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Based on the experiment of measuring panicles and leaves, air temperature, and humidity above the canopy of rice cultivars after heading in 2005 and 2006, we investigated the temperature difference (TD) between the air and organs of rice plant and its relationship with spikelet fertility. The results showed that TDs between the air and organs of rice varied with air temperature, air humidity, and plant type. For similar air humidity, TDs were lower at the air temperature of 28.5℃ than at higher temperature of 35.5℃, whereas for the same air temperature, the TDs decreased as the air humidity increased. TDs were also affected by plant type of the cultivars. Erect panicle cultivars showed higher TDs than those with droopy panicles under similar climatic conditions, and cultivars with panicles above flag leaf (PAFL) had higher TDs than those with panicles below the flag leaf (PBFL). Cultivars grown in a location with lower air humidity and higher temperature, such as Taoyuan, China, had higher spikelet fertility than those in higher humidity under the similar air temperature during the grain filling stage. This is partially attributed to the larger TDs under the lower humidity. Row- spacing and the ratio of basal-tillering to panicle-spikelet fertilizer showed a significant influence on TD and subsequently on spikelet fertility, suggesting the possibility of increasing spikelet fertility by agronomic management.

Chronic elevation in sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) is associated with the development and maintenance of certain types of hypertension1 and contributes to the progression of chronic heart failure (CHF).2 The mechanisms involved in sympathetic dysfunction in these disorders appear to be complex and multifactorial. A unified hypothesis is likely to encompass alterations in multiple autonomic reflex pathways, central integratory sites, and chemical mediators that control sympathetic outflow. For example, tonic restraint of sympathetic outflow by arterial and cardiopulmonary baroreflexes is depressed in CHF2 and depressed or reset in hypertension.3 Moreover, maladaptive changes also occur in the central nervous system at integrative sites for autonomic control in both disease processes.4,5 It is also clear that sympathoexcitatory cardiac,6 somatic,7 and central/peripheral chemoreceptor reflexes8 are enhanced in CHF and hypertension. Arterial chemoreceptors serve an important regulatory role in the control of alveolar ventilation, but they also exert a powerful influence on cardiovascular function.9 Activation of arterial chemoreceptors by hypoxemia increases sympathetic outflow to systemic vascular beds to compensate for the direct vasodilating effects of hypoxia on these vessels and to redistribute blood flow to essential organs. In this review, we highlight relevant information that implicates the arterial chemoreflex as a contributory mechanism for the sympathetic hyperactivity in CHF and hypertension and illustrate proposed mechanisms for this altered function. Arterial chemoreceptors located in the aortic and carotid bodies (CBs) respond to hypoxemia and hypercapnia. Because central chemoreceptors also respond to hypercapnia, hypoxia is typically used as a specific stimulus to arterial chemoreceptors. In some mammals, such as rats and rabbits, reflex responses to hypoxemia arise solely from the CB, whereas in other species, the aortic chemoreceptor contribution can be significant. However, it is not possible to experimentally separate the relative contribution of the aortic and …

To figure out whether spermidine (Spd) can alleviate oxidative damage on rice (Oryza sativa L.) caused by submergence stress, Ningjing 3 was used in this study. The results showed that, spraying Spd on rice leaves at a concentration of 0.5 mM promoted the growth recovery of rice after drainage, such as green leaves, tillers, and aboveground dry mass. According to physiological analysis, Spd accelerate restored chlorophylls damage by submergence, and decreased the rate of [Formula: see text] generation and H2O2 content, inhibited submergence-induced lipid peroxidation. Spd also helped to maintain antioxidant enzyme activities after drainage, such as superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and GR, which ultimately improved the recovery ability of submerged rice. With the effect of Spd, the rice yields increased by 12.1, 17.9, 13.5, and 18.0%, of which submerged for 1, 3, 5, 7 days, respectively. It is supposed that exogenous Spd really has an alleviate effect on submergence damage and reduce yield loss of rice.

