The Identification of Cotton Fibers Dyed with Reactive Dyes for Forensic Purposes

Some of the most common microtraces that are currently collected at crime scenes are fragments of single fibers. The perpetrator leaves them at a crime scene or takes them away, for example, on their clothing or body. In turn, the microscopic dimensions of such traces mean that the perpetrator does not notice them and therefore usually does not take action to remove them. Cotton and polyester fibers dyed by reactive and dispersion dyes, respectively, are very popular within clothing products, and they are hidden among microtraces at the scene of a crime. In our recently published review paper, we summarized the possibilities for the identification of disperse dyes of polyester fibers for forensic purposes. In this review, we are concerned with cotton fibers dyed with reactive dyes. Cotton fibers are natural ones that cannot easily be distinguished on the basis of morphological features. Consequently, their color and consequently the dye composition are often their only characteristics. The presented methods for the identification of reactive dyes could be very interesting not only for forensic laboratories, but also for scientists working in food, cosmetics or pharmaceutical/medical sciences.     

片段化森林中檵木幼苗种内叶经济性状变异及其驱动因子

在异质性生境中,种内功能性状变异有助于植物对环境的适应,进而影响种群更新、群落构建和生态系统过程。探讨了种内叶经济性状的变异及受生境异质性的塑造情况。以千岛湖片段化生境中的常见种檵木（Loropetalum chinense）的幼苗为研究对象,测定了200株檵木幼苗个体水平的7个叶经济性状（比叶面积SLA、叶全碳量C、叶全氮量N等）及其对应的生境因子（郁闭度、土壤全碳量、土壤全氮量等）,采用相关性检验、主成分分析和线性混合效应模型等方法探讨片段化森林中檵木幼苗的种内叶经济性状变异及生境异质性对该变异的驱动作用。结果显示：（1） 在7个叶经济性状所构成的21对相关性分析中,有12对显著相关。经主成分分析降维后,主成分1（PC1）占性状总变异的43.02%,主要与比叶面积、叶绿素浓度、叶全氮量呈正相关,与叶干物质质量分数和叶碳氮比呈负相关,体现了檵木的种内叶经济谱,可反映叶片的最大光合效率。（2）片段化对生境条件和叶经济性状均有影响。岛屿森林群落的郁闭度显著低于大陆。相对于大陆,岛屿中的檵木幼苗趋向于更小的PC1值（缓慢投资-收益策略）;大岛边缘较大岛内部偏向于更小的PC1值。（3）生境因子中,郁闭度对PC1具有显著正效应。研究表明,片段化生境中的檵木在幼苗阶段存在叶经济谱,生境片段化可通过影响生境条件进而改变檵木幼苗的叶经济性状。随着生境片段化程度的加剧,檵木幼苗的叶经济性状逐渐向缓慢投资-收益策略靠拢。     

毛细管电泳法测定桑叶中的黄酮类成分──芦丁和槲皮素

 采用高效毛细管电泳法分离测定了新疆不同地区、不同采集期、不同品种的桑叶中的黄酮类成分芦丁、槲皮素的含量。以含有体积分数为 15 %甲醇的 10mmol/L的磷酸二氢钠 2 0mmol/L的硼砂溶液 (pH 8 6 2 )为电泳缓冲液 ,采用压力进样方式 ,在 2 5℃ ,2 0kV恒压下进行电泳分离 ,并在 2 45nm波长处检测。结果表明 ,桑叶中的两种目标组分在 12min内完全分离 ,且有良好的线性关系 ;芦丁和槲皮素的加样回收率分别为 95 6 4%和99 36 % ,其RSD分别为 2 2 5 %和 1 79% (n =6 )。方法简单、准确、快速。     

