Enzyme immobilization strategies for the design of robust and efficient biocatalysts

Different strategies for the preparation of efficient and robust immobilized biocatalysts are here reviewed. Different physico-chemical approaches are discussed.i.- The stabilization of enzyme by any kind of immobilization on pre-existing porous supports.ii.- The stabilization of enzymes by multipoint covalent attachment on support surfaces.iii.- Additional stabilization of immobilized-stabilized enzyme by physical or chemical modification with polymers.These three strategies can be easily developed when enzymes are immobilized in pre-existing porous supports. In addition to that, these immobilized-stabilized derivatives are optimal to develop enzyme reaction engineering and reactor engineering. Stabilizations ranging between 1000 and 100,000 folds regarding diluted soluble enzymes are here reported.     

The use of untargeted and widely targeted metabolomics to distinguish between asphyxia and sudden cardiac death as the cause of death in rats: A preliminary study

It is important to determine the cause of death in the case of asphyxia. However, it is difficult to conclude death by asphyxia, especially when the deceased has underlying heart disease, because there are often no specific and representative corpse signs for both asphyxia and sudden cardiac death (SCD). The aim of the present work was to investigate the potential of metabolomics to discriminate asphyxia from SCD as the cause of death. A total of thirty male Sprague–Dawley rats were used to construct models of asphyxia, SCD (interfering cause of death), and cervical dislocation (control). Untargeted and widely targeted metabolomics approaches were used to obtain rat pulmonary metabolic profiles in this study. First, the metabolic alterations resulting from asphyxia were explored. There were significant changes found in carbohydrate metabolism, the endocrine system, and the sensory system. Second, we screened potential biomarkers and built classification models to determine the cause of death. Moreover, some biomarkers remained differentiated at 24 h and 48 h postmortem, so the cause of death could still be determined after death. This study showed the application potential of metabolomics to investigate the metabolic changes occurring in the process of death, as well as to determine the cause of death on the basis of metabolic differences even after death.     

Multivariate optimization and comparison between conventional extraction (CE) and ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) of carotenoid extraction from cashew apple

Carotenoids are an essential component of cashew and can be used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, natural pigment, food additives, among other applications. The present work focuses on optimizing and comparing conventional and ultrasound-assisted extraction methods. Every optimization step took place with a 1:1 (w:w) mixture of yellow and red cashew apples lyophilized and ground in a cryogenic mill. A Simplex-centroid design was applied for both methods, and the solvents acetone, methanol, ethanol, and petroleum ether were evaluated. After choosing the extractor solvent, a central composite design was applied to optimize the sample mass (59–201 mg) and extraction time (6–34 min). The optimum conditions for the extractor solvent were 38% acetone, 30% ethanol, and 32% petroleum ether for CE and a mixture of 44% acetone and 56% methanol for UAE. The best experimental conditions for UAE were a sonication time of 19 min and a sample mass of 153 mg, while the CE was 23 min and 136 mg. Comparing red and yellow cashews, red cashews showed a higher carotenoid content in both methodologies. The UAE methodology was ca. 21% faster, presented a more straightforward composition of extracting solution, showed an average yield of superior carotenoid content in all samples compared to CE. Therefore, UAE has demonstrated a simple, efficient, fast, low-cost adjustment methodology and a reliable alternative for other applications involving these bioactive compounds in the studied or similar matrix.     

Sonochemical synthesis and characterization of Cu2HgI4 nanostructures photocatalyst with enhanced visible light photocatalytic ability

These days, an important concern in water contamination is the remaining dyes from various sources (for instance, dye and dye intermediates industries, pulp and paper industries, textile industries, craft bleaching industries, tannery, and pharmaceutical industries, etc.), and a broad range of persistent organic contamination has been entered to the wastewater treatment systems or natural water supplies. Indeed, it is extremely hazardous and toxic to the living organism. Therefore, it is necessary to remove these organic pollutants before releasing them into the environment. Photocatalysis is a quickly growing technology for sewage procedures. For this purpose, Cu₂HgI₄ nanostructures were prepared via facile, and cost-effective sonochemical method. The effect of varied circumstances, such as various surfactants, sonication power, and sonication time was considered on the crystallinity, structure, shape, and particle size of products. Cu₂HgI₄ possesses a suitable bandgap (2.2 eV) in the visible area. The photocatalytic performance of the Cu₂HgI₄ was surveyed for the elimination of various organic dyes under visible radiation and exposed that this compound could degrade and remove methyl orange about 94.2% in an acidic medium after 160 min under visible light. Besides, the result showed that various parameters, including, pH, dye concentration, types of dyes, catalyst dosages, and time of irradiation affected the photocatalytic efficiency.     

微区X射线荧光成像技术在岩心分析中的应用

微区X射线荧光（Micro-XRF）分析技术是通过微小的X射线光束照射样品，对样品进行原位成分观测的无损分析手段之一，具有灵敏度高、速度快和准确性高的特点。采用微区X射线荧光光谱仪（M6 JETSTREAM）对安徽铜陵冬瓜山铜矿床四段岩心样品进行面扫描，分析不同矿层共17种元素区域分布特征、空间分布规律及组合关系等，结果表明：（1）Cu和Fe两种成矿元素高值空间分布区域基本不重叠，S与Fe分布范围高度重叠，关系密切，微量元素Ni，Bi，Pb，Zn，Si，Na与Cu密切相关，而Ti，Al，K与Fe具有弱相关性；（2）垂向上，Fe元素含量随深度增加逐步增大，而Cu元素含量呈降低趋势，其他元素也随深度呈下降趋势；（3）元素分布受石炭纪中期海底喷流沉积成矿作用和岩浆热液成矿作用叠加改造作用明显；（4）该钻孔矿石矿物以磁黄铁矿、黄铜矿和黄铁矿为主，垂向上组合规律明显，脉石矿物以石英、石榴子石和透辉石为主。该技术通过分析元素空间分布规律、相关性以及矿物组合和分配关系等可对元素富集和运移以及对矿床的成矿机制、成因模式等地质环境和地质过程提供新认识和新证据。结合矿床地球化学特征的分布模式，微量元素可作为寻找主矿种的指示元素，为深部找矿提供依据。此外，该技术能作为预分析技术快速筛选出感兴趣的信息和位置，为后期各种更高精度的微区分析提供不同尺度、不同层次的元素分布信息。     

A nonlinear model for marble sulphation including surface rugosity and mechanical damage

Here we propose and analyze a mathematical model that aims to describe the marble sulphation process occurring in a given material. The model accounts for rugosity as well as for damaging effects. This model is characterized by some technical difficulties that seem hard to overcome from a theoretical viewpoint. Therefore, we introduce some physically reasonable modifications in order to establish the existence of a suitable notion of solution on a given time interval. Numerical simulations are presented and discussed, also in view of further research.     

Normal approximation and fourth moment theorems for monochromatic triangles

Given a graph sequence denote by T₃(G_n) the number of monochromatic triangles in a uniformly random coloring of the vertices of G_n with colors. In this paper we prove a central limit theorem (CLT) for T₃(G_n) with explicit error rates, using a quantitative version of the martingale CLT. We then relate this error term to the well-known fourth-moment phenomenon, which, interestingly, holds only when the number of colors satisfies . We also show that the convergence of the fourth moment is necessary to obtain a Gaussian limit for any , which, together with the above result, implies that the fourth-moment condition characterizes the limiting normal distribution of T₃(G_n), whenever . Finally, to illustrate the promise of our approach, we include an alternative proof of the CLT for the number of monochromatic edges, which provides quantitative rates for the results obtained in [7].