Influence of the dehydration process on active compounds of okara during its fractionation

Okara (residue of the soymilk manufacture) is rich in proteins, fibres and lipids. It also contains isoflavones that possess health‐promoting properties. A new method has been developed for the valorization of fibres from okara by hydrolysis of insoluble proteins with a protease and removal of the oil. Three different processes were investigated: the first one involved delipidation and drying prior to proteolysis and led to the highest content of fibre (80%) in the final product. The second used proteolysis on crude okara followed by solvent delipidation–dehydration and gave an intermediate content of fibre (75%). The last process was totally enzymatic (proteolysis and lipolysis) and gave the lowest content of fibre in the final product (50%). Fibre water‐holding capacity was correlated to the total dietary fibre content of each sample. It was preferable to use crude okara for hydrolysis, since oven‐drying during the process decreased the water‐holding capacity and modified the isoflavone profile of okara. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Hydration thermodynamics of plutonium and transplutonium ions

Since thermodynamic properties are related to crystallographic radii, we first present sets of precise values of crystallographic radii (R) for ionic charge +2, +3 and +4 and different coordination numbers (CN). These data are based on the values reported by Shannon as well as variations of R with CN as observed for lanthanides, and linear correlations between isoelectronic $\text{M}{}^{\mathrm{m+}}$ and $\text{N}{}^{\mathrm{n+}}$ ions. Accurate measurements of the volume of the unit cell of oxides, fluorides and chlorides carried out recently give reliable radii values.Experimental entropies of actinide aquo ions are limited to Pu³⁺ and Th⁴⁺. Since this property depends on the structure of the hydrated ion, we decompose ionic entropies into three terms, related to electronic configuration, mass of the central ion, and structure of the aquo ion (S_h). We use our data on the structure of trivalent actinide ions to derive S_h and therefore to estimate values of trivalent ionic entropies. Entropies of divalent and tetravalent ions are also obtained similarly.Finally, taking into account the structure of the aqueous actinide ions, we calculate hydration enthalpies of +2, +3 and +4 actinide ions.     

Kinetics of transcutaneous penetration and fixation of 3-propoxy-17-methoxyestradiol and estradiol in various rat tissues

The transcutaneous penetration of 3-propyl ether, 17-methyl ether oestradiol (POM) occurs by a diffusion phenomenon and does not seem to be modulated by a cutaneous receptor as it is the case for oestradiol. After transcutaneous administration of POM and oestradiol, a comparison of the kinetics of uptake on the uterus and of uterotrophic effects, as well as an analysis of radioactivity taken up by a partition method between petroleum ether and sodium hydroxide, indicates that cleavage of both ether groups of POM occurs leading to estradiol. It is likely that this de-etherification takes place in the liver after a period of quiescence. The lipophilic nature of POM allows an obvious uptake by the aorta and a very significant uptake by the adipose tissue. The etherification of the alcohol functions of oestradiol allows an adequate protection of the hormone against hepatic catabolism. This may explain, along with the release of metabolites taken up by the adipose tissue, that POM is bound to a greater extent than oestradiol by various tissues.     

Contribution of CNTs/CNFs morphology to reduction of autogenous shrinkage of Portland cement paste

In this experimental study, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were dispersed by intensive sonication in water in the presence of superplasticizer and subsequently mixed with Portland cement with water/ cement ratios varying between 0.3 and 0.4. The autogenous shrinkage in the fresh stage was investigated. The CNTs and CNFs were characterized by high resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the hydrated pastes were studied by X-ray diffraction and SEM. The results showed a reduction of the autogenous shrinkage by 50% for pastes containing small amounts (0.01 wt%) of nanomaterials. Higher additions appeared to be less effective. The highest reduction of shrinkage was observed for carbon nanofibers which were long, rather straight and had diameters of around 200 nm. The result showed that the addition of nanomaterials accelerated the hydration processes especially in the early stages of hydration. The effect was the most pronounced in the case of functionalized nanotubes. The proposed mechanism resulting in the reduction of the autogenous shrinkage was a combination of nano-reinforcing effects, alterations of hydration and microstructure of the hydrated matrix.     

Cross-influence of membrane polyunsaturated fatty acids and hypoxia-reoxygenation on α- and β-adrenergic function of rat cardiomyocytes

The purpose of the present investigation was to determine whether the beneficial effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) may influence ischemia-reperfusion-induced alterations of myocardial α- and β-adrenoceptor (α-AR, β-AR) responsiveness. This study was carried out using monolayer cultures of neonatal rat ventricular myocytes in a substrate-free, hypoxia-reoxygenation model of ischemia. The cardiomyocytes (CM) were incubated during 4 days in media enriched either with n−6 PUFA (arachidonic acid, AA) or with n−3 PUFA (eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA, and docosahexaenoic acid, DHA). The n−6/n−3 ratio in n−3 CM was close to 1.2, compared to 20.1 in n−6 CM. The contractile parameters of n−6 CM and n−3 CM were similar in basal conditions as well as during hypoxia and reoxygenation. In basal conditions, the phospholipid (PL) enrichment with long chain n−3 PUFA resulted in an increased chronotropic response to isoproterenol (ISO) and to phenylephrine (PHE). After posthypoxic reoxygenation, the chronotropic response to β-AR activation in n−6 CM was significantly enhanced as compared with the control response in normoxia. In opposition, the ISO-induced rise in frequency in n−3 CM in control normoxia and after reoxygenation was similar. In these n−3 CM, the changes in contractile parameters, which accompanied the chronotropic response, were also similar in reoxygenation and in normoxic periods, although the rise in shortening velocity was slightly increased after reoxygenation. In response to PHE addition, only the chronotropic effect of n−6 CM appeared significantly enhanced after hypoxic treatment. These results suggested that increasing n−3 PUFA in PL reduced the increase in α- and β-AR functional responses observed after hypoxia-reoxygenation. This effect may partly account for the assumed cardiac protective effect of n−3 PUFA, through the attenuation of the functional response to catecholamines in the ischemic myocardium.     

Writing and probing light-induced waveguides thanks to an endlessly single-mode photonic crystal fiber

We demonstrate writing and probing of light-induced waveguides in photorefractive bulk LiNbO3 crystal using an endlessly single-mode photonic crystal fiber. The optical waveguides are written at visible wavelengths by slightly raising the ferroelectric crystal temperature to benefit from the pyroelectric-driven photorefractive effect and the guiding properties are investigated at telecom wavelengths using the same photonic crystal fiber. End butt coupling with this photonic crystal fiber enables writing and probing of optical waveguides due to the self-alignment properties of spatial solitons.     

Can water level stations be used for thermal assessment in aquatic ecosystem?

Many studies focus on stream water temperature (WT) because it is considered a key ecological factor. However, few of them have investigated the use of WT data from water level monitoring networks, which often measure WT as ancillary data. Our study was conducted in southern Belgium at a high temporal resolution with continuous data recorded at intervals of 10 min between 2012 and 2016 and large spatial scale greater than 16,000 km². This study aimed to assess whether a regional water level network (140 stations) is reliable for continuous WT monitoring based on a Bland–Altman analysis with WT collected through a European monitoring network (Water Framework Directive). This study also investigates whether WT data acquired by water level stations can be used to perform both state‐of‐the‐art visualization of thermal regimes and spatio‐temporal queries for specific ecological monitoring. We found that the water level stations were reliable tools in recording continuous WT in the streams of the study area. The temperature difference between the two WT monitoring networks was ?0.57°C on average. Our positive results promote the use of WT from water level stations in order to globally characterize the thermal regime of streams as well as to provide spatial or temporal information on this regime at high frequencies. As an example, our data showed the effectiveness for brown trout (Salmo trutta fario L.) in spatializing thermal risk areas related to the thermal requirement of this fish species; in 2015, 19% of stations located in brown trout fish zone recorded temperatures above 25°C.     

Early verification and validation of mission critical systems

Complex software and systems are pervasive in today’s world. In a growing number of fields they come to play a critical role. In order to provide a high assurance level, verification and validation (V&V) should be considered early in the development process. This paper shows how this can be achieved based on a goal-oriented requirements engineering framework which combines complementary semi-formal and formal notations. This allows the analyst to formalize only when and where needed and also preserves optimal communication with stakeholders and developers. For the industrial application of the methodology, a supporting toolbox was developed. It consist of a number of tightly integrated tools for performing V&V tasks at requirements level. This is achieved through the use of (1) a roundtrip mapping between the requirements language and the specific formal languages used in the underlying formal tools (such as SAT or constraint solvers) and (2) graphical views using domain-based representations. This paper will focus on two major and representative tools: the Refinement Checker (about verification) and the Animator (about validation).