Diversity of Fungal Endophytes in American Ginseng Seeds.

Seeds play a critical role in the production of American ginseng. Seeds are also one of the most important media for the long-distant dissemination and the crucial way for pathogen survival. Figuring out the pathogens carried by seeds is the basis for effective management of seedborne diseases. In this paper, we tested the fungi carried by the seeds of American ginseng from the main production areas of China using incubation and highly throughput sequencing methods. The seed-carried rates of fungi in Liuba, Fusong, Rongcheng, and Wendeng were 100, 93.8, 75.2, and 45.7%, respectively. Sixty-seven fungal species, which belonged to 28 genera, were isolated from the seeds. Eleven pathogens were identified from the seed samples. Among the pathogens, Fusarium spp. were found in all of the seed samples. The relative abundance of Fusarium spp. in the kernel was higher than that in the shell. Alpha index showed that the fungal diversity between seed shell and kernel differed significantly. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling analysis revealed that the samples from different provinces and between seed shell and kernel were distinctly separated. The inhibition rates of four fungicides to seed-carried fungi of American ginseng were 71.83% for Tebuconazole SC, 46.67% for Azoxystrobin SC, 46.08% for Fludioxonil WP, and 11.11% for Phenamacril SC. Fludioxonil, a conventional seed treatment agent, showed a low inhibitory effect on seed-carried fungi of American ginseng.

Interaction of composite fume suppression and odor elimination agents with crumb rubber modified asphalt: Inhibition behavior of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and inorganic fume.

The production and construction of crumb rubber modified asphalt (RMA) at high temperatures can produce a large amount of toxic fume, which is detrimental to human health and environment. In this study, a series of composite fume suppression and odor elimination agents (CSEAs) with both physical adsorption and chemical capture functions were adopted to reduce the emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). The material composition, microstructure, and specific surface area of CSEA were analyzed by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm (BET). The inhibitory effects of adding CSEA on toxic fume emissions from RMA at high temperatures were investigated through a combination of fume emission tests, H2S gas detection, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry technology (GC-MS). The adsorption behavior of CSEA on H2S was analyzed through adsorption dynamics. Results showed that the physical and chemical properties of CSEA are stable while chemical adsorption dominates the CSEA's effect on H2S. ZnO and Ca(OH)2 exhibit good crystallization effects on the surface of the carrier by forming mesoporous structures mostly above 3.4 nm in size. The incorporation of CSEA significantly reduced the total emissions of RMA fume and the main components of VOCs in which the average inhibition rate of H2S can reach 44 % at an initial 30 mins.

SnS2@C Hollow Nanospheres with Robust Structural Stability as High-Performance Anodes for Sodium Ion Batteries.

Constructing unique and highly stable structures with plenty of electroactive sites in sodium storage materials is a key factor for achieving improved electrochemical properties through favorable sodium ion diffusion kinetics. An SnS2@carbon hollow nanospheres (SnS2@C) has been designed and fabricated via a facile solvothermal route, followed by an annealing treatment. The SnS2@C hybrid possesses an ideal hollow structure, rich active sites, a large electrode/electrolyte interface, a shortened ion transport pathway, and, importantly, a buffer space for volume change, generated from the repeated insertion/extraction of sodium ions. These merits lead to the significant reinforcement of structural integrity during electrochemical reactions and the improvement in sodium storage properties, with a high specific reversible capacity of 626.8 mAh g-1 after 200 cycles at a current density of 0.2 A g-1 and superior high-rate performance (304.4 mAh g-1 at 5 A g-1).

Electrochemical sensor based on a three dimensional nanostructured MoS2 nanosphere-PANI/reduced graphene oxide composite for simultaneous detection of ascorbic acid, dopamine, and uric acid.

A three dimensional (3D) nanostructured composite based on the self-assembly of MoS2 nanospheres and polyaniline (PANI) loaded on reduced graphene oxide (denoted by 3D MoS2-PANI/rGO) was prepared via a feasible one-pot hydrothermal process. The 3D MoS2-PANI/rGO nanocomposite not only exhibits good functionality and bioaffinity but also displays high electrochemical catalytic activity. As such, the developed 3D MoS2-PANI/rGO nanocomposite can be employed as the sensing platform for simultaneously detecting small biomolecules, i.e., ascorbic acid (AA), dopamine (DA), and uric acid (UA). The peak currents obtained from the differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) measurements depended linearly on the concentrations in the wide range from 50 µM to 8.0 mM, 5.0 to 500 µM, and 1.0 to 500 µM, giving low detection limits of 22.20, 0.70, and 0.36 µM for AA, DA, and UA, respectively. Furthermore, the 3D MoS2-PANI/rGO-based electrochemical sensor also exhibited high selectivity, good reproducibility and stability toward small molecule detection. The present sensing strategy based on 3D MoS2-PANI/rGO suggests a good reliability in the trace determination of electroactive biomolecules.

Engineering Unique Ball-In-Ball Structured (Ni0.33Co0.67)9S8@C Nanospheres for Advanced Sodium Storage.

Constructing hollow architectures based on metal sulfides is of great interest for high-performance electrode materials for sodium-ion batteries because of their intriguing properties and various applications. However, the relatively low volumetric density and high fragile structure are the obstacles blocking the development of hollow-structured electrode materials. In this work, ball-in-ball structured (Ni0.33Co0.67)9S8@C nanospheres have been synthesized by using NiCo-glycerate as the precursor via solvothermal reaction, which was followed by a carbon coating treatment. In this structural design, hollow cavities are generated between the inner and outer balls to effectively accommodate the volume changes of the metal sulfides in the processes of charging/discharging, whereas the uniform carbon coating can increase the electrical conductivity and maintain the structural stability during repeated cycling. The Rietveld refinement, in situ X-ray diffraction, and ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses provide evidence for an enlarged lattice parameter, weaker Co-S and Ni-S bondings, and a synergistic effect in (Ni0.33Co0.67)9S8@C toward boosting the conversion reaction and reversible formation of sulfur in the fully charged state, with sulfur trapped within the composite to additionally account for the superior cycling stability of this material. Capacitive behavior has been verified to dominate the electrochemical reaction, enabling fast charge-transport kinetics. Impressively, the double structural protection combined with the free hollow space and complete carbon layer endows the (Ni0.33Co0.67)9S8@C nanospheres with good electrochemical performance, featuring high cyclability and good rate capability.

Heterophase-structured nanocrystals as superior supports for Ru-based catalysts in selective hydrogenation of benzene.

ZrO2 heterophase structure nanocrystals (HSNCs) were synthesized with tunable ratios of monoclinic ZrO2 (m-ZrO2) to tetragonal ZrO2 (t-ZrO2). The phase mole ratio of m-ZrO2 versus t-ZrO2 in ZrO2 HSNCs was tuned from 40% to 100%. The concentration of the surface hydroxyl groups on m-ZrO2 is higher than that on t-ZrO2. ZrO2 HSNCs have different surface hydroxyl groups on two crystalline phases. This creates more intimate synergistic effects than their single-phase counterparts. The ZrO2 HSNCs were used as effective supports to fabricate heterophase-structured Ru/ZrO2 catalysts for benzene-selective hydrogenation. The excellent catalytic performance including high activity and selectivity is attributed to the heterogeneous strong/weak hydrophilic interface and water layer formed at the m-ZrO2/t-ZrO2 catalyst junction.