The study was performed on Centaurea cyanus, Chamomilla recutita, Majorana hortensis, Ocimum basilicum, Plantago lanceolata, Sinapis alba, and Valeriana officinalis harvested in Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine. Our aim was to determine the differences in selenium concentrations, total polyphenols, and the antioxidant activity in same-species samples from different regions. Another goal was to assess the correlations between these variables within the species. We found variations in most species, but not in all regions of harvesting. In four of the six species from Ukraine, we observed the highest concentration of Se. The selenium concentrations ranged from 15−182 µg/kg DW, and the greatest variation between the regions occurred in S. alba. The level of polyphenols was 5.52−53.25 mg TAE/100 g DW, and the largest differences between the sampling regions occurred in P. lanceolata and O. basilicum. ABTS radicals scavenging ability ranged from 5.20−59.79 μM AAE/100 g DW, while the FRAP poten... [more]

The hydrodynamics of droplets passing through metal foam is investigated using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). The accurate 3D porous structure for the simulation is generated by X-ray micro-computed tomography. The simulated results are in good agreement with the experimental ones using high-speed video. The simulated results show that for droplets passing metal foam, there is a critical capillary number, Cac (around 0.061), above which the droplet continues to deform until it breaks up. The simulated results show that the capillary number, droplet size, pores diameter, and thickness of metal foam have the significant effect of droplets deforming and breaking up when the droplets pass through the metal foam. To avoid the calescence of two droplets at the inlet zone of the metal foam, the distance between droplets should be larger than three times the diameter of the droplet.

In recent years and with the increasing rigor of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) emission regulations, the shipping industry has focused more on environment-friendly and efficient power. Low-pressure dual-fuel (LP-DF) engine technology with high efficiency and good emissions has become a promising solution in the development of marine engines. This engine often uses pre-combustion chamber (PCC) to ignite natural gas due to its higher ignition energy. In this paper, a parametric study of the LP-DF engine was proceeded to investigate the design scheme of the PCC. The effect of PCC parameters on engine performance and emissions were studied from two aspects: PCC nozzle diameter and PCC nozzle angle. The results showed that the PCC nozzle diameter affected the propagation of the flame in the combustion chamber. Moreover, suitable PCC nozzle diameters helped to improve flame propagation stability and engine performance and reduce emissions. Furthermore, the angle of the PCC no... [more]

Expired dairy products are often disposed of due to the potential health hazard they pose to living organisms. Lack of methods to recover valuable components from them are also a reason for manufactures to dispose of the expired dairy products. Milk encompasses several different components with their own functional properties that can be applied in production of food and non-food technical products. This study aims to investigate the novel approach of using liquid biphasic flotation (LBF) method for protein extraction from expired milk products and obtaining the optimal operating conditions for protein extraction. The optimized conditions were found at 80% concentration ethanol as top phase, 150 g/L dipotassium hydrogen phosphate along with 10% (w/v) milk as bottom phase, and a flotation time of 7.5 min. The protein recovery yield and separation efficiency after optimization were 94.97% and 86.289%, respectively. The experiment has been scaled up by 40 times to ensure it can be commerc... [more]

Fretting occurs during orthodontic treatment or wearing prosthesis. Although weight of particles is marginal, the total releasing area is more of a concern due to amount and volume of molecules. The aim of the study was to examine the fretting wear resistance of orthodontic and prosthetic alloy Ni-Cr-Mo samples coated with Ti(C, N) and to compare them with samples without any coating. Five groups of cylindrical shape samples (S1−S5) made of Ni-Cr-Mo were coated with Ti(C, N) layers with different content of C and N. The control group (S0) was without layer. The alloys underwent fretting wear resistance tests with amplitude 100 μm, at frequency 0.8 Hz with averaged unit load: 5, 10, and 15 N for 15 min. The samples were subjected to microscopic observations using scanning electron microscope and a laser scanning microscope. Samples with Ti(C, N) coatings revealed higher fretting wear resistance. The wear in each case with Ti(C, N) coatings was over twice as low. The lowest wear and thus... [more]

