Na+ and/or Cl− Toxicities Determine Salt Sensitivity in Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.), Mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek), Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.), and Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

Grain legumes are important crops, but they are salt sensitive. This research dissected the responses of four (sub)tropical grain legumes to ionic components (Na⁺ and/or Cl⁻) of salt stress. Soybean, mungbean, cowpea, and common bean were subjected to NaCl, Na⁺ salts (without Cl⁻), Cl⁻ salts (without Na⁺), and a “high cation” negative control for 57 days. Growth, leaf gas exchange, and tissue ion concentrations were assessed at different growing stages. For soybean, NaCl and Na⁺ salts impaired seed dry mass (30% of control), more so than Cl⁻ salts (60% of control). All treatments impaired mungbean growth, with NaCl and Cl⁻ salt treatments affecting seed dry mass the most (2% of control). For cowpea, NaCl had the greatest adverse impact on seed dry mass (20% of control), while Na⁺ salts and Cl⁻ salts had similar intermediate effects (~45% of control). For common bean, NaCl had the greatest adverse effect on seed dry mass (4% of control), while Na⁺ salts and Cl⁻ salts impaired seed dry mass to a lesser extent (~45% of control). NaCl and Na⁺ salts (without Cl⁻) affected the photosynthesis (P_n) of soybean more than Cl⁻ salts (without Na⁺) (50% of control), while the reverse was true for mungbean. Na⁺ salts (without Cl⁻), Cl⁻ salts (without Na⁺), and NaCl had similar adverse effects on P_n of cowpea and common bean (~70% of control). In conclusion, salt sensitivity is predominantly determined by Na⁺ toxicity in soybean, Cl⁻ toxicity in mungbean, and both Na⁺ and Cl⁻ toxicity in cowpea and common bean.     

Diabetes during Pregnancy: A Maternal Disease Complicating the Course of Pregnancy with Long-Term Deleterious Effects on the Offspring. A Clinical Review

In spite of the huge progress in the treatment of diabetes mellitus, we are still in the situation that both pregestational (PGDM) and gestational diabetes (GDM) impose an additional risk to the embryo, fetus, and course of pregnancy. PGDM may increase the rate of congenital malformations, especially cardiac, nervous system, musculoskeletal system, and limbs. PGDM may interfere with fetal growth, often causing macrosomia, but in the presence of severe maternal complications, especially nephropathy, it may inhibit fetal growth. PGDM may also induce a variety of perinatal complications such as stillbirth and perinatal death, cardiomyopathy, respiratory morbidity, and perinatal asphyxia. GDM that generally develops in the second half of pregnancy induces similar but generally less severe complications. Their severity is higher with earlier onset of GDM and inversely correlated with the degree of glycemic control. Early initiation of GDM might even cause some increase in the rate of congenital malformations. Both PGDM and GDM may cause various motor and behavioral neurodevelopmental problems, including an increased incidence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Most complications are reduced in incidence and severity with the improvement in diabetic control. Mechanisms of diabetic-induced damage in pregnancy are related to maternal and fetal hyperglycemia, enhanced oxidative stress, epigenetic changes, and other, less defined, pathogenic mechanisms.     

焊接热影响区微观结构演化的蒙特卡罗计算机模拟方法

焊接热影响区是影响焊接性能的主要区域。焊接热影响区的晶粒长大常常导致焊接热影响区成为性能薄弱的环节，对焊接热影响区晶粒长大的研究一直是焊接接头的重要研究课题。焊接热影响区微观结构演化与诸多因素密切相关，是一个复杂的过程。运用适当的计算机方法进行模拟，完成对晶粒生长的完全预测，具有重要的意义，可以为优化焊接工艺参数，提高焊接质量提供依据。在此对在模拟焊接热影响区微观结构的演化时采用的基本方法进行综述。     

