End-use quality is vital to the wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) industry. Understanding the genetics of components of quality is needed for efficient genetic improvement. Our objectives were to determine the genetics of soft wheat quality in a population derived from soft wheat cultivars and to validate the results. We developed 171 families from the cross 'Foster' x Pioneer '25R26' and obtained quality data from four environments. We assessed flour yield (FY) and flour protein (FP), softness equivalent (SE), and water (WA), sodium carbonate (SO), sucrose (SU), and lactic acid (LA) solvent retention capacities (SRGs). Families were genotyped with markers and quantitative trait loci (OTL) analyses were performed. All traits were heritable (0.71-0.93) and transgressive segregants were noted. The traits FY, WA, SO, and SU were correlated to one another as were SE and FP. A total of 29 OTL were detected from 11 genomic regions. Ouantitative trait loci for correlated traits were generally coincident. Two regions of chromosome 1B had the greatest effect on WA, SO, FY, and LA (r^ = 0.23 to 0.30); these OTL appeared to be associated with the 1BL.1RS rye (Sécale céréale L.) translocation and the Glu-B1 locus. A region of chromosome 2B had the greatest effect on FP, SE, and SU (r^ = 0.13 to 0.23). The 1B and 2B OTL were validated in crosses between each of the original mapping parents and 'Hopewell'. We documented the relative importance for soft wheat quality of two known regions of 1B and report on a novel OTL on 2B. Marker-assisted selection for these three regions could have a significant impact on soft wheat quality. ).Abbreviations: 25xF, Pioneer Hi-bred variety 25R26 x Foster; 25xH, Pioneer Hi-bred variety 25R26 X Hopewell; FxH, Foster X Hopewell; FP, flour protein; FY, flour yield; LA, lactic acid solvent retention capacity; LOD, logarithm of the odds; OARDC, Ohio Agriculture Research and Development Center; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; QTL, quantitative trait loci; RIL, recombinant inbred line; SE, softness equivalent; SO, sodium carbonate solvent retention capacity; SRC, solvent retention capacity; SSR, simple sequence repeat; SU, sucrose solvent retention capacity; WA, water solvent retention capacity. W HEAT (Triticum aestivum L.) is a primary cereal consumed by humans around the world. All wheat products require flours with a specific composition and rheological functionality that are collectively referred to as quality. Baking quahty of wheat is governed mainly hy two general characteristics, gluten strength and water absorption, that are each aflfected by multiple components. The milhng quality of wheat also is governed by two characteristics, flour yield and flour particle size. Understanding the genetics of the diflerent components of quality would facilitate breeding to improve this complex trait.Gluten strength is determined primarily by the concentration of flour protein and the ability of the proteins to form viscoelastic networks. The majority of storage proteins in wheat are composed of gliadins (pro...

Two mapping approaches were use to identify and validate milling and baking quality QTL in soft wheat. Two LG were consistently found important for multiple traits and we recommend the use marker-assisted selection on specific markers reported here. Wheat-derived food products require a range of characteristics. Identification and understanding of the genetic components controlling end-use quality of wheat is important for crop improvement. We assessed the underlying genetics controlling specific milling and baking quality parameters of soft wheat including flour yield, softness equivalent, flour protein, sucrose, sodium carbonate, water absorption and lactic acid, solvent retention capacities in a diversity panel and five bi-parental mapping populations. The populations were genotyped with SSR and DArT markers, with markers specific for the 1BL.1RS translocation and sucrose synthase gene. Association analysis and composite interval mapping were performed to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL). High heritability was observed for each of the traits evaluated, trait correlations were consistent over populations, and transgressive segregants were common in all bi-parental populations. A total of 26 regions were identified as potential QTL in the diversity panel and 74 QTL were identified across all five bi-parental mapping populations. Collinearity of QTL from chromosomes 1B and 2B was observed across mapping populations and was consistent with results from the association analysis in the diversity panel. Multiple regression analysis showed the importance of the two 1B and 2B regions and marker-assisted selection for the favorable alleles at these regions should improve quality.

