Metal-free visible light-promoted synthesis of isothiazoles: a catalytic approach for N-S bond formation from iminyl radicals under batch and flow conditions

A sustainable synthesis of isothiazoles has been developed using an α-amino-oxy acid auxiliary and applying photoredox catalysis. This simple strategy features mild conditions, broad scope and wide functional group tolerance representing a new enviromentally friendly option to prepare these highly valuable heterocycles. Furthermore, the synthetic value of the method is highlighted by the preparation of a natural product derivative and the implementation of the reaction in a continuous flow setupWe acknowledge the financial support by the Spanish Government (RTI2018-095038-B-I00) and ERC (ERC-CG, 647550

Learnings from EDF investigations on SG divider plates and vessel head nozzles: evidence of prior deformation effect on stress corrosion cracking

Nickel Based alloys Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) has been a major concern for all the Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) utilities since the beginning of the 1970’s. At EDF, the 1990’s were marked by the occurrence of cracks on vessel head nozzles. These cracks were responsible for a leak at Bugey 3 vessel head, which was the precursor leading to the replacement of all vessel heads. From 2002, new cases of Stress Corrosion Cracking were reported on Steam Generator (SG) Divider Plates (SGDP) welded junctions. These cracks are periodically inspected in-service and reparations could be performed in case of a significant evolution of the phenomenon even if the safety issue is less relevant than for the vessel head nozzles. Both issues have lead to an important non-destructive testing (NDT) program and to destructive investigations campaigns. NDT were performed on an exhaustive basis for all vessel head nozzles and for all the divider plates of 900 MWe plants. Destructive investigations were performed on more than 30 vessel head nozzles and on 6 divider plates. The last investigations were performed on samples from two decommissioned Steam Generators of Chinon B1 which present SCC cracks. In this article, the main conclusions driven from the analysis of both NDT and destructive investigation results are reported and a comparison of the behaviours of divider plates and vessel head nozzles is given. Results give evidence that prior plastic deformation of the components before operation is fundamental for the further environmental behaviour of the material. Analysis of field experience based on parameters characteristics of prior deformation and parameters characteristics of material microstructure can be used to account for the components which are the most sensitive to SCC cracking. Some perspectives on SCC predictive models are also presented

A panel of elite accessions of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) suitable for association mapping studies

Abstract The effectiveness of association mapping (AM) based on linkage disequilibrium (LD) is currently being tested in a number of crops. An important prerequisite for the application of AM is the availability of collections of accessions with a suitable level of genetic variation for target traits and with limited spurious LD due to the presence of population structure. Herein, the results of a genomewide molecular characterization of a collection of elite durum wheat accessions well-adapted to Mediterranean environments are presented. Ninety-seven highly polymorphic simple sequence repeats and 166 amplified fragment length polymorphism markers were used to characterize 189 durum accessions, mainly cultivars and advanced breeding lines. Genome-wide significant and sizeable LD indices at a centimorgan scale were observed, while LD mainly decayed within 10 cM. On the other hand, effects due to spurious LD were notably lower than those previously observed in a durum wheat collection sampling durum gene pools of more diverse origin. These results, coupled with the high level of genetic variability detected for a number of important morpho-physiological traits and their high heritability, indicate the suitability of this collection for AM studies targeting agronomically important traits

Quantitative Trait Loci for Grain Yield and Adaptation of Durum Wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) Across a Wide Range of Water Availability

Grain yield is a major goal for the improvement of durum wheat, particularly in drought-prone areas. In this study, the genetic basis of grain yield (GY), heading date (HD), and plant height (PH) was investigated in a durum wheat population of 249 recombinant inbred lines evaluated in 16 environments (10 rainfed and 6 irrigated) characterized by a broad range of water availability and GY (from 5.6 to 58.8 q ha−1). Among the 16 quantitative trait loci (QTL) that affected GY, two major QTL on chromosomes 2BL and 3BS showed significant effects in 8 and 7 environments, with R2 values of 21.5 and 13.8% (mean data of all 16 environments), respectively. In both cases, extensive overlap was observed between the LOD profiles of GY and PH, but not with those for HD. QTL specific for PH were identified on chromosomes 1BS, 3AL, and 7AS. Additionally, three major QTL for HD on chromosomes 2AS, 2BL, and 7BS showed limited or no effects on GY. For both PH and GY, notable epistasis between the chromosome 2BL and 3BS QTL was detected across several environments