Xu Rugen

Sudoku Square — a New Design in Field

Abstract Sudoku is a game with incremental intelligence and is popularizing in many countries of Asia, Europe, and America. Its most common pattern is to fill the digits 1 through 9 into a square with 9 rows by 9 columns and subdivided 9 boxes, so that each digit appears once, and only once, in every row, column, and box. In this article, the basic properties of k × k Sudoku squares are investigated in the general sense, and then the Sudoku square is made into a new design applied to field experiment. This design can make a layout of k treatment with k replications, and control the 3-way (row, column, and box) soil-environment variation. Thus, the mean of the treatment should be more precise, with a smaller error than that in the Latin square design. The construction and design procedure of Sudoku squares, and the mathematical model and statistical method of data from a Sudoku square design, are presented here

Development of Small Starch Granule in Barley Endosperm

The structural characteristics and physicochemical properties of barley starch differ with granule size, which are important in final product applications of barley flours. A barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivar, Yangsimai 3, was used to investigate the development of small starch granule in endosperm under electron microscope to provide references to barley breeding. Large starch granules were formed and developed at the early stage of endosperm development. Large amyloplasts with large starch granules were divided and increased in number through binary fission. One large amyloplast had only 1 large starch granule. Small starch granules could be formed and develop at the middle and late stage of endosperm development. Endosperm cells had large amyloplasts that exhibited protrusion, and some of the protrusions contained small starch granules. Small amyloplasts with small starch granules formed new small amyloplasts to produce small starch granules by the way of protruding their envelopes. Many small starch granules were formed and developed in 1 small amyloplast. The amyloplast envelope began to degrade and release starch granules into cell matrix when amyloplast was full of starch granules. These results showed that small amyloplasts came from the protrusion of amyloplast envelopes. Many small starch granules, which were compound starch granules, were formed and developed in 1 small amyloplast.

Accumulation of storage protein and formation of protein body during barley endosperm development.

Storage proteins are accumulated during the development of barley(Hordeum vulgare L.) endosperm,and,as the source of protein and amino acids for seed germination,concentrated and packaged into protein bodies.The knowledge of the accumulation of storage protein and the formation of protein body is helpful for variety improvement in barley.In this study,using light and electron microscopy,the storage protein and protein body were observed from 6 to 28 days after heading(DAH),a period from the cellularization of endosperm to its desiccation.There were plenty of endoplasmic reticulum(ER) and protein storage vacuoles(PSVs) in the endosperm cells at 8 DAH with some starch granules around the cell nucleus or along cell membrane.Storage protein granules began to appear in endosperm cell at 10 DAH.Storage protein accumulated in the lumen of ER,then detached from ER and formed protein body.Protein bodies moved into PSV during the early stage of endosperm growth and differentiation.With the development of endosperm,storage protein granules quickly increased,especially in subaleurone cells.PSV was full of protein bodies with some electron-dense materials around PSV during the middle stage of endosperm growth and differentiation.Some newly formed protein bodies were spherical and aggregated in cell matrix.Some protein bodies in PSV or in cell matrix began to aggregate and coalesce,some small protein bodies derived from ER were dispersedly distributed among starch granules during the late stage of endosperm growth and differentiation.Individual protein body was no longer visible,but a protein matrix was confined in the space between starch granules during the mature stage of endosperm development.The results showed that storage protein was initially stored in individual protein body which was derived from the ER,distributed in PSV or cell matrix,and at last changed into protein matrix during caryopsis development.