Biomimetic Approach to Facilitate the High Filler Content in Free-Standing and Flexible Thermoelectric Polymer Composite Films Based on PVDF and Ag2Se Nanowires.

A high filler content is often needed in polymer composite-based thermoelectric (TE) films to improve their performance. Nevertheless, this often leads to poor processability and poor mechanical performance. Herein, a biomimetic approach is adopted to facilitate the filler content up to 90.5 wt % in free-standing and flexible n-type PVDF/Ag2Se TE films, where PVDF dendricolloids are a solution mixed with Ag2Se nanowires (NWs), followed by filtration. These soft dendric nanoparticles within PVDF dendricolloids have high adhesivity and strong network-building ability, which allows the formation of "grapevine-grape"-like networks with soft dendritic particles and inorganic TE fillers as "grapevine" and "manicure finger grapes", respectively. The maximum power factor of 189.02 µW m-1 K-2 is achieved for a PVDF/Ag2Se mass ratio of 1:9.5 at 300 K. Meanwhile, excellent flexibility with only 15.8% decrease in electrical conductivity after 1000 bending cycles was observed. These properties at such a high filler content are attributed to the long-range grapevine-like network of soft PVDF dendritic particles and entanglement between numerous Ag2Se NWs. This work carves a path to fabricate high-performance free-standing flexible n-type TE composite films as well as other functional polymer composites requiring high inorganic filler loading.

Removal of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) and toxicological response of Cyperus alternifolius exposed to PhACs in microcosm constructed wetlands.

This study investigated the effects of selected four pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) (carbamazepine, sulfamethoxazole, ofloxacin, and roxithromycin) on the photosynthesis and antioxidant enzymes of Cyperus alternifolius in constructed wetlands (CWs). Moreover, the removal and kinetics of PhACs in CWs were evaluated to explore the related removal mechanisms. Results showed that C. alternifolius can uptake and withstand certain PhACs. The PhAC tolerance of C. alternifolius might be attributed to their capacity to maintain relatively normal photosynthetic activity and elevated antioxidative defense. CWs offered comparable or even higher removal efficiencies for the selected PhACs compared with conventional WWTPs. The removal of the target PhACs was enhanced in the planted CWs versus the unplanted CWs mostly because of plant uptake and rhizosphere effects. In particular, carbamazepine, which is considered the most recalcitrant of the PhACs, was significantly reduced (p<0.05). The removal of target PhACs fitted into two distinct periods. The initial fast step (within the first 2 h) was essentially attributed to the adsorption onto the CW medium surface. The subsequent slow process (2-12 h) closely followed first-order kinetics probably because of the interaction between microorganisms and plants. The obtained results indicate that C. alternifolius can phytoremediate PhAC-contaminated waters in CWs.

Association Mapping of Quantitative Trait Loci for Mineral Element Contents in Whole Grain Rice (Oryza sativa L.).

Mineral elements in brown rice grain play an important role in human health. In this study, variations in the content of iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) in 378 accessions of brown rice were investigated, and association mapping was used to detect the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) responsible for the variation. Among seven subpopulations, the mean values of Zn and Cd in the japonica group were significantly higher than in the indica groups. The population structure accounted for from 5.7% (Se) to 22.1% (Pb) of the total variation. Correlation analyses showed that Pb was positively correlated with the other minerals (P < 0.001) except for Se. For the five mineral elements investigated, 20 QTLs, including some previously reported and new candidate loci, were identified. Particularly, three cases of QTL colocalization, i.e. Cd and Pb on chromosome 5, Zn and Pb on chromosome 7, and Se and Pb on chromosome 11, were observed. This study suggested that the identified markers could feasibly be used to enhance desired micronutrients while reducing the heavy metal content in whole rice grain by marker-assisted selection (MAS).

Mapping of Quantitative Trait Loci for Contents of Macro- and Microelements in Milled Rice (Oryza sativa L.).

Macro- and microelement contents are important traits for nutritional quality in rice. In this study, quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for the contents of seven mineral elements in milled rice were detected using recombinant inbred lines (RILs) of the indica rice cross Zhenshan 97/Milyang 46, followed by the validation and fine mapping of a QTL region on the short arm of chromosome 6. A total of 20 QTLs distributed on chromosomes 1, 3, 5, 6, 10, and 11 were detected in the RIL population. Co-localizations of QTLs for multiple traits were observed, of which the qP3/qMg3/qZn3 region was shown to have the largest effects for the contents of phosphorus, magnesium, and zinc, and the qK6.1/qCa6/qZn6/qMn6/qCu6 region was found to be responsible for five of the seven traits. Using near isogenic lines having sequential segregating region, the target QTL on chromosome 6 was delimitated to a 29.9 kb region flanked by RM19410 and Si2944. This QTL showed major effects for all seven traits, with the enhancing alleles derived from the male parent Milyang 46.