Agronomic performance of high oleic,low linolenic soybean in Tennessee

Soybean oil hydrogenation alters the linolenic acid molecule to prevent the oil from becoming rancid, however, health reports have indicated trans-fat caused by hydrogenation, is not generally regarded as safe. Typical soybeans contain approximately 80 g kg⁻¹ to 120 g kg⁻¹ linolenic acid and 240 g kg⁻¹ of oleic acid. In an effort to accommodate the need for high-quality oil, the United Soybean Board introduced an industry standard for a high oleic acid greater than 750 g kg⁻¹ and linolenic acid less than 30 g kg⁻¹ oil. By combing mutations in the soybean plant at four loci, FAD2-1A and FAD2-1B, oleate desaturase genes and FAD3A and FAD3C, linoleate desaturase genes, and seed oil will not require hydrogenation to prevent oxidation and produce high-quality oil. In 2017 and 2018, a study comparing four near-isogenic lines across multiple Tennessee locations was performed to identify agronomic traits associated with mutations in FAD3A and FAD3C loci, while holding FAD2-1A and FAD2-1B constant in the mutant (high oleic) state. Soybean lines were assessed for yield and oil quality based on mutations at FAD2-1 and FAD3 loci. Variations of wild-type and mutant genotypes were compared at FAD3A and FAD3C loci. Analysis using a generalized linear mixed model in SAS 9.4, indicated no yield drag or other negative agronomic traits associated with the high oleic and low linolenic acid genotype. All four mutations of fad2-1A, fad2-1B, fad3A, and fad3C were determined as necessary to produce a soybean with the new industry standard (>750 g kg⁻¹ oleic and <30 g kg⁻¹ linolenic acid) in a maturity group-IV-Late cultivar for Tennessee growers.     

Localized corrosion of (lean) duplex stainless steels in immersion units of urban wastewater treatment plants

With lower alloying cost and higher mechanical properties, lean duplex stainless steels can be an alternative to the more commonly used austenitic stainless steels. However, these alloys are still not the preferred choice, probably due to a lack of field experience. A study was thus initiated in view of defining the limits of use of selected (lean) duplexes for urban wastewater treatment units. The present paper shows the localized corrosion performance of selected lean duplexes in chloride contaminated solutions. The results are compared with austenitic S30403 and S31603 and with the more standard duplexes S82441 and S32205. The effect of welding was also investigated. Exposures in field municipal wastewater plants were conducted for 1 year in low and high chloride content units. The results show that lean duplexes S32101 and S32202 can be used as alternatives to S30403 and S31603 in low chloride electrolytes. At 500 ppm of chloride content, duplex stainless steel S32304 showed better corrosion resistance than S30403 and S31603. For higher chloride contents (1000 ppm and above) the standard duplexes S82441 and S32205 shall be preferred.     

Potential influence of microorganisms on the corrosion of carbon steel in the French high- and intermediate-level long-lived radioactive waste disposal context

In the context of the high-level radioactive waste disposal CIGEO, the corrosion rate due to microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) has to be evaluated. In France, it is envisaged to dispose of high- and intermediate-level long-lived radioactive waste at a depth of 500 m in a deep geological disposal, drilled in the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone (Cox) formation. To do so, a carbon steel casing will be inserted inside disposal cells, which are horizontal tunnels drilled in the Cox. A specific cement grout will be injected between the carbon steel casing and the claystone. A study was conducted to evaluate the possibility of MIC on carbon steel in the foreseeable high radioactive waste disposal. The corrosiveness of various environments was investigated at 50°C and 80°C with or without microorganisms enriched from samples of Andra's underground research laboratory. The monitoring of corrosion during the experiments was ensured using gravimetric method and real-time corrosion monitoring using sensors based on the measurements of the electrical resistance. The corrosion data were completed with microbiological analyses including cultural and molecular characterizations.     

Ceramic Powder Bed Laser Sintering (CPBLS) on copper-doped hydroxyapatite: Creation of thin (5–50 μm thick) consolidated ceramic patterns

Implants made of ceramics, and more particularly of calcium phosphates (hydroxyapatite: HA, mainly), promoting intimate contact with natural bone are nowadays merging. Addition of copper ions in bio-ceramics is expected to increase the biological compatibilities of bone graft substitutes. Previous works have shown that copper-doped hydroxyapatite (Cu-doped HA) ceramics can be prepared by solid-state sintering between HA and CuO powder mixtures at about 1100 °C; but, copper-substituted HA was found to be metastable leading to apatitic grains and Cu-rich grain boundaries during the sintering process. Ultra-rapid sintering is so needed. Selective laser sintering (SLS) is an additive manufacturing process that possesses the advantage to be based on ultra-fast sintering process under laser irradiation. SLS being used in literature for the application of laser on polymer-ceramic or poymer-metal composites the proper term all along the paper is Ceramic Powder Bed Laser Sintering (CPBLS). To achieve densification of Cu-doped HA ceramics from CPBLS process, one should control the composition/morphology/structure of the powder bed as well as three other important CPBLS parameters: (i) the applied energy from the laser beam, (ii) the laser power and the laser scanning speed, (iii) the distance between two successive lased lines. In this paper, the impact of all the main CPBLS parameters controlling the sintering of dip-coated Cu-doped HA layers on glass substrates is carefully investigated. Possibility of the creation of thin consolidated Cu-doped HA ceramic patterns, using the ultra-fast CPBLS process, is finally shown.     

