A Concise Review on Nano-emulsion Formation by the Phase Inversion Composition (PIC) Method

Nano-emulsion formation by the phase inversion composition method is reviewed. The relationship between phase behavior and nano-emulsion formation is revised with emphasis on the key role of phase transitions involving changes in the sign of the curvature of the surfactant layer (inversion) via zero-average-curvature structures such as bicontinuous microemulsions or lamellar liquid crystalline phases. The different low-energy methods that can be involved in a nano-emulsification process at constant temperature are also discussed.     

Evaluating the computational performance of the Xilinx Ultrascale+ EG Heterogeneous MPSoC

The Journal of Supercomputing - The emergent technology of Multi-Processor System-on-Chip (MPSoC), which combines heterogeneous computing with the high performance of Field Programmable Gate Arrays...     

Extrusion of polypropylene/chitosan/poly(lactic-acid) films: Chemical,mechanical, and thermal properties

Development of extruded films composed of biopolymers blended with synthetic polymers aims to minimize the environmental impact of plastic waste-materials and lead to the sustainable plastic industry. To produce biodegradable polymeric blends, the weight content of biopolymers must be maximum without compromising the performance properties of the extruded films. Using a solvent-free extrusion method, films composed of polypropylene, poly(lactic-acid), and Chitosan, can be obtained with the use of polypropylene-graft-maleic anhydride and glycerol as compatibilizer and plasticizer, respectively. Extruded films with up to a 50 wt% content of biopolymers show acceptable thermal and mechanical properties, where the use of compatibilizer improves the processing characteristics and homogeneous distribution of chitosan throughout the films. Therefore, the extruded films can be considered as alternatives to conventional synthetic-polymer films, due to their acceptable mechanical and thermal properties with direct potential applications in extrusion-method mass production of biodegradable polymers.     

Barley yield and fertilization analysis from UAV imagery: a deep learning approach

In a world with great challenges in food security, optimising cereal production is critical. Cereals are the most important food source for human consumption. The fourth important cereal worldwide after wheat, rice and maize, is Barley, and its production strongly depends on fertilization treatments. The adoption of suitable fertilizer management strategies often results in large economic benefits to producers. However, determining optimal fertilizer doses for a specific barley variety is complex. The collection of data and their analyses can be cost prohibitive for small farmers regarding time and money. This paper introduces an approach to support producers with automatic tools for the analysis of fertilization management of barley. The proposed methodology aims to simultaneously estimate nitrogen fertilization and barley yield, from information derived from aerial RGB images captured by a UAV. Our long term goal is to provide a low-cost and wide-are-coverage solution for the estimation of barley variables that can be leveraged to increase barley yield without increasing costs. A low-cost UAV is used to capture RGB crop field images. Then, a deep convolutional neural network is used for the automated extraction of features from the images. Extracted features are feed into predictive models that estimate the variables of interest. Experimental results reveal that the proposed methodology is able to reach an accuracy above 83% when estimating nitrogen fertilization and a high correlation and low RMSE in the estimation of yield in grams. Experimental results are promising and will pave the way for the development of deep learning methods for barley analysis from aerial imagery that can be accessed by the average farmer.     

Comparison of the catalytic performance of YIG garnets and Fe-containing oxides catalysts for oxidation of ethylbenzene

Iron-containing garnets (YIG) were used as catalysts for selective oxidation of ethylbenzene (EB) in the presence of H₂O₂ as oxidant. The catalysts comprising of two series of garnets e.g., Y₃(Fe_1–xZn_x)₅O₁₂ and Y₃(Fe_1–xNi_x)₅O₁₂ had distinct Zn and Ni contents (x = 0.00 0.01, 0.03, and 0.05). XRD, Raman and FTIR spectroscopies revealed that the cubic structure of Y₃Fe₅O₁₂ garnet was present for x = 0.00 and 0.01. For higher contents, the garnets had the Y₃Fe₅O₁₂ phase besides hematite (α-Fe₂O₃). The catalytic activity was dependent on the contents of metals in the garnets with Y₃Fe_4·97Ni_0·03O_12-γ and Y₃Fe_4·95Zn_0·05O_12-γ catalysts achieving better results. The influence of the reaction conditions such as reaction time, reaction temperature and effect of the solvents as well as the substrates to H₂O₂ molar ratios were studied. SEM-EDS, XPS and EPR results demonstrated the affinity of the Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ pairs with Ni²⁺ species for the ethylbenzene molecule, which gave an EB conversion of 77% with a good production of acetophenone over the Y₃Fe_4·97Ni_0·03O_12-γ catalyst compared to other binary and ternary solids.     

