Cytokinin Confers Brown Planthopper Resistance by Elevating Jasmonic Acid Pathway in Rice

Plants have evolved a sophisticated defense system that employs various hormone pathways to defend against attacks by insect pests. Cytokinin (CK) plays an important role in plant growth and stress tolerance, but the role of CKs in plant–insect interaction remains largely unclear. Here, we report that CKs act as a positive regulator in rice resistance against brown planthopper (BPH), a devastating insect pest of rice. We found that BPH feeding promotes CK biosynthesis and signaling in rice. Exogenous application of CKs significantly increased the rice resistance to BPH. Increasing endogenous CKs by knocking out cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase (OsCKXs) led to enhanced resistance to BPH. Moreover, the levels of the plant hormone jasmonic acid (JA) and the expression of JA-responsive genes were elevated by CK treatment and in OsCKXs knockout plants. Furthermore, JA-deficient mutant og1 was more susceptible to BPH, and CK-induced BPH resistance was suppressed in og1. These results indicate that CK-mediated BPH resistance is JA-dependent. Our findings provide the direct evidence for the novel role of CK in promoting insect resistance, and demonstrate that CK-induced insect resistance is JA-dependent. These results provide important guidance for effective pest management strategies in the future.     

COVID-19 pandemic dynamics in India,the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant and implications for vaccination

The Delta variant is a major SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern first identified in India. To better understand COVID-19 pandemic dynamics and Delta, we use multiple datasets and model-inference to reconstruct COVID-19 pandemic dynamics in India during March 2020–June 2021. We further use the large discrepancy in one- and two-dose vaccination coverage in India (53% versus 23% by end of October 2021) to examine the impact of vaccination and whether prior non-Delta infection can boost vaccine effectiveness (VE). We estimate that Delta escaped immunity in 34.6% (95% CI: 0–64.2%) of individuals with prior wild-type infection and was 57.0% (95% CI: 37.9–75.6%) more infectious than wild-type SARS-CoV-2. Models assuming higher VE among non-Delta infection recoverees, particularly after the first dose, generated more accurate predictions than those assuming no such increases (best-performing VE setting: 90/95% versus 30/67% baseline for the first/second dose). Counterfactual modelling indicates that high vaccination coverage for first vaccine dose in India combined with the boosting of VE among recoverees averted around 60% of infections during July–mid-October 2021. These findings provide support to prioritizing first-dose vaccination in regions with high underlying infection rates, given continued vaccine shortages and new variant emergence.     

VI-116, A Novel Potent Inhibitor of VRAC with Minimal Effect on ANO1

Volume-regulated anion channel (VRAC) is ubiquitously expressed and plays a pivotal role in vertebrate cell volume regulation. A heterologous complex of leucine-rich repeat containing 8A (LRRC8A) and LRRC8B-E constitutes the VRAC, which is involved in various processes such as cell proliferation, migration, differentiation, intercellular communication, and apoptosis. However, the lack of a potent and selective inhibitor of VRAC limits VRAC-related physiological and pathophysiological studies, and most previous VRAC inhibitors strongly blocked the calcium-activated chloride channel, anoctamin 1 (ANO1). In the present study, we performed a cell-based screening for the identification of potent and selective VRAC inhibitors. Screening of 55,000 drug-like small-molecules and subsequent chemical modification revealed 3,3′-((2-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)methylene)bis(4-hydroxy-2H-chromen-2-one) (VI-116), a novel potent inhibitor of VRAC. VI-116 fully inhibited VRAC-mediated I⁻ quenching with an IC₅₀ of 1.27 ± 0.18 μM in LN215 cells and potently blocked endogenous VRAC activity in PC3, HT29 and HeLa cells in a dose-dependent manner. Notably, VI-116 had no effect on intracellular calcium signaling up to 10 μM, which completely inhibited VRAC, and showed high selectivity for VRAC compared to ANO1 and ANO2. However, DCPIB, a VRAC inhibitor, significantly affected ATP-induced increases in intracellular calcium levels and Eact-induced ANO1 activation. In addition, VI-116 showed minimal effect on hERG K⁺ channel activity up to 10 μM. These results indicate that VI-116 is a potent and selective VRAC inhibitor and a useful research tool for pharmacological dissection of VRAC.     

