Mathematic model of rolling pressure during a semisolid shearing-rolling process

A mathematic model of rolling pressure during a novel semisolid shearing-rolling process was established. The rolling pressure in this process is higher than that in the conventional rolling. The increment of rolling pressure in the backward slip zone is higher than that in the forward slip zone, and the neutral plane moves toward to the roll gap entrance. The maximum and the average rolling pressures increase with the decrease of strip thickness, and the effects of strip thickness on the rolling pressure is more obvious in the forward slip zone than in the backward slip zone. Meanwhile, the neutral plane moves toward the roll gap exit with the decrease of strip thickness. The maximum and average rolling pressures increase with the decrease of strip width, and the strip width affects the pressure more obviously in the backward slip zone than in the forward slip zone. At the same time, the neutral plane moves toward the roll gap entrance with the decrease of strip width. The maximum and average rolling pressures increase with increasing roll radius, and the neutral plane moves toward the roll gap exit.

Microstructure and properties of A2017 alloy strips processed by a novel process by combining semisolid rolling,deep rolling,and heat treatment

A novel short process for producing A2017 alloy strips with notable features of near net shape, saving energy, low cost, and high product performance was developed by combining semisolid rolling, deep rolling, and heat treatment. The microstructure and properties of the A2017 alloy strips were investigated by metallographic microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, tensile testing, and hardness measurement. The cross-sectional microstructure of the A2017 alloy strips is mainly composed of near-spherical primary grains. Many eutectic phases CuA12 formed along primary grain boundaries during semisolid rolling are crushed and broken into small particles. After solution treatment at 495℃ for 2 h the eutectic phases at grain boundaries have almost dissolved into the matrix. When the solution treatment time exceeds 2 h, grain coarsening happens. More and more grain interior phases precipitate with the aging time prolonging to 8 h. The precipitated particles are very small and distribute homogenously, and the tensile strength reaches its peak value. When the aging time is prolonged to 12 h, there is no obvious variation in the amount of precipitated phases, but the size and spacing of precipitated phases increase. The tensile strength of the A2017 alloy strips produced by the present method can reach 362.78 MPa, which is higher than that of the strips in the national standard of China.

Sources of rare earth elements REE+Y(REY)in Bayili Coal Mine from Wensu County of Xinjiang,China

By analyses on the trace elements of coals,host-rocks and wall-rocks,this study aims to trace the sources and evaluate the utilization prospects of REE+Y(REY)in coals from Bayili Coal Mine(Wensu,Xinjiang,China).The distribution patterns of REY in the coals are divided into two groups,flat-type and heavy REE-enrichment type(H-type).The REY of the former was mainly from the gneisses of the basement of the coal-bearing basin,and that of the later was partly from hydrothermal solution.The host-rocks show two types of REY patterns,middle REE-enrichment type(M-type)and H-type,which are due to the injection of REY from acid terrestrial water and hydrothermal solution,respectively.Almost all the coal samples are plotted into the promising area on the diagram of percentage of critical elements(REY_(def,rel))vs ratio of sum of critical elements to the sum of excessive elements(C_(outl))and half of the coal samples have high contents of Ga closing to the cut-off grade of Ga deposit as by-product,which indicate that the REY and Ga in Bayili Coal Mine are of utilization prospects as by-product.

Effect of cooling rate on microstructure and mechanical properties of CB2 tempered martensitic steel

The cooling rate of casting has a significant effect on microstructure and mechanical properties of castings.The 9Cr-1.5Mo-1Co cast steel,referred to as CB2,is one of the most promising alloys for various cast components to be used under ultrasupercritical conditions.In this study,HRTEM,SEM,and XRD methods were used for qualitative and quantitative analyses of contents,phases,and sizes of the inclusions and precipitates,as well as microstructure observation of the tempered martensitic steel at different cooling rates.Traditional tensile tests were conducted to characterize the material mechanical properties.Results show that the size of the boron nitride and precipitate,the width of the martensite lath and the content of theδ-ferrite are reduced as the cooling rate increases from 5-8℃·min^-1(CB2-S steel)to 50-60℃·min^-1(CB2-F steel).The precipitates are mainly composed of M23C6 and a small amount of M3C.The average diameters of the M23C6 precipitates in CB2-F and CB2-S are 202 nm and 209 nm,respectively.The inclusions are mainly composed of BN,Al2O3 and MnO2,and the inclusion ratios are 0.1969%for the CB2-F and 0.06556%for CB2-S steel.The average martensite lath widths of CB2-F and CB2-S steels are 289 nm and 301 nm,respectively.Furthermore,the M3C having a diameter of about 150 nm and a thickness of 20 nm is observed in theδ-ferrite of the tempered CB2-S steel.The presence of theδ-ferrite reduces the precipitation strengthening and dislocation density in CB2-S steel.In addition,the lower cooling rate stabilizes theδ-ferrite structure at room temperature.

