• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.50
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• pp.142-154
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• 2023

Plant abscission is a natural process in which plant organs or tissues undergo detachment, a strategy selected by nature for the disposal of nonessential organs and widespread dissemination of seeds and fruits. However, from an agricultural perspective, the abscission of seeds or fruits represents a major factor that reduces crop productivity and product quality. Therefore, during the crop domestication process in traditional agriculture, mutants exhibiting suppressed abscission were selected and crossbred, thereby enabling the production of modern crop varieties such as rice, tomatoes, canola, and soybeans. These crops possess a unique trait of retaining ripe fruits or seeds in contrast to disposal via abscission. During the previous century, research on quantitative trait loci along with genetic and molecular biological studies on Arabidopsis thaliana have elucidated various cell biological mechanisms, signaling pathways, and transcription regulators involved in abscission. Additionally, it has been revealed that various hormone signals, which are involved in plant growth, play crucial roles in modulating abscission activity. Researchers have developed several chemical treatments that target these hormones and signal transduction pathways to enhance crop yields. This review aimed to introduce the previously identified signal transduction pathways and pivotal regulators implicated in abscission activity. Moreover, this review will discuss the future direction of research required to investigate crop abscission mechanisms for their potential application in smart farming and other areas of agriculture, as well as areas within model systems that require extensive research.

• The Critical Review of Religion and Culture
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• no.31
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• pp.141-172
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• 2017

The objectives of this paper are to investigate hunting, stock raising, sacrifice recorded in the oracle bone inscriptions of Shang Dynasty. I want to raise two basic questions. First, what were the functions of hunting, stock raising, sacrifice, which constructed the world of life in Shang Dynasty? Second, what were the relationships of gods, men, animals derived from them? These questions are brought up to how the commoners of Shang Dynasty build the world and perceive it. I adopted positively prevalent theories for answering those questions. I am particularly provided with Michael J. Puett's insightful remarks in this presentation. He criticizes the previous viewpoint that the relationships of gods and men in ancient China were harmonious and mutually respondent. According to him, in the ancient way of thinking of China the world of gods was full of whimsical and unpredictable power and also contained the risks, which led to disaster to the human world. So it is needed to be controled in a certain way. The sacrifice and the divination must have been instruments for controlling it in ancient China. In the same vein his arguments can be applied to the special connotations of hunting and stock raising, by the benefit of which I developed my own ideas in this paper. The conclusions are as follows. First, Shang dynasty tried to suppress the latent danger of two worlds. The nature represented by animals and the world of gods were respectively considered as the unknown domains, which is to threatening human life. Hunting, stock raising, sacrifice were the ways and means of controlling these two domains of power, which cause chaos in life. Second, the relationships among gods, men, animals had various functions and changed their status role, depending on the circumstances. Hunting and stock raising were important methods to domesticate animals with violence. In this domestication process animals became "victims" but animals are also to be the messengers to gods through being slain in the sacrifice. In this way animals are both inferior and superior to men and hold a unique status between gods and men.