CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Generation of Pathogen-Resistant Tomato against Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus and Powdery Mildew

Tomato is one of the major vegetable crops consumed worldwide. Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) and fungal Oidium sp. are devastating pathogens causing yellow leaf curl disease and powdery mildew. Such viral and fungal pathogens reduce tomato crop yields and cause substantial economic losses every year. Several commercial tomato varieties include Ty-5 (SlPelo) and Mildew resistance locus o 1 (SlMlo1) locus that carries the susceptibility (S-gene) factors for TYLCV and powdery mildew, respectively. The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein (Cas) is a valuable genome editing tool to develop disease-resistant crop varieties. In this regard, targeting susceptibility factors encoded by the host plant genome instead of the viral genome is a promising approach to achieve pathogen resistance without the need for stable inheritance of CRISPR components. In this study, the CRISPR/Cas9 system was employed to target the SlPelo and SlMlo1 for trait introgression in elite tomato cultivar BN-86 to confer host-mediated immunity against pathogens. SlPelo-knockout lines were successfully generated, carrying the biallelic indel mutations. The pathogen resistance assays in SlPelo mutant lines confirmed the suppressed accumulation of TYLCV and restricted the spread to non-inoculated plant parts. Generated knockout lines for the SlMlo1 showed complete resistance to powdery mildew fungus. Overall, our results demonstrate the efficiency of the CRISPR/Cas9 system to introduce targeted mutagenesis for the rapid development of pathogen-resistant varieties in tomato.     

Novel Ultrahigh-Energy Materials

This paper reviews the recent work carried out in the field of modern high-energy materials (HEMs) with the emphasis on homoleptic polynitrogen compounds. A large volume of quantum-chemical investigations have predicted the possibility of existence of polynitrogen compounds not only as short-lived transient species but also in the form of isolable discrete molecules. Despite the theoretical speculations, only a few polynitrogen ions are known today in addition to well-entrenched N _1– ³ discovered almost 100 year ago. Extraordinary potential of these green molecules to deliver high amounts of energy in comparison with todays and tomorrows most powerful HEMs, namely, hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane (CL-20) and octanitrocubane (ONC), has fuelled the imagination of propellant and explosive engineers and technologists. Research activities are in progress in many quantum-chemical schools to explore the possibility of other promising polynitrogen compounds. After the recent discovery of key synthons/building blocks Mg(N₅)₂, N ₁₊ ⁵ SbF _1– ⁶ , N ₁₊ ⁵ SbF₁₁, N ₁₊ ⁵ , N ₁₊ ⁵ SnF₆, and N ₁₊ ⁵ Sn(CF₃)₄, the wealth of polynitrogen compounds is just waiting to be harvested by the HEMs community. There are ambitious plans all over the globe to realize N₆₀, which only prove a eco-friendly dense powerhouse of energy.__________Translated from Fizika Goreniya i Vzryva, Vol. 41, No. 3, pp. 29–45, May–June, 2005.     

Effects of Post-Weld Heat Treatment on the Microstructure and Toughness of Flash Butt Welded High-Strength Low-Alloy Steel

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - Effect of post-weld heat treatment on the weld microstructure, texture, and its correlation to the toughness of flash butt welded joints were...     

Synthesis, characterization, thermolysis and performance evaluation of mercuric-5-nitrotetrazole (MNT)

