Coupled extruder-headspace,a new method for analysis of the essential oil components of Coriandrum sativum fruits

A new method involving concurrent single screw extruder combined with continuous headspace dynamic for the extraction and identification of the essential oil of Coriandrum sativum L. fruit was developed. The effect of six different nozzle diameters (5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 mm) on the content and chemical composition of the essential oil of coriander fruit was studied. The oils from fruit samples were obtained by OMEGA 20 extruder.     

Oxygen vacancy-related dielectric relaxation and electrical conductivity in La-doped Ba(Zr0.9Ti0.1)O3 ceramics

Ba_1?xLa_x (Zr_0.9Ti_0.1)_1?x/4O₃ (BLZT) ceramics with x = 0.02 (BLZT-1), 0.04 (BLZT-2), 0.06 (BLZT-3) and 0.08 (BLZT-4) were prepared by a solid-state reaction route. Crystal structure of the BLZT ceramics was determined using X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. While the ceramics for x ≤ 0.04 are pure phase with cubic perovskite structure, pyrochlore La₂Zr₂O₇ appears in the samples with x = 0.06 and 0.08. Dielectric properties as function of temperature and frequency showed more than one dielectric anomaly were found at high temperatures during heating but they weakened or disappeared during cooling. Both dielectric relaxation and electrical conductivity were taken into account in point defect mechanism. The double-ionized and short-range hopping of oxygen vacancy should be mainly responsible for the dielectric anomalies and conduction behavior. Activation energy of conductivity E _con is lower than half of the band gap E _g obtained by UV–Vis spectroscopy, which results from emergency of oxygen vacancies. In visible light region, the ceramics show a strong absorption with band gap of about 3.57 eV.     

Modification of Fatty Acid,Essential Oil and Phenolic Contents of Salt‐Treated Sweet Marjoram (Origanum majorana L.) According to Developmental Stage

Abstract: Variation in the composition of Origanum majorana L. essential oil (EO) and fatty acids were studied under salt treatment. Plant material has been harvested at 2 phenological stages: early vegetative stage (EVS) and late vegetative stage (LVS) or prefloral. Our results showed that the application of 75 mM NaCl increased total lipid contents in marjoram shoots and caused great qualitative changes in the fatty acids profiles. NaCl treatment reduced and stimulated the EO yields, respectively, at EVS and LVS and induced quantitative changes in the chemical EO composition in shoots. Phenolic contents were higher during the LVS than EVS in the absence and the presence of salt. Under control conditions, RP‐HPLC analysis of the methanolic extract of marjoram dried shoots showed a predominance of flavonoid during the EVS whereas phenolic acids predominated during the LVS. However, under 75 mM NaCl, we noted a predominance of flavonoid at LVS and constant levels of phenolic and flavonoid classes at the EVS. For control treatment and at both EVS and LVS, the main components identified were respectively rosmarinic acid gallic as phenolic acids and amentoflavone as flavonoid. In the presence of salt and at the EVS, we observed a significant increase in trans‐2 hydrocinnamic, gallic acid and quercetin‐3‐galactoside contents. However, for the LVS, salt induced a stimulation of gallic acid, apigenin, and amentoflavone. Our results showed that LVS had the highest contents of bioactive compounds, and could be considered as the best stage for harvesting marjoram plants. Practical Application: In this study, the fatty acid composition, essential oil, and phenolic content of Origanum majorana were investigated. This is important for potential application of marjoram as functional food at the late vegetative stage. The richness of O. majorana in volatile and phenolic active compounds known for their antioxidant, antimicrobial, and insecticidal activities could support the utilization of this plant in a large field of application including cosmetic, pharmaceutical, agro alimentary, and biological defense.     

Roles of heat transfer modes on transient cooling by quenching process

In order to predict the metallurgical structure of the quenched part by numerical simulation, one needs the boundary condition at the part-bath interface. This last, generally of the third kind, is deduced from measurement of temperature and heat flux density of the surface of work piece. The main goal of this work is the understanding of the heat transfers mechanisms that control the cooling speed according to the size of the work piece. We developed an original device of measurement which allowed temperature and local heat flux estimating at the part-bath interface during quenching process. Experimental results have updated the prevalence of one heat transfer mode according to the more or less thermal resistive character of the quenched part. This prevalence is linked to the mean Biot number Bi _m . When Bi _m ?<?<1, heat conduction inside the work piece does not have a significant role in the cooling: the part is practically isothermal. The cooling is primarily ensured by boiling and more particularly by film boiling. Consequently the profile of cooling velocity is quasi uniform in the part. This situation favours a uniform metallurgic transformation in all the part and the absence of in temperature gradients avoids the differentials of dilation which are at the origin of residual stress fields. Conversely, when Bi _m ?>?>?1, the part has a large thermal resistance such as the temperature of the bath is quickly imposed on its surface. Then, cooling is primarily ensured by convection. In this case, the part bulk is the seat of large thermal gradients which induce a strong distribution of cooling velocity. The latter is at the origin of some differences in metallurgical structure and of a residual stress field within the part. In the intermediate value range, 0.1?<?Bi _m ?<?10, boiling and convection ensure successively the cooling, but in the boiling there is a prevalence of nucleate boiling mode which determines the reached maximum value of cooling speed located always in the close vicinity of the part-bath interface.     

