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Collectively, our findings demonstrate a mechanism mediating vacuole formation in Arabidopsis stomatal development and may shed light on the role of vacuoles in stomatal movement.Depletion of CpG dinucleotides in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) genomes has been linked to virus evolution, host-switching, virus replication, and innate immune responses. Temporal variations, if any, in the rate of CpG depletion during virus evolution in the host remain poorly understood. Here, we analyzed the CpG content of over 1.4 million full-length SARS-CoV-2 genomes representing over 170 million documented infections during the first 17 months of the pandemic. Our findings suggest that the extent of CpG depletion in SARS-CoV-2 genomes is modest. Interestingly, the rate of CpG depletion is highest during early evolution in humans and it gradually tapers off, almost reaching an equilibrium; this is consistent with adaptations to the human host. Furthermore, within the coding regions, CpG depletion occurs predominantly at codon positions 2-3 and 3-1. Loss of ZAP (Zinc-finger antiviral protein)-binding motifs in SARS-CoV-2 genomes is primarily driven by the loss of the terminal CpG within the motifs. Nonetheless, majority of the CpG depletion in SARS-CoV-2 genomes occurs outside ZAP-binding motifs. SARS-CoV-2 genomes selectively lose CpGs-motifs from a U-rich context; this may help avoid immune recognition by TLR7. SARS-CoV-2 alpha-, beta-, and delta-variants of concern have reduced CpG content compared to sequences from the beginning of the pandemic. In sum, we provide evidence that the rate of CpG depletion in virus genomes is not uniform and it greatly varies over time and during adaptations to the host. This work highlights how temporal variations in selection pressures during virus adaption may impact the rate and the extent of CpG depletion in virus genomes.As a critical part of plant immunity, cells that are attacked by pathogens undergo rapid transcriptional reprogramming to minimize virulence. Many bacterial phytopathogens use type III effector (T3E) proteins to interfere with plant defense responses, including this transcriptional reprogramming. Here, we show that Xanthomonas outer protein S (XopS), a T3E of Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria (Xcv), interacts with and inhibits proteasomal degradation of WRKY40, a transcriptional regulator of defense gene expression. Virus-induced gene silencing of WRKY40 in pepper (Capsicum annuum) enhanced plant tolerance to Xcv infection, indicating that WRKY40 represses immunity. Stabilization of WRKY40 by XopS reduces the expression of its targets, which include salicylic acid-responsive genes and the jasmonic acid signaling repressor JAZ8. Xcv bacteria lacking XopS display significantly reduced virulence when surface inoculated onto susceptible pepper leaves. XopS delivery by Xcv, as well as ectopic expression of XopS in Arabidopsis thaliana or Nicotiana benthamiana, prevented stomatal closure in response to bacteria and biotic elicitors. Silencing WRKY40 in pepper or N. benthamiana abolished XopS's ability to prevent stomatal closure. This suggests that XopS interferes with both preinvasion and apoplastic defense by manipulating WRKY40 stability and downstream gene expression, eventually altering phytohormone crosstalk to promote pathogen proliferation.Previous studies suggest that root-derived cytokinins (CKs) contribute to shoot growth via long-distance transport; therefore, we hypothesized that an increase in root-derived CKs enhances shoot growth. To verify this, we grafted Arabidopsis Col-0 (wild type, WT) scion onto rootstock originated from WT or a double-knockout mutant of CK receptors Arabidopsis histidine kinase 2 (AHK2) and AHK3 (ahk2-5 ahk3-7; ahk23) because this mutant overaccumulates CKs in the body probably due to feedback homeostasis regulation. The grafted plants (scion/rootstock WT/WT and WT/ahk23) were grown in vermiculite pots or solid media for vegetative growth and biochemical analysis. The root-specific deficiency of AHK2 and AHK3 increased root concentrations of trans-zeatin (tZ)-type and N6-(Δ2-isopentenyl) adenine (iP)-type CKs, induced CK biosynthesis genes and repressed CK degradation genes in the root. The WT/ahk23 plants had significantly larger shoot weight, rosette diameter and leaves area than did the WT/WT plants. Shoot concentrations of tZ-type CKs showed increasing trends in the WT/ahk23 plants. Moreover, the root-specific deficiency of AHK2 and AHK3 enhanced shoot growth in the WT scion more strongly than in the ahk23 scion, suggesting that shoot growth enhancement could occur through increased shoot perception of CKs. In the WT/ahk23 shoots compared with the WT/WT shoots, however, induction of most of CK-inducible response regulator genes was not statistically significant. Thus we suggest that the root-specific reduction of CK perception enhances shoot growth only partly by increasing the amount of root-derived tZ-type CKs and their perception by shoots. The unknown mechanism(s) distinct from CK signaling would also be involved in the shoot growth enhancement.

Ever since 2020, travelling has become complex, and increasingly so as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. To reopen Europe safely, a consensus of travel measures has been agreed between countries to enable movement between countries with as few restrictions as possible. However, communication of these travel measures and requirements for entry are not always clear and easily available. The aim of this study was to assess the availability, accessibility and harmonization of current travel information available in Europe.

