Communication Mechanism Research Articles

The coordinated responses of host plants to diverse N-acyl homoserine lactones

ABSTRACT In nature, co-evolution shaped balanced entities of host plants and their associated microorganism. Plants maintain this balance by detecting their associated microorganism and coordinating responses to them. Quorum sensing (QS) is a widespread bacterial cell-to-cell communication mechanism to modulate the collective behavior of bacteria. As a well-characterized QS signal, N-acyl homoserine lactones (AHL) also influence plant fitness. Plants need to coordinate their responses to diverse AHL molecules since they might host bacteria producing various AHL. This opinion paper discusses plants response to a mixture of multiple AHL molecules. The function of various phytohormones and WRKY transcription factors seems to be characteristic for plants’ response to multiple AHL. Additionally, the perspectives and possible approaches to facilitate further research and the application of AHL-producing bacteria are discussed.

An Analysis of the Development of Investment Banks' IPO Business under the Registered System

Under the reformed registration system, the role of investment banks in the Initial Public Offering (IPO) business has evolved significantly from the approval system. As crucial "gatekeepers" of the capital market, these banks now bear the responsibility of thoroughly examining issuance application materials for truthfulness, accuracy, and completeness. While the IPO business promises a prosperous future for investment banks, it also presents considerable challenges. Some banks face issues such as insufficient adherence to prudent examination requirements, lax establishment or implementation of internal control systems, and the need for improved information management. To enhance their sponsorship business, it is recommended that investment banks optimize talent training, internal management control, risk management, and intelligent information system construction. Cultivating professional sponsorship talents with comprehensive skills, reinforcing ethical standards, and conducting thorough reviews of IPO companies are crucial. Furthermore, optimizing the management system, establishing effective communication mechanisms, and enhancing risk management capabilities are essential steps. Leveraging advancements in computer technology, the construction of a secure and reliable intelligent information system is advised. As the reform progresses, investment banks should bolster international exchanges, cooperation, and professional competitiveness to evolve into reputable international brand banks.

A Portable Device for in Situ Noninvasive Monitoring of Cell Secretions and Communications with Fluorescence and Nanochannel Electrochemistry.

In situ monitoring of cell secretions and communications plays a fundamental role in screening of disease diagnostic biomarkers and drugs. Quantitative detection of cell secretions and monitoring of intercellular communication have been separately reported, which often rely on target labeling or complex pretreatment steps, inevitably causing damage to the target. Simultaneous in situ noninvasive detection of cell secretions and monitoring of intercellular communication are challenging and have never been reported. Herein, we smartly developed a portable device for in situ label-free monitoring of cell secretions and communications with fluorescence and ion-transport-based nanochannel electrochemistry. Based on the dual signal mode, a series of nonelectroactive secretions were sensitively and accurately quantified. The detection limits for VEGF, MUC1, and ATP were 3.84 pg/mL, 32.7 pg/mL, and 47.4 fM (3σ/S), which were 1/3.9, 1/1.1, and 1/41 of those of commercial ELISA kits, respectively. More interestingly, under the released secretions, the gradual opening of the nanochannel connected the two cells in the left and right chambers of the device; thus, the secretion mediated intercellular communication can be monitored. The proposed platform may provide a promising tool for understanding the mechanism of intercellular communication and discovering new therapeutic targets.

The neural mechanism of communication between graduate students and advisers in different adviser-advisee relationships

Communication is crucial in constructing the relationship between students and advisers, ultimately bridging interpersonal interactions. Only a few studies however explore the communication between postgraduate students and advisers. To fill the gaps in the empirical researches, this study uses functional near-infrared spectroscopy (FNIRS) techniques to explore the neurophysiology differences in brain activation of postgraduates with different adviser-advise relationships during simulated communication with their advisers. Results showed significant differences in the activation of the prefrontal cortex between high-quality and the low-quality students during simulating and when communicating with advisers, specifically in the Broca's areas, the frontal pole, and the orbitofrontal and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. This further elucidated the complex cognitive process of communication between graduate students and advisers.