Cytotoxicity Evaluation of a New Set of 2-Aminobenzo[de]iso-quinoline-1,3-diones

A new series of 2-amino-benzo[de]isoquinoline-1,3-diones was synthesized and fully characterized in our previous paper. Here, their cytotoxic effects have been evaluated in vitro in relation to colon HCT-116, hepatocellular Hep-G2 and breast MCF-7 cancer cell lines, using a crystal violet viability assay. The IC₅₀-values of the target compounds are reported in µg/mL, using doxorubicin as a reference drug. The findings revealed that compounds 14, 15, 16, 21 and 22 had significant cytotoxic effects against HCT-116, MCF-7 and Hep-G2 cell lines. Their IC₅₀ values ranged between 1.3 and 8.3 μg/mL in relation to doxorubicin (IC₅₀ ≈ 0.45–0.89 μg/mL). Therefore, these compounds could be used as templates for furthering the development and design of more potent antitumor agents through structural modification.     

Environmental effects on glass fiber reinforced polypropylene thermoplastic composite laminate for structural applications

This article presents the mechanical and microstructural characterization of glass fiber reinforced polypropylene thermoplastic composite laminates (PP/Glass) exposed to tap water, salt solution, and freeze/thaw cycles. PP/Glass specimens were immersed at 23, 50, and 70°C in tap water to simulate the relative humidity of the direct environment and in a salt solution of 3% NaCl to simulate the effect of de‐icing salt. The measured flexural strengths of the specimens before and after exposure were considered as a measure of the durability performance of the specimens and were used for long‐term properties prediction based on the Arrhenius theory. In addition, the durability of PP/Glass to freeze/thaw cycles was studied for as received specimens and specimens saturated with tap water. Scanning electron microscopy was also used to characterize the effect of aging on the PP/Glass specimens. The results showed that the durability of PP/Glass composite is related to the quality of their consolidation. POLYM. COMPOS., 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Effect of particle morphology on the photocatalytic activity of BiFeO3 microcrystallites

Pure BiFeO₃ (BFO) microcrystallites with different morphologies were synthesized by a controlled hydrothermal process. The crystal structure, morphology and photocatalytic property of BFO microcrystallites were investigated. The results and analysis revealed that the OH^? concentration intensely affected the morphology, dimension and phase purity of BFO. Furthermore, it was found that the smallest and coarse BFO particles exhibited the lowest photocatalytic efficiency, which suggested that the particle morphology, especially defects intensely influence the photocatalytic activity of BFO, other than the particle size.     

Formation,rapid thermal oxidation and passivation of solar grade silicon nanowires for advanced photovoltaic applications

Uniform and regular silicon nanowires (SiNWs) arrays are fabricated on both sides of solar grade silicons (SiGS) by silver assist-electrochemical etching. SiNWs arrays exhibit an excellent antireflection character with an overall reflectance of 2% in the range from 300 to 1000 nm. More importantly, the effective lifetimes of the symmetric SiNWs/Si structures decreased due to the high densities of dangling bonds and surface defects. Surface passivation to overcome lifetime degradation is realized by means of rapid thermal oxidation (RTO). Following rapid oxidation, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy reveals that oxygen diffusion is enhanced inside silicon nanowires where the morphological structure is preserved during RTO. Moreover, it is shown that even the rapid thermal oxidation process is not effective to recover initial τ_eff due to the high density of imperfections involved during nanowires formation and the contamination level induced by silver. The interdiffusion between residual silver and metal contaminants in the core of the nanowire can probably limit the passivation effect due to the segregation of metal atoms at SiO₂ and to the redistribution of both impurities across the wire.     

Modelling of elliptical cracks in an infinite body and in a pressurized cylinder by a hybrid weight function approach

In this work, a hybridization technique is proposed. It consists of using two weight functions to model elliptical cracks for computation of the stress intensity factor ‘SIF’ in mode I. The idea of hybridization consists of dividing the ellipse into two zones, then to use each weight function in the area where it is more efficient. The proportion between the two zones is determined by optimization of the ellipse axis ratio. A computer code is developed for the computation of SIF. The treatment of the numerical procedures including singularities are presented in detail. The approach is tested on several applications (elliptical crack in infinite body, semi-elliptical cracks in thin and thick cylinders), to demonstrate its accuracy by minimization of the error of SIF and its correlation with respect to other researchers.