UV老化后氧化铁颜料着色木纤维-HDPE复合材料的性能变化

探讨了氧化铁颜料对木纤维．高密度聚乙烯复合材耐老化性能的改善作用。采用四种常用的氧化铁颜料与木纤维、高密度聚乙烯和其他加工助剂干混,并用自行设计的双螺杆／单螺杆双阶挤出机组制造木塑复合材料。对该木塑复合材料进行人工加速紫外循环老化处理,用CIE1976L^＊a^＊b^＊表色体系和ASTMD790标准分别对老化前后的材料进行测试,结果显示加入颜料以后木塑复合材料的抗弯弹性模量没有明显的变化,但是弯曲强度都有一定程度的提高。经过2000h人工加速紫外老化以后,不论是颜色要是力学性能都发生了明显的变化。铁红和铁黑着色的试样在整个老化过程中表现较好,颜料添加量约2．28％比较适宜。     

Water absorption of boron-treated and heat-modified wood

Heat treatments change the chemical and physical properties of wood and dimensional stability and hygroscopicity are affected as a result of modifications of wood cell components. This study evaluated the water absorption of wood specimens treated with boron compounds followed by heat treatment. Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) sapwood specimens treated with either boric acid (BA) or disodium octoborate tetrahydrate (DOT) solutions were heat-modified at either 180° or 220°C for 2 or 4 h. Carbohydrate composition and water absorption of the specimens were then measured and compared with those of untreated and unheated specimens. Wood carbohydrates were significantly degraded in the specimens after heat treatment. The heat treatment evidently decreased the water absorption and the heat-modified specimens absorbed less water than unheated specimens. The higher the treatment temperature and the longer the treatment time, the lower the amount of absorbed water. The boron-treated and heat-modified specimens, however, showed increased water absorption due to the hygroscopic properties of BA and DOT.     

Nitrogen and fine root length dynamics in a tropical agroforestry system with periodically pruned Erythrina poeppigiana

The effect of pruning all branches (complete pruning) or retaining one branch (partial pruning) on the dynamics of nitrogen cycling in aboveground biomass, nitrogen supplying power of an amended Eutric Cambisol, and fine root length, was studied in an Erythrina poeppigiana (Walp.) O.F. Cook—tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) alley cropping practice in Turrialba, Costa Rica during 1999–2000. Over the 1 year pruning cycle, in which trees were completely or partially pruned four times, respective aboveground biomass production was 4.4 Mg or 7 Mg ha⁻¹ (2-year-old trees) and 5.5 Mg or 9 Mg ha⁻¹ (8-year-old trees); N cycled in aboveground biomass was 123 kg or 187 kg ha⁻¹ (2-year-old trees) and 160 kg or 256 kg N ha⁻¹ (8-year-old trees); mean fine root length was 489 or 821 m (2-year-old-trees), 184 or 364 m per tree (8-year-old-trees). Pruning intensity did not significantly affect net N mineralisation and net nitrification rates during the tomato-cropping season. For the tomato crop, pre-plant mean net N mineralisation rate of 2.5 mg N kg⁻¹ soil day⁻¹ was significantly lower than 16.7 or 11.6 mg N kg⁻¹ soil day⁻¹ at the end of vegetative development and flowering, respectively. Mean net nitrification rates of 3.5, and 4.3 mg N kg⁻¹ soil day⁻¹, at pre-plant and end of vegetative development, respectively, were significantly higher than 0.3 mg N kg⁻¹ soil day⁻¹ at end of flowering. In humid tropical low-input agroforestry practices that depend on organic inputs from trees for crop nutrition, retention of a branch on the pruned tree stump appears to be a good alternative to removal of all branches for reducing N losses through higher N cycling in aboveground biomass, and for conserving fine root length for higher N uptake, although it might enhance competition for associated crops.     

Effects of different supplements on tetraploid black locust (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Robinia pseudoacacia</Emphasis> L.) silage

Preparation of silage is a common method to preserve green forage. It plays an important role in improving forage utilization,     

The homogenizing influence of agriculture on forest bird communities at landscape scales

Landscape Ecology - Agricultural expansion is a principal driver of biodiversity loss, but the impacts on community assembly in agro-ecosystems are less clear, especially across regional scales at...     

Landscape-level naturalness of conservation easements in a mixed-use matrix

Context

With underrepresentation of habitats in publicly protected areas, attention has focused on the function of alternative land conservation mechanisms. Private conservation easements (CEs) have proliferated in the United States, yet assessing landscape-level function is confounded by varying extent, resolution, and temporal scale.

Objectives

We developed and tested an assessment tool to evaluate interacting spatial, social, and environmental attributes of easements relative to the degree of human modification (HM). We hypothesized that on both private and public conservation properties HM would be lower than on non-conserved parcels, and that for fine-scale features (most CEs), the level of HM would be driven by the variables used to create the coarser scale HM measure.

