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The diffusion of social networking platforms ushered in a new age of peer-to-peer distributed online advertising content, widely referred to as viral advertising. The current study proposes a social networks approach to the study of viral advertising and identifying influencers. Expanding beyond the conventional retweets metrics to include Twitter mentions as connection in the network, this study identifies three groups of influencers, based on their connectivity in their networks: Hubs, or highly retweeted users, are Primary Influencers; Bridges, or highly mentioned users who associate connect users who would otherwise be disconnected, are Contextual Influencers, and Isolates are the Low Influence users. Each of these users’ roles in viral advertising is discussed and illustrated through the Heineken’s Worlds Apart campaign as a case study. Providing a unique examination of viral advertising from a network paradigm, our study advances scholarship on social media influencers and their contribution to content virality on digital platforms.

Floret fertility is a key determinant of the number of grains per inflorescence in cereals. During the evolution of wheat (Triticum sp.), floret fertility has increased, such that current bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivars set three to five grains per spikelet. However, little is known regarding the genetic basis of floret fertility. The locus Grain Number Increase 1 (GNI1) is shown here to be an important contributor to floret fertility. GNI1 evolved in the Triticeae through gene duplication. The gene, which encodes a homeodomain leucine zipper class I (HD-Zip I) transcription factor, was expressed most abundantly in the most apical floret primordia and in parts of the rachilla, suggesting that it acts to inhibit rachilla growth and development. The level of GNI1 expression has decreased over the course of wheat evolution under domestication, leading to the production of spikes bearing more fertile florets and setting more grains per spikelet. Genetic analysis has revealed that the reduced-function allele GNI-A1 contributes to the increased number of fertile florets per spikelet. The RNAi-based knockdown of GNI1 led to an increase in the number of both fertile florets and grains in hexaploid wheat. Mutants carrying an impaired GNI-A1 allele out-yielded WT allele carriers under field conditions. The data show that gene duplication generated evolutionary novelty affecting floret fertility while mutations favoring increased grain production have been under selection during wheat evolution under domestication.

Wheat (Triticum spp.) is one of the founder crops that likely drove the Neolithic transition to sedentary agrarian societies in the Fertile Crescent more than 10,000 years ago. Identifying genetic modifications underlying wheat’s domestication requires knowledge about the genome of its allo-tetraploid progenitor, wild emmer (T. turgidum ssp. dicoccoides). We report a 10.1-gigabase assembly of the 14 chromosomes of wild tetraploid wheat, as well as analyses of gene content, genome architecture, and genetic diversity. With this fully assembled polyploid wheat genome, we identified the causal mutations in Brittle Rachis 1 (TtBtr1) genes controlling shattering, a key domestication trait. A study of genomic diversity among wild and domesticated accessions revealed genomic regions bearing the signature of selection under domestication. This reference assembly will serve as a resource for accelerating the genome-assisted improvement of modern wheat varieties.

The emergent body of scholarship on social media influencers (SMIs) highlights their potential to yield positive brand advertising outcomes. However, the literature is undermined by the lack of clarity regarding how SMIs conceptually compare to celebrity endorsers and their impact on advertising outcomes. The study aims to clarify these differences via a meta-analysis of 39 experimental studies (total sample size = 13,766) of SMI effects from 2010 through March 2024. Findings reveal that SMIs are more effective than brand-only advertising and that there is no significant difference between SMIs and celebrity endorsers. Taking these factors into consideration, the effects are moderated by perceived credibility and influencer types, indicating that mega-influencers are relatively more persuasive, while nano-influencers are less persuasive compared to celebrities, respectively. Findings imply that there is a “sweet spot” wherein SMIs are most effective and distinct from celebrity endorsers, providing support for more nuanced conceptualizations of SMIs and calling for future research to explore additional enhancing and attenuating factors.

Key messageWild emmer allele of GNI-A1 ease competition among developing grains through the suppression of floret fertility and increase grain weight in tetraploid wheat.Grain yield is a highly polygenic trait determined by the number of grains per unit area, as well as by grain weight. In wheat, grain number and grain weight are usually negatively correlated. Yet, the genetic basis underlying trade-off between the two is mostly unknown. Here, we fine-mapped a grain weight QTL using wild emmer introgressions in a durum wheat background and showed that grain weight is associated with the GNI-A1 gene, a regulator of floret fertility. In-depth characterization of grain number and grain weight indicated that suppression of distal florets by the wild emmer GNI-A1 allele increases weight of proximal grains in basal and central spikelets due to alteration in assimilate distribution. Re-sequencing of GNI-A1 in tetraploid wheat demonstrated the rich allelic repertoire of the wild emmer gene pool, including a rare allele which was present in two gene copies and contained a nonsynonymous mutation in the C-terminus of the protein. Using an F2 population generated from a cross between wild emmer accessions Zavitan, which carries the rare allele, and TTD140, we demonstrated that this unique polymorphism is associated with grain weight, independent of grain number. Moreover, we showed, for the first time, that GNI-A1 proteins are transcriptional activators and that selection targeted compromised activity of the protein. Our findings expand the knowledge of the genetic basis underlying trade-off between key yield components and may contribute to breeding efforts for enhanced grain yield.

