Red-orange Research Articles

Cynodon dactylon derived fluorescent N-doped carbon dots: Implications of photocatalytic and biological applications

CQDs possess various appealing properties like excellent light harvesting capability, unique photo-induced electron transfer ability, low toxicity, and good biocompatibility. This work aims to demonstrate the potential of CQDs from natural waste resources in wastewater treatments and biomedical applications. Herein we report the eco-friendly approach for preparing nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs) using the Cynodon dactylon (grass) as a carbon precursor via a highly effective hydrothermal process. The structural aspects and chemical nature of N-CQDs were considered using FTIR, XRD, SEM & EDX, TEM, AFM, EPR, and XPS. In addition, UV–vis and fluorescence spectroscopy elucidated the optical performance of N-CQDs. N-CQDs possess stable fluorescent properties, good biocompatibility, and acceptable quantum yield (24.44%). In this study, five dyes, namely Toluidine Blue (TB), Amido Black (AB), Congo Red (CR), and Xylol Orange (XO), were chosen to investigate the photocatalytic performance of the nanomaterial under UV–vis light irradiation. The synthesized N-CQDs exhibited remarkable photocatalytic activity for various model dyes of varying concentrations (5, 10, 50, and 100 ppm), highlighting the pivotal role of N-CQDs in promoting the separation migration efficiency of photoexcited e−- h+ pairs. Moreover, the impact of pH, contact time, and amount of catalyst on the degradation of dyes were also examined. Additionally, we investigated the interaction of N-CQDs with lysozyme protein using fluorescence quenching. Thus, the developed nanomaterial efficiently treats wastewater and holds great promise in biosensing applications.

Viologens and extended viologen derivatives with mono- and di-hexyl substituents for highly stable all-in-one ECDs and solar cell powered large-area ECDs

Viologen-based electrochromic devices (ECDs) have attracted considerable attention due to their potential applications in smart windows. Herein, two viologen derivatives with N-substituted monohexyl (MHEV) and dihexyl (DHEV), and two extended viologen derivatives with a thiophene unit inserted between the bipyridine moieties and N-substituted monohexyl (m-MHEV) and dihexyl (m-DHEV) were synthesized. All-in-one ECDs were assembled using these materials. m-DHEV and m-MHEV-based ECDs exhibited red and dark orange colors, while DHEV and MHEV-based ECDs exhibited blue and magenta colors. The extended conjugation of the chromophore by the thiophene unit endowed the devices with visible-NIR absorption and excellent cyclic stability. After 10000 cycles, ECDs based on m-DHEV and m-MHEV retained 94.2% and 95.0% of their initial optical contrasts, respectively. A binary chromophore mixture of DHEV and m-DHEV was used to fabricate a uniform large-area ECD (8 cm × 8 cm) with strong sunlight absorption ability. The device maintained high optical contrast (80.2% of initial state) after 2000 cycles. Furthermore, a solar cell powered ECD (8 cm × 8 cm) with negligible loss of optical contrast after 100 cycles of coloring and bleaching under sunlight was developed, demonstrating the application potential of self-powered smart windows using these materials.

Italian consumers’ awareness, preferences and attitudes about Sicilian blood oranges (Arancia Rossa di Sicilia PGI)

The objective of the paper is describing the results of a survey on the consumer's awareness, preferences and attitudes of certified quality products such as fruit and vegetable, and in particular of Sicilian Blood Oranges (Arancia Rossa di Sicilia) which is PGI product. A total of 26 participants with heterogenous socio-demographic background took part in the study. The aim of the study was achieved using focus groups (FGs). Three sessions of FGs were held in September 2021 in three Italian cities chosen as a convenience sample to represent the entire Italian territory. The results show that fruit and vegetables have a particularly relevant role in the eating habits of the sample. For the interviewees, the quality label of food products is a guarantee of being Italian, of compliance with production norms and standards, of natural and genuine products and of a more intense and good taste and flavour. For the whole target, Arancia Rossa di Sicilia PGI is a premium product of reliable excellence and whose quality can be assured because it is certified, as long as the consumer recognizes the certification logo on the product.

Investigation of Colored Film Indicators for the Assessment of the Occasional Radiation Exposure.