First-principles study of multiple-site substitutions of alloying elements in Ni-based single crystal superalloys

The development of Ni-based single crystal superalloys relies heavily on the composition design with the addition of critical alloying elements,e.g.,Re and Ru.Understanding the role of alloying effects require to know the configurations of the alloying element distribution betweenγ-Ni andγ′-Ni_3Al phases and among various non-equivalent sites.This work employed firstprinciples density functional theory calculations to study the preference of phase and site occupancy of 11 alloying elements including Al and transition metal elements:3d (Ti,Cr,Co,Ni),4d (Mo,Ru),and 5d (Hf,Ta,W,Re) in Ni and Ni_3Al.We calculated the substitution energies of 1298 triple-site doping configurations including 286 Ni Ni Ni site doping of Ni,726 Al Ni Ni site doping,and 286 Ni Ni Ni site doping of Ni_3Al with alloying elements Ni,Co,Ru,Cr,Re,Mo,W,Al,Ti,Ta,and Hf.In the dual-site and triple-site doping of Ni and Ni_3Al,all studied alloying elements preferred to occupy Ni phase rather than Ni_3Al phase.We found that the most stable defect complexes often contained the favorable substitutions of Al,Ti,Ta,and Hf for the Ni sites that stabilized the alloying elements doping at the other one or two nearest neighbor sites.The co-substitutions of various alloying elements at multiple sites are critical to understanding the strengthening mechanism of alloying elements in Ni-based single crystal superalloys.     

基于PLC的紧凑型回旋加速器联锁保护系统

介绍了CYCHU10紧凑型回旋加速器联锁保护系统的实现方法.系统选取以PLC为核心,现场总线为网络构架,S7Graph为主要编程语言的技术路线,采用分布式结构和结构化程序设计方法,从硬件和软件上保证了联锁保护系统的可靠性、可维护性及可扩充性.应用结果表明,该联锁系统较好地整合了加速器各子系统,为加速器的安全稳定运行提供了保障,取得了理想的控制效果.     

印刷专业教师研讨会在河内举行

德国印刷促进会在国外为专业教师举办的第二次研讨会,于3月23日至25日在越南河内印刷工业学院(Hanoi college of printing industry)成功举办。出席研讨会的约50名专业教师,来自印尼和越南的10所不同的大学和培训中心。     

WIPO Panels’ interpretation of the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) three-prong test

The Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) is a unique process that resolves domain name disputes effectively and inexpensively. This paper, through an analysis of the UDRP three-prong test, revealed that even though the UDRP affords a great degree of discretion to the WIPO Panels deciding any given case, there is some consistency and predictability inherent in the UDRP process.     

Theoretical Analysis of Diffraction Efficiency of Photocarrier Grating

The diffraction efficiency of the photocarrier grating (PCG) has been theoretically analyzed. Firstly, the model of the PCG has been set up, and the distribution of the carrier concentration has been studied. Secondly, the change in refractive index produced by the photocarriers has been estimated. Finally, a rigorous coupled-wave analysis has been employed to investigate the diffraction efficiency of the PCG. The results show that when the angle between the two excitation lasers increases, the change of the refractive index decreases, leading to a weak grating. The optimal incident angle of the probe laser is dependent on the angle between the two excitation lasers, and the relation between these two angles for the higher diffraction efficiency of the +1st forward-diffracted wave has been found. In terms of diffraction efficiency, the optimal parameters have been estimated, and the feasibility of the PCG to be a forward-diffracted component has been confirmed.     

对资金时间价值的再认识

在对资金时间价值的内涵进行分析的基础上,文章提出了资金时间价值应用中需要注意的一些事项。这对更好地运用时间价值的观念去解决实际问题具有参考价值。