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Hybrid encoding technique is an efficient method to expand the coding capacity in radio-frequency identification chipless tag design. In this study, a novel hybrid coding technique by combining amplitude deviation and frequency position encoding is proposed. The proposed tag is based on three circle ring resonators with loaded resistors. A transmission line model is employed to illustrate the operation principle of the impedance loading technique. A coding capacity of at least 23.7 bits is obtained within a compacted dimension of 3 cm × 3 cm. Corresponding experiments on realised prototypes are provided to validate the effectiveness of the proposed design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Arabidopsis, the phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) plays a vital role in inhibiting seed germination and in postgermination seedling establishment. In the ABA signaling pathway, ABI5, a basic Leu zipper transcription factor, has important functions in the regulation of seed germination. ABI5 protein localizes in nuclear bodies, alongwith AFP, COP1, and SIZ1, and was degraded through the 26S proteasome pathway. However, the mechanisms of ABI5 nuclear body formation and ABI5 protein degradation remain obscure. In this study, we found that the Arabidopsis CROWDED NUCLEI (CRWN) proteins, predicted nuclear matrix proteins essential for maintenance of nuclear morphology, also participate in ABA-controlled seed germination by regulating the degradation ofABI5 protein. During seed germination, the crwn mutants are hypersensitive to ABA and have higher levels of ABI5 protein compared to wild type. Genetic analysis suggested that CRWNs act upstreamof ABI5. The observation that CRWN3 colocalizes with ABI5 in nuclear bodies indicates that CRWNs might participate in ABI5 protein degradation in nuclear bodies. Moreover, we revealed that the extreme C-terminal of CRWN3 protein is necessary for its function in the response to ABA in germination. Our results suggested important roles of CRWNs in ABI5 nuclear body organization and ABI5 protein degradation during seed germination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fusarium wilt, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc), has been considered as the most devastating disease affecting bananas (Musa spp.) worldwide. A highly virulent strain of Foc, known as tropical race 4 (TR4), has been detected in the southeast Asia in the 1990s, and has since spread to western Asia, Australia, the Middle East, southern Africa, and South America (Viljoen et al. 2020). Foc TR4 can cause severe yield losses in Cavendish (AAA), Gros Michel (AAA), Silk (AAB), Pisang Awak (ABB) and Bluggoe (ABB) bananas (Ploetz et al. 2006). However, cooking bananas such as plantain (AAB) and Matooke (AAA) bananas, appear to be resistant (Zuo et al. 2017). Iholena bananas (AAB), a subgroup of varieties related to plantains (also known as Pacific plantains), is an important staple food in the Pacific Islands where it was domesticated. It is also popular in Peru, probably due to its nutritional value (Kepler et al. 2011) and is wildly cultivated in other South American countries (Dita et al. 2013). In December 2019, typical symptoms of banana Fusarium wilt were observed on Iholena accession 'Pacific Plantain' (ITC0210) in experimental fields located in Dongguan, Guangdong Province of China. The symptoms included leaf yellowing and pseudostem splitting. The vascular tissue inside the pseudostems was dark red to brown, and the inner rhizomes yellowish-brown. Vascular tissues from three diseased plants were sampled aseptically and placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) containing 0.05 g/liter kanamycin. Fungal colonies typical of F. oxysporum developed rapidly, with purple-tinged white aerial mycelia and an abundance of microconidia borne in false heads on short microconidia (Nelson et al. 1983). Chlamydospores were produced singly or in pairs in hyphae and macroconidia. Molecular identification was performed using Foc race 4-specific primers (Lin et al. 2009), Foc TR4-specific primers (Dita et al. 2010), Foc race 1 and Foc STR4-specific primers (Ndayihanzamaso et al. 2020). Amplicons of expected sizes were obtained for Foc TR4 and race 4, but not for Foc race 1 and STR4. Sequencing of the ITS and 18S rDNA from the three Iholena isolates and BLAST result showed a 100% similarity to the Foc TR4 reference sequences in GenBank (Foc II5, PRJNA73539 and PRJNA56513) to prove that the isolates were Foc TR4. Pathogenicity of the three isolates from Iholena bananas was determined by infecting 4-month-old Cavendish cv. 'Grand Nain' bananas and three Iholena accessions, 'Pacific Plantain' 'Tigua' and 'Uzakan', under greenhouse conditions by root immersion in a Foc conidial suspension and soil drenching at 106 conidia/ml (Dita, 2010). Control plants were treated with sterile distilled water. Three replications of five plantlets were used for each accession. After 35 days, the inoculated plantlets developed typical Fusarium wilt symptoms such as yellowing of the older leaves and discoloration of the inner rhizome. The control plants did not develop symptoms. To complete Koch's postulates, the fungus was re-isolated from inoculated plants and identified as Foc TR4 by PCR (Dita et al, 2010). The susceptibility of 'Tigua' and 'Uzakan' was also confirmed in Foc TR4-infested field trials, with both accessions developing severe Fusarium wilt symptoms. The susceptibility of Iholena bananas to Foc TR4 is of significant concern to all countries where this subgroup is cultivated for major food source, including Peru and other South American countries.