Direct isocratic normal-phase HPLC assay of fat-soluble vitamins and β-carotene in oilseeds

Non-conventional seeds are of current interest because their constituents have unique chemical properties and they may augment the supply of edible oils. The study of seed oils for their minor constituents is useful in order to use both oil and the minor components effectively. Fat-soluble vitamins (FSV) and pro-vitamin A (#-carotene) are of particular importance in nutrition. Although fatty acid profiles of the selected seeds have been reported, no data about their FSV composition are yet available. Black cumin (Nigella sativa L.), coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.), and niger (Guizotia abyssinica Cass.) seed oils were extracted with two different solvents [n-hexane (H) or chloroform/methanol (CM) (2:1 v/v)] in a Soxhlet-extractor. An isocratic normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (NP-HPLC) method for FSV and #-carotene analysis using a Zorbax-Sil silica column and an ultraviolet (UV) detector was developed. Isooctane/ethylacetate (96:4 v/v) was used as the eluant for the simultaneous elution of vitamin E, while isooctane/2-propanol (99:1 v/v) was used to elute other FSV and #-carotene. Saponification of seed oil samples was not required. The seed oil or its diluted solution in the selected mobile phase was therefore directly injected onto the HPLC column. All tocopherol derivatives were identified in seed oil samples. The main constituents in black cumin and niger seed oils were !- and %-tocopherols, whereas #-tocopherol (575-672 µg g^-1 oil) was the major tocopherol in coriander seed oil. #-Carotene was measured in high levels in coriander seed oil (739-892 µg g^-1 oil), followed by niger seed oil (574-702 µg g^-1 oil) then black cumin (569-593 µg g^-1 oil). Examined seed oils, especially niger seed oil, were characterized by high amounts of phylloquinone (>0.2% of oil content). Retinoic acid, vitamin A-alcohol, vitamin D (D₂+D₃), and menadione (vitamin K₃) have not been detected in all oilseed samples. The aim of the present investigation was to estimate FSV and #-carotene content of studied oilseeds. The results obtained show that because of their specific FSV constitution, these seed oils are promising new oils.     

Novel chaos game optimization tuned-fractional-order PID fractional-order PI controller for load–frequency control of interconnected power systems

In this work, chaos game optimization (CGO), a robust optimization approach, is employed for efficient design of a novel cascade controller for four test systems with interconnected power systems (IPSs) to tackle load–frequency control (LFC) difficulties. The CGO method is based on chaos theory principles, in which the structure of fractals is seen via the chaotic game principle and the fractals’ self-similarity characteristics are considered. CGO is applied in LFC studies as a novel application, which reveals further research gaps to be filled. For practical implementation, it is also highly desirable to keep the controller structure simple. Accordingly, in this paper, a CGO-based controller of fractional-order (FO) proportional–integral–derivative–FO proportional–integral (FOPID–FOPI) controller is proposed, and the integral time multiplied absolute error performance function is used. Initially, the proposed CGO-based FOPID–FOPI controller is tested with and without the nonlinearity of the governor dead band for a two-area two-source model of a non-reheat unit. This is a common test system in the literature. A two-area multi-unit system with reheater–hydro–gas in both areas is implemented. To further generalize the advantages of the proposed scheme, a model of a three-area hydrothermal IPS including generation rate constraint nonlinearity is employed. For each test system, comparisons with relevant existing studies are performed. These demonstrate the superiority of the proposed scheme in reducing settling time, and frequency and tie-line power deviations.     

Numerical simulation of mixed convection flows in a square lid-driven cavity partially heated from below using nanofluid

The present numerical study deals with mixed convection in a square lid-driven cavity partially heated from below and filled with water-base nanofluid containing various volume fractions of Cu, Ag, Al₂O₃ and TiO₂. Finite difference method was employed to solve the dimensionless governing equations of the problem. The effects of governing parameters, namely, Reynolds number, solid volume fraction, different values of the heat source length and different locations of the heat source on the streamlines and isotherms contours as well as Nusselt number and average Nusselt number along the heat source were considered. The present results are validated by favorable comparisons with previously published results. The results of the problem are presented in graphical and tabular forms and discussed.     

Optimization of Savonius turbines using an obstacle shielding the returning blade

Due to the worldwide energy crisis, research and development activities in the field of renewable energy have been considerably increased in many countries. In Germany, wind energy is becoming particularly important. Although considerable progress has already been achieved, the available technical design is not yet adequate to develop reliable wind energy converters for conditions corresponding to low wind speeds and urban areas. The Savonius turbine appears to be particularly promising for such conditions, but suffers from a poor efficiency. The present study considers a considerably improved design in order to increase the output power of a Savonius turbine with either two or three blades. In addition, the improved design leads to a better self-starting capability. To achieve these objectives, the position of an obstacle shielding the returning blade of the Savonius turbine and possibly leading to a better flow orientation toward the advancing blade is optimized. This automatic optimization is carried out by coupling an in-house optimization library (OPAL) with an industrial flow simulation code (ANSYS-Fluent). The optimization process takes into account the output power coefficient as target function, considers the position and the angle of the shield as optimization parameters, and relies on Evolutionary Algorithms. A considerable improvement of the performance of Savonius turbines can be obtained in this manner, in particular a relative increase of the power output coefficient by more than 27%. It is furthermore demonstrated that the optimized configuration involving a two-blade rotor is better than the three-blade design.     