Evaporative cooling can be integrated into fresh-air-handling units, to reduce cooling demand. This study considers a hybrid fresh-air-handling unit which incorporates a vapor-compression cooling cycle and indirect evaporative cooling to condition an ambient primary airstream to a desired supply air state. The cooling effects of using various modes (vapor compression only; direct expansion with mist; direct expansion with water shower; and direct expansion with mist and water shower) are compared when the fresh-air-handling unit operates in harsh (hot and humid) climatic conditions experienced in Qatar. Experimental analysis is based on actual ambient conditions measured from August 2018 to July 2019. It is found that the best-performing wet mode of operation saves more than 60% of the energy required by a conventional direct expansion cooling system operating under the same ambient conditions. In hot, dry conditions, the coefficient of performance of the fresh-air-handling unit when u... [more]

Triangular silver nanoplates were prepared by using the seeding growth approach with the presence of citrate-stabilized silver seeds and a mixture of gelatin−chitosan as the protecting agent. By understanding the critical role of reaction components, the synthesis process was improved to prepare the triangular nanoplates with high yield and efficiency. Different morphologies of silver nanostructures, such as triangular nanoplates, hexagonal nanoprisms, or nanodisks, can be obtained by changing experimental parameters, including precursor AgNO3 volume, gelatin−chitosan concentration ratios, and the pH conditions. The edge lengths of triangular silver nanoplates were successfully controlled, primarily through the addition of silver nitrate under appropriate condition. As-prepared triangular silver nanoplates were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), UV-Vis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and X-Ray diffraction (XRD). Si... [more]

Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin disease characterized by the presence of whitish and scaly plaques, which can cover up to 90% of the body surface. These plaques result from the hyperproliferation and abnormal differentiation of keratinocytes. Dermopharmaceutical testing of new therapies is limited by healthy and pathological skin models, which are not closely enough mimicking their in vivo counterparts. In this study, we exploited percutaneous absorption and Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC) analyses in order to determine the metabolic capacity of our psoriatic skin model. Skin substitutes were reconstructed according to the self-assembly method and tested regarding their percutaneous absorption of a topical formulation of tazarotene, followed by UPLC analyses. Histological and immunofluorescence analyses confirmed both the healthy and psoriatic phenotypes. Results from percutaneous absorption showed a significant level of tazarotene metabolite (tazarotenic acid) when th... [more]

With exposure to real-time market pricing structures, consumers would be incentivized to invest in electrical energy storage systems and smart predictive automation of their home energy systems. Smart home automation through optimizing HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) temperature set points, along with distributed energy storage, could be utilized in the process of optimizing the operation of the electric grid. Using electricity prices as decision variables to leverage electrical energy storage and flexible loads can be a valuable tool to optimize the performance of the power grid and reduce electricity costs both on the supply and demand sides. Energy demand prediction is important for proper allocation and utilization of the available resources. Manipulating energy prices to leverage storage and flexible loads through these demand prediction models is a novel idea that needs to be studied. In this paper, different models for proactive prediction of the energy demand... [more]

Proteomics and phosphoproteomics have been emerging as new dimensions of omics. Phosphorylation has a profound impact on the biological functions and applications of proteins. It influences everything from intrinsic activity and extrinsic executions to cellular localization. This post-translational modification has been subjected to detailed study and has been an object of analytical curiosity with the advent of faster instrumentation. The major strength of phosphoproteomic research lies in the fact that it gives an overall picture of the workforce of the cell. Phosphoproteomics gives deeper insights into understanding the mechanism behind development and progression of a disease. This review for the first time consolidates the list of existing bioinformatics tools developed for phosphoproteomics. The gap between development of bioinformatics tools and their implementation in clinical research is highlighted. The challenge facing progress is ideally believed to be the interdisciplinary... [more]

