The results show that the major effect of hl on pubescence results from structural distortion (bending and swelling) of all trichome types in aerial tissues. Leaf surface extracts and isolated type VI glands from hl plants contained wild-type levels of monoterpenes, glycoalkaloids, and acyl sugars, but were deficient in sesquiterpene and polyphenolic compounds implicated in anti-insect defence. No-choice bioassays Selleckchem GSK461364 showed that hl plants are compromised in resistance to the specialist herbivore Manduca sexta. These results establish a link between the morphology and chemical composition

of glandular trichomes in cultivated tomato, and show that hl-mediated changes in these leaf surface traits correlate with decreased resistance to insect herbivory.”
“The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the ester carbon chain length of curing agents modified by epoxidized oleic esters on the toughness of cured epoxy resins. An amine-terminated prepolymer (i.e., curing agent Selleck P005091 G) was synthesized from a bisphenol A type liquid epoxy resin and triethylene tetramine. The toughening curing agents (G1 and G2) were prepared by reactions of epoxidized oleic methyl ester and epoxidized oleic capryl ester, respectively, with curing agent G. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry was used to characterize the chemical structure of the curing agents. The effects of the carbon chain length

of the oleic ester group in the curing agents on the toughness and other performances of the curing epoxy resins were investigated by analysis of the Izod impact strength,

tensile strength, elongation at break, thermal properties, selleck kinase inhibitor and morphology of the fracture surfaces of the samples. The results denote that the toughness of the cured epoxy resins increased with the introduction of oleic esters into the curing agents without a loss of mechanical properties and that the toughness and thermal stability of the materials increased with increasing ester carbon chain length. The toughness enhancement was attributed to the flexibility of the end carbon chains and ester carbon chains of the oleic esters in the toughening curing agents. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 119: 3504-3510, 2011″
“Pluripotency, a characteristic of cells in the inner cell mass of the mammalian preimplantation blastocyst as well as of embryonic stem cells, is defined as the ability of a cell to generate all of the cell types of an organism. A group of transcription factors is essential for the establishment and maintenance of the pluripotent state. Recent studies have demonstrated that differentiated somatic cells could be reverted to a pluripotent state by the overexpression of a set of transcription factors, further highlighting the significance of transcription factors in the control of pluripotency. Among these factors, a member of the POU transcription factor family, Oct4, is central to the machinery governing pluripotency.