A subtle review on the challenges of photocatalytic fuel cell for sustainable power production

The revolution in the arena of functional materials for the development of well advanced engineered photocatalyst can efficiently harness photon energy from a wide spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. These next-generation smart materials would be a spectacular approach in designing devices such as photovoltaic cells, photoelectrochemical cells, and photocatalytic fuel cells. Photocatalytic oxidation of water or wastewater for concurrent production of hydrogen and electric current has turned out as a principal concept for the construction of modern photocatalytic fuel cells (PFCs). Such PFCs mimics reverse photosynthesis process where electrical energy is generated from organic pollutants. In recent years many reviews on focusing the design, fabrication, and theoretical efficiency of the PFCs have been published. Hence the present review is aimed to unveil the wall-to-wall information starting from fundamentals spanning to working principles, structural configuration, electrochemical degradation of pollutants and photoelectrochemical properties, electron transport, thermodynamic behavior and columbic efficiency of studied PFCs.     

An agent-based debiasing framework for investment decision-support systems

Though researchers agree on the role of psychological forces on individuals' decision-making and emphasise the need for developing decision-support systems (DSS) that make individuals aware of these forces, a framework that can guide us in building such systems is still non-existent. In this article, we attempt to bridge this gap by proposing an agent-based debiasing framework for developing investment DSS. Identifying the primary characteristics of major biases influencing investment decisions through a thorough literature review, we propose a taxonomy to categorise them as cognitive, affective or conative. Cognitive biases are information-processing biases. Affective biases involve general moods and emotions. Conative biases are relatively stable personality traits such as overconfidence and inertia. We then outline debiasing strategies for each of these bias categories and identify decision-support characteristics necessary in software agents to carry out the appropriate debiasing tasks. An agent-based DSS architecture is then proposed, and a detailed trading example triggering a sample bias detection and debiasing algorithm is discussed to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed system.     

Organic whey as a source of Lactobacillus strains with selected technological and antimicrobial properties

Twenty‐five strains, isolated from raw, non‐pasteurised, organic whey samples, were identified phenotypically and genotypically. Biochemical tests were performed, and enzyme profiles, antibiotic resistance and antimicrobial properties were investigated. Sixteen strains were identified as genus Lactobacillus. Based on 16S rDNA gene sequence, the strains were identified as Lb. plantarum and Lb. fermentum. All of the strains had β‐galactosidase activity, and some of them reduced nitrate content. All strains utilised carbohydrates. The tested strains were characterised by low or average lipolytic and esterolytic activity. Moreover, the strains showed low proteolytic activity which is advantageous for their use as starter cultures for foods with low protein content. Strains Lb. fermentum S20, SM1, SM3, S2R and Lb. plantarum SM5 produced harmful N‐acetyl‐β‐glucosaminidase; moreover, the strain S20 produced also β‐glucuronidase. None of the strains produced α‐chymotrypsin. In phenotypic studies, most of the test strains were susceptible to gentamicin, ampicillin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, penicillin and erythromycin. Strains Lb. plantarum S1 and Lb. fermentum S4, S7, S8, S10, SM1 and SM3 did not possess any transfer resistance genes. Antagonistic activity of the culture LAB strains was assessed as high or moderate in relation to the indicator strains, with the greatest zones of inhibition for E.coli and the smallest for L. monocytogenes ATCC 15313. This study reveals that the LAB strains isolated from organic whey have high potential for food application. Some strains of species Lb. fermentum (S4, S7, S8, S10) have been identified as the best candidates.     

1,2-Dimethylimidazole based bromine complexing agents for vanadium bromine redox flow batteries

