Crystalline properties and decomposition kinetics of cellulose fibers in wood pulp obtained by two pulping processes

In this study two cellulose fibers, Eucalyptus grandis (CEG) and Pinus taeda (CPT), obtained through the kraft and sulfite pulping processes, respectively, were characterized. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were carried out. From the XRD analysis the interplanar distance, crystallite size and crystallinity index were calculated and the degradation kinetics parameters were determined by TGA at heating rates of 5, 10, 20 and 40 °C min⁻¹ using the Avrami, Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) and Criado methods. The results obtained by FTIR showed that the composition of the fibers is similar, while from the XRD analysis slight differences in the crystallinity were observed. The thermogravimetric analysis showed higher thermal stability for CPT than CEG while the values for the activation energy (E_a) were higher for CEG than CPT. The results obtained by Avrami and Criado methods showed that the degradation mechanism in the CEG samples involves a diffusion process while in the case of CPT the degradation process is a phase boundary controlled reaction. The degradation mechanisms demonstrated that the difference between thermal stability and E_a may be due to differences in the type of crystalline structure of the samples obtained through the two pulping processes.     

ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK MODELING FOR REFORESTATION DESIGN THROUGH THE DOMINANT TREES BOLE‐VOLUME ESTIMATION

Abstract In the management of restoration reforestations or recreational reforestations of trees, the density of the planted trees and the site conditions can influence the growth and bole volume of the dominant tree. The ability to influence growth of these trees in a reforestation contributes greatly to the formation of large dimension trees and thereby to the production of commercially valuable wood. The potential of two artificial neural network (ANN) architectures in modeling the dominant Pinus brutia tree bole volume in reforestation configuration at 12 years of age was investigated: (1) the multilayer perceptron architecture using a back‐propagation algorithm and (2) the cascade‐correlation architecture, utilizing (a) either the nonlinear Kalman's filter theory or (b) the adaptive gradient descent learning rule. The incentive for developing bole‐volume equations using ANN techniques was to demonstrate an alternative new methodology in the field of reforestation design, which would enable estimation and optimization of the bole volume of dominant trees in reforestations using easily measurable site and competition factors. The usage of the ANNs for the estimation of dominant tree bole volume through site and competition factors can be a very useful tool in forest management practice.     

近红外光谱结合偏最小二乘判别对硫熏浙贝母的无损鉴别

浙贝母(Fritillariae thunbergii Bulbus)是一种常用的化痰止咳中药,为浙江著名的“浙八味”之一。硫熏能够使浙贝母增白、防虫蛀以及延长保质期,然而过度的硫熏不仅会影响浙贝母的品质,还会危害人体健康。因此,进行硫熏浙贝母的无损鉴别分析有利于浙贝母的品质监测,保障中药质量。采用近红外光谱结合化学计量学方法进行六种不同硫熏程度浙贝母的鉴别分析,在近红外(900～1 700 nm)光谱条件下,采用“boxplot”统计分析1 000～1 100 nm内样本间的光谱反射值的差异。同时采用主成分分析(PCA)进行六种样本的聚类分析。应用连续投影法(SPA)进行数据挖掘获得10条特征波段,建立其偏最小二乘判别分析(PLS-DA)模型。结果表明,建立的PLS-DA模型可达到与全谱类似的判别结果。近红外光谱技术结合化学计量学方法能够实现不同硫熏程度浙贝母的无损鉴别分析,这为后续进行硫熏浙贝母品质分析以及研发相应贝母便携检测仪提供参考。     

漫反射近红外光谱技术快速识别马尾松松脂和湿地松松脂

不同种类的松脂因其化学组成的差异而对松脂下游产品的质量产生影响，因此确保松脂种类的稳定性是保证松脂下游产品质量的关键，针对在松脂原料采购过程中松脂种类识别困难的问题，提出了一种基于漫反射近红外光谱和偏最小二乘判别分析(PLSDA)相结合的分析技术，该技术能够快速识别马尾松松脂和湿地松松脂，为松脂原料采购提供可靠的种类信息。以在广西区内武鸣、防城、富川、梧州、百色、乐业共6个不同松脂产区采集所得的82个松脂样本进行建模，包括湿地松松脂51个，马尾松松脂31个，利用i-spec型近红外光谱仪采集松脂样本在900～1 700 nm范围内的近红外光谱。利用子窗口随机化分析法(SPA)进行变量选择，从510个波长点中优选出300个波长点组成的变量子集，再通过重复双重交叉检验技术(RDCV)确定偏最小二乘判别分析建模的潜变量数(n=7)。结果表明，所建立的分类模型能够准确识别两种不同种类的松脂，模型对于外部测试集中的松脂样本识别准确率为96.30%，能够满足松脂行业在原料采购过程中质量控制的需要。该方法具有分析速度快、操作简便、分析成本低、样本无损等优势，适用于松脂原料采购环节的质量控制。     

The Constituents of the Bark of Armand Pine

Twenty three compounds were isolated from the bark of Pinus armandii. These compounds include nine serratenes (1-9), a norserratenone 10, eight phenols 11-18, two flavonoids 19-20, one lignan 21, a diterpene 22 and a novel triterpendiol acetonide 23. Their structures were determined from their physical and spectral properties.     

Analysis of monoterpenes from conifer needles using solid phase microextraction

The applicability of solid phase microextraction (SPME) to the headspace analysis of monoterpene hydrocarbons from conifer needles was examined. To this end, the influences of fiber coating thickness, exposure time, and exposure temperature on the enrichment of the different monoterpene hydrocarbons were investigated. The distribution constants between polydimethylsiloxane fiber and gas phase at a given temperature were found to be very different. A relation is therefore derived to calculate the distribution constants of substances not available from their Kováts retention indices. A slightly different approach could be the use of so-called “relative distribution factors”, not considering the actual volume of fiber coating. In view of the different enrichment conditions in SPME as well as the general problems of headspace analysis, a comparison with a completely different method of sample preparation is presented. Furthermore, some applications of SPME to the analysis of monoterpenes from pine needles are given.     

A controlled clinical study of product PINOROX® (Pinus roxburghii bark extract) (PINOROX®) as dietary supplement for enhanced physical performance

Pinorox® is a standardized composition obtained from pine bark extract of Pinus roxburghii, rich source of natural polyphenols - Oligomeric Proanthocyanidins (OPCs) compounds that act as an antioxidant. Pinorox® has been expected to serve as potential natural supplement consumed to enhance the physical endurance in normal healthy or a sport person. Hence, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study was conducted for time period of 90 days to validate the effect of Pinorox® over physical and athletic performances in normal healthy as well as sports subjects. 50 eligible subjects were selected through screening and distributed into placebo and Pinorox® groups. The subjects utilized in the present study i.e., healthy individual and athletes received one of either 200 mg of Pinorox® or experimental control (placebo) for 90 days. Each subject was evaluated for increase in physical or athletic performances by observing changes from baseline in rate of oxygen consumption VO₂ max (endurance) compared to placebo at baseline, assessment of anaerobic power and rate of fatigue by using Wingate test at baseline, changes in assessment values using 1-RM test and muscle grip strength assessment using handheld dynamometer at baseline and during the interval of 90 days. The observations discussed in the present study shows that people consuming Pinorox® displayed significantly advanced performances during exercising or performing given sports activities. Improvement in the VO₂ max values, anaerobic power, rate of fatigue, muscular performance and muscle grip strength was observed in test results and the study did not report any adverse effect. Overall, the study demonstrates that Pinorox® is a safe, fast acting and effective natural dietary or sport supplement for enhancing physical and athletic performances.     

ICP-AES法测定温州地区鼠尾藻中的微量元素

采用电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱仪（ICP—AES）对温州地区野生和人工养殖鼠尾藻中11种微量元素的含量进行了测定。结果表明,鼠尾藻中钙、镁、铁、锌、锰、铜的含量丰富,温州地区野生和人工养殖的鼠尾藻所含各种微量元素存在差异,为鼠尾藻的进一步的开发利用提供科学依据。     

Pinus wallichiana-synthesized silver nanoparticles as biomedical agents: in-vitro and in-vivo approach

ABSTRACT

The current study aims to assess the aqueous extract of Pinus wallichiana stem for the synthesis of small spherical-shaped (10–30?nm) silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and their in-vitro and in-vivo biomedical applications. The biosynthesized AgNPs were nonmutagenic and safe at all test doses as per Ames and acute toxicity assay (20, 40, 60, and 80?mg/kg). The percent writhing inhibitory effect generated by AgNPs was 42.51, 50.84, and 59.06 at test doses of 10, 20, and 30?mg/kg, respectively. The percent decreased in gastrointestinal tract motility observed was 41.34%, 32.69%, and 28.48% at 10, 20, and 30?mg/kg, respectively. They also showed a significant antipyretic effect after 1, 2, and 3?h in comparison to normal saline. The AgNPs of P. wallichiana showed good antibacterial activity against Acinetobacter baumannii (60% with MIC₅₀?=?2.36?mg/ml and MBC?=?5.0?mg/ml). These nanoparticles also possessed good antioxidant activity of 61.77?±?0.828% and 70.25?±?0.56% at 400 and 500?µg/ml, respectively and lack phytoagglutinin potential. Because of their high potency as biomedical agents, these nanoparticles can be a good alternative to the currently available drugs and approaches.     

Palaeophytochemical Components from the Miocene‐Fossil Wood of Pinus Griffithii

Some Miocene‐fossil wood of Pinus griffithii preserved as lignified wood in brown coal was found in an open coalmine in Xundian of Yunnan Province, China. To explore its chemical components, here we show the palaeophytochemical investigation of this Pliocene‐fossil wood of P. armandii, resulting in the isolation of 11 compounds ( 1–11 ) including one new compound named 3,3‐dimethoxy‐24‐ethyl‐cholestan ( 1 ) by liquid column chromatography. Furthermore, sixteen volatiles were detected from this fossil wood by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS). These structures of 11 compounds were elucidated by analysis of their MS, 1D and 2D‐NMR spectra, and comparison with published data.