This book aims to explain recent developments in Rational Extended Thermodynamics (RET), in particular those that have occurred since the publication of the book Rational Extended Thermodynamics, Second Edition (Springer, New York, 1998) by Ingo Müller and Tommaso Ruggeri. RET is a phenomenological field theory capable of describing nonequilibrium phenomena with steep gradients and rapid changes in space-time out of local equilibrium. Classical thermodynamics of irreversible processes (TIP) relies essentially on the assumption of local equilibrium. Therefore, the validity range of RET is wider than that of TIP. Moreover, RET can predict the finite speed of disturbances because its basic system of field equations is hyperbolic. In contrast, TIP predicts the infinite speed of disturbances because of its parabolic character, which is fatal in a relativistic framework. RET was strongly motivated by-and is in perfect agreement with-the kinetic theory, in particular, the system of moment equations derived from the Boltzmann equation. In RET, the differential system is closed by the universal principles: the objectivity principle, the entropy principle, and the principle of causality and stability. This permits an intimate connection between RET and the mathematical theory of hyperbolic systems with convex extension (symmetric systems). It is, therefore, possible to give a qualitative analysis, and the Cauchy problem is well posed. For example, a well-known theory of viscous heat-conducting fluids based on TIP is the classical Navier-Stokes-Fourier theory with five independent field variables: the mass density, the velocity and the temperature. On the other hand, RET adopts more independent field variables by incorporating nonequilibrium variables such as viscous stress and heat flux into the theory. The limitation of the previous RET is, however, that its validity range has been restricted to rarefied monatomic gases. The present book presents the recent results that have overcome this limitation, that is, the results concerned with polyatomic gases, moderately dense gases, and mixtures of gases with multi-temperature. vii

Inductive cell-cell interactions are essential for controlling cell fate determination in both plants and animals; however, the chemical basis of inductive signals in plants remains little understood. A proteoglycan-like factor named xylogen mediates local and inductive cell-cell interactions required for xylem differentiation in Zinnia cells cultured in vitro. Here we describe the purification of xylogen and cloning of its complementary DNA, and present evidence for its role in planta. The polypeptide backbone of xylogen is a hybrid-type molecule with properties of both arabinogalactan proteins and nonspecific lipid-transfer proteins. Xylogen predominantly accumulates in the meristem, procambium and xylem. In the xylem, xylogen has a polar localization in the cell walls of differentiating tracheary elements. Double knockouts of Arabidopsis lacking both genes that encode xylogen proteins show defects in vascular development: discontinuous veins, improperly interconnected vessel elements and simplified venation. Our results suggest that the polar secretion of xylogen draws neighbouring cells into the pathway of vascular differentiation to direct continuous vascular development, thereby identifying a molecule that mediates an inductive cell-cell interaction involved in plant tissue differentiation.

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domains: a BAR (BIN/amphiphysin/RVS) domain, a pleckstrin homology (PH) domain, an ARF-GAP domain and an ankyrin (ANK)-repeat domain. Recombinant VAN3protein showed GTPase-activating activity and a specific affinity for phosphatidylinositols. This protein can selfassociate through the N-terminal BAR domain in the yeast two-hybrid system. Subcellular localization analysis by double staining for Venus-tagged VAN3 and several greenfluorescent-protein-tagged intracellular markers indicated that VAN3 is located in a subpopulation of the trans-Golgi network (TGN). Our results indicate that the expression of this gene is induced by auxin and positively regulated by VAN3 itself, and that a specific ACAP type of ARF-GAP functions in vein pattern formation by regulating auxin signaling via a TGN-mediated vesicle transport system.

UV radiation induces two major classes of pyrimidine dimers: the pyrimidine [6-4] pyrimidone photoproduct (6-4 product) and the cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD). Many organisms produce enzymes, termed photolyases, that specifically bind to these damage products and split them via a UV-A/blue light-dependent mechanism, thereby reversing the damage. These photolyases are specific for either CPDs or 6-4 products. A gene that expresses a protein with 6-4 photolyase activity in vitro was recently cloned from Drosophila melanogaster and Xenopus laevis. We report here the isolation of a homolog of this gene, cloned on the basis of sequence similarity, from the higher plant Arabidopsis thaliana. This cloned gene produces a protein with 6-4 photolyase activity when expressed in Escherichia coli. We also find that a previously described mutant of Arabidopsis (uvr3) that is defective in photoreactivation of 6-4 products carries a nonsense mutation in this 6-4 photolyase homolog. We have therefore termed this gene UVR3. Although homologs of this gene have previously been shown to produce a functional 6-4 photolyase when expressed in heterologous systems, this is the first demonstration of a requirement for this gene for photoreactivation of 6-4 products in vivo.