The soybean GmPUB21-interacting protein GmDi19-5 responds to drought and salinity stresses via an ABA-dependent pathway

Drought-induced protein 19(Di19) is a Cys2/His2 zinc-finger protein that functions in plant growth and development and in tolerance to abiotic stresses.Gm PUB21,an E3 ubiquitin ligase,negatively regulates drought and salinity response in soybean.We identified potential interaction target proteins of Gm PUB21by yeast two-hybrid c DNA library screening,Gm Di19-5 as a candidate.Bimolecular fluorescence complementation and glutathionine-S-transferase pull-down assays confirmed the interaction between Gm Di19-5 and Gm PUB21.Gm Di19-5 was induced by Na Cl,drought,and abscisic acid(ABA) treatments.Gm Di19-5 was expressed in the cytoplasm and nucleus.Gm Di19-5 overexpression conferred hypersensitivity to drought and high salinity,whereas Gm Di19-5 silencing increased drought and salinity tolerance.Transcripts of ABA-and stress response-associated genes including Gm RAB18 and Gm DREB2A were downregulated in Gm Di19-5-overexpressing plants under drought and salinity stresses.ABA decreased the protein level of Gm Di19-5 in vivo,whereas Gm PUB21 increased the decrease of Gm Di19-5 after exogenous ABA application.The accumulation of Gm PUB21 was also inhibited by Gm Di19-5.We conclude that Gm PUB21 and Gm Di19-5 collaborate to regulate drought and salinity tolerance via an ABA-dependent pathway.

Physical Layer Security in MIMO Wiretap Channels with Antenna Correlation

To investigate the impact of antenna correlation on secrecy performance in MIMO wiretap channels with Nakagami-m fading, the expressions of secrecy outage probability and positive secrecy probability were derived. Diversity order and array gain were also achieved for further insight. The study was based on the information theory that physical layer security can be guaranteed when the quality of the main channel is higher than that of the eavesdropper's channel. Monte Carlo simulations well validated the numerical results of analytic expressions. It was shown that antenna correlation is detrimental to secrecy performance when average SNR of the main channel is at medium and high level. Interestingly, when average SNR of the main channel reduces to low level, the effect of antenna correlation becomes benefi cial to secrecy performance.

Molecular cloning and expression analysis of the Rf-m candidate genes encoding pentatricopeptide repeat proteins in soybean

Cytoplasmic male sterility(CMS)-restorer system is a useful tool to exploit heterosis in soybean.The major restorer gene for the M-type CMS is known as Rf-m,located in the 162.4-kb region on chromosome 16.Sequence analysis has revealed that the Rf-m locus in Glycine max consists of seven penta tricopeptide repeat(GmPPR)genes.The deduced amino acid sequences contain 8 to 14 PPR motifs,and a phylogenetic analysis grouped these GmPPR proteins into two PPR subfamilies:Glyma.16G161800 belongs to the PLS subfamily,and the P subfamily consists.of Glyma.16G161900,Glyma 16G162000,Glyma.16G162100,Glyma.16G162700,Glyma.16G162800,and Gly-ma 16G163100.The phylogenetic analysis of seven GmPPR proteins and 27 other plant PPR proteins also showed that proteins in the same subfamilies cluster together.Comparative sequence analysis was conducted using the seven Rf-m candidate GmPPR genes from the sterile line W931A,the maintainer line W931B,and the restorer line WR016,the result showed that Glyma 16G161900 had higher polymorphism than the other candidate genes.Based on real-time quantitative RT-PCR data,all seven GmPPR genes were differentially expressed but showed constitutive expression in roots,stems,leaves,and pollen grains.Additionally,the expression level of Gly-ma 16G161900 in the sterile line W931 A was significantly higher in all tissues than in the restorer line WR016.Taken together,these results suggest that Glyma 16G161900 is the most likely candidate for the restorer gene Rf-m.This study is the first report and analysis of candidate fertility restorer(Rf)genes encoding PPR proteins in soybean.

Tribo-corrosion interaction of the parallel steel wires in the suspension bridges

The effect of contact load and relative displacement on tribo-corrosion interaction of parallel steel wires of main cable in the suspension bridge was investigated in this study.A self-made tribo-corrosion test bench was employed to conduct tribo-corrosion tests of parallel steel wires in 3.5%(wt%)NaCl solution and deionized water under different contact loads and different relative displacements.The friction coefficient and wear coefficient of wires were presented.Electrochemical corrosion behavior(Tafel polarization curves,Nyquist diagram,and equivalent circuit diagram)was characterized by electrochemical analyzer.Wear morphology was observed by scanning electron microscope.Wear volume loss and corrosion‒wear interaction were quantitatively demonstrated by high-precision weighing balance.The results show that the electrochemical corrosion ability of the steel wires increases with the increase of the contact load or relative displacement.The increased contact load or relative displacement increases the volume loss of corrosion‒wear and pure wear,but decreases the wear coefficient.The wear mechanisms in 3.5%NaCl solution are adhesive wear,abrasive wear,and corrosive wear as compared to adhesive wear and abrasive wear in deionized water under different contact loads.The wear mechanisms of parallel steel wires are slightly different under different relative displacements.But the main wear mechanisms are similar to that under different contact loads.The interaction effects of corrosion and wear produced by the contact load and relative displacement are all the synergistic effects.

