A comparative study of photocatalytically active nanocrystalline tetragonal zyrcon-type and monoclinic scheelite-type bismuth vanadate

Monoclinic scheelite-type BiVO₄ is currently considered as one of the most promising non-titania photocatalysts, wheras tetragonal zircon-type BiVO₄ is still poorly understood. Herein, a new and simple synthetic approach was applied and nanostructured single-phase zircon-type BiVO₄ was successfully prepared by a controllable ethylene-glycol colloidal route. In addition, nanostructured monoclinic scheelite-type BiVO₄ powders were also fabricated through annealing of the as-prepared samples. A comparative study of the two BiVO₄ polymorphs was conducted and it turned out that the novel synthetic approach had a significant impact on porosity and photocatalytic performance of zircon-structured BiVO₄. All the prepared materials, as-prepared and annealed, were mesoporous, while measured values of specific surface area of some zircon-structured samples (～34?m²/g) were ～7 times higher than those reported thus far for this phase. Interestingly, for the first time, zircon-type BiVO₄, previously considered to be a poor photocatalyst, exhibited a better overall performance in degradation of methyl orange compared to monoclinic scheelite-type BiVO₄. Hence, it could be expected that the here-presented synthesis and observations will both arouse interest in scarcely studied tetragonal zircon-type BiVO₄ and facilitate as well as speed up further research of its properties.     

Nearly monotonic passband low‐pass filter design by using sum‐of‐squared Legendre polynomials

A new type of filter approximation, which utilizes orthonormal Legendre polynomials, referred to as sum‐of‐squared Legendre polynomials, is presented in this paper. Power transmission coefficient and the group delay of the proposed filter are compared with those of the Butterworth, Legendre–Papoulis, and Halpern filters. In order to illustrate the design of the proposed filter function, sum‐of‐squared Legendre polynomials coefficients and normalized element values of the low‐pass LC (inductor‐capacitor) ladder network prototype are given, up to the 10th degree. For continuous‐time domain filtering, doubly terminated LC ladder network topologies have very low sensitivities to changes of component values. In order to determine the effect of variation of all reactive components on the filter attenuation characteristic, the new sensitivity function has been proposed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ganglioside Composition Distinguishes Anaplastic Ganglioglioma Tumor Tissue from Peritumoral Brain Tissue: Complementary Mass Spectrometry and Thin-Layer Chromatography Evidence

Gangliosides serve as antitumor therapy targets and aberrations in their composition strongly correlate with tumor growth and invasiveness. Anaplastic ganglioglioma is a rare, poorly characterized, malignant neuronal–glial tumor type. We present the first comparative characterization of ganglioside composition in anaplastic ganglioglioma vs. peritumoral and healthy brain tissues by combining mass spectrometry and thin-layer chromatography. Anaplastic ganglioglioma ganglioside composition was highly distinguishable from both peritumoral and healthy tissue despite having five to six times lower total content. Ten out of twelve MS-identified ganglioside classes, defined by unique glycan residues, were represented by a large number and considerable abundance of individual species with different fatty acid residues (C16–C24) in ceramide portions. The major structurally identified class was tumor-associated GD3 (>50%) with 11 species; GD3 (d18:1/24:0) being the most abundant. The dominant sphingoid base residue in ganglioside ceramides was sphingosine (d18:1), followed by eicosasphingosine (d20:1). The peritumoral tissue ganglioside composition was estimated as normal. Specific ganglioside composition and large variability of ganglioside ceramide structures determined in anaplastic ganglioglioma demonstrate realistic ganglioside expression patterns and correspond to the profile of high-grade malignancy brain tumors.     

