Mohsinul Kabir, Tasnim Ahmed, Md Mezbaur Rahman
et al.
Cross-cultural competence in large language models (LLMs) requires the ability to identify Culture-Specific Items (CSIs) and to adapt them appropriately across cultural contexts. Progress in evaluating this capability has been constrained by the scarcity of high-quality CSI-annotated corpora with parallel cross-cultural sentence pairs. To address this limitation, we introduce XCR-Bench, a Cross(X)-Cultural Reasoning Benchmark consisting of 4.9k parallel sentences and 1,098 unique CSIs, spanning three distinct reasoning tasks with corresponding evaluation metrics. Our corpus integrates Newmark's CSI framework with Hall's Triad of Culture, enabling systematic analysis of cultural reasoning beyond surface-level artifacts and into semi-visible and invisible cultural elements such as social norms, beliefs, and values. Our findings show that state-of-the-art LLMs exhibit consistent weaknesses in identifying and adapting CSIs related to social etiquette and cultural reference. Additionally, we find evidence that LLMs encode regional and ethno-religious biases even within a single linguistic setting during cultural adaptation. We release our corpus and code to facilitate future research on cross-cultural NLP.
Ahmed S. Alahmed, Audun Botterud, Saurabh Amin
et al.
We develop a mathematical framework to jointly schedule water and electricity in a profit-maximizing renewable colocated water desalination plant that integrates both thermal and membrane based technologies. The price-taking desalination plant sells desalinated water to a water utility at a given price and engages in bidirectional electricity transactions with the grid, purchasing or selling power based on its net electricity demand. We show that the optimal scheduling policy depends on the plant's internal renewable generation and follows a simple threshold structure. Under the optimal policy, thermal based water output decreases monotonically with renewable output, while membrane based water output increases monotonically. We characterize the structure and intuition behind the threshold policy and examine key special properties.
Nicola Cantisani, Jan Lorenz Svensen, Shanmugam Perumal
et al.
We present a novel dynamic model of an electric flash clay calcination plant. Calcined kaolinite-rich clay has been identified as one of the most effective candidates for supplementary cementitious material (SCM), because of its large availability. Calcination of clay is achieved via the dehydroxylation reaction, which does not release CO2 (unlike limestone), but has a considerable energy requirement. The required high temperature can be met by electric resistive heating of the working gas in the plant, that can be powered by renewable energy. Therefore, CO2-free calcination of clay can be achieved. Up to 50\% of the limestone-based clinker can be substituted by calcined clay (CC), making the cement more sustainable. We consider a plant that consists of gas-material cyclones that pre-heat the clay, a calciner, and a gas-recirculation system with electric heating of the gas. The model is formulated as a system of differential-algebraic equations (DAE). The model consists of thermophysical properties, reaction kinetics and stoichiometry, transport, mass and energy balances, and algebraic constraints. The model can be used to perform dynamic simulations with changing inputs, process design, and optimization. Moreover, it can be used to develop model-based control, which is relevant for flexible operation of a clay calcination plant for green cement production.
Language Models (LMs) are indispensable tools shaping modern workflows, but their global effectiveness depends on understanding local socio-cultural contexts. To address this, we introduce SANSKRITI, a benchmark designed to evaluate language models' comprehension of India's rich cultural diversity. Comprising 21,853 meticulously curated question-answer pairs spanning 28 states and 8 union territories, SANSKRITI is the largest dataset for testing Indian cultural knowledge. It covers sixteen key attributes of Indian culture: rituals and ceremonies, history, tourism, cuisine, dance and music, costume, language, art, festivals, religion, medicine, transport, sports, nightlife, and personalities, providing a comprehensive representation of India's cultural tapestry. We evaluate SANSKRITI on leading Large Language Models (LLMs), Indic Language Models (ILMs), and Small Language Models (SLMs), revealing significant disparities in their ability to handle culturally nuanced queries, with many models struggling in region-specific contexts. By offering an extensive, culturally rich, and diverse dataset, SANSKRITI sets a new standard for assessing and improving the cultural understanding of LMs.