基于纤维增强和磁场诱导构建坚韧、抗疲劳各向异性水凝胶及其性能研究

生物组织(如肌腱、软骨等)不仅具有优异的强度、模量和韧性,而且具有长期稳定性,可承受数百万次高应力循环而不断裂,其疲劳阈值超过1000 J m^(−2).相比之下,尽管合成水凝胶在强度、模量、韧性和其他性能方面与天然软组织相当,但这些增韧水凝胶仍然会在反复循环载荷下遭受疲劳断裂,其疲劳阈值通常低于100 J m^(−2).在本工作中,我们报道了一种简单的策略,用于开发韧性和抗疲劳的各向异性水凝胶,其疲劳阈值超过常规水凝胶的100倍.各向异性水凝胶通过两步工艺合成,包括磁场定向工艺形成优先排列的PDA-Fe_(3)O_(4)-CF纤维结构,以及冷冻解冻-退火工艺处理.优先排列纤维结构和高结晶度的协同作用使各向异性水凝胶具有超高的强度和韧性、优异的摩擦学性能和非凡的抗疲劳性能.各向异性水凝胶的抗拉强度、抗压强度和疲劳阈值分别高达11.82±0.85 MPa、5.95±0.35 MPa和1845 J m^(−2),显著高于大多数生物凝胶和合成水凝胶.因此,本研究为制造性能优异的软材料提供了一种可行的方法,拓展了软质材料在承重材料(如人工软组织)、软机器人、柔性电子等领域的应用.

塔克拉玛干沙漠南缘典型绿洲ET_(0)模型适用性评价及修正

ET_(0)模型在不同地区具有不同的适用性,而对极端干旱的塔克拉玛干沙漠南缘绿洲的ET_(0)模型的适用性研究较为稀缺。利用2006—2014年生长季(4—10月)策勒气象站逐日气象资料,以自动称重式蒸渗仪实测数据为标准,采用最大绝对误差(MAE)、均方根误差(RMSE)、模型效率(EF)和一致性指数(d)4个指标,在日、月时间尺度上评价了6种常用ET_(0)模型在策勒绿洲的适用性,并使用回归修正法和比例修正法分别修正了这6种模型。结果表明:(1)日、月时间尺度上,Hargreaves-Samani(H-S)模型高估程度较大,其余模型均不同程度低估,拟合度由高到低依次为FAO-56PM、Jensen-Haise(J-H)、Priestley-Taylor(P-T)、Makkink、Turc、H-S。(2)所有ET_(0)模型月值变化趋势与蒸渗仪实测值基本一致,除FAO-56PM和Turc模型计算的ET_(0)月值在6月达到峰值外,其余模型均在7月达到峰值,在生长季尺度所有模型ET_(0)月值与蒸渗仪实测值呈显著相关。(3)日、月时间尺度上,回归修正法和比例修正法修正后的ET_(0)模型计算结果与蒸渗仪实测值均呈极显著相关,回归修正法优于比例修正法。(4)相关性分析表明,对策勒绿洲ET_(0)影响由高到低的气象因子依次为Tmean>Tmin>P>Tmax>Rs>U2>RHmean。

A cell wall-localized NLR confers resistance to Soybean mosaic virus by recognizing viral-encoded cylindrical inclusion protein.

Soybean mosaic virus (SMV) causes severe yield losses and seed quality reduction in soybean (Glycine max) production worldwide. Rsc4 from cultivar Dabaima is a dominant genetic locus for SMV resistance, and its mapping interval contains three Nucleotide-binding domain Leucine-rich Repeat containing (NLR) candidates (Rsc4-1, Rsc4-2, and Rsc4-3). The NLR-type resistant proteins were considered as important intracellular pathogen sensors in the previous studies. In this research, based on transient expression assay in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves, we found that the longest transcript of Rsc4-3 is sufficient to induce resistance response to SMV;and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated Rsc4-3 knockout in resistant cultivar Dabaima compromised the resistance. These indicate that Rsc4-3 confers resistance to SMV. Interestingly, Rsc4-3 encodes a cell wall localized NLR-type resistant protein (Rsc4-3). The internal polypeptide region responsible for apoplastic targeting of Rsc4-3 and the putative palmitoylation sites on the N-terminus are essential for the resistance response. Furthermore, we showed that viral-encoded cylindrical inclusion (CI) protein partially localizes to the cell wall and can interact with Rsc4-3. Virus-driven or transient expression of CI protein of avirulent SMV strains is enough to induce resistance response in the presence of Rsc4-3, suggesting that CI is the avirulent gene for Rsc4-3 mediated resistance. Our work exhibited a case of NLR recognizing virus in the apoplast and provided a simple and effective method for identifying resistant genes against SMV infection.

