Classical Food Quality Attributes and the Metabolic Profile of Cambuci,a Native Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest Fruit

The cambuci is a native Brazilian fruit from the Atlantic Forest biome. A soft and astringent pulp, a green color, and a sweet aroma are its main characteristics. Classical food quality attributes (fresh fruit mass, fruit height, diameters, total soluble solid, titratable acidity, and ratio) and the metabolic profile from ten accessions from three different locations were analyzed herein by analytical methods (refractometry and neutralization titration) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Concerning sugar content, sucrose was the predominant compound, with glucose and fructose alternating in second, depending on the accession. Citric acid was the most relevant acid, followed by shikimic and quinic acids in quite variable amounts. These three main acids vary in amounts for each accession. Ascorbic acid content emerges as an important quality attribute and makes this fruit nutritionally attractive, due to values comparable to those contained in citric fruits. The main amino acids identified in cambuci were glutamic acid individually or in comprising the tripeptide glutathione (glutamic acid, cysteine, glycine). The quality diversity of the evaluated accessions suggests the potentiality of cambuci use in future breeding programs.     

Variable cant angle winglets for improvement of aircraft flight performance

Meccanica - Traditional winglets are designed as fixed devices attached at the tips of the wings. The primary purpose of the winglets is to reduce the lift-induced drag, therefore improving...     

Simulation of Organic Liquid Product Deoxygenation through Multistage Countercurrent Absorber/Stripping Using CO2 as Solvent with Aspen-HYSYS: Process Modeling and Simulation

In this work, the deoxygenation of organic liquid products (OLP) obtained through the thermal catalytic cracking of palm oil at 450 °C, 1.0 atmosphere, with 10% (wt.) Na₂CO₃ as a catalyst, in multistage countercurrent absorber columns using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) as a solvent, with an Aspen-HYSYS process simulator, was systematically investigated. In a previous study, the thermodynamic data basis and EOS modeling necessary to simulate the deoxygenation of OLP was presented. This work addresses a new flowsheet, consisting of 03 absorber columns, 10 expansions valves, 10 flash drums, 08 heat exchanges, 01 pressure pump, and 02 make-ups of CO₂, aiming to improve the deacidification of OLP. The simulation was performed at 333 K, 140 bar, and (S/F) = 17; 350 K, 140 bar, and (S/F) = 38; 333 K, 140 bar, and (S/F) = 25. The simulation shows that 81.49% of OLP could be recovered and that the concentrations of hydrocarbons in the extracts of absorber-01 and absorber-02 were 96.95 and 92.78% (wt.) on a solvent-free basis, while the bottom stream of absorber-03 was enriched in oxygenated compounds with concentrations of up to 32.66% (wt.) on a solvent-free basis, showing that the organic liquid products (OLP) were deacidified and SC-CO₂ was able to deacidify the OLP and obtain fractions with lower olefin contents. The best deacidifying condition was obtained at 333 K, 140 bar, and (S/F) = 17.     

Metallacarboranes as Photoredox Catalysts in Water

Metallacarboranes with the shape of the Greek letter θ, such as [Co(C₂B₉H₁₁)₂]⁻, were tested, for the first time, as efficient photoredox catalysts in the oxidation of aromatic and aliphatic alcohols in water. Their efficiency is linked to their high solubility in water, their high oxidizing power (Co^4+/3+), and their absence of fluorescence on excitation, among others. In most of the studied examples, using a catalyst load of 0.4 mol % gave high yields of 90–95 % with selectivity greater than 99 %. By reducing the catalyst load to 0.01 mol %, quantitative conversion of reactants to products was achieved, in some cases with greater than 99 % yield, high catalyst efficiency reaching a turnover number of 10 000, and a higher yield with a 45 times lower concentration of catalyst. The metallacarboranes can be recovered easily by precipitation on addition of [NMe₄]Cl. A pathway for the photoredox-catalyzed oxidation of alcohols is proposed.     

The fixed point property in -triples and preduals of -triples

We prove that for every member X in the class of real or complex JB^*-triples or preduals of JBW^*-triples, the following assertions are equivalent:

(1) X has the fixed point property.

(2) X has the super fixed point property.

(3) X has normal structure.

(4) X has uniform normal structure.

(5) The Banach space of X is reflexive.

As a consequence, a real or complex C^*-algebra or the predual of a real or complex W^*-algebra having the fixed point property must be finite-dimensional.

Carbon Paste Electrode Modified with Biochar for Sensitive Electrochemical Determination of Paraquat

The present work reports for the first time the determination of paraquat (PQ²⁺) by Differential Pulse Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetry (DPAdSV) using a carbon paste electrode modified (CPME) with biochar obtained from castor oil cake at different temperatures (200–600 °C). The best voltammetric response was verified using biochar yielded at 400 °C (CPME‐BC400). Linear dynamic range (LDR) for PQ²⁺ concentrations between 3.0×10^?8 and 1.0×10^?6 mol L^?1 and a limit of detection (LOD) of 7.5×10^?9 mol L^?1 were verified. The method was successfully applied for PQ²⁺ quantification in spiked samples of natural water and coconut water.     

Photocontrol of DNA binding specificity of a miniature engrailed homeodomain

Control of DNA binding of HDH-3, a 18-residue polypeptide based on the recognition helix of the Q50K engrailed homeodomain, has been achieved. HDH-3 was linked to an azobenzene cross-linker through two cysteine residues in an i, i + 11 spacing. For the thermodynamically stable trans configuration of the cross-linker, the dark-adapted peptide (dad-HDH-3) adopted a mainly alpha-helical structure as judged by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. After irradiation with light of 360 nm, the helical content of the peptide (irrad-HDH-3) was reduced significantly and the CD spectrum of the irradiated peptide resembled that of the largely unstructured, unalkylated peptide. Despite lacking helices-1 and -2 and the N-terminal arm of Q50K engrailed, dad-HDH-3 bound to its natural DNA target sequence TAATCC (QRE) with high affinity (K(D) = 7.5 +/- 1.3 nM). The binding affinity for the mutant DNA sequence, TAATTA (ERE), was reduced significantly (K(D) = 140 +/- 11 nM). Unlike irrad-HDH-3, which like the unalkylated parent peptide displayed only marginal DNA binding specificity, dad-HDH-3 specified base pairs 5 and 6 of QRE with an accuracy rivaling that of the intact wild-type Q50K engrailed homeodomain, making dad-HDH-3 the most specific designed DNA binding miniature homeodomain reported to date. Moreover, DNA binding affinity and specificity of HDH-3 could be controlled externally by irradiation with light.     

Formulation of Aluminum Chloride Phthalocyanine in Pluronic™ P‐123 and F‐127 Block Copolymer Micelles: Photophysical properties and Photodynamic Inactivation of Microorganisms

Aluminum Chloride Phthalocyanine (AlPcCl) can be used as a photosensitizer (PS) for Photodynamic Inactivation of Microorganisms (PDI). The AlPcCl showed favorable characteristics for PDI due to high quantum yield of singlet oxygen (Φ_Δ) and photostability. Physicochemical properties and photodynamic inactivation of AlPcCl incorporated in polymeric micelles of tri‐block copolymer (P‐123 and F‐127) against microorganisms Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans were investigated in this work. Previously, it was observed that the AlPcCl undergoes self‐aggregation in F‐127, while in P‐123 the PS is in a monomeric form suitable for PDI. Due to the self‐aggregation of AlPcCl in F‐127, this formulation did not show any effect on these microorganisms. On the other hand, AlPcCl formulated in P‐123 was effective against S. aureus and C. albicans and the death of microorganisms was dependent on the PS concentration and illumination time. Additionally, it was found that the values of PS concentration and illumination time to eradicate 90% of the initial population of microorganisms (IC₉₀ and D₉₀, respectively) were small for the AlPcCl in P‐123, showing the effectiveness of this formulation for PDI.     

Theoretical spectroscopic study of europium tris(bipyridine) cryptates

A series of europium cryptates are studied, using semiempirical methods to predict electronic and spectroscopic properties. The results are compared with theoretical (DFT) and experimental results published by Guillaumont and co-workers (ChemPhysChem2007, 8, 480). Triplet energies calculated by semiempirical methods have errors similar to those obtained by TD-DFT methodology but hundreds of times faster. Moreover, the semiempirical results not only reproduce well the experimental values but also help explain the low values of quantum efficiency observed for these complexes.     

Stereodivergent Synthesis of 17‐α and 17‐β‐Aryl Steroids: Application and Biological Evaluation of D‐Ring Cortistatin Analogues

One stereocenter makes all the difference : The synthesis and biological evaluation of 17‐epi‐cortistatin A is reported from a common intermediate used to procure natural cortistatin A. The synthesis features a unique stereocontrolled Raney‐Ni reduction process that can be employed to reliably produce both α‐ and β‐configured D‐ring aryl steroids. Biological evaluations of these “cortalogs” are reported for the first time.