To stabilize bromine produced during a vanadium-bromine redox flow batteries (VBr RFBs) charging, a bromine complexing agent (BCA) should be effectively used as a supporting material in VBr electrolyte. However, there remains a problem of improving the unstable reversibility between V²⁺ and V³⁺ in electrolyte including halogen elements (Br and Cl). This paper describes two imidazole-based BCAs, which are 1,2-dimethyl-3-ethylimidazolium bromide (DMEIm: C₇H₁₃BrN₂) and 1,2-dimethyl-3-propylimidazolium bromide (DMPIm: C₈H₁₅BrN₂), for not only confirming the capture of bromine but also improving the redox reaction of vanadium ions in VBr electrolyte. The effectiveness of the proposed two imidazole-based BCAs is demonstrated through the following experiments: cyclic voltammetry (CV), nuclear magnetic resonance analysis (NMR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis and cyclic cell operation test. Experimental results show that both the diffusion coefficient and the peak currents of each electrolyte using the proposed imidazole-based BCAs increases linearly with the rise of scan rate on the recorded CV curves, providing improved reversible reaction of V²⁺/V³⁺ in negative electrolyte. It also exhibits that the electrolytes using the DMEIm and DMPIm provide significantly improved charge (discharge) capacities which are 9.38 (31.01) % and 11.8 (35.66) % higher than the pristine one, respectively, resulting in 13.27% and 14.36% higher current efficiencies. In addition, corrosion cracks on the separator surface due to bromine attack are not observed after the cyclic cell operation. Consequently, these results indicate that the proposed two imidazole-based BCAs can not only sequester bromine during the VBr RFB charging, but also enhance electrochemical reversibility caused by improving diffusion coefficient of vanadium.     

Antimicrobial effect of an Undaria pinnatifida composite film containing vanillin against Escherichia coli and its application in the packaging of smoked chicken breast

To develop a value‐added product, we used the under‐utilised seaweed Undaria pinnatifida as a source material for the fabrication of a biodegradable film by extracting U. pinnatifida protein (UPP). UPP/gelatine composite films with different constituent ratios were prepared. In addition, the UPP/gelatine composite films containing vanillin (0.05%, 0.1% and 0.5%) were prepared as antimicrobial packaging material. To evaluate the utility of the UPP composite film containing 0.5% vanillin as food packaging material, smoked chicken breast samples inoculated with Escherichia coli were packed with the film and stored at 4 °C for 10 days. It was observed that packaging of smoked chicken breast with the UPP composite film containing vanillin decreased the population of the inoculated E. coli by 1.12 log CFU g^?1 compared with that in the control sample. Thus, the UPP/gelatine composite film with added vanillin can be utilised as a packaging material for smoked chicken breast.     

化学激发作用对磨细矿渣活性的影响

通过试验,探讨了化学激发作用对磨细矿渣活性的影响,采用CaO,NaOH,KAl(SO4)2·12H2O,Na2SO4四种化学试剂,主要研究了不同化学试剂对磨细矿渣不同的试验效果,为类似研究奠定了基础。     

Effective Oral Administration of an Antitumorigenic Nanoformulated Titanium Complex

Abstract : Orally administered anticancer drugs facilitate treatment, but the acidic conditions in the stomach often challenge their availability. PhenolaTi is a Ti^IV-based nontoxic anticancer drug with marked in-vivo efficacy. We report that nanoformulation protects phenolaTi from decomposition in stomach-like conditions. This is evidenced by similar NMR characteristics and similar in-vitro cytotoxicity toward murine (CT-26) and human (HT-29) colon cancer cells before and after incubation of nanoformulated phenolaTi (phenolaTi-F) at pH 2, unlike results with the unformulated form of the complex. Furthermore, administration of phenolaTi-F in animal drinking water revealed a notable inhibition of tumor growth in Balb/c and immune-deficient (Nude) mice inoculated with CT-26 and HT-29 cells, respectively. In-vivo efficacy was at least similar to that of the corresponding intraperitoneal treatment with phenolaTi-F and the clinically employed oral drug, capecitabine. No body weight loss or clinical signs of toxicity were evident in the phenolaTi-F-treated animals. These findings demonstrate a new convenient mode of cancer treatment through oral administration by safe titanium-based drugs.     

Betacyanins in dragon fruit peels: the kinetic models of their degradation under different treatment conditions

In this study, after purification, the content of betacyanins in dragon fruit peels was 9.22 mg g⁻¹ dry sample. The stability of betacyanins under the effect of different concentration of metal cation (K⁺, Na⁺, Cu²⁺, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, Mg²⁺, Al³⁺) solutions and sugars (glucose, sucrose, fructose, maltose and lactose) solutions was observed. The results showed that 10% lactose and 0.08 mol L⁻¹ potassium chloride solution increased the stability of betacyanins and could be used as stabiliser agents. The degradation reaction under different temperatures (20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 °C), pH (2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, 7.0, 8.0) and light conditions (light and dark) of mixed solution (betacyanins and stabiliser), including aqueous pigments solution (APS), lactose pigments solution (LPS) and potassium chloride pigments solution (PCPS), accorded with the first-order reaction kinetics. The t_1/2 values (the hours needed for 50.0% degradation of betacyanins) of LPS even up to 330.0 h at 20 °C and dark condition.