Sougata Saha, Saurabh Kumar Pandey, Harshit Gupta
et al.
In a rapidly globalizing and digital world, content such as book and product reviews created by people from diverse cultures are read and consumed by others from different corners of the world. In this paper, we investigate the extent and patterns of gaps in understandability of book reviews due to the presence of culturally-specific items and elements that might be alien to users from another culture. Our user-study on 57 book reviews from Goodreads reveal that 83\% of the reviews had at least one culture-specific difficult-to-understand element. We also evaluate the efficacy of GPT-4o in identifying such items, given the cultural background of the reader; the results are mixed, implying a significant scope for improvement. Our datasets are available here: https://github.com/sougata-ub/reading_between_lines
Dadasoglu Esin, Turan Metin, Yildirim Ertan
et al.
Salinity, is one of the most important problems of the world’s soils, has negative effects on germination and seedling growth, therefore reducing the yield of plants. This study investigated the effects of salt stress and dopamine (DA) treatments on plant growth, physiological parameters and nutritional elements of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) through a pot experiment under greenhouse conditions. In this study, five different levels of DA: D-0 (0 μM), D-50 (50 μM), D-100 (100 μM), D-150 (150 μM), D-200 (200 μM) and three different doses of NaCl: S-0 (0 mM), S-50 (50 mM), S-100 (100 mM) were employed. The effects of salinity and DA on growth, physiological and biochemical properties of bean seedlings were statistically significant. Plant height, stem diameter, leaf area, shoot fresh weight (FW), shoot dry weight (DW), root FW and root DW of bean seedlings treated with 50 mM and 100 mM NaCl were lower than control (0 mM NaCl). However, exogenous DA treatments improved the growth parameters of bean seedlings in both 50-mM and 150-mM salt stress compared with control. 100 mM NaCl stress led to decrease in plant height (45.59%), stem diameter (14.33%), leaf area (62.81%), shoot FW (61.21%), shoot DW (46.70%), root FW (43.47%), root DW (45.33%) and CRV (49.44%) compared with control. Treatment with 100 μM exogenous DA at 100 mM NaCl increased plant FW by 129.30%, plant DW by 20.95%, root FW by 66.67%, root DW by 70.73% and CRV by 25.71%, compared with the control (0 mM NaCl). These findings suggest that DA may be used to decrease the effect of salt stress by inducing the systemic tolerance of plants. Thus, understanding the role of DA in salt tolerance introduces new possibilities to use this compound for agricultural purposes.
Hideki Takahashi, Keisuke Takashima, Shuhei Miyashita
et al.
The treatment of plants with non-thermal atmospheric-pressure plasma impacts several aspects of plant life. However, the effects of long-term plasma irradiation on crop cultivation are not enough investigated. The purpose of the current study is to address this subject. The growth of tomato plants, the preservation status of harvested tomato fruits, and the microbial community on the surface of harvested tomato fruits were compared between 12 long-term plasma-irradiated plants and 12 air-irradiated plants with statistical analyses. The growth parameters (plant height, number of leaves and fruit bunches, SPAD value, and plant dry weight) of the plants that were periodically irradiated with plasma from the three-leaf stage to the green-enlarged-fruit stage, were the same as those of the air-irradiated controls. However, the preservation status of the tomato fruits harvested from the plasma-irradiated plants was improved in comparison with that of the fruits from the air-irradiated controls. Analysis of the microbiome on the surface of the fruit indicated that long-term plasma irradiation during cultivation promoted an increased bacterial diversity on the fruit surface. Thus, the effect of plasma irradiation on the diversification of microbial population dynamics on tomato fruit may be associated with an improved preservation status of harvested tomato fruits.
