Africa. It supplies water to around 20 million people in a region that produces almost 50% of South Africa’s GDP and includes the country’s administrative capital (Pretoria) as well as Johannesburg, its largest city. If its functioning is impaired by climate change impacts, the entire country will suffer.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Chassis organisms like E. coli are commonly used for synthetic gene construction. [SEP] Text: One hour after induction, the distribution fell into a single, rather narrow peak that was shifted towards higher fluorescence values over time. The outcomes of the flow cytometry experiments showed that there is a quite big variation in GFP expression level among individual cells. By better understanding the factors controlling this variability it may become possible to improve expression at the population level. This conclusion is supported by the observation mutations in the Pm promoter region lead to more homogeneity. ConclusionsDevelopment of efficient recombinant gene expression protocols is often based a lot on case-specific trial and error approaches, and the results reported here contribute to the understanding of why. We have summarized the various observations (Table 3), and the LacI/P T7lac system can be distinguished from all the other systems by its general tends to give rise to more transcript than all the other systems. The difference relative to the XylS/Pm system may be reduced or eliminated by incorporating more mutated control elements, but at the moment this would lead to very high levels of protein synthesis also in the absence of inducer [31]. Since we have shown before that even the wild-type XylS/Pm system can in some cases generate protein production at industrial levels it is clear that LacI/P T7lac will only have an important advantage in those cases where the amount of transcript is the bottleneck. The experiments with and IL-1RA illustrate cases where this has limited or no relevance (compared to XylS/Pm ML1-17). In contrast, for luciferase the amounts of transcript appears to be very important, but the potential in the LacI/P T7lac system is in this case lost by the excessive production of inactive protein. LacI/P trc generally has the advantage (for applications where this might be relevant) of a fast onset of protein production and a homogenous expression profile. However, both high levels of expression in the absence of inducer and comparatively low total production make it the least desirable if one is aiming at highest possible level of expression. AraC/P BAD seems to be best with respect to tight regulation of the uninduced state coupled with high expression when induced. The XylS/Pm system has a big advantage of not being strain dependent in E. coli, and it is probably easiest to adapt to new bacterial hosts for cases where E. coli cannot be developed to perform in a satisfactory way.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: AI is used in personalized medicine to predict treatment outcomes. [SEP] Text: 1,2 Obesity decreases the lifespan and is related to multiple coexisting diseases. 3-7 Current treatment methods include education, lifestyle modification, dietary treatment, pharmacotherapy, and bariatric surgery. 8 Unfortunately, despite widespread prophylactic efforts and public health campaigns, the number of obese patients is increasing dramatically. 2 On the other hand, the number of medicines available is limited, and surgical methods are most effective in the treatment of morbid obesity and severe obesity with 1 or more significant comorbid conditions when less invasive methods of weight loss have failed and the patient is at risk for obesity-associated morbidity and mortality. The classic assessment of the patient’s eligibility for treatment is based on the body mass index (BMI). However, a more detailed insight into the pathophysiology of obesity is becoming more popular nowadays. System is a new tool that can stratify patients into groups depending on the type of treatment they require (noninvasive methods, bariatric surgery, or palliative treatment). 9 We hypothesized that the use of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) may help improve the therapy, adjust the treatment with diet or exercise in patients treated with lifestyle modification, and also increase the safety of treatment. The aims of the study were to compare the results of BIA and CPET in obese and lean patients, to analyze changes in BIA and CPET during the treatment of obesity with a lifestyle modification program, and to identify parameters that could be used to develop personalized treatment. However, the overriding aim of the study was to investigate obesity treatment based on and lifestyle modification. Patients and methodsA total of 200 consecutive adult obese patients were invited to the study, of whom 45 individuals decided to participate. All patients gave their informed consent to undergo a lifestyle modification treatment for obesity. Contraindications to the treatment included heart, lung, liver, and kidney deficiency, neoplastic disease, active autoimmune diseases, mental retardation, pregnancy, lactation, drug and alcohol abuse, and lack of compliance. The size of the study group was assessed based on a pilot study that showed that peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) results were lower than predicted in 60% of obese patients regardless of age and sex. Additionally, a body mass reduction greater than 5% was found in 60% of participants who completed the treatment.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate adaptation alone can fully counteract the effects of climate change. [SEP] Text: The IVRS region lies across the watershed of the country’s two largest rivers, the Orange and the Limpopo, which discharge into the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, respectively. By the 1960s, demand for water for domestic and economic purposes had outstripped the reliable flow of the main local source, the Vaal River, a tributary of the Orange River, which is also highly variable. A national policy review (1970) recommended a system approach to identify and introduce new sources. This coincided with the emergence of new techniques to undertake the required analysis (Maass et al. 1962). For four decades, system models guided decisions on expansion and operation (Basson and 2001) that have successfully sustained water security in the expanding system. Throughout this period, the objective was to manage the extreme climate variability, with drought risk as the key metric since there was little useful information about potential climate change risks. An important element of the system is the (LHWP), a multiphase scheme which diverts water that flows south from Lesotho in the Orange River, northward to its tributary. In terms of a binational Treaty, uses Lesotho territory to discharge the waters closer to the centers of demand, with considerable cost-savings. Climate variability and change are addressed in the Treaty only insofar as provision for joint action in the event of force majeure, covering “disturbance due to an extreme hydrological or other natural event, including extreme drought, and affecting the delivery of water to South Africa. ” Similarly, while the 1998 on Phase 1B of the project (which was successfully completed in 2002) makes no explicit mention of climate variability and change, it locates the purpose of the project as “reducing drought risk” in the system. The LHWP’s further phases are seen as low-risk, least-cost alternatives to augment the system’s capacity. Phase 2, the construction of the on another tributary, was included in the World Bank’s “RDM study” (Cervigni 2015). As with the in Kenya (see above), the study considered whether alternative configurations might be less economically vulnerable if climate change reduced project performance. Noting considerable climate uncertainty, the study suggested an alternative design could reduce the risk of financial losses due to climate change by up to 30%.