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Atmospheric new particle formation (NPF) has been observed to take place in practice all around the world. In continental locations, typically about 10–40% of the days are so-called NPF event days characterized by a clear particle formation and growth that continue for several hours, occurring mostly during daytime. The other days are either non-event days, or days for which it is difficult to decide whether NPF had occurred or not. Using measurement data from several locations (Hyytiälä, Järvselja, and near-city background and city center of Budapest), we were able to show that NPF tends to occur also on the days traditionally characterized as non-event days. One explanation is the instrument sensitivity towards low number concentrations in the sub-10 nm range, which usually limits our capability to detect such NPF events. We found that during such days, particle formation rates at 6 nm were about 2–20% of those observed during the traditional NPF event days. Growth rates of the newly formed particles were very similar between the traditional NPF event and non-event days. This previously overlooked phenomenon, termed as quiet NPF, contributes significantly to the production of secondary particles in the atmosphere.

The Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) has become instrumental in understanding how policy narratives impact public policy processes. This article presents a systematic analysis of the historical development of NPF research, drawing on a review of 189 NPF articles to investigate its evolution. The findings are presented across five temporal stages, examining the use of the NPF’s theoretical elements. The analysis indicates a consistent focus on the core theoretical components, demonstrating the framework’s robustness. Additionally, the article examines whether the NPF’s ambition to bridge positivist and interpretivist approaches has been achieved. The proposed future research agenda highlights areas for further exploration. First, researchers are encouraged to combine the NPF with interpretivist approaches in policy narrative research. Second, our findings show a need for more in-depth analyses of specific narrative components, such as narrative characters, to gain deeper insights into their effects on policy processes. Third, there is a clear need to investigate whether and how practitioners are using NPF research to inform their communication strategies. This systematic analysis highlights patterns and trends in the literature, identifies gaps and proposes future avenues for empirical applications and theory development. Thus, this article offers new insights into the NPF, contributing to existing knowledge in the field.

The growth of newly formed particles through new particle formation (NPF) contributes a significant fraction to the cloud condensation nuclei, yet the driving mechanisms remain unclear, especially for polluted environments. To investigate the potential species contributing for nanoparticle growth in environments with significant anthropogenic influences, we measured the hygroscopicity of newly formed particles at 20–40 nm at a rural observational site in the North China Plain during winter 2018. Our results demonstrate that these particles were not very hygroscopic, with the mean hygroscopicity parameter κ of 0.13 ± 0.09. Clear differences in the inferred κ of the growing material responsible for the growth were observed among different events, indicating that even at the same region, the compounds driving particle growth may not be identical. This may be synergistically influenced by the NPF precursors, oxidants and meteorological conditions, suggesting complex mechanisms might co‐exist behind nanoparticle growth in polluted environments. Plain Language Summary Particles newly formed through nucleation grow large enough to become cloud condensation nuclei which influences climate. However, the driving mechanisms and the key contributing species for nanoparticle growth are poorly understood. Here, we present direct measurements of the hygroscopicity of particles through new particle formation (NPF) that occurred in a rural environment in the North China Plain (NCP) during wintertime of 2018. Relatively low hygroscopicity of these newly formed particles were observed, suggesting less water‐soluble compounds drove the growth there. We also found that the hygroscopicity of the growing material responsible for nanoparticle growth was not identical on different NPF days. Our results reveal that the compounds driving the growth varied with different NPF conditions, deepening our understanding of nanoparticle growth in polluted environments. Key Points Particles with sizes at 20–40 nm formed through new particle formation (NPF) are not very hygroscopic at rural North China Plain (NCP) The hygroscopicity parameter κ of the growing material varied from ∼0 to ∼0.1 among NPF events Precursors, oxidants and meteorological conditions may synergistically determine the chemical compounds responsible for particle growth

Secondary metabolites (SMs) play crucial roles in the vital functioning of plants such as growth, development, defense, and survival via their transportation and accumulation at the required site. However, unlike primary metabolites, the transport mechanisms of SMs are not yet well explored. There exists a huge gap between the abundant presence of SM transporters, their identification, and functional characterization. A better understanding of plant SM transporters will surely be a step forward to fulfill the steeply increasing demand for bioactive compounds for the formulation of herbal medicines. Thus, the engineering of transporters by modulating their expression is emerging as the most viable option to achieve the long-term goal of systemic metabolic engineering for enhanced metabolite production at minimum cost. In this review article, we are updating the understanding of recent advancements in the field of plant SM transporters, particularly those discovered in the past two decades. Herein, we provide notable insights about various types of fully or partially characterized transporters from the ABC, MATE, PUP, and NPF families including their diverse functionalities, structural information, potential approaches for their identification and characterization, several regulatory parameters, and their modulation. A novel perspective to the concept of “Transporter Engineering” has also been unveiled by highlighting its potential applications particularly in plant stress (biotic and abiotic) tolerance, SM accumulation, and removal of anti-nutritional compounds, which will be of great value for the crop improvement program. The present study creates a roadmap for easy identification and a better understanding of various transporters, which can be utilized as suitable targets for transporter engineering in future research.

