Identification of an Aux/IAA regulator for flesh firmness using combined GWAS and bulked segregant RNA-Seq analysis in watermelon

Watermelon is a highly cultivated fruit crop renowned for its quality properties of fruit flesh.Among various quality factors,fruit flesh firmness is a crucial quality parameter influencing the fruit texture,shelf life and its commercial value.The auxin/indole-3-acetic acid(Aux/IAA)plays a significant role in fruit development and ripening of non-climacteric fruits.However,the regulatory mechanism of Aux/IAA in controlling fruit flesh firmness and ripening in watermelon remains unknown.In this study,we employed an integrative approach combining genome-wide association study(GWAS)and bulked segregant RNA-Seq analysis(BSR-Seq)to identify an overlapping candidate region between 12776310 and 12968331 bp on chromosome 6,underlying an auxin-responsive gene(Aux/IAA)associated with flesh firmness in watermelon.Transcriptome analysis,followed by real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR(qRT-PCR),confirmed that the expression of Aux/IAA was consistently higher in fruits with high flesh firmness.The sequence alignment revealed a single base mutation in the coding region of Aux/IAA.Furthermore,the concomitant Kompetitive/Competitive allele-specific PCR(KASP)genotyping data sets for F2 population and germplasm accessions identified Aux/IAA as a strong candidate gene associated with flesh firmness.Aux/IAA was enriched in the plant hormone signal transduction pathway,involving cell enlargement and leading to low flesh firmness.We determined the higher accumulation of abscisic acid(ABA)in fruits with low flesh firmness than hard flesh.Moreover,overexpression of Aux/IAA induced higher flesh firmness with an increased number of fruit flesh cells while reducing ABA content and flesh cell sizes.Additionally,the allelic variation in Aux/IAA for soft flesh firmness was found to exist in Citrullus mucosospermus and gradually fixed into Citrullus lanatus during domestication,indicating that soft flesh firmness was a domesticated trait.These findings significantly enhanced our understanding of watermelon fruit flesh firmness and consequently the watermelon fruit quality.

Assessing the Spatial Equality of COVID Testing Sites Maintaining Zero COVID Policy

Rapid and timely testing is essential to minimize the COVID-19 spread. Decision makers and policy planners need to determine the equal distribution and accessibility of testing sites. This study mainly examines the spatial equality of COVID-19 testing sites that maintain a zero COVID policy in Guangzhou City. The study has identified the spatial disparities of COVID testing sites, characteristics of testing locations, and accessibility. The study has obtained information on COVID testing sites in Guangzhou City and population data. Point pattern analyses, Euclidian distance and allocation, and network analyses are the main methods used to achieve the research objectives, and 1183 total COVID testing sites can be recognized in Guangzhou City. Results revealed that spatial disparities could be noticed over the study area. Testing locations of Guangzhou City are highly clustered. The most significant testing sites are located in Haizhu District, which has the third largest population. The highest population density can be identified in Yuexiu District. However, only 94 testing sites are located there. According to all the results, higher disparities can be identified, and a lack of testing sites is located in the north part of the study area. Some people in the northern part have to travel more than 10 km to reach a testing site. Finally, this paper suggests increasing the number of testing sites in the north and south parts of the study area and keeping the same distribution, considering the area, total population, and population density. This kind of research will be helpful to decision-makers in making proper decisions to maintain a zero COVID policy.

Ultrahigh strength and improved electrical conductivity in an aging strengthened copper alloy processed by combination of equal channel angular pressing and thermomechanical treatment

In this paper,equal channel angular pressing and thermomechanical treatment was employed to improve the strength and electrical conductivity of an aging strengthened Cu-Ti-Cr-Mg alloy,and the microstructure and properties of the alloy were investigated in detail.The results showed that the samples deformed by the combination of cryogenic equal channel angular pressing(ECAP)and rolling had good comprehensive properties after aging at 400℃.The tensile strength of the peak-aged and over-aged samples was 1120 MPa and 940 MPa,with their corresponding electrical conductivity of 14.7%IACS and 22.1%IACS,respectively.ECAP and cryogenic rolling introduced high density dislocations,leading to the inhibition of the softening effects and refinement of the grains.After a long time aging at 400℃,the alloy exhibited ultra-high strength with obvious increasing electrical conductivity.The high strength was attributed to the synergistic effect of work hardening,grain refinement strengthening and precipitation strengthening.The precipitation of a large amount of Ti atoms from the matrix led to the high electrical conductivity of the over-aged sample.

