Integrated production of ethanol fuel and protein from Coastal Bermudagrass

The herbaceous crops that may provide fermentable carbohydrates for production of fuels and chemicals also contain 10–20% protein. Protein coproduction with biomass-derived fuels and chemicals has important advantages: (1) food and fuel production can be integrated, and (2) protein is a high-value product that may significantly improve overall process economics. We report the results of an integrated approach to producing protein and fermentable sugars from one herbaceous species, Coastal Bermudagrass (CBG). The ammonia fiber explosion (AFEX) process makes possible over 90% conversion of cellulose and hemicellulose to simple sugars (about 650 mg reducing sugars/g dry CBG) at 5 IU cellulase/g vs < 20% conversion for untreated CBG. The AFEX treatment also improves protein extraction from CBG; over 80% protein recovery is possible from AFEX-treated CBG vs about 30% recovery from untreated CBG.     

Sorption of uranium by non-living water hyacinth roots

Summary Many studies have shown that water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) roots can be used to accumulate high concentrations of organic as well as inorganic pollutants. They are currently used to remediate aquatic environments and aqueous solutions. In the present study, sorption of uranium from aqueous solutions by using dried roots of water hyacinth has been investigated. The sorption of uranium was examined as a function of initial concentration, pH, weight of roots and contact time. Five different concentrations 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 μg ^. ml^-1 were used. Sorption proves to be very rapid and depend on pH, weight of roots and concentration of uranium. Maximum sorption capacity of water hyacinth roots was 64,000 U⁶⁺ μg/g. The sorption of uranium by water hyacinth roots follows a Langmuir isotherm.     

Synthesis and characterization of PVP/AAc copolymer hydrogel and its applications in the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solution

Chelating poly(vinylpyrrolidone/acrylic acid) (PVP/AAc) copolymer hydrogels were prepared by radiation-induced copolymerization. The effects of preparation parameters such as PVP content in the hydrogel and irradiation dose on the swelling behavior of the hydrogel were studied. The pH dependent swelling was investigated. The thermal stability of the prepared hydrogel and the metal chelated ones was characterized by TGA. The removal of Fe(III), Cu(II), and Mn(II) from aqueous solution by the prepared PVP/AAc chelating hydrogel was examined by batch equilibration technique. The influence of treatment time, pH, and the initial feed concentration on the amount of the metal ions removed was studied. The results show that the removal of the metal ion followed the following order: Fe(III) > Cu(II) > Mn(II). The amounts of the removed metal ions increased with treatment time and pH of the medium. To re-use the hydrogel, the metal ions were stripped by using 2 N HCl.     

The service Erlangian machine interference model:M/E r /1k/N with balking and reneging

The aim of this paper is to derive the analytical solution of the quene:M/E _r /1/k/N for machine interference system with balking and reneging considering the discipline FIFO. Some measures of effectiveness and some special cases are obtained.     

In Silico Approach Using Free Software to Optimize the Antiproliferative Activity and Predict the Potential Mechanism of Action of Pyrrolizine-Based Schiff Bases

In the current study, a simple in silico approach using free software was used with the experimental studies to optimize the antiproliferative activity and predict the potential mechanism of action of pyrrolizine-based Schiff bases. A compound library of 288 Schiff bases was designed based on compound 10, and a pharmacophore search was performed. Structural analysis of the top scoring hits and a docking study were used to select the best derivatives for the synthesis. Chemical synthesis and structural elucidation of compounds 16a–h were discussed. The antiproliferative activity of 16a–h was evaluated against three cancer (MCF7, A2780 and HT29, IC₅₀ = 0.01–40.50 μM) and one normal MRC5 (IC₅₀ = 1.27–24.06 μM) cell lines using the MTT assay. The results revealed the highest antiproliferative activity against MCF7 cells for 16g (IC₅₀ = 0.01 μM) with an exceptionally high selectivity index of (SI = 578). Cell cycle analysis of MCF7 cells treated with compound 16g revealed a cell cycle arrest at the G₂/M phase. In addition, compound 16g induced a dose-dependent increase in apoptotic events in MCF7 cells compared to the control. In silico target prediction of compound 16g showed six potential targets that could mediate these activities. Molecular docking analysis of compound 16g revealed high binding affinities toward COX-2, MAP P38α, EGFR, and CDK2. The results of the MD simulation revealed low RMSD values and high negative binding free energies for the two complexes formed between compound 16g with EGFR, and CDK2, while COX-2 was in the third order. These results highlighted a great potentiality for 16g to inhibit both CDK2 and EGFR. Taken together, the results mentioned above highlighted compound 16g as a potential anticancer agent.     

