Nanoliposome Powder Containing Shrimp Oil Increases Free Flowing Behavior and Storage Stability

Shrimp oil nanoliposomes dried by freeze‐drying and spray‐drying are characterized, in which carboxy methyl cellulose and fumed silica (SiO₂) at various proportions are used as wall material and anti‐caking agent. Spray‐dried powder (SDP) is spherical in shape with average particle size of 5.33 ± 2.55 µm, while the freeze‐dried powder (FDP) having average size of 240.8 ± 237.4 µm is irregular. SDP shows better flowability than FDP, which is more porous with much lower bulk density. Encapsulation efficiency (68.52 ± 1.85%) and solubility (85.22 ± 1.4) of SDP are greater than FDP (51.18 ± 3.81% and 71.25 ± 1.3, respectively) (p < 0.05). However, the wettability of FDP is higher with shorter reconstitution time. FDP exhibits lower oxidation of total encapsulated oil and better retention of n‐3 fatty acids (p < 0.05). Overall, both FDP and SDP are thermodynamically stable and the aforementioned powders have the prolonged storage time of six weeks. Practical Applications: Oil from shrimp cephalothorax, a byproduct from shrimp processing industries, is one of the rich sources of omega‐3 fatty acids and astaxanthin. Encapsulation of shrimp oil in nanoliposomes is a promising technology, which can be utilized to protect the oil against oxidation and mask the off‐odors. Shrimp oil nanoliposome powder prepared using spray‐drying and freeze‐drying processes and added with the anticaking agents offers numerous advantages such as good flowability, better solubility, and enhanced encapsulation efficiency in addition to the improved oxidative stability and no significant loss of bioactive PUFAs. The shrimp oil nanoliposome powder could be used in the fortification of number of food products, particularly beverages. Moreover, due to the powdered form, the shelf stability is increased, handling and transportation becomes easier, and the cost is significantly reduced.     

Bandwidth efficient transceiver design for differentially encoded OFDM system

In this paper, we present a bandwidth efficient non-coherent transceiver design for single input single output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (SISO-OFDM) modulation with differential encoding. Under fast channel fading or in low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regime, pilot assisted channel estimation is not feasible. In such channel conditions, conventional non-coherent detection methods are not reliable resulting in poor throughput. We propose a frequency-spread time-encoded (FSTE) method for OFDM modulation, which exploits multipath diversity and achieves target energy-per-bit to noise spectral density \({E_b}/{N_0}\) in low SNR regime by spreading differentially encoded information symbols along OFDM sub-carriers. We investigate the impact of spreading on bit-error rate (BER) and throughput under relative mobility and multipath fading scenarios. In order to maximize the throughput of the proposed method, we also optimize spreading factor and modulation order. The simulation results demonstrate significant BER and throughput performance gain as compared to prevailing differential encoding methods.     

Membranes for CO2 /CH4 and CO2/N2 Gas Separation

Membrane technology has emerged as a leading tool worldwide for effective CO₂ separation because of its well-known advantages, including high surface area, compact design, ease of maintenance, environmentally friendly nature, and cost-effectiveness. Polymeric and inorganic membranes are generally utilized for the separation of gas mixtures. The mixed-matrix membrane (MMM) utilizes the advantages of both polymeric and inorganic membranes to surpass the trade-off limits. The high permeability and selectivity of MMMs by incorporating different types of fillers exhibit the best performance for CO₂ separation from natural gas and other flue gases. The recent progress made in the field of MMMs having different types of fillers is emphasized. Specifically, CO₂/CH₄ and CO₂/N₂ separation from various types of MMMs are comprehensively reviewed that are closely relevant to natural gas purification and compositional flue gas treatment     

Machine learning based cluster formation in vehicular communication

Telecommunication Systems - Nowadays vehicular communication has become a widespread phenomenon, which will cause spectrum scarcity. By utilizing the cognitive radio in vehicular communication can...     

Cholesterol-lowered shrimp lipid-loaded liposome stabilised by pectin/glycerol and its fortification in peach tea drink

Cholesterol-lowered shrimp lipid was loaded into liposomes using different stabilisers, namely glycerol (Gl-Lp), cholesterol (Ch-Lp) and pectin, combined with glycerol (Pe-Gl-Lp). Ch-Lp liposomes were the largest. Pe-Gl-Lp had the lowest negative charge and polydispersity index. Generally, encapsulation efficiency was higher in Ch-Lp. Oxidation values confirmed cholesterol oxidation in Ch-Lp, more likely induced by ultrasonication. Based on the liposome characteristics and oxidative stability, Pe-Gl-Lp at different levels (1%, 3% and 5%, V/V) was used to fortify peach tea drink. Peach tea drink containing 3% Pe-Gl-Lp showed an overall liking score of 7.2. It also contained increased amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids and astaxanthin. Overall, pectin in combination with glycerol was proved as a potential stabiliser for liposomes loaded with cholesterol-lowered shrimp lipid. Fortification with liposomes at 3% could increase the health benefits of the resulting drink.     

