Highly Efficient Zirconium Based Carbonaceous Solid Acid Catalyst for Selective Synthesis of 5-HMF from Fructose and Glucose in Isopropanol as a Solvent

Catalysis Letters - A new zirconium based carbonaceous solid acid catalyst Zr@CC-PA with both Lewis and Bronsted acidic sites was prepared by simultaneous carbonization and phosphonation of glucose...     

Antimicrobial and SEM Studies of Sophorolipids Synthesized Using Lauryl Alcohol

In recent years, researchers have developed biosurfactants for industrial, pharmaceutical and medical applications revealing the promising biological activities of these biomolecules. One of the best studied microbial surfactants are glycolipids, especially sophorolipids (SLs) produced by selected non-pathogenic yeast species of Candida. They are biodegradable, non-toxic and are environmentally friendly. Sophorolipid production was carried out using glucose as the hydrophilic source and lauryl alcohol C_12–14, as the hydrophobic source using Candida bombicola ATCC 22214. Primary characterization of the SL obtained using lauryl alcohol (SLLA) was done by FTIR which depicted the presence of alkyl sophorosides/SLs. Antimicrobial activity testing revealed that SLLA showed complete inhibition against gram negative bacteria, Escherichia coli (ATCC 8739) Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027) at 30 and 1 μg/ml at a contact time of 2 and 4 h respectively. Whereas for gram positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6358), Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6633), complete inhibition was observed at 6 and 1 μg/ml respectively at a contact time of 4 h. The formed SLLA showed noteworthy inhibition against the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans (ATCC 2091) at 50 μg/ml with a contact time of 4 h. These values are remarkably low compared to reported values of oleic acid SLs and linolenic acid SLs which were studied for antimicrobial properties. Scanning electron microscopy analysis of the treated cells revealed the changes in morphology and topography of the microorganisms.     

In vivo Targeting of DNA Vaccines to Dendritic Cells via the Mannose Receptor Induces Long-Lasting Immunity against Melanoma

Herein, we report effective, C-type lectin mannose receptor (MR)-selective, in vivo dendritic cell (DC)-targeting lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) of a novel lipid-containing mannose-mimicking di-shikimoyl- and guanidine head group and two n-hexadecyl hydrophobic tails (DSG). Subcutaneous administration of LNPs of the DSG/p-CMV-GFP complex showed a significant expression of green fluorescence protein in the CD11c⁺ DCs of the neighboring lymph nodes compared to the control LNPs of the BBG/p-CMV-GFP complex. Mannose receptor-facilitated in vivo DC-targeted vaccination (s.c.) with the electrostatic complex of LNPs of DSG/pCMV-MART1 stimulated long-lasting (270 days post B16F10 tumor challenge) antimelanoma immunity under prophylactic conditions. Remarkably, under therapeutic settings, vaccination (s.c.) with LNPs of the DSG/pCMV-MART1 complex significantly delayed melanoma growth and improved the survival of mice with melanoma. These findings demonstrate that this nonviral delivery system offers a resilient and potential approach to deliver DNA vaccines encoding tumor antigens to DCs in vivo with high efficacy.     

High Spatial Order Energy Stable FDTD Methods for Maxwell’s Equations in Nonlinear Optical Media in One Dimension

In this paper, we consider electromagnetic (EM) wave propagation in nonlinear optical media in one spatial dimension. We model the EM wave propagation by the time-dependent Maxwell’s equations coupled with a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) for the response of the medium to the EM waves. The nonlinearity in the ODEs describes the instantaneous electronic Kerr response and the residual Raman molecular vibrational response. The ODEs also include the single resonance linear Lorentz dispersion. For such model, we will design and analyze fully discrete finite difference time domain (FDTD) methods that have arbitrary (even) order in space and second order in time. It is challenging to achieve provable stability for fully discrete methods, and this depends on the choices of temporal discretizations of the nonlinear terms. In Bokil et al. (J Comput Phys 350:420–452, 2017), we proposed novel modifications of second-order leap-frog and trapezoidal temporal schemes in the context of discontinuous Galerkin methods to discretize the nonlinear terms in this Maxwell model. Here, we continue this work by developing similar time discretizations within the framework of FDTD methods. More specifically, we design fully discrete modified leap-frog FDTD methods which are proved to be stable under appropriate CFL conditions. These method can be viewed as an extension of the Yee-FDTD scheme to this nonlinear Maxwell model. We also design fully discrete trapezoidal FDTD methods which are proved to be unconditionally stable. The performance of the fully discrete FDTD methods are demonstrated through numerical experiments involving kink, antikink waves and third harmonic generation in soliton propagation.     

Electrical and optical properties of transparent conducting tin doped ZnO thin films

Electrical, optical and structural properties of tin doped ZnO thin films were investigated for various tin (Sn) doping concentrations. Sol gel method was used to deposit the films on microscopic glass slides and silicon substrate. UV–Visible spectrometer analysis showed excellent optically transparent oscillating natures with transparency above 85% in the visible range. Band gap of 3.24 eV was deduced for Sn doping concentration of 4 at% using envelope method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed to study the morphology of the films. Crystallinity of the film was investigated by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), which revealed polycrystalline nature with orientation towards c-axis. Resistivity of 3.11 Ω-cm with minimum stress value of 8.11 × 10⁻³ MPa was measured for Sn doping concentration of 4 at%.     

