Effect of Carum copticum essential oil on growth and aflatoxin formation by Aspergillus strains

The objectives of this study were to determine the antiaflatoxin B₁ activity in vitro of the essential oil (EO) extracted from the seeds of Carum copticum and to evaluate its antifungal activity in vivo as a potential food preservative. The C. copticum EO exhibited noticeable inhibition on dry mycelium and synthesis of aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) by Aspergillus flavus, completely inhibiting AFB₁ production at 4 μL/mL. C. copticum EOs showed the lowest percentages of decayed cherry tomatoes for all fungi compared with the control at 100 μL/mL with values of 5.01 ± 67% for A. flavus and 5.98 ± 54% for Aspergillus niger. The results indicated that the percentage of infected fruits is significantly (p < 0.01) reduced by the EO at 16°C for 30 days. In this case, the oil at 100 μL/mL concentration showed the highest inhibition of fungal infection with a value of 80.45% compared with the control. Thus, the EO of dill could be used to control food spoilage and as a potential source of food preservative.     

Measurement of bromide ion used as a solute-transport monitor via epithermal neutron activation analysis

In soil science (ca. 1970), bromide ion (Br⁻) in various forms (e.g., KBr, NaBr, SrBr₂) was introduced as a non-reactive stable tracer in solute transport studies normally moving freely with the flux of water without substantial chemical or physical interactions with the soil. Typically, Br⁻ is extracted from soil and quantified using either a bromide selective electrode (sensitivity is ≈10μg/ml) or by high-performance liquid chromatography (sensitivity is ≈0.010 μg/ml). Where the sensitivity is adequate, the selective conductivity method, which is simple, affordable and fast, is preferred. More recently (ca. 1990), workers have reported that 20% of Br⁻ tracers, at low groundwater pH, may be adsorbed by iron oxides and kaolinite when present in the alluvial aquifer. We investigated the use of Epithermal Neutron Activation Analysis (ENAA) as a means of measuring Br⁻ directly in soil samples without an extraction. ENAA was chosen because of its high theoretical advantage factor over aluminum (i.e. ≈20), the principal interfering soil constituent, calculated for the⁷⁹Br(n,γ)⁸⁰Br reaction compared to²⁷Al(n, γ)²⁸Al. Br⁻ was measured (sensitivity is ≈0.050 μg/g) in one gram soil samples from a 5 s irradiation (φ_epi=2.5·10¹² n·cm^-2·s^-1) using a BN capsule.     

A Conductometric Study of Complexation Reactions Between Dibenzo-18-Crown-6 (DB18C6) with Cu2+, Zn2+, Tl+ and Cd2+ Metal Cations in Dimethylsulfoxide–Ethylacetate Binary Mixtures

The complex formation between Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Tl⁺ and Cd²⁺ metal cations with macrocyclic ligand, dibenzo- 18-crown-6 (DB18C6) was studied in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO)–ethylacetate (EtOAc) binary systems at different temperatures using conductometric method. In all cases, DB18C6 forms 1:1 complexes with these metal cations. The stability constants of the complexes were obtained from fitting of molar conductivity curves using a computer program, Genplot. The non-linear behaviour which was observed for variations of log K _f of the complexes versus the composition of the mixed solvent was discussed in terms of changing the chemical and physical properties of the constituent solvents when they mix with one another and, therefore, changing the solvation capacities of the metal cations, crown ether molecules and even the resulting complexes with changing the mixed solvent composition. The results show that the selectivity order of DB18C6 for the metal cations in pure ethylacetate and pure dimethylsulfoxide is: Tl⁺ > Cu²⁺ > Zn²⁺ > Cd²⁺ but the selectivity order is changed with the composition of the mixed solvents. The values of enthalpy changes (ΔH°_C) for complexation reactions were obtained from the slope of the van’t Hoff plots and the changes in standard enthalpy (ΔS°_C) were calculated from the relationship: ΔG°_C,298.15=ΔH°_C − 298.15 ΔS°_C. The obtained results show that in most cases, the complexes are enthalpy stabilized, but entropy destabilized and the values of ΔH°_C and ΔS°_C depend strongly on the nature of the medium.     

The determination of uncertainty levels in robust clustering of subjects with longitudinal observations using the Dirichlet process mixture

In this paper we introduce a new method to the cluster analysis of longitudinal data focusing on the determination of uncertainty levels for cluster memberships. The method uses the Dirichlet-t distribution which notably utilizes the robustness feature of the student-t distribution in the framework of a Bayesian semi-parametric approach together with robust clustering of subjects evaluates the uncertainty level of subjects memberships to their clusters. We let the number of clusters and the uncertainty levels be unknown while fitting Dirichlet process mixture models. Two simulation studies are conducted to demonstrate the proposed methodology. The method is applied to cluster a real data set taken from gene expression studies.     

Electron Transfer Behavior through Densely Packed Self‐Assembled Monolayers of a Novel Heteroaromatic Thiol Derivative onto the Gold Surface

This article is describing the electrical characteristics of the self‐assembled monolayers (SAMs) formed during spontaneous chemical adsorption of a recently synthesized heteroaromatic thiol 2‐(2‐mercaptophenylnitrilomethylidyne)‐phenol ( L ). Some surfactants were used to regulate the electron transfer through the resulting SAMs, as investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results revealed that the surface structure is approximately complete and fractional coverage is very close to unity. The use of surfactants clearly improved the electron transfer properties. Furthermore, complementary experiments were carried out to investigate the electron transfer from modified surface to cytochrome C (cyt‐C), as a biological iron containing protein, which exists in living cells with important life roles. It was found that cyt‐C is able to interact with the modified surface so that it can be used as a scaffold to study the electrochemical characteristics of sensitive biological compounds like proteins. The voltammetric behavior of the redox protein on the resulting SAMs was found to be highly reproducible, emphasizing the fact that the protein denaturation is greatly suppressed.     

Highly stable asymmetric supercapacitors based on Ni(OH)<Subscript>2</Subscript> deposited on electro-etched carbon paper

Herein, we introduce the application of nickel hydroxide nanosheets on the electro-etched carbon fiber (ECF) formed via a direct electrodeposition, for fabrication of asymmetric supercapacitor. To confirm the practical applicability of prepared Ni(OH)₂–ECF, an asymmetric device was assembled using Ni(OH)₂–ECF in combination with an activated carbon (AC) electrode. Our results showed a substantial cycling stability (96% capacitance retention after 10000 cycles) and considerable rate capability at large discharge currents (60% capacitance retention at 8 A g^??1) for this asymmetric supercapacitor that may have originated from the good contact between Ni(OH)₂ and ECF. A maximum specific capacitance of 88.1 F g^??1 was achieved for Ni(OH)₂–ECF//AC/CF device and showed considerable rate capability at large discharge currents (60% capacitance retention at 8 A g^??1). The results of this study suggest the Ni(OH)₂–ECF electrode is an excellent material for fabrication of supercapacitor electrodes.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-Heterocyclic carbene–copper complex supported on ionic liquid-modified graphene oxide: versatile catalyst for synthesis of (i) 1,2,3-triazole and (ii) propargylamine derivatives

A N-heterocyclic carbene–copper complex grafted on graphene oxide with an ionic liquid framework was prepared. The synthesis of (i) 1,2,3-triazole derivatives by ‘Click reaction’ and (ii) propargylamine derivatives by ‘A³ coupling reaction’ in aqueous media by this new catalyst were all successfully accomplished. The catalyst is characterized using infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and elemental analysis. The catalyst is reused in the ten reaction cycles without considerable loss of catalytic activity.

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