AFRAH ALKHURIJI¹, ATEKAH ABDULLAH MOHAMMED ALRAQIBAH¹, AMAAL AWAD ALHARBI¹, ZENEB BABAY², FATIMAH BASIL AL-MUKAYNIZI³, ARWA ALTHOMALI³, SONYA S. ABDEL-RAZEQ⁴, ARJUMAND S. WARSY⁵

BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.4, pp. 613-621, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.09652 - 24 December 2020

Abstract Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) deficiency is the most common genetic cause of hyperhomocysteinemia, which has been implicated in the etiology of recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA). This study was designed to investigate the association between two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) (rs1801133 [C677T] and rs1801131 [A1298C]) in the MTHFR gene and RSA, in Saudis. These two SNPs were selected as these polymorphisms have a different effect on the activity and stability of the enzyme, and significantly diverse effects have been reported in relation to the association with RSA. Ethical approval was acquired from the IRB at King Saud… More >

Jialin Lv¹, Rao Fu¹, Yinan Liu^1,2,*, Xuelian Zhou¹, Weihong Wang^1,*, Pengbo Xie¹, Tingwei Hu¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.8, pp. 879-890, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.010728 - 10 July 2020

Abstract Wood-plastic composite is an environmentally friendly material, due to its use of recycled thermoplastics and plant fibers. However, its surface lacks attractive aesthetic qualities. In this paper, a method of decorating wood fiber/ high-density polyethylene (WF/HDPE) without adding adhesive was explored. Canvas or polyester fabrics were selected as the surface decoration materials. The influence of hot-pressing temperature and WF/HDPE ratio on the adhesion was studied. The surface bonding strength, water resistance, and surface color were evaluated, and observation within the infrared spectrum and under scanning electron microscopy was used to analyze the bonding process. The… More >

Xuedong Xi, Antonio Pizzi^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.7, pp. 715-725, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.010882 - 01 June 2020

Abstract A three reagents adhesive system for wood particleboards not containing any aldehyde was developed by the reaction of glucose or sucrose with triacetin (glycerin triacetate) and with hexamethylene diamine. The system was found to be based on the mix of three reactions, namely the reaction of (i) glucose with triacetin, (ii) of the diamine with triacetin, and (iii) of glucose with the diamine. The chemical species formed were identified by Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time of Flight (MALDI-ToF) mass spectrometry. Wood particleboard panels were prepared with this adhesive system and gave good internal bond More >

Haiyang Zhou^1,2, Xiaoyu Wang³, Xiaolong Hao^1,2, Qingwen Wang^1,2,*, Rongxian Ou^1,2,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.5, pp. 485-498, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.010263 - 29 April 2020

Abstract The mechanical properties of wood flour/high-density polyethylene composites (WPC) were improved by adding a small amount of nano-SiO₂ to obtain a network-structured WPC with a continuous honeycomb-like nano-SiO₂ network. The wood flour was modified with a fire retardant (a mixture of sodium octabonate and amidine urea phosphate) to improve its fire retardancy. The flexural properties, creep resistance, thermal expansion, and fire retardancy of the WPC were compared to a control (WPC_CTRL) without nano-SiO₂ or fire retardant. The flexural strength and modulus of the WPC containing only 0.55 wt.% nano-SiO₂ were 6.6% and 9.1% higher than the control, respectively, More >

Subhan Danish^1,2, Muhammad Zafar-ul-Hye^1,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.89, No.2, pp. 217-227, 2020, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2020.08523 - 22 April 2020

Abstract Most of the cereal crops are widely cultivated to fulfil the humans food requirements. Under changing climate scenario, the intensity of drought stress is continuously increasing that is adversely affecting the growth and yield of cereal crops. Although the cereals can tolerate moderate drought to some extent, but mostly they are susceptible to severe drought stress. Higher biosynthesis of ethylene under drought stress has been reported. Many scientists observed that inoculation of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase producing plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) is an efficacious tool to overcome this problem. These PGPR secrete ACC deaminase which… More >

