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Although nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from composting contribute to the accelerated greenhouse effect, it is difficult to implement practical methods to mitigate these emissions. In this study, the effects of biochar amendment during pig manure composting were investigated to evaluate the inter-relationships between N2O emission and the abundance of denitrifying bacteria. Analytical results from two pilot composting treatments with (PWSB, pig manure + wood chips + sawdust + biochar) or without (PWS, pig manure + wood chips + sawdust) biochar (3% w/w) demonstrated that biochar amendment not only lowered NO2(-)-N concentrations but also lowered the total N2O emissions from pig manure composting, especially during the later stages. Quantification of functional genes involved in denitrification and Spearman rank correlations matrix revealed that the N2O emission rates correlated with the abundance of nosZ, nirK, and nirS genes. Biochar-amended pig manure had a higher pH and a lower moisture content. Biochar amendment altered the abundance of denitrifying bacteria significantly; less N2O-producing and more N2O-consuming bacteria were present in the PWSB, and this significantly lowered N2O emissions in the maturation phase. Together, the results demonstrate that biochar amendment could be a novel greenhouse gas mitigation strategy during pig manure composting.

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This study enzymatically acrylates two flavonoids from bamboo-leaf extracts, isoorientin and isovitexin, with different fatty acids as acyl donors using Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB). The conversion yield ranged from 35 to 80% for fatty acids with different chain lengths. Higher isoorientin and isovitexin conversion yields (>75%) were obtained using lauric acid in tert-amyl-alcohol as the reaction medium. (1)H and (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy analysis showed that, in the presence of CALB, acylation occurred at the isoorientin and isovitexin primary hydroxyl group of glucose moiety and only monoesters were detected. Introducing an acyl group into isoorientin and isovitexin significantly improved their lipophilicity but reduced their antiradical activity.

Conversion of rice straw (RS) and pig manure (PM) into chars is a promising disposal/recycling option. Herein, pyrolysis and hydrothermal carbonization were used to produce bio- and hydrochars from RS and PM, affording lower biochar (300-700°C) and hydrochar (180-300°C) yields at higher temperatures within the specified range. The C contents and C/N ratios of RS chars were higher than those of PM ones, with the opposite trend observed for yield and ash content. C and ash contents increased with increasing temperature, whereas H/C, O/C, and (O+N)/C ratios decreased. The lower H/C ratio of biochars compared to that of hydrochars indicated greater stability of the former. KCl was the main inorganic fraction in RS biochars, whereas quartz was dominant in PM biochars, and albite in PM hydrochars. Thus, RS is more suitable for carbon sequestration, while PM is more suitable for use as a soil amendment substrate.

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More and more investigations indicate that genetic modification has no significant or persistent effects on microbial community composition in the rice rhizosphere. Very few studies, however, have focused on its impact on functional microorganisms. This study completed a ¹³C-CO₂ pulse-chase labeling experiment comparing the potential effects of cry1Ab gene transformation on ¹³C tissue distribution and rhizosphere methanogenic archaeal community composition with its parental rice variety (Ck) and a distant parental rice variety (Dp). Results showed that ¹³C partitioning in aboveground biomass (mainly in stems) and roots of Dp was significantly lower than that of Ck. However, there were no significant differences in ¹³C partitioning between the Bt transgenic rice line (Bt) and Ck. RNA-stable isotope probing combined with clone library analyses inferred that the group Methanosaetaceae was the predominant methanogenic Archaea in all three rice rhizospheres. The active methanogenic archaeal community in the Bt rhizosphere was dominated by Methanosarcinaceae, Methanosaetaceae, and Methanomicrobiaceae, while there were only two main methanogenic clusters (Methanosaetaceae and Methanomicrobiaceae) in the Ck and Dp rhizospheres. These results indicate that the insertion of cry1Ab gene into the rice genome has the potential to result in the modification of methanogenic community composition in its rhizosphere.

No abstract