A New Equalization Method for Lithium-Ion Battery Packs Based on CUK

Aiming at the traditional CUK equalizer can only perform energy equalization between adjacent batteries,if the two single batteries that need to be equalized are far away from each other,there will be the problem of longer energy transmission path and lower equalization efficiency,this paper optimizes the CUK equalizer and optimizes its peripheral selection circuit,which can support the equalization of single batteries at any two positions.The control strategy adopts the open-circuit voltage(OVC)of the battery and the state of charge(SOC)of the battery as the equalization variables,and selects the corresponding equalization variables according to the energy conditions of the two batteries that need to be equalized,and generates the adaptive equalization current with an adaptive PID controller in order to improve the equalization efficiency.Simulation modeling is performed in Matlab/Simulink 2021b,and the experimental results show that the optimized CUK equalizer in this paper improves the equalization time by 25.58%compared with the traditional CUK equalizer.In addition,compared with the mean value difference(MVD)method,the adaptive PID method reduces the equalization time by about 30%in the static and charging and discharging experimental environments,which verifies the superiority of this equalization scheme.

Solid state recycling of Mg-Gd-Y-Zn-Zr alloy chips by isothermal sintering and equal channel angular pressing

The Mg-7Gd-4Y-2Zn-0.5Zr alloy chips were successfully recycled through isothermal sintering and equal channel angular pressing(ECAP).The mechanical properties and microstructure evolution of samples during the recycling process were studied in detail.The eutectic phases in the as-cast alloy transform into long period-stacking ordered(LPSO)phases after homogenization,which can improve the plasticity of the material.After isothermal sintering,the density of the sample is lower than that of the homogenized sample,and oxide films are formed adjacent to the bonding interface of the metal chips.Hence,the plasticity of the sintered sample is poor.Dense samples are fabricated after ECAP.Although the grains are not refined compared to the sintered sample,the microstructure becomes more uniform due to recrystallization.Fiber interdendritic LPSO phase and kinked 14H-LPSO phase are formed in the alloy due to the shear deformation during the ECAP process,which improves the strength and plasticity of the sample significantly.Furthermore,the basal texture is weakened due to the Bc route of the ECAP process,which can increase the Schmid factor of the basal slip system and improve the elongation of the sample.After 2 ECAP passes,the fully densified recycled billet shows superior mechanical properties with an ultimate tensile strength of 307.1 MPa and elongation of 11.1%.

Equalization Reconstruction Algorithm Based on Reference Signal Frequency Domain Block Joint for DTMB-Based Passive Radar

Channel equalization plays a pivotal role within the reconstruction phase of passive radar reference signals.In the context of reconstructing digital terrestrial multimedia broadcasting(DTMB)signals for low-slow-small(LSS)target detection,a novel frequency domain block joint equalization algorithm is presented in this article.From the DTMB signal frame structure and channel multipath transmission characteristics,this article adopts a unconventional approach where the delay and frame structure of each DTMB signal frame are reconfigured to create a circular convolution block,facilitating concurrent fast Fourier transform(FFT)calculations.Following equalization,an inverse fast Fourier transform(IFFT)-based joint output and subsequent data reordering are executed to finalize the equalization process for the DTMB signal.Simulation and measured data confirm that this algorithm outperforms conventional techniques by reducing signal errors rate and enhancing real-time processing.In passive radar LSS detection,it effectively suppresses multipath and noise through frequency domain equalization,reducing false alarms and improving the capabilities of weak target detection.

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CHINESE WORKPLACE

Gender equality is a significant issue in the economic and social sectors.A McKinsey study found that promoting gender equality in the workplace could contribute US$13 trillion to global GDP growth.And if China reaches the forefront of gender equality in the workplace in the Asia-Pacific region,it would generate about US$3 trillion in GDP.

Automatic SOC Equalization Strategy of Energy Storage Units with DC Microgrid Bus Voltage Support

In this paper,an improved sag control strategy based on automatic SOC equalization is proposed to solve the problems of slow SOC equalization and excessive bus voltage fluctuation amplitude and offset caused by load and PV power variations in a stand-alone DC microgrid.The strategy includes primary and secondary control.Among them,the primary control suppresses the DC microgrid voltage fluctuation through the I and II section control,and the secondary control aims to correct the P-U curve of the energy storage system and the PV system,thus reducing the steady-state bus voltage excursion.The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed control strategy effectively achieves SOC balancing and enhances the immunity of bus voltage.The proposed strategy improves the voltage fluctuation suppression ability by approximately 39.4%and 43.1%under the PV power and load power fluctuation conditions,respectively.Furthermore,the steady-state deviation of the bus voltage,△U_(dc) is only 0.01–0.1 V,ensuring stable operation of the DC microgrid in fluctuating power environments.

