Improvement of the in vitro digestible iron and zinc content of okra (Hibiscus esculentus L.) sauce widely consumed in Sahelian Africa

ABSTRACT:  The effects of the formulation (okra, fish, soumbala, extract of wood ash) and cooking time of okra sauce on total iron and zinc content and on their in vitro digestibility were evaluated following a Doehlert uniform shell design with 5 factors and 33 trials. Cooking time had no significant effect on in vitro digestible iron and zinc content, whereas formulation did. Each ingredient had a specific effect. Extract of wood ash, which is a source of soluble and digestible iron and zinc, is a good way of increasing the digestible mineral content of the dish. Okra, the main ingredient in this sauce, has a negative effect and should be added in moderate quantities (< 37.7% of the DM of the sauce). An optimization using the desirability function allows us to identify the optimal recipe that enabled the quantity of digestible iron to be doubled and the quantity of digestible zinc to be increased by one third. This recipe calls for a mixture of 37.7% okra, 26.3% dried fish, 18.5% soumbala, and 3.7% extract of wood ash cooked for 25 min.     

Fuzzy inference systems: An integrated modeling environment for collaboration between expert knowledge and data using FisPro

The present paper aims to demonstrate the interest of fuzzy inference systems in system modeling when human interaction is important. It discusses the originality of FIS and their capability to integrate expertise and rule learning from data into a single framework, analyzing their place relatively to concurrent approaches. An open source software implementation is presented, with a focus on the useful features for modeling. Two real world case studies are presented to illustrate the approach and the software utility.     

Comparative Studies of the Superconducting Properties of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ and Bi1.7Pb0.3Sr2CaCu2O8+δ/Ag Random Composites

We report the results of the study of the resistive transition and the screening effect on similar random composites made of a silver matrix containing sintered superconducting grains of bismuth phase with two different stoichiometries. We show that most of the observed behaviors are compatible with a phenomenological approach in which the intergrain junctions behave as weak links whose the state depends strongly on temperature and field. We find that these links a much weaker in one of the series of samples.     

Defect cluster recognition system for fabricated semiconductor wafers

The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) identifies production test data as an essential element in improving design and technology in the manufacturing process feedback loop. One of the observations made from the high-volume production test data is that dies that fail due to a systematic failure have a tendency to form certain unique patterns that manifest as defect clusters at the wafer level. Identifying and categorising such clusters is a crucial step towards manufacturing yield improvement and implementation of real-time statistical process control. Addressing the semiconductor industry’s needs, this research proposes an automatic defect cluster recognition system for semiconductor wafers that achieves up to 95% accuracy (depending on the product type).     

Pyrene-adamantane-β-cyclodextrin: An efficient host–guest system for the biofunctionalization of SWCNT electrodes

The design of nanostructured biological architectures based on host–guest interactions between β-cyclodextrin and adamantane was investigated on SWCNT coatings using glucose oxidase (GOX) as biomolecule model. β-Cyclodextrin tagged GOX was immobilized on adamantane functionalized carbon nanotubes, deposited on platinum electrodes. Different functionalization techniques to attach “pyrene adamantane” on nanotubes were studied and compared in terms of the performances of the subsequently constructed glucose biosensors. The best results were obtained by dipping the nanotube deposit into a pyrene-adamantane solution followed by electropolymerization of the adsorbed pyrene monolayer. The constructed biosensor exhibited a good linear response toward glucose concentrations between 2 × 10⁻⁷ M and 1.6 × 10⁻³ M. The maximum current density and glucose sensitivity were 154.9 μA cm⁻² and 14.4 mA M⁻¹ cm⁻², respectively.     

Cross-Linking Organic and Polyoxometalate Chemistries

This paper is a choral personal account on a longstanding and fruitful collaboration of organic and inorganic chemists to develop new hybrid polyoxometallic systems. .We explain our motivation and the context of our work that led to polyoxometalates with highly functional and reactive organic groups. Our approach yielded catalytically, biologically, and photochemically active systems.     

Characterization of multi-walled carbon nanotube electrodes functionalized by electropolymerized tris(pyrrole-ether bipyridine) ruthenium (II)

We synthesized new electropolymerizable [Ru(bpy)_nL_m](PF₆)₂ (L = 4,4 bis(3-pyrrol-1-ylpropyloxy)bipyridyl) derivatives. The introduction of electron donating ether groups in the bipyridine ligand induced a negative shift of the Ru(III)/(II) redox couple. The electrochemical behavior of complex Ru1 (n = 2, m = 1) and complex Ru2 (n = 0, m = 3) were compared using platinum and Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube (MWCNT) electrode. Higher polymerization yields and surface concentrations were obtained at MWCNT electrodes. Furthermore, MWCNT electrodes increase polymer permeability and decrease the charge trapping phenomenon involved in the oxidation and reduction of the polypyrrolic skeleton of the Ru(II) functionalized polymers.     

Adsorption of a weakly charged polymer on an oppositely charged colloidal particle: Monte Carlo simulations investigation

Monte Carlo simulations were used to investigate the conformational and electrical properties of isolated weak polyelectrolytes in the presence of an oppositely charged particle. Titrations curves were calculated to get an insight into the role of pH on the degree of ionization and conformation of isolated chains. The effect of ionic concentration and polyelectrolyte length on the titration curves was also investigated. The complex formation between the isolated polyelectrolyte and the oppositely charged particle was considered at different pH and ionic concentration values. The adsorption/desorption limit was calculated and the effect of the polyelectrolyte adsorption on the titration curves investigated. In particular, it was demonstrated that the presence of an oppositely charged particle clearly increases the degree of ionization of the weak polyelectrolyte and that ionic concentration plays a subtle role by increasing/reducing both the attractive energy between the polyelectrolyte and the particle and the polyelectrolyte degree of ionization.     

A posteriori error estimation for acoustic wave propagation problems

Summary The main purpose of this paper is to review a posteriori error estimators for the simulation of acoustic wave propagation problems by computational methods. Residual-type (explicit and implicit) and recovery-type estimators are presented in detail in the case of the Helmholtz problem. Recent work on goal-oriented error estimation techniques with respect to so-called quantities of interest or output functionals are also accounted for. Fundamental results from a priori error estimation are presented and issues dealing with pollution error at large wave numbers are extensively discussed.