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It is difficult for as-cast titanium alloys to achieve high strength and toughness due to the presence of coarse β grains. In this study, multi-directional forging (MDF) was employed to break down the coarse β grains into fine grains and the mechanism of strengthening and toughening was also revealed. Results indicated that nearly all peaks corresponded to the β phase, with the α phase peaks being almost imperceptible. As the MDF temperature increased, the grain size initially decreased and then increased. All the dislocation is concentrated near the grain boundaries. The refinement of the grains can be attributed to the combined effects of mechanical crushing refinement and dynamic recrystallization. The tensile strength and fracture toughness is 1130 MPa and 82 MPa·m1/2. Grain refinement and dislocation proliferation caused by MDF are the main contributors to the improvement of strength and toughness in the alloys. This discovery lays a solid foundation for further research on new ultra-high strength and toughness titanium alloys, while also providing a new design concept for other high-performance alloys.

Deciduous tooth agenesis is a severe craniofacial developmental defect because it affects masticatory function from infancy and may result in delayed growth and development. Here, we aimed to identify the crucial pathogenic genes and clinical features of patients with deciduous tooth agenesis. We recruited 84 patients with severe deciduous tooth agenesis. Whole-exome and Sanger sequencing were used to identify the causative variants. Phenotype–genotype correlation analysis was conducted. We identified 54 different variants in 8 genes in 84 patients, including EDA (73, 86.9%), PAX9 (2, 2.4%), LRP6 (2, 2.4%), MSX1 (2, 2.4%), BMP4 (1, 1.2%), WNT10A (1, 1.2%), PITX2 (1, 1.2%), and EDARADD (1, 1.2%). Variants in ectodysplasin A (EDA) accounted for 86.9% of patients with deciduous tooth agenesis. Patients with the EDA variants had an average of 15.4 missing deciduous teeth. Mandibular deciduous central incisors had the highest missing rate (100%), followed by maxillary deciduous lateral incisors (98.8%) and mandibular deciduous lateral incisors (97.7%). Our results indicated that EDA gene variants are major pathogenic factors for deciduous tooth agenesis, and EDA is specifically required for deciduous tooth development. The results provide guidance for clinical diagnosis and genetic counseling of deciduous tooth agenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sensory quality of cooked rice is an important factor in determining its market price, as well as consumer acceptance and breeding efforts aimed at improvement of rice grain quality. In this study, the sensory quality and physicochemical properties of three japonica rice varieties harvested in two different growing locations (Xiangshui and Hangzhou of China) were compared to determine the most important factors affecting the sensory quality. All the three varieties had higher scores for overall sensory quality in Xiangshui than in Hangzhou, indicating that the growing location is a key factor in determining the sensory quality of cooked japonica rice. In addition to growing location, variety (genotype) also had an important effect. Longdao 18 scored the highest for overall sensory quality in the two locations, whereas Longdao 30 had the lowest score in Xiangshui, and both Longdao 20 and Longdao 30 had the lowest scores in Hangzhou. Many physicochemical properties, such as apparent amylose content, protein content, thermal properties and free amino acid contents, showed significant differences between the two locations. Correlation analysis showed that apparent amylose content and protein content had contrasting effects on all the sensory attributes. The overall sensory quality was negatively correlated with protein content (r = −0.89, P