Synthesis and Characterization of PVA-HA-Silk Composite Hydrogel by Orthogonal Experiment

PVA-HA-Silk composite hydrogel was synthesized with polyvinyl alcohol （PVA）, nano-hydroxyapatite （HA） and natural silk by using the method of repeated freezing and thawing. A series of tests were performed to study water content, stress relaxation behavior, elastic modulus, and creep characteristics of PVA-HA-Silk composite hydrogel. Orthogonal experimental design method was used to analyze the influence degree of PVA, HA and silk （three kinds of raw materials） on mechanical properties and water content of the PVA-HA-Silk composite hydrogel to select the best material ratio according to their overall performance. The results demonstrate that the mass percentage of PVA has the greatest impact on the water content, followed by HA and silk. Compression stress-strain variation of PVA-HA-Silk composite hydrogel presents a nonlinear relationship, which proves that it is a typical viscoelastic material. Comparing the mechanical properties of 16 formulas, the formula of PVA-HA-silk composite hydrogel with mass percentage of PVA 15%, HA 2.0% and silk 1.0% is the best.

Quality Control and Evaluation of the Observed Daily Data in the North American Soil Moisture Database

The North American Soil Moisture Database (NASMD) was initiated in 2011 to assemble and homogenize in situ soil moisture measurements from 32 observational networks in the United States and Canada encompassing more than 1800 stations. Although statistical quality control (QC) procedures have been applied in the NASMD, the soil moisture content tends to be systematically underestimated by in situ sensors in frozen soils, and using a single maximum threshold (i.e., 0.6 m3 m-3) may not be sufficient for robust QC because of the diverse soil textures in North America. In this study, based on the in situ soil porosity and North American Land Data Assimilation System phase 2 (NLDAS-2) Noah soil temperature, the simple automated QC method is revised to supplement the existing QC approach. This revised QC method is first validated based on the assessment at 78 of the Soil Climate Analysis Network (SCAN) stations where the manually checked data are available, and is then applied to all stations in the NASMD to produce a more strict quality-controlled dataset. The results show that the revised automated QC procedure can flag the spurious and erroneous soil moisture measurements for the SCAN stations, especially for those located in high altitudes and latitudes. Relative to station measurements in the original NASMD, the quality-controlled data show a slightly better agreement with the manually checked soil moisture content. It should be noted that this quality-controlled dataset may be over-flagged for some valid soil moisture measurements due to potential errors of the soil temperature and soil porosity data, and validation in this study is limited by the availability of benchmark soil moisture data. The updated QC and additional validation will be desirable to boost confidence in the product when high-quality data become available in the future.

Effect of wear debris on fretting fatigue crack initiation

Both wear and fatigue occur in fretting condition,and they interact with one another during the whole process.Fretting fatigue is commonly analysed without considering the effect of wear in partial slip regime,although wear affects the lifetime of crack initiation.This paper investigates,for the first time,the effect of wear debris on fretting fatigue crack initiation.To investigate the effect of debris,first fretting wear characteristics in partial slip regime are analysed for loading conditions.Then,the effect of wear on fretting fatigue crack initiation is investigated using Ruiz parameters and critical plane methods without considering the debris effect.Through the results,we can see that loading conditions affect the wear profiles in different ways.Moreover,wear has a significant effect on the fatigue in partial slip regime without considering debris especially on the crack initiation location.Finally,considering wear debris in the analysis,its effect on critical plane parameters is investigated.It is found that by considering the wear debris effect,the frtting fatigue crack initiation location is shifted towards the trailing edge.The predictions of both crack initiation location and lifetime show a good agreement with the experimental data.

Effect of fatigue load on the bending tribo-corrosion-fatigue behaviors between the main cable wires

The main cable bent around the saddle of the suspension bridge is subjected to the wind,the vehicle,the bridge’s own weight and the corrosive media.The coupling of the three loads and the environments causes the friction,the corrosion,and the fatigue(tribo-corrosion-fatigue)among the wires inside the main cable.In this paper,a wire bending tribo-corrosion-fatigue test rig was designed and developed.The effect of fatigue load on the bending friction behaviors between the cable wires in ultrapure water and 3.5%NaCl solution was explored.The tribological properties and electrochemical corrosion behaviors under different fatigue loading ranges were investigated.The tribo-corrosion-fatigue interaction between the cable wires was quantitatively characterized,and the mechanism of the interaction was analyzed.The results demonstrate that the increasing fatigue load exacerbates the coupling damage of the cable wires attributed to the enhanced interaction.The findings carry theoretical importance when assessing the main cable’s deterioration and the load-bearing safety of a suspension bridge.