Cephalaria syriaca seed oil

Cephalaria syriaca shrad., in Turkish pelemir, grows predominantly in the southeastern district of Turkey as a weed in cereal fields. Pelemir seeds are sometimes used for extraction of their oil, as an improver of baking value of wheat, and as an antistaling agent for bread. The seeds contain 7.8% moisture; their chemical composition on a dry basis is: crude fat, 25.3%, crude protein, 15.9%; N-free extract, 40.4%; crude fiber, 11.9%; crude ash, 6.5%. Characteristics of the seed oil are: specific gravity at 25 C, 0.9229; refractive index at 25 C, 1.4706; saponification value, 192; iodine value, 88.4; thiocyanogen value, 58.8; Reichert-Meissl value, 0.36; Polenske value, 0.25; unsaponifiable matter, 1.24%; hydroxyl value, 20.9. The fatty acid components are: lauric acid, 1.5%; myristic acid, 19.5%; palmitic acid, 9.4%; stearic acid, 2%; oleic acid, 23.0%; linoleic acid, 36.9%. The chemical composition of extracted cakes on a dry basis is: crude protein, 20.4%; crude fat, 0.8%; N-free extract, 50.5%; crude ash, 6.4%; crude fiber; 14.4%%; saponin, 7.5%. The oil contains 7.8% epoxy acid, calculated as epoxy oleic acid, which makes its use as an edible oil rather difficult but renders it usable in industries using epoxidized oils. Due to its high content of myristic acid, the oil is very suitable for soapmaking as well.     

Letter to the Editor: Reply to Comments on the Paper “Heterogeneous Nucleation of Water Vapor on Monodispersed Ag and NaCl Particles with Diameters between 6 and 18 nm”

Please click here to find the Letter to the Editor to which this Response refers: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02786828608959113     

A Model for Through Drying of Tissue Paper at Constant Pressure Drop and High Drying Intensity

A mathematical model for through drying of paper at constant pressure drop was developed. The model is based on physical properties; hence, basis weight, pressure drop, drying air temperature, pore size distribution, initial gas fraction, and tortuosity are important input parameters to the model. The model was solved for different combinations of the variables basis weight, drying air temperature, and pressure drop corresponding to industrial conditions and the results were compared with data from bench-scale experiments. The simulations show that the drying rate curve is very sensitive to the air flow rate and that correctly modeling the correlation between pressure drop and air flow rate is the most important factor for a successful model for through drying. The model was tuned by adjusting the parameters initial gas fraction and tortuosity in order to give the best possible fit to experimental data. For a given basis weight and pressure drop, different drying air temperatures resulted in relatively constant values of the fitted parameters. This means that the model can well predict the effects of changes in drying air temperature based on a tuning of the model performed at the same basis weight and pressure drop. However, for a given basis weight, an increase in pressure drop yielded fitted parameters that were somewhat different; i.e., a lower initial gas fraction and a higher tortuosity, a change that increases the resistance to air flow. This implies that the correlation between pressure drop and air flow rate in the model does not quite capture the nonlinear relationship shown by the experiments.     

An attempt to bridge the pressure and material gap with a disperse model catalyst for low-temperature alkane reforming

Pt black was exposed to n>-hexane/H₂ mixtures between 483 and 663 K followed by O₂ and H₂ treatments at 603 K. XP and UP spectra were measured without exposing the samples to air. 20–30% carbon accumulated after hydrocarbon exposures. O₂ removed most carbon. The surface C content increased after a subsequent contact with H₂, C 1s showing more atomic carbon as opposed to graphite after n-hexane exposure. Anisotropic recrystallization of Pt black favoring (220) and (311) lattice planes occurred under hydrogen-rich conditions. Both findings were attributed to a H₂-induced solid-state rearrangement; H atoms penetrating into the crystal lattice, force subsurface carbon and oxygen atoms to the surface and a concomitant restructuring would occur. Thus another hydrogen effect has been recognized, leading to structures favorable for skeletal reactions of alkanes.     

Preparation of comb‐type grafted hydrogels composed of polyacrylamide and chitosan and their use for DNA adsorption

Comb‐type grafted hydrogels composed of polyacrylamide (PAAm) and chitosan (CT) were prepared and used for DNA adsorption. Instead of direct grafting of the acrylamide monomer onto the CT chain, semitelechelic PAAm with carboxylic acid end groups (PAAm–COOH) was synthesized by free‐radical polymerization with mercaptoacetic acid as the chain‐transfer agent, and it was grafted onto CT with amino groups. The synthesis of telechelic PAAm–COOH and the formation of comb‐type grafted hydrogels were confirmed by attenuated total reflectance/Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy measurements. The prepared comb‐type grafted hydrogels were used as sorbents in DNA adsorption experiments conducted at +4°C in a tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane/ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid solution of pH 7.4. DNA adsorption capacities as high as 2.0 × 10³ μg of DNA/g of dry gel could be achieved by the comb‐type hydrogels with higher PAAm contents. This value was approximately 6 times higher than that of CT alone. In addition, the comb‐type hydrogels showed a high adsorption/desorption rate depending on the PAAm content in the hydrogel. As a result, these comb‐type hydrogels carrying higher amounts of DNA may be considered good candidates for achieving higher removal rates for anti‐DNA antibodies and for effective gene therapy systems. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Male pheromone of swift moth,Hepialus hecta L. (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae)

(R)-6-Ethyl-2-methyl-2,3-dihydro-4H-pyran-4-one, (1R,3S,5R)-3-ethyl-1,8-dimethyl-2,9-dioxabicyclo[3.3. 1]non-7-ene, and (1R,3S,5R)-3-ethyl-1,8-dimethyl-2,9-dioxabicyclo[3.3.1]non-7-en-6-one represent the main components in the male pheromone of the swift moth,Hepialus hecta. The amounts of the three components were 40, 5, and 5 g per male, respectively. Structure elucidation of the compounds was based on spectroscopic data as compared to synthetic reference samples. The absolute configurations were determined by gas chromatography on chiral stationary phases; optically active samples served as reference compounds. Electrophysiological and behavioral experiments with natural material and synthetic samples clearly showed the three heterocyclic compounds to act as pheromones. (E, E)--Farnesene represents the main component of the scent secretion of maleHepialus humuli.     

Effects of a (n−3) polyunsaturated fatty acid-deficient diet on profiles of serum vitellogenin and lipoprotein in vitellogenic trout (Salmo gairdneri)

During the 6 months of vitellogenesis, 3-year-old female trout (Salmo gairdneri) were fed either an enriched (E) or an (n−3) polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-deficient (D) diet; serum vitellogenin (VG) and lipoproteins (d<1.21 g/ml) were analyzed at the third month of vitellogenesis (September) and at ovulation (December). The serum content of high density lipoproteins (HDL), the major protein class, maintained a mean value of 1500 mg/dl at both stages and with both diets. On the contrary, very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) were 90% higher during vitellogenesis than at spawning time, whereas excess vitellogenin circulated at this period (6580 mg/dl serum with diet E). The diet deficient in (n−3) lowered serum vitellogenin content by 16% in September and by 26% in December. The degree of (n−3) PUFA incorporation moderately decreased in low density lipoproteins (LDL) and in HDL with the (n−3)-deficient diet. The effect was more pronounced for 20∶5. On the other hand, essential 22∶6 was incorporated into vitellogenin at the same rate in September as in December with diet E (23% and 25%, respectively), whereas after a 3-month deficiency, the percentage fell to 12%; this percentage rose again to 19% at spawning time. These findings show that, although stored (n−3) PUFA were not exhausted after a 6-month dietary deficiency, the incorporation of essential fatty acids (EFA) into vitellogenin during the early stages of oogenesis was low, suggesting changes in egg composition that may influence hatching.     

Nutrient balance of shifting cultivation by burning or mulching in the Eastern Amazon – evidence for subsoil nutrient accumulation

For over a hundred years shifting cultivation with slash-and-burn land preparation has been the predominant type of land use by smallholders in the Bragantina region of the Brazilian Eastern Amazon. This study contrasts the nutrient balance of slash-and-burn agriculture with a fire-free cultivation. Therefore, one half of a 3.5-year-old (28.7 t DM ha^–1) and a 7-year-old woody fallow vegetation (46.5 t DM ha^–1) was burnt and the other half mulched, leaving the biomass as a surface residue. Subsequently, a sequence of maize, beans and cassava was cropped for 1.5 year. Burning the 3.5- and 7-year-old fallow removed 97 and 94% of the C, 98 and 96% of the N, 90 and 63% of the P-stocks, and between 45 and 70% of the cations K, Mg and Ca of the aboveground biomass by volatilization or ash-particle transfer. These losses were avoided with the slash-and-mulch land preparation. Mulching did not increase the losses of nutrients by leaching, despite the high amount of rapidly decomposing surface mulch. Also the length of preceding fallow had no significant influence on leaching losses. At a depth of 3 m, leached nutrients were quantitatively negligible in both treatments. Comparing the nutrient fluxes at soil depths of 0.9 m, 1.8 m and 3 m, the amounts of all mobile nutrients, and also of chloride and sodium were markedly reduced during percolation and must have been retained. It is likely that nutrient retention in the subsoil layer is only temporary, emphasizing the need for a rapid re-establishment of the naturally deep-rooting secondary vegetation after abandonment of sites to enable uptake of these nutrients. The overall nutrient balance was highly negative for slash-and-burn. 291 and 403 kg N ha^–1, 21 and 18 kg P ha^–1, and 70 and 132 kg K ha^–1 were removed from the burnt plots with a preceding fallow of 3.5 and 7 years, respectively. A reduced fallow period (3.5 years), which is a common trend in the region, resulted in a higher mean annual rate of nutrient loss averaged over the duration of the cycle than a fallow period of 7 years. Eliminating the burning losses by mulching brought the agricultural system back to an equilibrated or even slightly positive nutrient balance, even after a reduced fallow period. Thus, slash-and-mulch is a viable alternative to maintain agricultural productivity and ecosystem functioning.     

Active sites on Pt containing sulfated zirconia

The influence of the Pt and sulfate concentration on the activity of Pt containing sulfated zirconia for n-heptane conversion was investigated. Pt was deposited on the support by impregnation and by photocatalytic deposition. The amount deposited was 2.5 and 0.4 wt% respectively. For comparison a hybrid catalyst consisting of sulfated zirconia and Pt on SiO₂ was prepared. As supports a commercial sulfated zirconia with a fixed sulfate concentration, a commercial and self synthesized Zr(OH)₄ were used. The sulfate content varied between 20 and 60% of a monolayer. The shifts to higher frequency in the IR spectra of CO adsorbed on Pt correlate with the increasing amounts of sulfates on zirconia and are attributable to the changes in the electron density of the supported metal, i.e. the electron deficiency of Pt increases with increasing concentration of acid sites. After activation in air and reduction in hydrogen two SO₂ peaks were detected by a temperature programmed heating procedure (TPE—temperature programmed evolution). The lower the desorption temperature of the first SO₂ peak, the higher the activity. The shift to lower temperature is connected with a higher Pt and sulfate concentration, furthermore with the proximity of the metal to acid sites. The catalysts with a low sulfate concentration possess only Lewis acid sites and are inactive for n-heptane conversion. At higher sulfate concentration, Br?nsted acid sites are present and the catalysts are active. The concentration of these acid sites is related to the concentration of sulfates, which desorb at lower temperature. Dedicated to Professor Konrad Hayek.     

Activity,selectivity, and methanol tolerance of novel carbon-supported Pt and Pt<Subscript>3</Subscript>Me (Me = Ni,Co) cathode catalysts

The activity, selectivity, and methanol tolerance of novel, carbon supported high-metal loading (40 wt.%) Pt/C and Pt₃Me/C (Me = Ni, Co) catalysts for the O₂ reduction reaction (ORR) were evaluated in model studies under defined mass transport and diffusion conditions, by rotating (ring) disk and by differential electrochemical mass spectrometry. The catalysts were synthesized by the organometallic route, via deposition of pre-formed Pt and Pt₃Me pre-cursors followed by their decomposition into metal nanoparticles. Characteristic properties such as particle sizes, particle composition and phase formation, and active surface area, were determined by transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. For comparison, commercial Pt/C catalysts (20 and 40 wt.%, E-Tek, Somerset, NJ, USA) were investigated as well, allowing to evaluate Pt loading effects and, by comparison with the pre-cursor-based catalyst with their much smaller particle sizes (1.7 nm diameter), also particle size effects. Kinetic parameters for the ORR were evaluated; the ORR activities of the bimetallic catalysts and of the synthesized Pt/C catalyst were comparable and similar to that of the high-loading commercial Pt/C catalyst; at typical cathode operation potentials H₂O₂ formation is negligible for the synthesized catalysts. Due to their lower methanol oxidation activity the bimetallic catalysts show an improved methanol tolerance compared to the commercial Pt/C catalysts. The results indicate that the use of very small particle sizes is a possible way to achieve reasonably good ORR activities at an improved methanol tolerance at DMFC cathode relevant conditions.