פרסומים

The genus Selaginella resides in an early branch of the land plant lineage that possesses a vasculature and roots. The majority of the Selaginella root system is shoot borne and emerges through a distinctive structure known as the rhizophore, the organ identity of which has been a long-debated question. The rhizophore of Selaginella moellendorffii - a model for the lycophytes - shows plasticity to develop into a root or shoot up until 8 d after angle meristem emergence, after which it is committed to root fate. We subsequently use morphology and plasticity to define the stage of rhizophore identity. Transcriptomic analysis of the rhizophore during its plastic stage reveals that, despite some resemblance to the root meristem, rhizophore gene expression patterns are largely distinct from both shoot and root meristems. Based on this transcriptomic analysis and on historical anatomical work, we conclude that the rhizophore is a distinct organ with unique features.

Photochemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization (photo-CIDNP) has been observed in the homodimeric, type-1 photochemical reaction centers (RCs) of the acidobacterium, Chloracidobacterium (Cab.) thermophilum, by 15N magic-angle spinning (MAS) solid-state NMR under continuous white-light illumination. Three light-induced emissive (negative) signals are detected. In the RCs of Cab. thermophilum, three types of (bacterio)chlorophylls have previously been identified: bacteriochlorophyll a (BChl a), chlorophyll a (Chl a), and Zn-bacteriochlorophyll a' (Zn-BChl a') (Tsukatani et al. in J Biol Chem 287:5720–5732, 2012). Based upon experimental and quantum chemical 15N NMR data, we assign the observed signals to a Chl a cofactor. We exclude Zn-BChl because of its measured spectroscopic properties. We conclude that Chl a is the primary electron acceptor, which implies that the primary donor is most likely Zn-BChl a'. Chl a and 81-OH Chl a have been shown to be the primary electron acceptors in green sulfur bacteria and heliobacteria, respectively, and thus a Chl a molecule serves this role in all known homodimeric type-1 RCs.

Persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.) is one of the most important fruits that has been consumed for its medicinal properties due to the presence of some active metabolites, particularly polyphenols and carotenoids. Previously described methods, including HPLC, were limited in the determination of metabolites in different persimmon varieties. The present study shows the evaluation and the differences among persimmon polar and non-polar extracts by (1)H NMR-based metabolomics approach. The hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) based on score values of principal component analysis (PCA) model was used to analyze the important compounds in investigated fruits. The (1)H NMR spectrum of persimmon chloroform (CDCl(3)) extracts showed different types of compounds as compared to polar methanol-water (CD(3)OD-D(2)O) ones. Persimmons growing in Israel were clustered different from those growing in Korea with the abundance of phenolic compounds (gallic, caffeic and protocathecuic acids), carotenoids ($\beta$-cryptoxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin), amino acids (alanine), maltose, uridine, and fatty acids (myristic and palmitoleic acids). Glucose, choline and formic acid were more prominent in persimmon growing in Korea. In CD(3)OD-D(2)O and CDCl(3) persimmon extracts, 43 metabolites were identified. The metabolic differences were shown as well on the results of bioactivities and antioxidant capacities determined by ABTS, FRAP, CUPRAC and DPPH assays. The presented methods can be widely used for quantitation of multiple compounds in many plant and biological samples especially in vegetables and fruits.

The growing prevalence of foreign media consumption, including from Japan, among young Chinese has received considerable notice in recent work on PRC youth culture. To date however, few studies have considered how youth of different social backgrounds perceive their consumption of Japanese popular culture in the context of the Party-state’s ’patriotic education’ campaign waged in schools and in the mass media since the 1990s. Studies have also overlooked the question of how rural and urban youth in China currently juxtapose the images and themes conveyed in the Japanese popular culture that they consume with school and domestic media messages about Japan. Drawing on interviews among senior middle school students in China, the present study addresses this issue. It finds that a majority of youth of different backgrounds profess animosity towards Japan, but readily separate these feelings from their passion for Japanese media. In some cases, consumption of Japanese popular culture allows youth to feel that they ’know’ - or even appreciate - the other country better. Amid the anti-Japanese messages youth currently receive at school and through domestic media, consumption of Japanese popular culture products therefore manifests a form of ’expressive individualism’ on the part of some Chinese youth, who creatively construct their own notions of patriotism, national memory, and Sino-Japanese relations.The growing prevalence of foreign media consumption, including from Japan, among young Chinese has received considerable notice in recent work on PRC youth culture. To date however, few studies have considered how youth of different social backgrounds perceive their consumption of Japanese popular culture in the context of the Party-state’s ’patriotic education’ campaign waged in schools and in the mass media since the 1990s. Studies have also overlooked the question of how rural and urban youth in China currently juxtapose the images and themes conveyed in the Japanese popular culture that they consume with school and domestic media messages about Japan. Drawing on interviews among senior middle school students in China, the present study addresses this issue. It finds that a majority of youth of different backgrounds profess animosity towards Japan, but readily separate these feelings from their passion for Japanese media. In some cases, consumption of Japanese popular culture allows youth to feel that they ’know’ - or even appreciate - the other country better. Amid the anti-Japanese messages youth currently receive at school and through domestic media, consumption of Japanese popular culture products therefore manifests a form of ’expressive individualism’ on the part of some Chinese youth, who creatively construct their own notions of patriotism, national memory, and Sino-Japanese relations.  

Abstract Silver nanoparticle based microelectrodes embedded between layers of hydrogel material were successfully fabricated. 3D bioprinting is employed to print the entire bioelectronics platform comprising of conducting silver ink and Gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogel. The additive manufacturing technique of bioprinting gives design freedom for the circuit, saves material and shortens the time to fabricate the bioelectronics platform. The silver platform shows excellent electrical conductivity, structural flexibility and stability in wet environment. It is tested for biocompatibility using C2C12 murine myoblasts cell line. The work demonstrates the potential of the fabricated platform for the realization of practical bioelectronic devices.

Hybrid organic–inorganic sol gel inks that can undergo both condensation and radical polymerization are developed, enabling fabrication of complex objects by additive manufacturing technology, yielding 3D objects with superior properties. The 3D objects have very high silica content and are printed by digital light processing commercial printers. The printed lightweight objects are characterized by excellent mechanical strength compared to currently used high-performance polymers (139 MPa), very high stability at elevated temperatures (heat deflection temperature >270 °C), high transparency (89%), and lack of cracks, with glossiness similar to silica glasses. The new inks fill the gap in additive manufacturing of objects composed of ceramics only and organic materials only, thus enabling harnessing the advantages of both worlds of materials.

A hybrid laser scheme for the generation and amplification of mid-IR ultrashort pulses, with a carrier to envelope stable phase, is presented. Seed mid-IR pulses with picojoule energies are obtained via intrapulse difference frequency generation from an 8 fs Ti:sapphire oscillator. The energy of these seed pulses is then amplified in a multipass Cr:ZnSe laser amplifier to more than a nanojoule/pulse level. The duration of the amplified impulses is measured to be 87 fs, and the width of their spectrum supports their compression to 50 fs.

Fungi transcriptionally upregulate expression of azole efflux pumps and ergosterol biosynthesis pathway genes when exposed to antifungal agents that target ergosterol biosynthesis. To date, these transcriptional responses have been shown to be dependent on the presence of the azoles and/or depletion of ergosterol. Using an inducible promoter to regulate , which encodes the major azole target, sterol 14α-demethylase, we were able to demonstrate that the CDR4 azole efflux pump can be transcriptionally activated by ergosterol biosynthesis inhibition even in the absence of azoles. By analyzing ergosterol deficient mutants, we demonstrate that the transcriptional responses by and, unexpectedly, genes encoding ergosterol biosynthesis enzymes ( genes) that are responsive to azoles, are not dependent on ergosterol depletion. Nonetheless, deletion of , which encodes C-8 sterol isomerase, also induced expression of . Deletion of also induced the expression of , the gene encoding C-14 sterol reductase, but not other tested genes which were responsive to inactivation. This indicates that inhibition of specific steps of ergosterol biosynthesis can result in different transcriptional responses, which is further supported by our results obtained using different ergosterol biosynthesis inhibitors. Together with the sterol profiles, these results suggest that the transcriptional responses by and genes are associated with accumulation of specific sterol intermediate(s). This was further supported by the fact that when the mutant was treated with ketoconazole, upstream inhibition overrode the effects by downstream inhibition on ergosterol biosynthesis pathway. Even though expression is associated with the accumulation of sterol intermediates, intra- and extracellular sterol analysis by HPLC-MS indicated that the transcriptional induction of did not result in efflux of the accumulated intermediate(s). This study demonstrates, by detailed genetic and chemical analysis, that transcriptional responses by a major efflux pump and genes of the ergosterol biosynthesis pathway to ergosterol biosynthesis inhibitors can be independent of the presence of the drugs and are linked with the accumulation of ergosterol intermediate(s).

Abstract The molecular mechanism regulating dormancy release in grapevine buds is as yet unclear. It was formerly proposed that dormancy is maintained by abscisic acid (ABA)-mediated repression of bud–meristem activity and that removal of this repression triggers dormancy release. It was also proposed that such removal of repression may be achieved via natural or artificial up-regulation of VvA8H-CYP707A4, which encodes ABA 8′-hydroxylase, and is the most highly expressed paralog in grapevine buds. The current study further examines these assumptions, and its experiments reveal that (a) hypoxia and ethylene, stimuli of bud dormancy release, enhance expression of VvA8H-CYP707A4 within grape buds, (b) the VvA8H-CYP707A4 protein accumulates during the natural transition to the dormancy release stage, and (c) transgenic vines overexpressing VvA8H-CYP707A4 exhibit increased ABA catabolism and significant enhancement of bud break in controlled and natural environments and longer basal summer laterals. The results suggest that VvA8H-CYP707A4 functions as an ABA degrading enzyme, and are consistent with a model in which the VvA8H-CYP707A4 level in the bud is up-regulated by natural and artificial bud break stimuli, which leads to increased ABA degradation capacity, removal of endogenous ABA-mediated repression, and enhanced regrowth. Interestingly, it also hints at sharing of regulatory steps between latent and lateral bud outgrowth.