AC conductivity studies and relaxation behaviour in (LiX) y [(Li2O)0.6(P2O5)0.4](1 − y) glasses

The electrical conductivity of (LiX) _y [(Li₂O)_0.6(P₂O₅)_0.4]_(1???y) (X?=?Cl, Br, y?=?0, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2) glasses has been determined over a wide range of temperature and frequency by means of impedance spectroscopy. The real part of the frequency-dependent conductivity exhibits a simple power law feature, and the dimensionless frequency exponent n has been determined. The conductivity spectra show scaling behaviour when the conductivity spectra are scaled by ω/(σ _dc T) and ω/ω _p . The conductivity relaxation time and activation energy have been estimated from the modulus spectra. Increases of ionic conductivity values with addition of LiX content are in line with the decrease of activation energy and relaxation time.     

Extraction and isolation of catechins from tea

Tea is a major source of catechins, which have become well known for their antioxidant potential. Numerous human, animal, and in vitro studies have linked tea catechins with prevention of certain types of cancers, reduction of the risks for obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, and improvement of the immune system. Tea catechins are widely used in various neutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics for either enhancing product shelf-life or for enhancing human health. Thus, the demand for catechins has increased considerably. Catechins have been extracted and isolated from tea leaves by numerous methods through several steps including: treatment of the tea leaves, extraction of catechins from teas into solvents, isolation of catechins from other extracted components, and drying the preparations to obtain catechin extracts in a powder form. This paper outlines the physical and chemical properties of the tea catechins and reviews the extraction steps of the various extraction methods, as a basis to improve and further develop the extraction and isolation of the tea catechins.     

Formation and characterization of a hydrophilic polymer hydrogel under gamma irradiation

Formation and characterization of hydrogel of a hydrophilic polymer in a wide range of gamma absorbed doses is reported. An aqueous solution contains 2% polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) by mass irradiated under gamma rays of ⁶⁰Co was chosen for study. The hydrogel was synthesized without using any additives. It was found that gel fraction is an exponential saturation function that increases with an increase of absorbed dose while swelling ratio is an exponential saturation function that decreases with an increase of absorbed dose. The results are described by energy transfer model.     

Designing an intelligent teaching simulator for learning to teach by practicing

Learning to teach is difficult for prospective teachers because of the complex nature of the work of teaching. Practicing (Lampert in J Teach Educ 61(1–2):21–34, 2010), interacting with the practice of teaching from a first-person perspective, may give them a unique experience in learning to teach. Computer-based simulators in which the apprentice teacher can interact with virtual students may be used to create that kind of experience. In this paper, we show how to apply techniques in artificial intelligence to design an intelligent learning environment. We show how to model the apprentice’s decision making and resources that can help him or her improve the practice of teaching.     

Large time behavior for some nonlinear degenerate parabolic equations

We study the asymptotic behavior of Lipschitz continuous solutions of nonlinear degenerate parabolic equations in the periodic setting. Our results apply to a large class of Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman equations. Defining Σ as the set where the diffusion vanishes, i.e., where the equation is totally degenerate, we obtain the convergence when the equation is uniformly parabolic outside Σ and, on Σ, the Hamiltonian is either strictly convex or satisfies an assumption similar of the one introduced by Barles–Souganidis (2000) for first-order Hamilton–Jacobi equations. This latter assumption allows to deal with equations with nonconvex Hamiltonians. We can also release the uniform parabolic requirement outside Σ. As a consequence, we prove the convergence of some everywhere degenerate second-order equations.     

Comparison of three methods for fractionation and enrichment of low molecular weight proteins for SELDI-TOF-MS differential analysis

In most diseases, the clinical need for serum/plasma markers has never been so crucial, not only for diagnosis, but also for the selection of the most efficient therapies, as well as exclusion of ineffective or toxic treatment. Due to the high sample complexity, prefractionation is essential for exploring the deep proteome and finding specific markers.In this study, three different sample preparation methods (i.e., highly abundant protein precipitation, restricted access materials (RAM) combined with IMAC chromatography and peptide ligand affinity beads) were investigated in order to select the best fractionation step for further differential proteomic experiments focusing on the LMW proteome (MW inferior to 40,000 Da). Indeed, the aim was not to cover the entire plasma/serum proteome, but to enrich potentially interesting tissue leakage proteins. These three methods were evaluated on their reproducibility, on the SELDI-TOF-MS peptide/protein peaks generated after fractionation and on the information supplied.The studied methods appeared to give complementary information and presented good reproducibility (below 20%). Peptide ligand affinity beads were found to provide efficient depletion of HMW proteins and peak enrichment in protein/peptide profiles.     

A proof of zelevinski’s structure theorem for psh algebras 1

We give a new proof of the structure theorem for PSH—algebras, and of a formula for primitives     

Two regularization methods for backward heat problems with new error estimates

We introduce two new methods for solving a backward heat conduction problem. For these two methods, we give a stability analysis with new error estimates. Meanwhile, we investigate the roles of the regularization parameters in these two methods. Numerical results show that our algorithm is effective.