A Comparison between Different Agro-wastes and Carbon Nanotubes for Removal of Sarafloxacin from Wastewater: Kinetics and Equilibrium Studies

In the current study, eco-structured and efficient removal of the veterinary fluoroquinolone antibiotic sarafloxacin (SARA) from wastewater has been explored. The adsorptive power of four agro-wastes (AWs) derived from pistachio nutshells (PNS) and Aloe vera leaves (AV) as well as the multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) has been assessed. Adsorbent derived from raw pistachio nutshells (RPNS) was the most efficient among the four tested AWs (%removal ‘%R’ = 82.39%), while MWCNTs showed the best adsorptive power amongst the five adsorbents (%R = 96.20%). Plackett-Burman design (PBD) was used to optimize the adsorption process. Two responses (‘%R’ and adsorption capacity ‘q_e’) were optimized as a function of four variables (pH, adsorbent dose ‘AD’ (dose of RPNS and MWCNTs), adsorbate concentration [SARA] and contact time ‘CT’). The effect of pH was similar for both RPNS and MWCNTs. Morphological and textural characterization of the tested adsorbents was carried out using FT-IR spectroscopy, SEM and BET analyses. Conversion of waste-derived materials into carbonaceous material was investigated by Raman spectroscopy. Equilibrium studies showed that Freundlich isotherm is the most suitable isotherm to describe the adsorption of SARA onto RPNS. Kinetics’ investigation shows that the adsorption of SARA onto RPNS follows a pseudo-second order (PSO) model.     

The critical probability for confetti percolation equals 1/2

In the confetti percolation model, or two‐coloured dead leaves model, radius one disks arrive on the plane according to a space‐time Poisson process. Each disk is coloured black with probability p and white with probability . In this paper we show that the critical probability for confetti percolation equals 1/2. That is, if p > 1/2 then a.s. there is an unbounded curve in the plane all of whose points are black; while if then a.s. all connected components of the set of black points are bounded. This answers a question of Benjamini and Schramm [1]. The proof builds on earlier work by Hirsch [7] and makes use of an adaptation of a sharp thresholds result of Bourgain. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 50, 679–697, 2017     

Efficient quantification of the phenolic profiles of Zanthoxylum bungeanum leaves and correlation between chromatographic fingerprint and antioxidant activity

Sixteen subsequent fractions were prepared from the ethyl acetate fraction of Zanthoxylum bungeanum leaves after bio-guided chromatographic separation. The HPLC profiles and antioxidant activity of the various fractions indicated that the content of eight phenolic compounds (chlorogenic acid, epicatechin, rutin, hyperoside, trifolin, quercitrin, afzelin and quercetin) and antioxidant activity vary significantly, and high concentrations of a combination of eight phenolic compounds would result in an increase of the antioxidant activity. These results suggested that the eight compounds could be used as chemical markers for quality assessment of Z. bungeanum leaves. Correlation between chromatographic fingerprint and antioxidant activity of the fractions showed that quercitrin and hyperoside play crucial roles in the antioxidant activity, and they can be seen as the milestone for quality control. The findings also suggested that five obtained fractions (E-3-3, E-2-4, E-7, E-5 and E-4) could become useful supplements for functional food ingredients and health-related products.     

Valorisation,Green Extraction Development,and Metabolomic Analysis of Wild Artichoke By-Product Using Pressurised Liquid Extraction UPLC–HRMS and Multivariate Data Analysis

Valorisation of food by-products has recently attracted considerable attention due to the opportunities to improve the economic and environmental sustainability of the food production chain. Large quantities of non-edible parts of the artichoke plant (Cynara cardunculus L.) comprising leaves, stems, roots, bracts, and seeds are discarded annually during industrial processing. These by-products contain many phytochemicals such as dietary fibres, phenolic acids, and flavonoids, whereby the most challenging issue concerns about the recovery of high-added value components from these by-products. The aim of this work is to develop a novel valorisation strategy for the sustainable utilisation of artichoke leaves’ waste, combining green pressurised-liquid extraction (PLE), spectrophotometric assays and UPLC–HRMS phytochemical characterization, to obtain bioactive-rich extract with high antioxidant capacity. Multivariate analysis of the major selected metabolites was used to compare different solvent extraction used in PLE.     

Natural Products from Leaves of the Ancient Iranian Medicinal Plant Echium amoenum Fisch. & C. A. Mey.