Content-Based Recommendations for Sustainable Wardrobes Using Linked Open Data

Mobile Networks and Applications - Textile production industry is one of the biggest industries available and it is known by its negative effects to the environment. Greenhouse gas emissions can...     

Electrodics of methanol oxidation on Pt-f-multiwalled carbon nanotube composite, prepared by γ-radiolysis

We report the electrodics of methanol oxidation on Pt-multiwalled carbon nanotube composites (Pt-f-MWCNTs), prepared by γ-radiolysis of K₂PtCl₆ in the presence of HOOC-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes. The electrocatalytic activity for the methanol oxidation was studied using cyclic and linear sweep voltammetric techniques on the stationary indium tin oxide and rotating gold disc electrodes, respectively. Higher values of oxidative (anodic) current were obtained using Pt-f-MWCNTs compared to the polycrystalline Pt electrode. This phenomenon is attributed to the synergistic effect of oxy groups on MWCNTs, which alleviate CO poisoning. The electrodics of the reaction at various temperatures was studied using linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) on a rotating disc gold electrode, modified with the composite. From the Koutecky-Levich plots, the standard rate constant (k⁰) was determined to be 7.9 ± 1.9 × 10⁻⁸ cm s⁻¹.     

Microbial Oxidation of Medium Chain Fatty Alcohol in the Synthesis of Sophorolipids by Candida bombicola and its Physicochemical Characterization

Sophorolipids (SL) are glycolipid biosurfactants abundantly produced from different feedstocks by yeasts and have been widely developed for various applications. The amphipathic structures of sophorolipids imparts to them surfactant type properties. These biosurfactants are readily isolated in high yield and are nontoxic and biodegradable, which make them industrially interesting as surfactants or emulsifiers. Sophorolipid production was carried out using glucose as a hydrophilic source and lauryl alcohol C_12–14, as a hydrophobic source by Candida bombicola (ATCC 22214). Process economics and environmental attractiveness was increased by using a low cost substrate. Optimization studies were carried out where the effect of glucose concentration, pH, temperature and metal ions on sophorolipid production was studied. Optimum production of sophorolipid obtained using lauryl alcohol (SLLA) was achieved after 96 h, the initial pH of the medium was 6.0 with 10 % glucose at 30 °C. Primary characterization of SLLA was done by FTIR. The SLLA showed high physicochemical properties in terms of the surface activities when compared with synthetic surfactants including dodecyl tetraethylene glycol ether and sodium lauryl sulfate. The surface tension of SLLA thus obtained was found to be 24 mN/m with a critical micellar concentration (CMC) value of 0.68 mg/L. Antimicrobial testing showed that SLLA have potent antimicrobial activity against both gram negative bacteria, Escherichia coli (ATCC 8739) and gram positive cocci, Staphylococcus aureuss (ATCC 2079).     

User-Tailored Planning of Mixed Initiative Information-Seeking Dialogues

Intelligent dialogue systems usually concentrate on user support at the level of the domain of discourse, following a plan-based approach. Whereas this is appropriate for collaborative planning tasks, the situation in interactive information retrieval systems is quite different: there is no inherent plan-goal hierarchy, and users are known to often opportunistically change their goals and strategies during and through interaction. We need to allow for mixed-initiative retrieval dialogues, where the system evaluates the user's individual dialogue behavior and performs situation-dependent interpretation of user goals, to determine when to take the initiative and to change the control of the dialogue, e.g., to propose (new) problem-solving strategies to the user. In this article, we present the dialogue planning component of a concept- oriented, logic-based retrieval system (MIRACLE). Users are guided through the global stages of the retrieval interaction but may depart, at any time, from this guidance and change the direction of the dialogue. When users submit ambiguous queries or enter unexpected dialogue control acts, abductive reasoning is used to generate interpretations of these user inputs in light of the dialogue history and other internal knowledge sources. Based on these interpretations, the system initiates a short dialogue offering the user suitable options and strategies for proceeding with the retrieval dialogue. Depending on the user's choice and constraints resulting from the history, the system adapts its strategy accordingly.     

Effect of open air annealing on spin coated aluminum doped ZnO nanostructure

Aluminum doped ZnO thin film nanostructures were prepared by spin coating deposition on glass and silicon substrates. Electrical, optical and structural properties of these films were analyzed in order to investigate their dependence on post annealing temperature and number of coating cycles. Ultraviolet–Visible spectrophotometry and X-Ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed that the films are optically transparent and polycrystalline in nature. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals worm like homogeneous morphology. Chemical analysis was carried out by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed mountain and valley like nanostructure. Optimized films with a low resistivity of 2.11 × 10⁻¹ Ω cm were obtained at open air annealing temperature of 375 °C.