The effect of CuO as a sintering additive on the electrolyte of solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) was investigated. 0.5 wt% CuO was added into Sc0.1Ce0.05Gd0.05Zr0.89O2 (SCGZ) electrolyte as a sintering additive. An electrolyte-supported cell (Pt/SCGZ/Pt) was fabricated. Phase formation, relative density, and electrical conductivity were investigated. The cells were sintered at 1373 K to 1673 K for 4 h. The CuO significantly affected the sinterability of SCGZ. The SCGZ with 0.5 wt% CuO achieved 95% relative density at 1573 K while the SCGZ without CuO could not be densified even at 1673 K. Phase transformation and impurity after CuO addition were not detected from XRD patterns. Electrochemical performance was evaluated at the operating temperature from 873 K to 1173 K under steam to hydrogen ratio at 70:30. Adding 0.5 wt% CuO insignificantly affected the electrochemical performance of the cell. Activation energy of conduction (Ea) was 72.34 kJ mol−1 and 74.93 kJ mol−1 for SCGZ and... [more]

The physical and chemical processes in the raceway zone of the COREX melter−gasifier express are similar to those inside the blast furnace. Based on the research achievements on blast furnaces, the unsteady numerical simulation of a gas-solid two-phase in the raceway was carried out by using computational fluid software. The formation process of the raceway in the COREX melter−gasifier was simulated. The shape and size of the raceway were obtained. Then, the effect of gas flow on the depth and height of the raceway was analyzed in this paper.

The traditional treatment of waste incineration flue gas is mostly carried out in low temperatures, but there are some problems such as corrosion of the heating surface at high and low temperatures, re-synthesis of dioxins, and low efficiency. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the pollutants at high temperatures. For the grate waste incinerator, this study proposes an adiabatic cyclone flue arranged at the exit of the first-stage furnace of the grate waste incinerator to pre-remove the fly ash at high temperatures, so as to alleviate the abrasion and corrosion of the tail heating surface. In this paper, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method is applied to study the performance of a cyclone flue under different structural parameters, and the comprehensive performance of the cyclone flue is evaluated by the technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) method. The results show that particle separation efficiency increases at first and then decreases wit... [more]

In this study we explored the implementation of the vapor induced phase separation (VIPS) to produce cellulose acetate microcapsules for the encapsulation of a complex mix of fragrances. VIPS is a technique used for membrane preparation, but barely mentioned for microencapsulation. We compared the products from VIPS and a more common microencapsulation process, the immersion precipitation technique (IPS). The capsules prepared via VIPS show a core-shell structure with a thin polymeric shell surrounding the internally empty space, conversely to those produced via IPS, showing an incomplete spherical morphology. This can be attributed to a better control of the precipitation rate of the encapsulation material in the non-solvent thanks to the longer exposition time to the vapor. The activity and encapsulation efficiency of the capsules, obtained through TGA analysis, reached a maximum of ≈75% and ≈90%, respectively. Moreover, a growing trend between the initial active concentration and th... [more]

A high loading production in the manufacturing process of wheat germ (WG) drying is important for reducing the production costs. From a cost perspective, the drying performance become more effective in a batch process when the loading increases. The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the drying performance of WG with different loadings, from 2 to 9 kg, at 120 °C in a fluidized bed dryer. The moisture content, according to the American Association of Cereal Chemists (AACC) method, and the water activity using a thermal hygrometer were measured. The absolute humidity, diffusivity of moisture, and thermal efficiency were analyzed using a mathematical model. An analysis of the dehydration flux demonstrated a linear relationship between dehydration time and WG loading using a fluidized bed dryer. The kinetics of WG drying were observed with a simple exponential model used to match the experimental observation, indicating that the drying rate constant decreases with an increase... [more]