Announcement:Changes in the JIPB board

As a journal run entirely by scientists from the plant science community, JIPB has developed from a China-based national journal to an international one over the past decade. Serving as the JIPB Editor-in-Chief, I have witnessed the gradual elevation of the journal in terms of publication quality and international visibilitv.

Rice caryopsis development Ⅱ: Dynamic changes in the endosperm

The rice endosperm plays crucial roles in nourishing the embryo during embryogenesis and seed germination. Although previous studies have provided the general information about rice endosperm, a systematic investigation throughout the entire endosperm developmental process is still lacking. In this study, we examined in detail rice endosperm development on a daily basis throughout the 3o-day period of post-fertilization development. We observed that coenocytic nuclear division occurred in the first 2 days after pollination （DAP）, cellularization occurred between 3 and 5 DAP, differentiation of the aleurone and starchy endosperm occurred between 6 and 9 DAP, and accumulation of storage products occurred concurrently with the aleurone/starchy endosperm differentiation from 6 DAP onwards and was accomplished by 21 DAP. Changes in cytoplasmic membrane permeability, possibly caused by programmed cell death, were observed in the central region of the starchy endosperm at 8 DAP, and expanded to the whole starchy endosperm at 21 DAP when the aleurone is the only living component in the endosperm. Further, we observed that a distinct multi-layered dorsal aleurone formed near the dorsal vascular bundle, while the single- or occasionally two-cell layered aleurone was located in the lateral and ventral positions of endosperm. Our results provide in detail the dynamic changes in mitotic divisions, cellularization, cell differentiation, storage product accumulation, and programmed cell death that occur during rice endosperm development.

CLE25 peptide regulates phloem initiation in Arabidopsis through a CLERK-CLV2 receptor complex

The phloem, located within the vascular system, is critical for delivery of nutrients and signaling molecules throughout the plant body. Although the morphological process and several factors regulating phloem differentiation have been reported, the molecular mechanism underlying its initiation remains largely unknown. Here, we report that the small peptide-coding gene, CLAVATA 3 (CLV3)/EMBEYO SURROUNDING REGION 25 (CLE25), the expression of which begins in provascular initial cells of 64-cell-staged embryos, and continues in sieve element-procambium stem cells and phloem lineage cells, during postembryonic root development, facilitates phloem initiation in Arabidopsis. Knockout of CLE25 led to delayed protophloem formation, and in situ expression of an antagonistic CLE25G6T peptide compromised the fate-determining periclinal division of the sieve element precursor cell and the continuity of the phloem in roots. In stems of CLE25G6T plants the phloem formation was also compromised, and procambial cells were over-accumulated. Genetic and biochemical analyses indicated that a complex, consisting of the CLE-RESISTANT RECEPTOR KINASE (CLERK) leucinerich repeat (LRR) receptor kinase and the CLV2 LRR receptor- like protein, is involved in perceiving the CLE25 peptide. Similar to CLE25, CLERK was also expressed during early embryogenesis. Taken together, our findings suggest that CLE25 regulates phloem initiation in Arabidopsis through a CLERK-CLV2 receptor complex.

Rice caryopsis development Ⅰ: Dynamic changes in different cell layers

Rice caryopsis as one of the most important food sources for humans has a complex structure that is composed of maternal tissues including the pericarp and testa and filial tissues including the endosperm and embryo. Although rice caryopsis studies have been conducted previously, a system- atic characterization throughout the entire developmental process is still lacking. In this study, detailed morphological examinations of caryopses were made during the entire 30- day developmental process. We observed some rapid changes in cell differentiation events and cataloged how cellular degeneration processes occurred in maternal tissues. The differentiations of tube cells and cross cells were achieved by 9 days after pollination （DAP）. In the testa, the outer integument was degenerated by 3 DAP, while the outer layer of the inner integument degenerated by 7 DAP. In the nucellus, all tissues with the exception of the nucellar projection and the nucellar epidermis degenerated in the first 5 DAP. By 21 DAP, all maternal tissues, including vascular bundles, the nucellar projection and the nucellar epidermal cells were degenerated. In summary, this study provides a complete atlas of the dynamic changes in cell differentiation and degeneration for individual maternal cell layers of rice caryopsis.

An Arabidopsis Class II Formin,AtFH19,Nucleates Actin Assembly,Binds to the Barbed End of Actin Filaments,and Antagonizes the Effect of AtFH1 on Actin Dynamics

Formin is a major protein responsible for regulating the nucleation of actin filaments, and as such, it permits the cell to control where and when to assemble actin arrays. It is encoded by a multigene family comprising 21 members in Arabidopsis thaliana. The Arabidopsis formins can be separated into two phylogenetically-distinct classes： there are 11 class I formins and 10 class II formins. Significant questions remain unanswered regarding the molecular mechanism of actin nucleation and elongation stimulated by each formin isovariant, and how the different isovariants coordinate to regulate actin dynamics in cells. Here, we characterize a class II formin, AtFH19, biochemically. We found that AtFH19 retains all general properties of the formin family, including nucleation and barbed end capping activity. It can also generate actin filaments from a pool of actin monomers bound to profilin. However, both the nucleation and barbed end capping activities of AtFH19 are less efficient compared to those of another well-characterized formin, AtFHI. Interestingly, AtFH19 FH1FH2 competes with AtFH1 FHIFH2 in binding actin filament barbed ends, and inhibits the effect of AtFH1 FHIFH2 on actin. We thus propose a mechanism in which two quantitatively different formins coordinate to regulate actin dynamics by competing for actin filament barbed ends.

EMBRYONIC FACTOR 19 Encodes a Pentatricopeptide Repeat Protein that is Essential for the Initiation of Zygotic Embryogenesis in Arabidopsis

Early embryogenesis is the most fundamental developmental process in biology. Screening of ethyl methanesulfonate （EMS）-mutagenized populations of Arabidopsis thaliana led to the identification of a zygote-lethal mutant embryonic factor 19 （fac19） in which embryo development was arrested at the elongated zygote to octant stage. The number of endosperm nuclei decreased significantly in fac19 embryos. Genetic analysis showed fac19 was caused by a single recessive mutation with typical mendelian segregation, suggesting equal maternal and paternal contributions of FAC19 towards zygotic embryogenesis. Positional cloning showed that FAC19 encodes a putative mitochondrial protein with 16 conserved pentatricopeptide repeat （PPR） motifs. The fac19 mutation caused a conversion from hydrophilic serine located in a previously unknown domain to hydrophobic leucine. Crosses between FAC191fac19 and the T-DNA insertion mutants in the same gene failed to complement the fac19 defects, confirming the identity of the gene. This study revealed the critical importance of a PPR protein-mediated mitochondrial function in early embryogenesis.

Contributions of Individual Amino Acid Residues to the Endogenous CLV3 Function in Shoot Apical Meristem Maintenance in Arabidopsis

As a peptide hormone, CLV3 restricts the stem cell number in shoot apical meristem （SAM） by interacting with CLV1/CLV2/CRN/RPK2 receptor complexes. To elucidate how the function of the CLV3 peptide in SAM maintenance is established at the amino acid （AA） level, alanine substitutions were performed by introducing point mutations to individual residues in the peptide-coding region of CLV3 and its flanking sequences. Constructs carrying such substitutions, expressed under the control of CLV3 regulatory elements, were transformed to the clv3-2 null mutant to evaluate their efficiencies in complementing its defects in SAMs in vivo. These studies showed that aspartate-8, histidine-11, glycine-6, proline-4, arginine-1, and proline-9, arranged in an order of importance, were critical, while threonine-2, valine-3, serine-5, and the previously assigned hydroxylation and arabinosylation residue proline-7 were trivial for the endogenous CLV3 function in SAM maintenance. In contrast, substitutions of flanking residues did not impose much damage on CLV3. Complementation of different alanine-substituted constructs was confirmed by measurements of the sizes of SAMs and the WUS expression levels in transgenic plants. These studies established a complete contribution map of individual residues in the peptide-coding region of CLV3 for its function in SAM, which may help to understand peptide hormones in general.

OsCIPK7 point-mutation leads to conformation and kinase-activity change for sensing cold response

Calcineurin B-like interacting protein kinases(CIPKs) play important roles via environmental stress.However, less is known how to sense the stress in molecular structure conformation level. Here, an Os CIPK7 mutant via TILLING procedure with a point mutation in the kinase domain showed increased chilling tolerance, which could be potentially used in the molecular breeding. We found that this point mutation of Os CIPK7 led to a conformationalchange in the activation loop of the kinase domain,subsequently with an increase of protein kinase activity,thus conferred an increased tolerance to chilling stress.

