scholarly journals HEXOKINASE1 interferes with cytokinin synthesis and strigolactone perception during sugar-induced shoot branching

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francois F. Barbier ◽  
Da Cao ◽  
Franziska Fichtner ◽  
Christoph Weiste ◽  
Maria-Dolores Perez-Garcia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Architecture ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
List Type ◽  
Shoot Branching ◽  
Shoot Architecture ◽  
Sugar Signalling ◽  
Cytokinin Treatment ◽  
Cytokinin Synthesis ◽  
Strigolactone Signalling ◽  
Dependent Pathway

ABSTRACT-Plant architecture is controlled by several endogenous signals including hormones and sugars. However, only little is known about the nature and roles of the sugar signalling pathways in this process. Here we test whether the sugar pathway mediated by HEXOKINASE1 (HXK1) is involved in the control of shoot branching.-To test the involvement of HXK1 in the control of shoot architecture we modulated the HXK1 pathway using physiological and genetic approaches in diverse plants, rose, arabidopsis and pea and evaluated impacts of hormonal pathways.-We show that triggering a hexokinase-dependent pathway was able to promote bud outgrowth in pea and rose. In arabidopsis, both HXK1 deficiency and defoliation led to decreased shoot branching and conferred hypersensitivity to auxin. HXK1 expression was positively correlated with sugar availability. HXK1-deficient plants displayed decreased cytokinin levels and increased expression of MAX2 which is required for strigolactone signalling. The branching phenotype of HXK1-deficient plants could be partly restored by cytokinin treatment and strigolactone deficiency could override the negative impact of HXK1 deficiency on shoot branching.-Our observations demonstrate that a HXK1-dependent pathway contributes to the regulation of shoot branching and interact with hormones to modulate plant architecture.

scholarly journals Sucrose represses the expression of the strigolactone signalling gene D3/RMS4/MAX2 to promote tillering

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suyash B. Patil ◽  
Francois F. Barbier ◽  
Jinfeng Zhao ◽  
Syed Adeel Zafar ◽  
Muhammad Uzair ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Shoot Branching ◽  
Over Expression ◽  
Feeding Experiments ◽  
Signalling Network ◽  
Shoot Architecture ◽  
Dicotyledonous Plants ◽  
Strigolactone Signalling ◽  
High Sucrose

AbstractShoot branching, which is regulated by a complex signalling network, is a major component of plant architecture and therefore of crop yield. Sugars, acting in a network with hormones, have recently emerged as key players in the control of shoot branching. Previous studies in dicotyledonous plants have shown that sucrose suppresses the inhibitory effect of the plant hormone strigolactone (SL) during this process. The molecular mechanisms underlying this effect are unknown. Here we show that sucrose could antagonise the suppressive action of SL on tillering in rice. At the mechanistic level, we revealed that sucrose alleviates SL-mediated degradation of D53. Increase in sucrose availability inhibits the expression of D3, which encodes the orthologue of the arabidopsis F-box MAX2 required for SL signalling. Over-expression of D3 prevented sucrose from inhibiting D53 degradation and enabled the SL inhibition of tillering under high sucrose. The enhanced bud elongation of the d3 mutant to sucrose treatment indicates that suppressed SL perception reduces the minimum amount of sucrose required for sustained bud outgrowth. Decapitation and sugar feeding experiments in pea indicate that RMS4, the D3/MAX2 orthologue in pea, is also involved in the interactions between sucrose and SL. This work shows that D3/MAX2/RMS4 is a key component in the integrating both SL and sugar pathways during the regulation of shoot architecture.

scholarly journals Potential advantages and limitations of using information fusion in media forensics—a discussion on the example of detecting face morphing attacks

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Kraetzer ◽  
Andrey Makrushin ◽  
Jana Dittmann ◽  
Mario Hildebrandt
Keyword(s):  
Information Fusion ◽  
Classification Accuracy ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Field Application ◽  
Attack Detection ◽  
Majority Voting ◽  
Forensic Sciences ◽  
List Type ◽  
Media Forensics ◽  
Shafer Theory