Occupational radiation exposure monitoring is well-established in clinical or industrial environments with various different dosimeter systems. Despite the availability of many dosimetry methods and devices, a challenge with the occasional exposure registration, which may occur due to the spilling of radioactive materials or splitting of these materials in the environment, still exists, because not every individual will have an appropriate dosimeter at the time of the irradiation event. The aim of this work was to develop radiation-sensitive films-color-changing radiation indicators, which can be attached to or integrated in the textile. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based polymer hydrogels were used as a basis for fabrication of radiation indicator films. Several organic dyes (brilliant carmosine (BC), brilliant scarlet (BS), methylene red (MR), brilliant green (BG), brilliant blue (BB), methylene blue (MB) and xylenol orange (XiO)) were used as a coloring additives. Moreover, PVA films enriched with Ag nanoparticles (PVA-Ag) were investigated. In order to assess the radiation sensitivity of the produced films, experimental samples were irradiated in a linear accelerator with 6 MeV X-ray photons and the radiation sensitivity of irradiated films was evaluated using UV-Vis spectrophotometry method. The most sensitive were PVA-BB films indicating 0.4 Gy-1 sensitivity in low-dose (0-1 or 2 Gy) range. The sensitivity at higher doses was modest. These PVA-dye films were sensitive enough to detect doses up to 10 Gy and PVA-MR film indicated stable 33.3% decolorization after irradiation at this dose. It was found that the dose sensitivity of all PVA-Ag gel films varied from 0.068 to 0.11 Gy-1 and was dependent on the Ag additives concentration. Exchange of a small amount of water with ethanol or isopropanol caused the enhancement of radiation sensitivity in the films with the lowest AgNO3 concentration. Radiation-induced color change of AgPVA films varied between 30 and 40%. Performed research demonstrated the potential of colored hydrogel films in their applications as indicators for the assessment of the occasional radiation exposure.

First report of Calonectria ilicicola causing fruit rot on postharvest Prunus persica in Zhejiang Province, China.

Peach (Prunus persica) is an important economic tree fruit in China, with 15 million tons produced in 2020 (Xu et al. 2022). In September 2021, fruit rot on postharvest P. persica 'Yingqingtao' was observed in an orchard warehouse in Qixing district (120°41'E, 29°15'N), Zhejiang Province. Disease incidence was estimated at 25%, and yield loss was estimated at approximately 20% of the total yield. The naturally infected fruit had water-soaked, light brown lesions that fused, and produced a gray-white, dense mycelium (Fig. 1 A). The mycelia were transferred using a sterilized toothpick to potato dextrose agar (PDA) and cultured for 7 d. Macroconidia were used to produce five single-spore isolates, each from a different fruit. Six-day-old colonies grown on PDA at 26°C had light brown centers with gray-white edges; on the underside the centers were reddish brown and white towards the margin (Fig. 1 D). Isolate TGF2 was selected for further identification. Macroconidia were hyaline, straight, cylindrical, and one-to-three septae, 63.2 to 81.8 × 5.7 to 7.8 μm (mean = 73.9 ± 4.3 × 6.9 ± 0.5, n = 30) (Fig. 1 E). Chlamydospores were produced abundantly on PDA (Fig. 1 F), and measured 11.7 to 19.4 × 8.5 to 16.9 μm (n = 10). Perithecia were reddish orange, globose, and 329.9 to 417.1 μm in diameter on PDA (Fig. 1 G). Asci were hyaline and clavate, 61.2 to 91.8 × 14.4 to 20.7 μm (n = 10); ascospores were hyaline, slightly curved, 1- to 3-septate, mostly 1-septate, and 37.6 to 59.7 × 4.9 to 6.4 μm (mean = 49.9 ± 4.5 × 5.6 ± 0.4, n = 30) (Fig. 1 H-J). Morphological characteristics placed this organism within the Ca. kyotensis species complex (Liu et al. 2020). For molecular identification, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS: OP164807-OP164811), calmodulin (Cal: OP176049-OP176053), histone3 (His3: OP176054-OP176058), and translation elongation factor 1α (Tef1: OP176044-OP176048) genes were sequenced (Liu, et al., 2020). The twenty sequences were deposited in GenBank. A BLAST search of these sequences showed 99% identity with sequences of the ex-holotype Ca. ilicicola CMW 30998 (Liu et al. 2020). Bayes phylogenesis suggested that these strains and Ca. ilicicola CMW 30998 were clustered in the same clade (Bayesian posterior probability = 1) (Fig. 2). Integrating morphology and molecular data, these strains were identified as Ca. ilicicola. For pathogenicity tests, P. persica fruits were surface sterilized in 75% ethanol for 30 s and air-dried for 5 mins to allow the alcohol to volatilize. A conidial suspension (30 mL of 1 × 106 conidia/mL) of TGF2 was sprayed onto ten fruits, and ten fruits sprayed with sterilized water served as controls. The experiment was repeated three times. Fruits were kept on a mist bench at 26°C and 60% relative humidity. After 5 days, inoculated fruits showed necrotic lesions and a dense, gray-white mycelium, however, the control fruits showed no symptoms (Fig. 1 B, C). Ca. ilicicola was reisolated from lesions of inoculated fruits. Ca. ilicicola has been reported from Vaccinium sp., Glycine max, Medicago sativa (Farr and Rossman 2022; Kleczewski et al. 2019; Zhang et al. 2020). To our knowledge, this is the first report of Ca. ilicicola causing fruit rot of P. persica in China. In other research on Ca. ilicicola, we found that continuous light could inhibit its growth, suggesting a method to protect postharvest peaches.

