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SummaryIn monocotyledons, the root system is mostly composed of postembryonic shoot-borne roots called crown roots. In rice (Oryza sativa), auxin promotes crown root initiation via the LOB-domain transcription factor (LBD) transcription factor CROWN ROOTLESS1 (CRL1); however, the gene regulatory network downstream of CRL1 remains largely unknown.We tested CRL1 transcriptional activity in yeast and in planta, identified CRL1-regulated genes using an inducible gene expression system and a transcriptome analysis, and used in situ hybridization to demonstrate coexpression of a sample of CRL1-regulated genes with CRL1 in crown root primordia.We show that CRL1 positively regulates 277 genes, including key genes involved in meristem patterning (such as QUIESCENT-CENTER SPECIFIC HOMEOBOX; QHB), cell proliferation and hormone homeostasis. Many genes are homologous to Arabidopsis genes involved in lateral root formation, but about a quarter are rice-specific.Our study reveals that several genes acting downstream of LBD transcription factors controlling postembryonic root formation are conserved between monocots and dicots. It also provides evidence that specific genes are involved in the formation of shoot-derived roots in rice.

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Clones of a Babesia bovis isolate known to cause particularly severe cerebral babesiosis were tested for virulence phenotype by inoculation of cattle. Clones were selected for phenotyping by two criteria - rate of growth in culture and hybridization of a virulence-related probe to Southern blots. Largely on the basis of associated mortality, B. bovis clones were judged to vary in their pathogenic potential.

A straightforward access to 2‐amino‐3‐arylthiophenes has been developed via one‐pot two‐step three‐component reaction of arylacetonitriles, chalcones and elemental sulfur. The first step consists of a DBU‐catalyzed formation of Michael adduct between arylacetonitriles and chalcones. The second step is a cascade of DABCO‐catalyzed sulfuration of the Michael adduct with elemental sulfur followed by an oxidative cyclization to afford thiophenes. Compared to the Gewald reactions and related transformations which are limited in acetonitriles bearing a methylene group activated by an α‐substituted electron withdrawing group as substrates, our method can be applied to a wide range of arylacetonitriles and requires only catalytic amounts of DBU and DABCO. The developed reaction opens an access to 3‐aryl‐2‐aminothiophenes complementary to classical Gewald reactions with high degree of structural diversity and atom efficiency.

In this paper we first summarize our recent research on fabrication and structure characterization of conjugates of Fe3O4 nanoparticles (MNPs) encapsulated by several organic materials such as oleic acid (OL), starch (ST), dextran (D), chitosan (CS), O-carboxymethyl chitosan (OCMCS) and the copolymer of poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid (St-co-AA)). The ferrofluids stability and toxicity were also considered. The magnetic inductive heating (MIH) curves were measured using a set up with an alternating (ac) magnetic field of strength of 40–100 Oe and frequency of 180–240 kHz. We then present new results dealing with attempting to apply the MNP/copolymer ferrofluid for treatment of Sarcoma 180 tumor. In vitro as well as ex vivo MIH experiments were carried out as preparation steps in order to estimate the proper conditions for the in vivo MIH experiment. As for the latter, we have successfully carried out the treatment of solid tumor of size around 6 × 6 mm inoculated on Swiss mice with use of a dose of 0.3–0.4 mg ml−1 ferrofluid injected subcutaneously into the tumor and field-irradiated for 30 min. Two groups of treated mice recovered in three weeks from MIH treatment three times during the first week. We finally show that curcumin loaded MNP-based conjugates showed themselves to be a potential agent for application as a bimodal contrast enhancer of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and fluorescence imaging. Additionally, in vitro and ex vivo studies by these two techniques evidenced that macrophage is capable of uptake and tends to carry the MNPs into a tumor.

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