AbstractInformation fusion, i.e., the combination of expert systems, has a huge potential to improve the accuracy of pattern recognition systems. During the last decades, various application fields started to use different fusion concepts extensively. The forensic sciences are still hesitant if it comes to blindly applying information fusion. Here, a potentially negative impact on the classification accuracy, if wrongly used or parameterized, as well as the increased complexity (and the inherently higher costs for plausibility validation) of fusion is in conflict with the fundamental requirements for forensics.The goals of this paper are to explain the reasons for this reluctance to accept such a potentially very beneficial technique and to illustrate the practical issues arising when applying fusion. For those practical discussions the exemplary application scenario of morphing attack detection (MAD) is selected with the goal to facilitate the understanding between the media forensics community and forensic practitioners.As general contributions, it is illustrated why the naive assumption that fusion would make the detection more reliable can fail in practice, i.e., why fusion behaves in a field application sometimes differently than in the lab. As a result, the constraints and limitations of the application of fusion are discussed and its impact to (media) forensics is reflected upon.As technical contributions, the current state of the art of MAD is expanded by: The introduction of the likelihood-based fusion and an fusion ensemble composition experiment to extend the set of methods (majority voting, sum-rule, and Dempster-Shafer Theory of evidence) used previously The direct comparison of the two evaluation scenarios “MAD in document issuing” and “MAD in identity verification” using a realistic and some less restrictive evaluation setups A thorough analysis and discussion of the detection performance issues and the reasons why fusion in a majority of the test cases discussed here leads to worse classification accuracy than the best individual classifier

Integration of the SMXL/D53 strigolactone signalling repressors in the model of shoot branching regulation in Pisum sativum

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie C. Kerr ◽  
Suyash Patil ◽  
Alexandre de Saint Germain ◽  
Jean‐Paul Pillot ◽  
Julie Saffar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pisum Sativum ◽  
Shoot Branching ◽  
Strigolactone Signalling

scholarly journals Exposure to auditory feedback delay while speaking induces perceptual habituation but does not mitigate the disruptive effect of delay on speech auditory-motor learning

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas M. Shiller ◽  
Takashi Mitsuya ◽  
Ludo Max
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Detrimental Effect ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Motor Adaptation ◽  
List Type ◽  
Disruptive Effect ◽  
Feedback Delay ◽  
Spectral Perturbation

ABSTRACTPerceiving the sensory consequences of our actions with a delay alters the interpretation of these afferent signals and impacts motor learning. For reaching movements, delayed visual feedback of hand position reduces the rate and extent of visuomotor adaptation, but substantial adaptation still occurs. Moreover, the detrimental effect of visual feedback delay on reach motor learning—selectively affecting its implicit component—can be mitigated by prior habituation to the delay. Auditory-motor learning for speech has been reported to be more sensitive to feedback delay, and it remains unknown whether habituation to auditory delay reduces its negative impact on learning. We investigated whether 30 minutes of exposure to auditory delay during speaking (a) affects the subjective perception of delay, and (b) mitigates its disruptive effect on speech auditory-motor learning. During a speech adaptation task with real-time perturbation of vowel spectral properties, participants heard this frequency-shifted feedback with no delay, 75 ms delay, or 115 ms delay. In the delay groups, 50% of participants had been exposed to the delay throughout a preceding 30-minute block of speaking whereas the remaining participants completed this block without delay. Although habituation minimized awareness of the delay, no improvement in adaptation to the spectral perturbation was observed. Thus, short-term habituation to auditory feedback delays is not effective in reducing the negative impact of delay on speech auditory-motor adaptation. Combined with previous findings, the strong negative effect of delay and the absence of an influence of delay awareness suggest the involvement of predominantly implicit learning mechanisms in speech.HIGHLIGHTSSpeech auditory-motor adaptation to a spectral perturbation was reduced by ~50% when feedback was delayed by 75 or 115 ms.Thirty minutes of prior delay exposure without perturbation effectively reduced participants’ awareness of the delay.However, habituation was ineffective in remediating the detrimental effect of delay on speech auditory-motor adaptation.The dissociation of delay awareness and adaptation suggests that speech auditory-motor learning is mostly implicit.

scholarly journals Leaf shape is a predictor of fruit quality and cultivar performance in tomato

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven D. Rowland ◽  
Kristina Zumstein ◽  
Hokuto Nakayama ◽  
Zizhang Cheng ◽  
Amber M. Flores ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fruit Quality ◽  
Leaf Morphology ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Leaf Shape ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
List Type ◽  
Vegetable Crops ◽  
Tomato Crop

SummaryCommercial tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the most widely grown vegetable crops worldwide. Heirloom tomatoes retain extensive genetic diversity and a considerable range of fruit quality and leaf morphological traits.Here the role of leaf morphology was investigated for its impact on fruit quality. Heirloom cultivars were grown in field conditions and BRIX by Yield (BY) and other traits measured over a fourteen-week period. The complex relationships among these morphological and physiological traits were evaluated using PLS-Path Modeling, and a consensus model developed.Photosynthesis contributed strongly to vegetative biomass and sugar content of fruits but had a negative impact on yield. Conversely leaf shape, specifically rounder leaves, had a strong positive impact on both fruit sugar content and yield. Cultivars such as Stupice and Glacier, with very round leaves, had the highest performance in both fruit sugar and yield. Our model accurately predicted BY for two commercial cultivars using leaf shape data as input.This study revealed the importance of leaf shape to fruit quality in tomato, with rounder leaves having significantly improved fruit quality. This correlation was maintained across a range of diverse genetic backgrounds and shows the importance of leaf morphology in tomato crop improvement.

scholarly journals How does nitrogen shape plant architecture?

2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (15) ◽  
pp. 4415-4427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Le Luo ◽  
Yali Zhang ◽  
Guohua Xu
Keyword(s):  
Cell Division ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Plant Architecture ◽  
Reproductive Organs ◽  
N Fertilization ◽  
High Yield ◽  
Shoot Branching ◽  
Shoot Height ◽  
Plant Nitrogen ◽  
N Supply

Abstract Plant nitrogen (N), acquired mainly in the form of nitrate and ammonium from soil, dominates growth and development, and high-yield crop production relies heavily on N fertilization. The mechanisms of root adaptation to altered supply of N forms and concentrations have been well characterized and reviewed, while reports concerning the effects of N on the architecture of vegetative and reproductive organs are limited and are widely dispersed in the literature. In this review, we summarize the nitrate and amino acid regulation of shoot branching, flowering, and panicle development, as well as the N regulation of cell division and expansion in shaping plant architecture, mainly in cereal crops. The basic regulatory steps involving the control of plant architecture by the N supply are auxin-, cytokinin-, and strigolactone-controlled cell division in shoot apical meristem and gibberellin-controlled inverse regulation of shoot height and tillering. In addition, transport of amino acids has been shown to be involved in the control of shoot branching. The N supply may alter the timing and duration of the transition from the vegetative to the reproductive growth phase, which in turn may affect cereal crop architecture, particularly the structure of panicles for grain yield. Thus, proper manipulation of N-regulated architecture can increase crop yield and N use efficiency.

scholarly journals Mental Health During COVID-19: A Qualitative Study with Ethnically Diverse Healthcare Workers in the United Kingdom

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irtiza Qureshi ◽  
Mayuri Gogoi ◽  
Amani Al-Oraibi ◽  
Fatimah Wobi ◽  
Jonathan Chaloner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Ethnically Diverse ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Severe Illness ◽  
List Type ◽  
The United Kingdom