He Who Has Hope, Has Everything.

He Who Has Hope, Has Everything.

Synthesis, characterization of carbon dots from onion peel and their application as absorbent and anticancer activity

Water pollution through dyes has become a challenging issue all around the world. The recognition of the alarming industrial waste discharge and lack of access to fresh water has impressed us to develop a feasible dye adsorbent. In this regard, highly efficient and low-cost CDs were prepared using onion waste with quantum yield 12% as a prospective adsorbent to remove Congo red and Methyl orange. The optical and physicochemical properties of CDs have been characterized using UV, PL, FTIR, SEM, TEM, XRD, XPS and BET analyses. To optimize the maximum adsorption of Congo red and Methyl orange, an efficient and comparative study of the adsorption process was systematically tested using different parameters such as adsorbent dosage, pH, contact time, and initial dye concentration. From the obtained results, the maximum adsorption efficiency reached 91.53% and 91.09% for Congo red and Methyl orange, respectively. In addition, the equilibrium isotherm, kinetic study, and thermodynamics of the adsorption were calculated. According to the experimental equilibrium, the isotherm analysis is well-fitted for the Freundlich model. It is worth noting adsorption kinetics could be fitted with second-order kinetics models (R2 = 1) for CR and (R2 = 0.998) for MO. Finally, the anticancer activity of CDs against MCF-7 breast cancer cells is demonstrated.

EPS-mediated biosynthesis of nanoparticles by Bacillus stratosphericus A07, their characterization and potential application in azo dye degradation.

Microbial exopolysaccharides (EPS) are biocompatible, biodegradable, and less toxic substances secreted outside the cell. They adsorb metal cations to its surface, making it another captivating property, which helps in stabilizing and biosynthesizing metal nanoparticles. Owing to these properties, we adopted bacterial EPS toward the green synthesis of nanoparticles and its application in the removal of azo dyes. Extracted EPS weighed 2.6mg/mL from the most potential isolate A07 with 385μg/mg of the carbohydrate content. The top three isolates were subjected to nanoparticle synthesis via the intracellular method and, by their extracted EPS, silver nanoparticles (AgNP) with the size around 87nm were successfully produced by both methods mediated by the most potent isolate. The nanoparticles were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction studies, atomic force microscopy, and FT-IR analysis. The nanoparticles were employed for dye degradation of azo dyes, namely, Methyl Orange (MO) and Congo Red (CO). EPS-Ag NPs showed fair degradation capability determined by UV-Vis kinetic studies. The work suggests electron transfer from reducing agent to dye molecule mediated by nanoparticles, destroying the dye chromophore. This makes EPS-Ag NPs a suitable, cheap, and environment-friendly candidate for biodegradation of harmful azo dyes. The most potential isolate was identified as Bacillus stratosphericus by 16S rRNA sequencing and submitted to GenBank under the accession id MK968439.

Comprehensive studies of biological characteristics, phytochemical profiling, and antioxidant activities of two local citrus varieties in China.

