New steroid dimer derived from cholic acid as receptor for lanthanum(III) and calcium(II) nitrates

New steroid dimer, ethylene bridged bis-carbamate (3) was synthesized from cholic acid in few steps. Complexes of 3 with lanthanum(III) and calcium(II) nitrates were prepared in reaction of 3 and appropriate metal salts. They were characterized by spectral data (Infrared (IR), ultraviolet-visible (UV/Vis), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and fast-atom bombardment (FAB), electrospray (ESI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS)) and elemental analysis. The similarity in complexing behavior of steroidal dimer toward calcium and lanthanum ions was observed.     

Surface and interface characterization of nanoporous alumina templates produced in oxalic acid and submitted to etching procedures

High purity aluminum (Al) sheets were used to produce ordered nanoporous alumina templates by two step anodization technique using oxalic acid as electrolyte. Electrochemical polishing of Al sheets was performed in order to study the surface roughness influence on the pore roundness of the alumina templates. The templates were submitted to progressive reduction of anodizing voltage (electrochemical etching) to thin the Al₂O₃ barrier layer on the bottom of the pores, and to chemical etching to widen the diameter of the pores. The pore diameter and porosity increase linearly with the chemical etching time, while interpore distance, circularity, pore density and pore distribution do not change. Electropolished Al substrates produce nanoporous Al₂O₃ templates with more circular pores, and the Al₂O₃ barrier layer at the Al₂O₃/Al interfaces is completely removed after the electrochemical and chemical etching processes.     

Self-assembly as a route to one-dimensional lanthanum(III) salicylaldimine coordination polymer

The self-assembled formation of a one-dimensional lanthanum salicylaldimine coordination polymer was proved by the X-ray diffraction analysis of new lanthanum(III) nitrate complex containing N,N'-bis(salicylidene)-1,5-pentanediamine ligand (H₂L). It was obtained in situ in a one-step, metal-templated condensation of salicylaldehyde with 1,5-pentanediamine (cadaverine, biogenic polyamine) and characterized by microanalysis and spectroscopic (IR, ESI-MS, UV-Vis, and ¹H NMR) data. The [La(NO₃)₃(μ-H₂L)₂]∞ complex displayed 10-coordinate distorted bicapped dodecahedron geometry with unusual coordination pattern of undeprotonated salicylaldimines which acted as μ-bridging ditopic ligands using exclusively the oxygens as donor atoms with the nitrogen atoms not being involved in the coordination environment.     

强制干燥空气温度对木质家具用单组分水性封闭底漆的水分挥发规律的影响

在湿度恒定、温度变化的强制干燥条件下,为了探讨在重涂间隔时间内温度对水分挥发速度和挥发量的影响,本研究以枫木薄木贴面家具板件为基材,以单组分水性封闭底漆为涂料,在相对湿度恒定为50%、温度为15～35℃范围内强制干燥涂层,研究涂层的水分挥发规律。结果表明:随时间的推移,同一温度条件下,水性封闭底漆的水分挥发率不断增加,水分挥发速度逐渐降低;不同温度条件下,水分挥发率和挥发速度差异不明显;相同的时间段内,在15～25℃温度范围内水分挥发率的差异程度要小于25～35℃的干燥条件;随着时间的推移,水分挥发速度的差距越来越不明显。     

Rehydration properties of dried onion

Abstract

The effect of pretreatment preceding convective drying and the mode of drying on reconstitution properties of dried onion was investigated. Soaking in water, dipping in starch solution and osmotic dewatering were used as pre‐drying treatments. Convective drying at 60, 70, and 80°C, infrared drying and convective drying assisted with microwaves were applied to remove water from raw onion. Rehydration was done in water at room temperature and in boiling water. In general amount of absorbed water and increase in mass during rehydration, both were higher for pretreated material than those observed with dried raw onion. The mode of drying seemed to affect the course of rehydration of dried onion, and to improve its reconstitution properties. However, this was observed at room temperature rehydration only. Pre‐drying treatment followed by convection drying affected much stronger reconstitution properties of dried onion than the mode of drying.     

