Diversity of Flower Opening Time and Duration in Rice (Oryza sativa ssp. indica) Landraces of South and Southeast Asia in Different Cultivation Seasons

Different cultivars of rice(Oryza sativa)open at different times of the day,and the overlap of anthesis time in rice between the neighbouring cultivars is of crucial importance to the degree of cross pollination in rice.Nevertheless,none of the past experiments with cross pollination between different rice cultivars ever reported the respective flower opening time(FOT)and flower exposure duration(FED)of the parent cultivars,until recently.The authors present here the first record of FOT and FED of 1114 indica rice landraces of South and Southeast Asia,growing during sum-mer and winter seasons in three consecutive years.The authors also present an analysis of the influences of the grow-ing season on the anthesis behaviour,and present the first records of the FOT and FED variability on sunny and cloudy days of a large number of landraces.The data show that rice florets tend to open later in the morning(that is,take longer time to anthesis after sunrise)on sunny days than on cloudy days,and also significantly later during long day seasons(spring and summer)than during short day season(winter);and that FED is inversely related to both FOT and the length of duration from sunrise to first flower opening.The wide ranges of FOT(8:50 a.m.to 12:40 p.m.)and FED(15 to 194 minutes)also suggest the ample time window for receiving pollen from neighbouring cultivars with differ-ent FOT,enhancing the chances of cross pollination between hundreds of rice landraces with FOT and FED overlaps.

Development of a Novel Parallel-spool Pilot Operated High-pressure Solenoid Valve with High Flow Rate and High Speed

High-pressure solenoid valve with high flow rate and high speed is a key component in an underwater driving system.However,traditional single spool pilot operated valve cannot meet the demands of both high flow rate and high speed simultaneously.A new structure for a high pressure solenoid valve is needed to meet the demand of the underwater driving system.A novel parallel-spool pilot operated high-pressure solenoid valve is proposed to overcome the drawback of the current single spool design.Mathematical models of the opening process and flow rate of the valve are established.Opening response time of the valve is subdivided into 4 parts to analyze the properties of the opening response.Corresponding formulas to solve 4 parts of the response time are derived.Key factors that influence the opening response time are analyzed.According to the mathematical model of the valve,a simulation of the opening process is carried out by MATLAB.Parameters are chosen based on theoretical analysis to design the test prototype of the new type of valve.Opening response time of the designed valve is tested by verifying response of the current in the coil and displacement of the main valve spool.The experimental results are in agreement with the simulated results,therefore the validity of the theoretical analysis is verified.Experimental opening response time of the valve is 48.3 ms at working pressure of 10 MPa.The flow capacity test shows that the largest effective area is 126 mm2 and the largest air flow rate is 2320 L/s.According to the result of the load driving test,the valve can meet the demands of the driving system.The proposed valve with parallel spools provides a new method for the design of a high-pressure valve with fast response and large flow rate.

Influence of Dropping scales of E7/6 Comber on Process Performance

The dropping scales is an important parameter for comber noil and combing quality. Because the rocking of the nipper shaft makes the nippers move backward and forward through a series of links, the original position of nipper frame is altered when changing the dropping scales, the other parameters of combing are changed accordingly. In this paper, the timing of opening-closing on nipper, the timing of cylinder’s combing, the timing of detaching-lapping and variation of nip pressure are calculated and their effects on combing are analyzed in different dropping scales on E7/6 comber.

A Coordination-Based Algorithm for Dedicated Destination Vehicle Routing in B2B E-Commerce

This paper proposes a solution to the open vehicle routing problem with time windows(OVRPTW)considering third-party logistics(3PL).For the typical OVRPTW problem,most researchers consider time windows,capacity,routing limitations,vehicle destination,etc.Most researchers who previously investigated this problem assumed the vehicle would not return to the depot,but did not consider its final destination.However,by considering 3PL in the B2B e-commerce,the vehicle is required back to the nearest 3PL location with available space.This paper formulates the problem as a mixed integer linear programming(MILP)model with the objective of minimizing the total travel distance.A coordinate representation particle swarm optimization(CRPSO)algorithm is developed to obtain the best delivery sequencing and the capacity of each vehicle.Results of the computational study show that the proposed method provides solution within a reasonable amount of time.Finally,the result compared to PSO also indicates that the CRPSO is effective.