Unreinforced masonry walls are extensively used in the petrochemical industry and they are one of the most vulnerable components to blast loads. To investigate the failure modes and improve the blast resistances of masonry walls, four full-scale field tests were conducted using unreinforced and spray-on polyurea-reinforced masonry walls subjected to gas explosions. The results suggested that the primary damage of the unreinforced masonry wall was flexural deformation and the wall collapsed at the latter stage of gas explosion. The presence of polyurea coatings could effectively improve the anti-explosion abilities of masonry walls, prevent wall collapses, and retain the flying fragments, which would reduce the casualties and economic losses caused by petrochemical explosion accidents. The bond between the polymer and masonry wall was critical, and premature debonding resulted in a failure of the coating to exert the maximum energy absorption effect. A numerical model for masonry walls... [more]

Three natural oils extracted from Mentha piperita, Pinus roxburghii, and Rosa spp. were assessed in order to determine their insecticidal activity against the adults of three stored product insects: the rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae L.), the lesser grain borer (Rhyzopertha dominica, Fabricius), and the red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum, Herbst.). By Gas chromatography−mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis, the main compounds in the n-hexane oil from Rosa spp. were determined to be methyl eugenol (52.17%), phenylethyl alcohol (29.92%), diphenyl ether (7.75%), and geraniol (5.72%); in the essential oil from M. piperita, they were menthone (20.18%), 1,8-cineole (15.48%), menthyl acetate (13.13%), caryophyllene (4.82%), β-pinene (4.37%), and D-limonene (2.81%); and from the foliage of P. roxburghii, they were longifolene (19.52%), caryophyllene (9.45%), Δ-3-carene (7.01%), α-terpineol (6.75%), and γ-elemene (3.88%). S. oryzae and R. dominica were reared using sterilized wheat grains, and... [more]

In this current study, we demonstrated the green synthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles using Myrtus communis L. plant extract (Ag-MC) and its evaluation of anticancer and antimicrobial activities. The green synthesis of (Ag-MC), was assessed by numerous characterization techniques such as ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The anti-cancer activity of the green synthesized silver nanoparticles was evaluated by the median inhibitory dose (IC50) on human liver carcinoma cell lines (HepG2). These results suggested that SN-NPs can be used as effective anticancer cell lines, as well as antibacterial and antiseptic agents in the medical field. This study showed that overexpression of aldose reductase (AR) in the human liver carcinoma cell line, HepG2, was down regulated by administration of SN-MC. The do... [more]

The current continuation aim is to explore the rheological consequences of Eyring Powell nanofluid over a moving surface in the presence of activation energy and thermal radiation. The bioconvection of magnetized nanoparticles is executed with the evaluation of motile microorganism. The most interesting Wu’s slip effects are also assumed near the surface. The evaluation of nanoparticles for current flow problems has been examined by using Buongiorno’s model. The governing equations for the assumed flow problem are constituted under the boundary layer assumptions. After converting these equations in dimensionless form, the famous shooting technique is executed. A detailed physical significance is searched out in the presence of slip features. The variation of physical quantities, namely velocity, nanoparticles temperature, nano particles concentration, motile microorganism density, skin friction coefficient, local Nusselt number and motile organism density number are observed with detai... [more]

Membrane technology has been one of the most promising techniques to solve the water problem in future. Unfortunately, it suffers from the fouling problem which is ubiquitous in membrane systems. The origin of the bewilderments of the fouling problem lies in the lack of deep understanding. Recent studies have pointed out that the molecular structure of foulant affects its fouling propensity which has been ignored in the past. In this study, the filtration behaviors of alginate blocks derived from the same source were comprehensively explored. Alginate blocks share the same chemical composition but differ from each other in molecular structure. The alginate was first extracted from natural seaweed using calcium precipitation and ion-exchange methods. Extracted alginate was further fractionized into MG-, MM- and GG-blocks and the characteristics of the three blocks were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) obse... [more]

