Rapeseed Hulls Fat Characteristics

Rapeseed hull which tends to be eliminated from the seeds before technological processing, contains considerable amounts of fat (14–19%). Neither the composition not the properties of the fat hve been known well so far hence the investigation to determine the possibilities of its utilization have been undertaken. The analysis of fat extracted with petroleum ether from thoroughly purified hulls of several varieties of rapeseed cultivated in Poland proved that it contained less triglycerides (ab. 10%), more polar fat (ab. 5%) and 2% of partial glycerides compared with the fat from cotyledones. Hull fat was also characterized by a considerably higher acid value as well as by a lower stability compared with cotyledones fat and whole rapeseeds fat. The established low quality of hull fat shows the possibilities of its non-consumptive utilization and indicates that dehulling brings upon the improvement both of rapeseed meal as a feed and of raw fat.     

Role of catchment area in the transport of nutrients to lakes in the Wielkopolska National Park in Poland

The external loading of 14 lakes in the Wielkopolska National Park was calculated, including nitrogen and phosphorus loads from point, diffuse and dispersed sources, precipitation and recreation. The basic source of nitrogen and phosphorus for most lakes in the Park is the export of diffuse pollution from the catchment area. Only four lakes are contaminated by sewage, which accounts for 0.1–61.2% of total nutrient loading. Annual unit area loads of phosphorus and nitrogen estimated for each lake were 2–51 times higher than Vollenweider’s critical loading levels. Estimated mass loading and annual unit area loads of nutrients for each lake were compared with lake water quality, expressed as the trophic state index. Analysis of the physico‐geographical structure of the catchment area and natural resistance of lakes to external input of nutrients allowed us to assess the role of the catchment in the deterioration of water quality and to indicate the protective measures required.     

Refractometry of organosilica microspheres

The refractive index of novel organosilica (nano/micro) material is determined using two methods. The first method is based on analysis of optical extinction efficiency of organosilica beads versus wavelength, which is obtained by a standard laboratory spectrometer. The second method relies on the measurable trapping potential of these beads in the focused light beam (laser tweezers). Polystyrene beads were used to test these methods, and the determined dispersion curves of refractive-index values have been found accurate. The refractive index of organosilica beads has been determined to range from 1.60 to 1.51 over the wavelength range of 300-1100 nm.     

路缘沉积:利用原型思维过程探究如何通过路缘及路肩设计截留暴雨中的路面污染物

The design of a curb is straight forward. The curb itself provides a conveyance of stormwater, facilitating the movement of water and pollutants from the street into waterways. Pollutants such as sediment, nutrients from lawn fertilizers, bacteria, viruses, pesticides, metals, and petroleum byproducts accumulate on the road surface and are released during storm events, carried to storm drains, and deposited into waterways, often without treatment. Once pollutants enter the waterways they impact the ecosystem and affect water quality. How can discrete standards—like a curb—be leveraged to have larger systemic impacts? The redesign of the curb to perform as a magnet for pollutants can challenge this design standard. During the summer of 2019, the interdisciplinary research team tested alternatives to the standard concrete curb and apron at Ohio State University. The team used an iterative design process to add patterning and crenellations to the face of the curb and apron. Using full scale models to test simulated storm events, the team collected data to evaluate the performance of 21 alternative designs. The results suggest the new combined curb and apron designs can abstract pollutants from roadways before they are detrimental to water bodies and aquatic ecosystems.     

Effects of early dietary intervention with a fermentable fibre on colonic microbiota activity and mucin gene expression in newly weaned rats

Colonic microbiota composition and metabolic processes were investigated after modifying the diet immediately post-weaning in rats. Three-week old Sprague–Dawley rats were fed cellulose or inulin diet for 0 day (d), 7 d or 14 d. Real-time PCR quantification showed significantly higher colonic Bifidobacterium spp. in rats fed inulin on d7 and d14. Inulin was effective in increasing the total bacteria, Bacteroides-Prevotella-Porphyromonas group and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, while decreasing Lactobacillus spp. Higher concentrations of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs: acetic, butyric and propionic acids), lactic acid and succinic acid were observed in inulin-fed rats. Inulin ingestion altered colonic mucin (MUC)-3 gene expression, and increased the colon crypt depth with more goblet cells per crypt. Significant positive correlations between SCFAs concentrations and MUC3 expression were observed. Dietary supplementation with inulin altered microbiota composition, and their fermentation end-products may have aided in modifying mucin gene expression and morphology in the colon of young rats.     

