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Photothermal therapy (PTT) has garnered considerable attention as an attractive treatment tool for cancer due to precisely selective treatment and minimal side effects. The primary challenge of PTT, which hinders its widespread application, is the limited therapeutic depth. This limitation arises from optical scattering in biological tissues, causing inadequate heat distribution within the deep tissue. To overcome this challenge, ultrasound‐assisted PTT (ULTRA‐PTT) is proposed that leverages the temporary formation of gas bubbles induced by ultrasound within the light propagation path. These bubbles act as optical clearing agents, effectively reducing optical scattering in biological tissues. To facilitate ULTRA‐PTT, a dedicated handpiece consisting of a ring‐shaped ultrasound transducer and a laser delivery module is developed. In‐vivo experiments show that ULTRA‐PTT statistically outperforms conventional PTT in melanoma treatment, mostly due to its ability to deliver sufficient laser energy to deep‐seated cancer cells. These findings underscore the potential of ULTRA‐PTT to expand the clinical applications of PTT beyond local tumors occurring in superficial tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We give two characterizations of Pareto optimality via "near" weighted utilitarian welfare maximization. One characterization sequentially maximizes utilitarian welfare functions using a finite sequence of nonnegative and eventually positive welfare weights. The other maximizes a utilitarian welfare function with a certain class of positive hyperreal weights. The social welfare ordering represented by these "near" weighted utilitarian welfare criteria is characterized by the standard axioms for weighted utilitarianism under a suitable weakening of the continuity axiom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The similarity in metabolite types of the newly identified metabolites indicates that lysoPC may be involved in the pathogenesis of AD. The selected metabolites are represented by compound ID (annotated name) and RT m/z. gl To evaluate the discriminative ability of the key metabolites in diagnosing AD, we conducted a univariate receiver operating characteristic curve analysis (Figure 1B). The clinical parameters included the severity index of AD (scoring of atopic dermatitis, SCORAD), the total serum IgE (kU/L), specific IgE to I D.f i (kU/L), and eosinophil (%). [Extracted from the article]

Cellular senescence is protective against external oncogenic stress, but its accumulation causes aging‐related diseases. Forkhead box O4 (FOXO4) and p53 are human transcription factors known to promote senescence by interacting with each other and activating p21 transcription. Inhibition of the interaction is a strategy for inducing apoptosis of senescent cells, but the binding surfaces that mediate the FOXO4–p53 interaction remain elusive. Here, we investigated two binding sites involved in the interaction between FOXO4 and p53 by NMR spectroscopy. NMR chemical shift perturbation analysis showed that the binding between FOXO4's forkhead domain (FHD) and p53's transactivation domain (TAD), and between FOXO4's C‐terminal transactivation domain (CR3) and p53's DNA‐binding domain (DBD), mediate the FOXO4–p53 interaction. Isothermal titration calorimetry data showed that both interactions have micromolar Kd values, and FOXO4 FHD–p53 TAD interaction has a higher binding affinity. We also showed that the intramolecular CR3‐binding surface of FOXO4 FHD interacts with p53 TAD2, and FOXO4 CR3 interacts with the DNA/p53 TAD‐binding surface of p53 DBD, suggesting a network of potentially competitive and/or coordinated interactions. Based on these results, we propose that a network of intramolecular and intermolecular interactions contributes to the two transcription factors' proper localisation on the p21 promoter and consequently promotes p21 transcription and cell senescence. This work provides structural information at the molecular level that is key to understanding the interplay of two proteins responsible for cellular senescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a member of the Alphaproteobacteria that pathogenises plants and associates with biotic and abiotic surfaces via a single cellular pole. A. tumefaciens produces the unipolar polysaccharide (UPP) at the site of surface contact. UPP production is normally surface‐contact inducible, but elevated levels of the second messenger cyclic diguanylate monophosphate (cdGMP) bypass this requirement. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that the UPP has a central polysaccharide component. Using an A. tumefaciens derivative with elevated cdGMP and mutationally disabled for other dispensable polysaccharides, a series of related genetic screens have identified a large number of genes involved in UPP biosynthesis, most of which are Wzx‐Wzy‐type polysaccharide biosynthetic components. Extensive analyses of UPP production in these mutants have revealed that the UPP is composed of two genetically, chemically, and spatially discrete forms of polysaccharide, and that each requires a specific Wzy‐type polymerase. Other important biosynthetic, processing, and regulatory functions for UPP production are also revealed, some of which are common to both polysaccharides, and a subset of which are specific to each type. Many of the UPP genes identified are conserved among diverse rhizobia, whereas others are more lineage specific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additive manufacturing of sophisticated 3D nanoscale objects commonly uses femtosecond lasers to photopolymerize a light‐sensitive resin using multi‐photon absorption. This nonlinear process provides high accuracy and flexibility in advanced 3D fabrication; however, it typically has limited throughput and high cost. This work makes use of a one‐photon‐based dosage‐nonlinearity to fabricate 3D nanostructures, demonstrating a cost‐effective method for 3D nanolithography using a low‐cost 405 nm continuous‐wave diode laser. This dosage‐nonlinearity is achieved by using controlled depletion of photo‐initiation species in an environment containing inhibiting species. By controlling multiple competing processes, the undesired dose accumulation outside the writing voxel is stopped, and thereby this method creates a confined writing voxel in space. A multiphysics model is developed to numerically study the one‐photon nonlinear photopolymerization process, which is compared with experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytosphingosine (PHS) is a naturally occurring bioactive sphingolipid molecule. Intermediates such as sphingolipid long‐chain bases (LCBs) in sphingolipid biosynthesis have been shown to have important roles as signaling molecules. PHS treatment caused rapid cell damage and upregulated the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and ethylene in tobacco plants. These events were followed by the induction of sphingosine kinase (SphK) in a biphasic manner, which metabolized PHS to phytosphingosine‐1‐phosphate (PHS‐1‐P). On the other hand, a PHS treatment with a virulent pathogen, Phytophthora parasitica var. nicotianae (Ppn), alleviated the pathogen‐induced cell damage and reduced the growth of Ppn. A Ppn infection increased the PHS and PHS‐1‐P levels significantly in the upper part of the leaves at the infection site at the later stage. In addition, Ppn increased the transcription levels of serine palmitoyltransferase (LCB1 and LCB2) for sphingolipid biosynthesis at the later stage, which was enhanced further by PHS. Moreover, the PHS treatment increased the transcription and activity of SphK, which was accompanied by prominent increases in the transcription levels of ROS‐detoxifying enzymes and PR proteins in the later phase of the pathogen infection. Overall, the PHS‐induced resistant effects were prominent during the necrotic stage of this hemibiotrophic infection, indicating that it is more beneficial for inhibiting the pathogenicity on necrotic cell death. Phosphorylated LCBs reduced the pathogen‐induced cell damage significantly in this stage. These results suggest that the selective channeling of sphingolipids into phosphorylated forms has a pro‐survival effect on plant immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Thoracic impedance monitoring able to detect pneumonia in the very early phase of emerging infiltration prior the patient developed remarkable clinical symptoms. However, no studies have yet been conducted on the usefulness of predicting pneumonia patient outcomes with parameters from electrical cardiometry. Objective: In the present study, we evaluated whether parameters measured by electrical cardiometry can predict clinical outcomes including mortality and length of hospital stay in patients with community-acquired pneumonia in the emergency department. Methods: Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were collected from enrolled patient. Electrical cardiometry monitoring was done with a portable electrical cardiometry device connected to the body surface sensor. The continuous data from electrical cardiometry were recorded, and parameters were stored on the electrical cardiometry device automatically and then the data were downloaded for further analysis. Results: Thoracic fluid content has shown to be significantly higher in the intensive care unit admission group and in the death group. Expired patients had higher value of thoracic fluid content at emergency department admission. From a receiver operating characteristics curve analysis, thoracic fluid content presented fair AUC values of 0.72 (95% confidence interval, 0.71–0.74) and 0.73 (0.62–0.82) for prediction of 28-day mortality and intensive care unit admission. Arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2), the ratio of arterial partial pressure of oxygen to inspired oxygen fraction (PaO2/FiO2 ratio) also showed excellent AUC value for prediction of mortality and intensive care unit admission. Conclusion: Electrical cardiometry monitoring indicated new possibility to anticipate prognosis of community-acquired pneumonia patient. Increased thoracic fluid content value would relate worse outcome of the patient like mortality and intensive care unit admission. Electrical cardiometry monitoring allows real-time measurements of thoracic fluid content without restraining the patient or invasive catheters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The toxoflavin (Txn), broad host range phytotoxin produced by a variety of bacteria, including Burkholderia glumae, is a key pathogenicity factor of B. glumae in rice and field crops. Two bacteria exhibiting Txn‐degrading activity were isolated from healthy rice seeds and identified as Sphingomonas adhaesiva and Agrobacterium sp. respectively. The genes stdR and stdA, encoding proteins responsible for Txn degradation of both bacterial isolates, were identical, indicating that horizontal gene transfer occurred between microbial communities in the same ecosystem. We identified a novel Txn‐quenching regulation of bacteria, demonstrating that the LysR‐type transcriptional regulator (LTTR) StdR induces the expression of the stdA, which encodes a Txn‐degrading enzyme, in the presence of Txn as a coinducer. Here we show that the bacterial StdRTxn‐quenching regulatory system mimics the ToxRTxn‐mediated biosynthetic regulation of B. glumae. Substrate specificity investigations revealed that Txn is the only coinducer of StdR and that StdA has a high degree of specificity for Txn. Rice plants expressing StdA showed Txn resistance. Collectively, bacteria mimic the mechanism of Txn biosynthesis regulation, employ it in the development of a Txn‐quenching regulatory system and share it with neighbouring bacteria for survival in rice environments full of Txn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we describe the mechanistic details on the oxidatively induced reductive elimination of isolated methyl iridium and ruthenium metallacycle complexes. It was demonstrated that the otherwise challenging C─C bond formation is indeed facilitated by external oxidation, being enabled under mild conditions. Computational analyses supported the proposed high‐valent pathway, where the energy barrier for reductive elimination significantly decreases upon the metallic oxidation to facilitate the desired C─C bond formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A highly fluorescent indolizino[1,2‐c]quinoline with a substituent at the C6 position was designed and synthesized as a new indolizine‐quinoline hybrid structure via a tetracyclic lactam. Various (hetero)aryl groups were introduced at the C6 site of this basic skeleton to display intriguing photophysical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sweet crab apple (Malus coronaria) is a popular ornamental tree planted in gardens and urban forests in South Korea. In 2018, severe symptoms were observed on street plantings of sweet crab apple in Jinju, South Korea including shoot blight: shoot tips, twigs and foliage of infected trees turned brown, and dried completely. The causal agent isolated from the disease lesions was identified as Pseudomonas viridiflava based on biochemical tests, pathogenicity, and 16S rRNA and rpoD gene sequencing. On artificial inoculation, this pathogen not only caused shoot blight on sweet crab apple, but also bulb rot and leaf blight on onion. Here, we report the occurrence of bacterial shoot blight caused by P. viridiflava in sweet crab apple for the first time in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We present a new framework for theoretical analysis of the noise power spectrum (NPS) of photon‐counting x‐ray detectors, including simple photon‐counting detectors (SPCDs) and spectroscopic x‐ray detectors (SXDs), the latter of which use multiple energy thresholds to discriminate photon energies. Methods: We show that the NPS of SPCDs and SXDs, including spatio‐energetic noise correlations, is determined by the joint probability density function (PDF) of deposited photon energies, which describes the probability of recording two photons of two different energies in two different elements following a single‐photon interaction. We present an analytic expression for this joint PDF and calculate the presampling and digital NPS of CdTe SPCDs and SXDs. We calibrate our charge sharing model using the energy response of a cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) spectroscopic x‐ray detector and compare theoretical results with Monte Carlo simulations. Results: Our analysis shows that charge sharing increases pixel signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR), but degrades the zero‐frequency signal‐to‐noise performance of SPCDs and SXDs. In all cases considered, this degradation was greater than 10%. Comparing the presampling NPS with the sampled NPS showed that degradation in zero‐frequency performance is due to zero‐frequency noise aliasing induced by charge sharing. Conclusions: Noise performance, including spatial and energy correlations between elements and energy bins, are described by the joint PDF of deposited energies which provides a method of determining the photon‐counting NPS, including noise‐aliasing effects and spatio‐energetic effects in spectral imaging. Our approach enables separating noise due to x‐ray interactions from that associated with sampling, consistent with cascaded systems analysis of energy‐integrating systems. Our methods can be incorporated into task‐based assessment of image quality for the design and optimization of spectroscopic x‐ray detectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study