QTL mapping and genomic prediction of resistance to wheat head blight caused by Fusarium verticillioides

Fusarium head blight (FHB), is one of the destructive fugue diseases of wheat worldwide caused by the Fusarium verticillioides (F.v). In this study, a population consisting of 262 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from Zhongmai 578 and Jimai 22 was used to map Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) for FHB resistance, with the genotype data using the wheat 50 K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array. The percentage of symptomatic spikelet (PSS) and the weighted average of PSS (PSSW) were collected for each RIL to represent their resistance to wheat head blight caused by F.v. In total, 22 QTL associated with FHB resistance were identified on chromosomes 1D, 2B, 3B, 4A, 5D, 7A, 7B, and 7D, respectively, from which 10 and 12 QTL were detected from PSS and PSSW respectively, explaining 3.82%–10.57% of the phenotypic variances using the inclusive composite interval mapping method. One novel QTL, Qfhb. haust-4A.1, was identified, explaining 10.56% of the phenotypic variation. One stable QTL, Qfhb. haust-1D.1 was detected on chromosome 1D across multiple environments explaining 4.39%–5.70% of the phenotypic variation. Forty-seven candidate genes related to disease resistance were found in the interval of Qfhb. haust-1D.1 and Qfhb. haust-4A.1. Genomic prediction accuracies were estimated from the five-fold cross-validation scheme ranging from 0.34 to 0.40 for PSS, and from 0.34 to 0.39 for PSSW in in-vivo inoculation treatment. This study provided new insight into the genetic analysis of resistance to wheat head blight caused by F.v, and genomic selection (GS) as a potential approach for improving the resistance of wheat head blight

Nanoporous structures with Fe

Fe-based amorphous alloy was widely concerned in the field of wastewater treatment because of its nanoporous structure, which has higher reactivity activity. However, as it is easy to get oxidative poisoning, its long-term reactivity activity is restricted. A uniform nanoporous layer has been synthesized by mechanical attrition and dealloying on the surface of Fe76Si9B10P5 amorphous alloy powders in this work. In the test of catalytic performance, due to nanoporous structure, Fe0/FeⅡ/FeⅢ are involved in the Fenton process at the same time. The Fenton reaction was further catalyzed to generate more active group  · OH; therefore, the degradation rate reaches 99.8% within 60 min. This coexistence of Fe0/FeII/FeIII persisted after five cycles of the catalytic reaction, indicating the excellent catalytic stability of the catalyst. Using this tunable pretreatment method for surface activation, novel applications for metallic glasses can be developed

Low temperature spark plasma sintering of TC4/HA composites

Ti6Al4V/hydroxyapatite composites (TC4/HA) have been prepared by high energy ball milling and low temperature spark plasma sintering at 600 °C, 550 °C, 500 °C and 450 °C, respectively. The sintering temperature of the composites was sharply decreased as the result of the activation and surficial modification effects induced from high energy ball milling. The decomposition and reaction of hydroxyapatite was successfully avoided, which offers the composites superior biocompatibility. The hydroxyapatite in the composites was distributed in gap uniformly, and formed an ideal network structure. The lowest hardness, compressive strength and Young's modulus of the composites satisfy the requirements of human bone

Direct Adaptive Fuzzy Sliding Mode Control with Variable Universe Fuzzy Switching Term for a Class of MIMO Nonlinear Systems

Combining adaptive fuzzy sliding mode control with fuzzy or variable universe fuzzy switching technique, this study develops two novel direct adaptive schemes for a class of MIMO nonlinear systems with uncertainties and external disturbances. The proposed control schemes consist of fuzzy equivalent control terms, fuzzy switching control terms (in scheme one) or variable universe fuzzy switching control terms (in scheme two), and compensation control terms. The compensation control terms are used to relax the assumption on fuzzy approximation error. Based on Lyapunov stability theory, the parameters update laws are adaptively tuned online and the global asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system can be guaranteed. The major contribution of this study is to develop a novel framework for designing direct adaptive fuzzy sliding mode control scheme facing model uncertainties and external disturbances. The derived schemes can effectively solve the chattering problem and the equivalent control calculation in that environment. Simulation results performed on a two-link robotic manipulator demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed control schemes

