Evaluating working memory in young individuals with normal hearing through tele-assessment and traditional assessment: a comparative study.

Aim: This pilot study examined the feasibility of tele-assessment of working memory (WM) compared to conventional face-to-face assessment.

Methods: In total, 15 young adults aged between 18 and 30 years who were native speakers of Kannada with normal hearing completed three WM tests in Indian English: forward digit span, backward digit span, and n-back task through tele-assessment and in-person/face-to-face assessment. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) task load index, which assesses subjective workload, was used to determine the difficulties across the two modes of assessment.

Phylogenetic analysis, molecular characterization and virulence profiling based on toxoflavin gene of an Indian BG1 strain of causing panicle blight of rice.

Unlabelled: Bacterial panicle blight (BPB) caused by (BG) has become significantly more prevalent in the rice-growing regions of North India. Based on virulence screening and in vitro quantification of toxoflavin, the BG strains were classified as hyper- (BG1 and BG3), moderate- (BG2, BG4, BG6, BG8, and BG9), and hypo- (BG5, BG7, and BG10) virulent. Plant inoculation assays with cell-free culture filtrate revealed strains with higher toxoflavin-producing ability had higher virulence.

Rice transcriptome upon infection with pv. relative to its avirulent T3SS-defective strain exposed modulation of many stress responsive genes.

Unlabelled: pv. (Xoo) is a destructive pathogen that causes bacterial blight disease of rice worldwide. Xoo uses T3SS (type III secretion system) effectors to subvert rice innate immunity.