Aloe vera gel: a new thickening agent for pigment printing

An attempt was made to print cotton fabric with pigments using a new thickening agent based on Aloe vera gel in combination with sodium alginate. The results were compared with the standard conventional printing recipe containing synthetic thickener, and a favourable effect of Aloe vera introduction was achieved. The results show that the properties of the printed fabric (sharpness, colour yield, overall fastness properties, softness, and water vapour transmission) are dependent on the percentage of Aloe vera gel in the thickener combination, the concentration of printing auxiliaries, and the curing conditions. Optimal printing properties were achieved by using a printing paste containing 80% Aloe vera/20% sodium alginate (700 g kg^?1), pigment (50 g kg^?1), binder (145 g kg^?1), fixer (10 g kg^?1), and ammonium sulfate (5 g kg^?1), followed by drying at 85 °C for 5 min and curing at 150 °C for 3 min. The sample printed with the new recipe showed superior rubbing fastness and handle properties, with a slightly lower colour yield, when compared with the sample printed with synthetic thickener. Finally, economic issues arising from synthetic thickener substitution are highlighted.     

Preparation and characterizations of activated carbon from kenaf fiber for equilibrium adsorption studies of copper from wastewater

The potential of activated carbon prepared from kenaf fiber (KF) to remove copper (II) from aqueous effluents was investigated. The fibers were first semi-carbonized, then impregnated with potassium hydroxide (KOH) and finally activated by using carbon dioxide (CO₂) gas to produce activated carbon. Pore structure and physical characteristics of the prepared kenaf fiber activated carbon (KFAC) were determined. Adsorption studies for divalent copper (Cu) ions were carried out to delineate the effect of contact time, temperature, pH and initial metal ion concentration on equilibrium adsorption capacity. The experimental data followed pseudo-second-order kinetics and Elovich Model than pseudo-first-order. Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin models were implemented to analyze the parameters for adsorption at 30 °C, 50 °C and 70 °C. Thermodynamic parameters such as ??G ^o , ??H ^o and ??S ^o which represent Gibbs free energy, enthalpy and entropy, respectively, were evaluated. It was concluded that activated carbon from kenaf fiber (KFAC) can be used as an efficient adsorbent for removal of Cu (II) from synthetic wastewater.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Privileged Monodentate Phosphoramidite Ligands and Chiral Brønsted Acids Derived from d-Mannitol

The synthesis of several novel chiral phosphoramidite ligands (L1–L8) with C₂ symmetric, pseudo C₂ symmetric secondary amines and chiral Brønsted acids 1a,b has been achieved. These chiral auxiliaries were obtained from commercially available d-mannitol, and secondary amines in moderate to excellent yields. Excellent diastereoselectivites of ten chiral auxiliaries were obtained. The chiral phosphoramidite ligands and chiral Brønsted acids were fully characterized by spectroscopic methods.     

Efficient PL Emission from p-type Porous Silicon: A Comparative Study for Selection of Effective Anodization Parameters

The physical mechanism of highly efficient photoluminescence (PL) emission from p-type silicon is described by a comparative study of the effectiveness of the etching parameters in an electrochemical anodization technique. Two series of porous silicon samples were prepared in a combination of anodization current and time, to maintain the total amount of anodic charge transfer constant. Photoluminescence studies show that irrespective of the amount of charge transfer, the samples prepared with comparatively higher current density show an efficient PL as well as stronger blueshift in the emission energy vis-à-vis the samples prepared for longer durations. An overall decrease in crystallite size, as estimated by Raman spectral analysis, was observed for both series of samples with the progress of charge transfer. Comparative analysis shows a marginal difference in crystallite size for both series of samples in the initial state of charge transfer, whereas major differences arise at higher values. This is explained with the formation of silicon suboxide on the porous surface at higher current density, leading to initiation of side wall reaction, and higher reduction rate in crystallite size as well as strong luminescence due to the carrier quantum confinement effect.     

Solvothermal synthesis of greigite (Fe3S4)– Conducting polypyrrole nanocomposite and its application towards arsenic removal

In the present investigation, Greigite-conducting polypyrrole nanocomposite (GPPy nanocomposite) was prepared, characterized and used to remove arsenite and arsenate from aqueous solution. Fe₃S₄ was synthesized using solvothermal synthetic method and it was grafted to conducting polypyrrole matrix. The nanocomposite was characterized using FE-SEM, EDX, XRD, FTIR, TGA/DSC and BET surface area. Kinetic studies revealed that the removal process followed first order kinetics. Batch isotherm studies were performed to determine the binding capacity. Thermodynamic parameters were also computed and it indicated the spontaneous nature of the process. Electrophoretic studies were carried out to determine the point of zero charge.     

Effects of zinc oxide on pretreated multiwalled‐carbon‐nanotube‐reinforced biobased polyesters

In this study, the effects of the incorporation of microsized zinc oxide (ZnO) on multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)‐reinforced palm‐oil‐based polyester (POPE) were investigated in terms of the UV absorbability, mechanical strength, thermal stability, surface resistivity, and morphology. POPE was prepared by alcoholysis and an esterification process with glycerol, palm oil, and phthalic anhydride. The MWCNTs were dispersed into POPE under in situ conditions during the esterification reaction, whereas ZnO was distributed into the MWCNT‐filled POPE resin with an ultrasound technique. The surface morphology was examined to understand the dispersion of the fillers inside the polymer matrix with field emission scanning electron microscopy. In addition, UV absorbability was observed with a UV–visible spectrophotometer. From the results analysis, the surface resistivity was found to be unchanged by the presence of the ZnO particles. In addition, incorporation of ZnO improved the UV absorbability. Moreover, the tensile strength of the ZnO‐based POPE was found to be slightly lower compared with that of the MWCNT‐filled POPE. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44627.     

Generation and characterization of a novel recombinant antibody against 15-ketocholestane isolated by phage-display

The employment of monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) to identify disease-associated biomarkers in clinical samples represents the underlying principle for many diagnostic tests. To date, these have been principally developed for protein targets with few reported applications for lipids due to their hydrophobicity and poor immunogenicity. Oxysterols represent a family of lipids implicated in diverse human diseases where Mab-based detection assays could have a profound effect on their utility as clinical biomarkers. These are usually identified in patients' samples by mass- spectrometry based approaches. Here, we describe an antibody phage-library based screening methodology for generating a recombinant monoclonal antibody (RAb) targeting the oxysterol-15-ketocholestane (15-KA), a lipid implicated in multiple sclerosis and Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE). The antibody is highly specific for 15-KA and shows little or no binding activity for other closely related oxysterols. We employ RAb2E9 to address the controversy over whether 15-KA is a true biomarker for MS/EAE and show that 15-KA is undetectable in serum taken from mice with EAE using antibody based detection methodologies; a finding confirmed by mass-spectrometry analysis. This study demonstrates the technical feasibility of using phage display to isolate highly specific antibodies against poorly immunogenic, small molecule lipids.     

Physiochemical Properties of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Jatropha curcas</Emphasis> Seed Oil from Different Origins and Candidate Plus Plants (CPPs)

The physicochemical properties of Jatropha seed oil from 9 geographical origins and 24 candidate plus plants (CPPs) were evaluated. The yield of seed oil obtained by Soxhlet extraction using n-hexane as solvent varied from 40.0% (Malaysia) to 48.4% (Vietnam) among seeds from different origins and 32.1% (CPP-17) to 48.8% (CPP-01) (w/w) among CPPs. Density, specific gravity, and refractive index of oil showed very little differences among all the seed sources. Oil from Borneo had the highest free fatty acid (FFA) content (2.3%) and a South African sample had the lowest FFA (0.4%), as oleic acids. Seed oil of CPP-13 had the highest FFA content (1.2%) and seed oil of CPP-17 the lowest (0.3%). Most of the CPPs in this study had an FFA content of less than 1%. Jatropha seed oil of Philippine origin had the highest iodine value (187.3 mg/g oil) and seed oil from Borneo the lowest (83.5 mg/g oil). The lowest saponification values were obtained from seed oil of Philippine origin (189.5 mg KOH/g) and CPP-22 (183.3 mg KOH/g oil) from Malaysia. The maximum higher heating value (40.3 MJ/kg) was obtained from seed oil from Borneo. The cetane numbers range from 25.4 (Indonesia) to 56.0 (Borneo) among the oils of base material and 46.4 (CPP-15) to 53.7 (CPP-06) among CPPs. This study gives basic information of relevance for biodiesel production using Jatropha seeds from various origins.     

Oral Secretions Affect HIPVs Induced by Generalist (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Mythimna loreyi</Emphasis>) and Specialist (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Parnara guttata</Emphasis>) Herbivores in Rice

Plants synthesize variable mixtures of herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) as part of their evolutionary conserved defense. To elucidate the impact of chewing herbivores with different level of adaptation on HIPV profiles in rice, we measured HIPVs released from rice seedlings challenged by either the generalist herbivore Mythimna loreyi (MYL) or the specialist Parnara guttata (PAG). Both herbivores markedly elicited the emission of HIPVs, mainly on the second and third days after attack compared to control plants. In addition, side-by-side HIPV comparisons using MYL and PAG caterpillars revealed that generalist feeding induced comparably more HIPVs relative to specialist, particularly on day two as highlighted by multivariate analysis (PLS-DA) of emitted HIPVs, and further confirmed in mimicked herbivory experiments. Here, mechanically wounded plants treated with water (WW) released more VOCs than untreated controls, and on top of this, oral secretions (OS) from both herbivores showed differential effects on volatile emissions from the wounded plants. Similar to actual herbivory, MYL OS promoted higher amounts of HIPVs relative to PAG OS, thus supporting disparate induction of rice indirect defenses in response to generalist and specialist herbivores, which could be due to the differential composition of their OS. (196 words).     

Recent advancements in bioreactions of cellular and cell-free systems: A study of bacterial cellulose as a model

Conventional approaches of regulating natural biochemical and biological processes are greatly hampered by the complexity of natural systems. Therefore, current biotechnological research is focused on improving biological systems and processes using advanced technologies such as genetic and metabolic engineering. These technologies, which employ principles of synthetic and systems biology, are greatly motivated by the diversity of living organisms to improve biological processes and allow the manipulation and reprogramming of target bioreactions and cellular systems. This review describes recent developments in cell biology, as well as genetic and metabolic engineering, and their role in enhancing biological processes. In particular, we illustrate recent advancements in genetic and metabolic engineering with respect to the production of bacterial cellulose (BC) using the model systems Gluconacetobacter xylinum and Gluconacetobacter hansenii. Besides, the cell-free enzyme system, representing the latest engineering strategies, has been comprehensively described. The content covered in the current review will lead readers to get an insight into developing novel metabolic pathways and engineering novel strains for enhanced production of BC and other bioproducts formation.