冠脉造影图像血管增强及减影的优化方法

针对于传统X射线冠状动脉造影序列图像的血管的减影包含严重伪影以及减影结果不完整等问题,提出了冠脉造影图像血管增强以及减影优化的方法。基于冠脉造影序列图像的时空特性,将相同时相的图像匹配进行减影,得到初步减影结果。针对初步减影部分缺失,对有导管遮挡没有被识别的单根血管进行二次增强处理。增强方法为:运用区域生长确定被导管遮挡的血管部分,以此部分为基础按规定模板扩展,形成覆盖导管区域,区分血管和导管,改变两部分的灰度值,增大对比度。最后采用灰度线性变换、中值滤波等步骤,得到优化的冠脉血管减影。实验表明,本减影及优化方法可以从冠脉造影序列图中提取较为完整清晰的冠脉血管并且具有很好的可控性和鲁棒性。     

CO2体积分数对燃煤细颗粒物在水汽环境中凝结长大的影响

为研究燃煤烟气中CO₂体积分数对细颗粒物在水汽环境中凝结长大效果的影响,建立了计算模型并搭建了实验平台,分别从理论计算和实验研究两方面探讨了CO₂体积分数对细颗粒物凝结长大效果的影响。结果表明:随着CO₂体积分数升高,混合烟气的热、质扩散系数均降低,生长管内平均过饱和度增加,细颗粒物长大效果明显;管壁温度越高,随着CO₂体积分数的提高,细颗粒物粒径越大。     

Contrasting Rootstock-Mediated Growth and Yield Responses in Salinized Pepper Plants (Capsicum annuum L.) Are Associated with Changes in the Hormonal Balance

Salinity provokes an imbalance of vegetative to generative growth, thus impairing crop productivity. Unlike breeding strategies, grafting is a direct and quick alternative to improve salinity tolerance in horticultural crops, through rebalancing plant development. Providing that hormones play a key role in plant growth and development and stress responses, we hypothesized that rootstock-mediated reallocation of vegetative growth and yield under salinity was associated with changes in the hormonal balance. To test this hypothesis, the hybrid pepper variety (Capsicum annuum L. “Gacela F1”) was either non-grafted or grafted onto three commercial rootstocks (Creonte, Atlante, and Terrano) and plants were grown in a greenhouse under control (0 mM NaCl) and moderate salinity (35 mM NaCl) conditions. Differential vegetative growth versus fruit yield responses were induced by rootstock and salinity. Atlante strongly increased shoot and root fresh weight with respect to the non-grafted Gacela plants associated with improved photosynthetic rate and K⁺ homeostasis under salinity. The invigorating effect of Atlante can be explained by an efficient balance between cytokinins (CKs) and abscisic acid (ABA). Creonte improved fruit yield and maintained the reproductive to vegetative ratio under salinity as a consequence of its capacity to induce biomass reallocation and to avoid Na⁺ accumulation in the shoot. The physiological responses associated with yield stability in Creonte were mediated by the inverse regulation of CKs and the ethylene precursor 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid. Finally, Terrano limited the accumulation of gibberellins in the shoot thus reducing plant height. Despite scion compactness induced by Terrano, both vegetative and reproductive biomass were maintained under salinity through ABA-mediated control of water relations and K⁺ homeostasis. Our data demonstrate that the contrasting developmental and physiological responses induced by the rootstock genotype in salinized pepper plants were critically mediated by hormones. This will be particularly important for rootstock breeding programs to improve salinity tolerance by focusing on hormonal traits.     

