A study on the aromaticity and kinetic stability of fullerene C38 isomers and their molecular ions

The aromaticity of the fullerene C₃₈ isomers and their molecular ions is examined by the topological resonance energy (TRE) method. The aromaticity order obtained by the TRE method is compared with relative energies found in DFT calculation results reported in literature. It is found that all C₃₈ isomers exhibit antiaromaticity when in the neutral state. However, they are highly aromatic in the hexaanionic states. The minimum bond resonance energy (min BRE) method is utilized to estimate the kinetically stability of the C₃₈ isomers and their molecular ions. According to the min BRE method, C₃₈ isomers are only have kinetic stability in penta- and hexavalent molecular anionic states.     

Determination of best possible correlation for gas compressibility factor to accurately predict the initial gas reserves in gas-hydrocarbon reservoirs

Gas compressibility factor or z-factor plays an important role in many engineering applications related to oil and gas exploration and production, such as gas production, gas metering, pipeline design, estimation of gas initially in place (GIIP), and ultimate recovery (UR) of gas from a reservoir. There are many z-factor correlations which are either derived from Equation of State or empirically based on certain observation through regression analysis. However, the results of the z-factor obtained from different correlations have high level of variance for the same gas sample under the same pressure and temperature. It is quite challenging to determine the most accurate correlation which provides accurate estimate for a range of pressures, temperatures, and gas compositions. This paper presents a novel method to accurately estimate GIIP of an Australian tight gas field through identification of the most appropriate z-factor correlations, which can accurately determine the z-factor and other PVT properties for a wide range of gas compositions, temperatures, and pressures. The sensitivity study results demonstrated that a single correlation cannot work across the range of pressures and temperatures for a certain gas sample necessary to calculate z-factor during simulation process and/or other analysis, such as material balance and volumetric estimate.     

The checkered puffer (Spheroides testudineus) and its helminths as bioindicators of chemical pollution in Yucatan coastal lagoons

The suitability of using helminth communities as bioindicators of environmental quality of the Yucatan coastal lagoons status was tested on the checkered puffer (Spheroides testudineus) in four coastal lagoons along the Yucatan coast. The concentration of chemical pollutants in sediments, water quality parameters, helminth infracommunity characteristics, as well as fish physiological biomarkers, including EROD (7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase) and catalase activities, were measured. Results from sediment analyses demonstrated the presence of hydrocarbons, organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls at varying concentrations, some of which exceeded the Probability Effect Level (PEL). Significant negative associations among organochlorine pesticides, infracommunity characteristics and fish physiological responses were observed in most of the lagoons. Results suggest that EROD activity and parasite infracommunity characteristics could be useful tools to evaluate the effects of chemical pollutants on the fish host and in the environment. Importantly, certain parasites appear to influence biomarker measurements, indicating that parasites should be considered in ecotoxicological studies.     

Solvent and Extraction Conditions Control the Assayable Phenolic Content and Antioxidant Activities of Seeds of Black Beans,Canola and Millet

The effects of extraction solvent and conditions on the total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity of black beans, canola and foxtail millet were investigated. The antioxidant activity was assayed using 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity (DRSA) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC). Four solvent systems, namely 70 % acetone, 80 % ethanol, 80 % methanol and a mixture of acetone/methanol/water (7:7:6, v/v/v) were used. The extraction methods adopted in this study included refluxing, homogenization, cold extraction and sonication. The TPC as measured using the Folin Ciocalteu's method were 12.35–28.39, 2.43–16.73, and 1.78–5.06 µmol catechin equivalents/g dry matter (dm) for canola, black beans and foxtail millet, respectively. Aqueous acetone afforded the highest TPC for black beans and canola. Within the same solvent system used, the TPC, DRSA and ORAC obtained from different extraction techniques differed for black beans, canola and foxtail millet. The results demonstrated that the solvent system as well as method influenced the extraction of phenolic compounds and their antioxidant activities, depending on the type of matrix in which phenolics were embedded.     

Polyphenol Oxidase from Coleus forskohlii: Purification,Characterization, and Immobilization Onto Alginate/ZnO Nanocomposite Materials

Catalysis Letters - Herein, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) was purified from Coleus forskohlii via a three-step process involving precipitation by (NH4)2SO4, ion exchange chromatography and gel...     

CFD analysis of the brake disc and the wheel house through air flow: Predictions of Surface heat transfer coefficients (STHC) during braking operation

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - Braking system is one of the basic organs to control a car. For many years, the disc brakes have been used in automobiles for safe retardation of the...     

Synthesis of α‐cellulose/polypyrrole composite for the removal of reactive red dye from aqueous solution: Kinetics and equilibrium modeling

In this work, a composite from α‐cellulose coated with conducting polypyrrole by in situ polymerization using potassium persulfate as oxidant was obtained. The composite was characterized by fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, UV/Vis spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed homogeneous coating of α‐cellulose with polypyrrole (PPy) to produce a composite with a conductivity of 3.5 × 10⁻⁵ S/m. Batch aqueous adsorption experiments of the reactive red 120 (RR120) dye onto the synthesized material were conducted. The results showed that this composite is an efficient adsorbent for RR120 dye removal. For the adsorption experiments set to an initial pH of 3.9, the adsorption capacity was 15.6 mg of dye/g of composite for an equilibrium concentration (in the liquid) of RR120 dye equal to 1,000 mg/L, whereas a value of 96.1 mg of dye/g of composite was obtained when the solution pH was set to 2.0 for the same equilibrium concentration. When performing adsorption experiments using pure α‐cellulose, dye adsorption was insignificant at any pH value. Adsorption isotherm for RR120 was described by a typical Freundlich model. The transient adsorption of RR120 on the synthesized composite was described by a general three‐resistance model that includes the transport on the film that surrounds the composite particles, diffusion inside the particles, and adsorption on the surface of the particles. A fitting of the uptake curves was performed allowing the estimation of values for the effective diffusivity, D₀, and the adsorption rate coefficient, k₁. For the adsorption experiments with an initial pH value set to 3.9, D₀ was estimated as 1.05 × 10⁻¹⁰ m²/s, whereas k₁ was 1.65 × 10⁻⁴ Lⁿ/g mg^{n − 1} s; the corresponding values of k₁ at pH = 2 and 9.0 were 3.18 × 10⁻⁴ and 5.16 × 10⁻⁵, respectively. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:312–321, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

In Vitro Angiogenic Behavior of HUVECs on Biomimetic SF/SA Composite Scaffolds

The 60Fc and 70Fc SF/SA blend scaffolds were prepared to mimic the functions of the native ECM for skin regeneration.Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) were used to examine the cell cytotoxicity,adhesion,growth factors secretion and the gene expression of associated angiogenic factors.Cell proliferation,adhesion and live-dead analyses showed that HUVECs could better attach,grow,and proliferate on the 70Fc scaffolds compared with 60Fc scaffolds and unmodified controls.Furthermore,the 70Fc scaffolds showed higher levels of specific angiogenic proteins and genes expression as well.This study suggests that the involvement of higher composition of SF (about 70%) than that of SA on the blended scaffolds could be advantageous as it is more suitable to promote angiogenesis,which is potential for vascularization during skin repair.