Identification and molecular mechanisms of novel antioxidative peptides from fermented camel milk (Kachchi breed,India) with anti-inflammatory activity in raw macrophages cell lines

The investigation was aimed at assessing anti-inflammatory and antioxidative activities along with the release of peptides with antioxidative properties during the fermentation of camel milk by Lacticaseibacillus casei (NK9). Reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) was used to separate the bioactive peptides of 3 and 10 kDa (permeates and retentates). Reverse-phase liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (RPLC/MS) was used to identify and characterise the pure bioactive peptides, and the effect of fermented camel milk on inflammation produced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/endotoxin in RAW 264.7 (Ralph and William's cell line) was also examined. Furthermore, docking revealed that peptides (LLNEK and IYTFPQPQSL) were predicted to inhibit myeloperoxidase (nMPO) activity by engaging with different residues in and around the human myeloperoxidase (hMPO) active site.     

Syntheses of nickel sulfides from 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane nickel(II)dithiolates and their application in the oxygen evolution reaction

In this work, four heteroleptic Ni(II)dppe dithiolates complexes, [Ni(NED)(dppe)] (Ni-NED), [Ni(ecda)(dppe)] (Ni-ecda), [Ni(i-mnt)(dppe)] (Ni-i-mnt) and [Ni(cdc)(dppe)] (Ni-cdc) (dppe = 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane; NED = 1-nitroethylene-2,2-dithiolate; ecda = 1-ethoxycarbonyl-1-cyanoethyelene-2,2-dithiolate; i-mnt = 1,1-dicyanoethylene-2,2-dithiolate and cdc = cyanodithioimidocarbonate), have been synthesized and characterized by analytical and spectroscopic techniques (Elemental analysis, vibrational, electronic absorption and multinuclear NMR spectroscopy). Structural characterization of all the four complexes by single crystal X-ray diffraction study suggests distortion in regular square planar geometry at Ni(II) center by coordination with two phosphorus of the dppe and two sulfur of the dithiolate ligands, respectively. The decomposition of all four complexes have been done to produce nickel sulfides and the resulting nickel sulfides have been utilized for electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The nickel sulfide obtained by decomposing Ni-cdc shows best activity with overpotential η = 222 mV at j = 10 mA cm^?2 and a Tafel slope of 44.2 mV dec^?1 while other catalysts shows η > 470 mV at j = 5 mA cm^?2 and η > 600 mV at j = 10 mA cm^?2 at loading of 1.3 mg cm^?2.     

Significance of interface barrier at electrode of hematite hydroelectric cell for generating ecopower by water splitting

Recent increase in energy demand and associated environmental degradation concern has triggered more research towards alternative green energy sources. Eco‐friendly energy in facile way has been generated from abundantly available iron oxides using only few microliters of water without any external energy source. Hydroelectric cell (HEC) compatible to environment benign, low cost oxygen‐deficient mesoporous hematite nanoparticles has been used for splitting water molecules spontaneously to generate green electricity. Hematite nanoparticles have been synthesized by coprecipitation method. Chemidissociated hydroxyl group presence on hematite surface has been confirmed by infrared spectroscopy (IR) and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Surface oxygen vacancies in nanostructured hematite have been identified by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), XPS, and photoluminescence (PL) measurement. Hematite‐based HEC delivers 30 mA current with 0.92 V emf using approximately 500 μL water. Maximum off‐load output power 27.6 mW delivered by 4.84 cm² area hematite‐based HEC is 3.52 times higher than reported 7.84 mW power generated by Li‐magnesium ferrite HEC. Electrochemistry of HEC in different irreversible polarization loss regions has been estimated by applying empirical modeling on V‐I polarization curve revealing the reaction and charge transport mechanism of cell. Tafel slope 22.7 mV has been calculated by modeling of activation polarization overvoltage region of 0.11 V. Low activation polarization indicated easy charge/ion diffusion and faster reaction kinetics of Ag/Zn electrode owing to lesser energy barrier at interface. Dissociated H₃O⁺ ions diffuse through surface via proton hopping, while OH^? ions migrate through interconnected defective crystallite boundaries resulting into high output cell current.     