Wheat is one of the Neolithic founder crops domesticated ∼10 500 years ago. Following the domestication episode, its evolution under domestication has resulted in various genetic modifications. Grain weight, embryo weight, and the interaction between those factors were examined among domesticated durum wheat and its direct progenitor, wild emmer wheat. Experimental data show that grain weight has increased over the course of wheat evolution without any parallel change in embryo weight, resulting in a significantly reduced (30%) embryo weight/grain weight ratio in domesticated wheat. The genetic factors associated with these modifications were further investigated using a population of recombinant inbred substitution lines that segregated for chromosome 2A. A cluster of loci affecting grain weight and shape was identified on the long arm of chromosome 2AL. Interestingly, a novel locus controlling embryo weight was mapped on chromosome 2AS, on which the wild emmer allele promotes heavier embryos and greater seedling vigour. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a QTL for embryo weight in wheat. The results suggest a differential selection of grain and embryo weight during the evolution of domesticated wheat. It is argued that conscious selection by early farmers favouring larger grains and smaller embryos appears to have resulted in a significant change in endosperm weight/embryo weight ratio in the domesticated wheat. Exposing the genetic factors associated with endosperm and embryo size improves our understanding of the evolutionary dynamics of wheat under domestication and is likely to be useful for future wheat-breeding efforts.

A national poll and a content analysis of network newscasts examined if coverage of foreign nations had an agenda-setting influence. The more media coverage a nation received, the more likely respondents were to think the nation was vitally important to U.S. interests, supporting the agenda-setting hypothesis. The more negative coverage a nation received, the more likely respondents were to think negatively about the nation, supporting the second level of agenda setting. Positive coverage of a nation had no influence on public perceptions.

Roots are the main channel for water and nutrient uptake in plants. Optimization of root architecture provides a viable strategy to improve nutrient and water uptake efficiency and maintain crop productivity under water-limiting and nutrient-poor conditions. We know little, however, about the genetic control of root development in wheat, a crop supplying 20% of global calorie and protein intake. To improve our understanding of the genetic control of seminal root development in wheat, we conducted a high-throughput screen for variation in seminal root number using an exome-sequenced mutant population derived from the hexaploid wheat cultivar Cadenza. The screen identified seven independent mutants with homozygous and stably altered seminal root number phenotypes. One mutant, Cadenza0900, displays a recessive extra seminal root number phenotype, while six mutants (Cadenza0062, Cadenza0369, Cadenza0393, Cadenza0465, Cadenza0818 and Cadenza1273) show lower seminal root number phenotypes most likely originating from defects in the formation and activation of seminal root primordia. Segregation analysis in F2 populations suggest that the phenotype of Cadenza0900 is controlled by multiple loci whereas the Cadenza0062 phenotype fits a 3:1 mutant:wild-type segregation ratio characteristic of dominant single gene action. This work highlights the potential to use the sequenced wheat mutant population as a forward genetic resource to uncover novel variation in agronomic traits, such as seminal root architecture.

Fingerprints provide indisputable forensic evidence for establishing identity. Latent fingerprints, often visualized with black magnetic powder and recovered with adhesive tape, can be matched to police databases for identification. However, determining the time since deposition (TSD) is crucial to temporally tie the fingerprints to the crime. Despite extensive efforts, no reliable method exists for determining TSD. This study presents a workflow for directly dating fingerprints using ultrafast 2-dimensional desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS). The fingerprints are analyzed directly from a forensic tape after development with magnetic powder. This method aims to enable dating of fingerprints collected from virtually any non-porous surface. The study involved 744 fingerprints from 330 volunteers, aged up to 15 days under various conditions. Data analysis using the XGBoost and SMOTE algorithms achieved a correlation of 0.54 (p-value < 1e −5 ) between TSD prediction and true TSD, achieving 83.3% accuracy in distinguishing between 0-4 days and 10–15 days old prints. Key imaging parameters, such as DESI-MS scan rate, mass range, scan area, spatial resolution, and imaging mode, were optimized to enhance age determination precision and support rapid processing within forensic workflows. This research, conducted in collaboration between police forensic units and an academic institution, integrates seamlessly into practical forensic applications.

This volume provides a comprehensive examination of key issues regarding global communication, focusing particularly on international news and strategic communication. It addresses those news factors that influence the newsworthiness of international events, providing a synthesis of both theoretical and practical studies that highlight the complicated nature of the international news selection process. It also deals with international news coverage, presenting research on the cross-national and cross-cultural nature of media coverage of global events, in the interdisciplinary context of research on political communication, war coverage, new technologies and online communication. The work concludes with a focus on global strategic communications: in the age of globalization, global economies and cross-national media ownership, chapters here provide readers with some of the most up-to-date research on international advertising, public relations and other key issues in international communications. With contributions from many of the leading scholars in the field of international media communication research, this collection presents a valuable resource for advancing knowledge and understanding of the complicated international communication phenomenon. It will be of value to upper-level undergraduates and graduate students in mass media and communication programs, and to scholars whose research focuses on global communication research. Guy J. Golan is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication of Seton Hall University. He completed his Masters degree in New York University and his doctorate from the University of Florida. Golan’s research focuses on international communication, political communication, media effects and social media. Prior to entering academia, Golan worked as a political campaign professional in Israel. Wayne Wanta holds the Welch-Bridgewater chair at the Oklahoma State University. He is a former president of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, which awarded him the Krieghbaum Under-40 for outstanding contributions to teaching, research and service. He has more than 150 refereed journal articles and convention papers and has lectured and delivered research presentations in 32 different countries. His research has been published in Egypt, Poland, Slovakia, Germany and Argentina. Prior to teaching at Missouri, Florida, Oregon and Southern Illinois, he received Ph.D. and master’s degrees from the University of Texas and a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin. Thomas J. Johnson is the Marshall and Sharleen Formby Regents Professor in convergent media and a professor of journalism in the College of Mass Communications at Texas Tech University. His research interests are public opinion and political communication research, particularly the role of new media in presidential elections. More recently, he have concentrated on how people use the Internet and its components such as blog and social network sites He has also studied what effect online media have on individuals and examined credibility of both U.S. and foreign media.