Spray-drying microencapsulation of pomegranate juice increases its antioxidant activity after in vitro digestion

Most of the work on pomegranate antioxidant and antibacterial activity has been carried out with solvent extracts of different plant or fruit parts. Biosensitive compounds in juice may be subject to oxidation, reducing their biological activities. Microencapsulation can be used to protect compounds, allowing its incorporation into functional foods. This study aimed at investigating antioxidant activity after in vitro digestion of microencapsulated juice. Pomegranate juice was encapsulated by spray drying its maltodextrin and gum arabic. The average diameter of the microcapsules was 10–50 µm. We evaluated the bioaccessibility of microencapsulated phenolic compounds by using an in vitro enzymatic digestion. The total phenolic content in digested microencapsulated juice was three times greater than in undigested, indicating that the compounds were made bioaccessible. Digestion also increased antioxidant activity, as measured by ABTS●+ or by DPPH●. Additionally, microencapsulated pomegranate juice showed antibacterial activity against the nine bacteria species tested.     

Correction to: An Overview of Priority Pollutants in Selected Coal Mine Discharges in Europe

Mine Water and the Environment - Correct values for radium have been rewritten in Table 1 and Table 2. Correct radium units in Figure 2(c) are Bq/L (Becquerel per liter). The same applies to...     

Inbreeding and effective population size in French dairy sheep: Comparison between genomic and pedigree estimates

Before availability of dense SNP data, genetic diversity was characterized and managed with pedigree-based information. Besides this classical approach, 2 methodologies have been proposed in recent years to characterize and manage diversity from dense SNP data: the SNP-by-SNP approach and the alternative based on runs of homozygosity (ROH). The establishment of criteria to identify ROH is a current constraint in the literature dealing with ROH. The objective of this study was, using a medium-density SNP chip, to quantify by 3 methods (pedigree, SNP-by-SNP, and ROH) the genetic diversity on 5 selected French dairy sheep subpopulations and breeds and to assess the effect of the definition of ROH on these estimates. The data set available included individuals from the breeds Basco-Béarnaise, Manech Tête Noire, Manech Tête Rousse, and 2 subpopulations of Lacaune: Lacaune Confederation and Lacaune Ovitest. Animals were genotyped with the Illumina OvineSNP50 BeadChip (Illumina Inc., San Diego, CA). After filtering, the genomic data included 38,287 autosomal SNP and 8,700 individuals, which comprised 72,803 animals in the pedigree. The results indicated that no significant differences were observed in effective population size estimates obtained from pedigree or genomic (SNP-by-SNP or ROH) information. In general, estimates of effective population size were above 200 in Lacaune Confederation and Lacaune Ovitest subpopulations and below 200 in Basco-Béarnaise, Manech Tête Noire, and Manech Tête Rousse breeds. The minimum length that constituted a ROH, the minimum number of SNP that constituted a ROH, as well as the minimum density and the maximum distance allowed between 2 homozygous SNP are ROH-defining factors with important implications in the estimation of the rate of inbreeding. The ROH-based rates of inbreeding in concordance with those obtained from pedigree information require a specific set of values. This particular set of values is different from that identified to obtain ROH-based rates of inbreeding similar to those obtained on a SNP-by-SNP basis. Factors to define ROH do not change the results much unless extreme values are considered, although further research on ROH-based inbreeding is still required.     

Forcespinning technique for the production of poly(d,l-lactic acid) submicrometer fibers: Process–morphology–properties relationship

This work addresses a systematic study for the process development and optimization of poly(d ,l -lactic acid) (PDLLA) submicrometer fibers utilizing the centrifugal spinning technique known as Forcespinning. This study analyzes the effect of polymer concentration (8, 10, and 12 wt %) and angular speed on the fiber morphology, diameter distribution, and fiber yield. The increase in polymer concentration and angular speed favored the formation of continuous and homogeneous submicrometer fibers with an absence of bead formation and higher output. The optimal conditions were established considering the morphological characteristics that exhibit a greater surface area (homogeneous and submicrometer fibers); and they were achieved at a polymer concentration of 10 wt % at an angular speed ranging from 8000 to 10 000 rpm. Optimization of PDLLA submicrometer fiber fabrication lays the groundwork for scaling up the process and serves as a platform to further develop promising applications of PDLLA nonwoven mats, particularly in the biomedical area such as in scaffolds for tissue engineering. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47643.