BACKGROUND Chalkiness has a deleterious influence on rice appearance and milling quality. We identified a notched‐belly mutant with a high percentage of white‐belly, and thereby developed a novel comparison system that can minimize the influence of genetic background and growing conditions. Using this mutant, we examined the differences in chemical composition between chalky and translucent endosperm, with the aim of exploring relations between occurrence of chalkiness and accumulation of starch, protein and minerals. RESULTS Comparisons showed a significant effect of chalkiness on chemical components in the endosperm. In general, occurrence of chalkiness resulted in higher total starch concentration and lower concentrations of the majority of the amino acids measured. Chalkiness also had a positive effect on the concentrations of As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Mn, Na, Sr and V, but was negatively correlated with those of B, Ca, Cu, Fe and Ni. By contrast, no significant chalkiness effect on P, phytic acid‐P, K, Mg or Zn was observed. In addition, substantial influence of the embryo on endosperm composition was detected, with the embryo showing a negative effect on total protein, amino acids such as Arg, His, Leu, Lys, Phe and Tyr, and all the 17 minerals measured, excluding Ca, Cu, P and Sr. CONCLUSION An inverse relation between starch and protein as well as amino acids was found with respect to chalkiness occurrence. Phytic acid and its colocalized elements K and Mg were not affected by chalkiness. The embryo exerted a marked influence on chemical components of the endosperm, in particular minerals, suggesting the necessity of examining the role of the embryo in chalkiness formation. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Heat stress hurts rice, and floral organs are mostly sensitive to heat stress. We aimed to unravel molecular responses to heat stress in rice floral organs using Illumina/Solexa sequencing technology for addressing the increasing concern of globle warming. At meiophase of the pollen mother cell (pulvinus flat), the plants were stressed for 3 d at 38 C, and RNA was extracted from the stressed pistil and stamen for RNA-Seq sequencing to build the heat stress transcriptom library. A total of 7178 defferentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the normal and heat stress libraries were significant, 61% up-regulated and 39% down-regulated. The 7178 DEGs were significantly classified to 34 gene ontology (GO) categories, and 11 of the GO categories were significantly enriched. The GO:0016787 for hydrolase activity of molecular function was mostly enriched with the least probability, and included 11 DEGs named Hy1 - Hy11. Expression levels of five DEGs, Hy4 - Hy6 and Hy9 - Hy10 for starch and sucrose metablism via pectinase, increased 12 - 14 times in response to the heat stress. Further investigation of the five DEGs for pectin metabolism and association with reported heat responsive genes may help develop a molecular strategy to remedy heat damage in rice.

Methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) are important long-lived greenhouse gas with 25 and 298 times more global warming potential (GWP) than carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) over a 100-year time horizon (IPCC, 2007). In agricultural soils, the emission of CH 4 and N 2 O occurs with soil microbial activities (Conrad, 1996). Rice-wheat rotation is the dominant practice in the lower reaches of Yangtze River (Dawe et al., 2004). The incorporation of crop residue is an effective mode for residue management (Ladha et al., 2004). And crop straw is usually retained in the field at land preparation in every, or every other, season. In order to compare the difference of greenhouse gas emission from rice-wheat farmland, a 3-year experiment with different straw returning mode in rice-wheat rotation system was conducted.

Summary Background Cardiac complications have been demonstrated as a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the diabetic population. However, the mechanisms underlying diabetes-induced cardiomyopathy remain unclear. We tested the hypothesis that endothelin-1 (ET-1) plays an important role in diabetes-induced pathogenesis of ventricular myocyte dysfunction. Methods Diabetic rat was induced by an intravenous injection of streptozotocin (STZ). The potential contribution of endothelin to diabetic cardiomyopathy was determined by chronic treatment of rats with the ET-1 receptor antagonist, bosentan. Myocyte contractility and intracellular calcium homeostasis were compared using an edge detection/micro-fluorescent system. Results Ventricular myocytes isolated from diabetic rats exhibited significant depression in cell contractility and altered intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) transient. On the other hand, L-type Ca2+ channel activity in diabetic myocytes was not altered. Bosentan treatment successfully prevented myocyte contractile dysfunction and [Ca2+]i depression in diabetic rats without affecting myocyte function from control rats. Bosentan had no effect on Ca2+ channel activity in myocytes obtained from both control and diabetic rats. Conclusion These data demonstrate that elevated ET-1 in diabetic animals plays an important role in the diabetes-induced cardiac myocyte dysfunction. Blockade of ET-1 receptor may be a potential therapeutic strategy in the treatment of diabetes-induced heart failure.

