Pathogen-induced autophagy regulates monolignol transport and lignin formation in plant immunity.

The evolutionary plant-pathogen arms race has equipped plants with the immune system that can defend against pathogens. Pattern-triggered immunity and effector-triggered immunity are two major branches of innate immunity that share immune responses, including oxidative bursts, transcriptional reprogramming, and cell wall modifications such as lignin deposition. In a previous study, we reported that lignin rapidly accumulates in pathogen-infected leaves and acts as a mechanical barrier, spatially restricting pathogens and cell death.

The transcription factor ORA59 exhibits dual DNA binding specificity that differentially regulates ethylene- and jasmonic acid-induced genes in plant immunity.

Jasmonic acid (JA) and ethylene (ET) signaling modulate plant defense against necrotrophic pathogens in a synergistic and interdependent manner, while JA and ET also have independent roles in certain processes, e.g. in responses to wounding and flooding, respectively.

Color of Copper/Copper Oxide.

Stochastic inhomogeneous oxidation is an inherent characteristic of copper (Cu), often hindering color tuning and bandgap engineering of oxides. Coherent control of the interface between metal and metal oxide remains unresolved. Coherent propagation of an oxidation front in single-crystal Cu thin film is demonstrated to achieve a full-color spectrum for Cu by precisely controlling its oxide-layer thickness.

The Arabidopsis R2R3 MYB Transcription Factor MYB15 Is a Key Regulator of Lignin Biosynthesis in Effector-Triggered Immunity.

Lignin, a major component of the secondary cell wall, is important for plant growth and development. Moreover, lignin plays a pivotal role in plant innate immunity. Lignin is readily deposited upon pathogen infection and functions as a physical barrier that limits the spread of pathogens.

Lignin-based barrier restricts pathogens to the infection site and confers resistance in plants.

Pathogenic bacteria invade plant tissues and proliferate in the extracellular space. Plants have evolved the immune system to recognize and limit the growth of pathogens. Despite substantial progress in the study of plant immunity, the mechanism by which plants limit pathogen growth remains unclear.

Temperature-dependent optical properties of self-doped superconducting Fe-pnictide, SrVOFeAs.

We performed an infrared spectroscopic study on a single crystal of SrVOFeAs grown by a self-flux method. This layered material system consists of two alternative layers of [SrVO] and [SrFeAs]. Since the typical size of single crystalline SrVOFeAs samples is 200 [Formula: see text] 200 [Formula: see text] 10 [Formula: see text]m an optical study on this material is challenging.

An Arabidopsis NAC transcription factor NAC4 promotes pathogen-induced cell death under negative regulation by microRNA164.

Hypersensitive response (HR) is a form of programmed cell death (PCD) and the primary immune response that prevents pathogen invasion in plants. Here, we show that a microRNAmiR164 and its target gene NAC4 (At5g07680), encoding a NAC transcription factor, play essential roles in the regulation of HR PCD in Arabidopsis thaliana. Cell death symptoms were noticeably enhanced in NAC4-overexpressing (35S:NAC4) and mir164 mutant plants in response to avirulent bacterial pathogens.

Novel film patterned retarder utilizing in-plane electric field.

Conventional film patterned retarder (FPR) production requires a photo-alignment layer and a UV exposure process through a patterned wire-grid photo-mask, increasing the cost as well as limiting the resolution of FPR. We proposed a novel method for the fabrication of FPR without using the alignment layer and the photo-mask. Reactive mesogen (RM) was coated on a base film, and then the substrate with 2-domain interdigitated electrodes was contacted over the RM layer.

A highly crystalline manganese-doped iron oxide nanocontainer with predesigned void volume and shape for theranostic applications.

Hollow Mn-doped iron oxide nanocontainers, formed by a novel one-pot synthetic process, fulfill the dual requirements of delivering an effective dose of an anticancer drug to tumor tissue and enabling image-contrast monitoring of the nanocontainer fate through T2 -weighted magnetic resonance imaging, thereby determining the optimal balance between diagnostic and therapeutic moieties in an all-in-one theranostic nanoplatform.

Quantitative assessment of nanoparticle single crystallinity: palladium-catalyzed splitting of polycrystalline metal oxide nanoparticles.

Crystal gazing: A simple Pd-catalyzed site-specific nanoetching method was developed to visualize the polycrystalline nature of Fe(3)O(4) (see picture), Fe(2)O(3), MnFe(2)O(4), CoFe(2)O(4), and MnO nanoparticle systems. The technique relies on the very fast etching speed of the grain interface within bi- or polycrystalline nanocrystals.

F-18 FDG positron emission tomography findings in primary pancreatic lymphoma.

The usefulness of F-18 2'-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) has been well established for lymphoma staging. Although involvement of the pancreas occurs in more than one third of patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, primary lymphoma of the pancreas accounts for less than 1% of extranodal non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Because patients with primary pancreatic lymphoma require a different therapeutic approach and have a better prognosis than those with pancreatic adenocarcinoma, the accurate diagnosis is important.