Effect of open air annealing on spin coated aluminum doped ZnO nanostructure

Aluminum doped ZnO thin film nanostructures were prepared by spin coating deposition on glass and silicon substrates. Electrical, optical and structural properties of these films were analyzed in order to investigate their dependence on post annealing temperature and number of coating cycles. Ultraviolet–Visible spectrophotometry and X-Ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed that the films are optically transparent and polycrystalline in nature. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals worm like homogeneous morphology. Chemical analysis was carried out by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed mountain and valley like nanostructure. Optimized films with a low resistivity of 2.11 × 10⁻¹ Ω cm were obtained at open air annealing temperature of 375 °C.     

Quantitative Proteomics Reveals Molecular Network Driving Stromal Cell Differentiation: Implications for Corneal Wound Healing

The differentiation of keratocytes to fibroblasts and myofibroblasts is an essential requisite during corneal wound closure. The aim of this study is to uncover factors involved in differentiation-dependent alteration in the protein profile of human corneal stromal cells using quantitative proteomics. Human corneal fibroblasts were cultured and differentiated into keratocytes in serum-free media and myofibroblasts through treatment with TGF-β. The protein cell lysates from the donors were tryptic and were digested and labeled using a 3-plex iTRAQ kit. The labeled peptides were subjected to LCMS analysis. Biological functional analysis revealed a set of crucial proteins involved in the differentiation of human corneal stromal cells which were found to be significantly enriched. The selected proteins were further validated by immunohistochemistry. Quantitative proteomics identified key differentially expressed proteins which are involved in cellular signaling pathways. Proteins involved in integrin signaling (Ras-RAP1b, TLN and FN) and SLIT-ROBO pathways (PFN1, CAPR1, PSMA5) as well as extracellular matrix proteins (SERPINH1, SPARC, ITGβ1, CRTAP) showed enhanced expression in corneal fibroblasts and myofibroblasts compared to keratocytes, indicating their possible role in wound healing. Corneal stromal cell differentiation is associated with the activation of diverse molecular pathways critical for the repair of fibroblasts and myofibroblasts. Identified proteins such as profilin 1 and talin could play a tentative role in corneal healing and serve as a potential target to treat corneal fibrosis.     

Fabrication, characterization and electrochemical performance of single strand carbon fiber prepared by catalytic chemical vapor decomposition method

Preparation, fabrication and voltammetric characterizations of a single strand of carbon fiber (SSCF) electrode and their potential applications for biosensor are presented. SSCFs of diameter ca. 10 ± 2 μm and few millimeters in length are prepared by catalytic chemical vapor decomposition (CCVD) method. Voltammetry with potassium ferricyanide, α-methylferrocene methanol and hexaammineruthenium(III) chloride on SSCF electrode are used as bench marks to validate the electrode properties. Quasi-steady state voltammograms obtained were fitted into a cylindrical diffusion model. From which, the standard rate constant (k⁰) and electron transfer coefficient (α) are obtained. The use of SSCF electrode is demonstrated for the voltammetric detection of the micromolar quantity of dopamine in the presence of large excess (ca. 200 times) of ascorbic acid, without any fouling of electrode surface. The kinetics of electron transfer are investigated.     

微波处理对固相合成大豆分离蛋白-乳糖糖基化接枝物的影响

以大豆分离蛋白（soy protein isolate,SPI）和乳糖（lactose）为原料,利用微波无溶剂糖基化反应合成SPI-乳糖糖基化接枝物（SPI-L）和以金属氧化物Al2O3为载体的微波SPI-乳糖糖基化接枝物（SPI-L-Al2O3）,并通过颜色变化、荧光光谱分析、氨基酸分析、溶解性以及褐变程度等方法对比,研究两种接枝产物的理化性质和结构变化。结果表明：SPI-L-Al2O3比SPI-L反应速率略慢,随着微波时间的延长,两者颜色均逐渐变深,颜色差异逐渐变大;溶解度均呈先增大后降低的趋势;赖氨酸和精氨酸相对含量均明显降低;SPI-L最大荧光波长先蓝移后红移,相对荧光强度先增大后减小,SPI-L-Al2O3最大荧光波长发生蓝移,相对荧光强度逐渐增强。     

