(T.A.) Brassinosteroids (BRs) are involved in many developmental processes and regulate many subsets of downstream genes throughout the plant kingdom. However, little is known about the BR signal transduction and response network in monocots. To identify novel BR-related genes in rice (Oryza sativa), we monitored the transcriptomic response of the brassinosteroid deficient1 (brd1) mutant, with a defective BR biosynthetic gene, to brassinolide treatment. Here, we describe a novel BR-induced rice gene BRASSINOSTEROID UPREGULATED1 (BU1), encoding a helix-loop-helix protein. Rice plants overexpressing BU1 (BU1:OX) showed enhanced bending of the lamina joint, increased grain size, and resistance to brassinazole, an inhibitor of BR biosynthesis. In contrast to BU1:OX, RNAi plants designed to repress both BU1 and its homologs displayed erect leaves. In addition, compared to the wild type, the induction of BU1 by exogenous brassinolide did not require de novo protein synthesis and it was weaker in a BR receptor mutant OsbriI (Oryza sativa brassinosteroid insensitive1, d61) and a rice G protein alpha subunit (RGA1) mutant d1. These results indicate that BU1 protein is a positive regulator of BR response: it controls bending of the lamina joint in rice and it is a novel primary response gene that participates in two BR signaling pathways through OsBRI1 and RGA1. Furthermore, expression analyses showed that BU1 is expressed in several organs including lamina joint, phloem, and epithelial cells in embryos. These results indicate that BU1 may participate in some other unknown processes modulated by BR in rice.Brassinosteroids (BRs) are essential growth regulators, involved in many physiological processes, e.g. cell expansion and division, vascular bundle differentiation, skotomorphogenesis, flowering, senescence, abiotic, and biotic stresses (Szekeres et al

We report a new hybrid integration scheme that offers for the first time a nanowire-on-lead approach, which enables independent electrical addressability, is scalable, and has superior spatial resolution in vertical nanowire arrays. The fabrication of these nanowire arrays is demonstrated to be scalable down to submicrometer site-to-site spacing and can be combined with standard integrated circuit fabrication technologies. We utilize these arrays to perform electrophysiological recordings from mouse and rat primary neurons and human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived neurons, which revealed high signal-to-noise ratios and sensitivity to subthreshold postsynaptic potentials (PSPs). We measured electrical activity from rodent neurons from 8 days in vitro (DIV) to 14 DIV and from hiPSC-derived neurons at 6 weeks in vitro post culture with signal amplitudes up to 99 mV. Overall, our platform paves the way for longitudinal electrophysiological experiments on synaptic activity in human iPSC based disease models of neuronal networks, critical for understanding the mechanisms of neurological diseases and for developing drugs to treat them.

Recording neural activity during neurosurgical interventions is an invaluable tool for both improving patient outcomes and advancing our understanding of neural mechanisms and organization. However, increasing clinical electrodes' signal-to-noise and spatial specificity requires overcoming substantial physical barriers due to the compromised metal electrochemical interface properties. The electrochemical properties of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) based interfaces surpass those of current clinical electrocorticography electrodes. Here, robust fabrication process of PEDOT:PSS microelectrode arrays is demonstrated for safe and high fidelity intraoperative monitoring of human brain. PEDOT:PSS microelectrodes measure significant differential neural modulation under various clinically relevant conditions. This study reports the first evoked (stimulus-locked) cognitive activity with changes in amplitude across pial surface distances as small as 400 µm, potentially enabling basic neurophysiology studies at the scale of neural micro-circuitry.

We study the confinement physics in QCD in the maximally abelian (MA) gauge using the SU(2) lattice QCD. To clarify the origin of abelian dominance for the long-range physics, we study the charged-gluon propagator in the lattice QCD, and find that the effective mass $m_{ch} \simeq 0.9 {\rm GeV}$ of the charged gluon is induced by the MA gauge fixing. In the MA gauge, there appears the global network of the monopole world-line covering the whole system, which would be identified as monopole condensation at a large scale. To prove monopole condensation, we apply the dual gauge formalism to the monopole part, and derive the inter-monopole potential from the dual Wilson loop in the MA gauge. In the monopole part, which carries the nonperturbative aspects of QCD, the dual gluon mass is evaluated as $m_B \simeq $0.5GeV, which is the evidence of the dual Higgs mechanism by monopole condensation. As for the monopole structure, the large fluctuation of off-diagonal gluons remains around the monopole in the MA gauge, and large cancellation occurs between the diagonal and off-diagonal action densities to keep the total QCD action finite. The charged-gluon rich region around the QCD-monopole would provide the effective monopole size as the critical scale of the abelian projected QCD. Instantons are expected to appear in the charged-gluon rich region around the monopole world-line in the MA gauge, which leads to the local correlation between monopoles and instantons.Comment: Invited Lecture presented by H. Suganuma at 1997 Yukawa International Seminar (YKIS'97) on `` Non-Perturbative QCD -Structure of the QCD Vacuum-'', 2-12 December 1997, in Kyoto, Japan, 12 pages, Plain Late

