Oklahoma State University

Abstract Increasing uncertainties in water availability have created challenges for agricultural producers in managing water resources. Understanding farmers’ water use practices as well as their perception on water challenges and irrigation technology adoption is essential for developing effective water management strategies. The study explored the perspective of farmers on water‐related concerns, water management practices, and irrigation technology adoption in the rural, water‐stressed region of Southwest Oklahoma, with a focus on irrigation, livestock, and drinking water. Semi‐structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 24 agricultural producers across the study region. The results showed that water availability and quality were of primary concern to the participants regarding irrigation water sources in the region. Livestock producers expressed quality concerns in ponds and wells and felt impelled to explore alternative water sources to safeguard livestock health. While most participants considered their drinking water source dependable, concerns regarding quality, taste, and aging infrastructure were noted. The study also highlights the perspectives of farmers in irrigation technology adoption. Participants valued affordable, reliable, and user‐friendly technologies to support them in irrigation management. Although some participants were reluctant to integrate technology into their farming practices, most of them expressed willingness to adopt if the barriers such as cost, complexity, and reliability were addressed. Overall, the findings underscore the importance of integrating farmers’ perspective into the development of water management strategies, given their efforts to water saving strategies and openness to technology adoption.

Service robots have been adopted in many industries, including hospitality. Yet the conditions under which customers see these robotic assistants as social entities remain unclear. This research investigates how different levels of social influence, including a service robot’s communication skills (i.e., congruent co-verbal gestures), the degree of commensality (i.e., social practice of dining together), and customers’ interactive experiences (i.e., interaction with the robot), shape human–robot interaction and subsequent service robot adoption. Three interconnected studies, including two online experiments and one field study at a restaurant, were conducted based on social impact theory. The results suggest that customers require a certain level of social influence to perceive a service robot’s social presence. This type of presence is the primary factor informing service robot adoption at low to moderate levels of social influence. However, as the level of social influence increases, customers begin to rely more on their interactive experiences (e.g., while dining or interacting with the service robot directly) when making adoption decisions. This research offers several meaningful implications. Theoretically, it is one of the first to experimentally assess the effects of social presence, customers’ dining experiences, and interactivity on service robot adoption under varying levels of social influence. Practically, it provides useful insights for managers by contextualizing customers’ real-world behavior in a restaurant setting.

Integration of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome into the host chromosome of infected patients poses a threat to those with HBV-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV-HCC) due to challenges in early diagnosis and poor prognosis. CircRNAs are known for their oncogenic and biomarker potential in various cancers, including HBV-HCC, by sequestering tumor suppressive miRNAs, which, when free, can silence the expression of oncogenic mRNAs. Therefore, we aimed to develop a bioinformatic model to identify the circRNA-miRNA-mRNA axis in HBV-integrated HCC cell lines and to identify prognostic biomarkers specific to HBV-HCC patients. We identified dysregulated host circRNAs and mRNAs in HBV-negative and HBV-integrated cells using RNA-seq, followed by differential gene expression analysis with DESeq, and performed pathway analysis using Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). Junctional sequences of the circRNAs were validated by Sanger sequencing of the amplified products. RT-qPCR further confirmed the dysregulation of 9 randomly selected circRNAs chosen from those with the highest fold-change and adjusted p-values. The miRNA partners for each circRNA were identified using mirDB. miRNA expression validation was performed using the publicly available Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database of the same cells, and Empirical Cumulative Distribution Function (ECDF) plots were generated to assess the fold change of mRNAs in potential binding miRNA partners. The mRNA targets for 10 miRNA ECDF plots were subjected to Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis, and hub genes were identified using Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) Cytohubba protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis. Survival analysis of hub genes was plotted, and a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network was constructed using Cytoscape. We identified 494 dysregulated circRNAs, 346 dysregulated miRNAs, and 10,419 dysregulated mRNA in HBV-integrated cells through a comprehensive bioinformatic model. circADGRL2 (~ 25-fold) showed the highest upregulation and miR-361-5p acted as a central node of multiple circRNAs: circADGRL2, circPROX1 and circPALS2. BDNF, a target mRNA of miR-361-5p, was identified as the highest risk ratio in HBV-HCC patients, suggesting a possible circADGRL2-miR-361-5p-BDNF axis involved in HBV-HCC. The target mRNAs of miRNAs were predicted to be associated with several cancer pathways, such as MAPK and RAS. Our data suggest a potential dysregulated circRNA-miRNA-mRNA axis in HBV-integrated hepatocytes, which may indicate a poor prognosis for HBV-HCC patients.