The effects of different extraction methods on the physicochemical property and antioxidant activity of <i>Amygdalus pedunculatus</i> seed oil

The oil extracted from Amygdalus pedunculatus (A. pedunculatus) seeds is rich in nutrients. The method of oil extraction is very crucial for preserving its nutrients. The objective of the present study was to compare A. pedunculatus seed oil (APO) samples extracted by different techniques including aqueous enzymatic extraction (AEE), cold-press (CP), supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), and Soxhlet extraction (SE). Physicochemical properties and nutrients (fatty acids, triacylglycerol, polyphenol, tocopherol and phytosterol) of the oils were analyzed. Antioxidant activity was measured by DPPH, ABTS·+ radical scavenging capacity and reducing power assays. The results indicated that SFE was found to be the optimum method for APO extraction with higher nutrient contents as well as better DPPH, ABTS scavenging capacities and reducing power. APO is beneficial to human health, and it has potential to be used in nutraceutical industries

Complete chloroplast genome characteristics of Prunus triloba Lindl

Prunus triloba Lindl. is a small shrub species, with many varieties and a long history of cultivation. It has been widely used for landscaping and is grown as a traditional flowering tree species in northern China. In this study, we sequenced the P. triloba Lindl. chloroplast genome, which forms a circular structure comprising 158,455 bp, including a pair of inverted repeat regions (52,634 bp), a large single-copy region (86,386 bp), and a small single-copy region (19,028 bp). We annotated 131 genes, including 86 coding sequences, 8 rRNA sequences, and 37 tRNA sequences. Furthermore, a phylogenetic analysis revealed P. triloba Lindl. is closely related to Prunus pedunculata

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Tussilago farfara (Asteraceae)

Tussilago farfara is a member of the family Asteraceae. In this paper, we reported the complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequence of T. farfara. The results showed that T. farfara complete chloroplast genome comprises 151,325 bp, containing a largen single copy (LSC) region of 83,370 bp, a small single copy (SSC) region of 18,273 bp, and a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) region of 24,841 bp. The genome has a GC content of 37.4%. The LSC, SSC, and IR regions represent 35.5%, 30.6%, and 43.0% of the T. farfara chloroplast genome length. We annotated 132 genes, comprising 87 protein-coding genes (PCGs), eight rRNA genes, and 36 tRNA genes. A phylogenetic analysis based on 31 cpDNA genomes suggested that the T. farfara is closely related to Farfugium japonicum

Development of laser scanning gas monitoring system for natural gas stations

Natural gas stations are the key objects of gas leakage monitoring due to the various types of pipeline equipment and a large number of sealing points in them. Considering the shortcomings of traditional gas sensor, such as small detection range, low precision and high false alarm rate, a cloud-based laser gas sensor was proposed, which can realize the three-dimensional gas leakage monitoring of natural gas station, an "optical transceiver + optical cable" based data transmission system was designed according to the process conditions of the stations and the sensor data communication protocol, and an early warning monitoring terminal was developed on the ForceCon configuration software platform with consideration to the monitoring requirements of the stations. The above three parts together constitute the laser scanning gas monitoring system for the natural gas station, which is used in a compressor station of China-Kazakhstan Gas Pipeline. The results show that obvious micro-leakage often occurs in the filtration and separation area and the air-cooling area of the station, and it is related to the operation time of the equipment. Generally, the monitoring result is in line with the actual situation of the compressor station, and the system is of good reliability

Synthesis of polymeric monoliths via thiol-maleimide polymerization reaction for highly efficient chromatographic separation

One-step thiol-maleimide polymerization reaction was firstly adopted for direct preparation of polymeric monoliths via alkaline-catalyzed reaction of 4,4'-bis(maleimidophenyl)methane (BMI) and trimethylolpropane tris(3-mercaptopropionate) (3SH)/pentaerythriol tetra(3-mercaptopropionate) (4SH) in the presence of a small amount of triethylamine (TEA). The polymerization could be performed within 3 h, which was faster than thermal-initiated free radical polymerization. Two kinds of monoliths, poly(BMI-co-3SH) (marked as I) and poly(BMI-co-4SH) (marked as II), were characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), attenuated total reflection Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). Satisfactory chromatographic separation ability and column efficiency were gained for analysis of small molecular compounds such as alkylbenzenes, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (EPA 610) and phenols in reversed-phase capillary liquid chromatography (cLC). High column efficiency (180,500 N/m) for butylbenzene was acquired on poly(BMI-co-3SH) column I-2, which was higher than those on most reported polymeric monoliths. A retention-independent efficient performance of small molecules was obtained by plotting of plate height (H) of alkylbenzenes versus the linear velocity (u). A term values in van Deemter equation of I-2 (1.72-0.24 mu m) and poly(BMI-co-4SH) column II-2 (5.28-4.14 mu m) were smaller than those of traditional organic/hybrid monoliths. Finally, as a practical application, 53 and 2184 unique peptides from the tryptic digests of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and HeLa cell proteins were positively identified with poly(BMI-co-3SH) monolith in cLC-MS. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V

