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Small peptides and proteins play critical regulatory roles in plant development and environmental stress responses; however, only a few of these molecules have been identified and characterized to date because of their poor annotation and other experimental challenges. Here, we present that rice (Oryza sativa L.) OsS1Fa1, a small 76-amino acid protein, confers drought stress tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana. OsS1Fa1 was highly expressed in leaf, culm, and root tissues of rice seedlings during vegetative growth and was significantly induced under drought stress. OsS1Fa1 overexpression in Arabidopsis induced the expression of selected drought-responsive genes and enhanced the survival rate of transgenic lines under drought. The proteasome inhibitor MG132 protected the OsS1Fa1 protein from degradation. Together, our data indicate that the small protein OsS1Fa1 is induced by drought and is post-translationally regulated, and the ectopic expression of OsS1Fa1 protects plants from drought stress.

Aim: To determine vitamin D deficiency risk and other lifestyle factors in children aged 2–17 years presenting with an acute fracture to Sunshine Hospital. Methods: A prospective observational study was undertaken using a convenience sample data collected from children aged 2–17 years of age presenting with an acute fracture. Recruitment was undertaken over a 3-month period from February to May 2014. Risk factors for vitamin D deficiency (skin pigmentation, hours spent outdoors, sunscreen use and obesity) were identified. Patients providing consent, had measurements of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD). Vitamin D deficiency was defined as

The sensing characteristics of toluene gas are monitored by fabricating ZnO nanorod structures. ZnO nanostructured sensor materials are produced on a Zn film via an ultrasonic process in a 0.01 M aqueous solution of C6H12N4 and Zn(NO3)2∙6H2O. The response of the sensors subjected to heat treatment in oxygen and nitrogen atmospheres is improved by 20% and 10%, respectively. The improvement is considered to be correlated with the increase in grain size. The relationship between the heat treatment and sensing characteristics is evaluated.