Survey of the natural occurrence of zearalenone in maize from northern Iran by thin-layer chromatography densitometry

During September 2000, forty samples of preharvest maize from the province of Mazandaran, north Iran, were randomly collected. Samples were analysed for zearalenone (ZEA) by a thin-layer chromatograpy (TLC) method (AOAC Official Method). ZEA was extracted with chloroform, purified through a chromatographic column containing silica gel, separated on a TLC plate and quantified by densitometry. The analytical method was validated and was adequately reliable and sensitive. The mean recovery rate of ZEA from spiked samples was 92%. The absolute amount of ZEA standard detectable on a TLC plate was 20 ng, giving a limit of detection (LOD) of 100 ng g^-1. In some samples, it was shown that aflatoxins interfere with ZEA. Therefore, to remove this interference, the TLC mobile phase was changed. Data revealed that three of 40 (7.5%) maize samples contained ZEA in the range 100-212 ng g^-1, with a mean of 141 ±51 ng g^-1. This study, which is the first report of ZEA occurrence in Iranian maize, showed that the ZEA level in maize of Mazandaran province was lower than maximum limit for this mycotoxin in Iran.     

The use of antifungal oat‐sourdough lactic acid bacteria to improve safety and technological functionalities of the supplemented wheat bread

In the present study, predominant lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were isolated from oat sourdough. Then, the isolates were screened based on their in vitro antifungal activity. Subsequently, biotechnological capabilities of the selected LAB were evaluated in wheat bread supplemented with controlled fermented oat containing the isolate. Pediococcus pentosaceus was molecular identified as predominant antifungal isolate. Based on our results, fermented oat not only significantly (p < .05) reduced the mold expansion on the produced breads, but also improved the quality attributes of the product. Crumb porosity and antioxidant capacity of the supplemented bread revealed the positive effects of the isolate on textural and functional characteristics of the enriched bread. Wheat bread supplemented with controlled fermented oat had also the highest 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity compared to the other samples. Accordingly, the potential applications of P. pentosaceus isolate as profunctional starter culture in processing of mixed wheat‐oat sourdough bread were verified.     

Task-Based System Load Balancing in Cloud Computing Using Particle Swarm Optimization

Live virtual machine (VM) migration is a technique for achieving system load balancing in a cloud environment by transferring an active VM from one physical host to another. This technique has been proposed to reduce the downtime for migrating overloaded VMs, but it is still time- and cost-consuming, and a large amount of memory is involved in the migration process. To overcome these drawbacks, we propose a Task-based System Load Balancing method using Particle Swarm Optimization (TBSLB-PSO) that achieves system load balancing by only transferring extra tasks from an overloaded VM instead of migrating the entire overloaded VM. We also design an optimization model to migrate these extra tasks to the new host VMs by applying Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). To evaluate the proposed method, we extend the cloud simulator (Cloudsim) package and use PSO as its task scheduling model. The simulation results show that the proposed TBSLB-PSO method significantly reduces the time taken for the load balancing process compared to traditional load balancing approaches. Furthermore, in our proposed approach the overloaded VMs will not be paused during the migration process, and there is no need to use the VM pre-copy process. Therefore, the TBSLB-PSO method will eliminate VM downtime and the risk of losing the last activity performed by a customer, and will increase the Quality of Service experienced by cloud customers.     

Facile and rapid synthesis of piperidinium-6-amino-4-aryl-3, 5-dicyano-1,4-dihydropyridine-2-thiolate

A fast and convenient protocol for the synthesis of a new class of piperidin-1-ium 6-amino-4-aryl-3,5-dicyano-1,4-dihydropyridine-2-thiolate (piperidinium salt) derivatives is developed by the one-pot, three-component reactions of cyanothioacetamide, aromatic aldehydes and piperidine in dichloromethane at room temperature. The features such as operational simplicity, mild conditions, absence of catalyst, high yields in short reaction times, simple purification process with no chromatographic technique make the protocol highly attractive.     

