First report of the nutritional profile and antioxidant potential of Holothuria arguinensis,a new resource for aquaculture in Europe

This work reports for the first time the nutritional profile and antioxidant potential of the edible sea cucumber Holothuria arguinensis from the North-eastern Atlantic. H. arguinensis has high levels of protein, with the amino acids profile dominated by alanine, glycine and proline and low lysine/arginine ratios. Its carbohydrate and energetic contents are also low as well as the total lipid levels, although its lipid profile is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), especially arachidonic, eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids. In addition, H. arguinensis has high levels of calcium. The water and ethanol extracts show ability to scavenge free radicals and to chelate copper and iron ions. Our results indicate that H. arguinensis has a balanced nutritional quality suitable for human consumption. In addition, it contains compounds with antioxidant potential; thus its intake can contribute for a healthy and well-balanced diet.     

Environmentally friendly sonocatalysis promoted preparation of 1-thiocarbamoyl-3,5-diaryl-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazoles

An efficient and green synthesis of thiocarbamoyl-3,5-diaryl-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazoles via the condensation of chalcones with thiosemicarbazide in ethanol and KOH under ultrasound irradiation is reported. The products were isolated in good yields after short reaction times.     

An imaginary potential with universal normalization for dissipative processes in heavy-ion reactions

In this work we present new coupled channel calculations with the São Paulo potential (SPP) as the bare interaction, and an imaginary potential with system and energy independent normalization that has been developed to take into account dissipative processes in heavy-ion reactions. This imaginary potential is based on high-energy nucleon interaction in nuclear medium. Our theoretical predictions for energies up to ≈100 MeV/nucleon agree very well with the experimental data for the p,n+nucleus, ¹⁶O + ²⁷Al, ¹⁶O + ⁶⁰Ni, ⁵⁸Ni + ¹²⁴Sn, and weakly bound projectile ⁷Li + ¹²⁰Sn systems.     

Performance analysis of coherent optical scatterometry

Scatterometry is a well established technique currently utilized in research, as well as in industrial applications, to retrieve the properties of a given scatterer (the target) by looking at how the light coming from a certain source is diffracted in the far field. Currently the light source is often a discharge lamp that, after wavelength filtering, can be thought as a quasi-monochromatic, but spatially incoherent, source. In the present work, benefits of using a focused spot from a spatially coherent light source, as that emitted by a laser, are investigated on a theoretical viewpoint. The focused spot is scanned over the object of interest and, for each scan position, a far-field diffraction pattern is recorded. Our results show that spatially coherent light can sensibly increase the accuracy of the technique with respect to the target’s geometrical profile.     

Percentile residual life orders

In this paper we study a family of stochastic orders of random variables defined via the comparison of their percentile residual life functions. Some interpretations of these stochastic orders are given, and various properties of them are derived. The relationships to other stochastic orders are also studied. Finally, some applications in reliability theory and finance are described. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exact Gaussian expansions of Slater-type atomic orbitals

Three exact Slater-type function (STO) integral transforms are presented. The STO-NG basis set can then be developed using either only 1s Gaussian functions, the same Gaussian exponents for each shell, or using the first Gaussian of each symmetry. The use of any of these three alternatives depends only on appropriate numerical integration techniques.     

Determination of iridium concentration in sedimentary rocks and in the geochemical standard PCC-1 by radiochemical neutron activation analysis

A radiochemical neutron activation analysis procedure is described for the determination of concentration levels of iridium in sedimentary rocks and in the geochemical standard PCC-1. After irradiation, the powdered rock samples and standard are dissolved with a mixture of HF, HNO₃ and HClO₄ in a teflon bomb. The final solution obtained, in dilute HCl, is passed through a column containing the cationic resin Bio Rad AG 50W-X8. The interfening radionuclides are sorbed by the resin. The effluent solution containing iridium is concentrated for counting by evaporation. Experiments with radioactive tracer for checking radiochemical separation yield are carried out. The accuracy of the method is evaluated by means of analysis of the USGS “standard rock” peridotite, PCC-1. The precision is about 25% in the ppb range. The method is used for the determination of iridium in 16 samples of sedimentary rocks collected at different depths in the “Campos” basin-RJ (BRAZIL).