Deep Reconstruction of Ruthenate Perovskite Oxide Enables Efficient pH-Universal Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

Designing highly efficient, stable, and pH-universal perovskites for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is urgently needed yet remains a grand challenge. Herein, a titanium-containing strontium ruthenate (SrTi0.5Ru0.5O3, STRO) is developed as an excellent HER electrocatalyst in a wide pH range. The introduction of Ti into SrRuO3 significantly reduces the size of STRO, endowing with a high reactivity that facilitates a deep surface-reconstruction during HER. Furthermore, Sr2+ leaching triggered reconstruction leads to STRO breaking into tiny nanoparticles accompanied by high-valence ruthenium (Ru) species reducing to metallic Ru. The generated active species, increased accessible sites, and improved electrical conductivity greatly boost HER. The reconstructed STRO displays remarkable HER activities with exceptional low overpotentials of 18, 24, and 55 mV at 10 mA cm-2 in 1 m KOH, 0.5 m H2SO4, and 1 m PBS, respectively, surpassing most perovskites reported previously and comparable to or even outperforming that of commercial Pt/C. Moreover, the STRO exhibits excellent stabilities over 200 h in alkaline and acidic media, superior to that of Pt/C. This work not only provides insights into structure reconstruction of perovskites during HER, but also opens new perspectives for developing high-efficiency and pH-universal electrocatalysts for future energy applications.

Development of a quantum dots based immunochromatographic strip for rapid and on-site detection of African swine fever virus.

African swine fever (ASF) is a lethal disease caused by ASF virus (ASFV), severely impacting the global swine industry. Though nuclear acid-based detection methods are reliable, they are laboratory-dependent. In this study, we developed a device-independent, user friendly and cost-effective quantum dots based immunochromatographic strip (QDs-ICS) with high specificity and sensitivity for the rapid and on-site detection of ASFV antigen. For the preparation of the QDs-ICS, we generated a monoclonal antibody (mAb) mAb-8G8 and polyclonal antibody (pAb) against ASFV-p72 protein. The pAb was labelled with QDs to be used as the detection probe and the mAb-8G8 was coated on the nitrocellulose membrane as the test line. Our results proved that the strip displayed no cross-reactivity with other swine viruses and detection limit of the QDs-ICS was down to 1 ng/mL for the ASFV-p72 protein with great reproducibility. The strip also exhibited high stability with a storage period up to 12 months under room temperature. Twenty blind samples and one hundred clinical samples were examined by the QDs-ICS, conventional PCR and real-time PCR method, respectively. Results showed that the agreement rate between the QDs-ICS and PCR method was 100%, and the agreement rate between the strip and real-time PCR was 94%. The novel QDs-ICS developed here would be an effective tool for on-site detection of ASFV.

Effect of spatial distortions in head-mounted displays on visually induced motion sickness.

Incomplete optical distortion correction in VR HMDs leads to spatial dynamic distortion, which is a potential cause of VIMS. A perception experiment is designed for the investigation with three spatial distortion levels, with the subjective SSQ, five-scale VIMS level rating, and objective postural instability adopted as the evaluation metrics. The results show that the factor of spatial distortion level has a significant effect on all metrics increments (p<0.05). As the spatial distortion level drops off, the increments of VIMS symptoms decrease. The study highlights the importance of perfect spatial distortion correction in VR HMDs for eliminating the potential VIMS aggravation effect.

Allelic Variations in Phenology Genes of Eastern U.S. Soft Winter and Korean Winter Wheat and Their Associations with Heading Date.

Wheat heading time is genetically controlled by phenology genes including vernalization (Vrn), photoperiod (Ppd) and earliness per se (Eps) genes. Characterization of the existing genetic variation in the phenology genes of wheat would provide breeding programs with valuable genetic resources necessary for the development of wheat varieties well-adapted to the local environment and early-maturing traits suitable for double-cropping system. One hundred forty-nine eastern U.S. soft winter (ESW) and 32 Korean winter (KW) wheat genotypes were characterized using molecular markers for Vrn, Ppd, Eps and reduced-height (Rht) genes, and phenotyped for heading date (HD) in the eastern U.S. region. The Ppd-D1 and Rht-D1 genes exhibited the highest genetic diversity in ESW and KW wheat, respectively. The genetic variations for HD of ESW wheat were largely contributed by Ppd-B1, Ppd-D1 and Vrn-D3 genes. The Rht-D1 gene largely contributed to the genetic variation for HD of KW wheat. KW wheat headed on average 14 days earlier than ESW wheat in each crop year, largely due to the presence of the one-copy vrn-A1 allele in the former. The development of early-maturing ESW wheat varieties could be achieved by selecting for the one-copy vrn-A1 and vrn-D3a alleles in combination with Ppd-B1a and Ppd-D1a photoperiod insensitive alleles.

