[Prediction of Cellulose, Hemicellulose, Lignin and Ash Content of Four Miscanthus Bio-Energy Crops Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy].

Biomass energy is being industrialized rapidly in China in recent years, whereas, research on energy grass is still in primary stage. Only if near-infrared spectroscopy mode was constructed which was used to predict the lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose contents in energy crop, the varieties screening, performance evaluation and on-line control of industrialization would be facilitated. In this study, the prediction model for quality indices (cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and ash) of four energy grass (Miscanthus) was built using Fourier transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy combined with partial least squares regression (PLSR), and the impacts exerted by particle size on the model were also revealed. The results showed that (1) the root mean error of cross validation (RMSECV) of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin contents were 1.35% (R = 0.88), 0.39% (R = 0.91) and 0.35 (R2 = 0.80), respectively in stalk and 0.72% (R = 0.88), 0.85% (R2 = 0.85) and 0.44 (R2 = 0.87), respectively in leaf. The model showed good performance in prediction of corresponding contents in unknown samples, however, no satisfying performance in ash content. (2) Both 2 mm and 0.5 mm grades of particle size can meet accuracy requirements of the model. But considering the time and labor cost, 2 mm grade was suggested for model building.

[Impacts of salt stress on the growth and physiological characteristics of Panicum virgatum seedlings].

An experiment was conducted in an artificial climate chamber to study the growth and physiological characteristics of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) seedlings exposed to 0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 mmol x L(-1) of NaCl solutions. With the increasing concentration of the NaCl, the seedling growth was obviously inhibited. The plant height decreased, leaves became smaller, photosynthetic leaf area and net photosynthetic rate reduced, and dry matter accumulation decreased significantly, presenting the general traits of glycophyte. Meanwhile, the seedlings also showed relatively high salt tolerance. After exposed to 200 mmol x L(-1) of NaCl for 30 days, the seedlings still survived, with the green leaf area per plant and net photosynthetic rate being 491.9 cm2 and 0.93 micromol CO2 x m(-2) x s(-1), respectively. In this experiment, the salt tolerance threshold for P. virgatum was 178.6 mmol L(-1) when taking 50% drop in biomass as the standard.

[Effects of mepiquat chloride on inorganic elements contents in seeds of transgenic insect-resistant cotton determined by ICP-MS].

To evaluate the effects of a worldwide used plant growth regulator mepiquat chloride on the nutrition value and safety of seeds of transgenic Bt cotton, inorganic element components and contents in seeds of Bt cotton (Gossypium hirsutum cv. Guoxin 6) under field condition were determined using ICP-MS. In Bt cotton seeds, 54 kinds of inorganic elements were identified by ICP-MS, and 5 kinds of major elements, K, P, Mg, Ca and Na, were in range from 138.3 to 13,835.1 microg x g(-1). The contents of 14 kinds of microelements were determined as in descending order of Si, B, Mn, Sr, Zn, Ni, Cu, Mo, Fe, Co, Se, V, I and Sn, in the range from 14.2 ng x g(-1) to 81.7 microg x g(-1). Five kinds of heavy metals were detected with the contents from 0.14 to 55.3 ng x g(-1), and their order from high to low is Pb, Cd, Cr, As and Hg. Other 30 kinds of elements were also detected in Bt cotton seeds by ICP-MS, including Rb, Be, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Ge, Rh, Ag, Sb, W, U and Y. Foliar application of mepiquat chloride significantly reduced the contents of Ca, Fe, Si, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu and I, and remarkably decreased heavy metals Pb, Cd and Cr in the cotton seeds, by 68%, 67% and 54% respectively. While mepiquat chloride did not change the contents of most major and micro elements, it heightened 8 kinds, but lowered 7 kinds of the other 30 trace elements. This research indicated that mepiquat chloride application strengthened the security regarding the cotton seed as the material of cooking oil.

[Acupuncture at 7:00 a.m.-l1:00 a.m. division for treatment of stroke].

OBJECTIVE: To observe clinical therapeutic effect of the needling method of selecting time on stroke. METHODS: One hundred and twenty cases of stroke were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 60 cases in each group. The observation group were treated with acupuncture between 7:00-11:00 and the control group with acupuncture at any time. Their therapeutic effects, blood lipids and blood coagulation indexes were observed. RESULTS: The cured-markedly effective rate and the total effective rate were 53.3% and 93.3% in the observation group, which were significantly higher than 35.0% and 78.3% in the control group, respectively; total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) significantly decreased and HDL-C significantly raised, fibrinogen (FG) significantly reduced in the observation group (all P < 0.01), the lipids regulating and anti-coagulation effects were significantly better than the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture between 7:00-11:00 achieves significant effect on stroke through increasing the lipids-decreasing and anticoagulation effects.