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The process-based xylem formation model is an important tool for understanding the radial growth process of trees and its influencing factors. While numerous xylogenesis models for conifers have been developed, there is a lack of models available for non-coniferous trees. In this study, we present a process-based model designed for xylem formation and ring growth in broad-leaved trees, which we call the Broad-leaved Tree-Ring (BTR) model. Climate factors, including daylength, air temperature, soil moisture and vapor pressure deficit, drive daily xylem cell production (fibers and vessels) and growth (enlargement, wall deposition). The model calculates the total cell area in the simulated zone to determine the annual ring width. The results demonstrate that the BTR model can basically simulate inter-annual variation in ring width and intra-annual changes in vessel and fiber cell formation in Fraxinus mandshurica (ring-porous) and Betula platyphylla (diffuse-porous). The BTR model is a potential tool for understanding how different trees form wood and how climate change influences this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An asymmetric pyrene derivative was designed as a dye with D-π-A structure. This dye was synthesized by the following steps (acylation reaction, Friedele Crafts acylation reaction, bromination reaction, Hagiharae Sonogashira cross-coupling reaction, and knoevenagel condensation reactions). The structure of the dye was analyzed and identified by FT-IR and 1H-NMR. The dye-sensitized solar cells were prepared with the dye and TiO2 electrode. Futhermore, the I-V curves and IPCE curves of the dye-sensitized solar cells were investigated detailedly. The result showed that the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the dye-sensitized solar cells reached 33.5% of N719 dye cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An ontology for the structured storage, retrieval, and analysis of data on lithium‐ion battery materials and electrode‐to‐cell production is presented. It provides a logical structure that is mapped onto a digital architecture and used to visualize, correlate, and make predictions in battery production, research, and development. Materials and processes are specified using a predetermined terminology; a chain of unit processes (steps) connects raw materials and products (items) of battery cell production. The ontology enables the attachment of analytical methods (characterization methods) to items. Workshops and interviews with experts in battery materials and production processes are conducted to ensure that the structure is conformable both for industrial‐scale and laboratory‐scale data generation and implementation. Raw materials and intermediate products are identified and defined for all steps to the final battery cell. Steps and items are defined based on current standard materials and process chains using terms that are in common use. Alternative structures and the connection of the ontology to other existing ontologies are discussed. The contribution provides a pragmatic, accessible way to unify the storage of materials‐oriented lithium‐ion battery production data. It aids the linkage of such data with domain knowledge and the automation of data analysis in production and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims Upscaling carbon allocation requires knowledge of the variability at the scales at which data are collected and applied. Trees exhibit different growth rates and timings of wood formation. However, the factors explaining these differences remain undetermined, making samplings and estimations of the growth dynamics a complicated task, habitually based on technical rather than statistical reasons. This study explored the variability in xylem phenology among 159 balsam firs [ Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.]. Methods Wood microcores were collected weekly from April to October 2018 in a natural stand in Quebec, Canada, to detect cambial activity and wood formation timings. We tested spatial autocorrelation, tree size and cell production rates as explanatory variables of xylem phenology. We assessed sample size and margin of error for wood phenology assessment at different confidence levels. Key Results Xylem formation lasted between 40 and 110 d, producing between 12 and 93 cells. No effect of spatial proximity or size of individuals was detected on the timings of xylem phenology. Trees with larger cell production rates showed a longer growing season, starting xylem differentiation earlier and ending later. A sample size of 23 trees produced estimates of xylem phenology at a confidence level of 95 % with a margin of error of 1 week. Conclusions This study highlighted the high variability in the timings of wood formation among trees within an area of 1 km2. The correlation between the number of new xylem cells and the growing season length suggests a close connection between the processes of wood formation and carbon sequestration. However, the causes of the observed differences in xylem phenology remain partially unresolved. We point out the need to carefully consider sample size when assessing xylem phenology to explore the reasons underlying this variability and to allow reliable upscaling of carbon allocation in forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Boreal forest ecosystems are a crucial element in the global climate balance. In harsh environments functioning lateral meristems of trees are more regulated by the exogenous (included local climate) than endogenous factors. This information is encoded in the tree-ring structure which can be effectively decomposed by the process-based tree-ring growth simulations. Moreover, the process-based modeling can be used to describe non-linear processes linking climate variables with tree-ring formation. In this study, we applied the Vaganov-Shashkin model to simulate seasonal cell production and cell enlargement of Larix gmelinii Rupr. (Rupr.) growing in the permafrost zone of Central Siberia. We developed a procedure for calculating the radial cell diameter based on specific Gompertz function combined with the "instantaneous tracheidogram" approach to estimate effectively seasonal cell production and timing of cell enlargement under climate control. Simulated cell number and cell size matched well with direct xylogenesis observations. The developed procedure demonstrate strong relationships between seasonal simulated growth rate and measured tracheid radial size (the average correlation is 0.64, p < 0.01). A highly significant correlation (p < 0.01) between simulated and observed cell profiles was obtained for 71% of the growing seasons over the period 1950–2011. The strong exponential relationship (R 2 = 0.67) was obtained between the day of the year (DOY) when cambial cell transfers into enlargement zone and simulated time intervals of cell enlargement. Based on the strong exponential relationship it was possible to reproduce the basic pattern of the observed tracheidograms over 1950–2011 with a systematic overestimation of final cell sizes at the beginning of the growing season, which will be possible to eliminate by using more anatomical data (trees) and longer period. The proposed approach of simulating intra-annual cell dynamics (cell production) has a great potential for studying how climate affects tree-ring formation. [Display omitted] • VS-model is used to estimate cell production and enlargement of larch trees growing in permafrost zone. • The effective procedure for estimation the radial cell enlarging and its timing under climate control was developed. • Low growth rates at the beginning of the growing season correspond to a longer period of appearance of cambial cells in the enlargement zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Five families of organ growth regulating genes were identified and evaluated in apple in relation to fruit growth. • Two MdARGOS genes were identified as associated with fine-tuning cell production during apple fruit growth. • Two MdCNR genes were negatively associated with regulation of cell production during early fruit development. • A MdGRF-MdGIF module was associated with spatio-temporal regulation of cell production during early fruit development. Fruit size is a commercially valuable trait that is determined by the extent of fruit growth. In apple, (Malus × domestica Borkh.), early fruit growth is facilitated by intensive cell production, but mechanisms regulating these processes are not well understood. In this study, members of five gene families involved in growth regulation were identified and evaluated in apple: AUXIN-REGULATED GENE INVOLVED IN ORGAN SIZE (ARGOS); CELL NUMBER REGULATOR (CNR); GROWTH REGULATING FACTOR (GRF); GRF INTERACTING FACTOR (GIF); and KLUH. MdARGOS1 and MdARGOS2 transcript abundance was higher during early fruit growth but was also enhanced by up to 18-fold under conditions of reduced cell production during flower and fruit development, indicating that their gene products play complex roles in regulating growth mechanisms during early development. MdCNR20a and MdCNR20b transcript abundance decreased during early fruit growth and increased during the transition from cell production to cell expansion. MdCNR20a transcript abundance was negatively correlated with the relative cell production rate (RCPR; ρ = - 0.82; P = 0.002), was enhanced in response to shading, and reduced in response to lower fruit load, indicating that it's gene product negatively regulates cell production and early fruit growth. Transcript abundance of MdGRF11 and MdGRF16 was greater during cell production-mediated fruit growth, and higher in the cortex than in the pith. MdGIF3 transcript abundance was greater during early fruit development, higher in the cortex, enhanced under reduced fruit load conditions, and strongly correlated with RCPR (ρ = 0.93; P < 0.0001). Further, it was correlated with that of MdGRF11 and MdGRF16 (ρ = 0.87 and 0.89, respectively; P < 0.0001), indicating that the GRF11/16-GIF3 module is co-regulated and involved in spatio-temporal regulation of cell production and fruit growth. Transcript abundance of MdKLUH1 was low and not consistent with a role in regulating cell production and fruit growth. Together, this study demonstrates coordinated control of cell production during early fruit growth by multiple regulatory components, identifies candidates for functional characterization, and provides potential tools for enhancing growth of the apple fruit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]