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Chassis organisms like E. coli are commonly used for synthetic gene construction. [SEP] Text: In parallel, pair Pwitw4_AscI and Pwitw5_SpeI was used to amplify pSB-M1b [31] excluding the RK2 ori (trfA coding region and the oriV origin of replication). After digestion with AscI and SpeI of both the amplified pMB1 ori and the pSB-M1b -resulting PCR product, the two fragments were ligated to each other resulting in plasmid pSB-M2b. The difference between copy-numbers of RK2- and pMB1-based plasmids was confirmed by agarose gel electrophoresis. Construction of pSB-P0b introducing different regulator/promoter systems: Three different regulator/promoter systems were chosen to substitute the region spanning xylS/Pm in pSB-M1b and pSB-M2b. The lacI/P T7lac region was amplified from pET16b using ET_AgeI_fwd and ET_NdeI_rev and inserted into the two depicted backbones using NdeI and AgeI, generating pSB-E1b and pSB-E2b. The lacIq/P trc region was amplified from pTrc99A using TRC_AgeI_fwd1and TRC_NdeI_rev1 prior to insertion into pSB-M1b and pSB-M2b using AgeI and NdeI, generating pSB-T1b and pSB-T2b. Finally, the PCR product covering the araC/P BAD region from pBAD/gIII_calmodulin generated with the primers BAD_BbsI_fwd and BAD_NdeI_rev was inserted into the above mentioned backbones using BbsI and NdeI, creating pSB-B1b and pSB-B2b.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: AI is used in personalized medicine to predict treatment outcomes. [SEP] Text: Comparison of the resting heart rate (HR), heart rate with maximal fat acid oxidation (FAT HR), anaerobic threshold (AT HR), and maximal heart rate (HR MAX) according to a body mass reduction cutoff value of 5% or greaterAbbreviations: see Figure 1The next step of the analysis focused on the most promising parameters described above: and body volume measured by BIA, as well as resting and AT HR measured by CPET at the baseline visit. A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was done to assess the sensitivity and specificity in the prediction of achieving the 5% or higher body mass reduction (Supplementary material, Table S10). The analyses which showed the highest sensitivity and specificity were FAT HR (with a cutoff value above 130 bpm) and resting HR (cutoff above 103 bpm). Both parameters had the area under the curve of 0. 80. We also analyzed the results of treatment in patients who achieved a 10% body mass reduction (Supplementary material, Figure S1, Table S11). As in the analysis of the group who achieved a body mass reduction of 10% or higher, the optimal results were achieved in patients with a cutoff level for FAT HR of 121 bpm (area under the curve >0. 80). The prevalence of coexisting diseases indicted that coronary artery disease and hypercholesterolemia were more prevalent in patients who did not achieve the body mass reduction of 5% or higher (Supplementary material, Table S12). Based on the results of the previous analyses, age, and coexisting diseases, the naive Bayes prediction model was developed. The best results were achieved in the model based on patient age, FAT HR, resting HR, and FAT. The described model enabled the correct prediction of the treatment results in 92% of patients (Table 5). Table 5.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate adaptation alone can fully counteract the effects of climate change. [SEP] Text: This only considered assumptions about water prices and demand and not the wider societal costs of supply failure, a conservative approach since, for many societies, higher water costs are preferable to the costs of unexpected supply failures (as is formally stated in the new water strategy (2019)). Subsequent studies concluded that the would meet its intended delivery targets under a wide range of climate scenarios with deficits occurring only in the very driest 16 of 122 scenarios. The IVRS also illustrates the benefits of a “problemshed”-based analysis (Mollinga 2020) which encompasses the actual physical and institutional boundaries within which water is managed not simply an individual “watershed” approach. Whereas hydrological models are based on the natural “watersheds” before human activity intervenes, water management requires models that reflect the interaction between human activities and the natural system. The IVRS shows how hydrological tools can effectively be applied to manage substantial climate variability in complex multi-basin systems. Coordination: Drought Risks, Discount Rates, and HydropowerThe final case, the proposed in the transnational Basin, illustrates the challenges of evaluating climate change’s impacts in a complex system and uncertain economic and institutional context. In a basin that already suffers extreme climate events, the implications of climate change for hydropower expansion are a concern. Hydropower is the main source of electricity for the riparian countries and offers further opportunities to support their socioeconomic development. Dam project illustrates the challenges of identifying adaptive approaches that optimize the benefits that hydropower can provide while minimizing the risk. The history of Zambezi hydropower is as much about national and regional politics as hydrology or economics. Its potential was recognized early in the twentieth century, but it was only in the 1950s that it was decided to construct the Kariba Dam, creating what is still the world’s largest dam reservoir by volume. Built by the Government of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Kariba’s initial installed capacity of 1300 MW was sufficient to meet the needs of the Federation. It was controversial because a smaller project could have been built on the Zambezi’s Kafue tributary in Northern Rhodesia, closer to the mines that were the main centers of electricity demand. But political imperatives supported the larger project to reinforce the Federation although Northern Rhodesia, later Zambia, withdrew in 1963.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Chassis organisms like E. coli are commonly used for synthetic gene construction. [SEP] Text: In order to insert the Pm variant ML1-17 [27], pSB-M1b and pSB-M2b were digested with XbaI and PciI removing the Pm core promoter region which was replaced by two annealed oligonucleotides that constitute the double-stranded Pm ML1-17 fragment with XbaI and PciI compatible ends, creating pSB-M1b-1-17 and pSB-M2b-1-17. Introduction of other genes of interest: All pSB-P0b variants, except for pSB-B2b, were digested with NdeI and BamHI to excise the bla gene and to insert the lucS gene from pIB11-lucS instead, generating pSB-P0l variants. pSB-B2b and pSB-M1l were digested with NdeI and KpnI. The resulting DNA fragment corresponding to the pSB-B2 backbone and the lucS gene were ligated to each other to generate pSB-B2l. The scFv173-2-5-phoA gene was PCR cloned from pHOG-173-2-5-AP with primer pair pelB_fwd and APhis_rev2. The enzyme combination NdeI and BamHI was used to replace the bla gene from pSB-M1b with the digested scFv173-2-5-phoA PCR product resulting in pSB-M1s. From there on NdeI and BamHI were used to generate all pSB-P0s variants, except for pSB-B2s. This construct was generated by digesting pSB-B2b and pSB-B1s with BamHI and ligating the pSB-B2 backbone with the scFv173-2-5-phoA BamHI digested insert from pSB-B1s. gfpmut3 originating from pBAD24-GFP was inserted into the pSB-P0b variants using NdeI and BamHI with the exception of pSB-B2b.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: AI is used in personalized medicine to predict treatment outcomes. [SEP] Text: Prediction models assessing the result of the treatment with intensive lifestyle modificationComponents of the prediction modelAccuracy, %Results predicting the lack of treatment efficacy in patients who achieved the treatment outcomeResults predicting treatment efficacy in patients who did not achieve the treatment outcomeresting HR, FAT, kg9211resting HR, FAT, kg, TBW, %, AT HR8812Age, FAT, kg8804resting HR8322FAT HR, resting HR, FAT, kg8331Abbreviations: see Tables 3 and 4 We also assessed the likelihood of achieving a body mass reduction of 5% or higher or of more than 10%, depending on the initial resting and AT HR (Supplementary material, Figure S2). Patients with a resting HR above 81 bpm showed a greater probability of a body mass reduction of 5% or higher (odds ratio [OR], 19. 