Hydroxytyrosol Acyl Esters: Biosynthesis and Activities

We previously reported the production of high yields of hydroxytyrosol through the bioconversion of tyrosol. In the present work, hydroxytyrosol was subjected to the lipase catalyzed acylation aiming for the recovery of more lipophilic esters that might be easily incorporated in cosmetic and food preparations. Hydroxytyrosyl acetate and hydroxytyrosyl oleate were produced with respective molar esterification yields of 98% and 78%. DPPH free radical quenching potency demonstrated that the acylation of hydroxytyrosol did not alter its antioxidant activity. The acylated esters were shown to be more effective than the natural antioxidant: caffeic acid and two synthetic ones as BHA and BHT. Antiproliferative activity on human cervical cells (HeLa) resulted in IC₅₀ values of 0.46, 0.42 and 0.33 mM for hydroxytyrosol and its acetyl and oleyl esters, respectively. Additionally, when used at a non-cytotoxic concentration (100 μM), these compounds showed significant effectiveness in preventing iron-induced oxidative stress, resulting in a reduction of 30%, 36% and 38% in thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance production, respectively.     

The influence of the periodic disturbance on the local heat transfer in separated and reattached flow

A numerical study based on the large eddy simulation methodology was made of heat transfer in locally disturbed turbulent separated and reattached flow over a backward facing step. The local disturbance was given to the flow by a sinusoidally blowing/suction of the fluid into a separated shear layer. The Reynolds number was fixed at 33,000 and Richardson number at 0.5. The disturbance frequency was varied in the range 0 ≤ St ≤ 2, where St is the Strouhal number of disturbance. The obtained results revealed the existence of an optimum perturbation frequency value, St = 0.25, in terms of the reduced reattachment length. At this frequency the heat transfer is significantly enhanced in the recirculation zone. The influence of the frequency and the amplitude of disturbance, in the maximum heat transfer positions and the maximum local Nusselt number, is analysed.     

Effect of the variation of metal and cerium loadings on CeO2x–TiO2(100−x) supports in the complete catalytic oxidation of formaldehyde

Research on Chemical Intermediates - Formaldehyde has been successfully converted into CO2 and H2O at low temperature in the presence of CeO2x–TiO2(100?x) mixed oxides prepared by the...     

Multiscale Lyapunov exponent for 2-microlocal functions

The Lyapunov exponent is an important indicator of chaotic dynamics. Using wavelet analysis, we define a multiscale representation of this exponent which we demonstrate the scale-wise dependence for functions belonging to spaces. An empirical study involving simulated processes and financial time series corroborates the theoretical findings.     

Diagnosis of deactivation sources for vanadium catalysts used in SO2 oxidation reaction and optimization of vanadium extraction from deactivated catalysts

Physico-chemical analysis (X-ray, FTIR) and/or methanol oxidation reaction test were performed on fresh and deactivated vanadium catalysts used in H₂SO₄ manufacturing. It allowed the diagnosis of catalyst deactivation sources, as well as the processes of regenerating and recycling the worn out catalyst in converter. One of these processes is hydrometallurgical method. It consists in treating the deactivated catalyst with alkaline or acidic reagents and forming vanadate solution. A simple and non-costly operation of chemical attack permits the extraction of vanadium from silica in deactivated catalyst. The extracted vanadium can be used for the confection of regenerated catalysts or metallic tools. After optimization, this method can be used for industrial application.     

Preparation and characterization of CeO<Subscript>2</Subscript>–Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> aerogels supported ruthenium for catalytic wet air oxidation of p-hydroxybenzoic acid

Catalytic wet air oxidation of an aqueous solution of p-hydroxybenzoic acid was conducted over ruthenium catalysts (1 wt%) supported on CeO₂–Al₂O₃ aerogels mixed oxides at 140 °C and 50 bars of air. We study the effect of the amount of CeO₂ in the catalyst. We found that the optimal cerium content in the Al₂O₃ support was 20 wt%. The activity of the Ru/Al₂O₃ and Ru/CeO₂ was also tested for comparison. It was found that the addition of CeO₂ on the alumina support improves the activity of Ru catalysts. The activity of the samples decreases in the following order: Ru/Ce–Al (20) > Ru/Ce–Al (10) > Ru/Ce–Al (5) ≈ Ru/Al₂O₃ > Ru/CeO₂. Samples characterization was performed by means of N₂ adsorption–desorption, XRD, UV–Vis, TPR, SEM and TEM.     

Synthesis of W‐doped TiO2 by low‐temperature hydrolysis: Effects of annealing temperature and doping content on the surface microstructure and photocatalytic activity

A series of tungsten‐doped Titania photocatalysts were synthesized using a low‐temperature method. The effects of dopant concentration and annealing temperature on the phase transitions, crystallinity, electronic, optical, and photocatalytic properties of the resulting material were studied. The X‐ray patterns revealed that the doping delays the transition of anatase to rutile to a high temperature. A new phase W_yTi_1‐yO₂ appeared for 5.00 wt% W‐TiO₂ annealed at 900 °C. Raman and diffuse reflectance UV–Vis spectroscopy showed that band gap values decreased slightly up to 700 °C. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that surface species viz. Ti³⁺, Ti⁴⁺, O^2?, oxygen‐vacancies, and adsorbed OH groups vary depending on the preparation conditions. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated via the degradation of methylene blue using LED white light. The degradation rate was affected by the percentage of dopants. The best photocatalytic activity was achieved with the sample labeled 5.00 wt% W‐TiO₂ annealed at 700 °C.