Functions and mechanism of WRKY transcription factors in Brassinosteroid-regulated plant growth and stress response

Brassinosteroids (BRs), a family of plant steroid hormones, play important role in plant growth and development. BR signal is perceived by receptors BRI1 and BAK1, which transduce the hormonal signal to downstream transcription factors BES1/BZR1 to regulate the expression of thousands of BR target genes. BRs also play a vital role in both abiotic and biotic stress responses. However, the molecular mechanisms by which BRs regulate stress responses have just begun to be revealed. Here, we characterized three group III transcription factors, WRKY46, WRKY 54 and WRKY70, which are involved in BR-regulated plant growth and drought stress by cooperating with BES1 to positively regulate BR target genes and negatively control drought-responsive genes. The stability of WRKY54 is regulated through phosphorylation by BIN2, a GSK3-like kinase that plays a negative role in BR-regulated plant growth. Moreover, we also characterized another three group III transcription factors, WRKY30, WRKY 41 and WRKY53, in bacterial defense response, which likely act through MAP kinase cascade-regulated Pathogen Associated Molecular Patterns (PAMP)-Triggered Immunity pathway. Our results thus revealed that group III WRKYs integrate the signals from BRs, drought and bacterial pathogens to regulate the expression of downstream growth-related and stress-responsive genes, which significantly advances our understanding of BR regulation of stress responses

Title-Guided Encoding for Keyphrase Generation

Keyphrase generation (KG) aims to generate a set of keyphrases given a document, which is a fundamental task in natural language processing (NLP). Most previous methods solve this problem in an extractive manner, while recently, several attempts are made under the generative setting using deep neural networks. However, the state-of-the-art generative methods simply treat the document title and the document main body equally, ignoring the leading role of the title to the overall document. To solve this problem, we introduce a new model called Title-Guided Network (TG-Net) for automatic keyphrase generation task based on the encoder-decoder architecture with two new features: (i) the title is additionally employed as a query-like input, and (ii) a title-guided encoder gathers the relevant information from the title to each word in the document. Experiments on a range of KG datasets demonstrate that our model outperforms the state-of-the-art models with a large margin, especially for documents with either very low or very high title length ratios.Comment: AAAI 1

A novel procedure for absolute real-time quantification of gene expression patterns

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Temporal and tissue-specific patterns of gene expression play important roles in functionality of a biological system. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) technique has been widely applied to single gene expressions, but its potential has not been fully released as most results have been obtained as fold changes relative to control conditions. Absolute quantification of transcripts as an alternative method has yet to gain popularity because of unresolved issues.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We propose a solution here with a novel procedure, which may accurately quantify the total cDNA conventionally prepared from a biological sample at the resolution of ~70 pg/μl, and reliably estimate the absolute numbers of transcripts in a picogram of cDNA. In comparison to the relative quantification, cDNA-based absolute (CBA) qPCR method is found to be more sensitive to gene expression variations caused by factors such as developmental and environmental variations. If the number of target transcript copies is further normalized by reference transcripts, cell-level variation pattern of the target gene expression may also be detectable during a developmental process, as observed here in cases across species (<it>Ipomoea purpurea, Nicotiana benthamiana</it>) and tissues (petals and leaves).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>By allowing direct comparisons of results across experiments, the new procedure opens a window to make inferences of gene expression patterns across a broad spectrum of living systems and tissues. Such comparisons are urgently needed for biological interpretations of gene expression variations in diverse cells.</p

Corporate crisis communication on Twitter: Exploring the role of affiliation in image repair strategies.

When serious public relations (PR) crises occur, corporations often find themselves needing to address widespread moral outrage on social media in order to repair their tarnished image. This thesis explores how corporations employ crisis communication strategies on Twitter. It draws on the Affiliation Framework, developed within Systemic Functional Linguistics, to understand how values are discursively negotiated between corporations and their audiences in crisis communication. The thesis involves two case studies: boycotts of Uber and Starbucks in 2017-18 following PR crises related to sensitive social-political issues. Analysing a dataset of 71 tweets posted by these corporations and replies by their audiences, it employs Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) and public engagement analysis, together with detailed multimodal discourse analysis of affiliation, to identify the social bonds at stake in the crisis communication and how they are negotiated. A key finding of the study is that both Uber and Starbucks rely on a corrective action strategy in attempting to negotiate positive rectified identities with their audiences; however, they utilise divergent rhetorical tactics. Uber’s crisis communication tends to be more defensive than Starbucks’s in terms of acknowledging moral violations and the extent to which they accept responsibility for the incidents. The analysis of Twitter users’ reactions suggests that the corporations fail to achieve their image repair purpose in the short-term since their audiences generally reject or even disengage with their crisis communication. In addition to shedding light on the rhetorical enactment of crisis communication strategies proposed by SCCT, the thesis advances the social semiotic study of social relations by extending the Affiliation Frameworks to account for different forms of public engagement used by corporations for image repair

Mechanistic Studies on Arsenic Toxicity in Endothelial Cells

Arsenic is a well-established human toxin. Over 200 million people worldwide are exposed to arsenic, mainly through drinking water. Recently, several epidemiological studies have reported that even low concentrations of arsenic impair neurological functions across a broad age range in human [1]. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms of arsenic’s effect on the central nervous system (CNS) are not well understood. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a complex multicellular structure separating the CNS from the systemic circulation and protects the neural tissue from toxins and pathogens. Alterations in the BBB are an important component of pathology in many neurological disorders [2]. Therefore, arsenic may have a toxic impact on the BBB and thus affect the function of CNS. Since brain endothelial cells (BECs) are the major component of the BBB and play important roles in maintaining the functional integrity of brain tissue under toxic exposure, we focused on arsenic-induced alterations in BECs in our study. Previously, our laboratory has reported that reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in an arsenic-induced increase in brain endothelial cell permeability[3]. However, the underlying mechanism of arsenic-induced ROS generation in endothelial cells and how ROS regulate endothelial cell functions are unclear. Mitochondria are considered as the major source of ROS generation in mammalian cells and arsenic-induced mitochondrial dysfunction has been reported in many studies, which suggest that it may be associated with arsenic-induced oxidative stress in endothelial cells (ECs). In addition, autophagy, which is regulated by oxidative stress, plays an important role to control endothelial permeability and maintain redox balance in ECs and it may also be involved in arsenic toxicity in BECs [4]

Non-GAAP Tax Rate: Do Managers Use It to Achieve Earnings Targets?

In this study, we examine tax reporting in a non-GAAP setting. We focus on non-GAAP tax rates, which we define as the tax rates applied to non-GAAP exclusions (hereafter, exclusions). Using detailed hand-collected data, we find that non-GAAP tax rates are systematically lower (higher) when exclusions are income-increasing (income-decreasing), leading to higher after-tax non-GAAP earnings. In addition, using GAAP effective tax rate (hereafter, GAAP ETR) and the statutory tax rate as proxies for the non-discretionary portion of the non-GAAP tax rate, we find robust evidence that managers opportunistically use non-GAAP tax rates to achieve after-tax non-GAAP earnings targets. Finally, we document that firm-reported after-tax non-GAAP earnings are less persistent for future GAAP earnings, compared to non-GAAP earnings calculated using GAAP ETR or the statutory tax rate. The lower persistence of firm-reported non-GAAP earnings implies that non-GAAP tax rates are sometimes too high or too low, thus contaminating the after-tax non-GAAP earnings with mostly transitory exclusion items

Eric and Anna Gustafson Residence, Designers Jiani Yao and Xinran Chen

Eric and Anna Gustafson have purchased a residential lot near Lake Minnetonka, in Waysata, Minnesota. They have hired Jiani Yao and Xinran Chen to develop a four-thousand square foot house plan, reflecting their client’s interests in history, global cultures, and modern technology. Eric is a hockey coach and Anna is a museum curator. Their children are grown, but are frequent visitors. Eric’s mother, Elsa is recovering from cancer and will be staying with the family for a few months while she recovers. Methodology included systematically researching client preferences and special needs, and also examining the building site. The team determined that the Gustafson’s desired a mixture of two different Asian styles, Chinese and Japanese. In addition, Elsa may require wheelchair use and children desire bedroom suites. The team’s design concept is based on the Japanese tatami grid system and incorporates a traditional Chinese style ceiling frame and multiple custom designed furniture, lighting, and finish elements. Integrating Chinese and Japanese historical elements with contemporary construction, created harmony and unity in the home. To accommodate Elsa’s needs, the team developed interiors according to ADA and Universal Design guidelines. The design process has broad significance in that it reflects a global world where interior designers have the dual responsibility of maintaining accuracy in traditional designs of various cultures, while reinterpreting designs to suit contemporary use. Though there is no standard approach, as this project demonstrates there are multiple solutions

Exploration of factors associated with perceived barriers to cervical cancer screening among Chinese American women

This study explored factors associated with perceived barriers to Pap smear testing among Chinese American women (CAW). A total of 121 CAW, ages 21–65, living in California and Nevada completed a self-report questionnaire. Data included demographics, prior screening behavior, risk factors, and perceived barriers to screening. Logistic regression models revealed that participants with less education, and who have never been screened were more likely to report (I) worry about getting a Pap smear, (II) expense of a Pap smear, and (III) not knowing where to get a Pap smear. Partner’s resistance to the women’s participation in screening was another barrier among the never screened. Uninsured women were more likely to worry about getting a Pap test and embarrassment associated with getting a Pap test. Women who had never been screened, those with lower education, and those who were uninsured reported more barriers. Attention to these common and unique barriers may help address health disparities in screening rates. These findings reinforce the importance of literacy- and culturally-appropriate educational interventions designed for improving knowledge of cervical cancer and improving screening rates

Upregulation of NUAK2: A novel prognostic marker in breast cancer

Background. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed neoplasm in women worldwide. New molecular biomarkers and effective prognostic models are being developed. This study aimed to investigate the clinical and prognostic significance of NUAK2 expression in patients with breast cancer. Methods. The expression of NUAK 2 was examined in breast cancer cells and tissues by real-time PCR, western blotting, and immunohistochemical staining. CCK-8 and colony formation assays were performed to verify the effect of NUAK2 on the proliferation and tumor progression of breast cancer cells. A tumor formation assay in nude mice was performed to analyze the effect of NUAK2 on the tumorigenicity of breast cancer cells. Results. The expression of NUAK2 in breast cancer tissues was higher than that in paracarcinoma and normal breast tissues. The overall survival of patients with high NUAK2 expression was significantly lower than that of patients with low NUAK2 expression. Multivariate analyses indicated that NUAK2 was an independent prognostic indicator of survival in breast cancer. In vitro experiments demonstrated that knocking down NUAK2 in breast cancer cells inhibited cell proliferation and tumor-forming ability, and overexpression of NUAK2 showed the opposite effects. NUAK2 overexpression promoted the tumorigenicity of breast cancer cells in vivo. Conclusion. These findings suggest that NUAK2 is involved in breast cancer development and progression. NUAK2 may be a valuable prognostic indicator in patients with breast cancer