Dhurrin is a cyanogenic glucoside found in all vegetative tissues of Sorghum bicolor, functioning as a herbivore repellent, antifungal agent, osmoprotectant, and nitrogen (N) storage. Dhurrin concentration is usually highest in young seedlings, where it rapidly accumulates following germination, after which its biosynthesis decreases and its turnover increases as the seedling ages. To avoid prussic acid poisoning from dhurrin catabolism in cattle grazing or foraging on sorghum, numerous research studies now focus on breeding for dhurrin-free or acyanogenic sorghum using EMS (Ethyl methanesulfonate) mutants with a non-functional dhurrin biosynthetic pathway. However, there has been limited and conflicting research investigating the role dhurrin plays as a potential nitrogen source in sorghum’s early seedling growth, especially under N deficiency. It is plausible that the presence of background mutations in dhurrin-free sorghum mutants could mask or confound how the absence of dhurrin affects early seedling growth. Using a naturally occurring (non-mutant) ultra-low dhurrin genotype and known low and high dhurrin genotypes, the current research investigated the importance of dhurrin as a potential endogenous nitrogen source for early seedling growth in simulated non-marginal (N-available) and marginal (N-deficient) media. Dhurrin was implicated to be an N source for seedling growth from 8 to 13 days after planting under deficient N conditions. In N-deficient media at 13 days after planting, high-dhurrin-level genotypes accumulated more seedling fresh shoot biomass than low-dhurrin-level genotypes. Thus, while acyanogenic sorghum will be beneficial in expanding sorghum’s economic value, the use of dhurrin knock-out mutants can prove problematic since the complete lack of dhurrin may affect field germination and stand establishment, particularly under N-deficient or low-N-input conditions.
Gender norms are widely recognized as key determinants of persistent gender gaps in the labor market. However, our understanding of the drivers of gender norms, and their implications for preferences, remain lacking. This paper addresses this gap by examining how cultural assimilation from college peers influences women's early-career labor market decisions. For identification of causal effects, I exploit cross-cohort idiosyncratic variation in peers' geographical origins within Master's programs, combined with unique administrative and survey data covering the universe of college students in Italy. The main finding is that exposure to female classmates originating from areas with more egalitarian gender culture significantly increases women's labor supply, primarily through increased uptake of full-time jobs. A one standard deviation increase in peers' culture increases female earnings by 3.7%. The estimated peer effects are economically significant, representing more than a third of the gender earnings gap. Drawing on comprehensive data on students' job search preferences and newly collected data on their beliefs, I shed novel light on two distinct mechanisms driving peer influence: (1) shifts in preferences for non-pecuniary job attributes, and (2) social learning, particularly on the characteristics of the job offer distribution.
Sebastián Rojas-Innocenti, Enrique Baeyens, Alejandro Martín-Crespo
et al.
The increasing integration of renewable energy sources into power systems is intensifying the demand for greater flexibility among industrial electricity consumers. However, operational constraints, production requirements, and market dynamics pose significant challenges to achieving optimal flexibility. This paper presents an enhanced mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model that directly optimizes electricity consumption flexibility in manufacturing plants. Unlike previous approaches, the proposed model determines optimal transactions with both day-ahead and intraday continuous electricity markets, while ensuring production continuity and adhering to plant-specific operational constraints. The methodology is validated through annual simulations of two real world industrial configurations, cement manufacturing and steel production, using 2023 market data. Comparative results highlight that the steel plant achieved average electricity cost savings through flexibility of 0.41 euro/MWh, whereas the cement plant achieved 0.24 euro/MWh, reflecting differences in storage capacities, production rates, and operational flexibility. A comprehensive sensitivity analysis further identifies key parameters affecting flexibility potential, such as the production to demand ratio, storage capacity, and minimum operation periods. The findings offer valuable insights for industrial operators aiming to reduce energy costs, enhance operational flexibility, and support the decarbonization of electricity systems.
