Evaluating the sustainable cultivation of 'Fuji' apples: suitable crop load and the impact of chemical thinning agents on fruit quality and transcription

The optimal load capacity provides sustainable production and high quality in 'Fuji' apple production. Determining optimal crop loads with simple and affordable thinning methods is critical for apple. We set different load capacities on different apple tree rootstocks and evaluated their effects on tree development, fruit yield and quality. The optimal load capacity for vigorous stock, dwarfing rootstock, and dwarfing interstock were 240, 90, and 100 for apples above 80 mm in diameter, respectively. To explore the optimal strategies of diverse fruit thinning agents (carbaryl, 6-BA, NAA, and Metamitron) used in the 'Fuji' apple tree, we assess from thinning agents' types, varying spraying concentrations, and application time in the most widely used dwarfing interstock. The results showed that the best use of fruit thinning agents is 2,000 mg/L carbaryl at 10 d after flowering could significantly reduce fruit set rate and improve the fruit quality in the dwarfing interstock. During the research, only the fruit thinner NAA treatment suppresses fruit development. Thus, we performed the transcriptome analysis on the NAA-treated and control fruits at 60 (FS1), 90 (FS2), 120 (FS3), and 150 (FS4) days after flowering stages to investigate the potential transcriptional regulations of NAA on fruit development and ripening. Transcriptome results showed that genes related to fruit expansion (expansin A15, expansin B3), phytohormone-related genes (HVA22C, PRE1, AHP1, etc.), fruit coloring-related genes (PAL), and many ripening-related transcription factors (EIN3, ERF, ARF, etc.) might be regulated by exogenous NAA. Our results provide an important reference for the sustainable production and optimal use of fruit thinning agents

In Situ Construction of TiC-Ti3SiC2 Gradient Hybrid Interphase Coated SiC Fibers for Suppression of Specular Reflection and Non-Specular Scattering

TiC-Ti3SiC2 gradient hybrid interphase on the surface of SiC fibers was successfully obtained through the molten salt method. The electromagnetic parameters of the prepared samples can be accurately controlled by adjusting the reaction temperature. A significant bimodal effect is observed in electromagnetic parameters patterns, corresponding to the double interface layer. TiC-Ti3SiC2 gradient hybrid interphase plays a dominant role in impedance matching, as well as in the attenuation layer through multi-interfacial polarization and conduction loss. Through the co-evaluation of the suppression of specular reflection and non-specular scattering properties of the samples, the SiC fiber with the TiC-Ti3SiC2 gradient hybrid interphase is expected to be a high temperature resistant radar absorbing material for future stealth aircraft.</jats:p

A feasible method to improve the protection ability of metal by functionalized carbon dots as environment-friendly corrosion inhibitor

A green inhibitor of N-doped carbon dots (N-CDs) was obtained from the reaction between citric acid and L-histidine. Then, a series of professional equipment was selected to evaluate their structure and corrosion protective behaviors in HCl solution. Quantum chemistry and molecular dynamics were chosen to discuss the inhibition mechanism of N-CDs. Electrochemical results showed that the N-CDs exhibited super corrosion protection to metal because it could form dense and ordered adsorption film on metal surface. Compared with citric acid and L-histidine inhibitors, the inhibition efficiency of N-CDs was more than 90% at 100 mg L-1. Based on the calculation of quantum chemistry and molecular dynamics, the low energy gap (Delta E = 0.0680 eV) and high binding energy (E-binding = 190.85 kJ.mol(-1)) of N-CDs indicated the strong chemisorption on metal substrate, which fully explained the inhibition mechanism of N-CDs at molecular/atomic level. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved