Inhomogeneity in Distribution and Conformation of Bovine Serum Albumin in Sol–Gel: A Closer Look with a Near-Infrared Multispectral Imaging Technique

Concentration distributions and conformations of bovine serum albumin (BSA) entrapped in sol–gels were successfully determined for the first time by use of the recently developed NIR multispectral imaging instrument. It was found that BSA molecules were inhomogeneously distributed within the sol–gel matrix, independent of its concentration. At relatively high concentration (366 mg/mL) the encapsulation process does not seem to produce any observable changes in the conformation of BSA. However, when the concentration of BSA was decreased to 220 mg/mL, pronounced changes in the spectra of the protein were observed as a function of (sol–gel reaction) time. The observed inhomogenity might be traced to both a non-uniform concentration distribution of BSA and changes in protein native conformation resulting from interactions between the charged protein and the silicate anions. Results obtained seem to suggest that the protein molecules might adapt themselves to accommodate evolving geometry and sites of the silica network.     

Synthesis of Jasminaldehyde by Solid-Liquid Phase Transfer Catalysis Without Solvent,Under Microwave Irradiation

α-n-amylcinnamaldehyde (jasminaldehyde) was obtained with 82 % yield by solid-liquid phase transfer catalysis without solvent within 3 days at room temperature. By use of domestic microwave irradiation, the same yield was obtained within 1 minute at a power of 600 W.     

A Mild and Efficient Tetrahydropyranylation of Alcohols

Triphenylphosphine (TPP)-iodotrimethylsilane (TMSI) was found to be a convenient and highly effective catalyst for the tetrahydropyranylation of aliphatic and aromatic alcohols with dihydropyran in dichloromethane at ambient temperature.     

A simulation-based genetic algorithm approach for reducing emissions from import container pick-up operation at container terminal

Emissions from idle truck engines are a main source of pollution at container terminals. In this study, we focus on reducing such emission from waiting trucks as well as the related crane operations with a new truck arrival control method that gives individual truck limited time slots for entry. We develop a method to optimize the time slot assignment for individual trucks, aiming at minimizing total emissions from trucks and cranes at import yards. The method applies discrete event simulation to estimate total truck waiting times and crane moving distance, and then applies a genetic algorithm to minimize the generated emissions from these trucks and cranes. The experiment result shows that the truck arrivals should be controlled based on the stacking of import containers, and that such control is necessary for reducing truck idling emissions at a congested container terminal.     

A splitting algorithm for equilibrium problem given by the difference of two bifunctions

In this paper, we introduce a splitting algorithm for solving equilibrium problems given by the difference of two bifunctions in a real Hilbert space. Under suitable assumptions on component bifunctions, we prove strong convergence of the proposed algorithm. In contrast to most existing projection-type methods for equilibrium problems, our algorithm does not require any convexity or monotonicity conditions on the resulting bifunction. Some numerical experiments and comparisons are given to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm.