Involvement of phospholipids in apolipoprotein B modification during low density lipoprotein oxidation

An increased amount of phospholipids remained attached on delipidated apolipoprotein B originated from oxidized low density lipoprotein (LDL). ³¹P nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of such apolipoprotein showed an organic phosphorus peak at −0.55 ppm, which suggests the formation of adducts (most probably Schiff bases) of oxidized phospholipids with apolipoprotein B. The above reaction occurs in parallel with the hydrolysis of oxidized phospholipids, catalyzed by the LDL-attached platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase, and may contribute to the proatherogenic effect of oxidatively modified low density lipoprotein.     

Adapting to energy storage needs: gaps and challenges arising from the European directive for the electricity internal market

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy - The increasing integration of renewable energy sources into the electricity sector for decarbonization purposes necessitates effective energy storage...     

Preparation and characterization of IrxPt1−xO2 anode electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction

Towards competent production of clean and electrolytic hydrogen, proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis offers several advantages, such as high purity of the produced gases, very high level of operation safety and direct storage of gases under high pressure. The work presented deals with the development of efficient PEM water electrolyzers, employing high specific surface area Ir_xPt_1−xO₂ electrocatalysts synthesized by the modified Adams fusion method. A typical three-electrode cell was used to evaluate the performance of the materials for water splitting. The performance of electrodes for oxygen evolution reaction was assessed by steady-state current–potential measurements while their electrochemical characteristics and stability were studied by cyclic voltammetry. It was found that Ir–Pt bimetallic oxide electrodes present a stable performance for oxygen evolution reaction. Their intrinsic electrocatalytic activity in combination with their large surface area and stability are quite promising for the development of economically feasible electrocatalysts for PEM water electrolyzers.     

On the synthesis of LaCl3 catalysts for oxidative chlorination of methane

LaCl₃ is an active and selective catalyst for oxidative chlorination of methane to methyl chloride, generated in situ by chlorination from LaOCl. The latter is prepared by precipitation of La(OH)₂Cl and subsequent calcination. The synthesis route was modified by using different bases in order to synthesize high surface area LaOCl catalyst precursors. Ammonium hydroxide and the organic bases tetraethylammonium hydroxide, tetrapropylammonium hydroxide, and tetrabutylammonium hydroxide are used as precipitating agents. The marked increase of the specific surface area by using organic bases indicates also that they may act as templating agents. After chlorination the specific surface areas of pure LaOCl samples decrease drastically, lanthanum carbonate, however, acts as structural promoter stabilizing the specific surface area during chlorination.     

A moving average control chart using a robust scale estimator for process dispersion

Control charts are one of the most powerful tools used to detect and control industrial process deviations in statistical process control. In this paper, a moving average control chart based on a robust scale estimator of standard deviation, namely, the sample median absolute deviation (MAD) statistic, for monitoring process dispersion, is proposed. A simulation study is conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed moving average median absolute deviation (MA‐MAD) chart, in terms of average run length for various distributions. The results show that the moving average MAD chart performs well in detecting small and moderate shifts in process dispersion, especially when the normality assumption is violated. In addition, this chart is very efficient, especially when the quality characteristic follows a skewed distribution. Numerical and simulated examples are given at the end of the paper.     

The effect of storage on the antioxidant activity of reconstituted orange juice which had been pasteurized by high pressure or heat

The effect of storage on the antioxidant activity of pasteurized reconstituted orange juice was studied. Either heat or high pressure was used for pasteurization and total antioxidant activity and ascorbic acid loss were measured during storage at different temperatures (0, 5, 10, 15 °C). The total antioxidant activity of orange juice, calculated as the sum of the activities of different antioxidant compounds, decreased during storage. This was mainly because of loss of ascorbic acid. However, rates of degradation of ascorbic acid were lower for orange juice treated with high pressure and this led to a better retention of its antioxidant activity when compared with juice pasteurized in a conventional way.     

Performance of virgin olive oil and vegetable shortening during domestic deep-frying and pan-frying of potatoes

The performance of virgin olive oil and a commercial vegetable shortening was investigated during 10 successive pan-fryings of potatoes at 180 °C for a total period of 60 min and during 10 successive deep-fryings at 170 °C for a total period of 120 min. These are typical conditions of Greek domestic cooking. For both the oils tested the effect of pan-frying on K232, K268, K316, α-tocopherol, total polar artefacts, Rancimat induction times, octanoic acid formation and linoleic acid decomposition was worse than the effect of deep-frying on the same variables. The same was true for visible spectrum and total phenols in virgin olive oil. No systematic variations of oleic acid, refractive index and trans -isomers of fatty acids were detected. None of the oils reached the limit of 25–27% total polar artefacts. Both oils performed similarly during pan-frying, while virgin olive oil performed better during deep-frying. A very strong correlation between octanoic acid formation and total polar artefacts in the whole data set was observed.     

The relationship between information and communication technologies adoption and management

This paper examines the impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) adoption on management praxis. The study, building on the theoretical framework developed by Scott Morton and his colleagues, attempts to identify the dynamic relationships between ICT adoption and management efforts towards modernization and reorganization. Using data from leading Greek firms, we report evidence as to how changes in strategy, organizational structure, management systems, and human skills link with the current and prospective level of use of various types of advanced ICT. Findings generally appear to suggest that Greek firms are in a process of recognizing the potential of ICT to enable and support changes that are necessary for successfully competing in a hyper-competitive environment. In particular, ICT adoption is shown to affect strategy by supporting long-term strategic objectives and the quest for profitability. Indirectly, it also links to strategic planning systems. ICT is found to be related to an internal environment characterized by open organization and flexibility. Finally, the results show that the sample firms recognize the need for multi-skilled personnel to exploit the advantages stemming from ICT adoption.     

Personalized and content adaptive cultural heritage path recommendation: an application to the Gournia and Çatalhöyük archaeological sites

User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction - Although abundant research work has been published in the area of path recommendation and its applications on travel and routing topics, scarce work has...     

Monitoring of time between events with a double generally weighted moving average control chart

Monitoring of time between events (TBE) instead of the number of events is used in high‐quality processes where the events occur rarely. This article presents a double generally weighted moving average control chart with a lower time‐varying control limit to monitor the TBE (regarded as DGWMA‐TBE chart). The design parameters of the proposed chart are provided, and through a simulation study, it is shown that the DGWMA‐TBE chart is more effective than the DEWMA and GWMA charts in detecting moderate to large shifts. Furthermore, the DGWMA‐TBE chart is very robust for the same range of shifts when the TBE observations follow a Weibull or a lognormal distribution. Finally, examples are also presented to enhance the performance of the proposed chart.