Use of slag (GBFS) generated in charcoal blast furnace as raw material in alkali-activated cement

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Alkali-activated cements are low-environmental-impact binders and can be obtained from the alkaline activation of wastes such as slags and fly ashes,...     

Enhancing signal-to-noise ratio and resolution in low-field NMR relaxation measurements using post-acquisition digital filters

The traditional way to enhance signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals is to increase the number of scans. However, this procedure increases the measuring time that can be prohibitive for some applications. Therefore, we have tested the use of several post-acquisition digital filters to enhance SNR up to one order of magnitude in time domain NMR (TD-NMR) relaxation measurements. The procedures were studied using continuous wave free precession (CWFP-T₁) signals, acquired with very low flip angles that contain six times more noise than the Carr–Purcell–Meiboom–Gill (CPMG) signal of the same sample and experimental time. Linear (LI) and logarithmic (LO) data compression, low-pass infinity impulse response (LP), Savitzky–Golay (SG), and wavelet transform (WA) post-acquisition filters enhanced the SNR of the CWFP-T₁ signals by at least six times. The best filters were LO, SG, and WA that have high enhancement in SNR without significant distortions in the ILT relaxation distribution data. Therefore, it was demonstrated that these post-acquisition digital filters could be a useful way to denoise CWFP-T₁, as well as CPMG noisy signals, and consequently reducing the experimental time. It was also demonstrated that filtered CWFP-T₁ method has the potential to be a rapid and nondestructive method to measure fat content in beef and certainly in other meat samples.     

Laser flash photolysis study of the photocatalytic step of the photo-fenton reaction in saline solution

The photo-Fenton reaction (Fe2+/Fe3+, H2O2, UV light) is strongly inhibited by high concentrations of added chloride ion. In this work, the effect of added chloride ion on the photocatalytic step that converts Fe(III) back to Fe(II) is studied by nanosecond laser flash photolysis over a wide range of pH (1.0-3.3) and concentrations of Fe(III) (0.1-1.0 mM) and chloride ion (0.05-0.75 M). An explicit mechanistic model based on the preferential formation of the less-reactive Cl2*- radical anion via two routes (competitive photolysis of the iron(III)-chloride complex to chlorine atoms instead of the desired hydroxyl radical and pH-dependent scavenging of the hydroxyl radical by chloride ion) is proposed. This model, which fits the laser flash photolysis data for the production and decay of Cl2*- over the entire range of conditions investigated, suggests that inhibition of the photocatalytic step of the photo-Fenton process in the presence of chloride ion can be circumvented by maintaining the pH of the medium at or slightly above 3.0 throughout the reaction.     

Thermal stability and energy of deactivation of free and immobilized amyloglucosidase in the saccharification of liquefied cassava starch

Amyloglucosidase from Novo (Copenhagen, Denmark) was immobilized in controlled pore silica particles with the silane-glutaraldehyde covalent method. Thermal stability of the free and immobilized enzyme (IE) was determined with 30% (w/v) α-amylase liquefied cassava starch, pH 4.5, temperatures from 35 to 75°C. Free amyloglucosidase maintained its activity practically constant for 240 min and temperatures up to 50°C. The IE has shown higher stability retaining its activity for the same period up to 60°C. Half-life for free enzyme was 20.6, 6.44, 2.07, 0.69, and 0.24 h for 55, 60, 65, 70, and 75°C, respectively, whereas the IE at the same temperatures had half-lives of 116.4, 30.88, 8.52, 2.44, and 0.73 h. The energy of thermal deactivation was thus 50.6 and 57.6 kcal/mol, respectively for the free and IE, confirming stabilization by immobilization.     

Direct Electrochemical Determination of Glyphosate at Copper Phthalocyanine/Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Film Electrodes

A copper phthalocyanine/multiwalled carbon nanotube film‐modified glassy carbon electrode has been used for the determination of the herbicide glyphosate (Gly) at ?50 mV vs. SCE by electrochemical oxidation using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy showed that Gly is adsorbed on the metallic centre of the copper phthalocyanine molecule, with formation of Gly‐copper ion complexes. An analytical method was developed using DPV in pH 7.4 phosphate buffer solution, without any pretreatment steps: Gly was determined in the concentration range of 0.83–9.90 μmol L^?1, with detection limit 12.2 nmol L^?1 (2.02 μg L^?1).     

Nitric oxide-dependent pigment migration induced by ultraviolet radiation in retinal pigment cells of the crab Neohelice granulata

The purpose of this study was to verify the occurrence of pigment dispersion in retinal pigment cells exposed to UVA and UVB radiation, and to investigate the possible participation of a nitric oxide (NO) pathway. Retinal pigment cells from Neohelice granulata were obtained by cellular dissociation. Cells were analyzed for 30 min in the dark (control) and then exposed to 1.1 and 3.3 J cm⁻² UVA, 0.07 and 0.9 J cm⁻² UVB, 20 n m β-PDH (pigment dispersing hormone) or 10 μ m SIN-1 (NO donor). Histological analyses were performed to verify the UV effect in vivo . Cultured cells were exposed to 250 μ m L-NAME (NO synthase blocker) and afterwards were treated with UVA, UVB or β-PDH. The retinal cells in culture displayed significant pigment dispersion in response to UVA, UVB and β-PDH. The same responses to UVA and UVB were observed in vivo . SIN-1 did not induce pigment dispersion in the cell cultures. l-NAME significantly decreased the pigment dispersion induced by UVA and UVB but not by β-PDH. All retinal cells showed an immunopositive reaction against neuronal nitric oxide synthases. Therefore, UVA and UVB radiation are capable of inducing pigment dispersion in retinal pigment cells of Neohelice granulata and this dispersion may be nitric oxide synthase dependent.     

Characterization of Biocatalysts Prepared with Thermomyces lanuginosus Lipase and Different Silica Precursors,Dried using Aerogel and Xerogel Techniques

The use of lipases in industrial processes can result in products with high levels of purity and at the same time reduce pollutant generation and improve both selectivity and yields. In this work, lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus was immobilized using two different techniques. The first involves the hydrolysis/polycondensation of a silica precursor (tetramethoxysilane (TMOS)) at neutral pH and ambient temperature, and the second one uses tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as the silica precursor, involving the hydrolysis and polycondensation of the alkoxide in appropriate solvents. After immobilization, the enzymatic preparations were dried using the aerogel and xerogel techniques and then characterized in terms of their hydrolytic activities using a titrimetric method with olive oil and by the formation of 2-phenylethyl acetate in a transesterification reaction. The morphological properties of the materials were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, measurements of the surface area and pore size and volume, thermogravimetric analysis, and exploratory differential calorimetry. The results of the work indicate that the use of different silica precursors (TEOS or TMOS) and different drying techniques (aerogel or xerogel) can significantly affect the properties of the resulting biocatalyst. Drying with supercritical CO₂ provided higher enzymatic activities and pore sizes and was therefore preferable to drying, using the xerogel technique. Thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry analyses revealed differences in behavior between the two biocatalyst preparations due to the compounds present.     

Identification of Folding Intermediates of Streblin,The Most Stable Serine Protease: Biophysical Analysis

Streblin, a serine proteinase from plant Streblus asper, has been used to investigate the conformational changes induced by pH, temperature, and chaotropes. The near/far UV circular dichroism activities under fluorescence emission spectroscopy and 8-aniline-1-naphthalene sulfonate (ANS) binding have been carried out to understand the unfolding of the protein in the presence of denaturants. Spectroscopic studies reveal that streblin belongs to the α+β class of proteins and exhibits stability towards chemical denaturants, guanidine hydrochloride (GuHCl). The pH-induced transition of this protein is noncooperative for transition phases between pH 0.5 and 2.5 (midpoint, 1.5) and pH 2.5 and 10.0 (midpoint, 6.5). At pH 1.0 or lower, the protein unfolds to form acid-unfolded state, and for pH 7.5 and above, protein turns into an alkaline denatured state characterized by the absence of ANS binding. At pH 2.0 (1 M GuHCl), streblin exists in a partially unfolded state with characteristics of a molten globule state. The protein is found to exhibit strong and predominant ANS binding. In total, six different intermediate states has been identified to show protein folding pathways.