Peter Amoah, Abdoul-Razak Oumarou Mahamane, Moise Hubert Byiringiro
et al.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s agricultural sector faces a multifaceted challenge due to climate change consisting of high temperatures, changing precipitation trends, alongside intensified pest and disease outbreaks. Conventional plant breeding methods have historically contributed to yield gains in Africa, and the intensifying demand for food security outpaces these improvements due to a confluence of factors, including rising urbanization, improved living standards, and population growth. To address escalating food demands amidst urbanization, rising living standards, and population growth, a paradigm shift toward more sustainable and innovative crop improvement strategies is imperative. Genome editing technologies offer a promising avenue for achieving sustained yield increases while bolstering resilience against escalating biotic and abiotic stresses associated with climate change. Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/CRISPR-associated protein (CRISPR/Cas) is unique due to its ubiquity, efficacy, alongside precision, making it a pivotal tool for Sub-Saharan African crop improvement. This review highlights the challenges and explores the prospect of gene editing to secure the region’s future foods.
Benjamin Bois, Catinca Gavrilescu, Sébastien Zito
et al.
Avec des hivers plus doux, une plus grande précocité du débourrement de la vigne pourrait conduire à un accroissement des dégâts de gel au cours du 21ème siècle, en dépit du réchauffement climatique. Toutefois la projection du risque de gelées dans le futur souffre actuellement d’incertitudes. Nous revenons ici sur les éléments à considérer quand on souhaite évaluer le risque de dégâts de gel de printemps et les limites de l’exercice de simulation de ce dernier, en s’appuyant sur des travaux de simulations menées dans la région viticole de Chablis (Bourgogne, France).
Tuan-Anh M. Nguyen, Dagny Grzech, Khoa Chung
et al.
Spirooxindole alkaloids feature a unique scaffold of an oxindole ring sharing an atom with a heterocyclic moiety. These compounds display an extensive range of biological activities such as anticancer, antibiotics, and anti-hypertension. Despite their structural and functional significance, the establishment and rationale of the spirooxindole scaffold biosynthesis are yet to be elucidated. Herein, we report the discovery and characterization of a cytochrome P450 enzyme from kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) responsible for the formation of the spirooxindole alkaloids 3-epi-corynoxeine (3R, 7R) and isocorynoxeine (3S, 7S) from the corynanthe-type (3R)-secoyohimbane precursors. Expression of the newly discovered enzyme in Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast allows for the efficient in vivo and in vitro production of spirooxindoles. This discovery highlights the versatility of plant cytochrome P450 enzymes in building unusual alkaloid scaffolds and opens a gateway to access the prestigious spirooxindole pharmacophore and its derivatives.
IntroductionTilia miqueliana is an endemic species whose population is declining. The permeability barrier and mechanical constraint of the pericarp (seed coat) are important causes of its seed dormancy. Although there has been considerable research on this subject, questions remain regarding how the permeability barrier and mechanical constraint of the seed coat are eliminated during dormancy release and how water enters the seed. Therefore, protecting the species by improving its germination/dormancy breaking in the laboratory is urgentMethodsIn this study, the changes in the cellular structure, mechanical properties, and components of the Tilia miqueliana seed coat after an H2SO4-gibberellic acid (GA3) treatment were analyzed during dormancy release. Various analyses (e.g., magnetic resonance imaging, scanning electron microscopy, and paraffin section detection) revealed the water gap and water channel.ResultsThe H2SO4 treatment eliminated the blockage at the micropyle and hilum of the seeds. Water entered the seeds through the water gap (micropyle) rather than through the hilum or seed coat, after which it dispersed along the radicle, hypocotyl, and cotyledon to the endosperm. During the cold stratification period, the cellular structure was damaged and an increasing number of holes appeared on the inner and outer surfaces of the seed coat. Vickers hardness tests showed that GA3 decreased the seed coat hardness. Additionally, the seed coat lignin and total phenol contents continuously decreased during the cold stratification period. Notably, the Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) analysis of the seed coat detected polyethylene glycol (osmoregulator), which may have destabilized the water potential balance inside and outside the seed and increased the water content to levels required for germination, ultimately accelerating seed dormancy release.DiscussionThis sophisticated and multi-level study reveals how H2SO4 and GA3 eliminate the permeability barrier and mechanical constraints of the seed coat during dormancy release of Tilia miqueliana seeds. This will be beneficial to artificially assist the natural regeneration and population expansion of Tilia miqueliana.