The “Angiogenic Switch” and Functional Resources in Cyclic Sports Athletes

Regular physical activity in cyclic sports can influence the so-called “angiogenic switch”, which is considered as an imbalance between proangiogenic and anti-angiogenic molecules. Disruption of the synthesis of angiogenic molecules can be caused by local changes in tissues under the influence of excessive physical exertion and its consequences, such as chronic oxidative stress and associated hypoxia, metabolic acidosis, sports injuries, etc. A review of publications on signaling pathways that activate and inhibit angiogenesis in skeletal muscles, myocardium, lung, and nervous tissue under the influence of intense physical activity in cyclic sports. Materials: We searched PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Clinical keys, and e-LIBRARY databases for full-text articles published from 2000 to 2020, using keywords and their combinations. Results: An important aspect of adaptation to training loads in cyclic sports is an increase in the number of capillaries in muscle fibers, which improves the metabolism of skeletal muscles and myocardium, as well as nervous and lung tissue. Recent studies have shown that myocardial endothelial cells not only respond to hemodynamic forces and paracrine signals from neighboring cells, but also take an active part in heart remodeling processes, stimulating the growth and contractility of cardiomyocytes or the production of extracellular matrix proteins in myofibroblasts. As myocardial vascularization plays a central role in the transition from adaptive heart hypertrophy to heart failure, further study of the signaling mechanisms involved in the regulation of angiogenesis in the myocardium is important in sports practice. The study of the “angiogenic switch” problem in the cerebrovascular and cardiovascular systems allows us to claim that the formation of new vessels is mediated by a complex interaction of all growth factors. Although the lungs are one of the limiting systems of the body in cyclic sports, their response to high-intensity loads and other environmental stresses is often overlooked. Airway epithelial cells are the predominant source of several growth factors throughout lung organogenesis and appear to be critical for normal alveolarization, rapid alveolar proliferation, and normal vascular development. There are many controversial questions about the role of growth factors in the physiology and pathology of the lungs. The presented review has demonstrated that when doing sports, it is necessary to give a careful consideration to the possible positive and negative effects of growth factors on muscles, myocardium, lung tissue, and brain. Primarily, the “angiogenic switch” is important in aerobic sports (long distance running). Conclusions: Angiogenesis is a physiological process of the formation of new blood capillaries, which play an important role in the functioning of skeletal muscles, myocardium, lung, and nervous tissue in athletes. Violation of the “angiogenic switch” as a balance between proangiogenic and anti-angiogenic molecules can lead to a decrease in the functional resources of the nervous, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems in athletes and, as a consequence, to a decrease in sports performance.     

Numerical simulation of microstructure formation ofAZ91 using mCA method

A stochastic model for simulating the microstructure formation of Mg alloy AZ91 during solidification was developed based on the finite element method（FEM） for macroscopic model of heat transfer calculation and a modified Cellular Automaton （mCA） for microscopic modeling of nucleation, growth of crystal. In this model, the effect of solute redistribution, interface curvature and preferred orientation was considered. A numerical simulation was developed with C＋＋ program language. The computation was carded out to understand the effect of varying processing parameters, such as nucleation parameters and heat transfer coefficient, on the microstructure formation of AZ91. The result of simulation was displayed on screen.     

An extension of Wagner's analysis of competing scale formation

Wagner's criterion to predict the minimum concentration of solute (N _B(min) ⁰ )necessary for the exclusive formation of its scale has been modified to incorporate both thermodynamic and kinetics requirements. The analysis presented here involves a receding alloy/scale interface for which the composition of the alloy at this interface is governed by thermodynamic equilibrium between the two competing scale phases and the base alloy. This is a more rigorous analysis than that of Wagner's, who assumed the alloy/scale interface to be immobile and the solute composition at the interface to be zero. A comparison is made between values of N _B(min) ⁰ found experimentally and those predicted by Wagner's and the present criterion for a number of alloy-gas systems. It is shown that the criterion developed in the present analysis can often provide a better approximation of the actual N _B(min) ⁰ .The expressions derived from the present analysis have been extended also in a semiquantitative manner to provide a criterion for the minimum amount of solute in the alloy required for the transition from internal to external scale formation.     

晶界碳化物对Fe-Cr15-Ni25合金蠕变裂纹扩展行为的影响SCIEI

在两种不同晶界状态下研究了Fe-Cr15-Ni25合金的蠕变裂纹扩展行为。单相合金的空洞在晶界三叉点处形核,而对晶界上有碳化物析出的合金,空洞在晶界碳化物上形核。晶界碳化物阻碍了空洞的长大和连接,因而大大提高了蠕变裂纹扩展抗力。