Cultural Bias in the Perception of Foreign-Policy Events

Cultural bias means individuals judge and interpret a phenomenon according to values that are inherent in their own culture. The same event may be perceived differently by individuals with different cultural backgrounds. This study systematically tests for the presence of cultural differences in the perception of foreign policy events. Using a web survey with a split-sample of Chinese and US foreign policy experts, four domains of foreign policy are explored: sanctions; border violations; foreign aid; and trade agreements. The findings indicate general agreement between Chinese and US experts in the classification of foreign-policy events as cooperative, neutral, or conflictive. In regard to more specific foreign-policy scenarios, the picture is more differentiated. In the case of economic sanctions and border violations, there appears, again, to be general agreement as to the degree of conflictiveness of these events. In addition, perception does not appear to be influenced by collective self-esteem, in the sense that responses remain similar whether the event is described in abstract or country-specific terms. In the case of trade agreements and foreign aid, by contrast, there is a divergence in Chinese and US perceptions in regard to contextual factors such as conditionality and enforcement. Overall, the study suggests that while culture rarely affects the general perception of foreign-policy events, it does play a role in the perception of more complex concepts, such as conditionality and enforcement, that structure the context and meaning of those events

Fracture Resistance of Zirconia Oral Implants In Vitro: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Various protocols are available to preclinically assess the fracture resistance of zirconia oral implants. The objective of the present review was to determine the impact of different treatments (dynamic loading, hydrothermal aging) and implant features (e.g., material, design or manufacturing) on the fracture resistance of zirconia implants. An electronic screening of two databases (MEDLINE/Pubmed, Embase) was performed. Investigations including > 5 screw-shaped implants providing information to calculate the bending moment at the time point of static loading to fracture were considered. Data was extracted and meta-analyses were conducted using multilevel mixed-effects generalized linear models (GLMs). The Šidák method was used to correct for multiple testing. The initial search resulted in 1864 articles, and finally 19 investigations loading 731 zirconia implants to fracture were analyzed. In general, fracture resistance was affected by the implant design (1-piece > 2-piece, p = 0.004), material (alumina-toughened zirconia/ATZ > yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal/Y-TZP, p = 0.002) and abutment preparation (untouched > modified/grinded, p < 0.001). In case of 2-piece implants, the amount of dynamic loading cycles prior to static loading (p < 0.001) or anatomical crown supply (p < 0.001) negatively affected the outcome. No impact was found for hydrothermal aging. Heterogeneous findings of the present review highlight the importance of thoroughly and individually evaluating the fracture resistance of every zirconia implant system prior to market release

Tyrosine-610 in the receptor kinase BAK1 does not play a major role in brassinosteroid signaling or innate immunity

The plasma membrane-localized BRI1-ASSOCIATED KINASE1 (BAK1) functions as a co-receptor with several receptor kinases including the brassinosteroid (BR) receptor BRASSINOSTEROID-INSENSITIVE 1 (BRI1), which is involved in growth, and the receptors for bacterial flagellin and EF-Tu, FLAGELLIN-SENSING 2 (FLS2) and EF-TU RECEPTOR (EFR), respectively, which are involved in immunity. BAK1 is a dual specific protein kinase that can autophosphorylate on serine, threonine and tyrosine residues. It was previously reported that phosphorylation of Tyr-610 in the carboxy-terminal domain of BAK1 is required for its function in BR signaling and immunity. However, the functional role of Tyr-610 in vivo has recently come under scrutiny. Therefore, we have generated new BAK1(Y610F) transgenic plants for functional studies. We first produced transgenic Arabidopsis expressing BAK1 (Y610F)-Flag in the homozygous bak1-4 bkk1-1 double null background. In a complementary approach, we expressed untagged BAK1 and BAK1(Y610F) in the bak1-4 null mutant. Both BAK1(Y610F) transgenic lines had no obvious growth phenotype compared to wild-type BAK1 expressed in the same background. In addition, the BAK1(Y610F)-Flag plants responded similarly to plants expressing BAK1-Flag in terms of brassinolide (BL) inhibition of root elongation, and there were only minor changes in gene expression between the two transgenic lines as monitored by microarray analysis and real-time PCR. In terms of plant immunity, there were no significant differences between plants expressing BAK1(Y610F)-Flag and BAK1-Flag in the growth of the non-pathogenic hrpA mutant of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000. Furthermore, untagged BAK1(Y610F) transgenic plants were as responsive as plants expressing BAK1 (in the bak1-4 background) and wild-type Col-0 plants towards treatment with the EF-Tu- and flagellin-derived peptide epitopes elf18- and flg22, respectively, as measured by reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation, and seedling growth inhibition. Together, these new results demonstrate that Tyr-610 does not play a role in either BR or immune signaling

Dual-Level Regulation of ACC Synthase Activity by MPK3/MPK6 Cascade and Its Downstream WRKY Transcription Factor during Ethylene Induction in Arabidopsis

Plants under pathogen attack produce high levels of ethylene, which plays important roles in plant immunity. Previously, we reported the involvement of ACS2 and ACS6, two Type I ACS isoforms, in Botrytis cinerea–induced ethylene biosynthesis and their regulation at the protein stability level by MPK3 and MPK6, two Arabidopsis pathogen-responsive mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). The residual ethylene induction in the acs2/acs6 double mutant suggests the involvement of additional ACS isoforms. It is also known that a subset of ACS genes, including ACS6, is transcriptionally induced in plants under stress or pathogen attack. However, the importance of ACS gene activation and the regulatory mechanism(s) are not clear. In this report, we demonstrate using genetic analysis that ACS7 and ACS11, two Type III ACS isoforms, and ACS8, a Type II ACS isoform, also contribute to the B. cinerea–induced ethylene production. In addition to post-translational regulation, transcriptional activation of the ACS genes also plays a critical role in sustaining high levels of ethylene induction. Interestingly, MPK3 and MPK6 not only control the stability of ACS2 and ACS6 proteins via direct protein phosphorylation but also regulate the expression of ACS2 and ACS6 genes. WRKY33, another MPK3/MPK6 substrate, is involved in the MPK3/MPK6-induced ACS2/ACS6 gene expression based on genetic analyses. Furthermore, chromatin-immunoprecipitation assay reveals the direct binding of WRKY33 to the W-boxes in the promoters of ACS2 and ACS6 genes in vivo, suggesting that WRKY33 is directly involved in the activation of ACS2 and ACS6 expression downstream of MPK3/MPK6 cascade in response to pathogen invasion. Regulation of ACS activity by MPK3/MPK6 at both transcriptional and protein stability levels plays a key role in determining the kinetics and magnitude of ethylene induction

COI1-dependent jasmonate signalling affects growth, metabolites production and cell wall protein composition in Arabidopsis

Background and Aims: Cultured cell suspensions have been the preferred model to study the apoplast as well as to monitor metabolic and cell cycle-related changes. Previous work showed that methyl jasmonate (MeJA) inhibits leaf growth in a CORONATINE INSENSITIVE 1 (COI1)-dependent manner, with COI1 being the jasmonate (JA) receptor. Here, the effect of COI1 overexpression on the growth of stably transformed arabidopsis cell cultures is described. Methods: Time-course experiments were carried out to analyse gene expression, and protein and metabolite levels. Key Results: Both MeJA treatment and the overexpression of COI1 modify growth, by altering cell proliferation and expansion. DNA content as well as transcript patterns of cell cycle and cell wall remodelling markers were altered. COI1 overexpression also increases the protein levels of OLIGOGALACTURONIDE OXIDASE 1, BETA-GLUCOSIDASE/ENDOGLUCANASES and POLYGALACTURONASE INHIBITING PROTEIN2, reinforcing the role of COI1 in mediating defence responses and highlighting a link between cell wall loosening and growth regulation. Moreover, changes in the levels of the primary metabolites alanine, serine and succinic acid of MeJA-treated Arabidopsis cell cultures were observed. In addition, COI1 overexpression positively affects the availability of metabolites such as β-alanine, threonic acid, putrescine, glucose and myo-inositol, thereby providing a connection between JA-inhibited growth and stress responses. Conclusions: This study contributes to the understanding of the regulation of growth and the production of metabolic resources by JAs and COI1. This will have important implications in dissecting the complex relationships between hormonal and cell wall signalling in plants. The work also provides tools to uncover novel mechanisms co-ordinating cell division and post-mitotic cell expansion in the absence of organ developmental control

Molecular effects of resistance elicitors from biological origin and their potential for crop protection

Plants contain a sophisticated innate immune network to prevent pathogenic microbes from gaining access to nutrients and from colonising internal structures. The first layer of inducible response is governed by the plant following the perception of microbe- or modified plant-derived molecules. As the perception of these molecules results in a plant response that can provide efficient resistance towards non-adapted pathogens they can also be described as ‘defence elicitors’. In compatible plant/microbe interactions, adapted microorganisms have means to avoid or disable this resistance response and promote virulence. However, this requires a detailed spatial and temporal response from the invading pathogens. In agricultural practice, treating plants with isolated defence elicitors in the absence of pathogens can promote plant resistance by uncoupling defence activation from the effects of pathogen virulence determinants. The plant responses to plant, bacterial, oomycete or fungal-derived elicitors are not, in all cases, universal and need elucidating prior to the application in agriculture. This review provides an overview of currently known elicitors of biological rather than synthetic origin and places their activity into a molecular context

Acrylamide-Forming Potential and Agronomic Properties of Elite US Potato Germplasm from the National Fry Processing Trial

Processed potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) products, such as chips and French fries, contribute to the dietary intake of acrylamide, a suspected human carcinogen. One of the most promising approaches for reducing its consumption is to develop and commercialize new potato varieties with low acrylamide-forming potential. To facilitate this effort, a National Fry Processing Trial (NFPT) was conducted from 2011 to 2013 in five states. More than 140 advanced breeding lines were evaluated for tuber agronomic traits and biochemical properties from harvest through 8 mo of storage. Thirty-eight and 29 entries had significantly less acrylamide in French fries than standard varieties Russet Burbank and Ranger Russet, with reductions in excess of 50%, after one and 8 mo of storage, respectively. As in previous studies, the glucose content of raw tubers was predictive of acrylamide in finished French fries (R² = 0.64–0.77). Despite its role in acrylamide formation, tuber free asparagine was not significant, potentially because it showed relatively little variation in the NFPT population. Even when glucose was included in the model as a covariate, genotype was highly significant (p = 0.001) for predicting acrylamide, indicating there may be yet-unidentified genetic loci to target in breeding. The NFPT has demonstrated that there exist many elite US breeding lines with low acrylamide-forming potential. Our ongoing challenge is to combine this trait with complex quality attributes required by the fry processing industry.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the Crop Science Society of America and can be found at: https://dl.sciencesocieties.org/publications/c

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

CMS physics technical design report : Addendum on high density QCD with heavy ions

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