5; 95% CI, 1. 5–245; P = 0. 003), with a similar result observed for a FAT HR above 103 bpm (OR, 19. 5; 95% CI, 1. 5–245; P = 0. 003). Additionally, the probability of a body mass reduction of more than 10% was higher for a FAT HR above 103 bpm (OR, 12; 95% CI, 1. 02–139; P = 0. 01). DiscussionNoninvasive obesity treatment using lifestyle modification including diet, medical rehabilitation, behavioral therapy as assessed by CPET and BIA can result in a body mass reduction of 5% or higher in 70% of patients, and a reduction of 10% in 43% of patients. Moreover, the treatment outcome can be predicted in 92% of cases using a prediction model based on age, the results of CPET such as FAT HR and resting HR, as well as fat tissue measured by BIA. The extent of the obesity pandemic requires the development of effective methods that can be used across large groups of patients. The body mass reduction and percentage of dropouts reported in our study are similar to the results of other studies, including those by Goodpaster et al,13 Christiansen et al,14 Share et al,15,16 and, finally, a large multicenter study (Health in Diabetes).

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate adaptation alone can fully counteract the effects of climate change. [SEP] Text: Mozambique’s Dam, with an installed capacity of 2075 MW, had similar political drivers to Kariba; it used cheap electricity to reinforce the political relationship between the Portuguese colonial power and South Africa. This relationship was even shorter-lived – Mozambique became independent in 1975, just as was completed and the reservoir began to fill. With the development in Zambia of the 900 and some smaller projects, there is now almost 5,000 MW of installed hydropower generation capacity in the basin with an average total energy production of around 30,000 GWh/year, of which 23,000 is “firm energy,” available at high reliability and very low cost, since most initial construction loans have long been repaid. This economic benefit of large water infrastructure is seldom accounted for although the resulting “path dependency” is often commented upon (Haasnoot et al. 2019). The total energy production could be doubled to around 60,000 GWh/year through the extension of existing facilities and the construction of new dams. This would meet most of the current electricity demand of the eight riparian states although optimal production will require hydrologically informed cooperation between operators. The resilience of new schemes to climate variability and change has come under particular scrutiny as international development finance institutions consider their financial viability. While individual projects have been assessed in some detail, it is important to understand how they would function in a future system, which includes irrigation and urban uses, under conditions of climate change. At present, evaporation from the Kariba and lakes is by far the largest “consumptive use” of Zambezi water, accounting for 85% of the 12. 5 km3 average “consumption”; all other uses (agriculture, urban, and industrial) account for just 1. 9 km3, just 2% of the available runoff. With the growth of population and economies, water consumption will reduce flows, impacting on hydropower production. A 2010 “Multi-Opportunity Analysis” (MSIOA) investigated the potential impacts of such new developments and the benefits for the riparian countries of coordinating their development plans, to reduce uncertainty about hydropower potential (2010). The study included an economic assessment tool and considered possible climate change impacts. Its main finding was that coordinating investments and infrastructure operation could significantly increase the economic benefits compared to stand-alone project development.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Chassis organisms like E. coli are commonly used for synthetic gene construction. [SEP] Text: Instead, BamHI was used to excise the gene from pSB-B1g and to place it into pSB-B2 backbone (originating from pSB-B2l) to generate pSB-B2g. Genes GH1S and IL1RNS were excised from pMA-GH and pMA-T-IL-1RA with NdeI and BamHI and transferred to the pSB-P0b variants with the Pm, Pm ML1-17, P T7lac and P trc promoter using the same enzymes, resulting in pSB-P0h and pSB-P0r variants. Growth conditions for comparative expression studiesThe general cultivation protocol was based on recommendations published by the (EMBL) [63]. For E. coli cultivations LB medium was chosen because it is widely used among molecular biologists and at the same time it was avoided to use media with glucose as a carbon source due to the influence of glucose on background expression from P T7lac and P BAD through catabolite repression [64]. A growth temperature of 30°C was applied for slowing down the growth rate of E. coli, as this generally leads to more soluble protein [65]. Initially the kinetics of protein accumulation was studied for all expression cassettes, using GFP (fluorescence) and luciferase (activity) as the main models. The inducer concentrations and culture harvesting times post induction were varied and we found that five hours induction was sufficient to reach a plateau of accumulated protein per OD unit of cells. For GFP the accumulation rate was nearly constant (slightly lower from 3–5 hours) over this time-period. For most of the proteins it was complicated to follow the kinetics accurately since there was no quantitative method for measurement available, and in case of luciferase activity measurements may not necessarily correlate exactly with the accumulation kinetics of the insoluble fraction. Recombinant E. coli ER2566 and DH10B strains were grown in 2 ml LB supplemented with 50 μg/ml kanamycin at 30°C over-night. Then 15 ml of LB with kanamycin in shake flasks were inoculated with the overnight culture to an initial OD600 of 0. 05. Following incubation at 200 rpm and 30°C expression was induced at OD600= 0. 5-0.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: AI is used in personalized medicine to predict treatment outcomes. [SEP] Text: We also performed a gene expression study,38 which compared the whole genome expression in obese patients and controls regarding CPET. The differences observed indicated abnormalities in fat oxidation and maximal oxygen uptake. The genes with major differences in expression were CLEC121, 4, HLA-A29. 1, IFIT1, and LOC100133662. Interestingly, the IFIT1 gene expression was different in obese patients with asthma. 39Prediction of treatment effectivenessThe results of our study prove that it is possible to predict the results of obesity treatment. The crucial values are patient age (optimal <45 years), and resting HR (>81 bpm). The results of CPET enable finding the HR with optimal FAT during exercise (optimal >103). The BIA measures fat tissue, which if above 36 kg, predicts a good treatment outcome. The analysis based on the above factors enables the proper prediction of the result in 92% of patients. Current studies indicate several factors that should be considered, such as physical activity, compliance, and time of treatment. 14,15 A lower initial BMI predicts the worst treatment outcome,15 which was confirmed in our group. The results of the study indicate that optimal assessment of the treatment should be done after 2 months with initial assessment after 6 weeks. 17,40,41 Treatment modification may be based on additional patient visits or phone calls, which increases the success rate by 8%. 42-44 The results of BIA indicate the muscle tissue as the important factor responsible for the treatment outcome. 6 The age-dependent decrease of muscle tissue may be increased by a restrictive diet6,37; however, it can be prevented by additional medical rehabilitation. 6,37 An interesting factor described recently is FAT HR. It differs in obese and normal weight teenagers33 and women. 