Schiff base complex of Cu immobilized on MCM-41 as reusable catalyst for efficient oxidative coupling of thiols and oxidation of sulfides using hydrogen peroxide

Schiff base complex of copper-functionalized MCM-41 (Cu-complex@MCM-41) was synthesized and used as an efficient and novel heterogeneous catalyst for the oxidative coupling of thiols into corresponding disulfides and oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides using hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) as the oxidant. An aliphatic and aromatic series of sulfides and thiols including various functional groups were successfully converted into corresponding products. The all products were obtained in good to excellent yields. The mesoporous catalyst is characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, BET, XRD, SEM, EDS and TGA. Recovery of the catalyst is easily achieved by simple filtration and reused for several consecutive runs without significant loss of its catalytic efficiency.     

Combined Spectroscopic and Calorimetric Studies to Reveal Absorption Mechanisms and Conformational Changes of Protein on Nanoporous Biomaterials

In this study the effect of surface modification of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) on its adsorption capacities and protein stability after immobilization of beta-lactoglobulin B (BLG-B) was investigated. For this purpose, non-functionalized (KIT-6) and aminopropyl-functionalized cubic Ia3d mesoporous silica ([n-PrNH₂-KIT-6]) nanoparticles were used as nanoporous supports. Aminopropyl-functionalized mesoporous nanoparticles exhibited more potential candidates for BLG-B adsorption and minimum BLG leaching than non-functionalized nanoparticles. It was observed that the amount of adsorbed BLG is dependent on the initial BLG concentration for both KIT-6 and [n-PrNH₂-KIT-6] mesoporous nanoparticles. Also larger amounts of BLG-B on KIT-6 was immobilized upon raising the temperature of the medium from 4 to 55 °C while such increase was undetectable in the case of immobilization of BLG-B on the [n-PrNH₂-KIT-6]. At temperatures above 55 °C the amounts of adsorbed BLG on both studied nanomaterials decreased significantly. By Differential scanning calorimetry or DSC analysis the heterogeneity of the protein solution and increase in Tm may indicate that immobilization of BLG-B onto the modified KIT-6 results in higher thermal stability compared to unmodified one. The obtained results provide several crucial factors in determining the mechanism(s) of protein adsorption and stability on the nanostructured solid supports and the development of engineered nano-biomaterials for controlled drug-delivery systems and biomimetic interfaces for the immobilization of living cells.     

Probiotic-Induced Tolerogenic Dendritic Cells: A Novel Therapy for Inflammatory Bowel Disease?

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are immune-mediated, chronic relapsing diseases with a rising prevalence worldwide in both adult and pediatric populations. Treatment options for immune-mediated diseases, including IBDs, are traditional steroids, immunomodulators, and biologics, none of which are capable of inducing long-lasting remission in all patients. Dendritic cells (DCs) play a fundamental role in inducing tolerance and regulating T cells and their tolerogenic functions. Hence, modulation of intestinal mucosal immunity by DCs could provide a novel, additional tool for the treatment of IBD. Recent evidence indicates that probiotic bacteria might impact immunomodulation both in vitro and in vivo by regulating DCs’ maturation and producing tolerogenic DCs (tolDCs) which, in turn, might dampen inflammation. In this review, we will discuss this evidence and the mechanisms of action of probiotics and their metabolites in inducing tolDCs in IBDs and some conditions associated with them.     

A silica supported Fe-Co bimetallic catalyst prepared by the sol/gel technique: Operating conditions, catalytic properties and characterization

A Co/Fe catalyst was prepared using the sol/gel technique in order to study its catalytic activity and selectivity in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. The effect of a range of operation variables such as pressure, temperature and H₂/CO molar feed ratio on the catalytic performance of 40%Fe/60%Co/15 wt.%SiO₂/1.5 wt.%K catalyst was investigated. It was found that the optimum operating conditions is a H₂/CO = 2/1 molar feed ratio at 350 °C temperature and 3 bar pressure. Characterization of both precursor and calcined catalysts was carried out using XRD, SEM, EDS, TPR, BET surface area measurements and thermal analysis methods such as TGA and DSC. It was observed that all of the different operation variables influenced the structure, morphology and catalytic performance of the catalysts.     

Application of multidivisional bi-level programming to coordinate pricing and inventory decisions in a multiproduct competitive supply chain

This study concerns the coordination of pricing and inventory decisions in a multiproduct two-stage supply chain that consists of one manufacturer and multiple retailers within a competitive environment. The retailers order some substitutable products from a common manufacturer. It is assumed that channel members have different market power. The purpose of this paper is to coordinate pricing and inventory decisions such that utility of all involved levels (manufacturer and retailers) is met. Hence, a nonlinear multidivisional bi-level programming model is developed. This model considers both retailers and manufacturer when deciding about the pricing and production volume (for manufacturer) or amount of purchase (for retailers). A hybrid of genetic algorithm (GA) and local search method is proposed to solve the nonlinear bi-level model. This model is reduced to a nonlinear programming by replacing the Karush–Kuhn–Tucker (KKT) conditions of followers to the lower level of the model. Then, the obtained single-level model is relaxed to a linear model to achieve an upper bound (UB). Finally, a numerical example is presented to analyze which parameters have more effect on the price, lot size and, consequently, on the profit. Results show that increasing the market scale parameter of the manufacturer increases the profit of the manufacturer, but the market scale parameter of retailers has no effect on the manufacturer’s profit, although it increases the retailers’ profit.     

Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella recovered from processed poultry

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella isolates recovered from processed poultry. Four hundred eighty pre- and postchill whole broiler chicken carcasses were collected from a poultry processing plant between July 2004 and June 2005. Water samples also were collected at the entrance and exit of the chiller. After preenrichment, carcass and water samples were analyzed for the presence of Salmonella using the automated BAX system followed by traditional culture methods. The proportions of pre- and postchill carcasses that were positive for Salmonella were 88.4 and 84.1%, respectively. Ninety-two percent of water samples collected at the entrance of the chiller were positive for Salmonella, but all exit samples were negative. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of Salmonella between pre- and postchill carcasses (P > 0.05). Salmonella isolates recovered were serotyped and tested for susceptibility to antimicrobials. Thirteen serotypes were identified; the most common were Salmonella Kentucky (59.5%) and Salmonella Typhimurium (17.8%). Three hundred thirty-nine (79.8%) of the isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial, and 53.4% were resistant to three or more antimicrobials. Resistance was most often observed to tetracycline (73.4% of isolates), ampicillin (52.9%), amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (52%), ceftiofur (51.7%), streptomycin (35.2%), and sulfisoxazole (21.8%). These results indicate the high prevalence of Salmonella contamination in whole broiler carcasses, and a large number of these Salmonella isolates were resistant to commonly used antimicrobials.     

Controller design for a wind farm, considering both power and load aspects

In this paper, a wind farm controller is developed that distributes power references among wind turbines while it reduces their structural loads. The proposed controller is based on a spatially discrete model of the farm, which delivers an approximation of wind speed in the vicinity of each wind turbine. The control algorithm determines the reference signals for each individual wind turbine controller in two scenarios based on low and high wind speed. In low wind speed, the reference signals for rotor speed are adjusted, taking the trade-off between power maximization and load minimization into account. In high wind speed, the power and pitch reference signals are determined while structural loads are minimized. To the best of authors’ knowledge, the proposed dynamical model is a suitable framework for control, since it provides a dynamic structure for behavior of the flow in wind farms. Moreover, the controller has been proven exceptionally useful in solving the problem of both power and load optimization on the basis of this model.     

Determination of surface-induced platelet activation by applying time-dependency dissipation factor versus frequency using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation

Platelet adhesion and activation rates are frequently used to assess the thrombogenicity of biomaterials, which is a crucial step for the development of blood-contacting devices. Until now, electron and confocal microscopes have been used to investigate platelet activation but they failed to characterize this activation quantitatively and in real time. In order to overcome these limitations, quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) was employed and an explicit time scale introduced in the dissipation versus frequency plots (Df–t) provided us with quantitative data at different stages of platelet activation. The QCM-D chips were coated with thrombogenic and non-thrombogenic model proteins to develop the methodology, further extended to investigate polymer thrombogenicity. Electron microscopy and immunofluorescence labelling were used to validate the QCM-D data and confirmed the relevance of Df–t plots to discriminate the activation rate among protein-modified surfaces. The responses showed the predominant role of surface hydrophobicity and roughness towards platelet activation and thereby towards polymer thrombogenicity. Modelling experimental data obtained with QCM-D with a Matlab code allowed us to define the rate at which mass change occurs (A/B), to obtain an A/B value for each polymer and correlate this value with polymer thrombogenicity.