Efficient synthesis of novel Naphthacene derivatives based on Thiouracil

A simple one-pot three-component synthesis of fused thiouracils from readily available starting materials including 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone, aromatic aldehydes and 6-amino-2-thiouracil in good yields is described. The sequences of cascade reactions include Knoevenagel condensation, Michael addition and cyclocondensation.     

Evaluation of PCL/chitosan electrospun nanofibers for liver tissue engineering

In this investigation, a nanofibrous scaffold was fabricated through electrospinning of polycaprolactone (PCL) and chitosan (CS) using a novel collector to make better orientation and pore size for cell infiltration. PCL/CS nanofibers with 90-rpm collector speed and 40° angle between collector wires of the new collector have fewer diameters with better pore, size and nanofibers orientation. Mechanical properties, roughness parameters, topology, structure, hydrophilicity, and cell growing were considered for liver tissue engineering. The cell culture was done using epithelial liver mouse cells. The developed electrospun PCL/CS scaffold using novel collector would be an excellent matrix for biomedical applications especially liver tissue engineering.     

The Role of Sarcopenic Obesity in Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease: A Synthesis of the Evidence on Pathophysiological Aspects and Clinical Implications

Obesity is globally a serious public health concern and is associated with a high risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and various types of cancers. It is important to evaluate various types of obesity, such as visceral and sarcopenic obesity. The evidence on the associated risk of CVD, cancer and sarcopenic obesity, including pathophysiological aspects, occurrence, clinical implications and survival, needs further investigation. Sarcopenic obesity is a relatively new term. It is a clinical condition that primarily affects older adults. There are several endocrine-hormonal, metabolic and lifestyle aspects involved in the occurrence of sarcopenic obesity that affect pathophysiological aspects that, in turn, contribute to CVD and neoplasms. However, there is no available evidence on the role of sarcopenic obesity in the occurrence of CVD and cancer and its pathophysiological interplay. Therefore, this review aims to describe the pathophysiological aspects and the clinical and epidemiological evidence on the role of sarcopenic obesity related to the occurrence and mortality risk of various types of cancer and cardiovascular disease. This literature review highlights the need for further research on sarcopenic obesity to demonstrate the interrelation of these various associations.     

Remarkable electrocatalytic activity of Ni-nanoparticles on MOF-derived ZrO2-porous carbon/reduced graphene oxide towards methanol oxidation

In the present work, a porous carbonaceous platform containing zirconium oxide was used for spreading Ni nanoparticles, and applied to methanol oxidation. The platform was obtained by calcination of a metal-organic framework (MOF) attached to graphene oxide. Nickel nanoparticles were then deposited on the nanocomposite by chemical reduction from a Ni²⁺ solution. The obtained electrocatalyst was characterized by different methods. An excellent electrocatalytic behavior was observed towards methanol oxidation in alkaline medium (j ~ 240 mA cm^?2 or ~ 626 mA mg^?1 in 1.0 M methanol). The results of methanol oxidation by various electrochemical studies (cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, chronoamperometry and chronopotentiometry) revealed the effective synergy between reduced graphene oxide, porous carbon material, ZrO₂ metal oxide and Ni nanoparticles. Good durability and stability of the proposed electrocatalyst and significantly increased current density of methanol oxidation suggest it as a potential alternative for Pt-based electrocatalysts in direct methanol fuel cells.     

Performance Evaluation of a Two-Stage Entrained-Flow Coal Gasifier Using Numerical Simulation

An advanced air-blown two-stage entrained-flow coal Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) gasifier is numerically studied under actual conditions. The simulation results are verified first with actually measured data of an industrial MHI gasifier. Then, the effects of different parameters such as the sizes of pulverized coal particles, devolatilization parameters, and operating pressure on the gasifier performance are investigated. The results indicate that as the coal particle size increases, the syngas temperature at the gasifier exit rises while the reactivity of the coal particle decreases. Reducing the operating pressure can have a negative effect on the gasifier throughput while the opposite trend is observed for higher operating pressure.