We performed a systematic documental analysis of online publicly available information and synthesized travel entry requirements for all countries in the European Union and Schengen Area (N = 31). For each country we assessed entry requirements, actions after entry, how risk was assessed, and how accessible the information was.

We found varying measures implemented across Europe for entry and a range of exemptions and restrictions, some of which were consistent between countries. Informatin Europe. However further refinements and coordination is needed to align travel measures throughout the EU to minimize confusion and maximize adherence to requested measures. We recommend that, along with developing travel measures based on a common set of rules, a standard approach is taken to communicate what these measures are.

While risk factors for severe COVID-19 infections have been well explored among the public, population-specific studies for the U.S. Veteran community are limited in the literature. By performing a comprehensive analysis of the demographics, comorbidities, and symptomatology of a population of COVID-19 positive Veterans Affairs (VA) patients, we aim to uncover predictors of death, survival, need for intubation, and need for nasal cannula oxygen support among this understudied community.

A retrospective review was conducted of 124 COVID-19 Veteran patients who were admitted from March to October 2020 to the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (IRB#2020-000272). Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were employed to assess differences in baseline demographic and clinical variables between Veterans who survived COVID-19 versus those who succumbed to COVID-19 illness. Multivariate logistic regression and Cox regression analyses were employed to assess predictors of outcome variables, including death, survit; 0.001, HR = 7.71), anorexia (P < 0.001, HR = 16.75), and initial disease severity as classified by WHO (P = 0.025, HR = 3.30) were independent predictors of poor survival. Finally, dyspnea reliably predicted need for intubation (P = 0.019; OR = 29.65).

Several independent predictors of death, survival, and need for intubation were identified. These risk factors may provide guidelines for risk-stratifying Veterans upon admission to VA hospitals. Additional investigations of COVID-19 prognosis should be conducted on the larger U.S. Veteran population to confirm our findings and add to the current body of literature.

Several independent predictors of death, survival, and need for intubation were identified. These risk factors may provide guidelines for risk-stratifying Veterans upon admission to VA hospitals. Additional investigations of COVID-19 prognosis should be conducted on the larger U.S. Veteran population to confirm our findings and add to the current body of literature.TAFRO syndrome is a subtype of idiopathic multicentric Castleman's disease (iMCD) that is characterized by thrombocytopenia, generalized edema, fever, bone marrow fibrosis, renal failure, and organ enlargement, and has a poor prognosis. The prognosis of TAFRO syndrome is worse than that of iMCD-not otherwise specified (iMCD-NOS), with a high mortality rate. There are only few long term follow-up reports after remission of TAFRO syndrome with tocilizumab (TCZ) treatment in a patient in whom all drugs were discontinued after attaining sustained remission. Here, we report a case in which interleukin (IL) -6 negativity was confirmed and remission was maintained without relapse for 5 years after all drug treatment, including TCZ, was discontinued.Plants launch a concerted immune response to dampen potential infections upon sensing microbial pathogen and insect invasions. The transient and rapid elevation of the cytosolic calcium concentration [Ca2+]cyt is among the essential early cellular responses in plant immunity. The free Ca2+ concentration in the apoplast is far higher than that in the resting cytoplasm. Thus, the precise regulation of calcium channel activities upon infection is the key for an immediate and dynamic Ca2+ influx to trigger downstream signaling. Specific Ca2+ signatures in different branches of the plant immune system vary in timing, amplitude, duration, kinetics, and sources of Ca2+. Recent breakthroughs in the studies of diverse groups of classical calcium channels highlight the instrumental role of Ca2+ homeostasis in plant immunity and cell survival. Additionally, the identification of some immune receptors as noncanonical Ca2+-permeable channels opens a new view of how immune receptors initiate cell death and signaling. This review aims to provide an overview of different Ca2+-conducting channels in plant immunity and highlight their molecular and genetic mode-of-actions in facilitating immune signaling. We also discuss the regulatory mechanisms that control the stability and activity of these channels.The incidence and mortality of early onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) is rising; outcomes appear to differ by race and ethnicity. We aimed to assess differences in mutational landscape and gene expression of EOCRC by racial and ethnic groups (non-Hispanic Asian, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic White, White Hispanic) using data from the American Association for Cancer Research Project GENIE (10.2) and University of Texas Southwestern, the latter enriched in Hispanic patients. All statistical tests were 2-sided. Of 1752 EOCRC patients, non-Hispanic Black patients had higher rates of KRAS mutations (60.9%; P = .001, q = 0.015), and non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic Black patients had higher rates of APC mutations (77.1% and 76.6% among non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic Black patients, respectively; P = .001, q = 0.015) via the Fisher exact test with Benjamini-Hochberg correction. Using R packages DESeq2 and clusterProfiler, we found that White Hispanic patients had increased expression of genes involved in oxidative phosphorylation (P  less then  .