24 Patients with low FAT HR may benefit from exercise of a long duration rather than more intense exercise. 33 More intense training leads to anaerobic FAT and the ineffectiveness of treatment. 33The results of our study provide the doctors and patients with a new tool in the treatment of obesity. The combination of BIA and CPET in addition to simple clinical parameters may predict the outcome of obesity treatment. It may also modify the diet and medical rehabilitation in obesity. We are aware of the limitations of our study. The results are promising but should be validated in a study on a larger group of patients and a longer follow-up.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate adaptation alone can fully counteract the effects of climate change. [SEP] Text: Beyond the hydrological uncertainties, the political challenge is to achieve an equitable sharing of the costs and benefits. However, economic analysis is particularly challenging for investments such as water resource infrastructure which have a high initial cost but yield benefits over a very long period. The imputed value of long-term production depends heavily on assumptions about future prices as well as the “discount rate” applied in the analysis, and there is limited consensus about the appropriate approach, not least because the choice is usually determined by policy objectives (Fankhauser and Stern 2016) in which climate change adaptation strategies are not always adequately reflected. These issues were illustrated in the analysis of Batoka in the 2015 RDM study (Cervigni 2015). site is on the main stem of the Zambezi, downstream from and upstream from Kariba. It has limited storage and will depend on natural river flows which, although moderated somewhat in the extensive wetlands of the upper catchment, are very variable and subject to drought, making it particularly vulnerable to climate change (Harrison and Whittington 2002). In this context, the RDM study noted that: “In drier futures, smaller facilities yield higher net benefits, as less investment is underutilized during the dry periods. In wetter futures, larger facilities that can better take advantage of high flow periods yield higher net benefits. ” Batoka it found, “shows significant sensitivity to climate change with up to a 33 percent decrease or a 15 percent increase in average power production. ” (Cervigni 2015) Over 30 years, the difference between the worst- and best-case scenarios was estimated at around US$4 billion, in 2015 values, based on average energy prices in the Power Pool. But in a dry period, electricity prices would rise as all supplies would be reduced in a system that was dependent on hydropower. While in 2015 this effect was not yet evident because the region still had coal-fired alternatives, over the next five decades, coal-fired power will be constrained, and carbon taxes will increase its price, further supporting hydropower prices. Even without these considerations, Batoka showed that “economics of projects of this type could be highly sensitive to the price of power” (Cervigni et al. 2015). Once again, it was emphasized that a project that was financially sensitive to climate change impacts was not necessarily financially vulnerable.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Chassis organisms like E. coli are commonly used for synthetic gene construction. [SEP] Text: 6 as follows: 2 mM m-toluate for strains harboring Pm- based constructs, 1 mM IPTG for those with P T7lac 0. 2 mM IPTG for P trc and 0. 015% L-arabinose for P BAD. Growth was continued for 5 more hours at 30°C. Transcript analysis by qRT-PCRAt harvest, 0. 5 ml of culture was stabilized with RNA protect (Qiagen) prior to freezing. The subsequent total RNA isolation, cDNA synthesis and relative transcript quantification by qRT-PCR was performed as described previously [28]. Primer pairs used during amplification are listed in Table 4. Transcript generated from the 16S rRNA gene was used for normalization. Activity measurements of the different reportersThe luciferase assay was performed using the Luciferase assay System (Promega). At harvest, the cell culture was normalized to an OD600 of 0. 5. 90 μL of this mixture was supplemented with 10 μL of K2HPO4, pH 7. 8, 20 mM EDTA prior to lysis with the Reagent (CCLR, Promega). The remaining steps of the protocol were carried out according to the manufacturer’s instructions except that the luciferase activities were determined from 10 μL lysed culture mixed with 50 μL of substrate. The alkaline phosphatase assay was performed as described previously [66]. Fluorescence measurements of strains expressing GFP were performed with the FLUinstrument (BMG Labtech) together with the corresponding Omega Software. Fluorescence intensity was determined directly from the cultures using an appropriate filter set (excitation: 485 nm; emission: 520 nm). Values were normalized against the optical density. Data were acquired from three biological and thereof three technical replica. Protein analysis by SDS--PAGE analysis 50 ml culture volume was used. Because of impaired growth of recombinant strains expressing scFv173-2-5-AP, 3xLB was used to get sufficient cell mass for analysis. The general growth conditions were as described above for the comparative expression studies. At harvest, bacterial pellets were washed with 0. 9% NaCl and 100 mg pellet (wet weight) was frozen until further processing. Pellets were resuspended in lysis buffer (50 mM Tris–HCl, pH 8.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Genetic engineering in agriculture can improve crop resistance to pests and diseases. [SEP] Text: Printable page Tell us how you can be, and we’ll make you better: exploiting genetic variability in personality traits to improve top-down control of agricultural pests based on reviews by Pannebakker, François Dumont, Byrne and A recommendation of: Consistent variations in personality traits and their potential for genetic improvement of biocontrol agents: Trichogramma evanescens as a case study Silène éraldine Groussier, Vincent Calcagno, Philippe Louâpre, François-Xavier Dechaume-Moncharmont, and Jérôme Moreau (2020), bioRxiv, 2020. 08. 21. 257881, ver. 4 peer-reviewed and recommended by in Ecology Read preprint in preprint server Data used for results -CN Submission: posted 24 August 2020Recommendation: posted 13 January 2021, validated 14 January 2021 Cite this recommendation as:Montserrat, M. (2021) Tell us how you can be, and we’ll make you better: exploiting genetic variability in personality traits to improve top-down control of agricultural pests. in Ecology, 100069. 10. 24072/pci. ecology. 100069 in the XXI century faces the huge challenge of having to provide food to a rapidly growing human population, which is expected to reach 10. 9 billion in 2100 (UUNN 2019), by means of practices and methods that guarantee crop sustainability, human health safety, and respect to the environment (UUNN 2015). Such regulation by the ultimately entails that agricultural scientists are urged to design strategies and methods that effectively minimize the use of harmful chemical products to control pest populations and to improve soil quality. One of the most, if not the most, sustainable, safe, and environmentally friendly approach to apply against pests is Control (BPC, hereafter), that is, the use of natural enemies to control the populations of pest organisms.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate adaptation alone can fully counteract the effects of climate change. [SEP] Text: These economic studies are highly dependent on the discount rates chosen. The RDM study used a policy discount rate of 3% for assessing social policy objectives. But for Batoka, both the MSIOA and the RDM analyses used a “finance discount” rate of 10% (2010) to ensure adequate financial returns to repay loans. The danger is that using present-day markets to estimate long-run prices ignores the potential increase in the value of output as a result of climate change policies, devalues the long-term benefits of cooperation, and thus does not adequately reflect the policy goals of climate change mitigation. A final gap in these attempts to integrate policies for climate resilience more effectively fully into hydrological and economic analysis has been the failure to consider the “water use efficiency” of energy generation in the Zambezi Basin. Presently, over 10% of the Zambezi’s flow is lost to evaporation from the two large hydropower reservoirs. Full development of the basin will not require the significant expansion of storage to manage hydrological variability, and the proposed cascade of three dams in the lower Zambezi will benefit from the hydrological security provided by the Kariba and reservoirs upstream. While the MSIOA notes with concern that the output of those projects could vary between +9% and − 13% by 2100 (2010), it makes no allowance for value inherent in increasing “water use” efficiency by increasing the energy produced per unit of water. These analyses of the and the broader strategies to ensure optimum management of the Zambezi Basin’s waters show that the challenges of assessing the economic benefits and risks of large water investments are at least as complex as those of managing the hydrological uncertainties. Discussion: Principles to under UncertaintyThe cases presented illustrate the contexts within which major water resource investment decisions are taken and the limited contribution that can be made by emerging climate change science beyond the charting of the range of future uncertainty. Nevertheless, the focus on potential climate change impacts does provide useful guidance for the planners, developers, and operators of major water resource infrastructure working in “difficult hydrologies. ”PrinciplesFrom these cases, some general principles can be identified that could help water resource managers to develop coherent adaptive strategies for the projects or systems for which they are responsible and assist them in communicating their approaches to their wider communities.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Chassis organisms like E. coli are commonly used for synthetic gene construction. [SEP] Text: 0, 1 mM EDTA, 100 mM NaCl, 8 mM MgCl2). The solution was sonicated using a DSM tip (sonication for 3. 5 minutes on ice, duty cycle 35% and output control 3. 0). Soluble and insoluble fractions were separated by centrifugation and treated with 62. 5 U/ml Benzonase nuclease (Merck). Protein gels were run under denaturing conditions using ClearPAGE 10% gels and -R Run buffer (C. B. S. Scientific) followed by staining with blue R-250 (Merck). Flow-cytometryCultures were grown essentially as decribed for SDS-PAGE analysis. At various time points after induction, 1 ml of culture was collected, supplemented with glycerol to 10% and snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen until further analysis. For single-cell fluorescence measurements, samples were thawed on ice and diluted in PBS. Flow cytometry was performed using the CyFlow® Space flow cytometer (Partec) equipped with a 488 nm blue solid state laser (200 mW) and a 536/ 40 nm band pass filter. For each sample, 150,000 events were collected at a rate between 800 and 2,000 events per second. Data were analysed with the Windows™ XP FloMax(R) software (Quantum Analysis). The mean and spread (coefficient of variation (CV)) of the distributions were calculated over all collected values after gating. Abbreviations5′-UTR: 5′-untranslated region qRT-PCR: Relative quantification real-time RT-PCR scFv173-2-5-AP: Single-chain antibody fragment 173-2-5 alkaline phosphatase fusion protein GFP: Green fluorescent protein HGH: Human growth hormone IL-1RA: Human interleukin 1 receptor antagonist EMBL: -PAGE: Sodium dodecyl sulfate- polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis RBS: Ribosome binding site TIR: Translation initiation rate CV: Coefficient of variation LB: NEB: : Isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside 222. 10. 1007/s00253-006-0465-8. 6862. 10. 1128/AEM. 71.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Genetic engineering in agriculture can improve crop resistance to pests and diseases. [SEP] Text: In my humble opinion, what makes the paper of Lartigue et al. (2020) a remarkable contribution to the field of genetic breeding of BCAs is that it opens a new window of opportunities to the field, by exploring the possibilities for artificial selection of behavioral traits (Réale et al. 2007) to "create" strains of natural enemies displaying behavioral syndromes (Sih et al. 2004) that makes them better at regulating pest populations. The behavioral approach for breeding BCAs can then be extended by crossing it with known abiotic and/or biotic hostile environments (e. g. warm and drought environments, presence of predators/competitors to the BCA, respectively) and engineer strains more prompt to display particular behavioral syndromes to help them to overcome the overall hostility of specific environments. I strongly believe that the approach proposed in Lartigue et al. (2020) will influence the future management of agricultural systems, where strategies including the genetic breeding of BCAs’ behavior will contribute to create better guards and protectors of our crops. 10. 1002/ps. 5857 CBD - Convention on Biological Diversity, 2011. Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing, Hörstadius, S. (1974). Linnaeus, animals and man. of the Linnaean Society, 6, 269-275. doi: Koch, R. L. and Galvan, T. L. (2008). Bad side of a good beetle: the experience with Harmonia axyridis. BioControl 53, 23–35. doi: Konishi, M. and Ito, Y. (1973). Early entomology in East Asia. In: (Eds. ), History of Entomology, Inc. , Palo Alto, California, 20. Lartigue, S. , Yalaoui, M. , Belliard, J. , Caravel, C. , Jeandroz, L. , Groussier, G. , Calcagno, V. , Louâpre, P. , Dechaume-Moncharmont, F. -X. , Malausa, T. and Moreau, J. (2020). Consistent variations in personality traits and their potential for genetic improvement of biocontrol agents: Trichogramma evanescens as a case study. bioRxiv, 2020. 08. 21.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate adaptation alone can fully counteract the effects of climate change. [SEP] Text: In addition, some more operational priorities emerge that merit mention. UncertaintyPerhaps the most important principle to emerge from the cases is that uncertainty remains the dominant feature of potential climate change impact on water resource projects. This uncertainty must be recognized and reflected in analytical approaches, strategy development, and project design. Uncertainty does not mean that stochastic methods cannot be used to detect – and project – trends. For instance, where projections of precipitation are made using multiple GCMs and the range of future uncertainties can be constrained, stochastic methods are already usefully applied. More serious challenges arise where relevant variables are not well understood or constrained as is the case with modeling future rainfall-runoff in conditions where both land cover and precipitation intensities are both poorly understood. PrecautionaryThe precautionary principle is usually understood to constrain developments until their impacts are understood. In the climate change context, a precautionary approach will ensure that decisions are taken in time to address possible future contingencies. This is explicitly stated in Cape Town’s post-disaster water strategy which commits to make new investments which will not be used unless there is a dry period in which they are needed. This reflects the high costs imposed on the wider society by supply failure. Projects with lengthy implementation periods such as the IVRS augmentations should be implemented on a precautionary basis to avoid inefficient crisis responses that characterized many water sector investments. A precautionary approach would also introduce supply restrictions earlier rather than later although political resistance is always a factor in this – recent extreme power restrictions in Zimbabwe resulted, in part, from earlier decisions to continue generating at full capacity at Kariba, contrary to drought operating rules. Path DependenceA concern frequently raised about water resource developments of all kinds is that they commit their societies to particular development paths and close off other options. The difficulty with these discussions is that they frequently involve larger political issues about which there is little consensus. In large measure, Windhoek’s current challenges are the result of century-old colonial spatial planning decisions; the option of refocusing economic development in a more propitious location is an important alternative. Similarly, South Africa’s IVRS reflects the fact that the mining economy promoted extensive development in a location with limited water resources and that coastal areas would be easier to serve. Beira’s location, which also served colonial objectives, is very vulnerable to current climate, and vulnerabilities will be aggravated by climate change.