Volume 19 Issue 4

Rhododendron molle is a deciduous rhododendron, a high-altitude plant prized for its medicinal and ornamental properties. A major challenge when introducing this plant to lower altitudes is understanding its response to high-temperature stress. Using transcriptome analysis, this study examined leaves under varying temperatures, identifying 344,593 transcripts, 124,901 Unigenes, and 12,089 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) at 36 °C high-temperature stress (ST). At 42 °C high-temperature stress (SY), 12,032 DEGs were found, indicating a significant impact of temperature on gene expression. A Gene Ontology analysis (GO) revealed that these DEGs are mostly involved in stress response, catalytic activity, binding, transporter activity, and immune processes. A Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis highlighted enrichment in pathways such as plant-pathogen interaction and spliceosomes, suggesting their key roles in the temperature stress response. Key genes such as Brassinosteroid-Insensitive 1-Associated Receptor Kinase (BAK1) and Pathogenesis-Related Gene Transcription Activation Factor (PTI6) were upregulated under ST stress, whereas heat shock proteins (HSP83A) and HSP90-1 were downregulated under SY. These findings offer insights into the molecular response of Rhododendron molle to high temperature, aiding further research in this area and potentially improving the plant’s cultivation and application.

To meet children’s needs for beds at different stages of growth, a product design model integrating the KANO Model, the Hierarchical Analysis Method, and Axiomatic Design (KANO-AHP-AD) was adopted to conduct a design study on the growability of solid wood children’s beds. In accordance with the KANO model, the demands for children’s beds coming from questionnaires among families with children were classified and sorted, and the demand indicators were then summarized. Secondly, AHP was introduced to establish a multilevel hierarchical model, construct a judgment matrix of design elements, and calculate the weights of these elements to improve the accuracy of users’ demand weights. Then, AD was used to complete the mapping of the demand domain, function domain, and design domain of children’s beds and to judge their reasonableness through the matrix. Such a design allows users to evaluate and verify the rationality of the program. Through modular design techniques, the growability requirements were fulfilled. A low number of product modules were freely combined to form product types with multiple functions to meet customers’ needs for personalization and functional diversification. The work has value for the design of growable children’s beds, thus contributing to sustainable development and environmental protection causes.

With the acceleration of urbanization, while the amount of fertilizers used in agricultural production is increasing rapidly in industrial development, heavy metal pollution is also becoming more severe. Excessive use of fertilizers can lead to soil acidification, compaction, and degradation, while the sharp increase in heavy metal pollution observed also has adverse effects on soil quality and crop quality. Therefore, to prevent the loss of phosphorus from soil, improve the utilization rate of nitrogen in soil, and control cadmium pollution, the effects of biochar on the adsorption of nitrogen, phosphorus, and cadmium in soil were explored in this study. The following four experimental treatments were conducted: no biochar application, straw charcoal application, fruit shell charcoal application, and coconut shell charcoal application. Samples were collected from different soil depths (0 cm and 10 cm) after both 14 days and 28 days. The contents of total nitrogen, phosphorus, and cadmium were compared. The research findings indicate that these three types of biochar exhibit significant adsorption effects on nitrogen and phosphorus elements. Nevertheless, the adsorption effect on cadmium is not pronounced, potentially due to the stability of the biochar, the activity of microorganisms in the soil, and the alteration of cadmium speciation, which consequently results in an increase in cadmium content.

Effects of microbial decomposer application were studied relative to in situ decomposition of paddy straw in the rice-wheat system using both paddy straw incorporation (i.e. mechanical mixing of leftover straw and stubble using rotavator) and retention (i.e. leftover straw and stubble without mechanical mixing) methods. An experiment was conducted on paddy straw degradation during 2020-2021 and 2021-22 using microbial consortium (decomposer) at four locations in Punjab, India using three different treatments. Lignin content, C/N ratio, and tensile strength after 30 days of incorporation and retention of paddy straw were recorded. Microbial treatment along with incorporation improved decomposition parameters from 32.0 to 32.6% (C/N ratio) and 47.5 to 36.6% (lignin), whereas a major share – 28.6 (C/N ratio) and 36.6 (lignin) per cent of decomposition was achieved by soil incorporation as such. Wheat grain yield with and without microbial decomposer was similar across sowing methods (incorporation vs retention) in all locations. Similar observations were recorded in 2021-22 also at the same site of PAU, Ludhiana. Microbial agents responsible for the degradation of straw are present in sufficient quantity in the soil and incorporation of paddy straw in the soil by incorporation using a rotavator can enhance the paddy straw decomposition.

Commercial kitchen towels (basis weight 39 to 56 g/m²) made of virgin and recycled fiber, produced by Through-Air-Drying (TAD), and conventional Yankee cylinder drying (with creping) were analyzed. The properties of these commercial tissue products were compared to those of handsheets made from them. Laboratory tissue handsheets were also prepared from northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK), eucalyptus, bamboo, and straw pulp. Fibers were refined with up to 5000 revolutions of a PFI mill. Commercial kitchen towels (kitchen tissue) absorbed 9 to 14 g water per 1 g of fiber, with higher absorption by virgin fibers, and when using TAD. The tensile index (dry) was 3 to 14 Nm/g. Laboratory tissue handsheets made of commercial samples absorbed less water, but the tensile index (dry) was higher in most cases. Higher beating levels (tested at NBSK, eucalyptus, bamboo, straw pulp) increased tensile index. Curl, bulk, softness, absorption capacity, and suction lift were reduced with refining. Best values for absorption capacity (almost 8 g/g), bulk (almost 5 cm³/g), and softness were observed in laboratory bamboo tissue sheets made of non-refined fibers. After refining (2000 revolutions), the tensile index of such tissue sheets made of bamboo increased from 10 to 30 Nm/g.

