BES1 and BZR1 were originally identified as two key transcription factors specifically regulating brassinosteroid (BR)-mediated gene expression. They belong to a family consisting of six members, BES1, BZR1, BEH1, BEH2, BEH3, and BEH4. bes1 and bzr1 single mutants do not exhibit any characteristic BR phenotypes, suggesting functional redundancy of these proteins. Here, by generating higher order mutants, we show that a quintuple mutant is male sterile due to defects in tapetum and microsporocyte development in anthers. Our genetic and biochemical analyses demonstrate that BES1 family members also act as downstream transcription factors in the EMS1-TPD1-SERK1/2 pathway. Ectopic expression of both TPD1 and EMS1 in bri1-116, a BR receptor null mutant, leads to the accumulation of non-phosphorylated, active BES1, similar to activation of BES1 by BRI1-BR-BAK1 signaling. These data suggest that two distinctive receptor-like kinase-mediated signaling pathways share BES1 family members as downstream transcription factors to regulate different aspects of plant development.

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Objectives To develop and validate a pre-transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) MRI-based radiomics model for predicting tumor response in intermediate-advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. Materials Ninety-nine intermediate-advanced HCC patients (69 for training, 30 for validation) treated with TACE were enrolled. MRI examinations were performed before TACE, and the efficacy was evaluated according to the mRECIST criterion 3 months after TACE. A total of 396 radiomics features were extracted from T2-weighted pre-TACE images, and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was applied to feature selection and model construction. The performance of the model was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, calibration curves, and decision curves. Results The AFP value, Child-Pugh score, and BCLC stage showed a significant difference between the TACE response (TR) and non-TACE response (nTR) patients. Six radiomics features were selected by LASSO and the radiomics score (Rad-score) was calculated as the sum of each feature multiplied by the non-zero coefficient from LASSO. The AUCs of the ROC curve based on Rad-score were 0.812 and 0.866 in the training and validation cohorts, respectively. To improve the diagnostic efficiency, the Rad-score was further integrated with the above clinical indicators to form a novel predictive nomogram. Results suggested that the AUC increased to 0.861 and 0.884 in the training and validation cohorts, respectively. Decision curve analysis showed that the radiomics nomogram was clinically useful. Conclusion The radiomics and clinical indicator-based predictive nomogram can well predict TR in intermediate-advanced HCC and can further be applied for auxiliary diagnosis of clinical prognosis. Key Points • The therapeutic outcome of TACE varies greatly even for patients with the same clinicopathologic features. • Radiomics showed excellent performance in predicting the TACE response. • Decision curves demonstrated that the novel predictive model based on the radiomics signature and clinical indicators has great clinical utility.

This study examines antecedents of paying for news subscriptions. Taking the customer-perceived value approach, we investigate the impact of perceived quality and perceived journalistic and societal value of news. News habit strength, different motivations for news use, and entertainment spending were also examined for their value in predicting how much people report paying for news. Results of a national survey (N = 403) show that perceived quality of news, habit strength, motivation of social–cultural interactions, and entertainment spending are positively predictive of how much people pay, after demographic controls. These findings not only suggest practical implications for news organizations seeking to increase subscriber support but also raise critical questions about how Americans’ relationships with newspaper news is degrading.

This study uses a media sociology approach to untangle how multiple influences shape the way journalists cover left- and right-leaning protests on social media. Several studies have investigated how reporters portray social movements, finding that news marginalizes protestors by focusing on spectacle and violent tactics to the detriment of their ideas. In this study, we turn to journalists’ Twitter accounts to analyze if these patterns are transferred to social media, as predicted by the literature on normalization of new affordances. Through a mixed methodology matching survey and social media data from 466 Brazilian journalists who tweeted about protests in 2013 and 2015, results revealed individual attitudes predicted coverage, indicating that social media was a space for personal, not professional, expression. Contrary to the literature, findings show that social media portrayals were more legitimizing during the left-leaning demonstrations than during the right-leaning elite-driven one. As a result, marginalizing patterns of protest coverage were challenged, not replicated, on Twitter. These findings suggest a limitation of the theory of normalization to explain how global journalists use social media.

Salix psammophila and Caragana korshinskii are two typical shrubs in the southern Mu Us Sandy Land of China which are threatened by increasing water deficits related to climate change and large-scale human activities (e.g. coal mining and oil exploitation). In this study, we assessed their vulnerability to xylem embolism and the related anatomical traits in two-year-old regenerated shoots of these two shrubs to understand how they cope with drought environment. We also evaluated the in situ hydraulic safety margins to hydraulic failure from measurements of annual predawn and midday leaf water potentials. The results showed that S. psammophila stems had a higher water transport capacity than C. korshinskii stems. The stem xylem water potentials at 12%, 50% and 88% loss of conductivity were-1.11,-1.63 and-2.15 MPa in S. psammophila, respectively, and-1.37,-2.64 and-3.91 MPa in C. korshinskii, respectively. This suggested that C. korshinskii was more resistant to cavitation than S. psammophila. Compared with S. psammophila, C. korshinskii had shorter maximum vessel length, lower vessel density, smaller conductive area and higher wood density, which may contribute to its more resistant xylem. The in situ hydraulic safety margins indicated that even during the driest periods, both shrubs lived well above the most critical embolism thresholds, and the hydraulic safety margin was wider in C. korshinskii than in S. psammophila, suggesting that the regenerated shoots of both shrubs could function normally and C. korshinskii had greater hydraulic protection. These results provide the basis for an in-depth understanding of the survival, growth and functional behavior of these two shrubs under harsh and dry desert environments.

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Brassinosteroids (BRs) are essential phytohormones mainly perceived by a single-pass transmembrane receptor-like protein kinase (RLK), BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE 1 (BRI1). bri1-5 and bri1-9, two distinct mutants with point mutations in the extracellular domain of BRI1, show weak defective phenotypes. Previous studies indicated that bri1-5 and bri1-9 mutated proteins can be recognized and eliminated via an endoplasmic reticulum quality control (ERQC) mechanism. Most of these two proteins, therefore, cannot reach their destination, plasma membrane. Here, we report our functional characterization of bri1-301, another BRI1 mutant protein with an amino acid substitution in the cytoplasmic kinase domain. bri1-301 is a partially functional BR receptor with significantly decreased protein abundance. Interestingly, protein stability and subcellular localization of bri1-301 are temperature-sensitive. At 22°C, an optimal temperature for indoor Arabidopsis growth, bri1-301 shows a weak defective phenotype. At a lower temperature condition such as 18°C, bri1-301 exhibits subtle morphological defects. At a higher temperature condition such as 28°C, on the other hand, bri1-301 displays an extremely severe phenotype reminiscent to that of a null bri1 mutant due to greatly increased bri1-301 internalization and degradation. Our detailed analyses suggest that bri1-301 stability is controlled by ERQC and plasma membrane quality control (PMQC) systems. Since PMQC has not been well studied in plants, bri1-301 can be used as a model mutant for future genetic dissection of this critical process.