Identifying representational structure in CA1 to benchmark theoretical models of cognitive mapping.

Decades of theoretical and empirical work have suggested the hippocampus instantiates some form of a cognitive map. Yet, tests of competing theories have been limited in scope and largely qualitative in nature. Here, we develop a novel framework to benchmark model predictions against observed neuronal population dynamics as animals navigate a series of geometrically distinct environments.

First report of Alternaria leaf spot caused by on broccoli in North Carolina, United States.

In September 2023, broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) 'Sweet Bunch' plants on an organic farm in Buncombe County, North Carolina (NC), displayed symptoms of Alternaria leaf spot. Disease affected 10 to 20% of leaf area on all (approximately 30) plants.

A qPCR assay for specific detection of pv. .

Pseudomonas cannabina pv. alisalensis is a gram-negative bacterium that causes bacterial leaf blight in Brassica crops, an important disease that could bring severe damage to the host plants. The aim of this study was to develop a tool that can reliably and accurately quantify P.

Progression of Gummy Stem Blight Epidemics on Watermelon with and without Fungicide Inputs.

Gummy stem blight (GSB), caused primarily by the fungus Stagonosporopsis citrulli in the southeastern United States, affects cucurbits and is particularly destructive on watermelon. Previous epidemiological models of GSB constructed for greenhouse cucumber showed leaf wetness and temperature were the primary and secondary environmental factors, respectively, that explained epidemic progress. The objective of this study was to construct a model that predicted GSB severity on field-grown watermelon based on environmental factors.

Distinct neural mechanisms for heading retrieval and context recognition in the hippocampus during spatial reorientation.

Reorientation, the process of regaining one's bearings after becoming lost, requires identification of a spatial context (context recognition) and recovery of facing direction within that context (heading retrieval). We previously showed that these processes rely on the use of features and geometry, respectively. Here, we examine reorientation behavior in a task that creates contextual ambiguity over a long timescale to demonstrate that male mice learn to combine both featural and geometric cues to recover heading.

Attentional warnings caused by driver monitoring systems: How often do they appear and how well are they understood?

The present study investigated the effects of a driver monitoring system that triggers attention warnings in case distraction is detected. Based on the EuroNCAP protocol, distraction could either be long glances away from the forward roadway (≥3s) or visual attention time sharing (>10 cumulative seconds within a 30 s time interval). In a series of manual driving simulator drives, 30 participants completed both driving related tasks (e.

Recovery of from Chopped, Bagged Kale ( var. ).

was found on pieces of chopped, bagged kale held 1 week beyond the typical postharvest storage period. Three of 11 isolates were identified as based on species-specific primers and multilocus genotyping with the translation elongation factor 1-alpha, RNA polymerase second largest subunit, and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene regions. Four isolates of and four isolates comprising two unidentified species also were found.

Test procedure for the evaluation of partially automated driving HMI including driver monitoring systems in driving simulation.

The proposed test procedure presents an approach for the evaluation of the usability of partial automated driving HMI including driver monitoring systems in driving simulation. This procedure is based on a definition of requirements that a Level 2 HMI and its included driver monitoring system must fulfill in order to guarantee that the drivers understand their responsibilities of continuously monitoring the driving environment and the status of the partial automated driving system. These requirements are used to define the evaluation criteria that have to be validated in the test as well as the use cases in which these criteria can be assessed.

Widespread Resistance to Tebuconazole and Cross-Resistance to Other DMI Fungicides in Isolated from Watermelon in South Carolina.

Tebuconazole, a demethylation-inhibitor (DMI) fungicide, is widely used on watermelon and muskmelon because it is inexpensive and has been effective against , the primary causal agent of gummy stem blight in the southeastern United States. Most isolates (94% of 251) collected from watermelon in South Carolina in 2019 and 2021 were moderately resistant to tebuconazole at 3.0 mg/liter in vitro.

Gummy stem blight: One disease, three pathogens.

Gummy stem blight (GSB) is a major disease of cucurbits worldwide. It is caused by three fungal species that are morphologically identical and have overlapping geographic and host ranges. Controlling GSB is challenging due to the lack of resistant cultivars and the pathogens' significant ability to develop resistance to systemic fungicides.

Distinct neural mechanisms for heading retrieval and context recognition in the hippocampus during spatial reorientation.

Reorientation, the process of regaining one's bearings after becoming lost, requires identification of a spatial context (context recognition) and recovery of heading direction within that context (heading retrieval). We previously showed that these processes rely on the use of features and geometry, respectively. Here, we examine reorientation behavior in a task that creates contextual ambiguity over a long timescale to demonstrate that mice learn to combine both featural and geometric cues to recover heading with experience.