Methods

Variation in HM between private, public, and non-conserved was tested via pairwise parcel sampling. Composition was evaluated using multiple geographic bounds and edge characteristics. We assessed both environmental and social predictors using multinomial logistic regression.

Results

Privately conserved lands did not differ significantly from non-conserved lands. Publicly conserved lands had lower HM than both privately conserved and non-conserved lands. Edge contrast was similar between private and matched non-conserved patches. The level of HM was not driven by distance to roads, or by elevation in this mixed-use setting.

Conclusions

Variation in tests for differences, land characteristics, and HM variables confirmed the significantly lower HM of publicly protected lands, and opens the question as to naturalness of easements in some contexts. CEs in this location may be representative of the mixed rural-forested landscape instead of more natural land cover.

     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lupinus albus</Emphasis> Conglutin Gamma Modifies the Gene Expressions of Enzymes Involved in Glucose Hepatic Production <Emphasis Type="Italic">In Vivo</Emphasis>

Lupinus albus seeds contain conglutin gamma (Cγ) protein, which exerts a hypoglycemic effect and positively modifies proteins involved in glucose homeostasis. Cγ could potentially be used to manage patients with impaired glucose metabolism, but there remains a need to evaluate its effects on hepatic glucose production. The present study aimed to analyze G6pc, Fbp1, and Pck1 gene expressions in two experimental animal models of impaired glucose metabolism. We also evaluated hepatic and renal tissue integrity following Cγ treatment. To generate an insulin resistance model, male Wistar rats were provided 30% sucrose solution ad libitum for 20 weeks. To generate a type 2 diabetes model (STZ), five-day-old rats were intraperitoneally injected with streptozotocin (150 mg/kg). Each animal model was randomized into three subgroups that received the following oral treatments daily for one week: 0.9% w/v NaCl (vehicle; IR-Ctrl and STZ-Ctrl); metformin 300 mg/kg (IR-Met and STZ-Met); and Cγ 150 mg/kg (IR-Cγ and STZ-Cγ). Biochemical parameters were assessed pre- and post-treatment using colorimetric or enzymatic methods. We also performed histological analysis of hepatic and renal tissue. G6pc, Fbp1, and Pck1 gene expressions were quantified using real-time PCR. No histological changes were observed in any group. Post-treatment G6pc gene expression was decreased in the IR-Cγ and STZ-Cγ groups. Post-treatment Fbp1 and Pck1 gene expressions were reduced in the IR-Cγ group but increased in STZ-Cγ animals. Overall, these findings suggest that Cγ is involved in reducing hepatic glucose production, mainly through G6pc inhibition in impaired glucose metabolism disorders.     

Some Nutritional Characteristics of Enzymatically Resistant Maltodextrin from Cassava (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Manihot esculenta</Emphasis> Crantz) Starch

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) native starch was treated with pyroconversion and enzymatic hydrolysis to produce a pyrodextrin and an enzyme-resistant maltodextrin. Some nutritional characteristics were quantified for both compounds. Pyroconversion was done using a 160:1 (p/v) starch:HCl ratio, 90 °C temperature and 3 h reaction time. The resulting pyrodextrin contained 46.21% indigestible starch and 78.86% dietary fiber. Thermostable α-amylase (0.01%) was used to hydrolyze the pyrodextrin at 95 °C for 5 min. The resulting resistant maltodextrin contained 24.45% dextrose equivalents, 56.06% indigestible starch and 86.62% dietary fiber. Compared to the cassava native starch, the pyrodextrin exhibited 56% solubility at room temperature and the resistant maltodextrin 100%. The glycemic index value for the resistant maltodextrin was 59% in healthy persons. Its high indigestible starch and dietary fiber contents, as well as its complete solubility, make the resistant maltodextrin a promising ingredient for raising dietary fiber content in a wide range of foods, especially in drinks, dairy products, creams and soups.     

Antioxidant Capacity of Beetroot: Traditional vs Novel Approaches

Red beetroot has been ranked among the 10 most potent antioxidant vegetables, although only extraction-based methods have been used to evaluate its total antioxidant capacity. Therefore, the present study aims at comparing the traditional extraction-based method with two more recent approaches (QUENCHER -QUick, Easy, New, CHEap and Reproducible- and GAR -global antioxidant response method), in order to establish their suitability in the case of beetroot. Our results indicate that the total antioxidant capacity of beetroot would be underestimated when using extraction-based procedures, since both QUENCHER and GAR methods resulted in a higher total antioxidant capacity. The effect of a thermal treatment on the total antioxidant capacity of beetroot varies among the methods evaluated and our findings suggest different compounds responsible for the total antioxidant capacity detected in each pre-processing method. Remarkably, the present study demonstrates that the traditional extraction-based method seems useful to screen for (changes in) the “bioavailable” antioxidant potential of the root.