[Impacts of high temperature on maize production and adaptation measures in Northeast China].

Heat stress is one of the major agro-meteorological hazards that affect maize production significantly in the farming region of Northeast China (NFR). This study analyzed the temporal and spatial changes of the accumulated temperature above 30 °C (AT) and the accumulated days with the maximum temperature above 30 °C (AD) in different maize growing phases under global warming. It further evaluated the impacts of extreme heat on maize yield in different regions, and put forward some adaptation measures to cope with heat stress for maize production in NFR. The results showed that during 1961 to 2010, the temperature in the maize growing season increased significantly. The maximum temperature in flowering phase was much larger than that in the other growing phases. Temperature increased at rates of 0. 16, 0. 14, 0.06 and 0.23 °C every ten years in the whole maize growing season, vegetative growth phase (from sowing to 11 days before flowering), flowering phase, and late growth phase (from 11 days after flowering to maturity), respectively. The AT in the whole maize growing season increased in NFR during the last 50 years with the highest in the southwest part of NFR, and that in the vegetative growth phase increased faster than in the other two phases. The AD in the whole maize growing season increased during the last 50 years with the highest in the southwest part of NFR, and that in the late growth phase increased faster than in the other two phases. Heat stress negatively affected maize yield during the maize growing season, particularly in the vegetative growth phase. The heat stress in Songliao Plain was much higher in comparison to the other regions. The adaptation measures of maize production to heat stress in NFR included optimizing crop structure, cultivating high temperature resistant maize varieties, improving maize production management and developing the maize production system that could cope with disasters.

Enhancing spoof surface-plasmons with gradient metasurfaces.

The coupling between surface plasmons and free electrons may be used to amplify waves or accelerate particles. Nonetheless, such an interaction is usually weak due to the small interaction length or velocity mismatching. Here a mechanism for enhancing the coupling between plasmonic fields and relativistic electrons is proposed. By using a weakly gradient meta-surface that supports the spoof surface-plasmons (SSP), the phase velocity of SSP mode can be manipulated and quasi-velocity-matching between SSP and electrons may be achieved. The dynamic coupling equations suggest that, due to the strong coupling, the energy can be extracted continuously from the relativistic electrons. The sustained increase of SSP in a narrow frequency band has been demonstrated by the particle-in-cell simulations, where the output power of SSP attains 65 W at 1 THz (with 28 mm interaction length) and the coupling efficiency is enhanced by two orders of magnitude. The results may find potential applications for designing new compact and efficient THz wave sources.

Efficient synthesis of multicyclic spirooxindoles via a cascade Michael/Michael/oxa-Michael reaction of curcumins and isatylidene malononitriles.

A cascade Michael/Michael/oxa-Michael reaction between curcumins and isatylidene malononitriles has been developed. Multicyclic spirooxindoles were prepared in excellent yields and diastereoselectivities. DMAP was found to catalyze this transformation efficiently under mild reaction conditions.

Fanolike resonance due to plasmon excitation in linear chains of metal bumps.

We report the transmission anomaly in a modified slit grating, which is dressed, on the slit sidewalls, with the linear chains of metal bumps. An asymmetric lineshape, which is characteristic of the Fano resonance, has been found in a narrow frequency range of the spectrum. The effect can be attributed to the interference between nonresonant background transmission and resonant plasmonic wave excitation in the linear chains. The dispersion of chain plasmon mode has been suggested, enabling the dynamic tuning of spectral position of the Fano effect.

Catalytic highly enantioselective alkylation of aldehydes with deactivated grignard reagents and synthesis of bioactive intermediate secondary arylpropanols.

Because of the high reactivity of Grignard reagents, a direct, highly enantioselective Grignard reaction with aldehydes has rarely been disclosed. In this report, Grignard reagents were introduced with bis[2-(N,N'-dimethylamino)ethyl] ether (BDMAEE) to effectively deactivate their reactivity; thus, a highly enantioselective alkylation of aldehydes with Grignard reagents resulted from catalysis by (S)-BINOL-Ti(O(i)Pr)(2). It is thought that BDMAEE chelates the in situ generated salts MgBr(2) from a Schlenk equilibrium of RMgBr and Mg(O(i)Pr)Br from transmetalation of RMgBr with Ti(O(i)Pr)(4). The Mg salts can actively promote the undesired background reaction to give the racemate. The chelation definitely inhibits the catalytic activity of the Mg salts, suppresses the unwanted background reaction, and enables the highly enantioselective addition catalyzed by (S)-BINOL-Ti(O(i)Pr)(2). Consequently, the Mg salt byproducts were not removed, less Ti(O(i)Pr)(4) than RMgBr was used, and extremely low temperature was avoided in this catalytic asymmetric reaction in comparison with the research disclosed before. Various alkyl Grignard reagents were investigated in the asymmetric addition, and (i)BuMgBr resulted in the highest enantioselectivity, >99%. Furthermore, important intermediate secondary arylpropanols for chiral drug synthesis were effectively synthesized with high enantioselectivity, up to 97%, in one step.

Long-wavelength optical properties of a plasmonic crystal.

The optical properties of a plasmonic crystal composed of gold nanorod particles have been studied. Because of the strong coupling between the incident light and vibrations of free electrons, the long-wavelength optical properties such as the dielectric abnormality and polariton excitation etc., which were suggested originally in ionic crystals, can also be present in the plasmonic crystal. The results show that the plasmonic and ionic lattices may share a common physics.

Highly catalytic asymmetric addition of deactivated alkyl grignard reagents to aldehydes.

Generally used and highly reactive RMgBr reagents were effectively deactivated by bis[2-(N,N-dimethylamino)ethyl] ether and then were employed in the highly enantioselective addition of Grignard reagents to aldehydes. The reaction was catalyzed by the complex of commercially available (S)-BINOL and Ti(O(i-)Pr)(4) under mild conditions. Compared with the other observed Grignard reagents, alkyl Grignard reagents showed higher enantioselectivity and they achieved >99% ee.

Study of plasmon resonance in a gold nanorod with an LC circuit model.

Gold nanorod has generated great research interest due to its tunable longitudinal plasmon resonance. However, little progress has been made in the understanding of the effect. A major reason is that, except for the metallic spheres and ellipsoids, the interaction between light and nanoparticles is generally insoluble. In this paper, a new scheme has been proposed to study the plasmon resonance of gold nanorod, in which the nanorod is modeled as an LC circuit with an inductance and a capacitance. The obtained resonance wavelength is dependent on not only aspect ratio but also rod radius, suggesting the importance of self-inductance and the breakdown of linear scaling. Moreover, the cross sections for light scattering and absorption have been deduced analytically, giving rise to a Lorentzian line-shape for the extinction spectrum. The result provides us with new insight into the phenomenon.