Muhammad Zafar-ul-Hye^1,*, Misbah Batool Zahra¹, Subhan Danish¹, Mazhar Abbas², Abdur Rehim¹, Muhammad Naeem Akbar¹, Ayesha Iftikhar¹, Mehreen Gul¹, Ifat Nazir¹, Maria Abid¹, Muhammad Tahzeeb-ul-Hassan¹, Maria Murtaza³

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.89, No.2, pp. 405-413, 2020, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2020.08918 - 22 April 2020

Abstract Rhizosphere bacteria that colonize plant roots and confer beneficial effects are referred as plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). Among all PGPR, some rhizobacteria have an ability to produce ACC deaminase enzyme. This enzyme catalyzes stress ACC into a-ketobutyrate and ammonia instead of letting it to be converted to ethylene. Ethylene level rises in plants under stress conditions i.e., drought, salinity, poor soil fertility etc. As poor soil fertility is a big hurdle to achieve the optimum yield of crops, inoculation of ACC deaminase PGPR can overcome this problem to some extent. The aim of the… More >

Jonathan Lacuesta^1,*, Iris Beatriz Vega Erramuspe², Liji Sobhana², Dennis Kronlund³, Jouko Peltonen³, Soledad Gutiérrez¹, Pedro Fardim^2,4

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.3, pp. 275-287, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.08861 - 01 March 2020

Abstract Biobased adsorbents are eco-friendly materials used for water and wastewater treatment and air cleaning. This research work explores the potential use of rice husk chars as a low-cost adsorbent for pollutants from water, such as methylene blue and ethinylestradiol. Rice husk chars are prepared by combustion of rice husks (RH-Char) or pre-treated rice husks (PT-Char). A third char (M-Char) supplied by a local company which uses rice husks as combustion material is also studied. The chars are characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) in conjunction with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray powder… More >

B. MOULIPRASANTH^A, P. HARIHARAN^B

Journal of Polymer Materials, Vol.36, No.4, pp. 351-369, 2019, DOI:10.32381/JPM.2019.36.04.5

Abstract Electrical discharge machining is a non-traditional machining processes in which it is based upon thermal and electrical energy source as an interval energy pulse discharge in-between the work piece and tool electrode so as to remove the material. A systematical investigation of melting and vaporising of aluminium to find the output responses such as Material removal rate (MRR), Electrode wear rate (R_a), and Surface finish (EWR) in EDM using two different dielectrics was conducted as experimental work. The working fluids are Polyethylene glycol (PEG 600) and kerosene. It is the hour of need to get the More >

XIANRONG SHEN^1,*, DENGZHOU XIA¹, YIXIN XIANG¹, JIANGANG GAO¹

Journal of Polymer Materials, Vol.36, No.3, pp. 229-241, 2019, DOI:10.32381/JPM.2019.36.03.3

Abstract ARGET ATRP of methyl acrylate (MA) with low concentration of air stable-CuBr₂ catalyst was successfully carried out in green solvent polyethylene glycol (PEG) without any external reducing agent.The polymerizations of MA proceeded in a well-controlled manner as evidenced by kinetic studies, chain extension results, a linear increase of the molecular weights with the increasing of monomer conversion. and narrow molecular weight distribution (M_w/M_n =1.1). Interestingly, we found that the PEG has the reduction ability to CuBr₂ and could play as supplement reducing agent cooperation with Me₆ TREN to mediate ARGET ATRP. Reduction of Cu(II)Br₂ to Cu(I)Br by different More >

Haiyang Ding¹, Xiaohua Yang¹, Lina Xu¹, Mei Li¹, Shouhai Li¹, Jianling Xia^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.12, pp. 1391-1401, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.07207

Abstract A water-soluble lubricant additive (RSOPE) was prepared by esterification reaction using fatty acid from rubber seed oil. The RSOPE was added into water-ethylene glycol (W-EG) solution as lubricant additive. Dispersion stability and rheological properties were investigated. We used a four-ball tribotester to assess the lubrication performance of W-EG based fluid with the RSOPE additive. The stainless-steel surface was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Good dispersion stability was observed in the RSOPE/W-EG solutions. Furthermore, nonNewtonian fluid behavior at low shear rates and Newtonian fluid behavior at high shear rates was More >