查看更多>>摘要：The present work shows the feasibility of incorporating lignocellulosic nanofibers (LCNFs) from date palm waste, with diameters in the range of 10 and 30 nm, into polyethylene glycol (PEG)-plasticized polylactic acid (PLA). PLA/PEG/LCNF nanocomposites, with nanocellulose contents ranging from 2 to 10 wt%. were successfully prepared by one-step melt processing using PEG as a carrier to prevent the aggregation of LCNFs. The effect of the LCNFs content on the mechanical properties was assessed by tensile tests and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), pointing an enhancement in the tensile strength and Young's modulus by about 250% and 1100%, respectively, at 8% LCNFs content while maintaining a high toughness (around 16 MJ/m3). In addition, the proper dispersion in the form of a 3D-structured network and the good compatibility of LCNFs with the PLA/PEG matrix were confirmed by DMA and melt rheology measurements, as the stiffness in the rubbery state and the storage modulus increased with the content of LCNFs, respectively. The homogenous dispersion of LCNFs within PLA/PEG matrix was further confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation. Finally, from the disintegration tests in composting conditions, both PEG and LCNFs were found to positively contribute to the disintegration of PLA, mainly due to their affinity with water. Given the better sustainability of LCNFs owing to the absence of any chemical to isolate cellulose, along with their dispersibility within PLA matrix, the use of PEG as a carrier to produce PLA-LCNFs composites via melt processing may contribute to further highlight the merits of LCNFs as reinforcement in a biobased polymer matrix to produce composites with enhanced mechanical properties.
Cruz, V. M. V.Dierig, D. A.Lynch, A.Hunnicutt, K....
11页
查看更多>>摘要：Phenotypic characterization on historical breeding lines and wild genetic resources from the 1950's to 1990's of the rubber-bearing plant guayule (Parthenium argentatum A. Gray) and hybrids was conducted. Variation among germplasm on seed weight and germination was determined along with leaf traits and trichomes using image analyses. Flow cytometry was performed to estimate diversity in ploidy levels. Tetraploid guayule was the predominant type in the germplasm collection (64%), followed by triploids (34%), pentaploids (1.5%), and hexaploid (1%). No plants with octaploid or higher ploidy level were observed. Guayule 100-seed weight averaged 57.5 mg and was determined to have significant positive correlation to 7 and 14-day seed germination and seed size for this seed lot. Phenotypic similarity among germplasm was determined from quantitative analysis of leaf traits and trichomes. Measurements of other traits on young leaves were highly correlated to those on mature leaves. Most leaf traits within each development stage were found to be positively correlated. Guayule leaves averaged 6.85 cm long and 2.06 cm wide, with 1-6 serrations. Leaf serration height ranged from 2.9 to 6.4 mm. Germplasm lines AZ-2, AZ-3, and N566 had the greatest number of serrations, while R1093 and W6-429 with the least number. Trichome density was consistent between young and mature leaves with average density of 17 trichomes per 0.04 mm(2). Accessions R1100, AZ-3, and CAL-4 had the highest trichome density (>21 trichomes per 0.04 mm(2)). The results from analyzing the relatively high number of plants for seed parameters, leaf traits and ploidy are useful for optimizing germplasm collection and to better aid agronomic management practices and utilization of guayule germplasm for crop improvement activities.
Kim, Ye JinPark, Young JinOh, Sung-DugYoon, Jeong Su...
9页
查看更多>>摘要：Genetically modified (GM) soybean events CT-4025 and CT-1001, which contain genes encoding thioredoxin and epidermal growth factor, respectively, have previously been developed for use in cosmetic materials. In this study, compositional analyses and metabolic profiling were carried out to assess the unintended effects on the composition of metabolites between GM soybeans and non-GM soybeans. The soybeans were cultivated in 2016 and 2017 in two regions (Ochang and Jeonju) in the Republic of Korea. Statistical analyses were performed using univariate and multivariate methods. Results from the compositional analysis showed that the compositional variation in the tested GM varieties was within the range of conventional varieties. Furthermore, the results of multivariate analysis revealed that the growing year had a much stronger effect on soybean composition than did the growing site or genotypes. In the case of soybeans harvested in 2016, the levels of most amino acids decreased while those of secondary metabolites and sucrose increased, indicating that water stress due to low rainfall in 2016 induced metabolic changes. These results suggest that environmental factors have a major impact on the composition of GM and non-GM soybeans. We further demonstrated that metabolic approaches are useful for investigating the environmental change-induced metabolic network in GM crops intended for use in cosmetic materials.
