A novel HD-Zip I/C2H2-ZFP/WD-repeat complex regulates the size of spine base in cucumber

Fruit spine is an important trait in cucumber, affecting not only commercial quality, but also fruit smoothness, transportation and storage. Spine size is determined by a multi-cellular base. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the regulation of cucumber spine base remains largely unknown. Here, we report map-based cloning and characterization of a spine base size 1 (SBS1) gene, encoding a C2H2 zinc-finger transcription factor.Near-isogenic lines of cucumber were used to map, identify and quantify cucumber spine base size 1 (CsSBS1). Yeast-hybrid, bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC), co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) and RNA-sequencing assays were used to explore the molecular mechanism of CsSBS1 in regulating spine base size development.CsSBS1 was specifically expressed in cucumber ovaries with particularly high expression in fruit spines. Overexpression of CsSBS1 resulted in large fruit spine base, while RNA-interference silencing of CsSBS1 inhibited the expansion of fruit spine base. Sequence analysis of natural cucumber accessions revealed that CsSBS1 was lost in small spine base accessions, resulting from a 4895 bp fragment deletion in CsSBS1 locus. CsSBS1 can form a trimeric complex with two positive regulators CsTTG1 and CsGL1 to regulate spine base development through ethylene signaling.A novel regulator network is proposed that the CsGL1/CsSBS1/CsTTG1 complex plays a significant role in regulating spine base formation and size, which offers a strategy for cucumber breeders to develop smooth fruit.This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31902020, 31972427), the Zhongyuan Youth Talent Program (ZYQR201912161), the Key Research Project of Henan institutions of higher learning (20A210015), the Program for Science & Technology Innovation Talents of Henan Province (21HASTIT038), and the Major Science and Technology Projects of Henan Province (201300111300).Peer reviewe

Human Ribonuclease A Superfamily Members, Eosinophil-Derived Neurotoxin and Pancreatic Ribonuclease, Induce Dendritic Cell Maturation and Activation

A number of mammalian antimicrobial proteins produced by neutrophils and cells of epithelial origin have chemotactic and activating effects on host cells, including cells of the immune system. Eosinophil granules contain an antimicrobial protein known as eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN), which belongs to the RNase A superfamily. EDN has antiviral and chemotactic activities in vitro. In this study, we show that EDN, and to a lesser extent human pancreatic RNase (hPR), another RNase A superfamily member, activates human dendritic cells (DCs), leading to the production of a variety of inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and soluble receptors. Human angiogenin, a RNase evolutionarily more distant to EDN and hPR, did not display such activating effects. Additionally, EDN and hPR also induced phenotypic and functional maturation DCs. These RNases were as efficacious as TNF-α, but induced a different set of cytokine mediators. Furthermore, EDN production by human macrophages could be induced by proinflammatory stimuli. The results reveal the DC-activating activity of EDN and hPR and suggest that they are likely participants of inflammatory and immune responses. A number of endogenous mediators in addition to EDN have been reported to have both chemotactic and activating effects on APCs, and can thus amplify innate and Ag-specific immune responses to danger signals. We therefore propose these mediators be considered as endogenous multifunctional immune alarmins

Two essays on natural resources valuation: Wetlands benefit transfer and farmlands preservation efficiency

The first essay proposes to characterize the effects of ecological attributes used in choice modeling on the benefit transfer validity that can occur when different sets of ecological indicators are used to qualify otherwise identical ecological changes. With three distinctive attribute sets designed for aquatic restoration at two sites in Rhode Island, the study empirically estimates three categories of welfare measures (i.e. marginal utility, implicit price and compensating surplus). ^ The mixed logit results confirm that changes in representation of attributes affect the amount of information people absorb and the interpretation of policy outcomes, which in turn affect their decision making. Within convergent validity context, hypothesis test results indicate that the effects of different attribute sets vary across ecological attributes and across welfare measure categories. ^ The study concludes that convergent validity with marginal utility declines, indicating that adjustments among different types of indicators are needed in order to characterize ecological changes at the two sites. In addition to the effect of differences in attributes used, validity results with implicit price and compensating surplus are also affected by differences in the marginal utility of income at the two sites. ^ The objective of the second essay is to assess the impact of farmland preservation programs on the technical efficiency and profitability of dairy farms in Connecticut; a related objective addressed is how the inclusion of amenity benefits provided by farmland would affect technical efficiency and profitability. ^ Two scenarios are evaluated: technical efficiency and profitability without incorporating the amenity benefits provided by farmland; technical efficiency and profitability incorporating the amenity benefits provided by farmland. ^ The results indicate that participation in farmland preservation programs negatively affects technical efficiency and profitability of dairy farms in Connecticut; however, when incorporating amenity benefits in the evaluation, farmland preservation programs positively correlate with technical efficiency and have no significantly negative impact on the profitability of dairy farms. Therefore, tangible compensation is needed in order to balance the loss of private efficiency resulted from participation in farmland preservation programs and the public desire to preserve farmlands in Connecticut.

Two essays on natural resources valuation: Wetlands benefit transfer and farmlands preservation efficiency

The first essay proposes to characterize the effects of ecological attributes used in choice modeling on the benefit transfer validity that can occur when different sets of ecological indicators are used to qualify otherwise identical ecological changes. With three distinctive attribute sets designed for aquatic restoration at two sites in Rhode Island, the study empirically estimates three categories of welfare measures (i.e. marginal utility, implicit price and compensating surplus). ^ The mixed logit results confirm that changes in representation of attributes affect the amount of information people absorb and the interpretation of policy outcomes, which in turn affect their decision making. Within convergent validity context, hypothesis test results indicate that the effects of different attribute sets vary across ecological attributes and across welfare measure categories. ^ The study concludes that convergent validity with marginal utility declines, indicating that adjustments among different types of indicators are needed in order to characterize ecological changes at the two sites. In addition to the effect of differences in attributes used, validity results with implicit price and compensating surplus are also affected by differences in the marginal utility of income at the two sites. ^ The objective of the second essay is to assess the impact of farmland preservation programs on the technical efficiency and profitability of dairy farms in Connecticut; a related objective addressed is how the inclusion of amenity benefits provided by farmland would affect technical efficiency and profitability. ^ Two scenarios are evaluated: technical efficiency and profitability without incorporating the amenity benefits provided by farmland; technical efficiency and profitability incorporating the amenity benefits provided by farmland. ^ The results indicate that participation in farmland preservation programs negatively affects technical efficiency and profitability of dairy farms in Connecticut; however, when incorporating amenity benefits in the evaluation, farmland preservation programs positively correlate with technical efficiency and have no significantly negative impact on the profitability of dairy farms. Therefore, tangible compensation is needed in order to balance the loss of private efficiency resulted from participation in farmland preservation programs and the public desire to preserve farmlands in Connecticut.

Teaching as a Job, Career or Calling: Empirical Evidence from Agricultural University, China

Despite an emerging interest in work attitudes (job, career and calling), researchers know little about whether these attitudes matter in the workplace. We explore the under-examined relationship between work attitudes and work outcomes (work satisfaction and internal work motivation) among the teachers of Northwest A&F University China. Although some theory suggests that calling may be strongly correlated with work satisfaction, this study predicted that a career attitude is more positively associated with work satisfaction. The correlation analysis revealed a significant and positive relationship between career, calling and work outcomes as well as a significant and negative relationship between job and work outcomes. The multiple regression analysis indicated a significant impact of career and calling on work satisfaction but only calling has a significant impact on internal work motivation. Further, based on this study, we suggest that work attitudes as a predictor of work satisfaction can give very useful insights into redesigning jobs for the higher education sector in order to increase the level of job satisfaction and motivation of teachers

Spatial effect of factors affecting household CO2 emissions at the provincial level in China: a geographically weighted regression model

The size of household CO2 emissions (HCE) has drawn increasing attention recently. Due to differences in geographical location, traditional models do not provide a valid basis or countermeasures for CO2 emissions reduction in different provinces, leading to biased estimation. This paper uses a geographical weighted regression (GWR) model to examine the spatial effect of urbanization, energy intensity, energy structure and income on HCE. The results indicate an obvious spatial effect on carbon emissions in the provinces. The impact of urbanization on household CO2 emissions presented an increasing trend from the southeastern coast to the northwest from 2000 to 2015. Energy intensity had a remarkably positive effect on HCE in 2000 and 2015, although it had a negative effect in all provinces in 2005 and in some provinces in 2010. The elasticity coefficient of energy structure on HCE was negative in most provinces in all four years, indicating that more use of natural gas and electricity decreased HCE. Income was a powerful explanatory factor for growth in household CO2 carbon emissions in all years. The effect of income on HCE was positive and showed an increasing tendency year by year

