Mapping Chinese annual gross primary productivity with eddy covariance measurements and machine learning.

Annual gross primary productivity (AGPP) is the basis for grain production and terrestrial carbon sequestration. Mapping regional AGPP from site measurements provides methodological support for analysing AGPP spatiotemporal variations thereby ensures regional food security and mitigates climate change. Based on 641 site-year eddy covariance measuring AGPP from China, we built an AGPP mapping scheme based on its formation and selected the optimal mapping way, which was conducted through analysing the predicting performances of divergent mapping tools, variable combinations, and mapping approaches in predicting observed AGPP variations. The reasonability of the selected optimal scheme was confirmed by assessing the consistency between its generating AGPP and previous products in spatiotemporal variations and total amount. Random forest regression tree explained 85 % of observed AGPP variations, outperforming other machine learning algorithms and classical statistical methods. Variable combinations containing climate, soil, and biological factors showed superior performance to other variable combinations. Mapping AGPP through predicting AGPP per leaf area (PAGPP) explained 86 % of AGPP variations, which was superior to other approaches. The optimal scheme was thus using a random forest regression tree, combining climate, soil, and biological variables, and predicting PAGPP. The optimal scheme generating AGPP of Chinese terrestrial ecosystems decreased from southeast to northwest, which was highly consistent with previous products. The interannual trend and interannual variation of our generating AGPP showed a decreasing trend from east to west and from southeast to northwest, respectively, which was consistent with data-oriented products. The mean total amount of generated AGPP was 7.03 ± 0.45 PgC yr-1 falling into the range of previous works. Considering the consistency between the generated AGPP and previous products, our optimal mapping way was suitable for mapping AGPP from site measurements. Our results provided a methodological support for mapping regional AGPP and other fluxes.

Solid-phase extraction for selective determination of bisphenol A in drinks and fruits by dummy surface molecularly imprinted polymer with direct synthetic method.

A reliable and selective method was developed for the determination of bisphenol A (BPA) in drinks and fruit using dummy surface molecularly imprinted polymer (DSMIP) as a solid-phase extraction (SPE)-enrichment and separation sorbent coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), whose structure is similar to BPA, was selected as a dummy template molecule. DSMIP has a higher selectivity for BPA than surface non-imprinted polymer (SNIP) when used as sorbents for SPE. Potential factors affecting the extraction efficiency, including conditioning, sample loading, washing and elution, and the breakthrough volume were optimised. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the recoveries of BPA in drinks and fruit were in the range from 98% to 105% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) below 7%, and a limit of detection (LOD) of 3 ng ml(-1). The developed extraction protocol eliminated the effect of template leakage on quantitative analysis and could be applied to the trace determination of BPA in complicated functional samples.

Direct determination of hydrogen cyanide in cigarette mainstream smoke by ion chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection.

The determination of hydrogen cyanide in cigarette mainstream smoke has been achieved by ion chromatography (IC) with pulsed amperometric detection (PAD). The proposed method of totally trapping whole cigarette mainstream smoke by Cambridge filters, which are treated with sodium hydroxide/ethanol solution, possesses the advantage of fast analysis time over the widespread used solution absorption method. The possible co-existing interferents are evaluated under the optimized detection conditions and excellent recoveries of cyanide are obtained. The cyanide content of absorption solution can be directly determined by the optimized IC-PAD method without any pretreatments. The linear range is 0.0147-2.45 µg/mL with R² value of 0.9997. The limit of the detection is 3 µg/L for a 25 µL injection loop. The overall relative standard deviation of the method is less than 5.20% and the recovery range from 94.3% to 101.0%. The results obtained from the developed method are in good agreement with that of continuous flow analyzer (CFA) method.

Free and conjugated phytosterols in cured tobacco leaves: influence of genotype, growing region, and stalk position.

