Cold damage is a major challenge in rice production, and identifying key gene modules in signaling pathways is a crucial means of addressing this issue. A Chinese research team has recently discovered a part of the plant’s cell membrane that helps plants sense when it's cold.

In this work, advanced dense boron-containing α/β-Si₃N₄/Si monoliths were prepared by high pressure-high temperature technique using polymer-derived amorphous SiBN powders as raw materials. The following scientific issues were mainly studied:

（1）The crystallization behavior and phase transformation of the polymer-derived amorphous samples were studied in the temperature range from 1400 ^oC to 1800 ^oC. The results demonstrate that the incorporation of boron in the Si₃N₄ matrix suppresses phase transformation from α-Si₃N₄ to β-Si₃N₄.

（2）The mechanical properties of the as-prepared samples were measured and the maximum hardness and fracture toughness of boron-rich SiBN samples reaches up to 14.8 GPa and 7.96 MPa·m^1/2, respectively. The hardness of the obtained boron-rich SiBN samples is stable at 300 ^oC.

（3）The oxidation behavior of the samples prepared at 1400 ^oC and 1600 ^oC was investigated at 1400 ^oC for 50 h. The results show that the incorporation of boron significantly improves the oxidation resistance of the samples due to the formation of borosilicate/cristobalite.