Trait evaluation and trial cultivation of Dongfang No. 2, the hybrid of a male gametophyte clone of Laminaria longissima (Laminariales, Phaeophyta) and a female one of L. japonica

Direct cultivation of the first filial generation of gametophyte clones from different Laminaria species is a highly effective way of utilizing kelp heterozygous vigor (heterosis). A male gametophyte clone of L. longissima Miyabe and a female one of L. japonica Areschoug were hybridized, generating Dongfang No. 2 hybrid kelp. This hybrid kelp was used directly in trial cultivation, and its agronomical traits were evaluated. L. longissima and L. japonica are obviously different and complement each other in their morphological characteristics and ecological performances. The hybrid of their gametophyte clones, Dongfang No. 2, showed 56.8% heterozygous vigor in yield. It also showed increased yields of 41.0 and 76.4% compared to the widely used commercial kelps Variety 1 and Variety 2, respectively. In large-scale cultivation trials at different locations and in different years, Dongfang No. 2 attained significantly higher yields than Varieties 1 and 2, increasing yield by 26.4% on average over Variety 1 and by 65.0% over the other. Dongfang No. 2 has a robust holdfast and a wide, long and deep-brown uniform blade, which shows a distinct middle groove. In addition to yield, Dongfang No. 2 also demonstrates obvious heterozygous vigor in other agronomic traits. It is resistant to strong irradiance, as the two commercial varieties are, has an appropriate vegetative maturation time, and adapts well to a range of different culture conditions. The parentage analysis using AFLP of total DNA and SNP of the ITS region of ribosomal RNA transcription unit showed that Dongfang No. 2 is the real hybrid of L. japonica and L. longissima

Relationship between nano-architectured Ti1−xCux thin film and electrical resistivity for resistance temperature detectors

Ti1−xCux thin films were produced by the glancing angle deposition technique (GLAD) for resistance temperature measurements. The deposition angle was fixed at α = 0° to growth columnar structures and α = 45° to growth zigzag structures. The Ti-to-Cu atomic concentration was tuned from 0 to 100 at.% of Cu in order to optimize the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) value. Increasing the amount of Cu in the Ti1−xCux thin films, the electrical conductivity was gradually changed from 4.35 to 7.87 × 105 Ω−1 m−1. After thermal “stabilization,” the zigzag structures of Ti1−xCux films induce strong variation of the thermosensitive response of the materials and exhibited a reversible resistivity versus temperature between 35 and 200 °C. The results reveal that the microstructure has an evident influence on the overall response of the films, leading to values of TCR of 8.73 × 10−3 °C−1 for pure copper films and of 4.38 × 10−3 °C−1 for a films of composition Ti0.49Cu0.51. These values are very close to the ones reported for the bulk platinum (3.93 × 10−3 °C−1), which is known to be one of the best material available for these kind of temperature-related applications. The non-existence of hysteresis in the electrical response of consecutive heating and cooling steps indicates the viability of these nanostructured zigzag materials to be used as thermosensitive sensors.Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Funding UID/FIS/04650/2013 and Project PTDC/EEI-SII/5582/2014. A. Ferreira and C. Lopes thanks the FCT for Grant SFRH/BPD/102402/2014 and SFRH/BD/103373/2014. The authors thank financial support from the Basque Government Industry Department under the ELKARTEK Programinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio