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Auxin response factors(ARFs) are a class of transcription factors that regulate the expression of auxin response genes and play a crucial role in plant growth and development. Florigen plays a crucial role in the process of flowering. However, the process by which auxin regulates the accumulation of florigen remains largely unclear. This study found that the expression of ZmARF16 in maize increases during flowering, and the genetic transformation of ZmARF16 accelerates the flowering process in Arabidopsis and maize. Furthermore, ZmARF16 was found to be positively correlated with the transcription of the ZCN12 gene. Similarly, the FT-like gene ZCN12 in maize rescues the late flowering phenotype of the FT mutation in Arabidopsis. Moreover, ZCN12 actively participates in the accumulation of florigen and the flowering process. Further research revealed that ZmARF16 positively responds to the auxin signal, and that the interaction between ZmARF16 and the ZCN12 promoter, as well as the subsequent promotion of ZCN12 gene expression, leads to early flowering. This was confirmed through a yeast one-hybrid and dual-luciferase assay. Therefore, the study provides evidence that the ZmARF16-ZCN12 module plays a crucial role in regulating the flowering process of maize.

Organic acids play a pivotal role in improving plant response to long‐term drought stress. External application of organic acids has been reported to improve drought resistance in several species. However, whether organic acids have similar effects in tobacco remains unknown. A screening study of the protective function of organic acids in tobacco and understanding the underlying molecular mechanism would be useful in developing a strategy for drought tolerance.Several physiological and molecular adaptations to drought including abscisic acid, stomatal closure, reactive oxygen species homeostasis, amino acid accumulation, and drought‐responsive gene expression were observed by exogenous citric acid in tobacco plants.Exogenous application of 50 mm citric acid to tobacco plants resulted in higher chlorophyll content, net photosynthesis, relative water content, abscisic acid content and lower stomatal conductance, transpiration and water loss under drought conditions. Moreover, reactive oxygen species homeostasis was better maintained through increasing activity of antioxidant enzymes and decreasing hydrogen peroxide content after citric acid pretreatment under drought. Amino acids involved in the TCA cycle accumulated after external application of citric acid under drought stress. Furthermore, several drought stress‐responsive genes also dramatically changed after application of citric acid.These data support the idea that external application of citric acid enhances drought resistance by affecting physiological and molecular regulation in tobacco. This study provides clear insights into mechanistic details of regulation of amino acid and stress‐responsive gene expression by citric acid in tobacco in response to drought, which is promising for minimizing growth inhibition in agricultural fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thin films of Ta2O5, HfO2, ZrO2 and their nanolaminates have been deposited and their electrical properties characterized.

Objective To compare the diagnostic performance of PI-RADS v2.1 and PI-RADS v2 in the detection of clinically significant prostate cancer(csPCa) by Meta-analysis. Methods The major biomedical databases were searched (CNKI, CBM, Medline, and Embase) with the keywords "PIRADS v2.1" or "PI-RADS v2.1". The Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies Tool v2 (QUADAS-2) was used to evaluate literature quality. Meta-analysis was performed using STATA17.0 and ReMan5.4 software. Forest plots were used to represent the sensitivity and specificity of PI-RADS v2.1 and PI-RADS v2 for each study. Sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and diagnostic odds ratio were combined, and diagnostic performance was evaluated using asummary receiver operating characteristic curve (SROC). Subgroup analysis was performed on three covariables: tumor location, threshold, and the nationality of authors. Results A total of 12 studies were included, involving 3 158 patients and 3 243 lesions. Forall zones and the whole gland, PI-RADS v2.1 had a larger area under the SROC curve (AUC) for csPCa performance, compared with PI-RADS v2. Subgroup analysis: PI-RADS v2.1 also had a larger area under the SROC (AUC) to detect transitional zone csPCa. Different diagnostic thresholds: when a score of 4 was used for the threshold, PI-RADS v2.1 had the maximum area under SROC (AUC) for csPCa performance detection. Author nationality: Researches of PI-RADS v2.1 in Chinese authors had the largest area under the SROC (AUC) in detecting csPCa performance. Conclusion Compared with PI-RADS v2, the diagnostic performance of PI-RADS v2.1 in detecting csPCa is not obviously improved and overall specificity is still low.