Effects of Rice Hull Particle Size and Content on the Mechanical Properties and Visual Appearance of Wood Plastic Composites Prepared from Poly（vinyl chloride）

This research aims to develop Wood Plastic Composites （WPCs） from rice hull and poly（vinyl chloride） （PVC）. The in- fluences of the rice hull particle size and content on the mechanical properties and the visual appearance of the WPC decking board were investigated. The experimental results revealed that the impact strength tended to decrease with increasing rice hull content. The composites with larger particle sizes exhibited higher impact strength. Under tensile and flexure load, higher rice hull content induced greater modulus and ultimate strength when the rice hull was applied at less than 60 phr. Beyond this concentration, the modulus and the strength dropped due to the formation of rice hull agglomerates. The smaller particles of the milled rice hull, the greater tendency there was for them to act as a pigment to form a darker shade close that of the rice hull on the composite decking board. The larger particle sizes were 106 μm and beyond simply embedded in the white PVC matrix.

New Aliphatic Alcohol and Ester Constituents from Rice Hulls of Oryza sativa

Six new aliphatic alcohol and ester compounds of n-octacos-9-enyl propionate （1）, 4-（3-formylheptyl）cyclohexyl 4-（cyclohexylcarbonyloxymethyl）cyclohexyl-carboxylate （2）, n-hentriacont-25-en-5α-ol （3）, n-hexetriacont-9,26-dien-8α,11β,23α-triol （4）, n-tetracontan-15α-ol （5） and n-tritetracontan-5α-ol （6） were isolated from the hulls of Oryza sativa. The structures were established on the basis of spectroscopic analysis.

Removal of sodium diclofenac from aqueous solutions by rice hull biochar

Diclofenac is an ecotoxic pharmaceutical compound affecting both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems even at low concentrations.In this study,batch adsorption experiments were conducted to remove sodium diclofenac(SD)from aqueous solutions using rice hull biochar(RHB)adsorbents.Higher SD removals were obtained with increasing initial SD concentration,RHB dosage,contact time,and decreasing initial pH.Isotherm studies revealed that Langmuir isotherm best fitted the experimental data with the highest coefficient of determination for both pH 2(R2=0.9827)and pH 7(R2=0.9460).For kinetic studies,the pseudo second-order model gave R2=0.9999 for both pH 2 and pH 7.SD removals reached up to 97%at pH 2 and up to 80%at pH 7.Higher SD removals were achieved at solution pH lower than the adsorbent pHpzc since electrostatic repulsion was eliminated.Fourier-transform infrared analysis showed the major involvement of C=O in the adsorption process.This study demonstrated the potential of using agricultural residues such as rice hulls for the treatment of wastewater contaminated with pharmaceutical compounds.

The pleiotropic ABNORMAL FLOWER AND DWARF1 affects plant height, floral development and grain yield in rice

Moderate plant height and successful establishment of reproductive organs play pivotal roles in rice grain production. The molecular mechanism that controls the two aspects remains unclear in rice. In the present study,we characterized a rice gene, ABNORMAL FLOWER AND DWARF1（AFD1） that determined plant height, floral development and grain yield. The afd1 mutant showed variable defects including the dwarfism, long panicle, low seed setting and reduced grain yield. In addition, abnormal floral organs were also observed in the afd1 mutant including slender and thick hulls, and hull-like lodicules.AFD1 encoded a DUF640 domain protein and was expressed in all tested tissues and organs. Subcellular localization showed AFD1-green fluorescent fusion protein（GFP） was localized in the nucleus. Meantime, our results suggested that AFD1 regulated the expression of cell division and expansion related genes.