Significance of nonaromatic organic acids in honey

Although organic acids represent < 0.5% of honey's constituents, they make important contributions to the organoleptic, physical, and chemical properties of honey. To date, approximately 30 nonaromatic organic acids have been identified in honey, but relatively little attention has been paid to these components. This article reviews the current literature related to the significance of nonaromatic organic acids in honey; it was written with a goal of attracting researchers to study these interesting honey components. Previous research contributions on nonaromatic organic acids in honey may be classified into five main areas: (i) the antibacterial activities of these acids, (ii) the antioxidant activities of these acids, (iii) the use of these acids as possible indicators of incipient fermentation, (iv) the use of these acids for treatment of Varroa infestation, and (v) the use of these acids as factors for the characterization of both botanical and geographical origins of honeys. We conclude that nonaromatic organic acids are of interest for diverse reasons and that there is a particular need for studies regarding their possible antibacterial and antioxidant activities.     

Partitioned-field holographic lenses composed of three noncentered uniaxial systems

Partitioned-field uniaxial volume holographic lenses increase the image fields of holographic volume lenses that are limited by angular selectivity. The efficiency and aberrations of one of these systems consisting of two overlapping uniaxial noncentered lenses were reported previously [Appl. Opt. 38, 4011 (1999)]. In the present study we present theoretical and experimental extensions of these systems to three overlapping lenses, showing how the dynamic range of the recording material can cause an important decrease in efficiency when several gratings are superposed on the same plate.     

Integrative CAL: Multi computer and multi media

This paper describes an instructional system that incorporates several kinds of instructional material and media intended to teach a complex set of concepts and procedures to students who lack most or all of the usually expected prerequisities. It illustrates a systems approach to instructional design whereby media and methods are selected on the basis of capability.     

Photocatalytic activities of coke carbon/g-C3N4 and Bi metal/Bi mixed oxides/g-C3N4 nanohybrids for the degradation of pollutants in wastewater

Different g-C₃N₄ composite systems (coke carbon/g-C₃N₄, Bi/Bi₂WO₆/g-C₃N₄ and Bi/Bi₂MoO₆/g-C₃N₄) have been assessed as photocatalysts for wastewater pollutants removal. The coke carbon/g-C₃N₄ hybrid, produced by thermal treatment at 550 °C of a composite made from melamine cyanurate and coke, only showed activity under UV-light irradiation. On the other hand, inorganic Bi spheres/Bi mixed oxides/g-C₃N₄ nanohybrids (Bi/Bi₂WO₆/g-C₃N₄ and Bi/Bi₂MoO₆/g-C₃N₄ composites), produced by thermal reduction of Bi₂WO₆ or Bi₂MoO₆ by g-C₃N₄, exhibited a remarkable red-shift, up to 620 nm, and allowed the visible-light driven degradation of the contaminant, albeit in combination with some adsorption.     

Swarming Computational Techniques for the Influenza Disease System

The current study relates to designing a swarming computational paradigm to solve the influenza disease system (IDS). The nonlinear system’s mathematical form depends upon four classes: susceptible individuals, infected people, recovered individuals and cross-immune people. The solutions of the IDS are provided by using the artificial neural networks (ANNs) together with the swarming computational paradigm-based particle swarm optimization (PSO) and interior-point scheme (IPA) that are the global and local search approaches. The ANNs-PSO-IPA has never been applied to solve the IDS. Instead a merit function in the sense of mean square error is constructed using the differential form of each class of the IDS and then optimized by the PSOIPA. The correctness and accuracy of the scheme are observed to perform the comparative analysis of the obtained IDS results with the Adams solutions (reference solutions). An absolute error in suitable measures shows the precision of the proposed ANNs procedures and the optimization efficiency of the PSOIPA. Furthermore, the reliability and competence of the proposed computing method are enhanced through the statistical performances.     