The main characteristics of type 1 diabetic cardiomyopathy include depressed contractility and altered electrophysiological properties in ventricular myocytes. The goal of the present study was to determine the potential influence of gender in the diabetes-induced pathogenesis of ventricular myocyte function. Diabetes in both male and female rats was induced by a single intravenous injection of streptozotocin (STZ). Diabetic rats exhibited hyperglycemia and reduced body weight gain in both male and female groups. Neither contractile profiles nor activity of three types of K+ channels of ventricular myocytes was significantly different between nondiabetic male and female rats. Ventricular myocytes isolated from diabetic rats exhibited significant depression in cell contraction and relaxation, which was associated with depression of intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) transient. The degrees of contractile depression were comparable in ventricular myocytes obtained from both male and female diabetic rats. Similarly, diabetes depressed three types of outward K+ currents (Ito, Ik, and Iss) to the same extent in both gender myocytes. These data demonstrate that in this animal model of diabetes, gender difference in cardiac myocyte functions was eliminated.

Diabetes mellitus is complicated with the development of cardiac contractile dysfunction and electrical instability, which contributes to high morbidity and mortality in diabetic patients. This study examined the possible roles of enhanced endothelin-1 (ET-1) on diabetes-induced alterations in ventricular myocyte electrophysiology. Type 1 diabetic rats were induced by single dose injection of streptozotocin (STZ) and treated with or without ET-1 receptor antagonist bosentan for 8 wk before myocyte isolation. Action potential, outward K+ currents, and inward Ca2+ currents in ventricular myocytes were recorded using whole-cell patch clamp technique. STZ-injected rats exhibited hyperglycemia, reduced body weight gain, and elevated plasma ET-1 concentration, indicative of diabetes induction. Ventricular myocytes isolated from diabetic rats exhibited prolonged action potential and reduced all three types of outward K+ currents. Resting membrane potential, height of action potential, and L-type Ca2+ current were not altered in diabetic myocytes. In vivo chronic treatment of diabetic rats with bosentan significantly augmented K+ currents and reversed action potential prolongation in ventricular myocytes. On the other hand, bosentan treatment had no detectable effect on the electrophysiological properties in control myocytes. In addition, bosentan had no effect on L-type Ca2+ currents in both control and diabetic myocytes. Our data suggest that altered electrophysiological properties in ventricular myocytes were largely resulted from augmented ET-1 system in diabetic animals.

Nitrogen availability and cytokinin could promote shoot branching in rice, whereas auxin and strigolactone inhibited it. The interaction between nitrogen availability and the three hormones is discussed. Rice shoot branching is strongly affected by nitrogen availability and the plant hormones auxin, cytokinin, and strigolactone; however, the interaction of them in the regulation of rice shoot branching remains a subject of debate. In the present study, nitrogen and the three hormones were used to regulate rice tiller bud growth in the indica rice variety Yangdao 6. Both nitrogen and CK promoted shoot branching in rice, whereas auxin and SL inhibited it. We used HPLC to determine the amounts of endogenous IAA and CK, and we used quantitative real-time PCR analysis to quantify the expression levels of several genes. Nitrogen enhanced the amount of CK by promoting the expression levels of OsIPTs in nodes. In addition, both nitrogen and CK downregulated the expression of genes related to SL synthesis in root and nodes, implying that the inhibition of SL synthesis by nitrogen may occur at least partially through the CK pathway. SL did not significantly reduce the amount of CK or the expression levels of OsIPT genes, but it did significantly reduce the amount of auxin and the auxin transport capacity in nodes. Auxin itself inhibited CK synthesis and promoted SL synthesis in nodes rather than in roots. Furthermore, we found that CK and SL quickly reduced and increased the expression of FC1 in buds, respectively, implying that FC1 might be a common target for the CK and SL pathways. Nitrogen and auxin delayed expression change patterns of FC1, potentially by changing the downstream signals for CK and SL.

It has been suggested that L-type Ca2+ channels play an important role in cell swelling-induced vasoconstriction. However, there is no direct evidence that Ca2+ channels in vascular smooth muscle are modulated by cell swelling. We tested the hypothesis that L-type Ca2+ channels in rabbit portal vein myocytes are modulated by hypotonic cell swelling via protein kinase activation. Ba2+ currents ( IBa) through L-type Ca2+ channels were recorded in smooth muscle cells freshly isolated from rabbit portal vein with the conventional whole cell patch-clamp technique. Superfusion of cells with hypotonic solution reversibly enhanced Ca2+ channel activity but did not alter the voltage-dependent characteristics of Ca2+ channels. Bath application of selective inhibitors of protein kinase C (PKC), Ro-31–8425 or Go-6983, prevented IBa enhancement by hypotonic swelling, whereas the specific protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor KT-5720 had no effect. Bath application of phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu) significantly increased IBa under isotonic conditions and prevented current stimulation by hypotonic swelling. However, PDBu did not have any effect on IBa when cells were first exposed to hypotonic solution. Furthermore, downregulation of endogenous PKC by overnight treatment of cells with PDBu prevented current enhancement by hypotonic swelling. These data suggest that hypotonic cell swelling can enhance Ca2+ channel activity in rabbit portal vein smooth muscle cells through activation of PKC.

