Fertilizer-Induced Advances in Corn Growth Stage and Quantitative Definitions of Nitrogen Deficiencies

Evidence that nitrogen (N) fertilization tends to accelerate maturation as well as increase rates of growth has received little attention when diagnosing N deficiencies in corn (Zea mays L.).Such a tendency could be a potential source of errors when the diagnosis is solely based on comparing plants with different rates of growth.Whether N fertilization could accelerate rates of growth and maturation was tested in a field study with 12 paired plots representing relatively large variability in soil properties and landscape positions.The plots were located under conditions where preplant N fertilization reduced or avoided temporary N shortages for some plants but did not reduce for other plants early in the season.We measured corn heights to the youngest leaf collar,stages of growth and chlorophyll meter readings (CMRs). The added N advanced growth stages as well as increased corn heights and CMRs at any given time.Fertilization effects on corn heights,growth stages and ear weights were statistically significant (P<0.05) despite substantial variability associated with landscape.Reductions in growth due to a temporary shortage of N within a growth stage might be partially offset by longer periods of growth within that stage to physiological maturity.Temporary shortages of N,therefore,may produce symptoms of N deficiency in situations where subsequent additions of N should not be expected to increase yields.Recognition of these two somewhat different effects (i.e.,increase growth rates and advance growth stages) on corn growth could help to define N deficiency more precisely and to improve the accuracy of diagnosing N status in production agriculture.

EFFECT OF TOOL WEAR ON MICROSTRUCTURE, MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND ACOUSTIC EMISSION OF FRICTION STIR WELDED 6061 Al ALLOY

Tool condition is one of the main concerns in friction stir welding （FSW）, because the geometrical condition of the tool pin including size and shape is strongly connected to the microstrueture and mechanical performance of the weld. Tool wear occurs during FSW, especially for welding metal matrix composites with large amounts of abrasive particles, and high melting point materials, which significantly expedite tool wear and deteriorate the mechanical performance of welds. Tools with different pin-wear levels are used to weld 6061 Al alloy, while acoustic emission （AE） sensing, metallographic sectioning, and tensile testing are employed to evaluate the weld quality in various tool wear conditions. Structural characterization shows that the tool wear interferes with the weld quality and accounts for the formation of voids in the nugget zone. Tensile test analysis of samples verifies that both the ultimate tensile strength and the yield strength are adversely affected by the formation of voids in the nugget due to the tool wear. The failure location during tensile test clearly depends on the state of the tool wear, which led to the analysis of the relationships between the structure of the nugget and tool wear. AE signatures recorded during welding reveal that the AE hits concentrate on the higher amplitudes with increasing tool wear. The results show that the AE sensing provides a potentially effective method for the on-line manitoring of tool wear.

THE SEEPAGE CHARACTERISTICS OF HETEROGENEOUS BODY WITH DIFFERENT SPREADING SOLUTION MODES AND ITS APPLICATIONS

As the dump was a typically heterogeneous body, the seepage was different with varied spreading solution modes. The phenomenon of lamination that occured in the site was simulated using three layers in an indoor experiment, and the seepage effect comparison experiment of the inside spreading solution model and the top spreading solution model have been carried out. In the inside spreading solution mode, the phreatic planar flew without infiltration and the parallel layer motion model was used to calculate the seepage coefficient and equivalent seepage coefficient of each state respectively. In the top spreading solution model, the phreatic planar flew with an even infiltration on the surface, and the vertical layer motion model was adopted to calculate the above coefficient. The results showed that the seepage coefficient of the inside model was larger than the top model in the heterogeneous body, The ratio of them was between 1.42 and 3.07. On the basis of these results, the following new technologies were discussed： installing a few small diameter mechanical pore sand piles with every lamination in the using dump; drilling some holes one-off in the unused dump. These two methods could changed the top spreading solution into the inside model, thus the seepage in the dump was improved.

Temporal Patterns in Symptoms of Nitrogen Deficiency as Revealed by Remote Sensing of Corn Canopy

To evaluate the temporal patterns of N deficiencies in corn and assess the ability of remote sensing to diagnose N deficiencies during the vegetative growth of corn, three field-scale experiments were conducted with various rates (56, 112, and 168 kg N ha-1 ), timing (early and late applications) and placement (injected into soil and dribbled on soil surface) of N fertilization in a split-plot design. Relationships between canopy reflectance during the growing season and yield data at the end of growing season were studied for different treatments. Results showed significant variation in both grain yields and canopy reflectance among the three cornfields. The N fertilization made in early June resulted in low canopy reflectance in early July, but the differences disappeared as the season progressed. The effect of N rates on canopy reflectance was not significant in early July but it gradually became detectable in mid-July and thereafter. The fertilizer placement had a significant effect on grain yields only in one field but not on canopy reflectance in all three fields. These observations suggest that the deficiency of N developed under field conditions is a dynamic phenomenon, which adds complexity for accurately defining "N deficiency" and effectively developing management strategies for in-season correction. Remote sensing throughout the season helps collect information about important interactions that have not been given enough attention in the past.

Formation of Re-containing Carbides in a Second Generation Directionally Solidified Ni Base Superalloy

The precipitates at grain boundary in a directionally solidified Ni base superalloy after heat treatment, aging at 975℃, and creep rupture test have been characterized. Besides the primary MC carbides and fine particles of u phase, the Re-containing M23C6 was observed. The precipitation kinetics revealed that the formation of M23C6 was associated with the dissolution of u phase and MC carbides. TEM image shows that the continuous precipitation of M23C6 particles effectively hinders the dislocation movement and strengthens the grain boundaries. The high strength of the alloy suggests that M23C6 carbides are beneficial to the properties although Re as an important matrix strengthening element was consumed.

Differences in Physiological Age Affect Diagnosis of Nitrogen Deficiencies in Cornfields

Many studies have shown that chlorophyll meter readings （CMRs） can be used to diagnose deficiencies of nitrogen （N） during the growth of corn （Zea mays L.） in small-plot trials, but there is need to address additional problems encountered when diagnoses are made in fields of the size managed in production agriculture. A noteworthy difference between smallplot trials and production agriculture is the extent to which the effects of N are confounded with the effects of other factors such as tillage, landscape, soil organic matter and moisture content. We illustrate how some of these factors can cause differences in the physiological age of plants and introduce errors in the diagnoses of N deficiencies. We suggest methods （measuring the height to the youngest leaf collar and assigning leaf numbers by using the first leaf with pubescence and the ear leaf as references to identify growth stages） for minimizing these errors. The simplified method of growth stage identification can be used to select appropriate plants and leaves for making diagnoses in fields and to distinguish the effects of N from the effects of other factors that influence plant growth.

Effects of welding parameters and post-heat treatment on mechanical properties of friction stir welded AA2195-T8 Al-Li alloy

In this study, the effects of main welding parameters （rotation speed （ω） and welding speed （υ）） on the microstructure, micro-hardness distribution and tensile properties of friction stir welded （FSW） 2195-T8 Al-Li alloy were investigated. The effects of T6 post-treatments at different solution and aging conditions on the mechanical properties and microstructure characteristics of the FSW joints were also investigated. The results show that with increasing to and v, both strength and elongation of the joints increase first, and then decrease with further increase of ω and υ. All the joints under varied welding parameters show significant strength loss, and the strength reaches only 65% of the base metal, The effect of T6 post-heat treatment on the mechanical properties of the joints depends on the solution and aging conditions. Two heat treatment processes （480 ℃×0.5 h quenching＋ 180 ℃× 12 h, 520 ℃× 0.5 h quenching＋ 180 ℃×12h aging） are found to increase the joint strength. Furthermore, low temperature quenching （480℃） is more beneficial to the joint strength. The joint strength can reach 85% of the base metal. Whereas both low temperature aging （140 ℃× 56h） and stepped aging （ 100 ℃× 12 h ＋ 180 ℃× 3 h） processes decrease the joint strength. After heat treatment all the joints show decreased ductility due to the obvious grain coarsening in the nugget zone （NZ） and thermo-mechanically affected zone （TMAZ）.

A biogeochemistry approach on the bivalves: REE distribution of white clam in Off Hatsushima cold seepage

THE cold seepage has been revealed in Off Hatsushima located at western Sagami Bay, central Japan in1984 by the submersible Shinkai 2000, which is characterized in dense deep-sea biological communitiesdominated by the White Clam Calyptogena soyoae. The clam communities stretch for 7 km along the footof a steep escarpment off Izu Peninsula at water depths of 900-1200 m. The area is located near theconvergence from the northern tip of the Philippine Sea Plate, which is subducting beneath the Eurasianand North American plates. Although numerous studies have become active around this region since1986, most of previous works were focused on biology, geology and physics. The geochemical data areextremely limited. The source of the cold seep fluid is not well known. In order to understand the