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Mutation breeding is a significant means of increasing breeding efficiency and accelerating breeding process. In present study, we explored a new method for mutations inducing in rice (Oryza sativa L.) by using direct current electrophoresis bath (DCEB). The results showed that 20 mM NaCl solution is the optimal buffer, and the mortality of rice seeds followed an upward trend with increasing voltage and processing time of DCEB. By exploring the mutagenic effects of γ-irradiation and DCEB on seed vigor and physiological damages, we found that the physiological damages induced by DCEB on seed vigor were significant compared with that by γ-irradiation. We screened two mutants with low filled grain percentage and one mutant with abnormal hull from the M2 generations. These three mutants were confirmed to be authentic mutants based on 48 SSR markers followed by the protocol NY/T 1433–2014. Whole-genome resequencing detected a total of 503 and 537 polymorphisms in the two mutants, respectively, and the DCEB mutagenesis induced mainly InDel variants, while the exon region of mutant genes occupied a large proportion, especially the SNP variants, which occupied about 20% of the mutation sites in the exon region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the most important prototypical chromium-based MOFs, MIL-101(Cr) is well-studied and widely employed in various scientific fields. However, due to its small capture window sizes and curved internal apertures, its application in large molecular removal is quite limited, and given its high stability and high synthetic temperature (>200 °C), it is difficult to achieve hierarchically porous MIL-101(Cr). In our study, hierarchically porous MIL-101(Cr) involving a high macro-/meso-/micropores ratio was designed and synthesized using acetic acid as an additive and silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanoparticles as a template. The optimal hierarchically porous MIL-101(Cr) (A-4) possessed a high specific surface area (2693 m2 g−1) and an abundant macro-/mesoporous structure with the addition of SiO2 of 200 mg. Compared with the control sample (A-0) with a less macro-/mesoporous structure, A-4 showed good adsorption properties for both coomassie brilliant blue R-250 (CBB, 82.1 mg g−1) and methylene blue (MB, 34.3 mg g−1) dyes, which were 1.36 times and 9.37 times higher than those of A-0. Moreover, A-4 also had good recyclability, and the removal rate of CBB was still higher than 85% after five cycles of adsorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MIL-101(Cr) is one of the most well-studied chromium-based metal–organic frameworks, which consists of metal chromium ion and terephthalic acid ligand. It has an ultra-high specific surface area, large pore size, good thermal/chemical/water stability, and contains unsaturated Lewis acid sites in its structure. Due to the physicochemical properties and structural characteristics, MIL-101(Cr) has a wide range of applications in aqueous phase adsorption, gas storage and separation, and catalysis. In this review, the latest synthesis of MIL-101(Cr) and its research progress in adsorption and catalysis are reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hierarchically porous MIL-101(Cr) (H-MIL-101(Cr)) with meso/macro-pores was directly prepared via nanofusion progress by using butyric acid as a modulating agent. In the methyl orange (MO) adsorption experiments, H-MIL-101(Cr) showed a high adsorption capability of 369.8 mg g−1, which was 1.52-fold greater than that of pristine MIL-101(Cr) (P-MIL-101(Cr)). While in the oxidation reaction of indene and 1-dodecene tests, H-MIL-101(Cr) presented much higher catalytic efficiency, with turnover frequency (TOF) values of 0.7242 mmol g−1 min−1 and 0.1492 mmol g−1 min−1, respectively, which were 28% and 34% greater than that in the case of P-MIL-101(Cr). Thus, compared with P-MIL-101(Cr), H-MIL-101(Cr) exhibited better removal efficiency and higher levels of activity in the oxidation reactions of indene and 1-dodecene. The unique structure of H-MIL-101(Cr) also contributed to its superior performance in these processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ginkgo seeds are rich in nutrients and bioactive compounds, but they cause poisoning after excessive consumption, thus limiting their application. In this work, enzymatic degradation technology was employed to remove ginkgotoxins presented in ginkgo seeds, including 4'-O-methylpyridoxine (MPN) and MPN-5'-glucoside (MPNG). Through the screening of four oxidases and ten reaction mediators, the laccase-syringaldehyde system was successfully established. After optimizing the reaction conditions using response surface methodology (RSM), ginkgotoxins