Sixty-three proteins were identified to be differentially accumulated due to iron deficiency in shoot and root. The importance of these proteins alterations on shoot physiology is discussed. Iron (Fe) is an essential micronutrient for plant growth and its accumulation affects the quality of edible plant organs. To investigate the adaptive mechanism of a Chinese rice variety grown under iron deficiency, proteins differentially accumulated in leaves and roots of Yangdao 6, an indica cultivar, under Fe deficiency growth condition, were profiled using a two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/MS). The accumulations of seventy-three proteins were detected to be increased or decreased upon iron deficiency, and sixty-three of them were successfully identified. Among the sixty-three proteins, a total of forty proteins were identified in rice leaves, and twenty-three proteins were in roots. Most of these proteins are involved in photosynthesis, C metabolism, oxidative stress, Adenosine triphosphate synthesis, cell growth or signal transduction. The results provide a comprehensive way to understand, at the level of proteins, the adaptive mechanism used by rice shoots and roots under iron deficiency.

A three-year experiment was conducted in the middle-lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China to study the influence of continuous wheat straw return during the rice season and continuous rice straw return in wheat on methane (CH4) emissions from rice fields in which, the rice-wheat rotation system is the most dominant planting pattern. The field experiment was initiated in October 2009 and has continued since the wheat-growing season of that year. The analyses for the present study were conducted in the second (2011) and third (2012) rice growing seasons. Four treatments, namely, the continuous return of wheat straw and rice straw in every season (WR), of rice straw but no wheat straw return (R), of wheat straw but no rice straw return (W) and a control with no straw return (CK), were laid out in a randomized split-plot design. The total seasonal CH4 emissions ranged from 107.4 to 491.7 kg/ha (2011) and 160.3 to 909.6 kg/ha (2012). The increase in CH4 emissions for treatments WR and W were 289% and 230% in the second year and 185% and 225% in the third year, respectively, in relation to CK. We observed less methane emissions in the treatment R than in CK by 14%–43%, but not statistically significant. Treatment R could increase rice productivity while no more CH4 emission occurs. The difference in the total CH4 emissions mainly related to a difference in the methane flux rate during the first 30–35 days after transplant in the rice growing season, which was caused by the amount of dissolved oxygen in paddy water and the amount of reducible soil materials.

Flower number per panicle is one of the most important traits in rice productivity determination. The number of flowers is established in the early stages of panicle development. Nitrogen fertilizer application before panicle initiation is well known to increase flower number. Nitrogen increases cytokinin (CKs) biosynthesis in plants, and CKs have very similar effects as nitrogen fertilizer on panicle branching. The effects of nitrogen fertilizer on panicle branching may be mediated by CKs, in which accumulation in the inflorescence meristem can regulate panicle development, resulting in increased numbers of flowers and branches. Adenosine phosphate-isopentenyltransferase (IPT) catalyzes the rate-limiting step of CKs biosynthesis. We analyzed the effect of nitrogen fertilizer (urea) on the expression of OsIPT genes (OsIPTs). The results showed that OsIPTs were markedly increased, and CKs accumulated in panicle when nitrogen fertilizer was applied. CKs biosynthesis in the roots and leaves was not up-regulated by nitrogen. These results suggest that nitrogen fertilizer enhances local CKs synthesis to increase flower numbers in the panicles of rice. Localized CKs biosynthesis is an important response to nitrogen.

