Assessment of gene action and combining ability for advancement of yield andits attributing traits in pansy (Viola × wittrockiana Gams.) through diallel mating design

Pansy is one of the most important bedding winter annual for sub-tropical climatic conditions. Twenty-eight F1 hybrids of pansy were evaluated in randomized block design with three replications, to study the combining ability for vegetative and floral characters. The analysis of variance indicated significant variability among all the genotypes for all the characters. The ratio of genetic component of variance indicated the equal importance of additive and non-additive gene action in governing the flower yield and its component traits of pansy. Estimates of general combining ability effects showed that parents Pa-64-1-5-14, Pa-62-4-12-18, Pa-63-1-7-25 and Pa-32-8-7-6 were good general combiners for most of the traits except stalk length and flower size. The specific combining ability effects showed that for yield traits the best cross combinations were Pa-64-1-5-14 × Pa-62-4-12-18, Pa-13-1-2-3 × Pa-47-1-3, Pa-11-1-3-7 × Pa- 62-4-12-18, Pa-64-1-5-14 × Pa-63-1-7-25 and Pa-11-1-3-7 × Pa-64-1-5-14. The study on gene effect of different characters indicated the predominance of non-additive gene effects for most of the characters. The gca variances was higher for branches number, flower size, days from bud initiation to flowering and flowers number than sca variances, indicating additive gene action, and progeny selection will be effective for the genetic improvement of these traits

Hydrothermal Synthesis of Cobalt Ruthenium Sulfides as Promising Pseudocapacitor Electrode Materials

In this paper, we report the successful synthesis of cobalt ruthenium sulfides by a facile hydrothermal method. The structural aspects of the as-prepared cobalt ruthenium sulfides were characterized using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. All the prepared materials exhibited nanocrystal morphology. The electrochemical performance of the ternary metal sulfides was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques. Noticeably, the optimized ternary metal sulfide electrode exhibited good specific capacitances of 95 F g−1 at 5 mV s−1 and 75 F g−1 at 1 A g−1, excellent rate capability (48 F g−1 at 5 A g−1), and superior cycling stability (81% capacitance retention after 1000 cycles). Moreover, this electrode demonstrated energy densities of 10.5 and 6.7 Wh kg−1 at power densities of 600 and 3001.5 W kg−1, respectively. These attractive properties endow proposed electrodes with significant potential for high-performance energy storage devices

Dual Role of Polyaniline for Achieving Ag Dendrites and Enhancing Its Oxygen Reduction Reaction Catalytic Activity

Ag dendrites were readily achieved via the redox reaction between polyaniline and AgNO3 in aqueous dispersion. The diffusion-limited aggregation was adopted for the generation of dendrite structure and the oxidized polyaniline was not removed for purifying the Ag dendrites. The existence of the Ag and polyaniline was confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction patterns and Fourier transform infrared spectra. The oxygen reduction reaction activity of the product was examined with rotating disk electrode voltammetry in 0.1 M KOH aqueous solution. The presence of the polyaniline greatly enhanced the oxygen reduction reaction catalytic activity of Ag dendrites and an onset and half-wave potential of 0.846 and 0.651 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode, respectively, were obtained. We demonstrate the possible positive effect of the template that might be ignored in many cases and this can lead us to construct series of similar catalytic systems