Combination of heat treatment and chitosan coating to improve postharvest quality of wolfberry (Lycium barbarum)

The synergistic application of hot water dip at 42 °C for 30 min and 1% chitosan coating on differentiation in postharvest quality traits, microstructure as well as microbiological evolution of wolfberry fruits was investigated. Fresh wolfberry fruits were stored at 2 ± 0.5 °C and 90% relative humidity (RH) for 28 days. Results indicated the combination of prestorage heat treatment and chitosan coating maintained higher levels of ascorbic acid, total phenolic contents and antioxidant capacity as well as lower decay, compared with untreated wolfberry fruits. The possible mechanism was that the heat treatment almost sealed open stomata to limit the sites of pathogen penetration into fruits independently, followed by the biofilm formed by chitosan which controlled secondary infections as well as slowed changes in fruit respiration and metabolic activity in wolfberries. The synergistically treated fruit also exhibited a higher acceptability obtained by sensory analysis after cold storage. In this sense, the integrated application of heat treatment and chitosan coating could be regarded as an effective strategy to extend storage life and maintain the postharvest quality of wolfberry fruits.     

Assembly of a DNA Origami Chinese Knot by Only 15% of the Staple Strands

As a giant leap in DNA self-assembly, DNA origami has exhibited an unprecedented ability to construct nanostructures with arbitrary shapes and sizes. In typical DNA origami, hundreds of short DNA staple strands fold a long, single-stranded (ss) DNA scaffold cooperatively into designed nanostructures. However, large numbers of DNA strands are expensive and would hinder applications such as pharmaceutical investigations because of the complicated components. Therefore, one challenge is how to reduce the number of staple strands needed to construct DNA origami. For a DNA origami structure, the scale-free folding pattern of the scaffold strand is determined by staple strands at the branching vertexes. Simple duplex regions help to define the size-related features of the origami geometry. In this study, we hypothesized that a scaffold strand can be correctly folded into a designed topology by using only staple strands involved in branching vertexes. After assembly, any remaining, flexible, single-stranded regions of the scaffold could be converted into rigid duplexes by DNA polymerase to achieve the designed geometric structures. To demonstrate the concept, we used only 18 staple strands (covering 15 % of the scaffold strand) to assemble a porous DNA nanostructure, which was visualized by atomic force microscopy (AFM). This study helps understanding of the role of cooperativity in origami folding, and provides a cost-effective approach for small-scale prototyping DNA origami.     

A novel temperature-tolerant foamed resin for enhanced oil recovery

The synthesis and performance of a novel temperature-tolerant foamed resin for enhanced oil recovery were investigated using various methods, including infrared, NMR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and displacement experiments. Polycondensation of furfuryl alcohol prepolymers was confirmed by the infrared and NMR results. The poor temperature tolerance of furfuryl alcohol prepolymers after gelation at high temperatures is mainly due to the fracture of furan rings. The addition of ester additives is an effective method of increasing the temperature tolerance of the prepared foamed resins and can effectively reduce the weight-loss rate of the polycondensation products. The SEM results show that the skeleton structure of the foamed resin remains intact after high-temperature treatment. Thus, the novel plugging agent system has excellent thermal stability and still has a high strength (>0.8 MPa) after high-temperature aging treatment for 40 days, giving the prepared foamed resin a good plugging performance (plugging rate > 91%) at 250 °C. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47161.     

Silver-plated polyamide fabrics with high electromagnetic shielding effectiveness performance prepared by in situ reduction of polydopamine and chemical silvering

In this article, the silver-plated polyamide fabrics (SPPAFs) with high electroconductibility and shielding effectiveness were fabricated by using in situ reduction of polydopamine and chemical silvering. The effects of SPPAFs dopamine (C₈H₁₁O₂N) and silver nitrate (AgNO₃) concentration on surface resistivity and electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness were studied. The results showed that the surface resistivity of SPPAFs can reach a minimum value of 0.06 ± 0.014 Ω cm⁻¹, when C₈H₁₁O₂N concentration is 4 g L⁻¹ and the AgNO₃ concentration is 120 g L⁻¹. The shielding effectiveness of SPPAFs in the wide frequency range of 10–3000 MHz increases with the increase in the concentration of AgNO₃, and increases first and stabilizes afterward with increasing C₈H₁₁O₂N concentration. When the concentration of C₈H₁₁O₂N and AgNO₃ is 3 and 120 g L⁻¹, respectively, mean shielding effectiveness values in the low-, medium-, and high-frequency bands are 71.3, 73.8, and 76.1 dB, respectively. Moreover, the mean shielding effectiveness values is 83.79 dB in the frequency range of 1.2–2.3 GHz. The dominant shielding mechanism of SPPAFs is the reflected electromagnetic waves and the absorption shielding effectiveness is less than 2 dB. The average electromagnetic shielding values of SPPAFs are above 67 dB after 16 weeks of storage, when C₈H₁₁O₂N concentration is 4 g L⁻¹ and the AgNO₃ concentration is 80 and 100 g L⁻¹. The prepared SPPAFs show promising applications in military textiles and smart wearable clothing. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 48227.     

餐饮废油生物柴油低温流动性的改进研究

使用气-质联用仪测定餐饮废油生物柴油(WCME)和-10号柴油(-10PD)的组成,使用冷滤点试验器和运动黏度试验器测定WCME的低温流动性,同时使用调合、添加低温流动性改进剂的方法改进WCME的低温流动性。实验结果表明,WCME主要由饱和脂肪酸甲酯和不饱和脂肪酸甲酯组成,质量分数分别为27.63%和71.81%;WCME冷滤点为0℃,运动黏度(40℃)为4.41mm2/s;WCME与-10PD调合后,冷滤点降低,其中B20的冷滤点最低,为-13℃,运动黏度随着WCME的体积分数的减少,逐渐接近-10PD的运动黏度。通过添加低温流动性改进剂,WCME,B10,B20的冷滤点分别从0,-8,-13℃降至-4,-26,-25℃。     

A new perspective of co-doping and Nd segregation effect on proton stability and transportation in Y and Nd co-doped BaCeO3

Bulk and surface properties of proton stability and transportation in Y and Nd co-doped BaCeO₃ (BCYN), especially the effect of Nd segregation, were investigated by first-principles calculations. Since the structure of doped BaCeO₃ at the operating temperature of proton-conducting has been unclear for a long time, we have summarized the latest experimental results and calculated the structure of the asymmetric BCYN for the first time. The results show that compared with Y, Nd doping promotes oxygen vacancy formation, however reduces proton stability. Our calculation can also provide a possible explanation for the formation of space charge layer at the grain boundary of doped BaCeO₃ in experiment. Unlike the stable Y in BCYN, Nd is calculated to be easily segregated, which can facilitate both proton hydration and proton transportation near the surface. Moreover, Nd segregation at the grain boundary is predicted to be beneficial for proton transportation between grains.     

Rapid screening of DON contamination in whole wheat meals by Vis/NIR spectroscopy and computer vision coupling technology

This work intends to develop an online experimental system for screening of deoxynivalenol (DON) contamination in whole wheat meals by visible/near-infrared (Vis/NIR) spectroscopy and computer vision coupling technology. Spectral and image information of samples with various DON levels was collected at speed of 0.15 m s⁻¹ on a conveyor belt. The two-type data were then integrated and subjected to chemometric analysis. Discriminant analysis showed that samples could be classified by setting 1000 μg kg⁻¹ as the cut-off value. The best correct classified rate obtained in prediction was 93.55% based on fusion of spectral and image features, with reduced prediction uncertainty as compared to single feature. However, quantification of DON by quantitative analysis was not successful due to poor model performance. These results indicate that, although not accurate enough to provide conclusive result, this coupling technology could be adopted for rapid screening of DON contamination in cereals and feeds during processing.     

Ni-Foam Structured Ni-Phyllosilicate Ensemble as an Efficient Monolithic Catalyst for CO2 Methanation

This work proposed a new path to synthesize Ni-phyllosilicate through the reaction of nickel hydroxide and silica sol on the surface of Ni-foam to form the monolithic Ni-phyllosilicate/Ni-foam catalyst. Ni-phyllosilicate could reprint the morphology of nickel hydroxid and firmly anchor on the framework of Ni-foam, which obtained fine Ni particles of 2.8 nm after reduction in H₂ at 650 °C, resulting in high catalytic activity for CO₂ methanation. In addition, the Ni-phyllosilicate/Ni-foam catalyst showed high long-term stability in a 100 h-lifetime test owing to the combined effects of surface confinement of Ni-phyllosilicate, firm anchoring between Ni-phyllosilicate and Ni-foam, as well as the high heat transfer property of Ni-foam.

Graphical Abstract

     

A highly active composite electrocatalyst Ni–Fe–P–Nb2O5/NF for overall water splitting

This work demonstrates a facile Nb₂O₅-decorated electrocatalyst to prepare cost-effective Ni–Fe–P–Nb₂O₅/NF and compared HER & OER performance in alkaline media. The prepared electrocatalyst presented an outstanding electrocatalytic performance towards hydrogen evolution reaction, which required a quite low overpotential of 39.05 mV at the current density of ?10 mA cm^?2 in 1 M KOH electrolyte. Moreover, the Ni–Fe–P–Nb₂O₅/NF catalyst also has excellent oxygen evolution efficiency, which needs only 322 mV to reach the current density of 50 mA cm^?2. Furthermore, its electrocatalytic performance towards overall water splitting worked as both cathode and anode achieved a quite low potential of 1.56 V (10 mA cm^?2).