Sexual Reproduction in Higher Plants I:Fertilization and the Initiation of Zygotic Program

Sexual plant reproduction is a critical developmental step in the life cycle of higher plants, to allow maternal and paternal genes to be transmitted in a highly regulated manner to the next generation. During evolution, a whole set of signal transduction machinery is developed by plants to ensure an error-free recognition between male and female gametes and initiation of zygotic program. In the past few years, the molecular machineries underlying this biological process have been elucidated, particularly on the importance of synergid cells in pollen tube guidance, the Ca^＋＋ spike as the immediate response of fertilization and the epigenetic regulation of parental gene expressions in early zygotic embryogenesis. This review outlines the most recent development in this area.

Application of Grain Boundary Engineering to Improve Intergranular Corrosion Resistance in a Fe–Cr–Mn–Mo–N High-Nitrogen and Nickel-Free Austenitic Stainless Steel

Optimization of grain boundary engineering(GBE) process is explored in a Fe–20Cr–19Mn–2Mo–0.82N high-nitrogen and nickel-free austenitic stainless steel, and its intergranular corrosion(IGC) property after GBE treatment is experimentally evaluated. The proportion of low Σ coincidence site lattice(CSL) boundaries reaches 79.4% in the sample processed with 5% cold rolling and annealing at 1423 K for 72 h;there is an increase of 32.1% compared with the solution-treated sample. After grain boundary character distribution optimization, IGC performance is noticeably improved. Only Σ3 boundaries in the special boundaries are resistant to IGC under the experimental condition. The size of grain cluster enlarges with increasing fraction of low ΣCSL boundaries, and the amount of Σ3 boundaries interrupting the random boundary network increases during growth of the clusters, which is the essential reason for the improvement of IGC resistance.

Defective mitochondrial function by mutation in THICK ALEURONE 1 encoding a mitochondrion-targeted single-stranded DNA-binding protein leads to increased aleurone cell layers and improved nutrition in rice

Cereal endosperm comprises an outer aleurone and an inner starchy endosperm.Although these two tissues have the same developmental origin,they differ in morphology,cell fate,and storage product accumulation,with the mechanism largely unknown.Here,we report the identification and characterization of rice thick aleurone 1(ta1)mutant that shows an increased number of aleurone cell layers and increased contents of nutritional factors including proteins,lipids,vitamins,dietary fibers,and micronutrients.We identified that the TA1 gene,which is expressed in embryo,aleurone,and subaleurone in caryopses,encodes a mitochondrion-targeted protein with single-stranded DNA-binding activity named OsmtSSB1.Cytological analyses revealed that the increased aleurone cell layers in ta1 originate from a developmental switch of subaleurone toward aleurone instead of starchy endosperm in the wild type.We found that TA1/OsmtSSB1 interacts with mitochondrial DNA recombinase RECA3 and DNA helicase TWINKLE,and downregulation of REC A3 or TWINKLE also leads to ta1-like phenotypes.We further showed that mutation in TA1/OsmtSSB1 causes elevated illegitimate recombinations in the mitochondrial genome,altered mitochondrial morphology,and compromised energy supply,suggesting that the OsmtSSB1-mediated mitochondrial function plays a critical role in subaleur one cell-fate determination in rice.

Phytohormone dynamics in developing endosperm influence rice grain shape and quality

Hormones are important signaling molecules regulating developmental processes and responses to environmental stimuli in higher plants.Rice endosperm,the portion of the seed surrounding the embryo,is the main determinant of rice grain shape and yield;how-ever,the dynamics and exact functions of phyto-hormones in developing endosperm remain elusive.Through a systemic study including transcriptome analysis,hormone measurement,and transgene-based endosperm-specific expression of phytohormone bio-synthetic enzymes,we demonstrated that dynamic phytohormone levels play crucial roles in the developing rice endosperm,particularly in regard to grain shape and quality.We detected diverse,differential,and dra-matically changing expression patterns of genes related to hormone biosynthesis and signaling during endosperm development,especially at early devel-opmental stages.Liquid chromatography measure-ments confirmed the dynamic accumulation of hor-mones in developing endosperm.Further transgenic analysis performed on plants expressing hormone bio-synthesis genes driven by an endosperm-specific pro-moter revealed differential effects of the hormones,especially auxin and brassinosteroids,in regulating grain shape and quality.Our studies help elucidate the dis-tinct roles of hormones in developing endosperm and provide novel and useful tools for influencing crop seed shape and yield.

