近红外光谱技术在土壤养分分析中的研究进展及应用前景

精准农业是近年来国际上农业科学研究的热点领域,是现代信息技术和传统农业紧密结合的产物。近红外光谱技术(NIRS)作为一种无损、实时、准确的分析手段,在土壤学领域的应用逐渐得到了人们的重视,是实现精准农业的有效手段之一。对其目前在土壤学领域的应用进行了介绍和分析,认为NIRS在土壤学领域的发展方向应该是田间信息实时采集技术,即在田间条件下利用便携式NIRS分析仪对土壤养分和农作物苗情进行实时分析和处理,另外NIRS还可以与空间遥感技术相结合,宏观掌握农作物所需营养及其长势信息,从根本上改变我国粗放型农业现状。     

Uncertainty functions, a compact way of summarising or specifying the behaviour of analytical systems

Analytical chemists can advantageously use an uncertainty function to describe the performance of an analytical system in terms of the standard uncertainty or standard deviation as a function of the concentration of the analyte. This “characteristic function” is useful for estimating uncertainty at a new concentration. A similar function can be used to prescribe the uncertainty that is regarded as fit for purpose for a particular application. This “fitness function” is useful in setting standards of accuracy in proficiency tests and similar exercises without revealing the concentration of the analyte. In combination, these two functions provide a rational basis for method selection.     

Accurate measurements of peak variances: importance of this accuracy in the determination of the true corrected plate heights of chromatographic columns

The true efficiency of a column is derived from the differences between the variances of the peak profiles of the same compound recorded in the presence and the absence of the chromatographic column. These variances are usually derived using one of three methods: (1) the retention time of the peak apex and its half-height width; (2) the moments of the best fit between the experimental data and a hybrid response function, e.g., an exponentially convoluted Gaussian; or (3) the exact moments of the experimental band profiles. Comparisons of the results of these methods show that the first method is always inaccurate because all the band profiles recorded are strongly tailing. The peak fit method is accurate only for 4.6mm I.D. columns operated with instruments having low extra-column volume but fails for short narrow-bore columns due to the severe tailing of peaks passing through the complex channels of the extra-column volumes and to the inaccuracies in the fit of experimental data to the selected function. Although far better, the moment method may be inaccurate when the zero dead volume union used to measure the extra-column peak variances has a higher permeability than the column, causing the upstream part of the instrument to operate under comparatively low pressures.     

Agro-industrial waste enzymes: Perspectives in circular economy

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, approximately 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted each year, equivalent to approximately one-third of world production. Agri-food wastes are the source of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and other essential minerals that have been exploited for value-added products by the development of biorefineries and sustainable business as important elements of circular economies. The innovation and materialization of these types of processes, including the use of disruptive technologies on microbial bioconversion and enzyme technology, such as nanotechnology, metabolic engineering, and multi-omics platforms, increase the perspectives on the waste valorization process. Lignocellulolytic enzymes, pectinases, and proteases are mainly used as catalyzers on agri-food waste treatment, and their production in house might be the trend in near future for agro-industrial countries. Another way to transform the agri-food wastes is via aerobic or anaerobic microbial process from fungal or bacterial cultures; these processes are the key to produce waste enzymes.     

Single stage purification of flax,hemp, and milkweed stem and their physical and morphological properties

Agriculture biomass is an alternative possible solution for the extraction of cellulose, compared to the classical soft and hard wood. However, the valorization of cellulose is challenging for the researchers as it involves multiple steps. In the present study, the raw fibers of flax, hemp, and milkweed stem fibers were purified in single step using hydrogen peroxide in water. By this method authors successfully extracted the purified cellulose fibers without damaging the fiber length. The purified fibers were characterized to understand the thermal, functional, crystalline, and morphological properties by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The FTIR results showed the effective removal of lignin and significant improvement in thermal stability was observed by TGA. Evidently, the SEM results showed significant improvement in the morphology compared to that of the raw fibers. XRD results showed that the treatment does not affect the crystallinity of the fibers.     

多步法误差分离技术在圆度测量中的应用

由 Ｔａｌｙｒｏｎｄ ３型圆度仪、精密分度转台和 ＩＢＭ－ＰＣ微机组成计算机辅助纳米圆度测量系统．采用多步法误差分离技术，将圆度仪的测量精度由原来的 ２５ ｎｍ提高到 ２ｎｍ。文中详细讨论多步法的方法误差、系统误差及其测试结果。该项技术的推广应用对我国现有圆度仪的技术改造具有重要意义。