High performance polymer composites on PEEK reinforced with aluminum oxide

A study on high performance poly(ether‐ether‐ketone) (PEEK) composites prepared by incorporating aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), 0 to 50 wt % by hot compaction at 15 MPa and 350°C was described. Density, thermogravimetric analysis/differential scanning calorimetry, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed to evaluate their density, thermal stability, crystallinity, and morphology. Experimental density was found higher than theoretical density, which indicates that composite samples are sound. It was found that the addition of micron sized (< 15 μm) Al₂O₃ increased the peak crystallization temperature by 12°C when compared with neat PEEK with insignificant increase in melting temperature. Half‐time of crystallization is reduced from 2.05 min for the neat PEEK to 1.08 min for PEEK incorporated with 30 wt % Al₂O₃ because of the strong nucleation effect of Al₂O₃. The thermal stability of composites in air atmosphere was increased by 26°C. However, thermal stability in nitrogen atmosphere decreases at lower concentration of Al₂O₃ but increases above 20 wt % of Al₂O₃. Uniform dispersion of Al₂O₃ particles was observed in PEEK polymer matrix by SEM. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 4623–4631, 2006     

Application of lipase immobilized on nylon‐6 for the synthesis of butyl acetate by transesterification reaction in n‐heptane

A purified alkaline thermotolerant bacterial lipase from Bacillus coagulans BTS‐3 was immobilized on nylon‐6 matrix activated by glutaraldehyde. The matrix showed ～ 70% binding efficiency for lipase. The bound lipase was used to perform transesterification in n‐heptane. The reaction studied was conversion of vinyl acetate and butanol to butyl acetate and vinyl alcohol. Synthesis of butyl acetate was used as a parameter to study the transesterification reaction. The immobilized enzyme achieved ～ 75% conversion of vinyl acetate and butanol (100 mmol/L each) into butyl acetate in n‐heptane at 55°C in 12 h. When alkane of C‐chain lower or higher than n‐heptane was used as an organic solvent, the conversion of vinyl acetate and butanol to butyl acetate decreased. During the repetitive transesterification under optimal conditions, the nylon bound lipase produced 77.6 mmol/L of butyl acetate after third cycle of reuse. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

Glycerolysis of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters: 1. Investigations in a Batch Reactor

The present work focused on the glycerolysis of fatty acid methyl esters. The aim was to develop and test a kinetic model that could be used to reliably simulate different process alternatives for this reaction. A prerequisite was the identification and characterization of the factors that affect the reaction kinetics. Experiments were carried out in a batch reactor with and without forced removal of methanol, which is one of the reaction products. Concentrations of all components in the two-phase system were measured. It was found that the methanol concentration has a strong effect on the reaction rate and equilibrium conversion. Near-complete conversions were obtained by stripping methanol with an inert gas. The glycerol concentration in the ester phase was found to increase as the reaction proceeds, which also accelerates the reaction. Effects of mass transfer on the reaction rate were not found to control the reaction rate under well-agitated conditions. A semi-empirical model was used to simulate the reaction. The results from the semi-empirical model show good agreement with experimental results.     

Identification and characterization of differentiating soluble antigens of sheep and goat poxviruses

Soluble antigens of sheep and goat poxviruses (SPV, GPV) were isolated and purified from scab suspensions prepared from lesions of experimentally infected homologous hosts. The soluble antigens were then subjected to sequential ammonium sulphate precipitation. All the obtained fractions reacted in counter immunoelectrophoresis (CIE) with both the antisera against SPV and GPV except the fraction obtained at 30% saturation level (30% SSPV), which did not react with antiserum against GPV. This differentiating soluble SPV antigen was found to consist of 210 K proteins in exclusion chromatography. The 210 K proteins contained 3 polypeptides of 100, 35 and 17 K in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS-PAGE). The study thus gave an evidence that the SPV-specific proteins are of a higher molecular mass nature.     

Power control and scheduling for guaranteeing quality of service in cellular networks

Providing quality of service (QoS) guarantees is important in the third generation (3G) and the fourth generation (4G) cellular networks. However, large‐scale fading and non‐stationary small‐scale fading can cause severe QoS violations. To address this issue, we design QoS provisioning schemes, which are robust against time‐varying large scale path loss, shadowing, non‐stationary small scale fading, and very low mobility. In our design, we utilize our recently developed effective capacity technique and the time‐diversity dependent power control proposed in this paper. The key elements of our QoS provisioning schemes are channel estimation, power control, dynamic channel allocation, and adaptive transmission. The advantages of our QoS provisioning schemes are (1) power efficiency, (2) simplicity in QoS provisioning, (3) robustness against large‐scale fading and non‐stationary small‐scale fading. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithms are effective in providing QoS guarantees under various channel conditions. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.