Effect of Exogenous Auxin Treatment on Cell Wall Polymers of Strawberry Fruit

The role of auxin in the fruit-ripening process during the early developmental stages of commercial strawberry fruits (Fragaria x ananassa) has been previously described, with auxin production occurring in achenes and moving to the receptacle. Additionally, fruit softening is a consequence of the depolymerization and solubilization of cell wall components produced by the action of a group of proteins and enzymes. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of exogenous auxin treatment on the physiological properties of the cell wall-associated polysaccharide contents of strawberry fruits. We combined thermogravimetric (TG) analysis with analyses of the mRNA abundance, enzymatic activity, and physiological characteristics related to the cell wall. The samples did not show a change in fruit firmness at 48 h post-treatment; by contrast, we showed changes in the cell wall stability based on TG and differential thermogravimetric (DTG) analysis curves. Less degradation of the cell wall polymers was observed after auxin treatment at 48 h post-treatment. The results of our study indicate that auxin treatment delays the cell wall disassembly process in strawberries.     

Using computational fluid dynamics to improve the drag coefficient estimates for tall buildings under wind loading

Wind is the main horizontal force acting on tall buildings. This force is proportional to the drag coefficient. The drag coefficient is an important factor in their structural design. Designers have historically relied upon experimental wind tunnel results to estimate the drag coefficient. However, this process is both expensive and time consuming. In this study, we alternatively computed the drag coefficient (apart from the pressure, force, and bending moment) using computational fluid dynamics for a typical 93‐m‐high residential building. The simulation considers the actual building geometry, as well as the neighborhood roughness effects. We compared these results with the conventional estimates contained in the Brazilian code NBR‐6123/1988 and Eurocode EC1. The results indicated that the pressures obtained herein near the top of the building were lower compared to those obtained using conventional estimation methods given in codes. Comparatively, the obtained bending moment relative to the base of the building was higher, indicating the existence of significant drag forces not considered in codes. In fluid dynamics simulations, the drag coefficient is determined for each terrain condition. Computational fluid dynamics can effectively simulate the drag force and resultant forces in the direction of the flow, as well as the vortices that result during coating detachment and other types of damage.     

Chain extension reaction in solid‐state polymerization of recycled PET: The influence of 2,2′‐bis‐2‐oxazoline and pyromellitic anhydride

Conventional and chain extended‐modified solid‐state polymerization (SSP) of postconsumer poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) from beverage bottles was investigated. SSP was carried out at several temperatures, reaction times, and 2,2′‐bis‐2‐oxazoline (OXZ) or pyromellitic anhydride (ANP) concentrations. The OXZ was added by impregnation with chloroform or acetone solution. Higher molecular weights were reached when the reaction was carried out with OXZ, resulting in bimodal distribution. The molecular weights of the flakes reacted at 230°C for 4 h were 85,000, 95,000, and 100,000 for samples impregnated with 0, 0.5, and 1.25 wt % OXZ solution, respectively. In the case of reactions with ANP, branched chains were obtained. The thermal and thermal‐mechanical‐dynamic properties of these high‐molecular‐weight recycled PET were determined. For OXZ‐reacted samples, the reduction of crystallinity was observed as the reaction time was increased, becoming evident the destruction of the crystalline phase. The chain extended samples did not show changes in thermal relaxations or thermal degradation behavior. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Screening design of experiment applied to supercritical antisolvent precipitation of amoxicillin: Exploring new miscible conditions

Microparticles of amoxicillin (AMC) have been precipitated by supercritical antisolvent process (SAS) using carbon dioxide and N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) as antisolvent and solvent, respectively. A fractional factorial design of experiment (DOE) with 2⁷⁻⁴ experiments has been used. Mean particle size (PS) and particle size distribution (PSD) of the processed amoxicillin have been chosen as responses to evaluate the process performance. In a previous work, a DOE was applied too, but now, the range of operating conditions investigated has been changed to let the process take place in a single supercritical phase. Within this range, concentration is again the key factor having most effect on both PS and PSD and thus, the most important factor for controlling the formation of sub-microparticles of amoxicillin by the SAS technique. Moreover, all the experiments included in the new design matrix led to a successful precipitation of amoxicillin.     

Creatine supplementation spares muscle glycogen during high intensity intermittent exercise in rats

Background

We investigated the ergogenic effects of betaine (B) supplementation on strength and power performance.

Methods

Twelve men (mean ± SD age, 21 ± 3 yr; mass, 79.1 ± 10.7 kg) with a minimum of 3 months resistance training completed two 14-day experimental trials separated by a 14-day washout period, in a balanced, randomized, double-blind, repeated measures, crossover design. Prior to and following 14 days of twice daily B or placebo (P) supplementation, subjects completed two consecutive days (D1 and D2) of a standardized high intensity strength/power resistance exercise challenge (REC). Performance included bench, squat, and jump tests.

Results

Following 14-days of B supplementation, D1 and D2 bench throw power (1779 ± 90 and 1788 ± 34 W, respectively) and isometric bench press force (2922 ± 297 and 2503 ± 28 N, respectively) were increased (p < 0.05) during REC compared to pre-supplementation values (1534 ± 30 and 1498 ± 29 W, respectively; 2345 ± 64 and 2423 ± 84 N, respectively) and corresponding P values (1374 ± 128 and 1523 ± 39 W; 2175 ± 92 and 2128 ± 56 N, respectively). Compared to pre-supplementation, vertical jump power and isometric squat force increased (p < 0.05) on D1 and D2 following B supplementation. However, there were no differences in jump squat power or the number of bench press or squat repetitions.

Conclusion

B supplementation increased power, force and maintenance of these measures in selected performance measures, and these were more apparent in the smaller upper-body muscle groups.     

The Co-Au interface in bimetallic nanoparticles: a high resolution STEM study

We report the formation of Au/Co nanoparticles and their characterization by aberration (Cs) corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). The nanoparticles were synthesized by inert gas condensation, forming initially core-shell and bimetallic crystals. However, after thermal treatment at normal atmospheric conditions, the Co nanoparticles changed their morphology into a fine layer forming a perfect interface with the gold. The ordering of the zone rich in Co presents a fcc arrangement matching the gold lattice. The atomic analysis on the interface and the comparison of the STEM images with numerical simulations corroborated the atomic substitution of gold by cobalt.     

Niobium and tantalum recovery from the primary source and from tin slag,an industrial challenge: A review

Niobium (Nb) and Tantalum (Ta) are used to increase materials' mechanical resistance and produce lighter alloys. Worldwide Nb production reached 78 000 t in 2020. The reduced ore offer justifies the recycling of these metals from tin slag, contributing to the circular economy. Nb₂O₅ and Ta₂O₅ extraction either from the primary source or the tin slag is an industrial challenge. Nb and Ta dissolution processes already implemented are fluoride leaching, sulphuric leaching, alkaline leaching, and alkaline roasting. The fluoride process raises environmental concerns about waste control. The sulphuric method can be managed to have higher Nb and Ta extraction in a less aggressive process, if some changes are implemented, such as increasing the number of extraction steps, decreasing the pulp density, or increasing the temperature; however, the efficiency of this methodology must be tested for tin slag. The alkaline method seems to be more selective to Nb and Ta by reactants and temperature control. Despite those well-established Nb and Ta treatments, they must be adapted to recover Nb and Ta from slag. The slag has low Nb and Ta content, while high Si and Ca concentrations exist in the matrix. This paper brings the main methods used to extract the Nb and Ta from the primary resources and an overview of Nb and Ta recovery from the slag. This investigation comes as a tool to guide the development of new methods to recover Nb and Ta from low-grade sources such as tin slag.     

Development of composites based on recycled polyethylene/sugarcane bagasse fibers

In this work, sugarcane bagasse fibers were used as filler in composites having recycled high‐density polyethylene (PEr) as matrix. Because of the poor interaction between fibers surface and the PEr, the surface of bagasse was chemically modified. This modification consists of washing with water at 80°C, a mercerization process using sodium hydroxide and acetylation reaction with acetic anhydride. The chemical modification was characterized by Fourier transform infrared–horizontal attenuated total reflectance (FTIR‐HATR) and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies (NMR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). The composites were prepared from modified and unmodified fibers into PEr matrix, containing 5, 10, and 20% (w/w) of fiber. The samples were processed by extrusion and molds were prepared by injection process in order to perform mechanical tests. These materials were analyzed by SEM, TGA, and the water uptake was evaluated. Also, their mechanical properties were analyzed. Morphological analysis indicated that the chemical modification of sugarcane bagasse increased the compatibility between matrix and reinforcement. Tensile, flexural, and impact tests showed that the mechanical properties of the composite were improved compared to PEr due to the presence of the fibers. POLYM. COMPOS., 35:768–774, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Near-zero triangular location through time-slotted mobility prediction

To setup efficient wireless mesh networks, it is fundamental to limit the overhead needed to localize a mobile user. A promising approach is to rely on a rendezvous-based location system where the current location of a mobile node is stored at specific nodes called locators. Nevertheless, such a solution has a drawback, which happens when the locator is far from the source–destination shortest path. This results in a triangular location problem and consequently in increased overhead of signaling messages. One solution to prevent this problem would be to place the locator as close as possible to the mobile node. This requires however to predict the mobile node’s location at all times. To obtain such information, we define a mobility prediction model (an agenda) that, for each node, specifies the mesh router that is likely to be the closest to the mobile node at specific time periods. The location service that we propose formalizes the integration of the agenda with the management of location servers in a coherent and self-organized fashion. To evaluate the performance of our system compared to traditional approaches, we use two real-life mobility datasets of Wi-Fi devices in the Dartmouth campus and Taxicabs in the bay area of San Francisco. We show that our strategy significantly outperforms traditional solutions; we obtain gains ranging from 39 to 72% compared to the centralized scheme and more than 35% compared to a traditional rendezvous-based solution.     

Juice from king palm (Archontophoenix alexandrae) leaf sheathes: chemical characterisation and use in soft drink formulation

The heart of palm is a food extracted from several species of palm trees. Only 10–20% of the raw material is transformed into canned hearts of palm, therefore this agro‐industry generates a large quantity of solid residue. The aim of this work was to extract and characterise a juice produced from this solid residue. This extract is compared with the traditional fruit juices (orange and pineapple juices), obtaining higher contents of minerals, such as magnesium (22.80 mg/100 g) and potassium (276.90 mg/100 g), phenolic compounds (gallic, 3,4‐dihydroxybenzoic, chlorogenic, syringic and caffeic acids) and high free radical scavenging capacity (expressed as 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl), which suggest high antioxidant activity. Additionally, a new soft drink was formulated using this king palm juice as its main ingredient. The soft drink samples formulated with this juice had high sensory acceptability and high intention of consumption, which suggests an important and low‐cost application for this industrial residue.