Laser Photolysis Study on Mechanism and Efficiency of Electron Transfer Between Fullerenes (C60 and C70) and Tetraselenafulvalenes

Abstract

Efficient electron-transfer reactions from three kind of tetraselenafulvalenes (TSeF's) to photoexcited triplet state of C₆₀ or C₇₀ in polar solvents have been confirmed by transient absorption spectroscopy observing the decay of ³C₆₀*/³C₇₀* and rise of C₆₀ ^??/C₇₀ ^??. Growth of single crystal seems to be stimulated by laser irradiation of the solution containing C₆₀ and bis(ethylenedithio)tetraselena-fulvalene (BEDT-TSeF), in which C₆₀ ^?? was effectively formed.     

Measurement of vertical and horizontal vibrations of a probe for acoustic evaluation of food texture

Two‐dimensional (vertical and horizontal) vibrations of a wedge‐type probe upon food rupture were evaluated separately using two accelerometers placed perpendicular to a guide rod of a swing‐arm device for texture evaluation of the flesh of three varieties of apples and three types of potato chips. Voltage signals from the accelerometers were filtered using a half‐octave band‐pass filter. The energy texture index (ETI), based on kinetic energy of the vertical or horizontal probe vibrations, was calculated over low to high frequency bands (no. 1–21). The spectra for the flesh of the three varieties of apples included two common peaks for vertical ETI at band no. 11 (1,120–1,600 Hz) and 19 (17,920–25,600 Hz) and horizontal ETI at band no. 1 (0–10 Hz) and 15 (4,480–6,400 Hz). The spectra for the three types of potato chips had a common ETI peak at band no. 11 (1,120–1,600 Hz) for horizontal ETI and at no. 15 (4,480–6,400 Hz) for vertical ETI. The three apple varieties gave rise to different intensities of vertical and horizontal ETIs while the two peaks were maintained. The thick potato chip type had higher vertical and horizontal ETIs than the thin and soft varieties in most bands; however, the thin type had the highest vertical ETIs only in lower bands (0–200 Hz). The soft type had the lowest vertical and horizontal ETI. The above results suggest that different food textures can be distinguished by two‐dimensional vibration analyses of probe insertion into a food sample based on frequency bands.     

Visualized measurement of extremely high-speed droplets in Venturi scrubber

Venturi scrubbers for filtered venting have been installed in nuclear power plants worldwide. Venturi scrubbers can eliminate fission products from a polluted gas by interaction through gas–liquid interfaces. Therefore, droplet diameter is important from the viewpoint of decontamination. When Venturi scrubbers are used in severe accidents, the gas flow velocity might be extremely high. In these studies, the authors did not measure droplet diameter under extremely high gas velocity conditions. In the scenarios, experimental data pertaining to droplet diameter, under the extremely high gas flow velocity, are required. Therefore, this objective is to evaluate the diameter of extremely high-speed droplets. A visualization experiment was conducted using a Venturi scrubber. The droplet diameter distribution and the Sauter mean diameter (SMD) were determined. By comparing between the experimental value of SMDs and the one evaluated using Nukiyama–Tanasawa equation, it was confirmed that the Nukiyama–Tanasawa equation can be used to evaluate SMD with good accuracy in the gas velocity range of 82–250 m/s, except the highest gas velocity conditions. Furthermore, the droplet generation mechanism in the Venturi scrubber was considered to clarify the main reason why the Nukiyama–Tanasawa equation can be used to evaluate SMD droplet diameter.     

Polyphenols Extracted from Black Tea (Camellia sinensis) Residue by Hot‐Compressed Water and Their Inhibitory Effect on Pancreatic Lipase in vitro

Abstract: Polyphenols, retained in black tea wastes following the commercial production of tea beverages, represent an underutilized resource. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential use of hot‐compressed water (HCW) for the extraction of pancreatic lipase‐inhibiting polyphenols from black tea residues. Black tea residues were treated with HCW at 10 °C intervals, from 100 to 200 °C. The resulting extracts were analyzed using high‐performance liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry and assayed to determine their inhibitory effect on pancreatic lipase activity in vitro. Four theaflavins (TF), 5 catechins, 2 quercetin glycosides, quinic acid, gallic acid, and caffeine were identified. The total polyphenol content of extracts increased with increasing temperature but lipase inhibitors (TF, theaflavin 3‐O‐gallate, theaflavin 3′‐O‐gallate, theaflavin 3,3′‐O‐gallate, epigallocatechin gallate, and epicatechin gallate) decreased over 150 °C. All extracts inhibited pancreatic lipase but extracts obtained at 100 to 140 °C showed the greatest lipase inhibition (IC₅₀s of 0.9 to 1.3 μg/mL), consistent with the optimal extraction of TFs and catechins except catechin by HCW between 130 and 150 °C. HCW can be used to extract pancreatic lipase‐inhibiting polyphenols from black tea waste. These extracts have potential uses, as dietary supplements and medications, for the prevention and treatment of obesity. Practical Application: Active forms of lipase inhibitors can be recovered from black tea residues. They could be used as dietary supplements or medications.     

Towards the improvement of thermal efficiency in lignite‐fired power generation: Concerning the utilization of Polish lignite deposits in state‐of‐the‐art IGCC technology

Integrated coal Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) is the most advanced technology for coal‐fired power generation. The two‐stage entrained flow gasification process allows for the use of a wide range of coal, as long as the gasification temperature is above the ash melting point of a used fuel. In this gasification technology, lignite, which often has a low ash melting point, can be preferably utilized. However, ash fluidity is also another importance, because the behaviour of molten slag can diminish a stable ash discharge from a gasifier. As the eligibility of coal ash properties is a considerable factor, water physically and chemically kept in lignite (30 – 60% in mass) attributes to deteriorating gasification efficiency, because it causes significant heat loss and increasing oxygen consumption. Developing a thermal evaporative lignite drying method will be a necessary attempt to apply lignite to the coal gasification process. For those preceded objectives, coal and ash properties and drying characteristics of several grades of Polish lignite, extracted from Belchatow and Turow deposits, have been experimentally investigated in a preliminary study evaluating the applicability and consideration for its utilization in state‐of‐the‐art clean coal technology, IGCC. This paper particularly discusses the eligibility of Polish lignite from the perspective of the fusibility and fluidity of ash melts and the fundamental drying kinetics of lignite in superheated steam in the light of water removal. The viscosity of ash melts is measured at high temperature up to 1700 °C. In the drying tests, the significant influence of structural issues, because of the provenance and origin of lignite on the drying characteristics, was found by applying the method of sensitivity analysis of physical propensity. This paper concludes that the investigated Polish lignite has characteristics favourable for utilization in IGCC technology, once the precautions related to its high moisture have been carefully addressed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Aerobic Exercise Ameliorates Cancer Cachexia-Induced Muscle Wasting through Adiponectin Signaling

Cachexia is a multifactorial syndrome characterized by muscle loss that cannot be reversed by conventional nutritional support. To uncover the molecular basis underlying the onset of cancer cachectic muscle wasting and establish an effective intervention against muscle loss, we used a cancer cachectic mouse model and examined the effects of aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise successfully suppressed muscle atrophy and activated adiponectin signaling. Next, a cellular model for cancer cachectic muscle atrophy using C2C12 myotubes was prepared by treating myotubes with a conditioned medium from a culture of colon-26 cancer cells. Treatment of the atrophic myotubes with recombinant adiponectin was protective against the thinning of cells through the increased production of p-mTOR and suppression of LC3-II. Altogether, these findings suggest that the activation of adiponectin signaling could be part of the molecular mechanisms by which aerobic exercise ameliorates cancer cachexia-induced muscle wasting.     

Study of Cuprate Superconductivity Using the Particle Number Conserving Bogoliubov-de Gennes Equations: ARPES and STS Images From Surface Plus Bulk Layers Model

Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism - We theoretically study the superconductivity in hole-doped cuprate superconductors by employing a model composed of surface and bulk CuO $$_2$$...     

Application of multiple sensory evaluations to produce fermented beverages made from sole whey using Kluyveromyces marxianus

Various fermented whey-based beverages have been developed to reduce waste. However, approaches to increase the preference of whey-based beverages are required because of the low sensory acceptability of whey. Here, we identified the better starting material (whey type), between raw whey (RW) and demineralised whey (DMW), and determined the optimal initial concentration using multiple sensory evaluations to develop acceptable fermented beverages made from sole whey with pure cultured Kluyveromyces marxianus (i.e. without additional ingredients and processing methods). Acceptance tests showed that fermented beverages made from DMW were superior to RW as the starting material. The amounts of ethanol produced were 5.0%, 7.6% and 9.5% v/v from the different initial DMW concentrations of 10%, 15% and 20% w/v, respectively. We observed a significant positive correlation (r_s = 0.32, P < 0.05) between the assessment attributes, strength of taste as alcohol beverage and overall acceptability, indicating that higher concentrations of DMW yielded a more desirable product.