Mercuric-5-nitrotetrazole (MNT) was synthesized on using a reported method. The product having bulk density of 1.5 g/cm3, was obtained during this work using mercuric nitrate doped with additives such as cephol/dextrin in the process. Synthesized MNT was characterized by metal content analysis, IR and ESCA. The DTA profile indicated the thermal stability of MNT up to 200 degrees C. It revealed its higher thermally sensitive [thermal sensitive figure (S) approximately 0.8] in comparison to that of service lead azide (SLA) [S approximately 0.4]. Percussion sensitivity data also showed higher sensitivity of MNT. However, it was found less friction sensitive than SLA. The chemical stability of MNT in a carbon dioxide environment was evaluated in comparison to SLA by determining mercury (gravimetrically) and lead azide (volumetrically) contents respectively. Results obtained indicated that no discernable changes occurred in MNT, even after storage for 90 days while in case of SLA, drastic change in lead azide content was observed. IR spectra of MNT sample stored in a closed aluminum dish for 5-10 years could be superimposed on that of the freshly prepared MNT sample. The performance of MNT filled detonator no. 27 assessed in terms of extent of damage on a witness plate was found equivalent to that of the standard ASA (azide, styphynate and aluminium) composition filled detonator.     

Guest Editors' Introduction: Security & Privacy

Security and privacy concerns touch on all aspects of pervasive computing, including hardware, operating systems, networks, databases, user interfaces, and applications. The seven articles selected for this special issue draw on ideas from many of these fields and provide a flavor of the kinds of security and privacy challenges and opportunities in pervasive computing. This article is part of a special issue on security and privacy.     

Pervasive Personal Computing in an Internet Suspend/Resume System

The Internet suspend/resume model of mobile computing cuts the tight binding between PC state and PC hardware. By layering a virtual machine on distributed storage, ISR lets the VM encapsulate execution and user customization state; distributed storage then transports that state across space and time. This article explores the implications of ISR for an infrastructure-based approach to mobile computing. It reports on experiences with three versions of ISR and describes work in progress toward the OpenISR version     

Cognitive deficits in docosahexaenoic acid-deficient rats.

This study investigated the influence of brain docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) deficiency on simple and complex olfactory-based learning and memory in 2nd generation (F2) adult male rats. Rats raised and maintained on either an n-3-adequate or an n-3-deficient diet were tested for acquisition of an olfactory learning set and an olfactory memory task, and for motivation to obtain a water reward. Despite a 76% decrease in brain DHA, n-3-deficient rats were able to acquire most simple 2-odor discrimination tasks but were deficient in the acquisition of a 20-problem olfactory learning set. This deficit could not be attributed to changes in sensory capacity but, instead, appeared to represent a deficit in higher order learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

基于ZSP的DAB-DMB接收机的开放型SOC实现

1绪论数字多媒体广播(DMB)与针对手持类设备的数字视频广播(DVB-H)是两种互相竞争的描述视频内容广播规范的标准。它们与数字音频广播(DAB)标准一起,为客户提供了完整的多媒体解决方案。DMB标准规定视频服务也由DAB负载,其中视频对象遵照MPEG-4SL(ISO/IEC14496-1)规范进行分组打包和同步。另外,音频和视频(多媒体)数据的复用按照MPEG-2传输码流(ISO/IEC14496-1)规范完成。标准的组织,WorldDAB,目前正致力于开发把DAB应用于基于IP的解决方案的标准。另一个标准DVB-H是由地面数字视频广播(DVB-T)标准针对手持类设备修改…     

Direct Pyrolysis of Raw Rice Husks for Maximization of Silicon Carbide Whisker Formation

A new alternate route for the production of SiC from rice husks has been described. The proposed single-stage process has the advantage of reduced time of production and a much higher yield of SiC whiskers than the conventional two-stage process. Direct pyrolysis of raw rice husks was carried out in a graphite furnace under vacuum and the reaction products were analyzed through macroscopic examination, XRD, SEM, and chemical analysis. Effects of time and temperature on the relative yields of the various reaction products have been determined over a wide range. The pyrolysis of raw rice husks has been found to be accompanied by four different competitive processes, viz., formation of SiC whiskers, formation of SiC polycrystals, crystallization of amorphous silica, and graphitization of amorphous carbon. Crystallization of silica and formation of SiC( w ) are dominant processes at 1150° to 1310°C. At higher temperatures formation of SiC polycrystals and graphitization of carbon are more favored. A multistep pyrolysis to 1310°C was found to yield a still higher amount of SiC( w ) than direct pyrolysis.