Incorporation of germinated mung bean flour with rice flour to enhance physical,nutritional and sensory quality of gluten-free cookies

Quality of the cookies substituted with germinated mung bean flour (GMF) to rice flour (RF) to produce gluten-free cookies were investigated in this study. The GMF was used to formulate with the RF to obtain the composite flours with different total protein contents of 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 and 21 (%, d.b). The increase in the substituted amounts of GMF contributed to the lower baking loss, diameter and spread ratio, but the higher thickness and hardness of the cookies as compared to the RF-based cookie. The cookies with more GMF substitution expressed lower lightness (L*) values, but higher redness (a*) and yellowness (b*) values than the others. The cookies substituted with 60% of the GMF (60-GMFC) exhibited similar baking loss, thickness, diameter, spread ratio and lightness values to the wheat flour (WF)-based cookies. The total amounts of essential amino acids and the sum of histidine, lysine and methionine of the composite flour-based cookies were 3.90% and 1.64%, significantly higher than those of the RF-based cookie (1.93% and 0.66%, respectively) or the WF-based cookie (1.70% and 0.58%, respectively). As a result, healthy gluten-free cookies could be prepared using the RF with the substitution of the germinated mung bean flour.     

Editorial for the Special Issue on “Nanocatalysts for Environmental Remediation,Biomass and Waste Valorization”

Topics in Catalysis -     

High Catalytic Activity of a Nickel Phosphide Nanocatalyst Supported on Melamine-Doped Activated Carbon for Deoxygenation

Topics in Catalysis - Nickel-based catalysts are inexpensive and exhibit high catalytic activity; therefore, they have been extensively explored in deoxygenation reactions. Employing catalyst...     

A general strategy for designing complex brush architecture using star-like polymeric grafts

Synthetic control over the shape, size, and interactions between nanoscale building blocks remains an open challenge in self-assembly. Here, we propose to engineer triblock, star-like polymers to design patterning on nanoparticles. We developed a theory that characterizes the structural organization of grafted polymers as a function of parameters such as grafting density, chain length, block fractions, and core shape/sizes. Stripe-like patterning and corner/edge patch formation on arbitrarily shaped cores are readily accessible using our framework, all of which can be a priori predicted. Lastly, we employ assembly simulations to show that the resulting particles provide tighter control over structural and orientational orderings during self-assembly. More importantly, they offer a way to pattern directional interactions that can override face–face alignment tendencies intrinsic to each core geometry. Our theory, therefore, creates a new handle for tuning nanoscale synthesis, enabling designs of complex building blocks that can target novel assemblies for materials fabrication.     

Catalytic Gasification of Empty Palm Fruit Bunches Using Charcoal and Bismuth Oxide for Syngas Production

Topics in Catalysis - The purpose of this research is to evaluate the intent of empty fruit bunches of palm oil (EFBpalm oil) to catalytic gasification of wood produced charcoal (Woodcharcoal) in...     

Adaptive neural network hierarchical sliding mode control for six degrees of freedom overhead crane

This paper presents an effective control method for three-dimensional (3D) overhead cranes with six degrees of freedom (DOF). Two payload swings and an axial payload oscillation should be minimized besides driving the bridge, trolley, and hoisting drum to bring the payload to the desired position in space. First, a novel 3D-6DOF crane model is developed, where the sixth degree of freedom is axial cargo oscillation that has never been considered in previous studies. A controller is then designed using the hierarchical sliding mode control method. Moreover, a radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) is used to approximate the system's unknown dynamic model accurately. According to the Lyapunov principle, a control law and an updated law for the neural network's weight matrices are designed to ensure the stability of the closed-loop system. Simulation results on Matlab software show the proposed approach's effectiveness, such as smaller swing, minor axial oscillation, and precise position as desired.     

1,2,4-Triazole-3-Thione Analogues with a 2-Ethylbenzoic Acid at Position 4 as VIM-type Metallo-β-Lactamase Inhibitors

Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) are increasingly involved as a major mechanism of resistance to carbapenems in relevant opportunistic Gram-negative pathogens. Unfortunately, clinically efficient MBL inhibitors still represent an unmet medical need. We previously reported several series of compounds based on the 1,2,4-triazole-3-thione scaffold. In particular, Schiff bases formed between diversely 5-substituted-4-amino compounds and 2-carboxybenzaldehyde were broad-spectrum inhibitors of VIM-type, NDM-1 and IMP-1 MBLs. Unfortunately, these compounds were unable to restore antibiotic susceptibility of MBL-producing bacteria, probably because of poor penetration and/or susceptibility to hydrolysis. To improve their microbiological activity, we synthesized and characterized compounds where the hydrazone-like bond of the Schiff base analogues was replaced by a stable ethyl link. This small change resulted in a narrower inhibition spectrum, as all compounds were poorly or not inhibiting NDM-1 and IMP-1, but showed a significantly better activity on VIM-type enzymes, with K_i values in the μM to sub-μM range. The resolution of the crystallographic structure of VIM-2 in complex with one of the best inhibitors yielded valuable information about their binding mode. Interestingly, several compounds were shown to restore the β-lactam susceptibility of VIM-type-producing E. coli laboratory strains and also of K. pneumoniae clinical isolates. In addition, selected compounds were found to be devoid of toxicity toward human cancer cells at high concentration, thus showing promising safety.     

Engineering Route for Stretchable, 3D Microarchitectures of Wide Bandgap Semiconductors for Biomedical Applications

Wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductors have attracted significant research interest for the development of a broad range of flexible electronic applications, including wearable sensors, soft logical circuits, and long-term implanted neuromodulators. Conventionally, these materials are grown on standard silicon substrates, and then transferred onto soft polymers using mechanical stamping processes. This technique can retain the excellent electrical properties of wide bandgap materials after transfer and enables flexibility; however, most devices are constrained by 2D configurations that exhibit limited mechanical stretchability and morphologies compared with 3D biological systems. Herein, a stamping-free micromachining process is presented to realize, for the first time, 3D flexible and stretchable wide bandgap electronics. The approach applies photolithography on both sides of free-standing nanomembranes, which enables the formation of flexible architectures directly on standard silicon wafers to tailor the optical transparency and mechanical properties of the material. Subsequent detachment of the flexible devices from the support substrate and controlled mechanical buckling transforms the 2D precursors of wide band gap semiconductors into complex 3D mesoscale structures. The ability to fabricate wide band gap materials with 3D architectures that offer device-level stretchability combined with their multi-modal sensing capability will greatly facilitate the establishment of advanced 3D bio-electronics interfaces.