Comparison of enzyme‐assisted and ultrasound‐assisted extraction of vitamin C and phenolic compounds from acerola (Malpighia emarginata DC.) fruit

This article describes a comparative study of enzyme and ultrasound techniques for the simultaneous extraction of vitamin C and phenolic compounds from acerola fruit. Ultrasound‐assisted extraction (UAE) took only 6 min to achieve the highest level of vitamin C and phenolic compounds as well as antioxidant activity of acerola juice, while enzyme‐assisted extraction (EAE) took up to 120 min to obtain the maximal values. On the basis of kinetic model of second‐order extraction, the extraction rate constant of vitamin C and phenolics in UAE increased approximately 3.1 and 2.7 times, respectively, in comparison with that in EAE. In addition, the maximal level of vitamin C, phenolics and the antioxidant activity evaluated by 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and 2,2′‐azinobis‐(3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulphonic acid) (ABTS) methods in UAE was 4.6%, 3.5%, 4.6% and 3.3%, respectively, higher than those in EAE. Obviously, UAE is a useful method for the extraction of antioxidants from plant materials.     

CHIR99021 Augmented the Function of Late Endothelial Progenitor Cells by Preventing Replicative Senescence

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are specialized cells in circulating blood, well known for their ability to form new vascular structures. Aging and various ailments such as diabetes, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease make EPCs vulnerable to decreasing in number, which affects their migration, proliferation and angiogenesis. Myocardial ischemia is also linked to a reduced number of EPCs and their endothelial functional role, which hinders proper blood circulation to the myocardium. The current study shows that an aminopyrimidine derivative compound (CHIR99021) induces the inhibition of GSK-3β in cultured late EPCs. GSK-3β inhibition subsequently inhibits mTOR by blocking the phosphorylation of TSC2 and lysosomal localization of mTOR. Furthermore, suppression of GSK-3β activity considerably increased lysosomal activation and autophagy. The activation of lysosomes and autophagy by GSK-3β inhibition not only prevented replicative senescence of the late EPCs but also directed their migration, proliferation and angiogenesis. To conclude, our results demonstrate that lysosome activation and autophagy play a crucial role in blocking the replicative senescence of EPCs and in increasing their endothelial function. Thus, the findings provide an insight towards the treatment of ischemia-associated cardiovascular diseases based on the role of late EPCs.     

Process synthesis and optimization of biorefinery configurations

Recently, there has been a growing interest in the development of cost‐effective technologies for the production of biofuels. A common approach to biofuel research is to invent or improve a biochemical or thermochemical conversion step. Subsequently, other conversion and separation steps are added to form a complete biorefinery flowsheet. Because this approach is structured around a specific conversion step, it may limit the possibilities of configuring optimal and innovative biorefineries. This article proposes a novel and systematic two‐stage approach to the synthesis and optimization of biorefinery configurations, given available feedstocks and desired products. In the synthesis stage, a systems‐based approach is developed to create a methodical way for synthesizing integrated biorefineries. This method is referred to as “forward‐backward” approach. It involves forward synthesis of biomass to possible intermediates and reverse synthesis starting with the desired products and identifying necessary species and pathways leading to them. In the optimization stage, Bellman's principle of optimality is applied to decompose the optimization problem into subproblems in which an optimal policy of available technologies is determined for every conversion step. An optimization formulation is utilized to determine the optimal configuration based on screening and connecting the optimal policies and generating the biorefinery flowsheet. A case study of alcohol‐producing pathways from lignocellulosic biomass is solved to demonstrate the merits of the proposed approach. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2012     

Pd coated one-dimensional Ag nanostructures: Controllable architecture and their electrocatalytic performance for ethanol oxidation in alkaline media

One-dimensional (1D) metal-coated Pd structures are efficient catalysts for the ethanol electro-oxidation and promising strategy for minimizing the Pd-loading toward commercialization of direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs). Herein, the decorated and core-shell architectures of a novel Pd coating on Ag nanowires (PdAg-NWs) are controllable by a two-step polyol method based on the galvanic replacement reaction. The integration of uniform shell with a low Pd concentration and partial hollow structure onto 1D PdAg-NWs exhibits the highest efficiency for ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) in alkaline solution. In comparison with Pd nanoparticles (PdNPs/C), the PdAgNWs/C performes 11 times superior EOR activity, and the onset potential shifts 80 mV negatively. The presence of Ag in PdAg-NWs enhances the absorption capacity of ethanol molecules and hydroxyl ions on the active sites, and improves the catalyst tolerance to CO-like intermediates, making them a potential anodic catalyst for DEFCs.     