Amination of Malononitrile Dimer to Amidines: Synthesis of 6‐aminopyrimidines

Reactions of amidines with malononitrile dimer in DMF and catalyzed with piperidine are reported. The reaction occurred via amination process followed by cyclization to give racemic 6‐aminopyrimidine compounds. The reaction mechanism was discussed. The structure of products was elucidated by mass spectrometry, IR and NMR spectra together with elemental analyses.     

Design and Synthesis of (2-oxo-1,2-Dihydroquinolin-4-yl)-1,2,3-triazole Derivatives via Click Reaction: Potential Apoptotic Antiproliferative Agents

A mild and versatile method based on Cu-catalyzed [2+3] cycloaddition (Huisgen-Meldal-Sharpless reaction) was developed to tether 3,3’-((4-(prop-2-yn-1-yloxy)phenyl)methylene)bis(4-hydroxyquinolin-2(1H)-ones) with 4-azido-2-quinolones in good yields. This methodology allowed attaching three quinolone molecules via a triazole linker with the proposed mechanism. The products are interesting precursors for their anti-proliferative activity. Compound 8g was the most active one, achieving IC₅₀ = 1.2 ± 0.2 µM and 1.4 ± 0.2 µM against MCF-7 and Panc-1 cell lines, respectively. Moreover, cell cycle analysis of cells MCF-7 treated with 8g showed cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase (supported by Caspase-3,8,9, Cytochrome C, BAX, and Bcl-2 studies). Additionally, significant pro-apoptotic activity is indicated by annexin V-FITC staining.     

E.M.F. and kinetic studies of the ion-pairing effects on the rate of aquation of chloropentamminechromium(III) perchlorate in different dicarboxylate medium

Summary Rate coefficients, k, for aquation of [Cr(NH₃)₅Cl]²⁺ in 10% ethanol solutions of some dicarboxylates have been determined by potentiometric titration methods. The dissociation constants of ion-pairs so formed have been obtained from e.m.f.s. of a cell comprising glass and calomel electrodes. A wide range of k(ion) and k(ion-pair) values and dissociation constants has been obtained and a new correlation between k(ion-pair) and association constants among the dicarboxylate series studied has been established.     

Aquation kinetics of chloro- and bromo-pentamminecobalt(III) ions in water-acetone mixtures

Summary The aquation kinetics of [Co(NH₃)₅Cl]²⁺ and [Co(NH₃)₅Br]²⁺ ions in acetone-water have been investigated over a wide range of solvent compositions and temperatures. The variation of thermodynamic properties of the activated complex with the mole fraction of acetone reveals the existence of specific solvation. The correlation of the rate constant with dielectric constant of the medium is examined and discussed. A reaction mechanism which describes the solvent effect on reaction rate is proposed.     

Photodegradation of organic compounds using chromium oxide-doped nano-sulfated zirconia

ZrO₂ is considered a huge-gap semiconductor (band gap ≈ 5 eV). To improve the visible-light photocatalytic activities of ZrO₂, an efficient Cr, SO₄ ^2? co-doped ZrO₂ photocatalyst was synthesized by the simple impregnation method followed by calcination at different calcination temperatures (300, 400, 500, and 600 °C) for 3 h. The synthesized photocatalysts were characterized by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy analysis, scanning electron microscopy analysis, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis, FT-IR spectroscopic technique, potentiometric titration and UV–Vis spectroscopy analysis. ZrO₂ co-doped with Cr and SO₄ ^2? shows more efficiency than SO₄ ^2?-doped ZrO₂ in several aspects like surface structure, decreasing electron–hole recombination and band gap energy. The photodegradation of methylene blue dye for SO₄ ^2?-doped ZrO₂ and Cr, SO₄ ^2?-co-doped ZrO₂ has been investigated. The photocatalytic reaction confirmed that the co-doped ZrO₂ photocatalyst showed higher photocatalytic activity than mono-doped ZrO₂.