Fundamentals of professional intercultural communication

The textbook examines the fundamental problems of professional intercultural communication, outlines the main components of the professional competence of a specialist in intercultural communication, his personal qualities necessary for successful professional activity. The author's concept of attack strategies and self-defense strategies in the communicative battles of professionals is presented. Meets the requirements of the federal state educational standards of higher education of the latest generation. For students studying in the areas of training and specialties: 45.03.02 "Linguistics": profiles "Theory and practice of intercultural communication" and "Theory and methodology of teaching foreign languages and cultures"; 45.05.01 "Translation and translation studies"; 41.03.05 "International relations"; 41.06.01 "Political sciences and regional studies". It is also of interest to specialists in the field of intercultural communication.

The Role of Non-Coding RNA in Rice Immunity

Disease has been a major concern in the rice-growing sector, resulting in significant losses and compromised food security. To combat disease, plants have devised various defense strategies. Initial works in understanding plant–pathogen interactions were focused on discovering resistance and pathogenicity genes, as well as analyzing the functions of these genes in the host defense. Later, researchers discovered that regulatory elements, such as transcription factors, were essential players in modulating plant defenses. As the depth of research and knowledge in this field increased, non-coding RNA (ncRNA) were discovered to play key functions in plant immunity. In this review, we explore the contribution and interaction of microRNAs (miRNAs), long ncRNAs (lncRNAs), and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) in controlling the rice immune response. The role and the interaction between ncRNAs and their targets have been discussed in detail. We believe that this information will be beneficial in disease resistance breeding of rice.

Evolution of Flood Defense Strategies: Toward Nature-Based Solutions

Flood defense strategies have evolved from hard-engineered systems to nature-based solutions that advocate for sustainability to meet today’s environmental, social, and economic goals. This paper aims to analyze the historical progression and evolutionary trends in flood control strategies that have led to nature-based solutions. An evaluative literature review was conducted to narrate the evolution of nature-based flood management approaches for different flood types, river floods, coastal floods, and stormwater run-offs. The analysis reflected three evolutionary trends: the transformation of hard measures to soft measures; secondly, the increase in society’s attention to ecosystems and their services; and, finally, divergence from single-function solutions to multi-function solutions. However, continuous monitoring and evaluation of the previous projects and adapting to the lessons learned are the key to progress towards sustainable flood management strategies and their societal acceptance.

Computing Effective Mixed Strategies for Protecting Targets in Large-Scale Critical Infrastructure Networks

Most critical infrastructure networks often suffer malicious attacks, which may result in network failures. Therefore, how to design more robust defense measures to minimize the loss is a great challenge. In recent years, defense strategies for enhancing the robustness of the networks are developed based on the game theory. However, the aforementioned method cannot effectively solve the defending problem on large-scale networks with a full strategy space. In this study, we achieve the purpose of protecting the infrastructure networks by allocating limited resources to monitor the targets. Based on the existing two-person zero-sum game model and the Double Oracle framework, we propose the EMSL algorithm which is an approximation algorithm based on a greedy search to compute effective mixed strategies for protecting large-scale networks. The improvement of our approximation algorithm to other algorithms is discussed. Experimental results show that our approximation algorithm can efficiently compute the mixed strategies on actual large-scale networks with a full strategy space, and the mixed defense strategies bring the highest utility to a defender on different networks when dealing with different attacks.

Physiological and Dual Transcriptional Analysis of Microalga Graesiella emersonii–Amoeboaphelidium protococcarum Pathosystem Uncovers Conserved Defense Response and Robust Pathogenicity

The underlying mechanisms of microalgal host–pathogen interactions remain largely unknown. In this study, we applied physiological and simultaneous dual transcriptomic analysis to characterize the microalga Graesiella emersonii–Amoeboaphelidium protococcarum interaction. Three infection stages were determined according to infection rate and physiological features. Dual RNA-seq results showed that the genes expression of G. emersonii and A. protococcarum were strongly dynamically regulated during the infection. For microalgal hosts, similar to plant defense response, the expression of defense genes involved in the pattern recognition receptors, large heat shock proteins, and reactive oxygen scavenging enzymes (glutathione, ferritin, and catalase) were significantly upregulated during infection. However, some genes encoding resistance proteins (R proteins) with a leucine-rich repeat domain exhibited no significant changes during infection. For endoparasite A. protococcarum, genes for carbohydrate-active enzymes, pathogen–host interactions, and putative effectors were significantly upregulated during infection. Furthermore, the genes in cluster II were significantly enriched in pathways associated with the modulation of vacuole transport, including endocytosis, phagosome, ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis, and SNARE interactions in vesicular transport pathways. These results suggest that G. emersonii has a conserved defense system against pathogen and that endoparasite A. protococcarum possesses a robust pathogenicity to infect the host. Our study characterizes the first transcriptomic profile of microalgae–endoparasite interaction, providing a new promising basis for complete understanding of the algal host defense strategies and parasite pathogenicity.

Feature-Based Molecular Networking—An Exciting Tool to Spot Species of the Genus Cortinarius with Hidden Photosensitizers

Fungi have developed a wide array of defense strategies to overcome mechanical injuries and pathogen infections. Recently, photoactivity has been discovered by showing that pigments isolated from Cortinarius uliginosus produce singlet oxygen under irradiation. To test if this phenomenon is limited to dermocyboid Cortinarii, six colourful Cortinarius species belonging to different classical subgenera (i.e., Dermocybe, Leprocybe, Myxacium, Phlegmacium, and Telamonia) were investigated. Fungal extracts were explored by the combination of in vitro photobiological methods, UHPLC coupled to high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS2), feature-based molecular networking (FBMN), and metabolite dereplication techniques. The fungi C. rubrophyllus (Dermocybe) and C. xanthophyllus (Phlegmacium) exhibited promising photobiological activity in a low concentration range (1–7 µg/mL). Using UHPLC-HRMS2-based metabolomic tools, the underlying photoactive principle was investigated. Several monomeric and dimeric anthraquinones were annotated as compounds responsible for the photoactivity. Furthermore, the results showed that light-induced activity is not restricted to a single subgenus, but rather is a trait of Cortinarius species of different phylogenetic lineages and is linked to the presence of fungal anthraquinones. This study highlights the genus Cortinarius as a promising source for novel photopharmaceuticals. Additionally, we showed that putative dereplication of natural photosensitizers can be done by FBMN.

Inhibitory Potential of New Phenolic Hydrazide-Hydrazones with a Decoy Substrate Fragment towards Laccase from a Phytopathogenic Fungus: SAR and Molecular Docking Studies

Laccase from pathogenic fungi participates in both the delignification and neutralization of phytoantibiotics. Furthermore, it interferes with the hormone signaling in plants and catalyzes melanization. Infections of these pathogens contribute to loss in forestry, agriculture, and horticulture. As there is still a need to expand knowledge on efficient defense strategies against phytopathogenic fungi, the present study aimed to reveal more information on the molecular mechanisms of laccase inhibition with natural and natural-like carboxylic acid semi-synthetic derivatives. A set of hydrazide-hydrazones derived from carboxylic acids, generally including electron-rich arene units that serve as a decoy substrate, was synthesized and tested with laccase from Trametes versicolor. The classic synthesis of the title inhibitors proceeded with good to almost quantitative yield. Ninety percent of the tested molecules were active in the range of KI = 8–233 µM and showed different types of action. Such magnitude of inhibition constants qualified the hydrazide-hydrazones as strong laccase inhibitors. Molecular docking studies supporting the experimental data explained the selected derivatives’ interactions with the enzyme. The results are promising in developing new potential antifungal agents mitigating the damage scale in the plant cultivation, gardening, and horticulture sectors.

A COMPARATIVE VIEW ON SECURITY CULTURE AS REFLECTED IN ROMANIA’S NATIONAL DEFENSE STRATEGIES

The present paper aims at analyzing the concept of security culture by, firstly, pinpointing its theoretical underpinnings and, secondly, by undertaking a qualitative thematic analysis of the concept as it is presented in Romania’s National Defense Strategies from the last decade. The objective is to examine to what extent the evolutions in the security environment are mirrored in the understanding of the concept at strategic level and in the objectives and actions proposed for the implementation of security culture at societal level.

Adaptive responses of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to treatment with antibiotics

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is among the highest priority pathogens for drug development, because of its resistance to antibiotics, extraordinary adaptability, and persistence. Anti-pseudomonal research is strongly encouraged to address the acute scarcity of innovative antimicrobial lead structures. In an effort to understand the physiological response of P. aeruginosa to clinically relevant antibiotics, we investigated the proteome after exposure to ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, rifampicin, gentamicin, tobramycin, azithromycin, tigecycline, polymyxin B, colistin, ceftazidime, meropenem, and piperacillin/tazobactam. We further investigated the response to CHIR-90, which represents a promising class of lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis inhibitors currently under evaluation. Radioactive pulse-labeling of newly synthesized proteins followed by 2D-PAGE was used to monitor the acute response of P. aeruginosa to antibiotic treatment. The proteomic profiles provide insights into the cellular defense strategies for each antibiotic. A mathematical comparison of these response profiles based on upregulated marker proteins revealed similarities of responses to antibiotics acting on the same target area. This study provides insights into the effects of commonly used antibiotics on P. aeruginosa and lays the foundation for the comparative analysis of the impact of novel compounds with precedented and unprecedented modes of action.