A Convenient Method for the Accurate Determination of Phosphorous in Fish Oils

The phosphorous content of fish oil was determined by acid hydrolysis for 168 h (one week) in 2 M hydrochloric acid at 120°C in glass tubes, followed by filtration and molybdenum blue colour development in an aliquot of the filtrate. The method is regarded as a convenient routine laboratory procedure, and the results obtained by the method are in good agreement with those obtained with the ashing procedure of the American Oil Chemists' Society. The determination has been satisfactorily applied to the analysis of many South African fish oils.     

Structure and Magnetic Property Control of Copper Hydroxide Acetate by Non‐Classical Crystallization

Copper hydroxide acetate (CHA), one layered hydroxide compound with tunable magnetism, attracts great interest because of its potential applications in memory devices. However, ferromagnetism for CHA is only demonstrated by means of GPa pressure. Herein, a new method is reported, involving the combination of different crystallization pathways to control crystallization of amorphous CHA toward the formation of CHA/polymer composites with tunable magnetic properties and even a tunability that can be tested at room temperature. By using poly[(ethylene glycol)₆ methyl ether methacrylate]‐block‐poly[2‐(acetoacetoxy) ethyl methacrylate] (PEGMA‐b‐PAEMA) diblock copolymers as additives in combination with a post‐treatment process by ultracentrifugation, it is demonstrated that CHA and PEGMA‐b‐PAEMA form composites exhibiting different magnetic properties, depending on CHA in‐plane nanostructures. Analytical characterization reveals that crystallization of CHA is induced by ultracentrifugation, during which CHA nanostructures can be well controlled by changing the degrees of polymerization of the PEGMA and PAEMA blocks and their block length ratios. These findings not only present the first example of using crystallization from polymer stabilized amorphous precursors toward the generation of magnetic nanomaterials with tunable magnetism but also pave the way for the future design of functional composite materials.     

Lipid determination in fish meal: An investigation of three standard methods applied to stabilised and non-stabilised anchovy meals at increasing stages of maturity

An investigation into the relative merits of three standard laboratory procedures for lipid determination in fish meal is described. It was found that the amount of lipid extracted by these methods from both stabilised and non-stabilised anchovy meals decreased on storage of the meals. The decrease in lipid yield as a function of the storage time may be approximated by straight lines, which reveal clear distinctions between the three methods as well as the two types of meal. The cold Bligh and Dyer method gave consistently higher lipid yields than either the hot hexane or a modified EEC method, and the decrease in the Bligh and Dyer lipid content with storage was less than that found in the hot hexane or the EEC lipid content. This difference was more pronounced in the non-stabilised than in the stabilised meals. No fundamental difference between the hot hexane and the modified EEC lipid extraction method could be established since the hydrolysis step in the EEC procedure does not de polymerise the lipid portion which is unextractable by hot hexane. The effectiveness of the antioxidant ethoxyquin in protecting polyunsaturated fatty acids in anchovy meal from oxidation is demonstrated.     

Evaluating an intelligent diagnosis system of historical text comprehension

This work aims to present and evaluate a Fuzzy-Case Based Reasoning Diagnosis system of Historical Text Comprehension. The synergism of fuzzy logic and case based reasoning techniques handles the uncertainty in the acquisition of human expert's knowledge regarding learner's observable behaviour and integrates the right balance between expert's knowledge described in the form of fuzzy sets and previous experiences documented in the form of cases. The formative evaluation focused on the comparison of the system's performance to the performance of human experts concerning the diagnosis accuracy. The system was also evaluated for its behaviour when using two different historical texts. Empirical evaluation conducted with human experts and real students indicated the need for revision of the diagnosis model. The evaluation results are encouraging for the system's educational impact on learners and for future work concerning an intelligent educational system for individualized learning.     

Platelet lysate and adipose mesenchymal stromal cells on silk fibroin nonwoven mats for wound healing

In this work platelet lysate (PL) and adipose‐derived mesenchymal stromal cells (ASCs) seeded on nonwoven fibroin mats were in vitro and in vivo evaluated for tissue regenerative applications. Nonwoven mats obtained by a large scale water entanglement technique were characterized for their physico‐chemical properties. Results indicated a high purity of fibroin fibers, their stability after sterilization process and appropriate technological properties suitable for tissue engineering. Moreover, the scaffolds in vitro supported adhesion and migration of ASCs and the presence of PL improved the cell proliferation. The products were then applied on epithelial/dermal wounds carried out on the dorsal surface of rabbit: the skin reparative process was solved in 9 days, with a completely restitutio ad integrum of the epithelium in animals treated with PL alone; ASCs did not further improve the wound healing. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 42942.     

Superparamagnetic polyvinylpyrrolidone/chitosan/Fe3O4 electrospun nanofibers as effective U(VI) adsorbents

Magnetoactive electrospun fibrous membranes consisting of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), chitosan (CS) and pre-fabricated, double-layer oleic acid-coated magnetite nanoparticles (OA.OA.Fe₃O₄) were fabricated and evaluated as new adsorbent materials for the removal and recovery of uranium (U(VI)) from aqueous solutions. The adsorption has been investigated by batch-type experiments and the solid material has been characterized by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray analysis (TEM/EDX) and vibration sample magnetometry (VSM) measurements prior and after uranium adsorption. The experimental adsorption data were found to be well fitted with the Langmuir isotherm and the pseudo-second order kinetic model. The results indicate that PVP/CS/OA.OA.Fe₃O₄ fibrous adsorbents exhibit good adsorption properties towards U(VI) in aqueous solutions, achieving a q_max value of 0.77 mol kg⁻¹ (183.3 mg g⁻¹) at pH 6.0. The experiments regarding the regeneration and reuse of the magnetoactive adsorbents were carried out using Na₂CO₃, at pH ~11. After four cycles, the percentage relative adsorption remained stable (~100%) whereas the desorption percentage decreased from 31.9% to 21.0%. Generally, the presented results demonstrate that the incorporation of the Fe₃O₄ NPs has a positive effect on the adsorption efficiency of U(VI) from aquatic environments.     

Mechanistic understanding of the fermentative L‐glutamic acid overproduction by Corynebacterium glutamicum through combined metabolic flux profiling and transmembrane transport characteristics

Since the 1950s when Micrococcus glutamicus later renamed Corynebacterium glutamicum was discovered, the production of amino acids by fermentative methods has become an important aspect of industrial microbiology. Numerous studies to understand and improve the metabolic conditions leading to amino acid overproduction have been carried out. Most amino acids are currently produced by use of mutants that contain combinations of auxotrophic and regulatory mutations. L ‐Glutamic acid is the amino acid produced in the greatest quantities (10⁶ tonnes per year) and Corynebacteria are central to its industrial production. However, further improvements to strain performance are difficult to obtain by empirical optimization and a more rational approach is required. The use of metabolic flux analysis provides valuable information regarding bottlenecks in the formation of desired metabolites. Such techniques have found application in elucidating flux control, provided insight into metabolic network function and developed methods to amplify or redirect fluxes in engineered bioprocesses. Hence, branch points in biosynthesis, precursor supply in fuelling reactions and export of metabolites can be manipulated, resulting in high glutamic acid overproduction by Corynebacterium glutamicum fermentations. In this review, in addition to reviewing the state of play in metabolic flux analysis for glutamate overproduction, the metabolic pathways involved in the production of L ‐glutamic acid, the mechanisms mediating its efflux and secretion as well as their manipulation to achieve higher glutamate production, are discussed. The link between metabolic flux and transmembrane transport of glutamic acid are also considered. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry