Differences in leaf cuticular wax induced by whole-genome duplication in autotetraploid sour jujube

Drought-resistant plants exhibit strong water retention capability.In this regard,the autotetraploid sour jujube leaves exhibit better water retention than diploid leaves.Morphological comparisons and physiological comparisons of diploid and autotetraploid leaves showed that the autotetraploid leaves had thicker leaf cuticles and more leaf wax accumulation than the diploid leaves,which could reduce cuticle permeability and improve the drought tolerance of leaves.In this study,the cuticular wax crystalloids on the adaxial and abaxial sides of young and mature jujube leaves were observed in the two ploidy types,and unique cuticular wax crystalloids covering a large area of the cuticle on autotetraploid sour jujube leaves may provide an advantage in reducing leaf non-stomata transpiration and improving plant drought tolerance.Based on the transcriptome,115 differentially expressed genes between diploids and autotetraploids were further analyzed and found to be involved in the accumulation of cuticular wax components,including terpenoids,fatty acids,and lipids,as well as ABC transporter and wax biosynthetic process.Finally,14 genes differentially expressed between glossy autotetraploid leaves and nonglossy diploid leaves,such as LOC107414787,LOC107411574 and LOC107413721,were screened as candidate genes by qRT-PCR analysis.This findings provided insights into how polyploidization improved drought tolerance.

Experimental study on wax deposition of highly paraffinic oil in intermittent gas-oil flow in pipelines

Oil-gas two phase wax deposition is a fairly common and open-ended question in flow assurance of multiphase transportation pipelines.This paper investigated the two main aspects of oil-gas two phase wax deposition layer:apparent thickness and crystal structure characteristics.A typical highly paraffinic oil in Bohai Sea,China,was used as the experimental material to investigate the wax deposition thickness in oil-gas two phase under the influence of different oil temperatures,superficial gas/liquid phase velocities and gas-oil ratios by using multiphase flow loop experimental device.Just as in the classical theory of wax molecular diffusion,it showed that wax deposition thickness of oil-gas two phase increased with increasing oil temperature.Analysis of the impact of different superficial phase velocities found that the actual liquid flow heat transfer and shear stripping was the gas phase dominant mechanisms determining wax deposit thickness.In addition,the crystal structure of the wax deposition layer was characterized with the help of small-angle X-ray scattering(SAXS)for different circumferential positions,flow rates and gas-oil ratios.The bottom deposition layer had a complex crystal structure and high hardness,which were subject to change over flow rate variations.Furthermore,the SAXS results provided evidence that the indirect effect of the actual liquid velocity modified by the gas phase was the main mechanism.Our study of the effect of gas phase on the wax deposition of oil-gas two phase will help shed light onto the mechanism by which this important process occurs.Our findings address a very urgent need in the field of wax deposition of highly paraffinic oil to understand the flow security of oilgas two phase that occurs easily in multiphase field pipelines.

ZmCER1,a putative ECERIFERUM 1 protein in maize,functions in cuticular wax biosynthesis and bulliform cell development

The cuticular wax,acting as the ultimate defense barrier,is essential for the normal morphogenesis of plant organs.Despite this importance,the connection between wax composition and leaf development has not been thoroughly explored.In this study,we characterized a new maize mutant,ragged leaf4(rgd4),which exhibits crinkled and ragged leaves starting from the sixth leaf stage.The phenotype of rgd4 is conferred by ZmCER1,which encoding an aldehyde decarbonylase involved in wax biosynthesis.ZmCER1 function deficient mutant displayed reduced cuticular wax density and disordered bulliform cells(BCs),while ZmCER1 overexpressing plants exhibited the opposite effects,indicating that ZmCER1 regulates cuticular wax biosynthesis and BCs development.Additionally,as the density of cuticular wax increased,the water loss rate of detached leaf decreases,suggesting that ZmCER1 is positively correlated with plant drought tolerance.

Prediction Model of Wax Deposition Rate in Waxy Crude Oil Pipelines by Elman Neural Network Based on Improved Reptile Search Algorithm

A hard problem that hinders the movement of waxy crude oil is wax deposition in oil pipelines.To ensure the safe operation of crude oil pipelines,an accurate model must be developed to predict the rate of wax deposition in crude oil pipelines.Aiming at the shortcomings of the ENN prediction model,which easily falls into the local minimum value and weak generalization ability in the implementation process,an optimized ENN prediction model based on the IRSA is proposed.The validity of the new model was confirmed by the accurate prediction of two sets of experimental data on wax deposition in crude oil pipelines.The two groups of crude oil wax deposition rate case prediction results showed that the average absolute percentage errors of IRSA-ENN prediction models is 0.5476% and 0.7831%,respectively.Additionally,it shows a higher prediction accuracy compared to the ENN prediction model.In fact,the new model established by using the IRSA to optimize ENN can optimize the initial weights and thresholds in the prediction process,which can overcome the shortcomings of the ENN prediction model,such as weak generalization ability and tendency to fall into the local minimum value,so that it has the advantages of strong implementation and high prediction accuracy.

回收-再生模料(System Waxes)生产规模迅速扩大——国外精铸技术进展述评(1)

20世纪 90年代以来 ,美、欧各国改变了回收模料只用作浇道的传统习惯 ,回收 再生模料应用与日俱增 ,已广泛用来压制民用和商用精铸件的蜡模。国内回收模料采用静置沉降法 ,不能保证模料的性能要求 ,尤其是灰分严重超标。模料回收 再生的技术关键是采用多级过滤净化系统。再生模料必须检测其灰分、软化点、粘度和针入度 ,合格后才能用于生产。

Distribution and variability of n-alkanes in waxes of conifers

Epicuticular waxes have vital roles in the growth and development of plants and in defense. Conifers have a considerable amount of waxes on their cones and leaves.Here we characterized the n-alkane composition of Iranian conifers, including Juniperus oblonga, J. foetidissima, J.sabina, J. communis subsp. hemisphaerica, J. excelsa,Cupressus sempervirens, Platycladus orientalis from Cupressaceae and Taxus baccata from Taxaceae for the first time using GC-FID analyses. In the waxes, 25 n-alkane homologs with chain lengths ranging from C7 to C32 were identified. Short-chain n-alkanes were dominant in almost all samples with some exceptions. Complementary studies to elucidate complete wax constituents of Iranian conifers and n-alkane distribution pattern as a function of geographical and bioclimatic variables are recommended.

Waxes in asphaltenes of crude oils and wax deposits

Composition and molecular mass distribution of n-alkanes in asphaltenes of crude oils of different ages and in wax deposits formed in the borehole equipment were studied. In asphaltenes, n-alkanes from C12 to C60 were detected. The high molecular weight paraffins in asphaltenes would form a crystalline phase with a melting point of 80–90 ℃. The peculiarities of the redistribution of high molecular paraffin hydrocarbons between oil and the corresponding wax deposit were detected. In the oils, the high molecular weight paraffinic hydrocarbons C50–C60were found, which were not practically detected in the corresponding wax deposits.

Pre-heating temperature induced flowability and wax deposition characteristics of crude oil adding wax inhibitors

This paper investigated the effects of pre-heating treatment temperatures(T_(pre))on the flowability and wax deposition characteristics of a typical waxy crude oil after adding wax inhibitors.It is found that there is little difference in wax precipitation exothermic characteristics of crude oils at different T_(pre),as well as the wax crystal solubility coefficient in the temperature range of 25-30℃.For the undoped crude oil,the flowability after wax precipitation gets much improved and the wax deposition is alleviated as T_(pre)increasing.At T_(pre)=50℃,the viscosity and wax deposition rate of crude oil adding wax inhibitors are higher than those of the undoped crude oil.When the T_(pre)increases to 60,70,and 80℃,the flowability of the doped crude oil are largely improved and the wax deposition is suppressed with the T_(pre)increase,but the wax content of wax deposit increases gradually.It is speculated that,on the one hand,the T_(pre)increase helps the dispersion of asphaltenes into smaller sizes,which facilitates the co-crystallization with paraffin waxes and generates more aggregated wax crystal flocs.This weakens the low-temperature gel structure and increases the solid concentration required for the crosslink to form the wax deposit.On the other hand,the decrease in viscosity increases the diffusion rate of wax molecules and accelerates the aging of wax deposits.The experimental results have important guiding significance for the pipeline transportation of doped crude oils.