Preparation and characterization of hydrophilic hybrid monoliths via thiol-ene click polymerization and their applications in chromatographic analysis and glycopeptides enrichment

A macroporous hydrophilic organic-silica hybrid monolithic column was synthesized via photoinitiated thiol-ene click polymerization reaction of 1-thioglycerol-modified polyhedral oligomeric vinylsilsesquioxane (vinyIPOSS) and dithiothreitol (OTT) in a binary porogenic system consisting of tetrahydrofuran (THF) and dodecanol. 1-Thioglycerol was used to modify vinyIPOSS in order to form a precursor with good solubility in the binary porogenic system. The influences of both the ratio of 1-thioglycerol/vinylPOSS and the porogenic solvents on the morphology and permeability of hybrid monoliths were studied in detail. The physical properties of hybrid monolith were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurement. The chromatographic performance was evaluated by separation of neutral polar compounds in capillary liquid chromatography (cLC). The resulting column possessed homogeneous macroporous structure and showed hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) separation mechanism with high efficiency of 65,000 N m(-1) for formamide. Ultimately, the hybrid matrix was grafted with hydrazine groups and then exhibited the ability of glycopeptides enrichment. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Cost-Effective, Highly Selective and Environmentally Friendly Superhydrophobic Absorbent from Cigarette Filters for Oil Spillage Clean up

Ecological and environmental damage caused by oil spillage has attracted great attention. Used cigarette filters (CF) have also caused negative environmental consequences. Converting CF to economical materials is a feasible way to address these problems. In this study, we demonstrate a simple method for production of a highly hydrophobic absorbent from CF. CF was modified by using different volume ratios of octadecyltrichlorosilane and methyltrimethoxysilane. When the volume ratio was 3:2, the modified CF had the high water contact angle of 155&deg;. It could selectively and completely absorb silicone oil from an oil-water mixture and showed a good absorption capacity of 38.3 g/g. The absorbed oil was readily and rapidly recovered by simple mechanical squeezing, and it could be reused immediately without any additional treatments. The as-obtained superhydrophobic modified CF retained an absorption capacity of 80% for pump oil and 82% for silicone oil after 10 cycles. The modified CF showed good elasticity in the test of repeated use. The present study provides novel design of a functional material for development of hydrophobic absorbents from used CF via a facile method toward oil spillage cleanup, as well as a new recycling method of CF to alleviate environmental impacts

Rapid "one-pot" preparation of polymeric monolith via photo-initiated thiol-acrylate polymerization for capillary liquid chromatography

A facile approach was exploited for fast preparation of polymer-based monoliths in UV-transparent fused-silica capillaries via "one-pot" photo-initiated thiol-acrylate polymerization reaction of dipentaerythritolpenta-/hexaacrylate (DPEPA) and 1-octadecanethiol (ODT) in the presence of porogenic solvents (1-butanol and ethylene glycol). Due to relative insensitivity of oxygen inhibition in thiol-ene free-radical polymerization, the polymerization could be performed within 5 min. The effects of composition of prepolymerization solution on the morphology and permeability of poly(ODT-co-DPEPA) monoliths were investigated in detail by adjusting the content of monomer and binary porogen ratio. The physical properties of poly(ODT-co-DPEPA) monoliths were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurement. The evaluation of chromatographic performance was carried out by capillary liquid chromatography (cLC). The results indicated that the poly(ODT-co-DPEPA) monolith was homogeneous and permeable, and also possessed a typical reversed-phase retention mechanism in cLC with high efficiency (similar to 75,000 N m(-1)) for separation of alkylbenzenes. Eventually, the further separation of tryptic digest of proteins by cLC tandem mass spectrometry (cLC-MS/MS) demonstrated its potential in the analysis of biological samples. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved