Thermodynamic properties of the enzymatic hydrolysis of sunflower oil in high-pressure reactors

On the basis of our previous results, where optimal conditions for the lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of sunflower oil in a high-pressure batch stirred tank reactor were determined, some thermodynamic and kinetic properties of lipase preparation Lipolase 100T (Aspergillus niger lipase) were established. Activation energy (32.7 kJ/mol) was determined from an Arrhenius plot. Activity of the Lipolase 100T increased between 35 and 50°C, but with further temperature increase thermal deactivation occurred. The thermal deactivation rate constant was 0.40, and the deactivation enthalpy was 123.0 kJ/mol. Because of the desirability of continuous applications of enzyme-catalyzed reactions, a high-pressure continuous flat-shape membrane reactor (HP CFSMR) was designed. Hydrolysis of sunflower oil in this reactor was performed. Maximal conversion in the HP CFSMR was achieved after 1 h. A polysulfone membrane was successfully used as a separation unit, and the highest conversion of FFA was determined at 50°C, 200 bar, and a flow rate for substrates of 0.1 mL/min (each).     

Qualitative Modelling and Analysis of Animal Behaviour

The paper presents the LABAQM system developed for the analysis of laboratory animal behaviours. It is based on qualitative modelling of animal motions. We are dealing with the cognitive phase of the laboratory animal behaviour analysis as a part of the pharmacological experiments. The system is based on the quantitative data from the tracking application and incomplete domain background knowledge. The LABAQM system operates in two main phases: behaviour learning and behaviour analysis. The behaviour learning and behaviour analysis phase are based on symbol sequences, obtained by the transformation of the quantitative data. Behaviour learning phase includes supervised learning procedure, unsupervised learning procedure and their combination. We have shown that the qualitative model of behaviour can be modelled by hidden Markov models. The fusion of supervised and unsupervised learning procedures produces more robust models of characteristic behaviours, which are used in the behaviour analysis phase.     

Recycled wool-based nonwoven material as an oil sorbent

The aim of this study was to highlight the possibility of using recycled wool-based nonwoven material as a sorbent in an oil spill cleanup. This material sorbed higher amounts of base oil SN 150 than diesel or crude oil from the surface of a demineralized or artificial seawater bath. Superficial modification of material with the biopolymer chitosan and low-temperature air plasma led to a slight decrease of sorption capacity. Loose fibers of the same origin as nonwoven material have significantly higher sorption capacities than investigated nonwoven material. White light scanning interferometry analysis of the fibers suggested that roughness of the wool fiber surface has an important role in oil sorption. The laboratory experiments demonstrated that this material is reusable. Recycled wool-based nonwoven material showed good sorption properties and adequate reusability, indicating that a material based on natural fibers could be a viable alternative to commercially available synthetic materials that have poor biodegradability.     

Synthesis and characterization of Mo6S4.5I4.5 nanowires

We report on the synthesis and characterization of new a nano-wire-like material with chemical formula Mo6S4.5I4.5. The material can be synthesized in a single step reaction from elements in bulk quantities. The material has a fur-like appearance and is composed of nanowires that are weakly bound in bundles. Bundles itself can be dispersed using an ultrasonic bath in various organic solvents and water. Elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction, thermal analysis (TG, DTA), and electron microscopy were used to characterize the new material in the shape of nanowires. Due to their monodisperse and metallic nature, molybdenum-sulphur-iodine nanowires are an interesting alternative to carbon nanotubes for some applications.     

基于生态系统的适应在气候变化适应性城市多尺度合作雨洪管理中的实践——以哥本哈根为例

气候变化已成为城市可持续发展的关键挑战。面对该问题,越来越多的学者和从业者关注了基于生态系统的适应（EbA）概念,将其作为管理区域生态系统服务、提高生态系统服务适应能力的高效并且可持续的手段予以推广。然而,目前鲜有研究关注EbA措施在气候变化适应性城市建设中在多尺度上与各利益相关者的合作规划实践。通过定性方法弥补EbA在城市多尺度气候适应计划实践这一领域应用研究的缺失,以欧洲著名的气候变化适应性城市以及欧洲绿色首都哥本哈根市为研究对象,分析了EbA如何纳入当地气候变化适应计划并在多个尺度上予以实施。回顾了EbA发展与其在欧洲的应用现状,分析了哥本哈根市气候变化适应政策以及EbA在市域、社区、单体建筑3个尺度的合作应用,并且通过分析哥本哈根市第一个气候弹性社区的案例,阐释哥本哈根市如何通过政府、企业、公民等多方利益相关者的合作规划将EbA措施应用于当地气候变化适应性城市建设。最后,总结了哥本哈根市多尺度气候变化适应合作规划中的EbA实践经验：1）项目前的深入数据准备和分析;2）EbA措施与城市空间景观设计的紧密结合;3）多个利益相关方协调,促进公众参与。加深了对EbA提升城市生态系统服务建设适应气候变化的城市的理解,并在面对气候变化挑战问题上,为包括中国城市在内的其他城市提供了启示与借鉴。     

High‐pressure enzymatic hydrolysis of oil

The hydrolysis of sunflower and soybean oil, catalyzed by two enzymes, non‐immobilized Candida rugosa and immobilized Candida antarctica lipase, was performed at atmospheric and high‐pressure. The results showed that at atmospheric pressure between 40 °C and 60 °C initial reaction rates were influenced by the temperature variation, as expected. Due to favorable physico‐chemical properties of dense gases as reaction media, hydrolysis of soybean oil was performed in non‐conventional solvents: in supercritical (SC) CO₂ and near‐critical propane. In SC CO₂ the activity of non‐immobilized Candida rugosa lipase decreased while the reaction rates of hydrolysis catalyzed by immobilized Candida antarctica lipase were 1.5‐fold higher than at atmospheric pressure. However, the reaction rates for the hydrolyses catalyzed by both lipases, were much higher in propane than at atmospheric pressure.     

Reduced Expression of PD-1 in Circulating CD4+ and CD8+ Tregs Is an Early Feature of RRMS

Altered regulatory T cell (Treg) function could contribute to MS. The expression of activating and inhibitory receptors influences the activity of Tregs. Our aim was to investigate T cell phenotypes in relapsing–remitting MS (RRMS) patients at an early phase of the disease. We examined the influence of demographic parameters on the distribution of CD4+ and CD8+ T cell subclasses by generalized linear modeling. We also studied the expression of the following markers—CTLA-4, GITR, PD-1, FoxP3, Helios, CD28, CD62L, CD103—on T cell subsets from peripheral blood with a 14-color flow cytometry panel. We used an antibody array to define the profiles of 34 Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokines in the serum. Expression of PD-1 and GITR on CD4+ and CD8+ Tregs was decreased in RRMS patients. The proinflammatory factors IFN-γ, IL-17, IL-17F, TGFβ-1, TGFβ-3, IL-1SRII, IL-12 p40, sgp130, IL-6sR were significantly increased in RRMS patients. Therefore, a deficiency of PD-1 and GITR immune checkpoints on CD4+ and CD8+ Tregs is a feature of RRMS and might underlie impaired T cell control.     

Making Complex Articulated Agents Dance

We discuss the tradeoffs involved in control of complex articulated agents, and present three implemented controllers for a complex task: a physically-based humanoid torso dancing the Macarena. The three controllers are drawn from animation, biological models, and robotics, and illustrate the issues of joint-space vs. Cartesian space task specification and implementation. We evaluate the controllers along several qualitative and quantitative dimensions, considering naturalness of movement and controller flexibility. Finally, we propose a general combination approach to control, aimed at utilizing the strengths of each alternative within a general framework for addressing complex motor control of articulated agents.     

Improving visual search in instruction manuals using pictograms*

Instruction manuals provide important messages about the proper use of a product. They should communicate in such a way that they facilitate users’ searches for specific information. Despite the increasing research interest in visual search, there is a lack of empirical knowledge concerning the role of pictograms in search performance during the browsing of a manual’s pages. This study investigates how the inclusion of pictograms improves the search for the target information. Furthermore, it examines whether this search process is influenced by the visual similarity between the pictograms and the searched for information. On the basis of eye-tracking measurements, as objective indicators of the participants’ visual attention, it was found that pictograms can be a useful element of search strategy. Another interesting finding was that boldface highlighting is a more effective method for improving user experience in information seeking, rather than the similarity between the pictorial and adjacent textual information. Implications for designing effective user manuals are discussed.

Practitioner Summary: Users often view instruction manuals with the aim of finding specific information. We used eye-tracking technology to examine different manual pages in order to improve the user’s visual search for target information. The results indicate that the use of pictograms and bold highlighting of relevant information facilitate the search process.