stability of two‐sided many‐to‐one matching in which firms' preferences for workers may exhibit complementarities. Although such preferences are known to jeopardize stability in a finite market, we show that a stable matching exists in a large market with a continuum of workers, provided that each firm's choice is convex and changes continuously as the set of available workers changes. We also study the existence and structure of stable matchings under preferences exhibiting substitutability and indifferences in a large market. Building on these results, we show that an approximately stable matching exists in large finite economies. We extend our framework to ensure a stable matching with desirable incentive and fairness properties in the presence of indifferences in firms' preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key capability of today's organizations is to flexibly and effectively react to unexpected events. A critical case of an unexpected event is sudden unavailability of human resources, which was not properly addressed by existing resource allocation approaches. This paper proposes a systematic approach that analyzes event logs to select suitable substitutes if the initial human resources become unavailable. The approach uses process mining and social network analysis to derive a metric called degree of substitution, which measures how much the work experiences of the human resources overlap, from the two perspectives: task execution and transfer of work. Along with the metric, suitable substitutes are also identified. A simulation demonstrates that the approach identifies suitable substitutes more effectively and accurately than existing allocation methods such as role‐based allocation or random allocation. The proposed approach will increase the effectiveness of dynamic allocation of human resources, especially in an exceptional situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological screening of the natural products from Dalbergia oliveri identified that (6aR,11aR)‐3,8‐dihydroxy‐9‐methoxypterocarpan and (3R)‐7,2′‐dihydroxy‐4′,5′‐dimethoxyisoflavanone significantly increased the proliferation of dermal papilla cells and subcutaneous injection of these compounds induced the anagen of hair cycle in animal models. These interesting biological activities led us to design a practical synthetic route to these natural products for further pharmacological evaluation. Here we report the first total syntheses of naturally occurring pterocarpan ((6aR,11aR)‐3,8‐dihydroxy‐9‐methoxypterocarpan), isoflavan ((3R)‐5′‐methoxyvestitol), and isoflavanone ((3R)‐7,2′‐dihydroxy‐4′,5′‐dimethoxyisoflavanone) in a racemic form. A mild ZnCl2‐mediated [3 + 2] annulation method was utilized with chromenes and 2‐methoxy‐1,4‐benzoquinone to construct a pterocarpan framework in a one‐pot manner. O‐methylation and reductive cleavage of the benzylic C─O bond afforded 5′‐methoxyvestitol, which was transformed to isoflavanone, 7,2′‐dihydroxy‐4′,5′‐dimethoxyisoflavanone, via a three‐step sequence including DDQ‐mediated benzylic oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster was the most catastrophic offshore oil spill in U.S. history, yet we still have a poor understanding of how organisms could evolve in response to the toxic effects of crude oil. This study offers a rare analysis of how fitness-related traits could evolve rapidly in response to crude oil toxicity. We examined evolutionary responses of populations of the common copepod Eurytemora affinis residing in the Gulf of Mexico, by comparing crude oil tolerance of populations collected before versus after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010. In addition, we imposed laboratory selection for crude oil tolerance for ~8 generations, using an E. affinis population collected from before the oil spill. We found evolutionary increases in crude oil tolerance in the wild population following the oil spill, relative to the population collected before the oil spill. The post-oil spill population showed increased survival and rapid development time in the presence of crude oil. In contrast, evolutionary responses following laboratory selection were less clear; though, development time from metamorphosis to adult in the presence of crude oil did become more rapid after selection. We did find that the wild population, used in both experiments, harbored significant genetic variation in crude oil tolerance, upon which selection could act. Thus, our study indicated that crude oil tolerance could evolve, but perhaps not on the relatively short time scale of the laboratory selection experiment. This study contributes novel insights into evolutionary responses to crude oil, in directly examining fitness-related traits before and after an oil spill, and in observing evolutionary responses following laboratory selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Managing risk in business processes has been a subject of active research in the past few years. The current uncertain global business environment especially requires organizations to adopt more effective risk management approaches that properly cope with both negative and positive impacts from risk in business process execution. This study introduces a process-related risk management approach that can support comprehensive and proactive risk management during the runtime stage of business processes. First, it analyzes the behavioral requirements for proactive management of process-related risk. Second, it suggests a framework that enables timely risk monitoring and treatment. Third, it offers a rule language as an implementation model for systematic support of the proposed risk management approach. Finally, it presents an architecture and prototype system to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed framework and rule language. This approach overcomes the limitations of existing risk management approaches by identifying all necessary activities, as well as when and where they must be applied. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports the synthesis of continuous sodium sulphate by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). It mentions improved cyclic performance of S-NCM8 in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and continuous sodium sulphate coating layer of S-NCM8 prevents direct contact between active surface of electrolytes. The article also highlights the use of (LIBs) due to low cost and long cycle life.

There have been significant recent developments in the growth of single‐crystal gallium nitride (GaN) on unconventional templates for large‐area blue or green light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) which, together with layer transfer onto foreign substrates, can enable flexible and stretchable lighting applications. Here, the heteroepitaxial growth of GaN on amorphous and single‐crystal substrates employing various interlayers and nucleation layers is reviewed, as well as the use of weak interfaces for layer‐transfer onto foreign substrates. Recent progress in low‐temperature GaN‐based red–green–blue (RGB) LEDs on glass substrates, which has exhibited a calculated efficiency of 11% compared with that from commertial LEDs, is discussed. Layer‐transfer techniques with various interlayers are also discussed. These heteroepitaxial GaN growth and layer‐transfer technologies are expected to lead to new lighting and display devices with high efficiency and full‐color tunability, which are suitable for large‐area, stretchable display and lighting applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Polymers using new electron-deficient units, 2-pyriminecarbonitrile and 2-fluoropyrimidine, were synthesized and utilized for the photovoltaics. Donor-acceptor (D-A) types of conjugated polymers ( PBDTCN, PBDTTCN, PBDTF, and PBDTTF) containing 4,8- bis(2-octyldodecyloxy)benzo[1,2- b;3,4- b′]dithiophene (BDT) or 4,8- bis(5-(2-octyldodecyloxy)thiophen-2-yl)benzo[1,2- b:4,5- b′]dithiophene (BDTT) as electron rich unit and 2-pyriminecarbonitrile or 2-fluoropyrimidine as electron deficient unit were synthesized. We designed pyrimidine derivatives in which strong electron-withdrawing group (CN or fluorine) was introduced to the C2 position for the generation of strong electron-deficient property. By the combination with the electron-rich unit, the pyrimidines will provide low band gap polymers with low highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy levels for higher open-circuit voltages ( VOC). For the syntheses of the polymers, the electron-rich and the electron-deficient units were combined by Stille coupling reaction with Pd(0)-catalyst. Absorption spectra of the thin films of PBDTTCN and PBDTTF with BDTT unit show shift to a longer wavelength region than PBDTCN and PBDTF with BDT unit. Four synthesized polymers provided low electrochemical bandgaps of 1.56 to 1.96 eV and deep HOMO energy levels between −5.67 and −5.14 eV. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016, 54, 771-784 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report new random copolymers using the electron-deficient unit N-alkyl-2,2′-bithiophene-3,3′-dicarboximide ( BTI) for organic solar cells. For absorption over a broader range of the solar spectrum, push-pull types of conjugated polymers PBTIBDT- 3, PBTIBDT- 5, and PBTIBDT- 7, containing 4,8-bis(2-octyldodecyloxy)benzo[1,2- b;3,4- b']dithiophene ( BDT) as electron-pushing unit and BTI as electron-pulling unit, were synthesized. The polymers were synthesized by coupling electron-pushing and electron-pulling units by Stille polymerization with Pd(0) catalyst. The incorporation of more BTI units induced more red shift of the absorption spectra of the polymer thin films. The device comprising PBTIBDT- 5 and PC71BM (1:1) showed VOC = 0.76 V, JSC = 3.28 mA/cm2, and fill factor ( FF) = 0.51, giving a power conversion efficiency of 1.26%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2013, an outbreak of Rhizopus rot caused by Rhizopus oryzae occurred in cucumber grafted onto pumpkin rootstock sampled from seedling farms in Changnyeong, South Korea. A water-soaked appearance of the affected tissue was the first symptom of this soft fungal rot in the seedling stems of grafted cucumber. Lesions at the graft sites softened and rapidly, rotted, and turned brown or dark brown. Measurements and taxonomic characteristics were most similar to R. oryzae. DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the internal transcribed spacer rRNA gene region confirmed that the isolates were indeed R. oryzae. Koch's postulates were supported by pathogenicity tests conducted on healthy plants. Based on mycological characteristics, pathogenicity test, and molecular analysis, the causal fungus was identified as R. oryzae Went & Prinsen Geerligs. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Rhizopus rot caused by R. oryzae in seedlings of grafted cucumber on pumpkin rootstock in South Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An iridium‐catalyzed direct CH amidation of weakly coordinating substrates, in particular of those bearing ester and ketone groups, under very mild conditions has been developed. The observed high reaction efficiency was achieved by the combined use of acetic acid and lithium carbonate as additives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop a network-flow approach for characterizing interim-allocation rules that can be implemented by ex post allocations. Our method can be used to characterize feasible interim allocations in general multi-unit auctions where agents face capacity constraints, both ceilings and floors. Applications include a variety of settings of practical interest, ranging from individual and group-specific capacity constraints, set-aside sale, partnership dissolution, and government license reallocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many bacteria colonize surfaces and transition to a sessile mode of growth. The plant pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens produces a uni polar polysaccharide ( UPP) adhesin at single cell poles that contact surfaces. Here we report that elevated levels of the intracellular signal cyclic diguanosine monophosphate (c-di- GMP) lead to surface-contact-independent UPP production and a red colony phenotype due to production of UPP and the exopolysaccharide cellulose, when A. tumefaciens is incubated with the polysaccharide stain Congo Red. Transposon mutations with elevated Congo Red staining identified presumptive UPP-negative regulators, mutants for which were hyperadherent, producing UPP irrespective of surface contact. Multiple independent mutations were obtained in visN and visR, activators of flagellar motility in A. tumefaciens, now found to inhibit UPP and cellulose production. Expression analysis in a visR mutant and isolation of suppressor mutations, identified three diguanylate cyclases inhibited by VisR. Null mutations for two of these genes decrease attachment and UPP production, but do not alter cellular c-di- GMP levels. However, analysis of catalytic site mutants revealed their GGDEF motifs are required to increase UPP production and surface attachment. Mutations in a specific presumptive c-di-GMP phosphodiesterase also elevate UPP production and attachment, consistent with c-di- GMP activation of surface-dependent adhesin deployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum horii ( C. gloeosporioides) , results in considerable economic damage to sweet persimmon in southern Korea yearly. This study deals with the life cycle of the pathogen in terms of seasonal fluctuations of spore dispersal and the development of disease based on field surveys, spore potential and fungal isolation. Anthracnose disease was observed first on twigs in the last week of May and reached an incidence of 1.2%. Subsequently, the disease increased rapidly and reached an incidence of 86% by the end of July. Infection of fruits started in mid- June (2.8%) and increased gradually to 64.4% by the end of July. In severely infected orchards, 46.2% of diseased fruits were dropped. The pathogen began releasing conidia in the first week of May and continued until the end of September. The maximum release of spores was observed in mid- July. To determine the optimal use of chemicals for control of anthracnose, the following spray programme was evaluated. Spraying two or three times resulted in 89.4 and 93% control, respectively, whereas spraying more than four times led to 100% control. In comparison, the disease rate of unsprayed trees was 89.8%. To control anthracnose effectively, it is recommended to take steps to eliminate inoculum sources in sweet persimmon orchards before spraying chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CH activation: The ruthenium‐catalyzed direct sp2 CH amidation of arenes by using sulfonyl azides as the amino source is presented (see scheme). A wide range of substrates were readily amidated including arenes bearing weakly coordinating groups. Synthetic utility of the thus obtained products was demonstrated in the preparation of biologically active heterocycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the spin miniband structure and the ballistic spin-polarized transport of a magnetic superlattice (MSL), formed by inhomogeneous magnetic field in a semiconductor nanowire. Based on the transfer matrix theory and Bloch's theorem, we calculate the energy dispersion having spin-minibands and spin-minigaps due to Bloch periodicity and spin-dependent ballistic conductance for various geometrical and physical parameters. Results show that full spin-polarization in the ballistic conductance of the system occurs clearly for each