Vascularization of kidney organoids: different strategies and perspectives

Kidney diseases such as glomerulopathy and nephron dysfunction are estimated to grow to more than 900 million cases by 2030, in 45% of which kidney transplantation will be required, representing a major challenge for biomedicine. A wealth of progress has been made to model human diseases using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in vitro differentiated to a variety of organoids, including kidney organoids, and in developing various microfluidics-based organ-on-a-chip (OoC) systems based on them. With the combination of targeted gene editing capacities, relevant polymorphic genetic variants can be established in such organoid models to advance evidence-based medicine. However, the major drawback of the current organoid disease models is the lack of functional endothelial vasculature, which especially concerns the kidney, the function of which is strongly associated with blood flow. The design of novel medical devices using tissue engineering approaches such as kidney organoids is also strongly dependent on the understanding of the fundamental principles of nephrogenesis and the vascularization of organs and tissues. Developmental vascularization of the kidney has been an area of intense research for decades. However, there is still no consensus among researchers on how exactly the vascularization of the kidney occurs in normal and pathological conditions. This lack of consensus is partly due to the lack of an appropriate model system to study renal vascularization during nephrogenesis. In this review, we will describe recent progress in the areas of kidney vasculature development, kidney organoids in general and assembled on microfluidic devices in particular. We will focus on the in vitro vasculature of kidney organoids in microfluidic OoC model systems to study kidney diseases and on the perspectives of tissue engineering for the modeling of kidney diseases and the design of bioartificial medical devices. We also aim to summarize the information related to the key mechanisms of intercellular communication during nephrogenesis and the formation of the renal vasculature in an OoC setup.

Inter-States Disputes Under the Inter-American Human Rights System

Abstract Under the inter-American human rights system, inter-State disputes seem largely irrelevant. Such irrelevance contrasts with the European human rights system, where the amount of inter-State disputes is significant (and growing), and is similar to the African human rights regime, where there is a very low number of inter-State disputes. In more than four decades since the entry into force of the American Convention on Human Rights, there are only two inter-State disputes brought before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights—one of the two bodies that, along with the Inter-American Court, make up the regional human rights system. The virtual inexistence of inter-State complaints, however, does not mean an absence of human rights disputes among members of the Organization of American States (oas). In fact, States resort to other mechanisms to process their disputes. Therefore, to explore how inter-States disputes actually operate under inter-American human rights law, it is necessary to broaden the view and look beyond the specific mechanism of inter-State communications established in the American Convention. This article discusses the two inter-State communications that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has so far examined, and analyses other mechanisms—typically, advisory opinions by the Inter-American Court—that serve as a substitute for inter-State communications. The article shows how oas States use advisory opinions as a covert inter-State dispute mechanism and argues that the Inter-American Court should articulate a clear set of admissibility standards to address this practice.

Inter-State Cases under icerd as an Avenue to Protect Cultural Heritage

Abstract The most recent applications before the International Court of Justice (icj) under Article 22 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (icerd), Armenia v. Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan v. Armenia, both claim that the destruction of cultural heritage during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict constitutes a violation of the Convention. The applications have met with enthusiasm that icerd offers a potential new avenue for the protection of cultural heritage, as well as scepticism as to whether these claims fall within the scope of the treaty. Armenia and Azerbaijan bypassed the inter-State communications mechanism under Articles 11–13 before the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (cerd), as they are legally entitled to do. But the cerd perspective remains important. First, the Articles 11–13 mechanism is available in relation to 182 States Parties, whereas due to reservations, the Article 22 mechanism is available only in relation to 157 States Parties. Second, cerd practice in relation to cultural heritage ought to inform the determination of the Court. This article investigates the cerd approach to the protection of cultural heritage. It draws in related questions such as whether religious cultural heritage comes under a treaty on racial discrimination; the applicability of these protections in situations of armed conflict; and icerd’s relationship with other specialised instruments. It offers conclusions as to what extent an avenue for the protection of cultural heritage under icerd exists before the Committee and the Court.

A secure and transparent communication mechanism based on blockchain and fuzzy evaluation matrix in metaverse industry 4.0

ABSTRACT Recently, Metaverse is gaining prominence within the field of radiology due to its potential to revolutionize image visualization. Radiologists can harness its capabilities to access dynamic, highly detailed results, thereby enhancing diagnostic precision. Digital twins, at the core of the Metaverse, are digital replicas of real-world objects and entities. They serve as the foundational building blocks, enabling the creation of virtual counterparts for everything within the Metaverse. To ensure the reliability of these digital twins, blockchain technology offers a multi-dimensional data storage solution, reinforcing data integrity and trustworthiness. It is used to ensure a transparent and 3D visualization of each communication and interaction for further looking up any criticality if present in the network. With the rapid increase in value and volume of data, the evolution of the metaverse faces a number of privacy and security concerns. Furthermore, the metaverse in Industry 4.0 is a trending topic that further needs to focus on its security challenges at its initial stage. Fortunately, blockchain is considered as one of the significant solutions. The aim of this paper is to propose a secure and efficient fuzzy evaluation matrix by computing the trust values along with integrating with blockchain mechanism in industry 4.0 enabling metaverse environment. The proposed mechanism is validated against various security concerns such as broken authentication, eavesdropping, personal information leakage, data injection, and unauthorized access. The proposed mechanism showed the validation rate against existing schemes with an improvement of 94% in comparison of several security metrics.

TempEasy 3D Hydrogel Coculture System Provides Mechanistic Insights into Prostate Cancer Bone Metastasis.

Patients diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer (PCa) often experience incurable bone metastases; however, a lack of relevant experimental models has hampered the study of disease mechanisms and the development of therapeutic strategies. In this study, we employed the recently established Temperature-based Easy-separable (TempEasy) 3D cell coculture system to investigate PCa bone metastasis. Through coculturing PCa and bone cells for 7 days, our results showed a reduction in PCa cell proliferation, an increase in neovascularization, and an enhanced metastasis potential when cocultured with bone cells. Additionally, we observed increased cell proliferation, higher stemness, and decreased bone matrix protein expression in bone cells when cocultured with PCa cells. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the stiffness of the extracellular matrix had a negligible impact on molecular responses in both primary (PCa cells) and distant malignant (bone cells) sites. The TempEasy 3D hydrogel coculture system is an easy-to-use and versatile coculture system that provides valuable insights into the mechanisms of cell-cell communication and interaction in cancer metastasis.

Molars to Medicine: A Focused Review on the Pre-Clinical Investigation and Treatment of Secondary Degeneration following Spinal Cord Injury Using Dental Stem Cells.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can result in the permanent loss of mobility, sensation, and autonomic function. Secondary degeneration after SCI both initiates and propagates a hostile microenvironment that is resistant to natural repair mechanisms. Consequently, exogenous stem cells have been investigated as a potential therapy for repairing and recovering damaged cells after SCI and other CNS disorders. This focused review highlights the contributions of mesenchymal (MSCs) and dental stem cells (DSCs) in attenuating various secondary injury sequelae through paracrine and cell-to-cell communication mechanisms following SCI and other types of neurotrauma. These mechanistic events include vascular dysfunction, oxidative stress, excitotoxicity, apoptosis and cell loss, neuroinflammation, and structural deficits. The review of studies that directly compare MSC and DSC capabilities also reveals the superior capabilities of DSC in reducing the effects of secondary injury and promoting a favorable microenvironment conducive to repair and regeneration. This review concludes with a discussion of the current limitations and proposes improvements in the future assessment of stem cell therapy through the reporting of the effects of DSC viability and DSC efficacy in attenuating secondary damage after SCI.