To make use of rubidium salt resources in the Qinghai Salt Lake and to valorize Stellera chamaejasme L., mesoporous activated carbon was prepared by a chemical activation method using rubidium chloride as an activator. Using methylene blue and iodine as pollutant models, the adsorption capacity of mesoporous activated carbon was determined. The specific surface area, pore structure, and surface functional groups of mesoporous activated carbon were determined using a fully automated specific surface area analyzer, X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Raman spectrometer, scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT- IR), and an X-ray electron spectrometer (XPS). The surface functional groups of mesoporous activated carbon were found to be mainly comprised of carbon and oxygen. The mesoporous activated carbon had a certain graphitized microcrystalline structure. The carbon yield of the mesoporous activated carbon was 13.55% ± 0.41%, the specific surface area was 877.02 m²/g, the adsorption amount of iodine, 891.35 mg/g, and the adsorption amount of methylene blue, 256.95 mg/g. The dominant pore size was 0.945 nm, the average pore size was 2.43 nm, and the pore volume was 0.26 cm³/g.

The potential effects of combining biochar with hyperaccumulator plants on heavy metal stabilization and uptake in Cd and Pb-contaminated soils have received limited attention. This study used biochar (BC) at levels ranging from 0 to 40 t ha^-1 as soil amendments in Cd and Pb contaminated rice paddy soil. Biochar significantly decreased soil bioavailable Cd and Pb concentrations 6.7 to 16.6% and 10.6 to 39.7%, respectively, compared to the control. The shoot and root Cd concentrations in Arabidopsis helleri increased significantly by 33.5% and 133.1%, respectively, in the C3 treatment compared to the control. Similarly, shoot Pb concentrations showed a 57.5% increase compared to the control, but no significant changes were observed in root Pb concentrations. The Arabidopsis helleri bioconcentration factor (BCF) saw an increase of up to 40.5% for Cd and 57.8% for Pb with the C3 treatment. Conversely, the Cd translocation factor (TF) decreased 42.8 to 49.1%, while the Pb TF increased 32.8 to 96.6% with biochar application. The majority of Arabidopsis helleri-biochar Cd and Pb was found in the B3 fraction (organic fraction), constituting over 50%, and even over 80% for Cd. The Arabidopsis helleri-biochar primarily contained organic char binding Cd and exhibited slow-release characteristics.

Wood scrimber as a promising eco-friendly material in wood technology. This study evaluated the physical and mechanical properties of ginkgo scrimber, focusing on density, moisture content, water absorption, thickness swelling, flexural modulus of elasticity, bending strength, tensile modulus of elasticity, tensile strength, compressive modulus of elasticity, compressive strength, and shear strength. The results showed that the material had low variation in density and moisture content, indicating good homogeneity of the material. Mechanical properties tests showed that the material’s mechanical properties met high-quality standards, although variability in bending strength suggested potential issues with adhesive application. Some specimens experienced fractures perpendicular to adhesive layers, affecting strength. Despite this, ginkgo scrimber exhibited mechanical properties comparable to or exceeding those of reconstituted bamboo and laminated veneer lumber. The findings highlight its potential for construction, with recommendations for improved adhesive application and manufacturing processes to enhance performance stability.

The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of false heartwood of beech wood on the shear strength of glued joints for thermoplastic and reactoplastic adhesives for plywood production. The tensile shear strength of the lap joints was tested for four different types of adhesives according to EN 204 (2016) and EN 205 (2016). The results showed that for lap joints assembled with polyvinyl acetate, urea-formaldehyde, and phenol-formaldehyde adhesives, there was no significant difference in shear strength between beech sapwood and false heartwood. However, for joints bonded with polyurethane adhesive, the shear strength was lower for heartwood compared to the reference sapwood, particularly after exposure to water immersion.

Agro-residues, including banana peel, pineapple peel, mango peel, apple peel, and coconut husk, were utilized to produce extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) via solid state fermentation(SSF) by the fungus, Trichoderma hamatum. EPS production was highest in pineapple peel (84.2 ± 0.4 mg/g), followed by mango peel (70.3 ± 0.41 mg/g) (p<0.01). The SSF bioprocess was optimized via a two-level full factorial design and response surface methodology. The effects of five selected variables on EPS biosynthesis, namely, the concentrations of glucose (10 to 30%), ammonium sulphate (0.1 to 1%), yeast extract (0.5 to 2%), MgSO₄ (0.01 to 0.1%), and medium pH (4.5 to 6.5), were analyzed via a full factorial design (FFD). The EPS production ranged widely from 15.3 to 576.2 mg/g substrate. Three significant variables affecting EPS production were assessed in central composite design (CCD) to optimize concentrations of MgSO₄, and glucose, and the pH. The designed CCD model was fitted to the quadratic model and was significant (p<0.0001). For 50 μL of EPS, the scavenging ratio was 43.4 ± 4.1% at a concentration of 200 μL (78.5 ± 6.9 μL) (p<0.01). The extracted EPS exhibited an alpha-glucosidase inhibitory effect (p<0.001). Solid-state fermentation allows the utilization of low-cost biomass for EPS production and the application of T. hamatum EPS as a natural antioxidant and α-glucosidase inhibitor.