in both raw and boiled ginkgo seed powder was completely degraded at a temperature of 40 °C and a solvent to solid ratio (60 mL/g) of the ginkgo seed powder suspension within 3 h. Furthermore, the main nutritional components of detoxified ginkgo seed powder did not exhibit significant changes, but there was inevitably a decrease in the content of bioactive compounds. Finally, an acute oral toxicity assessment demonstrated that the detoxified ginkgo seed powder was virtually non-toxic. Therefore, enzymatic degradation using the laccase-syringaldehyde system has the potential to be a simple and effective approach for removing ginkgotoxins from ginkgo seed powder, thereby meeting the safety requirements for ginkgo products. [Display omitted] • A laccase-syringaldehyde system was established to degrade ginkgotoxins. • Both MPNG and MPN were completely degraded under the optimal enzymatic degradation conditions. • All ginkgotoxins present in both raw and boiled ginkgo seed powder could be effectively degraded. • Detoxified ginkgo seed powder prepared was proven to be non-toxic by an acute oral toxicity test. • The enzymatic removal technology is simple, efficient and suitable for the industrial use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Ginkgo biloba seeds are well known for the significant curative effects on relieving cough and asthma. However, the development of products from ginkgo seeds still falls behind at present, resulting in a great waste of ginkgo seeds' resource. In this work, submerged fermentation of ginkgo seed powder using Eurotium cristatum was studied to investigate its feasibility as a new processing method. RESULTS: To promote the growth of E. cristatum, the optimum fermentation medium was 80.0 g L−1 of ginkgo seed powder with addition of 5.0 g L−1 calcium chloride (CaCl2), 4.0 g L−1 magnesium sulfate (MgSO4), 1.25 g L−1 zinc sulfate (ZnSO4) and 0.65 g L−1 iron(II) sulfate (FeSO4). The optimum fermentation conditions were pH 5.8 ± 0.1, inoculum size 5.1 × 106 CFU mL−1, liquid medium volume 100 mL in 250‐mL Erlenmeyer flask and fermentation 4 days. Through fermentation, the production of lovastatin in fermentation broth could reach up to 32.97 ± 0.17 μg mL−1 and the total antioxidant capacity was improved by more than two‐fold. In addition, 40.15% of the ginkgotoxin in ginkgo seed powder was degraded while the entire degradation of ginkgolic acids was obtained. Moreover, fermented ginkgo seed powder suspension presented pleasant fragrances, and the activities of amylase and protease were enhanced to 11.30 ± 0.10 U mL−1 and 23.01 ± 0.20 U mL−1, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Submerged fermentation using E. cristatum could significantly enhance the functional value and safety of ginkgo seed powder, and had great potential to become a novel processing method for the development of ginkgo seeds fermented products. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Ginkgotoxin including 4′‐O‐methylpyridoxine (MPN) and MPN‐5′‐glucoside (MPNG) is responsible for Ginkgo seed food poisoning. The purpose of the work reported was to prepare detoxified Ginkgo seed powder and at the same time to retain the nutritional and functional components of Ginkgo seed powder to the maximum extent. RESULTS: Resin adsorption technology was firstly employed to remove ginkgotoxin from water extract of Ginkgo seed powder. Under optimal conditions, the adsorption efficiency of the optimal resin for MPN could reach 100%, and that for MPNG could only reach 85.4 ± 0.93%. Resin adsorption alone could not effectively remove MPN and MPNG simultaneously. Endogenous enzymatic hydrolysis was next attempted to transform MPNG to MPN. MPNG could be completely hydrolyzed to MPN by endogenous enzyme(s) at 40 °C and pH 5.0 in 180 min. Ginkgotoxin only in the form of MPN in the enzymatic hydrolysate was then adsorbed with resin and the conditions were statistically optimized. The adsorption efficiency of MPN reached 98.89 ± 0.99% under the optimized conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Removal of ginkgotoxin by combining endogenous enzymatic hydrolysis with resin adsorption could preserve the main nutritional and functional components of Ginkgo seed powder to the most extent, and did not change its main characteristics. The ginkgotoxin removal method developed in this work is a relatively simple and efficient approach. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Both vacuum melting and mechanical alloying (MA) were applied to the fabrication of AgPb x SbTe20 (x =20, 21 and 22.5) as a promising thermoelectric material to investigate the processing influence on its thermoelectric properties. The AgPb x SbTe20 compound powders were prepared by pulverizing the melted ingots or directly from MA, which were then consolidated to fine-grained bulk materials by spark plasma sintering (SPS). A high ZT value of 1.25 at 725K was observed in the AgPb20SbTe20 samples fabricated by both methods. Thermoelectric properties of all AgPb x SbTe20 compounds synthesized by vacuum melting method are nearly the same as that of those fabricated by MA combined with SPS in the whole measured temperature range. Considering the complexity of the melting method but with the same results as the MA–SPS method, the present work revealed that the MA–SPS process is more suitable for the fabrication of PbTe-based thermoelectric materials. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Fine-grained Ti-doped FeVSb half-Heusler alloys were synthesized by combining mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering and their thermoelectric properties were investigated with an emphasis on the influences of Ti doping and phase purity. It was found that substituting V with Ti can change the electrical transport behavior from n-type to p-type due to one less valence electron of Ti than V, and the sample with nominal composition FeV0.8Ti0.4Sb exhibits the largest Seebeck coefficient and the maximum power factor. By optimizing the sintering temperature and applying annealing treatment, the power factor is significantly improved and the thermal conductivity is reduced simultaneously, resulting in a ZT value of 0.43 at 500°C, which is relatively high as for p-type half-Heusler alloys containing earth-abundant elements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Nearly single-phased TiNiSn half-Heusler compound thermoelectric materials were synthesized by combining mechanical alloying (MA) and spark plasma sintering (SPS) in order to reduce its thermal conductivity by refining the grain sizes. Although TiNiSn compound powders were not synthesized directly via MA, dense bulk samples of TiNiSn compound were obtained by the subsequent SPS treatment. It was found that an excessive Ti addition relative to the TiNiSn stoichiometry is effective in increasing the phase purity of TiNiSn half-Heusler phase in the bulk samples, by compensating for the Ti loss caused by the oxidation of Ti powders and MA processing. The maximum power factor value obtained in the Ti-compensated sample is 1720μWm−1 K−2 at 685K. A relatively high ZT value of 0.32 is achieved at 785K for the present undoped TiNiSn compound polycrystals. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Membrane separation technology was tried to remove the ginkgotoxin (4′-O-methylpyridoxine and 4′-O-methylpyridoxine-5′-glucoside) from Ginkgo seeds powder for the first time in this work. 99.88 ± 0.99% of the ginkgotoxin could transfer to the extraction solvent from the Ginkgo seeds powder when the water was used as the extraction solvent for extracting twice at 25 °C and solid to solvent ratio of 1:40 (g/mL) for 20 min. The conditions of ginkgotoxin removal by membrane separation were next studied as: ultrafiltration membrane with cut-off molecular weight of 10000 Da was operated at 0.2–0.3 MPa with a permeate volume of 4.7 L, and nanofiltration membrane with cut-off molecular weight of 600 Da was operated at 0.4–0.5 MPa with a permeate volume of 3.0 L. All the ginkgotoxin could be removed under the selected membrane operation conditions. The main nutritional and functional components of Ginkgo seeds powder were well preserved after detoxification. The main characteristics or structure of the detoxified Ginkgo seeds powder were not obviously changed. The membrane separation technology could be used as an effective method for removing ginkgotoxin from Ginkgo seeds powder. Image 1 • Overconsumption of Ginkgo biloba seeds leads to poisoning. • MPN and MPNG collectively called as ginkgotoxin are responsible for poisoning. • 99.88 ± 0.99% of the ginkgotoxin could be extracted out with water. • All the ginkgotoxin could be removed under the optimal membrane separation conditions. • Main components and characteristics were well preserved after detoxification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Overconsumption of Ginkgo biloba seeds leads to poisoning. • 4'-O-methylpyridoxine (MPN) and MPN-5'-glucoside (MPNG) are responsible for poisoning. • Heat treatment could increase the MPNG content but decrease the MPN content. • Non-enzymatic and enzymatic glycosylation could not explain the transformation. • Enzymatic hydrolysis could explain the dynamic relationship between the MPN and MPNG. Overconsumption of Ginkgo biloba seeds leads to poisoning. 