Chemical composition, in vitro cytotoxic and antioxidant activities of the essential oil and major constituents of Cymbopogon jawarancusa (Kashmir)

The chemical composition of the hydrodistillate of aerial parts of Cymbopogon jawarancusa, a natural grass considered as major forage for animal nutrition, used in food because of the presence of sufficient concentration of minerals like calcium and potassium was analysed by capillary GC–FID, GC–MS and ¹³C NMR. Seventeen constituents representing 97.8% of the total oil with piperitone (58.6%) and elemol (18.6%) as major constituents were identified. In vitro cytotoxicity of the oil and its constituents on human cancer cell lines THP-1 (leukemia), A-549 (lung), HEP-2 (liver) and IGR-OV-1 (ovary) was evaluated by Sulphorhodamine-B assay. The oil was found to be more potent than its components against cancer cell lines tested with IC₅₀ of 6.5 μg/ml (THP-1), 6.3 μg/ml (A-549), 7.2 μg/ml (HEP-2) and 34.4 μg/ml (IGR-OV-1). Antioxidant activity of oil and its constituents was evaluated by DPPH assay. In conclusion, the results demonstrate potent cytotoxic and antioxidant effects of oil, and its components like piperitone, α-pinene, β-caryophyllene and β-elemene.     

Parallel query execution over encrypted data in database-as-a-service (DaaS)

The Journal of Supercomputing - The main challenge in database-as-a-service is the security and privacy of data because service providers are not usually considered as trustworthy. So, the data...     

Preparation of polypropylene‐based nanocomposites using nanosized MCM‐41 as support and in situ polymerization

MCM‐41 nanoparticles were used for preparing nanocomposites through the in situ polymerization of propylene. The performance of the catalytic system and the final properties of the materials obtained are highly dependent on the methodology used for impregnation of the catalyst onto the support particles, and therefore an optimization study for the impregnation methodology of the catalyst (Me₂Si(Ind)₂ZrCl₂) was carried out. Two different methodologies were used; the results in terms of catalytic activity and polymer molecular masses indicated that the most promising one involved the pre‐activation of the catalyst with the cocatalyst, methylaluminoxane, followed by impregnation onto the MCM‐41 nanoparticles. Thus, an optimized route for the preparation of polypropylene nanocomposites achieving significant improvements in catalyst activity was developed. The nanocomposite materials were characterized by GPC, TGA and DSC. The dispersion state and the size of the nanoparticles incorporated in the polypropylene matrix were investigated by transmission electron microcopy. Additionally, this methodology allows simultaneous control of the desired amount of support and the concentration of catalyst to be used in the in situ polymerization. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry     

Silicon Application Enhances the Photosynthetic Pigments and Phenolic/Flavonoid Content by Modulating the Phenylpropanoid Pathway in Common Buckwheat under Aluminium Stress

Silicon - Silicon (Si) is very effective in the amelioration of heavy metal (HM) stress in different crop plants. This investigation was conducted to assess the protective role of Si in modulating...     

Essential and non essential amino acid content of infant cereals in different stages of industrial processing and its relationship with chemical scores of protein quality

The effect of technological process on essential and non essential amino acids contents in infant cereals, the protein and essential amino acids infant dietary requirements cover by infant cereals, and its quality using some chemical scores has been studied. Mix of raw flours, mix of roasted flours, mix of enzymatically, hydrolysed and drum dried flours and commercial infant cereals of four different types of infant cereals: "Multicereal" and "Wheat" (both with gluten), "Growth" and "Rice and carrot" (both gluten free) were evaluated. The technological process only show a significant effect on lysine, arginine (P < 0.05) and valine (P < 0.01) contents in "Rice and carrot" infant cereal. Protein of any studied infant cereals covers 17.4% of the daily infant requirements in, while for essential amino acids will cover about 25 to 200% until the third year of life. As we expected, the limitant amino acid was lysine in all flours. Chemical scores only were affected by technological treatment in "Rice and carrot" infant cereal, showing the gluten-free infant cereals higher values (36.7-69.5%) than gluten infant cereals (18.1%-30.7%) at the end of the processing. It should be standing out "Growth" infant cereal, because of it has a higher lysine content than other infant cereals due to the main ingredients rice and corn.     

