Sen Yang,Ruiqing Ba,Jingnan Hong,Jing Li,Jingdong Guo,Xinghui He,Hongwei Zhang,Naihe Yi,Weibing Ma
Pure lanthanum hexaboride (LaB6) ceramics were prepared using powders of different grain sizes. The ceramics could reach a relative density of 98.2% at high temperatures and pressures, but had a low flexural strength (136.9 MPa). LaB6ceramics were synthesized using ZrO2-Al2O3-TiO2(ZAT) as sintering additives. The ceramics demonstrate high density and excellent mechanical properties. The hot pressure sintering (HPS) method was utilized in the synthesis of the ceramics. Investigations were conducted on the effects of ZAT content, as well as the effects of the sintering temperature and pressure on the sintering behavior, microstructure, and mechanical and electrical properties of LaB6ceramics. LaB6ceramics fabricated with a ZAT addition of 6 wt.%, at a sintering temperature of 1700 °C, and under a pressure of 50 MPa, exhibited superior sintering and electrical properties, including a relative density of 97%, a conductivity of 7.2 MS/m, a flexural strength of 281.5 MPa, and a Vickers hardness of 21.2 GPa. The LaB6ceramics synthesized in this research exhibit promising potential as electron-emitting cathodes for field emission applications.
Zhengke Zhang,Jialiang Liu,Donald J. Huber,Hongxia Qu,Ze Yun,Taotao Li,Yueming Jiang
Litchi fruit has high commercial value on the international market, but senesces rapidly after harvest. We used weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and degradome technology to investigate the molecular mechanisms of melatonin-mediated delay of litchi fruit senescence through application of exogenous melatonin and p-chlorophenylalanine (p-CPA, an inhibitor of melatonin biosynthesis) treatments. Results demonstrated that exogenous melatonin treatment delayed litchi fruit senescence while p-CPA accelerated senescence. Coupled analyses of transcriptome and physiological parameters of litchi fruit provided the correlation of network modules with dynamic changes in browning index during storage. Additionally, we found that microRNAs (miR858 and miR160a) and their targets were actively involved in melatonin-mediated delay of litchi fruit senescence. Melatonin treatment decreased abscisic acid (ABA) content but increased PP2C and F-box expression levels, suggesting the involvement of ABA signaling in melatonin-mediated antisenescence. The transcriptions of ZAT, NAC and DREB1 were activated by melatonin treatment. Moreover, the major functional genes involved in histone methylation, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) metabolism, energy production, reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and cell death were identified in the melatonin-inhibited litchi pericarp browning. Taken together, we first constructed the global map of the important regulators and pathways to delay litchi senescence and pericarp browning mediated by melatonin.