红薯叶不同溶剂提取物抗氧化性及活性成分鉴定

研究不同极性溶剂对红薯叶中酚类化合物的提取以及提取物抗氧化性的影响,并鉴定提取物中的主要抗氧化成分组成。分别采用极性不同的7 种溶剂（蒸馏水、甲醇、无水乙醇、丙酮、正丁醇、乙酸乙酯和氯仿）从红薯叶中提取多酚,并评价提取物中总酚、总黄酮和花青素的含量,以及对1,1-二苯基-2-三硝基苯肼（1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl,DPPH）自由基清除能力和还原能力,最后运用高效液相色谱-串联质谱（high performance liquidchromatography tandem mass spectroscopy,HPLC-MS/MS）技术分析抗氧化活性最好的提取物中多酚的主要组成成分。结果表明：提取溶剂的极性对红薯叶中多酚类化合物的提取效率和提取物抗氧化活性有很大的影响,水提物具有最高的粗提物得率（（37.13±1.60）%）,而甲醇提取物中总酚含量（13.80 mg GAE/g）和总黄酮含量（（5.68±0.35）mg QE/g）最高,且具有最好的DPPH自由基清除能力（IC50为0.32 mg/mL）与还原能力（ρ0.5为0.95 mg/mL）。采用HPLC-MS/MS从红薯叶甲醇提取物中鉴定9 种、初步鉴定3 种酚类化合物,鉴定的化合物为咖啡酸、对羟基苯甲酸、1-咖啡酸奎宁酸、3-咖啡酸奎宁酸、异绿原酸A、异绿原酸B、异绿原酸C、3,4,5-三咖啡酰奎尼酸和金丝桃苷。     

土坝溃坝试验研究与应用

本文根据模型试验和在滁州市进行的碾压式均质土坝现场溃坝试验研究,发现土坝漫顶溃决是个逐渐发展的过程,溃决持续时间一般在2h以上。结合滁州市2008年发生的2座小水库成功抢险案例分析,认为土坝遇洪水漫顶采用应急抢险泄流方案是可行的。具体的抢险方法应该依据具体坝体特征,选择坝体两端坝高较低、坝基基岩较高、对下游影响较小的坝段开挖泄流槽引冲形成局部溃口泄洪,避免主坝段溃决造成重大损失。泄流槽应有足够宽度,深度以能够确保泄流槽形成自身冲刷为宜,推荐泄流槽开挖深度应该大于1m。     

Bioconversion of soysterols to androstenedione by Mycobacterium fortuitum subsp. fortuitum NCIM 5239, a mutant derived from total sterol degrader strain

BACKGROUND: The bioconversion of soysterols to androstenedione (AD) by microbial cleavage of C‐17 side chain is of practical interest since AD serves as the starting compound for the production of the majority of pharmaceutically active steroids. A total soysterols degrader strain was subjected to combined mitomycin C and UV treatments and a mutant designated Mycobacterium fortuitum subsp. fortuitum NCIM 5239 was isolated that accumulated AD as major bioconversion product. RESULTS: The maximum bioconversion of soysterols to AD (71.3 mol %) was obtained at 30 °C, pH 5, 15% inoculum grown for 48 h, glycerol (12.68 g L^?1) and urea (1.06 g L^?1) as carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively, at C:N ratio of 10, the use of 10% polypropylene glycol‐400 (PPG‐400) as soysterols carrier solvent and 3 mg mL^?1 concentration of soysterols after 240 h incubation period in shake flask culture. In a laboratory scale fermentor, a maximum of 64.8 mol % bioconversion of soysterols to AD was recorded after 99 h. CONCLUSION: The mutant Mycobacterium fortuitum subsp. fortuitum NCIM 5239 possesses high potential for industrial production of AD from soysterols. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Assessing overall building energy performance of a large population of residential single-family homes using limited field data

Building energy simulation plays a significant role in building design and retrofit. Most applications deal with individual buildings which allow for the specification of detailed model inputs. However, building energy simulation can be a powerful tool for assessing energy performance even when comprehensive building characteristics are unavailable. In this study, limited field data were collected on randomly selected new homes in eight US states with a goal of evaluating energy code compliance and energy savings potential. The limited data do not allow the derivation of comprehensive model inputs for each individual home sampled, let alone for the entire unknown residential construction stock. Therefore, we used prototype buildings to construct a large number of models and utilized bootstrap sampling to draw inputs from the limited data. This research demonstrates that overall energy performance of a large population of new homes can be assessed by the novel framework, given limited data.