How Mixing and Light Heterogeneity Impact the Overall Growth Rate in Photobioreactors

The microalgae growth rate in photobioreactors responds with inertia to light stimuli. Here, light variations experienced by the algae are accessed through a coupling of an irradiance field calculation and a Lagrangian particle tracking. The response of algae to fluctuating light is then described by a relaxation model involving a single time constant, the value of which is identified from published data. The overall growth rate is calculated as the sum of individual growth rates of all particles. Instantaneous adaptation and full integration asymptotic behaviors are recovered whilst a finite time constant reveals that the overall growth rate is dependent both on mixing and light distribution. This methodology thus quantitatively relates the design parameters to the photobioreactor performance.     

Cyanogenic,carotenoids and protein composition in leaves and roots across seven diverse population found in the world cassava germplasm collection at CIAT,Colombia

The objective of this study was to characterise the nutritional potential of leaves and identify a diversity centre with low cyanide and high nutrient content among 178 Latin American cassava genotypes. This field-based collection represents the seven diversity centres, held at The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT Palmira, Colombia) by the Cassava Program. The cyanide, all-trans-β-carotene and lutein concentrations in cassava leaves ranged from 346 to 7484 ppm dry basis (db), from 174–547 μg g⁻¹ db and 15–181 μg g⁻¹ db, respectively. Cassava leaves also showed significant levels of essential amino acids leucine, lysine, phenylalanine, valine and threonine, and average total protein content of 26.24 g 100 g⁻¹ db. Among seven diversity centres, South American rainforest group showed low cyanide and high carotene content in leaves. In addition, VEN77 and PAN51 genotypes stood out for having low cyanide in leaves and roots and high carotene in leaves. This genetic diversity can be used to select high potential progenitors for breeding purposes.     

Rheology evolution of a geopolymer precursor aqueous suspension during aging

Geopolymer-based glass-ceramic matrix composites can be processed at room temperature and a heat treatment below 100°C leads to matrix hardening thanks to the geopolymerization mechanisms. The stabilization of the matrix into glass-ceramics is achieved via a post-curing at high temperature. This paves the way of the utilization of cost-effective liquid composite molding processes, for which all the necessary equipment is already available for processing temperature ranges related to polymer matrix composites, provided that the rheological behavior of the precursor is suitable to conveniently permeate the fibrous preform. The paper describes the thixotropic rheological behavior of a reference suspension at processing temperature (10°C-20°C) and its evolution along aging at −18°C. The changes are interpreted in terms of geopolymerization mechanisms (dissolution and polycondensation) and suspension rheology (predominance of hydrodynamic effects at high shear rate). On this basis, a phenomenological modeling framework, combining two Krieger-Dougherty equations, is proposed to build a relationship between the effective viscosity of the suspension and the phenomena involved during aging (dissolution of aluminosilicate particles) and shearing (microstructure scalar variable).     

From Oxadiazole to Triazole Analogues: Optimization toward a Dual Orexin Receptor Antagonist with Improved in vivo Efficacy in Dogs

The orexin system is responsible for regulating the sleep-wake cycle. Suvorexant, a dual orexin receptor antagonist (DORA) is approved by the FDA for the treatment of insomnia disorders. Herein, we report the optimization efforts toward a DORA, where our starting point was (5-methoxy-4-methyl-2-[1,2,3]triazol-2-yl-phenyl)-{(S)-2-[5-(2-trifluoromethoxy-phenyl)-[1,2,4]oxadiazol-3-yl]-pyrrolidin-1-yl}methanone ( 6 ), a compound which emerged from our in-house research program. Compound 6 was shown to be a potent, brain-penetrating DORA with in vivo efficacy similar to suvorexant in rats. However, shortcomings from low metabolic stability, high plasma protein binding (PPB), low brain free fraction (f_u brain), and low aqueous solubility, were identified and hence, compound 6 was not an ideal candidate for further development. Our optimization efforts addressing the above-mentioned shortcomings resulted in the identification of (4-chloro-2-[1,2,3]triazol-2-yl-phenyl)-{(S)-2-methyl-2-[5-(2-trifluoromethoxy-phenyl)-4H-[1,2,4]triazol-3-yl]-pyrrolidin-1-yl}l-methanone ( 42 ), a DORA with improved in vivo efficacy compared to 6 .     

Polystyrene latex particles bearing primary amine groups via soap‐free emulsion polymerization

Polystyrene latexes were prepared in the presence of an amino‐containing functional comonomer, N‐(3‐aminopropyl)methacrylamide hydrochloride (APMH), via soap‐free batch emulsion polymerization initiated by the cationic initiator 2,2′‐azobis(2‐amidinopropane) dihydrochloride. These latexes were characterized by studying the influence of the ionic comonomers on the polymerization kinetics, particle size, surface charge density and colloidal properties. The synthesized latexes were monodisperse with a final size between 100 and 600 nm depending on the APMH concentration. The initial polymerization rate and the particle number increased in accordance with the Smith–Ewart theory for soap‐free styrene emulsion polymerization with a hydrophilic functional comonomer. The final functionalization rate of the particles has been particularly studied with the intention of fitting the prepared latexes to be used in the immobilization of biological molecules for biological sample preparation and diagnostic applications. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry