CNT-interconnected iron-doped NiP2/Ni2P heterostructural nanoflowers as high-efficiency electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) plays a decisive role in electrolytic water splitting. However, it is still challengeable to develop low-cost and efficient OER electrocatalysts. Herein, we present a combination strategy via heteroatom doping, hetero-interface engineering and introducing conductive skeleton to synthesize a hybrid OER catalyst of CNT-interconnected iron-doped NiP₂/Ni₂P (Fe-(NiP₂/Ni₂P)@CNT) heterostructural nanoflowers by a simple hydrothermal reaction and subsequent phosphorization process. The optimized Fe-(NiP₂/Ni₂P)@CNT catalyst delivers an ultralow Tafel slope of 46.1 mV dec^?1 and overpotential of 254 mV to obtain 10 mA cm^?2, which are even better than those of commercial OER catalyst RuO₂. The excellent OER performance is mainly attributed to its unique nanoarchitecture and the synergistic effects: the nanoflowers constructed by a 2D-like nanosheets guarantee large specific area and abundant active sites; the highly conductive CNT skeleton and the electronic modulation by the heterostructural NiP₂/Ni₂P interface and the hetero-atom doping can improve the catalytic activity; porous nanostructure benefits electrolyte penetration and gas release; most importantly, the rough surface and rich defects caused by phosphorization process can further enhance the OER performance. This work provides a deep insight to boost catalytic performance by heteroatom doping and interface engineering for water splitting.     

Cloning,sequencing and structural analysis of membrane-bound polyphenol oxidase from Granny Smith apples (Malus × domestica Borkh)

The gene sequence coding for the membrane-bound polyphenol oxidase (mPPO) with a length of 1761 bp was cloned by PCR method and shown to contain one highly conserved sequence encoding a di-copper-binding region. The predicted three-dimensional structure of mPPO indicated that the active site was located near two copper ions and composed of a typical bundle of four α-helices. Each of the two catalytic copper ions was coordinated with three histidine residues in the hydrophobic pocket, yielding His 180, His 201, His 210, His 332, His 336 and His 366. Docking studies showed that 4-methylcatechol and chlorogenic acid have different binding models due to different ligand sizes and binding sites in the active centre, and it was found that the smaller compound exhibited a higher affinity for mPPO. Molecular dynamic simulation results indicated that Phe 353 is important in controlling enzymatic activity through influencing substrate coordination in the active site.     

Synthesis and optical properties of novel apatite-type NaCa3Bi(PO4)3F:Dy3+ yellow-emitting fluorophosphate phosphors for white LEDs

In this study, novel yellow-emitting fluorophosphate NaCa₃Bi(PO₄)₃F phosphors doped with different concentrations of Dy³⁺ ions were first obtained via high-temperature solid-state reaction. The crystal structure, phase purity, particle morphology, photoluminescence (PL) properties, thermal stability, and luminescence decay curves of the resulting phosphors were then characterized in detail. Under the excitation of 349 nm, the three dominant peaks of the NaCa₃Bi(PO₄)₃F:Dy³⁺ are centered at 480 nm (⁴F_9/2-⁶H_15/2), 577 nm (⁴F_9/2-⁶H_13/2), and 662 nm (⁴F_9/2-⁶H_11/2). The optimal doping concentration of Dy³⁺ ions in the NaCa₃Bi(PO₄)₃F:xDy³⁺ phosphors is x = 5 mol%. The phosphors show excellent thermal stability with high activation energy (E_a = 0.32 eV). Eventually, the synthesized white light-emitting diode (w-LED) demonstrates the Commission International de L'Eclairage (CIE) chromaticity coordinates of (0.341, 0.334), a good correlated color temperature (CCT) of 5083 K, and a high color rendering index (R_a) of 92. Revealing its potential as yellow-emitting phosphors, the feasibility of the fabricated apatite-type NaCa₃Bi(PO₄)₃F:Dy³⁺ fluorophosphate phosphors was confirmed for w-LEDs.     

Effects of electron-beam generated X-ray irradiation on the postharvest storage quality of Agaricus bisporus

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of electron-beam generated X-ray irradiation on the postharvest storage quality and antioxidant capacity of Agaricus bisporus. All mushrooms were treated with different doses of electron-beam generated X-ray irradiation (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 kGy) followed by stored at 4 °C for 21 days. Results showed that when compared with the control group at the end of storage, the firmness of Agaricus bisporus treated with 1.0 kGy was increased by 43.68%, the cell membrane permeability and malondialdehyde (MDA) content were decreased by 14.48% and 32.27% respectively, and the polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity was reduced by 44.30%. One-kGy treatment was better than the control group to maintain superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity. The finding suggested that the dose of 1.0 kGy generated by electron beam was suitable for keeping the postharvest quality for 21 days of Agaricus bisporus.Industrial relevanceThis study stated that electron-beam generated X-ray pretreatment could be a green and safe technology to improve the overall quality of Agaricus bisporus at 4 °C for 21 days.     