Although phytosterols in tobacco leaves have specific effects on tobacco quality, there is little research on the distribution of free and conjugated phytosterols in various tobacco leaves. In this paper, we explored the content and composition of phytosterols in representative cured tobacco leaves by gas chromatography of TMS-ether derivatives. We found that phytosterol contents in tobacco leaves ranged from 1.0 to 2.5 mg/g of dried leaf tissue, depending on different types of tobacco leaves. The majority of phytosterols (75-85%) were conjugated as ester and glycosides, with only about 15-25% existing in the free form. Furthermore, the genetic variability gives rise to the significant differences among different tobacco types with phytosterol levels: the contents of phytosterols in tobacco leaves decreased in the order of flue-cured tobacco, Oriental tobacco, Burley tobacco, cigar tobacco, and Maryland tobacco. At the same time, the tobacco curing process leads to a difference in phytosterol existing-form distribution in some variation laws.

Analysis of free and conjugated phytosterols in tobacco by an improved method using gas chromatography-flame ionization detection.

An improved and simple method using capillary gas chromatography coupled with a flame ionization detection system (GC-FID) has been developed for quantitative analysis of free and conjugated phytosterols in tobacco. Direct acid and alkaline hydrolysis were first introduced into tobacco analysis to liberate free phytosterols from conjugates, followed by extraction with hexane, derivatization to trimethylsilyl ether derivatives and finally GC quantitative determination. The generality and applicability of this improved method for analyzing free and conjugated phytosterols in tobacco were validated after a series of optimization and comparison were done. Compared with traditional methods, this improved method not only simplified procedures, but also saved time and solvent. The limits of detection (LODs) of phytosterols varied from 0.35 to 0.10 microg mL(-1), the relative standard deviations (RSD) were from 2.3% to 3.3% and recovery ranged from 87% to 99%. The analysis results showed that total phytosterols' content in tobacco ranged from 1.0 to 2.5 mg g(-1), and most phytosterols existed as conjugates, only approximately 15-25% phytosterols existed in free-form. Ergosterol was only found in mildewy flued-cured tobacco and the level was approximately 0.2-0.25 mg g(-1).

[Study on the interaction between BSA and nicotine].

The interaction of BSA and NIC was investigated by absorption spectra, fluorescence spectroscopy and synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy. In the system of sodium phosphate dibasic-citric acid of 0.1 mol(-1) x L(-1), fluorescence titration showed that the fluorescence intensity of BSA at 342 nm was quenched when NIC was added, NIC was capable of binding with BSA to form a 1:1 complex and the quenching mechanism of BSA affected by NIC was shown to be a static quenching procedure by calculating the binding number n and binding constant K. NIC decreased the intensity of the characteristic absorption peak of BSA, showing that the binding of NIC to BSA had strong impact on protein conformation with the decrease in a-helical content of the protein. Synchronous fluorescence indicated that the binding of NIC to BSA is near tryptophan subunit.

[Spectroscopic characterization of structure of cerium incorporated MCM-48 mesoporous molecular sieve].

Cerium incorporated MCM-48 molecular sieves have been hydrothermally synthesized using a mixed template and pH adjusting route. The samples were characterized by various physicochemical methods, including X-ray diffraction, diffuse reflectance UV-Vis spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, XRF spectroscopy, and nitrogen adsorption. These results reveal that cerium is incorporated in MCM-48 and it is in the form of well-dispersed tetra-coodinated cerium ion. The proper concentration of cerium and adjusting pH can keep Ce-MCM-48 with higher specific surface area , larger unit-cell parameter, narrower pore-size distribution, and thicker pore wall than those of MCM-48. These deduce higher activity, and better selectivity, thermal stability and hydrothermal stability than those of MCM-48. The concentration of Ce incorporated in MCM-48 affects the vibration of the framewoke Si of molecular sieves.

[Determination of benzo(a)pyrene in cigarette mainstream smoke by second-order-derivative synchronous fluorescence].

The synchronous fluorescence, first-order and second-order-derivative synchronous fluorescence spectra of BaP in cigarette mainstream smoke were studied. It was indicated that the second-order-derivative synchronous fluorescence spectrum could decrease the disturbances of BaP homologous compounds and background of sample. Hereby the present paper introduces a new method to determine BaP in cigarette mainstream smoke by solid-phase-extraction second-order-derivative synchronous fluorescence. The detection limit is 0.2 ng x mL(-1), the average recoveries of BaP are 80.2%-86.2%, and the RSD is 2.64%-3.02%.