Dietary lutein modulates inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) gene and protein expression in mouse macrophage cells (RAW 264.7)

Lutein is an oxycarotenoid primarily found in dark-green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale. Other dietary sources which contain moderate amounts of lutein include corn, egg yolks, and fruits like oranges and kiwi. Although a number of in vivo studies have demonstrated the anti-inflammatory effect of lutein, its in vitro anti-inflammatory molecular mechanism of action is unknown. In this study, we have investigated the in vitro anti-inflammatory effect of lutein using LPS-stimulated mouse macrophage cell line (RAW 264.7). The inhibition of LPS-stimulated nitric oxide (NO) was measured and the expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) was assessed at the mRNA and protein levels in mouse macrophage cells after treatment with lutein. Lutein decreased the LPS-induced NO production by 50% compared to LPS alone. Real-time PCR analysis showed a 1.9-fold reduction in iNOS expression at the mRNA level. Western blotting revealed that lutein decreased LPS-induced iNOS expression at the protein level by 72.5%. The results of this study suggest the anti-inflammatory properties of lutein demonstrated by the decrease in the expression of iNOS at the mRNA and protein levels in RAW 264.7 mouse macrophage cells.     

Quantitative assessment of energy conservation due to public awareness campaigns using neural networks

This case study aims to quantitatively assess the impact of an energy conservation campaign that was launched under the name “Trsheed” in Kuwait in the summer of 2007. Most electric energy (EE) consumption in the summer in the country is used in air conditioning and past trends indicate a strong correlation between ambient weather conditions and energy demand. The size and attitude of the population is an important factor in this regard; Kuwait has an expatriate population that is larger than the indigent population, and whose size is closely linked to economic activities that are largely dependent on oil revenues and varies with fluctuations of oil prices. Three neural network architectures (NNs) were evaluated in terms of their ability to estimate future EE demand based on previous trends. Backpropagation neural networks were found to be most suitable for this purpose in comparison to General Regression and Polynomial NNs. The inputs to the NNs investigated included hourly weather condition indicators; specifically the dry-bulb temperature and relative humidity. The output of the NNs was the hourly energy demand. An analysis based on actual weather data from 2004 to 2007 was performed to gauge the impact of the energy conservation campaign in the summer of 2007. Results of a second NN analysis show that round-the-clock mean weather conditions may be used to predict total future energy demand over a period of time (daily, weekly or monthly), but future peak loads should be estimated separately using mean weather conditions during peak hours only. Savings in national energy demand, as a result of future conservation campaigns, are estimated to be more than 5% and 4% in total and peak demands, respectively.     

Pre-combustion, post-combustion and oxy-combustion in thermal power plant for CO2 capture

This paper presents a summary of technical-economic studies. It allows evaluating, in the French context, the production cost of electricity derived from coal and gas power plants with the capture of CO₂, and the cost per tonne of CO₂ avoided. Three systems were studied: an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC), a conventional combustion of Pulverized Coal (PC) and a Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC). Three main methods were envisaged for the capture of CO₂: pre-combustion, post-combustion and oxy-combustion.For the IGCC, two gasification types have been studied: a current technology based on gasification of dry coal at 27 bars (Shell or GE/Texaco radiant type) integrated into a classical combined cycle providing 320 MWe, and a future technology (planned for about 2015–2020) based on gasification of a coal–water mixture (slurry) that can be compressed to 64 bars (GE/Texaco slurry type) integrated into an advanced combined cycle (type H with steam cooling of the combustion turbine blades) producing a gross power output of 1200 MWe.     

天然抗氧化剂抑制曲奇中丙烯酰胺含量的研究

采用天然抗氧化剂荞麦、孜然和黑种草籽抑制曲奇中丙烯酰胺的生成。研究这3种配料对面粉中丙烯酰胺前体的含量、面粉和曲奇抗氧化的特性、曲奇烘焙特性和丙烯酰胺含量的影响,结果表明：这3种配料组合都可以增加面粉中还原糖和天门冬酰胺的含量,也可以增加面粉和曲奇的抗氧化特性(包括总酚类物质、DPPH自由基清除能力和ABTS+·的抑制能力)。当所添加的天然抗氧化剂含量增加时,曲奇颜色变深,表现为更低的L*,a*和b*值;荞麦和孜然的引入会增加曲奇中的水分含量,而黑种草籽则相反。所有天然抗氧化剂组合都可以增加曲奇的延展率。未添加天然抗氧化剂的曲奇中丙烯酰胺的含量为361.2μg/kg,而单独添加15%荞麦、15%孜然和15%黑种草籽使得曲奇中丙烯酰胺的含量分别降低了20.2%、67.6%和75.9%。感官分析结果表明：富含天然抗氧化剂的曲奇都可以被人们所喜欢。     

Rewetting of Hot Vertical Surfaces by a Falling Liquid Film

In this work, a transient heat conduction model is developed for rewetting a hot wall surface by a falling liquid film. In the model, the heat conduction in the rewetted wall is assumed to be two‐dimensional. Convection heat transfer from the hot surface to rewetting fluid is considered negligible in the dry surface region ahead of the wet front. The numerical solution indicates that the rewetting process is mainly controlled by two‐dimensional heat conduction in the rewetted wall, even for the walls of low Biot number, especially at low initial temperatures. The effects of Biot number and initial wall temperature on the rewetting velocity are investigated. Comparison of the results with previous studies is presented.