Less and shrunken pollen 1(LSP1) encodes a member of the ABC transporter family required for pollen wall development in rice(Oryza sativa L.)

Pollen fertility is an agronomic trait that strongly influences rice yield. Recent studies have revealed that the development of the pollen wall is required for pollen fertility and is regulated by several genes. However, the mechanisms underlying pollen and pollen wall development in rice remain largely unknown. In the present study, a point mutation in a gene on chromosome 1 was identified that resulted in the production of less and shrunken pollen(LSP) and led to defects in pollen wall formation. This gene was named LSP1 and was found to encode a member of the adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette(ABC)transporter G subfamily, OsABCG3. Two other loss-of-function mutants of LSP1/OsABCG3,generated using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, showed the same male sterile phenotype. The LSP1/OsABCG3 gene showed a spatio-temporal expression pattern in the developing anthers, and is an ortholog of the Arabidopsis genes At ABCG1 and At ABCG16, which play an important role in pollen wall development. Mutation of LSP1/OsABCG3 affected the expression of several genes involved in pollen and pollen wall formation. These results suggest that LSP1/OsABCG3 is critical for normal pollen fertility and shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying rice pollen wall development.

Transient Voltage Support Strategy of Grid-forming Medium Voltage Photovoltaic Converter in the LCC-HVDC System

The participation of photovoltaic(PV)plants in supporting the transient voltage caused by commutation failure in the line-commutated-converter-based high voltage direct current(LCC-HVDC)system is of great significance,as it can enhance the DC transmission ability.However,it is found that the gridfollowing(GFL)PV converters face the problem of mismatch between reactive power response and transient voltage characteristic when the voltage converts from low voltage to overvoltage,further aggravating the overvoltage amplitude.Thus,this article proposes a transient voltage support strategy based on the gridforming(GFM)medium voltage PV converter.The proposed strategy takes the advantage of the close equivalent electrical distance between the converter and grid,which can autonomously control the converter terminal voltage through GFM control with adaptive voltage droop coefficient.The simulation results show that the proposed strategy can ensure the output reactive power of the PV converter quickly matches the transient voltage characteristic at different stages,indicating that the proposed strategy can effectively support the transient voltage.

Spontaneous,scalable,and self-similar superhydrophobic coatings for all-weather deicing

Herein,we proposed and demonstrated a facile and scalable strategy to fabricate multifunctional self-similar superhydrophobic coatings.Firstly,a hydrophobic cationic cellulose derivative containing imidazolium cation was synthesized by a controllable derivatization.It could effectively disperse one-dimensional(1D)multi-walled carbon nanotubes(MWCNT),because the imidazolium cations formed cation–πinteractions with MWCNT.Further,the synergy effect of the cationic cellulose derivative and MWCNT dispersed two-dimensional(2D)reduced graphene oxide(rGO)to obtain a three-components nano-dispersion.Finally,via a simple spaying process,a superhydrophobic coating with self-similar micro-nano structures spontaneously formed from inside to outside,owing to the various nanostructures with different shapes and sizes in the dispersion and the adhesive effect of the cellulose derivative.This superhydrophobic coating was easy to scale,exhibited superior stability owing to the renewal micro-nano structures.It retained the superhydrophobicity even if it was treated by rubbing for 1500 times.Moreover,it had outstanding photo-thermal and Joule-heating performance,because of the strong solar absorption and high electrical conductivity of MWCNT and rGO.It provided both passive anti-icing and active deicing effects.Thus,it could achieve all-weather anti-icing for wind power generators under sunlight and low voltage conditions.Such facile preparation method and multifunctional renewable superhydrophobic coating hold great application prospects.

Cenozoic low temperature cooling history of the eastern Lhasa terrane:Implications for high-relief topography of external drainage area in the southern Tibetan Plateau

The Tibetan Plateau geographically contains internal and external drainage areas based on the distributions of river flows and catchments.The internal and external drainage areas display similar highelevations,while their topographic reliefs are not comparable;the former shows a large low-relief surface,whereas the latter is characterized by relatively high relief.The eastern Lhasa terrane is a key tectonic component of the Tibetan Plateau.It is characterized by high topography and relief,but the thermal history of its basement remains relatively poorly constrained.In this study we report new apatite fission track data from the eastern part of the central Lhasa terrane to constrain the thermo-tectonic evolution of the external drainage area in the southern Tibetan Plateau.Twenty-one new AFT ages and associated thermal history models reveal that the basement underlying the external drainage area in southern Tibet experienced three main phases of rapid cooling in the Cenozoic.The Paleocene-early Eocene(-60–48 Ma)cooling was likely induced by crustal shortening and associated rock exhumation,due to accelerated northward subduction of the NeoTethys oceanic lithosphere.A subsequent cooling pulse lasted from the late Eocene to early Oligocene(-40–28 Ma),possibly due to the thickening and consequential erosion of the Lhasa lithosphere resulted from the continuous northward indentation of the India plate into Eurasia.The most recent rapid cooling event occurred in the middle Miocene-early Pliocene(-16–4 Ma),likely induced by accelerated incision of the Lhasa River and local thrust faulting.Our AFT ages and published low-temperature thermochronological data reveal that the external drainage area experienced younger cooling events compared with the internal drainage area,and that the associated differentiated topographic evolution initiated at ca.30 Ma.The contributing factors for the formation of the high-relief topography mainly contain active surface uplift,fault activity,and the enhanced incision of the Yarlung River.

Ice-phobic properties of MoS_(2)-loaded rice straw biogas residue biochar-based photothermal and anti-corrosion coating with low oxygen to carbon ratio

Icing of wind turbine blades will seriously hinder the development of the wind power industry,and the use of biomass resources to solve the icing problem is conducive to promoting the synergistic development of biomass and wind energy.In this study,ice-phobic coatings with photothermal and anti-corrosion properties were prepared by surface modification pyrolysis and hydrothermal reaction with rice straw biogas residue as raw material.The erosion of KOH and the surface modification of MoS_(2) produced a rough structure of the material,and the high-temperature pyrolysis and hydrothermal reaction promoted the dehydrogenation and decarboxylation reactions,which reduced the number of oxygen-containing functional groups and decreased the surface energy of the material.The ice-phobic coating has superhydrophobic properties with a contact angle of 158.32°.Due to the small surface area in contact with water,the coating was able to significantly reduce the icing adhesion strength to 53.23 kPa.The icing wind tunnel test results showed that the icing area and mass were reduced by 10.54%and 30.08%,respectively,when the wind speed was 10 m s^(−1) and the temperature was−10°C.Photothermal performance tests showed that the MoS_(2)-loaded material had light absorption properties,and the coating could rapidly warm up to 58.3℃under xenon lamp irradiation with photothermal cycle stability.The loading of MoS_(2) acts as a physical barrier,reducing the contact of corrosive media with the substrate,thus improving the anti-corrosion of the coating.This study has practical application value and significance for the development of the anti-icing field under complex environmental conditions.

Basic Topology and Key Devices of the Five-Terminal DC Grid

Due to their high controllability and flexibility,DC power grids have broad application prospects in the fields of networking of renewable energy and the power supply for oceanic archipelagos and future cities.This paper describes the system topology,control strategy,DC breaker configuration,and research,development and testing of converter valves and DC breaker equipment of the Zhoushan multi-terminal DC transmission system.Zhejiang Zhoushan has unique geographical and developmental features to demonstrate the irreplaceable technical advantages of a DC power grid for providing reliable power supply.The experience gained from the Zhoushan DC power grid project can offer valuable insights into the development and utilization of this technology worldwide.

Tributyrin administration improves intestinal development and health in pre-weaned dairy calves fed milk replacer

