Effect of microwave treatment on the cooking and macronutrient qualities of pulses

The effect of microwave treatment to reduce the cooking times of five pulses, namely red lentil, chickpea, pigeon pea, mung bean, and pinto bean, were determined in this study. Pulses from 10 to 18% moisture contents were treated using 400 to 600 W microwaves for 14 to 56 s. The cooking times of microwave-treated pulses were significantly lower than that of the control samples. The lowest cooking time was observed for 18% moisture content chickpea and pigeon pea treated with 600 W for 56 s. The Fourier transform mid-infrared spectra in both lipids and fingerprint regions showed the macronutrients differences among the five pulses. Major changes were observed in the amide I region of microwave treated pulses. This effect of microwave treatment was higher in red lentil, chickpea, and mung bean than in pigeon pea and pinto bean at 10% moisture content. At 18% moisture content, the change of β-sheets to aggregates was observed in all pulses due to microwave treatment.     

Three-Dimensional Natural Convection in the Horizontal Bridgman Configuration Under Various Wall Electrical Conductivity and Magnetic Field

A numerical investigation of the three-dimensional natural convection of a liquid metal contained in the horizontal Bridgman configuration, having an aspect ratio equal to 5 and submitted to an external magnetic field in either the longitudinal or vertical direction, is presented. The numerical approach is based on the finite-volume approximation. A computer program based on the SIMPLER algorithm is developed. The effect of a magnetic field provides a notable change on the flow and thermal structures. The strongest stabilization of the convection flow is found when the magnetic field is oriented vertically. Also, wall electrical conductivity has an effect on the average Nusselt number. A good agreement between our numerical simulations and experimental data found in the literature is obtained.     

Stability of Swirling Flows with Heat Transfer in a Cylindrical Enclosure with CO/Counter-Rotating End Disks Under an Axial Magnetic Field

In this article, a numerical study of swirling flows with heat transfer generated by two rotating end disks (co- and counter-rotating) inside a cylindrical enclosure having an aspect ratio equal to 2, filled with a liquid metal, and submitted to a vertical temperature gradient and an axial magnetic field is studied. The governing Navier-Stokes, energy, and potential equations along with appropriate boundary conditions are solved by using the finite-volume method. The flow and temperature fields are presented by stream function and isotherms, respectively. This flow is very unstable and reveals a great richness of structures. In an oscillatory regime, results are presented for various values of the Hartmann number, Ha = 5, 10, 20 and 30, and Richardson numbers, Ri = 0, 0.5, 1, 2 and 4, in order to see their effects on the value of the critical Reynolds number, Re_cr. Stability diagrams are established according to the numerical results of this investigation. These diagrams show the dependence of Re_cr with the increase of Ha for various values of Ri. The flow between co-rotating end disks is very different from the flow between counter-rotating end disks. Finally, this study confirms the possibility of stabilization of a liquid metal flow by application of an axial magnetic field.     

Hydrothermal Synthesis and Characterization of Europium-doped Barium Titanate Nanocrystallites

Nano-Micro Letters - Barium titanate nanocrystallites were synthesized by a hydrothermal technique from barium chloride and tetrabutyl titanate. Single-crystalline cubic perovskite BaTiO3...     

Hexahistidine‐Tagged Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes (His6‐tagSWNTs): A Multifunctional Hard Template for Hierarchical Directed Self‐Assembly and Nanocomposite Construction

While a hexahistidine affinity tag can be introduced at protein termini or internal sites by standard molecular biology procedures for purification, immobilization, or labeling of proteins, here the versatility of this concept is exploited for the chemical preparation of novel hexahistidine‐tagged single‐walled carbon nanotubes (His₆‐tagSWNTs), a novel hard template useful for solubilizing, assembling, processing, and interfacing SWNTs in aqueous conditions. Water‐soluble and exfoliated His₆‐tagSWNTs are prepared and fully characterized. This functional molecular module is able to interact via robust physisorption (π?π stacking) with the sidewall of SWNTs and combines the versatility of small, water‐soluble reporters (His₆) for hierarchical directed self‐assembly (HDSA) and construction of nanocomposites. It is demonstrated that metal coordination bonds with Ni(II) can be used for the supramolecular self assembly of His₆‐tagSWNTs, generating complex reticulated networks and architectures. The His₆‐tagSWNTs hard template nanohybrid is further utilized for directed self‐assembly with silica nanoparticles. The versatility of the novel hybrids opens a new era for the rational design, smart (bio)functionalization, processing, interfacing, and self assembling of carbon nanotubes for the construction of multicomposites and more complex systems with controllable spatial organization and programmable properties for a wide range of applications in biology, nanoelectronics, and catalysis.     

Mining the cinnabaramide biosynthetic pathway to generate novel proteasome inhibitors

The cinnabaramides and salinosporamides are mixed PKS/NRPS natural products isolated from a terrestrial streptomycete and a marine actinomycete, respectively. They interfere with the proteasome and thus potentially inhibit the growth of cancer cells. The compounds exhibit a γ-lactam-β-lactone bicyclic ring structure attached to a cyclohexenyl unit and a PKS side chain. As a first step towards improving anticancer activity and permitting genetic approaches to novel analogues, we have cloned and characterized the cinnabaramide biosynthetic genes from Streptomyces sp. JS360. In addition to the expected PKS and NRPS genes, the cluster encodes functionalities for the assembly of the hexyl side chain precursor. The corresponding enzymes exhibit relaxed substrate specificities towards a number of synthesized precursors, enabling production of novel chlorinated cinnabaramides. These were isolated and analyzed for activity, revealing that derivatives bearing a chlorine atom in the PKS side chain show higher inhibitory potentials towards the proteasome's proteolytic subunits (especially the trypsin and chymotrypsin units) and higher cytotoxicities towards human tumor cell lines than the parent cinnabaramide A. Although their activities towards the proteasome were weaker than that of salinosporamide A, the cinnabaramides were found to inhibit the growth of various fungi with greater potency.     

Dynamics of viscous slugs fall in dry capillaries

The dynamics of viscous slug fall in vertical dry capillaries is investigated by extending a published model (perfect wetting case) accounting for the film left behind the slug as it falls, and Laplace pressures at both ends of the slug in the momentum balance. The present investigation provides and uses an advancing contact-angle correlation determined based on a published theoretical work. The results are found in excellent agreement with published experimental values for falling slugs. The present model does not require any fitting parameter in the perfect wetting case, and is extended to include the non-perfect wetting case along with the unsteady-state dynamics using the quasi-steady-state approximation.     

The influence of cyclic deformation on the strength and elongation at break of carded and combed wool yarns

There are various factors that influence yarn strength. Yarn breaking is due to fiber breakages and fiber’s slippages. In reality, a part of the fibers slip while the other part breaks. In this study, we have shown that fatigue yarn, resulting in a fundamental way impact on the number of breaks on the weaving machine, and sometimes on the physical properties of fabrics. Given the importance of the issue and the very limited directed research number in this direction, a tests series were carried out with the aim to highlight the changes to the physical characteristics of the yarn resulting from mechanical treatment comparable to that which they are subjected on the weaving machine. In the first part of our investigation, the residual deformation, tensile strength, and elongation at break of combed and carded threads were measured. In the second part, the influence of the extensions number, their amplitudes, and frequencies were analyzed. In order to examine the influence of these parameters, carded and combed yarns, with different characteristics were prepared. Therefore, based on the separate treatment results of three test series, it appears that: the warp yarns subjected to repeated extensions undergo the phenomenon of fatigue. Yarns fatigue reduces their elasticity and resistance and it is the cause for break yarn during weaving. The fatigue of wool yarns is very low compared to other textile materials.     

Co0.5TiOPO4: Crystal structure, magnetic and electrochemical properties

The new titanium oxyphosphate Co_0.5TiPO₅ has been prepared by solid state reaction. Its structure has been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction and was further investigated by FT-IR spectroscopy and magnetic measurements. The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic system, S.G: P2₁/c [a = 7.358(1) Å, b = 7.378(2) Å, c = 7.383(3) Å, β = 119.66(3)°, Z = 4, R₁ = 0.0142, wR₂ = 0.0429]. The structure can be described as a network of very distorted TiO₆ octahedra, in which the Ti⁴⁺ ions are displaced from the centres of the octahedra, and slightly distorted PO₄ tetrahedra. Half of the octahedral cavities are occupied by Co atoms. The other half of octahedral sites is vacant and favourable for the electrochemical insertion of lithium. The insertion of lithium was studied by galvanostatic charging and discharging between different voltage limits.