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Botrytis cinerea is one of the most destructive plant pathogens, causing great economic losses in a wide variety of crops. It is difficult to control the pathogen because of its flexible mode of infection, high reproduction, genetic plasticity and strong stress resistance. There are more than 400 genes encoding transcription factors in the genome of B. cinerea, among which Zn(II)2Cys6(C6) transcription factors constitute the largest family. However, the mechanisms of Zn(II)2Cys6(C6) transcription factors regulating the development and pathogenicity of B. cinerea are largely unknown. In this study, we identified an important C6 transcription factor BcDIC that regulates the asexual reproduction and pathogenicity of B. cinerea. The virulence of the knockout mutant ΔBcDIC was reduced on various hosts. Especially, ΔBcDIC completely lost the ability of conidiation. By analyzing the transcriptome data, we found that deletion of ΔBcDIC enhanced the expression of pectinesterase family genes in B. cinerea. Furthermore, the results of yeast-one-hybrid and dual-LUC reporter assay suggested that BcDIC could bind to the promoter of two pectinesterase genes and suppress their expression. In this work, we identified a C6 transcription factor involved in the pathogenesis and asexual reproduction of B. cinerea, and the results implied that the capacity of pectin degradation was closely related with the reproduction process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking the river sludge of Xiazi River in Zunyi, Guizhou Province as the research object, the paper mainly studies the influence of the composite curing agent, cement-fly ash (CFA) and cement-blast furnace slag (CBFS) on the mechanical properties of river sludge and its internal micro mechanism. The results show that the two kinds of composite curing agents can improve the unconfined compressive strength of the sludge. With the extension of age and the increase of the content of curing agent, the unconfined compressive strength of the sample will also increase. When using 30% blast furnace mineral powder+15% cement composite curing agent, the unconfined compressive strength of the solidified sludge in 28 days can reach 2435.7 kPa. The addition of fly ash and blast furnace mineral powder improves the water stability and strength of cement solidified sludge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability of the human immune system to respond to vaccination declines with age. We identified an age-associated defect in T cell receptor (TCR)-induced extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation in naive [CD4.sup.+] T cells, whereas other signals, such as θ chain-associated protein kinase 70 (ZAP70) and phospholipase C-γ1 phosphorylation, were not impaired. The defective ERK signaling was caused by the dual specific phosphatase 6 (DUSP6), whose protein expression increased with age due to a decline in repression by miR-181a. Reconstitution of miR-181a lowered DUSP6 expression in naive [CD4.sup.+] T cells in elderly individuals. DUSP6 repression using miR-181a or specific siRNA and DUSP6 inhibition by the allosteric inhibitor (E)-2-benzylidene-3-(cyclohexylamino)-2,3-dihydro-1 H-inden-1-one improved [CD4.sup.+] T cell responses, as seen by increased expression of activation markers, improved proliferation and supported preferential T helper type 1 cell differentiation. DUSP6 is a potential intervention target for restoring T cell responses in the elderly, which may augment the effectiveness of vaccination., With increasing age, the ability of the human immune system to protect against new antigenic challenges or to control chronic infections declines (1), (2). More than 90% of all influenza-related [...]