Butyrate and its derivatives possess various nutritional and biological benefits for mammals,whereas its effects on dairy calves have not been well characterized.This study evaluated the effects of tributyrin administration on blood immune,intestinal immune and barrier functions,and microbial composition of pre-weaned dairy calves.Twenty newborn Holstein bull calves were randomly assigned into a control group(no tributyrin supplementation,CON;n=10)or a treatment group(supplemented with tributyrin at 2 g/L of milk,TRB;n=10).The results showed that diarrhea frequency was decreased significantly by tributyrin administration from d 29 to 56(P<0.001)and the whole period(P=0.003,d 1 to 56)though no significant effects were observed on growth performance.For blood metabolites,tributyrin administration significantly reduced the concentration of interleukin-1b(IL-1b)on d 28(P=0.001)and tended to reduce the concentration of serum amyloid A on d 56(P=0.079),whereas serum oxidative status parameters were not affected.For intestinal development,tributyrin administration increased the villus height(P<0.001)and the ratio of villus height to crypt depth(P=0.046)in the jejunum,and the villus height in the ileum(P=0.074).Furthermore,toll-like receptor 2(TRL2,P=0.045)and IL-1b(P=0.088)gene expressions were downregulated,while claudin-4(P=0.022)gene expression was upregulated in the jejunum following tributyrin administration.In the ileum,claudin-4(P=0.029)and G-protein coupled receptor 41(P=0.019)gene expressions were upregulated in the TRB group compared to CON.No significantly higher abundances of microbiota were found in the jejunum or ileum of calves in the CON group.In the TRB group,supplementing tributyrin significantly increased the abundance of shortchain fatty acid(SCFA)-producing bacteria,including Ruminococcaceae,Lachnospiraceae,Prevotella and Rikenellaceae(LDA>3.5,P<0.05),which was negatively associated with inflammatory gene expression(TLR2 and IL-1b)but positively associated with intestinal barrier genes(claudin-4)and morphological parameters(P<0.05).In conclusion,supplementing tributyrin in milk replacer could improve intestinal development and health of pre-weaned dairy calves by stimulating SCFA-producing bacteria colonization,enhancing intestinal barrier functions and suppressing inflammatory responses.

Optimized Protection Strategies for HVDC Grid with Fault-blocking Modular Multilevel Converters for Overhead Line Applications

The high-voltage direct current(HVDC)grid has been recognized as an effective solution for renewable energy integration.Currently,two main development trends for HVDC grids are being studied:a DC breaker based HVDC grid and fault-blocking converter based HVDC grid.Although the former has a perfect performance for fault clearance,its development is still highly constrained by the cost and maturity of DC breakers.The latter can extinguish DC faults by the fault-blocking converters.Without using DC breakers,there is no bottleneck in its technical feasibility.Nevertheless,in fault scenarios,such types of HVDC grids will be blocked at length for air-deionization,which is its main drawback.The aim of this paper is to minimize its power interruption time,by optimizing protection coordination strategies.To cover the most complex cases,the overhead line applications,in which the reclosure actions are required to be implemented,are considered.In this paper,the protection requirements of HVDC grids are first discussed,then the benefits of fault-blocking modular multilevel converters(MMCs)and their fault features are analyzed.Based on this,a control function is designed to reduce the air-deionization time.To minimize the influence of the DC faults,a separation methodology for restarting the system is proposed.The effectiveness of the proposed protection coordination schemes is validated by PSCAD/EMTDC simulations.

Buttress trees in a 20-hectare tropical dipterocarp rainforest in Xishuangbanna, SW China

Aims buttresses are prevalent and are important to many ecological processes in tropical rainforests but are overlooked in many rainforest studies.based on a buttress survey in a 20-hectare plot,this study aims to answer the following questions:(i)is buttress forming a fixed species characteristic?(ii)is there any phylogenetic signal for buttress forming across a broad taxonomic scale?(iii)is buttress form-ing an inherent feature or simply induced by environmental factors,and how is this relevant to the size of the tree?Methods We surveyed buttresses for all 95940 trees with diameter at breast height(DbH)≥10 mm in a 20-ha tropical dipterocarp rainforest in Xishuangbanna,sW China.The occurrence of buttresses was compared across different taxa and across different tree-size classes.a phylogenetic analysis was conducted among buttressed and non-buttressed species in order to understand the evolutionary background of buttress formation.Important Findings This preliminary study showed that buttress trees are very abundant(making up 32%of trees with≥100 mm DbH)in this 20-ha tropical rainforest situated at the northern edge of the tropics.Fifty-one percent of the 468 tree species in the plot had stems that produced buttresses.large trees were more likely to develop buttresses than smaller ones.We found that although buttress formation is not a fixed species characteristic,there is a strong phylogenetic signal for buttress formation in larger species.

