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The calibration transfer between instruments is mainly aimed at the calibration transfer between normal spectrometers. There are few studies on the calibration transfer of soil nutrient concentration from a hyperspectral camera to a normal spectrometer. In this paper, 164 soil samples from three regions in Qingdao, China, were collected. The spectral data of normal spectrometer and hyperspectral camera and the concentration of total carbon and nitrogen were obtained. And then, the models of soil total carbon and nitrogen content were established by using the spectral data of a normal spectrometer. The hyperspectral data were transferred by a variety of methods, such as single conventional calibration transfer algorithm, combination of multiple calibration transfer algorithms, and calibration transfer algorithm after spectral pretreatment. The transferred hyperspectral data were predicted by the total carbon and total nitrogen concentration model established by using a normal spectrometer. The absolute coefficients Rt2 and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) were used to evaluate the prediction performance after calibration transfer. After trying many calibration transfer methods, the prediction performance of calibration transfer by the Repfile-PDS and Repfile-SNV methods was the best. In the calibration transfer of the Repfile-PDS method, when the number of PDS windows was 27 and the number of standard data was 40, the Rt2 and the RMSEP of TC concentration were 0.627 and 2.351. When the number of PDS windows was 25 and the number of standard data was 100, the Rt2 and the RMSEP of TN concentration were 0.666 and 0.297. In the calibration transfer of the Repfile-SNV method, when the number of TC and TN standard data was 120, the Rt2 was the largest, 0.701 and 0.722, respectively, and the RMSEP was 2.880 and 0.399, respectively. After the hyperspectral data were calibration transferred by the above algorithms, they could be predicted by the soil TC and TN concentration model established by using a normal spectrometer, and better prediction results can be obtained. The solution of the calibration transfer of soil nutrient concentration from the hyperspectral camera to the normal spectrometer provides a powerful basis for rapid prediction of a large number of image information data collected by using a hyperspectral camera. It greatly reduces the workload and promotes the application of hyperspectral camera in quantitative analysis and rapid measurement technology.

Although visible-near-infrared spectroscopy can rapidly and accurately determine soil nutrients without sample destruction, some problems remain unresolved, such as the mismatch of the established spectral model with different types of samples, limiting the wide application of this technology. Here, we took riverside and mountain soils as examples to explore the calibration transfer between two different types of soils by the WMPDS-S/B algorithm (wavelet multiscale piecewise direct standardization combined with Slope/Bias correction method) and by adding new samples. The predicted TN and TC concentrations improved significantly after being transformed. Compared with adding new samples, the WMPDS-S/B algorithm obtained more accurate results. The average relative errors dropped from 440.2% (without transformation) to approximately 6% for TN and from 342.0% to approximately 7% for TC. The maximum relative errors were reduced from 538.1% to less than 20% for TN and from 403.7% to less than 20% for TC. The RMSEP decreased from 2.42 to approximately 0.04 for TN and from 15.74 to approximately 0.4 for TC. The WMPDS-S/B algorithm had advantages in selecting fewer known samples and obtaining better prediction results. In contrast to past studies, which resolved the calibration transfer between different spectrometers and the measurement environment for the same samples, our study resolved the calibration transfer between different types of samples under the same spectrometer and the measurement environment. The former could only be used for correction among instruments, while the latter fundamentally solved the problem of model sharing across different samples.

Summary: Plasmon-assisted chemical transformation holds great potential for solar energy conversion. However, simultaneous enhancement of reactivity and selectivity is still challenging and the mechanism remains mysterious. Herein, we elucidate the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR)-induced principles underlying the enhanced activity (∼70%) and selectivity of photoelectrocatalytic redox of nitrobenzene (NB) on Au nanoparticles. Hot carriers selectively accelerate the conversion rate from NB to phenylhydroxylamine (PHA) by ∼14% but suppress the transformation rate from PHA to nitrosobenzene (NSB) by ∼13%. By adding an electron accepter, the as-observed suppression ratio is substantially enlarged up to 43%. Our experiments, supported by in situ surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory simulations, reveal such particular hot-carrier-induced selectivity is conjointly contributed by the accelerated hot electron transfer and the corresponding residual hot holes. This work will help expand the applications of renewable sunlight in the directional production of value-added chemicals under mild conditions.

1. Root life span regulates the quantity and quality of root-derived organic matter transferred to the soil organic matter pool. However, poor understanding of the rates and controls of root life span has hindered the prediction of carbon (C) flow and nutrient cycling dynamics at the ecosystem scale. 2. We examined the effects of root branch order, root diameter, mycorrhizal colonization, season of birth, depth in the soil, nitrogen (N) fertilization and foliage removal on root life span in a longleaf pine ( Pinus palustris Mill.) forest from 2001 to 2004 using minirhizotron and soil monolith sampling. 3. Among all factors, root branch order had the strongest and most consistent effect on life span, with higher order roots having a 46% longer life span than roots one order lower. 4. Within first order roots, mycorrhizal colonization significantly increased root life span by > 45% in 2 of 3 years. 5. Roots born in winter and spring generally lived longer than roots born in summer and autumn. Root life span was positively correlated with depth in the soil and root diameter, but the correlations were weaker than with order, year and season. Neither N fertilization nor foliage removal had a significant impact on root life span. 6. When biomass mortality and associated N flux were estimated based on order-specific mean life span, N concentration and ecosystem-scale biomass estimates, first order roots constituted approximately 50% of the total biomass mortality and > 60% of the N flux for the first three root orders combined. 7. Synthesis. Our results show that (i) root branch order was the strongest predictor of life span among all covariates and can effectively partition the distal longleaf pine root systems into three or more populations with different turnover rates; (ii) only a fraction of fine roots turns over annually, whereas models of C cycles assume an annual turnover for the entire fine root system. We conclude that an order-based approach holds greater promise than the traditional diameter class approach for evaluating the role of different fine root populations in C flow and nutrient cycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of cadmium stress on the growth, antioxidative enzymes and lipid peroxidation in two kenaf plants, Fuhong 991 and ZM412, were analysed under control (0.5-strength Hoagland's nutrient solution) or five levels of cadmium stress (0.5-strength Hoagland's nutrient solution containing different concentrations of Cd2+). The leaves and roots of control and cadmium-stressed plants were harvested after 3 wk. At the same Cd concentration, the Cd tolerance index of Fuhong 991 was higher than that of ZM412, indicating that Fuhong 991 may be more tolerant to Cd than ZM412. The superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase activity (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) activities fluctuated in the leaves of the Cd-stressed plants compared to the control, whereas the glutathione reductase activity (GR) was much larger than the control for Fuhong 991, ensuring that sufficient quantities of GSH were available to respond to the cadmium stress. In comparison to the control, the dynamic tendency of the SOD, CAT and POD activities in roots of the Cd-stressed plants all increased and then declined, but the POD activity of Fuhong 991 remained nearly unchanged at all of the stress levels. The increase in the enzyme activities demonstrated that Fuhong 991 was more tolerant to cadmium than ZM 412. The lipid peroxidation was enhanced only in the leaves of Cd-stressed ZM 412. These findings indicated that antioxidative activities may play important roles in Cd-stressed Fuhong 991 and ZM 412 and that the leaf and root cell membranes of Fuhong 991 have a greater stability than those of ZM 412. For pollution monitoring purposes, the GR activity in the roots and leaves may serve as a biomarker of Cd for Fuhong 991, whereas lipid peroxidation may serve as biomarker for ZM 412.

Mercury ion (Hg2+) is recognized as one of the most toxic metal ions for the environment and for human health. Techniques utilized in the detection of Hg2+ are an important factor. Herein, a simple thymine was successfully employed as the surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy sensor for Hg2+ ion detection. The limit of detection (LOD) of the developed sensor is better than 0.1 nM (0.02 ppb). This sensor can also selectively distinguish Hg2+ ions over 7 types of alkali, heavy metal and transition-metal ions. Moreover, the LOD of the sensor can even achieve 1 ppb in practical application in the nature system, which is half the maximum allowable level (10 nM, 2 ppb) stipulated in the US Environmental Protection Agency standard. Further investigation of the thymine-Hg2+-thymine coordination mechanism provides a possible means of detecting other metal ions by replacing the metal ion-specific ligands. This work paves the way for the detection of toxic metal ions and environmental problems.

To investigate " particle effect" promoting gas-liquid mass transfer for a better process control, nine species of fine particle (d32 =1-15 µm), divided into Group 1 (SSA>65.4 m²/g, termed PAC, SiO2, Al2O3 and MnO2) and Group 2 (SSA<9.8m²/g, termed Biochar, Graphite, Mg(OH) 2, CaCO3 and BaSO4), were comparatively introduced for oxygenation tests in an air-exposed stirred system. Group 1 particles with interfacial-cleaning effect facilitated oxygen transfer better than their counterparts of Group 2. For all the particles employed, however, the "particle effect" interestingly presented under control of solid specific gravity, since enhancement factor (Ef) globally performed to grew up either when particulate density decreased or liquid density increased (Pb(NO3)2 as solute). Moreover, the strength of "particle effect" depends largely on interfacial turbulence, because proper agitation allowed optimal acceleration of oxygen transfer (700 rpm for this work), while either more sluggish or turbulent flow regime would hinder or even eliminate "particle effect". Consequently, interfacial liquid-entrainment of particle entities was assumed to have played an initiative role for induction of "particle effect", and this hydrodynamic process was elucidated to be subject to particulate specific gravity as well as interfacial turbulence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]