An environmentally sustainable manufacturing network model under an international ecosystem

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy - There is a growing consensus that the increase in greenhouse gases results in unfavorable changes to the Earth’s climate and is responsible for...     

Computational Investigation Identified Potential Chemical Scaffolds for Heparanase as Anticancer Therapeutics

Heparanase (Hpse) is an endo-β-D-glucuronidase capable of cleaving heparan sulfate side chains. Its upregulated expression is implicated in tumor growth, metastasis and angiogenesis, thus making it an attractive target in cancer therapeutics. Currently, a few small molecule inhibitors have been reported to inhibit Hpse, with promising oral administration and pharmacokinetic (PK) properties. In the present study, a ligand-based pharmacophore model was generated from a dataset of well-known active small molecule Hpse inhibitors which were observed to display favorable PK properties. The compounds from the InterBioScreen database of natural (69,034) and synthetic (195,469) molecules were first filtered for their drug-likeness and the pharmacophore model was used to screen the drug-like database. The compounds acquired from screening were subjected to molecular docking with Heparanase, where two molecules used in pharmacophore generation were used as reference. From the docking analysis, 33 compounds displayed higher docking scores than the reference and favorable interactions with the catalytic residues. Complex interactions were further evaluated by molecular dynamics simulations to assess their stability over a period of 50 ns. Furthermore, the binding free energies of the 33 compounds revealed 2 natural and 2 synthetic compounds, with better binding affinities than reference molecules, and were, therefore, deemed as hits. The hit compounds presented from this in silico investigation could act as potent Heparanase inhibitors and further serve as lead scaffolds to develop compounds targeting Heparanase upregulation in cancer.     

Fabrication of Food Grade Vitamin E Nanoemulsion by Low Energy Approach,Characterization and Its Application

The present study was carried out to fabricate the food grade vitamin E acetate nanoemulsion using edible mustard oil and to evaluate its improved bioactivities. A food-grade vitamin E acetate nanoemulsion was fabricated using the edible mustard oil and surfactant Tween-80. Flocculation was not observed for 15 days. The nanoemulsion was characterized for droplet morphology and size distribution using atomic force microscope and zetasizer, respectively. We observe a stable nanoemulsion of spherical morphology and a size distribution of 86.45 ± 3.61 nm. Further, the high-performance liquid chromatography method was used to determine the vitamin E acetate concentration and encapsulation efficiency for the stable nanoemulsion. These nanoemulsions showed improved bioactivity, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activity and could be potentially used to increase the shelf life of fruit juice.     

Low-fat sweet syrup cheese ball (Rosogolla) manufacturing and effect of lowering fat on quality

Low-fat sweet syrup cheese ball (Rosogolla) was manufactured by using low-fat cow milk and implementing six different combinations viz. type of chhana and two different concentrations (40 and 50o Brix) of cooking medium. Experimental Rosogolla samples and control were analysed for physico-chemical, textural and sensory properties. A 40o Brix concentration of sugar syrup as a cooking medium gave a highly acceptable low-fat Rosogolla. Average composition of low-fat Rosogolla is, moisture—49.83%, fat—4.66%, protein—11.85%, sorbitol—32.41% and ash—0.90%. Rheological properties of the most acceptable low-fat Rosogolla were hardness—6.78 N, springiness—5.72 mm, gumminess—3.2 N, chewiness—18.92 Nmm and stiffness—0.95 N/mm.     

Material selection for electrostatic microactuators using Ashby approach

Due to variety of materials available to any designer for a particular application, there is a need for a proper technique to select. This paper focuses on the optimum selection of materials for electrostatic microactuators using Ashby approach. In this work, performance indices and material indices have been developed for electrostatic actuators and thereafter material selection chart is plotted. The selection chart shows that for high actuation voltage and high actuation force, diamond is the best possible candidate followed by silicon carbide and silicon nitride. On the other hand, if high speed electrostatic actuator is desired, then aluminum is the best possible candidate followed by nickel and copper.     

The Lithiation Reactivity and Selectivity of Differentially Branched Alkyldiphenylphosphine Oxides – A Simple and Versatile Approach to ortho‐Functionalized Arylphosphine Oxides

Alkyldiphenylphosphine oxides typically undergo α‐deprotonation with alkyllithium reagents. Here, the lithiation of differentially branched alkyldiphenylphosphine oxides was investigated and a diverse, but predictable reactivity was found. γ‐Branched derivatives undergo selective directed ortho‐metalation (DoM) using butyllithium and TMEDA as an additive. With decreasing degree of γ‐branching α‐lithiation becomes predominant. The ortho‐phosphinoyllithium intermediates are subject to functionalization and C C bond forming reactions, thus providing a convenient approach to new phosphine oxides and phosphine‐borane complexes, which have a good potential for an approach to new ligands for catalysis.

     

Effect of cultivars and irrigation waters on persistence of indicator bacteria on lettuce grown in high tunnel

Effect of irrigation with groundwater (GW), primary-treated wastewater (PTWW), secondary-treated wastewater (STWW), and roof-collected rainwater (RCR) on the microbial quality of lettuce cultivars “Annapolis,” “Celinet,” and “Coastline” grown in high tunnel was investigated. Lettuce plants were spray irrigated with irrigation waters once a week for 2 weeks and analyzed for indicator and pathogenic bacteria. PTWW irrigation resulted in the highest Escherichia coli recovery on the lettuce plants (4.7 log MPN/g) as compared to irrigation with other three waters on 0 day postirrigation (dpi). Lettuce cultivars affected the bacterial die-off rate, where E. coli populations reduced the most by 1.5 log MPN/g on “Annapolis” lettuce on 2 dpi. The STWW and RCR irrigation did not significantly influence indicator bacterial populations on lettuce as compared to GW irrigation. The STWW and RCR containing low populations of indicator bacteria may be suitable for lettuce irrigation in Mid-Atlantic area without affecting its microbial quality.     

Efficient electro-oxidation of methanol using PtCo nanocatalysts supported reduced graphene oxide matrix as anode for DMFC

Platinum – cobalt (PtCo) alloy based highly efficient nano electro-catalysts on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) matrix have been synthesized for the electro-oxidation of methanol, by chemical reduction method. Different molar ratio of Pt (IV) and Co (II) ions along with graphene oxide (GO) were reduced using ethylene glycol to obtain PtCo nanoparticles onto rGO sheets (Pt/rGO, PtCo (1:1)/rGO, PtCo (1:5)/rGO, PtCo (1:9)/rGO and PtCo (1:11)/rGO) with 20 wt. % metal and 80 wt. % rGO. The average particle size of PtCo nanoparticles onto rGO support was observed to be 2–5 nm using XRD and TEM analysis. The PtCo (1:9)/rGO nanocomposite catalyst exhibited ～23 times higher anodic current density compare to commercially available Pt/C catalyst (1.68 mA/cm²) for methanol oxidation reaction. The peak power density of 118.4 mW/cm² was obtained for PtCo (1:9)/rGO catalyst in direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) at 100 °C, 1 bar, and 2 M methanol as anode feed, which is ～3 times higher than that of Pt/C catalyst. The results indicate the potential application of synthesized nanocomposite catalyst in commercial DMFCs.