An efficient TILLING platform for cultivated tobacco

Targeting-induced local lesions in genomes(TILLING)is a powerful reverse-genetics tool that enables high-throughput screening of genomic variations in plants.Although TILLING has been developed for many diploid plants,the technology has been used in very few polyploid species due to their genomic complexity.Here,we established an efficient capillary electrophoresis-based TILLING platform for allotetraploid cultivated tobacco(Nicotiana tabacum L.)using an ethyl methanesulfonate(EMS)-mutagenized population of 1,536 individuals.We optimized the procedures for endonuclease preparation,leaf tissue sampling,DNA extraction,normalization,pooling,PCR amplification,heteroduplex formation,and capillary electrophoresis.In a test screen using seven target genes with eight PCR fragments,we obtained 118 mutants.The mutation density was estimated to be approximately one mutation per 106kb on average.Phenotypic analyses showed that mutations in two heavy metal transporter genes,HMA2S and HMA4T,led to reduced accumulation of cadmium and zinc,which was confirmed independently using CRISPR/Cas9 to generate knockout mutants.Our results demonstrate that this powerful TILLING platform(available at http://www.croptilling.org)can be used in tobacco to facilitate functional genomics applications.

Microstructure Evolution and Mechanical Properties of HR3C Steel during Long-term Aging at High Temperature

Microstructure evolution and the changes in mechanical properties of HR3 Csteel during long-term aging at650,700 and 750℃ were investigated.The precipitated phases of the aging steel included M23C6 carbides,Z-phase and a trace amount of Nb（C,N）.The M23C6 carbides were distributed mainly at the grain boundary,while Z-phase was mainly inside the grains.Amounts of both M23C6 carbides and Z-phase during the aging process increased with increasing aging period and temperature.Coarsening of M23C6 carbides was influenced significantly by aging time and temperature,while the size of the Z-phase was relatively less affected by the aging time and temperature,which had a steady strengthening effect.Coarsening of the M23C6 carbides was the main reason for the decline in high temperature yield strength during long-term aging at 750℃.The M23C6 carbides were linked into a continuous chain along the grain boundary which accounted for the decrease of toughness during aging.

ZYGOTE-ARREST 3 that encodes the tRNA ligase is essential for zygote division in Arabidopsis

In sexual organisms, division of the zygote initiates a new life cycle. Although several genes involved in zygote division are known in plants, how the zygote is activated to start embryogenesis has remained elusive. Here, we showed that a mutation in ZYGOTE-ARREST 3 （ZYG3） in Arabidopsis led to a tight zygote-lethal phenotype. Map-based cloning revealed that ZYG3 encodes the transfer RNA （tRNA） ligase AtRNL, which is a single-copy gene in the Arabidopsis genome. Expression analyses showed that AtRNL is expressed throughout zygotic embryogenesis, and in meristematic tissues. Using pAtRNL：：cAtRNL-sYFP- complemented zyg3/zyg3 plants, we showed that AtRNL is localized exclusively in the cytoplasm, suggesting that tRNA splicing occurs primarily in the cytoplasm. Analyses using partially rescued embryos showed that mutation in AtRNL compromised splicing of intron-containing tRNA. Mutations of two tRNA endonuclease genes, SEN1 and SEN2, also led to a zygote-lethal phenotype. These results together suggest that tRNA splicing is critical for initiating zygote division in Arabidopsis.

Effects of Nb and V on Microstructural Evolution,Precipitation Behavior and Tensile Properties in Hot-rolled Mo-bearing Steel

Microstructural evolution,precipitation behavior,and tensile properties of four experimental Mo-bearing steels were studied to elucidate the effects of Nb and V on microstructural properties.The results indicated that the microstructure of hot-rolled steels consisted of polygonal ferrite and degenerate pearlite,and the morphology remained same after holding at 600 ℃for 1h.The smallest grain size was obtained in Nb-V-Mo containing steel,followed by Nb-Mo and V-Mo steels.Precipitation was less in the hot-rolled Mo-bearing steel.The maximum volume fraction of precipitates was obtained in Nb-V-Mo bearing steel,and the Nb-V-Mo complex carbonitrides were highly stable at 600℃.In the Mo-bearing steel,the yield ratio was lowest at room temperature but highest at 600℃,which was attributed to the precipitation of Mo carbides and drag effect of Mo solute on dislocation movement.