spin, and that the fully spin-polarized range for each spin can be enhanced by modulation of geometrical and physical parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The host specificity of Ralstonia solanacearum, the causal organism of bacterial wilt on many solanaceous crops, is poorly understood. To identify a gene conferring host specificity of the bacterium, SL341 (virulent to hot pepper but avirulent to potato) and SL2029 (virulent to potato but avirulent to hot pepper) were chosen as representative strains. We identified a gene, rsa1, from SL2029 that confers avirulence to SL341 in hot pepper. The rsa1 gene encoding an 11.8-kDa protein possessed the perfect consensus hrp box motif upstream of the gene. Although the expression of rsa1 was activated by HrpB, a transcriptional activator for hrp gene expression, Rsa1 protein was secreted in an Hrp type III secretion-independent manner. Rsa1 exhibited weak homology with an aspartic protease, cathepsin D, and possessed protease activity. Two specific aspartic protease inhibitors, pepstatin A and diazoacetyl-,-norleucine methyl ester, inhibited the protease activity of Rsa1. Substitution of two aspartic acid residues with alanine at positions 54 and 59 abolished protease activity. The SL2029 rsa1 mutant was much less virulent than the wild-type strain, but did not induce disease symptoms in hot pepper. These data indicate that Rsa1 is an extracellular aspartic protease and plays an important role for the virulence of SL2029 in potato. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photosensitizers are common in nature and play diverse roles as defense compounds and pathogenicity determinants and as important molecules in many biological processes. Toxoflavin, a photosensitizer produced by Burkholderia glumae, has been implicated as an essential virulence factor causing bacterial rice grain rot. Toxoflavin produces superoxide and HO during redox cycles under oxygen and light, and these reactive oxygen species cause phytotoxic effects. To utilize toxoflavin as a selection agent in plant transformation, we identified a gene, tflA, which encodes a toxoflavin-degrading enzyme in the Paenibacillus polymyxa JH2 strain. TflA was estimated as 24.56 kDa in size based on the amino acid sequence and is similar to a ring-cleavage extradiol dioxygenase in the Exiguobacterium sp. 255-15; however, unlike other extradiol dioxygenases, Mnand dithiothreitol were required for toxoflavin degradation by TflA. Here, our results suggested toxoflavin is a photosensitizer and its degradation by TflA serves as a light-dependent selection marker system in diverse plant species. We examined the efficiencies of two different plant selection systems, toxoflavin/ tflA and hygromycin/hygromycin phosphotransferase ( hpt) in both rice and Arabidopsis. The toxoflavin/ tflA selection was more remarkable than hygromycin/ hpt selection in the high-density screening of transgenic Arabidopsis seeds. Based on these results, we propose the toxoflavin/ tflA selection system, which is based on the degradation of the photosensitizer, provides a new robust nonantibiotic selection marker system for diverse plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Newly designed 2 H-benzimidazole derivatives which have solubility groups at 2-position have been synthesized and incorporated into two highly soluble carbazole based alternating copolymers, poly[2,7-(9-(1′-octylnonyl)-9 H-carbazole)- alt-5,5-(4′,7′-di(thien-2-yl)-2 H-benzimidazole-2′-spirocyclohexane)] (PCDTCHBI) and poly[2,7-(9-(1′-octylnonyl)-9 H-carbazole)- alt-5,5-(4′,7′-di(thien-2-yl)-2 H-benzimidazole-2′-spiro-4′′-((2′′′-ethylhexyl)oxy)-cyclohexane)] (PCDTEHOCHBI) for photovoltaic application. These alternating copolymers show low-band gap properties caused by internal charge transfer from an electron-rich unit to an electron-deficient moiety. HOMO and LUMO levels are -5.53 and -3.86 eV for PCDTCHBI, and -5.49 and -3.84 eV for PCDTEHOCHBI, respectively. Optical band gaps of PCDTCHBI and PCDTEHOCHBI are 1.67 and 1.65 eV, respectively. The new carbazole based the 2 H-benzimidazole polymers show 0.11-0.13 eV lower values of band gaps as compared to that of carbazole based benzothiadiazole polymer, poly[ N-9′-heptadecanyl-2,7-carbazole- alt-5,5-(4′,7′-di-2-thienyl-2′,1′,3′-benzothiadiazole)] (PCDTBT), while keeping nearly the same deep HOMO levels. The power conversion efficiencies of PCDTCHBI and PCDTEHOCHBI blended with [6,6]phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) are 1.03 and 1.15%, respectively. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Burkholderia glumaeBGR1 produces a broad-host range phytotoxin, called toxoflavin, which is a key pathogenicity factor in rice grain rot and wilt in many field crops. Our molecular and genetic analyses of toxoflavin-deficient mutants demonstrated that gene clusters for toxoflavin production consist of four transcriptional units. The toxoflavin biosynthesis genes were composed of five genes,toxAtotoxE, as Suzukiet al.(2004) reported previously. GenestoxFtotoxI, which are responsible for toxoflavin transport, were polycistronic and similar to the genes for resistance-nodulation-division (RND) efflux systems. Using Tn3-gusAreporter fusions, we found that ToxR, a LysR-type regulator, regulates both thetoxABCDEandtoxFGHIoperons in the presence of toxoflavin as a coinducer. In addition, the expression of both operons required a transcriptional activator, ToxJ, whose expression is regulated by quorum sensing. TofI, a LuxI homologue, was responsible for the biosynthesis of bothN-hexanoyl homoserine lactone andN-octanoyl homoserine lactone (C8-HSL). C8-HSL and its cognate receptor TofR, a LuxR homologue, activatedtoxJexpression. This is the first report that quorum sensing is involved in pathogenicity by the regulation of phytotoxin biosynthesis and its transport in plant pathogenic bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In April 2010, a severe occurrence of Stewart's wilt on Dracaena sanderiana plants was observed in greenhouses in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, with an incidence of 35-50%. Being imported plants, little was known about the pathogens associated with D. sanderiana. Symptoms included chlorosis, wilting and leaf blight on the leaf surfaces. Physiological analysis, pathogenicity tests, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene revealed that the pathogen was the bacterium Pantoea stewartii. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on bacterial wilt caused by P. stewartii on D. sanderiana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During summer 2011 in South Korea, severe fruit rot of paprika was observed, causing severe economic losses in paprika production. Symptoms of fruit and pedicel decay were consistent with symptoms caused by Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. brasiliense ( Pcb) as recently described in Brazil, the United States, Israel and South Africa. Physiological analysis and pathogenicity test of strains isolated from paprika fruit revealed that the pathogen was the bacterium Pcb. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the 16S r DNA and partial 16 S-23 S r DNA intergenic spacer region confirmed that the isolates were Pcb. This is the first report of Pcb in Korea, which has a significant economic impact on Korean paprika production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the summers of 2010 and 2011, an anthracnose disease was observed on the Jatropha curcas L. grown at the research field of Gyeongsangnam-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services, South Korea. The symptoms included the appearance of dark brown spots on the leaf and fruit and the mummification of the fruit. The causal fungus formed grey to dark grey colony on potato dextrose agar. Conidia were single celled, ovoid or oblong, and 8-15 × 3-5 μm in size while seta was dark brown, cone-shaped and 25-46 × 2-6 μm in size. The optimum temperature for growth was approximately 30°C. On the basis of mycological characteristics, pathogenicity test and molecular identification using internal transcribed spacer rDNA sequence, the fungus was identified as Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an anthracnose caused by C. gloeosporioides on J. curcas plant in Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights from the article: Chiral Microwrinkles: Controlled Fabrication of 3D Chiral Microwrinkles via Asymmetrical and Biaxial Bucklings (Adv. Funct. In article number 1808979, Bongjun Yeom and co-workers fabricate "fusilli"-shaped 3D chiral microwrinkles by asymmetric stretching of the flexible polydimethylsiloxane substrates at the macroscale. The handedness and shapes are finely controlled based on the optimization of the biaxial strain angle, UV/ozone exposure times, and sequences in two buckling stages.

Nano‐ and microsized chiral materials are receiving significant attention because of their unique characteristics, which include chiroptical activities and enantioselective interactions with living materials. However, the realization of chiral morphologies in such small‐scale materials has been an issue because of the complicated fabrication methods and limited material selection. In this study, a facile and reproducible method is developed for fabricating 3D chiral microwrinkles with twisted shapes by asymmetric and biaxial buckling. Soft polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates are asymmetrically stretched with angled biaxial strains and exposed to UV/ozone to prepare hard silica layers on top of the PDMS substrates to induce microwrinkles. The chiral shapes are controlled by changing the angle (θ) between the two strain axes and the UV/ozone exposure times (t1, t2) in each stage of buckling. The 3D chiral microwrinkles are shaped like "fusilli pasta" and occupy an area of 1.5 cm × 1.5 cm. The patterned area can be easily scaled, and no innate chiral biomaterial is necessary. This method could be widely extended to the fabrication of diverse types of chiral materials for advanced optical and bio‐applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alkyl- and arylazides are unreactive under the developed conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aromatic ketones and esters are directly amidated under mild conditions using an iridium catalyst combined with acetic acid and lithium carbonate as additives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]