Food Waste Fermentation to Fumaric Acid by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhizopus arrhizus RH7-13</Emphasis>

Fumaric acid as a four-carbon unsaturated dicarboxylic acid is widely used in the food and chemical industries. Food waste (FW), rich in carbohydrates and protein, is a promising potential feedstock for renewable bio-based chemicals. In this research, we investigated the capability of Rhizopus arrhizus RH7-13 in producing fumaric acid from FW. The liquid fraction of the FW (L-FW) was proven to be the best seed culture medium in our research. When it was however used to be fermentation medium, the yield of fumaric acid reached 32.68 g/L, at a volumetric production of 0.34 g/L h. The solid fraction of FW mixed with water (S-FW) could also be used as fermentation medium when a certain amount of glucose was added, and the yield of fumaric acid reached 31.26 g/L. The results indicated that both fractions of FW could be well utilized in fermentation process and it could replace a part of common carbon, nitrogen, and nutrient. The process has an application potential since reducing the costs of raw materials.     

Synthesis of lamellar mesoporous silica materials using LCs as templates

The study focuses on the synthesis of mesoporous silica materials using liquid crystals (LCs) formed in an aqueous mixture of cationic cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as templates and tetrathoxysilane (TEOS) as precursor. For this purpose, the phase behavior and range of LC areas were determined at different temperatures, concentrations, and ratios of CTAB/SDS. It was found that LCs became denser with the increased of concentration of surfactants. The mesoporous materials were synthesized using LCs as templates at various temperatures, surfactant concentrations, and pH values. The mesoporous samples were characterized using SEM and nitrogen sorption analysis. The research results showed that the structure of synthesized samples were lamellar and their surface areas increased significantly with the increase of temperature in the temperature range of LCs, reaching about 900?m²/g at 60°C. The surfactant concentrations affect the thickness of pore wall and thereby the specific surface area of products. The specific surface area and the order of mesoporous sample increased gradually with the decrease of pH.     

Photocrosslinked methacrylated chitosan-based nanofibrous scaffolds as potential skin substitute

Nanofibers based on natural polymers have recently been attracting research interest as promising materials for use as skin substitutes. Here, we prepared photocrosslinked nanofibrous scaffolds based on methacrylated chitosan (MACS) by photocrosslinking electrospun methacrylated chitosan/poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) mats and subsequently removing PVA from the nanofibers. We comprehensively investigated the solution properties of MACS/PVA precursors, the intermolecular action between MACS and PVA components, and the morphology of MACS/PVA nanofibers. Results indicated that the fiber diameter and morphology of the photocrosslinked methacrylated chitosan-based nanofibrous scaffolds were controlled by the MACS/PVA mass ratio and showed highly micro-porous structures with many fibrils. In vitro cytotoxicity evaluation and cell culture experiments confirmed that MACS-based mats with micro-pore structure were biocompatible with L929 cells and facilitated cellular migration into the 3D matrix, demonstrating their potential application as skin replacements for wound repair.     

Investigation of the multilayered structure and microfibril angle of different types of bamboo cell walls at the micro/nano level using a LC-PolScope imaging system

Bamboo has excellent mechanical properties compared to wood and other plant materials, due to its multilayered structure and polytropic microfibril angle (MFA). The micro/nano scale structure and MFA of fibers, parenchyma cells, and vessels from 4-year-old Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys Heterocycla Var. Pubescens) were investigated by a novel LC-PolScope imaging system and transmission electron microscopy. At the nanoscale, the numbers of layers and accurate MFA for each layer especially thin layers could be obtained quickly using this novel LC-PolScope imaging system. Based on the differences of structure and shape, fibers and parenchyma cells in the vascular bundle were divided into FI, II, III and PI, II cells, respectively. The former class of FI, II, III included 2, 6–8, and 6–8 secondary cell wall layers in turn. The latter class exhibited 9 secondary cell wall layers, with a maximum of 16 layers. To our knowledge, this is the first report of accurate MFA measurement based on the differences of structure and shape for every layer of single fibers, parenchyma cells and vessels in the vascular bundle. For all three cell types, the results also showed that the MFA of sub-layers in secondary walls followed the same changing law: alternating smaller and then bigger MFA. This structural form may be the consequence of natural selection and optimization indicating the long-term mechanical adaptation of bamboo.     

Preparation of single-walled carbon nanotube fiber coating for solid-phase microextraction of organochlorine pesticides in lake water and wastewater

The feasibility of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as adsorbents for solid-phase microextraction was investigated by using organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) as model compounds. SWCNTs were attached onto a stainless steel wire through organic binder. Potential factors affecting the extraction efficiency were optimized, including extraction time, extraction temperature, desorption time, desorption temperature, and salinity. The developed method has a linear range of 2-800 ng/L for most analytes, with coefficients of correlation ranging from 0.9911 to 0.9996, LODs ranged from 0.19 to 3.77 ng/L (S/N = 3), and RSDs in the range of 3.5-13.9% (n = 5). Compared with the commercial PDMS fiber, the SWCNT fiber has better thermal stability (over 350 degrees C) and longer life span (over 150 times). The developed method was applied to determine trace OCPs in lake water and wastewater samples with external standard calibration. Results showed that OCP contamination was very low in these samples, and HCHs were detected in almost all water samples while DDT concentrations were almost under detection limits in these samples. Recoveries obtained at 20 ng/L spiking level were in the range of 88.4-111% for OCPs in lake water. For wastewater samples, however, the recoveries were satisfactory for HCHs (63.6-97.1%) but relatively low for DDTs (44.7-116%) due to the high content of organic matter in wastewater.     

