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The influence of furnace length on several key performance indicators of a reheating furnace such as the fuel consumption, thermal efficiency and through-thickness temperature uniformity of a discharged slab was investigated. Energy balance equations of radiation set up by the zone method were solved by coupling them with the heat conduction equations of the slab. The zone model was validated by actual data collected during an instrumented slab trial. The simulation results showed that the model predictions were in good agreement with actual measurements. Under the premise that the throughput rate and the total fuel consumption were fixed, every additional meter of the preheating zone length increased the slab discharge temperature by about 10.75 °C and decreased the exhaust temperature by about 13.29 °C, but made no change in the section temperature difference in the slab at discharge; every additional meter of the soaking zone length decreased the section temperature difference in the slab at discharge by about 2.88 °C, but made a somewhat gentle change in the slab discharge temperature and exhaust temperature. For the existing furnace, the actual length was not suitable to be changed, so the relative length was defined as representing the actual length, which could be indirectly changed by adjusting the current fuel consumption. After optimization, the relative lengths of the preheating zone and soaking zone increased by five meters and one meter, respectively, while the relative lengths of the first and second heating zones decreased by five meters and one meter, respectively, and the section temperature difference in the slab at discharge, exhaust temperature and fuel consumption simultaneously decreased.

Plant reoviruses are thought to replicate and assemble within cytoplasmic, nonmembranous structures called viroplasms. Here, we established continuous cell cultures of the white-backed planthopper (Sogatella furcifera Horváth) to investigate the mecha-nisms for the genesis and maturation of the viroplasm induced by Southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus (SRBSDV), a fijivirus in the family Reoviridae, during infection of its insect vector. Electron and confocal microscopy revealed that the viroplasm con-sisted of a granular region, where viral RNAs and nonstructural proteins P6 and P9-1 accumulated, and a filamentous region, where viral RNAs, progeny cores, viral particles, as well as nonstructural proteins P5 and P6 accumulated. Our results suggested that the filamentous viroplasm matrix was the site for the assembly of progeny virions. Because viral RNAs were produced by assembled core particles within the filamentous viroplasm matrix, we propose that these viral RNAs might be transported to the granular viroplasm matrix. P5 formed filamentous inclusions and P9-1 formed granular inclusions in the absence of viral infec-tion, suggesting that the filamentous and granular viroplasm matrices were formed primarily by P5 and P9-1, respectively. P6 was apparently recruited in the whole viroplasm matrix by direct interaction with P9-1 and P5. Thus, the present results sug-gested that P5, P6, and P9-1 are collectively required for the genesis and maturation of the filamentous and granular viroplasm matrix induced by SRBSDV infection. Based on these results, we propose a new model to explain the genesis and maturation of the viroplasms induced by fijiviruses in insect vector cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]