Transcriptional regulation of ascorbic acid during fruit ripening in pepper (Capsicum annuum) varieties with low and high antioxidants content

Research on plant antioxidants, such as ascorbic acid (AsA) and polyphenols, is of increasing interest in plant science because of the health benefits and preventive role in chronic diseases of these natural compounds. Pepper (Capiscum annuum L.) is a major dietary source of antioxidants, especially AsA. Although considerable advance has been made, our understanding of AsA biosynthesis and its regulation in higher plants is not yet exhaustive. For instance, while it is accepted that AsA content in cells is regulated at different levels (e.g., transcriptional and post-transcriptional), their relative prominence is not fully understood. In this work, we identified and studied two pepper varieties with low and high levels of AsA to shed light on the transcriptional mechanisms that can account for the observed phenotypes. We quantified AsA and polyphenols in leaves and during fruit maturation, and concurrently, we analyzed the transcription of 14 genes involved in AsA biosynthesis, degradation, and recycling. The differential transcriptional analysis indicated that the higher expression of genes involved in AsA accumulation is a likely explanation for the observed differences in fruits. This was also supported by the identification of gene-metabolite relations, which deserve further investigation. Our results provide new insights into AsA differential accumulation in pepper varieties and highlight the phenotypic diversity in local germplasm, a knowledge that may ultimately contribute to the increased level of health-related phytochemicals

The Emergence of Universal Immune Receptor T Cell Therapy for Cancer

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells have shown great success in the treatment of CD19+ hematological malignancies, leading to their recent approval by the FDA as a new cancer treatment modality. However, their broad use is limited since a CAR targets a single tumor associated antigen (TAA), which is not effective against tumors with heterogeneous TAA expression or emerging antigen loss variants. Further, stably engineered CAR T cells can continually and uncontrollably proliferate and activate in response to antigen, potentially causing fatal on-target off-tumor toxicity, cytokine release syndrome, or neurotoxicity without a method of control or elimination. To address these issues, our lab and others have developed various universal immune receptors (UIRs) that allow for targeting of multiple TAAs by T cells expressing a single receptor. UIRs function through the binding of an extracellular adapter domain which acts as a bridge between intracellular T cell signaling domains and a soluble tumor antigen targeting ligand (TL). The dissociation of TAA targeting and T cell signaling confers many advantages over standard CAR therapy, such as dose control of T cell effector function, the ability to simultaneously or sequentially target multiple TAAs, and control of immunologic synapse geometry. There are currently four unique UIR platform types: ADCC-mediating Fc-binding immune receptors, bispecific protein engaging immune receptors, natural binding partner immune receptors, and anti-tag CARs. These UIRs all allow for potential benefits over standard CARs, but also bring unique engineering challenges that will have to be addressed to achieve maximal efficacy and safety in the clinic. Still, UIRs present an exciting new avenue for adoptive T cell transfer therapies and could lead to their expanded use in areas which current CAR therapies have failed. Here we review the development of each UIR platform and their unique functional benefits, and detail the potential hurdles that may need to be overcome for continued clinical translation

On the welding of different materials by diode laser

In technical literature, there are few papers about the use of diode lasers in material processing and particularly in metal welding. In this paper, different materials, according to specific and particular industrial needs and requests, have been tested with a welding process by a diode laser, emitting a 808 nm laser radiation. Beads on plate have been studied. The goal was to evaluate the maximum weldable thickness and define the best process parameters for each material. The experimental evaluation has been carried out considering the following parameters: power level, welding speed (WS), shielding gas, gas nozzle and orientation of the focused elliptical spot as to the welding direction

Laser cutting of different polymeric plastics (PE, PP and PC) by a CO2 laser beam

Thiswork investigates the application of theCO2 laser cutting process to three thermoplastic polymers, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC) in different thicknesses ranging from 2 to 10 mm. The process parameters examined were: laser power, range of cutting speed, type of focusing lens, pressure and flow of the covering gas, thickness of the samples. Furthermore, the values of kerf widths on top (Lsup) and bottom (Linf ) thicknesses, the melted transverse area, the melted volume per unit time and surface roughness values (Ra) on cut edges were also measured

Identification, full-length genome sequencing, and field survey of citrus vein enation virus in Italy

Citrus vein enation virus (CVEV) was described in Spain and then it has been reported in several citrus growing areas of Asia, America and Australia. Here, the occurrence of CVEV in Italy has been documented for the first time. The full genome sequence of a CVEV Italian isolate (14Q) was determined by high-throughput sequencing and the presence of the virus was confirmed by RT-PCR and graft-transmission to indicator plants, from which the virus was recovered six-months post-inoculation. Phylogenetic analysis based on the full-length genome of CVEV isolates from different countries showed that they are phylogenetically related to each other based on their geographic origin, rather than on their host and that the Italian isolate is more closely related to the Spanish isolate than to the other ones. A field survey revealed the presence of CVEV in some areas of Campania region (southern Italy), prevalently infecting lemon trees. In the frame of this survey, kumquat was identified for the first time as a host of CVEV. No symptoms were observed in the field so far. The infection of asymptomatic hosts and the transmission by aphid species present in Italy increase the risk that the virus could further spread