On the Equality of Weighted BajratarevićMeans to Quasi-Arithmetic Means

In this paper, we considered the equality problem of weighted Bajraktarević means with weighted quasi-arithmetic means. Using the method of substituting for functions, we first transform the equality problem into solving an equivalent functional equation. We obtain the necessary and sufficient conditions for the equality equation.

A fracture enhancement method based on the histogram equalization of eigenstructure-based coherence

Eigenstructure-based coherence attributes are efficient and mature techniques for large-scale fracture detection. However, in horizontally bedded and continuous strata, buried fractures in high grayscale value zones are difficult to detect. Furthermore, middleand small-scale fractures in fractured zones where migration image energies are usually not concentrated perfectly are also hard to detect because of the fuzzy, clouded shadows owing to low grayscale values. A new fracture enhancement method combined with histogram equalization is proposed to solve these problems. With this method, the contrast between discontinuities and background in coherence images is increased, linear structures are highlighted by stepwise adjustment of the threshold of the coherence image, and fractures are detected at different scales. Application of the method shows that it can also improve fracture cognition and accuracy.

Equal Width波方程的精确行波解与波的动态模拟(英文)

继Abdulkadir Dogan用Galar方法求解Equal Width波方程得到一些数值解之后,我们利用动力系统分支理论再次求解了这个方程。确定了存在光滑的孤立波和周期波解的参数条件。给出了一些精确的解析行波解。同时,给出了这些行波解的动态模拟图。

Equal Width波方程的各种椭圆函数周期解和孤子解

结合齐次平衡法和F-展开法,并利用Riccati方程的结果,直接给出了Equal Width波方程的各种椭圆函数周期解.当椭圆函数的模m分别趋于1和0时,利用这些椭圆函数周期解,得到了Equal Width波方程的各种孤子解和三角函数周期解,其解的数量超过了已有文献.

用EXP-函数法求Equal Width波方程的精确解

利用EXP-函数法,再次研究了Equal Width波方程的精确解,获得了与现有文献中的解的结构不相同的新类型的精确解。本文的孤子解,比一些文献中的双曲函数解的结构更具一般性,从而大大丰富了相关文献中关于Equal Width波方程的解的类型。

Ultrastructure of Epidermis and Flesh of the Developing Apple Fruit

The ultrastructure of the epidermis and flesh of apple ( Malus domestica Borkh cv. Red Fuji) fruit was systematically observed during the fruit development via transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that, in spite of the ultrastructural changes in many aspects of the developing fruit epidermal cells, it remained almost unchanged throughout the whole developmental process that the cytoplasm was filled with numerous endoplasmic reticula (ER). Most of these endoplasmic reticula were tube_like and rough_ER with enlarged cisterna from which many vesicles were produced. Some of the vesicles were shown to merge into vacuole. Some dynamic Golgi bodies were also found. All the ultrastructural characteristics showed that the epidermal cells have the features of excretory cells. The ultrastructure of the fruit flesh cells at the young fruit stage were shown to be metabolically active, characterized by the presence of numerous clustered plasmodesmata, cisterna enlarged_ and rough_ER filling the cytoplasm, plenty of vesicles and Golgi bodies, indicating their dynamic cellular transport function. Some giant_circular rough_ERs were found. All the ultrastructural features at this early developmental stage should be closely associated with the enlargement of the young fruit. At the rapid growing phase of the fruit the main changes were characterized by: the starch grain_filled amyloplasts, furcating of the single orifice of plasmodesmata, and the cytoplasm enrichment of both the Golgi body_formed vesicles and other vesicles. These features correspond well with those of a photoassimilate sink_cell. An ultrastructural degeneration phenomenon was observed at the fruit ripening stage, but the mitochondria and plasmalemma still remained intact, which might be related to the continuous development of fruit quality during the fruit ripening.