Molecular Characteristics of Jimusaer Shale Oil from Xinjiang, China.

Increasing attention is currently obtained by the exploitation and utilization of unconventional energy sources globally. Jimusaer shale oil (JSO) was prepared by dry distillation from oil shale in Jimusaer, Xinjiang, China. Using n-heptane and toluene as solvents, saturate (SA), aromatic (AR), resin (RE), and asphaltene (AS) samples were produced from JSO. Samples were subsequently analyzed by elemental analysis (EA), thermogravimetric analysis (TG-DTG), infrared analysis (FT-IR), high-performance gel chromatography (GPC), and nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR and 13C-NMR). In terms of basic properties, element content, classification of combustible minerals, and refining performance, JSO, which has a high H/C value, low carbon residue yield, low metal content, and excellent refining-processing performance, is considered a high-quality shale oil compared with the shale oil produced in other areas. The refining performance of JSO is even comparable with petroleum. According to column chromatography, the contents of SA, AR, RE, and AS in JSO are 54.32, 18.86, 25.81, and 1.01%, respectively. The results of FT-IR and NMR (1H-NMR and 13C-NMR) demonstrated that the chain alkane or aromatic cycloalkyl substituents of SA, AR, and RE decrease sequentially, while the number of aromatic rings and cycloalkane rings and the degree of condensation increase sequentially. These results indicate that the chain alkanes with a small number of cycloalkanes are the main component of SA. The AR and RE contain more thick-ring aromatic hydrocarbons. According to GPC, the molecular weight (M n) of JSO is 845 g·mol-1, and those of SA, AR, and RE are 702, 1107, and 2218 g·mol-1, respectively. The estimated molecular formulas (M af) of JSO, SA, AR, and RE, which were calculated based on the combined results of GPC and EA, are C57.91H115.60O1.38N0.79S0.04, C48.02H101.79O0.69N0.85S0.03, C76.96H137.16O1.08N1.87S0.09, and C156.24H247.75O1.46N4.42S0.32.

A monoclonal antibody for identifying capsaicin congeners in illegal cooking oil and its applications.

In this work, we studied the preparation of a high-affinity antibody and its immunochromatographic applications to simultaneously identify capsaicin(LJJ), dihydrocapsaicin(HLJ), nordihydrocapsaicin, homodihydrocapsaicin, and other congeners in illegal cooking oil. We used dihydrocapsaicin hapten-conjugated carrier protein BSA as the immunogen according to the formaldehyde method, and conjugated capsaicin and OVA as the coated detection antigen according to the formaldehyde method. We subsequently screened and cloned a hybridoma cell line 2B3 with the highest affinity, which could stably secrete monoclonal antibodies against compounds in the capsaicin family. We then established a capsaicin indirect ELISA standard curve, which was fitted using the linear regression equation R = 0.9987, curve y = -2.3x + 0.2, and IC50 = 0.2 ng/mL. The cross-reaction rate for capsaicin was 100%, 116% for dihydrocapsaicin, 88% for homodihydrocapsaicin, and 94% for nordihydrocapsaicin. In the second application, we established a simple and accurate sample pretreatment method and a quantum dot-labeled test strip to quickly and quantitatively detect capsaicin family compounds in illegal cooking oil in 8 min. The average recovery rates for each spiked concentration were between 75% and 107.8%, and the coefficient of variation values for each spiked concentration were less than 15%. The high-affinity antibody we identified could simultaneously identify capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, nordihydrocapsaicin, homodihydrocapsaicin, and other congeners in illegal cooking oil, and the antibody could be quickly and accurately applied for the qualitative and quantitative detection of capsaicin family residues in illegal cooking oil.

The interactions of paclitaxel with tumour microenvironment.

