Development of zirconium and potassium perchlorate igniter for AP/HTPB composite propellant base bleed grain

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - For effective and reliable ignition of ammonium perchlorate and hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (AP/HTPB) solid composite propellant base bleed (BB)...     

Total Fragmentation Cross Section of 158A GeV Lead Projectiles in Cu Target

Total fragmentation cross section for the reaction 158A Pb ions ＋ Cu target is measured using the most sensitive track detector CR-39. Measured values are compared with calculations. Exposures of target-detector stack with 158A P5 projectiles are made at CERN-SPS beam facility. Results of calibration of CR-39 detector in a charge region （63 ≤ Z ≤ 83） are also reported, which can be used for high energy particle identification using CR-39 and in determination of partial charge changing cross sections. The charge resolution δz achieved by this technique is about 0.2e. A systematic dependence of total fragmentation cross section on target properties is revealed and the corresponding results are presented.     

1H-NMR-Based Metabolomics: An Integrated Approach for the Detection of the Adulteration in Chicken,Chevon, Beef and Donkey Meat

Meat is a rich source of energy that provides high-value animal protein, fats, vitamins, minerals and trace amounts of carbohydrates. Globally, different types of meats are consumed to fulfill nutritional requirements. However, the increasing burden on the livestock industry has triggered the mixing of high-price meat species with low-quality/-price meat. This work aimed to differentiate different meat samples on the basis of metabolites. The metabolic difference between various meat samples was investigated through Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy coupled with multivariate data analysis approaches like principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least square-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). In total, 37 metabolites were identified in the gluteal muscle tissues of cow, goat, donkey and chicken using ¹H-NMR spectroscopy. PCA was found unable to completely differentiate between meat types, whereas OPLS-DA showed an apparent separation and successfully differentiated samples from all four types of meat. Lactate, creatine, choline, acetate, leucine, isoleucine, valine, formate, carnitine, glutamate, 3-hydroxybutyrate and α-mannose were found as the major discriminating metabolites between white (chicken) and red meat (chevon, beef and donkey). However, inosine, lactate, uracil, carnosine, format, pyruvate, carnitine, creatine and acetate were found responsible for differentiating chevon, beef and donkey meat. The relative quantification of differentiating metabolites was performed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey test. Our results showed that NMR-based metabolomics is a powerful tool for the identification of novel signatures (potential biomarkers) to characterize meats from different sources and could potentially be used for quality control purposes in order to differentiate different meat types.     

Salinity stress enhances production of solasodine in Solanum nigrum L

Various in vitro grown tissues (non-regenerative callus, regenerative callus and microshoot derived leaves) of Solanum nigrum L. were cultured under salinity stress (0-150 mM NaCl) for enhanced production of solasodine, a steroidal alkaloid and an alternative to diosgenin, which is used as a precursor for the commercial production of steroidal drugs. The role of plant growth regulators and various concentrations of NaCl during in vitro production of solasodine was studied. The in vitro yield was compared with the yield from leaves of field grown plant. Solasodine content was maximum (2.39 mg/g dry wt.) in regenerative callus when grown on medium added with 150 mM NaCl; followed by in vitro raised leaf of microshoot. Quantitative estimation of solasodine was carried out using a new HPTLC method, which is validated for its recovery and precession. The proposed HPTLC method showed a good linear relationship (r(2)=0.994) in 50-2000 ng/spot concentration ranges. The data demonstrate that the solasodine production in cultures was growth dependent.     

Stability of atomic oxygen chemisorption on Pt‐alloy surfaces

A density functional theory calculation is used to investigate the atomic oxygen (O) stability over platinum (Pt) and Pt‐based alloy surfaces. Here, the stability is connected with the preferential adsorption sites for O chemisorptions and the adsorption energy. Thus, the interaction mechanism between atomic O and metal surfaces is studied by using charge transfer analysis. In this present paper, atomic structure and binding energy of oxygen adsorption on the Pt(111) are in a very good agreement with experiment and previous density functional theory calculations. Furthermore, we obtained that the addition of ruthenium (Ru) and molybdenum (Mo) on the pure Pt surface enhances the adsorption energy. Our charge transfer analysis shows that the largest charge transfer contributing to the metal‐O bonding formation is observed in the case of O/PtRuMo surface followed by O/PtRu surface. This is in consistency with metal d‐orbital characteristic, where Mo has much more empty d‐orbital than Ru in correspondence to accept electrons from atomic oxygen. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magnetic nanoparticles (Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> &amp; Co<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript>) and their applications in urea biosensing

Nanobiotechnology has opened a new and exciting opportunities for exploring urea biosensor based on magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) mainly Fe₃O₄ and Co₃O₄. These NPs have been extensively exploited to develop biosensors with stability, selectivity, reproducibility and fast response time. This review gives an overview of the development of urea biosensor based on Fe₃O₄ and Co₃O₄ for in vitro diagnostic applications along with significant improvements over the last few decades. Additionally, effort has been made to elaborate properties of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) in biosensing aspects. It also gives details of recent developments in hybrid nanobiocomposite based urea biosensor.     

The symmetry of two-photon excited states as determined by time-resolved fluorescence depolarization experiments

A new experimental and theoretical approach is presented for the quantitative determination and assignment of the two-photon absorption tensor of fluorophores dissolved in liquid solutions. Two linearly independent time-resolved fluorescence anisotropies and the two-photon polarization ratio were determined from experiments based on using the time-correlated single photon counting technique. The data were analyzed in a global manner under the assumption of prevailing diffusive molecular reorientations and when accounting for the influence of rapid unresolved reorientations. The method has been applied in fluorescence studies of perylene, two-photon excited at 800 nm. The analysis suggests that the two-photon transition is mediated via vibronic coupling including at least two vibrations of different symmetry, and also that the first singlet excited electronic state acts as a dominating intermediate state.     

Inhibition of UVB-mediated oxidative stress and markers of photoaging in immortalized HaCaT keratinocytes by pomegranate polyphenol extract POMx

In recent years there has been an increase in use of botanicals with antioxidant properties as skin photoprotective agents. Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) fruit possesses strong antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties. Recently, we have shown that pomegranate-derived products rich in anthocyanidins and ellagitannins inhibit UVB-mediated activation of nuclear factor kappa B and modulate UVA-mediated cell proliferation pathways in normal human epidermal keratinocytes. In this study, we evaluated the effect of polyphenol-rich pomegranate fruit extract (POMx) on UVB-induced oxidative stress and photoaging in human immortalized HaCaT keratinocytes. Our data show that pretreatment of HaCaT cells with POMx (10-40 microg mL(-1)) inhibited UVB (15-30 mJ cm(-2))-mediated (1) decrease in cell viability, (2) decrease in intracellular glutathione content and (3) increase in lipid peroxidation. Employing immunoblot analysis we found that pretreatment of HaCaT cells with POMx inhibited UVB-induced (1) upregulation of MMP-1, -2, -7 and -9, (2) decrease in TIMP-1, (3) phosphorylation of MAPKs and (iv) phosphorylation of c-jun, whereas no effect was observed on UVB-induced c-fos protein levels. These results suggest that POMx protects HaCaT cells against UVB-induced oxidative stress and markers of photoaging and could be a useful supplement in skin care products.     

Photoprotective Effect of Black Tea Extracts Against UVB-induced Phototoxicity in Skin

In previous studies, we showed that green tea and black tea extracts and their major polyphenolic constituents protect against UVB light-induced carcinogenesis in murine skin. All of these studies required chronic administration of tea extracts or specific constituents either topically or orally. However, it is not known whether acute or subchronic administration of black tea extracts or constituents can ameliorate UVB-induced early effects in skin. In the present study, cultured keratinocytes and mouse and human skin were employed to assess the effect of both oral and topical administration of standardized black tea extract (SBTE) and its two major polyphenolic subfractions namely BTF1 and BTF2 against UVB-induced photodamage. In SKH-1 hairless mice, topical application of SBTE (0.2 mg/cm2) prior to UVB exposure (180 mJ/cm2) resulted in 40% reduced incidence and 64% reduced severity of erythema and 50% reduction in skinfold thickness by day 6 when compared to nontreated UVB-exposed animals. The SBTE was also effective in protecting against UVB-induced erythema in human volunteers. Administration of SBTE 5 min after UVB irradiation was similarly effective in reducing UVB-induced inflammation in both murine and human skin. The major polyphenolic subfractions, BTF1 and BTF2, were also effective in protecting in mouse skin. The SBTE subfractions inhibited UVB-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The UVB irradiation of human epidermoid carcinoma cells resulted in 3.3-fold induction of tyrosine phosphorylation of EGFR. Pretreatment with BTF1 and BTF2 reduced tyrosine phosphorylation of EGFR by 53% and 31%, respectively. The UVB-mediated enhanced expression of the early response genes, c-fos and c-jun in human epidermal keratinocytes was reduced in a dose-dependent manner by SBTE. Topical application of SBTE was also effective in reducing accumulation of c-fos and p53 proteins by 82% and 78%, respectively, in UVB-exposed mouse skin. These data provide evidence that constituents of black tea can abrogate UVB-induced erythema and associated early events in murine and human skin.     

A FeCl3-promoted highly atropodiastereoselective cascade reaction: synthetic utility of radical cations in indolostilbene construction

The FeCl₃-promoted oxidative cyclization/coupling of acetamidostilbenes possessing 3-methoxy, 4-methoxy and 3,5-methoxy substitutions (21), (22) and (23) is described. Only 3,5-substitution gave rise to novel indolostilbenes, each possessing two stereogenic axes (axially chiral but racemic dimers (39) and (40)). The 4-methoxy substituted acetamidostilbenes, by contrast, yielded the bisindoline dimer (36).