A Proteomic Analysis of Human Follicular Fluid: Comparison between Younger and Older Women with Normal FSH Levels

The follicular fluid (FF) is produced during folliculogenesis and contains a variety of proteins that play important roles in follicle development and oocyte maturation. Age-related infertility is usually considered as a problem that can be solved by assisted reproduction technology. Therefore, the identification of novel biomarkers that are linked to reproductive aging is the subject of this study. FF was obtained from healthy younger (20–32 years old) and older (38–42 years old) women undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) due to male factor infertility. The FF was analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE). The power of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and the identification of proteins were exploited using matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization time-of-flight/time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF-TOF) mass spectrometry. Twenty three protein spots showed reproducible and significant changes in the aged compared to the young group. Of these, 19 protein spots could be identified using MALDI-TOF-TOF-MS. As a result of MASCOT search, five unique downregulated proteins were identified in the older group. These were identified as serotransferrin, hemopexin precursor, complement C3, C4 and kininogen. A number of protein markers were found that may help develop diagnostic methods of infertility.     

Effects of various barium precursors and promoters on catalytic activity of Ba-Ti perovskite catalysts for oxidative coupling of methane

The influences of barium precursor and promoter type on the catalytic performance of perovskite catalysts in OCM reaction were studied. Catalysts (BaTiPO₃, P: promoter) were prepared by carbonate, hydroxide and propionate precursors of barium and SnCl₂ and CeO₂ as promoters by sol-gel method, tested in a fixed-bed microreactor and characterized by XRD, BET, CO₂-TPD, FT-IR and UV-Visible analysis. The experiment results showed that based on the extent of effect upon catalyst efficiency, the barium anions can be ranked as; propionate > carbonate > hydroxide, and the CeO₂ promoted catalysts were more active than the SnCl₂ promoted ones. The characterization results showed that the substitution of metal precursors caused formation of different phases with different particle sizes, influenced the basicity of the catalysts, resulted in the appearance of the peaks corresponding to different groups in IR spectroscopy, and shifted the absorption peaks in UV-Visible spectra. These results suggested that OCM reaction over perovskite catalysts is structure sensitive and depended on the type of used precursor and promoter.     

Simultaneous Determination of Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate and 2,4,6‐Trinitrotoluene by High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography and Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) Method

High performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) has been used for the simultaneous determination of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) and 2,4,6‐trinitrotoluene (TNT). With this aim, the spots were developed on silica gel 60 F₂₅₄ layers with petroleum ether–acetone (2 : 1 v/v). Both PETN and TNT compounds were separated from other constituent materials, and were developed at the same speed, by this solvent system. Then ultraviolet (UV) spectra of these materials were recorded with TLC‐scanner3 of CAMAG Company, and partial least squares regression‐2 (PLSR‐2) method was applied for the calibration and quantitative determination of these materials. The figure of merit (FOM) of this method was determined, and the method was applied for the analysis of an artificial sample.     

Structural and Rheological Properties of Succinoglycan Biogums Made from Low-Quality Date Syrup or Sucrose Using Agrobacterium radiobacter Inoculation

This study examines and compares the structural and rheological properties of succinoglycan exopolysaccharide made by fermentation of sucrose or date syrup at identical temperature, pH, and total soluble solid. Using thin-layer chromatography (TLC), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and rotational viscometery structural and rheological properties of prepared exopolysaccharides were assessed. The variables under studies were biogum concentrations (0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0% w/w), temperature (5, 25 and 40°C), and pH (2.5, 4.0, 7.0, and 10.0). Results revealed that the quantity of exopolysaccharide produced in the date syrup (DSE) medium was three to five times greater than that of sucrose (SE) medium. The biogums exhibited non-Newtonian, shear-thinning behavior, and the viscosity of DSE was higher than SE at all tested concentrations. The TLC and FTIR spectroscopy assessments designated that the biogum is composed of glucose and galactose units, carrying a carboxylic group and indicated the presence of succinoglycan. The outcomes of this study could be useful to food industries seeking low cost biogum.     

Catalytic oxidative desulfurization of dibenzothiophene utilizing molybdenum and vanadium oxides supported on MCM-41

As a series of bimetallic nanocatalysts, molybdenum/vanadium oxides supported on the silica (MoO₃/V₂O₅/MCM-41) were prepared by the impregnation. Their catalytic activity in the oxidation of dibenzothiophene was investigated using H₂O₂ as an oxidant. Textures and surface properties of the prepared catalysts were characterized using FT-IR, XRD, FESEM-EDX and N₂ adsorption/desorption techniques. The effects of main process variables including H₂O₂/DBT molar ratio, catalyst dosage, reaction temperature and reaction time were analyzed by employing the response surface methodology (RSM). The effect of the MoO₃/V₂O₅ loading on the catalytic performance of the catalysts was also investigated. The results indicated that the catalytic activity of the catalyst was increased by enhancing the MoO₃/V₂O₅ content. Thus, the catalyst with high MoO₃/V₂O₅ loading (20%MoO₃/20%V₂O₅/60%MCM-41) indicated the highest catalytic activity and could convert 99.06% of dibenzothiophene under the optimum conditions. Mass and FT-IR analysis demonstrated that the major product of dibenzothiophene oxidation was its corresponding sulfone. The catalyst could be recycled five times without any considerable reduction in its catalytic activity. The kinetics of the reaction fitted the pseudo-first-order equation pretty well. Eventually, a reaction mechanism for the catalytic oxidation of DBT in the presence of MoO₃/V₂O₅/MCM-41 was proposed.     

A fuzzy reinforcement learning algorithm for inventory control in supply chains

In the real world, applications with very large state and action spaces and unknown state transition probability, classical reinforcement learning algorithms usually show poor performance. One way to address the performance problem is to approximate the policy or value function. Fuzzy rule-based systems are amongst the well-known function approximators. This paper presents a Flexible Fuzzy Reinforcement Learning algorithm, in which value function is approximated by a fuzzy rule-based system. The proposed algorithm has a separate module for tuning the structure of fuzzy rules. Moreover, the parameters of the system are tuned during the learning phase. Next, the proposed algorithm is applied to the problem of inventory control in supply chains. In this problem, a fuzzy agent (supplier) should determine the amount of orders for each retailer based on their utility for supplier, by considering its limited supply capacity. Finally, a simulation is performed to show the capability of the proposed algorithm.     

Highly efficient synthesis of coumarin derivatives in the presence of H14[NaP5W30O110] as a green and reusable catalyst

A variety of heteropolyanions including: Keggin, Dawson, Preyssler, mixed addenda and sandwich types, catalyzed the formation of 4-methylnaphtho-(1,2-b)-pyran-2-one (coumarin) from the condensation of α-naphthol and ethylacetoacetate in a solvent free system and under heating conditions. Our data vividly indicate that sodium30–tungsto pentaphosphate, [NaP₅W₃₀O₁₁₀]¹⁴⁻, which so-called Preyssler’s anion, with high hydrolytic (pH 0–12) and thermal stability is the catalyst of choice. This catalyst catalyzed the synthesis of other coumarin derivatives in high yields and good selectivity.