Brewers' spent grain and thin stillage as raw materials in l‐(+)‐lactic acid fermentation

Brewer's spent grain (BSG) hydrolysates were used for l ‐(+)‐lactic acid (LA) fermentation by Lactobacillus rhamnosus ATCC 7469. In this study the effect of the addition of various amounts of thin stillage (TS) in BSG hydrolysate on LA fermentation parameters were evaluated. TS addition significantly increased utilization of glucose by up to 43.0%. In batch fermentation the highest LA concentration and volumetric productivity of 31.0 g/L, and 0.93 g/L/h, respectively, were obtained with the addition of 50% TS. L. rhamnosus cell viability also increased with the addition of 50% TS (by 2.4%). TS addition significantly increased free amino nitrogen concentration (by up to 209%) which is important for bacterial growth. A strong positive correlation between free amino nitrogen and LA concentration was noted. Compared with the results obtained in the batch fermentation (50% TS), significantly higher LA concentration, yield and volumetric productivity (54.8, 1.9 and 4.0%, respectively) were achieved in fed‐batch fermentation with glucose and TS addition. The results suggest that the combination of the by‐products of brewing and bioethanol industries could be suitable for LA production. Copyright © 2017 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling     

Antiproliferative and Proapoptotic Activities of Methanolic Extracts from Ligustrum vulgare L. as an Individual Treatment and in Combination with Palladium Complex

The aim of this study is to examine the growth inhibitory effects of methanolic leaf and fruit extracts of L. vulgare on HCT-116 cells over different time periods and their synergistic effect with a Pd(apox) complex. The antiproliferative activity of plant extracts alone or in combination with the Pd(apox) complex was determined using MTT cell viability assay, where the IC(50) value was used as a parameter of cytotoxicity. Results show that antiproliferative effects of L. vulgare extracts increase with extension of exposure time, with decreasing IC(50) values, except for 72 h where the IC(50) values for methanolic leaf extract were lower than for the fruit extract. The Pd(apox) complex alone had a weak antiproliferative effect, but combination with L. vulgare extracts caused stronger effects with lower IC(50) values than with L. vulgare extracts alone. The type of cell death was explored by fluorescence microscopy using the acridin orange/ethidium bromide method. Treatments with plant extracts caused typical apoptotic morphological changes in HCT-116 cells and co-treatments with Pd(apox) complex caused higher levels of apoptotic cells than treatment with plant extracts alone. The results indicate that L. vulgare is a considerable source of natural bioactive substances with antiproliferative activity on HCT-116 cells and which have a substantial synergistic effect with the Pd(apox) complex.     

Effect of rosehip (Rosa canina L.) phytochemicals on stable free radicals and human cancer cells

BACKGROUND: The commercial development of plants as sources of antioxidants that can be used to enhance the properties of foods, for nutritional purposes and preservation as well as for prevention of oxidation‐related diseases, is currently of major interest. Rosehip (Rosa canina L.) is a rich source of vitamin C and polyphenols. RESULTS: Phytochemicals in rosehip tea were separated into three fractions: Fr1 (vitamin C, 39.17 mg kg^?1), Fr2 (flavonoids, 451.05 µg kg^?1) and Fr3 (phenolic acids, 504.69 µg kg^?1). Quercetin and ellagic acid were the most abundant polyphenolic compounds. Rosehip fractions, primarily rosehip flavonoids (EC₅₀ = 49 mg L^?1), showed high antioxidant activity towards 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl radicals (DPPH^?). Cell growth effects of rosehip fractions were assessed in HeLa, MCF7 and HT‐29 cell lines, with the lowest IC₅₀ values being determined for rosehip flavonoids, (80.63, 248.03 and 363.95 mg L^?1 respectively). However, the vitamin C fraction did not inhibit the growth of tested tumour cells. CONCLUSION: The results of this study confirm that vitamin C and flavonoids are responsible for the antioxidant activity of rosehip tea, while only polyphenols contribute to its antiproliferative activity. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Antioxidant and cell growth activities of beet root pomace extracts

