The monounsaturated acyl- and alkyl-moieties of wax esters and their distribution in commercial orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) oil

Wax esters were isolated from commercial orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) oil by column chromatography and fractionated by argentation thin layer chromatography. Following transesterification, the resultant fatty acid methyl esters and fatty alcohols were analyzed by gas chromatography. both acyl- and alkyl-moieties were mainly of the monoene structure within the 16∶1–22∶1 range. After derivatization, the positions of the double bonds of even numbered fatty acid and fatty alcohol isomers were located by chromatography-mass spectrometry and compared. Results of these positional analyses indicate that the primary desaturation reactions takes place in the Δ9 position of pre-existing (C₁₄ to C₂₄) acyl chains. It is proposed that acyl components from 18∶1 are subjected to chain elongation to form a mixture of 24∶1 isomers as the final product. Apart from the 24∶1 acyl moiety of the wax esters, in which the double bond was almost exclusively in the Δ15 position, de novo biosynthetic reactions on acids and alcohols appear to yield related acyl- and alkyl-moieties of resynthesized wax esters.     

Flaking and extrusion as mechanical treatments for enzyme-assisted aqueous extraction of oil from soybeans

Flaking and extruding dehulled soybeans were evaluated as a means of enhancing oil extraction efficiency during enzyme-assisted aqueous processing of soybeans. Cellulase, protease, and their combination were evaluated for effectiveness in achieving high oil extraction recovery from extruded flakes. Aqueous extraction of extruded full-fat soy flakes gave 68% recovery of the total available oil without using enzymes. A 0.5% wt/wt protease treatment after flaking and extruding dehulled soybeans increased oil extraction recovery to 88% of the total available oil. Flaking and extruding enhanced protease hydrolysis of proteins freeing more oil. Treating extruded flakes with cellulase, however, did not enhance oil extraction either alone or in combination with protease. Discrepancies in oil extraction recoveries were encountered when merely considering crude free fat because some oil became bound to denatured protein during extrusion and/or sample drying. Bound fat was unavailable for determination by using the hexane extraction method, but was accounted for by using the acid hydrolysis method for total oil determination. Oil extraction recovery from extruded soybean flakes was affected by oil determination methods, which was not the case for unextruded full-fat soy flour.     

Learning Read-Constant Polynomials of Constant Degree Modulo Composites

Boolean functions that have constant degree polynomial representation over a fixed finite ring form a natural and strict subclass of the complexity class ACC⁰. They are also precisely the functions computable efficiently by programs over fixed and finite nilpotent groups. This class is not known to be learnable in any reasonable learning model. In this paper, we provide a deterministic polynomial time algorithm for learning Boolean functions represented by polynomials of constant degree over arbitrary finite rings from membership queries, with the additional constraint that each variable in the target polynomial appears in a constant number of monomials. Our algorithm extends to superconstant but low degree polynomials and still runs in quasipolynomial time.     

Transport of Gellan Gum Microbeads in Soil Columns of Various Grain Size Distributions

The transport of gellan gum microbeads as potential cell carriers was investigated in horizontal columns packed with different grain size classes of gravel (2–16 mm) and sand (0.25–2 mm). A suspension of microbeads was pulsed into each column for 6 h, followed by injection of water for 42 h. In general, the total amount of microbeads travelling across a given section of the column increased with injection time but decreased towards the column outlet, varying as a direct function of grain size. The results of this study demonstrate the feasibility of the transport of gellan gum microbeads through medium sand to medium gravel across distances up to 110 cm.     

Rheological and mechanical performance of ethyl‐vinyl acetate/poly(vinyl chloride) formulations

A range of powdered ethyl‐vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymers and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) formulations were compounded at PVC:EVA ratios of 100:0, 60:40, 50:50, 40:60, and 0:100. Two grades of EVA with 20% and 27% of vinyl acetate (VAc) (EVA I and EVA II) and two grades of PVC with K values of 56 and 71 (PVC I and PVC II) were used in the investigation. Mechanical analysis was performed on injection molded samples of these blends, and the results showed that the tensile and flexural moduli decreased significantly with increasing EVA concentration. Rheological analysis was performed by using dual capillary rheometry, and the results showed only slight changes in shear viscosity with increasing EVA content, even at lower shear rates. Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis showed partial miscib lity of the PVC and EVA over the range of concentrations studied.     

Vapor-liquid equilibria in the argon-methane system

Vapor-liquid equilibrium compositions have been measured for the argon-methane system at 115.2°, 123.4° and 137.1°K, by means of a forced-recirculation apparatus. A modified Redlich-Kwong equation of state with the incorporation of a binary interaction constant has been successfully employed to represent the data. Liquid activity coefficients have been evaluated and correlated.     

Electrochemical characterization of 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulphonate/aluminium(III) aqueous solutions

8-Hydroxyquinoline-5-sulphonate/Al(III) aqueous solutions were studied both by potentiometric titrations and voltammetric measurements, in order to obtain the number, the stoichiometry and the stability constants of the complexes formed at equilibrium, and to evaluate the redox and (electro)kinetic properties of the free ligand and of the metal/ligand complexes. The complexes formed in 0.2 m (Na)Cl aqueous solution (stability log beta values ± standard deviation) are AlL⁺ (8.95 ± 0.05), AlL₂⁻ (17.43 ± 0.03) and AlL₃³⁻ (24.58 ± 0.05), where “L” denotes the free ligand in the completely deprotonated form (L²⁻, pK_a1 = 3.910 ± 0.008, pK_a2 = 8.319 ± 0.004). AlL₃³⁻ is the predominant Al(III) species in a very wide range of pH, metal and ligand concentrations and metal-to-ligand ratios. The free ligand shows an oxidation wave at 0.62 V versus SCE. The proposed oxidation mechanism includes a first reversible one-electron oxidation of the ligand, followed by a coupling reaction and by a second reversible one-electron oxidation, and finally by a decomposition reaction. The addition of Al(III) lowers the intensity of the oxidation wave due to the formation of the redox-inactive complex AlL₃³⁻. A residual low signal was attributed to the free ligand produced by the complex dissociation, AlL₃³⁻ = AlL₂⁻ + L²⁻. All the kinetic parameters involved in the ligand oxidation and in the complex disruption were calculated on the basis of the agreement between experimental and simulated linear sweep and cyclic voltammetries. Correctness of the mechanisms proposed was further confirmed “a posteriori” by the agreement between potentiometric and linear sweep voltammetric results. The low residual signal observed in the presence of fully formed complex was attributed to the free ligand produced by the complex dissociation, having a kinetic constant estimated 0.2 s⁻¹.     

Solving multicolumn equilibrium stage operations by total linearization

An efficient, reliable and easily programmed method for solving systems of equilibrium stage separation devices is described. The method is an extension of an algorithm developed by Ishii and Otto⁽⁹⁾ for single columns. It solves all equations simultaneously, takes advantage of the basic tridiagonal matrix form form of the linearized steady state equations and can handle configurations which include distillation columns, absorbers and reboiled absorbers. The solution for a thermally coupled distillation system is presented.     

Antinutritive and Oxidative Components as Mechanisms of Induced Resistance in Cotton to Helicoverpa zea

Induced resistance in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) foliage and squares to herbivory by Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is reported in this study. Induced resistance was indicated by decreased larval growth when larvae fed on previously damaged foliage or squares compared to the controls. Herbivory caused a significant decline in host nutritional quality as shown by a reduction in protein and most amino acids in both foliage and squares. Peroxidase, ascorbate oxidase, and diamine oxidase activities increased in both damaged foliage and squares, whereas levels of the nutritional antioxidant, ascorbate, were depressed after larval feeding. Larval feeding also markedly enhanced lipoxygenase activity and lipid peroxides in square tissues. Moreover, feeding damage altered the quantitative levels of phenolic compounds in foliage and squares. These results indicate a significant shift in the oxidative status of cotton plants following herbivory as indicated by increased oxidative enzyme activity, decreased levels of the nutritional antioxidant ascorbate, and increased levels of phenolic prooxidants (i.e., chlorogenic acid) and lipid peroxides.