Overexpression of PtrABF gene, a bZIP transcription factor isolated from Poncirus trifoliata, enhances dehydration and drought tolerance in tobacco via scavenging ROS and modulating expression of stress-responsive genes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Drought is one of the major abiotic stresses affecting plant growth, development and crop productivity. ABA responsive element binding factor (ABF) plays an important role in stress responses via regulating the expression of stress-responsive genes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study, a gene coding for ABF (<it>PtrABF</it>) was isolated from <it>Poncirus trifoliata </it>(L.) Raf. <it>PtrABF </it>had a complete open reading frame of 1347 bp, encoding a 448 amino acid peptide, and shared high sequence identities with ABFs from other plants. PtrABF was subcellularly targeted to the nucleus, exhibited transactivation activity in yeast cell and could bind to ABRE, supporting its role as a transcription factor. Expression levels of <it>PtrABF </it>were induced by treatments with dehydration, low temperature and ABA. Ectopic expression of <it>PtrABF </it>under the control of a CaMV 35S promoter in transgenic tobacco plants enhanced tolerance to both dehydration and drought. Under dehydration and drought conditions, the transgenic plants accumulated lower levels of reactive oxygen species compared with wild type, accompanied by higher activities and expression levels of three antioxidant enzymes. In addition, steady-state mRNA levels of nine stress-responsive genes coding for either functional or regulatory proteins were induced to higher levels in the transgenic lines with or without drought stress.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>PtrABF </it>is a bZIP transcription factor and functions in positive modulation of drought stress tolerance. It may be an important candidate gene for molecular breeding of drought- tolerant plants.</p

Chinese-English Code-switching in Blogs by Macao Young People

This paper attempts to investigate Chinese-English code-switching behaviour present in blogs (a kind of computer-mediated communication) belonging to young people in Macao. The first goal of this study is to describe the patterns of Chinese-English code-switched language in 200 blog entries written by 20 Macao young people and the second goal is to use language, computer and social contexts in order to analyze the possible motivations behind the code-switching behaviour of these bloggers. As a result of this study, it is discovered that although the Chinese-English code-switched language in blogs is largely an extension of language used in spoken interactions or written press, there are still some distinctive features which set it apart from the code-switched language used in other genres. In addition the study also reveals that linguistic motivations play a significant role in bringing about Chinese-English code-switching in personal blogs, while computer-related motivations for code-switching are also considered important by some bloggers

Modest Declines in Proteome Quality Impair Hematopoietic Stem Cell Self-Renewal.

Low protein synthesis is a feature of somatic stem cells that promotes regeneration in multiple tissues. Modest increases in protein synthesis impair stem cell function, but the mechanisms by which this occurs are largely unknown. We determine that low protein synthesis within hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) is associated with elevated proteome quality in vivo. HSCs contain less misfolded and unfolded proteins than myeloid progenitors. Increases in protein synthesis cause HSCs to accumulate misfolded and unfolded proteins. To test how proteome quality affects HSCs, we examine Aarssti/sti mice that harbor a tRNA editing defect that increases amino acid misincorporation. Aarssti/sti mice exhibit reduced HSC numbers, increased proliferation, and diminished serial reconstituting activity. Misfolded proteins overwhelm the proteasome within Aarssti/sti HSCs, which is associated with increased c-Myc abundance. Deletion of one Myc allele partially rescues serial reconstitution defects in Aarssti/sti HSCs. Thus, HSCs are dependent on low protein synthesis to maintain proteostasis, which promotes their self-renewal

The relationship among audit quality, earnings management, and financial performance of Malaysian public listed companies

This study aims to investigate the relationship among audit quality, earnings management, and financial performance among public listed companies in Malaysia. Sample companies were randomly selected from the Industrial Products and Consumer Products industry listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia during the time period of 2008 to 2013. The findings indicate that audit quality does not actually constrain earnings management practices in Industrial Products and Consumer Products companies. This may be due to the difference between the audit environment in Malaysia and that in other developed countries. On the other hand, high audit quality can contribute to better company financial performance, since large-scale audit firms are always perceived to have higher audit quality that can increase the confidence of investors. However, when earnings management is added as a mediating variable, it mediates the relationship between audit quality and financial performance. In other words, the audit quality that is delivered by either Big Four audit firms or non-Big Four audit firms does not actually improve financial performance when earnings manipulation activities are conducted by the management divisions of these firms

Assessing the potential for multi-functional “hybrid” porous Al-phase change material structures

This study reports the potential for porous aluminium structures, containing porosity in the region of 50–80%, to provide enhancement of the rate of energy capture in phase change materials, whilst being capable of providing a basic mechanical function. The energy stored and the time for thermal exchange between warm water (at 65 °C) and porous aluminium, pure PCM and an Al-PCM hybrid structure was measured. It was observed that the melting of the PCM within the hybrid structure can be greatly accelerated by the continuous, porous aluminium structure. The energy uptake per second was found to follow an approximately linear dependence on the thermal effusivity for the material. This knowledge was used to predict the potential for enhancement of the rate of energy capture, by varying the porosity in the structure, whilst also estimating the detriment to the energy storage density and the mechanical strength. Appreciating this trade off in performance and properties is vital to the design of multi-functional porous structures

LIGHT-COLOR-INDUCED CHANGES IN FATTY ACID BIOSYNTHESIS IN Chlorella sp. STRAIN KS-MA2 IN EARLY STATIONARY GROWTH PHASE

Optimization of light supply remains a critical issue in microalgae biotechnology. The impacts of light color on fatty acid production and biosynthesis in microalgae are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of light color on growth and fatty acid content in Chlorella strain KS-MA2. Cells were cultured on F/2 medium and incubated under blue, green, red or white light. The cells’ growth, fatty acid composition and the expression levels of the ketoacyl synthase 1 (KAS-1), omega-6 desaturase (ω-6 FAD) and omega-3 desaturase (ω-3 FAD) genes were measured at the early stationary growth phase. Results of this study indicated that light color affected cell density and fatty acid profile produced by Chlorella sp. strain KS-MA2. Cells cultured under blue, red and white light had higher cell density than those cultured under green light. Palmitic acid (38.62 ± 3.29% of biomass dry weight) and linolenic acid (7.96 ± 0.88% of biomass dry weight) were highly accumulated under white light. Stearic acid was dominant under blue light (11.11 ± 0.14% of biomass dry weight), whereas oleic acid was dominant under red light (30.50 ± 0.14% of biomass dry weight). Linoleic acid was highly produced under green and blue light (28.63 ± 1.36% and 26.00 ± 0.81 % of biomass dry weight, respectively). KAS-1 and ω-6 FAD were highly expressed under blue light, whereas ω-3 FAD was highly expressed under green light. The production of particular fatty acids of interest from Chlorella could be achieved by shifting color of light used during the incubation of the cell cultures. Blue-light is the most suitable light color for producing biomass and stearic acid by Chlorellastrain KS-MA2.Â

1-(2-Fluoro­benz­yl)-1-(2-fluoro­benz­yl­oxy)urea

In the title hydroxy­urea derivative, C15H14F2N2O2, the dihedral angle between the two benzene rings is 48.64 (19)°. The urea group forms dihedral angles of 48.1 (2) and 79.2 (2)° with the two benzene rings. In the crystal, inversion dimers linked by pairs of N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds occur, and further N—H⋯O links lead to chains of molecules