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Private banking offers personalized services for high net worth individuals. Many financial intermediaries have established stable relationships with a number of high net worth clients by offering private banking service. Private banking service is also an important source of profit for those financial intermediaries. It is critical for financial intermediaries to comply with relevant laws and regulations while offering private banking service for their clients. This article analyzes the possible risk associated with the private banking business from a legal perspective and offers a general suggestion with regard to the mechanism of decision making and management for risk prevention and control from a legal perspective.

The formation of dislocations or dislocation loops in irradiated materials significantly alters the physical and mechanical properties of the materials. In this research, by applying in situ high-resolution transmission electron microscopy techniques, the dynamics of dislocation and self-interstitial atom (SIA) loops in magnesium (Mg) under electron beam (e-beam) irradiation at the atomic scale were observed directly. The structural characteristics of dislocation and dislocation loops were investigated with transmission electron microscopy. The in situ atomic-scale observation demonstrated that the edged dislocation gradually grew along the [ 1 ¯ 100 ] direction, while the SIA loop shrank along the same direction and eventually disappeared. The proposed processes resulted from the climbing of the dislocation and dislocation loops, which was related to the e-beam-induced anisotropic diffusion of the Mg atoms in the vicinity of the dislocations or dislocation loops. Significantly, only one side of the SIA loop near the thinner area was observed to shrink during the whole escape process, namely, a pinning phenomenon. The relevant mechanisms are discussed. The results present the detailed escape process of SIA dislocation loops at unprecedented resolution, and these results provide a significant insight into the advancement of irradiation resistance of materials.

Background Molecular hydrogen has been shown to have antioxidant effect and have been used to prevent oxidative stress-related diseases. The goal of this study was to explore if hydrogen-rich saline (HRS) plays a cardioprotective effect on abdominal aortic constriction (AAC) induced cardiac hypertrophy in rats. 60adult Sprague–Dawley rats received surgically the AAC for 6-week. After the surgery, the rats were randomly divided into 4 groups (15 for each):1: sham-operated (sham); 2: AAC-model; 3: AAC + Low HRS (LHRS); and 4: AAC + High HRS (HHRS). The rats in sham and AAC-model groups were treated with normal saline intraperitoneally, while rats in LHRS and HHRS groups were intraperitoneally treated with 3 or 6 mL/kg HRS daily, respectively, for 6-week. Results The ratios of HW/BW and LVW/BW were shown in an order of Model > LHRS > HHRS > SHAM groups. The cardiac hypertrophy was also manifested with increased expressions of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), brain natriuretic peptides (BNP) and fibrosis of cardiac tissues in AAC-model group, which could likewise be restrained in LHRS and HHRS groups. Moreover, the JAK-STAT (Janus Kinase-Signal transducers and activators of transcription) signaling molecule expressions were decreased with HRS treatment. Conclusions Our results showed a protective effect of HRS on pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy in rats, which may be associated to a decreasing in JAK-STAT signaling pathway.

Surface decoration with alkali metal adatoms has been predicted to be promising for silicene to obtain high hydrogen storage capacity. Herein, we performed a detailed study of the hydrogen storage properties of Li and Na co-decorated silicene (Li-Na-decorated silicene) based on first-principles calculations using van der Waals correction. The hydrogen adsorption behaviors, including the adsorption order, the maximum capacity, and the corresponding mechanism were analyzed in detail. Our calculations show that up to three hydrogen molecules can firmly bind to each Li atom and six for each Na atom, respectively. The hydrogen storage capacity is estimated to be as high as 6.65 wt% with a desirable average adsorption energy of 0.29 eV/H2. It is confirmed that both the charge-induced electrostatic interaction and the orbital hybridizations play a great role in hydrogen storage. Our results may enhance our fundamental understanding of the hydrogen storage mechanism, which is of great importance for the practical application of Li-Na-decorated silicene in hydrogen storage.

Based on Grove theory, a kinetic model for MOCVD deposition of AlN film was proposed and built in this paper. Physical and chemical processes, e.g., gas phase transport, surface adsorption, surface chemical reactions, as well as the gas phase reactions in boundary layer were analyzed in the kinetic model. Based on this model, the effects of substrate temperature and chamber pressure on the growth rate of AlN film were investigated, as well as the corresponding mechanisms. Meanwhile, the dependences of AlN growth rate and temperature, pressure for three types of reaction pathways were also analyzed. The simulated results provide an important insight into the optimizing of AlN growth with appropriate temperature and pressure in experiment.

Human selection has reshaped crop genomes. Here we report an apple genome variation map generated through genome sequencing of 117 diverse accessions. A comprehensive model of apple speciation and domestication along the Silk Road is proposed based on evidence from diverse genomic analyses. Cultivated apples likely originate from Malus sieversii in Kazakhstan, followed by intensive introgressions from M. sylvestris. M. sieversii in Xinjiang of China turns out to be an “ancient” isolated ecotype not directly contributing to apple domestication. We have identified selective sweeps underlying quantitative trait loci/genes of important fruit quality traits including fruit texture and flavor, and provide evidences supporting a model of apple fruit size evolution comprising two major events with one occurring prior to domestication and the other during domestication. This study outlines the genetic basis of apple domestication and evolution, and provides valuable information for facilitating marker-assisted breeding and apple improvement., Apple is one of the most important fruit crops. Here, the authors perform deep genome resequencing of 117 diverse accessions and reveal comprehensive models of apple origin, speciation, domestication, and fruit size evolution as well as candidate genes associated with important agronomic traits.

