Comprehensive genetic analyses of Arabidopsis autophagy-related 8 family reveal redundant regulatory roles during autophagy.

The ubiquitin-like protein ATG8 is a central component of the autophagy process and is required at multiple steps during both bulk and selective autophagy. Currently, our understanding of the roles of ATG8 in plants and the possible functional specialization of its family members is limited by genetic redundancy. Here, we employed clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated (Cas)9 targeting technology to systematically inactivate all nine Arabidopsis thaliana ATG8 loci.

Network and Evolutionary Analysis Reveals Candidate Genes of Membrane Trafficking Involved in Maize Seed Development and Immune Response.

The plant membrane-trafficking system plays a crucial role in maintaining proper cellular functions and responding to various developmental and environmental cues. Thus far, our knowledge of the maize membrane-trafficking system is still limited. In this study, we systematically identified 479 membrane-trafficking genes from the maize genome using orthology search and studied their functions by integrating transcriptome and evolution analyses.

A Simplified Analysis Method for the Piezo Jet Dispenser with a Diamond Amplifier.

Diamond amplifiers have been widely applied in Nano actuators and Robots. In order to study the dynamic characteristics of the diamond amplifier system which is used in the piezo jet dispenser, it is simplified as a spring-mass-damper system. The dynamic characteristics of the jet dispenser system are analyzed with the simplified method.

Flow Channel Influence of a Collision-Based Piezoelectric Jetting Dispenser on Jet Performance.

To improve the jet performance of a bi-piezoelectric jet dispenser, mathematical and simulation models were established according to the operating principle. In order to improve the accuracy and reliability of the simulation calculation, a viscosity model of the fluid was fitted to a fifth-order function with shear rate based on rheological test data, and the needle displacement model was fitted to a nine-order function with time based on real-time displacement test data. The results show that jet performance is related to the diameter of the nozzle outlet and the cone angle of the nozzle, and the impacts of the flow channel structure were confirmed.

Investigation on Eigenfrequency of a Cylindrical Shell Resonator under Resonator-Top Trimming Methods.

The eigenfrequency of a resonator plays a significant role in the operation of a cylindrical shell vibrating gyroscope, and trimming is aimed at eliminating the frequency split that is the difference of eigenfrequency between two work modes. In this paper, the effects on eigenfrequency under resonator-top trimming methods that trim the top of the resonator wall are investigated by simulation and experiments. Simulation results show that the eigenfrequency of the trimmed mode increases in the holes-trimming method, whereas it decreases in the grooves-trimming method.