SUMMARYRice (Oryza sativa) produces diterpenoid phytoalexins (DPs), momilactones and phytocassanes as major phytoalexins. Accumulation of DPs is induced in rice by blast fungus infection, copper chloride or UV light. Here, we describe a rice transcription factor named diterpenoid phytoalexin factor (DPF), which is a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor. The gene encoding DPF is expressed mainly in roots and panicles, and is inducible in leaves by blast infection, copper chloride or UV. Expression of all DP biosynthetic genes and accumulation of momilactones and phytocassanes were remarkably increased and decreased in DPF over-expressing and DPF knockdown rice, respectively. These results clearly demonstrated that DPF positively regulates DP accumulation via transcriptional regulation of DP biosynthetic genes, and plays a central role in the biosynthesis of DPs in rice. Furthermore, DPF activated the promoters of COPALYL DIPHO-SPHATE SYNTHASE2 (CPS2) and CYTOCHROME P450 MONOOXYGENASE 99A2 (CYP99A2), whose products are implicated in the biosynthesis of phytocassanes and momilactones, respectively. Mutations in the Nboxes in the CPS2 upstream region, to which several animal bHLH transcription factors bind, decreased CPS2 transcription, indicating that DPF positively regulates CPS2 transcription through the N-boxes. In addition, DPF partly regulates CYP99A2 through the N-box. This study demonstrates that DPF acts as a master transcription factor in DP biosynthesis.

The correlation between instantons and QCD-monopoles is studied both in the lattice gauge theory and in the continuum theory. An analytical study in the Polyakov-like gauge, where A4(x) is diagonalized, shows that the QCD-monopole trajectory penetrates the center of each instanton, and becomes complicated in the multiinstanton system. Using the SU(2) lattice with 16 4 , the instanton number is measured in the singular (monopoledominating) and regular (photon-dominating) parts, respectively. The monopole dominance for the topological charge is found both in the maximally abelian gauge and in the Polyakov gauge.

Reduced contact size would permit higher resolution cortical recordings, but the effects of diameter on crucial recording and stimulation properties are poorly understood. Here, the first systematic study of scaling effects on the electrochemical properties of metallic Pt and Au and organic poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) electrodes is presented. PEDOT:PSS exhibits better faradaic charge transfer and capacitive charge coupling than metal electrodes, and these characteristics lead to improved electrochemical performance and reduced noise at smaller electrode diameters. PEDOT:PSS coating reduces the impedances of metallic electrodes by up to 18x for diameters <200 µm, but has no effect for millimeter scale contacts due to the dominance of series resistances. Therefore, the performance gains are especially significant at smaller diameters and lower frequencies essential for recording cognitive and pathological activities. Additionally, the overall reduced noise of the PEDOT:PSS electrodes enables a lower noise floor for recording action potentials. These results permit quantitative optimization of contact material and diameter for different electrocorticography applications.

The efficacy of electrical brain stimulation in combatting neurodegenerative diseases and initiating function is expected to be significantly enhanced with the development of smaller scale microstimulation electrodes and refined stimulation protocols. These benefits cannot be realized without a thorough understanding of scaling effects on electrochemical charge injection charac teristics. This study fabricates and characterizes the electrochemical stimu lation capabilities of Au, Pt, poly(3,4ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS/Au), and PEDOT:PSS/Pt electrode arrays in the 20-2000 µm diameter range. This study observes substantial enhancement in charge injection capacity up to 9.5× for PEDOT:PSS microelectrodes com pared to metal ones, and 88% lower required power for injecting the same charge density. These significant benefits are strongest for electrode dia meters below 200 µm. Detailed quantitative analyses are provided, enabling optimization of charge injection capacity with potential bias and symmetric and asymmetric pulse width engineering for all diameters. These systematic analyses inform the optimal design for acute and potentially chronic implants in regards to safety and clinically effective stimulation protocols, ensure the longevity of the electrodes below critical electrochemical limits of stimulation, and demonstrate that the material choice and pulse design can lead to more energy efficiency stimulation protocols that are of critical importance for fully implanted devices.