In the present study, GA3 and NAA were used to inhibit the growth of unproductive tillers of rice plants, and we measured the tiller occur and the grain yield of different treatments, the object of this study was to determine the effect of external hormones on the tiller growth and grain yield, and whether we can regulate the tiller growth by some manipulations of the hormone levels. The results indicated that external 10 mg L-1 GA3 and 1000 mg L-1 NAA significantly inhibit the growth of unproductive tillers, and the elimination of unproductive tillers promoted the growth of productive tillers at the middle and late growth stages, and promoted the development of heavy panicles, and finally increased the grain yield. However, the external 100 mg L-1 GA3 (G100) significantly decreased the grain yield of Yangdao 6. The reason was that the most of the plants of G100 treatment of Yangdao 6 were lodging at filling stage, and the lodging significantly decreased the spikelet filling and grain weight, and finally decreased the grain yield. These results suggested that the application of GA3 in field production may lead to lodging, especially for the indica cultivars. So in field production, GA3 should be used carefully. Key words: Rice (Oryza sativa L.), gibberellic acid (GA3), α-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), tiller, yield.

Both TRPC6 and reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in regulating vascular function. However, their interplay has not been explored. The present study examined whether activation of TRPC6 in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) by ROS was a physiological mechanism for regulating vascular tone by vasoconstrictors. In A7r5 cells, arginine vasopressin (AVP) evoked a striking Ca(2+) entry response that was significantly attenuated by either knocking down TRPC6 using siRNA or inhibition of NADPH oxidases with apocynin or diphenyleneiodonium. Inhibition of TRPC6 or ROS production also decreased AVP-stimulated membrane currents. In primary cultured aortic VSMCs, catalase and diphenyleneiodonium significantly suppressed AVP- and angiotensin II-induced whole cell currents and Ca(2+) entry, respectively. In freshly isolated and endothelium-denuded thoracic aortas, hyperforin (an activator of TRPC6), but not its vehicle, induced dose- and time-dependent constriction in TRPC6 wide type (WT) mice. This response was not observed in TRPC6 knock-out (KO) mice. Consistent with the ex vivo study, hyperforin stimulated a robust Ca(2+) entry in the aortic VSMCs from WT mice but not from KO mice. Phenylephrine induced a dose-dependent contraction of WT aortic segments, and this response was inhibited by catalase. Moreover, H(2)O(2) itself evoked Ca(2+) influx and inward currents in A7r5 cells, and these responses were significantly attenuated by either inhibition of TRPC6 or blocking vesicle trafficking. H(2)O(2) also induced inward currents in primary VSMCs from WT but not from TRPC6 KO mice. Additionally, H(2)O(2) stimulated a dose-dependent constriction of the aortas from WT mice but not from the vessels of KO mice. Furthermore, TIRFM showed that H(2)O(2) triggered membrane trafficking of TRPC6 in A7r5 cells. These results suggest a new signaling pathway of ROS-TRPC6 in controlling vessel contraction by vasoconstrictors.

Nitrogen plays a central role in rice growth and development because it modulates a wide variety of processes, including cytokinin (CK) metabolism. CK-mediated signaling is also related to nitrogen metabolism. The functional relation between nitrogen and CK are extremely complex and unclear. In this study, a comparative proteomic analysis was carried out to analyze proteins regulated by nitrogen and CK in rice roots. Proteins extracted from rice roots are separated by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Thirty-two protein spots that expressed similarly by nitrogen and CK treatments are selected for identification by mass spectrometry. Of these spots, 28 are successfully identified. These proteins were categorized into classes related to energy, metabolism, disease/defense, protein degradation, signal transduction, transposons, and unclear classification. Energy gives the largest functional category, suggesting that the glycolysis (two enzymes detected) and tricarboxylic acid cycle (six enzymes detected) are accurately regulated by nitrogen and CK, thus promoting the synthesis of amino acid. The identification of novel proteins provides new insights into the coordination of nitrogen and CK in rice. The possible role of these proteins is discussed.

Our previous studies show that a decrease in endogenous nitric oxide (NO) is involved in the blunted outward K+ currents in carotid body (CB) glomus cells from chronic heart failure (CHF) rabbits. In the present study, we measured the effects of the neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) transgene on the K+ currents in CB glomus cells from pacing-induced CHF rabbits. Using single-cell real-time RT-PCR and immunofluorescent techniques, we found that nNOS mRNA and protein are expressed in the rabbit CB glomus cells and CHF decreased the expression of nNOS mRNA and protein in CB glomus cells. After 3 days of an adenoviral nNOS (Ad.nNOS) gene transfection, the expression of nNOS protein was increased to the level found in sham CB glomus cells. In whole cell patch-clamp experiments, Ad.nNOS markedly reversed the attenuated K+ currents in CB glomus cells from CHF rabbits. The specific nNOS inhibitor (S-methyl-l-thiocitrulline [SMTC]) and large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (BK) channel blocker (iberiotoxin) fully abolished the effect of Ad.nNOS on the K+ currents in the CB glomus cells from CHF rabbits. However, neither CHF nor Ad.nNOS altered the protein expression of BK channel α-subunit. These results suggest that a decrease of NO induced by an attenuated nNOS activity lowers the activation of the BK channels but not the protein expression of the BK channel α-subunit in the CB glomus cells during CHF.

Aims Peripheral chemoreflex sensitivity is potentiated in both clinical and experimental chronic heart failure (CHF). NADPH oxidase-derived superoxide mediates angiotensin II (Ang II)-enhanced carotid body (CB) chemoreceptor sensitivity in CHF rabbits, and tempol, the superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic, inhibits this Ang II- and CHF-enhanced superoxide anion effect. Here we investigated the role of cytoplasmic SOD [CuZn superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD)] in the CB on chemoreceptor activity and function in CHF rabbits. Methods and results CuZnSOD protein expression was decreased in CBs from CHF rabbits vs. sham ( P < 0.05). Adenoviral CuZnSOD (Ad CuZnSOD) gene transfer to the CBs increased CuZnSOD protein expression and significantly reduced the baseline renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) and the response of RSNA to hypoxia in the CHF rabbits ( P < 0.05). Single-fibre discharge from CB chemoafferents during normoxia (baseline, at ∼100 mmHg PO2) and in response to hypoxia were enhanced in CHF vs. sham rabbits ( P < 0.05). Ad CuZnSOD decreased the baseline discharge (7.6 ± 1.3 vs. 12.6 ± 1.7 imp/s at ∼100 mmHg PO2) and the response to hypoxia (22.4 ± 1.6 vs. 32.3 ± 1.2 imp/s at ∼40 mmHg PO2, P < 0.05) in CHF rabbits. Ad CuZnSOD also normalized the blunted outward K+ current ( I K) in CB glomus cells from CHF rabbits (369 ± 14 vs. 565 ± 31 pA/pF at +70 mV, P < 0.05). In addition, Ad CuZnSOD reduced the elevation of superoxide level in CBs from CHF rabbits. Conclusion Downregulation of CuZnSOD in the CB contributes to the enhanced activity of CB chemoreceptors and chemoreflex function in CHF rabbits.

Experiments were conducted with super-hybrid rice Y Liangyou 2 at Taoyuan,Yunnan Province and Danyang,Jiangsu Province in 2011 and 2012.The main objective of this study was to reveal the difference of lodging resistance and effects of nitrogen on rice lodging resistance between two ecological regions.Rice lodging indexes were 15% lower at Taoyuan than at Danyang.Bending moment of whole plant was 74.2% at Taoyuan lower than that at Danyang.Bending stress and dry matter weight of leaf sheath at basal stem made up the deficiency in stem diameter and wall thickness.There exited significantly negative correlations between lodging indexes and bending stress,snapping resistance at Taoyuan and Danyang.Plant height,height of ear-neck,height of gravity center increased significantly and bending stress,stem weight per centimeter decreased significantly with increasing nitrogen application rate in special high yield eco-region.For Tai Lake rice region,plant height,dry weight of three leaves from top increased significantly,and snapping resistance decreased significantly with increasing the rate of nitrogen.Thus increasing nitrogen application reduced lodging tolerance.Physical strength of stem decreased significantly with delaying nitrogen application,but it was beneficial to promoting the development of basal stem diameter and wall thickness.

To simulate expected future global warming, hexagonal arrays of infrared heaters have previously been used to warm open-field canopies of upland crops such as wheat. Through the use of concrete-anchored posts, improved software, overhead wires, extensive grounding, and monitoring with a thermal camera, the technology was safely and reliably extended to paddy rice fields. The system maintained canopy temperature increases within 0.5°C of daytime and nighttime set-point differences of 1.3 and 2.7°C 67% of the time.

In the title compound, C(19)H(18)Br(2)O(2), the dihedral angle between the two benzene rings of the spiro-biindane molecule is 70.44 (8)°. In the crystal, mol-ecules are inter-connected along the c axis by C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds and π-π stacking [centroid-centroid distance = 3.893 (2) Å] inter-actions, forming an infinite chain structure. The chains are further inter-connected through another set of C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming layers approximately parallel to the bc plane.