Developmental and Reproductive Effects of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles in Arabidopsis thaliana

Increasing use of iron oxide nanoparticles in medicine and environmental remediation has led to concerns regarding exposure of these nanoparticles to the public. However, limited studies are available to evaluate their effects on the environment, in particular on plants and food crops. Here, we investigated the effects of positive (PC) and negative (NC) charged iron oxide (Fe₂O₃) nanoparticles (IONPs) on the physiology and reproductive capacity of Arabidopsis thaliana at concentrations of 3 and 25 mg/L. The 3 mg/L treated plants did not show evident effects on seeding and root length. However, the 25 mg/L treatment resulted in reduced seedling (positive-20% and negative-3.6%) and root (positive-48% and negative-negligible) length. Interestingly, treatment with polyethylenimine (PEI; IONP-PC coating) also resulted in reduced root length (39%) but no change was observed with polyacrylic acid (PAA; IONP-NC coating) treatment alone. However, treatment with IONPs at 3 mg/L did lead to an almost 5% increase in aborted pollen, a 2%–6% reduction in pollen viability and up to an 11% reduction in seed yield depending on the number of treatments. Interestingly, the treated plants did not show any observable phenotypic changes in overall size or general plant structure, indicating that environmental nanoparticle contamination could go dangerously unnoticed.     

Cellulose nanoparticles synthesised from potato peel for the development of active packaging film for enhancement of shelf life of raw prawns (Penaeus monodon) during frozen storage

In this study, the cellulose nanoparticles (CNP) isolated from potato peel were used for reinforcement of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based active packaging film. The above film was used to pack the raw prawns (Penaeus monodon) at −20 °C, and the colour change, protein content, TVB-N, TMA and microbial analysis were done at regular interval for prawns stored in CNP-PVA active packaging film. A significant difference was observed in the quality of prawns stored in potato CNP-PVA film compared with prawns packed and stored in polyethylene film. The newly designed active packaging with CNP and fennel seed oil enhanced the shelf life of prawns up to two months for both HOSO (head on shell on) prawn and PD (peeled and deveined) prawn. Hence, the study recommends the potato peel CNP-PVA film with fennel seed oil as better choice to extend the shelf life of the prawns during storage compared with polyethylene packaging.     

对基层农技推广队伍建设的思考

通过对全县基层农技推广队伍的调整,分析了基层农技推广队伍的现状并找出现有的问题,进而有针对性地提出解决问题的办法。     

模铸用高铝质流钢砖的显微结构分析

选取市场上模铸用高铝质流钢砖与用后残砖作为研究对象,通过检测不同高铝质流钢砖的理化性能,对比其使用前后的显微结构变化,进一步探讨模铸过程中高铝质流钢砖的显微结构对钢铁产品质量的影响。结果表明:由于显气孔率较大、结构比较疏松、烧结不致密等特性,高铝质流钢砖在经受钢水冲刷时,钢水容易渗透至高铝质流钢砖内部,加速其损毁;其次,高铝质流钢砖与钢水发生物理化学反应后在其表面生成低熔点物,使钢水中产生夹杂物,影响钢铁产品的质量。     

Profile of Triacylglycerols,Phenols, and Vitamin E of Manjari Medika Grape Seed Oil and Cake: Introducing a Novel Indian Variety

The aim of the study is to investigate the biochemical composition of grapeseed oil and cake from an unexplored Indian grape‐juice cultivar, Manjari Medika (MM). The composition of oil and residual seed cake is evaluated using various chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. The findings demonstrate that the vitamin E content of MM‐seed oil (1.15–1.35 g kg^?1) is distinctively higher than the Codex standard, suggesting its superior quality as an edible oil. The predominant triacylglycerols include trilinolein (LLL, 43%), dilinoleoyl‐stearylglycerol (LSL, 19%), and dilinoleoyl‐palmitoylglycerol (LLP, 11%), which are earlier recognized as natural antioxidants. The seed‐cake is rich in polyphenols including acylated anthocyanins (e.g., pelargonidin‐3‐O‐coumaroyl glucoside) and certain other flavonoids (e.g., catechin). The profile of phytonutrients in MM seed‐oil and cake is significantly superior to its seeded female parent and two other widely cultivated wine‐grape varieties. In brief, the studied by‐products of this new grape‐juice cultivar can be an important source of high‐value ingredients for use in food supplements, nutraceuticals, and functional foods. Practical applications: This study reports the phytochemical profile of the seed‐oil and seed cake derived from a newly developed grape variety, Manjari Medika. High contents of selective antioxidants: lipids, vitamin E, and phenols in the seed‐oil and cake with health benefits suggest their potential for use in nutraceutical and functional foods. These byproducts can be utilised as ingredients of functional foods and nutraceuticals (e.g., grape seed oil capsule) and also as raw materials in food supply chains (e.g., for production of grape cookies or cake). MM can also be utilized as a colorant in the food industry.     

A Lattice Approach to Image Segmentation

After a formal definition of segmentation as the largest partition of the space according to a criterion σ and a function f, the notion of a morphological connection is reminded. It is used as an input to a central theorem of the paper (Theorem 8), that identifies segmentation with the connections that are based on connective criteria. Just as connections, the segmentations can then be regrouped by suprema and infima. The generality of the theorem makes it valid for functions from any space to any other one. Two propositions make precise the AND and OR combinations of connective criteria. The soundness of the approach is demonstrated by listing a series of segmentation techniques. One considers first the cases when the segmentation under study does not involve initial seeds. Various modes of regularity are discussed, which all derive from Lipschitz functions. A second category of examples involves the presence of seeds around which the partition of the space is organized. An overall proposition shows that these examples are a matter for the central theorem. Watershed and jump connection based segmentations illustrate this type of situation. The third and last category of examples deals with cases when the segmentation occurs in an indirect space, such as an histogram, and is then projected back on the actual space under study. The relationships between filtering and segmentation are then investigated. A theoretical chapter introduces and studies the two notions of a pulse opening and of a connected operator. The conditions under which a family of pulse openings can yield a connected filter are clarified. The ability of segmentations to generate pyramids, or hierarchies, is analyzed. A distinction is made between weak hierarchies where the partitions increase when going up in the pyramid, and the strong hierarchies where the various levels are structured as semi-groups, and particularly as granulometric semi-groups. The last section is based on one example, and goes back over the controversy about “lattice” versus “functional” optimization. The problem is now tackled via a case of colour segmentation, where the saturation serves as a cursor between luminance and hue. The emphasis is put on the difficulty of grouping the various necessary optimizations into a single one.