Natural antioxidants: fascinating or mythical biomolecules?

Research on the use, properties, characteristics and sources of antioxidants especially phenolic compounds, flavonoids, vitamins, synthetic chemicals and some micronutrients began in the late 18(th) century. Since then antioxidant research has received considerable attention and over a hundred thousand papers have been published on the subject. This has led to a rampant use of antioxidants in order to try to obtain and preserve optimal health. A number of nutraceuticals and food supplements are frequently fortified with synthetic or natural antioxidants. However, some research outcomes have led to the belief that antioxidants exist as mythical biomolecules. This review provides a critical evaluation of some common in vitro antioxidant capacity methods, and a discussion on the role and controversies surrounding non-enzymatic biomolecules, in particular phenolic compounds and non-phenolic compounds, in oxidative processes in an attempt of stemming the tidal wave that is threatening to swamp the concept of natural antioxidants.     

Application of group analysis to classification of systems of three second‐order ordinary differential equations

Here, we give a complete group classification of the general case of linear systems of three second‐order ordinary differential equations excluding the case of systems which are studied in the literature. This is given as the initial step in the study of nonlinear systems of three second‐order ordinary differential equations. In addition, the complete group classification of a system of three linear second‐order ordinary differential equations is carried out. Four cases of linear systems of equations are obtained. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magnetic Relaxation in (Zn,Cd) x Fe1.7−x Co0.9Ti0.4O4 Spinel Oxides

Hyperfine Interactions - We report results of Mössbauer and X-ray diffraction measurements on powdered samples of (Zn, Cd) x Fe1.7?x Co0.9Ti0.4O4 spinel oxides (where x=0 to 1.0)...     

Structural and magnetic properties of MnxCo1−xFe2O4 ferrite nanoparticles

We report on the structural and magnetic properties of nanoparticles of Mn_xCo_1−xFe₂O₄ (x=0.1, 0.5) ferrites produced by the glycothermal reaction. From the analysis of XRD spectra and TEM micrographs, particle sizes of the samples have been found to be about 8 nm (for x=0.1) and 13 nm (for x=0.5). The samples were characterized by DC magnetization in the temperature range 5-380 K and in magnetic fields of up to 40 kOe using a SQUID magnetometer. Mössbauer spectroscopy results show that the sample with higher Mn content has enhanced hyperfine fields after thermal annealing at 700 °C. There is a corresponding small reduction in hyperfine fields for the sample with lower Mn content. The variations of saturation magnetization, remnant magnetization and coercive fields as functions of temperature are also presented. Our results show evidence of superparamagnetic behaviour associated with the nanosized particles. Particle sizes appear to be critical in explaining the observed properties.     

Hydrothermal Processing and In Vitro Simulated Human Digestion Affects the Bioaccessibility and Bioactivity of Phenolic Compounds in African Pumpkin (Momordica balsamina) Leaves

The African pumpkin (Momordica balsamina) contains bioactive phenolic compounds that may assist in reducing oxidative stress in the human body. The leaves are mainly consumed after boiling in water for a specific time; this hydrothermal process and conditions of the gastrointestinal tract may affect the presence and bioactivity of phenolics either positively or negatively. In this study, the effects of hydrothermal processing (boiling) and in vitro simulated human digestion on the phenolic composition, bioaccessibility and bioactivity in African pumpkin were investigated in comparison with those of spinach (Spinacia oleracea). A high-resolution ultra-performance liquid chromatography, coupled with diode array detection, quadrupole time-of-flight and mass spectrometer (UPLC-DAD-QTOF-MS) was used to profile phenolic metabolites. Metabolites such as 3-caffeoylquinic acid, 5-caffeoylquinic acid, 3,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid and 4,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid were highly concentrated in the boiled vegetable extracts compared to the raw undigested and all digested samples. The majority of African pumpkin and spinach extracts (non-digested and digested) protected Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), (mouse fibroblast) L929 and human epithelial colorectal adenocarcinoma (Caco-2) cells from 2,2′-Azobis(2-methylpropionamidine) dihydrochloride (AAPH)-induced oxidative damage. From these results, the consumption of boiled African pumpkin leaves, as well as spinach, could be encouraged, as bioactive metabolites present may reduce oxidative stress in the body.     