Multifunctional and Flexible Neural Probe with Thermally Drawn Fibers for Bidirectional Synaptic Probing in the Brain.

Synapses in the brain utilize two distinct communication mechanisms: chemical and electrical. For a comprehensive investigation of neural circuitry, neural interfaces should be capable of both monitoring and stimulating these types of physiological interactions. However, previously developed interfaces for neurotransmitter monitoring have been limited in interaction modality due to constraints in device size, fabrication techniques, and the usage of flexible materials. To address this obstacle, we propose a multifunctional and flexible fiber probe fabricated through the microwire codrawing thermal drawing process, which enables the high-density integration of functional components with various materials such as polymers, metals, and carbon fibers. The fiber enables real-time monitoring of transient dopamine release in vivo, real-time stimulation of cell-specific neuronal populations via optogenetic stimulation, single-unit electrophysiology of individual neurons localized to the tip of the neural probe, and chemical stimulation via drug delivery. This fiber will improve the accessibility and functionality of bidirectional interrogation of neurochemical mechanisms in implantable neural probes.

Dynamic human error risk assessment of group decision-making in extreme cooperative scenario

For groups in extreme environments, their reliability requirements in complex operational systems are high due to isolation from society, physical constraints for extended periods of time, and exposure to significant hazards. This study attempts to solve the problem of dynamic quantitative risk analysis of decision-making process for extreme group during complex cooperative scenarios. Based on an extended IDA team cognitive model, typical failure modes and performance quantification mechanisms of team communication were analyzed. The performance curve was utilized to distinctively model the cognitive behaviors of operators within the team, driving the cognitive transmission paths of group decision-making in a hybrid event tree. Error calibration of human error due to time uncertainty was conducted. The steps and techniques for dynamic risk analysis of decision-making of extreme groups under complex, dynamic, and ambiguous scenarios were summarized. The proposed method was validated through simulation in a typical powered diving task of manned submarine.

MzmL, a novel marine derived N-acyl homoserine lactonase from Mesoflavibacter zeaxanthinifaciens that attenuates Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum virulence.

Quorum sensing (QS) is a conserved cell-cell communication mechanism widely distributed in bacteria, and is oftentimes tightly correlated with pathogen virulence. Quorum quenching enzymes, which interfere with QS through degrading the QS signaling molecules, could attenuate virulence instead of killing the pathogens, and thus are less likely to induce drug resistance. Many Gram-negative bacteria produce N-acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) for interspecies communication. In this study, we isolated and identified a bacterial strain, Mesoflavibacter zeaxanthinifaciens XY-85, from an Onchidium sp. collected from the intertidal zone of Dapeng Reserve in Shenzhen, China, and found it had strong AHL degradative activity. Whole genome sequencing and blast analysis revealed that XY-85 harbors an AHL lactonase (designated MzmL), which is predicted to have an N-terminal signal peptide and share the "HXHXDH" motif with known AHL lactonases belonging to the Metallo-β-lactamase superfamily. Phylogenetic studies showed MzmL was closest to marine lactonase cluster members, MomL and Aii20J, instead of the AiiA type lactonases. Ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis confirmed that MzmL functions as an AHL lactonase catalyzing AHL degradation through lactone hydrolysis. MzmL could degrade both short- and long-chain AHLs with or without a substitution of oxo-group at the C-3 position, and retained full bioactivity under a wide range of temperatures (28-100°C) and pHs (4-11). Furthermore, MzmL significantly reduced Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum virulence factor production in vitro, such as biofilm formation and plant cell wall degrading enzyme production, and inhibited soft rot development on potato slices. These results demonstrated that MzmL may be a novel type of AHL lactonase with good environmental stability, and has great potential to be developed into a novel biological control agent for bacterial disease management.

