Characterization of a cinnamoyl-CoA reductase gene in Ginkgo biloba: Effects on lignification and environmental stresses

Cinnamoyl-CoA reductase (CCR, EC 1.2.1.44) catalyzes key steps in the biosynthesis of monolignols, which serve as building blocks in the formation of plant lignin. The full-length cDNA of GbCCR is 1178 bp and contains a 972 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a 323 amino acid protein. The deduced GbCCR protein showed high identities with other plant CCRs, and had closer relationship with Picea abies, sharing 56.3% homology. They both contain a common signature which is thought to be involved in the catalytic site of CCR. Phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that GbCCR shared the same ancestor with other CCRs, but the divergence time is early. Southern blot analysis indicated that GbCCR belonged to a multi-gene family. The expression analysis by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (QRT-PCR showed that GbCCR was seen in a tissue specific manner in Ginkgo biloba; it had the highest expression in injured stems, and a high expression in four years old stems, while it had the lowest in endosperm. GbCCR was also found to be significantly up-regulated by gibberellin (GA), but the expression was weakly induced by Agrobacterium treatment. QRT-PCR analysis showed that GbCCR activity correlated with changes in transcription level of the GbCCR gene, and GbCCR activity was also positively correlated with total lignin accumulation in developments of Ginkgo stem. In light of these properties and expression pattern, we suggested that the corresponding enzyme is probably involved in constitutive lignification and defense.Key words: Ginkgo biloba L., GbCCR, gene expression, lignification, defense

Structural Analysis of a Multi-axle Steering Linkage for an 8 × 8 Special Purpose Vehicle

© 2021, The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.Considered as a safety sub-system, steering linkages should work under variable loads that arise in any extreme conditions during operation of the vehicle. Therefore, they should resist failure during service conditions, which require sufficient mechanical strength against different stress values. During the mechanical design stages of a steering linkage, taking the critical loading into account for a singular steering wheel position may not represent the most challenging case. Therefore, it should be applied for the full turning ranges of the steer axle wheels in order to obtain the critical steering wheel angle that forces the elements and joints the most. In this study, the variation of joint forces in the steering mechanism of an 8x8 ARFF vehicle was investigated by using FE (finite element) analysis. Stress distributions and bearing loads on the critical structural elements were established within the full turning range of the system. Firstly, the conformity of the results obtained from FE model was validated by means of a kinetic analysis that was carried out in MATLAB® environment by using a sub-linkage of the steering mechanism. Subsequently, a detailed FE model of the multi-axle steering linkage was created in order to determine the maximal joint forces and stress variation on the connection elements in full turning ranges of the steer axle wheels. Finally, the effect of steering booster was revealed on joint forces, as well as the stress behavior of critical structural components of the mechanism

Guidance notes for surveyors acting as arbitrators and as independent experts in commercial property rent reviews

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:q97/00221 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply Centre7. ed.GBUnited Kingdo