The injection pressure of the gasoline direct injection vehicle is currently developing from the low pressure to the high pressure, and the increase of the injection pressure has brought various damage problems to the high pressure pump structure. These problems should be solved urgently. In this paper, the damage problem of the high pressure pump unloading valve ball in a gasoline direct injection vehicle under high pressure conditions is studied. The theoretical calculation of the force of the pressure relief valve is carried out. Firstly, the equivalent friction coefficient is obtained by decoupling analysis of the statically indeterminate model. Based on this, a finite element model is established. The equivalent stress is obtained by numerical simulation. The equivalent stress is compared with the yield strength of the valve ball material to determine that the valve ball damage is a non-static damage. At the same time, the s-N curve of the probability of destruction of one-million... [more]

Global warming due to the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) has become a serious problem in recent times. Although diverse methods have been offered, adsorption using activated carbon (AC) from agriculture waste is regarded to be the most applicable one due to numerous advantages. In this paper, the preparation of AC from rubber-seed shell (RSS), an agriculture residue through chemical activation using potassium hydroxide (KOH), was investigated. The prepared AC was characterized by nitrogen adsorption−desorption isotherms measured in Micrometrices ASAP 2020 and FESEM. The optimal activation conditions were found at an impregnation ratio of 1:2 and carbonized at a temperature of 700 °C for 120 min. Sample A6 is found to yield the largest surface area of 1129.68 m2/g with a mesoporous pore diameter of 3.46 nm, respectively. Using the static volumetric technique evaluated at 25 °C and 1.25 bar, the maximum CO2 adsorption capacity is 43.509 cm3/g. The experimental data were analyzed using... [more]

In this study, a simultaneous water extraction process for baicalin, wogonoside, and chlorogenic acid has been optimized. The effect of extraction temperature, extraction time, and liquid−solid ratio was scrutinized by single factor experiments and further analyzed by Box−Behnken design (BBD) approach using response surface methodology (RSM). The extraction yield of investigated compounds was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Single-factor experiments and response surface analysis results revealed that the optimized conditions are: Liquid to solid ratio 25:1 (mL/g), extraction temperature 93 °C, extraction time 2.4 h, and the extraction cycle two. Importantly, it has been noted that under the above conditions, concentrations of baicalin, wogonoside, and chlorogenic were 0.078, 0.031, and 0.013 mg/mL, respectively, and the overall desirability (OD) value was 0.76 which was higher than the non-optimized conditions and the deviation from the predicted OD value w... [more]

A solid vegetable waste stream was subjected to dilute acid (HCl) pretreatment with the goal of converting the waste into a form that is amenable to biochemical processes which could include microbial lipids, biohydrogen, and volatile organic acids production. Specifically, this study was conducted to identify the most suitable pretreatment condition that maximizes the yield or concentration of sugars while minimizing the production of compounds which are inhibitory to microbes (i.e., furfural, hydroxymethylfurfural, and organic acids). Temperatures from 50−150 °C and HCl loading from 0−7 wt % were studied to using an orthogonal central composite response surface design with eight center points. The effects of the variables under study on the resulting concentrations of sugars, organic acids, and furans were determined using the quadratic response surface model. Results indicated that the biomass used in this study contains about 5.7 wt % cellulose and 83.8 wt % hemicellulose/pectin. W... [more]

The objective of this article is to investigate the impacts of thermo-diffusion effect on unsteady axisymmetric Casson flow over a time-dependent radially stretching sheet with a multi-slip parameter and the force of chemical reaction. We employed an established similarity transformation to this non-linear partial differential system to convert it into a system of ordinary differential equations. The numerical results are attained for this system by using KELLER-BOX implicit finite difference scheme. It has great reliability and accuracy even a very short time period for computational simulation. The impacts of influential flow parameters on fluid flow are sketched through graphs and the numerical results are thoroughly argued. The temperature, velocity and wall concentration control parameters are analyzed. (i) It is witnessed that chemical reaction is not favorable to enhance the velocity profile. (ii) Multi-slip parameters vary inversely with velocity profile. (iii) The fluid concen... [more]