Throughput-based fair bandwidth allocation in OBS networks

Fair bandwidth allocation (FBA) has been studied in optical burst switching (OBS) networks, with the main idea being to map the max-min fairness in traditional IP networks to the fair-loss probability in OBS networks. This approach has proven to be fair in terms of the bandwidth allocation for differential connections, but the use of the ErlangB formula to calculate the theoretical loss probability has made this approach applicable only to Poisson flows. Furthermore, it is necessary to have a reasonable fairness measure to evaluate FBA models. This article proposes an approach involving throughput-based-FBA, called TFBA, and recommends a new fairness measure that is based on the ratio of the actual throughput to the allocated bandwidth. An analytical model for the performance of the output link with TFBA is also proposed.     

Tubular graphene architectures at the macroscopic scale: fabrication and properties

Specific graphene architectures at the macroscopic scale are paramount for exploring new functions and practical uses of graphene. In this study, macroscopic, freestanding, and tubular graphene (TG) architectures were successfully fabricated through a versatile and robust process based on the annealing of cellulose acetate (CA) on Ni templates. These TG architectures can be obtained as woven tubes with diameters of approximately 50 μm; they possess high graphitic crystallinity, strong electrical conductivity, and favorable corrosion resistance. The effects of processing parameters, such as annealing temperature, annealing time, and amount of CA, on the graphene properties of these architectures were investigated and are discussed in this paper. The graphene properties were characterized through field emission scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, four-point probe resistivity, and electrochemical measurements.     

New Results on Reachable Sets Bounding for Switched Neural Networks Systems with Discrete,Distributed Delays and Bounded Disturbances

Neural Processing Letters - In this paper, problem of reachable sets bounding is considered for switched neural networks systems with mixed time-varying delays and bounded disturbances. By using...     

Synthesis of highly concentrated suspension of chemically converted graphene in organic solvents: Effect of temperature on the extent of reduction and dispersibility

We report the effect of temperature on the extent of graphene oxide reduction by hydrazine and the dispersibility of the resulting chemically converted graphene (CCG) in polar organic solvents. The extent of graphene oxide reduction at high temperatures was only slightly higher than at low temperatures (30–50 °C), while the dispersibility of the resulting CCG in organic solvents decreased markedly with increasing temperature. The low dispersibility of CCGs prepared at high temperatures was greatly affected by reduction and influenced by the formation of an irreversible agglomerate of CCG at high temperatures. The reduction of graphene oxide at low temperatures is necessary to prepare highly dispersible CCG in organic solvents. CCG prepared at 30 °C is dispersible in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone concentrations as high as 0.71 mg/mL. The free-standing paper made of this CCG possessed an electrical conductivity of more than 22,000 S/m, one of the highest values ever reported.     

Photocrosslinking of functionalized rubbers. X. Butadiene–acrylonitrile copolymers

The photocrosslinking of polyacrylonitrile‐block‐polybutadiene‐block‐polyacrylonitrile (ABA) was shown to proceed within seconds at ambient temperature upon UV exposure in the presence of an acylphosphine oxide photoinitiator. The curing process was followed by infrared spectroscopy, insolubilization, and hardness measurements. Complete insolubilization could not be achieved with the neat ABA rubber because of the poor reactivity of the 2‐butene double bond and the low vinyl content of the polybutadiene chain. The addition of multifunctional acrylate monomers (20 wt %) causes a substantial increase of both the reaction rate and the crosslink density of the polymer, which becomes completely insoluble in toluene in less than 1 s upon UV irradiation. An even greater effect was observed by using small amounts (1 wt %) of a trifunctional thiol crosslinker. Both the thiol and the photoinitiator concentrations were shown to affect the kinetics of the thiol–ene polymerization and the polymer network crosslink density. A direct relationship was found to exist between the swelling degree of the UV‐cured rubber and the interchain molecular weight of the network. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 82: 2204–2216, 2001