Photon interaction studies using 241Am γ-rays

We have carried out some photon interaction measurements using 59.54 keV γ-rays from a ²⁴¹Am source. These include γ attenuation studies as well as photoelectric absorption studies in various samples. The attenuation studies have been made using leaf and wood samples, samples like sand, sugar etc., which contain particles of varying sizes as well as pellets and aqueous solutions of rare earth compounds. In the case of the leaf and wood samples, we have used the γ-ray attenuation technique for the determination of the water content in fresh and dried samples. The variation of the attenuation coefficient with particle size has been investigated for sand and sugar samples. The attenuation studies as well as the photoelectric studies in the case of rare earth elements have been carried out on samples containing such elements whose K-absorption edge energies lie below and close to the γ-energy used. Suitable compounds of the rare earth elements have been chosen as mixture absorbers in these investigations. A narrow beam good geometry set-up was used for the attenuation measurements. A well-shielded scattering geometry was used for the photoelectric measurements. The mixture rule was invoked to extract the values of the mass attenuation coefficients for the elements from those of the corresponding compounds. The results are consistent with theoretical values derived from the XCOM package.     

基于可见-近红外光谱技术预测茶鲜叶全氮含量

为快速无损监测茶树氮素营养及其生长状况,基于可见-近红外光谱技术建立了茶鲜叶全氮含量的预测模型。以茶鲜叶为对象,田间试验使用便携式光谱仪采集叶片漫反射光谱信息,通过不同预处理和统计分析,建立茶鲜叶全氮含量预测的光谱模型。试验共采集111个样品,其中86个样品作校正集,25个样品作预测集。通过一阶导数与滑动平均滤波相结合的预处理方法,用7个主成分建立的偏最小二乘模型最好,其校正集均方根误差(RMSEC)为0.097 3,预测集的相关系数为0.888 1,预测均方根误差(RMSEP)为0.130 4,预测的平均相对误差为4.339%。研究结果表明,利用可见-近红外光谱技术可以很好地预测茶鲜叶全氮含量,对于快速实时监测茶树长势和施肥管理具有重要指导意义。     

水样中铜,铅,镉的巯基棉富集火焰原子吸收测定

在测定水样中铜、铅及镉的时候用巯基棉在采样现场富集简便快速,且灵敏准确,避免了样品运送的不便和萃取富集的繁琐。     

玉米叶片的光谱响应及其氮素含量预测研究

以不同施肥水平下两年玉米田间试验为基础,利用高光谱技术探讨大喇叭口期不同层次玉米叶片光谱响应的敏感区域,并依据叶片氮素含量与原始光谱反射率及其一阶导数的相关性,最终构建了叶片氮素含量的预测模型。结果表明：不同施肥水平下叶片光谱反射率差别明显区域集中在550 nm附近波段、761～1 300 nm波段,不同层次间叶片光谱反射率差别明显区域集中在550 nm附近波段,叶片氮素含量与470～760 nm波段光谱反射率及其一阶导数呈极显著相关。经过对比筛选,以光谱指数DSI(564,681)和DSI(681,707)构建的指数预测模型效果最好,预测精度达93.43%和93.39%,能有效估测叶片氮素含量。     