Provision of end-to-end QoS in heterogeneous multi-domain networks

In this paper, we present the framework to provision end-to-end QoS in heterogeneous multi-domain networks that was implemented in EuQoS system and tested in Pan-European research network. It assumes that a pair of end users, possibly attached to different access networks as xDSL, UMTS, LAN/Ethernet, WiFi, MPLS or Satellite, may choose for its connection an appropriate end-to-end Class of Service, depending on the application they use, e.g. VoIP, VoD, FTP, etc. Each end-to-end Class of Service has its own traffic control mechanisms and algorithms and, as a result, it has the ability to handle traffic streams with assumed guarantees for packet transfer characteristics expressed in the form of loss ratio, mean delay and delay variation. The end-to-end Classes of Service are supported in all the domains (including inter-domain links) independently using specialised inter-domain Class of Service-aware QoS routing protocol which establishes the end-to-end QoS paths. This paper describes the solution and includes exemplary simulation and experimental results.     

Brief Review of Endometriosis and the Role of Trace Elements

Endometriosis is a chronic, estrogen-dependent, inflammatory condition that is defined as the presence of endometrial glands and stroma outside the uterine cavity. Despite the progress in research into the mechanisms leading to the development of endometriosis, its cause has not yet been established. It seems to be possible that the formation of oxidative stress may be one of the main causes of the development of endometriosis. There is much research that studies the potential role of trace elements in the appearance of endometrial-like lesions. Most studies focus on assessing the content of selected trace elements in the blood, urine, or peritoneal fluid in women with endometriosis. Meanwhile, little is known about the content of these elements in endometrial-like implants, which may be helpful in developing the theory of endometriosis. Investigations that are more comprehensive are needed to confirm a hypothesis that some trace elements play a role in the pathomechanism of endometriosis.     

Cardiovascular reactivity and central adiposity in older African Americans.

This study examined central adiposity, as measured by waist circumference (WC), in relation to mental-stress induced systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and heart rate (HR) responses, body composition, the metabolic syndrome, and health practices in 22 older, African American men and women (ages 52–79 years). The high WC (>100 cm) group showed significantly greater SBP, DBP, and HR reactivity, greater fasting insulin levels, lower high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, greater fat mass in both truncal and peripheral regions, and greater body mass index as compared to the low WC (     

Accelerated photodegradation of cis 1,4-polybutadiene in the presence of hydrogen peroxide

Summary Photooxidative degradation of cis 1,4-polybutadiene in diluted benzene solution and benzene/hydrogen peroxide emulsion have been examinated using viscosimetry, GPC, FTIR, UV-Vis spectrometry and iodometric titration. Efficient photooxidation and photodegradation of PB in presence of hydrogen peroxide was observed. The acceleration effect of photoprocesses in PB is caused by hydroxy (HO·) and hydroperoxide (HOO·) radicals. The mechanism of PB reactions with free radicals proceeding from hydrogen peroxide and influence of benzene on photodegradation of PB have been discussed.     

RF PE CVD deposition of amorphous a-SixNy:H layers for application in solar cells

The most promising technologies of silicon nitride hydrogenated layers for application in solar cells are based on plasma-chemical methods. In this paper, results concerning radio-frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (RF PE CVD) method applied in the technology of a-Si_xN_y:H layers on glass and polycrystalline silicon are presented. For the purpose of this research the series of the samples have been deposited and subjected to optical and structural studies. The layers have been grown from silane and ammonia used as gaseous precursors. A special attention has been paid to the choice of a gas flow ratio [NH₃]/[SiH₄]. The results show that it has a significant influence on the atomic-level structure, chemical composition and optical properties of the layers.