The present article describes the hydrogen production from an aqueous medium over amino-functionalized Ti(IV) metal–organic framework (Ti-MOF-NH2) under visible-light irradiation. Ti-MOF-NH2, which employs 2-amino-benzenedicarboxylic acid as an organic linker, has been synthesized by a facile solvothermal method. Pt nanoparticles as cocatalysts are then deposited onto Ti-MOF-NH2 via a photodeposition process (Pt/Ti-MOF-NH2). The XRD and N2 adsorption measurements reveal the successful formation of a MOF framework structure and its remaining structure after deposition of Pt nanoparticles. The observable visible-light absorption up to ∼500 nm can be seen in the DRUV–vis spectrum of Ti-MOF-NH2, which is associated with the chromophore in the organic linker. Ti-MOF-NH2 and Pt/Ti-MOF-NH2 exhibit efficient photocatalytic activities for hydrogen production from an aqueous solution containing triethanolamine as a sacrificial electron donor under visible-light irradiation. The longest wavelength available for the reaction is 500 nm. The results obtained from wavelength-dependent photocatalytic tests and photocurrent measurements as well as in situ ESR measurements demonstrate that the reaction proceeds through the light absorption by its organic linker and the following electron transfer to the catalytically active titanium-oxo cluster.

Probenazole (3-allyloxy-1,2-benzisothiazole-1,1-dioxide) induces disease resistance in rice against rice blast fungus. To investigate the molecular mechanism of probenazole-induced resistance, we isolated and characterized a cDNA clone of a probenazole-inducible gene in rice, which encoded a protein designated PBZ1. Sequence analysis revealed that significant homology at the amino acid level exists between the predicted PBZ1 protein and intracellular pathogenesis-related (IPR) proteins. Accumulation of PBZ1 mRNA was not induced by wounding, but markedly induced by inoculation with rice blast fungus. In addition, it was induced sooner by inoculation with an incompatible race than that with a compatible race. On the other hand, when the accumulation of the PBZ1 mRNA was examined after treatment with probenazole-related compounds, it was not fully correlated with anti-rice blast activity. However, it was induced after treatment with N-cyano-methyl-2-chloro-isonicotinamide (NCI), which belongs to another group of compounds known to induce disease resistance. Thus, although the accumulation of the PBZ1 mRNA was not fully correlated with anti-rice blast activity, our findings suggest that the PBZ1 gene has an important function during the disease resistance response in rice.

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Cerebrosides A and C, compounds categorized as glycosphingolipids, were isolated in our previous study from the rice blast fungus (Magnaporthe grisea) as novel elicitors which induce the synthesis of rice phytoalexins. In this paper, these cerebroside elicitors showed phytoalexin-inducing activity when applied to plants by spray treatment and also induced the expression of pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins in rice leaves. This elicitor activity of the cerebrosides showed the structural specificity as that for the induction of phytoalexins. Ceramides prepared from the cerebrosides by removal of glucose also showed the elicitor activity even in lower level compared to the cerebrosides. In field experiments, the cerebroside elicitors effectively protected rice plants against the rice blast fungus, an economically devastating agent of disease of rice in Japan. The cerebrosides elicitors protected rice plants from other disease as well and were found to occur in a wide range of different phytopathogens, indicating that cerebrosides function as general elicitors in a wide variety of rice-pathogen interactions.

A Ru complex-incorporated Ti-based MOF (Ti-MOF-Ru(tpy)2) has been synthesised by using a bis(4'-(4-carboxyphenyl)-terpyridine)Ru(ii) complex (Ru(tpy)2) as an organic linker. Ti-MOF-Ru(tpy)2 promotes photocatalytic hydrogen production from water containing a sacrificial electron donor under visible-light irradiation up to 620 nm.

We have constructed a chimeric gene consisting of the promoter, first exon, and first intron of a maize ubiquitin gene Although the production of transgenic rice plants has been reported by a number of laboratories (1,4,6,13,17,19,24,26,28,30), the regeneration of fertile, stably transformed rice has yet to be made routine and efficient.In many plant transformation studies, drug resistance genes such as neomycin phosphotransferase or hygromycin phosphotransferase have been used as selectable markers (19,24,25,28). One recent altemative strategy that has emerged is based on the use of marker genes that confer resistance to herbicides (7,8,10,11).

In contrast to conventional hardware where the structure is irreversibly fixed in the design process, evolvable hardware (EHW) is designed to adapt to changes in task requirements or changes in the environment, through its ability to reconfigure its own hardware structure dynamically and autonomously. This capacity for adaptation, achieved by employing efficient search algorithms based on the metaphor of evolution, has great potential for the development of innovative industrial applications. This paper introduces EHW chips and six applications currently being developed as part of MITI's Real-World Computing Project; an analog EHW chip for cellular phones, a clock-timing architecture for Giga hertz systems, a neural network EHW chip capable of autonomous reconfiguration, a data compression EHW chip for electrophotographic printers, and a gate-level EHW chip for use in prosthetic hands and robot navigation.

Summary Systemic acquired resistance (SAR), a natural disease response in plants, can be induced chemically. Salicylic acid (SA) acts as a key endogenous signaling molecule that mediates SAR in dicotyledonous plants. However, the role of SA in monocotyledonous plants has yet to be elucidated. In this study, the mode of action of the agrochemical protectant chemical probenazole was assessed by microarray‐based determination of gene expression. Cloning and characterization of the most highly activated probenazole‐responsive gene revealed that it encodes UDP‐glucose:SA glucosyltransferase (OsSGT1), which catalyzes the conversion of free SA into SA O‐β‐glucoside (SAG). We found that SAG accumulated in rice leaf tissue following treatment with probenazole or 2,6‐dichloroisonicotinic acid. A putative OsSGT1 gene from the rice cultivar Akitakomachi was cloned and the gene product expressed in Escherichia coli was characterized, and the results suggested that probenazole‐responsive OsSGT1 is involved in the production of SAG. Furthermore, RNAi‐mediated silencing of the OsSGT1 gene significantly reduced the probenazole‐dependent development of resistance against blast disease, further supporting the suggestion that OsSGT1 is a key mediator of development of chemically induced disease resistance. The OsSGT1 gene may contribute to the SA signaling mechanism by inducing up‐regulation of SAG in rice plants.