4'-O-methylpyridoxine (MPN) and 4'-O-methylpyridoxine-5'-glucoside (MPNG) are responsible for poisoning by intaking ginkgo seeds. It had been reported that heat treatment could increase the MPNG content but decrease the MPN content in ginkgo seeds. However, the definite mechanism for the transformation of MPN and MPNG in ginkgo seeds undergoing heat treatment has not been elucidated to this day. In this work, a Chinese ginkgo cultivar was firstly employed to investigate the effect of heat treatment on the levels of MPN and MPNG. Similar syngenetic succession between the MPN and MPNG contents was also found. Several groups of experiments were further designed to explore the interconversion mechanism between MPN and MPNG under heat treatment. The results showed that non-enzymatic and enzymatic glycosylation mechanisms could not explain the transformation between MPN and MPNG. Enzymatic hydrolysis mechanism could better explain the dynamic relationship between the MPN and MPNG. Therefore, inactivating the endogenous enzymatic hydrolysis before HPLC analysis is needed to accurately determine the contents of MPN and MPNG in the ginkgo seeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Co 9 S 8 /Cu 2 S@LDH catalyst with excellent OER performance was synthesized. • Dual-sulfur of Na 2 S and CH 4 N 2 S sources introduce more active substances. • Electrodeposition of LDH improves the catalytic stability of oxygen precipitation. Hydrogen production through water electrolysis is an effective method for obtaining clean energy. The oxygen evolution reaction plays a key role in the process of water electrolysis, and the development of efficient and stable oxygen evolution electrocatalysts is crucial to improve the efficiency of hydrogen production. This paper presents the preparation of Co 9 S 8 /Cu 2 S@LDH nanowire catalysts on copper foam using thiourea and sodium sulfide as dual sulfur sources by a hydrothermal method combined with electrochemical deposition. The composition, structure, and performance of the catalysts were investigated using characterization methods of XRD, SEM, Raman, and electrochemical analyses. Also, the mechanism of thiourea's role in the process of sulfurization of dual sulfur sources was also revealed. The results indicate that the introduction of thiourea facilitates the generation of the active center CoOOH and improves the catalytic efficiency of oxygen precipitation with a low overpotential of 199 mV at 10 mA/cm2 in 1.0 M KOH electrolyte. Additionally, the LDH deposited in the outer layer effectively prevents the oxidation of Co 9 S 8 /Cu 2 S and improves the catalyst's stability. Therefore, the prepared Co 9 S 8 /Cu 2 S@LDH nanowire catalyst exhibits high oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalytic activity and stability in alkaline electrolyte, making it a promising OER catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chromium-benzenedicarboxylate metal–organic framework (MOF), MIL-101(Cr), is one of the most well-investigated and widely used prototypical MOFs. Regarding its synthesis, the use of a toxic modulator (usually HF) and high reaction temperature (220 °C) are the main factors hindering its further expansion of production and utilization. In fact, high quality MIL-101(Cr) crystals can be prepared at a much lower temperature (160 °C) with spherical morphology via an additive-free approach. Compared to traditional octahedral MIL-101(Cr), the spherical MIL-101(Cr) possesses higher adsorption performance toward dye molecules, including methyl orange (MO) and rhodamine B (RB). The results suggest that toxic additives and high reaction temperatures are not essential in the synthesis of MIL-101(Cr), and the fabrication of spherical MIL-101(Cr) may offer a facile and effective pathway for the large-scale industrial application of MIL-101(Cr). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The application of different types of MOFs in battery separators were summarized and outlined. • The advantages and disadvantages of MOFs-based battery separators are comprehensively discussed. • The development prospects of MOFs in the field of battery separators were presented. Currently, with the continuous development of the new energy industry, the research on various high-performance batteries has become a hot topic. Currently, there are several battery systems that have been extensively investigated, including lithium-ion batteries, lithium-sulfur batteries, and aqueous zinc ion batteries. Separator, as an important substance of batteries, can effectively prevent straight contact between negative and positive electrodes and provide favorable channels for ion transport. However, the traditional polymer battery separators generally have problems such as insufficient thermal stability and susceptibility to crystal branches piercing. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a sort of novel porous materials, have become the current research hotspot in high performance batteries separators because of their high porosity, high specific surface area and high ionic conductivity. This review summarized and outlined the application of various MOFs or MOFs-based materials in battery separators, and the merits and minuses of MOFs-based battery separators are comprehensively discussed. Finally, the urgent problems in the area of MOFs-based battery separators and the development prospects of MOFs on battery separators are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HKUST-1, one of the extensively researched MOFs, possesses high specific surface area, large porosity, excellent thermal stability, and structural regulation at different scales. Due to its structural characteristics and physicochemical properties, HKUST-1 has extensive potential applications in separation, gas storage, adsorption, electrocatalysis, etc. Moreover, the micro-nano structure and morphology of HKUST-1 crystal have significant impacts on HKUST-1 based materials' properties and their potential applications. This review focuses on structural regulation methods and features of HKUST-1 in recent years, and summarizes the progress in the potential applications of HKUST-1 and HKUST-1 based composites in various fields. Finally, we provide an outlook about the research of HKUST-1 based composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermoelectric materials have potential applications in energy harvesting and electronic cooling devices, and bismuth antimony telluride (BiSbTe) alloys are the state-of-the-art thermoelectric materials that have been widely used for several decades. It is demonstrated that mixing SiC nanoparticles into the BiSbTe matrix effectively enhances its thermoelectric properties; a high dimensionless figure of merit ( ZT) value of up to 1.33 at 373 K is obtained in Bi0.3Sb1.7Te3 incorporated with only 0.4 vol% SiC nanoparticles. SiC nanoinclusions possessing coherent interfaces with the Bi0.3Sb1.7Te3 matrix can increase the Seebeck coefficient while increasing the electrical conductivity, in addition to its effect of reducing lattice thermal conductivity by enhancing phonon scattering. Nano-SiC dispersion further endows the BiSbTe alloys with better mechanical properties, which are favorable for practical applications and device fabrication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Propionic acid could efficiently affect the formation of Cr-benzenedicarboxylate metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), giving rise to yielding products with various structures. Generally, nano-sized crystals of MIL-101(Cr) can be prepared with comparatively lower concentration of propionic acid (0.6 ​M), which possessed high porosity (S BET ​= ​2720 ​m2/g). The hierarchically porous (HP) MIL-101(Cr) was obtained with medium concentration of propionic acid (1.2 ​M), and micro-rod like crystals of MIL-88B(Cr) was formed in high concentration of propionic acid (1.8 ​M). Compare to bulk MIL-101(Cr) and nano-sized MIL-101(Cr), HP-MIL-101(Cr) showed much higher uptake of methylene blue (119.1 ​mg/L) in aqueous. This approach can offer a facile and effective pathway to synthesize stable hierarchically porous Cr-benzenedicarboxylate MOF for the applications in pollutant treatment fields. The morphology of Cr-benzenedicarboxylate MOF can be controlled by adjusting the concentration of propionic acid in the reaction system. And the obtained HP-MIL-101(Cr) showed much higher uptake of methylene blue than other samples. [Display omitted] • A new approach for synthesis of the robust hierarchically porous (HP) MIL-101(Cr) is proposed. • Different morphology of MILs can be obtained by adjusting the concentration of propionic acid in the reaction system. • In compare with bulk MIL-101(Cr) and nano-MIL-101(Cr), HP-MIL-101(Cr) is good adsorbent for methylene blue (MB). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Monoclinic Li3V2−x Al x (PO4)3 with different Al3+ doping contents (x =0, 0.05, 0.08, 0.10 and 0.12) have been prepared by a facile aluminothermal reaction. Aluminum nanoparticles have been used as source for Al3+ and nucleus for Li3V2−x Al x (PO4)3 nucleation as well as reducing agent in the aluminothermal strategy. The products were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and electrochemical methods. The XRD results show that the as-obtained Li3V2−x Al x (PO4)3 has a phase-pure monoclinic structure, irrespective of the Al3+ doping concentration. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) results reveal that the charge-transfer resistance of the Li3V2(PO4)3 is reduced and the reversibility is enhanced after V3+ substituted by Al3+. In addition, The Li3V2−x Al x (PO4)3 phases exhibit better cycling stability than the pristine Li3V2(PO4)3. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]