Water Poverty in Rural Communities of Arid Areas in China

For developing countries, an adequate domestic water supply is conventionally assessed based on the proportion of communities that are covered by improved water sources. However, it is difficult to evaluate water poverty accurately, as it is multidimensional. For this reason, this paper used the Water Poverty Index (WPI) to measure water poverty in rural communities of arid areas in China. This study also uses the Least Square Error (LSE) model to analyze the influencing factors of water poverty. Based on the WPI and LSE, the results showed that the rural communities of Sheshu, Fanyao, Dongcao, Qiaodi, and Gouershang (listed in order of priority of need for intervention) are in a water poverty situation. In rural communities with high water poverty, the suggested priority order for the study was environment, capacity, use, resources, and access, with the environmental factor needing to be improved. The results are useful for prioritizing areas and identifying the extent of the need for policy intervention on different scales. The research findings are intended to complement the evaluation of water poverty and to provide a strategy for regional water resources management to relieve water poverty

Asset Specificity on the Intention of Farmers to Continue Land Recuperation: Based on the Perspective of Farmer Differentiation

Land recuperation is an important institutional guarantee for green agricultural development and an important measure to promote rural revitalization. Asset specificity is a crucial factor that affects farmers’ subsequent willingness to participate in land recuperation. Based on the perspective of farmer differentiation, this study uses survey data of 605 farmers in four counties of Gansu Province and employs the entropy method and the double-hurdle model to measure asset specificity and how it affects the subsequent willingness of different types of farmers to participate in land recuperation. The results show that: (1) farmers’ willingness to participate in land recuperation increases with the degree of their part-time occupations; (2) geographical location specificity has a significant negative effect on farmers’ intention and degree of subsequent land recuperations, and the impacts on non-farmers and II part-time farmers are significantly smaller than that on pure farmers and part-time farmers; (3) physical asset specificity has the most negligible influence on farmers’ subsequent willingness to participate; (4) human capital specificity has a significant negative impact on the intention and degree of land recuperation by farmers, and the effect is more significant for pure farmers than non-farmers; (5) factors such as land recuperation compensation satisfaction, land recuperation policy trust, social connection, and off-farm employment willingness promote the subsequent land recuperation willingness and degree of land recuperation of farmers, while the cultivated land area reduces the subsequent degree of participation in land recuperation

China’s Water-Saving Irrigation Management System: Policy, Implementation, and Challenge

In response to the increased competition for water, the Chinese government has determined to promote water-saving irrigation (WSI) followed by a range of institutional arrangements and policy goals. Three management mechanisms are analyzed in this study in terms of effectiveness, including the top-down regulation mechanism using direct control or economic instruments, the design-bid funding mechanism mobilizing local governments by competitive grants program, and the bottom-up participation mechanism transferring more irrigation management responsibilities to end-users. Although the WSI management has achieved notable improvements by the combination of different mechanisms, conflicts among different policy goals, uneven distribution of financial resources, and insufficient participation from water users caused the difficulty in aligning stakeholders’ incentives. Approaches are needed to enable sustainable management by coordinating incentives from different stakeholders in the management, as well as incorporating end water users to assist decision-making

Spatial Preference Heterogeneity for Integrated River Basin Management: The Case of the Shiyang River Basin, China

Integrated river basin management (IRBM) programs have been launched in most parts of China to ease escalating environmental degradation. Meanwhile, little is known about the benefits from and the support for these programs. This paper presents a case study of the preference heterogeneity for IRBM in the Shiyang River Basin, China, as measured by the Willingness to Pay (WTP), for a set of major restoration attributes. A discrete choice analysis of relevant restoration attributes was conducted. The results based on a sample of 1012 households in the whole basin show that, on average, there is significant support for integrated ecological restoration as indicated by significant WTP for all ecological attributes. However, residential location induced preference heterogeneities are prevalent. Generally, compared to upper-basin residents, middle sub-basin residents have lower mean WTP while lower sub-basin residents express higher mean WTP. The disparity in utility is partially explained by the difference in ecological and socio-economic status of the residents. In conclusion, estimating welfare benefit of IRBM projects based on sample responses from a specific sub-section of the basin only may either understate or overstate the welfare estimate