Wax from Pyrolysis of Waste Plastics as a Potential Source of Phase Change Material for Thermal Energy Storage

Over the past half-century, plastic consumption has grown rapidly due to its versatility, low cost, and unrivaled functional properties. Among the diff erent implemented strategies for recycling waste plastics, pyrolysis is deemed the most economical option. Currently, the wax obtained from the pyrolysis of waste plastics is mainly used as a feedstock to manufacture chemicals and fuels or added to asphalt for pavement construction, with no other applications of wax being reported. Herein, the thermal pyrolysis of three common waste polyolefin plastics: high-density polyethylene(HDPE), low-density polyethylene(LDPE), and polypropylene(PP), was conducted at 450 ℃. The waste plastics-derived waxes were characterized and studied for a potential new application: phase change materials(PCMs) for thermal energy storage(TES). Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis showed that paraffin makes up most of the composition of HDPE and LDPE waxes, whereas PP wax contains a mixture of naphthene, isoparaffin, olefin, and paraffin. Diff erential scanning calorimetry(DSC) analysis indicated that HDPE and LDPE waxes have a peak melting temperature of 33.8 ℃ and 40.3 ℃, with a relatively high latent heat of 103.2 J/g and 88.3 J/g, respectively, whereas the PP wax was found to have almost negligible latent heat. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and DSC results revealed good chemical and thermal stability of HDPE and LDPE waxes after 100 cycles of thermal cycling. Performance evaluation of the waxes was also conducted using a thermal storage pad to understand their thermoregulation characteristics for TES applications.

An optimized protocol using Steedman’s wax for high-sensitivity RNA in situ hybridization in shoot apical meristems and flower buds of cucumber

In situ mRNA hybridization(ISH)is a powerful tool for examining the spatiotemporal expression of genes in shoot apical meristems and flower buds of cucumber.The most common ISH protocol uses paraffin wax;however,embedding tissue in paraffin wax can take a long time and might result in RNA degradation and decreased signals.Here,we developed an optimized protocol to simplify the process and improve RNA sensitivity.We combined embedding tissue in low melting-point Steedman’s wax with processing tissue sections in solution,as in the whole-mount ISH method in the optimized protocol.Using the optimized protocol,we examined the expression patterns of the CLAVATA3(CLV3)and WUSCHEL(WUS)genes in shoot apical meristems and floral meristems of Cucumis sativus(cucumber)and Arabidopsis thaliana(Arabidopsis).The optimized protocol saved 4–5 days of experimental period compared with the standard ISH protocol using paraffin wax.Moreover,the optimized protocol achieved high signal sensitivity.The optimized protocol was successful for both cucumber and Arabidopsis,which indicates it might have general applicability to most plants.

Emerging low-density polyethylene/paraffin wax/aluminum composite as a form-stable phase change thermal interface material

Thermal interface materials(TIMs) play a vital role in the thermal management of electronic devices and can significantly reduce thermal contact resistance(TCR). The TCR between the solid–liquid contact surface is much smaller than that of the solid–solid contact surface, but conventional solid–liquid phase change materials are likely to cause serious leakage. Therefore, this work has prepared a new formstable phase change thermal interface material. Through the melt blending of paraffin wax(PW) and low-density polyethylene(LDPE), the stability is improved and it has an excellent coating effect on PW. The addition of aluminum(Al) powder improves the low thermal conductivity of PW/LDPE, and the addition of 15wt% Al powder improves the thermal conductivity of the internal structure of the matrix by 67%. In addition, the influence of the addition of Al powder on the internal structure, thermal properties, and phase change behavior of the PW/LDPE matrix was systematically studied. The results confirmed that the addition of Al powder improved the thermal conductivity of the material without a significant impact on other properties, and the thermal conductivity increased with the increase of Al addition. Therefore, morphologically stable PW/LDPE/Al is an important development direction for TIMs.

Overexpression of ZxABCG11 from Zygophyllum xanthoxylum enhances tolerance to drought and heat in alfalfa by increasing cuticular wax deposition

Drought and heat stresses cause yield losses in alfalfa,a forage crop cultivated worldwide.Improving its drought and heat tolerance is desirable for maintaining alfalfa productivity in hot,arid regions.Cuticular wax forms a protective barrier on aerial surfaces of land plants against environmental stresses.ABCG11encodes an ATP binding cassette(ABC) transporter that functions in the cuticular wax transport pathway.In this study,Zx ABCG11 from the xerophyte Zygophyllum xanthoxylum was introduced into alfalfa by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation.Compared to the wild type(WT),transgenic alfalfa displayed faster growth,higher wax crystal density,and thicker cuticle on leaves under normal condition.Under either drought or heat treatment in greenhouse conditions,the plant height and shoot biomass of transgenic lines were significantly higher than those of the WT.Transgenic alfalfa showed excellent growth and 50% greater hay yield than WT under field conditions in a hot,arid region.Overexpression of Zx ABCG11 up-regulated wax-related genes and resulted in more cuticular wax deposition,which contributed to reduction of cuticle permeability and thus increased water retention and photosynthesis capacity of transgenic alfalfa.Thus,overexpression of Zx ABCG11 can simultaneously improve biomass yield,drought and heat tolerance in alfalfa by increasing cuticular wax deposition.Our study provides a promising avenue for developing novel forage cultivars suitable for planting in hot,arid,marginal lands.

