Analysis and Experimental Investigation of Vibration Characteristics of Rotary Platform of Hydraulic Excavator under Complex Working Conditions

The rotary platform is the load-bearing substrate of a hydraulic excavator. The dynamic characteristics of the rotary platform directly affect the reliability and safety of the whole machine of a hydraulic excavator. In this work, the characteristics of the main external excitations acting on the hydraulic excavator such as the engine excitation, pressure pulsation excitation of the piston pump, inertial excitation of the working device, and road excitation are analyzed. The vibration transmission paths under the action of external excitations are ascertained. A vibration test method for the rotary platform of the hydraulic excavator is proposed. The vibration characteristics of the rotary platform under complex working conditions are researched, and the internal relationships between the vibration characteristics of the rotary platform and the engine excitation, pressure pulsation excitation of the piston pump, and road excitation are analyzed experimentally. The results show that the rotary platform is subjected to different excitations when it is under different working conditions. Moreover, the internal relationships between the dynamic characteristics of the rotary platform and the external excitation characteristics can be discovered by analyzing the vibration signals of the rotary platform, and the dynamic characteristics of the whole machine of the hydraulic excavator can be deeply studied based on the vibration characteristics of the rotary platform.

FERONIA Confers Resistance to Photooxidative Stress in Arabidopsis

Plants absorb light energy required for photosynthesis, but excess light can damage plant cells. To protect themselves, plants have developed diverse signaling pathways which are activated under high-intensity light. Plant photoprotection mechanisms have been mainly investigated under conditions of extremely high amount of light; thus, it is largely unknown how plants manage photooxidative damage under moderate light intensities. In the present study, we found that FERONIA (FER) is a key protein that confers resistance to photooxidative stress in plants under moderate light intensity. FER-deficient mutants were highly susceptible to increasing light intensity and exhibited photobleaching even under moderately elevated light intensity (ML). Light-induced expression of stress genes was largely diminished by the fer-4 mutation. In addition, excitation pressure on Photosystem II was significantly increased in fer-4 mutants under ML. Consistently, reactive oxygen species, particularly singlet oxygen, accumulated in fer-4 mutants grown under ML. FER protein abundance was found to be elevated after exposure to ML, which is indirectly affected by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Altogether, our findings showed that plants require FER-mediated photoprotection to maintain their photosystems even under moderate light intensity.

Divergence of photosynthetic strategies amongst marine diatoms

Marine phytoplankton, and in particular diatoms, are responsible for almost half of all primary production on Earth. Diatom species thrive from polar to tropical waters and across light environments that are highly complex to relatively benign, and so have evolved highly divergent strategies for regulating light capture and utilization. It is increasingly well established that diatoms have achieved such successful ecosystem dominance by regulating excitation energy available for generating photosynthetic energy via highly flexible light harvesting strategies. However, how different light harvesting strategies and downstream pathways for oxygen production and consumption interact to balance excitation pressure remains unknown. We therefore examined the responses of three diatom taxa adapted to inherently different light climates (estuarine Thalassioisira weissflogii, coastal Thalassiosira pseudonana and oceanic Thalassiosira oceanica) during transient shifts from a moderate to high growth irradiance (85 to 1200 μmol photons m-2 s-1). Transient high light exposure caused T. weissflogii to rapidly downregulate PSII with substantial nonphotochemical quenching, protecting PSII from inactivation or damage, and obviating the need for induction of O2 consuming (light-dependent respiration, LDR) pathways. In contrast, T. oceanica retained high excitation pressure on PSII, but with little change in RCII photochemical turnover, thereby requiring moderate repair activity and greater reliance on LDR. T. pseudonana exhibited an intermediate response compared to the other two diatom species, exhibiting some downregulation and inactivation of PSII, but high repair of PSII and induction of reversible PSII nonphotochemical quenching, with some LDR. Together, these data demonstrate a range of strategies for balancing light harvesting and utilization across diatom species, which reflect their adaptation to sustain photosynthesis under environments with inherently different light regimes.

Salt adaptability in a halophytic soybean (Glycine soja) involves photosystems coordination

Background: Glycine soja is a halophytic soybean native to saline soil in Yellow River Delta, China. Photosystem I (PSI) performance and the interaction between photosystem II (PSII) and PSI remain unclear in Glycine soja under salt stress. This study aimed to explore salt adaptability in Glycine soja in terms of photosystems coordination. Results: Potted Glycine soja was exposed to 300 mM NaCl for 9 days with a cultivated soybean, Glycine max , as control. Under salt stress, the maximal photochemical efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm) and PSI (△MR/MR 0 ) were significantly decreased with the loss of PSI and PSII reaction center proteins in Glycine max , and greater PSI vulnerability was suggested by earlier decrease in △MR/MR 0 than Fv/Fm and depressed PSI oxidation in modulated 820 nm reflection transients. Inversely, PSI stability was defined in Glycine soja , as △MR/MR 0 and PSI reaction center protein abundance were not affected by salt stress. Consistently, chloroplast ultrastructure and leaf lipid peroxidation were not affected in Glycine soja under salt stress. Inhibition on electron flow at PSII acceptor side helped protect PSI by restricting electron flow to PSI and seemed as a positive response in Glycine soja due to its rapid recovery after salt stress. Reciprocally, PSI stability aided in preventing PSII photoinhibition, as the simulated feedback inhibition by PSI inactivation induced great decrease in Fv/Fm under salt stress. In contrast, PSI inactivation elevated PSII excitation pressure through inhibition on PSII acceptor side and accelerated PSII photoinhibition in Glycine max , according to the positive and negative correlation of △MR/MR 0 with efficiency that an electron moves beyond primary quinone and PSII excitation pressure respectively. Conclusion: Therefore, photosystems coordination depending on PSI stability and rapid response of PSII acceptor side contributed to defending salt-induced oxidative stress on photosynthetic apparatus in Glycine soja . Photosystems interaction should be considered as one of the salt adaptable mechanisms in this halophytic soybean.

Salt adaptability in a halophytic soybean (Glycine soja) involves photosystems coordination

Background: Glycine soja is a halophytic soybean native to saline soil in Yellow River Delta, China. Photosystem I (PSI) performance and the interaction between photosystem II (PSII) and PSI remain unclear in Glycine soja under salt stress. This study aimed to explore salt adaptability in Glycine soja in terms of photosystems coordination. Results: Potted Glycine soja was exposed to 300 mM NaCl for 9 days with a cultivated soybean, Glycine max, as control. Under salt stress, the maximal photochemical efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm) and PSI (△MR/MR0) were significantly decreased with the loss of PSI and PSII reaction center proteins in Glycine max, and greater PSI vulnerability was suggested by earlier decrease in △MR/MR0 than Fv/Fm and depressed PSI oxidation in modulated 820 nm reflection transients. Inversely, PSI stability was defined in Glycine soja, as △MR/MR0 and PSI reaction center protein abundance were not affected by salt stress. Consistently, chloroplast ultrastructure and leaf lipid peroxidation were not affected in Glycine soja under salt stress. Inhibition on electron flow at PSII acceptor side helped protect PSI by restricting electron flow to PSI and seemed as a positive response in Glycine soja due to its rapid recovery. Reciprocally, PSI stability aided in preventing PSII photoinhibition, as the simulated feedback inhibition by PSI inactivation induced great decrease in Fv/Fm under salt stress. In contrast, PSI inactivation elevated PSII excitation pressure through inhibition on PSII acceptor side and accelerated PSII photoinhibition in Glycine max, according to the positive and negative correlation of △MR/MR0 with efficiency that an electron moves beyond primary quinone and PSII excitation pressure respectively. Conclusion: Therefore, photosystems coordination depending on PSI stability and rapid response of PSII acceptor side contributed to defending salt-induced oxidative stress on photosynthetic apparatus in Glycine soja. Photosystems interaction should be considered as one of the salt adaptable mechanisms in this halophytic soybean.

Photosystem II Is More Sensitive than Photosystem I to Al3+ Induced Phytotoxicity

Aluminium (Al) the most abundant metal in the earth’s crust is toxic in acid soils (pH < 5.5) mainly in the ionic form of Al3+ species. The ability of crops to overcome Al toxicity varies among crop species and cultivars. Here, we report for a first time the simultaneous responses of photosystem II (PSII) and photosystem I (PSI) to Al3+ phytotoxicity. The responses of PSII and PSI in the durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. cv. ‘Appulo E’) and the triticale (X Triticosecale Witmark cv. ‘Dada’) were evaluated by chlorophyll fluorescence quenching analysis and reflection spectroscopy respectively, under control (−Al, pH 6.5) and 148 μM Al (+Al, pH 4.5) conditions. During control growth conditions the high activity of PSII in ‘Appulo E’ led to a rather higher electron flow to PSI, which induced a higher PSI excitation pressure in ‘Appulo E’ than in ‘Dada’ that presented a lower PSII activity. However, under 148 μM Al the triticale ‘Dada’ presented a lower PSII and PSI excitation pressure than ‘Appulo E’. In conclusion, both photosystems of ‘Dada’ displayed a superior performance than ‘Appulo E’ under Al exposure, while in both cultivars PSII was more affected than PSI from Al3+ phytotoxicity.

Impact of diurnal temperature fluctuations on larval settlement and growth of the reef coral <i>Pocillopora damicornis</i>

Diurnal fluctuations in seawater temperature are ubiquitous on tropical reef flats. However, effects of such dynamic temperature variations on the early stages of corals are poorly understood. Here, we investigated the responses of larvae and new spats of Pocillopora damicornis to two constant temperature treatments (29 and 31 °C), and two diurnally fluctuating treatments (28–31 and 30–33 °C with daily means of 29 and 31 °C, respectively) simulating the 3 °C diel oscillations at 3 m depth on Luhuitou fringing reef (Sanya, China). Results showed that the thermal stress on settlement at 31 °C was almost negated by the fluctuating treatment. Further, temperature fluctuations did not exacerbate bleaching responses but alleviated the maximum excitation pressure over photosystem Ⅱ (PSⅡ). Although early growth and development were highly stimulated at 31 °C, oscillations of 3 °C had little effects on budding and lateral growth. Nevertheless, daytime encounters with the maximum temperature of 33 °C elicited a notable reduction in calcification. These results underscore the complexity in the effects caused by diel temperature fluctuations on early stages of corals, and suggest that the ecologically relevant temperature variability could buffer the warming stress on larval settlement and dampen the positive effects of increased temperatures on coral growth.

On the Dynamics of Pressure Relief Valves With External Pilot for ICE Lubrication

The paper analyzes the influence on the stability of the remote pilot in pressure relief valves used for engine lubrication. Such valves are mainly used to discharge the excess flow generated by a fixed displacement pump, moreover they can also be used as pilot stage to control the displacement in the new generation of vane pumps. In the paper the transfer function that relates the pressure in the main gallery with the valve spool position is determined. It was found that, when the valve is provided with an external pilot, the interaction between the hydraulic inductance of the pilot pipe and the spool decreases by many times the mechanical frequency of the valve, leading to a reduction of the stability. The experimental procedure used to measure the frequency response of the valve is also described. The test rig was provided with a servovalve used to generate a sinusoidal excitation pressure with variable frequency. The valve frequency response was evaluated by means of two pressure transducers at the two ends of the pilot channel. Finally the influence on the stability of some geometric parameters is analyzed by means of a simulation model in the AMESim environment.