When prevention facilitates group creativity: The effect of regulatory focus and regulatory fit on interpersonal neural couplings of creative communications

Despite numerous studies demonstrating connections between regulatory focus, regulatory fit, and group creativity, their impact on the inter-brain mechanism of creative communication is still unclear. Under the regulatory focus theory, Experiment 1 required dyads to complete creative tasks in three conditions (promotion focus, prevention focus, control) while monitoring hemodynamic inter-brain synchronization. In comparison to the other two conditions, dyads with a promotion focus showed higher levels of creative performance. This was also supported by increased inter-brain neural synchronization (IBS) in two ROI pairs (i.e., r-DLPFC_m-FPC; r-DLPFC_l-SMA), which signifies a positive shift towards prioritizing team members' opinions and improved alignment of body movements. Considering the lower creative performance of the prevention-focused dyad in Experiment 1, Experiment 2 referred to the regulatory fit theory and attempted to explore whether fit priming of prevention-focused dyads would facilitate their creative performance more than the misfit dyad. Both the fit and misfit dyads were induced with a prevention focus first. Results illustrated that prevention-focused dyads with fit priming accompanied by higher creative performance and enhanced inter-brain neural synchronization in four ROI pairs (i.e., l-DLPFC_l-FPC; r-FPC_r-FPC; l-FPC_r-FPC; l-FPC_ l-FPC), which potentially signifies a move towards more goal-oriented behavior to prevent team innovation from failing. Furthermore, there is a division that occurs when neural synchronization predicts diverse indicators of creativity across different regulatory focus/fit conditions. Therefore, promotion focus and regulatory fit of the prevention focus might be positive social cues to align and optimize inter-brain information transfer, thus facilitating group creativity.

Digital Image Shaping of Micro-celebrity City: Brand Building and Communication of Chongqing City Image on the Platform of TikTok

This paper aims to discuss how the social media platform represented by TikTok influences and shapes the micro-celebrity city in the digital era. This paper takes Chongqing as the research object. Through in-depth analysis and interviews, it was found that Chongqing is very popular on TikTok because of its unique three-dimensional traffic, magical architecture, and food culture. These elements form a unique visual symbol of Chongqing through creative digital image expression and social interaction, attracting many tourists and deepening people’s impression and comprehension of the city. This study reveals the crucial role of digital images in shaping the image of contemporary cities and provides new perspectives and strategic suggestions for urban brand management and social media marketing. Through an in-depth discussion of content creation, communication mechanisms, and user interaction on platforms such as TikTok, this study provides valuable insights and references for city image communication and city brand building.

Reflections on the Construction of Strategic Performance Management System in Chinese Manufacturing Enterprises

In the surge of global economic integration, China's manufacturing industry is poised at the forefront of a transformational upgrade. Beyond the hum of production lines, the vital pulse lies within the robust rhythm of Strategic Performance Management Systems (SPMS). Yet, studies indicate that despite China's manufacturing sector advancing towards "intelligent manufacturing" and innovation, there are numerous areas within strategic performance management systems that urgently demand enhancement. In the coming years, for China's manufacturing industry to secure higher value positioning within the global supply chain and assert dominance in niche markets, it must seize the nerve center of strategic performance management. Confronted with a series of challenges including slowing growth, rising costs, and tightening environmental regulations, manufacturing enterprises urgently need to construct an efficient and precise performance management system. However, in reality, many enterprises still exhibit a weak strategic execution, lacking a systematic performance orientation and employee incentive mechanisms, often resulting in a disconnect between strategic objectives and performance management. The factors affecting the effective implementation of strategic performance management within enterprises are intricate. Internal factors primarily encompass the rigidity of corporate culture, bottlenecks in leadership style and employee engagement, as well as hindrances in information sharing and communication mechanisms. External factors involve the volatility of market environments, unclear policy directions, and intensifying international competition. The formulation of a comprehensive performance management system undoubtedly holds profound significance for optimizing resource allocation, reinforcing core competitiveness, and enhancing strategic responsiveness.