基于高光谱分析的玉米叶片氮含量分层诊断研究

为了明确不同生育时期进行玉米氮素营养诊断的叶片层位,建立准确稳健的玉米氮素营养诊断模型,以达到合理追施氮肥,提高氮肥利用率的目的。试验采用单因素盆栽试验设计,以玉米（郑单958）为研究对象,应用高光谱技术,分析了不同氮营养水平下不同生育时期不同层位玉米叶片的氮含量分布和变化规律及光谱响应特征;并依据叶片氮含量与光谱反射率的相关关系,叶片氮含量与全波段(400～2 000 nm)任意两两波段组合构建的比值光谱指数(RSI)的回归关系,初步确定了不同生育时期进行氮素营养高光谱诊断的目标叶片,筛选出最优的比值光谱指数,建立了叶片氮素含量估算模型。结果表明：玉米叶片氮含量：上层>中层>下层;随着玉米的生长,在低氮条件下上层叶片氮含量呈先减少后增加（追肥）再减少趋势,在高氮条件下呈减少趋势,中下层叶片氮含量呈递减趋势。六叶期下层玉米叶片光谱反射率敏感范围较大,相关性较强;九叶期和灌浆期上层玉米叶片的光谱反射率敏感范围较广,相关性较强;开花吐丝期中层叶片的光谱反射率敏感范围较大,相关性较强。六叶期选取下层叶作为诊断目标叶,选取最佳比值光谱指数RSI(1 811, 1 842)建立线性估算模型,九叶期和灌浆期选取上层叶片作为诊断目标叶,选取的最佳比值光谱指数分别为RSI(720, 557),RSI(600, 511)建立线性估算模型,开花吐丝期选取中层叶片作为诊断目标叶,选取比值光谱指数RSI(688, 644)建立线性估算模型。研究结果可为快速准确地利用光谱技术进行玉米叶片氮素营养诊断提供理论依据。     

Chemical and Mechanical Characterization of Licorice Root and Palm Leaf Waste Incorporated into Poly(urethane-acrylate) (PUA)

A poly(urethane-acrylate) polymer (PUA) was synthesized, and a sufficiently high molecular weight starting from urethane-acrylate oligomer (UAO) was obtained. PUA was then loaded with two types of powdered ligno-cellulosic waste, namely from licorice root and palm leaf, in amounts of 1, 5 and 10%, and the obtained composites were chemically and mechanically characterized. FTIR analysis of final PUA synthesized used for the composite production confirmed the new bonds formed during the polymerization process. The degradation temperatures of the two types of waste used were in line with what observed in most common natural fibers with an onset at 270 °C for licorice waste, and at 290 °C for palm leaf one. The former was more abundant in cellulose (44% vs. 12% lignin), whilst the latter was richer in lignin (30% vs. 26% cellulose). In the composites, only a limited reduction of degradation temperature was observed for palm leaf waste addition and some dispersion issues are observed for licorice root, leading to fluctuating results. Tensile performance of the composites indicates some reduction with respect to the pure polymer in terms of tensile strength, though stabilizing between data with 5 and 10% filler. In contrast, Shore A hardness of both composites slightly increases with higher filler content, while in stiffness-driven applications licorice-based composites showed potential due to an increase up to 50% compared to neat PUA. In general terms, the fracture surfaces tend to become rougher with filler introduction, which indicates the need for optimizing interfacial adhesion.     

An Insight into Kiwiberry Leaf Valorization: Phenolic Composition,Bioactivity and Health Benefits

During kiwiberry production, different by-products are generated, including leaves that are removed to increase the fruit’s solar exposure. The aim of this work was to extract bioactive compounds from kiwiberry leaf by employing microwave-assisted extraction (MAE). Compatible food solvents (water and ethanol) were employed. The alcoholic extract contained the highest phenolic and flavonoid contents (629.48 mg of gallic acid equivalents (GAE) per gram of plant material on dry weight (dw) (GAE/g dw) and 136.81 mg of catechin equivalents per gram of plant material on dw (CAE/g dw), respectively). Oppositely, the hydroalcoholic extract achieved the highest antioxidant activity and scavenging activity against reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (IC₅₀ = 29.10 μg/mL for O₂^•−, IC₅₀ = 1.87 μg/mL for HOCl and IC₅₀ = 1.18 μg/mL for ^•NO). The phenolic profile showed the presence of caffeoylquinic acids, proanthocyanidin, and quercetin in all samples. However, caffeoylquinic acids and quercetin were detected in higher amounts in the alcoholic extract, while proanthocyanidins were prevalent in the hydroalcoholic extract. No adverse effects were observed on Caco-2 viability, while the highest concentration (1000 µg/mL) of hydroalcoholic and alcoholic extracts conducted to a decrease of HT29-MTX viability. These results highlight the MAE potentialities to extract bioactive compounds from kiwiberry leaf.