Abiotic and Biotic Stresses and Changes in the Lignin Content and Composition in Plants

Lignin is a polymer of phenylpropanoid compounds formed through a complex biosynthesis route, represented by a metabolic grid for which most of the genes involved have been sequenced in several plants, mainly in the model-plants Arabidopsis thaliana and Populus. Plants are exposed to different stresses, which may change lignin content and composition. In many cases, particularly for plant-microbe interactions, this has been suggested as defence responses of plants to the stress. Thus, understanding how a stressor modulates expression of the genes related with lignin biosynthesis may allow us to develop study-models to increase our knowledge on the metabolic control of lignin deposition in the cell wall. This review focuses on recent literature reporting on the main types of abiotic and biotic stresses that alter the biosynthesis of lignin in plants.

ENDOTOXIN-INDUCED LIVER INJURY AND CHANGES IN THE LEVELS OF PLASMA TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR-α AND INTERLEUKIN-6 IN RABBITS

ELISA was employed to detect changes in plasma TNF-α and IL-6 level in rabbits having endotoxin-induced generalized Shwartzman reaction. Liver injury was assessed by the increase of serum ALT and hepatic histopathologic changes. The results showed that plasma TNF-α and IL-6 levels increased remarkably 12h after intravenous injection of endotoxin twice at a 24h interval, and these changes corresponded with the degree of liver injury. Coinjection of dexamethasone and endotoxin partly prevented the elevation of TNF-α and IL-6 levels and reduced liver injury. These results indicated that TNF-α and IL-6 were involved in endotoxin-induced liver injury.

Command the Overall Situation of the World In the Course of Complexity and Changes

Looking back at the developments in the past five years(2007-2012),the first is fermentation of the U.S.subprime mortgage crisis in 2007,which fused the outbreak of the international financial crisis in the following year.The year 2008 is the year of real"turning point",on September 15th,the century-old Lehman Brothers on Wall Street closed down surprisingly and detonated the on-going financial crisis,the world then entered a

Globalization and Public Goods:Too Big to Tackle?

The massive Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 will have unforeseeable effects on the themes addressed here,from international regime change to infra-structural re-orientation to value changes.Here we concentrate on the positive cycle of effects globalization has brought about before the new war in Europe,mainly economic growth and(some)pressures for democratic development,as well as the negative cycle that originates in(relative)economic decline,elite dissent,even failed states and regime change,often in the direction of counter-democracy.The causal links between 13 independent and intervening variables and public goods as the dependent variable are specified in this explanatory sketch.There is need for broadening the view in explaining causal paths between globalization factors and the production of public goods.In doing that we focus in particular on variables like elite dissent,immigration,and new minorities,all three weakening the capacities of states to respond.Further we state that all four:ecological challenges,economic and social inequality and polarization,regime change,and international terrorism can be viewed as to their joint effects on the production of public goods.Selectorate theory is crucial.It explains political regimes on the base of the size of the selectorate with large(s)electorates producing public goods,as in democracies,and small ones only private ones,as in sultanist regimes and dictatorships.

An Analysis of the Current State of Civil Society Participation in Ensuring the National Security of Mongolia

In this article, the researchers tried to evaluate the contribution of civil society to Mongolian democracy and the problems faced by civil society. In addition, the article aimed to determine the unique national criteria of Mongolian democracy and the need to create an organization to monitor the process of democracy. The process of identifying important documents and ideals for the development of Mongolian civil society today is still in its early stages. It can be said that the approval of the democratic constitution and the first free and fair parliamentary elections as a country that has newly and restored democracy became another impetus for the creation of a new type of citizen organization. It is characterized by trying to study the changes that have occurred since this historical period at the intersection of political science and security studies. One of the most important issues today is to find out how many non-governmental and civil society organizations exist in Mongolia today, which are Western-oriented, focused on specific issues, have their own position and opinion, are specialized, and are capable of influencing government policy. On the other hand, in this article, we emphasize whether non-governmental and civil society organizations, which aim to hold the government accountable, and carry out influence and control activities, are fully developed.

Natural Disasters of the Lower Reaches of Yellow River during the Longshan Period——The Natural Background of Dayu's Flood Control

It is very important to study the archaeological culture and origin of civilization in ancient China.The changes of the channels in the lower reaches of the Yellow River in the prehistoric period are part of the natural environmental background of the development of the ancient civilization in that area to be explored.This paper presents a series of legends,indications,scientific evidence,and macroscopic geographical background information of the evolution in the lower reaches of the Yellow River during the Longshan period.At first the river flowed from Northern Henan and Hebei to southwestern Shandong Province and Northern Anhui–Jiangsu provinces,and the mainstream of the Yellow River changed from the southeast to return to the north and flowed into the Bohai Sea in the late Longshan Period.During this period,floods were frequent.Various ethnic groups in the northern China plains suffered natural disasters and made great migrations which also contributed to the ethnic exchanges and integration.The people of the Central Plains made more dynamic adjustments in the relationship between mankind and the land by primitively escaping from the water and self–defensively controlling the rivers then to maintaining the local ecological environment by large–scale flood control measures,which promoted the settlement of Shandong,Henan,Jiangsu and Anhui provinces,the urban cultural development,and social evolution.Based on these events,the culture symbol of Dayu's Flood Control could be formed.

Effects of laser irradiation on Trichophyton rubrum growth and ultrastructure

Background Trichophyton rubrum （T. rubrum） is the most common causative agent of dermatophytosis worldwide. In this study, we examined the effect of laser irradiation on the growth and morphology of T. rubrum. Methods Colonies of T. rubrum were isolated （one colony per plate）, and randomly assigned to 5 treatment groups： Q-switched 694 nm ruby laser treatment, long-pulsed Nd：YAG 1064 nm laser treatment, intense pulsed light （IPL） treatment, 308 nm excimer laser treatment and the blank control group without treatment. Standardized photographs were obtained from grown-up fungal plates prior to treatment. Colonies were then exposed to various wavelengths and fluences of laser light. To compare the growth of colonies, they were re-photographed under identical conditions three and six days post-treatment. To investigate the morphology of T. rubrum, scanning electron microscope （SEM） and transmission electron microscope （TEM） images were obtained from specimens exposed to 24 hours of laser treatment. Results Growth of T. rubrum colonies was significantly inhibited following irradiation by 694 nm Q-switched and 1064 nm long-pulsed Nd：YAG lasers. Other treatments exerted little or no effect. Q-switched laser irradiation exerted a stronger growth inhibitory effect than long-pulsed Nd：YAG laser irradiation. Following treatment by the Q-switched ruby laser system, T. rubrum hyphae became shrunken and deflated, and SEM images revealed rough, fractured hyphal surfaces, punctured with small destructive holes. TEM images showed that the hyphae were degenerating, as evidenced by the irregular shape of hyphae, rough and loose cell wall, and obscure cytoplasmic texture. Initially high electron density structure was visible in the cell; later, low-density structure appeared as a result of cytoplasmic dissolution. In contrast, the blank control group showed no obvious changes in morphology.