Comparative study: Thermal and non-thermal treatment on enzyme deactivation and selected quality attributes of fresh carrot juice

The combined effect of emerging electro-technology high-voltage cold plasma (HVCP) and non-thermal ultra-high hydrostatic pressure (UHP) as bioprocess technologies on the quality and stability of carrot juice has been evaluated. Carrot juice was treated with HVCP (70 kV for 3 min), UHP (300, 400, and 500 MPa) at 25 °C for 5 min, and a blanched sample of 100 °C for 5 min (BS) was also prepared. As compared to control and single treatments, the combined treatment (HVCP-UHP500) has attained better results in terms of enzyme inactivation and electroporation extraction of coloring compounds, phytochemicals, and ascorbic acid. Wherein, the maximum of 25.87 ± 0.12^a µg/100 mL of β-Carotene, 11.89 ± 0.80^a GAE (µg g⁻¹) of total phenols, and 24.07 ± 0.12^b mg/100 mL of ascorbic acid content in carrot juice were also observed in the combined treatment at 500 MPa. In addition, phytochemical enhancement might be attributed to the disintegration of phenolic dimers into simple aglycones, predominantly because of the electro-kinetic phenomenon of HVCP, which is subsequently intensified by UHP treatment. Therefore, the current study suggests that the combination of two novel techniques is a highly efficient method in terms of energy, time, and cost, with low yield efficiency and bio-safety.     

Cobalt-free perovskite Ba1-xNdxFeO3-δ air electrode materials for reversible solid oxide cells

We report on Ba_1-xNd_xFeO_3-δ, a cobalt-free perovskite material, with a view to its use as a next-generation air electrode material in reversible solid oxide cells (RSOCs). BaFeO_3-δ (BFO) has long been considered a potential candidate cathode material due to its high oxygen vacancy concentration and electrical conductivity; however, it is difficult to synthesize in a single phase. To overcome this problem, Nd³⁺ is doped into Ba-sites to reduce impurity phases and create a single perovskite phase. In-situ high temperature and room temperature X-ray diffraction analyses are carried out to investigate Nd³⁺-doped BFO. We find that Ba_0.97Nd_0.03FeO_3-δ shows the highest electronic conductivity and lowest TEC value among the various doping concentrations tested, making this material most suitable for application in RSOCs. In addition, the polarization resistance of Ba_0.97Nd_0.03FeO_3-δ has the lowest value in yttria-stabilized zirconia symmetric cells. To determine the reasons for the high catalytic activity of Ba_0.97Nd_0.03FeO_3-δ, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and iodometric titration are carried out, the results demonstrate that the lower doping concentration of Nd³⁺ results in an advantage in terms of the number of additional oxygen vacancies created. Moreover, electrical conductivity relaxation measurements show that the Ba_0.97Nd_0.03FeO_3-δ has a fast bulk diffusion coefficient and fast surface exchange coefficient. Hence, the solid oxide fuel cell and electrolysis mode performances when using Ba_0.97Nd_0.03FeO_3-δ are excellent and a high power output of 1.2 W cm^?2 at 800 °C can be achieved.     

Fluoro Substituted Monomeric and Uni-Dimensional Polymeric Organotin(IV) Esters of (E)-4-oxo-4-((3-trifluoromethyl)phenyl)amino)but-2-enoic acid; Synthesis, Characterization and Their In vitro Inhibitory Studies

Inhibition effects of novel organotin(IV) esters of (E)-4-oxo-4-((3-trifluoromethyl)phenyl)amino)but-2-enoic acid have been studied against bacterial, fungal, tumoral and insecticidal strains. The complexes have shown potency against all these strains and is attributed to the multiple interactive sites of the ligand that not only change the environment around tin but also can make interactions with DNA. The synthesized complexes were characterized by physical, spectral, analytical and multinuclear nmr (¹H, ¹³C, ¹¹⁹Sn) data. The X-ray structure analysis of the complex is reported.     

Radiation resistant metal decorated MWCNTs/PMMA nanocomposite films with enhanced thermomechanical properties

UV/O₃ radiation and chemical resistant nanocomposite films of functionalized/metal decorated multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) are synthesized. Silver nanoparticles are decorated on the surface of UV/O₃ functionalized MWCNTs by both reduction and in situ growth from AgNO₃ aqueous solution. Microscopic studies reflect the better dispersion of UV/O₃ functionalized/silver decorated MWCNTs in polymer matrix contributing in enhancement of thermal stability, thermomechanical strength, glass transition temperatures, and thermal conductivity of nanocomposites even at 0.25 wt% MWCNTs additions. The thermal stability of nanocomposite film (0.25 wt% loading), prepared by using a surfactant (Sodium dodecyl sulfate) is increased to about 27°C while the thermomechanical properties are raised up to 76% at 100°C. Thermal and thermomechanical behavior of pre‐ and post‐UV/O₃ irradiated nanocomposite films are compared with neat polymer. The results reveal that UV/O₃ functionalized MWCNTs can effectively disperse the radiation and have a dramatic reinforcement effect on the nature of the degradation of PMMA matrix. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:969–978, 2014. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers