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.     

石英晶体板非线性高频振动的拓展伽辽金法分析

针对考虑几何和材料非线性的石英晶体板厚度剪切振动和弯曲振动的方程组,利用扩展伽辽金法对该方程组进行转化和求解,分别获得了强烈耦合的厚度剪切振动模态和弯曲振动模态的频率响应关系,绘制了不同振幅比和不同驱动电压影响下的频率响应曲线图。数值计算结果表明可以选取石英晶片的最佳长厚比尺寸来避免两种模态的强烈耦合。驱动电压的变化将引起石英晶体谐振器厚度剪切振动频率的明显改变,必须将振动频率的漂移值控制在常用压电声波器件的允许值之内。扩展伽辽金法对石英晶体板非线性振动方程组的求解为非线性有限元分析和偏场效应分析奠定了基础。     

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.     

The behavior of capillary suspensions at diverse length scales: From single capillary bridges to bulk

Liquid-liquid-solid systems are becoming increasingly common in everyday life with many possible applications. Here, we focus on a special case of such liquid-liquid-solid systems, namely, capillary suspensions. These capillary suspensions originate from particles that form a network based on capillary forces and are typically composed of solids in a bulk liquid with an added secondary liquid. The structure of particle networks based on capillary bridges possesses unique properties compared with networks formed via other attractive interactions where these differences are inherently related to the properties of the capillary bridges, such as bridge breaking and coalescence between adjacent bridges. Thus, to tailor the mechanical properties of capillary suspensions to specific requirements, it is important to understand the influences on different length scales ranging from the dynamics of the bridges with varying external stimuli to the often heterogeneous network structure.     

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.     

Ergodic stationary distribution and practical application of a hybrid stochastic cholera transmission model with waning vaccine-induced immunity under nonlinear regime switching

Considering the effect of stochasticity including white noise and colored noise, this paper aims to study a hybrid stochastic cholera epidemic model with waning vaccine-induced immunity and nonlinear telegraph perturbations. First, we derive a critical value ${?}_0^C$ related to the basic reproduction number ${?}_0$ of the deterministic model. The key aim of this paper is to generalize the θ-stochastic criterion method proposed by the recent work (Han et al. in Chaos Solit Fract 140:110238, 2020) to eliminate nonlinear telegraph perturbations. Next, via constructing several θ-stochastic Lyapunov functions and using the generalized method, we further prove that the stochastic model have a unique ergodic stationary distribution under ${?}_0^C>1$. Results show that the prevention and control of cholera epidemic depend on low transmission rate and small telegraph perturbations. Finally, the corresponding numerical simulations are performed to illustrate our analytical results and a practical application on the Somalia cholera outbreak is shown at the end of this paper.