Synthesis and characterization of (Fe3O4/MWCNTs)/ epoxy nanocomposites

A sonochemical technique is used for in situ coating of iron oxide (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles on outer surface of MWCNTs. These Fe₃O₄/MWCNTs were characterized using a high‐resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), X‐ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis. The as‐prepared Fe₃O₄/MWCNTs composite nanoparticles were further used as reinforcing fillers in epoxy‐based resin (Epon‐828). The nanocomposites of epoxy were prepared by infusion of (0.5 and 1.0 wt %) pristine MWCNTs and Fe₃O₄/MWCNTs composite nanoparticles. For comparison purposes, the neat epoxy resin was also prepared in the same procedure as the nanocomposites, only without nanoparticles. The thermal, mechanical, and morphological tests were carried out for neat and nanocomposites. The compression test results show that the highest improvements in compressive modulus (38%) and strength (8%) were observed for 0.5 wt % loading of Fe₃O₄/MWCNTs. HRTEM results show the uniform dispersion of Fe₃O₄/MWCNTs nanoparticles in epoxy when compared with the dispersion of MWCNTs. These Fe₃O₄/MWCNTs nanoparticles‐infused epoxy nanocomposite shows an increase in glass transition (T_g) temperature. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Effect of green tea marinades on the formation of heterocyclic aromatic amines and sensory quality of pan-fried beef

The effect of a green tea marinade on the formation of heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAs) was examined in pan-fried beef cooked at 180–200 °C for 4 min each side. Different marinating times were assayed and unmarinated samples cooked in similar conditions provided reference HAs levels. A green tea marinade catechin rich was prepared taking 1 g of green tea and infusing with 125 ml of boiling tap water during 10 min. Four HAs were quantified in unmarinated and marinated meat samples during 1, 2, 4 and 6 h at 5 °C. Compared with the unmarinated samples, marinating in green tea resulted in a significant decrease (p < 0.05) of levels of PhIP and AαC. Person correlation indicated that the reduction of the levels of these HAs in meat marinated with the increase of marinating time was significant (respectively, r = −0.799, p < 0.0001; r = −0.631, p < 0.05). No reduction was observed for 4,8-DiMeIQx and MeIQx.     

Characterization of flame radiosity in shrubland fires

The present study is aimed at quantifying the flame radiosity vertical profile and gas temperature in moderate to high intensity spreading fires in shrubland fuels. We report on the results from 11 experimental fires conducted over a range of fire rate of spread and frontal fire intensity varying respectively between 0.04–0.35 m s⁻¹ and 468–14,973 kW m⁻¹. Flame radiosity, or radiant emissive power, and gas temperatures were measured with narrow angle radiometers and fine wire thermocouples located at three different heights in the flames, 0.6, 1.1 and 1.6 m above ground. Measured peak radiosity within the visual flame region (reaction zone and free flame) varied between 41 and 176 kW m⁻². Measurements within the intermittent flame region above the visually estimated average flame height varied between 10 and 30 kW m⁻². The flame vertical radiometric profile was characterized by a uniform area within the reaction zone and lower free flame, and a decrease in radiosity with height as the measurements approach the flame tip.     

Semantic Academic Profiler (SAP): a framework for researcher assessment based on semantic topic modeling

Recent efforts have focused on identifying multidisciplinary teams and detecting co-Authorship Networks based on exploring topic modeling to identify researchers’ expertise. Though promising, none of these efforts perform a real-life evaluation of the quality of the built topics. This paper proposes a Semantic Academic Profiler (SAP) framework that allows summarizing articles written by researchers to automatically build research profiles and perform online evaluations regarding these built profiles. SAP exploits and extends state-of-the-art Topic Modeling strategies based on Cluwords considering n-grams and introduces a new visual interface able to highlight the main topics related to articles, researchers and institutions. To evaluate SAP’s capability of summarizing the profile of such entities as well as its usefulness for supporting online assessments of the topics’ quality, we perform and contrast two types of evaluation, considering an extensive repository of Brazilian curricula vitae: (1) an offline evaluation, in which we exploit a traditional metric (NPMI) to measure the quality of several data representations strategies including (i) TFIDF, (ii) TFIDF with Bi-grams, (iii) Cluwords, and (iv) CluWords with Bi-grams; and (2) an online evaluation through an A/B test where researchers evaluate their own built profiles. We also perform an online assessment of SAP user interface through a usability test following the SUS methodology. Our experiments indicate that the CluWords with Bi-grams is the best solution and the SAP interface is very useful. We also observed essential differences in the online and offline assessments, indicating that using both together is very important for a comprehensive quality evaluation. Such type of study is scarce in the literature and our findings open space for new lines of investigation in the Topic Modeling area.