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\"This timely book proposes innovative and elegant solutions for the housing needs of our aging society. It is estimated that only 5 percent of the western hemisphere's current housing stock is suitable for elderly residents. Fortunately, today's generation of architects is working toward increasing the availability and variety of housing for older people. This volume details dozens of thoughtfully conceived projects from around the world that incorporate the needs of older citizens without sacrificing the personal and aesthetic choices we all make when choosing our home. These examples of single-family houses, communal-living projects, service apartments, and assisted-living residences enable their inhabitants to maintain--and even improve--their quality of life.\"--Publisher's website.

One of the crucial steps in the life cycle of angiosperms is the development of carpels. They are the most complex plant organs, harbor the seeds, and, after fertilization, develop into fruits and are thus an important ecological and economic trait. CRABS CLAW (CRC), a YABBY protein and putative transcription factor, is one of the major carpel developmental regulators in that includes a C2C2 zinc finger and a domain with similarities to an HMG box. CRC is involved in the regulation of processes such as carpel fusion and growth, floral meristem termination, and nectary formation. While its genetic interactions with other carpel development regulators are well described, its biochemical properties and molecular way of action remain unclear. We combined Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation, Yeast Two-Hybrid, and Yeast One-Hybrid analyzes to shed light on the molecular biology of CRC. Our results showed that CRC dimerizes, also with other YABBY proteins, via the YABBY domain, and that its DNA binding is mainly cooperative and is mediated by the YABBY domain. Further, we identified that CRC is involved in floral meristem termination via transcriptional repression while it acts as a transcriptional activator in nectary development and carpel fusion and growth control. This work increases our understanding on how YABBY transcription factors interact with other proteins and how they regulate their targets.

California poppy or golden poppy ( Eschscholzia californica ) is the iconic state flower of California, with native ranges from Northern California to Southwestern Mexico. It grows well as an ornamental plant in Mediterranean climates, but it might be invasive in many parts of the world. California poppy was also highly prized by Native Americans for its medicinal value, mainly due to its various specialized metabolites, especially benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIAs). As a member of the Ranunculales, the sister lineage of core eudicots it occupies an interesting phylogenetic position. California poppy has a short-lived life cycle but can be maintained as a perennial. It has a comparatively simple floral and vegetative morphology. Several genetic resources, including options for genetic manipulation and a draft genome sequence have been established already with many more to come. Efficient cell and tissue culture protocols are established to study secondary metabolite biosynthesis and its regulation. Here, we review the use of California poppy as a model organism for plant genetics, with particular emphasis on the evolution of development and BIA biosynthesis. In the future, California poppy may serve as a model organism to combine two formerly separated lines of research: the regulation of morphogenesis and the regulation of secondary metabolism. This can provide insights into how these two integral aspects of plant biology interact with each other.

Nowadays, there exists an international movement towards the extensive recognition as cultural heritage, or \"heritagization\", of areas where wars, genocides and massacres have taken place. The phenomenon of \"seeing\" mass death, called \"dark tourism\" or the \"tourism of desolation\", has become both an aim and a destination for visitors. The article examines this heritagization, with an emphasis on the memorials of the genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi of Rwanda.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs) are highly metastatic with poor prognosis, mainly due to delayed detection. We hypothesized that intercellular communication is critical for metastatic progression. Here, we show that PDAC-derived exosomes induce liver pre-metastatic niche formation in naive mice and consequently increase liver metastatic burden. Uptake of PDAC-derived exosomes by Kupffer cells caused transforming growth factor β secretion and upregulation of fibronectin production by hepatic stellate cells. This fibrotic microenvironment enhanced recruitment of bone marrow-derived macrophages. We found that macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) was highly expressed in PDAC-derived exosomes, and its blockade prevented liver pre-metastatic niche formation and metastasis. Compared with patients whose pancreatic tumours did not progress, MIF was markedly higher in exosomes from stage I PDAC patients who later developed liver metastasis. These findings suggest that exosomal MIF primes the liver for metastasis and may be a prognostic marker for the development of PDAC liver metastasis. Lyden and colleagues report that pancreatic cancer-derived exosomes induce a pre-metastatic niche in the liver by promoting TGFβ secretion from Kupffer cells, leading to fibronectin production in hepatic stellate cells and macrophage recruitment.

Exosomes, small membrane vesicles （30-100 nm） of endocytic origin secreted by most cell types, contain functional biomolecules, which can be horizontally transferred to recipient cells [1]. Exosomes bear a specific protein and lipid composition, and carry a select set of functional mRNAs and microRNAs [2]. Recently, our group has shown that c-Met shed in exosomes can promote a proangiogenic and prometastatic phenotype in bone marrow-derived progenitor cells during melanoma progression [3]. In previous research, retrotransposon RNA transcripts, single-stranded DNA （ssDNA）,

Background Orchids are known for their extraordinarily diversified floral structures and evolutionary adaptations. The study of transcription factor genes, such as the YABBY gene DROOPING LEAF , is crucial for understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying orchid development and evolution. This study aims to elucidate the evolutionary dynamics and expression patterns of DL genes across orchid subfamilies. Results Through genomic and transcriptomic analyses, we identified 25 full-length DL genes in orchids, with two paralogs ( DL1 and DL2 -like genes) observed in Epidendroideae, Orchidoideae, Cypripedioideae, and Vanilloideae, while the most ancestral Apostasioideae retained a single-copy gene. In addition to the functional DL , genomic features reveal the presence of a DL pseudogene within Apostasioideae. Evolutionary analyses revealed relaxed selection pressures acting on orchid DL2 paralogs. Sequence comparison and expression analyses uncovered potential pseudogenization events affecting DL2 paralogs of Vanilloideae and Cypripedioideae, while in the most recent subfamily Epidendroideae, differential expression of DL2 in inner perianth tissues suggests the possible acquisition of a new function in the development of the lip callus. Conclusions Our study provides insights into the evolutionary trajectory of DL genes in orchids. The relaxed selection on DL2 paralogs might be related to pseudogenization or functional divergence. Pseudogenization of DL2 in most ancestral orchids and possible neofunctionalization in Epidendroideae indicate a dynamic evolutionary process shaping the functional repertoire of DL genes. These findings contribute to our understanding of the genetic basis of orchid diversity and evolution, with implications for future studies on the role of transcription factors in plant development and adaptation.

Angiosperm flowers are the most complex organs that plants generate, and in their center, the gynoecium forms, assuring sexual reproduction. Gynoecium development requires tight regulation of developmental regulators across time and tissues. How simple on and off regulation of gene expression is achieved in plants was described previously, but molecular mechanisms generating complex expression patterns remain unclear. We use the gynoecium developmental regulator CRABS CLAW (CRC) to study factors contributing to its sophisticated expression pattern. We combine in silico promoter analyses, global TF-DNA interaction screens, and mutant analyses. We find that miRNA action, DNA methylation, and chromatin remodeling do not contribute substantially to CRC regulation. However, 119 TFs, including SEP3, ETT, CAL, FUL, NGA2, and JAG bind to the CRC promoter in yeast. These TFs finetune transcript abundance as homodimers by transcriptional activation. Interestingly, temporal–spatial aspects of expression regulation may be under the control of redundantly acting genes and require higher order complex formation at TF binding sites. Our work shows that endogenous regulation of complex expression pattern requires orchestrated transcription factor action on several conserved promotor sites covering almost 4 kb in length. Our results highlight the utility of comprehensive regulators screens directly linking transcriptional regulators with their targets.