AbstractThe in vitro tissue cultures are, beyond all difficulties, an essential tool in basic research as well as in commercial applications. Numerous works devoted to plant tissue cultures proved how important this part of the plant science is. Despite half a century of research on the issue of obtaining plants in in vitro cultures, many aspects remain unknown. The path associated with the reprogramming of explants in the fully functioning regenerants includes a series of processes that may result in the appearance of morphological, physiological, biochemical or, finally, genetic and epigenetic changes. All these changes occurring at the tissue culture stage and appearing in regenerants as tissue culture-induced variation and then inherited by generative progeny as somaclonal variation may be the result of oxidative stress, which works at the step of explant preparation, and in tissue culture as a result of nutrient components and environmental factors. In this review, we describe the current status of understanding the genetic and epigenetic changes that occur during tissue culture.
We introduce minimal passive physical equivalents of series (damped) elastic actuation (S(D)EA) under closed-loop control to determine the effect of different plant parameters and controller gains on the closed-loop performance of the system and to help establish an intuitive understanding of the passivity bounds. Furthermore, we explicitly derive the feasibility conditions for these passive physical equivalents and compare them to the necessary and sufficient conditions for the passivity of S(D)EA under velocity sourced impedance control (VSIC) to establish their relationship. Through the passive physical equivalents, we rigorously compare the effect of different plant dynamics (e.g., SEA and SDEA) on the system performance. We demonstrate that passive physical equivalents make the effect of controller gains explicit and establish a natural means for effective impedance analysis. We also show that passive physical equivalents promote co-design thinking by enforcing simultaneous and unbiased consideration of (possibly negative) controller gains and plant parameters. We demonstrate the usefulness of negative controller gains when coupled to properly designed plant dynamics. Finally, we provide experimental validations of our theoretical results and characterizations of the haptic rendering performance of S(D)EA under VSIC.
Abstract Background Despite the advances in the techniques of indirect estimation of leaf area, the destructive measurement approaches have still remained as the reference and the most accurate methods. However, even utilizing the modern sensors and applications usually requires the laborious and time-consuming practice of unfolding and analyzing the single leaves, separately. In the present study, a volumetric approach was tested to determine the pile leaf area based on the ratio of leaf volume divided by thickness. For this purpose, the suspension technique was used for volumetry, which is based on the simple practice and calculations of the Archimedes’ principle. Results Wheat volumetric leaf area (VLA), had a high agreement and approximately 1:1 correlation with the conventionally measured optical leaf area (OLA). Exclusion of the midrib volume from calculations, did not affect the estimation error (NRMSE < 2.61%); however, improved the slope of the linear model by about 6%, and also reduced the bias between the methods. The error of sampling for determining mean leaf thickness of the pile, was also less than 2% throughout the season. Besides, a more practical and facilitated version of pile volumetry was tested using Specific Gravity Bench (SGB), which is currently available as a laboratory equipment. As an important observation, which was also expectable according to the leaf 3D expansion (i.e., in a given 2D plane), it was evidenced that the variations in the OLA exactly follows the pattern of the changes in the leaf volume. Accordingly, it was suggested that the relative leaf areas of various experimental treatments might be compared directly based on volume, and independently of leaf thickness. Furthermore, no considerable difference was observed among the OLAs measured using various image resolutions (NRMSE < 0.212%); which indicates that even the superfast scanners with low resolutions as 200 dpi may be used for a precision optical measurement of leaf area. Conclusions It is expected that utilizing the reliable and simple concept of volumetric leaf area, based on which the measurement time might be independent of sample size, facilitate the laborious practice of leaf area measurement; and consequently, improve the precision of field experiments.