Antioxidant activities and bioactive compounds of five Jalopeno peppers (Capsicum annuum) cultivars

The present study was designed to evaluate the contents of different antioxidants compounds and their antioxidant activities in Jalopeno peppers (Capsicum annuum) cultivars (El Dorido, Grande, Tula, Sayula and El Rey) extracts. Free radical scavenging activity of Grande was recorded as high as 87% followed by El Dorido (83%). Results of reducing power (Fe³⁺ to Fe²⁺) showed that Grande (0.85%) and El Dorido (0.81%) fruit extract absorbance value were close to synthetic antioxidant BHT (0. 97%) obtained at100 μg/mL. The results showed that total phenolic content of El Dorido and Grande were significantly higher compared to other Jalapeno pepper. Results indicated strong and positive correlation between antioxidant activity and carotenoids content (r = 0.75), vitamin C (r = 0.78) and total capsaicinoids (r = 0.84), respectively. The results of the antioxidant activity assays showed that the El Dorido and Grande had strongest antioxidant activity compared to other peppers cultivars in this study.     

Oxidative Epigallocatechin Gallate Coating on Polymeric Substrates for Bone Tissue Regeneration

Plant derived flavonoids have not been well explored in tissue engineering applications due to difficulties in efficient formulations with biomaterials for controlled presentation. Here, the authors report that surface coating of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) on polymeric substrates including poly (L‐lactic acid) (PLLA) nanofibers can be performed via oxidative polymerization of EGCG in the presence of cations, enabling regulation of biological functions of multiple cell types implicated in bone regeneration. EGCG coating on the PLLA nanofiber promotes osteogenic differentiation of adipose‐derived stem cells (ADSCs) and is potent to suppress adipogenesis of ADSCs while significantly reduces osteoclastic maturation of murine macrophages. Moreover, EGCG coating serves as a protective layer for ADSCs against oxidative stress caused by hydrogen peroxide. Finally, the in vivo implantation of EGCG‐coated nanofibers into a mouse calvarial defect model significantly promotes the bone regeneration (61.52 ± 28.10%) as compared to defect (17.48 ± 11.07%). Collectively, the results suggest that EGCG coating is a simple bioinspired surface modification of polymeric biomaterials and importantly can thus serve as a promising interface for tuning activities of multiple cell types associated with bone fracture healing.     

Invariant discrete flows

In this paper, we investigate the evolution of joint invariants under invariant geometric flows using the theory of equivariant moving frames and the induced invariant discrete variational complex. For certain arc length preserving planar curve flows invariant under the special Euclidean group , the special linear group , and the semidirect group , we find that the induced evolution of the discrete curvature satisfies the differential‐difference mKdV, KdV, and Burgers' equations, respectively. These three equations are completely integrable, and we show that a recursion operator can be constructed by precomposing the characteristic operator of the curvature by a certain invariant difference operator. Finally, we derive the constraint for the integrability of the discrete curvature evolution to lift to the evolution of the discrete curve itself.     

Simple and Precise Quantification of Iron Catalyst Content in Carbon Nanotubes Using UV/Visible Spectroscopy

Iron catalysts have been used widely for the mass production of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with high yield. In this study, UV/visible spectroscopy was used to determine the Fe catalyst content in CNTs using a colorimetric technique. Fe ions in solution form red–orange complexes with 1,10-phenanthroline, producing an absorption peak at λ=510 nm, the intensity of which is proportional to the solution Fe concentration. A series of standard Fe solutions were formulated to establish the relationship between optical absorbance and Fe concentration. Many Fe catalysts were microscopically observed to be encased by graphitic layers, thus preventing their extraction. Fe catalyst dissolution from CNTs was investigated with various single and mixed acids, and Fe concentration was found to be highest with CNTs being held at reflux in HClO₄/HNO₃ and H₂SO₄/HNO₃ mixtures. This novel colorimetric method to measure Fe concentrations by UV/Vis spectroscopy was validated by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, indicating its reliability and applicability to asses Fe content in CNTs.     

A study of density in electron-cyclotron-resonance plasma

A theory is developed for the density profile of low temperature plasmas confined by applied magnetic field and an experiment of the electron-cyclotron-resonance (ECR) plasma is conducted to compare the theoretical prediction and experimental measurements. Due to a large electron mobility along the magnetic field, electrons move quickly out of the system, leaving ions behind and building a space charge potential, which leads to the ambipolar diffusion of ions. In a steady-state condition, the plasma generation by ionization of neutral molecules is in balance with plasma loss due to the diffusion, leading to the electron temperature equation, which is expressed in terms of the plasma size, chamber pressure, and the ionization energy and cross section of neutrals. The power balance condition leads to the plasma density equation, which is also expressed in terms of the electron temperature, the input microwave power and the chamber pressure. It is shown that the plasma density increases, reaches its peak and decreases, as the chamber pressure increases from a small value (0.1 mTorr). These simple expressions of electron temperature and density provide a scaling law of ECR plasma in terms of system parameters. After carrying out an experimental observation, it is concluded that the theoretical predictions of the electron temperature and plasma density agree remarkably well with experimental data     

A posteriori error estimation with finite element methods of lines for one-dimensional parabolic systems

Summary Consider the solution of one-dimensional linear initial-boundary value problems by a finite element method of lines using a piecewiseP ^th -degree polynomial basis. A posteriori estimates of the discretization error are obtained as the solutions of either local parabolic or local elliptic finite element problems using piecewise polynomial corrections of degreep+1 that vanish at element ends. Error estimates computed in this manner are shown to converge in energy under mesh refinement to the exact finite element discretization error. Computational results indicate that the error estimates are robust over a wide range of mesh spacings and polynomial degrees and are, furthermore, applicable in situations that are not supported by the analysis.This research was partially supported by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Air Force Systems Command, USAF, under Grant Number AFOSR 90-0194; by the U.S. Army Research Office under Contract Number DAAL03-91-G-0215; and by the National Science Foundation under Institutional Infrastructure Grant Number CDA-8805910     

Exploiting the diversity of time scales in the immune system: A B-cell antibody model

Using the continuous shape space formalism, we develop an immune system model involving both B lymphocytes and antibody molecules. The binding and cross-linking of receptors on B cells stimulates the cells to divide and, with a lag, to secrete antibody. Using the method of multiple scales, we show how to correctly formulate long-time-scale equations for the population dynamics of B cells, the total antibody concentration, and rate of antibody secretion. We compare our model with previous phenomenological formulations.