A single-step isolation of squalene from olive oil deodorizer distillates by using centrifugal partition chromatography

High added-value squalene (SQ) was purified in one step from olive oil deodorizer distillates (OODD) using preparative centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) method, operating in the dual mode. The fractionation was performed using a non-aqueous biphasic solvent system consisting of heptane–acetonitrile–butanol (1.8:1.4:0.7, v/v/v), leading to the isolation of the target compound in 4 hours, using a preparative 1L column. Furthermore, a fast UHPLC-DAD method was developed and applied for the identification and quantification of SQ in both OODD and purified form. The content of SQ in the initial material was 23.4%, while the purity of the isolated SQ was 95.5%. The recovery of SQ was calculated at 76.3%. The productivity of the process was calculated at 234 mg/h/L.     

Effect of way of cooking on content of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids in muscle tissue of humpback salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha)

Contents of fatty acids in filets of unfrozen (control), boiled, fried, roasted and boiled in a small amount of water humpback salmon, collected from a wholesale market in Krasnoyarsk city (Siberia, Russia) were analyzed. Special attention was paid to essential polyunsaturated fatty acids of ω3 family: eicosapentaenoic, 20:5ω3 (EPA) and docosahexaenoic, 22:6ω3 (DHA). Heat treatment in general did not decrease content of EPA and DHA in humpback, except a modest reduction during frying. Cooked humpback appeared to be the valuable source of essential ω3 PUFAs, namely EPA and DHA. It was hypothesized that the absence of significant reduction of PUFAs’ contents in red flesh of fishes of Salmonidae family during heat treatment may be due to a high level of natural antioxidants which formed in the course of evolution as adaptation to their ecological niche.     

Electrocatalytic tandem Knoevenagel–Michael addition of barbituric acids to isatins: Facile and efficient way to substituted 5,5′-(2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indole-3,3-diyl)bis(pyrimidine-2,4,6-(1H,3H,5H)-trione) scaffold

Electrocatalytic transformation of isatins and barbituric acids in ethanol in an undivided cell in the presence of sodium bromide as an electrolyte results in the formation of substituted 5,5′-(2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indole-3,3-diyl)bis(pyrimidine-2,4,6(1H,3H,5H)-triones) in 89–95% substance yields and 890–950% current yields. The developed efficient electrocatalytic approach to medicinally relevant 5,5′-(2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indole-3,3-diyl)bis(pyrimidine-2,4,6(1H,3H,5H)-trione) scaffold is 10 times faster than general chemical method, is beneficial from the viewpoint of diversity-oriented large-scale processes and represents novel example of facile environmentally benign synthetic concept for electrocatalytic tandem reaction strategy.     

Possible Impact of Heterogeneous Photocatalysis on the Global Chemistry of the Earth's Atmosphere

Photochemistry is recognized to be important for various physicochemical processes in the atmosphere, such as formation of the ozone layer and smogs, degradation of waste substances, etc. [1]. However, up to the present the emphasis in atmospheric photochemistry has been mainly on the study of photochemical reactions that occur with molecules directly excited by absorption of light quanta. However, the major components and impurities of the earth's atmosphere (such as nitrogen, oxygen, water, carbon dioxide, methane, methane halides, etc.) are totally transparent to most solar radiation. Electronically excited states of these molecules are formed only upon absorption of vacuum ultraviolet light quanta with energy hv ≥ 5 eV (i.e., with wavelength λ ≤ 200 nm). Only a small portion of the energy of solar light is found in this spectral region. In other words, most of the energy of the solar flux cannot participate in such direct photochemical reactions.     

Irreversibility and creativity in neurodynamics

This paper presents an approach to formalization of the concept of creativity in connection with the new architecture of neural networks based upon non-Lipschitzian dynamics. A new nonlinear phenomenon—terminal chaos caused by failure of the Lipschitz condition at equilibrium points of dynamical systems is introduced. It is shown that terminal chaos has a well-organized probabilistic structure which can be predicted and controlled. This gives an opportunity to exploit this phenomenon for information processing. It appears that chaotic states of neurons activity are associated with a higher level of cognitive processes such as generalization and abstraction. The relationship between creativity, irreversibility and unpredictability in neurodynamics are discussed. The theory is illustrated by examples.     

Investigation of the Electronic Structure of Y2Cu2O5–xSx(x — 0.0, 0.25, 0.75) by X-ray Emission Spectroscopy and Xα Scattered Wave Calculation Methods

The investigation of the electronic properties of various copper oxides, containing structural fragments with specific Cu-O polyhedra, has been carried out. The electronic structure of Y₂Cu₂O_5–xS_x compounds (x = 0.0, 0.25, 0.75) has been studied by X-ray emission spectroscopy and the X_α scattered wave (SW) method of calculation. It is shown that substituting apical oxygen by sulfur in the squarepyramid fragments in high-temperature superconductors will result in a decrease of the density of hole carriers in "superconducting" grids of CuO₂ and in the suppression of superconductivity .     

Analysis of the Transient and Steady-State Processes in the Parallel Inverter

This paper deals with the analysis of the transient and steady-state processes in parallel inverters. A set of difference equations, describing the currents and voltages during transient and steady state is obtained and solved. The solution is found in closed form. The roots of the characteristic equations are examined and possible types of transients are discussed. Theoretical and experimental results both for transient and steady-state conditions are compared and satisfactory agreements are found.     

Organic Bionics: A New Dimension in Neural Communications

The term “bionics” is synonymous with the term “biomimetics” and in this context refers to the integration of human engineered devices to take advantage of functional mechanisms and structures resident in nature. The use of electrical conductors to transmit charge into and out of biological systems to affect biological processes has been the source of great scientific interest. This has inspired many to explore the possible use of electrical stimulation in promoting positive health outcomes. Advances in medical bionics technology are dependent upon eliciting precise control of the electrical energy to deliver beneficial health outcomes. The advent of carbon‐based organic conductors now provides the platform for unprecedented possibilities by which the electrical energy can be used to modulate the function of medical devices. The use of organic conductors in the field of bionics, and in particular medical bionics, as that involved with the development of devices that enable the effective integration of biology (nature) and electronics to achieve a targeted functional outcome is explored.