Cardiac fibrosis induced by sustained pressure overload contributes to heart failure. Oxidative stress serves an important role in cardiac remodeling and heart failure independent of etiological factors. The application of hydrogen as an antioxidant is a novel concept in disease treatment, however no studies as present have investigated the effects of hydrogen on cardiac fibrosis. In the present study, the effects of hydrogen on pressure overload‑induced cardiac fibrosis and heart failure were investigated in abdominal aortic‑constricted rats. Masson's trichrome staining and echocardiography were used to evaluate the fibrotic area and cardiac function, respectively. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) content was detected by immunofluorescence. Malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration, the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and hydroxyproline content were measured by spectrophotometry. Western blot analysis was used to detect the protein levels of transforming growth factor (TGF)‑β1, connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), NADPH oxidases (NOX)2, NOX4, p38 mitogen‑activated protein kinase (MAPK) and Smad2/3. Reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to detect the mRNA expression of collagen I (Col I) and fibronectin 1 (FN1). Hydrogen-containing saline (HCS) treatment was observed to improve interstitial fibrosis and cardiac function and to decrease the level of ROS, the oxidative‑stress marker MDA and expression of NOXs, while increasing the activity of the anti‑oxidant enzyme SOD. HCS treatment also decreased the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK and Smad2/3, and the expression of TGF‑β1 and CTGF, which were accompanied by reduced hydroxyproline content, Col I and FN1 mRNA levels. These results indicate that HCS treatment can improve cardiac function by reducing interstitial fibrosis in pressure‑overloaded rats through its anti‑oxidative properties and via suppression of TGF-β1 signaling.

Ethylene and xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (XTH) genes were important for fruit ripening and softening in 'Taishanzaoxia' apple. In this study, we found it was ACS1-1/-1 homozygotes in 'Taishanzaoxia' apple, which determined the higher transcription activity of ACS1. XTH1, XTH3, XTH4, XTH5, and XTH9 were mainly involved in the early fruit softening independent of ethylene, while XTH2, XTH6, XTH7, XTH8, XTH10, and XTH11 were predominantly involved in the late fruit softening dependent on ethylene. Overexpression of XTH2 and XTH10 in tomato resulted in the elevated expression of genes involved in ethylene biosynthesis (ACS2, ACO1), signal transduction (ERF2), and fruit softening (XTHs, PG2A, Cel2, and TBG4). In summary, the burst of ethylene in 'Taishanzaoxia' apple was predominantly determined by ACS1-1/-1 genotype, and the differential expression of XTH genes dependent on and independent of ethylene played critical roles in the fruit ripening and softening. XTH2 and XTH10 may act as a signal switch in the feedback regulation of ethylene signaling and fruit softening.

Anthocyanins are biosynthesized on the cytosolic surface of the endoplasmic reticulum and then transported into the vacuole for storage. Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are considered to be responsible for the transport of anthocyanins into the vacuole. However, the regulatory mechanisms of GSTs in plants are still unclear. Here, we performed a genome-wide analysis and identified 69 GST genes in apple. The expression of MdGSTF6 was positively correlated with the anthocyanin content (r = 0.949) during ‘Yanfu 8’ fruit development. The overexpression of MdGSTF6 in the Arabidopsis thaliana tt19 mutant resulted in seedlings of 35S::MdGSTF6-GFP/tt19 that could accumulate anthocyanin and rescue its phenotype, suggesting that MdGSTF6 was an anthocyanin transporter. The silencing of MdGSTF6 affected anthocyanin accumulation in apple fruit. Moreover, the knockdown of MdGSTF6 by RNA interference in cultured ‘Gala’ seedlings inhibited anthocyanin accumulation. The interaction experiments showed that MdMYB1 could bind directly to the MdGSTF6 promoter to transcriptionally activate its expression. Collectively, our results demonstrate that MdGSTF6 encodes an important GST transporter of anthocyanins in apple fruit and provide evidence for the associated regulatory mechanisms. Therefore, MdMYB1 can not only regulate anthocyanin synthesis, but also control the transport of anthocyanin in apples. This information may be useful for further clarifying the regulation of anthocyanin transport in apple., Intracellular transport: Identifying how apple pigment is sent for storage The mystery of how pigmenting anthocyanins are transported to intracellular storage is starting to be revealed. Alongside giving fruit their color, anthocyanins confer benefits to plant and human health. Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are responsible for transporting anthocyanins to storage vacuoles, yet research is lacking on how GSTs are regulated. Xuesen Chen, from China’s Shandong Agricultural University, and his team analyzed the activity of 23 GST genes in apple, finding one, MdGSTF6, was most highly active in the fruit-coloration stage of apple development. MdGSTF6 expression correlated with fruit anthocyanin levels and also restored anthocyanin levels in transport-suppressed plants, confirming its function. Chen’s team then discovered that MdGSTF6 expression is activated by the protein MdMYB1. The MdMYB1 gene is the major regulatory gene in anthocyanin synthesis, and is now revealed to also influence their transport.