Tin-doped spinel-related oxides of composition M3O4 (M = Mn, Fe, Co)

Tin-doped compounds of spinel-related M₃O₄ (M = Fe, Mn, Co) have been studied by ¹¹⁹Sn and ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy in the temperature range of 20–600 K. The ¹¹⁹Sn Mössbauer spectra recorded down to 20 K from the non-iron-containing compounds of Co₃O₄ and Mn₃O₄ contained only doublets showing no transfer of magnetic properties from cobalt or manganese to the dopant tin ions. In contrast, the tin-doped-(FeCo)₃O₄ and (FeMn)₃O₄ gave ¹¹⁹Sn and ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectra, which showed magnetic hyperfine interactions. The Curie temperature has been estimated for the former sample.     

Temperature dependence of the hyperfine fields in NiFe2O4 and CuFe2O4 oxides

We report the temperature dependence of the magnetic properties of (Ni, Cu)Fe₂O₄ spinel oxides. Mössbauer spectra for NiFe₂O₄ at various temperatures (79 ≤?T?≤ 900 K) are well fitted by two sextets associated with ⁵⁷Fe nuclei at tetrahedral (A) and octahedral (B) sites. The Curie point T _C was deduced by zero velocity Mössbauer technique to be 873 ± 3 K. The hyperfine fields are observed to vary with temperature according to the equation $B_{\rm hf} (T)=B_{\rm hf} (0)[{1-(T/T_{\rm C})^n}]^{\beta_n}$ where n?=?1 (based on the Landau–Ginzburg theory) and n?=?2 (based on the Stoner theory). A systematic decrease of the Mössbauer spectrum shift with increasing temperature is observed.     

On the group classification of systems of two linear second-order ordinary differential equations with constant coefficients

The completeness of the group classification of systems of two linear second-order ordinary differential equations with constant coefficients is delineated in the paper. The new cases extend what has been done in the literature. These cases correspond to the type of equations where the commutative property of the coefficient matrices with respect to the dependent variables and the first-order derivatives in the considered system does not hold. A discussion of the results as well as a note on the extension to linear systems of second-order ordinary differential equations with more than two equations are given.     

Complete group classification of systems of two linear second‐order ordinary differential equations: the algebraic approach

We give a complete group classification of the general case of linear systems of two second‐order ordinary differential equations. The algebraic approach is used to solve the group classification problem for this class of equations. This completes the results in the literature on the group classification of two linear second‐order ordinary differential equations including recent results which give a complete group classification treatment of such systems. We show that using the algebraic approach leads to the study of a variety of cases in addition to those already obtained in the literature. We illustrate that this approach can be used as a useful tool in the group classification of this class of equations. A discussion of the subsequent cases and results is given. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Properties of Mosquito Repellent-Plasticized Poly(lactic acid) Strands

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is an attractive candidate for replacing petrochemical polymers because it is fully biodegradable. This study investigated the potential of PLA as a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative material that can be developed into commercially viable wearable mosquito repellent devices with desirable characteristics. PLA strands containing DEET and IR3535 were prepared by twin screw extrusion compounding and simultaneously functioned as plasticizers for the polymer. The plasticizing effect was investigated by thermal and rheological studies. DSC studies showed that the addition of DEET and IR3535 into PLA strands reduced the glass transition temperature consistent with predictions of the Fox equation, thus proving their efficiency as plasticizers. The rheology of molten samples of neat PLA and PLA/repellents blends, evaluated at 200 °C, was consistent with shear-thinning pseudoplastic behaviour. Raman studies revealed a nonlinear concentration gradient for DEET in the PLA strand, indicating non-Fickian Type II transport controlling the desorption process. Release data obtained at 50 °C showed initial rapid release followed by a slower, near constant rate at longer times. The release rate data were fitted to a novel modification of the Peppas-Sahlin desorption model.