GoGlobal Rural-Urban

This is a book of edited articles and design projects from five years of collaborative international design projects in developed and developing economies, including China, Thailand, Ghana and Japan. Part One contains articles on initiatives including e-commerce models for developing economies, massclusivity and craft design. Part Two is dedicated to design solutions for China’s rural-urban migration issues, which affect 55 million people a year. The project enhances knowledge about the application of design thinking to national-level issues connecting policy to implementation, extending design activity into large-scale social and economic areas. The book follows an exhibition of design outcomes in London and Beijing (2010). Hall developed his chapter (‘Go Global: Ghana’) from a conference paper given at the ‘International Association of Societies of Design Research Conference’, South Korea (2009) and further expanded as a book chapter (with Barker) entitled ‘e-Artisans: Contemporary design for the global market’ in Global Design History (2011). ‘eArtisans’ researched a proposed e-commerce model linking designer-craftsmen with a global Internet sale and distribution model for African countries. The originality lay in proposing and testing knowledge, through design collaborations, in a combination of e-commerce enterprise models; it was significant in deploying the proposed model in an experimental educational initiative. The research was based on previous experience of design, craft and enterprise projects in Thailand and China, and aligned with a creative economies report by UNESCO (2008). The context was a collaboration at the KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana, where action-based research methods resulted in a case study illustrating cultural transfer. Support and partnership were also provided by Aid To Artisans, the British Council and Africa 53. A vital aspect was the discovery of how an e-commerce model changed design concepts and creative proposals. The GoGlobal project has continued with an edited publication, Designing Social City Experiences (Jin Nam and Hall 2013)

cDNA-AFLP analysis reveals differential gene expression in compatible interaction of wheat challenged with Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Puccinia striiformis </it>f. sp. <it>tritici </it>is a fungal pathogen causing stripe rust, one of the most important wheat diseases worldwide. The fungus is strictly biotrophic and thus, completely dependent on living host cells for its reproduction, which makes it difficult to study genes of the pathogen. In spite of its economic importance, little is known about the molecular basis of compatible interaction between the pathogen and wheat host. In this study, we identified wheat and <it>P. striiformis </it>genes associated with the infection process by conducting a large-scale transcriptomic analysis using cDNA-AFLP.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the total 54,912 transcript derived fragments (TDFs) obtained using cDNA-AFLP with 64 primer pairs, 2,306 (4.2%) displayed altered expression patterns after inoculation, of which 966 showed up-regulated and 1,340 down-regulated. 186 TDFs produced reliable sequences after sequencing of 208 TDFs selected, of which 74 (40%) had known functions through BLAST searching the GenBank database. Majority of the latter group had predicted gene products involved in energy (13%), signal transduction (5.4%), disease/defence (5.9%) and metabolism (5% of the sequenced TDFs). BLAST searching of the wheat stem rust fungus genome database identified 18 TDFs possibly from the stripe rust pathogen, of which 9 were validated of the pathogen origin using PCR-based assays followed by sequencing confirmation. Of the 186 reliable TDFs, 29 homologous to genes known to play a role in disease/defense, signal transduction or uncharacterized genes were further selected for validation of cDNA-AFLP expression patterns using qRT-PCR analyses. Results confirmed the altered expression patterns of 28 (96.5%) genes revealed by the cDNA-AFLP technique.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results show that cDNA-AFLP is a reliable technique for studying expression patterns of genes involved in the wheat-stripe rust interactions. Genes involved in compatible interactions between wheat and the stripe rust pathogen were identified and their expression patterns were determined. The present study should be helpful in elucidating the molecular basis of the infection process, and identifying genes that can be targeted for inhibiting the growth and reproduction of the pathogen. Moreover, this study can also be used to elucidate the defence responses of the genes that were of plant origin.</p

Electrical source of surface plasmon polaritons based on hybrid Au-GaAs QW structures

In this paper, the electrical excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) based on a hybrid metal-semiconductor quantum well (QW) structure is investigated by finite-difference time-domain The hybrid structure could serve as a plasmonic source for integrated plasmonic circuits

Genetics of Resistance to Common Root Rot (Spot Blotch), Fusarium Crown Rot, and Sharp Eyespot in Wheat

Due to soil changes, high density planting, and the use of straw-returning methods, wheat common root rot (spot blotch), Fusarium crown rot (FCR), and sharp eyespot (sheath blight) have become severe threats to global wheat production. Only a few wheat genotypes show moderate resistance to these root and crown rot fungal diseases, and the genetic determinants of wheat resistance to these devastating diseases are poorly understood. This review summarizes recent results of genetic studies of wheat resistance to common root rot, Fusarium crown rot, and sharp eyespot. Wheat germplasm with relatively higher resistance are highlighted and genetic loci controlling the resistance to each disease are summarized

Candidate Effector Pst_8713 Impairs the Plant Immunity and Contributes to Virulence of Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici

Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), the causal agent of stripe rust, is an obligate biotrophic pathogen responsible for severe wheat disease epidemics worldwide. Pst and other rust fungi are acknowledged to deliver many effector proteins to the host, but little is known about the effectors’ functions. Here, we report a candidate effector Pst_8713 isolated based on the genome data of CY32 and the expression of Pst_8713 is highly induced during the early infection stage. The Pst_8713 gene shows a low level of intra-species polymorphism. It has a functional N-terminal signal peptide and its product was found in the host cytoplasm and nucleus. Co-infiltrations in Nicotiana benthamiana demonsrated that Pst_8713 was capable of suppressing cell death triggered by mouse pro-apoptotic protein-BAX or Phytophthora infestans PAMP-INF1. Overexpression of Pst_8713 in plants suppressed pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) -associated callose deposition and expression of PTI-associated marker genes and promoted bacterial growth in planta. Effector-triggered immunity (ETI) induced by an avirulent Pst isolate was weakened when we overexpressed Pst_8713 in wheat leaves which accompanied by reduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and hypersensitive response (HR). In addition, the host induced gene silencing (HIGS) experiment showed that knockdown of Pst_8713 weakened the virulence of Pst by producing fewer uredinia. These results indicated that candidate effector Pst_8713 is involved in plant defense suppression and contributes to enhancing the Pst virulence

Superconducting Diode Effect and Large Magnetochiral Anisotropy in Td_d-MoTe2_2 Thin Film

In the absence of time-reversal invariance, metals without inversion symmetry may exhibit nonreciprocal charge transport -- a magnetochiral anisotropy that manifests as unequal electrical resistance for opposite current flow directions. If superconductivity also sets in, the charge transmission may become dissipationless in one direction while remaining dissipative in the opposite, thereby realizing a superconducting diode. Through both direct-current and alternating-current measurements, we study the nonreciprocal effects in thin films of the noncentrosymmetric superconductor T$_d$-MoTe\textsubscript{2} with disorders. We observe nonreciprocal superconducting critical currents with a diode efficiency close to 20\%~, and a large magnetochiral anisotropy coefficient up to \SI{5.9e8}{\per\tesla\per\ampere}, under weak out-of-plane magnetic field in the millitesla range. The great enhancement of rectification efficiency under out-of-plane magnetic field is likely abscribed to the vortex ratchet effect, which naturally appears in the noncentrosymmetric superconductor with disorders. Intriguingly, unlike the finding in Rashba systems, the strongest in-plane nonreciprocal effect does not occur when the field is perpendicular to the current flow direction. We develop a phenomenological theory to demonstrate that this peculiar behavior can be attributed to the asymmetric structure of spin-orbit coupling in T$_d$-MoTe\textsubscript{2}. Our study highlights how the crystallographic symmetry critically impacts the nonreciprocal transport, and would further advance the research for designing the superconducting diode with the best performance.Comment: 7 pages, 5figure

Quantum Dot Coherent Comb Laser Source for Converged Optical-Wireless Access Networks

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a converged optical-wireless WDM access network architecture enabled by a highly integrated quantum dot coherent comb laser. The converged optical-wireless WDM network features simultaneous delivery of coherent and millimeter wave (mmWave) / citizens broadband radio service (CBRS) signals over 50-km and 20 km fiber links, respectively

Microwave Synthesis and High‐Mobility Charge Transport of Carbon‐Nanotube‐in‐Perovskite Single Crystals

Organolead trihalide perovskites have emerged as a new class of competitive solution-processed semiconductors due to their unique optoelectronic properties. However, poor ambient stability and charge transport are the Achilles’ heel of hybrid perovskites, thus limiting their applications. In this work, microwave-assisted synthesis is applied for the first time to rapidly grow perovskite single crystals embedded with single-wall carbon nanotubes. These nanotube-in-perovskite single crystals are endowed with a carrier mobility one order of magnitude higher than the pure counterpart and the related photodetectors show an ultrafast photo-response speed (5 and 80 ns for rise and decay time, respectively). The fast and uniform heating of microwave irradiation facilitates the synthesis of ambient-stable crystals with nanoscale additives, paving the way to creating a wide range of mixed-dimensional perovskite-based nanocomposites with optimal properties and device performance

Genotypes and haplotypes of the VEGF gene and survival in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with chemoradiotherapy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a major mediator of angiogenesis involving in carcinogenesis, including lung cancer. We hypothesized that <it>VEGF </it>polymorphisms may affect survival outcomes among locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC) patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We genotyped three potentially functional <it>VEGF </it>variants [-460 T > C (rs833061), -634 G > C (rs2010963), and +936 C > T (rs3025039)] and estimated haplotypes in 124 Caucasian patients with LA-NSCLC treated with definitive radiotherapy. We used Kaplan-Meier log-rank tests, and Cox proportional hazard models to evaluate the association between <it>VEGF </it>variants and overall survival (OS).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Gender, Karnofsky's performance scores (KPS) and clinical stage seemed to influence the OS. The variant C genotypes were independently associated with significantly improved OS (CT+CC vs. TT: adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 0.58; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.37-0.92, <it>P </it>= 0.022), compared with the <it>VEGF </it>-460 TT genotype.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our study suggests that <it>VEGF </it>-460 C genotypes may be associated with a better survival of LA-NSCLC patients after chemoradiotherapy. Large studies are needed to confirm our findings.</p

Molecular Characterization of a Fus3/Kss1 Type MAPK from Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, PsMAPK1

Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) is an obligate biotrophic fungus that causes the destructive wheat stripe rust disease worldwide. Due to the lack of reliable transformation and gene disruption method, knowledge about the function of Pst genes involved in pathogenesis is limited. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) genes have been shown in a number of plant pathogenic fungi to play critical roles in regulating various infection processes. In the present study, we identified and characterized the first MAPK gene PsMAPK1 in Pst. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that PsMAPK1 is a YERK1 MAP kinase belonging to the Fus3/Kss1 class. Single nucleotide polymerphisms (SNPs) and insertion/deletion were detected in the coding region of PsMAPK1 among six Pst isolates. Real-time RT-PCR analyses revealed that PsMAPK1 expression was induced at early infection stages and peaked during haustorium formation. When expressed in Fusarium graminearum, PsMAPK1 partially rescued the map1 mutant in vegetative growth and pathogenicity. It also partially complemented the defects of the Magnaporthe oryzae pmk1 mutant in appressorium formation and plant infection. These results suggest that F. graminearum and M. oryzae can be used as surrogate systems for functional analysis of well-conserved Pst genes and PsMAPK1 may play a role in the regulation of plant penetration and infectious growth in Pst