Plants have evolved many receptor-like kinases (RLKs) to sense extrinsic and intrinsic cues. The signaling pathways mediated by multiple Leucine-rich repeat (LRR) RLK (LRR–RLK) receptors require ligand-induced receptor-coreceptor heterodimerization and transphosphorylation with BRI1-ASSOCIATED RECEPTOR KINASE1 (BAK1)/SOMATIC EMBRYOGENESIS RECEPTOR KINASES family LRR–RLKs. Here we reveal an additional layer of regulation of BAK1 via a Ca(2+)-dependent proteolytic cleavage process that is conserved in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), Nicotiana benthamiana, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The proteolytic cleavage of BAK1 is intrinsically regulated in response to developmental cues and immune stimulation. The surface-exposed Asp (D(287)) residue of BAK1 is critical for its proteolytic cleavage and plays an essential role in BAK1-regulated plant immunity, growth hormone brassinosteroid-mediated responses, and cell death containment. BAK1(D287A) mutation impairs BAK1 phosphorylation on its substrate BOTRYTIS-INDUCED KINASE1 (BIK1), and its plasma membrane localization. Intriguingly, it aggravates BAK1 overexpression–triggered cell death independent of BIK1, suggesting that maintaining homeostasis of BAK1 through a proteolytic process is crucial to control plant growth and immunity. Our data reveal that in addition to layered transphosphorylation in the receptor complexes, the proteolytic cleavage is an important regulatory process for the proper functions of the shared coreceptor BAK1 in diverse cellular signaling pathways.

The immunochromatographic strip test (ICST) is a powerful on-site detection technology due to its unique advantages of simplicity, rapidity, and readability by the naked eye. Here we illustrate the potential of α-Fe2O3 polyhedrons as a novel visual label, which exhibit advantages of high stability and economy, for the detection of Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) as a model foodborne pathogen. A low-cost and simple one-step solvothermal approach was developed for the synthesis of α-Fe2O3 polyhedrons; the average diameter of the α-Fe2O3 polyhedrons is about 200 nm. The crystal structure and morphology of α-Fe2O3 polyhedrons were characterized by x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscope. α-Fe2O3 polyhedrons were immunized with anti-L. monocytogenes antibody to prepare an antibody–colloidal α-Fe2O3 polyhedron ICST. Visual detection can be obtained directly by the naked eye within 10 min. The detection limit of L. monocytogenes by α-Fe2O3 polyhedron ICST assay was 3.8 × 106 and 5.6 × 106 CFU/ml of pure culture and artificially spiked orange juice drink sample, respectively. Results indicated that the antibody–colloidal α-Fe2O3 polyhedron ICST is a rapid, simple, and low-cost assay. This approach showed great potential in the application of foodborne pathogen detection concerning food safety.

Defects, such as dislocations, grain boundaries, and surfaces, play vital roles in the properties of nanocrystalline metal oxides. Thus, it is crucial to understand the structural evolution during the growth of metal oxides. In this work, atomistic observation of the structural dynamics in MgO grains during magnesium oxidation is realized by the in situ high resolution transmission electron microscopy. There are three major equivalent orientation relationships between MgO grains and Mg. Interestingly, our experiments reveal the grain rotation and grain boundary (GB) migration, resulting in the change of the orientation in MgO grains and the morphology of GBs. The dislocation activity that may mediate the GB migration and/or grain rotation is captured in MgO with high lattice strain/stress. Our results provide the atomic-scale structural evolution of the growth of passivating oxide layer on the Mg surface, which not only facilitate the development of metal oxide growth method but also provide a possible an...

The structural characteristics of monoclinic CuO nanowires (NWs) fabricated by heating pure Cu in ambient air were investigated by electron microscopy. Besides the single-crystalline NW, four different twinned NWs with twinning planes of (11\bar 1), (002), (110) and {{(20\bar 2)}} have been found. The twin boundaries are generally in parallel with the NW axial direction. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the {{(11\bar 1)}} and (110) twins are reported for the first time in CuO. Moreover, the prevailing existence of {{(11\bar 1)}} and (002) twinned NWs could be closely related to the NW growth as well as the oxidation processes of Cu. The presented results provide a systematic investigation on the twin structures of CuO NWs, which may open up a pathway to explore new potential applications of CuO nanostructures.

