Iron is an indispensable micronutrient for plant growth and development. Limited bioavailability of Fe in the soil leads to iron deficiency chlorosis in plants and yield loss. In this study, two soybean basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors, GmbHLH57 and GmbHLH300, were identified in response to Fe-deficiency. Both transcription factors are expressed in roots and nodules, and are induced by Fe deficiency; these patterns were confirmed in transgenic hairy roots expressing constructs of the endogenous promoters fused to a GUS reporter gene. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation, yeast two-hybrid and coimmunoprecipitation (co-IP) assays indicated a physical interaction between GmbHLH57 and GmbHLH300. Studies on transgenic soybeans overexpressing GmbHLH57 and GmbHLH300 revealed that overexpression of each transcription factor, alone, results in no change of the responses to Fe deficiency, whereas overexpression of both transcription factors upregulated the downstream Fe uptake genes and increased the Fe content in these transgenic plants. Compared to wild type, these double overexpression transgenic plants were more tolerant to Fe deficiency. Taken together, our findings establish that GmbHLH57 and GmbHLH300 are important transcription factors involved in Fe homeostasis in soybean.

A chemometric study using pattern recognition technology was carried out to characterize the geographic origins of the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens. The concentrations of 23 trace elements (Mn, Mo, Cd, Ce, V, Th, Cs, Be, Tl, Fe, Nd, Pr, Se, Tm, Lu, Eu, Ho, Br, Dy, Gd, U, Sm and Er) in 53 samples from seven regions in southern China were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The data obtained were successively evaluated using a multivariate statistical approach, namely, linear discriminant analysis, which allowed classification and discrimination of the N. lugens samples from Fuqing, Shaoguan, Hepu, Yongfu, Hengnan, Wan‐an and Yongkang with high accuracy and a clear separation among the seven regions. The results show that pattern identification on the basis of trace elements in the bodies of N. lugens is feasible for determining the geographic origins of individuals.

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Rice husk ash (RHA) was used as a mineral additive in concrete and replaced the ordinary cement by 0-30% in this study. The fresh concrete properties, compressive strength, split tensile strength, and elastic modulus as well as the chloride permeability of concretes mixed with different RHA contents was tested. The experimental results reveal that the fluidity, the mechanical behaviors and the chloride ion resistance of rice husk ash concrete decrease with the increasing replacement rate of RHA. The particle size of RHA limits its pozzolanic activity, which indicates that the controlled burning temperature and the fineness of RHA have significant impact on the properties of rice husk ash concrete.

The mechanical behaviors and durability of concrete containing steel slag powder (SSP), silica fume (SF) and fly ash (FA) were presented in this study. The fresh concrete properties, compressive strength, split tensile strength, elastic modulus, stress-stain curve, chloride permeability as well as carbonation of concretes mixed with different SSP contents or concretes containing compound mineral admixture were tested. The experimental results reveal that the mechanical behaviors and durability of concrete with 10% SSP replacing cement are both improved than that of the reference concrete. Mechanical behaviors and durability of concrete with 20% SSP replacing cement are similar to the reference concrete. Concrete with compound mineral admixture of SSP and SF obtain the highest enhancement in both strength and chloride resistance.