Hypoglycemic effects of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) autolysates

Fat, alkaloid and polyphenol contents of two clones of cocoa (UIT1 and PBC 140) were removed and the remaining powder was autolyzed at pH 3.5 and 5.2. Based on the results, autolysates of UIT produced at pH 3.5 exhibited the highest ability to inhibit α-amylase activity. However, no α-glucosidase inhibition activity was observed under the conditions specified. Autolysates produced under pH 3.5 caused the highest amount of insulin secretion. In streptozotocin-diabetic rats, all cocoa autolysates significantly decreased blood glucose at 4 h. To assure that the results from the assays were not due to the polyphenols of cocoa autolysates qualitative and quantitative tests were applied. According to their results cocoa autolysates were found to be free from polyphenols. Analysis of amino acid composition revealed that cocoa autolysates were abundant in hydrophobic amino acids. It can be suggested that besides other compounds of cocoa, its peptides and amino acids could contribute to its health benefits.     

Phase Transformations of α-Alumina Made from Waste Aluminum via a Precipitation Technique

We report on a recycling project in which α-Al₂O₃ was produced from aluminum cans because no such work has been reported in literature. Heated aluminum cans were mixed with 8.0 M of H₂SO₄ solution to form an Al₂(SO₄)₃ solution. The Al₂(SO₄)₃ salt was contained in a white semi-liquid solution with excess H₂SO₄; some unreacted aluminum pieces were also present. The solution was filtered and mixed with ethanol in a ratio of 2:3, to form a white solid of Al₂(SO₄)₃·18H₂O. The Al₂(SO₄)₃·18H₂O was calcined in an electrical furnace for 3 h at temperatures of 400–1400 °C. The heating and cooling rates were 10 °C/min. XRD was used to investigate the phase changes at different temperatures and XRF was used to determine the elemental composition in the alumina produced. A series of different alumina compositions, made by repeated dehydration and desulfonation of the Al₂(SO₄)₃·18H₂O, is reported. All transitional alumina phases produced at low temperatures were converted to α-Al₂O₃ at high temperatures. The X-ray diffraction results indicated that the α-Al₂O₃ phase was realized when the calcination temperature was at 1200 °C or higher.     

Application of MIKE SHE modelling system to set up a detailed water balance computation

Estimation of total water balance is a substantial issue for watershed modelling in order to simulate the major components of the hydrological cycle to determine the stress of different anthropogenic activities on the available water resources within a catchment. In this context, the fully distributed physically based MIKE SHE modelling system was used to simulate the individual hydrological components of the total water balance for the Paya Indah Wetlands (PIW) watershed in the west of Peninsular Malaysia. Results reveal that the overall water balance is predominantly controlled by climate variables. Application of the model to the PIW watershed provides detailed estimation of the total water balance for a first‐order catchment in which actual evapotranspiration (ET) represents approximately 65 and 58%, while overland flow (OL) to the PIW lake system represents 12.38 and 12.3% of the total rainfall during the calibration and validation periods, respectively. The difference of the inflow and outflow was taken as storage in depth. Overall, the model gives a reasonable output of total error of less than 1% of the total rainfall, which in turn indicates that the interaction among components is satisfactorily sustained.     

Effect of Synthesis Technique and Carbonate Content on the Crystallinity and Morphology of Carbonated Hydroxyapatite

The syntheses of nanosized carbonated hydroxyapatite（CHA） were performed by comparing dropwise and direct pouring of acetone solution of Ca（N0₃）₂-4H₂0 into mixture of（NH₄）₂HP0₄ and NH₄HCO₃ at room temperature controlled at pH 11.Direct pouring method was later applied to study the increment of carbonate content in syntheses.The as-synthesized powders were characterized by various characterization techniques.The crystallographic results of the produced powders were obtained from X-ray diffraction analysis,whilst the carbonate content in the produced powders was determined by the CHNS/O elemental analyzer.Fourier transform infrared analysis confirmed that the CHA powders formed were B-type.Field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed that the powders were highly agglomerated in nanosized range and hence energy filtered transmission electron microscopy was employed to show elongated particles which decreased with increasing carbonate content.     

An efficient online mapping tool for finding the shortest feasible path for alternative-fuel vehicles

Infrastructure for fuel-cell and other alternative-fuel vehicles is lacking not only in the paucity of fuel stations, but also in inadequate web-based support to help drivers complete their trips via the few stations that do exist. In this paper, we present an online mapping tool for finding the shortest feasible path in a road network given the vehicle's driving range and station locations. Users input their origin, destination, type of fuel, and driving range, and the algorithm generates a new reduced feasible network in which the vertices are the origin and destination nodes and reachable fuel stations and the edges represent feasible paths between them. Dijkstra's shortest path algorithm is applied to this reduced network to find the shortest feasible path. Efficiency is substantially improved by preprocessing and storing the shortest-path distances between stations. We present a web-mapping prototype (www.afvrouting.com) for hydrogen and compressed natural gas stations in the United States. Sample results illustrate the need for this kind of globally optimal solution method by showing that the optimal feasible path and refueling stops can vary tremendously as a result of user inputs for driving range, initial tank level, and one-way or round-trip.     

Structural and Magnetic Studies of Rare-Earth Substituted Nickel Ferrites

Polycrystalline ferrites NiFe₂O₄ and NiFe_1.99R_0.01O₄ (R=Sm, Gd, Eu, and La) samples were prepared by usual ceramic method. The structural and the magnetic properties of the samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Mössbauer Effect (ME) spectroscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Indexed XRD patterns confirm the formation of pure cubic spinel phase. The lattice parameters (a) of the rare earth (R) doped samples were smaller than that of the pure Ni-ferrite. Mössbauer effect spectroscopy was used to study the distribution of cations in tetrahedral (A) and octahedral [B] sites of the spinel. The hysteresis loops indicated that the saturation magnetization and coercivity increased with R-substitution and appeared to be greatly affected by the nature of R ions. The obtained results are interpreted based on the rearrangement of cations between the A-site and B-site.     

Enclothed cognition and hidden meanings in important Ottoman textiles

This paper illustrates how hidden details in garment design may reveal important clues about the motives of the wearer or designer that are of considerable cultural relevance. We suggest these hidden design features may reflect key psychological factors previously not considered. We illustrate this by doing a multilevel analysis of two important sixteenth century examples of Ottoman court clothing from the Topkapi Palace Museum. We show that these garments contain early examples of the use of “enclothed cognition” where the designs themselves are likely to have influenced the mind of the wearer. We suggest that the historical-social analysis of clothing may benefit from considering the concealed, as well as the explicit, psychologically relevant design features. We suggest that psychosocial interpretations of clothing may help further our understanding of textile and apparel design more generally, even within an historical context.