In plants, the vesicle fusion process plays a vital role in pathogen defence. However, the importance of the vesicle fusion process in apple ring rot has not been studied. Here, we isolated and characterised the apple syntaxin gene MdSYP121. Silencing the MdSYP121 gene in transgenic apple calli increased tolerance to Botryosphaeria dothidea infection; this increased tolerance was correlated with salicylic acid (SA) synthesis-related and signalling-related gene transcription. In contrast, overexpressing MdSYP121 in apple calli resulted in the opposite phenotypes. In addition, the results of RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) assays suggested that MdSYP121 plays an important role in responses to oxidation–reduction reactions. Silencing MdSYP121 in apple calli enhanced the expression levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS)-related genes and the activity of ROS-related enzymes. The enhanced defence response status in MdSYP121-RNAi lines suggests that syntaxins are involved in the defence response to B. dothidea. More importantly, we showed that MdSYP121 forms a soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) complex with MdSNAP33, and the complex may participate in regulating resistance to B. dothidea. In conclusion, by regulating the interaction of SA pathway and oxidation–reduction process, MdSYP121 can influence the pathogen infection process in apple., Plant defense: Regulating resistance to ring rot A gene with multiple functions in defense against apple ring rot may provide a target for breeding apple varieties resistant to this devastating and enigmatic fungal disease. In China, the world’s greatest producer of apples, apple ring rot poses a severe challenge to growers. A Chinese team led by Shujing Wu and Xuesen Chen, of Shandong Agricultural University, explored the role of a gene, MdSYP121, thought to provide resistance to ring rot. A combination of genetic, genomic, and transgenic experiments showed that MdSYP121 does indeed confer resistance to the disease, and may do this both by regulating hormonal pathways of defense and by stimulating enzymes involved in defensive oxidation/reduction reactions. Overall, their results suggest potential foci for breeding programmes aimed at reducing the susceptibility of apple cultivars to the ring rot fungus.

The mechanical behavior of CuO nanowires (NWs) was investigated by in situ transmission electron microscopy. During compression, the NWs exhibited high bending capabilities associated with high mechanical stress. Interestingly, anelasticity was consistently observed after stress release. Further investigations indicate that the anelasticity is intrinsic to the CuO NWs, although electronbeam irradiation was proved capable of accelerating the shape recovery. A mechanism based on the cooperative motion of twin-associated atoms is proposed to account for this phenomenon. The results provide insight into the mechanical properties of CuO NWs, which are promising materials for nanoscale damping systems.

International audience; The detailed study of phase transition processes among various calcium sulfates is still insufficient in spite of its importance in artificial and natural processes. Here, the phase transformation γ-CaSO4 → β-CaSO4 → CaO is induced by electron beam irradiation and directly observed inside the transmission electron microscope (TEM). Relying on the real-time atomic-scale observation, the topological transition from γ-CaSO4 (hexagonal) to β-CaSO4 (orthorhombic) is investigated in detail, and the orientation relationship is determined: [0001]H//[001]O and (101̅0)H//(010)O. Furthermore, three β-CaSO4 variants related by 120° rotation are observed, which is theorized to occur during the transformation from hexagonal to orthorhombic structure. The possible transition mechanism is thus discussed. This work offers detailed information on the transition mechanism concerning the calcium sulfates, which might facilitate their industrial applications and possibly further understanding of rock deformation in the earth crust.

Although heterosis is widely utilized in crop production, its genetic and molecular basis is still elusive. It is arguably that heterosis arises in crosses between genetically and/or epigenetically distinct individuals. Various genetic models have been proposed to explain heterosis, such as dominance and overdominance hypothesis. With the recent advancements in functional genomics, epigenetics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics-related technologies, systems-level approaches have been adopted to understand the molecular basis of heterosis. In this review, we gather a brief account of findings from various studies in order to better understand the genetic and molecular basis of heterosis.

Highlights: • Cu nanoparticles were synthesized on the surface of carbon nanotubes by heating. • The particle size could be tuned by controlling the temperature and duration. • The possible nucleation and growth mechanisms of nanoparticles were discussed. - Abstract: In this paper, employing simple heating inside the transmission electron microscope, we demonstrated the decoration of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by Cu nanoparticles (NPs). More significantly, the particle sizes could be effectively controlled by simply controlling the temperature and duration. It is believed that the nucleation and growth of NPs results from the deposition of generated Cu vapor as well as the surface diffusion of Cu on the CNTs at elevated temperature.

This paper proposed a methodology for the control of model following control system (MFCS) approach to time-delay linear parameter-varying (LPV) system. The method incorporates a state control law which makes the output error zero, the bounded property of the internal states for the control is given, and the utility of this control design is guaranteed. Numerical example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness and less conservativeness of the proposed methods. The proposed control methodology is demonstrated on chatter suppression in the milling process.

Valsa mali var. mali, the causal agent of valsa canker of apple, causes great loss of apple production in apple producing regions. The pathogenic mechanism of the pathogen has not been studied extensively, thus a suitable gene marker for pathogenic invasion analysis and a random insertion of T-DNA for mutants are desirable. In this paper, we reported the construction of a binary vector pKO1-HPH containing a positive selective gene hygromycin phosphotransferase (hph), a reporter gene gfp conferring green fluorescent protein, and an efficient protocol for V. mali var. mali transformation mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens. A transformation efficiency up to about 75 transformants per 10(5) conidia was achieved when co-cultivation of V. mali var. mali and A. tumefaciens for 48 h in A. tumefaciens inductive medium agar plates. The insertions of hph gene and gfp gene into V. mali var. mali genome verified by polymerase chain reaction and southern blot analysis showed that 10 randomly-selected transformants exhibited a single, unique hybridization pattern. This is the first report of A. tumefaciens-mediated transformation of V. mali var mali carrying a 'reporter' gfp gene that stably and efficiently expressed in the transformed V. mali var. mali species.

It has long been observed that microbial elicitors can trigger various cellular responses in plants. Microbial elicitors have recently been referred to as pathogen or microbe-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs or MAMPs) and remarkable progress has been made on research of their corresponding receptors, signaling mechanisms and critical involvement in disease resistance. Plants also generate endogenous signals due to the damage or wounds caused by microbes. These signals were originally called endogenous elicitors and subsequently renamed damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) that serve as warning signals for infections. The cellular responses induced by PAMPs and DAMPs include medium alkalinization, ion fluxes across the membrane, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and ethylene production. They collectively contribute to plant pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) and play an important role in plant basal defense against a broad spectrum of microbial infections. In this review, we provide an update on multiple PTI responses and early signaling mechanisms and discuss its potential applications to improve crop disease resistance.

We have induced callus tissues from one R6/R6 homozygous genotype red-fleshed apple individual which was the hybrid offspring of Malus sieversii f.niedzwetzkyana and ‘Fuji’, and investigated the effect of auxin alone and auxin combined with cytokinin or nitrogen deficiency on anthocyanin synthesis. In callus culture, auxin alone significantly inhibited anthocyanin biosynthesis with the increase of auxin concentration. The inhibitory effect of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) on anthocyanin accumulation was about tenfold stronger than naphthalene acetic acid. Anthocyanin regulatory genes (MdMYB10 and MdbHLH3) and structural genes were dramatically suppressed by 0.6 mg/L 2,4-D. The inhibitory effect of auxin on anthocyanin biosynthesis was influenced by cytokinins 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and thidiazuron (TDZ) as well as nitrogen deficiency. Auxin and cytokinin displayed the interaction in controlling anthocyanin biosynthesis. Co-treatment of auxin and cytokinin (BAP or TDZ) significantly enhanced the cytokinin-induced increase in anthocyanin levels but too high auxin concentration strongly inhibited anthocyanin synthesis even in the presence of cytokinin. Nitrogen deficiency could reverse the inhibition of anthocyanin accumulation by auxin.

In this work we study the design and analysis for nonlinear discrete time active control system with boring charter. It is shown that most analysis result for continuous time nonlinear system can be extended to the discrete time case. In previous studies, a method of nonlinear Model Following Control System (MFCS) was proposed by Okubo (1985). In this study, the method of nonlinear MFCS will be extended to nonlinear discrete time system with boring charter. Nonlinear systems which are dealt in this study have the property of norm constraints ║ƒ (v (k))║≤α + β║v (k)║ γ , where α≥0, β≥0, 0≤γ≤1. When 0≤γ

Pseudomonas syringae delivers a plethora of effector proteins into host cells to sabotage immune responses and modulate physiology to favor infection. The P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000 effector HopF2 suppresses Arabidopsis innate immunity triggered by multiple microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMP) at the plasma membrane. We show here that HopF2 possesses distinct mechanisms for suppression of two branches of MAMP-activated MAP kinase (MAPK) cascades. In addition to blocking MKK5 (MAPK kinase 5) activation in the MEKK1 (MAPK kinase kinase 1)/MEKKs-MKK4/5-MPK3/6 cascade, HopF2 targets additional component(s) upstream of MEKK1 in the MEKK1-MKK1/2-MPK4 cascade and the plasma membrane-localized receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase BIK1 and its homologs. We further show that HopF2 directly targets BAK1, a plasma membrane-localized receptor-like kinase that is involved in multiple MAMP signaling. The interaction between BAK1 and HopF2 and between two other P. syringae effectors, AvrPto and AvrPtoB, was confirmed in vivo and in vitro. Consistent with BAK1 as a physiological target of AvrPto, AvrPtoB and HopF2, the strong growth defects or lethality associated with ectopic expression of these effectors in wild-type Arabidopsis transgenic plants were largely alleviated in bak1 mutant plants. Thus, our results provide genetic evidence to show that BAK1 is a physiological target of AvrPto, AvrPtoB and HopF2. Identification of BAK1 as an additional target of HopF2 virulence not only explains HopF2 suppression of multiple MAMP signaling at the plasma membrane, but also supports the notion that pathogen virulence effectors act through multiple targets in host cells.

To accomplish successful infection, pathogens deploy complex strategies to interfere with host defense systems and subvert host physiology to favor pathogen survival and multiplication. Modulation of plant auxin physiology and signaling is emerging as a common virulence strategy for phytobacteria to cause diseases. However, the underlying mechanisms remain largely elusive. We have previously shown that the Pseudomonas syringae type III effector AvrRpt2 alters Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) auxin physiology. Here, we report that AvrRpt2 promotes auxin response by stimulating the turnover of auxin/indole acetic acid (Aux/IAA) proteins, the key negative regulators in auxin signaling. AvrRpt2 acts additively with auxin to stimulate Aux/IAA turnover, suggesting distinct, yet proteasome-dependent, mechanisms operated by AvrRpt2 and auxin to control Aux/IAA stability. Cysteine protease activity is required for AvrRpt2-stimulated auxin signaling and Aux/IAA degradation. Importantly, transgenic plants expressing the dominant axr2-1 mutation recalcitrant to AvrRpt2-mediated degradation ameliorated the virulence functions of AvrRpt2 but did not alter the avirulent function mediated by the corresponding RPS2 resistance protein. Thus, promoting auxin response via modulating the stability of the key transcription repressors Aux/IAA is a mechanism used by the bacterial type III effector AvrRpt2 to promote pathogenicity.