Efficient catalytic hydrogen generation from formic acid dehydrogenation on ultrafine PdAu nanoparticles supported on modified carbon derived from rice straw

Formic acid (FA) dehydrogenation at ambient conditions is a promising route for hydrogen (H2) generation but still suffers from low activity and selectivity. Here, potassium hydroxide (KOH) and 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (APTES) modified porous carbon derived from the pyrolysis of rice straw (RSNPC) offers an effective support to promote the formation of ultrafine PdAu nanoparticles (NPs). Benefiting from the small sizes of PdAu NPs, the Pd0.7Au0.3/RSNPC catalyst exhibits excellent catalytic performance for FA dehydrogenation reaction with a high turnover frequency (TOF) of 6794.3 mol H2 mol catalyst−1 h−1 at ambient conditions, outperforming most of reported catalysts for FA dehydrogenation under similar conditions

Spark Plasma Sintering

Preparation of a soft magnetic Fe 76 Si 9 B 10 P 5 glassy bulk material has been carried out by the spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique below the glass transition temperature. The glassy powders were consolidated into bulk forms with relative densities above 98.7% through sintering them at 740 K under a pressure of 600 MPa while the samples still keep a glassy state. These as-sintered samples with a diameter of 15 mm exhibited excellent soft magnetic characteristics, which is as good as that of the cast samples with a size of 2.5 mm

Interfacial behavior of Fe76Si9B10P5/Zn0.5Ni0.5Fe2O4 amorphous soft magnetic composite during spark plasma sintering process

Fe76Si9B10P5/Zn0.5Ni0.5Fe2O4 amorphous composite with micro-cellular structure and high electrical resistivity was prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 487 °C. XRD and SEM results showed that the Fe76Si9B10P5 alloy powders remained the amorphous state and the composite was dense. A fusion zone at interface of Fe76Si9B10P5 cell body and Zn0.5Ni0.5Fe2O4 cell wall was observed by TEM, which also indicates the formation of local high temperature. The interface bonding based on the formation of local high temperature in SPS process was observed. It is believed that the tip effect of Zn0.5Ni0.5Fe2O4 nanoparticles promotes the local discharging and plasmas creation in the gaps, and the discharging energy forms an instantaneous local high temperature to complete the local sintering and the densification of Zn0.5Ni0.5Fe2O4 particles at a low nominal sinter temperature. Simultaneously, the local high temperature stimulates the adjacent gaps discharging, thus facilitate the continuous formation of new discharging path. Finally, sintering and densification of the amorphous composite is complete

Fascin Inhibitors Decrease Cell Migration and Adhesion While Increase Overall Survival of Mice Bearing Bladder Cancers

Bladder cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. Early stage bladder tumors can be surgically removed, but these patients usually have relapses. When bladder cancer becomes metastatic, survival is very low. There is an urgent need for new treatments for metastatic bladder cancers. Here, we report that a new fascin inhibitor decreases the migration and adhesion of bladder cancer cells. Furthermore, this inhibitor decreases the primary tumor growth and increases the overall survival of mice bearing bladder cancers, alone, as well as in combination with the chemotherapy medication, cisplatin, or the immune checkpoint inhibitor, anti-PD-1 antibody. These data suggest that fascin inhibitors can be explored as a new treatment for bladder cancers

Catalytic hydrogen production in ammonia borane by lanthanum-added nonprecious metal high-entropy alloys

As excellent materials, high-entropy alloys have excellent mechanical properties, wear resistance, oxidation resistance, corrosion resistance, physical properties, and radiation resistance. This work presents the design and preparation of a novel high-entropy alloy based on the BCC structure, added with lanthanum, and shows excellent catalytic performance in the hydrolysis of ammonia borane. The high-entropy alloy catalyst being able to catalyse the complete release of hydrogen in 1.3 min at 323 K, and the value of turnover frequency (TOF) value as high as 93.96 min−1. The value of the apparent activation energy (Ea) can reach 26.98 kJ/mol. It retains good catalytic performance after 10 cycles of catalytic hydrogen production from equivalent amounts of boron ammonia at 303 K. In this work, a new strategy is presented to improve the performance of transition group high-entropy alloys and the potential energy and environmental benefits of these alloys are demonstrated