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Chassis organisms like E. coli are commonly used for synthetic gene construction. [SEP] Text: 11. 6856-6862. 2005. 379. CAS 5066. 10. 1128/AEM. 00413-10. 1266. 10. 1021/bp034365+. 336. 364. 10. 2144/000112112. 801. 10. 1007/s10529-010-0223-y. 89. 315. 10. 1016/0378-1119(88)90440-4. 4130. CAS 430. 10. 1007/s00284-001-0015-7. 229. 912. 10. 1128/AEM. 01804-06. 672. 10. 1002/(SICI)1097-0290(19980920)59:6<666::AID-BIT2>3. 0. CO;2-D. 261. 10. 1016/0734-9750(95)00004-A. 538. CAS 128. 10. 1016/j. jbiotec. 2004. 08. 004. 739. 10. 1111/j. 1742-4658. 2010. 07991. x. 30. 10. 1111/j. 1751-7915. 2008. 00048. x. 7039. 10. 1128/AEM. 70. 12. 7033-7039. 2004. 51. 10. 1006/plas. 1997. 1294. 91. 10. 1006/mben. 1999. 0142. 2655. 10. 1128/AEM. 02091-10. 47. 2011. 10. 1128/AEM. 02315-08. 389. 10. 1111/j. 1751-7915. 2009. 00107. x. 3650. 10. 1073/pnas. 0909910107. 1827. 10. 1093/nar/gkr850. 10. 1186/1475-2859-11-133. 2115. 10. 1529/biophysj. 107. 127191. 318. 10. 1016/0022-2836(79)90395-4. 5111. 10. 1073/pnas. 82. 15. 5107. 38. 151. 10. 1016/S0168-1656(98)00054-6. 548. 10.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Genetic engineering in agriculture can improve crop resistance to pests and diseases. [SEP] Text: 257881 Author's Reply, 10 Dec 2020 Download author's reply Download tracked changes file Decision by Marta Montserrat, posted 29 Oct 2020 In the preprint presented by Lartigue et al. the authors introduce a novel perspective for the genetic improvement of Agents (BCAs) based on behavioral traits that relate to the performance of individuals as BCAs, and that define the personality of individuals. The authors propose the genetic improvement of personality traits to be used as tool to create highly performant BCAs. The idea is novel and the manuscript has potential to contribute significantly to agricultural sciences and to the development of new strategies to improve pest control with methodologies that are respectful with the environment and the human health. Yet, in my opinion, the potential success for using behavioral traits to breed natural enemies is likely to be severely hampered by the extremely low heritability values (<0. 1) found in most of the behavioral traits and the two personality scores. This is a severe drawback that the authors need to address, not only by acknowledging the limitations of their strategy (as they do in the last paragraph of the discussion) but by offering real solutions, or convincing ways, to overcome this drawback, if only to convince the reader that introducing the genetic improvement of personalities in the biological pest control programs is realistic and feasible. Additional requirements of the managing board: As indicated in the 'How does it work? ’ section and in the code of conduct, please make sure that: -Data are available to readers, either in the text or through an open data repository such as Zenodo (free), Dryad or some other institutional repository. Data must be reusable, thus metadata or accompanying text must carefully describe the data. -Details on quantitative analyses (e. g. , data treatment and statistical scripts in R, bioinformatic pipeline scripts, etc. ) and details concerning simulations (scripts, codes) are available to readers in the text, as appendices, or through an open data repository, such as Zenodo, Dryad or some other institutional repository. The scripts or codes must be carefully described so that they can be reused. -Details on experimental procedures are available to readers in the text or as appendices. -Authors have no financial conflict of interest relating to the 10. 1111/brv. 12641. Genomic selection is especially useful when traits display a lower heritability.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate adaptation alone can fully counteract the effects of climate change. [SEP] Text: But these are not issues on which water managers can determine policy. At best, they can ensure that the concerns and constraints are well understood and thus influence wider development policy debates. FlexibilityIn response to uncertainty about future trends, it is helpful if strategies to meet future needs are sufficiently flexible to accommodate different futures. This principle has already been explicitly adopted in a number of the case study projects: has identified a range of options that could rapidly be implemented in the event of a “step change” in climate; the ENCW scheme serving Windhoek can be implemented in a sequence of steps. Similarly, each step in the past and future development of South Africa’s IVRS involved a choice from a set of different options. System-and ProblemshedsThe importance of conceptualizing and operating linked infrastructure as a system rather than as individual units brings many benefits. The values of these benefits are explicitly determined in the but are also evident in the IVRS, Windhoek, and, at a nascent stage, Mombasa and Cape Town’s new strategy. LinkagesThe linkage of different sources and demand centers provides a variety of resilience benefits that can greatly assist adaptation to changing climate conditions. A benefit that could be achieved by operating Zambezi hydropower as a coordinated system is that extreme events are often not correlated. While in the south and Kariba were running dry, which draws more resources from the north had to open its flood gates to manage inflows. South Africa’s IVRS has already demonstrated that multiple sources provide greater assured yields than the sum of their “stand-alone” yields and Windhoek’s situation is similar. Proposals for Kenya’s to form part of an integrated bulk system would replicate this approach. DiversificationDiversification of sources provides further important resilience benefits and should be a guiding principle for climate change adaptation. Windhoek’s surface water/groundwater mix has enabled it to withstand repeated drought crises. Cape Town’s recent experience highlighted the risk of relying solely on surface water supplies, which although linked all derived their inflow from a single small catchment area. Alternative sources had not been developed because, individually, their unit costs were higher, but this calculation omitted consideration of the value of additional reliability that could be gained from diversification. Care must be taken, however, to ensure that apparently diversified sources are not correlated.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Beauveria bassiana is a fungal pathogen that can effectively control locust populations. [SEP] Text: robertsii isolates on Galleria melonella collected from rhizosphere soil in tomato plant farms at Koka and Guder areas in Ethiopia. MethodsDescription of the study siteThe experiment was conducted at the under laboratory conditions. Ambo is far away from Addis Ababa, 110 km to the west, at a geographical coordinate of 8°59′N latitude and 37. 85°E longitude, with an altitude of 2,100 m a. s. l. The daily temperature ranges from 15 to 29°C, with an annual temperature of 22°C on average. The soil sample was collected from two sites, namely Guder and Koka in Ethiopia. Guder is located at a latitude and longitude of 8o58′N and 374o6E, respectively, with an altitude of 2,101 m a. s. l. , whereas Koka is found at 8o25′ N latitude, 39o02′ E longitude, and an altitude of 1,605 m a. s. l. The minimum and maximum temperatures ranged from 12. 