High resolution dynamic mapping of the C. elegans intestinal brush border

The intestinal brush border is made of an array of microvilli that increases the membrane surface area for nutrient processing, absorption, and host defense. Studies on mammalian cultured epithelial cells uncovered some of the molecular players and physical constrains required to establish this apical specialized membrane. However, the building and maintenance of a brush border in vivo has not been investigated in detail yet. Here, we combined super-resolution imaging, transmission electron microscopy and genome editing in the developing nematode C. elegans to build a high-resolution and dynamic localization map of known and new brush border markers. Notably, we show that microvilli components are dynamically enriched at the apical membrane during microvilli outgrowth and maturation but become highly stable once microvilli are built. This new toolbox will be instrumental to understand the molecular processes of microvilli growth and maintenance in vivo as well as the effect of genetic perturbations, notably in the context of disorders affecting brush border integrity.

Quality of Work Life According to Walton’s Model: Case Study of the Higher Institute of Defense Studies of Mozambique

The quality of life at work has been one of the most important aspects to be considered by a given organization to achieve pre-defined objectives. Thus, this research aims to analyze the level of satisfaction with the quality of work life (QWL) of the employees of the Higher Institute of Defense Studies “Lieutenant-General Armando Emílio Guebuza” (ISEDEF) according to Walton’s model. A conceptual framework was built through a bibliographic and literature review. The instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire applied to 97 military and civilian personnel in August 2019. The results show that the general level of satisfaction with QWL is moderate, requiring an improvement in living conditions so that military education and training continues, as well as the development of models that enable the realization of benefits according to the social and economic level in the country.

Pedagogical Triage and Emergent Strategies: A Management Educational Program in Pandemic Times

This paper explores the post-pandemic strategic reorientation of a master in leadership and change management, investigating the conditions for its success and the side effects. The Master, which is part of the Defense Education Enhancement Plan recently approved by the Italian Ministry of Defense, led in partnership by the Center for High Defense Studies and the University of Salerno, aims at developing strategic leadership and change management competencies. The virtualization of the project work sessions that was caused by the pandemic emergency produced unexpected consequences that led the master directors to refocus the program as regards its format and method. The case-study, based on direct observation, unstructured interviews, and analysis of written documents and recorded audio, corroborates the literature regarding the emerging innovative, learner-centered approaches in management education, showing the effectiveness of an integrated educational approach based on traditional in-presence lectures, as well as experiential and project-based learning. It shows how the adjustments devised to cope with the consequences of teamwork virtualization proved to be synergistic, delivering positive outcomes in terms of participants’ satisfaction, learning, and impact. Future research avenues and practical implications are also highlighted, with a focus on the internal and external conditions for successful project-based learning in a distance learning environment.

NO Network for Plant–Microbe Communication Underground: A Review

Mechanisms governing plant–microbe interaction in the rhizosphere attracted a lot of investigative attention in the last decade. The rhizosphere is not simply a source of nutrients and support for the plants; it is rather an ecosystem teeming with diverse flora and fauna including different groups of microbes that are useful as well as harmful for the plants. Plant–microbe interaction occurs via a highly complex communication network that involves sophisticated machinery for the recognition of friend and foe at both sides. On the other hand, nitric oxide (NO) is a key, signaling molecule involved in plant development and defense. Studies on legume–rhizobia symbiosis suggest the involvement of NO during recognition, root hair curling, development of infection threads, nodule development, and nodule senescence. A similar role of NO is also suggested in the case of plant interaction with the mycorrhizal fungi. Another, insight into the plant–microbe interaction in the rhizosphere comes from the recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs)/microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) by the host plant and thereby NO-mediated activation of the defense signaling cascade. Thus, NO plays a major role in mediating the communication between plants and microbes in the rhizosphere. Interestingly, reports suggesting the role of silicon in increasing the number of nodules, enhancing nitrogen fixation, and also the combined effect of silicon and NO may indicate a possibility of their interaction in mediating microbial communication underground. However, the exact role of NO in mediating plant–microbe interaction remains elusive. Therefore, understanding the role of NO in underground plant physiology is very important, especially in relation to the plant’s interaction with the rhizospheric microbiome. This will help devise new strategies for protection against phytopathogens and enhancing plant productivity by promoting symbiotic interaction. This review focuses on the role of NO in plant–microbe communication underground.

Ending Corporate Anonymity: Beneficial Ownership, Sanctions Evasion, and What the United Nations Should Do About It

In the vast majority of jurisdictions around the world, there is a generous array of corporate forms available to persons and companies looking to do business. These entities come with varying degrees of regulation regarding how much information about the businesses’ principal owners must be disclosed at the time of registration and how much of that information is subsequently available to the public. There is little policy harmonization around the world on this matter. Dictators and despots have long taken advantage of this unintended identity shield to evade sanctions which target them; in July of 2019, the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS) published a comprehensive, investigative report into North Korea’s supply chain for luxury vehicles outlawed by U.N.S.C resolution 1718. C4ADS found eighty-two previously unreported shipments of 803 luxury vehicles – including two armored Mercedes limousines Kim Jong-Un was later pictured in – between 2015 and 2017 alone. At least twenty-four corporate entities, mostly based in China and Russia, participated in the process of covertly moving the cars to North Korea as guarantors, consignors, or consignees. Hugh Griffiths, Senior Researcher and Head of Countering Illicit Trafficking-Mechanism Assessment Program at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and coordinator for the U.N. panel convened to monitor North Korean sanctions compliance, summed up the significance of the problem succinctly. “If you can smuggle luxury limos into North Korea, which is done by shipping container,” he says, “that means you can smuggle in smaller components – dual-use items for ballistic and nuclear programs.” Deficient beneficial ownership protections around the world are not just the esoteric consequence of complicated legal systems; they present a significant threat to international peace and security as a vehicle for terrorism financing, sanctions evasion, and other forms of criminal activity. In six parts, this paper considers the development of beneficial ownership regulation since the 1990s, describes current efforts to harmonize jurisdiction-specific approaches, suggests more intensive involvement by the United Nations, establishes the legal basis for the use of the U.N. Security Council’s legislative powers on this issue, and argues that the United Nations is the international organization best-suited to drive towards universal, international compliance with the modern regulatory consensus.

Diaspora Causatum: Enhancing Defense Diplomacy Through Alterations in Citizenship Laws

The paper aims to analyze how diasporas across the globe can become potential elements in enhancing their home country's national interest. Through social aspects such as citizenship laws, engaging diasporas can be one way to broaden a state’s resources in its defense system. Comparative analysis and assessment are used to elaborate on how various countries – which possess a large number of diasporic communities along with comprehensive law systems that regulate its citizenship issues – are reflected upon and proposed for a modified model within Indonesia's scope. The paper concludes that modification of the Indonesian citizenship law in accordance with the government's strategic Defense Diplomacy is an effective way of enhancing sustainable ties with other countries. This research can be used within the government to consider diasporas as elements of national power. Other areas of study, such as defense studies and security studies, may also benefit. This research offers a unique way in altering Confidence Building Measure (CBM) mechanisms in the scope of Defense Diplomacy Studies that will enhance good relations and comprehensively establish synergies between public diplomacy and defense diplomacy en bloc.

Transcriptional Dynamics of the Salicylic Acid Response and its Interplay with the Jasmonic Acid Pathway

The phytohormone salicylic acid (SA) is a central regulator of plant immunity. Antagonistic and synergistic actions between SA and other defense-associated hormones like jasmonic acid (JA) play key roles in determining the outcome of the plant immune response. To obtain a deeper understanding of SA-mediated transcriptional reprogramming and SA/JA crosstalk, we generated a high-resolution time series of gene expression from Arabidopsis leaves treated with SA alone and a combination of SA and methyl JA (MeJA), sampled at 14 time points over a 16-h period. We found that approximately one-third of the Arabidopsis genome was differentially expressed in response to SA, and temporal changes in gene expression could be partitioned into 45 distinct clusters of process-specific coregulated genes, linked to specific cis-regulatory elements and binding of transcription factors (TFs). Integration of our expression data with information on TF-DNA binding allowed us to generate a dynamic gene regulatory network model of the SA response, recovering known regulators and identifying novel ones. We found that 12% of SA-responsive genes and 69% of the MeJA-responsive genes exhibited antagonistic or synergistic expression levels in the combination treatment. Multi-condition co-clustering of the single- and combined-hormone expression profiles predicted underlying regulatory mechanisms in signal integration. Finally, we identified the TFs ANAC061 and ANAC090 as negative regulators of SA pathway genes and defense against biotrophic pathogens. Collectively, our data provide an unprecedented level of detail about transcriptional changes during the SA response and SA/JA crosstalk, serving as a valuable resource for systems-level network studies and functional plant defense studies.