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Allen Chun's book, "From Social Visibility to Political Invisibility: The School in Nationalist Taiwan as a Fulcrum for an Evolving World Ethos," explores the role of schools in the creation of nation-states in East Asia. Chun argues that the Chinese Nationalist government used schools as a means to anchor moral education and promote a Chinese cultural identity in Taiwan. The book examines the political context of postwar Taiwan and the ways in which schools were used to culturalize, socialize, and militarize individuals into following moral discipline. It also discusses the decline of the Sinicization program in Taiwan and the emergence of a Taiwanese identity. While the book focuses on education in Taiwan, it may be seen as China-centric by some Taiwan specialists. However, it provides valuable insights into the formation of the Taiwanese identity and the cultural and social policies that influenced the political process. [Extracted from the article]

This article argues that gender and youth emerged as the most significant markers of different colonial experiences among Taiwanese during wartime mobilization, while ethnic and class lines became blurry toward the end of the war. Children and youth of both genders served as an important source of labor at home. To maintain legitimacy, the state reinforced gender roles and expanded women's gender-specific roles. The article complicates the nationalist-collaborator narrative of wartime China by illustrating the multiple ways in which the colonial state coerced cooperation from colonized peoples of all ages, genders, and classes, regardless of whether or not they were loyal to the Japanese state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nitrogen is an essential macronutrient for plant growth and development. Crops with a high nitrogen input usually have high yields. However, outbreaks of brown planthoppers (Nilaparvata lugens; BPH) frequently occur on rice farms with excessive nitrogen inputs. Rice plants carrying BPH resistance genes are used for integrated pest management. Thus, the impact of nitrogen on the resistance of rice near-isogenic lines (NILs) with BPH resistance genes was investigated. Results: We tested these NILs using a standard seedbox screening test and a modified bulk seedling test under different nitrogen treatments. The amount of nitrogen applied had an impact on the resistance of some lines with BPH resistance genes. In addition, three NILs (NIL-BPH9, NIL-BPH17, and NIL-BPH32) were further examined for antibiosis and antixenosis under varying nitrogen regimes. The N. lugens nymph population growth rate, honeydew excretion, female fecundity, and nymph survival rate on the three NILs were not affected by different nitrogen treatments except the nymph survival rate on NIL-BPH9 and the nymph population growth rate on NIL-BPH17. Furthermore, in the settlement preference test, the preference of N. lugens nymphs for IR24 over NIL-BPH9 or NIL-BPH17 increased under the high-nitrogen regime, whereas the preference of N. lugens nymphs for IR24 over NIL-BPH32 was not affected by the nitrogen treatments. Conclusions: Our results indicated that the resistance of three tested NILs did not respond to different nitrogen regimes and that NIL-BPH17 exerted the most substantial inhibitory effect on N. lugens growth and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Plant sap-sucking insects commonly have established mutualistic relationships with bacteria that live within their bodies and often provide nutrients that are lacking in the insect's diet. The sweet potato whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) harbors one primary and up to seven secondary endosymbiotic bacteria. The primary endosymbiont of B. tabaci is already known to play a critical role in providing necessary nutrients for B. tabaci. Our objective was to study the relationship among B. tabaci, its primary endosymbiont, and the host plant through the effects of host plant shifting and acclimation, that is, physiological adjustments as an insect becomes accustomed to a new host plant over several generations. The results showed that host shifting from Chinese kale to cotton plants led to a decrease in the fecundity of B. tabaci in the first generation, which was restored after 10 generations of acclimation, and that its developmental time was also decreased by the tenth generation. Furthermore, essential amino acid biosynthesis genes of its primary endosymbiont were differentially regulated after B. tabaci had become acclimated to cotton plants. We speculate that the primary endosymbiont has a close nutritional relationship with B. tabaci during host plant acclimation. Plant sap-sucking insects commonly have established mutualistic relationships with endosymbiotic bacteria that can provide nutrients lacking in their diet. Bemisia tabaci harbors one primary endosymbiont, Portiera aleyrodidarum, and up to seven secondary endosymbionts, including Hamiltonella defensa and Rickettsia sp. Portiera aleyrodidarum is already known to play a critical role in providing necessary nutrients for B. tabaci. In the present study, the relationship among B. tabaci, its primary endosymbiont, and the host plant were examined through the effects of host plant shifting and acclimation. Bemisia tabaci was transferred from Chinese kale to four different host plants, and the effects on both its performance and the expression levels of nutrient-related genes of P. aleyrodidarum were analyzed. The results showed that host shifting from Chinese kale to cotton plants led to a decrease in the performance of B. tabaci in the first generation, which was restored after 10 generations of acclimation. Furthermore, the expression levels of essential amino acid biosynthesis genes of P. aleyrodidarum were found to be differentially regulated after B. tabaci had acclimated to the cotton plants. Host plant shifting and acclimation to cucumber, poinsettia, and tomato plants did not affect the fecundity of B. tabaci and the expression levels of most examined genes. We speculate that P. aleyrodidarum may help B. tabaci improve its performance and acclimate to new hosts and that P. aleyrodidarum has a close nutritional relationship with its host during host plant acclimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]