ABSTRACTIntroductionHealthcare workers are experiencing deterioration in their mental health due to COVID-19. Ethnic minority populations in the United Kingdom are disproportionately affected by COVID-19, with a higher death rate and poorer physical and mental health outcomes. It is important that healthcare organisations consider the specific context and mental, as well as physical, health needs of an ethnically diverse healthcare workforce in order to better support them during, and after, the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsWe undertook a qualitative work package as part of the United Kingdom Research study into Ethnicity and COVID-19 outcomes among healthcare workers (UK-REACH). As part of the qualitative research, we conducted focus group discussions with healthcare workers between December 2020 and July 2021, and covered topics such as their experiences, fears and concerns, and perceptions about safety and protection, while working during the pandemic. The purposive sample included ancillary health workers, doctors, nurses, midwives and allied health professionals from diverse ethnic backgrounds. We conducted discussions using Microsoft Teams. Recordings were transcribed and thematically analysed.FindingsWe carried out 16 focus groups with a total of 61 participants. Several factors were identified which contributed to, and potentially exacerbated, the poor mental health of ethnic minority healthcare workers during this period including anxiety (due to inconsistent protocols and policy); fear (of infection); trauma (due to increased exposure to severe illness and death); guilt (of potentially infecting loved ones); and stress (due to longer working hours and increased workload).ConclusionCOVID-19 has affected the mental health of healthcare workers. We identified a number of factors which may be contributing to a deterioration in mental health across diverse ethnic groups. Healthcare organisations should consider developing strategies to counter the negative impact of these factors. This paper will help employers of healthcare workers and other relevant policy makers better understand the wider implications and potential risks of COVID-19 and assist in developing strategies to safeguard the mental health of these healthcare workers going forward, and reduce ethnic disparities.Key messagesWhat is already known about this subjectHealthcare Workers (HCWs) are experiencing deterioration of their mental health due to COVID-19Ethnic minority populations and HCWs are disproportionately affected by COVID-19More research is needed on the specific factors influencing the mental health of ethnically diverse healthcare workforcesWhat are the new findingsProminent factors influencing the mental health and emotional wellbeing of this population include:anxiety (due to inconsistent protocols and policy)fear (of infection)trauma (due to increased exposure to severe illness and death)guilt (of potentially infecting loved ones)stress (due to longer working hours and increased workload)How might this impact on policy or clinical practice in the foreseeable futureHealthcare organisations should consider the specific circumstances of these staff and develop strategies to counter the negative impact of these factors and help safeguard the mental health of their staff

scholarly journals The effects of stress on the driving abilities of paramedic students: a pilot, simulator-based study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor Hines Duncliffe ◽  
Brittany D’Angelo ◽  
Michael Brock ◽  
Cal Fraser ◽  
Jake Lamarra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Clinical Performance ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
List Type ◽  
Clinical Scenario ◽  
Clinical Scenarios ◽  
Stress Levels ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Effects Of Stress

AbstractBackgroundPrevious research has suggested that stress may have a negative effect on the clinical performance of paramedics. In addition, stress has been demonstrated to have a negative impact the driving abilities of the general population, increasing the number of driving errors. However, to date no studies have explored stress and its potential impact on non-clinical performance of paramedics, particularly their driving abilities.MethodsParamedic students underwent emergency driving assessment in a driving simulator before and after exposure to a stressful medical scenario. Number and type of errors were documented before and after by both driving simulator software and observation by two observers from the research team. The NASA Task Load Index (TLX) was utilised to record self-reported stress levels.Results36 students participated in the study. Following exposure to a stressful medical scenario, paramedic students demonstrated no increase in overall error rate, but demonstrated an increase in three critical driving errors, namely failure to wear a seatbelt (3 baseline v 10 post stress), failing to stop for red lights or stop signs (7 v 35), and losing control of the vehicle (2 v 11). Self-reported stress levels also increased after the clinical scenario, particularly in the area of mental (cognitive) demand.ConclusionParamedics are routinely exposed to acute stress in their everyday work, and this stress could affect their non-clinical performance. The critical errors committed by participants in this study closely matched those considered to be contributory factors in many ambulance collisions. These results stimulate the need for further research into the effects of stress on non-clinical performance in general, and highlight the potential need to consider additional driver training and stress management education in order to mitigate the frequency and severity of driving errors.Key pointsParamedics are exposed to stressful clinical scenarios during the course of their workMany critical and serious clinical calls require transport to hospitalAmbulance crashes occur regularly and pose a significant risk to the safety and wellbeing of both patients and paramedicsThis simulated clinical scenario followed by a simulated driving scenario has highlighted that stress appears to affect driving abilities in paramedic studentsThe findings of this study, although conducted in paramedic students in simulated environments, highlight the need to further investigate the effects of stress on driving abilities among paramedics

Shoot Branching and Plant Architecture

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom A Bennett ◽  
Scott R Crawford ◽  
Sally P Ward ◽  
Ottoline Leyser
Keyword(s):  
Plant Architecture ◽  
Shoot Branching

728 Antibiotics and response to immunotherapy: real-world experience

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A771-A771
Author(s):  
Yasar Ahmed ◽  
Paula Calvert
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Outcomes ◽  
Immune Checkpoint ◽  
Antimicrobial Agents ◽  
Advanced Nsclc ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Checkpoint Inhibitors ◽  
Antibiotic Use ◽  
List Type ◽  
Kaplan Meier ◽  
Antibiotics Use

BackgroundImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have altered the therapeutic paradigm of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and have become an attractive treatment strategy in several malignancies. The identification of reliable predictors associated with resistance is essential to dictate new approaches to broaden responder groups.Growing evidence has shown that the gut microbiome is an important regulator of the systemic immune system and is involved in the response to ICI. The aim of the study was to evaluate the association between antibiotics use & ICI efficacy in advanced NSCLCMethodsA retrospective, single-centre study of unselected patients with advanced NSCLC treated with ICI between June 2016 to May 2019. We included consecutive patients who received at least one dose of PD-1 inhibitors (Nivolumab or pembrolizumab) Clinicopathologic characteristics and the status of any oral or intravenous antibiotic use were evaluated. Antibiotic use was defined as antibiotic treatment at any time between 4-weeks pre- and 4-weeks post the start of ICI (table 1).Progression-Free Survival (PFS) & Overall Survival (OS) were estimated with Kaplan-Meier method & compared between Abx groups. Cox proportional model was used for multivariate analysesResultsAfter a median follow-up of 8.5 months [0.3–56.4], a significant improvement in PFS was observed in untreated group compared to Antibiotics treated group. 12.4 months (95%CI, 1.9–22.9) vs 4.1 months (95%CI, 2.6–5.6) (p < 0.001; figure 1). Similarly, OS among patients with no Antibiotics usage was significantly higher: 28.2 months (95%CI, not calculated) vs 12.5 months (95%CI, 10.8–14.2) (p < 0.001; figure 2).Abstract 728 Table 1Abstract 728 Figure 1Kaplan-Meier curves for PFS in patients with and without antibiotics useAbstract 728 Figure 2Kaplan-Meier curves for OS in patients with and without antibiotics useConclusionsOur results point to a detrimental effect of antibiotics on treatment outcome to ICI therapy.The antibiotics use was significantly associated with attenuated efficacy of anti-PD-1 therapies in patients with NSCLC Modulation of antibiotic-related changes of gut microbiota may be important to improve clinical outcomes in ICI for cancer treatmentIn patients needing antibiotics, careful selection to avoid antimicrobial agents that modulate immune responses should also be taken into considerationFurther studies are needed to determine the regimen, length of antibiotics treatment and its relation to survival benefitsReferencesWilson, Brooke E., et al. ‘The effect of antibiotics on clinical outcomes in immune-checkpoint blockade: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.’ Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy 2019:1–12.Elkrief, A., et al. ‘The negative impact of antibiotics on outcomes in cancer patients treated with immunotherapy: a new independent prognostic factor?.’ Annals of Oncology 2019;30(10): 1572–1579.Villéger, Romain, et al. ‘Intestinal microbiota: a novel target to improve anti-tumor treatment?.’International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2019;20(18):4584

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