Experimental evaluation of eco-friendly flocculants prepared from date palm rachis

Sodium carboxymethylcellulose （CMCNa） is an anionic water soluble polyelectrolyte widely used in many industrial sectors including food, textiles, papers, adhesives, paints, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and mineral processing. CMCNa was produced by chemical modification of cellulose, and represents many advantages： natural, renewable, non-toxic and biodegradable. In this study, different kinds of CMCNa, prepared from an agricultural waste date palm rachis, were tested as eco-friendly flocculants for drinking water treatment and their performances as flocculants in turbidity removal enhancement were assessed. The prepared materials were characterized by the degree of substitution （DS） and polymerisation （DP）. The study of the effect of some experimental parameters on the coagulation-flocculation performance, using the prepared materials combined with aluminium sulphate （as coagulant）, showed that the best conditions for turbidity treatment were given for pH 8, coagulant dose 20 mg/L, flocculant concentration of 100 mg/L and stirring velocity （during the flocculation step） of 30 r/min. Under the optimum conditions, the turbidity removal using CMCNa, prepared from raw material, was about 95%. A comparison study between the flocculation performance of a commercial anionic flocculant （A100PWG： polyacrylamide） and that of the prepared CMCNa showed that the performance of the waste-based flocculant with a DS of 1.17 and a DP of 480 was 10% better than that achieved by the commercial one.

New Species of the Isolated Psaroniaceous Rachis from the Early Permian in China

A new kind of marattialean raches are reported from the coal balls in Coal Seam No.7 in the upper part of the Taiyuan Formation （early Early Permian） from Taiyuan, Shanxi, China and are assigned to the genus Stipitopteris Grand＇Eury （Psaroniaceae）. The present specimens are different from all six reported species of the genus, and are therefore proposed as a new species： Stipitopteris shanxiensis. The raches of the new species are generally dorsi-ventrally flattened. The main raches usually exhibit scales of different forms on their surface. Beneath the epidermis is a zone of parenchymatous cells, some of which contain tannin-like contents. Inside this is a zone of small sclerenchymatous cells. Inward are the ground tissue and vascular bundles. The vascular bundles are continuous and are in two circles： the outer circle assumes a transversely elliptical shape with the gap and pinna trace, and the inner circle assumes a shallow C.shape with inrolled ends. The ground tissue located at the inner side of the vascular bundle is composed of thicker-walled parenchymatous cells. The cells of the ground tissue are vertically elongated in longitudinal sections. Subordered raches are smaller and have simpler structures than the main raches. The parenchyma zone beneath the epidermis is thinner, usually one to two cells wide and the sclerenchyma zone is usually absent. The scales are poorly developed and there is only one C-shaped vascular bundle. The new species is comparable to the crosiers of Psaroniaceae of the Euramerican Flora in some aspects, for example, it has a dorsi-ventrally flattened rachis and scales on the surface of the rachis. However, the other features and the preservative conditions of the present specimens indicate that they are not crosiers, but fully developed or mature raches. The new species is the first well-studied anatomically-preserved rachis of Psaroniaceae from the Cathaysian Flora and bears significance not only in understanding the anatomy and taxonomy of Psaroniaceae in the Cathaysian Flora, but also in the relationship between the Euramerican Flora and the Cathaysian Flora.

‘凤丹’牡丹叶轴多糖超声辅助提取工艺优化及抗氧化性研究

为优化超声辅助提取‘凤丹’牡丹叶轴多糖的提取工艺,并测定其多糖提取液的抗氧化性,在单因素试验的基础上,以多糖得率为指标,通过 L9(34)正交试验优化多糖提取工艺参数,并通过‘凤丹’牡丹叶轴多糖提取液对2,2-联氮-二(3-乙基-苯并噻唑-6-磺酸)二铵盐[2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonate),ABTS]自由基和1,1-二苯基-2-三硝基苯肼(1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl,DPPH)自由基的清除率来评价其抗氧化能力。结果表明,最佳提取工艺参数为超声温度60 ℃,液料比24 ∶ 1 (mL/g),超声时间40 min,超声功率200 W,在此条件下多糖得率为(11.328 8±0.525 3) mg/g;‘凤丹’牡丹叶轴多糖清除ABTS+自由基和DPPH自由基的IC50分别为19.316 7 μg/g和39.330 0 μg/g,‘凤丹’牡丹叶轴多糖具有较强的抗氧化活性,是天然抗氧化剂的良好来源。

Molecular Mapping of QTLs for Yield and Yield-Related Traits in Oryza sativa cv Swarna × O. nivara (IRGC81848) Backcross Population

Advanced backcross QTL analysis was used to identify QTLs for seven yield and yield-related traits in a BC2F2 population from the cross between a popular Oryza sativa cv Swarna and O. nivara IRGC81848. Transgressive segregants with more than 15% increased effect over Swarna were observed for all the traits except days to heading and days to 50% flowering. Thirty QTLs were detected for seven yield and yield-related traits using interval and composite interval mapping. Enhancing alleles at 13 (45%) of these QTLs were derived from O. nivara, and enhancing alleles at all the QTLs for stem diameter and rachis diameter were derived from O. nivara. Three stem diameter QTLs, two rachis diameter QTLs and one number of secondary branches QTL identified by both Interval and composite interval mapping contributed more than 15% of the total phenotypic variance. The QTL epistasis was significant for stem diameter and plot yield. The most significant QTLs qSD7.2, qSD8.1 and qSD9.1 for stem diameter, qRD9.1 for rachis diameter and qNSB1.1 for number of secondary branches are good targets to evaluate their use in marker-assisted selection. O. nivara is a good source of novel alleles for yield related traits and reveals major effect QTLs suitable for marker-assisted selection.

Isolation and Characterization of Nanocellulose Obtained from Industrial Crop Waste Resources by Using Mild Acid Hydrolysis

Cellulose,microcrystalline cellulose and nanocellulose were prepared from three agricultural waste resources:pineapple leaf(PALF),banana rachis(BR),and sugarcane bagasse(SCB).Each waste resource was first converted into microcrystalline cellulose which was subsequently converted into cellulose nanoparticles by using mild(30%w/v)and strong(60%w/v)sulfuric acid concentrations for extraction.Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR),X-ray diffraction(XRD),and thermogravimetric analysis(TGA)were used to characterize each waste resource and extracted cellulosic materials.Furthermore,nanocelluloses were studied by zeta potential,size analysis,and transmission electron microscopy(TEM).Cellulose nanowhiskers were successfully obtained and isolated with a 33%average yield by applying a mild acid treatment.Substrates BR and SCB proved to be more promising agricultural waste resources in terms of their crystalline cellulosic content and properties.

Phenolic compounds from Peanut testa

Phytochemical investigation of peanut testa(the seed coat of Arachis hypogaea L.)led to the isolation of eight phenolic compounds,including caffeic acid(1),methyl caffeate(2),ethyl caffeate(3),methyl protocatechuate(4),ethyl protocatechuate(5),butyl protocatechuate(6),(E)-p-hydroxycinnamic acid methyl ester(7),and resveratrol(8).The structures of the compounds were elucidated through spectroscopic data analysis and comparison with the previously reported literature.Among them,compounds 2,3,5,and 6 were obtained from Arachis hypogaea L.for the first time.

Most Tibetan weedy barleys originated via recombination between Btr1 and Btr2 in domesticated barley

Tibetan weedy barleys reside at the edges of qingke(hulless barley)fields in Tibet(Xizang).The spikes of these weedy barleys contain or lack a brittle rachis,with either two-or six-rowed spikes and either hulled or hulless grains at maturity.Although the brittle rachis trait of Tibetan weedy barleys is similar to that of wild barley(Hordeum vulgare ssp.spontaneum Thell.),these plants share genetic similarity with domesticated barley.The origin of Tibetan weedy barleys continues to be debated.Here,we show that most Tibetan weedy barleys originated from cross-pollinated hybridization of domesticated barleys,followed by hybrid self-pollination and recombination between Non-brittle rachis 1(btr1)and 2(btr2).We discovered the specific genetic ancestry of these weedy barleys in South Asian accessions.Tibetan weedy barleys exhibit lower genetic diversity than wild and Chinese landraces/cultivars and share a close relationship with qingke,genetically differing from typical eastern and western barley populations.We classified Tibetan weedy barleys into two groups,brittle rachis(BR)and non-brittle rachis(NBR);these traits align with the haplotypes of the btr1 and btr2 genes.Whereas wild barleys carry haplotype combinations of Btr1 and Btr2,each showing lower proportions in a population,the recombinant haplotype BTR2H8+BTR1H24 is predominant in the BR group.Haplotype block analysis based on whole-genome sequencing revealed two recombination breakpoints,which are present in 80.6%and 16.8%of BR acces-sions according to marker-assisted analysis.Hybridization events between wild and domesticated barley were rarely detected.Thesefindings support the notion that Tibetan weedy barleys originated via recom-bination between Btr1 and Btr2 in domesticated barley.