14 to 27. 39°C, respectively (Etefa and Dibaba, 2011). Sampling of rhizosphere soil from tomato plantsRhizosphere soil was collected from tomato farmlands by uprooting vegetative-stage tomato plants. During the collection, the upper layer of soil was removed. A total of 40 rhizosphere soil samples were taken from two locations. Five samples were taken from each spot and mixed in a plastic bag before being taken to the bio-control laboratory of the for the isolation of B. bassiana and M. robertsii. Finally, one kilogram (kg) of the soil sample was used for the isolation by removing unnecessary parts from the soil (Sevim et al. , 2010). Isolation of B. bassiana and M. robertsii from Rhizosphere soil samplesFrom 40 soil samples, B. bassiana and M. robertsii were isolated by using the Galleria baiting method as follows (Zimmermann, 1986; Belay et al. , 2017). One kilogram of soil sample was moistened by sterilized water and added to a 1. 5 kg screw-capped glass jar. A total of 10 wax moth larvae were separately introduced into jars filled with soil samples and incubated at 26°C for 10 consecutive days under dark conditions.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Genetic engineering in agriculture can improve crop resistance to pests and diseases. [SEP] Text: They use a statistical approach to identify whether the plants in their pixels may be infected. The team is figuring out how to make the satellites and robots work together so that the satellites can identify a potential outbreak and its location in a vineyard at a very early stage of infection and then deploy the robot there to check it out. Gold is one of several researchers seeking to snoop on the chemical communication of plants from afar using remote sensing. Their goal is to catch the hints plants give about their inner workings—subtle signs related to their pigments, defense chemicals, or structural compounds—and then clue in farmers earlier to pests and pathogens. In the case of downy mildew, if a grower can catch it before the infection finds its way across the field, they can avoid dousing their entire fields with fungicides and instead treat only the afflicted areas, potentially protecting against losses while helping decrease the amount of agrochemicals used. Scientists are applying the same reasoning to reduce the amount of fertilizer farmers apply to their crops, helping their bottom line and avoiding excess chemicals’ running off into the environment. Credit:. Gold (right) and colleagues (left) and (center) are developing disease-spotting robots that could be automatically directed to an area of the vineyard according to what satellites detect from space. The chemical communiqués of plants Unlike humans, whose immune systems learn as they face different threats, plants enter the world with all the immune defense systems they’ll ever have, Gold says. Their response to infections or pests is based on signaling, which turns on genes that produce defense compounds or that broadcast news of the attack throughout the plant. These chemical messages occur even at early stages of the disease, possibly before the infection can spread. That early messaging creates an opportunity to snoop on the plant through spectroscopy. “We know that this behavior exists in plants and exists among all plants,” says Jordan A. Dowell, a plant biologist at University. So researchers are building libraries of spectra collected from plants in different conditions. The goal is to link a plant’s chemical responses to, for example, fungal infection or attack by a leaf-munching bug. Scientists can do these sorts of studies in greenhouses or in fields using drones or cameras atop towers.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate adaptation alone can fully counteract the effects of climate change. [SEP] Text: Thus, while reuse is a useful option, it depends on the availability of wastewater which, in crisis situations, may be constrained. YieldIt is widely recognized that storage is an integral element of any substantial water resource system, crucial to ensure adequate flows in dry seasons. However, it is often considered solely as part of river management infrastructure. and the IVRS use strategic storage fed slowly by wet season surpluses from external sources to build a reserve that can be drawn down to provide a guaranteed supply during dry periods. This contributes significantly to their reliance against drought and other climate impacts at lower cost than would be required for the development of a new source. and ReliabilityOne of the features of both water and power projects in Southern and is how little recognition is given to the financial and economic benefits of reliability and resilience of supply. This was forcefully illustrated by the economic losses suffered by due to 3 years of water restrictions. But the economies of countries dependent on Zambezi hydropower have also been significantly constrained by the power cuts and rationing, and Windhoek’s economic activity has been curtailed by water shortages. There is a need for more nuanced analysis of the funding of schemes that enhance resilience and reliability of supply since these values are often not included in user charges and benefit a wider public than the direct users. Operational PrioritiesWill be CriticalGiven the intensification of hydrological analysis and decision-making, water management institutions will have to ensure that they have the capabilities to respond to the emerging challenges. This will require appropriate structures as well as the development and retention of the specialist skills, often in collaboration with specialized institutions of higher education. Is RequiredIn all the water supply cases, current investment has been insufficient to achieve resilience to current climate variability. While this is often viewed as a problem that can be resolved by establishing effective markets for water (and also to power), the benefits of assured supplies spill far beyond the direct users to the wider society although they may only be fully realized in the longer term. This means that the full value of the water project outputs cannot be captured by prices alone and different financial arrangements are required that reflect the long-run economic benefits of secure supplies. Where water projects, notably hydropower, directly mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, this should be reflected in financial terms. Current “green finance” proposals will only be of assistance if loan conditions address these structural constraints.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Beauveria bassiana is a fungal pathogen that can effectively control locust populations. [SEP] Text: Larval deaths were inspected and recorded every three days. The moisture of the soil was maintained by moistening it with sterile water daily. The cadavers were taken off the soil and surface sterilized with 1% sodium hypochlorite for 2 minutes, followed by 70% ethanol for 10 seconds, and rinsed three times with sterile water. Surface-disinfected larval cadavers were placed on sterile plastic plates with slightly wetted filter paper and incubated at room temperature up to the sporulation of outgrown mycelia. The sporulation of B. bassiana and M. robertsii over the dead cadavers was examined, and the spores were harvested by a sterilized inoculating wire loop, transferred onto Agar (SDA) Microxpress® media, and incubated at 27±1°C for 14–21 days. Isolates were purified by subculturing on newly prepared SDA media, and pure cultures were preserved with glycerol and maintained on agar at -19°C for further work. Morphological identification and characterization of isolatesFungal isolates were morphologically identified and characterized using the identification key of Humber (Humber, 1997), depending on fungal structures acquired from pure culture (Gürlek et al. , 2018). In addition to the new isolates, three B. bassiana (APPRC-44-44BC-1, and APPRC-27) and one M. robertsii (S-26) isolates were also characterized from the as standard checks for the comparison of isolates. Consequently, the morphologies of B. bassiana and M. robertsii were characterized by the culturing of pure cultures on the SDA media, and inspection was done for 14–21 days. Both macroscopic and microscopic characterization of isolates was conducted by observation of morphological features of isolates. Macroscopic features such as mycelial color, colony reverse, colony shape and color, colony elevation, and surface texture were observed. Microscopic characterization of isolates was also done under an Olympus SC50 (CX33RTFS2, Olympus Corporation) microscope with ×40 magnification (Barra et al. , 2013) by measuring conidial length and diameter, hyphal growth, and conidiogenous cells using the slide culture technique.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Genetic engineering in agriculture can improve crop resistance to pests and diseases. [SEP] Text: The researchers compared hyperspectral and thermal images of trees afflicted with these various conditions, and they were able to find a more specific spectral fingerprint, achieving an accuracy of 92% in detecting the various plant stresses (Nat. Commun. 2021, DOI: 10. 1038/s41467-021-26335-3). Zarco-Tejada’s team is now adding more species, such as peaches and citrus, to its repertoire. “the whole world has become aware of how important the early detection of the infection is,” he says. This is true for plants too as new pathogens arise, current threats spread through international trade, and some from the past reemerge with a warming climate, he adds. Researchers, including Zarco-Tejada and others, are also working to link what they see in the spectra to the processes inside plants. “We can learn something about the biology of the disease and how it progresses by looking at that chemical fingerprint,” Townsend says. Recently, scientists found that hyperspectral imaging could distinguish different sugar beet diseases on the basis of how each disease changed the plants’ levels of chlorophylls, carotenoids, flavonoids, and some phenols (Phytopathology 2023, DOI: 10. 1094/PHYTO-03-22-0086-R). Researchers are starting to combine hyperspectral imaging with studies that screen for genetic variation in a large number of individuals. This combined approach could look for genetic differences that may be favorable for crops (Sci. Rep. 2020, DOI: 10. 1038/s41598-020-65999-7). Meanwhile, others are scouring hyperspectral data for signatures of other plant traits, such as flavor characteristics or disease resistance. Hyperspectral imaging isn’t accessible to most farmers yet, Townsend says, and they may not need that level of sensing power anyway. As scientists sift through hyperspectral data to determine plants’ disease signatures, they can home in on some choice wavelengths that can be applied in far-cheaper multispectral sensors. Related: How technology is helping farmers grow more food with less chemicals Making plants shine There’s another way to tell if plants are stressed: genetically engineer them so they reveal what’s ailing them.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate adaptation alone can fully counteract the effects of climate change. [SEP] Text: Communication to ConsensusWater resource development occurs to a greater or lesser extent in the public domain and is thus subject to public scrutiny and political decision. One of the challenges faced by sector managers is that they address complex issues about which public perceptions may differ widely. Water management institutions need to develop and sustain communication with their stakeholder communities to ensure their support for demand-side interventions as well as for investments on the supply side. Information for “Dynamic Stationarity”The dynamic nature of hydrological systems under climate change means that analysis will no longer rely on standard sets of reference data from a fixed time period. The values of many hydrological variables will be changing in unpredictable ways that will require hydrological data to be updated on a regular basis. This will require an intensification of data collection and management. As one group of commentators remarked, “in a nonstationary world, continuity of observations is critical” (Milly et al. 2008). ConclusionsThe principles that emerged from this review support the initial hypothesis that adaptation to climate change in the water and hydropower sector will best be achieved by following strategies that address current climate variability. All of the principles enunciated are equally appropriate to current climate variability or climate change. The proviso introduced by including climate change is that such interventions should recognize that uncertainties under future climate change are likely to be greater than at present. This reinforces the need for options that allow greater flexibility of approach, but it also highlights the need for a precautionary approach that will see interventions made earlier rather than later, as found to its cost. The idea that interventions should be made sooner rather than later will often meet opposition because it will be seen to reinforce current development trajectories and path dependence. The reason that alternative trajectories are not followed is usually that they are constrained by politics and economics. Even if the intent is to allow economic and social disruption to drive new trajectories, creating water and power crises is unlikely to create the conditions for change. Given the challenges posed by climate change, deliberate disruption of societies and economies is a high risk strategy with little certainty about the likely outcomes. One consistent finding is that the challenges of planning, implementing, and operating large water resource schemes under difficult hydrologies will become more complex as climate change impacts intensify.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Beauveria bassiana is a fungal pathogen that can effectively control locust populations. [SEP] Text: Slide culture preparationThe technique was conducted by autoclaving a 9-cm-diameter Petri dish with filter paper and a bent glass rod. A 15 g-1 of water agar was cut by a 1 cm × 1 cm block with a sterilized scalpel blade and put on a glass slide. Fungal spores were inoculated on the four sides of the agar blocks by a sterile inoculating needle, and coverslips were placed on the block. Moistened filter paper with 2 ml of sterile water was placed over plates, sealed with parafilm, and incubated at 27±1°C. Agar blocks were discarded after incubation for 72 hours, and the slides were moistened with a drop of 97% ethanol and enabled to heat fix by passing on an alcohol lump. A drop of lactophenol blue was used to stain the slide with a coverslip, which was later sealed with nail polish. The slide was placed under a SC50 microscope with ×40 magnification for the observation and characterization of conidiophore structure (Rosana et al. , 2014). Finally, the slides were permanently preserved for further characterization. The characterization and measurement of spore features such as conidial length and diameter were also done using the Sc 50 microscope (magnification, ×40). Spore germination test for the viability of fungal isolatesThe spore germination test was verified by the conidial germination test technique according to standard procedures (Goettel and Inglis, 1997). Fungal spores were harvested from a 21-day-old culture by scraping with a sterilized spatula. Harvested spores were added to 10 ml of sterile water with Tween 80 (0. 001% v/v) as a surfactant in a falcon tube and vortexing. Fungal spores were adjusted to 1 × 106 conidia ml-1 by using a Neubauer hemocytometer (USA) under a SC50 microscope. In total, 100-μl of suspended spores was spread over fresh Agar (PDA) (Himedia®), and two sterilized glass slides were placed on the media and incubated at 28°C for 18 hours. After 18 hours, germination of the spores was halted by dispensing with 70% ethanol.

Output: pass