For several millennia, leaves of Echium amoenum Fisch. & C. A. Mey., an important Iranian medicinal plant with nutritional value as nutraceutical, have been used as tea for the treatment of several conditions, including inflammation. The nutritional value of intake of E. amoenum tea has mainly been correlated to its rich content of mainly water-soluble antioxidants. Although the entire plant is utilized, only natural products of the flowers have previously been thoroughly investigated. The rare natural products bis(3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-1-methoxy-1-oxopropan-2-yl)-1-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-6,7-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydronaphthalene-2,3-dicarboxylate, 4-Oxy-(E)-caffeoyl-2,3-dihydroxybutanoic acid methyl ester and 4-Oxy-(Z)-caffeoyl-2,3-dihydroxybutanoic acid methyl ester, in addition to the widely distributed compounds rosmarinic acid methyl ester and (E)-caffeic acid, were purified and characterized from leaves of Echium amoenum. The structures were determined by a combination of several 2D NMR spectroscopic techniques, circular dichroism spectroscopy and high-resolution mass spectrometry. The fact that bis(3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-1-methoxy-1-oxopropan-2-yl)-1-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-6,7-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydronaphthalene-2,3-dicarboxylate belongs to a rare group of natural products which have previously been patented for their significant anti-inflammatory activity may rationalize the traditional treatment of inflammations with E. amoenum.     

黄树莓叶片中黄酮类物质的提取及抗氧化性

黄酮类物质具有降血糖、降血脂、抗心律失常、抗氧化高效性与低毒性、抗衰老等生理活性1 2 。从药食两种植物中筛选出高效低毒且经济的抗氧化性强的物质 ,必将是近一步开发天然高效食品抗氧化剂的重要途径[3 5] 。黄树莓是我国北方地区小浆果树种之一 ,其中以黑龙江分布较多。黄树莓的浆果甜而芳香 ,营养丰富 ,是鲜美的生食果品 ,也可加工制成果酱、果酒、果汁和蜜饯等。它又是密源植物和药用植物 ,有止渴、痰、发汗、活血的效用。本实验以测定黄树莓叶片总黄酮含量并考察了提取物粗黄酮对猪油的抗氧化性。1　实验部分1 1　主要试剂及仪…     

离子色谱法测定柿叶中有机酸和无机阴离子

以0．75mmol.L^-1邻苯二甲酸和0．35mmol.L^-1三羧甲基氨基甲烷的混合溶液为淋洗液，利用单柱阴离子交换色谱法，直接电导检测，对肺叶的水溶液进行了分析，检测出柿叶中主要含有机酸是琥珀酸和苹果酸，阴离子是H2PO^-4,Cl^-,NO^-3,SO^2-4。方法简便，快速。     

紫玉兰叶油化学成分的气相色谱/质谱法分析

采用常规水蒸汽蒸馏法提取出紫玉兰叶油,经气相色谱－质谱联机分析,分离出４０多个峰,鉴定出３２种化合物,主要是大根香叶烯、檀紫三烯,石竹烯３,７二甲基－１,３,７－辛三烯、莰烯等,占总峰面积的９５％。     

Artificial Leaves via Reproduction of Hierarchical Structures by a Fast Molding and Curing Process

In this work, we have developed a practical approach for the replication of hierarchical structures on a native leaf surface via a fast two‐step molding process combining both the fast curability to prevent shrinkage of cells and the strong resistance to chemical compounds for further applications. The negative replica of the leaf was produced from perfluoropolyether (PFPE) by precise molding followed by a fast curing with UV. A liquid ceramic precursor material (polyvinylsilazane, PVSZ) was used to fabricate the positive leaf structure through the same process as applied for the negative imprint of the surface yielding a highly detailed replica of the native leaf surface structure. Static water contact angle measurements show that the biomimetic surfaces exhibit a wettability similar to the native leaves.     

反相高效液相色谱法测定白肋烟烟叶中的游离氨基酸

建立了一种用于烟草中游离氨基酸测定的反相高效液相色谱法．实验采用超声波水解、邻苯二甲醛／3-巯基丙酸作为衍生剂进行柱前衍生．色谱柱为依利特C18柱（4．6mmi．d．×250mm,5μm）,流动相A为18mmol／L的醋酸钠溶液（pH7．2）含体积分数为0．002％的三乙胺和0．3％的四氢呋喃,流动相B组成为：100mmol／L的醋酸钠溶液（pH7．2）-乙腈-甲醇（体积比为1：2：2）,流速为1．0mL／min,柱温为40℃．荧光检测器,激发波长350nm,发射波长450nm．方法的回收率为95．3％～100．7％,RSD为2．32％～9．24％（n=6）．该方法简便、准确、重现性好．测定了不同肥料配比生产的白肋烟烟叶中17种游离氨基酸的含量．结果表明,不论有机肥与无机肥怎样配比,天冬氨酸的含量与各氨基酸相比都是最高的;随着饼肥的加入,大部分氨基酸的含量是先增加后逐渐降低的趋势,15％饼肥＋85％无机肥与30％饼肥＋70％无机肥配比时,大部分游离氨基酸的含量接近,30％饼肥＋70％无机肥配比时的游离氨基酸总量最高,综合考虑,30％饼肥＋70％无机肥配比时的烟叶质量最好．