Citrus is widely grown all over the world, and citrus fruits have long been recognized for their nutritional and medical value for human health. However, some local citrus varieties with potentially important value are still elusive. In the current study, we elucidated the biological characteristics, phylogenetic and phytochemical profiling, antioxidants and antioxidant activities of the two local citrus varieties, namely Zangju and Tuju. The physiological and phylogenetic analysis showed that Zangju fruit has the characteristics of wrinkled skin, higher acidity, and phylogenetically closest to sour mandarin Citrus sunki, whereas, Tuju is a kind of red orange with vermilion peel, small fruit and high sugar content, and closely clustered with Citrus erythrosa. The phytochemical analysis showed that many nutrition and antioxidant related differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) were detected in the peel and pulp of Zangju and Tuju fruits. Furthermore, it was found that the relative abundance of some key flavonoids and phenolic acids, such as tangeritin, sinensetin, diosmetin, nobiletin, and sinapic acid in the peel and pulp of Zangju and Tuju were higher than that in sour range Daidai and satsuma mandarin. Additionally, Zangju pulp and Tuju peel showed the strongest ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) activity, whereas, Tuju peel and pulp showed the strongest DPPH and ABTS free radical scavenging activities, respectively. Moreover, both the antioxidant activities of peel and pulp were significantly correlated with the contents of total phenols, total flavonoids or ascorbic acid. These results indicate that the two local citrus varieties have certain nutritional and medicinal value and potential beneficial effects on human health. Our findings will also provide an important theoretical basis for further conservation, development and medicinal utilization of Zangju and Tuju.

Synthesis of Ti/SnO<sub>2</sub>-Sb electrode modified by nitrogen and sulfur co-doped graphene for optimization the electrooxidation of neutral red and methyl orange dyes

The degradation of methyl orange (MO) and neutral red (NR) was studied by the direct electrooxidation using nitrogen and sulfur co-doped graphene (NSG) supported antimony doped tin oxide (SnO<sub>2</sub>-Sb). Sol-gel and microwave technics were used to prepare the material (Ti/SnO<sub>2</sub>-Sb-NSG). Raman, XRD, FTIR and TGA/DSC analyses help to confirm the coating of titanium substrate with the SnO<sub>2</sub>-Sb-NSG film. Linear sweet voltammetry results show that Ti/SnO<sub>2</sub>-Sb-NSG material possesses high oxygen overvoltage. Three independent variables including electrolysis time, current density and dye concentration on the performance of the anodic oxidation system was modeled using the Box-Behnken Design. The optimum conditions for MO and NR degradation were for current density 18 mA/cm² and 58 mA/cm², electrolysis time 6 h and 6 h and dye concentration 29 mg/L and 82 mg/L, respectively. However, based on these optimums, MO was degraded at 98.71 % while NR was just degraded at 82.7%. Based on the intermediate compounds, the degradation mechanism of MO at the Ti/SnO<sub>2</sub>-Sb-NSG anode was proposed. Ti/SnO<sub>2</sub>-Sb-NSG electrode showed a higher efficient electrocatalytic performance for NR and MO degradation than that of Ti/Sb-SnO<sub>2</sub> or Ti/Sb-SnO<sub>2</sub>-NG electrodes. Furthermore, the lifetime of Ti/SnO<sub>2</sub>-Sb-NSG was about 31.6 h while Ti/SnO<sub>2</sub>-Sb electrode was 9.0 h.

The gradient distribution of pigment metabolites provided insights into the uneven colouration of pulp in cold-stored blood orange

Pigment accumulation is the material basis for colour formation in blood orange pulp. Regarding colour characterization during cold storage in this study, the red pigment intensity and the chlorophyll content of the fruit were lowest in the peduncle end and highest in the stylar end. Most of the carotenoids and anthocyanins in the peduncle end, equator and stylar end increased during cold storage. The highest carotenoid content was found at the equator, and the lowest carotenoid content was found at the stylar end. Regarding the two principal anthocyanins (C3,6 mg and C3G), the highest content was observed in the stylar end, and the lowest content was found in the peduncle end. The upregulated genes involved in pigment synthesis, such as CHLP, HemF, HemY, MgCh and DVR for chlorophyll synthesis; PDS, ZDS1/2/3, LCYb and CHY-β for carotenoid synthesis, and DFR, ANS, ANR, BZL, 3RT and UFGT for anthocyanin synthesis, might explain the chlorophyll, carotenoid and anthocyanin accumulation that occurs during cold storage.

Phytoconstituents mediated fabrication of palladium nanoparticles using Butea Monosperma flower extract by autoclaving treatment towards the degradation of noxious organic dyes

The effluents of industrial wastes contain a number of dyes and pigments that have been found to be extremely harmful to the environment and pose a threat to human existence. The fabrication of palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) employing aqueous extract of the seasonal flower Butea Monosperma (BM) to work as reducing, capping, and stabilizing agents in a convenient, one-step method by autoclaving method is presented in the current study. UV–Visible spectroscopy, FT-IR, XRD, DLS, and TEM analyses were used to evaluate the phytoconstituents fabricated PdNPs. The synthesis of PdNPs and the catalytic discoloration of toxic chemical dyes are both detectable using optical absorption spectroscopy. The functional groups responsible for reducing and anchoring the PdNPs contained in the extract were detected using FTIR. The powder XRD pattern reveals that the particles in the FCC structure are crystalline and spherical, and that they are stable according to Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS). According to TEM analysis, PdNPs have crystallite sizes that vary from 3 to 8 nm on average. In excess sodium borohydride (SBH), the PdNPs showed excellent catalytic activity in the degradation of organic dyes like Methylene Blue (MB), Methyl Orange (MO), Crystal Violet (CV), and Methyl Red (MR), with apparent reduction rates of 0.56 min−1, 0.45 min−1, 0.40 min−1, and 0.39 min−1, respectively. The kinetic studies show that the degradation rate appears to follow pseudo-first order kinetics. The current study offers a successful strategy for the widespread green biosynthesis of PdNPs for possible catalytic applications.

Trinary Component Adsorption of Methylene Blue, Methyl Orange, and Methyl Red from Aqueous Solution Using TiO2/Activated Carbon

Porous TiO2/activated carbon (AC) material was synthesized by grafting peroxo-hydro titanium complexes to rice husk-derived activated carbon. It was found that the morphology of TiO2/AC consists of TiO2 fine particles highly dispersed on the AC matrix. The obtained TiO2/AC composites with high surface area and a red shift exhibit an excellent adsorption performance in both single and trinary system toward methylene blue (MB), methyl orange (MO), and methyl red (MR). The isotherm models including extended Langmuir, P-factor, ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST) for Langmuir, Freundlich, and Sips models were applied to study the adsorption equilibrium data of trinary solutions. It was found that IAST for Freundlich and Langmuir models were the most suitable one to describe the adsorption of the three dyes on TiO2/AC material. The high maximum adsorption capacities (mmol g-1) in single/trinary mixture were found as 0.452/0.340 for MB; 0.329/0.321 for MO; and 0.806/2.04 for MR. Moreover, the recyclability experiments showed that the adsorbent could be reused through photocatalytic self-cleaning for at least three cycles with stable capacity. Thus, the TiO2/AC can be effectively employed for the removal of dyes from industrial textile wastewater.

Drought stress effects on morphophysiological and quality characteristics of commercial carrot cultivars

The effects of drought stress on plant growth and development are getting more pronounced due to increasing influence of climate change on environmental stresses. Current study was devised to explore the drought effects on eight commercial carrot cultivars, having different root colors as a base for further studies to understand the response of carrot. Drought stress for 10 days was applied to carrot plants at taproot formation stage in semicontrolled greenhouse. The results revealed that orange and yellow colored carrot cultivars exhibited the least decline in physiological functioning (relative water contents and dry matter) that assisted in maintaining higher yield and quality attributes in contrast to purple and black carrot cultivars. However, anthocyanin contents in nonpurple cultivars Tendersweet and Solar Yellow showed 72% decrease, whereas in purple carrot cultivars 3-fold increase was observed in Eregli Black and Cosmic Purple. Beta-carotene contents showed 59% decrease in cultivar Eregli Black under drought; however, it was increased in cultivars Solar Yellow and Coral Orange by 17% and 3%, respectively. Sugar accumulation exhibited variable response of carrot cultivars; minimal sucrose contents in cultivars Cosmic Purple, Solar Yellow and Tendersweet were detected after they were subjected to drought. Overall, the results showed that cultivars Atomic Red and Coral Orange performed well under water scarce condition. We believe this study may help the researchers to move forward in understanding the drought effects for the selection of promising cultivars to be used in development of tolerant varieties with breeding strategies.

Reddish Orange Diamond Coloured by Hematite

Reddish Orange Diamond Coloured by Hematite

Protective effects of red orange (Citrus sinensis [L.] Osbeck [Rutaceae]) extract against UVA-B radiation-induced photoaging in Skh:HR-2 mice.