不同产量对山西乡宁产区赤霞珠葡萄与葡萄酒品质的影响

通过疏穗处理设置不同产量（450 kg/667 m2、720 kg/667 m2和990 kg/667 m2），探究不同产量对山西乡宁地区赤霞珠葡萄果实及葡萄酒品质的影响，以期在保产的基础上通过限产为山西乡宁地区生产优质酿酒葡萄原料提供理论基础。结果表明，赤霞珠葡萄在产量为720 kg/667 m2、果穗数为16穗/株时，成熟葡萄果实中总酚、单宁含量及葡萄酒中酚类物质含量与其他两种产量无显著差异（P＞0.05），但葡萄果实成熟度最好（成熟系数31.45），成熟葡萄果实中总糖含量最高（211.00 g/L），总酸含量最低（6.72 g/L），总花色苷含量最高（33.33 mg/L），酿造的干红葡萄酒基本理化指标符合GB 15037—2006《葡萄酒》要求，感官评分最高（80.8分），说明该产量下赤霞珠葡萄品质和酿酒品质最优。表明通过疏穗适度控制产量有利于提高山西乡宁地区的赤霞珠葡萄品质和葡萄酒质量。     

叶幕形和留穗量对赤霞珠葡萄酒单体酚类物质的影响

以山西晋中南地区赤霞珠为材料，采用高效液相色谱-质谱联用技术（HPLC-MS），研究不同叶幕形和每株留穗量对所酿造的干红葡萄酒中单体酚类物质种类和浓度的影响。结果表明，相比于直立叶幕，V形叶幕可提高成熟葡萄果实的成熟度，V葡萄酒中酰化花色苷的含量（33.46 mg/L）和非花色苷单体酚类物质的总量（286.25 mg/L）分别是直立形叶幕的2.80倍和2.18倍。在直立叶幕下，适当的减少单株果穗数量，可增加葡萄酒中花色苷单体酚类物质的种类和含量，此外随着每株留穗量的减少，非花色苷单体酚类物质总量有逐渐增多的趋势。在山西晋中南地区，对于赤霞珠而言，适度减少每株留穗量或运用V形叶幕栽培管理可以提高葡萄酒中单体酚类物质含量。     

CaDHN3, a Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) Dehydrin Gene Enhances the Tolerance against Salt and Drought Stresses by Reducing ROS Accumulation

Dehydrins (DHNs) play an important role in abiotic stress tolerance in a large number of plants, but very little is known about the function of DHNs in pepper plants. Here, we isolated a Y₁SK₂-type DHN gene “CaDHN3” from pepper. To authenticate the function of CaDHN3 in salt and drought stresses, it was overexpressed in Arabidopsis and silenced in pepper through virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS). Sub-cellular localization showed that CaDHN3 was located in the nucleus and cell membrane. It was found that CaDHN3-overexpressed (OE) in Arabidopsis plants showed salt and drought tolerance phenotypic characteristics, i.e., increased the initial rooting length and germination rate, enhanced chlorophyll content, lowered the relative electrolyte leakage (REL) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content than the wild-type (WT) plants. Moreover, a substantial increase in the activities of antioxidant enzymes; including the superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and lower hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) contents and higher O₂^•− contents in the transgenic Arabidopsis plants. Silencing of CaDHN3 in pepper decreased the salt- and drought-stress tolerance, through a higher REL and MDA content, and there was more accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the CaDHN3-silenced pepper plants than the control plants. Based on the yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) screening and Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation (BiFC) results, we found that CaDHN3 interacts with CaHIRD11 protein in the plasma membrane. Correspondingly, the expressions of four osmotic-related genes were significantly up-regulated in the CaDHN3-overexpressed lines. In brief, our results manifested that CaDHN3 may play an important role in regulating the relative osmotic stress responses in plants through the ROS signaling pathway. The results of this study will provide a basis for further analyses of the function of DHN genes in pepper.     

Research on Crop Irrigation Schedules Under Deficit Irrigation—A Meta-analysis

Water Resources Management - Increasing water consumption in agriculture due to global climate change has posed considerable challenges to food security, thus improving the efficiency of water...     

Effects of freeze-thaw cycles of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) subjected to radio frequency tempering on melanosis and quality

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of different tempering methods and freeze-thaw cycles on melanosis and quality parameters of pacific white shrimp. Frozen pacific white shrimps tempered with radio frequency tempering (RFT) were compared to that in water tempering (WT) and refrigerator tempering (RT) in terms of temper loss, total volatile base nitrogen (TVBN), polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity, melanosis, total sulfhydryl contents, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and texture properties after 0, 1, 3, 5 freeze-thaw cycles. Results showed that crushed ice was effective as an effective surrounding medium for six layers of frozen shrimp reaching −2 °C within 6 min in RFT. For quality attributes, the temper loss of samples tempered with radio frequency is lower than that of RT and WT after all freeze-thaw cycles, and RFT resulted in the lowest TVBN value (9.17 mgN/100 g) of shrimps after the 5th freeze-thaw cycle. The PPO activity and melanosis of samples increased as the number of freeze-thaw cycles increased, and RFT effectively inhibited the development of melanosis. After the 3rd freeze-thaw cycle, the enthalpy change (△H) and the sulfhydryl content (0.16 mmol/gprot) of radio frequency tempered samples was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that of WT and RT. RFT retained the hardness and chewiness of shrimp samples in all freeze-thaw cycles. Therefore, RFT effectively inhibited melanosis and reduce protein oxidation in Pacific white shrimp during freeze-thaw cycles with its fast and uniform heating characteristics.