Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis of Gymnema sylvestre R.Br. roots

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) achieves a wide range of applications since the past decade as a sustainable green technology. The present study investigates the process for producing high yield by supercritical carbon dioxide (Sc-CO₂) extraction form Gymnema sylvestre R.Br. roots. The effect of temperature and pressure on the percentage of accumulative yield is demonstrated. It is found that the highest yield is obtained at the temperature of 60°C and the pressure of 10?MPa. A proper review showed that there is a lack in the study of Sc-CO₂ extraction of this plant especially for optimization of SFE process which makes this study useful and valuable. For more benefit, the extract which achieves highest percentage is subjected to gas chromatography–mass spectrometry to study its chemical composition and detect the active principle compounds which present with high concentration and expected to be responsible of the pharmaceutical properties of the extract.     

Effects of a random single-ion anisotropy on the spin-52 Blume-Capel (BC) Ising model

The magnetic properties of the spin-5/2 Blume-Capel model are investigated by means of the Mean-Field theory in a random single-ion anisotropy environment. The $T=0$ phase diagram is singled out as well as the thermal behaviors of the lattice magnetization. Numerical results reveal beyond first- and second-order phase transitions, the existence of isolated critical points. Novel magnetic orders are detected in the low-temperature range. Some thermal phase diagrams are constructed where the reentrant phenomenon often emerges. Interesting hysteresis loops are got when an external magnetic field constraint is imposed on the system.     

Ligand expansion in ligand-based virtual screening using relevance feedback

Query expansion is the process of reformulating an original query to improve retrieval performance in information retrieval systems. Relevance feedback is one of the most useful query modification techniques in information retrieval systems. In this paper, we introduce query expansion into ligand-based virtual screening (LBVS) using the relevance feedback technique. In this approach, a few high-ranking molecules of unknown activity are filtered from the outputs of a Bayesian inference network based on a single ligand molecule to form a set of ligand molecules. This set of ligand molecules is used to form a new ligand molecule. Simulated virtual screening experiments with the MDL Drug Data Report and maximum unbiased validation data sets show that the use of ligand expansion provides a very simple way of improving the LBVS, especially when the active molecules being sought have a high degree of structural heterogeneity. However, the effectiveness of the ligand expansion is slightly less when structurally-homogeneous sets of actives are being sought.     

Sonochemical production of nanoparticle metal oxides for potential use in dentistry

Two types of ultrasonic instruments used in dentistry have been compared with a sonochemical horn for the production of copper oxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles. The nanoparticles can be produced from benign reagents using dental instruments as the source of sonochemical enhancement. The process has been operated in resin models of teeth in a preliminary exploration of the potential of the method for enhancing procedures such as root canal surgery. The technique is potentially useful but further work is needed for a full assessment of using in-situ generated nanoparticles as an aid to disinfection during some types of dental surgery.     

Indoor radon survey in dwellings of some regions in Yemen

Indoor radon survey in a total of 241 dwellings, distributed in some regions of Yemen was performed, using CR-39 based radon monitors. The objective of this radon survey is to get representative indoor radon data of three regions, namely Dhamar, Taiz and Hodeidah, situated at different altitudes above sea level. The radon concentrations varied from 3 to 270 Bqm⁻³ with an average of 42 Bqm⁻³. It was found that the average radon concentration in the surveyed areas increases with altitudes. The highest average radon concentration of 59 Bqm⁻³ was found in Dhamar city while the lowest average concentration of 8 Bqm⁻³ was found in Hodeidah city.     

Random crystal-field effects in a mixed spin-1/2 and spin-2 ferrimagnetic Ising system

The magnetic properties of a mixed spin ferrimagnetic system σ?=?1/2 and S?=?2 at the sites of a square lattice with a random crystal field are studied by the mean field approximation. The ground state of the system is determined and the total magnetization is plotted according to the model parameters. Different behaviors for the thermal dependence of the magnetization are highlighted. In particular, one sees the appearance of one or two compensating points and many types of phase diagrams with first and second order phase transition lines as well as isolated critical and tricritical points.     

Pressure dependence of resistivity and magnetoresistivity in InSb below 1 K

It is shown that the hydrostatic pressure leads to the strong increase of InSb (n=2·10¹⁴ cm^-3) crystal resistivity below 100 mK. Increase of the electron effective mass due to applied pressure does not influence the behavior of magnetoresistivity for temperatures higher than 100 mK whereas it causes a strong increase in positive magnetoresistivity at T < 100 mK. The observed decrease in the hopping conductivity reflects the pressure and magnetic field induced reduction of the electron localization length.