The skin is the outermost organ of the human body and plays a protective role against external environmental damages, such as sunlight and pollution, which affect anti-oxidant defenses and skin inflammation, resulting in erythema or skin reddening, immunosuppression, and epidermal DNA damage. The present study aimed to investigate the potential protective effects of red orange complex H extract (ROC) against ultraviolet (UV)-induced skin photoaging in Skh:HR-2 mice. ROC was orally administered at doses of 20, 40, and 80 mg/kg/day for 13 weeks, along with UV irradiation of the mice for 10 weeks. ROC improved UV-induced skin barrier parameters, including erythema, melanin production, transepidermal water loss, elasticity, and wrinkle formation. Notably, ROC inhibited the mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor α) and melanogenesis. In addition, ROC recovered the UV-induced decrease in the hyaluronic acid and collagen levels by enhancing genes expression. Furthermore, ROC significantly downregulated the protein and mRNA expression of matrix metalloproteinases responsible for collagen degradation. These protective effects of ROC against photoaging are associated with the suppression of UV-induced phosphorylation of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase and activator protein 1 activation. Altogether, our findings suggest that the oral administration of ROC exerts potential protective activities against photoaging in UV-irradiated hairless mice.

Adoption Level of Farmers about Henna Production Technology in Pali District of Rajasthan, India

Agriculture sector is the heart of India’s social development. India is agriculture dependent country because 2/3rd of its population depends upon agriculture for their survival and it contributes approximately 14% to India’s GDP. Henna (Lawsonia inermis L.), is a plantation crop native to tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Australia and is found in arid and semi-arid zones. From its leaves a red orange dye agent is extracted which has an affinity for bonding with proteins, and thus is used to dye human body parts (skin, hair, fingernails), as well as leather, silk and wool. The present study was conducted purposively selected Pali district in arid zone of Rajasthan State of India. One hundred and twenty beneficiaries were selected purposively who have obtained training on improved henna production technologies and 120 non-beneficiaries were selected randomly in same number from same villages of study area. Thus, a total of 240 farmers was selected from 20 villages for the present investigation. it was found that more than half (57.91%) of respondents belong to medium level of adoption category followed by 27.08 percent of respondents belong to high level of adoption category. Only 15 percent of respondents belongs to low level of adoption category of improved henna production technologies.

Improvement of Anthocyanin Accumulation and Fruit Quality by Cold Storage after Early Harvesting in ‘Tarocco’ Blood Orange

Improvement of Anthocyanin Accumulation and Fruit Quality by Cold Storage after Early Harvesting in ‘Tarocco’ Blood Orange

Low‐cost polysulfone/polystyrene ultrafiltration membrane with efficient azoic dyes removal and excellent antifouling performance for colored wastewater

AbstractA new low‐cost composite ultrafiltration membrane made of polysulfone (PSf) and polystyrene (PS) blend was effectively achieved on the ceramic pozzolan support using dip‐coating method. The effect of PS content (5–20 wt%) on membrane properties such as microstructure and filtration performances was investigated. The Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, and differential scanning calorimetry analyses confirm that the two polymers lead to physical blend. The morphology analysis shows that PSf/PS membrane layer is homogeneous and strongly adherent on the pozzolan support. Furthermore, the developed membrane was applied for filtration of direct red (DR80) and methyl orange (MO) solutions at a pressure of 3 bar. It was proven that the PS addition significantly enhances the rejection of the membrane companying with a decrease of permeate flux to meet the trade‐off selectivity‐permeability. The optimized PSf/PS membrane containing 5 wt% of PS has a water permeability of 24 L h−1 m−2 bar−1, and could reject 91% and 76%, respectively for DR80 and MO. Beside the promising filtration results, the developed membrane is also low‐cost thanks to using pozzolan support, and it could be consequently scaled up for the treatment of colored wastewater generated from textile industries.

Activation of the phenylpropanoid pathway in Citrus sinensis collapsed vesicles during segment drying revealed by physicochemical and targeted metabolomics analysis

Segment drying is a common internal physiological disorder in citrus fruit, and vesicles get granulated or collapsed. This study aimed to probe whether and how the phenylpropanoid metabolism changes in vesicles during collapse of blood orange (Citrus sinensis cv. Tarocco). Vesicle collapse led to a decrease in the content of nutrients and flavonoids, while an increase in lignin content. This disorder was further associated with the increasing enzyme activities and gene expression levels of both the general phenylpropanoid pathway and branch pathway of lignin synthesis, while decreasing enzyme activities and gene expression levels of branch pathway of flavonoids synthesis. Targeted metabolomics analysis of 14 metabolites of the lignin pathway revealed that lignin precursors were accumulated in collapsed vesicles. We provide solid evidence that phenylpropanoid metabolism could be activated, and, intriguingly, metabolic flux may be shuttled to lignin precursors synthesis rather than flavonoids synthesis in vesicles during collapse of blood orange.