Khan, AzizZhou, RuiyangZhang, BaohongWang, Qinglian...
11页
查看更多>>摘要：Grafting is a classical technique to increase plant stress resistance and yield in horticultural crops. This review takes cotton (Gossypium spp.) as an example to summarize the application of grafting in sustainable development for the following subjects: (1) cotton production, such as improving stress tolerance, increasing nutrient and water use efficiency, and cultivating cotton perennially for high yield; (2) cotton breeding, such as conserving and propagating special germplasms, utilizing heterosis, breeding new varieties, improving the survival rate of transplanted plantlets, and accelerating virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS); and (3) cotton physiology and molecular biology research, such as the mechanism underlying root-shoot communication. In particular, cotton is a unique non-horticultural field crop, which can grow annually or perennially, depending on winter temperature. Therefore, cotton grafting has some unique aspects, e.g., annual cotton cultivars can be used in perennial cultivation when grafted on cold-resistant rootstocks to improve the over-winter survival abilities, and graftpropagated male sterile plants can be used for multi-year heterosis utilization in near tropics, which could be used to build a sustainable agricultural system. Moreover, future promises associated with grafting have been presented and discussed, such as whether cotton grafting could promote the exchange of genetic material (especially DNA) between rootstock and scion, resulting in stable inheritable variations that remains to be verified by molecular genetics.
查看更多>>摘要：Cynanchum paniculatum has been applied for various diseases treatments, however, the polysaccharide components especially extracted using ethanol were rarely researched. In this study, ethanol solution with volume fraction of 75% was used for C. paniculatum polysaccharide preparation, and the extraction process optimization, structural characteristics, and bioactivities analysis were investigated. Results showed that extraction yield reached to 4.79 +/- 0.24% under extraction temperature of 60 degrees C, extraction time of 4.5 h, liquid/solid ratio of 30 mL/g. Chemical constitutions and monosaccharide compositions, molecular weight determination results showed that the polysaccharide was mainly composed of glucose and xylose with a molar ratio of 1.00:0.63 (carbohydrate content of 94.91%, molecular weight of 5.1 kDa). Periodate oxidation, smith degradation, methylation, fourier transform infrared spectra and nuclear magnetic resonance analysis demonstrated that the glycosidic bonds configurations were mainly comprised of (1 -> 2)-alpha-D-Glcp (39.86%), (1 -> 2,4)-alpha-D-Glcp (10.32%) and (1 -> 4)-beta-D-Xylp (29.58%). The bioactivities determination experiments results suggested that the polysaccharide exhibited strong antioxidant activities and antitumor effects both in vitro and in vivo. These data indicated that the ethanol-extracted polysaccharide from C. paniculatum holds great application prospect as a novel bioactive adjuvant in the future due to the feasibility of industrial production.
查看更多>>摘要：The pore structure characteristics of wood are important factors affecting permeability. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the density and pore structure characteristics of self-shrinking Ailanthus altissima substrate obtained by ultrasonic-assisted treatment. In the experiment, 320 W and 25 kHz ultrasound combined with alkali solution (1%, 4% and 8% NaOH) was applied. The pore structure, chemical groups, macroscopic and microscopic morphology of samples were investigated by mercury intrusion porosimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, stereomicroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The results indicated the cell-wall components (particularly hemicelluloses) were degraded or transformed. Thus, the density (oven-dried, skeletal and bulk) and pore structure of the wood were altered. In the condition of 1% and 4% NaOH condition, a uniform self-shrinking wood block with relatively-high oven-dried density and bulk density, but lower porosity than the water-immersion samples, was obtained by ultrasonic-assisted treatment. In comparison with the waterimmersion samples, the distribution of pores of samples in alkali condition shifted towards larger diameters, particularly ultrasonic-assisted one. The relative content of macropores (> 0.5 mu m) increased, and the relative content of ultrasonic-1% NaOH-treated samples reached 86.10%.
查看更多>>摘要：The potential use of lignocellulosic biomass as the feedstock for fumaric acid production and to select the specific Rhizopus oryzae strain for bioproduction was investigated in the current work. For this purpose, alkaline pretreatment of the biomass from perennial grasses, silver grass (Miscanthus sp.) and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), and hemp (Cannabis sativa) was performed followed by enzymatic saccharification. The hydrolysate so obtained, was used as the feedstock for fumaric acid production. Silver grass was identified as the ideal perennial lignocellulosic biomass due to its higher reducing sugar concentration of 39.55 g/L as well as a yield of 0.79 g/g of pretreated biomass. The use of the hydrolysate for fumaric acid production, by three R. oryzae strains namely NRRL 1526, NRRL 6400 and NRRL 2582, yielded acid concentrations of 8 - 9 g/L. The strain NRRL 1526 was identified as the promising strain for fumaric acid bioproduction, as it provided the highest fumaric acid productivity of 0.19 gL(-1)h(-1).