Active membrane transport of plant hormones and their related compounds is an essential process that determines the distribution of the compounds within plant tissues and, hence, regulates various physiological events. Here, we report that the Arabidopsis NITRATE TRANSPORTER 1/PEPTIDE TRANSPORTER FAMILY 7.3 (NPF7.3) protein functions as a transporter of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), a precursor of the major endogenous auxin indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). When expressed in yeast, NPF7.3 mediated cellular IBA uptake. Loss-of-function npf7.3 mutants showed defective root gravitropism with reduced IBA levels and auxin responses. Nevertheless, the phenotype was restored by exogenous application of IAA but not by IBA treatment. NPF7.3 was expressed in pericycle cells and the root tip region including root cap cells of primary roots where the IBA-to-IAA conversion occurs. Our findings indicate that NPF7.3-mediated IBA uptake into specific cells is required for the generation of appropriate auxin gradients within root tissues.

Nitrate transporters are primarily responsible for absorption of nitrate from soil and nitrate translocation among different parts of plants. They deliver nitrate to where it is needed. However, recent studies have revealed that nitrate transporters are extensively involved in coping with adverse environmental conditions besides limited nitrate/nitrogen availability. In this review, we describe the functions of the nitrate transporters related to abiotic stresses and their regulation. The expected and unexpected roles of nitrate transporters in plant abiotic stress resistance will also be discussed.

NRT1/PTR FAMILY (NPF) genes are characterized as nitrate and peptide transporters that played important roles in various substrates transport in plants. However, little is known about the NPF gene in tea plants. Here, a total of 109 CsNPF members were identified from the tea plant genome, and divided into 8 groups according to their sequence characteristics and phylogenetic relationship. Gene structure and conserved motif analysis supported the evolutionary conservation of CsNPFs. Many hormone and stress response cis-acting elements and transcription factor binding sites were found in CsNPF promoters. Syntenic analysis suggested that multiple duplication types contributed to the expansion of NPF gene family in tea plants. Selection pressure analysis showed that CsNPF genes experienced strong purifying selective during the evolution process. The distribution of NPF family genes revealed that 8 NPF subfamilies were formed before the divergence of eudicots and monocots. Transcriptome analysis showed that CsNPFs were expressed differently in different tissues of the tea plant. The expression of 20 CsNPF genes at different nitrate concentrations was analyzed, and most of those genes responded to nitrate resupply. Subcellular localization showed that both CsNPF2.3 and CsNPF6.1 were localized in the plasma membrane, which was consistent with the characteristics of transmembrane proteins involved in NO3- transport. This study provides a theoretical basis for further investigating the evolution and function of NPF genes.

Since the early 2010s, the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) has become a popular approach for studying the role of narratives in the public policy process. While this theoretical framework clearly states that policy narratives operate at three distinct yet interacting levels, micro (individual), meso (group and coalition) and macro (cultural and institutional), scholars are still indecisive about how to define and operationalise narratives at the macro level of analysis. Integrating concepts from the metanarrative literature into the macro level of the NPF, this research bridges this gap. We focus on the role of macro narratives in constructing national identities and analyse their impact on political behaviour in the international arena. Specifically, we analyse voting records of the United Nations General Assembly and offer an empirical model that incorporates the concept of macro narratives into traditional explanations of voting behaviours of nations. We show that affinities between macro narratives embraced by different nations are positively correlated with similarities in their voting patterns. Our results also show that the content of a nation’s macro narrative can anticipate its likelihood of voting in favour of motions regarding human rights.

Purpose – This study aims to evaluate the impact of financial services authority's regulation (POJK) regarding the implementation of Covid-19 Countercyclical in Islamic rural banks.Methodology – This study uses time-series data taken from Financial Services Authority (OJK)'s database covering the period from March 2020 - March 2022. Cointegration test show that there is no cointeggration and the variable is not stationary at the same order/degree, therefore the VAR method is used.Findings – This study reveals that POJK have significant impact on CAR, EAQ, and REO ratios and integrated in the long term. Moreover, this study also find that POJK have a causal or reciprocal effect on CAR and REO which occur in one direction. Futhermore, this study portrays that POJK have a positive impact in returning CAR, EAQ and REO ratios to a positive condition at least 10 months since POJK published, except for CR that before pandemic was in a positive condition.Implications – It is necessary for the BPRS to conduct a stress test on the implementation of the said restructuring and its impact on the finances and ratios of the BPRS as the first step for the BPRS to carry out mitigation if things that are not desired by the BPRS occur. Originality – This paper examines the effect of the implementation of POJK Number 11/POJK.03/2020 which is further amended through POJK Number 48/POJK.03/2020 concerning national economic stimulus as a countercyclical policy impact of the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 on the Islamic rural bank soundness level during Covid 19 pandemic.

The NITRATE TRANSPORTER 1/PEPTIDE TRANSPORTER FAMILY (NPF) genes, initially characterized as nitrate or peptide transporters in plants, are involved in the transport of a large variety of substrates, including amino acids, nitrate, auxin (IAA), jasmonates (JAs), abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellins (GAs) and glucosinolates. A total of 169 potential functional NPF genes were excavated in Brassica napus, and they showed diversified expression patterns in 90 different organs or tissues based on transcriptome profile data. The complex time-serial expression changes were found for most functional NPF genes in the development process of leaves, silique walls and seeds, which indicated that the expression of Brassica napus NPF (BnaNPF) genes may respond to altered phytohormone and secondary metabolite content through combining with promoter element enrichment analysis. Furthermore, many BnaNPF genes were detected to respond to vernalization with two different patterns, and 20 BnaNPF genes responded to nitrate deficiency. These results will provide useful information for further investigation of the biological function of BnaNPF genes for growth and development in rapeseed.