Solving open vehicle problem with time window by hybrid column generation algorithm

This paper addresses the open vehicle routing problem with time window(OVRPTW), where each vehicle does not need to return to the depot after completing the delivery task.The optimization objective is to minimize the total distance. This problem exists widely in real-life logistics distribution process.We propose a hybrid column generation algorithm(HCGA) for the OVRPTW, embedding both exact algorithm and metaheuristic. In HCGA, a label setting algorithm and an intelligent algorithm are designed to select columns from small and large subproblems, respectively. Moreover, a branch strategy is devised to generate the final feasible solution for the OVRPTW. The computational results show that the proposed algorithm has faster speed and can obtain the approximate optimal solution of the problem with 100 customers in a reasonable time.

Proppant transport law in multi-branched fractures induced by volume fracturing

To further clarify the proppant transport and placement law in multi-branched fractures induced by volume fracturing, proppant transport simulation experiments were performed with different fracture shapes, sand ratios, branched fracture opening time and injection sequence of proppants in varied particle sizes. The results show that the settled proppant height increases and the placement length decreases in main fractures as the fracturing fluid diverts gradually to the branched fractures at different positions. The flow rate in branched fractures is the main factor affecting their filling. The diverion to branched fractures leads to low flow rate and poor filling of far-wellbore branched fractures. The inclined fracture wall exerts a frictional force on the proppant to slow its settlement, thus enhancing the vertical proppant distribution in the fracture. The increase of sand ratio can improve the filling of near-wellbore main fracture and far-wellbore branched fracture and also increase the settled proppant height in main fracture. Due to the limitation of fracture height, when the sand ratio increases to a certain level, the increment of fracture filling decreases. When branched fracture is always open(or extends continuously), the supporting effect on the branched fractures is the best, but the proppant placement length within the main fractures is shorter. The fractures support effect is better when it is first closed and then opened(or extends in late stage) than when it is first opened and then closed(or extends in early stage). Injecting proppants with different particle sizes in a specific sequence can improve the placement lengths of main fracture and branched fracture. Injection of proppants in an ascending order of particle size improves the near-wellbore fracture filling, to a better extent than that in a descending order of particle size.

Calculation of vaporization pressure in laser penetration welding of 304 stainless steel

Many research results have revealed that vaporization pressure has important effects on the formation of the keyhole and molten pool during laser welding. In this paper, based on law of conservation of energy, an innovative physical model is found to calculate the vaporization pressure during laser welding. In this model, vaporization pressure can be calculated according to some characteristics of the spatter particle. These features include the size, velocity and displacement. They can be measured through images taken by high-speed camera. The periods of this pressure also measured by counting opening and closing time of the bottom keyholes. At this welding condition, the typical vaporization pressure is about 20 203 Pa and the period is about 6. 9 ms. The average opening time of bottom keyholes is about 4. 3 ms, and the closing time is about 2. 6 ms.

Heat Resistance of Rice Landrace D43 at Anthesis

Rice is extremely sensitive to high temperature, especially at the fowering stage. Identifying new germplasm and breeding heat-resistant rice varieties are therefore essential. After multi-year evaluations, a heat-resistant rice landrace D43 was identifed in our previous research. In this study, the relationship between heat resistance and flower opening time （FOT） was analyzed both in the field and in phytotron. The results showed that high temperature could accelerate fower opening of a range of rice varieties. The D43 showed early morning fowering （EMF） habit in different conditions, and the FOT of which was mainly concentrated in the period of 8：30~10：00 AM under high temperature. The spikelet fertility of D43 was relatively low after exposure to invariably high temperature during fower opening. However, the EMF habit of D43 was conducive to avoiding mid-day high temperature, and therefore increased the spikelet fertility under rising high temperature conditions in the feld and in phytotron. In addition, morphological traits including the anther dehiscence rate, the total number and germinated number of pollens on the stigma were signifcantly correlated with the spikelet fertility, and therefore they could be used to evaluate rice heat resistance at anthesis.