Asymmetries of the subthalamic activity in Parkinson's disease: phase-amplitude coupling among local field potentials.

The role of brain asymmetries of dopaminergic neurons in motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease is still undefined. Local field recordings from the subthalamic nucleus revealed some neurophysiological biomarkers of the disease: increased beta activity, increased low-frequency activity and high-frequency oscillations. Phase-amplitude coupling coordinates the timing of neuronal activity and allows determining the mechanism for communication within distinct regions of the brain. In this study, we discuss the use of phase-amplitude coupling to assess the differences between the two hemispheres in a cohort of 24 patients with Parkinson's disease before and after levodopa administration. Subthalamic low- (12-20 Hz) and high-beta (20-30 Hz) oscillations were compared with low- (30-45 Hz), medium- (70-100 Hz) and high-frequency (260-360 Hz) bands. We found a significant beta-phase-amplitude coupling asymmetry between left and right and an opposite-side-dependent effect of the pharmacological treatment, which is associated with the reduction of motor symptoms. In particular, high coupling between high frequencies and high-beta oscillations was found during the OFF condition (P < 0.01) and a low coupling during the ON state (P < 0.0001) when the right subthalamus was assessed; exactly the opposite happened when the left subthalamus was considered in the analysis, showing a lower coupling between high frequencies and high-beta oscillations during the OFF condition (P < 0.01), followed by a higher one during the ON state (P < 0.01). Interestingly, these asymmetries are independent of the motor onset side, either left or right. These findings have important implications for neural signals that may be used to trigger adaptive deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's and could provide more exhaustive insights into subthalamic dynamics.

Joint non-fragile automatic generation control and multi-event driven mechanism co-design for wind integrated power system under denial of services attacks

Denial of services (DoS) attacks exist in wind integrated power system. DoS attacks can cause network-induced delay and packages loss in information transmission. Meanwhile, considering the parameter perturbation of controller and system model uncertainty in wind integrated power system, these may cause the system dynamic performances degradation or even instability. Based on the above considerations, the joint non-fragile automatic generation robust control of wind integrated power system under DoS attacks is studied in this paper. In order to ensure the expected system performance and more effectively utilize the limited network communication resources under DoS attacks, a novel dynamic multi-event driven mechanism based joint non-fragile H∞ automatic generation control method is proposed. By constructing a suitable Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional and utilizing the Shur complement lemma to handle nonlinear matrix inequality, the sufficient conditions are derived to guarantee the asymptotic stability of wind integrated power system under DoS attacks. Furthermore, the performance of the proposed non-fragile regulator is demonstrated through a four-area wind integrated power system to show the feasibility and applicability. The analysis result indicates that the proposed scheme provides stronger robustness, higher wind energy utilization efficiency and more efficient communication mechanism.

Formal Analysis and Detection for ROS2 Communication Security Vulnerability

Robotic systems have been widely used in various industries, so the security of communication between robots and their components has become an issue that needs to be focused on. As a framework for developing robotic systems, the security of ROS2 (Robot Operating System 2) can directly affect the security of the upper-level robotic systems. Therefore, it is a worthwhile research topic to detect and analyze the security of ROS2. In this study, we adopted a formal approach to analyze the security of the communication mechanism of ROS2. First, we used a state transition system to model the potential vulnerabilities of ROS2 based on the ROS2 communication mechanism and the basic process of penetration testing. Secondly, we introduced a CIA model based on the established vulnerability model and used linear temporal logic to define its security properties. Then, we designed and implemented a vulnerability detection tool for ROS2 applications based on the vulnerability model and security properties. Finally, we experimentally tested some ROS2-based applications, and the results show that ROS2 has vulnerabilities without additional protection safeguards.

1039: Code Red for IGRT traffic-light-protocols as a communication mechanism in the treatment of LA-NSCLC

1039: Code Red for IGRT traffic-light-protocols as a communication mechanism in the treatment of LA-NSCLC