Intercellular Symplastic Connection and Isolation of the Unloading Zone in Flesh of the Developing Grape Berry

The ultrastructure and intercellular connection of the sugar unloading zone (i.e. the phloem in the dorsal vascular bundle and the phloem_surrounding the assimilate sink_cells) of grape ( Vitis vinifera× V. labrusca cv. Jingchao) berry was observed via transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that during the early developmental stages of grape berry, numerous plasmodesmata were found in the phloem between sieve element (SE) and companion cell (CC), between SE/CC complexes, between SE/CC complex and phloem parenchyma cell and in between phloem parenchyma cells, which made the phloem a symplastic integration, facilitating sugar unloading from sieve elements into both companion cells and phloem parenchyma cells via a symplastic pathway. On the contrary, there was almost no plasmodesma between phloem and its surrounding flesh photoassimilate sink_cells, neither in between the flesh photoassimilate sink_cells giving rise to a symplastic isolation both between phloem and its surrounding flesh photoassimilate sink_cells, as well as among the flesh photoassimilate sink_cells. This indicated that both the sugar unloading from phloem and postphloem transport of sugars should be mainly via an apoplastic pathway. During the ripening stage, most of the plasmodesmata between SE/CC complex and the surrounding phloem parenchyma cells were shown to be blocked by the electron_opaque globules, and a phenomenon of plasmolysis was found in a number of companion cells, indicating a symplastic isolation between SE/CC complex and its surrounding parenchyma cells during this phase. The symplastic isolation between the whole phloem and its surrounding photoassimilate sink_cells during the early developmental stages shifted to a symplastic isolation within the phloem during the ripening phase, and thus the symplastic pathway of sugar unloading from SE/CC complex during the early development stages should be replaced by a dominant apoplastic unloading pathway from SE/CC complex in concordance.

利用EXP-函数展开法求解Modified Equal Width波方程的精确解

本文将利用EXP-函数展开法,再次研究了Modified Equal Width波方程的精确解,获得了一些与现有文献中的解的结构不相同的新类型的精确解.本文的孤子解的波形图,与一些文献中的数值解的波形图相比,基本一致,进一步验证了这些文献中的数值解的有效性.

Influence of twist extrusion process on consolidation of pure aluminum powder in tubes by equal channel angular pressing and torsion

In comparison with the conventional equal channel angular pressing（ECAP） process,a comprehensive study of influence of twist extrusion（TE） process on consolidating pure aluminum powder in tubes（PITs） by equal channel angular pressing and torsion（ECAPT） was conducted via three-dimensional（3D） finite element simulation,experimental investigation and theoretical analysis.Simulation results revealed that during the consolidation of aluminum powder particles by ECAPT,TE process played a significant role of back pressure.Due to the torsional shear and high hydrostatic pressure exerted by twist channel,both the magnitude and homogeneity of the effective strain were increased markedly.After one pass of ECAPT process using a square channel with an inner angle of 90° and a twist slope angle of 36.5° at 200℃,commercial pure aluminum powder particles were successfully consolidated to nearly full density.Simulation and experimental results showed good agreement.In the microstructure observations,grains were greatly refined.At the same time,porosities were effectively eliminated by shrinking in size and breaking into small ones.Microhardness test indicated that strain distribution of ECAPT-processed billet was more homogeneous with respect to the ECAP-processed one.All these improvements may be attributed to the extreme intense shear strain induced during ECAPT and the increase in self-diffusion coefficient of aluminum due to the back pressure exerted by TE process.

Equal Width波方程的几种新解

应用齐次平衡法再次研究了Equal Width波方程的精确解,在不同的参数下,我求得了几种与文献[1]形式不相同的新解.在这些新解中,有一种孤波解的表达式,比文献[1]中的孤波解的那种表达式更具一般性.

Performance of Wavelet-Transform-Domain Adaptive Equalizers

In this paper performances of wavelet transform domain (WTD) adaptive equalizers based on the least mean￣square (LMS) algorithm are analyzed. The optimum Wiener solution, the condition of convergence, the minimum mean square error (MSE) and the steady state excess MSE of the WTD adaptive equalizer are obtained. Constant and time varying convergence factor adaptive algorithms are studied respectively. Computational complexities of WTD LMS equalizers are given. The equalizer in WTD shows much better convergence performance than that of the conventional in time domain.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-Gd-Y-Zr alloy processed by equal channel angular pressing

Microstructure evolution and texture development and their effects on mechanical properties of a Mg-Gd-Y-Zr alloy during equal channel angular pressing（ECAP） were investigated.It is found that the microstructure is still inhomogeneous after four passes,and two zones,namely the fine grain zone（FGZ） and the coarse grain zone（CGZ） are formed.The grain refinement occurs mainly by particle-stimulated nucleation（PSN） mechanism,which led to a more random texture after four passes of ECAP.In the ECAP-processed alloy,the strength did not increase while the ductility was enhanced dramatically compared with the as-received condition.The change of ductility of this alloy was discussed in terms of texture and second phase particles.