QTL mapping of resistance to Pseudoperonospora cubensis clade 2, mating type A1, in Cucumis melo and dual-clade marker development.

This is the first identification of QTLs underlying resistance in Cucumis melo to an isolate of Pseudoperonospora cubensis identified as Clade 2/mating type A1. Pseudoperonospora cubensis, causal organism of cucurbit downy mildew (CDM), causes severe necrosis and defoliation on Cucumis melo (melon). A recombinant inbred line population (N = 169) was screened against an isolate of P.

Population dynamics of head-direction neurons during drift and reorientation.

The head direction (HD) system functions as the brain's internal compass, classically formalized as a one-dimensional ring attractor network. In contrast to a globally consistent magnetic compass, the HD system does not have a universal reference frame. Instead, it anchors to local cues, maintaining a stable offset when cues rotate and drifting in the absence of referents.

Grafting Tomato to Manage Southern Blight, Prevent Yield Loss, and Increase Crop Value.

Southern blight, caused by the soilborne fungus , has increased in frequency and severity in the southern United States since the use of methyl bromide fumigation ceased. The objective of this study was to evaluate three cultivars of sticky nightshade (), previously used as tomato rootstocks because of resistance to root-knot nematode, for resistance to southern blight. Field experiments in infested soil were done in Georgia in 2020 and 2021 and in South Carolina in 2021.

Differential Susceptibility of Two Pollenizer Watermelons to Five Species of and .

Pollenizer watermelon () must be planted alongside triploid watermelon cultivars to provide a source of pollen. Early season death of pollenizer watermelon cultivars SP-6 and SP-7 was observed in a research field in Charleston County, SC, in April 2022, 3 to 4 weeks after transplanting. Disease incidence was 15 and 12% for the two cultivars, respectively.

The impact of speech-based assistants on the driver's cognitive distraction.

Speech-based interfaces can be a promising alternative and/or addition to visual-manual interfaces since they reduce visual-manual distraction while driving. However, there are also findings indicating that speech-based assistants may be a source of cognitive distraction. The aim of this experiment was to quantify drivers' cognitive distraction while interacting with speech-based assistants.

Making Sense of the Multiplicity and Dynamics of Navigational Codes in the Brain.

Since the discovery of conspicuously spatially tuned neurons in the hippocampal formation over 50 years ago, characterizing which, where, and how neurons encode navigationally relevant variables has been a major thrust of navigational neuroscience. While much of this effort has centered on the hippocampal formation and functionally-adjacent structures, recent work suggests that spatial codes, in some form or another, can be found throughout the brain, even in areas traditionally associated with sensation, movement, and executive function. In this review, we highlight these unexpected results, draw insights from comparison of these codes across contexts, regions, and species, and finally suggest an avenue for future work to make sense of these diverse and dynamic navigational codes.

Within-Season Shift in Fungicide Sensitivity Profiles of Populations in Response to Chemical Control.

Cucurbit downy mildew, caused by , is an important disease affecting cucurbits worldwide. Chemical control is an effective method for disease control but has a high risk for developing resistance to fungicides. Alternating fungicides with different modes of action is recommended to avoid an increase of resistant subpopulations.

The representation of context in mouse hippocampus is preserved despite neural drift.

The hippocampus is thought to mediate episodic memory through the instantiation and reinstatement of context-specific cognitive maps. However, recent longitudinal experiments have challenged this view, reporting that most hippocampal cells change their tuning properties over days even in the same environment. Often referred to as neural or representational drift, these dynamics raise questions about the capacity and content of the hippocampal code.

Field Occurrence and Overwintering of Oospores of in the Southeastern United States.

In the United States, the cucurbit downy mildew pathogen, , has been shown to form oospores under laboratory conditions, but there are no reports on the formation of oospores in naturally infected cucurbit plants in the field. This study investigated the occurrence of oospores in naturally infected leaves from cucurbit fields in North Carolina and South Carolina from 2018 to 2020. Oospore viability and survival was also determined outdoors during the winter in North Carolina during this study period using soil containing leaves infested with oospores.

Efficacy of Fungicides Used to Manage Downy Mildew in Cucumber Assessed with Multiple Meta-Analysis Techniques.

A nationwide, quantitative synthesis of fungicide efficacy data on management of cucurbit downy mildew (CDM) caused by is needed to broadly evaluate fungicide performance. Three-level meta-analysis, three-level meta-regression, and network meta-analyses were conducted on data from 46 cucumber () CDM fungicide efficacy studies conducted in the eastern United States retrieved from published between 2009 and 2018. Three response variables were examined in each analysis: disease severity, marketable yield, and total yield, from which percent disease control and percent yield return compared with nontreated controls was calculated.