Numerical investigation of mixed convection heat transfer of a nanofluid in a circular enclosure with a rotating inner cylinder

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In the present paper, mixed convection heat transfer of water–Al2O3 nanofluid in the space between two cylinders is investigated numerically. The...     

Zeolite nanoparticles (H-ZSM5) as a highly efficient,green, and reusable heterogeneous catalyst for selective oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides under mild conditions

H-ZSM5 is applied as an efficient, highly reusable, and heterogeneous catalyst for the oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides using 30% H₂O₂ under solvent-free conditions at room temperature. A variety of aromatic and aliphatic sulfides with different functional groups were successfully oxidized with good to excellent yields in short reaction times. The catalyst can be easily recovered by simple filtration and recycled for several consecutive runs without any significant loss of its catalytic activity.     

Planning midwifery services to deliver continuity of care

This paper describes a simulation model of maternity services which was developed to support the planning of midwifery services to meet demands for continuity of care. A Government report of maternity services in 1992 emphasised the need to replace the fragmented care offered to pregnant women by a more personalised type of approach. One way of doing this is by the implementation of team midwifery in which care is provided, antenatally, during labour, and then postnatally by either the same midwife or, more usually a small team of midwives.The model described in this paper attempts to assess the effects of team size upon the continuity of care provided to pregnant women under different implementations. Continuity is measured in terms of the percentage of occasions a team midwife will be available to meet the health care demands of pregnant women. The model may be used not only for the evaluation of services already in use, but also for the planning of alternative and better services.     

Kiwifruit Actinidin: A Proper New Collagenase for Isolation of Cells from Different Tissues

Actinidin is a cysteine protease abundant in Kiwifruit. This enzyme is known as a meat-tenderizing protease. In this project, actinidin was purified from kiwifruit by salt precipitation and ion exchange chromatography. Collagenolytic effect of the purified enzyme was tested in four different buffer systems. Thereafter, the enzyme was used for isolation and culture of cells from three different tissues: endothelial cells from human umbilical vein, hepatocytes from rat liver, and thymic epithelial cells from rat thymus. Our results revealed that actinidin can hydrolyze collagen types I and II at neutral and alkaline buffers. Furthermore, actinidin compared with type II or IV collagenase isolated intact human umbilical vein endothelial cells, hepatocytes, and thymic epithelial cells with viability more than 90%. These results address a novel and valuable collagenase, which can be used efficiently for hydrolysis of collagen and isolation of different cell populations from various solid tissues.     

Oxandrastins: Antibacterial Meroterpenes from an Australian Mud Dauber Wasp Nest-Associated Fungus,Penicillium sp. CMB-MD14

The ethyl acetate extract of an ISP-2 agar cultivation of the wasp nest-associated fungus Penicillium sp. CMB-MD14 exhibited promising antibacterial activity against vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), with a bioassay guided chemical investigation yielding the new meroterpene, oxandrastin A (1), the first andrastin-like metabolite with an extra oxygenation at C-2. A culture media optimisation strategy informed a scaled-up rice cultivation that yielded 1, together with three new oxandrastins B–D (2–4), two known andrastins C (5) and F (6), and a new meroterpene of the austalide family, isoaustalide F (7). Structures of 1–7 were assigned based on detailed spectroscopic analysis and chemical interconversion. A GNPS molecular networking analysis of the rice cultivation extract detected the known austalides B (8), H (9), and H acid (10), tentatively identified based on molecular formulae and co-clustering with 7. That the anti-VRE properties of the CMB-MD14 extract were exclusively attributed to 1 (IC₅₀ 6.0 µM, MIC₉₉ 13.9 µM), highlights the importance of the 2-OAc and 3-OAc moieties to the oxandrastin anti-VRE pharmacophore.     