Time to Open the BRIC Door

MUCH has been said about South Africa joining the BRIC.Detractors say that the country is punching way above its weight. One of the biggest critics of the inclusion has been Jim O’Neill,Chairperson of Goldman Sachs Asset Management,who originally coined the term BRIC in 2001. O’Neill is on record as saying that he believes South Africa was invited for political reasons and not economical ones.He says South Africa’s working population is too small,and therefore had plumped for Nigeria to be a better choice to join the BRIC.South Africa’s total population is 50 million with Nigeria triple that at 150 million.

Effects of fuel combination and IVO timing on combustion and emissions of a dual-fuel HCCI combustion engine

This paper experimentally and numerically studied the effects of fuel combination and intake valve opening(IVO)timing on combustion and emissions of an n-heptane and gasoline dual-flicl homogeneous charge compression ignition(HCCI)engine.By changing the gasoline fraction(GF)from 0」to 0.5 and the IVO timing from-15°CA ATDC to 35°CA ATDC,the in-cylinder pressure traces,heat release behaviors,and HC and CO emissions were investigated.The results showed that both the increased GF and the retarded IVO timing delay the combustion phasing,lengthen the combustion duration,and decrease the peak heat release rate and the maximum average combustion temperature,whereas the IVO timing has a more obvious influence on combustion than GF.HC and CO emissions are decreased with reduced GF,advanced IVO timing and increased operational load.

Opening time and filling pattern of the Neoproterozoic Kangdian Rift Basin,western Yangtze Continent,South China

The Neoproterozoic Kangdian Rift Basin is a continental rift basin in the western Yangtze Continent.Determining its time of opening and subsequent filling pattern is an important aspect of understanding the formation and evolution of the Yangtze Continent,South China.The Luliang Formation is the early filling in the eastern part of this rift basin,and its deposition age and filling sequence are significant for studies of the regional stratigraphic correlation,opening time,and filling pattern of this basin.Having been correlated to the upper part of the Mesoproterozoic Kunyang Group or to the Neoproterozoic Chengjiang Formation,the age and regional stratigraphic correlation of the Luliang Formation have long been uncertain.This is due to a lack of reliable absolute age constraints.To address this issue,the first zircon SHRIMP U-Pb geochronology has been established for this formation,yielding two high-precision isotopic ages of 818.6±9.2 and 805±14 Ma for the tuff layers at the bottoms of the lower and upper members of the Luliang Formation,respectively.Given the error factor,the bottom age of the lower member of the Luliang Formation can be interpreted as ca.820 Ma,corresponding to the bottom age of the lower part of the Banxi Group,which is the early filling of the Neoproterozoic Xianggui Rift Basin,a representative basin of the Neoproterozoic rift basins in the Yangtze Continent,South China.The bottom age of the upper member of the Luliang Formation can be interpreted as ca.800±5 Ma,corresponding to the bottom age of the Chengjiang Formation in the western part of the Neoproterozoic Kangdian Rift Basin and also corresponding to the bottom age of the upper part of the Banxi Group in the Neoproterozoic Xianggui Rift Basin.These ages indicate that the Neoproterozoic Kangdian Rift Basin shares the same opening time and filling sequences as those of the other Neoproterozoic rift basins in South China.Basin analysis shows that the Neoproterozoic Kangdian Rift Basin is a typical half-graben basin,with its main boundary fault in the west and basin center in the east.This basin consisted of mini unidirectional half-graben basins in its juvenile stage and simplified to become a large united half-graben basin in its mature stage,i.e.,a supradetachment basin.