查看更多>>摘要：Kushui Rose (Rosa setate x Rosa rugosa, KR) is a distinctive Chinese rose variety. Its extracts, especially essential oil (EO), showed various biological activities. In this study, double molecular distillation was used to separate different fractions from KREO. GC-MS was used to detect the composition of volatile components in different fractions. The aroma analysis of different fractions was carried out by a professional sensory evaluation team. D1 (the light phase in the first stage) and R2 (the heavy phase in the second stage) showed better biological activities, with a lower IC50 value on antioxidant ability and a higher capacity for antimicrobial. Furthermore, D1 and R2 also effectively prevented the oxidation of sunflower oil. The antimicrobial mechanism was explored by relative conductivity, the content of protein and reducing sugar, and scanning electron microscopy on Escherichia coli. In all, molecular distillation could be considered an effective way to improve the aroma and biological activity for KREO.
Dubis, BogdanSzatkowski, ArturJankowski, Krzysztof Jozef
10页
查看更多>>摘要：Sewage sludge and digestate can be applied as fertilizers to reduce the use of mineral fertilizers and reliance on non-renewable resources in their production. A field experiment was conducted in north-eastern Poland (2016-2018) to evaluate the biomass yield and the energy efficiency ratio (EE) of Amur silvergrass [Miscanthus sacchariflorus (Maxim.) Hack] in production technologies that differed in the form and rate of nitrogen fertilization: (i) unfertilized control; (ii) 100 kg N ha(-1) applied as mineral fertilizer; (iii) 100 kg N ha(-1) applied as sewage sludge; (iv) 100 kg N ha(-1) applied as digestate; (v) 160 kg N ha(-1) applied as mineral fertilizer; (vi) 160 kg N ha(-1) applied as sewage sludge; (vii) 160 kg N ha(-1) applied as digestate. The application of 100 kg N ha(-1) increased dry matter yield (DMY) by 15% relative to the control treatment (8.5 vs. 9.7-9.8 Mg ha(-1)). An increase in the nitrogen rate to 160 kg N ha(-1) did not increase biomass yields. The yield-forming effects of digestate and sewage sludge were comparable with those exerted by mineral fertilizers. The energy inputs (EI) in the production technology involving mineral fertilizers ranged from 16.3 (100 kg N ha(-1)) to 20.9 GJ ha(-1) (160 kg N ha(-1)). Organic wastes decreased EI in the production of Amur silvergrass by 34-40% (sewage sludge) and 41-48% (digestate). Energy output (EO) peaked when M. sacchariflorus was supplied with 100 kg N ha(-1), regardless of fertilizer type. Energy gain (EG) was highest (131 GJ ha(-1) y(-1)) when Amur silvergrass was fertilized with digestate at a rate equivalent to 160 kg N ha(-1). Nitrogen fertilization decreased the EE of biomass production by 25-32% (sewage sludge and digestate) to 54-65% (mineral fertilizer). The EE was highest in the production technology involving digestate (13.2-14.4), followed by sewage sludge (11.4-13.0), and it was lowest under the influence of mineral fertilizers (6.7-8.8).
查看更多>>摘要：The functionalization of cotton fabrics with fluorescent and hydrophobic performances are widely used in our daily life. However, most technologies to produce such cotton fabrics involved the defect of poor uniformity and stability. Herein, novel hydrophobic and fluorescent cotton fabrics were developed via a multiple chemical modification. Acetoacetyl groups were firstly introduced on the surface of cotton fibers by transesterification. The 1,4-dihydropyridine (DHP) fluorescent ring and octadecylamine (ODA) were then bonded to the modified fibers through Hantzsch reaction and the form of dynamic enamine bond, respectively. The functional modification process can be accomplished through a one-pot method under room temperature. The resulting modified fabrics exhibited bright fluorescent and good hydrophobic performances, which were very stable to solvents and washing. In addition, the surface modification has no obvious effect on the mechanical performance, whiteness, and thermal stability of cotton fabrics. Such a unique fluorescent and hydrophobic cotton fabrics held great potential for many fields such as anti-counterfeit and functional textiles.
NSTL
Elsevier