Antioxidant and Antisteatotic Activities of Fucoidan Fractions from Marine and Terrestrial Sources

Fucoidan is a fucose-rich sulfated polysaccharide typically found in the cell wall of marine algae but also recently isolated from terrestrial sources. Due to a variety of biological activities, including antioxidant properties, fucoidan exhibits an attractive therapeutic potential against a wide array of metabolic diseases associated with oxidative stress. We used FTIR, ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy to investigate the structural features of a fucoidan fraction extracted from the brown alga Cystoseira compressa (CYS). The antioxidant potential of CYS was measured by DPPH, ABTS and FRAP assays, which revealed a radical scavenging capacity that was confirmed in in vitro cellular models of hepatic and endothelial cells. The same antioxidant effects were observed for another fucoidan fraction previously identified in the terrestrial tree Eucalyptus globulus (EUC). Moreover, in hepatic cells, CYS and EUC exhibited a significant antisteatotic action, being able to reduce intracellular triglyceride content through the regulation of key genes of hepatic lipid metabolism. EUC exerted stronger antioxidant and antisteatotic effects as compared to CYS, suggesting that both marine and terrestrial sources should be considered for fucoidan extraction and therapeutic applications.     

Spectrophotometric determination of acyclovir and ribavirin in their dosage forms

Two simple, accurate, and reliable spectrophotometric methods have been developed for the determination of 2 antiviral drugs, acyclovir (ACV) and ribavirin (RBV), in their pharmaceutical formulations. These methods are based on oxidation of the 2 drugs with either cerium (IV) ammonium sulfate (Method A) or potassium persulfate (Method B). The products of oxidation in both methods are coupled with 3-methylbenzothiazolin 2-one hydrazone, producing a deep blue color with a maximum absorption wavelength at 630 nm. In Method A, the absorbance-concentration plots were linear over the ranges of 5-50 and 10-60 microg/mL with detection limits of 0.18 microg/mL (8 x 10(-7) M) and 0.63 microg/mL (2.58 x 10(-6) M) for ACV and RBV, respectively. In Method B, the ranges were 5-45 and 20-50 microg/mL with detection limits of 0.11 microg/mL (4.88 x 10(-7) M) and 1.40 microg/mL (5.73 x 10(-6) M) for the 2 drugs, respectively. The molar absorptivities were 4.1 x 10(3) and 3.65 x 10(3) L/mol/cm in Method A and 5.03 x 10(3) and 3.97 x 10(3) L/mol/cm in Method B for the 2 drugs, respectively. The proposed methods were applied successfully for the determination of the 2 drugs in their pharmaceutical formulations. The percentage recoveries +/- standard deviation were 99.57 +/- 0.86 and 100.82 +/- 0.46 for ACV; 99.41 +/- 1.08 and 100.35 +/- 1.03 for RBV. The results obtained were compared statistically with those given by official methods and showed no significant differences regarding accuracy and precision.     

Silica gel and polystyrene supported aluminum chloride as heterogeneous catalysts for the preparation of α‐aminophosphonates

Silica gel supported aluminum chloride (SiO₂‐AlCl₃) and cross‐linked polystyrene‐supported aluminum chloride (PS‐AlCl₃) are environment‐ friendly heterogeneous catalysts for the condensation of amines and aldehydes with diethyl phosphite to afford α‐aminophosphonates. These solid acid catalysts are stable (as bench top catalysts) and can be easily recovered and reused without appreciable change in their efficiency. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 21:418–422, 2010; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com . DOI 10.1002/hc.20629     

DNS Analysis of Wall Heat Transfer and Combustion Regimes in a Turbulent Non-premixed Wall-jet Flame

Understanding the heat-release effects on the wall heat transfer in turbulent reacting flows, i.e. heat transfer with or without significant density variation, is essential for a wide variety of industrial flows, especially combustion problems. The present study focuses on the wall heat transfer and the near-wall reaction characteristics. The heat-release effects on the wall heat transfer and skin-friction coefficients are investigated using three-dimensional direct numerical simulations of a turbulent reacting wall-jet flow with and without heat release. Reductions in the skin-friction coefficient are observed in the exothermic case, compared to the isothermal one, and the underlying mechanism is explained. The absolute wall heat flux also increases, while the corresponding Nusselt number decreases with increasing heat release. Furthermore, the wall effects on the near-wall average burning rate are assessed. It is found that the isothermal cold wall results in an appreciable decrease of the burning rate in the exothermic cases. We observed indications that the wall increases the chances for the development of the premixed mode and its occurrence is very fast in the wall-normal direction.