TRANSPORT PHENOMENA ASPECTS OF THE FREE-RADICAL RETROGRADE-PRECIPITATION POLYMERIZATION (FRRPP) PROCESS

We have been studying free-radical polymerization that is accompanied by phase separation above the lower critical solution temperature. In the past, we have experimentally shown evidence of hot regions in the reactive system. We have also shown in the past that eventually the system exerts control over the rate of propagation as well as termination. In this work, we invoke a concept in polymer physics (the coil-to-globule transition) to help explain the mechanism of thermal trapping within the polymerization zones. The diffusivities of polymer chains at different stages in the reaction are calculated using appropriate methods. From the diffusivities, the propagation and termination rate coefficients are calculated using the Achilias-Kiparissides gel effect model. With experimental kinetic data, we then estimate rates of monomer consumption within polymer-rich particles. Using a pseudo-steady-state heat transfer model, we are able to show that interior temperatures of polymer-rich particle domains greater than about 1 mm can reach spinodal temperature values at the early stage of polymerization. Polymer-rich particle sizes are obtained from the same reactor system whereby a small amount of crosslinker is added to preserve particle morphology. This experiment indicates that even under turbulent flow conditions, relatively large particles can exist in the reactor fluid. This agrees with the physical implications of the coil-to-globule transition. However, since these particles were obtained during the period of slow conversion rate, our heat transfer calculations indicate that interior particle temperatures would be almost the same as surface temperatures. This points to an unknown radical-trapping mechanism at this stage of the polymerization process.     

Preparation of a nanosilica‐modified negative‐type acrylate photoresist

A new type of negative photoresist, which incorporated nanosized silica into a photosensitive acrylic resin, was developed. First, free‐radical polymerization was employed to synthesize the acrylic resin, poly[methyl methacrylate/methacrylic acid/3‐(trimethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate], and then a silica precursor, prepared by hydrolysis and condensation of tetraethoxysilane in a sol–gel process, was introduced into the as‐formed resin solution. After the addition of photosensitive monomers and photoinitiators, a negative‐type organic–inorganic photoresist was produced. The morphology of the UV‐cured photoresist, as observed by field emission scanning electron microscopy, indicated that the size of the silica domain in the material could be reduced from 300 to about 50 nm by appropriate dosage of 3‐(trimethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate. Thermogravimetric analysis, dynamic mechanical analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermal mechanical analysis were used to evaluate the thermal and dimensional stabilities of the cured photoresists. It was found that the thermal decomposition temperature and glass‐transition temperature increased, whereas the thermal expansion coefficients before and after the glass transition decreased, with increasing silica content. The incorporation of 3‐(trimethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate also enhanced the thermal and dimensional stabilities; however, the level of enhancement was moderate for the thermal decomposition temperature and thermal expansion coefficient and low for the glass‐transition temperature. In addition, a photoresist coated on a copper substrate demonstrated high hardness (5H) and strong adhesion (100%) with a resolution of 30 μm. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2008     

Crude oil aggregation by microscopy and dynamic light scattering

This research is focused on establishing a methodology to evaluate the aggregation state of Mexican crude oil solutions from two different sources and SARA compositions, by using Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS). Different crude oil concentrations were established and monitored through time in order to determine their effects on the aggregation state. DLS results indicate that the aggregation state of the studied solutions is influenced by crude oil composition, specifically by the amount of resins. Particle size and elemental analysis of the aggregates were performed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX), respectively. Results from these techniques reveal particulated low-porosity smooth surfaces due to the presence of resin, as well as the determination of the characteristic elements found in asphaltenes. High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HTEM) indicated the presence of asphaltene aggregates constituted by nanometric particles and asphaltene stacking as well as ultrafine nanocrystalline-oriented structures.