Today, it is well-known that the interactions and secretion within the tumour are crucial to consider for cancer therapy. Some novel cancer therapy modalities such as immunotherapy or tumour vaccination therapy work based on the control of interactions within the tumour microenvironment (TME). It has been revealed that anti-cancer drugs or radiotherapy can modulate some interactions in favour of cancer therapy. However, they may induce some mechanisms to increase the resistance of cancer cells to therapy. Paclitaxel is known as the first approved herbal derived chemotherapy drug. Although the main known anti-cancer effect of paclitaxel is the inhibition of the cell cycle, today, it has been well known that paclitaxel may suppress the tumour via modulating several interactions in TME. Furthermore, paclitaxel may increase the expression of some tumour resistance drivers. This review aims to discuss the interactions within TME following treatment with paclitaxel. The effects of paclitaxel on the anti-tumour immunity, immunosuppressive cells, hypoxia, and also angiogenesis will be discussed. The targeting of these interactions may be interesting to increase therapy efficiency using the combination modalities.

Influence of Ni Precursors on the Structure, Performance, and Carbon Deposition of Ni-Al2O3 Catalysts for CO Methanation.

Three Ni-Al2O3 catalysts were prepared, in planetary ball-milling machine, by the mechanochemical method with Al(NO3)3·9H2O as the aluminum precursor, (NH4)2CO3 as the precipitant, and Ni(NO3)2·6H2O, NiCl2·6H2O, and Ni(CH3COO)2·4H2O as nickel precursors (the corresponding catalysts were labeled as Ni-NO, Ni-Cl, and Ni-Ac). The prepared catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR), and N2 adsorption-desorption technologies, and CO methanation performance evaluation was carried out for the catalysts. Results showed that the catalyst with Ni(NO3)2·6H2O as the precursor presented good Ni dispersibility and a small Ni grain size of 6.80 nm. CO conversion, CH4 selectivity, and yield of the catalyst were as high as 78.8, 87.9, and 69.8%, respectively. Carbon deposition analysis from temperature-programmed hydrogenation (TPH) characterization showed that the H2 consumption peak area of the three samples followed the order: Ni-NO (2886.66 au) < Ni-Cl (4389.97 au) < Ni-Ac (5721.65 au), indicating that the Ni-NO catalyst showed higher resistance to carbon deposition, which might be due to its small Ni grain size.

Effects of Promoters on the Structure, Performance, and Carbon Deposition of Ni-Al2O3 Catalysts for CO2-CH4 Reforming.

Modified Ni-Al2O3 catalysts with Ca, Co, and Ce species as promoters were prepared by the combustion method, and the structure, morphology, reduction characteristic, and CO2-CH4 reforming of the catalysts were discussed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), H2-temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) mapping, NH3-temperature-programmed desorption (NH3-TPD), N2 adsorption-desorption, thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTG), and temperature-programmed hydrogenation (TPH) methods. The crystal size of Ni on Ca-Ni-Al2O3 was 16.97 nm, and the active component and additive were distributed well in the catalyst. Co-Ni-Al2O3 presented a surface area of 65.70 m2·g-1 and a pore diameter of 161.60 nm. Ce-Ni-Al2O3 showed relatively stable nickel-aluminum spinel (NiAl2O4), which could not be easily reduced to the active component Ni. Evaluation results demonstrated that the performance of the catalysts followed the order Co-Ni-Al2O3 > Ca-Ni-Al2O3 > Ni-Al2O3 > Ce-Ni-Al2O3. Carbon deposition analysis showed that the carbon resistance of Ca-Ni-Al2O3 was poor and graphitic carbon was generated on the catalyst. However, Ce-Ni-Al2O3 showed less carbon deposition, which might have resulted from the lower activity of the catalyst.

Effect of Swelling by Organic Solvent on Structure, Pyrolysis, and Methanol Extraction Performance of Hefeng Bituminous Coal.

N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), pyridine (Py), tetrahydrofuran (THF), and tetralin (THN) were used to swell Hefeng acid-washed bituminous coal (HBCAC). The swelling effect on HBCAC by each solvent is different, among which NMP presented well swelling performance, with a swelling degree of 2.11. FTIR results showed that acid washing and swelling processes presented a marginal effect on HBC, and there was no damage to the macromolecule structure of the coal. TG-DTG profiles of the swollen coals illustrated that the total weight loss of each sample was lower than that of the acid-washing one, while the temperature of the maximum weight loss rate peak was almost unchanged, around 445 °C. Extract yield by methanol followed the order of HBCAC > HBC > HBCAC-NMP (swelled by NMP), showing that acid washing promoted the methanol extraction process, with a higher extract yield of 3.21%, which is twice that of HBC (1.66%).

Hydrodynamic Cavitation of Creosote Oil in the Presence of a Ni2+ Initiator Results in an Increase in Its Overall Naphthalene Content.

Hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) of aromatic hydrocarbons present in creosote oil obtained from coal tar in the presence of 0.3% (w/w) Ni2+ as an inducer increased its naphthalene and phenanthrene content by 7.3 and 2.6%, respectively. An optimal procedure was developed based on the use of an upstream pressure of 2.6 MPa, an immersing height (H) for the cavitator of 105 mm, 10% H2O content, use of a NiSO4 solution at pH 4.0, and an operating temperature of 75 °C. Enrichment of the naphthalene and phenanthrene components is caused by hydroxyl and hydrogen radicals generated in the reaction inducing aromatic components to undergo a series of radical demethylation/methylation reactions to produce new product ratios. The observed increases in naphthalene and phenanthrene content using Ni2+ as a radical inducer are in contrast with the previous results using Fe2+ under similar conditions, which led to the enrichment of the acenaphthalene fraction of creosote oil.

Influences of grain and protein characteristics on in vitro protein digestibility of modern and ancient wheat species.

BACKGROUND: The resistance of proteins to gastrointestinal digestion contributes to their ability to act as allergens. Near-complete digestion of protein in wheat products is important with respect to avoiding the potential immunogenic effects of undigested peptides. Five modern US wheat classes (soft red winter, hard winter, hard red spring, club and durum) including 17 wheat varieties, as well as three ancient wheat classes (spelt, emmer and einkorn) including nine wheat varieties, were analyzed for kernel hardness (KH) and flour protein characteristics, in addition to in vitro protein digestibility (IVPD) of cooked flour, flour without albumins and globulins (FWOAG), gluten, albumins, and globulins, aiming to identify the factors influencing the protein digestibility of flour. RESULTS: IVPDs of flour, FWOAG, gluten and albumins of wheat varieties ranged from 86.5% to 92.3%, 85.8% to 90.3%, 90.6% to 94.6% and 74.8% to 85.1%, respectively. The IVPD of gluten was significantly higher than the IVPDs of flour and FWOAG, indicating that non-protein components substantially affect protein digestibility. Significant differences were observed in IVPDs of flour and albumins among eight wheat classes, but not in the IVPDs of FWOAG, gluten and globulins. There were apparent differences in undigested protein bands and intensities of wheat classes with low and high flour IVPDs. KH and albumin proportion exhibited negative and positive relationships, respectively, with flour IVPD. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study demonstrate that KH, non-protein components and albumin proportion have a major influence on protein digestion and need to be considered when developing wheat cultivars with higher protein digestibility.

Effect of Ca Promoter on the Structure, Performance, and Carbon Deposition of Ni-Al2O3 Catalyst for CO2-CH4 Reforming.

Ni-Al2O3 catalyst with different Ca abundance for CO2-CH4 reforming was prepared by the solution combustion method. By some mature characterization methods, such as XRD, H2-TPR, EDX mapping, TEM, TPH and TG-DTG technologies, and the reforming experiment, the effect of Ca content on the structure, reforming performance, and carbon deposition of Ni-Al2O3 catalyst was investigated. Results showed that the grain size of active component Ni on the 4 wt % Ca-modified catalyst (Ni-Ca-4) was small (13.67 nm), presenting good dispersion, and that Ni and Ca elements were well distributed on the support, which was more conducive to the CO2-CH4 reforming. Evaluation results showed that activity of Ni-Ca-4 was higher than the others, with CH4 and CO2 conversions of 52.0 and 96.7%, respectively, and H2/CO ratio close to unit. Carbon deposition proposed that the amount of carbon deposited on the surface of Ni-Ca-4 was lower (18%), and the type of carbon was attributed to amorphous carbon, indicating that 4 wt % Ca-promoted catalyst presented better anticarbon deposition performance.

Sequential thermal dissolution of two low-rank coals and characterization of their structures by high-performance liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.

RATIONALE: Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC/TOF-MS) were used to separate and reveal the molecular characteristics of organic matter in low-rank coals. METHODS: Six soluble portions (SPs) were obtained by sequential thermal dissolution (TD) of two low-rank coals in the order of cyclohexane, acetone and methanol solvents at 300°C. Organic matter with different molecular characteristics were enriched in eachTD extract, which was further separated and analyzed by GC/MS and HPLC/TOF-MS using an electrospray ionization source in positive mode to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the structural composition of coals. RESULTS: Low polarity compounds like alkanes and arenes have a better solubility in cyclohexane. Phorone has the highest relative abundance in the acetone SPs, and the main compounds detected in the methanol SPs are alcohols and phenols. According to the data from HPLC/TOF-MS, most of the oxygen atoms are in the form of carbonyl and alkoxy groups. The nitrogen-containing compounds in SPs are mainly saturated aliphatic amines and pyridines. The sulfur-containing compounds mainly exist in the form of thioalkanes and thiophenes. CONCLUSIONS: Non-destructive methods were used to obtain soluble matter from coals, and different chromatographic and mass spectrometric techniques were used to separate and analyze the organic matter in coals. Detailed molecular structural information was obtained for the efficient and clean utilization of low-rank coals.

Fe3O4 Nanoparticles Supported on Modified Coal toward Catalytic Hydrogenation of Coal to Oil.

Iron-supported catalysts exhibit good catalytic performance in direct coal liquefaction (DCL), but the effect of the carrier on the performance of the composite catalyst is unclear. In this paper, a simple solid-state synthesis strategy for the preparation of coal-loaded Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe3O4/Coal) and the hydrochloric acid treatment of coal-loaded Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe3O4/Coal-HCl) is presented. The resulting composite was used as a catalyst for DCL. The effects of supports on the structure and performance of iron-supported catalysts have been illustrated. After the acid pretreatment of the catalyst carrier coal, the surface structure and functional groups changed, which affected the aggregation morphology of the Fe3O4 active component. The Fe3O4/Coal-HCl catalyst improved the catalytic performance of DCL with conversion and oil yield of 98.02 and 49.96 wt %, respectively. The result shows that pretreatment can be an effective way to modify the surface of the catalyst carrier coals, thereby further improving the catalytic performance of composites. The iron-based composites prepared by the solid-state route show great potential as supported catalysts in DCL.

Influences of high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits and rye translocations on dough-mixing properties and sugar-snap cookie-baking quality of soft winter wheat.

BACKGROUND: The significance of high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GSs) and rye translocations, and their associations with gluten strength for hard wheat used for making bread has been understood well, but remains poorly understood for soft wheat used for making cookies. The influences of HMW-GSs and rye translocations on the dough-mixing properties and cookie-baking quality of soft wheat were investigated using 50 US eastern soft winter (ESW) wheat varieties possessing 14 predominant HMW-GS profiles. RESULTS: Glu-A1 and Glu-B1 loci only influenced dough-mixing properties significantly, whereas the Glu-D1 locus influenced both dough-mixing properties and cookie-baking quality significantly. The subunits 1, 7* + 8 and 5 + 10 at the Glu-A1, Glu-B1 and Glu-D1 loci, respectively, were associated with a long midline peak time, whereas only the rare subunits 2 + 121 at the Glu-D1 locus exhibited significant associations with improved cookie-baking quality of ESW wheat. The contributions of rye translocations to dough-mixing properties and cookie-baking quality depended on HMW-GS profiles. Three HMW-GS profiles (2*, 7 + 9, 2 + 121 ), (2*, 7 + 8, 2 + 121 ) and (1, 7 + 8, 2 + 121 ) were identified as being desirable for making large-diameter cookies. Flour protein content, lactic acid (LA), and sodium carbonate (SC) solvent retention capacities and softness equivalence were identified as effective predictors of cookie diameter and accounted for 79% of the variation in cookie diameter. CONCLUSION: Subunits 2 + 121 have significant associations with the protein characteristics and cookie-baking quality of soft wheat. The determination of HMW-GS composition would be an effective tool in soft-wheat breeding programs for quickly identifying and selecting acceptable breeding lines possessing desirable cookie-baking potential. Published 2020. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Effects of calcination temperatures on the structure-activity relationship of Ni-La/Al2O3 catalysts for syngas methanation.

A series of Ni-La/Al2O3 catalysts for the syngas methanation reaction were prepared by a mechanochemical method and characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TG-DTA), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption-desorption, H2 temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The calcination temperatures (350-700 °C) had significant impacts on the crystallite sizes and interactions between NiO and Al2O3. The catalyst calcined at 400 °C (cat-400) showed a 12.1% Ni dispersion degree and the maximum bound state of NiO (54%) through the Gaussian fitting of H2-TPR. Cat-400 also achieved the highest CO conversion, CH4 selectivity and yield. Cat-400 exhibited good stability and catalytic activity in a lifetime testing of 200 h. The deactivation of cat-400 was mainly caused by carbon deposition according to the data from XRD, TG-DTG and XPS.

Effects of a forming process on the properties and structure of RANEY®-Ni catalysts for the hydrogenation of 1,4-butenediol.

Three commercial Ni-Al alloys formed by a vacuum atomization method (NAV), atmospheric atomization method (NAA) and high-temperature melting method (NAH) were leached by 10 wt% NaOH solution to prepare three RANEY®-Ni catalysts (RNAV, RNAA and RNAH, correspondingly). The effects of a forming process on the structure of Ni-Al alloys and the corresponding RANEY®-Ni catalysts were investigated via XRD, XPS, SEM, TEM, NH3-TPD, N2 adsorption-desorption and EDX-mapping studies. Also, the as-prepared RANEY®-Ni catalysts were evaluated via the hydrogenation of 1,4-butenediol (BED) to produce 1,4-butanediol (BDO). The results showed that the specific surface areas and surface morphologies of the Ni-Al alloys present significant differences. Meanwhile, the RNAA sample presented a comparatively regular morphology, similar to a small piece of sugar cane. The weak and medium acid peak areas of the RNAA catalyst were lower than those of the other samples. RNAV showed higher weak and medium acid peak areas, demonstrating the higher number of acid centers on the surface of the catalyst. The surface of the RNAA catalyst obtained from NAA contained more active component-Ni, about 90 wt% on the surface, and the specific surface area of the sample was 75 times that of its precursor Ni-Al alloy powder (NAA). The evaluation results present that the RNAA catalyst shows better hydrogenation performance, with BED conversion of 100%, both BDO selectivity and yield of 46.11%.

Kinetic study of biomass pellet pyrolysis by using distributed activation energy model and Coats Redfern methods and their comparison.

In this study, the pyrolysis behavior and kinetics of raw biomasses and their pellets were studied by Coats Redfern and DAEM methods. The results demonstrated that the similar activation energies obtained by both methods confirmed accuracy of the kinetics calculation. The activation energy of the pellets was 132.49-232.44 kJ mol-1, slightly higher than those of raw biomasses, which was 120.58-210.55 kJ mol-1. The results from Coats Redfern method showed that the pyrolysis of all the samples were controlled by mass and heat diffusion. DAEM revealed that the activation energies of the pellets were higher than those of raw biomasses during hemicellulose and cellulose decomposition stages, and was opposite for the lignin decomposition stage. Physical structure characterization indicated that the pellets had smaller surface area and more compact surface than those of their raw biomasses. Hence, the mass and heat diffusion were suppressed and more cross-linking reactions occurred during pellets pyrolysis.

The effects of magnetic treatment on nitrogen absorption and distribution in seedlings of Populus × euramericana 'Neva' under NaCl stress.

A potted experiment with Populus × euramericana 'Neva' was carried out to assess whether there are positive effects of magnetic treatment of saline water (MTSW) on nitrogen metabolism under controlled conditions in a greenhouse. Growth properties, nitrogen contents, enzyme activities and metabolite concentrations were determined based on field experiments and laboratory analysis after a 30-day treatment. The results were as follows: (1) Biomass accumulation, root morphological properties and total nitrogen content were improved by MTSW. (2) Magnetization led to a greater increase in nitrate-nitrogen (NO3--N) content in roots than in leaves, accompanied by greater NO3- efflux and activated nitrate reductase. (3) MTSW led to a higher ammonium-nitrogen (NH4+-N) content and greater uptake of net NH4+ in the leaves than that in the roots. (4) Magnetization stimulated glutamine synthase, glutamate dehydrogenase and glutamate synthase activities, whereas the concentrations of glutathione and oxidized glutathione were increased in leaves but decreased in roots, and the total glutathione content was increased. Overall, these results indicated some beneficial impacts of MTSW on nitrogen translocation under field conditions, especially for equilibrating the distribution of NO3--N and NH4+-N. Moreover, these findings confirmed the potential of using low-quality water for agriculture.