Response surface methodology toward the optimization of high-energy carotenoid extraction from Aristeus antennatus shrimp

High-energy assisted extraction techniques, like ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE) and microwave assisted extraction (MAE), are widely applied over the last years for the recovery of bioactive compounds such as carotenoids, antioxidants and phenols from foods, animals and herbal natural sources. Especially for the case of xanthophylls, the main carotenoid group of crustaceans, they can be extracted in a rapid and quantitative way with the use of UAE and MAE.     

Thermally induced solid-state transformation of cimetidine. A multi-spectroscopic/chemometrics determination of the kinetics of the process and structural elucidation of one of the products as a stable N3-enamino tautomer

Exposure of cimetidine (CIM) to dry heat (160–180 °C) afforded, upon cooling, a glassy solid containing new and hitherto unknown products. The kinetics of this process was studied by a second order chemometrics-assisted multi-spectroscopic approach. Proton and carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), as well as ultraviolet and infrared spectroscopic data were jointly used, whereas multivariate curve resolution with alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) was employed as the chemometrics method to extract process information. It was established that drug degradation follows a first order kinetics.     

Science Letters： A synthetic Toll-like receptor 2 ligand decreases allergic immune responses in a mouse rhinitis model sensitized to mite allergen

It has been proposed that activation of Toll-like receptors （TLRs） plays crucial roles in the polarization of adaptive immune responses. A synthetic Toll-like receptor 2 （TLR2） ligand, Pam3CSK4, has been reported to modulate the balance of Th1/Th2 responses. We evaluated the modulation effect of Pam3CSK4 on allergic immune response in a mouse rhinitis model sensitized to house dust mite allergen （HDM）. Mice were sensitized and challenged with Dermatophagoidesfarinae allergen （Der f）, and then the allergic mice were treated by Pam3CSK4. Nasal allergic symptoms and eosinophils were scored. Der f-specific cytokine responses were examined in the splenocytes and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid （BALF）. Serum level of total IgE was also detected. After establishing a mouse allergic rhinitis model with HDM, we have showed that Pam3CSK4 treatment not only ameliorated the nasal allergic symptoms remarkably but also decreased the eosinophils and total inflammation cells in BALF significantly. Analysis of cytokine profile found that IFN-7 released from either BALF or stimulated splenocytes increased markedly in Pam3CSK4-treated mice, while IL-13 decreased significantly. Moreover, serum level of total IgE was significantly lower in Pam3CSK4-treated mice than in the untreated. Thus, in an allergic rhinitis mouse model developed with HDM, Pam3CSK4 was shown to exhibit an antiallergic effect, indicating its potential application in allergic diseases.     

On a free boundary problem for the Reynolds equation derived from the Stokes system with Tresca boundary conditions

The asymptotic behaviour of a Stokes flow with Tresca free boundary friction conditions when one dimension of the fluid domain tends to zero is studied. A specific Reynolds equation associated with variational inequalities is obtained and uniqueness is proved.     

用于强磁场的快响应真空规的研制进展

研制了能在强磁场、强干扰环境下工作的快响应真空电离规(快规),用于对HL 2A装置偏滤器室和等离子体附近的中性粒子密度和通量进行原位测量。介绍了快规的结构、工作原理、设计要点以及实验结果。在无磁场的情况下,快规对气体压强的测量范围为6.4×10-6～0.15Pa,在1×10-5～0.15Pa范围内,快规收集极离子流与发射电子流之比与气压保持良好线性关系;在0 15T的磁场下,快规的规管常数未发生显著变化,在规管对称轴与磁力线的夹角小于15o时,规管常数的变化小于10%。     

THERMAL AND THERMO-ELASTIC-PLASTIC RESPONSE OF CERAMIC-METAL FUNCTIONALLY GRADED MATERIALS—THERMAL SHOCK PROBLEM

The thermal and thermo-elastic-plastic response of newly developed ceramic-metalfunctionally graded materials under a thermal shock load is studied.The materials are heated at the ce-ramic surface with a sudden high-intensity heat flux input,and cooled at the metal surface with aflowing liquid nitrogen.Emphasis is placed on two aspects:(1)the influence of the graded composi-tion of the materials on the temperature and stress response;and(2)the optimum design of the gradedcomposition from a unified viewpoint of the heat insulation property and stress relaxation property.Moreover,a comparison between the thermoelastic stress and the thermo-elastic-plastic stress is alsomade to indicate the plasticity effect.     

Effect of core-shell micelle formation on the redox properties of phenothiazine-labeled poly(ethyl glycidy ether)-block-poly(ethylene oxide)

Redox properties of phenothiazine-labeled poly(ethyl glycidy ether)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (PT-EGE_n-b-EO_m) are reversibly changed by core-shell micelle formation. In the temperature range higher than the critical micellization temperature (cmt), the anodic potential of PT group positively shifts and concomitantly its anodic current decrease, or levels off compared to those of the reference polymer PT-EO_m without the thermo-responsive EGE_n segment. The former alteration is caused by incorporation of hydrophobic PT groups into a core of the micelle and the latter by the decrease in the diffusion coefficient of PT groups due to formation of the core-shell micelles. The cmt value and the temperature-dependent alteration in the redox properties strongly depend on the polymer structure, especially the length of thermo-responsive EGE_n segment. The electrochemically determined hydrodynamic radii of the polymer aggregates seem to be overestimated, compared to the values reported for the aggregates of other thermo-responsive polymers with similar molecular weights, implying the presence of electrochemically inactive PT groups in the copolymers having longer thermo-responsive segments.     

On the construction of samples for testing approximate optimization methods for estimate calculation algorithms

To validate approximate optimization schemes for estimate calculation algorithms (ECAs), it is necessary to compute the optimal height, which cannot be done in a reasonable amount of time. A variety of samples are built for which the optimal height of the ECAs is known by construction.