Genet. Mol. Res.

Ear weight is one of the most important agronomic traits considered necessary in maize (Zea mays L.) breeding projects. To determine its genetic basis, a population consisting of 239 recombinant inbred lines, derived from the cross Mo17 x Huangzao4, was used to detect quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for ear weight under two nitrogen regimes. Under a high nitrogen fertilization regime, one QTL was identified in chromosome bin 2.08-2.09, which explained 7.46% of phenotypic variance and an increase in ear weight of about 5.79 g, owing to an additive effect. Under a low nitrogen regime, another QTL was identified in chromosome bin 1.10-1.11; it accounted for 7.11% of phenotypic variance and a decrease of 5.24 g in ear weight, due to an additive effect. Based on comparisons with previous studies, these two QTLs are new loci associated with ear weight in maize. These findings contribute to our knowledge about the genetic basis of ear weight in maize

丙烯酸／马来酸酐高吸水树脂的合成

以丙烯酸(AA)、丙烯酸盐和马来酸酐(MA)为原料，过硫酸铵(APS)为引发剂，N，N-亚甲基双丙烯酰胺(MBA)和甘油为交联剂，采用水溶液聚合法合成了一种新型的高吸水树脂．考察了交联剂用量、引发剂用量以及马来酸酐氨化程度对高吸水树脂吸水性能的影响，并通过正交实验优化了条件，使合成的高吸水树脂对去离子水和0．9％的NaCl水溶液的吸收能力分别达到1689g／g和115g／g

Highly selective metal recovery from spent lithium-ion batteries through stoichiometric hydrogen ion replacement

Spent lithium-ion battery recycling has attracted significant attention because of its importance in regard to the environment and resource importance. Traditional hydrometallurgical methods usually leach all valuable metals and subsequently extract target meals to prepare corresponding materials. However, Li recovery in these processes requires lengthy operational procedures, and the recovery efficiency is low. In this research, we demonstrate a method to selectively recover lithium before the leaching of other elements by introducing a hydrothermal treatment. Approximately 90% of Li is leached from high-Ni layered oxide cathode powders, while consuming a nearly stoichiometric amount of hydrogen ions. With this selective recovery of Li, the transition metals remain as solid residue hydroxides or oxides. Furthermore, the extraction of Li is found to be highly dependent on the content of transition metals in the cathode materials. A high leaching selectivity of Li (> 98%) and nearly 95% leaching efficiency of Li can be reached with LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2. In this case, both the energy and material consumption during the proposed Li recovery is significantly decreased compared to traditional methods; furthermore, the proposed method makes full use of H+ to leach Li+. This research is expected to provide new understanding for selectively recovering metal from secondary resources

Investigations on the thermal behaviours of SiC-ZrC continuous ceramic fibres

In this study, nanoscale composite SiC-ZrC ceramic fibres, derived from polyzirconocenecarbosilane (PZCS) via melt spinning, electron beam crosslinking, pyrolysis and sintering were investigated in detail. Compared with several commercial products of second-generation SiC fibres, the produced composite fibres exhibit improved thermal stability, mechanical properties and oxidation resistance. SiC grains in the fibre grew from 9.8 nm to 33.9 nm after annealing in an inert atmosphere at 1800 degrees C for 1 h, as well as decomposition of the SiCxOy phase and the growth of SiC grains affected the mechanical properties of the fibres, and the mechanical properties of the fibres were maintained at 1.1 GPa, accompanied by an increase in the modulus. After the fibres were oxidized at 1100-1400 degrees C for 1 h, a dense oxide layer of SiO2-ZrO2 was formed on the surface of the fibres, which slowed down the rate of further fibre oxidation, thus, the fibres exhibited excellent oxidation resistance