Newly designed polyacrylamide/dextran gels for electrophoresis protein separation: synthesis and characterization

Newly designed gels for electrophoresis protein separation were synthesized from acrylamide, N,N′‐methylenebis (acrylamide) and dextran mixtures. Radical polymerization was initiated by ammonium persulfate and N,N,N′,N′‐tetramethylethylenediamine. The time dependence of absorbance during polymerization was monitored using UV‐visible spectroscopy. The exothermic polymerization process exhibited a sharp rise of temperature reminiscent of the Trommsdorff effect. The swelling kinetics of the synthesized gels was examined in deionized water and buffer solutions. One of the challenges was to find an alternative to commercial products, sold as mixtures with no detailed chemical contents, commonly used in sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS‐PAGE) for protein separation. For this reason, a systematic comparison was made of the properties of one of the most commonly used commercial gels, Duracryl^? from Genomics Solution Inc., and those of the synthesized polyacrylamide/dextran gels. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Investigation on the effects of microwave and conventional heating methods on the phytochemicals of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) and black mulberry juices

Black mulberry and pomegranate juices were concentrated by conventional and microwave heating at different operational pressures (7.3, 12, 38.5, and 100 kPa). The effects of each heating method on the phytochemical changes (total anthocyanin content and antioxidant activity) of juices were investigated. The effect of various heating methods on the profile of the pomegranate anthocyanins were conducted using high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS). The main anthocyanins of pomegranate quantified by HPLC–MS were cyanidin, delphidin, pelargonidin, 3-glucoside, and 3, 5-diglucoside. In black mulberry juice, the final juice concentration of 42° Brix was achieved in 140, 120, and 95 min at 100, 38.5, and 7.3 kPa respectively and the final pomegranate juice concentration of 40° Brix was achieved in 140, 127, and 109 min at 100, 38.5, and 12 kPa respectively by using a rotary evaporator. Applying microwave energy decreased the required times to 115, 95, and 60 min for black mulberry juice and to 118, 95, and 75 min for pomegranate juice. Results showed that anthocyanin degradation and consequently decrease in antioxidant activity were more pronounced in rotary evaporation compared to microwave heating method.     

Increasing Water Security: An Algorithm to Improve Water Distribution Performance

Water Distribution Systems (WDSs) are indispensable infrastructures for urban societies. Due to vitality of continuous supply of drinking water in urban areas, it is necessary to have a performance evaluation and monitoring system to provide the expected level of security in water distribution systems. A main weakness point of these systems is the physical break of pipes which results in high level of water loss, pollution risk and public unsatisfactory. In this study, a framework is developed to increase physical water supply security in urban areas. For this purpose, a physical vulnerability index (PVI) is developed for evaluation of physical statues of water mains. In quantifying PVI, pipe characteristics and bedding soil specifications are considered. The importance of these factors on PVI is determined using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). In system performance evaluation, the pipe role in system performance is incorporated regarding pipe location in WDS, distance of pipe from reservoir and average pressure of pipe. Then, System Physical Performance Index (SPVI) is evaluated. An optimization algorithm is employed to determine ways to improve the system performance through enhancing the physical condition of the pipe in the system at a minimum cost. The genetic algorithm is employed for solving the optimization model. A global sensitivity analysis method named FAST, is used for sensitivity analysis to incorporate the correlation between different parameters in analysis. The proposed framework is applied to a case study located in Tehran metropolitan area. The results of this study show the significant value of the proposed algorithm in supporting decision makers to better choose vulnerable pipes for rehabilitation practices in order to decrease system vulnerability against physical failures.     

Prevention of hepatitis type B with specific immune serum globulin

In order to evaluate the preventive value of specific immune serum globulin against hepatitis type B, we have used this immune globulin in required doses in 12 patients (10 with AU antigen negative and 2 with AU antigen positive) with chronic renal failure who required maintenance hemodialysis for a period of 15 months, and we were able to prevent hepatitis type B in our dialysis patients.     

