Assessment of tolerance of willows to saline soils through electrical impedance measurements

One-year-old potted clone plants of four willow species (Salix matsudana × alba, S. babylonica, S. psammophila and S. cheilophila) were cultivated and irrigated with saline solutions of different concentrations, while their electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) parameters and other physical parameters were monitored. The results indicate i) that under salt stress, height and basal diameter of all species are inhibited, and ii) that relative conductivity of cellular exudates increases while intracellular resistance (ri) and extracelluar resistance (re) drop. Both ri and re were positively correlated with height growth and basal diameter while they were significantly and negatively correlated with electric conductivity. The concentration of Na + in the shoots of willows was negatively correlated with both ri and re , whereas the concentration of K+ in the shoots was positively correlated with both ri and re . Hence, electrical impedance spectroscopy is a reliable tool for evaluating the capacity of willow species for tolerance to saline soils, with r i as the most accurate parameter.     

Decomposition of needle/leaf litter from Scots pine, black cherry, common oak and European beech at a conurbation forest site

Litter decomposition was studied for 2 years in a mixed forest serving as a water protection area (Rhine-Neckar conurbation, SW Germany). Two experiments differing in initial dry weight equivalent in litterbags were set up: one to compare decomposition of European beech leaves (Fagus sylvatica) with common oak leaves (Quercus robur), and the other comparing decomposition of Scots pine needles (Pinus sylvestris) with black cherry leaves (Prunus serotina Ehrh.), respectively. Mass losses were greater for oak litter than for beech (75.0 versus 34.6%), and for cherry litter than for pine (94.6 versus 68.3%). In both experiments, a strong initial loss of soluble compounds occurred. The changes in litter N and P concentrations and the decrease in C-to-N ratio coincided with changes in residual mass. However, neither tannin and phenolic concentrations nor NMR could explain the pronounced variation in mass loss after 2 years. Differences in litter palatability and toughness, nutrient contents and other organic compounds may be responsible for the considerable differences in residual mass between litter types. The fast decay of black cherry leaves appears to play a major role in the present humus dynamics at the studied site. Since black cherry has a high N demand, which is mainly met by root uptake from the forest floor, this species is crucial for internal N cycling at this conurbation forest site. These effects together may significantly contribute to prevent nitrate leaching from the forest ecosystem which is subject to a continuous N deposition on an elevated level.     

夏玉米冠层温度变化的时滞效应及其对土壤水分监测的影响

考虑冠层温度变化的时滞效应,可能在一定程度上能够提高土壤含水率的监测精度。该研究以灌浆期的夏玉米为研究对象,利用精密红外温度传感器（SI-411）连续监测I1（田间持水量的85%～100%）、I2（田间持水量的70%～85%）和I3（田间持水量的50%～65%）3个不同水分处理下的冠层温度,并同步获取试验地地面净辐射、大气温度、空气相对湿度等环境因子数据,以及不同水分处理小区0～10、0～20、0～30、0～40、0～60 cm不同深度处土壤含水率数据,利用高斯函数拟合冠层温度及环境因子日变化过程以此确定拟合曲线的峰值时刻,通过峰值时间差确定两者之间的时滞关系,并利用多元线性回归分析确定冠层温度的主要影响因素,最后在考虑冠层温度与主要影响因素之间时滞关系的基础上,分析冠层温度变化的时滞效应对监测土壤含水率的影响。结果表明：不同水分处理下的冠层温度峰值具有较大差异,峰值大小依次为I3、I2、I1;I1、I2、I3水分处理的冠层温度峰值时刻分别滞后净辐射约70、70、100 min,超前大气温度和相对湿度约60、60、30 min;冠层温度变化的主要影响因素为大气温度,其次为地面净辐射,最后为相对湿度;考虑时滞效应的冠气温差与土壤含水率的相关性更高,考虑时滞效应的冠气温差对土壤含水率的监测效果有一定提升。研究可为利用作物生理特性提高土壤水分监测精度提供参考。     

Infrared spectroscopic study of alkaline oxygen treatment of lignin with ATR technique in aqueous state 1: method for determining quantitative spectra of oxygen-degraded lignin

For the fundamental study of oxygen delignification of kraft pulp, structural changes of kraft lignin during alkaline oxygen treatment were investigated with the use of infrared measurement with attenuated total reflectance (ATR) technique. In the neutralized reaction mixture of alkaline oxygen-treated kraft lignin, there is a significant amount of NaCl, so that the spectral changes of water due to the coexistence of NaCl was investigated, and how to remove the huge absorption of NaCl solution is discussed. Sodium vanillate–NaCl solutions were employed as model solutions for the reaction mixture. Partial least square (PLS) regression was applied for the prediction of NaCl concentration, and the spectrum of NaCl solution was subtracted from the spectrum of sodium vanillate–NaCl solution as background measurement. This allowed us to obtain the vanillate spectra free from the absorption of NaCl solution. In addition, the mathematical method for reconstructing the spectrum of NaCl solution is discussed. The spectrum of NaCl solution is reconstructed as the linear combination of basic spectra calculated by singular value decomposition (SVD), and it was subtracted from that of the sodium vanillate–NaCl solution. By this procedure, the vanillate spectra were also obtained quantitatively, as has been demonstrated in PLS regression study. It was also confirmed that the quantitative spectra of high molecular weight fraction of alkaline oxygen-treated kraft lignin were obtained by the use of this reconstruction technique.Parts of this report were presented at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Gifu, Japan, April 2002 and the 12th International Symposium on Wood and Pulping Chemistry, Madison, USA, June 2003     

Nondestructive detection of insect infested chestnuts based on NIR spectroscopy

Insect feeding is a significant postharvest problem for processors of chestnuts (Castanea sativa, Miller). In most cases, damage from insects is ‘hidden’, i.e. not visually detectable on the fruit surface. Consequently, traditional sorting techniques, including manual sorting, are generally inadequate for the detection and removal of chestnuts with hidden damage. For the most part, the only method currently used by processors is a flotation system, in which chestnuts are placed in salt water and those that float are discarded. Flotation is unreliable, and a more effective method for detection of insect damage would benefit industry and consumers alike. In this study, the feasibility of using NIR spectroscopy to detect hidden insect damage is demonstrated. Using a genetic algorithm for feature selection (from 2 to 6 wavelengths) in combination with a linear discriminant analysis routine, classification error rates as low as 16.81% false negative, 0.00% false positive, and 8.41% total error were achieved, with an AUC value of 0.952 and an Wilk's λ of 0.403 (P < 0.001). A Savitzky–Golay first derivative spectral pretreatment with 13 smoothing points was used. The optimal features corresponded to Abs [1582 nm], Abs [1900 nm], and Abs [1964 nm]. These results represent an average of 55.3% improvement over a traditional flotation sorting system.     

大米胶稠度近红外光谱分析数学模型的建立

胶稠度是评价大米蒸煮食用品质的重要指标之一。研究了运用近红外光谱分析技术检测大米胶稠度的测试原理，对60个样品的光谱数据用偏最小二乘法(PLS)建立了测定大米胶稠度的数学模型，其回判结果与化学分析值之间的相关系数为0.95，建模标准差为0.66；用41个样品对建立的数学模型进行了交叉验证，其检测结果与用标准化学分析方法测得结果的相关系数达0.92，预测标准差为0.78。试验证明，可以利用近红外光谱分析技术对大米胶稠度进行快速检测。     

Predicting crown damage to Eucalyptus grandis by Paropsis atomaria with direct and indirect measures of leaf composition

A genetic basis for variation in resistance to defoliating insects within Eucalyptus species has been identified in many studies. This variation has frequently been ascribed to variation in secondary metabolites but studies investigating variation in resistance to defoliation by paropsine chrysomelids have failed to correlate foliar chemistry with resistance. We found that the extent of crown damage due to defoliation by Paropsis atomaria (Chrysomelidae: Colepoptera) in two matched progeny trials of Eucalyptus grandis was a heritable trait that exhibited a strong correlation with provenance latitude. Despite this, neither foliar nitrogen or concentrations of a recently discovered group of compounds, formylated phloroglucinol compounds, could account for significant variation in defoliation. We also investigated whether defoliation in the field could be predicted from foliar near-infrared reflectance spectra. Such an approach takes into account all compositional variation simultaneously rather than relying on a restricted number of measured traits. Modified partial least squares regression models performed poorly in predicting variation in crown defoliation between trees within a site primarily due to the high level of variability and coarseness of the calibration data. Discriminant analyses however demonstrated a consistent difference between spectra from trees in families suffering low level defoliation from families more susceptible to defoliation by P. atomaria suggesting chemical differences between the two groups are important in determining resistance to this insect.     

Genetic diversity of wheat wild relatives in the Near East detected by AFLP

In order to reveal the molecular genetic diversity of wheat wild relatives, an AFLP analysis was conducted with 16 accessions of five Triticum andAegilops species originating from the Near East. Variation within population was studied with at least seven individuals per accession. Four primer combinations were used for selective amplification. Based on the scored bands, we estimated percentage of polymorphic bands, 1 – proportion of shared bands (1-psb) and nucleotide diversity (π). Of the five species used in this study, Ae. speltoides had the highest level of `within population' variation. This species had also the highest value of the variation among populations. As for Triticum species, the level of variation within population was low in diploid species (T. urartu and T. boeoticum),whereas two tetraploid species (T. dicoccoides and T. araraticum) had relatively high levels of variation within population. While the two diploid Triticum indicated a clear interspecific divergence, the two tetraploid wild wheats were not clearly divergent in this study. The variance portioning analysis indicated that the variation detected for diploid Triticum species was mainly composed of `between species' variation, on the other hand that for tetraploid Triticum was mostly composed of `within population' variation. In conclusion, AFLP analysis reveals molecular variation in all accessions used in this study, suggesting a potential genetic diversity of the wheat wild relatives in natural populations. These results have implications for the design of strategies to maintain genetic diversity within genebank collections. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

彩色小麦近等基因系籽粒中氨基酸含量的比较分析

氨基酸是蛋白质的基本组成单位,是人体必需的重要营养物质。彩色小麦被认为是一类新型的营养保健小麦品种,但对其籽粒中氨基酸含量的研究很少。本研究首次利用高效液相色谱法比较分析了种植于三个环境中的彩色小麦近等基因系(蓝粒小麦科兴611,紫粒小麦科兴617和白粒小麦轮回亲本济麦22)籽粒中多种氨基酸的含量。结果表明,蓝粒小麦科兴611的必需氨基酸含量、非必需氨基酸含量及总氨基酸含量均显著地高于紫粒小麦科兴617和白粒亲本济麦22。紫粒小麦科兴617和白粒小麦济麦22相比,必需氨基酸含量、非必需氨基酸含量及总氨基酸含量相近,甚至低于济麦22。因此,蓝粒小麦籽粒氨基酸含量高的性状,有益于满足人类营养需求,同时可作为育种材料改良小麦品种的氨基酸含量,尤其是提高限制性氨基酸的含量,进而提高小麦的营养品质。     

Research on Magnetic Activated Carbon by XPS

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