Seed development of shrunken-2 sweet corn (Zea mays L.) and the use of film coating and field chemical applications to improve seed quality

This study investigated the impacts of shrunken-2 (sh2) endosperm mutation on sweet corn embryogenesis and germination acquisition during seed development and maturation. Comparison between three pairs of sh2 and sugary (su) isogenic inbred lines and two dent corn inbreds showed that sh2 not only reduced the endosperm reserve accumulation, but also significantly retarded embryo development, especially during early seed development, resulting in a smaller embryo after maturation. Developing seed of sh2 lines acquired the same germinability at least 10 days later than su and dent corn seeds. During the late maturation stage, the germinability of sh2 seeds tended to decline but su and field corn inbred seeds remained unchanged. Microscopic observations indicate that sh2 seed exhibits impaired starch grain deposition in scutellar and axis tissue. Because the sh2 gene is only expressed in endosperm, the adverse effects of sh2 on embryo development may be attributed to the complex interactions between endosperm and embryo during seed development. In addition, sh2 seeds tended to accumulate substantial amounts of toxic carbohydrate byproducts, i.e., ethanol and lactate, which might be detrimental to embryo growth when germinating under cold and wet conditions. Research efforts also included film coating technology and chemical application to the parent plants in an attempt to improve sh2 seed and seedling vigor. This study revealed that film coating may be used as the delivery system for growth additives to improve seed germination and seedling growth under cold germination conditions. Incorporation of 0.1 PPM growth regulator 24-epibrassinolide or 500 PPM ZnSO4.7H2O into a film coating significantly increased cold test seed germination and seedling growth of sh2 inbreds WH9261 and WH2. The results of field trials over three years revealed that the response of seed germination and subsequent seedling growth to specific chemical application to sh2 parent plants is complex and could be effected by genotype, the formulation (with/without fungicide), application timing, and dose. Application of certain growth retardants, including flurprimidol, SS3307, or a combination of NAA and B9, to parent plants during seed maturation showed potential in improving seed and seedling vigor for sh2 inbred WH2

Synchronization of dissipative dynamical systems driven by non-Gaussian Lévy noises

Dynamical systems driven by Gaussian noises have been considered extensively in modeling, simulation, and theory. However, complex systems in engineering and science are often subject to non-Gaussian fluctuations or uncertainties. A coupled dynamical system under a class of Lévy noises is considered. After discussing cocycle property, stationary orbits, and random attractors, a synchronization phenomenon is shown to occur, when the drift terms of the coupled system satisfy certain dissipativity and integrability conditions. The synchronization result implies that coupled dynamical systems share a dynamical feature in some asymptotic sense

Slow Manifolds for Multi-Time-Scale Stochastic Evolutionary Systems

This article deals with invariant manifolds for infinite dimensional random dynamical systems with different time scales. Such a random system is generated by a coupled system of fast-slow stochastic evolutionary equations. Under suitable conditions, it is proved that an exponentially tracking random invariant manifold exists, eliminating the fast motion for this coupled system. It is further shown that if the scaling parameter tends to zero, the invariant manifold tends to a slow manifold which captures long time dynamics. As examples the results are applied to a few systems of coupled parabolic-hyperbolic partial differential equations, coupled parabolic partial differential-ordinary differential equations, and coupled hyperbolic-hyperbolic partial differential equations

Seed development of shrunken-2 sweet corn (Zea mays L.) and the use of film coating and field chemical applications to improve seed quality

This study investigated the impacts of shrunken-2 (sh2) endosperm mutation on sweet corn embryogenesis and germination acquisition during seed development and maturation. Comparison between three pairs of sh2 and sugary (su) isogenic inbred lines and two dent corn inbreds showed that sh2 not only reduced the endosperm reserve accumulation, but also significantly retarded embryo development, especially during early seed development, resulting in a smaller embryo after maturation. Developing seed of sh2 lines acquired the same germinability at least 10 days later than su and dent corn seeds. During the late maturation stage, the germinability of sh2 seeds tended to decline but su and field corn inbred seeds remained unchanged. Microscopic observations indicate that sh2 seed exhibits impaired starch grain deposition in scutellar and axis tissue. Because the sh2 gene is only expressed in endosperm, the adverse effects of sh2 on embryo development may be attributed to the complex interactions between endosperm and embryo during seed development. In addition, sh2 seeds tended to accumulate substantial amounts of toxic carbohydrate byproducts, i.e., ethanol and lactate, which might be detrimental to embryo growth when germinating under cold and wet conditions. Research efforts also included film coating technology and chemical application to the parent plants in an attempt to improve sh2 seed and seedling vigor. This study revealed that film coating may be used as the delivery system for "growth additives" to improve seed germination and seedling growth under cold germination conditions. Incorporation of 0.1 PPM growth regulator 24-epibrassinolide or 500 PPM ZnSO4.7H2O into a film coating significantly increased cold test seed germination and seedling growth of sh2 inbreds WH9261 and WH2. The results of field trials over three years revealed that the response of seed germination and subsequent seedling growth to specific chemical application to sh2 parent plants is complex and could be effected by genotype, the formulation (with/without fungicide), application timing, and dose. Application of certain growth retardants, including flurprimidol, SS3307, or a combination of NAA and B9, to parent plants during seed maturation showed potential in improving seed and seedling vigor for sh2 inbred WH2.</p

A Review of Bioactive Compounds against Porcine Enteric Coronaviruses

Pig diarrhea is a universal problem in the process of pig breeding, which seriously affects the development of the pig industry. Porcine enteric coronaviruses (PECoVs) are common pathogens causing diarrhea in pigs, currently including transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV), porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) and swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV). With the prosperity of world transportation and trade, the spread of viruses is becoming wider and faster, making it even more necessary to prevent PECoVs. In this paper, the host factors required for the efficient replication of these CoVs and the compounds that exhibit inhibitory effects on them were summarized to promote the development of drugs against PECoVs. This study will be also helpful in discovering general host factors that affect the replication of CoVs and provide references for the prevention and treatment of other CoVs

Plasma-Wind-Assisted In₂S₃ Preparation with an Amorphous Surface Structure for Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

Photocatalytic production from water is considered an effective solution to fossil fuel-related environmental concerns, and photocatalyst surface science holds a significant interest in balancing photocatalysts’ stability and activity. We propose a plasma-wind method to tune the surface properties of a photocatalyst with an amorphous structure. Theoretical calculation shows that the amorphous surface structure can cause an unsaturated coordination environment to adjust the electron distribution, forming more adsorption sites. Thus, the photocatalyst with a crystal–amorphous (C–A) interface can strengthen light absorption, harvest photo-induced electrons, and enrich the active sites, which help improve hydrogen yield. As a proof of concept, with indium sulfide (In2S3) nanosheets used as the catalyst, an impressive hydrogen production rate up to 457.35 μmol cm−2 h−1 has been achieved. Moreover, after plasma-assisted treatment, In2S3 with a C–A interface can produce hydrogen from water under natural outdoor conditions. Following a six-hour test, the rate of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution is found to be 400.50 μmol cm−2 g−1, which demonstrates that a catalyst prepared through plasma treatment is both effective and highly practical