Beetroot (Beta vulgaris) pomace, processing by-product from food industry, was investigated in this work as a starting raw material. The contents of phenolics (1.87–11.98 mg GAE/g of dry weight) and betalains (0.75–3.75 mg betalains/g of dry weight) in the extracts were determinated spectrophotometrically. Some individual phenolic compounds, including ferulic, vanillic, p-hydroxybenzoic, caffeic and protocatehuic acids, were identified and quantified by HPLC. The antioxidative activity of beetroot extracts was tested using DPPH, hydroxyl and superoxide anion radicals by ESR spectroscopy. ${\text{IC}}_{50}^{{}^{\text{<mglyph src="https://sdfestaticassets-us-east-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/rad"></mglyph>}}\text{OH}}$ (0.05–0.108 mg/ml), $\text{IC}{50}^{{\text{DPPH}}^{\text{<mglyph src="https://sdfestaticassets-us-east-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/rad"></mglyph>}}}$ (0.183–0.333 mg/ml), and ${\text{IC}}_{50}^{{\text{O}}_2^{\text{<mglyph src="https://sdfestaticassets-us-east-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/rad"></mglyph>}-}}$ (0.198–1.000 mg/ml) were calculated. The regression analysis produced moderate to high correlation coefficients between the scavenging activities and phenolics, and some individual phenolic compounds which indicated that beetroot pomace may be used as functional food ingredient. Cell growth effects were determined in MCF7 and MRC-5 cell lines, using SRB assay. IC₅₀ values were in the range of 362.478–503.525 and 383–587.880 μg/ml in MRC-5 and MCF7, respectively.     

Experimental Investigation and Thermodynamic Calculations of the Bi-Ge-Sb Phase Diagram

A phase diagram of the Bi-Ge-Sb ternary system was investigated experimentally by differential thermal analysis (DTA), scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) methods and theoretically by the CALPHAD method. The liquidus projection; invariant equilibria; and three vertical sections, Sb-Bi_0.5Ge_0.5, Ge-Bi_0.5Sb_0.5, and Bi-Ge_0.5Sb_0.5, as well as isothermal sections at 773 K and 373 K (500 °C and 100 °C), were predicted using optimized thermodynamic parameters for constitutive binary systems from the literature. In addition, phase transition temperatures of the selected samples with compositions along calculated isopleths were experimentally determined using DTA. Predicted isothermal sections at 773 K and 373 K (500 °C and 100 °C) were compared with the results of the SEM-EDS and XRD analysis from this work. In both cases, good agreement between the extrapolated phase diagram and experimental results was obtained. Alloys from the three studied vertical sections were additionally analyzed using the Brinell hardness test.     

Experimental investigation and thermodynamic prediction of the Bi–Sb–Zn phase diagram

Phase diagram of the ternary Bi–Sb–Zn system was investigated experimentally by DTA and SEM-EDS methods and analytically by CALPHAD method. The liquidus projection, invariant equilibria, several vertical sections and isothermal section at 300 °C were predicted using COST 531 thermodynamic database. Phase transition temperatures of alloys along three predicted vertical sections of the Bi–Sb–Zn ternary system with molar ratio Bi:Sb = 1, Bi:Zn = 1 and Sb:Zn = 1, were measured by differential thermal analysis (DTA). Predicted isothermal section at 300 °C was compared with the results of the scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) analysis from this work.     

Thermodynamic analysis of alloys Ti–Al, Ti–V, Al–V and Ti–Al–V

Thermodynamic analysis of three binary Ti-based alloys: Ti–Al, Ti–V, and Al–V, as well as ternary alloy Ti–Al–V, is shown in this paper. Thermodynamic analysis involved thermodynamic determination of activities, coefficient of activities, partial and integral values for enthalpies and Gibbs energies of mixing and excess energies at four different temperatures: 2000, 2073, 2200 and 2273 K, as well as calculated phase diagrams for the investigated binary and ternary systems. The FactSage is used for all thermodynamic calculations.