Solving constrained optimisation problems using the improved imperialist competitive algorithm and Deb’s technique

ABSTRACT

In this paper, an improved imperialist competitive algorithm called I-ICA is proposed for solving constrained optimisation problems. In I-ICA, the use of differential evolution (DE)/rand/1 mutation operator at assimilation step enhances the population diversity. Also, the binomial crossover operator improves the speed of convergence to optimal solution by distributing good information among solutions. Furthermore, Deb’s rules were applied for handling constrains. Examinations were done on 24 well-known functions and 5 engineering design problems. The comparison of I-ICA with basic ICA and 22 state-of-the-art algorithms shows I-ICA’s superiority in terms of the rate of convergence and quality of the obtained solution.     

Production of active lipase by Rhizopus oryzae from sugarcane bagasse: solid state fermentation in a tray bioreactor

This study deals with production of lipase in solid state fermentation by Rhizopus oryzae from sugarcane bagasse. A tray bioreactor was designed for the extracellular enzyme production. Daily, lipase production was evaluated at several incubation temperatures. Furthermore, the influence of temperature and humidity of the cabinet, depth of solid bed, particle size, initial moisture content and supplementary substrate (olive oil) as carbon source was investigated. The obtained results showed that bioreactor temperature of 45 °C, humidity of 80%, solid bed depth of 0.5 cm, particle size in the range of 0.335–1 mm, substrate initial moisture content of 80% for the top tray and 70% for the middle tray and supplementary substrate of 8% (v/w) olive oil led to maximum lipase production. Under optimum fermentation conditions after 72‐h incubation, maximum lipase activities for the top, middle and bottom trays were 215.16, 199.36 and 52.64 U gds^?1, respectively.     

The influence of surface chemistry of nano-silica on microstructure,optical and mechanical properties of the nano-silica containing clear-coats

Different nano-silicas were incorporated in an automotive OEM clear-coat based on acrylic-melamine chemistry. The morphological characteristics of the heat-cured films were investigated using scanning electron microscopy. It was found that there is a close relationship between the interfacial interactions of binder-silica nano-particles and mechanical and optical properties of the baked films.     

Analysis of transport phenomena within PEM fuel cells – An analytical solution

Transport phenomena within PEM fuel cells are investigated and a comprehensive analytical solution is presented. The methodology couples the transport within the fuel cell supply channels and the substrate which is composed of five different layers. The layers are all treated as macroscopically homogeneous porous media with uniform morphological properties such as porosity and permeability. The locally volume-averaged equations are employed to solve for transport through the porous layers. The problem encompasses complex interfacial transport phenomena involving several porous–porous as well as porous–fluid interfaces. Chemical reactions within the catalyst layers are also included. The method of matched asymptotic expansions is employed to solve for the flow field and species concentration distributions. Throughout the analysis, the choice of the gauge parameters involved in the perturbation solutions for velocity and concentration is found to be inherently tied to the physics of the problem and therefore an important physical metric. The analytical solution is found to be in excellent agreement with prior computational simulations. The analytical results are used to investigate several aspects of transport phenomena and their substantial role in PEM fuel cell operation. The solution presented in this work provides the first comprehensive analytical solution representing fuel cell transport phenomena.     

Thermal and mechanical properties of polyurethane rigid foam/modified nanosilica composite

Surface modification of fumed nanosilica was performed by using n‐(2‐aminoethyl)‐3‐aminopropyltrimethoxysilane as a coupling agent. Then, modified nanosilica was utilized in the preparation of polyurethane rigid foam. The characterization and the study of properties were done by some techniques, such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, dynamic mechanical analysis, and thermomechanical analysis. Also, tensile test was examined to evaluate the static mechanical properties. With the increasing of modified nanosilica, thermal and static mechanical properties were enhanced, but dynamic mechanical behavior was different from static mechanical behavior because of the different properties of interfacial domain and bulk matrix. The presence of functional groups on the nanosilica surface affected stoichiometry and reduced hard phase formation in bulk polymer. The decrease in glass transition temperature (T_g) confirmed this statement. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers