High-Quality Genome of the Medicinal Plant Strobilanthes cusia Provides Insights Into the Biosynthesis of Indole Alkaloids.

Strobilanthes cusia (Nees) Kuntze is an important plant used to process the traditional Chinese herbal medicines "Qingdai" and "Nanbanlangen". The key active ingredients are indole alkaloids (IAs) that exert antibacterial, antiviral, and antitumor pharmacological activities and serve as natural dyes. We assembled the S. cusia genome at the chromosome level through combined PacBio circular consensus sequencing (CCS) and Hi-C sequencing data. Hi-C data revealed a draft genome size of 913.74 Mb, with 904.18 Mb contigs anchored into 16 pseudo-chromosomes. Contig N50 and scaffold N50 were 35.59 and 68.44 Mb, respectively. Of the 32,974 predicted protein-coding genes, 96.52% were functionally annotated in public databases. We predicted 675.66 Mb repetitive sequences, 47.08% of sequences were long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons. Moreover, 983 Strobilanthes-specific genes (SSGs) were identified for the first time, accounting for ~2.98% of all protein-coding genes. Further, 245 putative centromeric and 29 putative telomeric fragments were identified. The transcriptome analysis identified 2,975 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) enriched in phenylpropanoid, flavonoid, and triterpenoid biosynthesis. This systematic characterization of key enzyme-coding genes associated with the IA pathway and basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor family formed a network from the shikimate pathway to the indole alkaloid synthesis pathway in S. cusia. The high-quality S. cusia genome presented herein is an essential resource for the traditional Chinese medicine genomics studies and understanding the genetic underpinning of IA biosynthesis.

Wear-Resistant TiC Strengthening CoCrNi-Based High-Entropy Alloy Composite.

In order to improve the wear resistance of CoCrNi alloy, TiC was introduced into the alloy and wear-resistant CoCrNi/(TiC)x composites were designed. The effects of TiC contents on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and wear resistance of CoCrNi matrix were investigated, respectively. It was found that the TiC produced dissolution and precipitation process in CoCrNi alloy, and a large number of needled and blocky TiC particles were precipitated in the composites. The compressive yield strength of CoCrNi/(TiC)x composites increased with the increasing TiC content. Compared with the CoCrNi alloy, the yield strength of CoCrNi/(TiC)x composites increased from 108 to 1371 MPa, and the corresponding strengthening mechanism contributed to the second phase strengthening. The wear resistance of CoCrNi/(TiC)x composites was also greatly improved due to the strengthening of TiC. Compared with the CoCrNi alloy, the specific wear rate of CoCrNi/(TiC)1.0 alloy was reduced by about 77%. The wear resistance of CoCrNi/(TiC)x composites was enhanced with the increasing content of TiC addition.

Differing effects of inorganic and organic arsenic on uptake and distribution of multi-elements in Rice grain.

Arsenic (As) pollution can lead to an element imbalance in rice. A hydroponic study was carried out to examine the influence of inorganic (arsenate) and organic (dimethylarsinic acid (DMA)) arsenic compounds on the concentration and distribution of iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and sulfur (S) in rice caryopsis at maturity using laser confocal microscopy and synchrotron X-ray fluorescence (SXRF). Results showed that treatments with inorganic (iAs) and organic (DMA) arsenic did not change the distribution characteristics of the above elements in rice grains. Fe, Mn, and iAs were mainly limited to the ventral ovular vascular trace, while Cu, Zn, and DMA extended into the endosperm. This implies that milling processes are likely to remove a majority of Fe, Mn, and iAs, but not Cu, Zn, and DMA. With regard to the average fluorescent intensity of the rice endosperm, iAs exposure caused significant reductions in Mn (53%), Fe (40%), Cu (27%), and Zn (74%) while DMA treatments decreased Mn (49%), Fe (37%), and Zn (21%). Compared with DMA, iAs exerted more influence on the reduction of these elements in rice caryopsis. In addition, the elemental analysis revealed a significant 12.7% increase for N and 8% reduction for S in DMA-treated rice caryopsis while a significant decrease of 24.0% for S in iAs-exposed rice caryopsis. These findings suggest that Cu, Zn, and S are more easily impacted by iAs, while N is mostly affected by DMA.

Optimizing selection of the test color sample set for the CIE 2017 color fidelity index.

We have developed a new method for selecting the test color sample set (TCSS) used to calculate CIE 2017 color fidelity index (CIE-Rf). Taking a Large Set as a starting point, a new optimized color sample set (OCSS) is obtained by clustering analysis. Taking metamerism phenomenon into account, spectra clustering is performed within the class obtained from color appearance attributes clustering. The CIE-Rf of 1202 light sources are calculated and analyzed by taking the Large Set, OCSS and CIE color evaluation sample set (CIE CESS-99) as TCSS. Through analyzing CIE-Rf, the performance of the OCSS is further investigated. The results show that the clustering analysis method developed in this paper can be well used in selecting test color samples, and the obtained OCSS can represent Large Set well and be better used for color fidelity metrics of light sources.

Simple and green fabrication process of nano silver conductive ink and the application in frequency selective surface.

A simple and green method for fabrication of nano silver conductive ink was developed for use in frequency selective surface (FSS). The hydrogen peroxide and ethyl cellulose were used as reducing agents and dispersants to synthesize silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), and the ethyl cellulose was be used as binders of nano silver conductive ink eventually. The reaction byproducts of hydrogen peroxide are water and oxygen, the synthesized Ag NPs were be cleaned using purified water and alcohol without centrifugation and drying process. The conductive ink with 30 wt% silver content was formulated with the Ag NPs capped with ethyl cellulose, solvent and additive, the residual water and alcohol were be evaporated using vacuum distillation process. The prepared Ag NPs were characterized by SEM, XRD, TGA and FT-IR. The viscosity and surface tension of Ag NPs ink were tested, and the conductive ink was inkjet printed on Polyimide (PI) film to fabricate the FSS. The results showed the printed FSS had reflection resonances at 16.5 GHz and nulls deeper than the required -20 dB level, with depths of -32 dB.

Different-Shaped Ultrafine MoNbTaW HEA Powders Prepared via Mechanical Alloying.

Different-shaped ultrafine MoNbTaW high-entropy alloy powders were firstly prepared by a convenient mechanical alloying method. The phase composition and microstructure of the powders were characterized. The powders are ultrafine with nano-sized grains and a good homogeneous microstructure. All the powders have a single body-centered cubic solid solution phase and form the high-entropy alloy during mechanical alloying. These powders with different shapes are quite attractive for developing high-performance MoNbTaW high-entropy alloy bulk and coatings combined with a following sintering, spraying, or additive manufacturing technique.