AGO2a but not AGO2b mediates antiviral defense against infection of wild-type cucumber mosaic virus in tomato.

Evolutionarily conserved antiviral RNA interference (RNAi) mediates a primary antiviral innate immunity preventing infection of broad-spectrum viruses in plants. However, the detailed mechanism in plants is still largely unknown, especially in important agricultural crops, including tomato. Varieties of pathogenic viruses evolve to possess viral suppressors of RNA silencing (VSRs) to suppress antiviral RNAi in the host. Due to the prevalence of VSRs, it is still unknown whether antiviral RNAi truly functions to prevent invasion by natural wild-type viruses in plants and animals. In this research, for the first time we applied CRISPR-Cas9 to generate ago2a, ago2b, or ago2ab mutants for two differentiated Solanum lycopersicum AGO2s, key effectors in antiviral RNAi. We found that AGO2a but not AGO2b was significantly induced to inhibit the propagation of not only VSR-deficient Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) but also wild-type CMV-Fny in tomato; however, neither AGO2a nor AGO2b regulated disease induction after infection with either virus. Our findings firstly reveal a prominent role of AGO2a in antiviral RNAi innate immunity in tomato and demonstrate that antiviral RNAi evolves to defend against infection of natural wild-type CMV-Fny in tomato. However, AGO2a-mediated antiviral RNAi does not play major roles in promoting tolerance of tomato plants to CMV infection for maintaining health.

Research of deformation law about guide rails under the action of mining deformation in mine vertical shaft.

To lay a foundation for alleviating the influence of mining shaft deformation (MSD) on the guide rail (GR) and monitoring the shaft deformation state, this paper studies the deformation law and mechanism of the guide rail under the MSD. Firstly, a spring is used to simplify the interaction between the shaft lining and surrounding rock soil mass (SRSM) under MSD, and its stiffness coefficient is deduced by the elastic subgrade reaction method. Secondly, a simplified finite element model is established based on spring element, the stiffness coefficient is calculated by the derivation formula, and its effectiveness is verified. Finally, the deformation law and mechanism of GR are analyzed under different types and degrees of MSD, and the deformation characteristics are studied under the disconnection between the shaft, bunton and guide rail. The results show that the established finite element model can better simulate the interaction between the shaft lining and SRSM, and the calculation efficiency is greatly improved. The guide rail deformation (GRD) has a strong ability to characterize MSD and owns the distinctive feature corresponding to different types and degrees of MSD and the connection state. This research can provide reference and guidance for the shaft deformation monitoring and the maintenance and installation of the GR, and also lays a groundwork for studying operation characteristic of hoisting conveyance under MSD.

Development of a Novel Magnetic Brake Shoe for Mine Hoists Based on Nano-Fe3O4 and Nd-Fe-B Additive.

BACKGROUND: The brake is an important safety protection device for mine hoists, in which the performance of the brake shoe affects directly the safe operation of the hoist system. In order to solve problems such as high wear rate and unstable friction coefficient of brake shoe under high temperature, this paper indicated that adding magnetic powder to the composite material of traditional mine hoist's brake shoe will be a creative and effective approach to improve its properties. METHODS: Based on relevant China patents of the authors, several new formulas of brake shoe material were designed in the presence of Nano-Fe3O4 and Nd-Fe-B, and the methods of both preparation and performance testing of the magnetic brake shoes were introduced. The experiment of formula design was carried out by uniform prescription design, and the friction coefficient and wear rate of each kind of brake shoes made through different formulas were measured. Furthermore, the formula was optimized by application of fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method and analytic hierarchy process. RESULTS: Compared with ordinary formulas, the optimized formula is higher totally and changes more steadily as well. Its wear rate is far lower than the national standard. Namely, its comprehensive properties are better. Few relevant patents to the topic have been reviewed and cited. CONCLUSION: This paper proved that it is practically valuable and feasible to improve the properties of hoist brake shoes by adding magnetic powder to its composite material.