Selection of bovine catalase aptamers using non-SELEX

In this research, we used the non-SELEX method to successfully select an aptamer that binds to the protein target (bovine catalase) with a K(D) value in the low micro molar range. The time window was determined for the target and aptamer library by optimizing the buffer conditions using 3 × Tris-glycine-potassium phosphate (TGK) buffer as the run buffer and 1× TGK as the selection buffer to give the biggest complex peak. Fractions were collected by multistep nonequilibrium capillary electrophoresis of equilibrium mixtures (NECEEM)-based partitioning for three rounds of selection. The fractions from each round were enriched using PCR and the progress of selection was monitored using bulk affinity analysis. Fraction 2 was determined to have the optimal bulk affinity (0.75 μM) and this enriched library was cloned and sequenced giving four aptamer sequences. These sequences were verified using affinity capillary electrophoresis (CAT 1 0.237 μM) and fluorescence intensity measurements (CAT 1 0.430 μM). The specificity of the aptamer was also determined by fluorescence intensity measurements. The results showed that the aptamer with the highest binding affinity showed at least a 100-fold decrease in affinity toward four other proteins (i.e. lysozyme, trypsinogen, chymotrypsinogen A, and myoglobin) tested and this confirmed that the aptamer exhibited a distinct specificity toward bovine catalase. This aptamer will be useful in biosensing, Western blot, and biomarker identification.     

Growth of highly oriented hydroxyapatite arrays tuned by quercetin

Crystal calls: the remarkable crystal modulation ability of quercetin (QUE) in highly oriented hydroxyapatite (HAp) array crystallization is reported. Organized HAp crystals were obtained by hydrothermal exchange of α-tricalcium phosphate (α-TCP) precursor in solution with a progressive increase in QUE concentration. Experimental results revealed that QUE would be a potentially effective crystal modulation assistant.     

一种高透明、可拉伸导电水凝胶的制备及其在电容传感器中的应用

导电水凝胶由于具备良好的电学特性、可调节的机械性能、易于加工性和生物相容性等,是制备柔性电子设备的理想基材。本文使用马来酸与丙烯酰胺作为共聚单体,氯化锂作为导电离子,N,N'-二甲基双丙烯酰胺作为交联剂,使用光引发剂,采用原位光聚合的方式制备了一种导电水凝胶。制得的水凝胶可见光透过率高达93%,最大拉伸形变~380%,导电率最大为12 S/m。鉴于其优异的综合性能,实验中使用导电水凝胶制备了电容传感器并应用于人体活动监测。结果表明,制备的导电水凝胶电容传感器对不同程度的手指弯曲形变和不同力度的手指触碰均表现出灵敏的响应行为,为未来可穿戴柔性电子产品的发展起到了一定的推动作用。     

一种改进的DNN-HMM的语音识别方法*

针对深度神经网络与隐马尔可夫模型(DNN-HMM)结合的声学模型在语音识别过程中建模能力有限等问题,提出了一种改进的DNN-HMM模型语音识别算法。首先根据深度置信网络(DBN)结合深度玻尔兹曼机(DBM),建立深度神经网络声学模型,然后提取梅尔频率倒谱系数(MFCC)和对数域的Mel滤波器组系数(Fbank)作为声学特征参数,通过TIMIT语音数据集进行实验。实验结果表明:结合了DBM的DNN-HMM模型相比DNN-HMM模型更具优势,其中,使用MFCC声学特征在词错误率与句错误率方面分别下降了1.26%和0.20%。此外,使用默认滤波器组的Fbank特征在词错误率与句错误率方面分别下降了0.48%和0.82%,并且适量增加滤波器组可以降低错误率。总之,研究取得句错误率与词错误率分别降低到21.06%和3.12%的好成绩。     

The significant effects of linear medium chain fatty alcohols on phase behavior of aqueous solution of mixed cationic–anionic surfactant

The effect of 1-hexanol on the phase behavior of aqueous solutions of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) has been systematically studied. The phase ranges of vesicle and liquid crystal (LC) can be greatly extended with the addition of 1-hexanol. These specific structures distributed symmetrically on the two sides of the SDS/CTAB equimolar line in the pseudo ternary phase diagram. The aqueous two phase system (ATPS) contained vesicles that would transform into lamellar LC with the change of ratio of SDS/CTAB. The phase behaviors of SDS/CTAB system with addition of different alcohols (C₅OH–C₈OH) showed similar trends in structural transition except for phase span, demonstrating that the obstruction of electrostatic interaction between surfactant polar heads was affected by the insertion depth of the added alcohols.