Spreading fully at the ice-water interface is required for high ice recrystallization inhibition activity

Although materials for ice recrystallization inhibition(IRI) are essential for the cryopreservation of cells and tissues, there exists no guiding mechanism for the design of such materials. Therefore, the construction of materials for IRI relies on the try-and-error strategy. Herein, through changing the tacticity of hydroxyl groups on poly(vinyl alcohol)(PVA) backbones with the affinities of PVAs to ice unchanged, we experimentally find IRI activity decreases significantly for isotactic PVA in comparison to that of atactic PVA. Molecular dynamics simulation shows atactic PVA spreads fully at the ice-water interface due to its much stronger interaction with water. This indicates atactic PVA can cover more ice surface and possess a higher IRI activity when the same amount of PVAs are used, which is consistent with the results that PVA can cover the same amount of ice surface more efficiently through experimentally measuring the adsorption of PVAs on the ice surface. A guiding mechanism of high active IRI materials can be obtained: only having affinity to ice is not enough to obtain high IRI activity(i.e., only small amount of materials is required to reduce the size of ice crystals to ca.(35±10)μm), IRI agents must also have high affinity to water, i.e., low interfacial energies, to both ice and water. The former is to guarantee the adsorption of the IRI agent on the ice surface, and the latter is required for the IRI agent to spread sufficiently at the ice-water interface. Therefore, each IRI molecule can effectively block the diffusion of water onto the ice surface, and consequently inhibits the growth of ice. A spreading coefficient of IRI agents is therefore introduced to quantitatively assess the capability of IRI agents to spread at the ice-water interface.

Anti-icing strategies are on the way

Ice and snow coat more than 50%of the Northern Hemisphere of our planet in winter and are essential to atmosphere,geology,and life on Earth.However,undesired ice formation on solid surface with different forms,i.e.,frost,snow,glaze,and rime,always causes severe energy and safety issues.Ice accretion poses serious problems for dams and locks,aircrafts,express trains,air conditioners,refrigerators,wind turbines,solar panels,power lines,suspension bridges,heat pumps,and offshore oil platforms.1 These icing problems will increase energyresource consumption and origin electrical and mechanical malfunctions,reduce operating efficiency of devices,and result in security risks.For this reason,great efforts have been made to develop anti-icing and deicing methods for the following four purposes:(1)resisting the detrimental effects of condensed water,(2)inhibition of ice nucleation,(3)prevention of ice growth and propagation,and(4)reduction of the ice adhesion strength.In general,all the different anti-icing/deicing strategies have been employed to prevent ice accumulation and to easily remove ice,and they can be classified into two major categories:active and passive approaches(Figure 1).

Impedance Analysis of Grid Forming Control Based Modular Multilevel Converters

Grid-forming control(GFC)is promising for power electronics based power systems with high renewable energy penetration.Naturally,the impedance modeling for GFC is necessary and has gained significant attention recently.However,most of the impedance analyses for GFC are based on a twolevel converter(TLC)rather than a modular multilevel converter(MMC).MMC differs from TLC with respect to its dominant multi-frequency response.It is necessary to analyze the impedance of GFC-based MMC owing to its superiority in highvoltage direct current(HVDC)transmission to interlink two weak AC systems with high renewable energy penetration.As the main contribution,this paper presents the AC-and DC-side impedance analyses for the GFC-based MMC with both power and DC voltage control using the harmonic transfer function(HTF),and compares the impedances of GFC-based MMC and TLC.It is inferred that although the impedance is mainly influenced within 200 Hz,the instability still could occur owing to negative resistance triggered by relatively larger parameters.The difference in AC-side impedance with power and DC voltage control is not apparent with proper parameters,while the DC-side impedance differs significantly.The generalized Nyquist criterion is necessary for AC-side stability owing to the relatively large coupling terms under GFC.Moreover,the coupling between AC-and DC-side impedances is noneligible,especially considering the DC-side resonance around the system resonant peak.The effects of parameters,system strength,and virtual impedance on the impedance shaping are analyzed and verified through simulations.

Analysis of Operational Characteristics and Equivalent Test Method for IGBTs in MMC

A design methodology and a feasible equivalent circuit are proposed to test the reliability of insulated gate bipolar transistors(IGBT)in actual modular multilevel converter(MMC)conditions,which is impossible for existing IGBT test platforms due to unexplicit equivalent indexes and low reliability of test platforms.Characteristics of IGBT devices are extracted during MMC operation,and turn-off transient and effective current are highlighted as key indexes for the equivalent test.A feasible equivalent timing diagram and a corresponding test circuit are proposed,as well as the circuit's operation concept.The proposed equivalent test method is verified by a back-to-back experiment with twenty-four submodules,and results indicate the proposed method has good equivalence.Between the proposed circuit waveform and the back-to-back experiment waveform,all indexes have errors of less than 5.9%.Furthermore,the proposed circuit components have losses less than 0.7 times those of the device under test,making them reliable and suitable for long-term operation tests for IGBT devices in MMC.Index Terms-Equivalent test,IGBT,MMC,reliability.

Rigid-Soft Coupled Robotic Gripper for Adaptable Grasping

Inspired by the morphology of human fingers,this paper proposes an underactuated rigid-soft coupled robotic gripper whose finger is designed as the combination of a rigid skeleton and a soft tissue.Different from the current grippers who have multi-point contact or line contact with the target objects,the proposed robotic gripper enables surface contact and leads to flexible grasping and robust holding.The actuated mechanism,which is the palm of proposed gripper,is optimized for excellent operability based on a mathematical model.Soft material selection and rigid skeleton structure of fingers are then analyzed through a series of dynamic simulations by RecurDyn and Adams.After above design process including topology analysis,actuated mechanism optimization,soft material selection and rigid skeleton analysis,the rigid-soft coupled robotic gripper is fabricated via 3D printing.Finally,the grasping and holding capabilities are validated by experiments testing the stiffness of a single finger and the impact resistance of the gripper.Experimental results show that the proposed rigid-soft coupled robotic gripper can adapt to objects with different properties(shape,size,weight and softness)and hold them steadily.It confirms the feasibility of the design procedure,as well as the compliant and dexterous grasping capabilities of proposed rigid-soft coupled gripper.

Comparisons and Improvements of Key Operating Characteristics of Current Source Converter Applied in HVDC System

Because of its controlled power factor and no commutation failure,current source converter(CSC)made up of reverse-blocking IGCTs(RB-IGCTs)offers broad application prospects in the field of HVDC system.Valve voltage and power operating range as the most important operating characteristics should be paid attention to but they are always contradictory.First,the relationship between valve voltage and modulation index is obtained.In particular,valve voltage of converter under the three typical modulation methods is compared,analyzed,and verified.Second,with the help of the independent control strategy and coordinated control strategy of both ends,power operating ranges of the three modulation methods are comprehensively analyzed and compared.Third,in order to solve power coupling at a low active power,the improved coordination control strategy at both ends in this paper is proposed and the relationships among active power,reactive power,DC current and phase angle difference are given in detail.Finally,a 500 kV/3 kA simulation system was built in PSCAD/EMTDC to obtain comparison results of the key operating characteristics of CSC under different modulation methods and the converter can realize unity power operation under random active power after adopting the improved coordinated control strategy,and DC current does not decrease to zero,verifying effectiveness of the coordinated control strategy.

R&D and application of voltage sourced converter based high voltage direct current engineering technology in China

As a new generation of direct current(DC)transmission technology,voltage sourced converter(VSC)based high voltage direct current(HVDC)has been widely developed and applied all over the world.China has also carried out a deep technical research and engineering application in this area,and at present,it has been stepped into a fast growing period.This paper gives a general review over China’s VSC based HVDC in terms of engineering technology,application and future development.It comprehensively analyzes the technical difficulties and future development orientation on the aspects of the main configurations of VSC based HVDC system,topological structures of converters,control and protection technologies,flexible DC cables,converter valve tests,etc.It introduces the applicable fields and current status of China’s VSC based HVDC projects,and analyzes the application trends of VSC based HVDC projects both in China and all over the world according to the development characteristics and demands of future power grids.

A DC Grid Benchmark Model for Studies of Interconnection of Power Systems

Reducing carbon emissions in the power sector is critical for transitioning to a sustainable and low-carbon future.Estimating carbon efficiency of demand side response(DSR)in the power system is an important step towards realizing potential environmental benefits.Marginal emission factor(MEF)is an effective tool for estimating incremental changes in carbon emissions as a result of a change in demand.However,estimation methods currently used for evaluating MEF can be improved upon,specifically,by factoring in the ramp-rate constraint of generators in the fuel cost based merit order dispatch.In this paper is described a new method for MEF assessment under ramp-rate constraints;the method is then compared with two conventional estimations in a British power system.Three fuel price scenarios are used to conduct a sensitivity analysis of MEFs to fuel prices.Conclusions are drawn that can pave the way for future improvements in estimating MEF in power systems.

GRAIN LENGTH AND AWN 1 negatively regulates grain size in rice

Grain size is an important factor determining yield in rice. Here, we identified a recessive mutant gene, grain length and awn 1 (gla1), which caused a significant increase in grain length and weight, and was associated with long awns. The gla1 mutation was mapped to a single-nucleotide polymorphism in a gene encoding a cytoplasmically-localized mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphatase. Overexpression of GLA1 caused a decrease in grain length, and the GLA1 protein interacted with OsMAPK6. These results suggest that GLA1 may serve as a negative regulator of the OsMAPKK4-OsMAPK6 cascade, controlling grain size via the dephosphorylation of OsMAPK6.

大容量风电机组用66 kV干式绝缘升压变压器设计

大规模海上风电开发成为当前可再生能源发展的必然趋势,海上风电已从近海走向远海,风电机组(简称风机)容量达8 MW以上.升压变压器将风机出口电压由0.69~1.4 kV升至35 kV及以上,是风电系统的核心装备.远海风电离岸距离50 km,升压变压器的电压需提升至66 kV及以上,因66 kV干式绝缘升压变压器属产品空白,目前普遍采用油浸式变压器.相比油浸式技术,干式绝缘变压器火灾风险低,防爆性能好,易于维护.但传统的环氧树脂浇注干式绝缘变压器技术因存在界面缺陷难以调控而导致局部放电问题,难以应用于66 kV升压变压器.本文提出了一种66 kV/10 MVA干式绝缘升压变压器设计方法,通过对高压绕组绝缘机理的分析,提出了融合半导电屏蔽层和导线绝缘层的高压绝缘屏蔽导线多层共挤设计方法,替代传统绕包电磁线的设计,可实现对导体界面缺陷的屏蔽,以及导线绝缘与高压绕组主绝缘的充分相容,有效解决了绝缘界面缺陷抑制难题.设计了66 kV/10 MVA升压变压器结构,高压绕组具有沿面伞裙结构,可实现紧凑空间的高爬电距离设计.通过对变压器的电场、磁场和热场等多物理场仿真分析,获得了电场、磁场和热场分布特性,验证了变压器设计的合理性.研制了66 kV原理样机,开展了交流耐压和局部放电测试,局部放电量小于5 pC,验证了设计方法的可行性.

Pole-to-ground Fault Analysis for HVDC Grid Based on Common-and Differential-mode Transformation

Pole-to-ground(PTG) fault analysis is of vital importance for high-voltage direct current(HVDC) grid. However, many factors are not considered in the existing studies such as the asymmetrical property of PTG fault, the coupling issue between DC transmission lines and the complexity of the structure of DC grid. This paper presents a PTG fault analysis method, which is based on common-and differential-mode(CDM)transformation. Similar to the symmetrical component method in AC system, the transformation decomposes the HVDC grid into CDM networks, which is balanced and decoupled. Then, a transfer impedance is defined and calculated based on the impedance matrices of the CDM networks. With the transfer impedance, analytical expressions of fault characteristics that vary with space and time are obtained. The proposed PTG fault analysis method is applicable to arbitrary HVDC grid topologies,and provides a new perspective to understand the fault mechanism. Moreover, the analytical expressions offer theoretical guidance for PTG fault protection. The validity of the proposed PTG fault analysis method is verified in comparison with the simulation results in PSCAD/EMTDC.