Mechanical behavior of glass fiber-reinforced Nylon-6 syntactic foams and its Young's modulus numerical study

Glass fiber-reinforced Nylon-6 syntactic foams (GRSF) were fabricated by melt mixing, adding silane-modified hollow glass microspheres (HGMf) at 5, 10, 15, and 20 wt% and an impact modifier at 15 wt. Tensile test results showed that the foam's strength increased with the addition of HGMs but started to decrease when the volume fraction of the spheres was higher than 18 vol% (10 wt%). To elucidate the reinforcement mechanism, a numerical simulation of GRSF was carried out. It revealed that HGMs progressively become the reinforcement phase of GRSFs, as their volume fraction increased due to the load transfer occurring more readily in the HGMs than the fiber, which is expected to be the reinforcement. Hence, for a desired weight-strength ratio, thicker walls are necessary to delay the elastic relaxation of the microspheres and the impairing of the composite as a whole in the context of strength. HGMs with relative wall thickness τ = 0.04 produce an impairing on Young's modulus, if the volume fraction of microspheres is exceeded than 18 vol% because the microspheres are not able to endure increased loads. In addition, a significant reduction of the density was observed by up to 12% in the GRSFs with 30 wt% of both fibers and HGMs. The insight gained of GRSFs role and the numerical simulation achieved through this work, is a significant step toward developing applications of these lightweight materials, since they show good combination of strength, toughness, density, and thermal insulation performance, which can be useful in the automotive, aeronautical and sports industries.     

Comparative study of dental enamel loss after debonding braces by analytical scanning electron microscopy (SEM)

Clinical procedures when shear forces are applied to brackets suggest adhesion forces between 2.8 and 10.0 MPa as appropriate. In this study dental enamel was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) before and after removing the brackets. Thirty bicuspids (previous prophylaxis) with metallic brackets (Roth Inovation 0.022 GAC), Transbond Plus SEP 3M Unitek adhesive and Transbond XT 3M resin were used. The samples were preserved to 37°C during 24 hr and submited to tangential forces with the Instron Universal machine 1.0 mm/min speed load strength resistance debonding. Also the Adhesive Remanent Index (ARI) test was made, evaluating the bracket base and the bicuspid surface. All the bracket SEM images were processed with AutoCAD to determine the enamel detached area. The average value was 6.86 MPa (SD ± 3.2 MPa). ARI value 1= 63.3%, value 2= 20%, value 3= 13.3% and 33% presented value 0. All those samples with dental enamel loss, presented different situations as fractures, ledges, horizontal, and vertical loss in some cases, and some scratch lines. There is no association between the debonding resistance and enamel presence. Less than half of the remanent adhesive on the dental enamel was present in most of the samples when the ARI test was applied. When the resin area increases, the debonding resistance also increases, and when the enamel loss increases, the resin free metallic area of the bracket base decreases in the debonding.     

Acetylated Trivalent Mannobioses: Chemical Modification,Structural Elucidation,and Biological Evaluation

People suffering from allergies can be treated with repeated injections of increasing amounts of a specific allergen. This type of specific immunotherapy is currently the only way to treat the underlying pathological immune response associated with an allergy. The approach can afford long‐lasting protection, but the process takes 3–5 years, can produce allergic reactions, and in severe cases treatment is often aborted due to anaphylaxis. However, treatment can be optimized with the use of specific adjuvants that modify the immune response, its duration, and that increase the production of the correct type of antibodies. In the pursuit of such adjuvants, two new trivalent acetylated β‐(1→2)‐linked mannobioses based on a previously discovered lead molecule were prepared. The new molecules, along with the previously developed lead, were investigated by rigorous NMR and molecular modeling experiments in order to elucidate their behavior and preferred conformations in solution. Furthermore, the molecules were subjected to a biological investigation in which their immunostimulatory properties were evaluated by assessing their effect on the production of T_H2‐type cytokine interleukin‐4 (IL‐4) and T_reg pro‐inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Treatment of peripheral mononuclear blood cell cultures from patients suffering from birch allergy with birch allergen Bet v induced a strong IL‐4 response, whereas the same treatment together with the trivalent acetylated mannobioses caused significant suppression of the induced IL‐4.