Enhancing VANETs Broadcasting Performance with Mobility Prediction for Smart Road

Wireless Personal Communications - In the last decade, daily lifestyles have been invaded by mobile networks which added a huge exchange of information. This exchange among vehicular nodes as a...     

Cellulose acetate blends with acrylonitrile/N-phenyl maleimide copolymers morphological and thermal properties

Cellulose acetate (CA) was blended in different compositions with various acrylonitrile-N-halo phenyl maleimide (AN-XPhM) copolymers to improve the thermal and mechanical properties of cellulose acetate. The structure, morphology, thermal stability, and crystallinity of the blend films were characterized by infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron micrographs, thermogravimetry/differential thermal analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray diffraction. The results revealed that the thermal stability was improved by the increase in AN-XPhM content, irrespective of the type of the N-halo phenyl maleimide. The CA/AN-4BrPhM blend films possessed the highest thermal stability compared to the other CA/AN-XPhM blend films. Blending CA with AN-4BrPhM yielded the most homogeneous blend films, irrespective of the composition ratio. The mechanical properties of various compositions of the CA/AN-4BrPhM blend films were also discussed.     

A lipase catalyzed condensation reaction with a tricyclic diketone: yet another example of biocatalytic promiscuity

Novozym 435 (a commercially available immobilized form of Candida antarctica lipase B) was found to catalyze a condensation reaction of 5-hydroxy-endo-tricyclo[5.2.1.0^2,6]deca-4,8-dien-3-one with acetaldehyde (enzymatically produced from vinyl acetate in situ) under low water conditions, in presence of 10% organic co-solvent (N,N-dimethyl formamide or pyridine), to form a bis-adduct. Even though the condensation reaction occurred with pyridine (acting as a base catalyst) in the presence of acetaldehyde and in the absence of enzyme, the reaction was very slow as compared to the enzymatic process. Thus, while the non-enzymatic process took 4 days to achieve 100% conversion; in presence of enzyme it was possible within 4 h.     

Field air analysis with SPME device

Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) devices were used for a wide scope of air-monitoring including field sampling and analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), formaldehyde, and particulate matter (PM) in air. Grab (instantaneous) and time-weighted average (TWA) sampling were accomplished using exposed and retracted SPME fibers, respectively. Sampling time varied from 1 to 75 min, followed by analysis with a gas chromatograph (GC). A portable GC equipped with unique, in-series detectors: photoionization (PID), flame ionization (FID), and dry electrolytic conductivity (DELCD), provided almost real-time analysis and speciation for common VOCs during an indoor air quality surveys. Indoor air samples collected with SPME devices were compared with those collected using conventional National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) methods. Air concentrations measured with the SPME device were as low as 700 parts-per-trillion (ppt) for semi-volatile organic compounds. SPME methodology proved to be more sensitive than conventional methods, and provided a simple approach for fast, cost-effective sampling and analysis of common VOCs in indoor air. SPME technology combined with fast portable GC reduced the sampling and analysis time to less than 15 min. The configuration offered the conveniences of immediate on-site monitoring and decision making, that are not possible with conventional methods. In addition, SPME fibers were applied to sampling of particulate matter in diesel engine exhaust. Linear uptake and particulate build-up on the fiber were observed. Preliminary research suggests that SPME fibers could also be applied to sampling of airborne particulate matter.     

QoS‐aware broadcasting in VANETs based on fuzzy logic and enhanced kinetic multipoint relay

Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) are emergent concepts in terms of infrastructure‐less communication. The data dissemination is usually done using broadcast schemes. Data broadcast in VANETs is a challenging issue due to the high mobility vehicles and the varying density. On one hand, these vehicles have to share and disseminate the safety‐critical information, in real time, to other intended vehicles. On the other hand, the existing broadcast solutions do not succeed, till now, to fulfill VANETs requirements especially in terms of performance and QoS. In this paper, we propose a new QoS‐aware broadcast method in order to face VANETs communications challenges. We choose to adapt a concept originally devoted to mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) and join it to other specific VANET techniques to introduce a new broadcasting protocol in the aim of optimizing QoS fulfilment. The proposed solution is fundamentally based on enhanced kinetic strategy assisted with fuzzy logic for QoS‐aware multipoint relay (MPR). The protocol efficiency is eventually tested through an experimental study and compared with existing methods. The results prove the over‐performance of the proposed solution.     

Constant-stresses biaxial-creep testing of tubes and spheres

The paper points out a physical effect which enables constant-stresses biaxial-creep testing of thin-walled tubes and spheres. Uniform and isothermal expansion of tubes and spheres which are internally pressurized by a constant amount of an ideally behaving gas is followed by a reduction of the gas pressure. The pressure drop of the gas compensates for the dimensional changes of the vessels in such a way that the circumferential and axial stresses of tubes and the circumferential stresses of spheres remain constant.     

Biodiesel Production by Single and Mixed Immobilized Lipases Using Waste Cooking Oil

Biodiesel is one of the important biofuels as an alternative to petroleum-based diesel fuels. In the current study, enzymatic transesterification reaction was carried out for the production of biodiesel from waste cooking oil (WCO) and experimental conditions were optimized, in order to reach maximum biodiesel yield. Bacillus stearothermophilus and Staphylococcus aureus lipase enzymes were individually immobilized on CaCO₃ to be used as environmentally friendly catalysts for biodiesel production. The immobilized lipases exhibited better stability than free ones and were almost fully active after 60 days of storage at 4 °C. A significant biodiesel yield of 97.66 ± 0.57% was achieved without any pre-treatment and at 1:6 oil/methanol molar ratio, 1% of the enzyme mixture (a 1:1 ratio mixture of both lipase), 1% water content, after 24 h at 55 °C reaction temperature. The biocatalysts retained 93% of their initial activities after six cycles. The fuel and chemical properties such as the cloud point, viscosity at 40 °C and density at 15 °C of the produced biodiesel complied with international specifications (EN 14214) and, therefore, were comparable to those of other diesels/biodiesels. Interestingly, the resulting biodiesel revealed a linolenic methyl ester content of 0.55 ± 0.02% and an ester content of 97.7 ± 0.21% which is in good agreement with EN14214 requirements. Overall, using mixed CaCO₃-immobilized lipases to obtain an environmentally friendly biodiesel from WCO is a promising and effective alternative for biodiesel production catalysis.     

Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Evaluation and Chemical Investigation of Rosa gallica var. aegyptiaca Leaf Extracts

Rosa gallica var. aegyptiaca is a species of flowering plant belonging to the Rosaceae family that plays an important role as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of specific types of cancer, microbial infections, and diabetes mellitus. This work presents the first report on the evaluation of the antioxidant and antimicrobial potential along with the phytochemical analysis of Rosa gallica var. aegyptiaca leaves. Five leaf extracts of hexane, chloroform, methanol, hydromethanol 80%, and water were prepared. Assessment of antioxidant activity was carried out via DPPH radical scavenging assay. Antimicrobial activity against five foodborne pathogenic bacteria—including Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella enteritidis—and the fungus Candida albicans, was examined using the disc diffusion method. Total phenolic content and total flavonoid content were determined using the Folin–Ciocalteu reagent and aluminum chloride methods, respectively. Isolation, identification, and quantification of phenolic compounds were performed using HPLC-DAD analysis. Amongst the five leaf extracts that were investigated, hydromethanol 80% extract possessed the highest extraction yield, antioxidant activity, total phenolic content, and antimicrobial activity against all tested microbial strains. Moreover, this extract furnished six active phenolic compounds: gallic acid (1), (+) catechin (2), chlorogenic acid (3), (–) epicatechin (4), quercetin-3-O-α-d-(glucopyranoside) (5), and quercetin (6). This study provides an alternative utilization of R. gallica var. aegyptiaca leaves as a readily accessible source of natural antioxidants and antimicrobials in the food and pharmaceutical industries.     

A Novel Thermostable and Alkaline Protease Produced from Bacillus stearothermophilus Isolated from Olive Oil Mill Sols Suitable to Industrial Biotechnology

This study was conducted to identify a new alkaline and thermophilic protease (Ba.St.Pr) produced from Bacillus stearothermophilus isolated from olive oil mill sols and to evaluate its culture conditions, including temperature, pH, carbon and nitrogen sources, and incubation time. The optimum culture conditions for cell growth (10 g/L) and protease production (5050 U/mL) were as follows: temperature 55 °C, pH 10, inoculation density 8 × 10⁸ CFU/mL, and incubation time 24 h. The use of 3% yeast extract as the nitrogen sources and galactose (7.5 g/L) as the carbon sources enhanced both cell growth and protease production. Using reversed-phase analytical HPLC on C-8 column, the new protease was purified with a molecular mass of approximately 28 kDa. The N-terminal sequence of Ba.St.Pr exhibited a high level of identity of approximately 95% with those of Bacillus strains. Characterization under extreme conditions revealed a novel thermostable and alkaline protease with a half-life time of 187 min when incubated with combined Ca²⁺/mannitol. Ba.St.Pr demonstrated a higher stability in the presence of surfactant, solvent, and Ca²⁺ ions. Consequently, all the evaluated activity parameters highlighted the promising properties of this bacterium for industrial and biotechnological applications.