Structures and Functions of Cuticular Wax in Postharvest Fruit and Its Regulation:A Comprehensive Review with Future Perspectives

Cuticular wax plays a major role in the growth and storage of plant fruits.The cuticular wax coating,which covers the outermost layer of a fruit’s epidermal cells,is insoluble in water.Cuticular wax is mainly composed of very long-chain fatty acids(VLCFAs);their derivatives,including esters,primary alcohols,secondary alcohols,aldehydes,and ketones;and triterpenoids.This complex mixture of lipids is probably biosynthesized in the epidermal cells of most plants and exuded onto the surface.Cuticular wax not only makes the fruit less susceptible to microbial infection but also reduces mechanical damage to the fruit,thereby maintaining the fruit’s commodity value.To date,research has mostly focused on the changes,function,and regulation of fruit wax before harvest,while ignoring the changes and functions of wax in fruit storage.This paper reviews on the composition,structure,and metabolic regulation of cuticular wax in fruits.It also focuses on postharvest factors affecting wax composition,such as storage temperature,relative humidity(RH),gas atmosphere,and as exogenous hormones;and the effects of wax on fruit postharvest quality,including water dispersion,fruit softening,physiological disorders,and disease resistance.These summaries may be of assistance in better understanding the changes in cuticular wax in postharvest fruit and the resulting effects on fruit quality.

Unusual hydrocarbon waxes detected in Salix oritrepha leaf from Nianbaoyeze Mountains, eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Plant biomarkers, such as hydrocarbon waxes, are frequently found in various sediments and could be adopted as paleovegetation and paleoclimate indicators. Nevertheless, scarce researches have focused on leaf waxes in higher plants of alpine region.Herein, hydrocarbon leaf wax components of Salix oritrepha, which flourish in Nianbaoyeze Mountains in eastern Tibetan Plateau were fully discussed. The n-alkane distribution in leaves ranges from n-C_(21) to nC_(29) with maxima at n-C_(25), which were entirely different with Salix taxa displayed in previous surveys in non-alpine regions. The unusual even carbon nalkenes from n-C_(22:1) to n-C_(30:1), which were thought to appear only in aquatic organisms, were firstly reported in an alpine plant. Additionally, iso-(2-methyl) alkanes, ranging from i-C_(23) to i-C_(29) with maxima at i-C_(25), which have been commonly reported in microorganisms, were also identified in an alpine plant for the first time. Unusual hydrocarbon distribution detected in Salix oritrepha leaf from Nianbaoyeze Mountains is most likely due to the extreme environment in such alpine region.

Fischer-Tropsch wax catalytic cracking for the production of low olefin and high octane number gasoline: Process optimization and heat effect calculation

To produce low olefin gasoline with high octane number by Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) wax fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) process, operating conditions optimization were carried out in the pilot-scale riser and turbulent fluidized bed (TFB) FCC unit. The experimental results in the riser indicated that under the condition of low reaction temperature and regenerated catalyst temperature, large catalyst-to-oil weight ratio (C/O) and long reaction time, the gasoline olefin content could be reduced to 20.28 wt%, but there is large octane number loss owing to a great loss in high octane number olefin. Therefore, a novel FCC process using the TFB reactor was proposed to strengthen the aromatization reaction. The reaction performance of TFB reactor were investigated. The result demonstrated that the TFB reactor has more significant effect in reducing olefins and improving aromatics. At the expense of certain gasoline yield, the gasoline olefin content reduced to 23.70 wt%, aromatics content could increase to 26.79 wt% and the RON was up to 91.0. The comparison of reactor structure and fluidization demonstrated that the TFB reactor has higher catalyst bed density. The reaction heat and coke combustion heat was calculated indicating the feasibility of its industrial application of the TFB process.

Wax deposition modeling in oil-water stratified pipe flow

Wax deposition in oil-water stratified flow is commonly encountered onshore and offshore oil production pipe systems,and typically reduces transportation capacity of oil.The accurate predicted model of wax deposition has becomes an indispensable approach to design effective remediation strategies.However,a reliable mechanistic model for wax deposition prediction in oil-water two-phase stratified pipe flow is lacking to validate the deposition process.In this work,a three-dimensional(axial,radial,and angular)robust wax deposit model for oil-water stratified circular pipe flow was developed.The model of formation of a gel deposit based on the first principles of rheology was developed,associated with the results obtained from hydrodynamics and heat/mass transfer simulations.The predictions for wax deposition are found to compare satisfactorily with experimental data with two different oils for single phase and four different water cuts for oil-water stratified pipe flow.It can be seen from the wax gelation mechanism that an increase in water cut can help to reduce the wall/oil-deposit interface shear stress,thereby leading to an increase in the degree of gelation as well as the deposit rate.Furthermore,a local deposit analysis in the circumferential direction was conducted,for water cut 75%and total flow rate 5 m3/h,which provided insights to understand that the thickness on pipe wall was roughly uniformly distributed locates near the top of the pipe and the nearer the position gets close to two points,where the oil-water interface contacts the inner wall,the deposition thickness quickly dropped to 0.It was attributed to the fact that a roughly uniformly thickness far away from the oil-water interface contact the inner wall resulted in the slowly changes temperature along the circumferential pipe wall wetted by oil.

An Experimental Study on the Interaction between Hydrate Formation and Wax Precipitation in Waxy Oil-in-Water Emulsions

The coupled formation of wax crystals and hydrates is a critical issue for the safety of deep-sea oil and gas exploration and subsea transport pipeline flow.Therefore,this paper conducts an experimental study on the characteristics of methane hydrate formation in a water-in-oil(W/O)system with different wax crystal contents and explores the influence of different initial experimental pressures on the induction period and maximum rate of hydrate formation.The wavelet function was introduced to process the reaction rate and calculate the maximum speed of hydrate formation.Notably,the higher the pressure,the smaller the maximum rate of hydrate formation.We observed that wax crystal precipitation increases the viscosity of the emulsion,which limits the diffusion of gas in the liquid phase during hydrate nucleation and thus delays the hydrate nucleation.The methane gas precipitation also affects the remaining fraction’s wax content and therefore affects the wax precipitation.Secondary hydrate formation was observed several times during the experiment,increasing the risk of pipeline blockage.Overall,this work provides insights into the effect of wax crystal precipitation on hydrate behaviour that could facilitate flow assurance applications in subsea multiphase pipelines and inform the safe transportation of oil and gas pipelines.

Application of Wax Therapy in Pain Care of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Objective: To investigate the effect of wax therapy in pain care of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Methods: Convenience sampling method was used to select inpatients with rheumatoid arthritis admitted to the rheumatology and immunology department of a 3A hospital in Jingzhou City. 75 patients from January 2021 to June 2021 were selected as the control group, and 75 patients from January 2022 to June 2022 were selected as the observation group. The control group was given routine nursing, and the observation group was implemented wax therapy nursing on the basis of the control group. The relief of clinical symptoms (morning stiffness time, pain score) and quality of life score of the two groups were observed. Results: After intervention, there was statistical significance between the two groups (P Conclusion: Wax therapy can improve the time of morning stiffness, the degree of pain and the quality of life of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

用于加热卷烟的石蜡改性二醋酸纤维素降温滤嘴的制备与表征

以二醋酸纤维素滤棒为载体,以食品级石蜡为相变吸热材料,采用浸渍法制备了石蜡/醋纤降温滤棒,研究了石蜡熔点和负载量对加热卷烟主流烟气温度的影响,并采用热重/差热分析仪(TG/DTA)、傅里叶变换红外光谱仪(FT-IR)、差示扫描量热仪(DSC)和场发射扫描电子显微镜(SEM)等技术对石蜡/醋纤滤棒进行了表征。石蜡/醋纤滤棒是通过醋纤滤棒的吸附作用完成复合,在抽吸过程中具有良好的热稳定性,当52~#石蜡乳化液质量分数为60%时,即石蜡负载量为35 mg时,由石蜡/醋纤滤棒组成的三段式降温滤嘴对主流烟气具有显著的降温效果,可将主流烟气温度从68℃降低到42℃。

2010年以来国内外石蜡市场分析及展望

近些年欧美市场合成蜡和其他替代产品的发展,压缩了石蜡的消费增长空间。2020年新冠病毒疫情导致全球石蜡需求下降,消费规模退回到2015年的水平。2020—2025年全球石蜡需求将在低基数上稳定增长,但随着合成蜡和环境友好型包装物的使用增加,全球石蜡需求增长空间有限。中国是世界上重要的石蜡生产和出口国,石蜡及其制品的国外市场消纳度已达到70%左右。未来中国石蜡消费量将稳中趋升,预计2025年消费量在90万吨左右;生产企业继续减少,但总生产能力相对稳定。延伸石蜡产业链,提高石蜡制品附加值,做大国内市场,降低对国外市场的依赖程度,是中国石蜡市场未来的发展方向。