The production of hydrogen fuels, via water splitting, is of practical relevance for meeting global energy needs and mitigating the environmental consequences of fossil-fuel-based transportation. Water photoelectrolysis has been proposed...

The growing base of information about ecosystem services generated by ecologists, economists, and other scientists could improve the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of commodity-sourcing standards being adopted by corporations to mitigate risk in their supply chains and achieve sustainability goals. This review examines various ways that information about ecosystem services could facilitate compliance with and auditing of commodity-sourcing standards. We also identify gaps in the current state of knowledge on the ecological effectiveness of sustainability standards and demonstrate how ecosystem-service information could complement existing monitoring efforts to build credible evidence. This paper is a call to the ecosystem-service scientists to engage in this decision context and tailor the information they are generating to the needs of the standards community, which we argue would offer greater efficiency of standards implementation for producers and enhanced effectiveness for standard scheme owners and corporations, and should thus lead to more sustainable outcomes for people and nature.

The isostructural heteroanionic compounds β-LiAsS2–x Se x (x = 0, 0.25, 1, 1.75, 2) show a positive correlation between selenium content and second-harmonic response and greatly outperform the industry standard AgGaSe2. These materials crystallize in the noncentrosymmetric space group Cc as one-dimensional 1/∞ [AsQ2]− (Q = S, Se, S/Se) chains consisting of corner-sharing AsQ3 trigonal pyramids with charge-balancing Li+ atoms interspersed between the chains. LiAsS2–x Se x melts congruently for 0 ≤ x ≤ 1.75, but when the Se content exceeds x = 1.75, crystallization is complicated by a phase transition. This behavior is attributed to the β- to α-phase transition present in LiAsSe2, which is observed in the Se-rich compositions. The band gap decreases with increasing Se content, starting at 1.63 eV (LiAsS2) and reaching 1.06 eV (β-LiAsSe2). Second-harmonic generation measurements as a function of wavelength on powder samples of β-LiAsS2–x Se x show that these materials exhibit significantly higher nonlinearity than AgGaSe2 (d 36 = 33 pm/V), reaching a maximum of 61.2 pm/V for LiAsS2. In comparison, single-crystal measurements for LiAsSSe yielded a d eff = 410 pm/V. LiAsSSe, LiAsS0.25Se1.75, and β-LiAsSe2 show phase-matching behavior for incident wavelengths exceeding 3 μm. The laser-induced damage thresholds from two-photon absorption processes are on the same order of magnitude as AgGaSe2, with S-rich materials slightly outperforming AgGaSe2 and Se-rich materials slightly underperforming AgGaSe2.

AlxCoCrFeNi High Entropy Alloys (HEAs), also referred to as multiprincipal element alloys, have attracted significant interest due to their promising mechanical and structural properties. Despite these attributes, AlxCoCrFeNi HEAs are susceptible to phase separation, forming a wide range of secondary phases upon aging, including NiAl–B2 and Cr-rich phases. Controlling the formation of these phases will enable the design of age-hardenable alloys with optimized corrosion resistance. In this study, we examine the critical role of Al additions and their concentration on the stability of the CoCrFeNi base alloy, uncovering the connections between Al composition and the resulting microstructure. Addition of 0.1 mol fraction of Al destabilizes the single-phase microstructure and results in the formation of Cr-rich body-centered-cubic (bcc) phases. Increasing the composition of Al (0.3–0.5 mol fraction) results in the formation of more complex coprecipitates, NiAl–B2 and Cr-rich bcc. Interestingly, we find that the increase of the Al content stimulates the formation of NiAl–B2 phases, increases the overall density of secondary phases, and influences the content of Cr in Cr-rich bcc phases. Density functional theory calculations of simple decomposition reactions of AlxCoCrFeNi HEAs corroborate the tendency for precipitate formation of these phases upon increased Al composition. Additionally, these calculations support previous results, indicating the base CoCrFeNi alloy to be unstable at low temperature. This work provides a foundation for predictive understanding of phase evolution, opening the window toward designing innovative alloys for targeted applications.

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