Conservation of Jiaohe ancient earthen site in China

Earthen sites, which are mainly made of earth, are cultural heritages with historical, artistic and scientific values. Many extremely valuable earthen sites have been preserved in the arid areas in China. The earthen site of Jiaohe Ancient City is one of the earliest National Protected Important Cultural Heritage Sites. The Jiaohe Ancient City site exhibits all kinds of deteriorations, which can be found in the earthen sites in arid environments in China. Through a case study of the Jiaohe ancient earthen site, we present in this paper the comprehensive conservation technologies, including the mud bricklaying and reparation, wooden rod anchorage, crack grouting, surface potassium silicate （PS） penetration consolidation, and suspended steel beam ceiling, etc. Results of this case study showed that better conservation effects could be achieved by selecting proper PS penetration and crack grouting processes based on the deterioration characteristics of the earthen sites. The technology of mud bricklaying and reparation was also an effective method for preventing the earthen body from collapsing. Compared with traditional conservation technologies, the suspended steel beam ceiling technology could effectively reduce the negative impacts to the original state of the earthen site. As for unstable cliffs, a new method using composite anchor rod of bamboo and steel with massive loose earth was applied. Deformation monitoring and temporary supports were critical and indispensable measures for the safe of site conservation projects. Through years of monitoring and practical operation at the Jiaohe ancient earthen site, deterioration at the site has been effectively controlled.

Numerical simulation of the behaviors of test square for prehistoric earthen sites during archaeological excavation

During the process of archaeological excavation in the regions of Southeast China, collapse of test square usually occurs due to poor site-specific conditions. In this paper, the fast Lagrangian analysis of continua in three dimensions（FLAC3D） is employed to reveal the behaviors of test square. Taking the archaeological works in Liangzhu prehistoric earthen sites as the research background, the paper first introduces the geological setting, excavation procedure and monitoring scheme of the studied test square. Then, the deformation of four sides of the test square is modeled using FLAC3D. By comparison, it shows that the numerical results are consistent with the results from field monitoring. The result suggests that the numerical simulation can be effectively applied to representing the actual behaviors of the test square,which is helpful for determination of excavation scheme and stability evaluation of the test square during archaeological excavation.

The novel peptide Nb PPI1 identified from Nicotiana benthamiana triggers immune responses and enhances resistance against Phytophthora pathogens

In plants, recognition of small secreted peptides, such as damage/danger-associated molecular patterns(DAMPs), regulates diverse processes,includingstressandimmune responses. Here, we identified an SGPS(Ser-Gly-Pro-Ser) motif-containing peptide, Nicotiana tabacum NtPROPPI, and its two homologs in Nicotiana benthamiana, NbPROPPI1 and NbPROPPI2. Phytophthora parasitica infection and salicylic acid(SA) treatment induced NbPROPPI1/2 expression. Moreover, SignalP predicted that the 89-amino acid NtPROPPI includes a 24-amino acid N-terminal signal peptide and NbPROPPI1/2-GFP fusion proteins were mainly localized to the periplasm. Transient expression of NbPROPPI1/2 inhibited P.parasiticacolonization,andNbPROPPI1/2 knockdown rendered plants more susceptible to P. parasitica. An eight-amino-acid segment in the NbPROPPI1 C-terminus was essential for its immune function and a synthetic 20-residue peptide, NbPPI1, derived from the C-terminus of NbPROPPI1 provoked significant immune responses in N. benthamiana. These responses led to enhanced accumulation of reactive oxygen species, activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases, and up-regulation of the defense genes Flg22-induced receptor-like kinase(FRK) and WRKY DNA-binding protein 33(WRKY33). The NbPPI1-induced defense responses require Brassinosteroid insensitive1-associated receptor kinase 1(BAK1). These results suggest that NbPPI1 functions as a DAMP in N. benthamiana;this novel DAMP provides a potentially useful target for improving plant resistance to Pytophthora pathogens.