Apple is one of the most economically important horticultural fruit crops worldwide. It is critical to gain insights into fruit ripening and softening to improve apple fruit quality and extend shelf life. In this study, forward and reverse suppression subtractive hybridization libraries were generated from 'Taishanzaoxia' apple fruits sampled around the ethylene climacteric to isolate ripening- and softening-related genes. A set of 648 unigenes were derived from sequence alignment and cluster assembly of 918 expressed sequence tags. According to gene ontology functional classification, 390 out of 443 unigenes (88%) were assigned to the biological process category, 356 unigenes (80%) were classified in the molecular function category, and 381 unigenes (86%) were allocated to the cellular component category. A total of 26 unigenes differentially expressed during fruit development period were analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR. These genes were involved in cell wall modification, anthocyanin biosynthesis, aroma production, stress response, metabolism, transcription, or were non-annotated. Some genes associated with cell wall modification, anthocyanin biosynthesis and aroma production were up-regulated and significantly correlated with ethylene production, suggesting that fruit texture, coloration and aroma may be regulated by ethylene in 'Taishanzaoxia'. Some of the identified unigenes associated with fruit ripening and softening have not been characterized in public databases. The results contribute to an improved characterization of changes in gene expression during apple fruit ripening and softening.

Innate immune responses are triggered by the activation of pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs). The Arabidopsis PRR FLAGELLIN-SENSING 2 (FLS2) senses bacterial flagellin and initiates immune signaling through association with BAK1. The molecular mechanisms underlying the attenuation of FLS2 activation are largely unknown. We report that flagellin induces recruitment of two closely related U-box E3 ubiquitin ligases, PUB12 and PUB13, to FLS2 receptor complex in Arabidopsis. BAK1 phosphorylates PUB12 and PUB13 and is required for FLS2-PUB12/13 association. PUB12 and PUB13 polyubiquitinate FLS2 and promote flagellin-induced FLS2 degradation, and the pub12 and pub13 mutants displayed elevated immune responses to flagellin treatment. Our study has revealed a unique regulatory circuit of direct ubiquitination and turnover of FLS2 by BAK1-mediated phosphorylation and recruitment of specific E3 ligases for attenuation of immune signaling.

In this paper, we proposed an approach to obtain a globally biaxially strained silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer, and the strain mechanism was discussed. By this process, both biaxially tensile and compressive strained SOI (sSOI) can be obtained. The strain introduced into the SOI layer is mainly contributed by the plastic deformation of the buried SiO2 film caused by annealing with the deposition of a high-stress SiN film. Furthermore, He+ implantation at the interface between SiO2 and the substrate Si layer is confirmed to effectively enhance the strain by the sliding of the buried SiO2 at the SiO2-substrate Si interface. Raman spectroscopy shows that the strain of the He+ implanted sSOI has a significant enhancement of more than 300% compared with the unimplanted sSOI.

The successful introduction and micron-scale characterization of uniaxial strain with wafer level play pivotal roles in designing and optimizing of the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) microstructures for next-generation strained-Si transistors. In this paper, the successful fabrication of uniaxially strained SOI with wafer level by simply mechanical bending and annealing was realized. Employing polarized Raman measurements, the Raman intensity as a function of the angle between the crystal-axis and the polarization-direction of the scattered light for the strained top Si layer demonstrated the uniaxial character of the induced strain. Micro-Raman measurements revealed that the strain was uniaxially compressive with 0.114% strain value. The transmission electron microscopy characterization was used to reveal the little effect of process on crystallinity, which was confirmed by XRD measurements. The crystal symmetry change from cubic to tetragonal structure of the strained Si was further discussed.

Design of the State Predictive Model Following Control System with Time-DelayTime-delay systems exist in many engineering fields such as transportation systems, communication systems, process engineering and, more recently, networked control systems. It usually results in unsatisfactory performance and is frequently a source of instability, so the control of time-delay systems is practically important. In this paper, a design of the state predictive model following control system (PMFCS) with time-delay is discussed. The bounded property of the internal states for the control is given, and the utility of this control design is guaranteed. Finally, examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, and state predictive control techniques are applied to congestion control synthesis problems for a TCP/AQM network.

The application of a polysaccharide elicitor from yeast extract, YE, to Salvia miltiorrhiza hairy root cultures induced transient release of ATP from the roots to the medium, leading to a dose-dependent increase in the extracellular ATP (eATP) level. The eATP level rose to a peak (about 6.5 nM with 100 mg l(-1) YE) at about 10 h after YE treatment, but dropped to the control level 6 h later. The elicitor-induced ATP release was dependent on membrane Ca2+ influx, and abolished by the Ca2+ chelator EGTA or the channel blocker La3+. The YE-induced H2O2 production was strongly inhibited by reactive blue (RB), a specific inhibitor of membrane purinoceptors. On the other hand, the application of exogenous ATP at 10-100 microM to the cultures also induced rapid and dose-dependent increases in H2O2 production and medium pH, both of which were effectively blocked by RB and EGTA. The non-hydrolyzable ATP analog ATPgammaS was as effective as ATP, but the hydrolyzed derivatives ADP or AMP were not so effective in inducing the pH and H2O2 increases. Our results suggest that ATP release is an early event and that eATP plays a signaling role in the elicitation of plant cell responses; Ca2+ is required for activation of the elicitor-induced ATP release and the eATP signal transduction. This is the first report on ATP release induced by a fungal elicitor and its involvement in the elicitor-induced responses in plant cells.

Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (Lamiaceae) hairy root cultures were inoculated (at 0.02 and 0.2% v/v) and co-cultured with Bacillus cereus bacteria. The root biomass growth was inhibited significantly by the bacteria inoculated to the root culture on the first day (day 0) but not by the bacteria inoculated on days 14 or 21 (in a 28-day overall period). On the other hand, the growth of the bacteria in the hairy root culture was also strongly inhibited by the hairy roots, partially because of the antibacterial activity of the secondary compounds produced by the roots. Most interestingly, the tanshinone production was promoted by the inoculation of bacteria at any of these days but more significantly by an earlier bacteria inoculation. With 0.2% bacteria inoculated on day 0, for example, the total tanshinone content of roots was increased by more than 12-fold (from 0.20 to 2.67 mg g(-1) dry weight), and the volumetric tanshinone yield increased by more than sixfold (from 1.40 to 10.4 mg l(-1)). The tanshinone production was also stimulated by bacterial water extract and bacterial culture supernatant but less significantly than by the inoculation of live bacteria. The results suggest that the stimulation of tanshinone production by live bacteria in the root cultures may be attributed to the elicitor compounds originating from the bacteria, and the hairy root-bacteria coculture may be an effective strategy for improving secondary metabolite production in plant tissue cultures.

We observed the dynamic evolution of the morphology and phase transformations of CuO nanowires during sodiation using in situ transmission electron microscopy. These results will facilitate our fundamental understanding of the sodiation mechanism of CuO nanostructures used as electrode materials in sodium ion batteries.

From the last ten years, control and analysis of systems with delays is subject to lots of studies and contributions. This paper presents about the design of cutting system for time-delay. The design of the control system is constructed using the easy algebraic algorithm of matrices whose elements are polynomials of the two kinds of operators. Bounded of the inner states for the control system is given and the utility of this control design is guaranteed. It is confirmed on basis of the example that the output signal of the control system asymptotically follows the reference model signal in the case of the existence.

Interactions between doxorubicin (DOX) and iron generate reactive oxygen species and contribute to DOX-induced heart failure. Hydrogen, as a selective antioxidant, is a promising potential therapeutic option for the treatment of a variety of diseases. Therefore, we investigated the preventive effects of hydrogen treatment on DOX-induced heart failure in rats. We found that cardiac function was significantly improved and that the plasma levels of oxidative-stress markers and myocardial autophagic activity were decreased in animals treated with hydrogen-containing saline. Therefore, we conclude that hydrogen-containing saline may have beneficial effects for doxorubicin-induced heart failure.

In this paper, design of the model following control is discussed. The design of the control system is constructed using the easy algebraic algorithm of matrices whose elements are polynomials of the two kinds of operators. Bounded of the inner states for the control system is given and the utility of this control design is guaranteed. It is confirmed on basis of a numerical example that the output signal of the control system asymptotically follows the reference model signal in the case of the existence of disturbances.

The purpose of this paper is to design congestion controller for TCP/AQM (transmission control protocol/active queue management) networks using model following control; the equilibrium of a class of TCP/AQM networks with time-delay is investigated, and the effect of communication time-delay on the stability is addressed. The features of this design method are bounded property of the internal states of the control system being given and the utility of this control. Such design exhibits important attributes including fast convergence with high accuracy to a desired queue length. Simulation results show that the time-delay nonlinear behavior of the system can be controlled by this method.

Nanopore-based sensing has emerged as a promising candidate for affordable and powerful DNA sequencing technologies. Herein, we demonstrate that nanopores can be successfully fabricated in Mg alloys via focused electron beam (e-beam) technology. Employing in situ high-resolution transmission electron microscopy techniques, we obtained unambiguous evidence that layer-by-layer growth of atomic planes at the nanopore periphery occurs when the e-beam is spread out, leading to the shrinkage and eventual disappearance of nanopores. The proposed healing process was attributed to the e-beam-induced anisotropic diffusion of Mg atoms in the vicinity of nanopore edges. A plausible diffusion mechanism that describes the observed phenomena is discussed. Our results constitute the first experimental investigation of nanopores in Mg alloys. Direct evidence of the healing process has advanced our fundamental understanding of surface science, which is of great practical importance for many technological applications, including thin film deposition and surface nanopatterning.

'Taishanzaoxia' fruit rapid softening and dehiscence during ripening stage and this process is very sensitive to endogenous ethylene. In this study, we cloned five ethylene signal transcription factors (ZMdEIL1, ZMdEIL2, ZMdEIL3, ZMdERF1 and ZMdERF2) and one functional gene, ZMdPG1, encoding polygalacturonase that could loose the cell connection which associated with fruit firmness decrease and fruit dehiscence to illustrate the reasons for this specific fruit phenotypic and physiological changes. Expression analysis showed that ZMdERF1 and ZMdEIL2 transcription were more abundant in 'Taishanzaoxia' softening fruit and dehiscent fruit and their expression was inhibited by an ethylene inhibitor 1-methylcyclopropene. Therefore, ZMdERF1 and ZMdEIL2 expression were responses to endogenous ethylene and associated with fruit softening and dehiscence. ZMdPG1 expression was induced when fruit softening and dehiscence but this induction can be blocked by 1-MCP, indicating that ZMdPG1 was essential for fruit softening and dehiscence and its expression was mediated by the endogenously occurred ethylene. ZMdPG1 overexpression in Arabidopsis led to silique early dehiscence while suppressing ZMdPG1 expression by antisense ZMdPG1 prevented silique naturally opening. The result also suggested that ZMdPG1 related with the connection between cells that contributed to fruit softening and dehiscence. ZMdERF1 was more closely related with ethylene signaling but it was not directly regulated the ZMdPG1, which might be regulated by the synergic pattern of ethylene transcription factors because of both the ZMdERF1 and ZMdERF2 could interact with ZMdEIL2.

The social network of Facebook has its own advantages, such as openness, interactivity and timeliness, which provide an opportunity for the reform of English teaching model. According to the theory of constructivism, an English teaching model was constructed in the Facebook environment, including context, collaboration, conversation and meaning construction. Based on the qualitative and quantitative data, it is found that the teaching model is effective in promoting learners’ comprehensive language application ability and enhancing their subjectivity and enthusiasm in English learning.

The optimization of nanopore-based devices is closely related to the nanopore three-dimensional (3D) structures. In this paper, faceted nanopores were fabricated in magnesium (Mg) by aligning the electron beam (e-beam) along the [0001] direction. Detailed structural characterization by transmission electron microscopy reveals the existence of two 3D structures: hexagonal prism-shaped and hourglass-shaped 3D morphologies. Moreover, the 3D structures of nanopores are also found to depend on the widest nanopore diameter-to-thickness ratio (D/t). A plausible formation mechanism for different 3D structures is discussed. Our results incorporate a critical piece of information regarding the nanopore 3D structures in Mg and may serve as an important design guidance for the size- and shape-controllable fabrication of solid-state nanopores applying the e-beam sculpting technique.

A fundamental and quantitative analysis of the effect of the tool-chip friction on the formation of dead metal zone (DMZ) helps to better understand the mechanism of DMZ formation and other complex phenomena in machining, including the distributions of stress, strain and temperature as well as the forces, with a chamfer tool. Three different friction cases were implemented in the FE software ABAQUS/Explicit and the simulated results were obtained. An attempt has been made in this paper to explore and evaluate various friction conditions used in numerical simulations of cutting machining. An ALE approach-based finite element model was developed for the simulation of orthogonal machining and utilised to study the friction conditions prevailing at the chip-tool interface for ductile steel. The simulated results, for a wide range of different friction conditions, were obtained and compared to previously published experimental findings. Currently, the ALE approach is common in metal machining simulation because it does not need any chip separation criteria to enable initial chip shape to a reasonable one smoothly, while maintaining perfect meshing properties, which make it much more useful than Lagrange and Euler approaches.

This paper studies the design of a model following control system (MFCS) for nonlinear descriptor system in discrete time. In previous studies, a method of nonlinear model following control system with disturbances was proposed by Okubo,S. and also a nonlinear model following control system with unstable zero of the linear part, a nonlinear model following control system with containing inputs in nonlinear parts, and a nonlinear model following control system using stable zero assignment. In this paper, the method of MFCS will be extended to descriptor system in discrete time, and the effectiveness of the method will be verified by numerical simulation.

Many bacterial pathogens inject a cocktail of effector proteins into host cells through type III secretion systems. These effectors act in concert to modulate host physiology and immune signaling, thereby promoting pathogenicity. In a search for additional Pseudomonas syringae effectors in suppressing plant innate immunity triggered by pathogen or microbe-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs or MAMPs), we identified P. syringae tomato DC3000 effector HopF2 as a potent suppressor of early immune-response gene transcription and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling activated by multiple MAMPs, including bacterial flagellin, elongation factor Tu, peptidoglycan, lipopolysaccharide and HrpZ1 harpin, and fungal chitin. The conserved surface-exposed residues of HopF2 are essential for its MAMP suppression activity. HopF2 is targeted to the plant plasma membrane through a putative myristoylation site, and the membrane association appears to be required for its MAMP-suppression function. Expression of HopF2 in plants potently diminished the flagellin-induced phosphorylation of BIK1, a plasma membrane–associated cytoplasmic kinase that is rapidly phosphorylated within one minute upon flagellin perception. Thus, HopF2 likely intercepts MAMP signaling at the plasma membrane immediately of signal perception. Consistent with the potent suppression function of multiple MAMP signaling, expression of HopF2 in transgenic plants compromised plant nonhost immunity to bacteria P. syringae pv. Phaseolicola and plant immunity to the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea.

Model following control system (MFCS) can give general output signals following to desired ones. In this paper, a method of nonlinear MFCS will be extend to nonlinear chemical engineering systems of discrete time. Nonlinear systems which are dealt in this paper have the property of norm constraint | |f(x(k))| | ≤ α + β| |x(k)| |γ, where α ≥ 0, β ≥ 0, 0 ≤ γ