Evaluation of soil quality using multiple lineal regression based on physical, chemical and biochemical properties

The aim of this work is to obtain an expression using multiple lineal regressions (MLR) to evaluate environmental soil quality. We used four forest soils from Alicante province (SE Spain), comprising three Mollisols and one Entisol, developed under natural vegetation with minimum human disturbance, considered as reference soils of high quality. We carried out MLR integrating different soil physical, chemical and biochemical properties, and we searched those regressions with Kjeldahl nitrogen (N(k)), soil organic carbon (SOC) or microbial biomass carbon (MBC) as predicted parameter. We observed that Mollisols and Entisols presented different relationships among their properties. Thus, we searched different equations for both groups of soils. The selected equation for Mollisols was N=0.448 (P) + 0.017 (water holding capacity) + 0.410(phosphatase) - 0.567 (urease) + 0.001 (MBC) + 0.410 (beta - glucosidase) - 0.980, and for the Entisol SOC = 4.247 (P) + 8.183 (beta-glucosidase) -7.949 (urease) + 17.333. Equations were applied to samples from two forest soils in advanced degree of degradation, one for Mollisols and the other one for the Entisol. We observed a clear deviation in the predicted parameters values related to the real properties. The obtained results show that MLR is a good tool for soil quality evaluation, because it seems to be capable of reflecting the balance among its properties, as well as deviations from it.     

鱼肌肉蛋白质组学分级过程的重现性研究

在比较蛋白质组学中,分级过程经常被用于去除高丰度蛋白质,从而提高低丰度蛋白质的浓度至检出限以上。作者为了证实在二维凝胶电泳分离流程中增加额外的分级过程将会减小对金头鲷宰前应激响应时间依赖检测中所引入的噪声和批次间的偏差,采用多维标度对结果数据进行了多参数分析。结果表明生物响应比分级引入的误差高出几个数量级,而批次间误差不小于不同IEF/SDS-PAGE运行所引入的偏差。     

Transient and steady-state model of cobalt deposition in borate-sulfate solutions

A model for cobalt deposition on a cobalt rotating disk in borate-sulfate solutions is fit to experimental impedance spectroscopy (EIS) data obtained at different CoSO₄ concentrations and electrode potentials and steady state polarization curves obtained in the same solutions. The model also accounts for the evolution of hydrogen (HER), adsorption-desorption of boric acid and the transport of dissolved species to and from the electrode. The kinetic parameters are estimated by minimization of the sum-of-squares error between the measurements and model predictions using a genetic algorithm. The model could not be satisfactorily fit to all of the EIS spectra in this study with a unique set of kinetic parameters. A single set of parameters could fit the spectra well over the range of potentials at a given CoSO₄ concentration, but the parameters obtained vary with the CoSO₄ concentration. Conversely, the steady-state current-potential curves obtained at the same CoSO₄ concentrations are very well fit with a single set of parameters. Model analysis indicates that the Co(II) reduction rate is controlled by the first step involving the formation of the adsorbed intermediate Co(I)_ads. The situation is less clear for the HER where both the first and second steps appear to influence its rate.     

Effect of the vinyl concentration on the structural and rheological characteristics of peroxide‐modified high‐density polyethylenes

The effect of the hydrogenation of the terminal vinyl groups on the peroxide modification and rheological properties of high‐density polyethylene (HDPE) was investigated. The aim of the study was to determine exclusively the effect of the terminal vinyl groups on the peroxide crosslinking and rheological properties of HDPE with one polymer type. This was achieved by hydrogenation of the terminal vinyl groups of a commercial HDPE to obtain an identical material from a structural point of view, which differed only in the nature of the terminal unsaturations, and the comparison of its level of peroxide crosslinking with that of the original polymer. Hydrogenated and unhydrogenated polymer samples were modified at 170°C with different amounts of organic peroxide ranging from 125 to 5000 ppm. Changes in the molecular structure were determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, size exclusion chromatography, and rheological measurements. Hydrogenation of the terminal groups of the original polymer significantly reduced the rate of modification or crosslinking. The dynamic viscosity and elasticity increased with the level of peroxide modification. Unhydrogenated samples exhibited rapid increases in viscosity and elastic modulus, whereas their hydrogenated counterparts required about 500% of the amount of peroxide needed for the unhydrogenated sample to attain similar structural changes. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Absorber intercooling in CO2 absorption by piperazine‐promoted potassium carbonate

Intercooling was evaluated as a process option in CO₂ absorption by piperazine (PZ) promoted potassium carbonate. The system performance with 4.5 m K⁺/4.5 m PZ was simulated by a model in Aspen Plus® RateSep?. The absorber was evaluated for use with a double matrix stripper by optimizing the position of the semilean feed and intercooling stages to maximize CO₂ removal. Additionally, a simple absorber system was modeled to observe the effect of intercooling on systems with variable CO₂ lean loading. Intercooling increases CO₂ removal by as much as 10% with the double matrix configuration. With a simple absorber, the effectiveness of intercooling depends on solvent rate. Near a critical liquid/gas ratio (L/G) there is a large improvement with intercooling. This is related to the position of the temperature bulge. An approximation is proposed to estimate the critical L/G where intercooling may maximize removal. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2010     

Response surface modeling and optimization of biodiesel production from Cynara cardunculus oil

Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus L.) is a perennial spontaneous thistle grown in Mediterranean countries and well adapted to marginal lands, recently considered as a non‐food energy crop. Their seeds contain 24% of oil (dry basis). In this study, modeling and optimization of the production of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) from cardoon oil for biodiesel uses was performed at laboratory scale, via response surface methodology, following a central composite rotatable design. FAME were obtained by transesterification of crude cardoon oil with methanol in the presence of a catalyst (sodium methoxide) for 120 min. The temperature ranged from 26 to 94 °C, the amount of sodium methoxide varied between 0.12 and 2.5 wt‐% and the molar ratio methanol/oil from 0.95 : 1 to 11 : 1. The estimated yield of FAME (97%) was obtained after 30 min, at 52 °C, for a molar ratio of 6.4 : 1 and 1.4 wt‐% of catalyst. In laboratory‐scale model validation experiments, 94% of FAME yield was obtained after 30 min of reaction. Transesterification was performed in a 30‐L reactor, under previously optimized conditions: A yield of 88% FAME was obtained after 90 min of reaction time, due to mass transfer limitations. After purification, the biodiesel showed high quality according to DIN EN 14214 standard specifications.     

A strategy for designing a peptide probe for detection of β-amyloid oligomers

Aggregation of β-amyloid (Aβ) is implicated in the pathology of Alzheimer's disease. Development of a robust strategy to detect Aβ oligomeric intermediates, which have been identified as significant toxic agents, would be highly beneficial in the screening of drug candidates as well as enhancing our understanding of Aβ oligomerization. Rapid, specific and quantitative detection, currently unavailable, would be highly preferred for accurate and reliable probing of transient Aβ oligomers. Here, we report the development of a novel peptide probe, PG46, based on the nature of Aβ self-assembly and the conformation-sensitive fluorescence of the biarsenical dye, FlAsH. PG46 was found to bind to Aβ oligomers and displayed an increase in FlAsH fluorescence upon binding. No such event was observed when PG46 was co-incubated with Aβ low-molecular-weight species or Aβ fibrils. Aβ oligomer detection was fast, and occurred within one hour without any additional sample incubation or preparation. We anticipate that the development of a strategy for detection of amyloid oligomers described in this study will be directly relevant to a host of other amyloidogenic proteins.     

Flash temperature during impact of layered elastic solids

An analytical model to calculate the maximum flash temperature during oblique spherical impact of an elastic single layered solid is presented. The model is developed by combining the contact parameters obtained from a spherical impact model and flash temperature solution for the sliding contact interface of a layered solid. Dynamic thermomechanical finite element analysis is used to examine the validity of the analytical model with good success. The flash temperature, obtained when the coating is accounted for, is different from that when homogeneous material only is considered, and needs to be accounted for estimating flash temperatures during impact of layered media.     

Comprehensive simulation software for teaching camera calibration by a constructivist methodology

This paper describes the Metrovisionlab computer application implemented as a toolbox for the Matlab program. It is designed to teach the most important camera calibration aspects in dimensional metrology applications such as laser triangulation sensors and photogrammetry or stereovision systems. This software is used in several industrial vision courses for senior undergraduate mechanical engineering students. The application: simulates a virtual camera, providing a simple and visual understanding of how various characteristics of a camera influence the image that it captures; generates the coordinates of synthetic calibration points, both in the world reference system and the image reference system; and can calibrate with the most important and widely-used methods in the area of vision cameras, using coplanar or non-coplanar calibration points. Thus, the main goal is to have a simulation tool that allows characterizing the accuracy, repeatability, error mechanisms and influences for different measurement conditions and camera calibration algorithms. In the realized tests, the software has demonstrated to be a very effective educational tool.     

Phenolic composition and antioxidant activity of Rocha pear and other pear cultivars – A comparative study

The phenolic profile and the antioxidant activity of Rocha pear, a Portuguese pear cultivar, were determined and compared with the commercially available pear varieties Comice, Abate, General Leclerc and Passe Crassane. Phenolic composition of the methanolic extracts of these pears was determined by high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD), while antioxidant activities were evaluated using three complementary test systems: DPPH radical scavenging activity, ferric reducing power capacity and β-carotene/linoleic acid bleaching assay. When compared to the studied varieties, Rocha pear (peel and flesh) presented the highest content of total phenolics. Among them, chlorogenic, syringic, ferulic and coumaric acids, arbutin and (?)-epicatechin were detected as major components. In addition, among the tested varieties, Rocha pear presented the best antioxidant activities in the DPPH and ferric reducing power assays.