Optically transparent wood, combining optical and mechanical performance, is an emerging new material for light‐transmitting structures in buildings with the aim of reducing energy consumption. One of the main obstacles for transparent wood fabrication is delignification, where around 30 wt % of wood tissue is removed to reduce light absorption and refractive index mismatch. This step is time consuming and not environmentally benign. Moreover, lignin removal weakens the wood structure, limiting the fabrication of large structures. A green and industrially feasible method has now been developed to prepare transparent wood. Up to 80 wt % of lignin is preserved, leading to a stronger wood template compared to the delignified alternative. After polymer infiltration, a high‐lignin‐content transparent wood with transmittance of 83 %, haze of 75 %, thermal conductivity of 0.23 W mK−1, and work‐tofracture of 1.2 MJ m−3 (a magnitude higher than glass) was obtained. This transparent wood preparation method is efficient and applicable to various wood species. The transparent wood obtained shows potential for application in energy‐saving buildings.

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Background: An ideal appearance is of commercial value for rice varieties. Chalkiness is one of the most important appearance quality indicators. Therefore, clarification of the heredity of chalkiness and its molecular mechanisms will contribute to reduction of rice chalkiness. Although a number of QTLs related to chalkiness were mapped, few of them have been cloned so far. Results: In this study, using recombinant inbred lines (RILs) of PA64s and 9311, we identified 19 QTLs associated with chalkiness on chromosomes 1, 4, 6, 7, 9 and 12, which accounted for 5.1 to 30.6 % of phenotypic variations. A novel major QTL qACE9 for the area of chalky endosperm (ACE) was detected in Hainan and Hangzhou, both mapped in the overlapping region on chromosome 9. It was further fine mapped to an interval of 22 kb between two insertion-deletion (InDel) markers IND9-4 and IND9-5 using a BC 4 F 2 population. Gene prediction analysis identified five putative genes, among which only one gene (OsAPS1), whose product involved in starch synthesis, was detected two nucleotide substitutions causing amino acid change between the parents. Significant difference was found in apparent amylose content (AAC) between NILqACE9 and 9311. And starch granules were round and loosely packed in NILqACE9 compared with 9311 by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis.

The kinetics and mechanism of a second-generation iridium, bimetallic {[(1,5-COD)­IrI·HPO4]2}2– nanoparticle precursor system that produces Ir(0)∼150·(HPO4) x nanoparticles are investigated herein. Specifically, a list of seven open questions is addressed via a total of five experimental techniques used to monitor the kinetics of the {[(1,5-COD)­IrI·HPO4]2}2– system plus mechanism-enabled population balance modeling (ME-PBM), hence six total methods. To start, an indirect but in-house cyclohexene catalytic reporter reaction monitoring method is used to follow the formation of the catalytically active Ir(0) n . Next, gas–liquid chromatography is used to quantify the amount of cyclooctane product formed versus time as a second way to monitor the loss of the {[(1,5-COD)­IrI·HPO4]2}2– precatalyst. Synchrotron X-ray absorption near-edge structure is used next to more directly monitor the reduction of IrI to Ir0, and small-angle X-ray scattering is employed in separate experiments at a second synchrotron to monitor the formation of Ir(0) n versus time. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) on reaction aliquots is used to determine the particle size distribution (PSD) versus time. The experimental kinetics data are then fit and analyzed to start using a minimal, two-step mechanism of nucleation, A → B (rate constant k 1), and autocatalytic growth, A + B → 2B (rate constant k 2). How well the rate constants agree between the various methods is addressed as is the overall estimated accuracy of the kinetics in light of the multiple methods employed to monitor the particle formation kinetics. ME-PBM is then used to analyze the TEM PSD data versus time, specifically to answer the question of whether or not the minimum mechanism consistent with all the kinetic data from the five physical methods can explain the observed PSD? An important finding is that it cannot. The Discussion section returns to the seven primary questions posed in the Introduction and includes 16 recommendations for future studies. A Conclusions section is also provided in this final experimental study from our group of prototype Ir(0) n nanoparticle formation kinetics and mechanisms.

A comparison of lipid content and fatty acid (FA) composition between Tuber fermentation mycelia and natural fruiting bodies indicates that the lipid content in Tuber fermentation mycelia is higher than that in fruiting bodies. Unsaturated FAs (particularly linoleic acid and oleic acid) were the predominant constituents in total FAs in both Tuber fermentation mycelia and fruiting bodies. A total of 23 FAs, including arachidonic, eicosapentaenoic, docosahexaenoic, and γ-linolenic acids, were first identified in the Tuber species. A hierarchical clustering analysis showed that the FA profile of fermentation mycelia was quite similar, regardless of Tuber species. However, the FA profile of the fruiting bodies was significantly influenced by its species and habitat environments. Interestingly, the FA profile of the Tuber indicum and Tuber aestivum fruiting bodies was nearly identical to that of the Tuber fermentation mycelia, which partially confirms the similarity between the Tuber fermentation mycelia and the fruiting bodies.

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Some diets lack sufficient manganese (Mn), an essential mineral. Increasing Mn in grain by biofortification could prevent Mn deficiency, but may increase levels of the toxic element cadmium (Cd). Here, we investigated Mn in rice (Oryza sativa) grains in recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from the cross of 93–11 (low grain Mn) with PA64s (high grain Mn). Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis to identify loci controlling grain Mn identified a major QTL, qGMN7.1, on the short arm of chromosome 7; qGMN7.1 explained 15.6% and 22.8% of the phenotypic variation in the RIL populations grown in two distinct environments. We validated the QTL with a chromosome segment substitution line (CSSL), CSSL-qGMN7.1, in the 93–11 background harboring qGMN7.1 from PA64s. Compared to 93–11, CSSL-qGMN7.1 grain had increased Mn and decreased Cd concentrations; CSSL-qGMN7.1 roots also showed enhanced Mn uptake. Fine mapping delimited qGMN7.1 to a 49.3-kb region containing OsNRAMP5, a gene responsible for Mn and Cd uptake. Sequence variations in the OsNRAMP5 promoter caused changes in its transcript level, and in grain Mn levels. Our study thus cloned a major QTL for grain Mn concentration in rice, and identified materials for breeding rice for high Mn and low Cd concentrations in the grain.