Modeling the drying of ultrasound and glucose pretreated sweet potatoes: The impact on phytochemical and functional groups

The influence of ultrasonic frequency (20 kHz) and glucose pretreatments either alone or in combination on the drying of sweet potato slices (3 mm) using a hot-air dryer at 60 °C was tested to study the kinetics modeling, phytochemicals, antioxidant activities, and functional and textural changes of the final dried product. The results indicated that total phenolic content and total flavonoid content were significantly higher in glucose-pretreated samples while antioxidant activities were higher in ultrasound- and glucose-pretreated samples. For vitamin C, much degradation occurred in the glucose-pretreated samples when compared with the other pretreated samples apart from the control. Enzymatic browning made a minor contribution to the ultrasound/glucose-pretreated samples, while no significant differences were noted in the glucose-pretreated samples. A modified Henderson and Pabis (MHP) model, followed by the two-term and Hii models, fitted best among the 15 selected mathematical models. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis revealed the presence of glucose, phenols, and flavonols in all samples. Microstructural analysis confirmed the hardness (N) in the final glucose-pretreated samples due to glucose layers and less cell damage.     

Tumor Hypoxia Heterogeneity Affects Radiotherapy: Inverse-Percolation Shell-Model Monte Carlo Simulations

Tumor hypoxia was discovered a century ago, and the interference of hypoxia with all radiotherapies is well known. Here, we demonstrate the potentially extreme effects of hypoxia heterogeneity on radiotherapy and combination radiochemotherapy. We observe that there is a decrease in hypoxia from tumor periphery to tumor center, due to oxygen diffusion, resulting in a gradient of radiative cell-kill probability, mathematically expressed as a probability gradient of occupied space removal. The radiotherapy-induced break-up of the tumor/TME network is modeled by the physics model of inverse percolation in a shell-like medium, using Monte Carlo simulations. The different shells now have different probabilities of space removal, spanning from higher probability in the periphery to lower probability in the center of the tumor. Mathematical results regarding the variability of the critical percolation concentration show an increase in the critical threshold with the applied increase in the probability of space removal. Such an observation will have an important medical implication: a much larger than expected radiation dose is needed for a tumor breakup enabling successful follow-up chemotherapy. Information on the TME’s hypoxia heterogeneity, as shown here with the numerical percolation model, may enable personalized precision radiation oncology therapy.     

循环流动固定床光催化反应器动力学数学模拟

以甲基橙为模型反应物,研究了连续循环固定床光催化反应器的动力学过程.根据光催化氧化过程特点,分析并建立了准一级反应动力学方程,对该反应系统的动力学过程进行动态数学模拟,用四阶Runge-Kutta法进行数值计算,结果表明数学模拟与实验数据相吻合.在该光催化反应体系中,处理量增加时实际反应速率常数k基本不变,而表观反应速率常数kapp变小,二者之间关系与反应器体积对处理量体积比（γ）密切相关;反应速率常数受起始浓度影响很大,在15～150 μmol•L－1浓度范围内,lnk=－0.48ln[c0]＋1.42;反应速率常数与光强的关系为k∝I0.5;反应速率常数受溶液pH值的影响也很大.     

Tuning Cellular Biological Functions Through the Controlled Release of NO from a Porous Ti‐MOF

Materials for the controlled release of nitric oxide (NO) are of interest for therapeutic applications. However, to date, many suffer from toxicity and stability issues, as well as poor performance. Herein, we propose a new NO adsorption/release mechanism through the formation of nitrites on the skeleton of a titanium‐based metal–organic framework (MOF) that we named MIP‐177, featuring a suitable set of properties for such an application: (i) high NO storage capacity (3 μmol mg^?1_solid), (ii) excellent biocompatibility at therapeutic relevant concentrations (no cytotoxicity at 90 μg mL^?1 for wound healing) due to its high stability in biological media (<9 % degradation in 72 hours) and (iii) slow NO release in biological media (≈2 hours for 90 % release). The prospective application of MIP‐177 is demonstrated through NO‐driven control of mitochondrial respiration in cells and stimulation of cell migration, paving the way for the design of new NO delivery systems for wound healing therapy.     

Modeling of pair distribution functions for XAFS in disordered systems

A commonly used expression for modeling the XAFS of highly disordered systems is shown to generate substantial systematic errors in the coordination number in many cases of practical interest. This expression is corrected and generalized. Further, a simpler and more flexible model distribution is proposed, and the corresponding XAFS expression is derived. Comparison with experimental and simulated data show that the new expressions are useful in cases of high disorder for which the cumulant expansion loses its utility, and they explicitly account for the k-dependence of the mean free path.     

光学综合孔径空间探索波前干涉理论研究

由光学综合孔径干涉模型深入研究了光学综合孔径空间探索波前干涉理论.在观测目标相当遥远及准单色观测条件下,根据光学综合孔径光学传递函数以及傅里叶变换性质建立了一个简化的像面干涉光强分布数学模型,此数学模型的物理含义符合光学综合孔径成像观测的实际情况;根据光学综合孔径瞳面干涉条件,在光学综合孔径像面干涉数学模型的基础上得到瞳面干涉的数学模型.最后根据光学综合孔径数学模型分别对像面干涉模型和瞳面干涉模型进行了计算机仿真.     

Megavariate Analysis of Environmental QSAR Data. Part II – Investigating Very Complex Problem Formulations Using Hierarchical, Non-Linear and Batch-Wise Extensions of PCA and PLS

Summary Three extensions of the basic PCA and PLS methodologies are described. These extensions are hierarchical, non-linear and batch-based in nature. The objectives of these methods are to assist in problem understanding and problem solving in very complex (QSAR) problem formulations. The method extensions are illustrated using two example QSAR data sets containing many X- and Y-variables.     

Reflection and transmission at normal incidence onto air-saturated porous materials and direct measurements based on parametric demodulated ultrasonic waves

The present work is related to the characterization of air-saturated porous media by using parametric demodulated ultrasonic waves. One uses two different powerful ultrasonic emitters working either at 47 kHz or at 162 kHz which are electronically amplitude modulated over the 200 Hz-4 kHz or 2 kHz-40 kHz bandwidths respectively. The demodulation process takes place in air, due to its nonlinearity enabling to generate audio range acoustical waves or alternatively low frequency ultrasonic waves which can be used to characterize porous materials in the reflection configuration at normal incidence. Some appropriate theoretical calculations are introduced for three configurations of interest, i.e. a porous slab, a porous layer mounted onto a rigid plate, and a porous half space, in the case of the equivalent-fluid model. Comparisons between theoretical modeling and experimental data are provided and prospective industrial applications are discussed.     

无障板圆形活塞换能器的辐射阻抗*

辐射阻抗是换能器的最重要辐射声场特性参数之一,影响着换能器的谐振频率、频带宽度、效率以及辐射声功率等。经典声学理论用一阶贝塞尔函数和斯特鲁夫函数给出了圆形活塞换能器辐射阻抗的数学表达式,但仅适用于无限大障板条件。该文用ANSYS有限元软件计算了无障板圆形活塞换能器的辐射阻抗,给出了数值解结果,通过与无限大障板条件下的理论结果相比较,显示了二者之间的偏离情况,尤其是在低频时差异显著。为了借助MATLAB工具模拟无障板圆形活塞换能器的辐射阻抗,并给出较准确的数学表达,选择了一系列初等函数以及它们的复合函数进行曲线拟合,最终给出了辐射阻和辐射抗关于ka的函数表达式,在ka值从0.08到20范围内与有限元计算结果很好吻合。